NOTE! As you may have noticed, the last part was missing from the previous chapter. The woman who arrived at the club is Mr. Reed's girlfriend Julia Yellowstone, whose murder Elliot is later accused of.

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Standing next to her, Mr. Reed's eyes lit up, and with a big smile on his face, he started heading towards her. Olivia and Elliot watched as he walked up to the woman who clearly recognized him, he kissed her hand, and after exchanging a few words with her, they started walking towards Olivia and Elliot together.

"Sharon, Harry," Mr. Reed's voice had taken on a new, softer tone. "May I introduce you to my girlfriend, Julia Yellowstone."

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The incredibly beautiful woman, dressed in a blue and sparkly dress that accentuated her blue eyes, looked at them curiously for a moment before holding out her petite hand.

"I'm Julia, nice to meet you," she greeted them with her bright voice, and they shook hands with her. Julia treated them both politely, but after Elliot had shaken her hand, something flashed in her eyes that made the knot in Olivia's stomach tighten.

"Nice to meet you, Julia."

"I haven't seen you here before," she watched them with her bright eyes. "But you look good."

Although she didn't say it out loud, it was clear that the comment was directed at Elliot. And she wasn't wrong, he looked good. And not just at this moment, he was a good-looking man in general, and that was something Olivia had never denied. She had thought so when she had first met him, and her opinion hadn't changed over the years.

But for some reason, even though she wanted to deny it to herself, lately it had started to bother her that others were noticing it too.

Julia's gaze was fixed on Elliot as she tilted her head and looked at him appraising. However, the appreciative twinkle didn't vanish from her eyes when she asked:

"Have we met before? You look kind of familiar to me."

Olivia felt her heart skip a beat, and she turned her gaze to her partner, who frowned quickly, just for a second, but it was a sign to her that they were sharing the same growing sense of nervousness.

But while Elliot might be nervous, it didn't show in his expression as he replied:

"No, I don't think so. I'm sure I'd remember meeting you," he flashed her a wide smile that was clearly meant to cover up the insecurity growing inside him, but for some reason it made a stinging feeling flashing in Olivia's chest.

Get it together, Benson. Now is most certainly not the right time for this.

For a moment Julia looked at Elliot, her lips pursed thoughtfully, and for a few terrible seconds they were afraid they had been exposed. But then her face relaxed, her eyes brightened, and she smiled warmly at them.

"Maybe you just resemble someone else. I'm glad you have found this place, hope you enjoy yourself," she wished before she turned and waved at the couple she started walking towards. Mr. Reed nodded to them before setting off after his girlfriend, leaving Olivia and Elliot to watch after them.

Ever growing anxiety inside her, Olivia grabbed her partner's hand on a whim and moved closer to him. Inconspicuously, she glanced around to make sure no one was near them before asking so quietly that only Elliot could hear:

"Do you think she recognized you?"

Elliot shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I don't remember seeing her before, but she had such strong make-up that…"

She swallowed, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Elliot licking his lips before he turned to face her and suddenly leaned so close to her ear that she could feel his breath on her neck. Regardless of the situation, it made her heart beat faster, a tingling feeling flared up inside her, and she shivered involuntarily.

To an outsider's eye, the situation might look like a show of affection, but in reality, Elliot's lips did not touch her skin, instead he whispered:

"What should we do?"

"I don't know," Olivia managed to answer, even though the closeness of her partner made the words almost got stuck in her throat. "We can't leave yet, because it would look too suspicious. If she did recognize you... It would reveal that we knew we were exposed."

She heard Elliot swallow next to her ear and raise his head a few inches. She took a deep breath, but just as she felt her pulse settle a little, she felt his hand lightly on her back, and her knees almost buckled. They had never been so close to each other before.

"We haven't been here even an hour. So you're right, we have to stay for a while."

As unpleasant as the thought was, Olivia knew they couldn't run away. They couldn't leave yet because that would raise questions in other people, and those were the questions they wanted to avoid. For a moment they just stood there in silence, their heads against each other, but then Elliot let out a soft sigh:

"He has a gun."

"Who?"

"Mr. Reed. I saw it under his suit jacket earlier."

Olivia remained silent, just bit her lip. Although the information itself was not surprising, it made her anxiety rise several notches.

"So if Julia recognized you and reveals us to Mr. Reed, it's game over."

This time Elliot didn't answer, but then she felt his body shudder, and his arms moved from her back to around her. The feeling almost took Olivia's breath away. But then he said in a stifled voice:

"You have to get out of here."

"W-what?!"

"We don't have guns, we might be in mortal danger."

Disbelief took over Olivia, and she couldn't believe what Elliot was saying. They had been in dangerous situations before, but her partner had never told her to back off before. Not even when their lives had been on the line. Danger was part of their job, they had learned to live with it, and even though her own fear for Elliot's safety had grown over the years, they had always faced danger as a team. Together.

So that's why Elliot's words were like a slap in her face.

"You want me to run away and leave you here alone? That sounds such a great plan," she hissed. "And what is the benefit of that?"

"You'll be safe."

Olivia groaned. "And then they can kill you? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not leaving you. This is my job too."

"But…"

"We don't even know if she recognized you. Maybe you really resemble someone else," she continued with a deep sigh. She needed to calm her mind, now was not the time to focus on arguing. "So let's stick to the plan and act according to the situation, okay?"

Olivia had no intention of leaving Elliot alone because as she had told him, this was her job too. Backing off was not part of their job except when forced, and this situation wasn't that kind of yet.

But another, even stronger reason was that she didn't want to leave Elliot alone. Just the thought of leaving her partner in mortal danger with no way to defend himself made her heart clench in her chest. Elliot was her partner, her best friend, and if anything happened to him after she left, she would never be able to forgive herself.

They were a team, and it was their job to protect each other.

So no, leaving him wasn't even an option.

And after what seemed like an eternity, Elliot let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. But you have to be careful, okay?" He said, and before Olivia could do anything, he pressed a gentle kiss on her cheek and pulled away. The kiss tingled on her cheek as she blinked, and she was glad he turned away from her because she felt the blush spread across her face.

"Yeah. But only if you are," she replied quietly, but Elliot had already started walking towards the bar and she wasn't sure if he heard her.

But despite the situation, she felt that some new, warm flame had ignited inside her.

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Although Elliot had tried to resist nature's call for as long as possible, he had finally had to go to the bathroom. Even the thought of leaving Olivia alone had felt uncomfortable, but despite his request, his partner had not agreed to come with him, and in the end, he had been forced to submit under the two invincible forces.

He finished his business and was just pulling his pants back on when he heard the bathroom door slam. For a moment, he already thought Olivia had followed him anyway, and when he opened the bathroom stall door, an immature joke was already about to escape his lips, but then the words died in his mouth when he recognized the person standing in front of him.

Julia.

"Hello, handsome," her voice was sugary, and it made Elliot frown.

"I thought this was the men's restroom," he answered briefly as he stepped over to the faucet to wash his hands. Through the mirror he saw her mouth turn into a slight smile.

"I'm aware of that."

He turned off the faucet and dried his hands, all the while keeping his eyes on the woman standing behind him through the mirror. But then, as he was about to step past her, she moved in front of him and placed her hand on his chest.

"What's the hurry?" She blinked, but innocence was far from her gaze. Elliot's mouth suddenly felt dry, and he swallowed hard.

"My fiancée is probably already waiting," he answered, but then the words got stuck in his throat when Julia grabbed his tie with one hand, pushed him against the wall and brought her lips dangerously close to his.

"Let's just let her wait a little longer, shall we?" She asked as she grabbed his crotch. He inhaled sharply, and even though he wanted to escape, for some reason his body seemed to freeze in place.

"Julia, I…"

I need to find Liv.

"What?" Julia chuckled and licked her lips seductively. "Are you afraid that your fiancée will find out?" She leaned closer to his ear, sliding her lips along his neck. "Or you mean… Detective Benson?"

And that's when Elliot felt his blood freeze in his veins and his heart stop. He flinched violently, stepped back, and asked in a stifled voice:

"Where's she?"

No no no no no…

"Well, we could say that she is taken care of," Julia grinned. "Don't worry, Detective Stabler."

No no no no no….

Time felt stopping, for a second Elliot just stared at the grinning woman in front of him, but then his body finally began to obey his commands and he turned, broke into a run, ears buzzing, only one thought in his mind, filling his every cell with suffocating distress.

Where's Liv?!

I need to find her.

And then a gunshot rang out.