Chapter 11

Captain Cragen stood there staring at one of his best detectives. He could not believe the words coming out of her mouth. "Olivia have you talked to Elliott about this? I'm sure the two of you can work this out. I would hate to lose the best set of partners I've ever had working under me."

"I try to talk to Elliott about things and he's so cold and callous. I do not think it's fair to anyone to keep us together. Maybe I can partner up with Fin for a while and see how that goes."

"Olivia is he not waiting downstairs for you?"

"Yes, but I just can't take it anymore. Elliott acts like he hates me most of the time. He hardly even speaks to me, and when he does it's something so mean and cruel I just don't want to do it anymore."

"You still need to talk to him Olivia. Do not leave your partner of ten years hanging. I will go downstairs and tell him there's something I need to discuss with him and that Fin will ride with you. Get yourself together and grab Fin and get going."

Olivia tried to pull it together before she walked out of the office. It was useless. She headed towards the bathroom.

"Liv you OK?" Fin was looking at her with concern all over his face.

"Yes I'll be OK. Captain wants you to come with me to Carmen's apartment. Just give me a few minutes and we can go."

"OK, Liv. Take all the time you need."

Closing the bathroom door she thought when was the last time Elliott had been so nice and understanding. Fin always put on the tough guy exterior but underneath he was so kind and forgiving. She looked at herself in the mirror and laughed. Boy what a pretty picture she was. Hair a mess, since she never even thought to dry it. Her eyes swollen and puffy. She could not go to Carmen's looking like this. She washed her face and patted her eyes. Reaching inside her pocket she pulled out the band for her hair. Now that it was longer she could pull it up and it made times like this a whole lot easier. She ran her fingers through her bangs and put on some lip gloss. Well that was a little bit better. At least now she would not scare Carmen. Pushing through the bathroom door she heard yelling and realized it was Elliott. She walked faster when she heard Fin's voice join the shouting match.

"Not my fault Liv wants a real partner. She needs to know her partner has her back. You sure haven't done that for her in a long time." Fin stood toe to toe with Elliott and waited for him to say something.

"You son of a bitch. I have always had Liv's back, you were the one at Sealview that left her alone. I knew that was such a bad idea for her to go under, especially without me there."

"Damn man listen to yourself. Do you think you're Superman or something? Have you even been there for her? Have you asked her what happened and if she was OK? Hell no, you're too damn scared of your own emotions to even ask about hers. Be a man, talk to her."

"What goes on between me and Liv is none of your business Fin."

"Man it's everybody's business. You don't care to hide the fact when Olivia does something you don't like you let her know. It doesn't matter if it's just the two of you or a room full of people. She ain't yo wife man. So don't treat her like she is."

Every head in the room turned to look at her. Even Elliott's, he looked very hurt. She had to be indifferent otherwise she would bust out crying again. She walked over to her desk and grabbed her badge. After clipping it to her pants she headed to the elevator. She could feel all the eyes still staring through her, but kept walking.

"Liv I'll be down in a second," Fin called after her.

She never stopped or acknowledged his comment. Thank goodness the elevator doors opened immediately. She kept her head down as the doors closed.

"Thank God."

The tears that had been burning her eyelids flowed down her cheeks. What had she done? She had just asked her Captain to split Elliott and herself up. A ten year partnership about to come to an end and it was her doing. Was it fair to keep going with things the way they were? Why did she feel like such an ass? Get it together, she thought to herself. It was the best decision for everyone. She would make time to talk to Elliott later today. If he even wanted to talk to her. Olivia walked out of the precinct. She headed towards the sedan. Her thoughts were a little sad. She usually rode in this car with Elliott. He was so hurt. Why did they both let it get this bad? A few simple conversations would have helped this whole situation, but they both were so stubborn. She opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

Fin emerged momentarily and headed towards the car. "Damn, that partner of yours is a real pain in the ass. How the hell did you put up with his ass for ten years?"

"Fin let's not discuss this right now. That was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Elliott and I have been through so much together, but things were not working out like they were. I did what I thought I had to do."

"Liv you don't have to explain to me. If you need someone to talk to I will always be here. Let's get to Carmen's."

Olivia reached over to squeeze his hand. "Thanks." That was all she had to say. She knew Fin had her back.

Fin and Olivia sat listening to Carmen talk about her trial. "Olivia I am not ready to see his face again. I have dreams every night about what he did to me and I am so scared."

"Carmen I know you are scared. I want you to think about what he did to you. Do you want him to go free so he can do that to someone else? He will walk if you don't testify. I know you don't want that. This will be one of the hardest things you will ever have to do but you will be so thankful afterwards. You have to be strong, Carmen. I know you are. I will be here for you the whole way. If you need me day or night I will help you."

"All right, Olivia let's do this."

Olivia smiled as she stood up to embrace the other woman. "We will get through this Carmen, I promise."

She started to walk towards the door. Her hand was on the doorknob as Fin's phone rang. She opened the door and he walked out in the hall ahead of her. Olivia turned back to Carmen. Handing her a card. "My cell number is on the back. If you need anything just call."

She closed the door and came face to face with Fin.

"Liv we gotta go, there's been a shooting. It's Elliott. Come on."