AN: I hope you enjoy this new story. I haven't been able to write for several weeks, and so I have some people to thank. To JessicaR_NY for giving me this prompt. To clingybernie and kukrae for convincing me that I have at least one more EO story in me. And to all the other readers that support me by reading the story, whether you leave a comment or not!

EOEOEOEO

Elliot looked across his desk and watched as Olivia made notes on a thin pad of paper in front of her. She was focused on the task, but he knew it would be moments before she felt his gaze and would look up at him. She would raise one eyebrow and give him a questioning look, and he would smile and go back to his work, unable to tell her that sometimes, he felt a moment of intense panic and would have to make certain that she was actually there.

Sitting across from him.

Right where she was supposed to be.

Her undercover op had hit him hard. More than she'd ever know. He had never confessed to the sleepless nights, the gut-wrenching fear over not knowing where she was or who was watching her back, or the stab of pain every time he thought about the fact that she had left him, knowing the impact it would have on him.

She had chosen to hurt him, and he wasn't quite sure if he had completely forgiven her for it.

Of course, he wasn't sure if she had truly forgiven him for the things that had led them here. He wasn't innocent in all of this.

He tried to focus on the only thing that mattered now.

She was back.

And slowly, they were figuring out how to be partners again. It was a slow process, as they dodged a myriad of topics that would threaten this tenuous détente. They weren't strong enough yet, but he hoped that they could get there someday soon. He wanted his Olivia back…and he thought she wanted that too.

"Hey."

Elliot realized he'd been staring off, lost in his thoughts, and he turned his attention back to Olivia. He saw a small smile on her face, and he felt his heart skip a half beat as he smiled back at her. He knew he had taken her for granted…he had assumed she would always be at his side. But he knew now how dangerous that was…to think he had that kind of control.

"Want to buy me lunch?" She asked, raising both eyebrows in question.

"Do I have a choice?" He teased, belaying the fact that he couldn't have been happier at the invitation. It was such a small thing, but not so long ago, he would have done almost anything to be sitting in their favorite diner, sharing their lunches across the table.

"Maybe I'll ask Fin." Olivia said, acting nonchalant as she looked across the squad room.

Elliot laughed and was out of his chair in a second. "Fin would never buy." He said, circling around their desks until he reached her chair. He touched her shoulder lightly before she stood up, and he leaned in before she could push herself out of her chair. "Thanks for asking."

EOEOEO

Olivia watched as Elliot snagged a fry from his plate and offered it to her.

She was happy to see that at least some of the small things hadn't changed.

Olivia accepted the fry and offered a quick thanks, flashing him a smile before she popped it in her mouth. It made her long for a time when things hadn't been so complicated between them. She knew they couldn't be those people anymore. They had both tried to bury those feelings, and it had blown up in a spectacular fashion. Of course, they still weren't talking about any of that, and she didn't know what that meant for them in the long term, but for now…they just had to find some kind of manageable working relationship. Patching up their friendship, or whatever they wanted to call it, would have to come later.

But in the interim, they could take baby steps.

Lunch was definitely one of the small things they should be able to manage.

And yet, maybe not.

The silence stretched out between them, as if each was afraid that the other was going to bring up a topic that was off-limits. If Elliot was worried about it, he needn't have been because there was no way she was going to risk breaking up the myriad of things that had haunted her over the past several months. They ran like a loop in her head, and even though she wanted answers, she didn't have the guts to put a voice to them.

"Want another fry?" Elliot asked, and she shook her head.

"No. Thanks." Olivia gave him another small smile. "I'm still working off the weight I gained when I was…away." She didn't know how she had managed to gain weight when she lived with the tree-huggers, but she had. They group didn't offer a gym membership, or she didn't have a lot of options for food, so she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. They also didn't have any mirrors. Of course, she knew her body had changed, but when she'd gotten back and tried on her clothes, she'd been somewhat taken aback by her new curves.

"You don't need to lose weight." Elliot said. "I think you look great."

Olivia noticed his eyes dipped down to her chest, but he recovered quickly and looked back up at her. She raised an eyebrow at him in question, surprised by it, but he shrugged his shoulders.

"What?" He asked. "You do."

"I'm out of shape. If I ever had to chase someone, I'd be in trouble. In fact, you can probably beat me in a footrace." She teased. She had lorded her speed over him for years, but now she honestly didn't know who would win.

"Maybe I just let you win all those years." Elliot teased back.

Olivia rolled her eyes, reveling in the moment of normalcy between them. "Yeah right. Not likely." Her tone was sarcastic, but she had a smile on her face, and she saw a small smile on Elliot's face too. It seemed silly that they were enjoying lunch so much. They had eaten together hundreds of times over the years and thought nothing of it…but today… this felt like the start of something new.

With each of these small victories, Olivia felt herself relaxing into her old routine and it felt good. She saw signs of that in Elliot as well as they talked over lunch, and by the time they headed back to the precinct, she was in a good mood.

They were both laughing as they walked into the squad room, and she saw the look of surprise on Fin's face as they made their way into the room. She knew that she had underestimated the impact of her actions and the subsequent blowup on the rest of the team, and some day, she was going to have to make it up to them. But Fin's reaction seemed a little over the top. It wasn't like they were at each other's throats…

"Hey Elliot!"

The greeting interrupted her thoughts, and Olivia ran into Elliot as he stopped abruptly. She moved around him to hear the source of the edgy hello. She stifled an inward gasp as she saw the woman seated in Elliot's chair.

Dani fucking Beck.

She was wearing jeans and a navy-blue quilted vest with a brown, long-sleeved t-shirt beneath. She had her feet propped up Elliot's desk, clad in hiking boots, and her unruly hair was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail.

"Dani."

Olivia could hear the surprise in Elliot's voice, bordering on downright shock. She looked at him and then back at Dani, and she saw Dani break her focus on Elliot to give her a once over. Dani's eyes raked over her, from head to toe, and then turned her attention back to Elliot.

Olivia felt a spark of anger at the other woman's clear dismissal of her, and she narrowed her eyes at her. Dani didn't seem to notice…or care. She dropped her feet and stood up, moving over towards where Elliot stood frozen.

"Hey!" She thumped him on the chest twice with her closed fist. "How's it going?"

Olivia worked hard to stifle her innate urge to push Dani away from him. Olivia had seen them together in the squad room before, but Dani's familiarity with Elliot wracked her to her core. She had no right to be that comfortable with him…for them to be close…after being partnered for such a short time.

Jealousy made her blood boil, even though she wouldn't acknowledge it as such, but it fought with the anger that was coiled within her. Things were finally returning to something akin to normal and now Dani Beck dared to show up to upset everything?

No.

She wanted to step in between them…to push Dani back…but Elliot was already walking around his previous partner to get to his desk. Olivia stood there awkwardly, deciding her next step, but she really had no alternative but to retreat to her own desk. She dropped her keys loudly, and Dani glanced over at her sharply before she turned back towards Elliot.

"Dani…" Elliot started, nodding towards Olivia. "This is my partner. Olivia."

Dani gave her a half a nod. "Yeah…we've met."

Elliot drew his eyebrows together, confused by Dani's comment. "You met?"

Olivia still hadn't told Elliot about the timing of her return, her visit to the precinct or just how long it had been before she had returned to SVU. He would be livid if he knew she had been in town and hadn't reached out to him. "What brings you to SVU?" Olivia asked, clearly changing the subject. Elliot opened his mouth, as if to ask another question, but he must have decided to drop it as he turned his attention back to Dani.

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd ever see you around here again." He said.

Olivia watched as Dani looked at her for a moment before looking back at Elliot. She obviously could sense the tension in the room, and Olivia saw a small smile play across her lips. She hated that it gave Dani some power over her…as she had realized there was information that Olivia was withholding, but Olivia also knew it would be short-lived. She was certain that Elliot would ask her about Dani's comment the moment the pesky woman left the precinct.

"Yeah, well, I need to talk to you." Dani said.

"Yeah?" Elliot asked. "About what?" He couldn't imagine what Dani needed to discuss with him. They had said everything they needed to say before she'd left.

Dani shifted on her feet and glanced over at Olivia again. She looked around the squad room and her eyes settled on the hallway that led to the interrogation rooms. "Can we go somewhere private?"

Elliot lifted his eyebrows in question. He wondered if Dani felt intimidated by Olivia. Her comments about his precious Olivia came to mind, a memory from not that long ago, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised. Of course, it didn't help that Olivia was standing at her desk, glaring at Dani with her most intimidating glare. He had seen that badass persona of hers make grown men wither…

"El…" Dani said with a level of annoyance, and she moved towards him, giving him no option but to move towards the other side of the squad room.

Olivia bristled at Dani's use of his nickname. No one else in the precinct called him by that moniker, and she hated it. Her eyes followed their retreating forms and as Elliot glanced back at her briefly before he disappeared, every rumor about the two of them came rushing back. Her mind started reeling with reasons Dani may be there..

Maybe Dani wanted back into SVU.

Maybe Dani wanted to pick up where they'd left off.

Oh God…maybe Dani was pregnant.

She brought her hand to her mouth as that particular scenario assaulted her.

"You OK?"

Olivia looked up and saw Fin staring at her with concern etched in his features. She shook her head slightly, trying to erase the thought. "Yeah." She sat down hard in her chair and gave Fin a small smile. "I'm fine." She said unconvincingly.

Fin pushed himself up out of his chair and walked over slowly, glancing over in the direction that Elliot and Dani had disappeared in before looking back at Olivia. "You know, I never really liked that woman." He said conspiratorially. He looked at his watch. "Too early for a drink." He said. "Want to go for lunch?"

Olivia appreciated the gesture, especially since Fin knew she'd just come back from lunch. He saw her need to get out of here, but it was fighting with her need to be here when they came out. For some irrational reason, she felt like if she left, Dani would sit down at her desk and pick up where she'd left off.

"Over my dead body." She muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" Fin asked.

She glanced back up at him. "Thanks Fin. But I'm not going anywhere."