Hello everyone!

So...after careful consideration (and arm twisting from my lovely Twitter followers), I've decided to add a second part to this. This is the final part. Olivia and Elliot have a much needed chat.

WARNING: May be triggering content, so please be careful.

Enjoy xoxo

Year Seven [ONESHOT]

Elliot's P.O.V.

Seven years.

Seven long years.

I hadn't expected to face the past when I walked into the diner. I came in to grab some lunch, to kill time before I had to go to the elementary school to pick up my youngest son. I wasn't expecting this, and as much as I didn't want to deal with it, there was no turning back.

Those beautiful brown eyes; they were still sparkling and looked like melted pools of chocolate. A few lines had presented themselves in her face, yet she still didn't look like she could be a day over forty. She was aging gracefully. The familiar brunette locks were lighter than he remembered and were tied back into a ponytail. A pair of reading glasses were perched on her forehead, and her hands were clasped over her mouth; a clear sign that she just as shocked as I was.

I swallowed. My hands were shaking from apprehension. The air felt still as I looked at her; it almost felt like we were the only two people in the establishment. I saw the different emotions in her eyes – sadness, anger, happiness, relief; everything. Her eyes always told exactly what she was feeling, as did his. That was the one reason why we worked so well together; we could read each other and have conversations by simply looking into each other's eyes.

And now here we were, face to face again.

A man opened the door to the establishment, bumping into me which brought me out of my thoughts. He mumbled an apology to which I acknowledged with a nod, before finally moving my legs to make my way over to her. My hands shook as I walked over, my breathing becoming uneven as I grew closer and closer to the woman I hadn't seen in seven years. She eyed me for a second before standing up. We simply stood and stared at each other for a second, both of us trying to figure out where to start. I didn't know what to say to make this right or to excuse my absence for the last seven years, and she clearly didn't know what to say to me either.

And just like that, her brow furrowed, and her lips curled into a frown. A flash of anger crossed her eyes, and before I could say anything, an open-hand slap was delivered to my jaw. My head whipped to the side and the stinging sensation became present in the side of my face. A few people were looking, but I didn't acknowledge the stares. I simply looked back at her; her chest was rising and falling and the anger in her eyes was now mixed with a hint of sadness.

"Now that I've done that, you can sit down." She spoke through gritted teeth. I nodded, swallowing before slowly sliding into the booth, sitting across from her. My cheek stung from the powerful slap; I forgot about the Benson slap and how painful the aftermath of receiving one was.

We stare at each other for a few moments, once again unsure of what to say. She's still seething in anger, staring at me with a fire in her eyes that I had only ever seen when a case got too much, and her anger had risen to the surface. Her lips were still curled into a frown, her hands were clenched into fists as she looked at me. Her chest was rising and falling quite rapidly, as if she was trying to once again gain control over her breathing. Yet, despite the obvious anger towards me, she was so beautiful. Hell, she was even more beautiful than I remembered her to be.

I would tell her how beautiful she was, once we got past this tough part right here.

"Now that I've slapped you and all that," she spoke after a few moments; "You mind telling me why the fuck you left me in the dark and went ghost for seven years? Fair enough leaving the job, but you literally haven't said shit to me in seven years? Did twelve years mean absolutely nothing to you?"

Her voice had deepened and grown huskier with age; something that I found to be so incredibly sexy. But, this wasn't the time to be thinking along such lines. She needed answers, and I planned to give them to her.

"Liv…" I paused for a second when the waitress walked up to put her food down, then ordered a coke and some fries for myself. The waitress nodded – and mentioned how nice it was to see me around again – before walking away. I focused my gaze back on the beautiful brunette woman before me; her expression has now softened a bit and she's looking at me with those beautiful brown eyes that are full of unshed tears and unanswered questions.

"Just tell me what happened." She mumbled quietly, swallowing hard.

"Before I even tell you what happened, I need you to know how sorry I am," I paused for a second, tapping my fingers against the surface of the table before looking up at her again;

"Twelve years – Olivia…fuck…that meant something to me, it meant everything to me; you gotta know that. I…I have listened to every single voice mail you left until you stopped, and I still have the old ones saved. I read every text, but I just…there's no excuses; I was a coward Olivia, and I'm sorry."

"It was me, Elliot; me – the woman you spent more time with than your own family, the woman you confided in, and the woman that saved your sorry ass from the wrath of Kathy more times than I like to admit," she paused for a second, swallowing an obvious ball of emotion that was present in her throat; her voice dropped and octave, "We were best friends, Elliot; we told each other everything, saw into the darkest parts of each other's soul even when we fought like hell to hide those parts away; why the fuck couldn't you come to me?"

"It wasn't that simple, Liv," I paused, giving a smile to the waitress as she placed my fries and drink down in front of me before walking away; "It wasn't that simple…Liv, I shot a kid, a kid that was no older than my twins at the time; I saw my Lizzie and I just…it was awful, and then the nightmares about you and the kids, and-"

"Nightmares about me and the kids?" her tone was soft now, tranquil almost. For the most part, her anger had disappeared, and now she was just looking at me with concern etched across her features.

"Nightmares; some times it was Jenna when I fired, but when I ran to her, it would be Kathleen or Lizzie or Maureen; another time, it was Jenna when I fired but when I got to her, it was you; and then, other nights, it would be you that she shot instead of Sister Peg, and you'd bleed out in my arms; it was just – it was a lot. And then IAB wanted to open an investigation on me because it was my sixth shooting, I needed anger management and a psych eval; it just all got too much."

I paused for a second, blinking back the water that had gathered in my eyes. I felt a smaller, soft hand rest over my own on the table; Olivia was rubbing my hand now and looking at me, encouraging me to continue. I cleared my throat, before lifting my head to meet her gaze once more.

"I was sinking, Liv; I had sunk before, but this time, I had reached a new low. I just…I couldn't take it anymore. Then there was Kathy." There's a bite in my tone that I can't bother to hide, and Olivia's eyebrow raises in confusion. I hold up my hand, taking a quick sip of my drink. Neither of us have touched our food; we needed to talk about things, and that's what the hell we were doing.

"I had made up my mind to put my papers in, and I thought it would be great to be at home, to reconnect with my family; I thought it would help me heal and then, once I healed, I would talk to you again and explain," he scoffed, "The day I came home from turning my papers in, I came home to find that Kathy had packed her things and left again; she left a note this time – she left me for one of my old Marine buddies, one that had been to my house and around my kids and was the godfather of Eli; they had apparently been having an affair for months."

"What the f-" Olivia stopped herself from swearing, and I saw that flash of anger cross her eyes again as she spoke, "I…I mean I know they say when someone is accusing you of cheating, it means they're doing it themselves, but I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," I rolled my eyes before embarking on the more difficult parts of the last few years;

"It just got worse. She took Eli with her and filed for divorce, and older kids were doing their own thing. Lizzie and Dickie could barely stand to be around me anymore because I was drinking all the time, hardly able to be a parent to them so they just started being more independent. Used pills to help me sleep and to stop the nightmares. I didn't realize how far gone I was until one day I passed out and woke up a couple days later in the hospital. This was about four years after I left the force; so, about three years ago now. Maureen explained that she and Dickie came over to the house and found me holding my gun whilst sitting in me and Kathy's room, saying all sorts of stuff about wanting to die. I don't remember much; I can vaguely remember Dickie trying to get the gun away from me and them saying something, and then next thing I know, it's two days later and I'm waking up in the hospital."

I didn't hold her gaze whilst I told her this. It was still hard for me to talk about these dark parts of my life. I knew that Olivia would never judge me, but I still couldn't force myself to look up and see that look in her eyes, the one that she gave victims. I felt like she would think of someone like me to be weak for reaching such a low point, even though I knew that she would never think this way.

"El-"

I held up my hand. I needed to finish this.

"I made the decision to get clean then. I spent a year in Boston at a clinic; getting clean from the booze and pills, and to get counseling, to finally face everything I had been running from. After my treatment was completed, I spent another year up there; I worked at a school as a resource officer, and I even managed to work on my relationship with all the kids. I came back to New York about a year ago and have been living in Queens ever since, though I work as a personal trainer now. Got a small apartment in Manhattan; enough space for me and for Eli when he spends weekends with me. I've just been continuing my counseling and the AA meetings while I've been here and been working to make sure I got my head right."

I then grabbed hold of her hand, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles;

"I just had to get myself together before I came to you. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but if you'll let me, I would love to forget the past and start over – and make it right."

There were tears in her eyes, a couple had already spilled down her cheeks. Our food had gone cold as he hadn't touched it, but neither of us cared. All that mattered was that I had gotten everything on the table, and all I needed now was for Olivia to say that she would start over with me. I had prayed for this moment a lot over the last seven years, and it had taken a lot of fight and courage to get healthy and to get to this moment. Of course, I would whole heartedly respect Olivia's decision if she declined my offer to start over and make things right between us. But, it would hurt, because I truly did want her in my life again.

"No."

I opened my eyes at the sound of her voice. I squeezed her hand, trying to hide the obvious disappointment in my face. I deserved that. I had put her through so much hell, so I deserved this. She had her own life now, and I didn't exist in it. That was my own fault, so I understood. I tried to pull my hand away but grew confused when she wouldn't let go. I tried again, but she only gripped it tighter. I focused my gaze on her yet again, a confused expression etched across my face as I tried to figure out why she wouldn't let go of my hand.

"I can't start over with you," she took a deep breath, her brown eyes finally pouring into my blue ones yet again as she continued;

"I can't start over, because there's already too much of us to just leavein the past. Elliot, I've known you for almost twenty years, and sure we've been apart for seven years, but that doesn't change how I feel, how much I care about you. I'm so sorry for not being there for you properly over these last few years; I had convinced myself that you didn't care anything about me anymore, but I should have checked on you and I'm sorry for that, I really-"

"No Liv don't apologize; this is all on me." I interrupted her. She squeezed my hand, swallowing as she looked at me yet again.

"Still, I am sorry – for everything," she shrugged before continuing; "Elliot, twelve years – despite our moments – we had some great times. Nobody made me laugh the way you did, or saw through me like you, or made the shittiest situations turn into some of my best memories like you did. You have well and truly been a valuable part of my life, Elliot; and I never want to forget the past."

She paused, eyeing me as she bit her lip. She then breathed out, before speaking yet again;

"I have wondered about this moment for the last seven years; would I slap you? Would I hug you? I just always wondered what I would do if I saw you again; I suppose I already did the first part though?" a single chuckle escaped from her lips, and it's music to my ears; "We talked El, and we got everything out of the way, and I feel like there's just only way to go from here."

She clasped her other hand around mine; my heart leapt into my throat.

"Starting over implies that you erase the past and start fresh with the person, but I don't want to do that; I want to continue where we left off and make new memories. The universe just put us on pause for a second, but we're together and we can pick up on our friendship – and just, make new memories."

The words were music to my ears. This was something I had wanted to hear from her. I wanted to hear that she was okay with us being friends again, I wanted to hear that we were okay. I knew it would be a long road to go on, especially picking up where we left off, but I was willing to go through anything if it meant being by her side.

The waitress came over some minutes later to hand us some boxes. We gathered our food into the containers – and I paid for both our orders– before we then made our way out of the establishment together. I smiled at her, eyeing her appearance. We were both lighter and happier now, smiling at each other whilst gazing into each other's eyes once again, something that never changed.

I walked her back to the precinct, stopping outside the steps of the building. I wasn't ready to go inside yet and Olivia understood that. She was just glad to spend a little extra time with me. I knew we still had a lot to catch up on within each other's lives, but this was enough for now. Besides, I had to go pick up Eli.

I eyed the woman I hadn't seen in so long. She was stronger than I left her; the confidence oozed from her. She had been through a lot – my mind briefly flashed to the news of hearing that she had been abducted twice by that psychotic serial rapist and killer. Yet, through it all, she fought her way to the top. She was almost like phoenix; no matter how hard things got, she always emerged from the flames; stronger, wiser, and ready to kick someone's ass. I spotted the shiny piece of tin attached to her hip; I found myself nodding my head and smiling. I always knew she would make it to the top and be the boss one day; she always had it in her.

"I'm proud of you Lieutenant," I winked, putting emphasis on the word. "Erm, hey – Eli has a soccer game this weekend, and uh…if you aren't busy, maybe you can meet me there?"

A smile came across her lips and she nodded her head. I nodded, holding out my phone for her to put her contact information in. She did just that whilst talking again;

"It's a good idea; I'll ask Noah if he's up for it."

I froze for a second. Noah – who was Noah? Was I too late and now she was with someone?

She let out a laugh; she was staring at me as she handed my phone back. She shook her head as if she knew what I was thinking, speaking through her laughter; "My son; he's five – adopted him when he was a baby."

"Oh," I breathed out, "Wow though; I look forward to meeting him."

"He'd like to meet you too; he knows about you – I still have a picture of me and you up in my apartment," she shrugged before looking up at the building, "Well, I better get back up there, but text me; I'll answer unlike some people I know." I opened my mouth but smirked when she burst out laughing; I had missed this woman and her jokes.

She then took me by surprise. She wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me as tight as she possibly could. I closed my eyes, breathing in the calming scent of her perfume as I snaked my arms around her waist. For the first time in a long time, I felt whole yet again. I had always felt whole with her, and for the last seven years, it felt like something was missing. Now, with her hugging me, I was whole again – and it was the best feeling.

"This was the other thing I wanted to do," she mumbled, nuzzling her head against my shoulder, "The slap was because I was angry, but this hug – because I missed you; I missed you so fucking much, Elliot."

"I missed you even more, Liv; more than you'll ever know," I placed a delicate kiss onto the crown of her head, before letting go of her, swiping my hand down her back before letting go, "Go back to saving lives, Lieutenant Benson." I gave her a wink; she squeezed my bicep before walking up the steps of the building. I watched until she made her way inside, before turning around to walk back off in the direction of Eli's school to pick him up.

I guess year seven was the lucky year. I got my best friend back, but I was hoping that in time, there would be more. Maybe I could finally have what I always wanted; to be happy and have my best friend – the love of my life – as mine to love and to hold…forever.

Well, this is the actual end of this little two-shot story. I hope you all enjoyed this - thank you for the support. Until next time... xoxo