She came back per an old friend's request. Had it been anyone else asking, she might not have returned. But it wasn't the only reason why she came back. There was another reason, one that no one had ever known about.
It was why she found herself walking into the 16th Precinct a little while after Olivia had fallen asleep back in the room where she was supposed to have stayed. She knew she would find him there. And sure enough, there he was, sitting in the Special Victims Unit's squad room, his back to the doorway where she stood, just watching him.
It almost made her wish that she could stay. That she had come back for good. But she hadn't, and she knew it. So before she could make herself say anything, she turned away, blinking back tears as she headed back down the hallway. She couldn't do it. Couldn't tell him that she was alive, only to have to disappear on him again.
She'd returned to put a murderer in prison, to get one more taste of home before leaving again. But as always, with every return, there was a bittersweet side.