Thank you to all of you that have left reviews. It's really encouraging when I hear that people are enjoying the story. I am really enjoying it too; it's been fun to write. I like to hear all feedback, and don't mind constructive criticism, but there have been a couple of reviews from that are really rude. So to that reviewer…I am sorry that I haven't updated this story fast enough for you…but I am going as fast as I can. I want to get the story right…Your comments are rude and I don't enjoy being called names. In fact, your comments make me NOT want to post an update…so I think all of the other people that are anxiously waiting will not be unhappy with you.

So for everyone else, here is the next chapter…please read and review. I am working on the next chapter right now!

EO Forever. -

Olivia sighed and closed her eyes, contemplating what she was going to say. She had wanted this for so long, but she was scared. She took a deep breath. "El…what Matt said before. It wasn't how I wanted to tell you but." She took another deep breath, opened her eyes and looked directly into his. "It's true. I love you."

Elliot's hands slipped from her waist and he took a step back, continuing to look into her eyes. Olivia looked away, not able to deal with the intensity of his stare. She didn't know why he wasn't saying anything. What if he didn't feel the same way? Had she just made a total fool of herself? It seemed like minutes had passed, but really it had only been seconds. Elliot took both of her hands in his, and pulled her away from the door. A large smile spread across his face, and he pulled her into his body, wrapping his arms around her. He started to rock back and forth a little, holding her in his arms, and suddenly a huge laugh bubbled up and out. He felt all of the stress that had built up rush out of his body, and he couldn't stop laughing. He was holding Olivia tightly, and still rocking back and forth lightly. Olivia struggled to get out of his grasp. She couldn't believe he was laughing at her. Fucking bastard. She had bared her innermost feelings; something that was incredibly difficult and scary as hell for her. And he was laughing?

"Let go of me." She pushed against him. "You're an asshole."

Elliot loosened his arms slightly, but didn't let her go. He stopped laughing and looked back down at her.

"Liv. Stop." he said as she continued to struggle. "I'm sorry. Please. Stop."

He let her pull away from him a little, but only so he could get a better look at her. He held onto her with one hand while the other grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. She stopped struggling, and looked up at him, wondering what on earth he could have to say to her after acting like such an ass. He was staring into her eyes, and it made Olivia feel uncomfortable. She tried to turn her head, but Elliot held onto her chin, forcing her to keep looking at him.

"Olivia Benson. I love you. I love you with all my heart, body and soul. I have never felt like this…ever. You have had my heart for years and I was too stupid to do anything about it…until I realized I might lose you. I have been taking you for granted. Assuming you would always be there, waiting for me to get my shit together. The thought of losing you scared me. So I have been sitting here all evening, trying to figure out how to tell the love of my life that I can't imagine life without her. That if she doesn't feel the same way, I don't know how I will manage to keep breathing…to keep going forward. Oh my God Olivia…You have just made me the happiest man alive." It all came out in a rush, and he stared into her eyes while he said it, trying to gauge her reaction.

Olivia's breath hitched and she looked down, trying to take in everything he had just said. She had wanted to hear those words for so long. She shook her head lightly, wondering if this was a dream. She was breathing heavily, and took a step back, letting go of Elliot's hand, his other hand dropping from its' hold on her chin. She hadn't really expected this; she realized she had expected his rejection. That based on her history, she realized she had expected he would tell her that she had misunderstood him…that his rejection would another in a long line of disappointments and she would be alone once again. But he hadn't rejected her. He had told her everything she wanted to hear. And right now, she thinks that maybe that scared her even more.

"Olivia?" Elliot asked questioningly. He was confused by her pulling away from him. She had told him she felt the same way he did, so why was she distancing herself from him?

"Liv?" he took a step towards her, but he didn't reach out for her. He could see that she was struggling with what he had told her.

His movement pulled her from her thoughts and she looked back up at him. She looked into his eyes, and she could see the concern in his eyes. But she could also see the love and hope there. She took a deep breath and closed the gap between them, grasping his hands with hers.

"El." She closed her eyes again, hesitated for a moment, and then opened them again. She smiled. "You have no idea how long I have dreamed of hearing you say those words to me. I almost can't believe it. I have loved you for so long, that I don't remember when I didn't. But I never thought you felt the same way."

"Well then it seems like we have wasted a lot of time." said Elliot, smirking and pulling her body closer to his. "And I am not going to waste one more minute." He leaned in and kissed her and she immediately melted into his body, enjoying the feel of his lips against hers and the warmth and comfort of his body as it molded it to hers. Elliot pulled his lips from hers, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent.

"Liv. I don't really want to stop kissing you…ever...but I don't really want to keep standing here by the door." Elliot said, laughing. He pulled back and took her hand, leading her into the living room. When they reached the living room, he stopped and turned to look at her. All of a sudden, he was nervous as hell. He hadn't thought much past telling her that he loved her…but now they were in uncharted territory. They had their old relationship carefully laid out. They knew what to avoid; what lines not to cross. But now they had obliterated that line. They had never been this honest with each other about anything, especially their feelings. And to top that, Elliot didn't have a lot of experience when it came to women. He had started dating Kathy when he was 16, got her pregnant at 17 and was married shortly after. He wasn't sure how this was supposed to go…maybe he should let her set the pace.

"El?" asked Olivia. "Is everything OK?"

Elliot looked back at her, realizing he had just been standing there after leading her into the living room, looking off into space. He wasn't sure what to say, but since they had started this new bout of honesty, he thought he would stay with it.

"Liv." He took her other hand in his, and pulled both hands up to his heart, clasping them there. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I've only been in one relationship in my entire life. And while I loved Kathy, it was nothing compared to how I feel about you. I'm so scared of messing this up. I want you to know how much I love you. You deserve so much…and I want to give it to you."

"El. I've never felt like this either. I've had relationships, but as you told me once, you're the longest relationship I've ever had with a man. We are just going to have to figure this out as we go along. I think the best thing we can do is to promise each other that we will always be honest with each other. Do you think we can do that?"

Elliot nodded. Everything she said made sense. "Yeah. But I might mean we have to call BS on each other once in a while." He smiled.

Olivia smiled then, and Elliot thought that she had never looked more beautiful. Her big smile reached her eyes and he realized he could get lost on those eyes. He let go of her hands, and reached up to cup her face, pulling her face towards him. He pressed his lips down on hers and she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer. She parted her lips slightly and Elliot slipped his tongue into her mouth, reveling in the taste of her. He slid a hand around, tangling his hand in her hair and cupping the back of her head, deepening the kiss. He could feel the impact of the kiss all the way down to his toes, and he could tell he was having the same effect on her as she let out a small moan. She pushed him back a few steps and the back of his knees connected with the couch, causing him to fall backwards and losing contact with her. He reached up to pull her down on him, but she stepped back just out of reach. She shrugged her shoulders, pushing the black leather jacket off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Elliot took her in. His eyes wandered down to where the lace of her sexy, lingerie top rested against the swell of her breasts and he felt his dick twitch at the thought of touching her there. Olivia leaned over slightly, removing her boots, giving him a better view of her breasts and causing a sharp intake of breath from Elliot. She gave him a sultry look from under her eyelashes and a slight smile as she finished taking off her boots. Elliot smiled. She knew that what she was doing was driving him mad. It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't know this side of Olivia, but now that he was getting to see it firsthand, he realized she had a sultry, sexy side. This was the side of her he had always imagined in his dreams…and yes, there had been lots of dreams with the sexy Olivia Benson in them…but now that he was faced with the real thing, he knew he was in deep.