Late, but for this one I used the prompt: Tangled, duh!
Warning: Heartbreak and some fluff ahead.

Chapter 3: Tangles

The nurse is talking to him but he's not listening. He turns his head around, his eyes scanning the waiting room and he realizes...

She's gone.

He knew it.

Elliot nods at whatever the nurse is explaining to him, and scrawls his signature on the forms she has given him.

"Yeah, thanks." He says, not paying her any attention, and heads straight for the elevator, pushing the button to get to the clinic's underground parking lot and calling her cell phone as he goes. The call goes to voicemail and he gets frustrated, he shouldn't have let her go, he knew she would panic. He exits the elevator and is turning around the corner, heading for his car when he sees her. Olivia's leaning against the passenger door, arms crossed, head down, looking at the ground.

He smiles at her as he approaches, stepping much closer to her than he would have a few hours ago. "You stayed."

Olivia sighs, raising her right hand and scratching her eyebrow with her thumb, a nervous tic he's much too familiar with. "I did." She looks up at him, her own smile is shy. Olivia Benson has never been shy.

Elliot reaches for her, his arms winding around her waist, hugging her and bringing her closer. His face nuzzles the crook of her neck when he feels her arms hugging him back. "I'm glad." He murmurs, placing a small kiss on her neck.

They are hugging in the middle of the mostly empty parking lot, on a Friday afternoon, just soaking up the emotions of such a surreal day. Olivia thinks she can count on one hand the number of times they have touched. Today they broke a record. She had started this, and now she is the one terrified by it.

"You with me, Liv?" He asks, caressing her back. His hand moving slowly up and down, almost soothing her.

She hums in agreement and he can feel her body relaxing. He cradles her head with his right hand and finally kisses her again. She whimpers when his tongue touches hers and his free hand travels down her back to caress the swell of her ass. His hips thrust against her, rocking slowly. She can feel him, even through their clothes, she can feel him hot, hard, and oh-so-ready. Again.

She's ready too.

"Come home with me, Olivia." His breath is warm on her ear when he pulls back from their kiss. His hips never stop moving, the hand on her ass grip her tighter. She thinks that if he moves a few inches down she could have him right where she needs him.

"El..." Her moan echoes inside the parking lot. She wants, no, she needs to go home with him, and just... let everything finally happen. "I can't... I- I..." She sighs, words escaping her. They hadn't even talked about what had happened yet, she needs time. Or so she tells herself.

He looks down at her, his thumb caressing her cheek. "I'm not letting this go." His tone is determined, sure. As sure as he ever was about anything. "I'm not letting you go, Olivia. Not again."

She wonders once more if she's hearing him right. She thinks about the day she met him. The admiration and longing. Thinks about him being a single man later and not pursuing her. Thinks about his sense of duty and his family. Thinks about Gitano and what they revealed to each other on that case. Thinks about how she ran to Oregon and regretted every day she spent away from him. She finally thinks about what happened between them in that room.

Is she's finally getting everything she ever wanted? She asks herself inwardly. That never happens to her. There's no such thing as happily ever after, in Olivia Benson's life, she stopped believing in fairytales when she was quite young.

"Come home with me." He asks her again.

She stands on tiptoes and brushes her lips over his. She realizes she's developing an addiction and she will never get tired of kissing him. She's also afraid someday she might be forced to stop. What if it is just an infatuation for him? Will he get tired of her after he takes her to bed? She likes to torture herself and ponder everything that can go wrong, so she won't be disappointed or hurt, later.

"Nothing needs to happen right now," Elliot answers, kissing her forehead sensing her hesitation. "I just don't want you to be alone tonight. I don't think we should be apart right now."

"You mean you are afraid I might run away again." She tells him.

He sighs loudly, but he's decided to be truthful. "I just want you near me. I want you in my bed, Olivia. And if, for now, that means just holding you while you sleep, I'll take it. I'll take anything that you can give me, just stay with me." His mouth covers hers again, and she melts into his kiss.

He's so fucking soft with her, she realizes. Never once she has seen him like this with anyone. Not even Kathy. She holds him tighter to her as unwanted thoughts of his wife enter her mind. Ex-wife she reminds herself.

Moving away from his embrace, she finally smiles at him and nods. He grabs her hand in his, opens the passenger door, and guides her into the car. "Let's go home, Olivia." He tells her.

The ride to his apartment is quiet, she keeps her hands to herself but can see him struggling. Sees him gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turn white.

They order take-out and eat comfortably on his small kitchen table. Over dinner, she tells him about her doctor's appointment on Wednesday, how they'll start the IVF cycle, and rejects his offer to go with her. She's not ready to explain to Cragen why both of them need the day off. Their situation is already complicated as it is.

His bedsheets feel cool on her skin and she can smell his scent on them as she settles in his bed later. He lends her a large t-shirt of his and sweatpants, she takes only the t-shirt when she sees it's long enough and it reaches past her thighs.

Olivia hears as he goes about his nightly routine, locking the door, closing the windows, brushing his teeth and probably even checking the thermostat. Then it goes quiet. She goes to look for him as time passes and she realizes he's not coming to the bedroom and finds him laying on his couch, his arms thrown over his eyes. She notices he has changed into sweat pants and a large old t-shirt, not unlike the one he had lent her.

"Having second thoughts?" There's a hint of amusement in her voice as she looks down at him. "I thought you said you wanted to hold me." She's the one being bold now.

Elliot sits up and smiles up at her. "I didn't want to be presumptuous." He confesses.

"I think we are past that now." She smiles back at him and grabs both of his hands with hers, tugging him up to a standing position. "Come to bed, El." She whispers, walking backward and leading him to his bedroom.

She settles back under the covers and he stops for a moment to look at her, on his bed, waiting for him. He never thought it would happen. She's wearing nothing but her underwear and his t-shirt but decides to leave his clothes on, he needs a barrier, he's not strong enough.

He gathers her in his arms after laying down next to her, his body surrounding hers from behind. His head rests momentarily on her shoulder and he inhales her scent deeply. "Is this real? Are we really doing this?" She asks, uncertain now after her boldness minutes before.

"We are." He says placing a kiss on her cheek. "And for tonight, it is enough."

They sleep, his arms never leaving her even when he settles on his back, she turns around and snuggles on his side laying her head on his chest.

Elliot wakes up late on Saturday to the smell of her perfume and the essence that is only Olivia's surrounding him. His hand reaches blindly across the bed and finds it empty. Anxious, he gets out of bed and goes to look for her, just like she did the night before.

"Okay, thank you. I will, yes. Thanks again." He hears her talking as he nears the kitchen. She's standing next to the kitchen counter looking vulnerable and small. It is cold in the kitchen, winter making itself know, but Olivia doesn't seem to mind. She finishes the call and it is then he notices her eyes are full of tears when she finally turns and sees him. Olivia doesn't wait for him to ask her what's wrong.

"That was the clinic. Um, my doctor actually." She explains turning her head away from him. "I had 4 missed calls from them. I knew there was something wrong, so I called them. They said-" Her voice cracks and he walks over to her immediately. "It seems the eggs they retrieved from me aren't viable. They aren't sure what happened or why... but they won't be able to go ahead with the- the-" She can't say it, it hurts too much already. She clears her throat before continuing.

"So, um, they want to try a harder and more intense, invasive treatment." He watches as a lone tear leaves her left eye and travels, slowly, down her cheek. He rushes to her side. "They discovered it yesterday afternoon but didn't call until this morning." She informs him, her voice hard trying to keep her emotions in check. "I need to go in on Monday and they will explain further, run some tests."

"Liv, I'm so sorry." He tells her, and he means it. His soul aches for her.

"There are no guarantees the outcome will be different." Olivia tells him, sounding defeated. "I- I don't know if I can do this again. The shots, the hormones... but worse? And the heartache? No, not again."

Her voice cracks and she turns around, crumbling against him, crying silently on his chest. It both honors and breaks him that she's allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of him, and with him.

"Maybe there's hope, Liv." His voice is tender and soft. He places a kiss on her forehead while her arms hold onto him for dear life. "You don't have to do it now or decide now. Maybe this is a sign."

"A sign?" She laughs sardonically. "Since when does Elliot Stabler believe in 'signs'?" She snorts at him, pushing away from his chest. He can deal with her anger, can understand it, and relate to it.

But he's calm now when he finally admits it.

"Since I fell in love with you..." She stares at him, mouth agape.

This isn't happening.

"Don't say that." She finally lets out, pushing him out of the way and walking out and into his bedroom. He follows her, sees her looking for her clothes, knows she's finally running away.

"Why not? Why not, Olivia?" His tone changes, he's angry now. "It's the most honest thing I've said in my whole damn life."

She stops and faces him, keeping her eyes closed. She can't bring herself to even look at him. It's all too much to take in.

"I can't do this right now." She whispers. "Don't do this to me, Elliot."

"Okay. Alright. Just don't leave." He pleads. "You shouldn't be alone right now, Liv."

Walking over to her and he is relieved when she lets him wrap his arms around her once more.

"Stay." He whispers, placing a kiss on her head. "Talk to me. We'll figure it out... together. Just stay with me."

"I just- I wanted it so much." She sobs as her hands grip the back of his t-shirt hard.

"I know, I know you did. Me too. I still do." He says, kissing her head again and rocking her slightly back and forth. "It can still happen. I want to make this happen for us, Liv."

Us.

She pushes back and looks up at him. Her eyes are big, round, and wet. "What do you mean?" She asks him, already knowing the answer.

"This..." He says as he lowers his mouth to her and kisses her tenderly.

"Say yes, Liv." He pleads, looking into her eyes.

Olivia stares at him for a moment, and he fears she's going to reject him until her hands grab the bottom of his t-shirt and pull it up and off of him

"Yes." She whimpers before claiming his mouth with hers.

TBC
I struggled badly with this one. It was supposed to be a filler chapter but it took off on its own.
If you are still interested in this story, let me know!