Olivia stepped out of the precinct with a couple folders in her arms.

Elliot was just stepping into the building, his head was hung low; it'd be a long day.

Olivia spoke while she walked past him, "Going home soon?"

Elliot didn't respond.

She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and waited as he slowly turned to face her.

"No," he grunted.

Olivia frowned, "Is something wrong?"

He stared at her. He shook his head with a slight smile, "No. Nothing's ever wrong."

He turned and threw open the doors into the precinct.

Olivia was frozen in her position. She tried to make sense of the sudden outburst. Finally she walked back into the precinct to see what the trouble was.

She set down the folders, looked around, but there was no sign of him. Just as she was getting ready to give up, it dawned on her to check the locker room.

"Elliot?" she called as she stepped in.

He was in the process of changing his shirt. He didn't care she was in there. He was trying his best to ignore her.

"Elliot what's wrong?"

"Just go home," he shook his head, staring at the picture of his kids in his locker.

"I want to know what's going on," Olivia stood behind him.

Elliot turned around slowly. He stared at his partner from the few feet away.

He slowly opened his mouth, "You left… no, I take that back, you disappeared. One day you're here, I'm in the hospital for a few hours, and then you're gone. Just like that. Poof," Elliot slowly started making his way toward his partner, or what he'd like to consider his ex-partner.

He continued, "I call your apartment, your cell, and their disconnected. I waited. I hate to admit it, but I waited for you to call. Just to say you were ok, you were safe and you'd be back soon. But you didn't even make the effort to let your partner and your friend, by the way, know where the hell you had gone!" Elliot's voice began to get louder and louder.

He stood right in front of her now, shouting, "You didn't have the decency to even call or write or even tell Cragen to tell me! For all these years, you've called me your partner. But I'm not your partner,"

Elliot looked up and down at her like she was nothing, "If you were my partner, you'd call. You'd write… and if not that, you would have at least said goodbye."

Elliot's voice decreased to a whisper, "You're not my partner, Olivia. You're not even a friend… you don't understand how a relationship works. And that's not your fault, I guess, but this isn't working."

Elliot shook his head continuously, "I missed you… and the whole two months you were gone I felt guilty. I felt like I pushed you away. But right about now, you should be feeling guilty. I'm not going to act like all of this didn't happen like you seemingly hoped I would. You betrayed me, as a friend."

Silence reeked throughout the locker room.

It sustained for minutes it seemed.

"I'm sorry," Olivia whispered, tears dripping from her cheeks, "but you weren't the only one who felt guilty, Elliot."

"I felt like I had to go, Star didn't know how long the case would be. I didn't either. But I had to see if the FBI was meant for me. And its not. Everyday I was there I wished it was over. I wished I could just go back and do what we're good at."

Elliot stared at her blankly. He watched the tears fall from her cheeks. He watched her wipe them away every few seconds.

Finally he lifted her head with his finger tips, he needed to look into her eyes.

Both stared.

And stared.

Finally, like it had been planned, both slid into an embrace.

Elliot held her tightly. Olivia held him closely.

"I'm sorry," Olivia whispered into his neck.

Elliot couldn't hold back, "please don't leave me again."