'He put his papers in'

'Your call cannot be connected'

'Message unable to send'

'I'm sorry, he no longer lives at this address'

There's a form of abandonment that somehow you subconsciously prepare for. The type you don't see coming, but when it does, it provokes a whirlwind of emotions; confusion, sadness and anger.

It's a phase, rites of passage that etch a little line onto your soul, and as you learn to overcome and see the positives, you find out how to progress through life.

So what happens when the damage is simply too great to leave a line?

When the pain, loneliness, and betrayal takes it's time to slowly eat away at you day in and day out, when your ability to heal and determination to move forward is nonexistent; well then...that little line develops into a hole, a deep void that not only alters the course and direction of your life but also impacts the personality traits you thought you could call your own.

Elliot was loyal to his wife, loyal to his kids. He never lied to Olivia, he didn't lead her on, he under no circumstances whispered false promises, and he by no means gave into his own lust or passion.

There were times when Olivia could have closed her eyes and wished for his kiss, but he abstained, not because he didn't want to, but because his faith, his ethics and his morals wouldn't allow it.

He was a good man and Olivia loved him, she had loved him even after he disappeared completely out of her life one month ago.

Olivia pulls up to the precinct and puts the car in park. "Dammit," she shouts out loud, slamming her hand down on the dashboard. It was one disaster after the other; she had been chasing her tail for the last month, and today's failed potential leads were quickly taking her to breaking point.

The rain was crashing off the pavement and the sound of it bouncing off the car was deepening and intensifying the impact the weather was having on her mood.

She prepares herself, hood up and ready to go. This is the type of torrential rainfall that meant no matter how quickly she was to run, it wasn't going to make a difference; either way she was entering through those precinct doors, soaking wet.

She is two speedy footsteps from dry shelter when a loud breathy voice calling her name stops her in her tracks.

She's still, unable to look behind her. The sudden statuesque stance came on like she'd been shot through the heart. As the raindrops drench her clothing and create a puddle around her boots, she stays utterly silent, staring at the warm glow from the open doors ahead of her.

"Liv," his dry, husky voice calls out again.

She gently squeezes her eyes shut and allows the sudden rush of tears to mix elegantly with the droplets of rain already gracing her cheeks.

She can't turn around; she can't risk the disappointment of it not being him stood there.

Her mind liked to do these dirty little tricks, making her hear his voice when there was silence, convincing her she had seen his silhouette walk through the doors, and her skin had even felt the phantom vibrations of his nonexistent text messages and phone calls through the material of her pants.

But worst of all was how every.single.thing reminded her of him.

"Liv- I left Kathy," he spontaneously blurts out, his tone revealing his inner hopes, optimism and apprehension.

Immediately pulling the hood down on her jacket, Olivia turns to face him because with those four words, it was as if the rain didn't matter anymore, it was as if nothing else mattered anymore.

As she looks straight into those familiar blue eyes, the convenient streetlight in the shade of the overcast clouds intensifies the depth of his look. He's not just looking at her, he's looking through her, he's staring into the deepness of the hole he created, and what she sees looking back at her is his understanding, his familiarity, and his reciprocation. The hole isn't solely experienced by her; he holds his own languished counterpart.

He's entirely motionless. He's alone, there are no other voices around, and as they silently gaze at each other, it's as if for just one singular moment this crazy world has completely stood still to give them this longed-for moment.

It was as if those words opened whatever gates were holding them both back, the gates that torturously allowed them to be so close but yet so out of touch.

She hasn't spoken a word to him. There are so many things she wants to say, so many things she needs to say, but her body moves faster than her speech processes, and she's walking towards him. It's impulsive, instinctual even, but her footsteps are hitting the ground with greater meaning than they've ever moved before, and when she reaches him, she stops and takes him in.

His rain soaked clothing, the smoothness of his skin as the liquid glistens against his rosy frost touched cheeks, and his smile; his smile.

Elliot's hands reach out to grip hers, and as he slowly caresses his thumbs over her hands, the impulses produce goose bumps over her skin.

"I love you Liv... I've always loved you," he whispers.

She knows she should let him talk, explain his whereabouts the last month, but she doesn't want that right now.

What she wants is to close the distance between them, so she tightly presses her body against his and places her finger over his lips. "Sssh," she whispers, "not now El. Let's just have this moment."

Not allowing for an awkward pause or an opportunity for his own second thoughts, he kisses her.

His embrace immerses both of them deep into each other, allowing them to finally fall softly into place; their previous illusion and the long awaited dream, now turning into a reality.

The tender touch of their lips tracing over one another's is long, searching, and most of all, destined.

When the softest of sounds escape from Olivia's lips, Elliot slowly pulls back, cups her face with his hands, and sweeps the falling rain from her brow.

"I don't know what to say," she breathlessly sighs whilst looking down at her fingers toying with the bottom seam of his shirt.

"You don't need to say anything now Liv," he understandingly replies. The rain creates a pool of memories around them that they only thought could be found in fantasies, memories that would now be synced with the weather; rainfall becoming its own souvenir that would tie their past to the future, washing away their old selves in order to introduce them to the fresh start they both so truly deserve.

The cool chill from the rain starts to reduce the heat over Olivia, and not being ready for this purely perfect instance to come to an end, she knots the bottom of his saturated shirt between her fists and pulls him back into her own reverent adoration.