Author's note: Hey guys. Just a warning here: this chapter takes place two months after the previous one. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go into a ton of detail about the wedding planning, but I think because of future events in the story, this is the best way to go. As always, please review, so I know how I'm doing. Thanks!

Casey awoke early in the morning to an extremely bright sun. She yawned, stretching catlike on the bed. Glancing over at the empty side of the bed, she paused, her mind fleetingly wondering why it was unoccupied. Then it hit her: it was her wedding day. And Olivia was being stubbornly insistent on "not seeing the bride before the wedding". Casey smiled softly to herself. The older woman had gone out of her way to make this a traditional wedding in every way possible, even going so far as to sleep in a hotel and leave Casey home alone for the night before. Casey couldn't help but feel loved.

Slowly, the attorney stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. Opening the curtains, she looked down at the city below, taking a moment to reflect on the fact that, had they wanted to get married four years ago, it wouldn't have been legal.

Shaking her head, Casey drew the drapes and walked into the closet. Finding her dress, she gently ran her fingers across it, smiling to herself. She was still in the "I can't believe this is happening; it must be a dream" phase. Just as she had carried it into the bedroom and laid it on the bed, her phone vibrated. Grabbing it, she opened the new text message, noting that it was from Olivia. The message was simple, reading "Good morning, Mrs. Benson. I know I'm early in calling you that, but we're only a couple of hours away. And yes, I'm texting you. They only say you can't see the bride before the wedding. Nobody said anything about texting her. Love, Olivia."

Casey giggled as she read the message. Leave it to Olivia to make her feel like a giddy schoolgirl, as opposed to an intelligent attorney. The redhead hit reply and typed "Way to find a loophole. I can't believe we're going to be married in less than five hours!" After hitting send, Casey gently tossed her phone back onto the bed and headed into the bathroom for an early morning shower.

"Where is everyone?" Casey asked an hour later as she made her way up the steps outside of the church.

"Everyone is inside, including Olivia," Alex replied. Her gaze traveled up and down Casey's body. "You look gorgeous."

Blushing almost as red as her hair, Casey replied "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself," she added as she admired the other woman's simple black dress. If anyone would have told her five years ago that Alexandra Cabot would be her maid of honor at her wedding, Casey would have politely told them they were nuts. But ever since she had come back, and now that she and Alex were both working at SVU, she had begun to develop a close friendship with her predecessor. Alex, in addition, was one of the few people who knew that Casey and Olivia were dating, much less getting married. Pulling out of her thoughts, Casey looked at Alex, her emerald eyes meeting the blonde's piercing blue ones. "I'm so nervous," she said, glancing over at the doors leading into the church.

"Why?" Alex asked. "You look beautiful. You're everything Olivia wants, and has ever wanted."

"How do you know?" Casey wondered aloud, immediately cursing herself for saying that when she hadn't meant to.

Alex smiled, revealing a mouth full of perfectly straight white teeth. "Because she told me so. You'll do fine, Casey. Just trust me."

"I hope so," Casey murmured, more to herself than Alex. She glanced at the huge clock above the church and then said "It's 11:55."

"Ready?"

Casey inhaled sharply, then slowly let the breath out as she tried to calm the intense fluttering in her stomach. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she answered. "We better not keep the priest waiting. Or Olivia, for that matter." Having said that, the redhead smoothed out her dress one last time (though it wasn't really needed), took another deep breath, and stood next to the doors, waiting for her cue. When the music started, she looked at Alex, who nodded reassuringly, then began the walk down the aisle, her heart beating so rapidly that she wondered if it was trying to escape her chest. At the other end, she could see the priest, Alex, who had taken the shortcut and was now standing next to the priest, and Olivia, who stood on the priest's opposite side, beaming. Casey smiled softly as their eyes met from across the room, the color rising to her cheeks once more.

Finally completing her walk at the other end of the aisle, Casey barely realized that the music stopped. She returned her lover's smile, and tried desperately to calm her racing heart. It was finally time for Casey Elizabeth Novak to become the wife of Olivia Nicole Benson.

"Can someone pinch me?" Casey asked an hour later from her place on Olivia's lap. They and a selective few of their guests were seated around the table in the backyard of Casey's parents' house.

"I still can't believe you two are married," Munch replied, reaching for the salad. "Of course we've all known all along that Olivia's into women, but none of us ever guessed you two were together."

Fin turned to look at him. "You've never realized that Liv and Casey had a little something going on? Liv's jaw practically drops every time Casey enters the room."

Casey blushed at the same time Olivia shot him a nasty glare. "It does not. Why don't you two try being mature for once?" the brunette asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Munch asked, smirking as he grabbed the dressing. "Especially when you two make such an adorable couple together."

"Well, thank you," Casey answered, smiling at their friends. "We've been together since December 2006, and here we are almost exactly five years later. None of you ever knew, for obvious reasons." She looked at Olivia, smiling softly as her wife kissed her cheek.

Olivia took the cue and continued. "But we decided that, in light of this new step in our relationship, we wanted to share it with those in our life that we trust most. So that meant you three," she clarified, looking from Alex to Fin to Munch. We didn't invite Amaro or Rollins, because we have only known them for a couple of months. It was my call. I don't think I trust them enough to have them here on such an important day as this one. I just don't feel as if I trust either of them enough yet." She glanced over at Munch. "If that gets around," she warned.

"My life will be a living hell, I know. This isn't high school, Liv."

Alex placed the plate of chicken on the end of the table. "But what about Cragen?" she questioned.

Casey shrugged. "Neither one of us feel ready enough to tell Cragen. Maybe he would be understanding, but at the same time, I think he needs to be eased into it, rather than just bombarded with the knowledge that one of his detectives is sleeping with and MARRIED to the ADA." Casey paused, glancing at the nearly empty plate of chicken. "I'll go get some more," she announced, grabbing the plate.

As she headed into the house, she heard Olivia call "I love you, Mrs. Benson."