Almost eight years have gone by since Elliot and Olivia last saw each other, and while a lot has changed, it's clear that their love for one another never went away. Elliot returns to SVU with a problem that is so close to his, only his oldest friend Olivia can be trusted with it. Will the old partners be able to navigate their complicated past in order to work together in the present? Elliot continues to battles with the same issues of rage that he always did, while Olivia still struggles to move past the betrayal of being abandoned all those years ago. Will they be able to move past their respective demons in order to save someone they both care about before tragedy strikes?

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Olivia sat in her office with Chief William Dodds. Although she still found him to be overbearing at times, she had come to like and respect the man. While their meetings were no longer the chore that they used to be, she still found them unnecessarily bureaucratic. As Dodds sat and spoke of efficiency and public image, all Olivia could think about was being in the field - doing real policing. As she drifted into her thoughts, a knock came from the door, a welcomed interruption. 'Hey Lieutenant, sorry to disturb but there's a guy out here demanding he sees you.'

'You know the drill Carisi…' As dull as her administrative meetings with Dodds could be, dealing with a disgruntled member of the public wasn't much better.

'I know, I know, it's just this guy is pretty loud and pretty insistent. I don't think he's going anywhere. He asked for you by name. He said to tell you something like, sempre fi?' Carisi's face was crinkled with confusion at the Latin term. 'Whatever that means.'

Eliott, she thought. That's what that means. Elliot.

'I'm sorry Chief, you'll have to excuse me. I need to go handle this.' Olivia said, standing up from behind her desk.

'Is everything okay, Lieutenant?' Asked Dodds. He must have noticed the uncertainty in her gaze.

'Absolutely perfect.' She said sarcastically through a forced smile.

'I'm not leaving until I speak to Olivia Benson.' His familiar voice echoed through the room until it hit her. It was aggressive but strangely comforting.

There he was, Elliot Stabler. Looking at him, she thought she was okay, she thought she could handle it… Until he looked back at her, leaving her instantly paralysed. Their eyes locked in on one another. It was one of those stares consumed the room, that created its own peace and silence, that turned chaos into white noise. Just for a second, she forgot that she was supposed to be angry with him and allowed a smile to creep across her face. It was involuntary, she had missed him indescribably and she was happy to see him. She wondered if he felt the same as he reciprocated with a smile back.

'Olivia,' said the voice of her former partner.

It acted as a wake-up call for her as she remembered what he did and where they were. They were in the middle of the squad room, with an audience of confused faces. As she regained awareness of the situation, he paralysis faded. She marched towards him and forcefully grabbed his arm before guiding him into an interrogation room for some privacy, fearing that Dodds may still be in her office.

She pushed him through the door, and before it could close behind them she began her rant.

'What the hell Elliot? I don't hear from you in what, seven years? And then you come into my squad room demanding to see me. That is not how this works.' She was furious. She couldn't believe the audacity. Did he really expect to just walk back into her life as though nothing had happened? The thought of him just picking her up and dropping her when it was convenient for him enraged her.

'Look I know, I know. And I'm sorry.'

'You're sorry? For what exactly? For leaving me? For not saying goodbye? For not picking up the phone once in seven years? Or for coming back here today?' She continued her impassioned speech as she paced back and forth in front of him. The words I'm sorry were simply too little, too late. Too much time had passed and too much had happened for such a casual apology to resonate with her.

'I'm sorry for it all, Liv. Truly.' He pulled out a chair and sat down. They had spent so much time within these four walls over the years. He leant forward with his head in his hands. She recognised the scene. He had spent many nights at the desk opposite her brooding with his head in his hands. It was never a good sign. It was often the final warning before the turmoil inside him began to spill over into his real life. That's when she noticed the fresh wounds on his knuckles. It looked like whatever demons he was battling this time had already taken hold of him.

'Elliot, your hands…' As Olivia reached for them he sat up and hid his hands under the table. What had he done?

'I know I have no right to come back here, and I know I have no right to ask, but I need your help, Liv.' He looked at her, his eyes pleading. He was too proud to beg, but his eyes conveyed the desperation that his voice couldn't. 'Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I thought there was another way… Please, just hear me out?'

He looked at her with his broken stare, the one that she found impossible to ignore. She knew she couldn't turn her back on him, even if she wanted to. The trouble was, she still loved him, even after all these years.

'When did this place turn into a time machine?' Joked Finn, as he walked into the squad room having returned from lunch.

'What?' Questioned Carisi, puzzled by the comment.

'That's like a window into 2011.' He said, gesturing at the interrogation room.

'You know that guy?' Asked Rollins.

'Who is he, an ex or something?' Said Carisi. It was clear that both Rollins and Carisi had been speculating over the identity of the hot-headed man since Olivia had dragged him away.

'Not quite.' Answered Finn. 'That's her old partner.'

'The notorious Elliot Stabler,' came a voice from behind them. Dodds had surfaced from Olivia's office and was only too happy to share his opinion. 'Fantastic detective from what I remember, but a limited human being if I'm not mistaken.'

'Maybe he wasn't a people person, but he cared more than most Chief,' interjected Finn, defending his old friend. 'That was his real problem - sometimes he cared too much.'

'It all caught up with him in the end though didn't it? I heard about the shooting that happened in here. That was a real tragedy.' Dodds' tone annoyed Finn. He didn't know Elliot Stabler and he didn't know the events that unfolded that day, because if he did, he'd know the word tragedy didn't come close to covering it.

'That it was,' replied Finn with a hint of irony. He wasn't in the mood for an argument.

Even though she was still angry, she couldn't help but be concerned. In front of her was the man she loved, asking for her help. Who was she not to at least hear what he had to say? She took a seat opposite him.

'What do you want Elliot? Why did you come back here?' She didn't mean for it to sound as cold as it did.

'It's Kathleen. She's in trouble.'

'She always was,' Olivia joked, cautiously. She had a feeling the conversation was going to take a dark turn, and she wasn't wrong.

'Yeah,' agreed Elliot, nodding his head and sighing. 'Except, this time it's bad. I think she could be in some real trouble.' There was genuine concern in his tone. 'She's shacked up with this dirtbag, and I know he's hitting her. Every time I see her she's got a new bruise or scar accompanied with a new excuse. And today when I went round to check on her, she had a freshly broken nose and a black eye to match. She said she fell on a night out with the girls.' Elliot looked up at Olivia for back up. 'Because we've never heard that line before.'

Olivia nodded in agreement that her explanation was an obvious lie.

'I could see it in her face that she was scared. So I told her it was okay and that I could help her and that she didn't need to be scared anymore.' This was the side of Elliot that she loved, the loving father, the family man, the side that no one at the precinct got to see… No one but her. 'She was just starting to open up to me when that dirtbag came home. As soon as he walked through the door she froze. You know the way they do… We've seen it a thousand times.'

'Let me guess, that's when you decided to administer a little rough justice' she said, reaching for his hands which he had taken out of hiding at some point. She held his hands in hers, still raw from the punches he'd thrown. 'You know me, hit first, ask questions later,' he began to joke until he saw Olivia's look of disapproval.

'You sure they were just partners?' Queried Rollins, picking up on the intimacy of the interrogation room.

'Funny you should say that. Their partnership is still one of SVU's biggest mysteries,' said Finn, in jest - except he wasn't entirely joking. Carisi, Dodds and Rollins all looked at him, like vultures, eager to find out more. 'A room full of detectives but we never cracked that case.'

The truth was, Elliot and Olivia had struggled as much as their peers to define their relationship.

'I just lost it. She's still one of my babies, I don't care how grown up she thinks she is, she'll always be one of my babies.' Olivia squeezed his hands as if to say it's okay, I understand. 'When I saw him I hit him. And I kept hitting him. And after that its a blur. I got caught up in the moment, yunno, the way I do. I just remember her screaming for me to stop.' He paused with a sigh of regret. 'When I snapped out of it her face was full of terror. She said I was only making it worse and begged for me to go, so I did.'

Any animosity Olivia felt towards him had been replaced with sympathy. 'What can I do to help?'

'I was hoping you could go round there? Yunno, scare him a little.' Olivia's face was sceptical, she was tough but no more intimidating than Elliot - he'd always been the forceful one in the partnership. What difference could she make? 'I might be her old man and I might have beat the shit outta him, but for guys like this, nothing's scarier than the flash of a shiny NYPD badge,' Elliot reassured her.

'Is Kathleen willing to put in a complaint?' Asked Olivia.

'She's scared and confused. Last time I spoke to her she was still making excuses for the guy.'

'You know I can't do anything until she makes a complaint? The Chief watches me like a hawk as it is,' she said, gesturing out to the squad room where she new Dodds would be stood, predictably watching.

'I know it's a lot to ask.' He paused, before looking directly at her, once again talking through his eyes not his words. 'I'm sorry to put this on you and I'm sorry for everything I have put you through - but I'm desperate. I'm her father. It's my job to protect her, but for the first time, I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. I'm terrified of losing her and I don't know what to do. So I'm here, asking for a favour from an old friend.' Neither of them could believe the honest nor the raw emotion in Elliot's speech.

'I think that's the most you've ever said to me,' said Olivia, breaking the silence that was becoming uncomfortably long. Elliot forced out a small smile, acknowledging what she meant by that comment.

She wanted to help him, but her hands were tied. She was a lieutenant now. Her scope to make reckless decisions was much narrower than it used to be. She looked at him then but thought of her team and Dodds, who she could feel were watching from the squad room. Her loyalties were split between her head and her heart, between what was smart and what she knew was right.

'Can you help me, Liv?'

She didn't answer straight away. She needed to think, but before she could vocalise her conflicted thoughts an impatient Elliot had begun to pull away. He pulled his hands out from under her's and began to stand. Her hesitation had unsettled him. All his cards were on the table and it left him more vulnerable than he was comfortable with. When he admitted that he needed to be rescued, he expected her to jump in and save him immediately. When she didn't, he made his own assumptions about her answer to his plight.

'You were right, I shouldn't have come here. This was a mistake.' He said, standing tall, looking down at her. Any weaknesses he had revealed just minutes earlier were now completely hidden from view.

'Elliot. This is complicated,' said Olivia, now also on her feet.

'What am I supposed to do, Liv? Wait until he kills her? You know how quickly these things can escalate.' He made his way for the door, placed his battered hand on the handle, but before turning it he looked back at her once more. 'I thought that if anyone would help me, it'd be you. I guess I was wrong.' His parting words sprinkled salt in the wounds that had reopened the second she saw him.

'Elliot, wait,' she said reaching for his arm, grabbing it and attempting to pull him back to safety. While she didn't know what his next move could be, she knew that in this mood he was a danger to himself and anyone that got in his way.

If looks could kill she'd have fallen to the floor right then and there. As he turned his head to face her, there were flames in his eyes. He shot her daggers before violently snatching his arm back. 'It's fine Liv. I'll handle this myself.' He said before exiting through the squad room and leaving her, stood in the doorway of the room where she had mourned losing him the last time he walked away from her.

That's exactly what I'm worried about, she thought to herself.

I hope Chapter 1 was as much of a pleasure read as it was to write. Feedback is always appreciated.