A/N: The answer about where El was, will be answered in the next chapter… for now, enjoy this angst on Liv… without him. =D
Olivia hadn't been the same since Elliot disappeared. There had never been any leads, and a month later there was still no news. Olivia constantly called Kathy to see if he had returned home, but she always gave the same response. "I haven't heard from him!" and then the line would go dead.
Olivia couldn't understand the indifference she had, knowing her husband was missing.
Olivia worked, pouring over paperwork that didn't really need doing, she barely went home anymore, and slept in the crib for a few hours every night before getting stuck into work again. Each day, she woke up praying that he would return home, and every night when she went to sleep, she prayed that he was alive and safe… wherever he was.
… … …
Kathy came storming into the precinct one morning, with Eli attached to her hip.
"OLIVIA!" she called.
Olivia was up off her chair in milli-seconds and in front of her, a look of hope in her eyes. Had he finally come home? Had she heard from him?
"Where is he?" she demanded the moment her eyes landed on Kathy.
"I don't know," she stated rolling her eyes. "Stop asking! I know as much as you do, you're the detective, you're supposed to get behind it. You should have found him already, if you are as good as they say you are."
"Back off," she warned. Olivia was doing the very best she could. The trail was cold. They couldn't even trace his cell phone, because he had never turned it back on, and for the some reason even the experts couldn't manage to track the serial number.
Elliot had disappeared off the face of the earth.
"FIND HIM!" Kathy demanded.
"I can't," she sighed in defeat. "I have done everything I possibly could and more. He's nowhere. And why do you suddenly give a crap?" she challenged.
For an entire month Kathy had cared less whenever she called to ask if Elliot had showed up there. Why was she suddenly playing the panic-stricken wife?
"He's the father of my children!" she stated. "The kids want to know when daddy's coming home, and I don't know what to say."
"I will call if I hear anything," Olivia promised. She turned to walk back to her desk, her shoulders slouched, disappointment raining on her face. All she wanted was her partner back. It seemed like she couldn't function without him. Her chest was constantly tight, and she couldn't breathe a lot of the time. Olivia felt like she was fighting a freight train at times.
"Olivia?" Kathy called.
She spun around on her heel. "WHAT?" she barked. Olivia wan tired, she hadn't slept properly in a month, and it had more than caught up with her.
"I blame you," she stated. "If it weren't for you he would have been home with his family, with his CHILDREN! You're a home wrecker, Olivia. If anything bad happened to Elliot, it's on you… do you hear me? It's on YOU!" Kathy turned then, and stalked out of the bullpen.
Olivia stood stunned, watching after her. What did she mean? Olivia and Elliot had never been anything more than friends, how could she possibly be responsible for Kathy kicking him out of the house… had Kathy kicked him out of the house, or had Elliot lied to her?
Olivia returned to her desk, and tried to bury herself in her work, but this time her mind was unfocussed and she couldn't seem to bring it back to her work. She sighed heavily running a hand through her hair, as she shoved the paperwork aside and laid her head on the table.
Oh, God, she missed him!
… … … …
Olivia closed the door from Cragen's office and crossed the room to her desk. She slumped down in her seat and groaned. Work seemed harder on her own. Cragen had just offered to pair her up with another detective, but she had rejected him instantly. Olivia could not see herself working with another, and as she reasoned to herself, Elliot had only been gone four weeks.
A shadow fell over her as she pulled the drawer open to retrieve a candy bar.
Olivia stiffened, as the smell of the shadow overpowered her, the smell was so familiar… so welcoming… oh god, could it really be?
"Hey, Liv…"
Olivia gasped as she turned her head, slowly and shifted her gaze to meet his face.
Oh boy… what a way to leave you. Is it El? Or is the shadow someone else?
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