Big chapter! Oh how long I've wanted to write this scene, and here it comes.
And I have to say, I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter xD
Enjoy!
The song's name: The Way Old Friends Do – ABBA

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But she froze when she saw Elliot's expression. It was no longer hurt, it was scared. And that scared Olivia.

"What?"

"It's… It's a tornado warning."

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Olivia felt her blood freeze in her veins. Thunder rumbled above them, raindrops began to fall on the windshield, and within a few horrible seconds she realized they were in the middle of fields, twenty minutes from the nearest house on a poor shape road. The storm seemed to arise completely unexpectedly, the lightning lit up the sky, and tore a gap in the cloud, because the rain started to wash with force on the hood of the car.

"What are we gonna do?" She whispered, her voice barely carrying through the din, and Elliot turned his eyes to the road, clutching the steering wheel in his hands.

"We... We have about 10 minutes. We don't make it to the neighbor, we don't make it to the farm..."

Olivia also turned her gaze forward, and instinctively groped for Elliot's hand.

If I die now…

At least I'm with Elliot.

But then he turned on the wipers and stepped on the gas. The car shot forward, and Olivia had to hold on to the car door and seat with both hands, so she wouldn't hit anything.

"What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill us?!" She exclaimed as the car uncontrollable bounced down the road, and she was sure it would soon end up in a ditch.

"That's what I'm trying to avoid here," Elliot had gritted his teeth, and he leaned forward to see the road better, because the heavy rain reduced visibility to almost zero. "I just remembered that there is an abandoned house with a basement nearby. We don't have much time, but we might get there…"

"How far is it?"

"About a mile away," Elliot pressed more gas, and the car bounced over the hump. "So you better hold on."

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The five-minute trip had felt like a small eternity, and the conditions were getting worse all the time. The heavy rain had made the field road slippery and soft, and Elliot had to do everything he could to keep the car from sliding off the road. The rumble of thunder could be felt even in the car, and every second Olivia was afraid that she would see a deadly whirlwind through the car window. Natural phenomena were unpredictable, and while there was an estimated 10 minutes to find shelter after a tornado warning, that was no promise. It was an estimate, and it was entirely possible that it was incorrect.

But then the car stopped with a thump, Elliot cursed and pushed the gear into reverse. However, the car didn't even move, only the sound of the tires spinning in the mud filled the car, and Olivia looked at her former partner in fear.

"What happened?"

"The rain had made a hole in the road, and the car got stuck. We have to go on without the car."

Olivia's heart felt stopping, and her mouth dropped open.

"W-what?!"

But Elliot didn't stay to explain, he had already jumped out of the car and started jogging. Noticing that she wasn't following, he turned around and started to wave his arms furiously.

"Come on, Liv! We don't have time!"

Olivia swallowed, took one last look out the window, and then opened the door. The rain felt like someone had poured a bucket of water on her, and her shoes sank into the soft mud when she jumped out of the car and started running towards Elliot. He jogged in front of her but looked over his shoulder that she was following him. Olivia didn't know how long they had been running, but suddenly the house appeared from behind the trees, dark and menacing, yet so soothing that suddenly her legs felt like jelly.

But then they heard it.

It came into view from beyond the trees, it was merciless, unstoppable, deadly. It mercilessly tore things in its path from the ground, lifted them into the air, and destroyed everything that was standing on its way.

It was huge, and it was coming straight towards them.

A tornado.

Olivia had never seen a tornado in her life, and she was happy about it. It was not one of the things she wanted to see or experience before her death, far from it.

But there it was, ruthless, raging, full of destruction. It didn't ask if she wanted to see it, if she wanted to experience it, it didn't ask anything. It did as it pleased, and its will seemed to be to kill them.

And in front of it, Olivia's legs stopped working. They were glued to the ground, it was as if this huge and unstoppable force had told her to stop, to wait for it, to experience its power in its full fury. She couldn't help but watch it, watch as it was tearing trees off the ground farther ahead, watch as it slowly but surely was approaching her, roaring death.

"LIV!"

Elliot's voice was drowned out by the howl of the wind, she no longer remembered him, her every cell was focused on the force of nature ahead. It wasn't until she felt a hand on her arm that she snapped out of her trance, and met Elliot's eyes, which were filled with distress.

"LIV! We have to go!"

"B-but… I-it's coming s-straight towards us!" She stuttered, surprising even herself that she hadn't lost her ability to speak.

"I know, but we don't have time to run, it's too close! The basement is our only chance!"

Elliot's warm hand was the only thing that got her moving. Greater strength than fear was the thought that she didn't want to leave him. They ran to the house, and luck seemed to favor them as the door wasn't locked, Elliot jerked it open, and in the dark house they wandered around until they found the basement door and stumbled down the stairs. Elliot stuck the brush he had found next to the door between the handle to keep it closed. Then they sat down in the far corner of the basement, entwined each other, and Olivia didn't care about anything else.

She knew she was going to die. She knew that the old and rotten house wouldn't be able to take the wind, and it would crumble in the arms of a tornado like a house of cards. She could hear the raging wind outside coming closer all the time, she could hear the house creak at its joints, she could feel Elliot's breath in her hair and hear through his shirt how his heart was beating furiously.

As if it knew it was beating for the last time.

And then she knew what she wanted. She might not have wanted to experience a tornado before her death, but she knew she wanted this.

It was something she had wanted ever since she had met Elliot.

She lifted her head from his chest, looked at him in the dark for a second into his blue eyes that had guided her through hard times, dark nights and moments when she had thought she wouldn't make it.

And then she closed her eyes, leaned forward, and pressed her lips to his.

And in that moment, she felt as if peace had descended around them. It was as if the wind outside had calmed down, as if the world had lightened, and peace had settled in her heart.

And for some reason, for some inexplicable reason, a song started playing in her head. It was the same song she had listened to when Elliot had been her partner, and it was the same song she had listened to when he had been gone.

And it was the song that seemed to seal this moment, the moment before death, the moment when all was well.

Everything was perfect.

~You and I can share the silence

Finding comfort together

The way old friends do~

Elliot answered to her kiss, ran his fingers through her hair, and Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, but they weren't all fear. They were full of their past, their friendship, they were full of sadness, worry, joy, caring…

And love.

~Times of joy and times of sorrow

We will always see it through~

And then she realized it, finally admitted it to herself. She loved Elliot. She loved her with all her heart, with all her soul, with every cell of her body. His "death" had shattered her world, because Elliot was a huge part of it. He was a part of her heart. She had lost herself, because she had lost a huge part of herself, the part that brought sense and light to this insane and evil world.

She pulled away, just an inch, just enough that she could form the words with her lips against Elliot's. The words that should have been said a long time ago.

"I love you."

~Oh, I don't care what comes tomorrow

We can face it together

The way old friends do~

But just as she was about to press her lips back to his, Elliot flinched. His eyes snapped open, and for a moment Olivia thought she had broken the magic with her words.

It was too early.

He doesn't even remember me.

A lump began to rise in her throat, the raging wind outside began to rumble in the basement again, and tears clouded her eyes. But then tears began to roll down Elliot's cheeks, and in the light from the small basement window, Olivia realized that a new light had ignited into his eyes.

But it wasn't new after all.

She had seen it before.

"I remember."

It felt like her heart stopped, and her voice could barely be heard over the wind as she whispered:

"What do you remember?"

But the answer she got was something she hadn't expected.

"I… I remember everything."

~You and I can share the silence

Finding comfort together

The way old friends do~

"W-what?"

"I remember everything," Elliot pulled her back into his arms, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and started sobbing. "I remember my family: Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie, Lizzie, Eli. I remember Kathy, I remember Cragen, Munch, Fin. And…" He took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes with tears flowing down his cheeks and glittering in his blue eyes like the waves of the ocean. "I remember you, Liv. I remember us, and…" He closed his eyes, brought his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath, and whispered:

"I remember that I love you too."

And then he kissed her, but the kiss had changed. They weren't Olivia and James anymore; they were Olivia and Elliot. Partners, best friends, two lost souls who loved each other.

Had always loved.

~And after fights and words of violence

We make up with each other

The way old friends do~

"I thought I lost you," Olivia started sobbing. "We thought you were dead, I…"

"I know," Elliot whispered, and his tears mixed with hers. "I know. And I'm so sorry."

"And… I know it now. I… I c-can't live without you, El. I love you too much."

"I know," Elliot stroked her cheek and kissed her gently. "Because I feel the same. I've known it since the day I met you."

~Times of joy and times of sorrow

We will always see it through~

"But you're here now," Olivia whispered and pressed her lips against his.

"I'm here now. And I'm with you."

The wind outside had become so fierce that they could no longer hear anything else. They knew the time had come. They entwined each other, let their feelings and their past guide their bodies, their lips, their kiss, they let the inevitable happen.

~Oh, I don't care what comes tomorrow

We can face it together

The way old friends do~

But they had each other, and nothing else mattered.

~We can face it together

The way old friends do~