A/N

Olivia and Cassidy are only seeing each other casually. Nick and Munch still found Olivia in Cassidy's place, but they haven't progressed past this stage of their relationship.

Olivia started at the knock on her door. No one should have gotten as far as being able to knock without buzzing her intercom from downstairs first. She rose from the couch and walked towards the door, senses on high alert ever since the William Lewis incident.

There is one person, she thought as she neared the door. My partner.

She stopped with her hand on the door knob, not yet allowing herself to look through the peephole. Her eyes closed as she lay her forehead lightly against the back of the door. Partners, she corrected.

Pulling back from the door she shook her head slightly. Surely Elliot wouldn't dare turn up here.

"Who is it?" She called out, not being able to will herself to look.

"It's Nick," came the reply through the door. "Are you going to let me in?" He asked when she didn't open up right away.

Olivia unlocked her door and opened it far enough for Nick to come inside.

Nick paused as he passed her in the doorway. "Were you expecting someone else?"

Olivia looked away from him and sighed. "To tell you the truth Nick, I wasn't expecting anybody at all." Since Nick continued on into her living room, she guessed he hadn't taken the hint that she didn't really want to see him either. As her current partner stood in her living room before her, her good manners overtook her reticence. "Sit down. Can I get you anything?"

"Nah," he replied a little shyly. "I'm okay." Nick took off his heavy coat and threw it over the back of Olivia's sofa. Loosening his tie, he sat down.

"You sure?" She asked as she walked through to the small kitchen. "I was just about to make some tea." To her surprise Olivia found that she was starting to calm down a little since Nick had turned up. Maybe she needed the distraction his company would provide, rather than being left to stew with her own thoughts.

Sensing the change in her demeanour already, Nick smiled and reconsidered his answer. "Yeah," he replied. "Maybe, you know...some of that tea your always havin'."

Olivia turned back to him from where she was setting the kettle on the stovetop, her eyebrows raised. "Tea?"

Nicks smile widened as he stood and moved towards the kitchen to join her. "Well it doesn't seem to be doin' you any harm," he observed, his hip leaned against the counter.

Busying herself getting the mugs and tea bags out of the cupboard, Olivia ignored the white elephant in the room. Why did Nick come to her place tonight? She wasn't sure she wanted to know his reason. Now he was here she was glad of the company. Couldn't they just leave it at that?

"I guess you're wonderin' what I'm doing here?"

Apparently not.

When she didn't turn to face him, Nick laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Liv..."

She sighed, and after a moment turned to face him.

"I thought you might want to know what happened in the squad after you left," he started. "Just so, you know, it won't be too much of a shock when you turn up tomorrow."

Olivia's heart raced as she prepared for the worst. If her and Elliot were to be partnered again, Nick was taking it awfully well. "Is Elliot coming back?" She finally managed to ask.

Nick nodded his head. "And as of Monday, we're not partners anymore." Nick couldn't believe it physically hurt him to say those words to her. At that small admission, a look of such despair came over Olivia's face he immediately reached for her trying to pull her to him.

"How could he?" She choked out as she pushed back against him, her anger not allowing him near. "After everything that he knows I went through. How could Cragen put me back with Elliot?"

Nick reached out his hand wanting to comfort her, dropping it before he got too close. "Hey. I'm sorry Liv, I should've told you first that Stabler is going to partner with Munch not you."

She seemed to calm several degrees at that piece of information, though a look of confusion crossed her face. "Then how come he's split you and me?"

Nick looked a little abashed at that. He shook his head. "I kinda yelled at him this afternoon when I thought he was going to put you back with Stabler," he admitted. He continued with a shrug, "I'm pretty sure he thinks that you and me are getting too close, so he's putting me with Rollins and you with Fin for a while."

Olivia covered her face with her hands and let out a groan. Dropping her hands back down she stared at Nick.

"I know, I know," he said, his hands raised.

"I told you this would happen Nick!"

"I know Liv," he admitted. "But what am I supposed to do?" He asked. "Not care about my partner?" He shook his head as he turned away. "I can't do that."

The kettle started to wail cutting off her reply. She turned off the gas, silencing it almost instantly. Olivia took the time to make their tea, thinking more about the reply she was about to give. As she handed Nick his tea, she placed her hand over his on the mug.

"I don't mean you shouldn't care about me...or any partner you have," she added quickly, aware of how the first words sounded. "But you have to think how your actions are going to be interpreted before you make them."

Nicks brow furrowed as he thought about that. Olivia's hand on his own wasn't making understanding what she was trying to say any easier. "How am I meant to do that?" He asked.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "Imagine I was a guy," she reasoned. "Then decide whether your actions would be the same. If not, then maybe you need to rethink it."

He nodded, understanding what she was trying to get through to him now. Olivia had worked with male partners her whole career, she knew what it was like to have people constantly thinking there was more to the partnership, especially during the early years when female detectives were still a rarity. Having a female partner on the other hand was relatively new to him so thinking that way wasn't second nature to him like it seemed to be to her.

"I'll try Liv," he replied, hyper aware that her hand still covered his. His voice sounded a little husky even to his own ears.

At that, Olivia realised that her hand was still on his. Pulling away she retrieved her own mug and walked back into the living room, sitting down on the couch, her feet pulled up underneath her. "God! So Elliot will be back in the squad on Monday?"

Nick nodded as he took a seat at the opposite end of the couch.

Olivia paused for a moment, considering whether to voice her next words, to let Nick know how she was feeling. She'd bottled everything up her entire life and knew that it was never any good for her. Sighing deeply she continued, "I don't know how I'm supposed to handle this," she admitted.

He shrugged slightly. "I feel so hopeless," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off her. "I don't know what to say to you to make this better. I just wish there was something I could do to...I don't really know what..." he trailed off, looking down and feeling really stupid. His partner was opening up to him, and he had nothing to give her.

She wanted more than anything for him to open his arms to her right then. That was what Nick Amaro could do for her right now. Just hold her and be there for her. Not that she'd ever admit it, but she felt like a frightened little girl who just wanted someone to hold her, and soothe her and tell her that her monsters weren't real, and that everything would be alright and everyone would live happily ever after. Suddenly it was all too much.

"Lie to me," she whispered.

Nick looked up at her. "Liv?"

She couldn't hold it back anymore, and she wasn't sure she wanted to as fat, hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

Nick placed his mug on the coffee table and moved to her, Olivia ending up half in his lap as he pulled her tightly to him. Now he knew what she wanted of him.

"Shhh, it's okay," he soothed, one arm around her holding her tightly, his other hand resting gently against her cheek. He laid his cheek on top of her head and just whispered to her quietly. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was sure this was what she needed, the same way he always knew when Zara needed him. "It's okay Liv," he continued. "We'll get through this, you and me one day at a time. I'm here for you. I won't ever leave you alone."

After a while Olivia pulled back swiping at her eyes and face with her hands. Nick handed her his handkerchief and rubbed slow circles on her back as she sniffed trying to get herself under control. "I'm sorry," she said eventually.

Nick smiled that little half smile he had. "Hey," he waited for her to turn to him before he continued. "You can't be the badass all the time you know."

"Oh really?" She asked, her spirits raising a little already.

He became serious then. "You need to let me be the grown up once in a while."

Olivia looked at him for a long time. "Thanks Nick."

Nick nodded. "Hey, you hungry?" He asked, hoping a change of subject would help things.

She considered for a moment, surprised at her reply. "Yeah I am actually."

"All this emotional drainage has made me absolutely starving," he admitted. "You want Chinese?"

"Your treat?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.

He shook his head. "It's always my treat!"

"Then I'm in," Olivia replied ignoring his complaint.

Nick grabbed his coat and waited for Olivia at her front door.

Riding down in the elevator, Olivia smiled over at Nick. No matter who she was working with he would always be her partner. He knew she needed him tonight when she didn't even know it herself.

They walked out of the building and crossed the street heading towards the Chinese place a block up from where Olivia lived. Olivia laughed at something Nick said, and as she moved in close to nudge him in the side he slipped his arm easily around her shoulders.

When Olivia didn't shrug off that assholes arm, Elliot's hands tightened on his steering wheel. He had been sitting in his car a few doors up from Olivia's building for the past fifteen minutes psyching himself up to go and press her intercom. He knew she would be upset about what had happened today and thought that he might be able to better explain to her why he did what he did and why he wanted to come back. He knew he could've handled telling her of his coming back a lot better than he did today. He did have a plan. He'd rehearsed it all in his head. What he would say, how she would look. He even knew the part about him and Kathy being broken up for good should probably wait for a later date...but then he'd walked in and seen her with him. And then he'd come here tonight. Another well thought out plan in place...just to find her with him again.

"Nick Amaro," he practically spat out the words.

Someone else to look out for her. Someone else to cheer her up. Someone else to put his arm around her shoulders as they walked along the street. Elliot knew that he'd never been that person to her and it made him even angrier that it seemed that Nick Amaro hadn't only replaced him, but surpassed him.

He watched as they turned into the Chinese restaurant and wondered whether they shared their food the way he and Olivia had. Even sharing utensils too most times. Elliot considered getting out of his car and going up to loiter outside the window to see for himself, then shook his head realising how crazy he was starting to sound. Instead he cranked the engine and started for home, deciding their next meeting would have to wait until the bullpen on Monday.