A/N: Thank you very much for all the reviews on my other work so far; you are all so generous and kind. In terms of chronology, this fic would come directly after 'Rescue' (therefore, spoilers ahead, you have been warned). Since I saw it I desperately wanted to write a one-shot on the aftermath of Calvin being taken, as I imagined it. Shorter than I thought it would be, but here you go. Usual disclaimer – I don't own SVU nor do I own anything affiliated with it. Ideas and mistakes are my own. Thank you to those that take the time to review. Rachael xx
"You wanna talk about it?" he sat leaning forward in his desk chair, clasped hands resting on the files scattered across his workspace. Olivia sat back in her chair and deftly raised a single eyebrow. Her lips were fixed in a thin line and she thrust her chin out slightly revealing the anger his question engendered. Her dark eyes angrily probing him, silently scolding. No, of course she didn't want to talk about it; this wound was still so raw: she didn't want to expose her vulnerability. Not about this subject. Not to him. "Liv," he spoke so gently she was almost taken aback, "you need to talk about this".
She rolled her chair back violently and stood up, "and say what Elliot? What do you want me to say?" She walked, enraged, towards the water cooler, turned on her heel and strode back in the opposite direction towards their desks glaring at him. "Do you really want me to verbalise how completely devastated I am that I've lost him? Do you think it will it make me feel better to tell you how lost and empty I feel? How furiously disappointed I am that they took him away from me?" Her breathing was erratic, face flushed and chest heaving. Elliot could see she was fighting back tears. He didn't rise to her bait; he simply sat there, watching her as she stood above him, her fingers grasping the edge of his desk for support.
His blue eyes were fixed on her, unblinking. Olivia could see sympathy etched in every line of his face, testament to the care he felt for her, the pain he felt to see his partner so upset and utterly helpless. Olivia exhaled the breath she didn't realise she had been holding, leant forward and in an almost whisper, she confessed "they took him away from me, to be with her." She stabbed the desktop with her index finger. He didn't want to go. He wanted me. And I…" her breath shuddered unevenly out of her, raw emotion taking over, "…I loved him". She felt the burning, salty release of tears down her cheeks, "El, I had my only chance to be a mother snatched from me right before my eyes".
The tough façade of his colleague had vanished and before him stood his vulnerable, beautiful friend, sobbing for such a heartbreaking loss. She watched him watch her and in those hour-long seconds that passed she was overcome with embarrassment. What was she thinking, crying to him in the empty precinct over the lost guardianship of a child foisted upon her for less than a month. Olivia straightened and brusquely wiped the glistening tear tracks from her face; she breathed in sharply and cleared her throat, trying to regain some composure. "God, I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous". She heard her voice wobble and taper off, betraying her true feelings.
Elliot was sprung to his feet, inches from her. He placed his hands on Olivia's shoulders and turned her to face him, chest and hips flush with each other. Tears were threatening to escape again and Olivia desperately tried to blink them back. Elliot leant forward and tenderly kissed her forehead. He drew Olivia in towards him, completely enveloping her body in his embrace. "You are not being ridiculous Liv" he whispered to her, "you're grieving". She could feel his warm breath ghosting over the side of her neck as he spoke and smell his familiar masculine scent. With their arms wrapped tightly around each other Olivia succumbed to the desperation and sadness coursing through her entire being. Her body shaking from the effort, she began to cry again, clinging onto Elliot as he gripped her tight and close. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Olivia felt truly safe.