AUTHOR NOTE:

This story is my take on Pursuit and how it should have ended. In this story Elliot is single and never went back to Kathy

Two days earlier:

I'm going to tell him how I feel even if it kills me. I need to know where we stand, Im pretty certain he feels the same way and that I have just been blind to it as Casey said. It's just my luck he gets called to training on the day I decide im going to tell him

"Liv" he said running towards me. I had never been happier to see him in my entire life.

"El" I replied quickening my pace

"I should have come sooner," he said pulling me into a hug

"Im so glad you're here" I told him honestly as I let my tears fall.

He lifted my chin up and wiped away my tears. Our eyes met and we had an entire conversation without saying a single word.

"It could have been you, I'm so glad your ok. I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you- I should have been. I don't know what I would have done if it had been you, I, I love you"

"It's ok , it's not your fault you weren't here. I am so glad you're here with me I really need you more then you will ever know. I love you too." My eyes responded to his unspoken words.

He pulled me into another hug, his arms strongly wrapped around my waist, my arms around his neck. I felt safe; he had this affect on me. We never hug, scared that we will give into the feelings that we have both tried to deny for so long. Now my cheek is pressed against his.

"I'm fine," I mumble into his neck savoring the smell of his cologne

He weakens his grip on me and holds me at arms length to inspect me. I know I'm anything but fine my make up is running, my clothes are stained with Sonya's blood and I can barely keep my emotions in check.

"Like hell you are," he responded

It suddenly got too much I some how managed to wiggle my way out of his embrace and focus on the case before leaving to follow up on the leads. El looked worried but let me go trusting that I would come to him when I was ready.

Earlier that day-Precinct

"Hey El. How's training going? Miss us yet?" I asked him

"Hey Liv, its ok. Of course I'm missing you. He said with that smile that made me weak at the knees Update me on the case"

"Well this guy is more organized then we first thought and is very dangerous and Sonya and her client don't seem to be taking our warnings seriously." I sighed

"Just make sure it isn't you. He told me, I can cut my visit short and come home if you want"

"As sweet as that offer is El, Fin's here and he's a good cop" I told him

"Yeah I know Fin's a good cop but he's not me, you know I don't trust anyone with your life. I would kick myself if something happened to you and I wasn't there"

I knew he carried the burden of what happened to me at seal-view on his shoulders

" I'll look out for her and unlike you I actually have her back and am not staring at her ass all day" Fin said teasingly to Elliot

" Yeah don't think I don't notice you checking me out all day Stabler" I said with a smirk

"Like you don't check me out he quipped take care of my girl Fin, Liv stay safe and call if you need anything and I will be there in an instant"

"Will do, bye El" with that we ended the videoconference and continued to work on the case. Little did we know that the case was about to take a dramatic turn. Captain Cragen instructed us to turn on channel two news. Our victim a famous news reporter had gone on national TV taunting her stalker who then retaliated a few hours later by holding her at knife point, luckily Fin and I got there just in time to save her, unfortunately her stalker got away.

That was the tip on the iceberg; Sonja stormed into the precinct and demanded to know what happened. After the captain explained what had transpired I decided to ask her why she had such a vested interest in this case. To that she replied that she made a death bed promise to the mother that they would find the person responsible for kidnapping her youngest daughter and that after all the leads dried up it caused her to start drinking. I told her that holding onto this case really wasn't healthy especially since she was now sober. "And how long did you search for the person who raped your mother" she snapped. I was shocked that she would sink that low, obviously so was Cragen as the look on his face mirrored mine. Fin's squeezed my shoulders letting me know he was here for me before leaving the room before he said something he would regret. Never had I wanted El to be by my side more then I did at that moment.

Sonya quickly realized she had over stepped the boundary and received numerous angry looks. I got to love how SVU have become my family and always have my back. She announced that she was going to attend an AA meeting before giving me a look acknowledging that she was sorry. I nodded letting her know that we were ok.

Church

Half an hour later Fin and I headed out to find Sonya. She was attending an AA meeting at the local church downtown. When we arrived her car was still there, we showed her picture to members but they claimed that they hadn't seen her.

"I'll check the ladies" I told Fin

I walk into the ladies room and the scene is horrifying. There is blood everywhere and the mirror is cracked. It's then I notice the body on the ground is Sonya.

"Fin, call a bus and CSU" I scream

"Sonya stay with me." I plead applying pressure to her wound. There was so much blood pooled on the floor, Sonya was cold I pulled her closer trying to keep her warm. I placed my scarf on the wound trying to halt the blood loss.

"Come Sonya, stay with me, stay with me help is on the way," I plead repeatedly

"I got him Liv I got him," she croaked. Minutes later she died in my arms

"Babygurl Mel and CSU are here come on," Fin said trying to pull me off the floor. I honestly have no idea how long he had been standing there.

I shook my head letting him know I wasn't going anywhere. Mel came in and I immediately asked her the cause of death, she told me she wouldn't know exactly what happened until she got Sonya on her table. "Mel, Sonya went down fighting, she knew she was going to die but the last thing she said to me was she got him," I snapped checking her fingernails

"There is nothing under her nails but I will swab her mouth and throat for hairs" she said

"Thanks" I said quietly. Mel informed me minutes later that they had found a hair in her throat and they were rushing to have it DNA tested.

The Precinct

Unbeknownst to me El had returned from training early and was at the precinct when Fin's call came over the radio. "We need a bus to my location" Fin's voiced had come over the radio there was another distinct sound in the background of a women crying. As soon as he heard the crying his heart began to ache. "Where's Liv?" he had practically screamed at Munch. "Elliot calm down nothing is wrong she is ok she is with Fin." The captain had told him.

"She is not ok captain she is crying something pretty bad must have happened for her to be like that we both know Liv doesn't cry. I need to be with my partner she needs me."

Church

I couldn't stand to be in that bathroom anymore, I needed to get out of their my tears began to spill over.

"Liv" he said running towards me. I had never been happier to see him in my entire life.

"El" I replied quickening my pace

"I should have come sooner," he said pulling me into a hug

"Im so glad you're here" I told him honestly as I let my tears fall.

He lifted my chin up and wiped away my tears. Our eyes met and we had an entire conversation without saying a single word.

"It could have been you, I'm so glad your ok. I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you- I should have been. I don't know what I would have done if it had been you, I, I love you"

"It's ok, it's not your fault you weren't here. I am so glad you're here with me I really need you more then you will ever know. I love you too." My eyes responded to his unspoken words.

He pulled me into another hug, his arms strongly wrapped around my waist, my arms around his neck. I felt safe; he had this affect on me. We never hug, scared that we will give into the feelings that we have both tried to deny for so long. Now my cheek is pressed against his.

"I'm fine," I mumble into his neck savoring the smell of his cologne

He weakens his grip on me and holds me at arms length to inspect me. I know I'm anything but fine my make up is running, my clothes are stained with Sonya's blood and I can barely keep my emotions in check.

"Like hell you are," he responded

It suddenly got too much I some how managed to wiggle my way out of his embrace and focus on the case before leaving to follow up on the leads. El looked worried but let me go trusting that I would come to him when I was ready.

I knew he was going into the bathroom to try and understand what I was going through. I had gotten as far as the squad car that was parked out the front before I broke down. His arms pulled me into another hug. "Liv I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you. He said stroking my hair and kissing me on the forehead

"It's not your fault El" was all I could manage through sniffled breathes

"I'm so glad that it wasn't you on that bathroom floor. I don't know what I would have done, I wouldn't have been able to live he said lacing our hands together and whispering soothing words of comfort in my ear while holding me tight against him. After what seemed like an eternity he lifted my chin up so I couldn't avoid his gaze "Liv, babe we are going to get through this together. Do you hear me; you don't have to act like you are ok. I'm here for you." I nodded acknowledging his words and the comfort they temporally provided.

The Precinct

The entire drive back to the station he kept squeezing my hand letting me know he was here for me. I thought that once we got inside he would have dropped my hand but he didn't. "El," I said quietly

"What is it babe? He asked searching my face for an answer before I spoke. He called me babe.

"I need to change and freshen up before we go and interrogate the suspect," I explained to him

" Sure thing I will be right outside if you need me," he said finally letting go of my hand

I emerged from the cribs in fresh clothes and my make up redone to find El waiting just as he promised. We walked hand in hand into the bullpen. Cragen glanced at us and asked me to come into his office. I tugged El to let him know that I wanted him to come with me. He nodded and wrapped his arm protectively around my waist.

"Liv, I want you to take some time off commencing immediately and you have to talk to Haung " Cragen said

"I don't need to take some time off, I'm fine really but I will talk to Haung if that will make you happy. I said glancing at El and then to our interlocked hands. He squeezed them in support. But we need to get back to the case and interrogate the suspect so we can lock the scumbag up for what he did to Sonya"

" Talk to Haung first and then you can interrogate him" the captain ordered before turning and addressing El " You take good care of my girl, she is like a daughter to me. I can't say I am surprised because I always suspected that you guys would end up together it was just a matter of timing"

"Yes sir. I will take care of her. I love Liv more then anything and today when I thought I lost her I decided that I should stop worrying and just show her how I felt." He said facing me. "I love you"

I began to cry even though I was pretty sure that I didn't have anymore tears left.

"I love you too." I managed to choke out

Liv's Apartment

After visiting Haung and interrogating the suspect who confessed and led us to a total of 44 bodies and once the paper work was done El decided that I needed to eat. He was right I had eaten anything since breakfast I was starving. We grabbed Chinese's food from our favorite store and headed back to my apartment. We settled comfortably on the couch.

"El, I began I want to thank you for being here for me it means so much to me I said snuggling into him I am really glad you came back earlier because I had actually decided that I was finally going to tell you how I felt and I didn't know how much longer I could wait. I love you always have, always will" I say shyly.

"I came back earlier because of you. He told me. When I was there I missed you like you wouldn't believe. Then when you guys caught that case I got a really bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. I worried that you were going to get hurt and that I would loose you. I mean I trust Fin as a cop but he isn't me. Im glad that you feel that way about me because I have been in love and will always love you Olivia Benson."

We kissed, it was sweet and passion filled, it was the perfect kiss that capped off one of the most terrible and darkest days at SVU. Knowing that El was by my side and that he loved me as much as I loved him was what allowed me to get through that dark period. I fell asleep in El's arms, knowing that everything would be ok.