Olivia stood at the front of the church, holding the speech she had carefully written in her hand. She spent all week working on it, yet she knew it wasn't enough to explain what she had to say. He deserved more than that. He deserved the best she could give, and that speech wasn't it. She wasn't sure what to say, but the words seemed to spill out of her mouth.

"I remember the day I see him after he had left the unit. It was years before we ever talked, and I know the reasons behind his decisions. Back then I was confused and angry, but I missed him enough that it didn't really matter anymore. I just wanted him to be my partner again."

***One Year Earlier***

She had just ordered her coffee and sat down at one of the tables, grateful that she was finally off work. It had been a long case, and Amaro had finally got a confession after a 12 hour interrogation. She loved being the acting sergeant now, but she sometimes missed the older days. She was excited to spend her weekend off work, and she had planned to enjoy it with Noah. She had wanted to take him upstate and maybe spent it by the water.

Looking at her phone, she tried to keep herself busy as she waited for her order. Knowing she should be getting home to relieve the babysitter, she hoped she wouldn't have to wait long. She could hear a little girl talking close to her table and it made her smile. Not soon after the little girl stopped talking, she heard a laugh some from a guy that she what she could assume was a family member. Knowing she had to be wrong, she waited until they were finally leaving to turn around. She normally wouldn't have thought twice about it, but she waited to see the man turn around.

She knew that laugh all too well.

His crystal blue eyes gleamed as he talked to the girl, making her wonder who she was. Her eyes were identical to him and she began to question if he had stayed with his wife and had another kid. It almost broke her heart to think he had to go through all that again after the experiences with his last. She decided that time away from the unit had been good for him, considering how good he looked. Before she could even really ponder the thought much, she heard another familiar voice yell her name.

"Livia! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's you!" The tall blonde yelled as she came running towards her, quick to pull her into a hug as she stood from the table.

She couldn't believe how much she had changed, and how much she looked like her mom. She smiled and hugged her, trying her hardest not to look up at him.

But she knew, deep down, she wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him and found out what life was like outside the unit.

She looked up to meet those piercing blue eyes, almost wishing she hadn't. Elliot almost looked mad, but somewhat upset at the same time. She didn't see any resemblance of happiness whatsoever. All the joy he had previous had was gone and he was as white as a ghost.

The little girl came running to Maureen's side, curious as to whom the stranger was. She could hear Maureen talking, but she wasn't really listening to her because she couldn't take her eyes off Elliot.

"Liv?"

She finally turned to look at Maureen, quick to smile and brush off the dark feeling she now had. The little girl was staring at her with a smile across her smile and held some kind of stuffed animal as Olivia bent down to her level. She assumed she was no older than three, just like many victims she had worked with.

"You have to be a Stabler with those pretty blue eyes you have. What's your name sweetie?" Olivia asked the girl.

"Emery Scott. What's your name?"

"Emery, this is Olivia. She use to work with your grandpa when he was a cop and she was his partner. They got to arrest all the bad guys together."

"You use to work with my Papa?"

"I sure did Emery. He was the best partner I ever had, and an ornery one too. You're Papa saved my butt a couple times."

Emery laughed and ran off, heading over toward Elliot again. He picked up the girl and threw her over his arm, making Emery laugh even louder. She smiled, knowing the love he had for his family was tremendous.

"You should talk to him Liv. I know he misses you, and I can tell you miss him too." Maureen said, trying to convince her.

"Maureen, I wouldn't even know what to say to him. He seems so different, and I'm not even sure he wants to talk to me. I think that's pretty obvious by the way he has ignored me for these last few years."

"He has his reasons, and I think it would be good for you two to talk. He has changed, but he's still the same old Elliot you knew. I think it would be nice for you two to be friends again."

Before Olivia could even answer, Maureen walked over and grabbed her daughter, telling Elliot something before kissing him goodbye. She watched as he walked over to the counter, grabbing the coffee sitting there and bringing it to her.

"Let me guess, the same old black coffee with extra caramel?" Elliot smiled, setting down at the closest booth.

She smiled, taking the cup and sat down across from him at the table. She had so many questions to ask, but didn't know how to ask them. She wanted to know everything. She could tell something was different about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Papa huh?" Olivia asked, trying to break the ice.

"Yeah, that's our newest bundle of joy. Maureen got married to a great guy she met in college and had Emery about a year later. I keep Em when the two of them have to work, so she's with me a lot."

"Is Eli doing okay with another little one to steal the spotlight?"

"Yeah, it was rough at first. It took some time for him to adjust, but now they're partners in crime. He just started first grade and he's always getting into trouble. He plays soccer and loves it, but Kathy has him right now while they visit her family upstate."

"How is the rest of the family? Maureen looks like she's doing really well."

"The twins are good, both in college and living on campus. Dickie isn't sure what he wants to do, but Lizzie wants to be an environmental scientist. Kathleen is working in New Jersey at a counseling service for teens, and is engaged to a guy she met there. They're going to move into my mom's old house when they get married. Maureen works at Mercy as a nurse and her husband Jeff is head of security there. They still live here in the city, just a few blocks from me."

"Wow El, looks like you got pretty lucky. I'm so glad everything turned out well for you."

"Yeah well after I left, I kind of realized some of the things I was missing while I wasn't at home. After everything that has happened, I really just try to spend time with my family as much as I can."

The two of them fell silent, not sure what to say. Olivia knew she should be heading home and she really didn't want to say something she would regret. Elliot was happy without her and the unit, and she was okay with that.

"El, I should be heading home. I've got things I need to take care of before my weekend off…." Olivia stuttered as she stood from the table.

"How about I come over so we can talk? There are some things I wanna tell you before I change my mind. Your place is actually on my way home." Elliot tried, following her out the door.

"I actually live on the other side of town now. I moved out a couple months ago when Brian and I got our own place."

Shit. She wasn't going to tell him about Cassidy.

"Oh, well can I just follow you there?"

"I don't think tonight is a good time Elliot. Maybe when I get back this weekend or maybe next week sometime?"

"Please Olivia. I need this because you and I both know how it will be. If we don't do this tonight, there is a chance we won't ever do it."