The two spent the evening sipping wine and talking. Laughing. Eating. Having a wonderful time. Which either of them had had in awhile. Stabler smiled as Benson took another sip of her wine.

"Oh god, we've been here for two hours" he said smiling. She smiled.

"No" she said.

"Yeah" he told her. She put her head back and smiled then looked at him.

"Tell me something, do you believe in fate?" he asked.

"Fate?" she asked.

"Well, what if nothing happened last night. What if us forgetting what happened, and coming together to try and figure it out, was fate. Maybe we didn't do anything at all. Maybe we had to be brought together like this" he said leaning forward a little.

"Together like what?" she asked as she set her glass down.

"I mean. You just got out of a three year relationship, and I just got out of a long-time marriage. My kids are being taken from me, and the one person who knows me best is sitting in front of me. Maybe we should try 'us'" he told her.

"Us?" she asked as he sat back again and took a sip of his drink.

"Elliot… I don't think either of us are ready for a relationship. Especially together" she told him.

"I love you. As a friend, as your partner, but… I don't know if I love you in that way. I don't think I am ready to love you in that way" she told him and he nodded.

"I'm sure of three things in my life, my wife- whose now left me, my job- which disappoints me and you" he said.

"You're the one thing I have Olivia. The one thing I can't lose. I love you." He told her. She looked away and took in a deep breath.

"Come on lets get you home" she told him and the two got up. Stabler ended up paying for the meal anyway, and she drove him back the long distance. She got in front of her apartment and parked the car.

"Why don't you stay with me tonight" she insisted. He nodded. He followed her up to her apartment and was tired. She was his friend, his partner. She grabbed his hand gently and pulled him into her bedroom. She got in bed and he slid in the bed next to her. They were friends. She faced him, on her side, as he lay on his back. She put her hand on top of his and soon they both fell asleep.

Dear Diary,

It's odd how fate works. Its odd how two people who know and care and would do anything for each other don't play on their emotions. How people ignore the obvious. How they put aside the love. I thought Romeo & Juliet was a corny story, a childish one. But when you get down to it, the only thing childish about love are the people who fall in love. Why don't I admit I love him?...

Finished.