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Nervousness, that was what filled Olivia Benson's gut as she arrived at the diner she was meeting her fiancé Elliot Stabler and his aunt at for lunch. If she remembered correctly, the aunt in question was on his mother's side, which relieved Olivia a little bit. Bernadette had been sweet to her since their first meeting, so Olivia could only hope her sister would be the same way. When she had gotten dressed that morning Olivia had decided on a long sleeved black V-neck shirt and a pair of black yoga pants, and she could only hope she wasn't underdressed. She spotted Elliot immediately by the way he grinned when she entered the diner. With quick steps she reached him and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as she sat down. "I am so sorry I'm late, traffic was awful," she explained, leaving out the ten minutes she had spent in the car just trying to mentally prepare herself."It's alright, Liv. It gave me and my aunt some time to catch up. She works even crazier hours than we do, somehow," he stated with a smile as he gestured to the white haired woman sitting across from them. Before Elliot had a chance to introduce the two of them, Olivia's jaw dropped as she looked at her soon-to-be aunt-in-law."Victoria Winslow is your aunt?" She softly asked him, the astonishment evident in her tone as she looked between the two of them. Without waiting for a response she turned back to Victoria. A chuckle escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes. "I knew the Russian by the door looked familiar. Either you and Ivan are back together, or you're losing your edge and didn't realize you had a tail," Olivia teased.Elliot looked from his fiancée, the woman he adored, to his aunt, and back again. "A. Who is Ivan? And B. How the hell do the two of you know each other?" He asked. It was clear to both women that Elliot was unsure how they knew each other, other than the obvious age gap between the two women. Olivia was the epitome of justice, and his aunt Victoria's work was slightly less than legal in most cases."I have known Victoria for most of my life, El. She was close friends with my adoptive parents when I was younger, back before mom died. But we haven't seen each other or spoken since I was seventeen, early eighteen at the latest," she explained with a shrug. "And Ivan was her lover when she was younger, she shot him once, for a mission, of course. Now Victoria, you don't come to the states, better yet, New York unless you need Dad's help. What's going on?""Nothing we can talk about in front of Elliot, he's a cop. And plus, he hasn't met your father yet, has he?" Olivia bit the inside of her cheek as she looked away from the older woman, breaking eye contact. That was all the confirmation Victoria needed that Elliot had yet to meet Olivia's dad."I'm a cop too, Victoria. Whatever you need to say to my father, you can say to me, and anything you have to say to me, you can say to Elliot. We don't have any secrets," Olivia said.Elliot chuckled and kissed her head. "Except who your father is," he joked, resulting in both women rolling their eyes at him.After they had all enjoyed their lunch they rose, almost in unison. "Livvie, I really do need to speak with your dad about something important. Does he still live in the same house?" She noticed the slight flinch of the brunette's shoulders at the mention of her childhood nickname, one she hadn't heard since before her mother had died."Yeah, I'll drive. El, do you want to come meet my dad? I don't know how he'll react to you, but he does need to meet you before it's time for me to walk down the aisle." The extra teasing on the word before made Elliot chuckle as he shook his head."If whatever's going on is even nearly as important as my Aunt is making it sound, I don't want to intrude, and I'm still kind of scared of meeting him. But I will gladly go with you next time," Elliot told her and squeezed her hand lightly. "I love you.""I love you too, El, so much." As the three of them made their way to the door, Olivia patted Ivan on the back lightly, a smirk on her face. "I made you the second I walked through the door, pozhiloy chelovek (old man)," she teased as she passed him."Good to see you too, kozlenok (kid)," Ivan replied in a thick Russian accent as he turned to look at her before following her and Victoria to Olivia's car while Elliot made his way to his own, waiting until Olivia had driven off before he climbed inside his.When they reached Olivia's childhood home, she turned in the driver seat to look at Victoria. "Now, what the hell is going on? And how is dad involved? He's retired, just like the rest of you should be." Ivan stayed silent in the backseat, deciding that it might be best if Victoria explained the situation.Victoria sighed as she clasped her hands in her lap, the picture of regal beauty as she tried to find the right words. "Your father isn't as retired as he would have you believe, Olivia. I ask that you reserve all anger and questions until I finish speaking, please. Three months ago your dad learned that the rest of us, except for John, helped your mother to fake her death back when you were eighteen," she stated calmly before getting out of the car, leaving Olivia in shock."Are you alright, Olivia?" Ivan inquired kindly, softly, as he reached between the seats to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her before she stormed into her dad's house, the only real home she had ever known, though she'd have been an idiot not to know that Ivan was right behind her."Dad, where are you?" She shouted angrily. When she entered the living room she found a plethora of familiar faces, and a woman around her age that she didn't recognize. Her dad, John, Frank, Marvin, and Victoria all sitting there. Frank had his arm around the woman she didn't know, and he seemed rather protective of her. The only person that wasn't there was Joe. "Where's Joe?"Frank and Victoria exchanged a look, as if there was something she didn't know. Marvin didn't seem to notice the look, because he turned to her, a sad sort of look on his face. "Joe died, back in 2010. The CIA was after all of us, especially Frank, and so Joe sacrificed himself so that the rest of us could escape," he explained. Olivia tried to fight back the tears, but one slid down her cheek as she tried to figure out what to say."So, he's dead, just like mom, or dead like Serena, my bio mom, who really is dead?" Her dad looked at her, surprise evident in his reaction. "And according to Vic, you've know about mom being alive for three months, dad. Is that true?"He sighed and stood up, so that they were somewhat eye to eye. "Liv...""Yes, or no, dad?" There were more tears falling down her cheeks now."...yes, I knew that your mom was alive. I've been trying to figure out the best way to tell you. My finding out was purely accidental, I was trying to get ahold of Victoria, so I called the number for the Monaco safehouse, and your mom answered the phone," he stated softly, wanting to console his daughter, who just shook her head, turned on her heel, and walked out of the house, letting the door close noisily behind her.As he started to follow her, John stopped him. "Let her go, Don. She needs time, and you honestly might just make it worse," he said from his seat on the couch, where he had been trading conspiracy theories with Marvin before Olivia stormed in."How could I make it worse? I'm her dad.""Her dad who lied to her for three months about her mother, Donald," Victoria pointed out.Her breathing was labored as she unlocked the door to her apartment, still trying to stave off a panic attack. She flopped down on her couch, burying her face in a pillow before the tears finally started to fall again. It was an hour before Elliot got home and found her like that, in the same exact position. "Liv, baby, what happened?" He questioned as he ran to her side, crouching in front of the couch, by her head."Do you remember me telling you about my dead mom, the one that adopted me, not Serena?" She asked as she sat up slowly, almost scared to meet his eyes for some reason. He nodded, and waited or her to continue. "Well, according to multiple people, my mom's alive. She faked her death when I was eighteen, and I have no fucking clue why. Who does that to their child?" Elliot pulled her to his chest and kissed her forehead as he held her. "Is it bad that I want to find her, to confront her?""No, that's completely understandable, and I support whatever you decide to do, baby. Just know that I love you, and I always will." She kissed his lips gently, seeming to relax slightly.After a minute she stood up. "I need to find her, so I'm leaving town for a few days, okay? But I'll try to hurry back." She pulled him into another kiss, less gentle, more full of love and adoration.As soon as Olivia had finished packing and left the apartment Elliot pulled out his phone and called Munch. "Is she with you?" Munch questioned as soon as he answered the phone, clearly worried about Olivia."She just left our apartment, and I don't know exactly where she's going, but she said that she's going to find her mom, her adoptive one, who is apparently alive. I just thought you should know," he stated."Thank you for letting me know. I'll track her down and keep her out of trouble." There was nothing else to say, so both men ended the call, but one thing ran through Elliot's head. How the hell was Munch going to track her down?
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Olivia had taken the first available flight out of New York to Monaco, using one of her many aliases that she'd had over the years. Using her laptop on the plane Wi-Fi she had paid for, and the portable VPN she always brought with her, she had found the safehouse everyone had told her about when she was growing up, and the very minimal details on the current owner, Marilyn Castile, an alias she vaguely remembered her mom using over the years. She tried not to think about the fact that the woman she was looking for, hunting almost, was her mom, the woman who had helped to rescue her from her abusive biological mother, the woman who had shown her what real motherly love and compassion was. Because any time she thought too hard about that, her heart seemed to break a little bit.When the plane landed she made her way through security, grabbing her luggage, which was just a plain black duffle bag with some extra clothes and toiletries, and another bag that was waiting for her, a violin case with her initials attached on a card, tied by a red ribbon. As she hailed a taxi in front of the airport she turned her phone back on, being met with a text from Fin, asking where she, Munch, and Cragen were. Great, her dad and Munch knew where she was headed, which meant the others did as well. She shot back a quick reply with some excuse that she didn't feel well, and as she put her cellphone down she noticed she had a voicemail from Maureen."Hey, mom...I mean Liv...no, I don't. I know you and dad technically aren't married yet, but you're already pretty much my second mom, and have been for years, since we all first met you. Well, anyways, dad said you were out of town and not to bother you, but I don't listen, as you know. He got a call today that your wedding dress is ready, whenever you're able to pick it up. But if you need, I can pick it up after class today, it's up to you. I've gotta go because I need to get to class, but I love you, mom. Okay, bye," Maureen said over the voicemail, sounding extra sheepish each time she called Olivia "mom," which made Olivia's heart melt as she opened her text messages to reply, not trusting her voice at the moment."Hey, sweetheart, thank you for letting me know my dress is ready, I will pick it up in a few days, but thank you for offering. I love you, Mo, feel free to text me anytime, sweetie." She sent the message with a pink heart emoji added at the end.The taxi stopped at her destination, so she pulled out twenty euros and gave them to the driver, knowing that it was more money than she owed, but she didn't have time to wait for her change. "Merci beaucoup (Thank you very much)," she said politely before stepping out of the taxi with her bags, headed into the gas station bathroom. She dropped her duffle bag onto the floor carelessly, but was much more careful with the violin case she set on top of the sink. There wasn't really a violin inside the case, however there was a ring of keys, including one for a Maserati she had seen in the parking lot, but hadn't dared to hope was for her. There was also a couple of guns, multiple explosive devices, a beautiful butterfly knife, and a prepaid cellphone. Olivia turned her personal phone off, slipping it into her bra as she turned on the prepaid phone and texted the only number programed into the phone. "Thank you, package is secure." She then reached into the duffle bag, pulling out a maid uniform, not a sexy one, but the kinds that actual maids in Monaco wore.After changing her clothes and fitting all of the weapons onto her person she picked up her bag, and case, headed to the black Maserati. Once inside she programed the GPS with the address of her mother's safehouse, and started the thirty minute drive. Olivia tried not to think about the large pit in her stomach at the idea of seeing her mother again for the first time in almost twenty years. Not to mention the fact that she'd probably have to pull a gun on her own mother to keep from getting herself killed.When she arrived at the house she got the cleaning supplies that went with her uniform out of the trunk, making her way to the front door. She let out a slow, anxious breath before she plastered a fake, polite smile on her face and rang the doorbell. When the front door opened the gut punch of seeing her mother, older than the last time they had seen each other, but still her mother, was worse than she had expected. It took here a second to remember how to speak, let alone how to speak French. "Hello, I'm the new maid," she stated kindly, in perfect French.The older woman let her enter the house, but when Olivia turned around mere seconds later with one of her guns raised, the other woman had a gun aimed directly at her head. "I don't have a maid, new or old. Who are you, really?" "Marilyn" questioned in perfect French."No one of consequence," Olivia answered, neither lowering their guns.Just as "Marilyn" got ready to speak again the door bust open, and there were Victoria, Ivan, Frank, the mystery woman he had been with at Cragen's house, Marvin, Munch, and Cragen. Victoria, Frank, Ivan, and Marvin's guns all raised and pointed at the two women "Why don't we all put our guns down like the nice ladies you both are?" Victoria asked with a smile. Olivia rolled her eyes, "Marilyn" sighed, but both women lowered their guns and turned to the rest of them."You know this chick, Vicki?" "Marilyn" asked, her eyebrow raised as she gestured to Olivia."What are all of you doing here? We weren't going to kill each other, or at least I wasn't going to kill her," Olivia said sarcastically, refusing to look at her mother as she looked at Munch, the only one she still trusted. "And I'm guessing my loving fiancé called you."Munch nodded, choosing his next words carefully. "He did, and I for one am glad he did. What exactly was your plan here? Suicide by spy?" He questioned, the last question more accusatory than he had intended."Wow, can you tone down the assholery, John? I am fine! I am pissed at her husband and her best friend, but I am not going to get myself killed over it. I wouldn't do that to the people who actually give a fuck about me," she snapped furiously, jabbing her finger in "Marilyn's" general direction each time she said her. Olivia chose her next words carefully, not wanting "Marilyn" to know who she really was. "I mean, pretty much everyone lied to me, except for you, only because you didn't know. You know, I was just starting to work with you guys, and befriend her daughter Livvie when Marge, Marilyn, whatever the fuck her name is, died. But I remember her, more importantly I remember the way Livvie crumbled and pushed literally everyone, including her dad out of her life for months. Eventually she let her dad back in, but that was after she spent so long self-destructing, all because of a woman who wasn't really dead."Because Marge was not in her line of sight, Olivia let the tears fill her eyes, but she didn't let them fall, she couldn't. When she saw her dad in the doorway, the room suddenly felt too small. "What are you doing here, Cragen?" She asked, her voice taking on a more professional tone as she met his eyes, her tears fading fast. No longer his daughter, now the stubborn cop he had scolded more than a few times along with her partner."Checking on you because you seem pissed on my daugher's behalf when you found out that my wife faked her death," he replied, sticking with the way she had spoken just moments prior, sensing that she did not want Marge to know who she was. "How you holding up?"As she opened her mouth to answer, Munch's phone rang. "Hey, partner, what's up?" She didn't hear what Fin said, but the way Munch's eyes flicked over to hers let her know Elliot was involved. As soon as he hung up he looked at her. "That was Fin, we need to get back to New York, and fast. Elliot was shot," he said. She saw lips moving, both Cragen's and Victoria's, but she heard no sound come from either of them as Olivia felt her world start to crumble around her all over again. She pulled her cell phone, the new one, out, and pressed call on the only number programmed."Hey, Casey. How fast do you think you can get a group of nine people back to New York City?"
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Just as she hung up her phone call she heard the first spray of bullets start, as did everyone else. She had never seen a group of people hit the floor so quickly. "Is anyone hit?" She questioned, reaching for the gun on her hip. It wasn't her police gun, and it packed a heavier punch for a handgun. She loaded the Glock 18 with practiced ease, crawling to the window."We're fine. What gun is that? For the love of God, that better not be a Glock 18," Cragen stated in the most fatherly tone she had heard in a while. She didn't answer, or even look at him as she poked her head out to survey the amount of attackers, but ducked before the shooting started again. Marge's eyes widened in surprise when she actually looked at her husband, but Cragen didn't look at her, his eyes on Olivia, making sure she didn't get herself killed, not that Marge realized that. All she could see was that the man she loved was staring at a significantly younger woman. Everyone had their guns out, starting to shoot back at the bastards trying to kill them.Olivia made her way to the door while ducked down, staying out of the line of fire. "Victoria, you still as good of a thrower as I remember?" She asked with the smallest hint of a smile. She was clearly still unhappy with the older woman, but currently put that aside so that they all made it out alive.The answer came from John. "For the love of God, you are not playing baseball with a shrapnel grenade...again," he stated matter-of-factly as he looked at Olivia. When everyone except for Olivia and Victoria looked at him, clearly confused he decided to explain. "I have a VIVID memory of Victoria throwing a shrapnel grenade in the air and this one hitting it like it was a baseball one time." He turned his attention back to Olivia. "And I promised your fiancé I would keep you out of trouble.""Well then, do you have a better idea than this one, Johnathan? If so, I believe we'd all love to hear it," Victoria said as Olivia carefully rolled the grenade across the floor to her. "Margie, we're going to break one of these chairs. But I'll pay you back." Victoria grabbed the grenade, and slid a broken chair leg over to Olivia."Swing, batter, batter," Olivia muttered under her breath as she held the chair leg up like a baseball bat. The way Victoria was going to throw it, Olivia didn't need to put a bunch of effort, just enough to get it through the window. When Olivia hit the grenade it exploded on impact, shooting the shrapnel at the people outside of the window. She hit the ground just as the screaming started. More gunshots sounded, but it wasn't from the people shooting at them, it was a different group of people. "Looks like backup is here," Olivia stated with a smirk, reaching for the shotgun Munch had slid toward her moments ago and spinning to face the door as it started to open.Just as she raised her gun a redhead entered the room, her gun raised. "So, a little birdie told me you guys needed your asses saved," the redhead joked when her eyes met Olivia's. The sigh of relief that escaped Olivia when she saw the redhead made everyone except Cragen and Munch look at her in surprise."And we thank you for that. But what the hell is a former Manhattan ADA doing saving our asses here in Monaco, Casey?" Cragen asked with a smile on his face as everyone slowly got to their feet, though Olivia was wobbling slightly. "Shit, you're bleeding," Cragen realized and practically ran to her side, while Victoria grabbed the first-aid kit, going to help him."I'm fine, Cap," Olivia said rather professionally, trying and failing at waving off his concern."I think the better question is what the hell are a Manhattan SVU Captain, sergeant, and a detective all doing in Monaco getting shot at?" Casey replied with a laugh as Victoria and Cragen bandaged Olivia's arm while she continued to protest.Since Olivia and Cragen were too busy softly squabbling over whether or not she needed stitches in her arm from the shrapnel, Munch took it upon himself to answer Casey. "Cragen and I were tracking her down because she decided to go rogue," he explained."I was looking for Cragen's wife, since she decided to pull a Cabot and fake her death," Olivia grumbled as Cragen finished wrapping an ACE bandage around her arm.Casey nodded in understanding. "Ah, well, I believe we should all get out of here. What's taking you guys back to New York so soon?" She asked as everyone made their way out to where a bunch of large trucks were parked, waiting."My lovely fiancé got shot," Olivia explained, resulting in an irritated groan from Munch, already knowing what Cragen would say, and a surprised but pissed off sound from Cragen, not that Olivia bothered to look at either of them."Elliot Stabler is your fiancé?" Cragen questioned as Olivia climbed into the back of a truck, the rest of the group following her without any argument. "Munch, I'm gonna have to partner you with Stabler when we all get back to work."Munch smiled ever so slightly, glanced at Olivia, and then looked at Cragen. "I already know that. Me, her, and Elliot already discussed it, when they told me that they were engaged." Now the irritable groan came from Olivia as she sunk down from her seat to the floor of the bed of the truck. She didn't even have to look at her dad to be able to picture the furious look on his face that Munch had known before him.Cragen walked over, slowly sinking down to sit next to her. Everyone else was on the opposite side of the truck bed, letting them have their private moment. "I wanted to tell you, dad I really did, but Munch made an excellent point about just how pissed you would be, and I didn't want to lose El. He makes me happy, happier than I've been since I was a teenager, and it's not like he even knows that you're my dad.""Do his kids, and Kathy know about you and him?""Of course they do. We told them before we were even really serious, and Munch only found out a few months ago, after we had gotten engaged. Dickie is going to be the ring bearer, and Lizzie's going to be the flower girl. Mo and Katie are both going to be bridesmaids, and even Kathy's going to be at the wedding." Olivia let out a shaky breath as she finally met his eyes. "I love him, dad. Somewhere between the cruel cases, the fights, and the way he comforted me after each heartbreak, my feelings far surpassed friendship, and I love his kids too, they're practically mine."On the plane Olivia was sitting in between Victoria and Casey when she finally turned her personal phone back on. She was met with a plethora of text messages and missed calls. They were all from the Stabler girls, minus Lizzie, and the rest of the people in hers and Elliot's orbit who knew that he had been shot. Victoria, who could sense the anxiety coming off of Olivia in waves, bumped her shoulder, pulling the younger woman out of her thoughts. "Do you have any pictures of your wedding dress yet?"Olivia grinned and nodded as she opened her photo album, looking for the one titled Wedding Stuff. As she looked for one specific photo everyone else moved closer, their interests piqued by the word wedding. "Can the rest of us see too?" Munch asked with a smile as he sat down across from Olivia."Since when do you like wedding stuff?" Cragen asked with a laugh."I mean, I've been married three times. I had to have liked something about it," Munch joked with a shrug.Marge, who had sat down next to Munch, across from Victoria, turned to him in surprise. "How has one man been married three times in the past fifteen plus years?" She questioned with the smallest hint of a smile, clearly joking."How is someone who's funeral I went to sitting right next to me, breathing, fifteen plus years later?" He shot back without any hesitation. Olivia had to cover her mouth to stifle her laugh as she finally found the photo she had been looking at.She passed the phone to Victoria, who's jaw dropped as she admired the photo. "Feel free to pass the phone around so everyone else can see it too. But don't let Cragen see it," Olivia added. Cragen raised his eyebrow in confusion, but he didn't push the question. The dress was dark red, off the shoulder, backless, and flowed down like a ball gown. The bodice of the dress had intricate patterns of black lace on top of the red dress that went down her full skirt.
It was her favorite article of clothing that she had ever owned, and she had felt like a princess the first time she had tried it on. "Your dress is stunning, darling, and I believe Elliot will agree," Victoria stated with a smile. Everyone who saw the photo was quick to echo Victoria's sentiments as Olivia rested her head on Victoria's shoulder, the way she had quite often as a child.As the plane landed, hours later, Olivia's phone started ringing, and her heart stopped when Kathleen's name popped up on the screen. She fought to keep her voice even as she answered the call, raising the phone to her ear. "Hey, Katie. What's wrong?""Maureen and I are going to kill our father. The man checked out of the hospital against medical advice. We're headed to the precinct now," she stated matter-of-factly.Olivia sighed, relieved that that was all it was. "Okay, sweetheart. I'll be there in just a little bit, 'kay?""Yeah, Liv, love you.""Love you too."Cragen looked at her worriedly. "Everything okay?""My lovely, idiotic fiancé checked out of the hospital against medical advice."
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When the group, minus Casey who had to immediately fly back to Monaco, got to the precinct they heard Fin scolding Elliot. "Liv's gonna kill you when she finds out you left the hospital against medical advice," they all heard Fin say."No, I am not going to kill him, Fin. However, I will not be stopping Maureen and Kathleen from killing him for making such a stupid decision," Olivia stated as she entered the bullpen, immediately walking over to her fiancé. "Okay, where did you get shot, El?" He gave her a look, a silent statement telling her not to worry, not that she was going to listen. "Tell me, or I am going to start poking you until either I find the injury, or you tell me."He looked into her eyes, waiting for her to tell him she was joking. Her finger was aimed at him, poised to poke him at a moments notice. "You wouldn't do that to me," he said with a bit of certainty as he looked into the eyes of the woman he adored.Olivia didn't so much as break eye-contact with Elliot as she spoke, shifting her weight to her other leg feeling slightly dizzy as she did. "Munch, would I poke him if he doesn't tell me where he got shot?""Definitely, without hesitation," he answered with a smile. Olivia, grateful for Munch being on her side, smiled up at her fiancé, ignoring the way her vision swam momentarily."Do you still want to tempt me, El?"He sighed, frustration clear in his expression. "My left arm, but I'm fine, Liv." He rolled up the sleeve so she could see the white ACE bandage wrapped around his bicep. She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against the bandage. "Wanna tell me what's up with your right arm now, hun?" He asked, a smug grin on his face. She sighed, knowing better than to start an argument after she had just made such a big fuss."I kinda hit a shrapnel grenade like it was a baseball when I went to go find Cragen's wife," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. Elliot's jaw dropped as he looked from his fiancée to Munch, to their boss, back to her. He sat down at his desk, clearly surprised by the news. He distinctly remembered her saying she was going to find her mother, which meant that Cragen's wife didn't realize the pain in the ass brunette that he loved was her daughter.Before anyone had the chance to unpack that statement, two blonde young women stormed into the precinct, straight over to Elliot. "Dad, what the hell were you thinking? You're not supposed to leave the hospital until the doctors discharge you!" The younger one, Kathleen, furiously snapped at her dad. Maureen, the older one, was also pissed, but immediately walked over to Olivia, wrapping her arms around the brunette's torso without hesitation. Olivia was quick to reciprocate the hug, but hoped that Maureen hadn't heard the quiet curse slip past her lips when Olivia went to wrap her right arm around her."We were already down three cops, okay? I didn't want Fin to be alone if we caught another case, and I'm fine, Katie," Elliot explained immediately and kissed his daughter's head.Seemingly pleased with his explanation both girls turned to leave. "Alright, but we're stealing Liv, since her dress is ready, and she needs to try it on one last time, before the wedding," Maureen said, grabbing Olivia's hand, lightly pulling her. That time Olivia flinched, and everyone saw it. None of the adults were particularly surprised, but Kathleen and Maureen were. "What happened, mom?" Maureen asked softly, anxiety flashing in her eyes. Elliot and Kathleen both looked at Maureen in surprise when she used the word mom. Olivia slowly rolled up her long sleeve, showing her the bandage, not realizing that blood had seeped through the bandage. "Mom, you're still bleeding!"Victoria's entire demeanor shifted from the neutral to concerned in milliseconds, just as it had in Monaco. "Liv will be perfectly fine, Maureen. Me, her, your dad, and Captain Cragen are all going to step into Cragen's office for a minute girls, alright?" Both girls nodded numbly. "Don, grab the kit from my bag, please." Without another word she followed Olivia into Cragen's office, watching to make sure she wasn't going to faint. At the last second Victoria decided to fix Olivia up in one of the interrogation rooms, in case she had to scream. "Floor or chair?""Floor," Olivia said, a wave of dizziness hitting her suddenly. Both Elliot and Cragen helped her to the floor, and then Elliot sat down next to her, on her left, and Cragen sat down in the chair, facing them. Victoria was careful removing the bloody ACE bandages, reaching for the antiseptic she kept in her med kit for moments like this, when someone she loved was injured. It was much slower than it had been in Monaco, but there was still a fairly steady stream of blood coming out of her arm. "Sorry about the blood," Olivia mumbled, resulting in both Cragen and Elliot chuckling, while Victoria just shook her head."Only you would apologize for bleeding." Though she was worried, Victoria's tone was nothing but affectionate as she carefully cleaned the wound before reaching for the suture kit. "Don, it turned out you were right, she needed stitches.""Don't tell him that, Victoria. It'll just give him a reason to be all cocky and proud of himself," Olivia replied, her head on Elliot's shoulder as the dizziness started to subside. Elliot's fingers were intertwined with hers, his thumb lightly stroking the back of her hand, reminding her that she was not alone as Victoria started to stitch her up. A steady stream of curse words softly slipped past Olivia's lips with each stitch.When she was all stitched up Victoria wrapped another ACE bandage around her arm, just in case. "Does she need a blood transfusion?" Elliot asked, looking directly at his aunt, who shook her head."No, she just needs rest, Elliot. But even if she did need a blood transfusion, where the hell would we get blood?" Victoria raised her eyebrow, waiting for her nephew to say something."I'm sure you have the stuff for a person-to-person transfusion, and her and I are the same blood type." He then looked at Olivia. "Liv, baby, can you stand?" She shrugged, so Cragen and Victoria helped him get her to her feet. "Feel free to lean on me, you can go get your dress tomorrow, but you need to rest tonight," he stated as they left the interrogation room, reentering the bullpen."You okay?" Kathleen asked, clearly worried. Olivia nodded, leaning on Elliot as his arm snaked around her waist helping to support her body weight. "Okay, Mo and I are taking both of you home, now. Don't even think about arguing."Elliot had to bite back a laugh, seeing a little bit of Olivia in her at that moment. "We wouldn't dream of it, kiddo. Goodnight everyone, I will be back tomorrow, I don't know about Liv though."Before they left Cragen made an announcement. "When they're both back, we're going to be rearranging some partnerships. Fin, you'll be with Liv, and Munch will be with Elliot.""Actually, you won't have to rearrange partnerships, just find a new partner for El because I am transferring out of SVU. Trust is important in this line of work, and I cannot trust you right now, no matter how much I want to.""I made one mistake, Liv," Cragen pointed out."You let me continue to believe that mom was dead. Sure, it may have only been for three months, which is nothing compared to the decades thanks to Victoria, Frank, and Marvin, but still. You sat there and lied to my face, dad. And I don't know how to trust you after that.""You can forgive Frank, Marvin, and Victoria, but not me?""They weren't here for the aftermath. They don't know how I fell apart, but you do. I was eighteen, and now here I am, in my thirties, and she was alive this whole time. I forgive the three of them, I'll probably forgive you, but her, but mom, I'm not sure if I can forgive her."Without another word she turned and left the precinct with Elliot, Maureen, and Kathleen. On the ride home she was completely silent, lost to her thoughts. "You sure you want to transfer?""Only temporarily. But I don't trust my dad right now, which means I can't work with him. Kind of like what you and I went through after Gitano," she answered, her head on his shoulder as Maureen drove them to their apartment.The door was closed, as were the blinds in Cragen's office, but he could hear Munch joking around and laughing, introducing Fin to everyone else. There was a bottle of bourbon sitting on Cragen's desk, unopened, and he was just staring at it. Intellectually he understood why Olivia was hurt, he really did. But that was his little girl, and she had looked at him with such hurt in her eyes. Hurt that he had only seen when they had first met, and when she was still a small child who still had nightmares about the shit her biological mom had put her through. There was a knock on the door, and then it opened, just enough for Marge to slip in, closing the door behind her. She noticed the bottle, and that the seal was untouched, which slightly lessened her anxiety. He may be mad at her, but at least he was sober. "How are you doing?" She asked softly as she sat down in one of the chairs across from him."Hating myself. I should have told her as soon as I knew you were alive, but I was in shock and I wanted to protect her from feeling like she had been abandoned by another mother."Marge flinched almost imperceptibly at his words. "I never should have put any of you in that position, Don, even if I thought it was for the best, it clearly wasn't. She was still just a kid, and I didn't even think about how my 'death' would impact your sobriety." She walked over and crouched next to his chair. "I know how our daughter feels, but how much do you hate me for pretending to be dead?"Cragen paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word his complicated feelings toward his wife, if that's what she still was. "I don't hate you, not even a little bit. I hate the circumstances that made you feel like you had to hide from us, from me, Marge. Why didn't you tell me, or John?""I couldn't tell you because I couldn't ask you to lie to Liv, and I felt that her thinking I was dead would shield her from some of the pain. And if I had told John then he would have run to tell you, and you would have been in the very position I was trying to protect you from." Her eyes widened in surprise when he pulled her into a tight hug, and then she felt the silent shaking of his shoulders."I missed you," he whispered, not letting go of her. She kissed the top of his head and hugged him back, just as tightly."I love you, and I missed you too, love."
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The day Olivia went to her final dress fitting she had drug Melinda, Kathleen, Maureen, Victoria, and her parents all along with her. Both of her parents were surprised when she called Cragen and told him when and where to meet her. "My trust in you both is fucked up at the moment, but you are still my parents, and I love both of you. Plus, you're the one walking me down the aisle, dad, you need to see the dress before the wedding," she had said casually. And that was how Cragen and Marge found themselves sitting in a bridal boutique with Victoria, Melinda, Kathleen, and Maureen. Olivia turned to Melinda, clearly nervous about trying on her dress. "You need to try on your maid of honor dress," she stated matter-of-factly.Melinda hadn't been with Olivia, Kathleen, and Maureen when the three of them had gone looking for bridesmaids dresses, but she had given Olivia her measurements and told her to get whatever style Olivia wanted for the wedding, but Olivia hadn't been particular about the dresses. She had told Kathleen and Maureen to pick whatever dresses they wanted as long as they were black and the girls felt pretty in them, so Melinda had no clue what her dress looked like. "Fine, but you have to come zip it for me, Liv," the medical examiner told her, setting her bag down in her seat before entering the dressing room with Olivia on her heels."So, how is school going, Kathleen?" Cragen asked as they all waited for the two women to reappear. He still couldn't believe that Elliot Stabler was the man his daughter was marrying, and that the kids had known."It's been pretty good. I'm thinking about becoming either a therapist or a psychiatrist. So, how badly did you freak when you found out Liv was engaged to our dad?""I don't think I reacted that badly.""Yes, you did," Olivia called from the dressing room. She then poked her head out through the curtain. "Are you guys ready to see Warner's dress?" Kathleen and Maureen both nodded excitedly, and then the curtain opened and both women walked out. Olivia was still in her clothes from before, but Warner was wearing a skin-tight black dress that went down just below her knees and revealed a decent amount of cleavage.Warner walked over to the floor-length mirror, and her jaw dropped when she saw herself in the dress. She couldn't deny that she felt sexy, but the wedding was about Olivia and Elliot's commitment to each other, not whether or not she looked hot. "Liv, I cannot wear this dress," she stated matter-of-factly, unable to tear her gaze away from her reflection.Olivia walked over and slung her arm around her friend's shoulders, and met Melinda's gaze in the mirror. "Why not? It's clear the dress is gorgeous on you, Mel," she said with a smile."But it is your day, and I don't want to take away from it, even for just a second, because of my dress. I think if I hop just once during the Cha-cha Slide, everyone will see my titties," she answered.Olivia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friend. "Do you feel pretty in this dress?" Melinda nodded. "Then this is the dress you will be wearing. Plus, I'm not the one who picked it out, so if you say no, Kathleen and Maureen will be sad." Olivia gestured to the two blonde girls who were both giving Melinda a puppy dog eye look.Before Melinda could utter another word Fin entered the bridal shop with Dickie and Lizzie. "Hey, Liv. Kathy couldn't make it, and Elliot didn't want to risk seeing your dress, so I brought the twins..." his voice trailed off when he saw Melinda, and his jaw dropped. Melinda blushed ever so slightly at the look on his face, and Olivia looked between the two and just smiled."You okay, Tutuola?" Melinda asked with a smile, suddenly liking her dress even more than before."I'm...fine. You look just, wow.""Classy, Fin," Olivia stated sarcastically. "I'm going to change into my dress, if you want to stay and hang out." She then turned and disappeared back into the dressing room. Melinda didn't say a word, just silently followed her, though her hips swayed subtly.Maureen and Kathleen both watched Fin carefully as he watched Warner walk away, and then sat down with everyone else. "So, you and Dr. Warner. Still pretending you aren't attracted to her?" Maureen asked, raising her eyebrow slightly. Cragen had to cover his mouth to stifle the laugh that erupted from him, both from Maureen's bluntness, and the look of shock and slight fear on Fin's face at her words."What in the world makes you think that I'm attracted to Melinda, Maureen? We're just friends," he said."Your facial expression when you saw that dress makes me think you're attracted to her, Fin. Plus, don't you two live together?" She shot back without hesitation."You spend too much time with your dad, and Liv. Melinda and I are just friends, and that is the extent of it, and all it will ever be," he said, not realizing that Melinda was listening to their conversation as she helped Olivia with her dress.Olivia saw the slightly sad expression in her friend's eyes when she turned around, and hugged her tightly. "I would just like to momentarily point out that men, specifically Fin, is an idiot sometimes. He's spent way too much time with Munch," she said. Warner had changed back into her regular clothes, and hugged Olivia back, just as tightly."Your dress is absolutely stunning, Liv. If El's jaw does not drop the way Fin's did when he saw my dress, you are marrying the wrong man," Melinda said with a soft laugh before she opened the curtain and Olivia walked out, wearing her dress."I'll remind you of that if you ever decide to get remarried, Mel," she said before reentering the main room. "Um, what do you guys think?" Her voice shook slightly from the anxiety of getting everyone's opinions. She did a quick spin so everyone could see the dress in its entirety.No one said anything for a minute, all stunned into silence by how beautiful the dress was, but finally Cragen spoke up, unable to hide the tears shinning in his eyes because his little girl was all grown up, and getting married. "Livvie, you look gorgeous. I'm so proud of the woman you have become," he told her, the tears starting to fall."Don't cry, because then I'll start crying," she said and hugged her dad tightly. After they had both stopped crying and released each other she turned to everyone else. "Anyone else have thoughts on the dress?" Minus a few small alteration recommendations from Marge and Victoria, no one had a bad thing to say about the dress.After that Kathleen and Maureen tried on their bridesmaid dresses to make sure they fit, Lizzie tried on her flower girl dress, and grinned when she looked in the mirror. She was thirteen already, but had begged her dad and Liv to let her be the flower girl because she wanted to be in the wedding. She had said that if Kathleen and Maureen were going to be in the wedding, then she should too, which meant that Dickie wanted to be part of the wedding as well.Once all of the girls were back in their regular clothes everyone got ready to leave. "Thank you for bringing us, Fin," Lizzie said, though Dickie was quick to echo her words."Alright, we're going out to lunch. Are you kids ready?" Olivia asked, looking at Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie, and Lizzie, who all nodded. "Does anyone want to join us?" Cragen, Warner, and Fin all had to get back to work, but Marge and Victoria had nothing to do. "C'mon, mom, you'll get the chance to know your soon-to-be grandchildren," she pointed out. "And Victoria can spend time with her great-nieces and nephew." Neither of them could argue with her logic, which Olivia considered to be a win."Do you need a ride back to the ME's office, Mel?" Fin asked Warner with a smile as they all headed to the door. The way he looked at her reminded Maureen of how she was sure she had looked at guys back in high school, and Olivia noticed it too."Yes, please, that would be great, Fin, thank you," Warner replied before they both said bye to the rest of the group and then made their way to his car."Thirty bucks says we can get them to kiss under the mistletoe at the NYPD Christmas party in two weeks," Olivia said softly to her dad, who let out a laugh he had been holding in for a while."With the way they look at each other, it won't be hard," he agreed and hugged his daughter tightly before bidding the large group adieu.
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The ride to the morgue was a mostly quiet one, both Fin and Melinda lost to their own thoughts. "Your dress was really pretty, just so you know," Fin said after a few minutes, breaking the silence within the car."Thanks, I didn't pick it out though. On the day Liv, Maureen, and Kathleen went shopping I was stuck in autopsy, so I had no clue what the dress was until Liv got me to try it on...you know they think we have feelings for each other, right?" She asked, her eyes out the window, really not wanting to make eye contact with Fin during this conversation for fear of laughing. That however did not stop Fin from chuckling."We're gonna have to tell them that we're dating eventually, Mel," he told her, reaching for her hand, squeezing it lightly. "Liv's gonna lose her shit since we didn't tell her.""She'll get over it. It is funny watching everyone 'subtly' hint that our feelings for each other are reciprocated though," Melinda pointed out, quickly disentangling their hands as they arrived at the morgue. "See you tonight?""Of course." He watched her enter the morgue before he started driving away. "I love you," he murmured, still anxious about saying it to her face.Even after so many years, Olivia still didn't understand how all four Stabler kids, herself, and Elliot had fit at one table, even when two tables were pushed together, so fitting the five of them, along with Victoria and Marge was an adventure. Maureen and Kathleen immediately sat on either side of Olivia, as they always did. "What made you choose this diner, Livvie?" Victoria asked as she and Marge sat down across from the other three, with Lizzie and Dickie on either side of them."It's the only place these four kids will ever agree on, so I just kind of subconsciously come here whenever I have any of them, so here we are," she explained with a shrug as each of the kids started to go through their menus, searching for whatever they wanted to eat, though Maureen and Kathleen both looked up when referred to as kids. They hadn't even been in the diner for five minutes when Kathy entered, kissing each kid on the head, giving Olivia a quick hug, and then sat down next to Maureen. "Who decided to trick Fin into coming to see Warner's maid of honor dress?" Olivia asked, looking directly at Maureen and Kathleen.The younger of the two sheepishly raised her hand, though Maureen immediately stepped in to defend her sister. "But you saw the way he looked at her, Liv. Those two are so in love, a blind person could see it. They're like you and dad, or...And I have officially run out of healthy couples that I know," Maureen realized."My parents are a healthy couple," Olivia pointed out. The look on Maureen's face made it clear she disagreed."Speaking of Liv's parents, do you know who her dad is, mom?" Kathleen asked Kathy, who shook her head. "Cragen." Kathy choked on her soda and looked at Olivia."How did Cragen take the news that his daughter was secretly engaged to her partner?" Kathy asked with a curious smile, just as the food arrived at their table.Olivia bit her bottom lip. "Well...it was definitely a surprise. I think he was more mad that Munch knew about me and El before he did than he was about the relationship itself.""You do know that your father toned down his reaction tenfold, don't you?" Marge asked, looking at her daughter, who nodded."Yes, mom, of course I know that. He toned down his reaction because he knew I was still reeling from your lack of deadness. Even though I am a grown woman he still thinks I am incapable of making important decisions for myself," Olivia stated, much to the chagrin of the two oldest Stabler sisters who went through quite a similar situation regularly with Elliot.After the four kids had eaten they went to the arcade section of the diner, leaving the four adults alone. "So, Livvie, do you think you and Elliot may eventually have some little Benson-Stabler's running around?" Victoria asked with a smile."Hell no, I love his kids, I really do." She turned to Kathy. "You know how much I adore all four of your children, Kath." She then turned back to Victoria. "But he already has four children, he does not need to father an entire sports team. Not to mention, we are not as young as we once were, I'm almost forty. And don't even get me started on my genetics. Half my genes are drunk, and the other half are violent, cruel, and also drunk. Speaking of my genes, I still need to tell El that my brother's coming to the wedding." All three women looked at her in surprise, though Victoria's and Marge's were due to the revelation that Olivia had a brother. Noticing Marge and Victoria's expressions Olivia sighed. "I found my biological father, he's dead, but I have a younger half-brother named Simon through him. I just hope El isn't too unhappy about him coming to the wedding."