AN: Arrrggghhh. I hope people haven't lost interest in this story! I don't like to take this long between updates, so please hang in there with me! Thanks!

EOEOEOEO

Olivia stood in the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She touched her swollen lips gingerly and felt her cheeks flush with the memory of Elliot's kisses. It had been nearly impossible to watch him leave her apartment, and yet, they both knew it was necessary. The underlying current that ran through both of their bodies ensured neither one of them would be able to hold on to their control much longer. Both of them had had unspoken moments where they wanted to throw caution to the wind, but their underlying fear made them cautious, and as they reached the point of no return, they had pulled apart.

Olivia felt her body tighten even now as she thought about how much she had wanted Elliot's hands to explore her body. Much to her disappointment, he had kept his hands at her waist or on her lower back, barely sliding them down to the curve of her ass. She closed her eyes and ran her hands down over her breasts, feeling her nipples tighten as she thought about Elliot's hands roaming over her curves…his mouth…

She let out a moan and opened her eyes, knowing thoughts like these were only going to keep her awake, as they had so many nights before. Only this time, it was so much worse. Once she'd had a taste of what could be…

Olivia touched her lips again, wondering if Elliot was having the same thoughts as she was right now, and if he regretted leaving her apartment tonight. She knew it was the right thing to do. They needed to figure out what this change meant for them, for their jobs, his kids, their future. All the things that had held them back before.

She hoped he didn't change his mind.

She was determined not to change hers. It was the last thing he had asked before he left, and she had promised him. She was done with denying her feelings for Elliot. It had been threatened to break them too many times and she didn't think they could survive anymore, living with all that was unspoken.

Olivia heard her phone ringing, and it broke through her reverie. She dropped her hands, and rushed into the other room, hoping she wasn't being called into work. Cragen was the only one that every called. She snatched her phone off the counter and answered it without even looking at the screen.

"Benson." She said, answering with her pat greeting.

"I thought we were on a first name basis."

Olivia broke into a smile as she heard Elliot's voice. "I thought it was going to be Cragen." She said, letting him know in an indirect way that she wasn't expecting to hear from him.

"Disappointed?" Elliot asked with a chuckle.

"Mmmm…" Olivia teased, pretending to be thinking about her answer.

"Watch it Benson."

Olivia smiled at the use of her last name. Change was going to take time. "We're back to Benson and Stabler?" she asked innocently.

Elliot chuckled again. She had always kept him on his toes. "Are you always going to be this difficult?" he asked.

"Did you expect that to be any different now?" Olivia asked. She loved this banter between them. She always had, except of course, for the times it turned heated.

"Hell yeah." Elliot said quickly. "Now that I've swept you off your feet and kissed you senseless, I expected a little more respect."

Olivia laughed lightly, distracted by the thought of Elliot's kisses. "If you would have kissed me senseless, then I wouldn't have let you out of my apartment." She said, adding a sultry tone to her voice.

Elliot let the comment pass, choosing to focus on the tone of her voice. "That's exactly why I'm calling." He said. "I'm driving home, and I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing. Why I left."

"You know why you left." Olivia said.

"Yeah." Elliot sighed. "Doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

Olivia laughed again, feeling like giddy schoolgirl. "Do you want to come back?" She waited breathlessly for his answer, unsure as to whether or not she wanted him to say yes or no. There was silence on the other end of the line, and she knew he was struggling to answer her question. Undoubtedly the same thoughts were going through his head as were going through hers.

Elliot struggled with his conscious. He'd love nothing more than to turn his truck around and wrap his arms around her and…

"El?" Olivia asked, knowing it had been unfair to ask him to come back when they had both agreed they needed some time and space.

"Yeah?" Elliot said heavily, his conscious fighting with his emotions.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Olivia waited for his reaction, but the silence dragged on for longer than she expected. "El?" She asked softly.

"Good night Liv."

EOEOEOEO

Olivia found herself in front of the mirror, fiddling with her hair, for the third time since Elliot had messaged her and told her that he was on his way over. She laughed at how ridiculous she was being. Elliot had seen her nearly every day for years…at her best and at her worst. She didn't know why she had spent so much time on her hair and makeup this morning.

Maybe it was just nervous energy.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do when she answered the door. Would he hug her or kiss her? Or would he wait for her to make the first move?

She let out a groan and dropped her head, leaning against the bathroom counter. She didn't know why she was such a wreck. She had dated dozens of men and could never remember being this nervous.

The sound of her buzzer interrupted her thoughts, and she felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. She tugged her t-shirt down over the waistband of her leggings and she wondered if she should have worn jeans. She heard the buzzer again, and knew Elliot was probably getting impatient waiting outside her building.

She had to let today play out, and she was going to try to stop overthinking it. She made her way to the intercom and pushed the button that released the front door. Elliot had said he was bringing some breakfast when he had texted her this morning, so she went into the kitchen and pulled out some plates and silverware. She had no idea what he was bringing, so she pulled down some bowls and glasses as well. Just about the time she had set everything on the counter, there was a knock at the door.

Olivia tried to act casual as she opened the door, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. It disappeared quickly though, when she saw that it was Sam standing outside her door, and not Elliot as she had expected.

Before she could say anything, Sam had his hands in the air in a defensive gesture. "I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing here…" He started. "But please, just don't slam the door in my face."

Olivia was so shocked to see him standing there, she didn't have time to react. She took in his two black eyes and his swollen nose and knowing that he had to get stitches and probably had a concussion she was surprised he was even up and walking around. She had barely heard a word he'd said. "You shouldn't be here." She said as he dropped his hands.

"I just wanted to…" Sam started.

Olivia looked past Sam, down the hallway behind him. Elliot was going to be here any moment. She didn't want Sam here, but she couldn't imagine what was going to happen if Elliot saw him standing in her doorway. Her eyes connected back to Sam's. "You need to go." Olivia took a step back, intending to close the door, but Sam moved towards her and stretched out an arm, bracing it against the door.

"I just need you to listen to me." He said, somewhat brusquely.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him, surprised he would be so bold after everything that had happened. She tugged at the door, but he held his ground and it unnerved her a little.

"I just want to talk to you for a minute!" He said, raising his voice a little.

Olivia could hear the frustration, but it didn't sway her. "I don't have anything to say to you."

"What happened…that was just a misunderstanding."

Olivia wrinkled her brows. "A misunderstanding?"

"Yeah…I mean…I didn't mean to…" Sam dropped his head slightly and let out a heavy sigh. "I thought…" He started again.

"I told you to stop. I asked you to leave." Olivia said. Just like she was asking him to leave now. "Seems like you don't know how to take no for an answer."

"I just wanted to have a chance to apologize."

"Telling me that I just misunderstood is a lot different than an apology." Olivia said hotly. She tugged at the door again, but Sam held it firmly.

Sam sighed again. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I just got carried away…misread the signals. Christ! This has all gotten so out of control." He said, almost angrily. "Elliot and I have been friends for a long time." Sam said. "He knows me."

"Are you here to apologize? Or are you here to ask me to fix things between you and Elliot?" Olivia asked, annoyed that he was still standing in her doorway. It sounded like he was telling her that she had overreacted, and that she wanted him to smooth things over with Elliot. She didn't condone what Elliot had done, but she wasn't about to gloss over what happened. If he wanted redemption, it wasn't going to come from her.

"I guess a little bit of both." Sam said.

"You crossed the line, and there is no misunderstanding about that. If you want to apologize, I'll listen." She glanced down the hallway again, a nervous energy coursing through her. She didn't really want to hear another word from him, apology or not. "What happened with Elliot…you need to talk to him." She pushed at the door one more time, but Sam still didn't move. Her anger flared, and she shot him a pointed look. "I've asked you to leave." She said, the volume of her voice increasing. She tried to rein it in, not wanting to rouse her neighbors to investigate what was going in, but it seemed like anything was getting his attention.

Sam took another step towards her and Olivia's anger ratcheted up again. "You're crossing a big fucking line…" She spat out and she used the palm of her hand to push him in the chest. "And if you don't leave right now…"

"What the hell is going on?" Elliot's voice boomed down the hallway. He'd come up the stairs and heard Olivia's angry voice. He could scarcely believe that Sam was standing in her doorway. He didn't like the proximity of their bodies, and the way Sam's arm was bracing the door. It was clearly an altercation, and he had heard Olivia's last words.

As he got closer, he saw Olivia's eyes connect with his, and he saw the spark of anger there. Sam had pulled his arm off the door, causing the door to crash into Olivia and move her slightly. Sam spun around as Elliot approached, and he could only see red. He grabbed the front of Sam' shirt, bunching it in his hand as he practically dragged Sam towards him. "I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from her!" He yelled angrily.

Sam was pushing against Elliot's chest. "Elliot. Calm down. It's not what you think."

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking right now." Elliot practically growled into Sam's face. He saw the wreckage of Sam's face…the damage he had done. He knew he needed to calm down, but when it came to Olivia…any threat to her…he just couldn't seem to control himself.

Seconds later, Olivia was there, trying to wedge herself between he and Sam. She placed a hand on Elliot's, tugging at it. "Let him go El." She said.

Elliot was confused for a moment. "You're defending him?"

Olivia shook her head. This situation was enough of a mess, and they were already lucky that Sam wasn't going to press any charges. She didn't want to push their luck. "Sam came to apologize, and he was just leaving." She gave Sam a pointed look, and then looked back at Elliot.

Elliot wasn't buying it. He'd see their body language and heard Olivia's voice. "Bullshit." He said, calling her on it.

Olivia tugged at his hand again. "Just let him go." She said tiredly. She thought they had gotten past this. Everything that had happened between her and Elliot had pushed this into the background, and she wanted to keep it there. "Please." She pleaded softly, ignoring Sam and focusing on Elliot.

Elliot softened his grip on Sam, but he kept his eyes on Olivia. He felt his rage start to subside as her eyes pleaded with him to let this go. Olivia nodded as he let go of Sam's shirt completely, but he couldn't help but give him a little shove before his hand left him completely. Olivia took a step back, and Elliot turned his attention back to Sam. He jabbed a finger in his direction. "I wasn't fucking around when I told you to stay away from her."

"I was coming over to apologize." Sam said, eyeing Elliot warily before he glanced over at Olivia.

"Pick up the goddamn phone." Elliot said, even thought his preference was for Sam to have no contact whatsoever.

"I was hoping we could talk Elliot. I wanted to tell Olivia that I was sorry…that I never intended to…"

"Assault her?" Elliot filled in, his voice full of derision.

"I didn't assault her!" Sam said hotly, but he shrunk back as Elliot gave him a menacing look.

Olivia didn't know what she was going to do if this came to blows again; there was no way she was going to be able to diffuse this situation with how heated everyone was.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Olivia had been so focused on the argument between the two men standing in front of her, that she hadn't heard anyone come out of their apartment, but when she turned to look, she saw two uniforms had come around the corner. They stopped several yards away, eyeing the group nervously, and Olivia groaned inwardly. One of her neighbors must have called the police. Which was absolutely ridiculous because they knew she was a cop.

Olivia put her hands out in front of her. "We're cops. From the 1-6." She said calmly. "Everything's fine."

"Ma'am. Step away from the men." They instructed. "You. In the blue shirt." They said, speaking to Elliot. "Put your hands where I can see them and take a few steps backward."

Olivia watched as Elliot shot a glance over at her, but he complied, turning towards them with his hands slightly in the air. He knew as well a she did that they had to be cautious until they could prove that they were who they said they were. Olivia glanced over at Sam, and knew that with his obvious injuries, they probably wondered what the hell was going on.

It was a few minutes more before Elliot was able to show them his badge, and they were able to apologize for the noise they'd been making. There was a tense moment when Olivia thought that maybe they were going to escort Elliot out, but then the officers were giving them a warning to take it inside and keep it down.

Once they had left, Elliot turned towards Sam. "I'm going to walk you out of here." He said pointedly, giving Sam no opportunity to argue with him.

Olivia watched as they walked down the hallway and disappeared down the stairs, knowing they couldn't be far behind the uniforms. She slipped back into her apartment and let the door close, resting her back against the solid surface. She realized now that she was shaking slightly…adrenaline coursing through her body and she still felt unsettled.

She couldn't believe how quickly things had changed since she'd walked to the door with a big smile on her face, anticipating more kisses from Elliot. The mood had shifted, Elliot was clearly angry, and things felt off-kilter now.

She slid down to the floor, feeling deflated…dejected.

Suddenly, the day didn't look so promising anymore.