Hello again! So I watched another Law & Order SVU marathon and there was an episode with Dani Beck. After returning from several trips to the bathroom to vomit, I decided to write a little mini on Elliot's thoughts about Olivia not being with him in season 7. *I own none of these characters, only my own speculation of their thoughts.

Enjoy!(:

It was 3 o' clock in the morning. Elliot sat at his station with his elbows on a mess of papers, rubbing his eyes vigorously with his palms. As he stretched his arms over his head and behind his back, he glanced up at the vacant desk opposite of him. It was completely bare, no phone, no files, no food wrappers or coffee cups.

No Olivia.

It had taken a while, but still, the feeling never quite sunk in. Elliot was used to seeing her every day, bright and early into the dark hours of the evening, sometimes twenty-four hours consecutively. They were so in sync with each other, always knowing what the other was thinking.

Dani, well, she was great too: smart, spunky and extremely loyal, showing dedication to each and every case she worked. She got along well with everyone on the squad, especially Elliot. Captain Cragen was the only one who had an underlying doubt about how she would deal with the special victims.

But even with Dani here, there was something missing.

From the beginning she welcomed herself right in as one of them— one of the boys. When a case won, there were drinks on the house as usual…but Elliot furtively thought there was a vibe missing. Instead, there was a slight feeling of awkwardness at the fact that Dani was celebrating with them, considering it had been only a month. Between the teammates, a cough, a sniffle, or a glimpse in the other direction could subtly hint that they felt like it was time to say good bye and head home early.

Sure, she made a remarkable partner, there was no doubt about that.

But Elliot longed for Olivia.

They had each other's backs for the past 8 years and she was just gone without a word.

Elliot felt a twinge of anger as he thought of this. He stood up, still staring at Olivia's desk, and grabbed a folder.

Not a word, he said to himself, not an explanation, not even a good-bye. How could she do this to me, after all we've been through?

He had unconsciously rolled his free hand into a light fist and sighed, being thankful that no one else was in the station except for a few strays passing briefly through every now and then. More people would be showing up in about an hour or two, so he had some privacy to do his paperwork and think.

Relaxing, Elliot made his way into Cragen's office to drop off the folder. He walked slowly, taking in every stride, every breath, every bit of scenery along the way, thinking about his teammates. They were family. Olivia in particular was closest with him, and he felt a strong tie between them. Constantly, they were listening and taking heed from the other, yet they seemed to find a way to disregard each other without personal consequences, until recently.

He flashed to the moment when she faced her gun at him and he shouted for her to shoot him.

She wouldn't do it.

The friction between them had been getting far too stressful but regardless, she refused to do anything to harm him. Elliot begged her to take the shot at Gitano, but the more intently she looked at him and stalled time, the more he realized how much he didn't want to die. But they'd screwed up once and that boy was murdered, surely she would have to shoot.

Elliot, did you really expect me to cause your death?

No. He didn't…

Elliot found himself back at his desk, staring at a picture of his wife and kids, whom he loved so much. He furrowed his brow…there was still a gap. Still an emotional turf that hadn't been covered somehow. Perhaps they just needed more time, and now that Eli had been born it might be easier. It was thanks to Olivia that Kathy and Eli were alive. It was thanks to her that a lot of things happened, and a lot of people had their lives saved. She was admirable.

Olivia was his best friend and he didn't have a damn idea where she was, what she was doing, or if she'd even return. Elliot punched down on the table. He was exhausted, aggravated, frustrated and he wished nothing more than to just see his partner walk through the door. He needed her now to ease the pain of this job. He yearned to see her deep, sympathetic, brown eyes; hear her smooth voice tell him she'd never left and she would be here for good.

But she wouldn't. Elliot sat deep into his chair, elbows on his knees and his face buried in his palms. This feeling hurt.

It hurt so much, it took his breath away.

Welp, hope you liked it! I expect to be adding more chapters to my SVU Meets FanFiction story, so check it out sometime soon, thanks for reading, and feel free to tell me what you think(: