Holy shit I am on a roll. I have to give a shout out to Saint New because I was thisclose to stealing her idea about Cassidy, but alas I have to stick to my original plan. But good idea anyway.

Lyrics from "Fix You" by Coldplay

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
when you love some one but it goes to waste
could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

"I'm not going Monique."

Jeffries was on the verge of tears. She could not remember the last time she was so angry with her partner. "You are not listening to reason John," she said desperately.

"No, not listening to reason is to walk away from this investigation and let two people get away with murder," he said angrily, pacing back and forth in his room. "They did it Monique. You know it."

She shook her head. "No, I don't…listen, we are all scheduled back to work tomorrow…what the hell are you going to tell Cragen?"

"That I had to take some personal time," he said. "Monique, I can understand if you walk away from this, but I can't."

"Yes, you can!" she shouted. She was losing control because she was so afraid that Munch really would prove that Elliot and Olivia murdered Byron Stabler. "This is not our job! We are out of our jurisdiction. You and your nosy, paranoid tendencies is what got us into this mess. Walk away. It's not worth it. They're cops."

"Yes, they're cops, which means they should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the population!" he shouted back.

"They were children! They weren't cops back then! Byron Stabler was a sick mother fucker who preyed on innocent people! You don't know what they went through. We should be trying to help them, not hurt them. Is it so hard for you to put yourself in their shoes?"

Munch slumped on the edge of his bed. "No, it's not," he said quietly. "But regardless of what kind of man Byron was, Elliot and Olivia made a choice. The wrong choice. There's no fixing that. And even the devil deserves justice Monique."

Monique stared at her partner. "I guess I'm going home without you."

"I guess so," he said, standing.

Monique picked up her bag and walked to the door. She turned around for one last plea.

"Do you really think they would stand by quietly and let you ruin their lives?"

Munch had thought of that. If they had killed once, they could certainly kill again. "It's a risk I'm willing to take Mo."

Nodding numbly, she dropped her bag and threw her arms around him. He tightened his hold on her. "Be careful John…"

"I will," he said, letting her go.

XXXXXXX

Elliot watched from his hotel window as Monique Jeffries got into a cab. Alone.

He wasn't surprised. Munch was a warrior in his own right. He wouldn't sacrifice his integrity for anyone. And for that Elliot had no choice but to respect him. The world needed more John Munch's.

He grabbed his hotel key and walked the two doors down to Olivia's room. After a soft knock, she opened the door in nothing but a terry cloth robe and wet hair, and allowed him entry. A strawberry scent touched his nose and he felt a strong sense of longing.

Olivia watched as Elliot stretched out onto his back on the spare bed in her room and stared at the ceiling. She sat on her bed facing him.

"I used to tell Munch stories about me while I was growing up," Elliot said. "It was ridiculous of me to lie about where I from."

Olivia remained silent, afraid to speak.

"I lied to protect us and it sealed our fate. Why didn't you just leave like I asked you to?"

Olivia shook her head. "Elliot…I'm sorry. I truly am sorry."

"Munch didn't leave Olivia," Elliot said, his voice devoid of emotion. He reached into his shirt pocket and handed her a scrap of paper. She opened it to Elliot's familiar scrawl.

Sperry – 555.8898.

"It's a pre-paid phone. I used one as well and dumped it. Can't be traced back to me," Elliot went on quietly, cutting into Olivia's stunned silence. "He'll take care of everything. We need $5,000 up front and another $5,000 after the job is completed."

Olivia didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry. Damn it Munch. Didn't he understand she was trying to save his life?

"You've got it all figured out don't you," she chuckled, trying to mask her horror. "Just like the first time. All the dots connected."

"I can come up with $7,000, can you do the rest?" He stared at the ceiling. There wasn't any other way. He had spent the last two days convincing himself of that. There wasn't any other way.

Olivia slid off of her bed and climbed on top of Elliot, straddling him. She leaned down until he focused on her anguished face. Wisps of her damp her brushed against his face and he breathed in her wonderful scent.

"The good guys always win Elliot," she whispered.

"Some might say we're the good guys," he whispered back, looking deep into her eyes. "It's not my family's fault…I can't let them suffer for a mistake I made 15 years ago. I can't bring that pain to them. I promised myself I would be a better father and husband than my father was and I'll be damned if I fail them. I don't expect you to understand."

Olivia swallowed. "You already are," she said. "Doing right by your family is to accept responsibility for your actions…not to commit another crime."

Elliot smiled. "Here you are again, trying to talk me out of doing something. Only this time, you aren't willing to do the dirty work yourself. You aren't willing to do it at all."

Olivia let out a sob. She laid her head against his chest and cried. "You have no idea how much I want to go back in time and do it all over again," she choked. "The worst and only mistake I made was telling you what I was going to do. I should have never gotten you involved."

Elliot stared above her dark hair, feeling her shaking body. "I told you then, and I'm telling you now: The moment we stepped out of my house that night, there was no turning back. We made a promise to never get caught, now we need to keep that promise."

He looked down at the crown of her head. "Now's the time for you to prove to me that you can still keep at least some of your word."

Her head snapped up. She looked deep into his eyes and saw the hurt she had caused him the day she walked out of his life forever. She knew what she had to do. It was to right not only one, but all the wrongs she had committed.

"I can keep my word Elliot. I can keep my word."

He nodded, swallowing. "I…I'll make the call in the morning."

She nodded, climbing off of him. He got up and walked to the door. Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, he looked back at her. Tears shone brightly in his eyes. "Do you…did you ever wonder what if?" he asked, almost afraid of her answer.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. "Every day for the past fifteen years."

"Are you ever going to tell me why?"

"One day, Elliot. One day."

He nodded, accepting it. He turned and walked out. She closed her eyes and counted to 100. Once there, she opened up her eyes and wiped the tears from her face. Changing into a comfortable sweatsuit and sneakers, she left her room and padded down the hall. Finding the room she wanted, she rapped loudly on the door.

John Munch opened the door, not bothering to disguise the look of utter surprise on his face.

"Olivia…can I help you?"

She smiled sadly, tearfully. "No, I came to help you. You can stop investigating now and you can leave Elliot alone. You're looking at your killer."

XXXXXX