Disclaimer: don't own em! just borrowing!!

A/N: I'm back!!! lol ... I'm now in Spain and I started this story before I got here, figuring I could finish it before I had to leave, but clearly that did not work out. It's taken me until now to finish it because I've been so busy with adjusting to life here and with school. I really hope you guys enjoy it!

PS- I apologize to those who are in law and know that some of the law info is wrong.. I have no idea what the laws are so I basically just made my own up, or tried to word the sentence in such a way that I didn't have to use specifics lol. Anyways, it's FF so just ignore that and enjoy the AO lovin'! It's what you're here for anyways :P


Olivia and Elliot walked back to the precinct with grins on their faces. Fin looked up as the door opened.

"What're you all smiling about?"

"We got him! Bastard's going to jail for a very long time."

Olivia flopped in her chair.

"Well congratulations. I knew you could do it."

Olivia smiled at him as she absentmindedly flipped through her pages. Munch stood up and stretched.

"Well on that note, I'm going home."

"Yeah I'm gonna call it a night too."

"Night Fin. Munch."

"See y'all tomorrow."

"Yep."

Elliot watched him leave before turning back to Olivia. He watched her carefully and saw that she was staring off into space, something she had been doing for weeks now. He had tried asking her about it but either they got interrupted, busy, or he simply forgot. He looked around the office and seeing that it was empty, figured this was the perfect time to ask.

"What's on your mind?"

She looked up at him.

"What?"

"Something's got you distracted. Has been for a while now. What is it?"

"Nothing."

"It's something Olivia. Talk to me."

She sighed.

"I'm a little concerned."

"About?"

"Have you noticed anything odd about Alex lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just me but I think something is up with her. Something's been going on for a while."

"How so?"

"She's hiding something."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just...the way she's been acting. She never talks to me anymore. We used to be kind of close you know? We'd go out for drinks or hang out and now she barely makes eye contact with me. It's been forever since we've talked."

"I didn't know that."

She shrugged.

"We didn't really say anything. I thought she was interested but... I don't know. She's just been so distant."

"Maybe she's seeing someone else?"

"I think she is, but..."

"But?"

"There's something else. Something's up."

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what Liv?"

She could tell he was getting exasperated with her but she wanted to know if she was the only one noticing what was going on with their ADA.

"Have you noticed she's started wearing pant suits lately?"

"Yeah." He answered, not really getting the relevance. "It's getting colder."

"Yeah but she's been wearing them for months now, even during the heat. And did you notice the way she was standing the other day? Like she was in pain?"

Elliot had a feeling he knew exactly where his partner was going with this.

"You can't possibly be saying what I think you're saying. You think whoever she's seeing is hitting her?"

"I don't know El. All I'm saying is a few days ago we were in the bathroom at the same time and when she lifted her sleeves to wash her hands, I saw her wrist. She had two clear finger prints bruised into the inside of it."

"That could be from one of her interrogations. You know how she likes to provoke them."

"It could be."

He could tell by his partner's tone that she wasn't convinced.

"You're making a pretty serious accusation Liv. You've gotta be sure."

"I'm not making any accusations, I'm just saying. I know it's serious but I've had this unsettling feeling for a while now El. It's getting harder and harder to ignore it. Especially at the thought of someone hurting her..."

He nodded in understanding.

"Look, why don't you try and talk to her tomorrow? I'll cover for you for an hour while you go to her office. Okay?"

"Thanks El. I appreciate it."

"No problem. You figure out what's going on okay? I don't want you losing any more sleep over this."

She nodded.

"I'll go tomorrow."

"Good. Alright I have to get going."

"Yeah. Say hi to Kathy for me."

"I will. Don't stay too late."

"I won't. Good night."

"Night."

When Olivia showed up for work the next morning, she greeted everyone before dropping her stuff off at her desk.

"If you still want to talk to her, you should go now. No cases yet."

She nodded and headed for Alex's office.

"She said she doesn't want to be disturbed."

Olivia ignored the warning and knocked on the door.

"I'm busy!"

She heard Alex call through the door but Olivia was determined to talk to the blonde. She had spent most of the night thinking about this conversation and she was determined to have it. Ignoring Alex's obvious dismissal, she opened the door and barged in.

"Olivia!"

Alex immediately pulled her blouse closed.

"What are you doing?!"

Olivia stood there, shocked. Alex was in the middle of fiddling with what looked like gauze bandages wrapped around her torso when she had walked in. When she came back to her senses, she closed the door and made her way over.

"What are you doing here? I said I was busy." She said sharply.

"What happened?"

Alex tried to hide her discomfort by looking angry.

"What do you want detective?"

"Alex."

She said it so softly that Alex could feel her resolve melting. But, as quickly as the walls began crumbling, they were put back into place. She straightened her back and tightened her hold on her shirt.

"What happened?"

"That is none of your business detective. Is there anything I can help you with or are you just going to continue staring at my chest?"

Olivia's eyes darted up to Alex's. The blonde knew that that was not where Olivia was looking, but she wanted to embarrass and make her angry. She knew the detective well and she knew if she pushed the right buttons, Olivia would become angry and storm off. She didn't want to hurt her, but she couldn't afford to have Olivia prying into her business. It was the reason she had reluctantly begun distancing herself from the brunette. Olivia was getting too close, and she couldn't have that.

-I'm sorry Olivia.

The brunette glared at her.

"I am not staring at your chest Alex. How dare you imply that? I want to know what the hell is under your blouse and why the hell there are open packages of gauze on your desk. What hell has been going on with you lately Alex? You don't talk to me anymore. You barely even look at me when you're around. What is up with you?"

"That is none of your business."

The blonde held her gaze, refusing to back down. She couldn't.

"Fine Alex. Whatever."

The blonde felt like crying but she kept her back straight until Olivia left. After the brunette left her office, Alex dropped into her chair and let the tears silently stream down her face. This is how it had been going on between the two of them for months. There was a time when she and the brunette would go out for drinks and talk until the wee hours of the morning. But now, they were always arguing. It had been months since Alex had had a real conversation with the detective but as much as it killed her, it had to be this way. Alex couldn't have Olivia snooping around her business, not when what she was working on was so important.


There you are! Let me know what you think :) Next chapters will be posted randomly.. but I won't wait too long I promise!