Olivia turned her eyes away from Elliot. She couldn't bear to see the look on his face. Her gaze turned to the man on the sidewalk, walking only feet away from their car.

"Shit, Elliot, it's him," she exclaimed, and they both casually stepped out of the car.

The man jerked his head around at the sound of their doors slamming, and he took off running. Olivia and Elliot followed suit, Elliot catching the man in no time, shoving him into telephone pole to subdue him.

"Why you running?" Elliot asked, attempting to catch his breath.

"My partner's an old man, he gets mad when he has chase scum like you down the street," Olivia said, getting into the man's face. She leaned in close, not afraid to intimidate the lowlife standing inches from her face. "You don't want to make my partner mad."

Elliot jerked the man up straight and led him back to their squad car.

"Let's go have a chat, huh?" he said, smirking.

The ride back to the precinct was agonizingly long. Elliot was trying to grasp the reality of what Olivia had said. Pregnant. So many thoughts rushed to his mind. She'd known, and yet, she seemed to be hitting the bottle pretty hard. Worry was just one of the tidal wave of emotions he was feeling right now. He turned to look at her, trying to catch her eyes, but she stared out the window the entire ride. He wished she had told him. He had so many questions. He shook his head, knowing it would be awhile before he would get his answers.

When they returned to the station, Fin joined Elliot in the interrogation room while Olivia began filling out their necessary reports. Elliot was growing more frustrated with every word the suspect uttered, and he was thankful when he finally asked for a lawyer, albeit four hours later. He wearily exited the interrogation room, loosening his tie and exchanging irritated looks with Fin.

"John and I can take it from here, get some rest, you look like hell, man," Fin said, laughing as he slapped Elliot on the back.

"Thanks, nice to know I can always count on you for an ego boost," Elliot joked. He certainly wasn't going to turn down Fin's advice. He headed into Cragen's office to get the okay to take off.

"Cap?" he called, knocking on his office door.

"Come on in, Elliot," Cragen said, motioning to a chair. Elliot waved off the chair.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm headed home, asshole lawyered up, Munch and Fin are going to finish up," he said, backing up to leave.

"Olivia stopped in here a few hours ago, she asked for the week off," Cragen informed him.

Elliot furrowed his brow and folded his arms across his chest.

"Know anything about that?" Cragen questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Let me talk to her," Elliot said, knowing better than to tell Cragen anything at this point.

"She can take the week, Elliot, just make sure she's okay," he said, turning his attention back to his paperwork.

Elliot nodded, the pit in his stomach telling him there was so much more to Olivia's story than she had been able to pass on to him earlier that day. He stood at his desk, lingering for a moment, wondering what to do. He smiled when he saw the bright green Post-It on his computer monitor, Olivia's handwriting scrawled across it.

You owe me dinner - # 2 please!
-Liv
(Extra sweet & sour)

Elliot shook his head, grabbed his coat, and headed out of the station. It was nearly an hour later when he arrived at Olivia's apartment, struggling to hold the entire chicken menu from China One in his uninjured hand. He was quickly losing grip of the plastic bags, and finding himself unable to knock with his broken fingers, he kicked the door gently and called her name.

"It's about time," they both said at once when Olivia opened the door.

They exchanged smiles as Elliot said, "A hand please?"

"Oh, gosh, sorry," she said, grabbing two of the bags from Elliot's grasp. "Come on in," she opened the door wider, allowing Elliot to pass by her.

He dropped his two bags on the coffee table and shrugged his suit jacket off, letting it fall over the back of the couch. Olivia set her bags down, and then retreated to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a couple bottled waters and a beer which she extended to her partner. He accepted it with a smile of gratitude. After struggling with it for a few moments, he passed it back to Olivia to open it. She couldn't refuse his puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. She easily opened the bottle and passed it back to Elliot, jokingly muttering insults under her breath.

"You know you love me, Liv," he said, smiling, but he meant it. She began rummaging through the bags, no doubt looking for her extra container of sweet and sour sauce.

"The entire chicken column, right?" she asked, checking with Elliot.

"Of course, nothing less for you," he said, grabbing the first carton his hand landed on. He smiled when he opened it, glad he'd gotten to this one first. Olivia peered over, sniffing in the delicious aroma of his sesame chicken.

"Lucky," she said, finally locating her sauce.

They ate quietly for a few minutes, both too hungry to interrupt with conversation.

"So," Olivia began cautiously, "You're not even the least bit curious?"

Elliot smiled, he knew her so well. That was his cue to reassure her that he was ready to listen. He liked that about her, she appeared so strong, so determined, but when it came to her personal life, things so intimate, she needed assurance that he wanted to listen. She hadn't been able to trust many people in her life, and Elliot knew that. He was honored that she'd trusted him so faithfully in their relationship. He nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"I guess I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger, huh?" she said with nervous laughter. He noticed she looked older than her years, her hair was sloppily pulled back in a ponytail off her face. She pulled her sweatshirt tighter around her body, covering up any exposed skin. Elliot didn't know how to respond, so he took a swig of his beer, hoping she'd begin talking again by the time he swallowed.

"I didn't know what to do, I was so freaked out, you know?" she continued eating her chicken.

"I just sat on it for a couple of weeks, I didn't know how to tell him. And before I even got the chance, he broke up with me. I didn't want to use this baby as a bargaining chip in our relationship. I didn't want to be that girl," she said, staring into the orange sauce that rested precariously on the cushion in front of her.

"Liv, what did he say? That you wouldn't tell me before?" Elliot asked, not knowing whether or not his question would set her off. He peered down at his chicken, growing frustrated with his left hand not being able to grip the fork, he threw it down and began using his fingers.

"He accused me of…of wanting to be with you," she said softly. Elliot felt his cheeks begin to blush. He knew he shouldn't have asked.

"I got pissed, I was so angry at myself for opening up to him, for trusting him with things so personal. I knew there was no way our relationship could survive after he said that, and I realized there was no way I could tell him," she said, maintaining her composure much better than she had during their earlier conversation. He finished off his beer, knowing he was probably going to need a few more to make it through this night.

"I didn't know what to do, El," she looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to comfort her, console her. He placed his take-out carton back on the coffee table and pulled Olivia into him, the same way he'd held his daughter a few nights ago. Olivia rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped both her arms around his left arm, knowing in the back of her mind that this was as close as the two had ever gotten. They'd been partners almost eight years, and aside from the occasional pat on the shoulder or slight brush of the hand, they had an unwritten rule not to get close. But they were in uncharted territory now, and they were both breaking the rules.

Elliot sighed, wanting more than anything to take away the hurt the woman in his arms was feeling. "I know, Liv. It's okay," he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"No, it's not, it's not okay. I didn't know what to do. I mean, I was carrying his child. I barely knew him, I never met his parents or his brothers and sisters. I didn't even know how he took his coffee or liked his eggs. And on top of that, I just, I didn't know what I was passing onto this baby. I mean, my mother was so screwed up, and my father?" Olivia's voice was becoming more agitated, more angry with every word.

"I spent that whole weekend making pro and con lists, making budgets, trying to figure out if I could really do this. And telling Dean wasn't an option, not the way he treated me," Olivia gripped Elliot's arm tighter.

"I couldn't go through with it, Elliot. I couldn't have this baby," she said, finally succumbing to tears. She sobbed into Elliot's chest, and he wrapped his other arm around her, rubbing her back gently. She clung tightly to his shirt, Elliot could sense the desperation in her grasp.

"Shh, it's okay…it's okay," he tried to comfort her but knew none of his words would ease the pain she was feeling. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've helped, I would've done anything to help you," he assured her.

"What? Tell you I was having an abortion? I couldn't…I didn't want to see the look on your face," she whispered. Elliot realized now that she still wasn't looking at him.

"Why? Because I'm Catholic? We're friends, Olivia, I would have supported your decision, whatever you wanted," he urged.

"I just…I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I mean, I don't know how you and Kathy managed, you were so young. I'm almost forty, and I don't even know how to change a diaper. I didn't want you to be disappointed," she repeated. Elliot could feel the wetness from her tears seeping through his shirt.

"I wish you would have told me," he held her close and whispered into her ear.

"Why?" she sobbed. "So you could judge me? Tell me I was making the biggest mistake of my life?"

"No! Of course not, Olivia. So I could help you," he could feel the emotion rising in his body, he pulled Olivia closer.

"That's exactly why, Elliot!" she shouted, struggling to release herself from his tight grasp. She stood up and began pacing the length of the living room.

"I knew if I told you, you'd help me. Why do you always have to be so goddamned righteous?" she was practically screaming at him.

Elliot was lost, confused at her outburst.

"I knew if you offered to help, with anything, I wouldn't be able to turn you down," she said, her voice softer now.

"Why? Why don't you want my help? Olivia, we're friends," Elliot stood, grabbing her arms and pulling her close to him again.

"That's just it. You," she said, jabbing him in the chest, "want to be just friends."

Thanks for all the reviews, the more I get, the faster I want to update. Read, review and enjoy! Thanks!