Hello everyone! It's been a very long time since I last updated any of my SVU stories and for that I apologies, life seemed to move on and inspiration dried up. However after recently re-reading my fanfictions (sad I know) I have started to be inspired again and would like to try and finish some of the stories that aren't.

To new readers, welcome. To old, welcome back.

I have changed this story slightly because I will no longer put Queen songs with them but I have planned about 10 chapters for this at the very least with some interesting twists and turns along the way. Anyone familiar with my work will know that I love DRAMA. And that will never change.

Thanks for joining me on this new journey… Steff x

It was Monday morning and Olivia and Nick had been together all weekend celebrating the new path their lives were taking. It was exciting, so different and new and life seemed to be settling down for them now. Olivia was finally returning to full active duty, something she was both excited and nervous for. She'd been wanting to be back for so long but she couldn't deny that she was still a little bit weary too.

To be fair, her life had changed quite considerably since she'd been shot eight weeks prior. She'd fallen head over heels in love with her partner, her old partner had made a reappearance in her life and she was learning to live with parts of her body now missing. The adjustments she had had to make were great and it was still a long road before it would ever be normal.

"Hey Liv how are you feeling?" Don Cragen asked as Olivia stepped into the office to collect her gun.

"I'm ok." Olivia smiled softly, she wasn't exactly lying with that statement, she was ok just nervous.

"Well welcome back Detective." He smiled while he reached her gun over to her. She grabbed it and smiled back, excited at the prospect of finally being able to do the job she loved.

"Thanks Cap'" she responded laughing, she'd already been back a couple of weeks now but she also knew he meant back to being a proper detective and not riding a desk.

"Louisa tells me you plan on continuing to see her for a bit. Want to tell me about that?" Don questioned. It was strange to him that the detective was willing to continue to see a shrink without being forced to, he figured it meant that she had a lot of stuff she still hadn't dealt with and was concerned for her.

"There's nothing to worry about Don." She said quietly, she knew that whatever she saw Louisa for from this point on was confidential and off the record and Don Cragen was simply concerned for her and her wellbeing.

"I'm not worried, I just wanted to tell you that my door is always open to you if you need it Olivia." Don replied with a smile. He was just a little worried but he wasn't going to tell her that.

"I'm dealing with some of the greatest adjustments I have ever had to make Don. I won't lie and say its easy and I definitely struggle with it from time to time and that's why I asked Louisa if she'd continue to see for a while, just so I feel like when things get too much I can talk to someone that isn't close, that isn't connected." Olivia explained her hand rubbing her forehead, she knew that there was a chance Louisa would have put in her report that Olivia was going to continue seeing her and had prepared for Don to ask questions.

"That's a very mature thing to do Olivia, I'm proud of you." Cragen said, a little patronising but Olivia appreciated it nonetheless.

"Cap, I was just wanting to make sure. There's no issues going to be with Nick and I working together right?" Olivia asked quietly, she didn't want to admit it out loud but she had been a little worried about not being able to work with Nick and right now she needed to know he was by her side.

"No issues at the moment Olivia, if your relationship changes then there may be but for the time being just keep it out the bullpen." Cragen replied. It was true that Nick and Olivia could work together for the foreseeable future but if things were to change in their relationship then they would possibly have to change partners.

"We will." Olivia laughed, no one needed to see her and Nick acting like a loved up couple in the office, it was going to be strange enough for them after work whenever they went to the bar to celebrate a case win or something.

"Right go on, back to work. I think Fin and Amanda have a lead on the Adams case that you and Nick could give them a hand with." Cragen said, dismissing her to get on with her day.

Olivia made her way back into the bullpen and saw Amanda, Nick and Fin sitting around the conference table looking at some papers. Munch was at his computer typing away and for the first time since the shooting Olivia felt like things were pretty much back to normal.

Nick felt her looking towards him and he looked at her, their eyes meeting. He smiled and she smiled back before walking over to him looking forward to getting stuck into the case at hand.

"Right then, if we speak with the Edward's girl again and see if we can find out if she remembers anything like this, if she does then we'll know for sure the cases are connected." Fin said to the group just as Olivia sunk into a chair beside Nick.

"Hold up, if this was there in her case she would have said something before now." Amanda replied looking at the statement of the Adams girl.

"Not necessarily." Olivia replied while she opened the manila file. "Patricia Edwards was brutally raped in an alleyway on the way home from work. She may not have had the chance to feel or to realise that the perp had a prince albert! While Sara Adams was less about opportunity and more about planning. There's very little to connect these case other than the fact both of them said he said that they had to enjoy it… I don't doubt that these cases are the same person but we need to find out why it went from an opportunity rape to a planned rape."

"Maybe our guy practised on the opportunity rape, maybe his target was always Sara Adams." Nick responded thoughtfully, he loved how it felt like Olivia had never been away.

"Or maybe… maybe there's another target… maybe Patricia was a complete opportunity but so was Sara just there was a little more planning because he's working up the effort to attack someone else…" Olivia stated, more to herself than anyone else, she was just thinking out loud.

"Which means he's escalating and who knows how far he'll go with his intended target." Amanda snapped angrily, they'd been looking for this guy for over a week and once again they were back around the conference table just throwing ideas around.

"True that, he went from a quicky up against a wall to rape and torture…" Just as Fin spoke Cragen came hurrying out of the door.

"Nick, Olivia you've got a case." He stated a yellow slip in his hand.

Nick and Olivia were straight out of their seats leaving Fin and Amanda to tell the Captain what they thought they'd figured out while Olivia and Nick made their way to Mercy general.

"So glad to be back?" Nick asked as they got in the car.

"Yep." Olivia smiled, things had returned to normal so quickly in the squad room that she most certainly felt like she'd never been away.

"You need to make sure you eat after we've seen the victim." Nick reminded Olivia, he didn't want to be overbearing but she was still needing to eat 8 tiny portions of food every day and Abuelita had ensured that Olivia had enough fruit and vegetables to keep her going all day.

"I will Nick." Olivia sighed, she didn't want to lose her temper with him but she hoped he would remember that she was a big girl and yes, something huge had happened to her but she was coping and she knew what she had to do to survive now.

"I'm sorry Liv, I'm not trying to be a pain in your ass, I just care you know, I don't want you getting sick again." Nick responded making Olivia feel just a little bit on the guilty side.

"I know." She whispered, her hand reaching over to his leg so she could give him a gentle squeeze and reassure him.

At Mercy general, Olivia and Nick found who they believed was the intended victim of the serial rapist they'd been chasing with Fin and Amanda. This woman knew who her attacker was, he had a Prince Albert, he'd been waiting in her apartment when she'd got home from work, he'd tied her to the bed and rapped her repeatedly for over 10 hours including sodomising her, the arrival of a neighbour with a package for her had been what had spooked him away, he probably would have kept her hostage for much longer if that hadn't happened.

When Nick and Olivia returned to the squad room they had to wait patiently for Fin and Amanda to get back with their suspect. Olivia opened up the Tupperware box that Abuelita had made for her containing small cup sized portion of fresh fruit and veg. She hated having to do this, it was so frustrating, but she knew if she didn't she would just get sick again and that was something she didn't want to happen.

Nick watched as his girlfriend started munching on some carrot sticks, she wasn't aware of it but he was smiling proudly at her. He'd been so concerned that she'd neglect herself when she came back to work and she just couldn't do that anymore. She would have to pull all nighters now without the energy drinks, she couldn't pop a soda or some chocolate for a quick energy boost and she was going to struggle with that, the fact that she was already getting into the habit of eating at her desk at the most convenient time was showing Nick that maybe he didn't need to worry so much about her as he had been that morning.

"That was Fin, our perp's in Mercy." Munch stated hanging up the phone.

"What? Why?" Olivia asked as she washed her hands with the antibacterial soap on her desk, she felt like she'd eaten a horse and wouldn't be able to move while she'd actually only had a cup full of carrot and cucumber sticks.

"Shot himself in the foot." Munch smiled, the laugh obvious behind his eyes.

Olivia laughed and shook her head, it was so good to be back to normal and as always nothing was ever normal in SVU.