Hello everyone... I am continuing with my story, which has become much longer than I had expected. As you might have understood, I am EO shipper, but intend to stay as realistic as possible... so I'm taking things slowly and progressively! Enjoy and give me ideas for the continuation if you like!

"Liv, I'm sorry, I had an emergency…"

Olivia rubbed her forehead in frustration. She knew what was coming next.

"Did you go home?" The knot in her throat became loose as she listened with concentration to the silence on the other end of the line. She had dreaded the moment she would face him. But his hesitation between her and Kathy once again had made the possibility of a relationship fade in her eyes.

"Yes, but it's not what you think. Kathy called me because she wanted…"

"Listen, El." She snapped "I am quite tired anyway. Do what you have to do, I'll get one of the officers to drive me home when they are finished. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Fighting the tears that were trying to get out, she shut the cell before Elliot had a chance to answer, and rubbed her face with both her hands. Another flashback popped up in her head and she tried to erase the thought. Elliot standing opposite to her, in the hall of the court building, and announcing her that Kathy was pregnant. Perhaps he would do the same again, tonight. Go back to his ex-wife, because he couldn't bear to lose the little stability he had in his life. A stability she had learned not to count on. Olivia was much stronger than he was, and she couldn't blame Elliot for this. She was strong enough to let him solve his issues and still be there to support, as a partner and friend.

Olivia Benson was trying not to fall asleep over her desk. She checked the time for – at least – the tenth time that evening. It was merely 11.45, but she was on her own in the bull-pen. A few desk lamps were still on, but everyone had gone home, except for the officers watching the cells and their provisory inhabitants. Olivia went for the coffee corner, pouring herself another cup. The day had been long but she strangely was not so tired. She just needed the distraction, and gulping down cup after cup made her feel less empty. The detective had finished her report on the current case one hour ago, and was now going through old files, sorting them and writing down the victims she needed to call to keep them informed on the latest developments – or non-existence of them.

"I thought you might have come back here…" Elliot's voice had a soft intonation that she did not recognize. Olivia raised briefly her eyes towards him, watching him put his keys on the desk and approaching to sit on the edge of her own table.

"Yeah, I thought I might get some work done before going home." Olivia succeeded sounding casual and unattached. She had shifted her concentration back on her report, leaving Elliot in a somewhat awkward silence.

"I drove by your apartment and saw there was no light. You, going to bed before midnight. Nah… So I drove by the precinct to check if you were still here."

"And you found me." Now the casual had turned into a little angry voice. Olivia cleared her throat before any more reproach could come out.

"May I explain myself?"

Olivia angrily put her pen down and looked at her partner, instinctively leaning backwards in her chair to take some distance from him.

"Go on, then."

"Kathleen was on a class trip the last days. She only came home tonight, and Kathy wanted to wait for all the children to be together before telling them."

Elliot was relieved to see his partner's eyes soften a little. He knew she would have been making up awful theories to explain his strange behavior.

"So we told them about the divorce. Kathy's already asked her lawyer for the papers."

Olivia nodded, trying to hide the shivers going through her body as she thought about the crazy possibilities she had imagined.

"How did they react?"

"Much better than I had expected. They felt that something was not going right since we came back together with Kathy."

"You cannot really fool children, can you? They understand much more than adults think." Olivia thought out loud, her eyes lost somewhere on her desk.

"I'm sorry if I gave you a false impression…"

"Don't justify yourself, El. I have no right to judge you." When the brunette raised her eyes again, she was taken aback by her partner's shocked expression.

"Of course you have, Liv. And I am truly sorry. I should have called before leaving like that. I just… kind of jumped on the occasion. I had dreaded this moment for quite a while."

"What are you going to do now?" She asked, taking him by surprise. So lost in his hesitations, Elliot had not yet thought of a real plan ahead. He wanted to enjoy the moment and see what was going to happen, without organizing everything in advance. He wanted a little bit of freedom.

"Give you a lift home. Come on, it's late enough."