A/N: Thank you to those who have taken an interest in this story… I myself, like it, so thanks for the support and the desire to continue with it. :)

Olivia knew she had acted irrational, but she didn't care, not this time. She knew the pain that Elliot had left her in, and understood that if she depended on him for a single moment she would resort back to old habits… she might even become emotionally immobile.

"I hate you…" she muttered, talking to no one in particular as she paced the floor of her apartment. "Stupid man… why did you bother to come back," it was the liveliest she had been since Elliot had moved to Australia and the most words she had said aloud to herself since his departure.

Unsure of what to do with herself she flicked on the TV.

A knock on the door, stirred her from her thoughts, she switched the TV off and went over to answer it.

"Who is it?" she asked cautiously. She lived in NEW YORK. Nothing was safe.

"Me," the voice answered.

Her heart gave a tug. "EL?"

"Yeah, open the door!' he demanded.

The anger rose in her throat like vile.

"Rack off, El. I'm NOT interested."

"Open the door, woman!" his tone was firm and hard.

The urge to hit him was too overwhelming, every fiber of her being seized her body with an anger and disappointment she had never felt before. He was going to kill her, metaphorically of course, if she allowed herself to dwell in thoughts of him, whether it be anger or hurt. He would destroy her… what was left of the shell she had been anyway.

"Please," she pleaded through the wood of the closed door, as the tears caressed her cheeks. "Go away."

When he responded, his tone was gentler, and less harsh. "Open the door, we need to talk… Liv, open the-"

She crossed the floor and wiped her eyes, removing any trace that he upset her to point of tears. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he could hurt her. It was her secret… and the unspoken words between the rest of the squad when he was off with his family in another state.

She pulled open the door before he managed to finish his sentence.

He stood there, dripping wet. Had it been raining out? She hadn't noticed. Her heart tugged wildly in her chest. Damn it. After all this time, even among the anger, she managed to find him the most beautiful man alive.

"You've got some explaining to do…" he stated brushing past her without permission to enter her home.

Olivia rolled her eyes, and shut the door behind him.

"I think you should re-evaluate your move, Detective Stabler, and remove yourself from my property, unless you want the charge of breaking and entering."

He met her eyes. "Liv… what the HELL is going on?"

"You need to leave," she repeated.

She struggled to hold the wall up between them, she could feel it crashing around her feet, as she mentally added more bricks, frantically trying to protect herself. Until he had left, she had always considered herself a strong woman, but his absence had said something to the contrary. His absence had shown her what life was like on her own. It wasn't a pretty vision.

"I'm not going anywhere," his feet remained grounded and he stubbornly folded his arms across his torso, she caught a glimpse of his muscles through the white shirt that clung soaking to his upper body. Had he been working out? God, he was beautiful…

"Don't do this to me," she begged pleadingly.

"Do what?" he asked with innocence.

The anger rose again. "How dare you… pretend… that you play the victim here. You've been gone for seven months, and you have the nerve to come back here and expect me to-"

"I expect you to act like a human being. What the hell did I do to you, that made you act like such a…" he didn't finish the words.

"I'm not the same woman you left, El. I'm NOT the same detective who would have eagerly looked at you and smiled when you walked through the door after SEVEN months of nothing."

"I called you…" he pointed out.

"Yeah," she laughed bitterly. "You did, and I have no right to expect anything else from you, but the fact remains that I do… I expect a lot more. I expected you to give me a mile, and what you gave me was an inch. I expect-"

Elliot was shaking his head. "I don't understand what I did."

"You never do," she shrugged bitterly.

"Liv…" he was trying desperately to understand where she was coming from.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"I came to see you… it's been… too long. I missed you. CLEARLY, you don't feel the same!" a stroke a pain washed across his face, and she flinched. It seemed that some things didn't change. His pain was still hers.

"Don't assume to tell me how I feel," she warned.

"Then TELL me, damn it! What happened to you… why are you so bitter and angry. Did something happen?" he guessed.

"You could say that," she replied. You could say that since you've been gone my whole life shattered. My world changed. My heart broke.

"Tell me more…" he sighed.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she responded.

"Why not?"

"Because I… I-" she had nothing.

Elliot took a few steps toward her, and cautiously his hand reached out to stroke her cheek, she pulled back as if he had struck her across the face in a violent rage. The feel of his touch, the warmth that flooded through her body was overwhelming. It hurt. It hurt because she knew in a matter of time, he would leave again, and she would retort back to the dark shadow of her former self. The woman who said nothing to anyone… who ordered take-out for dinner and took a forkful before she threw the rest in the trash bin… the woman who was dying without him.

"I wasn't going to hurt you," he assured her.

"I know," she breathed heavily.

"Liv…"

"Please go," she requested.

He hung his head, and nodded. "This isn't over," he assured her.

A moment later he crossed the room and closed the door behind him.

I hope you liked it. Drop me a review if you want more… I don't work well without enforcements. Lol. :)