Through Thick and Thin

18. Through Thick and Thin

June 25th, 1985

No one could contain their excitement. They had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Senior Prom. Only, it was much more to Elliot...if Olivia said yes.

"I can't believe tonight is the prom. I'm so excited." Alex said with a wide smile as the gang sat in the backyard of the Stabler house.

"I'm excited, too. But I haven't found my dress yet." Melinda said sadly, feeling a little embarrassed. "Would you guys wanna help me?" She asked, looking at the girls.

"Of course, Mel." Olivia said, smiling at her as Alex and Casey agreed.

"Thanks." Melinda said, smiling brightly.

"Hey, guys. I was thinking, after the prom ends, would you wanna go to Coney Island?" Elliot asked as he looked at the group.

"Yeah, that would be fun." Alex said with a smile and everyone agreed. "Alright, girls. Let's go shopping!" She said excitedly as she kissed Trevor goodbye.

Olivia chuckled at Alex's excitement, then turned to Elliot as Casey kissed Ryan goodbye and Melinda kissed Fin. "I'll see you later." She said softly, wrapping her arms around Elliot's neck.

"I love you, baby." Elliot said softly, leaning in to give her a soft kiss.

"I love you, too, El." Olivia whispered back, smiling as she returned the kiss.

The guys watched as their girlfriends ran to Alex's car and they waved as Alex drove away.

"Why don't we go play golf with Don while we wait for the girls?" Elliot suggested and the guys all agreed as they started walking to their cars. "Hey, Fin, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked, stopping Fin as he watched Trevor and Ryan walk ahead of them.

"Yeah, bro. What's up?" Fin asked, curious.

"I wanna marry Liv...tonight. I want us to get married at Coney Island, where we met a year ago today." Elliot said nervously and Fin looked at him in shock.

"Dude...that's awesome! I'm guessing you want it to be a surprise?" Fin asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I'm nervous about what Liv will say, though. I don't want her to be mad that I kept it from her, ya know?" Elliot asked as he ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"I think she'll be confused and maybe a little upset at first that you didn't tell her but she loves you. She'll think it was a really sweet idea." Fin said as he patted Elliot on the back. They started walking toward their cars when Fin spoke again. "Do you think maybe you guys could stop showing off? You're making me look bad." He teased and they laughed. Then, Elliot stopped and got serious.

"Fin, I wanna ask you something." Elliot said nervously.

"Anything, bro." Fin said and Elliot smiled.

"Will you be my best man?" Elliot asked and Fin's eyes widened and he gave Elliot a tight, brotherly hug. "I'm guessing this means 'yes'?" Elliot asked with a chuckle and Fin nodded as they pulled back from the hug.

"Of course I'll be your best man, dude. You're like my brother." Fin said and they smiled as they walked to their cars and drove to the golf course.

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After a few rounds of golf with Don, the guys packed up their golf clubs and started walking toward their cars. Elliot and Don were walking side by side when Don noticed that Elliot seemed quite nervous about something.

"You okay, son?" Don asked.

"I, uh, I think so." Elliot said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"What's going on?" Don asked as Elliot stopped walking and took a deep breath. He stopped in front of Elliot and watched his son try to stop his hands from shaking.