1Olivia Benson's apartment.

3512 West 87th Street.

6:15 P.M.

After arguing with Elliot and Cragen for about an hour, I'm at home, behind a locked door, with one uniform outside my building, in a radio car, one standing outside my door. Great. That's just what my neighbors need to see - a cop outside my door.

Now I've got baby-sitters. If Elliot came near me, right now, I'd probably throw something at him. Cragen - I might get pissed, but the whole protective detail was my partner's genius idea in the first place. And Don, he can kick my ass and then fire me.

I wanted to stay and work, but they wouldn't let me. I hear conversation, through my door and look up. Yay. A nosy neighbor. That's all I need - gossip going around this building. "Detective Benson?" The uni outside hammers on the door.

Does he think I'm deaf? God. I step to the door. "What?"

"Your partner's here. Can you check and confirm, ma'am?"

At least the kid's polite, I think to myself, leaning against the door, checking through the peephole. It is Elliot. Damn it. The last person I want to see right now. "Yeah. It's okay, Richards." I open the door and he looks at me, as if startled to hear me call him by his name.

"You're camped outside my door. I know your name." I murmur, scowling at my partner. Elliot ignores the look and pushes by me, until he's inside. "What the hell do you want?" I demand. "You've got me a pair of babysitters with radios - isn't that enough?"

"Liv"-

"Don't. Just don't."

"Olivia. . . . "

"You wouldn't want babysitters, if this was you."

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"Elliot, I'm a female cop. I wasn't instantly a part of the family, when I graduated. I'm an outsider. All I have is my reputation. And you and Cragen sticking babysitters on me is not going to help!" I finally vent the frustrations that have been under my skin, for years, ever since he stuck the Feds on me, during that Plummer thing. He just doesn't get it that I have to keep my reputation up to keep my career.

"What?"

I roll my eyes, impatiently. "It's all around the house, now, that Officer Richards and his partner got tapped to babysit. But who? Me. Get it? If that gets out there, that I need babysitters, that I can't handle myself, no one's going to wanna deal with me, again. Being a woman in this field is hard enough, never mind being shunned because they think you're a weakling."

"You're not."

"Your opinion isn't going to mean a damn thing! This was your freaking idea in the first place!" He's really starting to piss me off.

"Liv, this guy's serious. I don't want you getting hurt."

I glare at him. "Do you want me to have to quit? Because with no reputation, I'm screwed. Get that? It's like a guy who's rumored to be involved with the rat squad - you can't stay because they won't let you. They'll run you out. A female cop who doesn't have a reputation, who the boys think can't take care of herself is just as screwed as a guy who's rumored to be working for IAB."

"I'm sorry." He shrugs and looks at me. "You know I care about you."

I bite my lip. Why the hell can't I ever stay mad at this guy! I can get pissed off, then he makes me forget why I was pissed off. He wasn't thinking about me as a cop; he was worried about me as a friend. I can see it now. "I'm the one who should be sorry." I reply. "You wanna stay?" Ever since Kathy left, he's been spending some nights on my couch.

"I was going to ask you that." He reaches and grips my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Nah. Nothing to be sorry for. I was gonna order some Chinese - you hungry?"

"Starved. You ever notice how you can never stay mad at me for more than ten minutes?"

I glare at him and roll my eyes. "Just for that, you get to pay the delivery boy when he comes to the door."

"Deal." He grins at me. "But I am sorry. I was"-

I hold up a hand. "I know. I know what you were thinking. You're forgiven. You want a beer?"

"What the hell?"

I grope into my fridge and come up with the last couple of beer bottles. I hand him one, and twist the cap off the second, after placing my order.

"You know, when I first met you, I never thought you drank beer and hung out in cop bars."

I put the bottle down and look at him. "Oh?"

"Liv, get real. I mean, you seemed too much like a lady for that."

I shake my head. "Nope. Anyone who ever told you I was a lady was lying to you. Spent the better part of my life with a halo of cigarette smoke around my head."

"Your mother wasn't a smoker, was she?"

"No. A lot of the guys she supposedly dated were, though. And when I got older, I spent a lot of time in the bars, waiting for her face to hit the bar. I've seen a lot of things – I'm definitely no lady. Not the type you're thinking of."

He sighs and beckons me to sit beside him. "But there's something you gotta know - it's not that I don't think you can take care of yourself - I know that. But I get the feeling that he's after you and he's serious. I just don't want him getting to you."

I grin. "I'd probably do the same thing. Now, when you first met me – what did you think of me?"

"A lot of stuff. You were gorgeous, you were smart, and you were way the hell out of Cassidy's league."

I laugh, softly. Brian. The kid had a thing for me, from day one.

"But I didn't think you'd be able to kick my ass." Elliot grins. "So am I forgiven this time?"

I resist the urge to hit him. "I told you that I forgave you already. Actually, I'm kinda glad you're here. I just don't like being alone, anymore."

"And I'm just getting used to it." He sighs, as my buzzer rings.

"Let's fall to pieces together. Why should we both fall apart? Let's fall to pieces together. Right here in each other's arms"- 'Let's Fall To Pieces Together' – George Strait.