Olivia woke up, feeling surprisingly rested. Opening her eyes slowly, she noticed it was still pretty dark and that she was still curled up under her covers in the same position Elliot had tucked her in. Elliot. Her eyes fell on the badge on her nightstand and her mind started running again. She remembered almost breaking at the exhaustion from yesterday, her desire to just leave everything behind and her conversation with Stabler.

She tried to listen for any sign that he was still here but didn't hear anything. He had said that he would leave before the morning, but somewhat, she needed to see him right now. To feel him near again.

She got up quietly, put on a bathrobe and walked to the living room. Passing in front of the kitchen, she noticed the clock on the wall read 4:35 am. A bit later than her usual 4 am wake up, but still early. Rounding the corner, Olivia stopped at the foot of her couch and let out a sigh in relief. Elliot was still there, asleep. He had pulled the backseat blanket over him and looked comfortable enough.

Olivia took the time to absorb everything she could from her sleeping partner. His presence alone made her feel safe and calm. Her eyes went over his features, taking their time. She used to know every line of his face by heart, but since his return, she often couldn't hold his gaze too long before having to look away to hide her pain.

Weather she had made some noise or he had felt her, Elliot stirred after a few minutes. His eyes found her stilling form and to his credit he didn't flinch at the creepiness of her presence.

"Hey," his voice was rough. "You okay?" he seemed concerned.

He sat up bringing the blanket with him.

"Yeah, sorry I woke you." She didn't offer anything more about why she was there watching him in his sleep but pulled the robe tighter around her.

Elliot checked his watch.

"That's okay, I had an alarm for 4:45." he rubbed his hand over his face to erase the sleepiness. "Did you sleep?" he looked back at her.

"Yeah…a few hours." And she didn't want to tell him how much more rested she felt after those few hours with him on her couch than any night in the last year and a half.

Elliot nodded and stood up.

"Good. I'm glad." He smiled and shot a tentative glance behind her.

"He doesn't wake up until 6:30 usually." She offered, knowing he was concerned about her son walking out of his bedroom and finding a stranger, well an almost stranger, on their couch.

Something in her voice made him stop folding the blanket though.

"Do you…do you want coffee?" she hesitantly asked.

"At 4:30? Don't you want to enjoy another one or two hours of sleep?"

She shrugged.

"I don't think I'll be able to anyway." The truth was that she really didn't want him to leave just yet.

Elliot studied her a moment before accepting.

"Alright."

Olivia looked relieved and smiled before walking to the kitchen. Elliot watched her work in the kitchen from the living room, assessing her mental state. She seemed better, but he wouldn't leave her alone just yet.