"All set?" Olivia asked, grabbing his bag and get well package from the twins. The nurse rolled in a wheelchair and Olivia scoffed at it.

"You know you're wasting your time if you think he's going to get into that," she said.

Elliot was still stunned to see her sitting there on his bed. He gave her a confused look, but she avoided his gaze and turned her attention to the nurse.

"Come on, Detective, have a seat, time to go," the nurse said impatiently.

"Seriously, he's not getting in," Olivia began to argue.

Elliot raised his hands in defeat and climbed into the wheelchair. He was too tired to put up a fight, and what did he care if he got a ride down to the car?

"The Elliot Stabler I used to know would have put up a hell of a good fight back there," Olivia said as they waited for the elevator.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders, still waiting for an explanation as to why Olivia was there, and not his ex-wife. A few minutes later, Elliot was climbing into the passenger side of Olivia's sedan. He leaned his head against the cold glass as they drove out of the parking lot.

"Dickie had a dentist appointment this morning," Olivia said as if that were all the explanation Elliot needed.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the awkward silence in the car. He'd had all this time to think about how to apologize to Olivia and he still didn't know what to say. He'd messed up, but she was still here, right? She came back to take care of him.

She flipped on the radio and he listened to her sing along to Journey, allowing her soft voice to put him gently to sleep.

Olivia pulled in behind Elliot's Trailblazer in the driveway. She glanced at the passenger in the seat next to her. He was sound asleep, his arms folded across his chest, his head resting on the window. He looked so peaceful, she hated to wake him up. She reluctantly got out of the car and gently opened Elliot's door, his head falling into her chest. She couldn't believe she was doing this, after what happened the other day. She had wanted more time before she had to face him again. So far it'd been easy, he'd been passed out the entire time.

"El," she whispered softly, stroking his cheek with her soft mitten. "Come on honey, we're here." It was hard not to use her affectionate names for him, seeing him so fragile.

He let out a low groan, but didn't budge.

"Elliot, seriously, it's freezing out here, let me take you inside," she urged.

He grudgingly lifted his head up, accepting Olivia's extended hand, and stepped out of the car. He was dizzy and couldn't keep his eyes open. Olivia carefully guided him up the sidewalk.

"The stairs are slippery, careful," she said, leading him up the steps and into his house.

Once inside, she locked the door behind her and dropped his overnight bag on the floor.

"Let's get you upstairs into bed," Olivia said to the disoriented Elliot.

Paying no attention to her, he lowered his aching, tired body onto the couch, pulling his favorite blanket to his chin.

"Don't you want to go upstairs? To your bed?" she asked softly, kneeling down next to Elliot's face.

"Cold," he murmured, closing his eyes.

She remembered turning his thermostat down the other day and quickly got up to crank the heat. She went back to Elliot's side and watched him for a few moments, his eyes closed. She'd had so much time the past few days to think about what to say to Elliot the next time she saw him. But somehow, she still had no words. But she had to say something.

"El," she began.

"Hmmm?" he moaned.

Her apology was interrupted by the shrill ringing of her cell phone.

"Ugh, seriously," she said, hurrying to her purse to answer it.

"Benson."

Elliot listened to Olivia's voice. His eyelids were too heavy to open, but he listened intently.

"I don't care," he heard her say angrily. "I'm not just going to leave him here alone."

He smiled to himself, realizing he had to make this work with her. He cared about her so much. His love for her ran deeper than he realized. She was giving up work, the one constant in her life that she loved, for him. He had to tell her.

"Fine, I'll be in after lunch," she said, slamming her phone shut. He could almost see her silently counting backwards from ten, the way she always did when she was frustrated and angry and wanted to take it out on someone. Elliot always admired her self control, something he lacked in many instances. True to form, he heard her moving about his kitchen ten seconds later.

A few moments later, she appeared at his side, squeezing next to him on the couch.

"Here, you're supposed to take these," she said, offering him two pills.

Elliot looked at them skeptically.

"The nurse gave me your prescriptions, I stopped at the pharmacy on the way home. You were sound asleep," she said, placing the pills in Elliot's palm.

Using all the energy he had and ignoring the pain in his throat, he whispered, "Only on two conditions."

"Shh, you're not supposed to talk," she interrupted.

Elliot shook his head, but he had to smile. Olivia was bound and determined to fulfill her nursemaid duties.

"Why don't you just listen?" he asked her, and waited patiently for her to interrupt again. She didn't, so he continued.

"One," he whispered, "You forgive me for the other day."

She opened her mouth to speak, but Elliot stuck his index finger to her lips, shushing her.

"Two," he continued, "You forgive me for this."

He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her close to him, kissing her gently on the lips. She didn't pull away, and he felt his cheeks flush when he saw her close her eyes and a satisfactory moan escaped her lips. Even in his groggy, painful condition, he knew it was the best kiss he'd ever experienced.

She pulled away slightly, staring into his bright blue eyes. She smiled. A smile he had never seen on her beautiful face. He smiled knowing he had put that smile there. He was responsible for Olivia's happiness.

"This," she said, pointing to Elliot and then herself, "Will only work on two conditions."

He smiled and raised his eyebrows at her.

"One," she said, teasing him with another kiss on the lips, "You forgive me for the other day."

He nodded and she continued.

"Two," she continued, "You forgive me for making this phone call at the most inopportune time in our relationship."

He groaned his dissatisfaction, but she got up and dialed the familiar number on her cell phone.

"Yeah, Cap, it's Olivia," she said, winking at Elliot.

His stomach turned to knots, worried about what she would say to him.

"I'm not feeling so great, I think I'm coming down with something… Uh huh… Yeah, I just couldn't keep my hands off him," she said laughing.

Elliot smiled, recalling the conversation he'd overheard the other night between Olivia and Cragen. So the captain knew, too, he thought to himself.

Olivia came back to Elliot's side and smiled at him.

"Captain says if I'm sick, I can't come in, isn't that a shame?" she said giggling.

Elliot had never seen Olivia giggle like that. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. In all the years they had been partners, this was the first time he'd ever wrapped his arms completely around his partner. She felt good in them, like she belonged close to him.

They looked into each other's eyes and a smile crept to Elliot's face.

"Maureen says I like you," he joked.

"Really? She says I like you, too," Olivia smiled.

Elliot pulled her closer to him and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Tired. Must sleep," he said, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Stay?" he asked quietly.

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for the great reviews. I hope you enjoyed my first story. I'm taking a trip to Hawaii so hopefully I'll come back in a few weeks with a new story idea if anyone's interested! And if you really want, a sequel?