Olivia had been in a sort of fog since she'd seen Andy Eckerson enter the squad room. She was reminded of every bad romantic comedy she'd ever seen, where the edges of the picture turned fuzzy as the heroine watched her unrequited true love walk into the room. The part that immediately preceded said heroine tripping over her own feet or walking into a wall, thereby calling undue embarrassing attention to herself. There mere vision of such a scenario caused Olivia to duck behind her computer screen, hiding the blush she'd never be able to explain without admitting the effect that Andy had just had on her.

She peeked out from behind her computer and felt a schoolgirl-like jealousy when she found that he was not even looking at her, but speaking to her Captain. Cragen was baiting him, but his response was so perfectly stated, so chivalric...she stopped herself just before her imagination could throw in the shining armor and white horse. There was nothing special about his manner, his reply to Cragen. He was a professional law-enforcement officer who regretted a bad call but wouldn't let it affect his performance. She immediately wished her brain had come up with a word other than performance; she hid her deeper blush, brought on by more intimate memories of Andy, by pawing through one of the bottom drawers of her desk.

"...should see this." A uniform was saying something. She didn't know or care what.

She snapped to attention when the rest of her squad began moving across the room and followed them without really knowing why they were leaving the board that contained all the information they could possibly use to find Paige. She was surprised to discover that this was the first time she'd thought about Paige since the Marshals arrived. She had no idea why Andy was affecting her so strongly. She'd gone years without thinking about him, but spending a few days with him three months before had apparently flipped a switch in her brain that made him the main subject of her thoughts. It hadn't even happened until he'd left and it was too late for her to change her mind. You could have called him, a little voice whispered from the back of her mind. She tried to drown it out. He was a regular cop. A tall, gorgeous, dedicated cop. She paused to reflect on the fact that she usually applied this description to her partner, but couldn't focus on why that could possibly be important. Elliot, after all, was not available to her and, for all his charm and friendship, had certainly never made her feel like Andy just had. She could only describe it to herself with the uninspired analogy of angry butterflies playing ice hockey in her stomach.

She began a mental mantra as she tried to watch the news report, I'm over him. We don't belong together. He's just here to do his job. Just like me. She immediately regretted the comparison. The last time she'd seen him, she'd basically told him that she needed someone more stable. Someone less like herself. Since then, she'd repeatedly caught herself thinking about him, about a them that no longer existed. After every bad date, she had wondered how he could have made the evening more fun. She occasionally woke up in the morning feeling for his warm body next to her. Missing him was getting to be a distraction, but, if the last five minutes were any indication, she wasn't sure that having him back would be any less of one, even if it would be more pleasant.

Her reflections were interrupted by Cragen's voice, "...split you up. Healey, you're with Stabler, Eckerson, with Benson."

She immediately felt his eyes on her, but resisted her first impulse to stare back. She slowly looked up and met his gaze. Both looked away at the same moment, she at her desk and he at the door, following his partner out. She felt his gaze boring through her for an instant before he exited, but again refused to look up. The air in the room decompressed as soon as he was gone and she felt her lungs burning with the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She exhaled slowly and tried to collect herself by focusing on the file in front of her until Elliot sat down at his desk, sighing heavily and breaking her concentration.

"Liv, I'm sorry, but Cap won't budge," he apologized. "It looks like you're gonna be stuck with Eckerson."

"It'll be fine, El," she replied, hoping that her partner would assume that her nerves had to do with the case rather than Andy. She decided she should add something to make him feel better. "You know I can take care of myself. I didn't get hurt last time, I won't this time."

Wrong button. Elliot exploded, "He's just such a pompous prick. Did you hear what he said to Cragen? Just here to do his job my ass. He's here because he wants you...to see he's not a screw up. Y'know, after that fiasco last time he's really got something to prove. And he'll be trying doubly hard because he's gotta work miracles to make up for his fuck-up."

"I said I'll be fine," she said, smiling through gritted teeth. Elliot's concern, which she would normally have found touching, was wearing on her nerves. He had no right to criticize Andy professionally on the basis of one case. She was shocked by her sudden willingness to take Andy's side, against her own partner of all people. On the upside, if Elliot were this concerned about Andy's ability to do his job, it meant she was doing a better job of hiding her attraction than she thought, even if Elliot had just implied that Andy was clearly interested in her with his well-timed pause. Her spirits gave a small leap when she realized that there really could be a chance for her and Andy.

"I don't want you getting hurt, Liv," Elliot said, softening his tone and calling her back to reality. "You're a good cop, a great cop. You know I'd never question that. But you're also my partner and my friend. I care about you. If anything ever happened to you..."

They were interrupted as Andy appeared out of nowhere at the side of Olivia's desk. "Sorry, but Healey is a little anxious to get to the courthouse. She seems to think Petrovsky will be the first target. Y'know, as the trial judge and all..." he trailed off as Elliot stood to get his coat without acknowledging him.

"Liv, be careful," the detective whispered, just loud enough for Andy to hear before heading toward the door.

When he seemed sure that Elliot was gone, he turned, and opened his mouth to speak to her for the first time in three months. She held her breath. Again.

"So, hi."

"Yeah, hi." She exhaled, hoping she sounded normal, professional. Unafraid. He was speaking again.

"I guess we're gonna be working together again."

She found it hard to concentrate. Her head was reeling. Afraid? Where had that come from? She wasn't afraid. He was her ex-boyfriend, not some rapist or pedophile; there was no reason to be afraid of him. A voice in the back of her mind told her she had to answer him. She tried to sound nonchalant. "Looks like it."

"Look, if, uh, you don't think this is going to work out I can talk to your Captain and see if he'll, uh, I know he can't put you with your partner like you want, but he could put me with Stabler and you with Healey." She was more surprised by his demeanor than anything else. His tone was quiet and his eyes were almost sad as he seemed to perceive her unwillingness to work with him. She wasn't at all happy that he didn't realize the reason why. She tried to salvage the conversation.

"Andy, I'm sorry. I'm not angry about being partnered with you, I'm just upset about the case. Paige wouldn't have had the opportunity to escape if it hadn't been for me." She tried let her feelings of guilt overpower her feelings for him. Her success was limited. Nothing was breaking through, not even the normal things she could count on – she knew she was in trouble when she couldn't escape into her job. His focus on the job, however, seemed tighter than ever.

"We should get going. Marcia Baron has probably heard about Paige on the news by now."

She looked at him for a moment, wondering why he hadn't tried to tell her the situation wasn't her fault, like everyone else was doing. Like he should do if he cared about her. Even though she was not searching for it, she found his lack of sympathy disheartening. He simply watched her as she put her coat on, following her movements. They walked out of the precinct in silence.