CHAPTER 8

STABLER RESIDENCE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21ST
10:45 A.M.

Elliot sat alone in his darkened living room, staring absently at the sad little tree on the table. Captain Cragen had brought it by on his last visit, insisting that Elliot needed to have some cheer in his life during the holiday season, but it only served to remind Elliot of all he'd lost. Since June, he'd traded his horrible nightmares for a living hell. Sessions with Huang helped, as did getting back on the job. Still, he kept running up against this giant void in his life where his best friend used to be. He sighed and reached for the longneck sitting on the end table. It was too early to be on his third beer, but he just didn't give a damn any longer.

A timid knock on his front door jarred him out of his reverie. He got up, crossed to the door and looked through the peephole to see an empty hallway. He threw open the door. No one. He was turning back towards the promise of liquid oblivion when he spied a gaily-wrapped package resting in front of his door. He picked it up and noted the gift tag: 'To Elliot, with love. Olivia.' He stared for a moment at the familiar cursive with tears in his eyes, then realized with a start who had knocked on his door. He ran down the stairs toward the building's exit.

"Olivia? Olivia!" He crashed through the doors and out into the frigid New York winter. He quickly scanned up and down the street for her shiny dark hair and familiar form. Nothing. He looked down at the beautiful present still clutched in his hands and hugged it tightly against him, quietly saying, "Merry Christmas, Olivia. I miss you." A cold gust of wind blew against him, reminding him that he was standing on his stoop barefoot, wearing nothing but sweat pants and a wife-beater. With a final sigh, he turned and slowly trudged back into the apartment, alone.

From her hiding place in the building's lobby, Olivia watched him with tear-filled eyes. As he climbed up to his apartment, she answered, "Merry Christmas, El. I miss you, too," and headed out into the street.

NYPD NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY – O'MALLEY'S PUB
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31ST
11:00 P.M.

Watching the beautiful, fragile woman being squired around the room by Munch, Cragen took a long drink of his club soda. Desperately wishing it were something stronger, he turned to Huang. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Doc? Olivia already looks like a frightened doe, ready to bolt. Do we really want to force this meeting on her?"

"Captain, I can't and won't talk about my sessions with either of them, but I will say this. They need to see one another and begin working things through. I've gone as far as I can in seeing them separately. Now, they are beginning to regress to a more damaged state. Elliot is turning to the bottle more and more often for solace, while Olivia... you can't tell me you don't see her shrinking more and more into herself each day. She's pulling away and shutting herself off from the world." Both men watched as Munch performed ever-more-ridiculous antics, only to be rewarded with the merest flash of a wan smile. It was very discouraging.

"Don, you know how close the two of them were. They were each other's emotional complement. How many times did she calm his worst rampages with a simple look or touch? How often did he ground her in the present and keep her from being sucked under by her all-encompassing empathy? They've each healed as much as they can on their own. They simply NEED one another to come back to where they were before...if such a comeback is even possible given all they've been through."

"I hope you are right, Doc. I hope you are right."

Fin paused outside of the pub, urging his reluctant companion on. "C'mon, man. It's been months since you've come to hang out with us. It's New Year's Eve! You can't be alone. Let's go."

"I... I can't, Fin. I'm just going to go..." He turned to leave and Fin grabbed his jacket.

"Oh, no you don't. Damn it, Stabler, we're your friends. Remember? You are going to spend New Year's with us. We miss you, all of us. Besides, it's captain's orders. Now get your skinny ass in here." With that, Fin spun him around and all but shoved him in the door.

Fin managed to get Elliot into the pub and as far as the bar. He left him there, with Huang as his companion so that he could check in with his partner and the rest of the squad.

As the clock ticked down on the longest year of Elliot's life, he stared into his drink, studiously ignoring the shrink beside him. In the background, he heard the music and merriment of the holiday, but he was in no mood to celebrate. He threw back the last of his beer, ordering another with a nod to the bartender, and heaved a sigh.

"Elliot, I know you aren't here for a 'shrinking' tonight, but please consider the advice I'm going to give you. It's New Year's Eve, a powerful symbolic and literal ending and rebirth. If you ever hope to get over the trauma of the last year – from Kathy leaving to the whole Keller episode – this is the night to let it go and start fresh. Come on, the DJ wants everyone on the dance floor for the countdown. I'm going, and I urge you to come with me. You won't heal until you let it go. Tonight's the ideal time."

Huang stood and moved towards the floor, gratified to see Elliot get up to follow him.

O'MALLEY'S PUB
11:57 P.M.

Across the room, as Huang gave his advice to Elliot, Captain Cragen had autocratically claimed Olivia's hand for the last dance of the year, and led her from their table out onto the floor. "Olivia, you know we're all here for you, and we all care about you. I don't say it often, but I think of you all like my own family. It's killing me to see you like this. I know the past 6 months have been hell on earth for you, but I want you to know that I'll be here to support you, for as long as it takes, okay?"

Olivia allowed a ghost of a smile to haunt her pale face. She whispered, "Thank you," and pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek.

"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Happy New Year!" The room erupted into cheers and laughter and the strains of Auld Lang Syne filled the air. Olivia was swept into a tight hug by Cragen, who released her into the waiting arms of Munch. Fin was next, giving her a hug with an extra squeeze, before releasing her to Huang, who had worked his way through the crowd to join them. He released her and turned her to the next well-wisher, who had just finished hugging the captain.

Elliot turned and froze, staring into the beautiful brown eyes of his partner, full of pain and fear. He took a half-step forward, then paused, uncertain.

Olivia stared at his face, the face that haunted her nightmares and highlighted her happy dreams. Looking into his tortured blue eyes, her heart caught up with her mind and knew for certain that this was not the man who hurt her. Their faces may have been mirror-identical, but their eyes starkly displayed the truth. They were nothing alike. This man only loved her, as a partner, as a friend, perhaps even as more, someday. She closed the gap between them and reached her hand up to cup his stubbled cheek, "Happy New Year, Elliot."

He watched the pain and fear melt from her eyes and his heart lightened at her soft touch. He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding on to her as though she were his life preserver in a flood. Tears pricked his eyes as he dropped a quick kiss onto her forehead, "Happy New Year, Olivia. Here's to a new beginning."

FIN

A/N: If you haven't figured it out yet, this was a crossover with OZ. I've read OZ/SVU crossovers before, usually involving Beecher and Stabler. My evil little muse wanted to know what would happen if Keller showed up in the SVU world. For those unfamiliar with OZ, Chris Keller aka Prisoner 98K514 is a psychopathic serial killer and sexual predator played by... Christopher Meloni! I hope my little backstory nicely explains the "wtf?" factor involved in having two Meloni characters running around the same verse. BTW, in my little world, George Huang does NOT have an identical twin brother named Father Ray Mukada (both played by B.D. Wong). That would be a bit too much, don'tcha think? )

Disclaimer, part deux: Chris Keller, Sister Peter Marie and Father Ray Mukada all belong to Tom Fontana and the lovely folks over at HBO, not me. pout