I'm back! As promised, here's the second (and final) installment of this story.

A/N: Pretty tame family stuff, so there's nothing specific to warn for. Title from say you won't let go by james arthur.

Thank you so much for your kind feedback on the last chapter, and please feel free to let me know what you think of this as well (hint, hint). Maybe if you comment, it'll encourage me to finish the next TG chapter? ;) In any case, enjoy.

"And that was it," Elliot says, grinning in recollection. "We all got out of there pretty damn fast after that."

Lilly and Annaliese look at each other in amusement, having heard this story probably at least a hundred times in their lives. "Well, Uncle Elliot- if I win the lottery, I'll send you guys on a cruise to make up for the vacation I ruined."

"Appreciate it." You've always joked that Annaliese's untimely appearance was the reason you never had a honeymoon, but the truth was that you never had much of one planned to start with. You were going to go to a hotel for the rest of the day and make a late night of it while Nick (and Amanda, but mostly Nick) watched the kids. Those plans obviously got scrapped when Amanda went into labor, and although you had plenty of other babysitting offers, you decided that what you really wanted to do was to go home and celebrate with takeout food and your babies.

One of Lilly's bridesmaids called Annaliese's name, looking for help with her makeup, and she patted your shoulder apologetically. "I gotta run. But you look much better now!"

"We'd better get back upstairs," you tell Lilly. "People are going to start showing up any minute now."

She nods, and for the first time you see a flash of nervousness cross her face. Elliot picks up on it too. "You're going to be okay, Lillybug. But if you change your mind..."

"I know, I know," she says, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at the old nickname. "Now go."

As soon as you're out in the hallway, Elliot turns to you. "She is going to be okay, right?"

"Yes." You lean back against the wall and take his hand. "He's a good guy. You even said so yourself."

"I just think, if they could date for a few more years instead of having to rush into marriage..."

"I know. But it is what it is and...we've taught her well. She's taught herself well." You both knew what the other was thinking about without even having to say a word. Lilly's college boyfriend was, unbeknownst to either of you, not a 'good guy'. She kept it to herself for over a year until she finally called home crying late one night to tell you they were over.

It wasn't easy on any of you. Naturally, Elliot's first impulse was to drive up to Syracuse and beat the living shit out of the kid, bad back be damned. That turned out not to be necessary, because Lilly had already given him a swift knee to the groin the second he raised a hand to her (Elliot couldn't have been prouder).

You brought her home for a few days to give her a chance to regroup and decide what she wanted to do next. Part of you didn't want her to go back because you were worried that he or his friends might try to get revenge- you'd seen it so many times- but she insisted she wasn't going to let anyone scare her away from the school she loved. (You couldn't have been prouder).

So she returned to campus and thankfully, the situation never escalated. She had a good group of friends to support her and at your urging, she went to see a counselor for a couple of months even though she balked at the idea at first (she was your daughter, after all).

But back at home, you and Elliot spent more than a few sleepless nights asking yourself how this could've happened and wondering if you were somehow to blame. How could anyone treat such a sweet, kind young woman like that? You'd seen it before thousands of times- seen much, much worse- but it still didn't prepare you for what it would be like when the woman in question was your own daughter. You thought you had raised her to know that she deserved to be treated with respect and that she shouldn't settle for anything less; that 'well, he's never hit me' wasn't a good enough reason to stay with someone who was verbally and emotionally abusive.

That was the thing you had discovered about parenting- it didn't get any easier or less stressful just because the kids were out of the house. And after what felt like dozens of hours on your therapist's couch, you got to a point where you realized that she had done what you taught her when she ended the relationship, even if it had taken her some time to get to that step. She trusted you and her dad enough to come to you for help, which your therapist promised you was a sign that you were good parents. It wasn't your fault, just like it wasn't Lilly's (that one sounded strangely familiar).

"She's going to be alright," you say out loud, as much for yourself as for Elliot.

"And they're going to be living close enough to us that we can keep an eye on things." You give him a stern look and he chuckles. "What? Tomek's parents asked me to. We have an understanding."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure you do."

"Hey, think of how you would feel if it was Lilly on the other side of the ocean. You'd be exactly the same."

Untrue. You'd be moving to Poland right along with her, but you're not telling Elliot that. "And you wonder why none of your older kids want to live in Manhattan."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I should check and make sure the food still tastes good."

"You're not going to help me with crowd control?"

"Sorry, bad knee," he says, clearly heartbroken. "I'll save you a plate."

"You'd better. I haven't even gotten the chance to sample anything yet."

You're about to part ways when he reaches for your hand. "I forgot something."

"Hmm?"

"Don't tell Lilly, but I think the mother of the bride's the most beautiful one in this whole place."

"Oh, stop that," you say, blushing as he kisses your cheek. "Go have a drink so you're not a nervous wreck walking her down the aisle."

"I've married off four kids before. I'm an old pro," he scoffs. While that is true, he neglected to mention that he was a mess every time. And even though he claims that each of his kids' weddings have been special in their own way, you know that this one has extra meaning because this is his baby- his youngest child and the last of his daughters to get married.

Now the only unwed Stabler child is Noah, but it won't stay that way for much longer. You spot him and his girlfriend about to enter the buffet room and hurry to greet them before they get lost in the crowd.

"How did soundcheck go?" Noah's band is providing part of the entertainment during the reception. Despite not having played together recently due to his busy school schedule, they agreed to reunite for this auspicious occasion, and even planned to surprise the audience by playing a couple of Polish songs they'd just learned.

"We're good. We've already got our first groupie." He points to his bandmate and nephew, Maureen's son Benjamin, who's chatting up a pretty blonde girl that you recognize as part of the Polish contingent. Maybe a cousin? You've given up on trying to remember how everyone's related. "Who knows, we might be having another Stabler/Kozinski wedding soon."

"I doubt your dad would mind as long as they made all this food again. Now he'll really never eat what I cook...Yael, he still hasn't stopped talking about your mom's lasagna that she made the last time we came for dinner. If she ever wants a full-time job as a personal chef, we'd hire her."

"I think she's happy being retired…but I'll let her know. Noah, hon, let's go say hi to your dad before he's in a food coma from too many cabbage rolls."

They wandered off to find Elliot, hand in hand, and the sight made you smile. You had known Yael and her parents for years, ever since you met at a gathering for children who were 'alumni' of the NYC foster system. As you later found out, the two of them had even briefly crossed paths at the ACS children's home when they were both infants, and you've always wondered if they subconsciously recognized each other when they were reunited. The kids stayed in touch throughout the years as casual friends, but you never thought it would become anything more than that.

Like your daughter, Noah also had a serious relationship in college that didn't work out. You still remember the day he came home for Thanksgiving and nervously told you that he had someone he wanted you to meet. Oh and by the way, his name is Shane, I think I forgot to tell you that I'm bisexual.

He had, in fact, neglected to previously mention that. Elliot took it in stride, telling Noah that all he cared about was that he had someone who made him happy and treated him with respect. You wish that you would have reacted the same way, but your mind went straight to all the hate crimes you'd seen throughout the years and how you couldn't bear to have your sweet boy suffer through something like that.

"And you don't think I worry about the same shit?" Elliot asked you later. "Did you forget that I was right there with you the whole time?"

"Then how the hell are you so calm about it?"

"Because he's a smart kid and he doesn't need a reminder that it's a shitty world out there. But he's also my son, and if he's going to share something that makes him happy, then I'm going to be happy with him. Cause that's what he needs."

Elliot was right. You apologized to Noah the next day, reminding him that you were still new at this parenting thing and that once again, he was lucky to have a dad who knew what he was doing. (And that you were lucky to have a son that was so forgiving of your first-time mom mistakes.)

As it turned out, Shane was a wonderful young man and you all loved him instantly. "We took a vote and we actually like him more than you," Lilly told her brother. While that wasn't quite true, you were very fond of him, and thus Noah wasn't the only one who was heartbroken when they split up just shy of two years later.

"There has to be a way we can fix this," Elliot had said to you, but you had to remind him that the relationship wasn't yours to fix. They had realized that they both wanted different things in life, and so it was best for both of them if they split amicably rather than stay together and start resenting one another. It had been the mature thing to do and you were proud of him even if you were selfishly disappointed that Shane wouldn't be coming around anymore.

And then a few months later, there was Yael. At first you were happy with this development- if it couldn't be Shane, Yael was just the kind of partner you'd want for Noah. You knew that she was a kind, intelligent girl who came from a good family. As a graduate student herself, she understood that Noah's studies were important to him and she supported his ambitions even though their hectic schedules didn't leave much time to spend together. Things got progressively more serious and they started talking about getting married once they had both finished school...and that's when trouble started.

You were already well acquainted with Yael's family, so you knew that they were Jewish and that their faith was something very important to them. They had invited you to various celebrations over the years, from Rosh Hashanah dinners to Passover seders and Yael's bat mitzvah, and you always enjoyed the experience. Both Noah and Lilly had gone to Catholic schools from preschool to high school, so their friend groups weren't that religiously diverse and you were grateful that they had this opportunity to learn about a different culture.

But while Yael and her family could be found in the pews of their synagogue every weekend, your family was much less pious. Elliot had liked the idea of Catholic school from the beginning, of course, and you agreed because you approved of the academics and the small school environment. The kids got a lot of individual attention and you liked the emphasis on service to others, so you went along with it and made sure they heard your viewpoint on certain issues at home. They participated in school masses and Confirmation and the like during the week and you left it up to them whether they wanted to go to church on Sunday. Nine times out of ten the answer was no, which was fine with you and Elliot, who always told them he cared more about them being good people than good Catholics.

The silent expectation was, however, that they would be nominally Christian. At least, that's what it had been in Elliot's mind. So when Noah told the two of you that he had started studying toward converting to Judaism, it didn't go over well at first.

For you, your main concern was that he was doing it just to please Yael or her parents. But when he told you that he was first and foremost making this choice because it was something he honestly believed in, something he had researched carefully and felt committed to- well, that was all you needed to hear. Noah had never been one to make big decisions lightly and when he said he'd done his research, you knew he really meant it. But Elliot was less convinced.

"What happens if you don't marry her? What happens if you get divorced?"

"Then I guess I'll be Jewish and divorced, won't I? Trust me, I'm not gonna spend two years studying and then...ooops, never mind, I'll just change my entire belief system because I'm not married anymore. For one thing, if I have kids-"

"Your kids are going to be Jewish too?!" Elliot cries out.

"Uh...yes?"

"So what, I don't get to buy them presents from Santa?"

"No. You can give them presents from Grandpa."

Elliot groans and smacks his palm on the table. "Santa doesn't even have anything to do with religion! Everyone loves Santa!"

At that point you had to step in and break up the argument. It was already sounding like a Dad/Lilly debate and that was the one benefit of her being eight hours away at school- that you didn't have to hear them bickering back and forth over some trivial point every day.

"You think it's too late for him to work things out with Shane?" Elliot asked you later that night. "I miss that kid. This wouldn't have happened if he'd stayed with Shane."

"We all liked Shane. But the relationship wasn't right for Noah, so it's not important what we think."

"And this one is?"

"So you're okay with him dating another guy, but not someone with a different religion."

Elliot scoffs. "He can be with someone of any gender, any religion, it doesn't matter to me. But why does he have to change just because of that? What's wrong with the way we raised him?"

"This isn't a rejection of you, or of us. Do you feel like he should've gone to the police academy instead of med school just because that's what we did?"

He didn't say anything in reply, which is how you know you won. And even though you didn't share his feelings of being personally rejected, there was still an irrational voice in your head that worried he'd become closer to his in-laws than he was to you because they would have this part of their lives in common. But thus far it hasn't happened, and you've made a concerted effort to learn as much as you can to show your support, even if it means sitting for hours listening to prayers in a language you don't understand.

Elliot hasn't been as willing to embrace Noah's new life, but he's slowly coming around. Christmas was tricky, with Elliot initially refusing to make any entrée other than his traditional honey glazed ham because 'that's the way it's always been done, so take it or leave it'. You pointed out that Noah was already compromising by agreeing to attend Christmas Eve mass like his dad had asked him to, so why couldn't Elliot do the same for his son? Once again, the only reply you got was silence. But then on Christmas day, a (kosher!) turkey somehow turned up on the table next to the ham- a holiday miracle indeed.

You think that even if her fiance's family hadn't insisted on it, Lilly still would've had a traditional Catholic wedding as a concession to Elliot, knowing he was disappointed that Noah wouldn't be going the same route. There was also another wedding for Lilly to 'make up for'- one that her dad was still bitter about two decades later. Kathleen and her husband had made an unconventional choice when they decided to get married, eloping in secret one weekend and then not mentioning it to their families until months later. You still remember Eli questioning Kathleen about the ring he spotted on her finger as she reached for the mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner.

"Oh yeah. We got married," she said casually, taking a bite of her food while Elliot's face turned the color of the cranberries on her plate.

You understood why they did it. Neither of them were the kind to want some big formal ceremony to begin with, and even a small event would have caused drama that they wouldn't want to deal with. You would have been on your best behavior no matter how uncomfortable you felt, of course, but you couldn't say the same for your husband.

The table fell silent, everyone looking toward Elliot and waiting for his reaction. His formerly crimson face was becoming a lovely shade of purple from holding his breath, probably to keep himself from blurting out God knows what, so you decided to intervene before CPR became necessary.

"That is...wonderful news. We're all very happy for you. Right?"

Everyone was quick to offer their congratulations- that is, everyone but Elliot. Fortunately for him, Brian knew what was in his heart.

"Thanks, Pops," he said, thumping Elliot soundly on the back.

And here they are now, coming through the doors of the church- the Stabler family's most unlikely couple. You greet them warmly, hugging the preteen boy at their side.

"He's parking the car," Tommy explains when you ask about his father.

"Let's go save him a seat, huh?" Brian says, nudging his nephew toward the sanctuary as Kathleen follows behind them, and you're grateful for the reprieve. At this point in your life, most of the tension between you is long gone. You can see each other at family events and talk like friends and sometimes you almost forget the layers upon layers of a life you walked away from dozens of years ago. But then days like this come, days when you're more certain than ever that you made the right choice…and yet there's that tiny reminder that things could have been different.

You made the right choice. And so did Brian, despite what Elliot might think. They're still happy together after a quarter-century, which you know from experience is no small feat, and they've managed to weather everything life has thrown at them.

Not everyone is so lucky. Dickie- Rich- struggled for years to keep his marriage afloat. He knew his ex-wife had her issues even when they were still dating, but he thought that with time and with love, she could change. Of course, sometimes, love just isn't enough. You knew that more than almost anyone. Change has to come from within. You tried to be supportive, just like the rest of the family, and you even attempted to reach out to her on your own by sharing some of your personal struggles. But she made her choice, and now it's been seven years since Tommy's had contact with his mom.

You've all pitched in to help Rich and Tommy. Kathy moved in with them not long afterward so that she could take care of her grandson after school along with giving Rich a hand with the housework. Kathleen and Brian live nearby, and since they never had children of their own, they spend a lot of time with their nephew. So while Tommy's surrounded every day by people who love him, you understand the pain he feels at having a parent missing from his life. It's something you yourself still feel to this day.

But despite the sadness at what's missing, your heart is still full of love thanks to all the people you do have- people like the three familiar faces you see walking into the lobby right now.

"I'm so glad you made it," you say, gently embracing the older man pushing a walker. At nearly 90 years old, Munch is moving a bit slowly these days, although his mind (and his mouth) are as sharp as ever. "Nick told me you'd been a little under the weather...are you doing better now?"

He scoffs. "I'm not dead yet, as much as Nurse Ratchet back at the old folks' home may wish I was. And even then, I still wouldn't miss this grand occasion! I'm a wedding expert, after all."

"You're the expert," Nick agrees. After four unsuccessful marriages, you'd all heard Munch swear over and over again that he was done looking for love. But after a mild heart attack necessitated him selling his apartment and moving into the Hebrew Home for the Aged, love found him in the form of a woman named Helga, who he met after being forced to go eat his meals in the dining room for 'socialization purposes'. He had been threatening to go on a hunger strike if they kept wheeling him out of his room three times a day, but then Helga started chatting him up over butterscotch pudding and that all changed.

Their wedding in the rec room of the nursing home was simple but joyful. All the other residents pitched in to make the ceremony a success, even if you suspected some of them were just happy that Munch didn't grumble about everything quite the way he used to. There were flowers adorning the chuppah, a (low fat) cake baked by the kitchen staff, and even a small klezmer band made up of fellow residents. You'd never seen John Munch so genuinely happy, not even when he met each of your kids for the first time.

Sadly, but perhaps not unexpectedly, the marriage didn't last long. There was no divorce this time, though, just Helga passing away in her sleep a little over four years after they wed. You were all worried about how Munch would cope, but after the initial mourning period he seemed to adopt the mindset that it was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. He vowed that this really was his last marriage, and so far this has held true. "Do you know how many women want to console a grieving widower? This is no time for monogamy."

Nick's phone chimes as the four of you carefully make your way upstairs to the chapel. "Oh, I gotta take this. I'll catch up with you guys in there."

"Everything okay?" you ask Amanda.

"Yeah, it's fine. You know how he is about those damn animals. He had to FaceTime with the goats this morning before we left the hotel."

After years of moving in between coasts, Nick and Amanda had finally settled down on a small ranch in southern California so that Nick could live out his dream of owning a petting zoo. This wasn't just any petting zoo, though- all the animals had some sort of handicap, and his farm hands were other vets and retired police officers with disabilities or PTSD. At first you had all been skeptical of his great idea. He loved animals, sure, but he didn't really have any farming experience. To make matters worse, he and Amanda were on the verge of divorce at the time. But somehow he convinced her to stay and lend him the agricultural expertise she had from her childhood, and despite everyone's expectations...it worked.

You see Elliot emerge from the reception hall, where the crowd is starting to dissipate as everyone heads toward their seats. "Hey, it's time. Lilly texted me asking where we were."

"Duty calls," you tell Munch and Amanda, giving John's shoulder a gentle squeeze before following Elliot back downstairs. You can tell he's jittery and you offer him your hand. "Careful, El."

"I'm fine," he says, refusing to let you help steady him, and you roll your eyes when he can't see you. Old age hasn't made him (or you) any less stubborn.

Lilly's standing at the bottom of the stairs, Annaliese at her side and her bridesmaids rushing around behind her to do some last-minute hair and makeup adjustments. At least, you think that's what is going on. The only thing you see is your baby girl, the one you carried around for nine months and laughed and cried and celebrated and mourned with for 24 years, all grown up and ready to start a family of her own. And she's glowing.

"Seriously!" she huffs, stomping her foot in pretend frustration. "You guys, I said no crying. Now I'm going to have to..."

"Don't you dare, you'll ruin your makeup and all my hard work," Annaliese warns.

Lilly points toward you and Elliot, both of you trying and failing to remain stoic. "It's their fault."

"Okay, let's move!" Annaliese orders the group in her fresh-from-the-Academy tone. The bridesmaids file past you to join the groom upstairs, followed by Elizabeth and Eli's wife escorting their little ones who will serve as the ring bearer and flower girls. Elliot III gives you and his grandpa a thumbs up as he passes, his bowtie already askew, and you hear his mother hissing at him to "be GOOD!"

(You warned Lilly about the risks of having kids in the ceremony, but she just laughed and said there's no way she would leave out her little nieces and nephew. "Having everything go perfectly is so boring.")

And now it's just the three of you making your way up the stairs, trying to help Lilly hold up her skirt so she doesn't step on the hem, when you hear Noah's voice. "Hey! I've got a present for you real quick."

"Noah..." she groans at her brother, who's holding something behind his back and grinning. "Now?"

"Yes, now." You have no idea what he's up to, so you're as surprised as anyone when he pulls out two foam Statue of Liberty hats and a plastic torch.

All four of you burst into laughter. The kids were too young to remember that day, of course, but he still managed to find crowns that looked just like the one he was wearing in every picture you have of your wedding ceremony. "Get a pic of us, Mom?"

Lilly gently places the hat on her head, careful not to disturb the curls that her maid of honor spent so much time on. You take the picture and then she hugs her older brother. When she finally lets go, he signs something to her and she signs back, fingers flying too fast for you to understand. While you and Elliot gradually stopped signing years ago after her surgery, the two siblings still use it between themselves to this day.

"Okay, now go before they think you're a runaway bride," Noah says before heading off to return to his seat. You can hear the music starting to play from inside the chapel, and you're beginning to wonder what the hell you were thinking when you agreed to go along with Lilly's plan to have both parents walk her down the aisle.

"You're-"

"I'm sure!" she admonishes Elliot, elbowing him in the ribs as he takes her arm. She pushes a stray ringlet away from her face, fingers brushing over the thin pink scar behind her ear, and a fresh batch of tears threatens to stream down your cheeks when you remember the little girl who was so self-conscious that she would only wear her long hair down and brushed forward to hide her ear. "Mom. Mom, are you ready?"

"What? Oh yeah, sweetheart, I am," you lie.

"Any last words?" she teases. "Dad?"

He swallows hard. "Enjoy being a newlywed. I know you want a house full of kids, but take some time for just the two of you first, so you're not 70-somethings acting like newlyweds and embarrassing the younger generation." He punctuates his advice by leaning over to give you a long kiss until Lilly wrinkles up her nose and laughs.

"Okay, okay, stop. Point taken."

"But don't wait too long to make me a grandpa again."

"I won't, I promise. Momma?"

You look out at the room full of people anxiously awaiting the bride's arrival and think back to your own wedding day. The setting and the circumstances were very different, of course, but the emotions radiating from the chapel are the same ones you felt surrounding you inside the city clerk's office 23 years ago. "Remember all of this. Remember how many people you have that love you."

She nods, taking her first step forward as the organ music swells. You watch her as she looks out on the sea of smiling faces, of people she's known her whole life and people she's only just met, of blood relatives and family tied together by something so much stronger. Her eyes travel past the rows of guests and when she sees her husband-to-be waiting at the altar, her face breaks out into a grin as she drops your arm and waves her hand wildly.

He waves back with just as much enthusiasm and the crowd erupts into laughter.

She's going to be just as happy as you are. You're sure of it.