Olivia sat on the couch, nervously playing with her hands, awaiting Elliot's arrival. She expected to hear his knock on her door any minute now, but she still had no idea what to say to him. Yes, the two had been partners for the past twelve years, but this wasn't something that they could just easily bounce back from. She wondered why they didn't have a course on this in the academy; "How to Talk to Your Partner After They've Shot a Teenage Girl." That course name would be such a slap in the face that it would probably scare away half of the future police officers across the country. Maybe "Expect the Unexpected" would fulfill the purpose better without giving everyone cold feet. The title's vagueness wouldn't carry enough information to set off any "Get out of here, now" alarms, but it would definitely keep everyone on their toes.

A knock on the door interrupted Olivia's nervous thoughts as she then realized she had been furiously biting her nails; she only did that when her nerves were through the roof. She took in a deep breath and wiped her palms on her pants. As she rose from the couch, her nerves became even more hectic. She mentally told herself to calm down as she hastily made her way to the door. Before turning the knob, she shimmied her body as if to literally shake off her nerves and blew a quick breath that gently feathered a few strands of hair. She slowly began to open the door, and as soon as she saw Elliot's profile, she wanted to rip open the door and throw herself into his arms for one of their typical, relieved I'm-so-glad-you're-back hugs. Instead, she restrained herself and continued to the open door like it was any other drop by.

Elliot stood, leaning against the wall, with his head bowed down towards the ground. He offered a light, warm smile when he raised his head to look at Olivia, though it was more with his eyes than it was with his mouth. Olivia barely whispered a "hi" as she stepped aside to grant Elliot entrance. As he walked by, the smell of him nearly overwhelmed her. She almost forgot what it was like to be in his presence.

When Olivia turned around after closing the door, she found Elliot standing almost too close for comfort but too far away as well. She stepped aside to escape from his tower. She took in his tall physique as she eyed his stonewashed jeans and slightly wrinkled, grey t-shirt. He appeared relaxed, but Olivia could sense that the exact opposite was true. It was the game they both loved to play; put on a face like everything is fine, when in reality, everything is falling apart.

Needing to break the silent tension, Olivia directed her hands towards the couch. "Go ahead. Take a seat. I'll get you a beer." Elliot nodded and replied with an agreeing murmur. Olivia stood still as she watched Elliot make his way to the couch. His stride was practically screaming in emotional pain as he slowly made his way over; all the pride in his step vanquished.

Realizing that she was staring, Olivia snapped herself out of her trance and made her way to the refrigerator. When she grabbed the bottle of beer, she nearly jumped from the chill. She hadn't realized how hot her skin was, so the bottle felt about twice as cold as usual. She tightened her grip on the bottle and made her way over to the couch. As she sat down and handed the bottle to Elliot, their hands lightly brushed, and they both let out an awkward mixture between a laugh and a clearing of the throat. Olivia quickly retracted her hands and placed them loosely in her lap. She watched as Elliot opened his beer. Now that she was level with him, she could see the stress written across his face. She could see his pulsing temples and the stressed vein in his neck. His exhaustion was displayed in the dark circles under his eyes. She even noticed the extra little bit of stubble on his face.

She even heard his rhythmic breathing, and that's when she realized how close she was sitting. She gazed down only to see that their knees were about one or two inches away from touching each other. Although Elliot and Kathy divorced nearly four year ago, Olivia still felt weird about boundaries. Kathy had always been good to her, and Olivia even helped Kathy give birth to Eli. Olivia believed there were so many boundaries of betrayal to cross, and she always felt steps away from crossing the line. No, Elliot and Olivia never explored a relationship beyond their partnership, but it always felt like it was a little something more than "just partners." Yes, all partners should maintain a good friendship and get along, but sometimes, they were just too close. Olivia would need an extra hand to count the number of times they had put their necks on the line for each other. Not to mention to number of times they've jeopardized a case because one was too worried about the other. The only reason they haven't been pulled from SVU yet is because they're the squad's best detectives.

Almost squirming in discomfort, Olivia shifted her weight and pushed herself back a few inches to scoot over. Elliot must have felt the pressure change and sensed Olivia looking at him because he glanced towards her as he drank from the bottle. He paused and set the drink down. Questioning, he furrowed his eyebrows but raised them just as quickly.

"What?" It wasn't harsh, but it wasn't light either.

Olivia shook her head with a "Nothing."

Elliot glared at her.

"What is it, Liv?"

She shook her head again.

"Really. It's nothing, El."

Elliot gave up and shrugged it off. He went to reach for his beer again when he noticed the case file on the coffee table. He picked it up and gently waved it in his hand.

"What's this?"

"Rape case on 16th Ave., in an alley. Prostitute."

Elliot gave a knowing nod. Olivia continued.

"We think it's a string. There are just too many connections for it not to be. Wanna take a look?"

"Liv, I-"

"I could really use your help on this, El. The whole squad is stumped."

"I do-"

"Come on. I'll get you caught up so you'll be ready when you come back."

Olivia bit her tongue as she said the words "come back." She could feel the inevitable coming, but she had to keep talking. She wasn't ready to hear what she thought Elliot might have to say. She took the case file from Elliot's hands and laid it open on the coffee table as she continued to ramble.

"Aisha Lamar, found in an alley next to Hudson U, three months ago. Raina Sanchez, another alley dump, outside of the Chinese restaurant, five blocks down, last month. Nadia Mahmoud, an alley, just outside of Chelsea, two weeks from today. And the last one, Tatyana Romanov, five days ago."

She saw Elliot begin to open his mouth and spoke faster.

"All undocumented immigrants, under the age of 25. No family, no friends, no records of any kind. Easy for them to go missing without being missed. We're missing something, I just don't know what. I went undercover as a buyer the other day but couldn't get even a pinch of information about any of them."

She quickened her rate of speech again, almost frantic.

"I kinda wanna say someone outside of the ring has a vendetta against them. Almost like a hate crime. I'm just not sure. This whole case is just off the map. Everything adds up, but at the same time, absolutely nothing adds up. Cragen has been down everyone's throat about this. Every time we gain a lead, we lose a lead. I just don't un-"

Elliot placed a gentle hand on Olivia's shoulder.

"Olivia."

Olivia paused before fiercely exhaling and whipping her head over her shoulder to look at Elliot. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as her eyes opened wider in fear. She responded back dryly.

"What?"

Elliot removed his hand from her shoulder as he stared Olivia directly in the eyes. A long beat passed between them before he took in a deep breath. He slowly began to shake his head "no" as his eyes conveyed the message Olivia tried her best to keep from receiving.

"I'm not comin' back."


Sorry if the case file info was a little wonky. I tried my best. Again, let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading :)