Disclaimer: SVU and all recognizable characters belong to Dick Wolf.

A/N: First of all, many, many thanks to my betas who always work hard to find and correct all my mistakes and always do an amazing job! You ladies are awesome! Your friendship is a gift!

An extra thanks to Cindy, my new friend and new grammar beta, who has graciously joined my already amazing betas!

Also, thanks to the readers for all the alerts and the reviews! Reviews are priceless, they're like gold for the authors! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think of this chapter! Ok?

Chapter Four

Elliot broke the kiss, slowly pulled back and looked at Olivia with a gentle smile.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked back at him with a stunned expression.

"Liv?" he asked as his smile slowly faded and apprehension took its' place.

"Umm…" she hesitated as she struggled to get her thoughts straight.

"I'm sorry, Liv. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries."

"No… I uh… I just…" she shook her head, still trying to clear her thoughts. "I need some time."

"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He scooted a short distance away from her.

"No…" she spoke suddenly, almost panicked, as she reached for him. "Please don't leave."

"I'm not leaving, honey," he assured her as he moved back over where he had been next to her. "I just wanted to give you some space and not move too fast."

"I just…" She stopped and bit her bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "I love you, too. I think I might even be in love with you too."

A smile spread across Elliot's face.

Olivia smiled slightly. "But right now… I just need some time to figure everything out. Dean turned me upside down… he left… he just walked away. He said he loved me. If he loved me, how could he walk away when I need him most?"

"He's an idiot, Livia." He answered as he wrapped an arm her and gently pulled her to him. "He doesn't deserve you. You are way too good for him and you deserve more than he could ever give you."

She sighed, relaxing into his embrace. "I loved him… or I thought I did, anyways."

"And he broke your heart."

"Yeah."

"You deserve so much better than him, Sweetheart."

"I don't know about that."

"I do." He answered, gently kissing the top of her head.

"I don't understand how he could just walk away."

"He's a jerk." He spoke quietly. "But you are not in this alone."

"I can't ask you to step in and take care of what Dean should be doing." Tears rolled down her cheeks, getting the shoulder of Elliot's shirt wet.

"You didn't ask me." He tightened his grip around her. "I offered, freely, of my own will."

"El…" She spoke softly.

"Liv, honey, I want to. Please. Please let me be here for you. Lean on me, depend on me."

"I already do." She whispered, her voice cracking as she was unable to keep from crying.

"I mean for more than the job." He answered quietly. "Let me help you." He reached over and laid a gentle hand on her small baby bump. "I love you… and I love this baby."

"El… I can't…" She started to protest.

"I know you're not ready to love me back yet, at least not the way I'm talking about." He reassured her quickly. "I understand and it's ok, I promise. And I know you're hesitant to believe me; that's ok too. But I'm going to keep telling you until you believe me. I love you and the baby."

"How can you love us? How can you love this baby?" Without raising her head from his shoulder, her hand dropped down and joined his where it still rested on her stomach. "It's not your baby."

"Liv," his voice was soft and kind. "I know it's not my baby… not biologically anyway. But that doesn't stop me from loving it. This baby is a part of you and for that reason alone, I already adore her… or him."

Olivia reached over and took his hand, threading her fingers through his. "Thank you." She whispered, her voice broken with tears.

"Anything for you." He kissed the top of her head again. "I'll do anything for you."

She slowly blew out a breath. "I know, and I for you."

"Let's get out of here, huh?"

She raised her head and looked over at him, her fingers still laced with his. "Elliot… I don't wanna go home yet."

"I didn't say home." He smiled gently. "I know you're not ready for that. We can go somewhere else."

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want to go."

"Is Cragen mad?" Olivia asked as she watched the sunrise through the thin, cheap hotel curtains.

"Yes." He answered honestly. "But not at you. He's worried about you. All of the guys are worried. And he's beyond furious at Porter."

"At Dean? But Cap doesn't know…"

Elliot shook his head. "It doesn't matter. He knows Porter has something to do with it."

Olivia sighed as yet another fresh wave of tears streamed down her face. "Ok, let's go. Anywhere but home."

~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~

Less than an hour later, Elliot slipped into the driver's seat of his car and smiled at Olivia.

She smiled sadly then looked nervously out the window at her rental car.

"Don't worry." He assured her, reading her mind. "I left the keys and a nice tip with the desk clerk; she's going to make sure it gets back to the rental company safely and in one piece."

"Thanks." She whispered as he started the car.

"No problem, Baby."

Olivia looked over at him, her eyes questioning.

He winked at her but offered no explanation for the pet name.

She nodded slightly as another sad smile graced her face. She turned and looked out the passenger window as they pulled out of the hotel parking lot and onto the road.

Elliot pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket. "I need to call Cragen."

She looked back at him quickly, a slight look of panic on her face. "Don't tell him! Please, not yet." Tears pooled in her eyes.

"No. No, honey. I'm not." He dropped his phone on the seat beside him and quickly reached out for her hand. "I just need to tell him that we're not going to be back to work for a few days." He assured her as he wrapped her hand in his own.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she used her free hand to wipe away her sudden tears.

"It was my fault." He answered as he gently squeezed her hand. "I didn't make it clear what I meant. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, I should have known better. I know you're not like that. I'm just a huge mess."

"That's to be expected, Sweetheart. I'd be worried if you weren't a mess right now." He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly before letting go and retrieving his cell phone. "Just give me a minute, ok?"

She nodded and returned her gaze to outside the passenger side window.

Elliot hit a speed dial number and raised his phone to his ear. He watched the road ahead of him as he listened to the rings, waiting on his boss to answer.

"Cragen." Came the quick, anxious, almost harsh answer.

"Hey Cap."

"Did you find her yet?" His voice betrayed him, revealing his nervousness.

"I found her." He reassured the older man.

"Thank God." Cragen breathed a sigh of relief. "Is she ok?"

Elliot glanced over at Olivia before answering. "As ok as can be expected."

"What's going on?"

"I can't say."

"Elliot…" Cragen's tone changed from that of a concerned father to that of his commanding officer.

"I can't, Captain. I just can't. Not yet and it's not my place to tell."

Cragen sighed. "So you know what's wrong?"

"Yes." Elliot answered. "But it's for Liv to tell you… when she's ready."

"Alright." The superior officer reluctantly accepted his response. "Is Liv with you now?"

"Yep, and that's why I'm calling."

"What is it?"

"I just needed to tell you that we're not going to be in for a few days."

"A few days?"

"Yeah." Elliot responded. "We're taking a little break from the city."

"A break?" Cragen questioned.

"Liv needs some time."

"I understand. That's fine. I'm glad you're with her. Take as long as she needs."

"Thanks, Cap."

"Before you hang up," Cragen spoke quickly. "Can I talk to Olivia?"

"Hang on a second." Elliot spoke into the phone before holding it out toward Olivia. He glanced over then quickly returned his eyes to the road ahead of them. "Cap wants to talk to you."

She shook her head. "I can't," she whispered.

Elliot put the phone back to his ear. "She's not ready to talk, Cap."

"That's ok, I just want to tell her something."

He held the phone back out to her. "You don't have to talk, just listen. Captain just wants to tell you something."

Olivia blew out a breath and wiped away a few tears before taking the phone.

"Hey, honey." Cragen's voice was gentle when he heard her breathing. "I know you don't feel like talking and that's ok. Just listen to me, ok?" He was quiet, only for a couple of seconds, then continued when he was sure he had her attention. "I don't know what's wrong; you can tell me that in your own time. I just want you to know that we're here for you, all of us. We love you. We'll support you and help you with whatever the problem is." He paused for another couple of seconds as he heard her sniffle and knew she was crying. "You and Elliot take all the time you need. Cry on his shoulder, let him hold you, scream at him, do whatever you need to do. He won't mind at all. Draw some strength from him."

She sniffled again, trying not to break down in sobs. She was just about to hand the phone back to Elliot when her Captain's gentle voice drew her back again.

"Olivia…" He listened for her breathing and continued once he heard it and knew she was still listening. "I know you already know this even though I've never said it aloud. But I want - no, I need - I need you to hear me now. Hear me and believe me when I tell you that I love you. You've always been more than just one of my detectives. You're not my daughter biologically, but I've always seen you as just that… my daughter. And I'll do whatever I can for you, whatever you need. I'm here whenever you're ready."

With tears rolling freely down her face, she smiled slightly and nodded as she silently handed the phone back to Elliot.

He took the phone and spoke to their commanding officer once more. "She heard you, Cap. Whatever you said to her… she heard you."

"Good." Cragen cleared his voice to get rid of the sound of the tears that were clogging his throat. "You take care of her, son. You hear me?"

"I hear you. And you know I will."

"Call me in a couple of days, just check in and let me know you guys are ok."

"We will. Talk to you soon."

"Talk to you soon." Cragen repeated before hanging up. He sighed before walking out of his office to talk to Fin and Much who were anxiously waiting at their desks.

Elliot slipped his cell phone back into his pocket then reached across the seat, taking Olivia's hand in his own.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Olivia cleared her throat. "Where are we going?" she asked softly.

"I don't know." Elliot answered honestly. "We can go wherever you want to go."

She thought for a minute then sighed. "Let's just drive."

"Alright." He squeezed her hand gently. "Wherever we end up, we end up."

A/N 2: Aww, Cragen's such a good boss!

Like at the end of the last chapter… What's wrong? Is it Liv or the baby?

Where do Liv and El end up? How long will they be gone? Will Liv accept his love for her and her baby? Will she love him back? And Cragen… will she accept his fatherly love and concern or will she push him away?

These answers and more, coming up… if you want them. But you gotta let me know! Leave me a review, please? I'd love to hear your thoughts!