"Well, he has the hots for you, you know."

"Excuse me?"

"Stabler!"

"No." Olivia chuckled nervously, "Ah, no, that's never gonna happen."

Much to her dismay, it wasn't going to happen. It truly wasn't. Elliot Stabler was married but it obviously didn't stop her heart's craving for him. He was her best friend and partner for eleven years and over time, she grew the desire to be more than just friends. Olivia always heard the comments about "how she'd be tempted to make a move on her hot male partner" or "sometimes they'd go beyond the line of duty" but she often ignored them. Just like she ignored her inner feelings for Elliot. As much as she ignored the fact to pay attention to those feelings and do something about them, she couldn't ignore the fact they were there and getting stronger every passing moment. She still did ignore them and every time she would dismiss the suggestion she and Elliot would be romantically involved, she would just shrug her shoulders and leave it at that but the look on Babs' face said otherwise. Babs knew Olivia was hiding something. Olivia only turned to the photos on the wall and changed the subject.

After the mistaken kiss, the misunderstanding about Olivia's sexual orientation, and the shift change, Olivia left Babs Duffy's apartment. She walked down the street with her hands buried in her coat pockets and her thoughts racing inside of her head. Don't be silly, Olivia. Elliot's married and he's strictly your partner. Babs doesn't know what she's talking about. You've only known her for a few days. Olivia kept telling herself this until she got back to the precinct. She sat down at her desk and her brown eyes trailed up to Elliot at his desk and she felt her lips curve into a small smile as she admired him and walked to her own desk. The heart wants what the heart wants and it wants Elliot.

"Liv come here!"

Olivia's thoughts were broken when she heard her name being called. She blinked and realized Elliot wasn't at his desk anymore. Did he notice that she was staring right at him? She turned around and noticed Elliot was right behind her, at the computer and looking at a security taping. Olivia did her best to focus on the video and not Elliot. As hard as it was, Olivia managed to notice the spider tattoo on the perpetrator's hand.

After a long night, Olivia got home with a lot on her mind. Did Elliot really think she was attracted to women? If she gave in to her feelings for Elliot, the urge to tell him she had strong feelings for him would come next. If that happened, then he'd probably think she was covering up something. It would only raise the suspicion and if he thought she was a lesbian then there was no chance of him having any romantic feelings for her, which wasn't a probable chance in the first place.

First, Elliot was happily married to Kathy despite the fact that they've gone through many hardships, they still loved one another and they still loved their kids. Second, if they got romantically involved, that would cost them their jobs but there was no good reason that restricted Olivia from taking a deep breath and come to a final realization. The realization that she did, in fact, have strong feelings for her partner. Maybe even love if she got a little further.

After coming home from Bab's apartment, Olivia just wanted to lie down. She thought about this, a little too much, as she got ready for bed. She changed into a pair of black pajama shorts and a matching camisole. As soon as she pulled back her covers to get into her awaiting bed, she heard a knock on her door. Olivia's eyebrow raised; nobody usually visited her this late at night. For extra safety measures, she grabbed her gun off her nightstand and held it closely to her side. The knocking continued as she approached the door and opened it, only to find someone that could be the least bit threatening to her.

"El," She breathed, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, Liv, I know it's late. I knew you weren't sleeping so I came by." Olivia gave him a sarcastically unhappy look. Elliot shrugged his shoulders and invited himself in. He stopped needing an invitation into Liv's apartment a long time ago. Coming by so late was a little unusual though.

"Without letting me know first? Why are you here?"

"Kathy and I got into another fight." He sighed as he took off his jacket, sat down and massaged his temples, "I don't think the kids heard but I left before I could find out."

"What caused you two to fight?" Right now, Olivia was sitting next to him and rubbing his back for comfort.

"Same old crap. She was complaining about how I always spend time at work and how I'd much rather be with you than her all the time. At times like this, she's right."

Olivia's eyebrows shot up, "El, don't worry about this. Come on, we caught a serial rapist and murderer tonight. You should be happy."

"Liv, we catch those all the time! That's not going to cover up the drama I go through with Kathy! I put up with her crap every other day. It's the same thing each and every goddamn time!" He was pacing a little now, then he stopped, "I think I might have to file for another divorce, Liv. This isn't helping my other problems."

"What other problems, El?" Olivia's eyes were full of concern.

Elliot blinked and shook his head, "Nothing." He grabbed his coat and walked towards the door, "I should go back home now. The couch probably misses me." He said with a laugh, obviously trying to lighten the mood so she wouldn't worry too much about him. Olivia's concerned face didn't change at the presence of his joke.

"You could stay here if you need to, El. We just can't let Cragen know. I'll see if I can find my air mattress somewhere and-"

"No thanks, Liv." Elliot said with a chuckle, "I have to face this problem one point, why not make it as soon as possible?"

Olivia smiled faintly and led him to the door, "You two love each other very much, El. This is only a minor bump in the road. You two will figure it out as soon as you get home."

Elliot smiled and scoffed, "Right." He said and walked out the door. While he was in the doorway, he turned around and looked right at Olivia. "Speaking of love, I caught you daydreaming at your desk today. Who is he?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Olivia was shocked at first but then she only shook her head and chuckled, "Nobody." She replied softly. He didn't believe her but he only shrugged.

"If you say so, Liv. Good night."

"Good night, El."

Olivia smiled one last time at her friend for the night and closed the door behind him.