A/N: So sorry it's been so long but homework and lack of inspiration struck me. I was thinking about deleting this chapter all together but I decided to post something so those of you still with me wouldn't be left hanging. I promise the next chapter won't be so far off. Most of it's written, but I thought I'd provide this chapter as a little filler for right now.

Disclaimer: The song 'I Really Miss You' is property of S Club 7. Oh, I miss those days.

'I called you today just to hear you say
You were not around
When the message was through, though I wanted to
I couldn't make a sound
I wanna tell you the things I've seen
I wanna take you to where I've been
And I wish you were here with me
Don't you know'

October 22, 1981 9:39AM

Benson Apartment

Olivia waited anxiously by the phone, biting her thumb nail with impatience. She hadn't bothered to dress for the day yet; she was on fall break anyway. She was looking forward to her four day weekend but not as much as she was looking forward to the phone ringing. Elliot was supposed to call her. It was his birthday and he promised he'd find a way to call her even if it was only for five minutes. They had only talked on the phone once since he'd been gone and it was really starting to show. Olivia had had a short temper with everyone lately from her mom to Lucy and Christina. She wasn't used to Elliot not being by her side and she was positive now that she didn't like it.

She hadn't realized how much time they had actually spent together, whether it was in person or on the phone. She depended on him to keep her laughing. Keep her happy. Keep her sane. She missed having him there to tell him about her day or her week. She missed their odd conversations that always got off topic.

She missed his arms around her keeping her warm. She missed his soft kiss against her forehead when she was sleepy. Even though they had only slept together a handful of times, she missed being pressed intimately to him afterwards, knowing no harm would come to her as long as she was with him. She missed having that connection with him.

She stood from her bed and started pacing the floor. She kicked aside some of her dirty clothes. She really needed to clean her room. She had let a lot of priorities slip lately. She picked up a note from Christina. They had been passing it back and forth in history class this week. She chuckled when she read some of the Spanish on the page. Christina was helping her brush up on her skills but their conversation on paper had quickly gotten off topic. It was nice to have Christina around again. She was a great friend to talk to and she always helped Olivia keep a clear head. She was also a wonderful friend who was always eager to lend a shoulder whenever Olivia wanted to cry about Elliot.

She jumped when the phone finally rang. She darted to the phone in her room on her bedside table, leaping across her bed and picking it up before it even rang again.

"Hello?" she said somewhat breathlessly.

"Liv?"

Her grin widened until she felt like her face was about to split into two.

"Oh, my god, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice!" she squealed into the receiver.

"Probably about as happy as I am to hear yours," Elliot responded, the grin obvious in his voice. She loved the fact that she could picture the exact look on his face.

"Happy birthday, El. How's it feel to be nineteen?"

"About the same as it feels to be eighteen." He chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Do you have a little while to talk?" she asked, holding her breath that he would say yes.

"I have about ten minutes. It's all I managed to get out of my drill sergeant. I'm on his good side so I'm lucky I got time at all," Elliot explained her. He leaned his body against the wall next to the phone. Nobody was around him at the moment and it was nice being able to listen to her breath without twenty people behind him waiting for the phone. "How are you?"

She rolled over onto her back on her bed. "I'm missing you like crazy," she admitted honestly. "But I'm fine other than that. It sucks here without you."

"How is that possible? You're in New York City," he joked.

"It's boring without you," she clarified, laughing. "I need you to get me through every day. I miss talking to you about how my day went."

"I know," he sympathized, his voice growing softer. "So do I. Other than that, how are you? How's everything going?"

"Everything's fine. Lucy's getting on my nerves more and more. School's fine but I'm so ready for it to be over and for Thanksgiving break to be here."

"Don't worry, baby. It'll be here in no time and you'll have me all to yourself," he assured.

"Do you know for how long yet?" she asked.

"Well, I get ten days leave but I don't know if I want to continue with the marines full time yet."

"So, in other words, for at least ten days," she summarized. "I can live with that. I just want you home already."

Elliot closed his eyes as he listened to her soft breathing on the other line. It was nice to hear a feminine voice for a change. He had never been around so much testosterone at once. At times, it was overwhelming. He clashed with many personalities but he was glad for the brotherhood he was a part of. He and his own brother had never really got along when they were growing up; it was only once his brother moved out that they started talking on a regular basis. And he had never really been close to his friends on the football team during high school. Olivia was the only one he felt like he could really talk to about anything and everything. Now he had friends that were going through the same experiences he was. Sometimes, when the lights went out for the night, he and John found themselves talking about random moments from their childhoods. It was nice to have a friend like that.

But he missed talking to his best friend. She was the only one that really understood him and never judged him.

"So do I get my birthday present when I get home?" he wondered, a leer in his voice. She laughed loudly. Leave it to him to return to his normal, goofy self.

"If we get some alone time, you bet," she played along. "I'll even gift wrap it for you."

He paused, looking around to make sure he was still alone. He lowered his voice and asked, "Wait, are we still talking about the same thing?"

"Well, I'm talking about sex and I'm fairly positive you were, too," she confirmed, lowering her voice as well just in case her mom was listening.

"Yeah, I was. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

"Leave it to you, you perv," she laughed. "So are you making friends there?"

"Yes, mom," he answered sarcastically. "I'm making plenty of friends; don't worry about me. I'm more worried about you."

"Why are you worried about me?"

"Your mom," he said simply as if that explained everything. He tapped his fingers against the pay phone and leaned against the wall.

Olivia lay back against her pillows and clutched the phone tighter in her hand. "My mom is fine. She's not drinking as much as she normally does and she hardly ever drinks the hard stuff. You don't have to worry about me, El."

"I'm always gonna worry about you, baby. Always," he reminded her softly. "I just know how your mom can be and I know it isn't easy for you to make friends because of that."

"Hey, I told you Christina moved back. She's all I need. She understands me."

"Still…a few more friends couldn't hurt."

"Don't worry; Christina brings out a side of me I didn't know existed."

"Wait, what's that mean? Am I gonna recognize my girlfriend when I get home?" he chuckled nervously.

"Yes, El, I haven't changed," she assured teasingly. "Although, Christina is taking me to a spa sometime before I come down to pick you up."

"Really? Gonna get all dolled up just for me?"

She grinned against the mouth piece. She was glad to hear the surprise in his voice. She was never one to focus on her looks. When she woke up in the morning, the most she did was brush her hair and put on some lip gloss. She had started making more of an effort when her and Elliot had entered the 'like' stage and started flirting with one another. He had called her on it, though, and told her she didn't need make up to look beautiful. She noticed she still found herself getting dressed up to go out on dates with him, though. She loved the look he would get on his face when he saw her all decked out.

"Yes, I am. I have to look good for my man."

"Baby, you always look good. You know that."

"I know; you tell me that all the time. But I still like to get all dressed up for you." She heard someone in the background telling Elliot his time was almost up. "I guess our time is up for right now, huh?"

Elliot winced as he turned away from his drill sergeant. "Yeah, it is. I don't know when I'll be able to talk to you again. I probably won't before graduation time."

"Do you know when that is yet?"

"Sometime right before Thanksgiving," he recited. "That's all I can remember right now."

He sounded distracted now. "I'll let you go then. I love you, El."

"I love you, Liv."

"I can't wait to see you again."

"Won't be long now. Just a few more weeks and we'll be together again."

They hung up after a few last words to one another. Olivia let her hand linger on the receiver, wishing she could have more time to talk to him. She had written a few letters but she always forgot to ask him if he'd gotten them. She wrote in a diary every day, writing down her day's events so she could tell him about it when he got home if it seemed relevant enough to her. It was more for herself, however; a therapeutic chore that tricked her mind into thinking she was actually telling Elliot everything that went on in her life in the thirteen weeks he was away.

She was excited to go pick him up. It was going to be a long drive with his mom and uncle, though. She knew Frank well enough to know they had numerous topics they could talk about so she wasn't nervous about him. His mother on the other hand… She didn't know his mother at all. She was nervous about anything Bernie might ask her. She didn't know what all Elliot had told his mom about her but she wished he had told her what he told his mom!

"Olivia?" came a knock at her door.

"Yeah?"

Serena opened the door and poked her head inside. "I take it that was Elliot on the phone?"

Olivia nodded, laying her head back against her pillows. "He only had a few minutes to talk before he had to get back to his duties."

"It must have been nice to talk to him again. How much longer until he comes home?"

"About two and half weeks."

"That's not that long. It'll be here before you know it."

Olivia nodded. "Yeah," she agreed, "but I still miss him like crazy."

Serena pressed her lips together and tentatively sat on her daughter's bed. She rested her arm on Olivia's blanket covered leg and gently leaned into her. "Well, I can't do anything about that but I can try to help you take your mind off of it," Serena offered.

Olivia perked up. "What?"

"You could come into work with me for a few hours. I need to get some grading done and I could use some company."

Well, that sure beat the hours Olivia had planned to spend doing nothing around the apartment.

"Okay, let me get dressed."

'I'm writing to say I had a wonderful day
Hangin' with my friends.
But the memory dies as the sun reach the skies
I'm alone again.
I wanna tell you the weather is fine
When the night comes around you were on my mind
And I wish you were here with me
Don't you know'

Let me know what you guys think. I promise the next chapter will be along shortly. Spring break is a lovely incentive to sit back and write. So are reviews :P