A/N: I can see myself crying over a body, but also being the body. - Melissa Lozada-Oliva

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters as written on the TV show, but this version of them? All mine.

"How's your ankle?" she asked, biting her lip. Her fingers itched to touch him. It didn't occur to her to ask anything else, because she didn't care about anything else.

With a sigh, Elliot scratched at the back of his neck. "Okay," he said, downplaying the pain. He looked around and yawned, then stood up. "We should ask someone to take us back to campus." He shifted and turned, the muscles in his back crying as his joints popped like old bubble wrap. Leaning over, he kissed her once and said, "This couch makes the bed in our dorm seem like a cloud in Heaven."

With a soft laugh, Olivia kissed him again. "I didn't notice."

"Yeah, that's because I slept on the couch, and you slept on me," he teased, and he kissed her one more time before pulling her up off of the lumpy, old sofa. He watched her grab her jacket and messenger bag, debating whether or not to tell her he'd seen every single page in her sketchbook. "Hey, uh," he tugged on the canvas strap of her bag, then licked his lips and swallowed hard. "A lot of those new drawings, uh...you're having nightmares, again." He looked into her eyes, hoping he was wrong, praying it was only because she'd been worried about him. "Aren't you?"

Quietly, she hiked the strap up higher on her shoulder. "Yeah," she barely breathed, "But not...not all the time. Just...well, the last couple of days." Shrugging, she rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to say, El?" She scoffed and folded her arms. "I've been worried about you, thinking about what would happen if...what I would do if anything…"

He grabbed her just as her lower lip started to tremble, cupped her face, and negated her fears as emphatically as he could. "Never gonna happen," he assured her, then kissed her hard, deeply, powerfully.

It was slow and delicate, but with a slight roughness, a possessiveness that rivaled great romances and Greek tragedies. His fingers stroked through her hair as his lips and tongue battled hers for control, at the same time submitting to her will. The way they felt in each other's arms meant everything, overpowering and overshadowing anything else in the world, the only thing that mattered. He pulled back, breathless and red-lipped. "Already told you, I'm never leaving you, and no one is gonna take you away from me." He let out an exhausted-sounding laugh. "Damn sure not letting anyone fucking kill us, I proved that, last night." He kissed her again, then held her for a moment in silence as his vows sealed themselves to their bodies. He remembered reading her poem, the last page of her book, and he made another silent promise to himself, to her, and the plans started forming in the crevices of his mind. Sighing, he took her hand and guided her through the open doorway and into the police station's squadroom. "Excuse me," he stopped the first person he saw. "Have you seen, um, Captain Cragen?"

Before the short-haired woman could answer him, Cragen's voice bellowed from somewhere to his left. "Good," the man said as he dragged his hands down the front of his wrinkled shirt. "You're awake. I gotta get you two back to school, and I have to be back…" he paused, noticing the hard look he was getting from Elliot. "Yes, I did what you asked me to do, why the hell do you think I'm still here?" He waved a hand and said, "You two are…safe." He jerked his head back, calling the pair over to him. Looking down at Olivia as they walked closer to him, he tried to smile, and he realized if he squinted he'd enough they almost looked young enough to be their actual age.

"Thanks," Elliot said with a nod, then he squeezed Olivia's hand a bit harder and pulled her toward the front doors before she could ask any questions.

Cragen sighed as he followed the two teenagers out of the old building and toward his Buick, clearing his throat as he unlocked the car doors. "Your mother would like to…"

"Nah," Elliot smirked at the man. "I'm good. Really." He helped Olivia get into the car, then exhaled as he looked up at Cragen. "Thank you, for everything, but from here on out just…" he glanced into the backseat of the car, stared at Olivia's right ear for a moment, and then shook his head. "Leave us alone, so that maybe we can figure out how the fuck to be a couple of normal teenagers for, what, a year?" He scoffed and rubbed one hand over his bruised shoulder, licked his split lip, and seethed as his weight shifted to his swollen and sore ankle. "I had time to think, ya know? Last night, sitting in that park, waiting for those goons to come after me." He narrowed his eyes and looked sternly at Cragen. "This is my life, not my father's, not yours. Whatever you two think, whatever opinions you have about me and Liv…" he chuckled once. "We didn't make a mistake, and we aren't giving up after the dust from all this bullshit settles."

Cragen's heart pounded a bit harder. This was not the time to bring certain things up, and he needed a way to avoid the conversation. "Now, Son, no one thinks you made…"

"After graduation," Elliot interrupts, "Me and Liv, we're getting far the fuck away from New Fucking York. We looked into some great schools down the coast, I'm thinking Virginia. Marine Corps has a full four-year university, I could come out with a Bachelor's and a Master's and biceps on top of biceps, Liv fell in love with the arts program at Park just from reading the damn pamphlet."

"Quantico," Cragen sighs, and he rubs a hand over his forehead. "The Marine Corps, Elliot that's a big step and one I am not entirely sure you need to…"

"If I go to MCU, they'll pay for everything, as long as I'm enlisted while I'm attending," Elliot's voice was cool, serious, and he knew that if Cragen closed his eyes he'd probably think he was talking to Joe. He grimaced at the thought, not wanting to be anything like his father, even just sounding like him made his skin crawl. "Liv could get a pretty solid scholarship from Park, she's brilliant. I know she wants to major in criminal justice, minor in fine arts, and with one look at her work, they'll beg her to teach the damn art classes on top of everything else." He leaned closer to Cragen. "And no one will ever have to know DJ isn't our kid, eventually we'll have our own, and maybe...if I'm sure that we'll be completely safe, one day we'll come back to this...hellhole."

Cragen blinked once. Had Joe told him what offer he'd been planning to make? "You sound like you have it all figured out, kid. Just remember this. Everyone needs someone...and I know the two of you feel like you don't have…"

"Our parents dropped the ball," Elliot chuckled. "Our families kinds of made it clear that we were the black sheep, we've had most of these plans since first grade, so whatever you're about to say…"

"I am telling you," Cragen cut him off just as firmly, dropping a hand to Elliot's shoulder, hoping it was the uninjured one, "You two need anything, you come to me. I told your father, now I'm telling you, you need someone you can trust, someone you can come to for anything, no matter what, and I promise you both…" he lost his words. For some reason, his emotions overwhelmed him and he squeezed Elliot's shoulder.

"Don't make promises," Elliot snapped, shaking his head gruffly. "The only person who's ever kept a damn promise is Liv, and I'm pretty sure she's the only one who ever will, so just save it." He moved to get into the car, but looked up with stunned eyes as Cragen gave his shoulder another hard squeeze.

"No, I swear," Cragen faltered. Memories that weren't his to cherish came flooding back to him. He recalled how terrified he'd been when Serena Benson had attacked the kids, landing herself in the hospital. He remembered how much it hurt to watch Olivia go through almost two years of legal battles and hide-and-seek with her mother. Recalling how angry and horrified Elliot had been, how the young man not only got married but practically adopted his little brother, making it his duty and his right to protect them, growing up before his time, it all was way too much. The tears rolled down his cheeks as he nodded and sniffled. "I'm here, Elliot. For any of it, all of it."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell do you care so much?" he asked, confused and on the verge of tears himself. His own father had never shown this much investment, not until recently, and even now it had all come second to his job and bottles of Jack Daniels, and this man he hardly knew seemed to truly love him.

Cragen sniffled again, pulled back a bit, and then dropped his gaze to look into the backseat of the car. He chuckled softly, Olivia's annoyed impatience was scrawled on her face, and he took a deep breath as he crossed his arms and let it out while turning his head back toward Elliot. "I watched you grow up, Kid. I should have stepped in a long time ago, I just didn't want to face…" he paused and exhaled again. "Your father was my partner for so long, I think of you and your brothers and sisters like my own kids. You...most of all." He closed his eyes and turned away, licking his lips slowly. "Get it the car," he said, and he rushed around the vehicle to get into the driver's seat.

Squinting, Elliot slid into the seat next to Olivia, and as soon as he shut the door, he pulled her into his arms. "I love you," he whispered. "So fucking much."

"I love you, too," she returned, closing her eyes as she sank into his chest. Inhaling deeply, she noticed how differently he smelled now. Cigar smoke, something pungently alcoholic, but hidden beneath the grime of whatever had happened the night before, his musky scent. The comfort she found in it settled into her lungs after another breath. "I need a new sketch…"

"I know," he said before she could finish her sentence. "Campus bookstore, as soon as we get back. I'll buy you two," he chuckled. Kissing her forehead, he sighed and pulled her into his lap, then started running his hands up and down her back. "I want to get you one of those portfolio things, too. You're gonna need to start picking out your best…"

"I heard you," she told him, bringing her eyes up to meet his. "I heard everything you said to him, ya know. The door was open, and you're not exactly softspoken." They shared a soft laugh and a sweet kiss. "What did he mean, you can't go to your parents, if we have to go him…" she tilted her head. "What did you do?"

With a long and slow exhalation, he dropped his head forward and pressed it against Olivia's. "In return for helping my father out of this mess," he paused, brushed her hair back, and tried to smile at him, "I made him sign away whatever parental responsibility he had left, I filed a restraining order against him and your mother...which expires when we turn eighteen, but it means they can't interfere with anything or come anywhere near us...and by the time they can, they won't know where the hell we are," he spoke almost too fast, then took a short and quick breath. "And...as of midnight on my eighteenth birthday, I am officially and legally...DJ's full-time guardian." He kissed her again. "You take the reigns with him, too, seeing as how you're my, uh, wife." He winked at her, licked his lips, and asked, "That okay with you?"

Too stunned to say anything, she simply nodded and kissed him again. In the back of her mind, she asked herself questions with no answers, wondered how she'd ended up married and practically raising a child, confused about how much she loved Elliot and DJ despite never learning what love was from her mother. But in the forefront, above it all, in a much louder and firmer voice, the relief and pure emotion flooded and swelled. Turning her head, she noticed the car had driven through the Northwood gates and she let her shoulders drop, finally relaxing after forty-eight hours of tension.

"Look at that," Elliot sighed, staring out the window toward the school's chapel bell tower. "We're home." He turned again, kissed Olivia, and made a silent observation as he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips.

Wherever they were, as long as he had her, he'd be home.

A/N: So sorry for the long wait with this one. Next, another glimpse into life at Northwood. A party, a bet, and a surprise!