Author's Note: The characters of Law and Order are not mine. Any character that you don't recognize is mine. This is chapter two of When Fate Convenes. my EO fic about when Elliot comes back. I decided to add this as a chapter rather than do it as a oneshot, which is what I'd planned to do in the first place. So, I hope ya'll like!

Chapter Two: Legendary

Three years later

Elliot was being given an award for catching the crooked cops. He bit his lip, trying to decide how to tell Livvy. Lately all talk had been about the wedding. Elliot had been chiming in as much as possible, but it's not like he didn't want Olivia to have what she wanted. So if that meant a Carolina Herrarra dress off the rack, then that's what she got. Elliot had been with Organized Crime for awhile, but he'd trransferred back to SVU. He hadn't been able to be apart from Liv for that long. Eli was set up in a great school, and Calvin came over as often as he could. The boys got along famously.

So now here he was, knowing he was getting an award, but how to tell Olivia? Cragen wahad called, so he knew, but he had to tell the rest of he squad. His new partner was this guy named Jamie Winchesster. He was young, and made Elliot feel old. But it's not like the rest of the team didn't do the same thing when he was in Organized Crime. That was a little confusing, his name being Jamie as well, since the Organized Crime unit had just lost a man named Jamie, but he'd deal.

So now, on the way home, he had to figure out how to tell Liv. She had been out working a case with Jamie, his own partner, (which he came to find she did quite a lot) and he wondered why no one from the higher up brass had called her to tell her one of her detectives was getting an award for catching the Brotherhood. When he got home, he found Eli set up with crayons and a coloring book in front of the tv and Calvin at home, watching him. "Hey, kids. How was your day?" He asked, taking off his jacket and putting it on the coat rack by the front door.

"Hey, Dad." They chorused together. "What do you guys want to eat? It can be something special, Dad has a great announcement." He told them, going to grab a beer from the fridge.

Calvin appraised his father. He wondered what it could be. He pointed to the takeout drawer. "That's the takeout drawer, as I'm sure you know. Anything in there should be able to do the job." He told his father, as he looked over job applications. He'd considered being a police officer, like his adoptive parents, but he wasn't sure that he could take the pressure. So, he'd gone to college. Gotten a writing degree. He was going to write novels, do the short story thing freelance to help bring in some money.

It was the decision he'd come to, and Elliot and Olivia both seemed on board with it.

Rifling through the drawer, Eliot wondered what meal would be best to tell her that he'd been lent to the OC unit and brought down the brotherhood. The brotherhood was a group of dirty cops who were on the take, and they'd stop at nothing to get what they felt they were owed. Elliot didn't see anything that jimped out at him. Then, boom, it hit him. The pizza place. It was right down the block, and it was such a special place to both of them. "Okay. I'm calling in an order of pizza from down the street. It's so special to both of us, and I have really big news."

"Eli, bud, you do your homework?" He asked. School was almost out for the year, so there wasn't much left to do. He didn't know how to start the conversation with his fiancée,but he knew he had to. He was getting an award, for crying out loud. It had just brought up a lot of stuff about his mom and dad that he didn't want to deal with. His brother was taking care of their mother, who had dementia, and Elliot had written his mother off years ago because she was ill and didn't take her meds. Made it hard to be around her. Elliot didn't feel bad about that, despite Randall's efforts to make him feel bad about it. He sent off quick texts to Olivia, Munch, and Fin, telling them to expect some really good news and that they should come round the Stabler-Benson household.

There had been miuch talk about that, about whether Olivia would continue to stay a Benson or become a Stabler. Elliot thought she should, she already was a Stabler in every sense of the word. It hadn't taken much for their relationship to get back to where it had been before Elliot had left. Now, he got lost in the memories of proposing to Olivia two and a half years ago.

Two and a half years ago

Elliot was nervous as hell. He was deciding that now was the time to propose to Olviia. He had a plan, but he wasn't sure it was a good one. It was going to be a nice day, he'd planned a picnic in the park, and he had a very nice ring he'd picked up at a jewlry store. He had wanted his mother's ring to give to her, but that had gone to Maureen, and then Kathleen, and then Elizabeth as her older sisters passed away. Elliot thought this was a better idea anyway. They were beautiful rings, he'd also gotten the wedding rings, it had been on sale, and they went with the engagement ring. He wanted things to be just perfect.

He was waiting in the park for her, she'd been wrapping up a case. So they'd agreed to meet at the park. Central Park was a great place to both of them. He hoped that she'd see it as the romantic gesture that she did. This is when she started to come walking up. Oh shit. Casey, the unit's ADA, was with her. He couldn't go through his plan with Casey there.

"Hey, beautiful. Hey, Casey." Elliot said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Don't worry, Stabler, I'm not staying." Casey told him, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Just making sure Liv got to you safely." She told him, and gave them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek before heading off.

Elliot kissed Olivia hello, a good kiss. One that he felt all the way down to his toes. "Livvy, I have a plan for this dinner, and I need you to pay attention." He had picked up her favorite Chinese food, just two blocks down from the Park. "Please, just hear me out." He said, and watched as Olivia watched him take her hands in his. "Liv, we're finally back together after ten years apart. And there's nothing that I wouldn't change. I needed those ten years to deal with what happened at the precinct. Sister Peg didn't deserve to go out like that. If I heard your voice, I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave."

A breath, and a pause. Then he went back into the words he'd paracticed in the mirror for hours until they sounded just right. "I'm glad that we were able to put all of that behind us. And be a real family with our sons. Because Eli loves you as if you were his own mother. And Calvin's forgiven me for leaving. You have forgiven me for leaving. It seems the next step of our relationship is here. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

It was then that he pulled out the engagement ring. "Olivia Marie Benson, will you marry me?" He asked, watching her face light up with happiness.

Present day

Elliot was taken from his memories when there was a sound at the door, and Olivia came home. It was now or never. To his surprise, Fin and Munch were both with her. They were on time. He hadn't expected that. "Okay. Well, dinner's not ready because I'm ordering from that pizza joint we like, but I will tell you my good news." He looked at all of them, and then at Olivia. She was looking at him with an expectant look on her face. Elliot let out a breath. "Guys, I'm being given an award for catching and stopping the brotherhood."

There, it was out. Would they have to talk about it later? He was sure that they would.

Watching her fiancé's face, Olivia knew that there was more to the story. She dkidn't want to pressure him, but she knew that he'd been nervous to tell her about the award. She knew about it of course, Fin had told her that the chief of Ds had been looking for her from 1 PP when she got back to the squadroom. Then he'd told her about the award. "I know, El, and I'm so proud of you." She said, giving him a kiss. "The chief told me when he stopped by the station." She told him, and he nodded, as if it was something that he should have known.

Olivia said, "I'll go to the pizza place with you. Gives us some time for Jackie to get here." Jackie was of course Fin and Munch's daughter. She was sixteen, and she was coming from the Upper West Side, where their apartment was. Liv's was still in Manhattan, it shouldn't take Jackie long to get there. Olivia kissed Elliot again. "I'm going to go and put on something a bit more casual and then we can go and get the pizza." She told him, and headed off towards the bedroom.

Putting on a soft, well worn pair of jeans, a tank top, and one of Elliot's dress shirts, she headed back downstairs. "Come on, El, let's go. We know what everyone likes on their pizza." She said, giving Elliot a smile when he saw her wearing one of his shirts. He loved when she wore his clothes. They left the apartment building, and heaaded down the street to the pizza place.

"How was your day, El? I know that you don't want this award. You didn't want to tell me or Calvin. Does it remind you too much of your dad? What's going on with you? You know that you can tell me anything. I know how difficult it was with them your whole life. You can tell me how you really feel about this award thing." She told him, as they walked down the street. It was a nice day. Oliiva was glad that Elliot was getting the recognition he deserved.

Yeah, he knew that this was coming. He sighed as they turned the corner and headed down the street. He pulled out his phone and called up their website to order the pizzas. He knew what everyone liked. "You're right. I didn't want to tell you. Because I knew that we were going to have to have a talk about how it makes me feel." Elliot sighed. "Yeah, my dad was in the brotherhood." He told her, and his heart was pounding out of his chest. They'd kept that part quiet, no one knew. "We kept that out of the press. No one knows. I don't know what to do with the information."

As he finished ordering and put his phone away, Olivia took his arm. She held onto him tightly. "You don't have to do anything with it, El. It can stay a secret. Your dad's dead, it's not as if anyone is going to go poking around and try to expose him. Just keep it to yourself. El, I'm sorry that your dad was a dirty cop. That must be hard for you to bear. I'm sorry. I know how much your parents put you through as a kid." She did, and she knew that she didn't blame him for needing to put some distance between them and him.

"You aren't your dad, El. And you love your kids. You would never do to them what they did to you."

It was painful, thinking about what his parents had done to him. Joseph Stabler had been one to use his kids and his wife as punching bags, and Elliot was glad that he'd met Kathy and gotten her pregnant, in a way. He changed the subject. "So, Captain Benson, are you going to be Captain Stabler? You know I'd love to see you have my name. So that everyone knows you're mine." Wearing his ring wasn't enough for him. There were so many guys that would want to put their hands on her, try to claim her as theirs. But if she was Captain Stabler, then they would be stopped in their tracks. It was definitely something that Elliot wanted. He wanted her to bear his name. There had to be a reason she hadn't found someone while he was gone. She wanted to be his. Like she had been before.

"Calvin has my name. Don't you want to match our kid?" He asked, brushing a hand across his shaved head.

She knew that Elliot wanted her to take his name. "Speaking of wedding stuff, I have some things in a magazine I want to show you for the wedding." Olivia told him, as tbey reached the pizza place. There was a line specifically for people who ordered on the app, and they got in it. "And if you want me to be Captain Stabler so badly, then I'll do it." She knew he needed something that he considered a win, and that was something she could give him. He grinned and gave her a kiss. They stood in the pizza line and kissed deeply, like a couple of teenagers.

Who are you and who am I
To think that we could ever fly?
It don't pay to even try
Work, get paid, and just get by
Sons of sons, bricks on bricks
What's broken you don't try to fix
'Round here, there ain't no whys and itfs
You don't pick up what you can't lift

I raise my hands up to the sky
Don't need more to tell me I'm alive

Got what I want 'cause I got what I need
Got a fistful of friends that'll stand up for me
Right where I am is where I wanna be
Friday night comes around like a song
Sweet Caroline, and we all sing along
Got my brown eyed girl, and she believes in me
Legendary

The ceremony was hard, but everyone came and supported him. Even Cragen. That could be because Elliot called him. He didn't know why, he just had thought it was a good idea. Now they were back home at the apartment, Calvin was at his own, Eli had his old room, actually, and they were in bed. Elliot's hand was snaking up Olivia's leg, an they were kissing. Elliot pulled her on top of him, and he pushed his hands up underneath Olivia's short nightie. He reached up and cupped her breasts. He pinched her nipples gently, and Olivia arched into his touch. She leaned down to kiss him, as Elliot's hands kept touching her breasts.

She ground her hips against his, feeling his cock getting harder. She was glad that they were both clean, they could do this condom free. It felt so much better without a condom. Olivia wasn't wearing any panties, and she worked his hard cock inside her, feeling him fill her up. It felt so good. "Oh fuck, El." She breathed against his lips. She kissed him again, and began to move on top of him. They fucked hard, Elliot taking her nightie off and tossing it to the floor. She rode him, up and down, up and down. His cock filled her, and she could feel an orgasm building. It felt so good to have Elliot inside her. It had been too long.

Just as she was coming, Elliot came. He spilled his seed inside her, and she laid against him briefly before she squeezed around him and then eased off of him and laid next to him on the bed. She pulled the comforter over top of her, knowing she should put her nightie back on, in case Eli needed to come in in the middle of the night. She turned to him, wrapping an arm around him easily. "So, are we going to talk about your parents? Didn't you say your older brother was keeping an eye on your mom? Have you been to see her at all? No judgment if you haven't. I'm here to be here for you, not judge you about the choices you make."

Ugh, not this again. Elliot didn't talk about his parents. It never ended well. Elliot knew that Olivia was just trying to help him. He knew that. He just didn't want to talk about his parents. "My dad was a piece of shit, Livvy. He beat us, he beat my mom. I can't even feel sorry for her because she was a terrible mother. She was sick and didn't take her meds. One night she almost killed me, I was a little kid." Elliot said, he couldn't imagine what it was like to be with someone who beat you, when you were already ill on top of it. But you put your kids first. That's how it went. Your kids were supposed to be the most important people in your life.

"I don't know what else to say. Finding out my dad was a dirty cop isn't something that threw me for a loop. I was just like, oh, okay, my dad took money and goods for his services. I wish I could say that it surprised me, but it didn't. He just wasn't a good person, Liv. I'm okay, really."

None of that sounded like he was okay. Olivia shook her head. "You're not okay, Elliot. Your daughter had the same disease your mother does and she's dead. And she was the one who took her meds like she was supposed to. You haven't dealt with that pain, either. Nor have you dealt with what your mother did to you. You have to start dealing with this stuff, El. I know that you think you can just get by like you have, but you can't. Things between us will get better even if you start talking with someone about this stuff." Olivia said, burying her face in his neck.

All of what she was saying was true, but something that had been niggling at him for the last year or so popped on in. "Olivia, we could talk about my dad, or we coild adopt a baby together, which I know is what you want. Please, boy or girl, but I think boy, he'd enjoy having brothers." She lifted her head to took at him, and gave him a grin, "Okay. Baby names, go!"

This was sad while ticking commenced, amd Elliot didn't get a chance to tell her that any names she wanted were fine with him.

I know this town like the back of my hand
Everry crack in the sidewalk tells me who I am
Love and you love is the law of the land
These are their dreams, thia is where we stand

Raise my hands up to the sky
Don't need more to tell me I'm alive

Hot what I want 'cause I got what I need
Got a fistful of friends that'll stand up for me
Right where I am is right where I want to be
Friday night comes around like a song
Sweet Caroline and we all sing along
Got my brown eyed girl, and she beliieves in me
Legenedary

Who are you and I
To think that we ever could fly?

Got my brown eyed girl, and she bellievess in me.
Legendary

That's when they got that call that neither of them ever wanted to get. That call to inform them that their family was just a bit smaller Olivia had to check on Fin, who has funeral arrangements to make. Ellot was relagted to kid duty. John Munch had been taken ftom them way way way way too soon.