"Elliot, I can't do this…I…can't", Olivia said as she tried to fight back the tears in her eyes still clenching her gun with all of the strength she had.

"Olivia, listen to me alright…I need you to do this. If you don't shoot him, he will shoot me okay. Just point the gun and shoot. Line up the shot…LIV! Do it now," Elliot said becoming more and more angry that Olivia was not shooting Crowley who at this point had a large gun placed firmly at the bottom of his head.

"She won't do it," said Crowley, "Face it she is just a good for nothing tramp who can't shoot a gun. Come on shoot…SHOOT ME…Come on do it. Make my day."

"Olivia please…if you don't do this I am going to die. He is going to kill me. Is that what you want? Liv look at me…make the shot. Take him out please. "Elliot became more and more fearful hat Olivia would not be able to make the shot and that his life would end right there. He was facing the woman that he loved asking her to take another person's life for his.

"Elliot just stop talking…Elliot please stop," BANG. She pulled the trigger as fear struck across her face.

When she pulled the trigger both Crowley and Stabler fell to the ground. Olivia stood in shock for a few seconds before she realized that Elliot had fallen too. She rushed over to him and grabbed Elliot's head and placed up against his chest. Unsure of his injuries or the lack thereof she was trying to be as gentle as possible.

"Come on Elliot. Don't leave me. I need you here with me alright. I know I should have pulled the trigger when you first told me. I know this is my fault I am so sorry. Just please don't leave me Elliot not like this. I can't be alone." Tears began to fall from her faces as she looked at Elliot's limp body. "El you're the longest relationship I've ever had with man. You can't leave me not like this."

"What happened Liv. Whoa. Where has he been shot?" asked Fin as he turned the corner into the dark alley where Olivia sat next to Elliot's body. "I'm calling a bus…Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just get him some help." She said with her eyes still focused on Elliot almost as if she were in a daze.

"Have you been crying?"

"What…no. I-just…did you call the bus."

When the ambulance arrived they checked Crowley for a pulse but he had already died when they arrived on the scene. Elliot was still alive but just barely so the put him in a stretcher and drove to the hospital. Olivia and Fin followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited for the word on Elliot's condition in the waiting room.

"Is he okay doctor?" Olivia asked as she stood up to greet the doctor.

"It appears the bullet went through his body before entering to second victim and getting lodged in his chest. Fortunately for your friend, the bullet was in his shoulder so it didn't hit any organs. He is very lucky. You can see him if you would like."

"Thank you," Olivia said graciously as she turned towards the room where Elliot was. She entered the room to find a sleeping Elliot lying in the hospital bed. She sat in the chair next to his bed for a while before she began talking to him.

"Listen Elliot I know you can't hear me but I've got some things to say to you. I thought I lost you out there tonight. I can't imagine life without my best friend. I know you won't hear what I am about to say to you but… you mean more to me than you will ever know. I'm so sorry I did this to you." Olivia rubbed her hand against the side of his face before she left the room and headed home for the night.

The door closed behind Olivia as she left Elliot's room. When she closed the door Elliot woke up. He heard everything that Olivia had said but he was unsure whether or not he was just dreaming. She had said all of the things that he had been waiting for her to say for quite some time now. She was saying the things that he wanted to say but did not have the courage to. He lay in the bed for a while staring at ceiling thinking before he fell asleep and had the most vivid dream about Olivia that he had ever had.

Olivia doesn't know that I heard what she said. Should I just ignore her confessions? Should I tell her that I feel the same way? Was she just saying that because she thought that she had killed me?

It took Elliot the rest of the night to convince himself that he should just ignore what he heard. Since Olivia didn't know that he had heard what she said things could still be normal with them. Olivia came back to visit Elliot as much as could while he was still in the hospital. Elliot tried as hard as he could to make sure that he did show that he knew what she had said. After two weeks in the hospital Elliot was finally released and his daughter Maureen came to his house to take care of him since he was still in a fair amount of pain. The before Elliot got out of the hospital Maureen came to the precinct and told everyone that she was planning a surprise party for her dad as a get well soon bash. Everyone agreed to be at his house when he arrived home from the hospital.

Elliot got home after the party and opened the door to find all of his waiting for him. He was very happy that they came to support his recovery and that they cared so much. He was especially happy to see Olivia there but he tried to act normal towards her. After a few hours everyone left the party but Olivia stayed behind to help clean up. Elliot was not one to just sit around and do nothing so began to help with the cleanup which did not make Olivia and Maureen happy. Maureen went into the kitchen to get more garbage bags while Olivia and Elliot put more of the trash into the garbage bag in the kitchen.

Elliot looked down at Olivia as she was picking up pieces of garbage off of the floor. He stared at her for a while until she noticed she was being looked at.

"What?" She said as she stood back to put the garbage in the bag that Elliot was holding.

He looked at her for a few seconds and then leaned down to kiss her.

"What are you doing?" she said with a very puzzled look on her face.

"What?"

"El, we're just friends."

"But I heard what you said."

"What are you talking about? What did I say that would make you think-…oh?" she said as she looked down at the garbage in her hand.

"So you mean you didn't mean what you said when I was in the hospital?"

"It's not that I didn't mean it Elliot, it's just that I was upset and I thought that you were not going to make ii. I was just a big ball of emotions and everything came out and you were never supposed to hear that. El, I guess I'm trying to say is, I'm not ready to take that step with you. I don't want to rush into something because of extreme circumstances."

"I'm sorry Liv. I didn't mean to cause any trouble tonight. I just thought that-"

"It's okay El. It's my fault. I shouldn't have said the things that I said. I'm going to go home."

"You don't have to leave Liv."

"Yes I do." Olivia grabbed her jacket and purse and headed for the door as Maureen was coming out of the kitchen.

"Dad, what happened? Why did she leave?" Maureen asked as she made her way back into the living room.

"I have no idea." Elliot said as he sat down and put his head in his hands before letting out a big sigh.

Things eventually went back to normal. Work was good, the detectives were good, and everything seemed like it was falling into place after Elliot healed from his wounds. Fin's birthday was coming up and he decided that he wanted everyone to go to a club near the precinct to celebrate. On Friday night everyone got dressed up and went to the club to celebrate fin's birthday. Everyone had a drink or two or three. Elliot and Olivia got a little more buzzed than everyone else. Since they were so drunk they decided to flag a cab. When they got outside the club it was raining really hard. The two of them had been flirting the night and everyone had noticed. When they got outside the club Elliot turned around to face Olivia and pulled over to the side of the club under the part of the roof that extended past the building.

They were silent for a few seconds and just gazed into each others eyes. Olivia broke the silence.

"Well you aren't trying to kiss me again are you?" she said as she slowly moved closer and closer to Elliot's mouth.

"Of course not." He was also moving slowly toward her mouth.

"Good. Were just friends." She said as their lips met.

"Come on. Let's go." Elliot said as they got into a cab.