Prompt #67: Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley or UB40

You Made Me Love You

~oOo~

Detective Dominick 'Sonny' Carisi Jr. stood next to his Lieutenant at the window of a maternity room watching in horror as the doctors worked to save the life of Detective Amanda Rollins.

There were complications with her pregnancy and she was in severe pain.

One minute she was chatting with her two friends and the next she was writhing in the bed and screaming and sobbing with tears streaming down her face.

Lieutenant Olivia Benson had yelled for the doctor who had immediately ordered her and Carisi out of the room upon entering it.

Now the two of them stood side by side praying that their friend and her unborn child would survive.

Amanda wasn't Carisi's wife or even his girlfriend. This baby was not his. But that didn't mean he wasn't devastated. Amanda was his best friend. In all honesty, he loved her, even though he couldn't bring himself to tell her. He was barely able to admit it to himself.

Olivia seemed to sense his worry. She was worried too, but she did her best to reassure her detective. She recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look she'd always tried to keep from her own eyes whenever her former partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, had been injured or in danger on the job. Even four years after he'd left without a word, it still hurt to think of him. She forced him out of her mind.

She put a hand on Carisi's shoulder and said, "She'll be ok. They both will."

"Yeah? How can ya be so sure?"

Olivia shrugged and smiled sadly.

"They have to be. We just have to have faith and believe that. I refuse to believe otherwise."

Carisi looked at her for a moment before simply nodding.

"Yeah."

As it turned out, Amanda and the baby did end up being ok, but it was touch and go for a while. Amanda had placenta previa and had nearly died in childbirth.

During that time, their close friend Detective Fin Tutuola joined Olivia and Carisi at the hospital. They all took shifts so Amanda wouldn't be alone too much.

Carisi spent a lot of time in the chapel praying.

"I can't lose her, God. I just can't!"

It wasn't wrong for Carisi to love Amanda per se. The baby's father was no longer in the picture. But Carisi didn't feel right asking a new single mom to pursue a relationship. The fact that they worked together also complicated things. Carisi wouldn't let that stop him from being there for Amanda and her baby girl, though. He would settle for being a good friend to Amanda and an honorary uncle to baby Jesse.

A few days later, Amanda had recovered and Carisi, Olivia, and Fin came together to take her and Baby Jesse home.

Over the next few weeks, the squad stepped up to help Amanda like a family should. Carisi was there the most.

Amanda was beginning to feel closer and closer to Carisi and it was getting harder and harder to hide her feelings or deny them even to herself. Carisi was so wonderful with baby Jesse and Amanda loved watching him. The moment Amanda was finally able to admit to herself that she was head over heels in love with Sonny Carisi came when the two of them were walking Jesse around the neighborhood in her stroller one day two weeks after Jesse was born. Jesse got fussy and wouldn't settle for Amanda, so Carisi picked the baby up and bounced her. Jesse instantly settled. It was like the guy was the baby whisperer or something. Amanda literally melted. The look on her face would have betrayed her feelings if Carisi had been looking in her direction.

Carisi continued to support Amanda on the job and off, and one day, it all came to a head.

Their sergeant, Mike Dodds, was killed in the line of duty. His death hit the entire squad hard. It taught them that things could change in an instant and that life was too short to leave the important things unsaid.

Later in the evening the day of the funeral, Carisi made dinner for Amanda at her place. After Jesse was asleep, he sat her down and told her how he really felt.

"Listen, Manda, I know you have trouble trusting any man really, but I realized after what happened to Mike that life is too short to let fear keep us from saying the important things."

"Sonny…" Amanda began, but Carisi held up his hand to stop her.

"Please, 'Manda, just let me finish."

Amanda nodded at him to continue, which he did.

"I love you, Amanda Rollins. I love you and I love Jesse as my own. I know working together complicates things but we can deal with that when we have to. I'm in law school anyway so I'll probably be transferring to the D.A.'s office eventually. If you aren't ready to say it back yet, that's ok. I can wait for you to be ready. We can go as slow as you want."

Amanda was a bit shaky by the time Carisi stopped talking. Taking a deep breath she confessed, "Sonny…I love you, too. Have for several months now. I couldn't help falling for you. I've loved you since that day out on the sidewalk when you calmed Jesse. I knew them you'd make such a good daddy someday, but later that night, I had to admit I didn't want you to be just a daddy. I wanted you to be Jesse's daddy. Because I couldn't stand the thought of you being with anyone else. I don't want to do life without you. I need you by my side. Jesse needs you in her life. You are one of the only two men I trust implicitly and the only man I trust with my heart."

"I ain't goin' anywhere," Carisi promised with a gentle smile full of love.

Amanda stood up on her toes and kissed Carisi tenderly on the lips. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

Once they pulled apart, Amanda had one stipulation.

"We don't disclose until we absolutely have to."

"Deal," agreed Carisi. They fell back onto the sofa and just cuddled each other close for a long time.

Finally, Carisi whispered, "I love you so much, Amanda Marie Rollins."

Amanda snuggled further into him, returning softly, "I love you, Dominick Salvatore Carisi Jr."

Then, the two of them sat quietly, just enjoying the warmth they felt from simply being together.

The author of this SVU - Love Leads You Home story will be revealed in March