Ayanna stared at Elliot Stabler, while he fumingly walked out of her office. No, she wasn't scared of him, but she was becoming increasingly scared for him. She didn't want him to lose himself over Richard Wheatley and she didn't want to lose a good detective she knew Elliot could be. She'd heard the rumors from his time with the special victims, but he never went too far then – at least it was never recorded. She'd seen his jacket.
Nevertheless she had a feeling that Stabler was not a guy to sit down on a couch with a shrink and just talk about his feelings. She knew he was made to see a shrink once, but there was nothing about the outcome in the jacket. There was a handwritten note from Cragen simply saying. "No change necessary."
If only his old supervisors captain Cragen or sergeant Munch were still on the job, but both had retired almost a decade earlier. Ayanna could sure use their advice on how to manage Stabler. She thought about calling Olivia Benson, but she was only his partner back then – she wouldn't have any idea on how to manage Elliot, would she?
For a moment Ayanna thought about calling Olivia Benson, but she decided against calling the fearless leader of Manhattan SVU and favorite to become a Chief when a position becomes available, about how to manage one hot-headed detective of hers. From the sounds of it, SVU and Olivia Benson had enough trouble as it was, specially with the rumors of Chief McGrath. Olivia Benson seemed to have enough on her plate and she didn't want to add Elliot Stabler to it either. She remembered the call she received in the middle of a night months ago, when drugged Elliot ended up on Olivia's couch.
No, Elliot Stabler was her responsibility now, not Benson's.
But then Ayanna came to another idea. She could call Fin. Fin has worked with Stabler, he has always seemed to have straight no bullshit attitude. He worked with Stabler almost as long as Benson did… She was sure Fin would have some good advice on how to manage Stabler. Fin seemed to have a certain dislike for the man unlike Benson, who had almost a blind spot for him.
She opened her phone, overed over Fin's name and then decided to press call. Come what may, she could try.
"Sergeant Tutuola," he answered almost immediately.
"Hi sergeant, it's Ayanna Bell from OC taskforce," Ayanna said.
"Ayanna, what can I do for you today?" Fin asked. He didn't sound annoyed, a bit amused maybe. Maybe he felt somewhat honored to get the call or maybe he just needed a break from whatever dark heinous crime SVU was currently working on.
"It's about Stabler," Ayanna got to the point. She whished she could see Fin's face now.
"What did he do now?" Fin asked. He remained neutral, but Fin was always good at staying neutral, impartial, and professional.
"I'm worried about him. He's obsessing over Wheatley and I'm getting pressure to send him to shrink," Ayanna said while looking at Stabler working behind his desk.
Fin laughed.
Seriously?
"Good luck with that," Fin said knowingly. So Ayanna was right, Fin had seen it before and Stabler didn't like talking to anyone about his feelings.
"That's why I'm calling. You worked with him for a long time, I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to deescalate him," Ayanna said honestly and let out a breath she'd been holding.
Fin laughed again.
"You're calling the wrong person," he said mystically. Well, if Cragen or Munch would be on the job, she would've called either of them. Wonder if Cragen would take the call to talk about one of his detectives?
"I know. I was thinking about calling Cragen, but he is retired. Do you have his current contact?" Ayanna asked, already looking for a piece of paper to mark it down.
Fin laughed yet again. Ayanna didn't realize what was so funny about it.
"Cragen's not the right person either," Fin said. He sounded amused, even more amused than he was before. Ayanna failed to see what's so amusing about this thing. Shouldn't Fin at least care a little bit about his former coworker?
"Who should I call then?" Ayanna was blunt. She rolled her eyes. Damn, if Fin was gonna give her the name of one of his kids or his mother.
"Liv," Fin said neutrally, he paused briefly as if to check if anyone was around before he spoke. Ayanna waited. "When you have any trouble with Stabler, call Liv. Trust me, she might be the only person around who could manage him."
Now it was Ayanna's turn to laugh.
"I don't think bringing in a SVU captain to manage a detective of mine is necessary," she said and rolled her eyes. Didn't she just try to avoid calling Benson?
"Well, you don't need the captain of SVU, you need Stabler's former partner. I don't know how to deal with him," Fin said. Ayanna was beginning to think that she didn't like where this was headed. She didn't also like to call in a captain just to deal with one of her staff. "Look, Cragen didn't always know how to manage Stabler either and he barely had to. Managing Elliot has always been Liv's job, I don't know how she did it, but I know that she can get through to Elliot. She might be the only one who can."
Fin paused, Ayanna felt taken back a bit. She'd seen the way Stabler was acting around her, but she never thought much of it.
"Don't worry, she'll come. Liv's concerned for him too and she'll get him to do the right thing. She always has," Fin added for encouragement. "Our case is falling apart, and the Chief is being complicated, so Liv could use a fire she could put out."
Ayanna raised her eyebrows and eyed Elliot again. He wasn't saying anything, but she could see the boiling rage inside of him. She wasn't sure putting it out would be an easy task for Liv.
"You sure she can manage Stabler?" Ayanna asked for confirmation. From what she'd heard Stabler and Benson were hanging out more recently and she could see how Benson was good for him, but she didn't want Benson to walk into a trap and jeopardize everything.
"If anyone can manage Stabler, it's Liv," Fin said confidently. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Ayanna said before dropping the call.
She eyed her screen for a bit, then looked at Stabler, who pushed stack of papers on the floor and cursed loudly. Even Jet seemed to flinch, and she wasn't anywhere near him.
Did she really have anything to lose by making that phone call?
Not really.
And she dialed, she watched how Elliot tried to apologize and put the papers back onto his desk, so she nearly jumped, when Benson answered the call.
"It's Ayanna Bell from OC," Ayanna started, even though she was sure Benson had her number saved.
"Ayanna, how can I help?" Benson asked on the other side, she sounded tired.
"It's about Stabler," Ayanna said and waited for Benson to respond, but she didn't, so Ayanna continued. "I'm worried for him. His obsession with Wheatley has gotten attention and they want his badge."
"And they want him to talk to a shrink?" Benson asked knowingly.
Ayanna liked her, she got to the point no messing around. "Yes."
"Elliot doesn't do well with them," Benson confirmed.
"Yeah," Ayanna replied. "I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to manage that."
Benson chuckled. "You're asking the million-dollar question," Benson said, she sighed on the other side of the line and Ayanna waited patiently for the miracle cure Fin thought Benson knew.
There was silence on both ends of the line.
"You know what, I'll talk to him. Maybe that's one crisis I can resolve today," Benson decided.
"You know where the office is," Ayanna replied with a relief.
"See you soon," Benson said and dropped the call.
Elliot banged his fist against the desk, so Ayanna hoped Olivia would get there soon, but he was also relieved to see that Elliot was no longer her responsibility – for a moment.
***SVU***
Ayanna was just on her way to get another cup of coffee, when Benson arrived. She was professional as always, but she looked a bit tired. None of the team saw her, but as soon as she entered the squadroom, Elliot had spun his chair and was looking at her.
"Liv," he greeted her, the grumpiness, which was present just moments before, had vanished.
Ayanna shared a look with Liv, but she chose not to interfere. She was just hoping Benson would not start by telling Elliot how Ayanna called her for help. No, Benson wouldn't do that. She's a professional after all.
"Elliot," she replied.
She came to lean against his desk looking down at him.
He was smiling. Benson walks in and that's enough to get Stabler to forget his brooding anger and grumpiness and turn him into a smiling fool. That impressed Ayanna.
"Can we talk?" she asked softly.
Elliot nodded. He stood up and looked around, his eyes settled on the interview room upstairs.
"Come," he said to Olivia and awkwardly offered her his hand, but she didn't take it. He didn't seem offended by it. They fell into a step next to each other, probably an old habit from the time they were partners.
Ayanna slipped back into her office before they passed her. She pretended to be busy on her computer when they walked past her office and entered the interview room next to it. She took a breath of relief and opened up an email from some new procedures from Brewster.
She nearly jumped when she heard Stabler's voice.
"What do you wanna talk about?" Elliot asked almost suggestively.
Ayanna looked at the direction of the voice and shook her head. Since they've used the room only a few times, she forgot about the one-way mirror between her office and the interview room. She was sure Stabler had forgotten about it too, otherwise he wouldn't have taken Benson there.
"I came to see how you're doing, friend," she replied, her voice was soft, almost like she'd be talking to a kid.
Ayanna looked to see glimmer in Elliot's eyes, she hadn't seen that before. She closed the door to her office and pulled down the blinds a bit further, then turned her chair and moved to the edge of her desk and put a casefile in front of her, so that to anyone walking by would look like she's focused on work in her office, while her attention was in the interview room with Benson and Stabler. If Benson knew some magic tricks on how to manage Stabler, she was going to take notes.
"You've heard?" he asked.
Olivia nodded and offered him a small smile. She moved to take off her coat, he was immediately by her side helping her ease it off. He busied himself with neatly folding her jacket and then placing it on the back of a chair.
"Liv, it's Wheatley," he complained like a little kid.
Olivia nodded. She leaned against the table in the room, she was facing him, with her side towards the window and unknowingly, Ayanna.
"He's playing with your head," Olivia said knowingly.
Elliot started to pace in front of her. He ran his hands over his head and took heavy breaths. She was waiting. After a few laps in front of her, he came to stop in front of her, took a step closer to her, but he was not yet touching her.
"He used Kathy's death date for his password," he whispered, he closed his eyes while taking deep breaths. Ayanna thought he might cry.
Olivia's face fell, she let out a deep breath. "I'm so sorry," she replied in a whisper. She reached out for him and took his hand. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand.
Slowly, almost like in a slow motion, he fell closer to her and came to stop, when his forehead was on her shoulder and the hand that was not in hers, sneaked around her and held her against him. He nuzzled her neck, took a deep breath and then let himself sink into her. She didn't fall or grumble against his weight, she remained steady.
Ayanna thought if that's how the partnership worked – him losing his temper and Benson comforting him in private? Maybe that was the reason why there were rumors about them for all the years they were together, the same rumors Ayanna had heard resurfacing since Stabler joined the taskforce, but she'd always brushed them off as something every male-female partnership goes through.
He turned his head and pressed his lips against her neck.
"El," she warned him.
"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, but kept his head on her shoulder. She seemed content with his body close against her. Well, maybe there was some truth to those rumors after all?
He let go of her hand in favor of wrapping it around her, he held her tight against him. Ayanna saw the way he pulled her closer and how she let him, the way his palm moved on her back – soothing, comforting, possessing – that wasn't the way any of the partners had hugged Ayanna. His eyes remained closed.
She let him do it, while she had wrapped her own arms around his neck, she was holding him loosely. Ayanna couldn't see if her eyes were open or closed, but she was almost willing to bet they were closed.
They remained like that for quite some time, seemingly comfortable in each other's embrace.
"Elliot," she whispered softly.
He sighed and opened his eyes. With seeming reluctancy, he let go of her, but remained close. He stood between her legs.
"Olivia," he replied.
That was the first time Ayanna heard anyone call Benson that – it's always Captain, Benson or Liv. She was sure there was some significance to it, but she was yet to find it out.
"I know," he said with another sigh.
She reached forward and took his hand, he followed it with his eyes.
"Liv," he said quietly. There was something so intimate about the way he said her name, midway between a lover finally confessing his feelings and a child looking for comfort in his mother.
Their eyes met.
For a moment Ayanna thought he was going to kiss her, but he made no move to connect his lips to hers. He didn't move at all. Neither did she. It was for sure a weird version of will-they-or-won't-they that those two were playing.
Olivia rose from the table, Elliot instinctively took a step back, but remained close enough to touch her. She was almost as tall as he was with heels. She lifted her hand and put that against his cheek, Elliot leaned into the touch.
"El, I'm worried about you," she confessed, her voice was quiet and comforting.
Ayanna had to turn up the sound from the room as she didn't want to miss anything that's being said.
"You don't need to be," he brushed it off.
He backed away from her, her hand fell from his face and for the first time since they entered the room, there was physical and also seemingly emotional distance between them.
"Then tell me you didn't just beat up Wheatley," she demanded, her voice no longer soft. She was becoming hard and determined captain Ayanna knew.
He diverted and didn't say anything, he furrowed his brow.
"Your knuckles are all red and bruised, and you have a scratch on your face. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" she asked.
Ayanna smirked. Olivia was good.
"Why'd you think it's Wheatley?" he replied with a question, very detective like – see how much the other knows first.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Who else would you beat up after finding out Wheatley used Kathy's death date for password?" she asked, but they both knew it was rhetorical.
Elliot swallowed and stared hard at Olivia, the glimmer gone from his eyes. The rage and fury was back in his features. He'd never hurt Olivia, right?
"It's none of your concern, Captain," he said through his teeth.
Olivia raised her eyebrows and walked further from him. She came to stand in front of the mirror looking straight into Ayanna's office, but only seeing her own reflection on the mirror.
"If I start hearing rumors that they went to push you out of the force unless you let go of your obsession with Wheatley, it becomes my business," she replied harshly and turned around.
"Nobody's talking about it," Elliot said, but there was fire in his eyes.
"If nobody's talking about it, then how do I know about it?" she asked rhetorically.
Elliot walked up to her, fire burning inside of him. He stared at her intensely and she surely returned it, but Ayanna couldn't see it.
"How else do you think I know about it?" she repeated her question to get her point through.
Elliot kept her stare, squinted his eyes as if trying to figure out if she's lying or not. After intense staring competition, he gave up. He broke the eye contact and ran his hand over his head, touching his short hair slowly growing back after his Eddie Wagner days.
He backed away and sat on the edge of the desk, where she had been before. And just like that the anger had faded, the fire disappeared from his eyes and they became soft again.
Ayanna was surprised by how the mood in the room had changed so drastically again, and how they both seemed to change with it. Their partnership must've been an emotional rollercoaster if they acted back then as they were acting now. To an outsider it looked like they had rehearsed the changes well, but Ayanna was sure they had done it so many times that it was a second nature and they didn't even realize they were doing.
Benson walked back to Elliot and stood in front of him, the roles had been reversed.
"It's Wheatley, he's consulting with the FBI and putting words into 1PP's mouth," he said quietly.
Benson nodded. She knew it, Ayanna knew it and Elliot knew it, the only ones who didn't realize it, were the people in 1PP.
"And you're doing just what he wants you to do. El, remember he studied you. I would be surprised if he hadn't seen your jacket, and knows about things not in your jacket," Liv said softly.
She was using reason… Ayanna didn't expect that to work on him, he didn't seem to respond to reason well.
"He is resourceful," Elliot agreed.
She took another step closer to him and placed her hand on his cheek again. He exhaled loudly.
"El, don't let him win. Don't give him what he wants," she said seriously.
He nodded and exhaled again.
"Wheatley is a slimy bastard and I hate seeing him walk free, but he will make a mistake and we will get him. But we can't do it, if you let Wheatley kick you off the force," she continued, she was firm and certain, but somehow remained soft.
"We?" he asked, he looked up to her with puppy eyes. Ayanna found that amusing, maybe Stabler was a bit of an enigma and key to unlocking him was standing in front of him.
Liv smiled and nodded. "We," she confirmed. "We're partners."
"For better or worse," he finished the sentence.
To Ayanna that sounded more like a marriage than partnership. Just how close were the two?
"You said that to me almost 23 years ago, aren't we still that now?" she asked.
"I thought we were friends," he said with a coy smile and looked at her. He placed his own hand on her waist. "For now," he added. He swallowed.
"Doesn't mean we can't still be partners," she replied with a small smile of her own.
He smiled proudly.
Ayanna had a feeling they were no longer talking about work and they had easily switched into their personal relationship. She sensed the things they said had another meaning which she didn't quite catch.
"But I need you not to get kicked out of the force for that," she switched back to professional.
"They want me to see a shrink," he complained.
Olivia didn't respond. She walked back around the table to her coat, where she fumbled to find her pocket and took her moment in finding something from the pocket. Once she did, she took her former position in standing in front of him, close enough to touch. While she departed Elliot's eyes were firmly on her.
She handed him something that looked like a card or piece of paper.
"He's good and knows to keep his mouth shut," she said.
Ah, Benson was handing Elliot a card for a shrink.
Elliot took the card from her and looked at her as if he was searching for something. Like explanation, why she has a card to a psychologist in her pocket. Well, Benson was SVU, she probably had cards to variety of clinics, shelters and mental health professionals stacked away somewhere.
"Yeah, I've been seeing him," she confirmed a question Elliot must've asked without words, she sounded slightly annoyed as if she was caught doing something she shouldn't have been.
He reached for her hand and held that in his.
"It's a long story and I won't get to it now," she said firmly – setting the boundaries. She tilted her head slightly. "But one day, in a different place and right time, I'll tell you about all of it," she added with a sigh.
Ayanna was wondering if it had anything to do with the ordeal with a man named Lewis years earlier. Stabler must know about it – every cop in NY knew about it; even if he was in Europe, his kids must've seen it. Ayanna knew that Stabler kids were friendly with Benson. Ayanna would be surprised if he didn't break down every wall in his way to find her. She'd be even more surprised if he knew nothing about it.
"Is he good?" Elliot asked while glancing at the card in his hand.
Olivia nodded.
"I'd rather have your guy than some over eager guy who finished college 10 days ago," he decided.
Olivia smirked.
"If you manage a whole session without losing your cool and breaking the nearest object, I'll buy you a coffee afterwards, so you can whine all about how terrible it was," Olivia said with a smile, she tilted her head slightly.
Elliot smiled too. He nodded.
Ayanna just realized what had happened – and she admired Benson even more for it. She had managed to get Elliot to go see a psychologist and he was looking forward to it. Elliot probably didn't realize it himself, well done Captain Olivia Benson.
His fingers were absentmindedly running up and down the back of her hand. He tugged at her slightly and she took another step so she was standing between his legs. He wrapped his free hand around her middle and pulled her into him. He buried his face in her chest. She returned the hug and placed her hands on his back.
To Ayanna's great surprise, Olivia bent her head down and pressed her lips against Elliot's bald head. She was as tender as Ayanna had always imagined she'd be, but so was Elliot – yet Ayanna had never imagined him being tender or soft.
Olivia leaned her head onto Elliot's and closed her eyes. Ayanna caught Elliot moving his arms around her, and possibly trying to coax her closer. Yeah, that's not the way partner's hug in her experience.
For a moment, they stood there together surrounded by only each other. The peace was broken, when her phone started to ring. They jumped – even Ayanna flinched slightly – Elliot lifted his head from her, but only for a moment. She moved her one hand to grab her phone, while the other moved soothingly over his upper back.
"Benson," she said on the phone.
She tensed visibly, Elliot must've sensed that, because he lifted his head from her again and looked up. Ayanna couldn't see his face, but she was willing to bet that he was gearing up to beat up whoever dared to upset Benson.
"Yes, Chief," Olivia said with resignation, she rolled her eyes.
Ayanna remembered Fin saying something about Chief being complicated.
Benson rolled her eyes again, then lifted her other hand and ran that over her hair, pushing some strands back, only for them to fall back as they were.
Elliot moved his own hand comfortingly over Olivia's back in soothing circles, while his head was tilted back and his eyes were firmly looking for hers, but she was looking at the wall. Even Ayanna could tell it wasn't a comfortable conversation, at some point Olivia pulled the phone from her ear and winced, before holding it closer again and agreeing with her Chief.
Ayanna had heard about the new Chief of SVU and it was all bad. For a moment she was glad she didn't have to deal with McGrath. Though what surprised Ayanna the most, was the way Elliot had switched from a raging bull into a comforting and soothing presence. She could tell that she never expected to see that side of Stabler.
Finally Olivia ended the call. She sighed heavily, dropped the phone and ran her hand over her hair again.
"Do you want me to beat him up too?" Elliot asked. Ayanna thought he was joking, but the way he was looking at her, she could tell he was serious. Whatever Benson was to Stabler, she was someone that he would risk his career over.
Olivia sighed, met Elliot's eyes and for a brief moment seemed to consider the offer, until she finally shook her head and sighed again. "I wish," she said.
He stood up, as if to confirm his offer to beat up the Chief with his bulky frame with bulging muscles. Ayanna had no doubt that Elliot could take on the Chief and successfully beat the man up, she was also almost certain that if Benson would say the word, Elliot would definitely go after the man.
Elliot guided Olivia to rest her head against his shoulder, he pressed his lips into her hair and held his arms tight around her. She came easily as if she'd been doing it all of her life, which Ayanna knew was not the case. He whispered something, but Ayanna couldn't hear any of it.
Ayanna also knew for a fact that they were not just partners, they were never only friends, they were something more, but for now Ayanna wasn't sure which term to use for them. She was certain that they were in love with each other, and she was starting to think that the only people who didn't know about the deep feelings they had for the other were Benson and Stabler.
Just like a flashback, Ayanna suddenly remembered the night Elliot was drugged and ended up in Benson's apartment – she remembered the way they were so comfortable with around each other and even though she did her best to remain professional, she noticed the way he was looking at her and she had a suspicion that something had changed between the two, but she had to maintain plausible deniability and therefore just ignored anything she might've seen.
This scene in front of her – she wasn't sure what to make of this. As far as she was aware, Liv and Elliot had no idea she could see and hear their conversation.
Olivia was the first to pull away, but she remained in his arms. Elliot lifted one of his hands and cupped her cheek.
Following happened like in a slow motion in a romantic movie, when the main couple finally realizes their feelings for the other and the obstacles have been broken.
He started by cupping her cheek, moving his thumb gently over her skin. He followed by slowly leaning down until his lips were on hers. She was cradling his head while he was slowly and softly kissing her.
It didn't last long.
Ayanna was certain it wasn't something they were doing often – if they were on kissing terms at all, but it was definitely something they both wanted, and Ayanna could even dare say it was something they needed. She also thought that was not the first time they kissed judging by the ease in their features and lack of uncomfortable conversation.
"Let me take you out, we'll get some food and you complain all you want about the Asshole," Elliot said softly.
"I should get back to work," she replied apologetically.
Elliot checked his watch.
"You can take 20 minutes to go to the bistro close to 1-6," Elliot coaxed, he tilted his head.
She closed her eyes, swallowed and nodded. She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.
"I also wanna kiss you again," he blurted out.
She made a sound at the back of her throat and gave him permission by nodding her head and leaning upwards in anticipation to meet his lips.
They kissed again. It was as slow and gentle as the last one. They moved as one, comforting each other with their touch and promising everything through the kiss.
"Liv, I don't ever wanna stop kissing you. I don't think I could stop even if I wanted to," he confessed when they parted. Ayanna rolled her eyes at the fluffiness of the statement.
"Then don't," she replied, in her way giving him permission to continue kissing her, and that would surely lead to something more in the future, about which the former partners would surely be excited about.
He was beaming.
"You'll let me take care of you too?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I'll try," she said with a hint of teasing smirk.
"It's a start," he said with a shrug.
Elliot leaned into him and pressed his lips against her forehead.
"Let's get out of here," he said, in a quick movement he had let go of her and had her coat in his arms, he was holding it up for her.
Ayanna smiled to herself and then quickly realized that they'd be walking by her office and would possibly see that their private conversation was not private at all. Ayanna had already made up her mind and not to tell anyone what she just overheard, but she'd make sure she'd be one of the first people to congratulate them, when their relationship would no longer be a secret.
She glanced through the glass to see Elliot open the door for Olivia, then followed her out, in a hasty move Ayanna was up from her desk and made it to her office door to make it look like she was just randomly walking out of her office the same time Olivia and Elliot passed her.
"Ayanna," Elliot greeted her, if he was suspicious of her, he didn't show it.
"I'm taking a lunch, give me a call if something breaks," Elliot instructed his commanding officer.
Ayanna just nodded.
Olivia smiled at Ayanna, but didn't say anything, when they passed and then they were gone. Ayanna let out a breath of relief, when they were out of earshot and safely by Elliot's desk.
She observed them walking in sync and then she noticed slight hesitation in Stabler, when his palm hovered around the small of her back. Ayanna rolled her eyes – like they were fooling anyone.
"I know your office has one way mirror to the interview room," Jet said suddenly. She had seemingly materialized out of thin air next to Ayanna.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ayanna tried to be innocent.
"I'm not stupid. Is Grandpa dating Benson yet?" Jet asked, ignoring Ayanna's attempt to remain secretive.
"They are figuring it out," Ayanna said, then left Jet alone and escaped back into her office.
What she attempted to learn from Olivia Benson was how to manage Elliot, but what she ended up learning was that she could never manage Elliot the way Benson does. As long as Benson is her ally in keeping Stabler tame, she would not let it slip that she was very aware of their personal relationship. And as for the notes she intended to take – she'd have to agree with Fin and just call Benson whenever it looked like Elliot needed her.