Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns these characters. I wish I did, but I don't.

I'll try to update as soon as possible.

It had been three months since Olivia's assault and she was finally back at work full time. She knew she was where she needed to be. If she couldn't work in the SVU, she didn't want to work anywhere. Some cases were harder than others, but she wasn't going to let Lewis take her job away from her. The assault changed Olivia—some cases triggered flashbacks because they were too similar to what she had been through-but she worked just as hard as she did before—long hours, and she still got emotionally involved in every case.

All of the other detectives had already gone home for the night, but Olivia decided to finish some paperwork. Cragen walked out of his office about eleven o'clock and saw her sitting at his desk. He signed, "Liv, go home. It's late." Olivia looked up from her desk and replied, "Captain, I need to finish this tonight." She knew she should go home, but she had too much work to do.

"Are you still staying with Brian?"

"um…yeah. Yeah I am."

"Does he ever see you? You're always here. Go home. That paperwork will be there tomorrow."

"Cap—"

"Liv, go."

Olivia knew Cragen was right. She never saw Brian and Brian never saw her because they were always working. She got her purse out of her desk, grabbed her jacket, and got on the elevator with Cragen.

Brian had decided to surprise Olivia with a romantic dinner. Unfortunately, he was no chef. He decided to get takeout from her favorite Chinese restaurant and try to make it as romantic as possible. The food was on the table and he was lighting the candles as Olivia walked in. He looked up at her and smiled, "Hey, Liv. How was your day?" Olivia stood in the doorway for a few seconds, surprised that Brian had gone to all this trouble. She noticed the takeout containers sitting on the kitchen counter and started laughing. She knew Brian couldn't cook, but he was trying, and it really was sweet.

"Bri, you didn't have to do this."

Brian walked over to Liv, wrapped his arms around her and said, "I know, Liv. But you've been working a lot lately and I wanted you to come home to something nice."

Olivia buried her face against his chest and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. Brian's arms were the only place she felt safe since the assault, and if she could, she would stay like this forever. Brian lifted her chin and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He grabbed her arm and led her over to the table.

While they were eating, they each talked about their day. Eventually, they both became silent. Brian stared at Olivia and after a few minutes, she started to notice.

"What?"

"Nothing. You're just beautiful."

"Bri, really?"

"Yes, Liv. Really."

"Well, thank you."

"Liv, I need to ask you something really important."

At this point, Olivia was worried about what Brian wanted to talk about. Hesitantly, she told him to go ahead.

"You've been staying here for a few months, and I've really enjoyed having you here. I know you don't want to go back to your place. I understand that completely. What do you think about us getting another apartment, together?"

"Brian...I really...I don't know. What do you think about it? Are we ready to take that step?"

"Liv, I'm ready. I wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't what I wanted. But what do you want?"

"I want to be ready to take that step with you, but you know how I am. I don't want us to fall apart. I don't want to lose you."

Brian knew she had a hard time trusting people, but he thought this would show her that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Olivia, look at me. I am not going anywhere. I can promise you that."

Olivia looked into Brian's eyes and she knew he was being sincere. She sighed, "okay, Bri. Let's do it."