Title: An Honest Choice
Author: Rosie Cruz
Pairing: Casey/Olivia
Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. The characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I just like to play with them. The story however is purely a creation of my imagination.

2007 © ROBC. The characters of Olivia Benson, Casey Novak, Elliot Stabler, John Munch, Fin, Cragen and Kathy Stabler belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. The story however is mine. All rights reserved. Copies of this may be printed for personal use only. No part of this story may be reproduced or reused for any other purpose without prior written permission.

Author's Note: Last chapter of this little story. Sorry the last update took so long but I was moving and have only recently put my life back in order enough to post. This last part is a little too cheesy for my taste, but what the hell sometimes we need a little cheese. Thank you for the reviews and words of encouragement. Hope you all enjoyed the journey.

Chapter 19

Casey was the very definition of concentration. Sweat dripping down her neck, she slowed downed swerving to avoid a pedestrian. It was Friday. She had considered joining everyone at O'Malley's tonight, but opted for exercise instead, especially after Olivia informed her that she wouldn't be there. They had just wrapped up the serial rapist case and the gang had headed to O'Malley's as usual to wind down. Olivia however had left the station as soon as Casey delivered the news about the verdict. She had some things she needed to take care of, she told Casey, before kissing her on the cheek on the way out.

Casey was wondering about that. Olivia had been acting a little strange lately, almost nervous. She reminded Casey of the Olivia she had discovered in the first months of their romance, all nervousness and fidgeting shy smiles. It was such a different personality from the cop persona she usually cultivated. Casey had found it endearing then and absolutely adorable now. She wondered when Olivia would be home and began going through their dinner options in her head.

Home?

Picking up speed to make the next light she pondered that concept. They were not "officially" living together, but she knew they were doing it in practice. Olivia spent all her nights at Casey's unless she was working on a case. She had most of her clothes and other personal effects at Casey's too. Since the moment when she invited Olivia to spend the night, Olivia had not spent one night at her own apartment. Sometimes Casey thought she was being unfair to Olivia. She had not been able to feel comfortable at Olivia's place since Alex and didn't want to spend time there. And since she didn't they always ended up at Casey's place.

Well there's nothing I can do about it except…ask her to move in?

Suddenly she was smiling like an idiot. Ask her to move in with me? Are we ready for that? Of course, we're practically doing it now!

She was still smiling as she cruised through yet another green light. I need a plan, she thought as she maneuvered around a pot hole - maybe a fancy dinner, champagne…yeah. She would talk to Elliot tomorrow and get some ideas.

She turned the corner and made her way down the remaining four blocks of her ride to her apartment. She had stopped the bike at the curb and was gently nudging it onto the sidewalk when she felt a familiar presence at her side.

"Hey, need some help?"

She smiled, her whole face brightening, her stomach doing those back flips it always did whenever Olivia surprised her.

"Sure," she said as Olivia placed a warm hand on her waist and leaned in for a quick kiss.

Olivia grabbed Casey's bags letting the attorney deal with her bike.

"I thought you had something to do?" asked Casey as she waited for Olivia to unlock the front door to the building.

"I did. Finished early," Olivia responded, holding the door open for Casey and the bike.

They made their way upstairs, the routine so familiar, it was like a well-practiced dance number. Showered and changed into comfortable clothes, Casey walked out of the bedroom to find Olivia hovering in the living room.

"You okay, Liv?" she asked as she made her way to the kitchen to survey the fridge.

"Yeah, fine. No problems whatsoever," said Olivia as she followed Casey to the tiny kitchen.

Olivia leaned in the doorway watching Casey stare at the contents of the fridge.

"Why don't we have dinner out tonight? Maybe across the street?" asked Olivia hopefully.

"Okay," responded Casey as she closed the door to the mostly empty fridge. "Not much in there anyway." She leaned against the kitchen counter. "Do you think we'll ever be into cooking?" she asked playfully.

"No," said Olivia shaking her head and reaching for Casey as she had downstairs but with a more determined air. She brought their bodies close, pressing Casey tightly into her and bent her head. She stopped just short of Casey's lips.

"I love you," she said. "I'll never stop loving you. Do you know that?"

Casey swallowed hard.

"Yes," she said and closed the distance between them with a slow but powerful kiss that seemed to last an eternity.

They pulled back simultaneously and just stared at each other for a while.

"Shall we?" said Olivia loosening her hold slightly.

Casey bit her lip.

"Yeah…I guess so," she smiled.

They talked casually as they made their way downstairs and across the street to the diner in which they had had their first unofficial date. It was as familiar to them as their own kitchen and they were recognizable patrons.

"Hey you two!" said one of the energetic waiters that often served them.

"No partying and drinking tonight?" he asked as he brought them over two cups filled with steaming coffee.

They were regulars, but they were not often here on Friday nights. He knew they had a kind of standing date with co-workers on that night, but he was not surprised to see them on this particular night. Tonight, he knew was a special night.

"Not tonight Tommy," said Olivia quickly.

"So what'll it be ladies?" he asked poised to take their order.

Casey was carefully perusing the menu.

"Give us a few minutes," she said, not sure of what she was in the mood for. Olivia just nodded, her eyes glued to the menu. Tommy smirked in her direction and walked away with a promise to return shortly.

Forty five minutes later they had been thoroughly watered and fed and sat sipping coffee, regular of course. Casey finished the last of her lukewarm coffee and began searching for Tommy. He was usually a great waiter and left the check for them as soon as he served them their last cup, but he had vanished 15 minutes ago and they still didn't have the check.

"Where do you suppose Tommy's disappeared to?" asked Casey.

"Not a clue," said Olivia staring at the back door of the restaurant.

Olivia's leg was twitching under the table, but she seemed unaware of it. There were about a million little pieces of what had once been a napkin on her side of the table and her coffee cup was still full.

Casey had been keeping up a steady stream of conversation throughout the meal. She knew something was going on with her girlfriend, but with Olivia, you had to be patient and wait for her to tell you whatever was on her mind. She would never just come out and say it and she didn't respond that well to direct questions about what was bothering her. You had to just let her come to you. Casey had chattered endlessly about work, softball and anything else she could think of while she waited for Olivia to tell her what was wrong.

"Was the coffee not good?" asked Casey pointing at the full cup of coffee long gone cold in front of Olivia.

Suddenly Olivia stopped slouching in the booth and sat straight up. Her hands were shaking and her eyes went wide.

Casey turned around to see what had caused her partner's reaction.

Tommy was walking in from the back, dressed in a tuxedo pushing a small dessert cart through the dingy diner. It was draped in an elegant white tablecloth and held two glasses, a bottle of champagne chilling in a sterling silver bucket of ice, and a covered silver platter.

Casey was busy trying to figure out what was going on and barely registered the fact that Tommy was headed straight for their table. When he pulled up and stopped, beaming at them she was so confused that she just gawked at him and didn't say anything.

"Ladies," he nodded to both of them.

"May I serve you?" he asked picking up the champagne bottle.

Casey could only nod. She looked at Olivia who had turned pale, but didn't look surprised. Tommy finished pouring the champagne placing a glass first in front of Casey and then Olivia before stepping back. Olivia took a deep breath and then stood. She looked at Casey and gently took her hand.

"Casey," she said softly. "I have something I need to ask you."

Casey was glad she hadn't taken a sip of the champagne yet, or she would have spit it out. She had never in her wildest dreams imagined this.

Olivia gently pushed the cart away and bent down on one knee, still holding Casey's hand. Casey thought she should probably say something, but she was dumbstruck.

"Casey, I have loved you for a very long time and I will love you for the rest of my life. I know our relationship hasn't been perfect. I've made some pretty big mistakes, but I can't imagine my life without you. I don't really want to try. From the first time you said yes to my dinner invitation, I knew that this was right. You and me, we're right. There've been times when I've forgotten that but I have never stopped loving you and I promise you that I will never forget again that this – you and me – we belong together. It took me losing you to make me realize that and I will always regret what I put you through. Thank you for giving me – for giving us – a second chance…I'm not really good at these things," she said nervously reaching into her pocket and extracting a simple little black box. She flipped it open to reveal a beautiful ring. It was white gold, with a heart shaped diamond in the center. Olivia extended the arm holding the ring to Casey.

"Casey Novak, I'm asking you this in the place where we began our life together, here in front of all these…strangers…will you marry me?"

Casey's hand had gone to her mouth. Tears were streaming down her face. The room was silent, everyone waiting expectantly.

"Yes!" she screamed as she flung herself at her lover, her arms around Olivia's neck, almost bowling her over. The restaurant broke out in spontaneous applause as Olivia, with Casey still attached to her neck attempted to stand.

"I have one more thing," she said as she reached for the arms wrapped around her neck. Casey reluctantly released her, tears glistening in the soft glow of the low-lit lamps of the restaurant.

"I was hoping you'd say yes," exclaimed Olivia as she turned to the dessert table Tommy had wheeled out.

"Because… if you said no, I might not give this back to you, but since you said yes, I wanted to return it to its rightful place…in our home."

She lifted the cover off the silver platter and set it to the side. There in the center of an elegant looking dish was a framed photograph of the two of them, lying in a hammock entangled in each other's arms.

Casey's tears still flowing, she quickly engulfed Olivia in a full body hug. The restaurant patrons clapped and cheered again, although some were perplexed that a mere photograph should elicit such a weepy response. Casey embarrassed and happy just buried her face in Olivia's neck laughing.

Later in Casey's apartment they sat sipping champagne, their bodies bathing in moonlight and the low light emanating from a small lamp in the corner. They were sitting on the couch, Olivia's arm wrapped around Casey, her left hand holding a glass filled with the remainder of the champagne. Casey was snuggled close, her head on Olivia's shoulder. Soft music was playing in the background.

The picture frame was perched on the coffee table and they were both staring at it. Casey thought back to the time when Kate had taken it and remembered once again, how absolutely and totally in love she had felt. She felt like that now too except…if at all possible, she felt even more deeply in love.

Gone were the days when she worried about the woman that came before her. She felt safe and secure and completely loved by Olivia. She hadn't thought it possible that they could get back here.

She remembered also the anger she had felt when she discovered the picture gone from her apartment. Funny, she had never thought to ask Olivia for it before.

"You know I lost a perfectly good phone because of that picture," she said from her comfy warm spot.

"You did?" questioned Olivia.

"Yeah"

She lifted her head from Olivia's shoulder and straightened a bit, deciding to rest it against Olivia's now outstretched arm instead. She took a sip of the champagne from the glass Olivia was holding.

"What do you mean?" asked Olivia when it seemed that Casey was not going to elaborate.

"It's kind of embarrassing," said Casey. "I knew it was missing as soon as I walked in after…you know."

Olivia nodded, not wanting to remember that awful period in her life, but knowing she could also not act like it had never happened.

"I knew you had taken it, so I picked up the phone to call you and then I just got so mad, I threw the phone against the wall. Scared the hell out of Jordan, I think."

"I'm sorry," said Olivia wishing for the umpteenth time that she could take it all back.

"We're past that now," said Casey seriously. She smiled and because she just couldn't help it she reached over and kissed Olivia not knowing whether the sweet taste of champagne had originated with her or Olivia and not really caring.

Casey pulled back, leaving sweet small kisses on Olivia's lips as she did. She knew she should just drop it, but there was something she was dying to know.

"Why did you take it?" she asked softly.

Olivia looked at her and smiled.

"At the time, I couldn't have told you why. I couldn't explain to myself why I took it. When I saw it in your apartment that day, it just…I just…I just needed to have it. I needed to have a reminder of us…a reminder that I was incredibly happy once. I used to sit and stare at it for hours. God, I was an idiot. I should have known."

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Casey set down the glass and stroked Olivia's cheek, forcing her eyes open.

"I should have known," Olivia said again as she smiled and continued, "I should have known then because it um…it made me feel better to just look at it."

"I know what that's like," said Casey. "I did that too," she paused. "Thank you for giving it back."

"It was time," answered Olivia. "It's time for a lot of things," she said her eyes tracking to the ring on Casey's right hand.

She turned to face Casey, wrapping Casey's hands in hers and brushing her finger on her new piece of jewelry.

"I've been carrying this ring around for a while, you know."

Casey smiled at that. "How long?" she asked playfully.

"Oh…about 76 days, 2 hours and…" she looked at her watch, "17 minutes."

Casey laughed at that not resisting the temptation to lean in and kiss her again.

"So…" began Olivia once again. "Since we are now officially engaged I think it's safe to tell you that I've given up my apartment."

"What?" said Casey genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, now before you yell at me for not talking to you about it first, let me explain, okay?"

Casey nodded, unsure as to why Olivia thought she was going to yell at her. She hated that apartment; had ever since…well she just hated it.

"I know you hated it after…you know. I haven't been spending any time there. I mean I don't even think I have clothes, books or CDs there anymore," she paused. "Come to think of it, what do I keep there?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Anyway," she continued, "I know we've never talked about living together and I don't know how you feel about shacking up before marriage…" she smiled, "but I couldn't realistically renew that lease, even if I hadn't already planned on asking you to marry me. I don't care where we live Casey. Anywhere you are is my home. And that place ceased being any kind of home the moment you walked out of it with that ridiculous blue bag – which by the way belongs to me."

She paused, waiting for a reaction.

Casey was smiling. Olivia wanted to marry her. Olivia wanted to make a home with her. Life was perfect.

"You want your blue bag back?" asked Casey not able to hold back the laughter.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I guess it's our bag now."

Casey squeezed the hands that were wrapped around hers before letting go and reaching up to cup her face. A single tear was making its way down Olivia's face.

Casey let out a slow breath, her eyes never leaving Olivia's.

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to be able to sleep in my bed after…everything?" she said.

Olivia shook her head.

"I wish I could rattle off the exact time to the minute, but I can't. It was only after we had tentatively found our way back to each other that I was able to go back into that bedroom and sleep on that bed."

Olivia couldn't stand it anymore. She reached for Casey and hugged her hard; thanking every god she could think of for giving them another chance.

They cried a little, mourning the time they had lost, lamenting the pain they had both endured. Finally, when the tears subsided Casey crawled into Olivia's lap straddling her. They stared at each and other and smiled.

"What do you think, Detective? Think you can carry me to our bed?"

"I think," said Olivia before kissing her again; "with the proper," another kiss, "motivation…" The kisses were becoming more frequent and deeper, "I can," another kiss, "do anything."

Suddenly Casey was lifted from the couch. Held securely in Olivia's arms, she continued kissing her until they entered the bedroom. Olivia let her go and she bounced on the bed. She felt Olivia's body land beside her and they turned so they were facing each other.

"I love you," they said in unison. Their lips met in a scorching kiss and then there were no more words.

THE END