The jury always seemed to take forever to deliberate with each other, but finally they were called back into the courtroom. Olivia Benson hurried back into the courtroom and took her seat. After everyone was seated, the jury filed back in and they all sat down.

"On the count of rape in the first degree, has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge said.

"Your honor, on the charge of rape in the first degree, the jury remains unable to reach a unanimous decision," the juror replied.

"Very well. I accept your verdict," the judge said. "On count two, has the jury reached a verdict?"

"On the charge of assault in the second degree, we find the defendant not guilty." the juror declared.

Instantly the courtroom rioted, some yelling obscenities. The judge pounded his gavel three times.

"Order! Order in the courtroom!" He shouted.

After a few moments everyone quieted down. Olivia listened intently for the jury's verdict on the last charge.

"On count three, what say you?" the judge continued.

"On the charge of unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, we find the defendant guilty," the juror responded.

Olivia smiled inwardly, got up and left the room. At least they'd gotten the bastard on one of the charges.

Olivia arrived back at the precinct twenty minutes later. She had hoped to get him on all three charges, but at least he wasn't let off completely. She sighed inwardly, wishing Elliot was here; she hoped he was coming back. The shoot out at the precinct seemed to have traumatized him more than it had Olivia. But she couldn't blame him. If he hadn't have shot Jenna, who knows who else would be dead? She threw her things on her desk, ready to sit for a moment, but before she could, Captain Cragen called her into his office.

"Liv? My office, for a moment," He called.

Slowly she walked into his office.

"Would you shut the door please?" Cragen said quietly, and she turned, and quickly shut the door.

Cragen had a grim look on his face, and Olivia could feel a knot of anxiety starting to form in her stomach. He looked at her for a moment, and then he spoke.

"Elliot put his papers in. There was nothing I could do."

Olivia felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she stared at Cragen for a short while, trying to comprehend what he just said. Her mouth seemed sealed shut and her eyes stung with impending tears.

"He's earned it," She said quietly.

"And then some," He replied. "You wanna talk?"

She slightly shook her head.

"No."

"You wanna take a day?" He asked her.

"No."

"Liv, I'm sorry."

At that moment, Rollins walked in.

"Got a ten thirty-four on Waverly." She said, glancing between them.

"Fin, take Rollins," Cragen called out into the precinct.

"No, I'll go," Olivia suddenly said. "Give me five, and we'll roll."

Rollins nodded, and walked out the door. Olivia followed her out. Her stomach was in knots and she felt a lump forming in her throat. Thinking quickly, she walked to an interrogation room, walked inside, and shut and locked the door behind her. She gripped the table hard, so hard that her knuckles turned white. Then she leaned against the wall, slid down, and let the tears fall. She wished that she had had a chance to speak to him before he left, she wished he hadn't left at all. And most of all, she wished that she had had the chance to tell him how she felt. But that would have to wait. She had a case to tend to.

Standing up, she wiped her eyes, opened the door, and headed for the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, and after she had dried it off, she headed back to her desk to grab her coat.

"Alright," she said to Rollins. "Let's go."

. . .

They had checked out the incident last night, nothing very serious. So Olivia went home. When she got there, she poured herself a glass of wine, and sat on her couch in the dark. She sat there reminiscing, trying to decide whether she should go see Elliot, and she burst into tears. The glass of wine shattered on the floor as Olivia clutched a pillow, trying to muffle her sobs.

She missed Elliot. She would miss working with him. And since he was gone, that would mean that she would be getting a new partner. She didn't want that. So she'd talk to Cragen about it whenever she went back into work.

She hurt all over. It hurt to think about Elliot. It hurt to think about getting a new partner. They had been partners for nearly fifteen years. She needed him. She depended on him, and he on her. It was going to hurt like hell to go into work tomorrow.

Taking deep breaths, she slowly calmed herself down. As soon as she started breathing normally, she cleaned up the mess and headed to her bedroom, stripped off her clothes, and fell into bed.

Olivia woke the next day around noon. Getting up out of bed seemed like the hardest thing in the world to do...but she managed it. Locating her wallet and phone, she remembered that she had Elliot's cell number. Her finger hovered over the call button for a moment, but then she snapped the phone shut and threw it on her bed.

When she got to the kitchen, she made herself a cup of coffee and some toast and sat on her couch. She deliberated further on whether she should go see Elliot, and she made her decision after a few minutes of going through the pros and cons.

She was going to go see Elliot.