"Liv!"

Olivia stops mid-step and whirls around, unsure if she heard her name through the rumble and babble of crowds bustling through the city. She searches the stream of people, then hears her name again. This time she knows she's not imagining it.

Olivia sees a figure jogging towards her. Her eyes widen when he emerges from the crowds, recognising the familiar face.

"Peter?"

Peter stops, his eyes rounding slightly when he takes her in.

Olivia shakes her head slowly at her friend, recovering from the shock. "God, Peter, what are you doing here? I thought you transferred to Chicago?"

"I'm here for a funeral. A family funeral."

Olivia's brows furrow slightly, remembering his family. Pamela. Benjamin. Then realisation slowly dawns across her features, Olivia barely daring to believe it.

Peter's features tighten with grief and he whispers, "Carol," confirming her fears.

Olivia exhales slowly, her eyes softening with compassion. "Oh Peter, I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head, dismissing her concerns.

Olivia parts her lips, then closes it, rethinking. Then she reaches out for her friend, touching his shoulder. "If there's anything I can do…"

Peter bows his head once more and lets her hand slide off. He looks as if he's preparing to leave, then suddenly lifts his head and asks, "Hey, my plane doesn't leave until tomorrow morning. Did you want to grab a drink?"

Olivia's eyes bloom with surprise. "What, now?"

Peter shrugs, his cheek lifting into the faintest of smiles, hopeful. Olivia winces slightly. She told Lucy that she would be back soon, and she remembers how they left things between them.

You became more important to me than the case I was trying…

Olivia wonders if it's a good idea.

Then she sees the sunken look in his eyes and imagines the pain he went through when he buried his aunt today.

So, Olivia nods slowly. "Let me just let Lucy know."

Olivia reaches for her phone and texts Lucy, letting her know that she'll be late. Within seconds, Lucy responds with an all good and a selfie of her and Noah, curled up on the bed, reading their bedtime story.

Olivia smiles, her heart melting at the picture. She's about to put it away when her phone flashes again.

Elliot: Angela's awake. Going to the hospital now.

Olivia's eyes widen. She grips her phone, memories of the shooting at the hospital flashing in her mind. Immediately, she taps on Elliot's name, about to call him back.

"Is everything okay?"

Olivia lifts her head up, seeing Peter's concern. She parts her lips then closes them, thinking. Angela's not going anywhere.

Olivia locks her phone and drops it in her pocket, passing him a reassuring smile. "We're good." Olivia tilts her head down the street. "Come on, I know a place."

…

A gust of warmth hits Olivia as soon as she steps inside. The bar reminds Olivia of a lakeside cabin, all wooden walls and oakwood furniture, with a crackling electric fireplace at the end of the room. It emits a toasty vibe.

Olivia finds a table at the back of the room and takes a seat. Her phone rings and reaches for it, seeing Elliot's name flash on her screen once more. She hesitates, then sees Peter returning with their drinks. Olivia swipes the call away. She'll call him back later.

"Boyfriend?"

Olivia lifts her head up, sees Peter and accepts her glass of wine. She can almost laugh at the thought of having a boyfriend. "No. God, I think things are too chaotic in my life right now for me to be seeing anyone."

Peter nods. "I understand…the work keeps us busy." He pauses, thinking about what she said, chaotic. "You mentioned that Elliot come back to New York?"

Olivia startles. She forgot that she had mentioned his name in passing when she was talking about Fin's recent wedding celebrations. "Yeah, he has…"

Peter looks curious. "You never spoke about him much when I was here. Fin said you two were partners years ago."

Olivia nods slowly, sipping her wine. "We were partners for twelve years. Then we had an incident….We were investigating a rapist and one of the victims we were working with, but was murdered before she could testify against him. Her daughter came into the precinct, distressed, and killed her mother's killer. Elliot shot her before she could hurt anyone else…he resigned the next day."

Olivia sees his eyes soften with empathy and she shakes her head, trying to dismiss it. "It happened a long time ago."

Peter is still stunned. He thinks back to what she was saying earlier, and asks, "Is he the chaos in your life?"

Olivia breathes out a small chuckle, looking down into her glass. "He's one part of it, yes. Elliot and I didn't talk for ten years. It was a surprise when he came back."

"Did anything ever happen between you two?"

Olivia snaps her head up, startled at the implication. "What? No, why?"

Peter shrugs, gesturing to the side. "You two worked together for twelve years…it's a long time. He didn't talk to all those years he left, and now he's called you twice tonight."

As if on cue, Olivia's phone vibrates once more. Peter raises an eyebrow as she goes to check it, seeing Elliot's name flash on her screen. Olivia represses a sigh and switches it off.

"Nothing ever happened. Elliot was married. He has a family."

Peter watches her, noticing her choice of words. He was married. "For someone who hasn't spoken to you in ten years, he's been trying hard to reach you tonight."

Olivia sees his implication. Instinctively, she parts her lips to say the usual reply, our relationship isn't like that as she has every time someone questioned their relationship. Then she stops, recalling their recent interactions.

Liv, you mean the world to me.

I love you.

Sometimes, Olivia doesn't know anymore. Instead, she says, "It's not what you think. It's just work. Besides, things have been…complicated between us." Olivia stops and shakes her head. She reaches for her wine and says, "Enough about me. Tell me about Chicago."

Peter tells her all about his new work in Chicago. Olivia tells him about how the others have been, Carisi, Amanda and Fin. She tells him about Noah and how he's grown. Olivia notices the smile that lights up in his eyes when she tells him about his recent awards at school. She remembers how fond he was of her son. They share stories and even laugh, once, twice.

Now they're silent as they finish their second drink, watching the flames in the electric fireplace crackle and dance.

Olivia suddenly says, "I'm glad I got to see you tonight. Of course, I wish you were in town under better circumstances…but it's good to hear how you've been going. It seems like you made the right decision by moving on from SVU."

Peter tilts his head slightly, his brows tugging together. "You didn't think so before?"

Olivia lifts her shoulder in a shrug. "You left us so suddenly before I, ah…wasn't sure."

Peter doesn't reply. He's watching the fire again, his thoughts elsewhere. Suddenly he says, "Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I stayed."

Olivia lifts her head up, taken back. "What do you mean?"

Peter raises his head, meeting her gaze. His eyes, usually so intense, soften as they linger on hers. Olivia searches his eyes, sees something almost like sadness pass his gaze. It makes her breath catch in her throat.

Her phone rings once more before he can speak, startling her.

Olivia answers it immediately, turning away from Peter's burning gaze. "Elliot, hey, I was going to return your call soon."

"Elliot? No, Liv it's me, Lucy."

Olivia blinks, then shakes her head, silently chiding herself. "Of course, Lucy. Sorry, I didn't check the caller ID." Olivia's eyes widen with sudden anxiety, her tone quickening. "Is everything okay with Noah?"

"Yeah, everything's fine! I wanted you to know that I accidentally fed Noah some of the coffee ice cream, not the chocolate tonight. I'm so sorry, the two tubs looked similar. Unfortunately, he's still up. We're doing some drawings now, so hopefully he'll tire out before you get back."

Olivia exhales slowly, relief easing the knots in her chest. "Yeah, that's fine. Actually, I'll be coming home soon, so I can put him down if he's still up."

Olivia ends the call and turns back around to face Peter. He's already shrugging on his coat, preparing to leave.

They say goodbye outside the bar. Olivia embraces him one last time, closing her eyes as she holds this moment. She doesn't tell him that she has wondered the same thing too.

What might have happened if he had stayed.

Olivia watches him leave, getting absorbed by the crowd. Then she turns around, reaching for her phone to return Elliot's call. Elliot. The longest relationship she ever had with a man. The reason she could never maintain a stable relationship for her first ten years in SVU. A familiar ache tugs at her chest when she thinks about their history, all those years she loved him in silence.

Who are you kidding?

Olivia knows what would have happened if Peter had stayed. Even if anything did happen between them, eventually Elliot would have returned. And Peter would have stepped back into the crowds, like every other man she had seen before Elliot.

…

Elliot is passing through the city when he sees her, Olivia, leaving a bar with a stranger.

Elliot steps back behind a taxi line, shielding himself from their view. He squints to take a closer look, not recognising the man. Elliot knows that Olivia's never had an active social life, usually too busy with work and now Elliot assumes, Motherhood. Elliot frowns as he watches them. When Olivia had ignored his calls tonight, he assumed she was with Noah.

Olivia embraces the stranger, sending Elliot's heart racing, emotion pumping throughout his body. Elliot sees the man release her, sees the way he looks at her, with an aching adoration. It's the same look he used to see Cassidy give her back in the office. It sent his teeth clenching every time.

Elliot's fists tighten as he feels the sudden urge to chase down that man.

Elliot's phone rings and her name flashes on his screen. Elliot is still for a moment, debating whether to answer. Finally, he answers.

"Stabler."

"Hey Elliot, I'm sorry I missed your call. I got your message. What happened at the hospital?"

Elliot swallows. "It's fine. Angela was awake and came off the rest of the sedative by the time we got there. Ah look, now's not a good time for me to chat. Can I give you a call back tomorrow?"

"Oh…" He hears the confusion in her tone. "Yeah no, of course, I have to get back to Noah tonight. I'll hear from you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

Elliot ends the call, sure that that's the fastest he has ever hung up on her. He breathes in deeply, exhaling through his mouth. Then he hales down the next taxi. Elliot tries to focus on his work on the way home, going through the conversations he had with Angela and working out what it all means.

But try as he might, Elliot can't shake away the image of Olivia embracing another man, or the thick, sickening feeling squeezing his insides and pulsing throughout his chest, jealousy.

…

"Hey, have you heard from Elliot?"

Fin pauses at the filing cabinet and lifts his head up, frowning at his colleague's sudden question. "Ah no, I haven't." He stops, thinking, then says "Actually yeah, Phoebe called him the other day, got through to Kathleen and then him. She wanted to thank him for the wedding gift. Well, guess you can't call it that now," Fin corrects himself with a light smile. "But you can't return gifts from Bed Bath and Beyond."

Olivia nods slowly, her eyes lowering onto her paperwork.

Fin notices her apprehension. "Something the matter? Are you guys talking?"

Olivia sees his concern and shakes her head, straining a small smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. He hasn't returned my call but I'm sure he's busy."

Fin nods slowly, doubtful. But he doesn't question her.

Olivia walks back into her office and sits back down, frowning. She didn't tell Fin that he hasn't returned her call, or calls, in three weeks. Or her text messages, each one left on read. Or her emails.

By two weeks, Olivia had begun to worry that something might have happened and had called Kathleen to make sure he was okay. To her surprise, Kathleen had told her that Elliot was with her now and offered to put him on the phone with her. Olivia had declined.

At this stage, Olivia hasn't seen Elliot since Fin's wedding, over a month ago.

Olivia reaches for the phone, about to call him again, then stops herself. She shakes her head and throws her phone back into the bag. She's done with this. With a huff, Olivia grabs her handbag and shrugs on her coat, heading out the door.

"Fin, I'm leaving now. Can you handle the fort for the rest of the night?"

Fin nods. "Everything okay?"

Olivia strains another smile. "Fine. Just got to do a house call."

Olivia steps outside and hails a taxi, anger already bubbling inside her. God damnit Elliot…you are not shutting me out again.

…

Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! I've almost finished the second chapter. Liv is hella pissed, so Elliote watch out! But it's 100% Bensler. I think Elliot and Liv need to talk, need to confront their feelings and their anger and talk it out. And they need a trigger to do that. The show hasn't given that to them. But I thought, another man, someone else could be that trigger.

Originally when I thought of this idea, I wanted to focus just on Elliot and Liv. Anyway, I loved season 20 of SVU and Peter Stone's character, was sad when he left. So wanted to explore it a little. I admit, I shipped him and Liv a lot. I wish it could have happened. But I think Elliot is and has always been, Liv's one true love.