AN: For Bernie.


He found her in a booth at the back of the diner nursing a glass of water.

He took a seat opposite her, pleather rippling under his weight as he watched her fiddle with the straw. She ripped the white sheet off and stabbed the red plastic heatedly through liquid and ice. Her eyes lifted to his then and he could see the anger imbedded in her irises.

"Listen," he began in a breath before she could say a word. "You can hate me all you want," he tried desperately to lock eyes with her. "That's pretty much a given these days." He scanned the attention levels of the patrons, attempting to keep the volume and intensity of their conversation contained between them. "You know I've done things I'm not proud of Liv... a lot of things." His mind instantly flashed back to when he was first pinning her up against the wall, grabbing her ass, her breasts.

'Between her legs.. or I'll do it.'

He closed his eyes at the memory. "Please just let me do this.." he whispered. "You and I both know this is for the best."

She shook her head, an unmistakable sheen of liquid lining her irises as she turned to gaze out the window, seemingly still trying to pull herself together since his bombshell. His focus moved down to the water she was clutching and he dug his hand into his jacket, pulling out the envelope and removing a $20 bill from it's contents, waiting a few beats before he slid it in front of her.

"At least get yourself something substantial while you wait."

She pushed the money back to him. "I'm not hungry," her voice cracked with emotion as she circled the straw around the glass, ice knocking haphazardly into each other. "I'm still trying to keep that curry down." She chose that moment to look up at him, a wealth of accusation and emotion staring back at him.

Jackie.

He watched the cogs turn over in her mind as she studied his reaction to her statement and he sat back in the booth, scrubbing a hand over his face, not sure why she insisted on going there.

"Is that why you're doing all of this?" Her watery eyes didn't waver when she said it but he caught a momentary flicker of vulnerability pass through her.

"No," he said simply. "I told you. This isn't about her."

He watched Olivia take another draw of water and a pang of guilt hit. It was clear she was still making up for the hydration deficiency she'd experienced over the course of their passing days. That's when his eyes moved to her shoulder and he wondered just how much pain she was still in.

She hid it well.

He made eye contact with the waitress by the counter, nodding for her attention. He was in desperate need of a distraction, a way to prolong this long enough to get his message out.

"I'll wait with you," he whispered, his chest clenching in unexpected conflict as to whether he was even doing the right thing.

She lifted her head. "Don't bother."

He watched her continue to finger the tip of her straw, wishing he'd stopped her in the confines of Jackie's car. Pulled her back in, forced her to face this then and there so they could hash this out properly in unfiltered, direct, privacy - instead of stifled and censored in a crowded diner full of witnesses.

"It's going to be a while until you can eat again," he explained.

Her eyes narrowed at that comment and from the look on her face he instantly regretted his choice of words.

"If you're reallygoing to leave me in a gas station diner with a bus ticket and an envelope full of cash Elliot, you can go right now," she rasped, the words pummelling out of her like fire.

Her voice had risen considerably and he stared at her long and hard, unsure of how to respond. He felt scattered eyes from diner patrons on the back of his head and he knew he had to play this delicately. He pinned her down with his disbelief, furious at her blatant disregard for their circumstance. This was effectively his 'hometown' for Christ sake.

The waitress came over at that point to take his order and he looked up at her sudden presence.

"Ah what can I get you?" She stammered awkwardly, realizing she was interrupting something.

"Just a coffee thanks-"

"He was just leaving." Olivia cut him off.

Elliot disregarded her comment. "A coffee please - black."

The waitress took the order before she skittered back to the kitchen.

"Seriously Elliot," she lowered her voice only a notch or two before she leant forward, pressing her index finger against the table for effect. "If this is really how it's going to end, then I need you to go. Now. There's nothing more I have to say to you." There was a seriousness imbedded in her tone that he hadn't heard since the trailer.

He opened his mouth to say something before he thought better of it. The hint of emotional vulnerability he'd witnessed in her earlier was now long gone.

"You can't fly without ID," he explained, trying to keep the conversation streamlined. "That's why we're here - at a bus station in the middle Ohio." He motions around the diner for effect. "I'd take you to the city myself but we can't risk being on the road again. The bus is going to stop at Pittsburgh tonight and then Philadelphia, it's a long trip but it will get you to New York by 7am-"

"I've got it Elliot," she cut him off, pleather crunching behind her as she sat back. "I've seen the ticket. I don't need a play-by-play of the itinerary." She spat. "So unless you're waiting around to make sure I actually get on the bus you, you don't have to - consider me gone," she finished off in a strained whisper.

He half expected her to stand up at that point but she doesn't, she simply stares at him expecting him to be the one to move. The tension grew thick between them and he could feel he was on borrowed time now.

He leaned forward. "Don't talk to anyone Liv," he pleaded,. "You hear me? Anyone asks your name, you make it up. Keep a low profile on the bus, stay away from cameras in public toilets - convenience stores," his eyes searched hers with concern before he said it. "And if you can hold off.. " he waited a few beats before he said it. "Don't make the call until you get to the city."

A humourless smile lined her features as he saw an awareness flicker through her.

"Go to hell Elliot," she whispered.

Her words were small but deliberate and he knew then, that was the moment she checked out. He realized from his statement she must think he's doing all this for his own selfish reasons, to protect hisass, but if that were the case he would have pulled the plug on this a long time ago. He knew the fight from the trailer wasn't over just yet and she was still a moving target.

He couldn't risk that.

He couldn't risk her.

"Are you done telling me what to do?" she whispered all too calmly, moving her empty glass to the side before she started to get up.

"You know this is the right thing, please tell me you get that-"

She slammed her hand down on the table. "I swear to fucking God if you say that one more time. Nothing about this is right," she rasped loudly enough for the whole diner to hear. "Including, and not limited to you taking me to a public place so I can't make a goddamn scene. So you want me to go quietly." She purposefully yelled out. "You want me to leave you to your white picket fence existence without blowing your pathetic excuse for a life then you got it. Good luck Elliot. Give my regards to Jackie."

She stood up then, snatching the envelope from the table, bypassing the waitress carrying his coffee and making a b-line to the back door of the diner. He watched her push it open, a mixture of fury, anger and anguish all churning through his veins but one thing was for sure.

He'd be damned if it was ending like that.

TBC