You guys are THE BEST! I never would finish anything if it wasn't for reviews. Last chapter, by the way.

Chapter 7

The moment Elliot stepped into the hospital room, Casey bolted out of bed and threw herself at him, crying, "Elliot! Oh thank god..."

"Woah, easy there, Case," he laughed, returning the embrace before leading her back to bed. "Lie down and relax for once, one would think a gunshot wound and giving birth would tire you out."

She waved at her gauze-covered shoulder like it was nothing, shaking her head. "Elliot, the doctors won't tell me anything about our son, they took him away from me and now they won't tell me where he is-"

"Calm down, all right? I talked with your doctor; he said our son is fine, they just have to keep him in the ICU because you had him a month early- that's all, Casey. He said that we can take him home in a couple of weeks, but that he is definitely going to be fine." Casey sighed in relief, leaning her head against his chest and closing her eyes for just a moment. "Ah, there it is. I knew you were tired." He led her back to bed and practically forced her to lie down, then glanced at the door and said, "Case, there are some people here to see you, if you're up to it..."

"Is it my boss?"

He laughed, shaking his head at her apprehensive expression. "No, it's not Branch, or your division chief, or anybody else who could be considered your boss."

"All right then, send them in." Elliot opened the door, and the entirety of SVU streamed in- Olivia, Munch, Fin, Cragen, Alex, even Melinda, who appeared to be there just because everybody else was.

"God, the whole cavalry? Wow! And nice doctor work there, Alex, really, I think a blind squirrel could have done better." Alex, whose head was wrapped in a bloody bandage that made her look like a war veteran, smirked and crossed her arms, glaring sullenly at her.

"Shut up. It's all Olivia's fault," she pouted, and Olivia slung an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek before looking back at Casey.

"I made her get her head checked out, turns out, it was worse than we thought, but she'll be fine. And you know I only did it because I love you, Lex," she said, pulling Alex close, but the blond shook her head and glared at her.

"Uh-uh. I told you, I have a headache, I'm not going to play your stupid little games to get me into bed, and besides, I have a new rule- no mouth-to-mouth kissing before the wedding. I'll explain later, right now, it's Casey's day. Listen, Case, I'm sorry this all happened and I ended up getting you shot, I don't know what the hell I was thinking, going after Lindsey the way I did-"

"Shush, Alex- important thing is, no one died. Actually, I don't know that- how exactly do you guys get out of there?"

Elliot chuckled, smiling brightly. "Remember that story I told you about my Gunnery Sergeant with all those rules? Well, his rule number 9 was to always carry a knife. I had one with me, managed to get Lindsey close enough, stabbed her, then grabbed the gun. EMS took care of her, I think she's already in Central Booking. No one else was hurt and I don't think anyone's suing us, so, all's well that ends well."

Casey rolled her eyes but smiled in spite of herself, taking hold of Elliot's hand while Olivia filled her in on what actually happened after she left.

The past two years had been some of the hardest of her life, and Casey knew the emotional trauma from today's events still had to be dealt with in the weeks and months to come. But something Garcia had taught her that she didn't regret was that she could move past anything- at first, after the rape, Casey had begun to wonder if she could ever have her life back. But, with Olivia's help, she had managed to... not really obtain closure, because that was a myth- no, Casey would never forget that night or have the life she had before it, but she had learned what it was like to live again.

It had been the memories of that realization that sustained her after the kidnapping. The incident with Melinda and the syringe had proven that no, she wasn't completely recovered from it, but things had gotten better. And now she had a husband and a child to add to her family- it wasn't the life she had always imagined for herself when she was a kid, not by a long shot, but she loved it all the same.

Garcia had tried to destroy her, and now he was dead, yet she was still alive. Lindsey had almost killed her and her son, and now she was going to jail and her son was going to be fine. Casey had never been a fan of happy endings in books, but in life... well, they were all right.

As Munch punched Fin on the shoulder and the entire group started laughing, Casey looked around and smiled. Maybe they weren't related by blood, but that didn't matter. They were family and loved each other. She wasn't the only one who'd suffered these past few years, but all those people trying to kill them hadn't succeeded

.

Maybe love really does conquer everything, she thought as they broke out into smiles and launched into a discussion of names for her child.

Oh dear god in heaven, that has got to be the worst ending to a story I have ever written. But there you have it- with plot lines stolen from NCIS, cheesy cliches, and plenty of loose ends- the end to my first ever trilogy. Adios!

… Also, for anyone who's interested, I named the son Alexis Stabler. And since I intended for this to be an end to the series when I wrote it, it doesn't really fit the fact that I'm adding at Part 4. Well, I am. Still untitled, but look at my profile for a quick summary. Adios for real this time!