Thank you so much to everyone for the reviews on Chapter 1! They all made me smile. I took them on board and made a few little changes to this chapter with them in mind.

There will be a little bit of a time jump between each chapter unless I say otherwise, just to keep it moving a bit more. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

As always I own nothing you recognise!

~X~

He was beyond nervous. There was no point in denying it. It had been almost a week since he'd first met Grace and now he was waiting outside Olivia's door once more. Only tonight wasn't about the baby, he was here to explain himself. He wasn't sure how Olivia would take what he had to say but she deserved so much more than an apology. Both she and Grace did.

The door swung open and the first thing he noticed was the stress written all over Olivia's face. She was obviously only just home from work, still wearing her jacket and scarf on top of her blazer and her heeled boots clicked on the hardwood floor as she moved aside to let him in. At the same time as she closed the door, the noise of Grace's crying filled the apartment and he could almost feel the tension rolling off of Olivia in waves.

She gestured in the vague direction of the couch and told him to make himself comfortable and then disappeared toward her bedroom to attend to Grace. When she returned, she seemed less flustered but he could tell she still needed to relax. She'd stripped down to just her slacks and blouse and she padded over to the couch in just her socks. She dropped down beside him and let out a sigh when she leaned back against the welcoming cushions. He watched in silence as she settled Grace to nurse. When the baby was sorted, she let her head fall back against the cushions and closed her eyes with a sigh. She ran a hand through her long hair before she finally looked over at him.

"You okay?"

His question wasn't unexpected, but the well of emotions it stirred in her was, and she bit back the burn of tears as she looked up at him and nodded. He raised an eyebrow at her, challenging her to rethink her answer and be honest with him. It was rich coming from him he knew, but if they were going to move forward in any way they would have to open up to each other more.

She moved to rest her head on her hand, propped up by her elbow on the back of the couch as she shifted to angle her body towards him more and looked down at their daughter before she answered. "I'm fine, El. It's just been a really, really long day. I didn't get much sleep last night, work was a bitch, I just got home and every time I put her down she cries. I love her so much..."

"But you just need a minute?" He finished for her. She nodded again and the guilt she felt was visible in her face. "That doesn't make you a bad mom, Liv. Makes you a pretty damn normal one. Babies are hard work, especially when you're doing it on your own. Most places offer more than six weeks of maternity leave for a reason. You think that six weeks after giving birth you're in prime emotional and physical shape to be leaving your new baby with someone you never knew before to go running around after bad guys all the time? I don't. You're allowed to be tired, Olivia. It's a lot to carry on your own."

Olivia replayed his words in her head and swallowed another surge of emotion at his understanding. The last time he'd been here she told him that an apology on it's own wasn't gonna cut it. After the way things had ended in the squadroom, it was understandable that he'd need time. But the way he'd used her and then disappeared again was like a punch to the gut. The only way she could even think about moving forward with him was if he was prepared to prove to her that he was willing to stick around, get to know his daughter, and showed her with his actions that he wasn't going to up and vanish again.

Elliot looked over at her as she burped Grace. She looked exhausted and he knew she'd probably kill for just a few minutes alone. He wasn't sure how she'd take the suggestion that he watched Grace while she went for a hot shower and got changed but he figured it was worth a shot. The baby usually fell asleep after a feed anyone and it wasn't like he was clueless when it came to looking after babies.

He could see her mulling over the suggestion, weighing up the pros and cons of leaving him unattended while she showered. In the end, her need for a little relaxation and even a sliver of time to herself won out over any minuscule concerns she had. Elliot and Grace would be fine. He knew what he was doing and she was quickly falling asleep now anyway.

He smiled when she nodded, brushed her off and told her to take her time when she promised to be quick. She placed Grace in the swing by the couch and thanked him before she disappeared toward the back of the apartment. Alone with the baby, he stared down at her again. She really was perfect. When he heard the shower start he stood and got to work. He moved the baby swing into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets and fridge in search of something to cook for Olivia.

Olivia looked better, lighter and more refreshed when she reappeared twenty minutes later. Her hair was damp but towel dried and she had changed into a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of gray sweats, sporting pink fluffy socks on her feet.

He teased her about the socks as she approached him, only now realizing what he was doing. She checked on Grace before she joined him and was happy to see that the baby for seemingly the first time today was having a proper sleep.

"Perfect timing." Elliot grinned and turned to present her with a plate loaded with seasoned fried chicken, rice and some veg. As always, it was nothing special, but he suspected if left to her own devices, Olivia would likely spend all night running running around after the baby and collapse into bed without dinner, so a simple meal was better than nothing at all.

Olivia smiled and thanked him. The food smelled good and she felt much better after she'd been able to shower without keeping one eye on Grace and worrying about the baby needing her. They moved back to the couch, she carried the plates while he placed the swing in between them in front of the couch. He told her about his job at a high end gym not far from the precinct as they ate. When they were done, she swallowed a know of apprehension. There was no more reason to stall the tougher conversation he'd come here tonight to have.

Elliot sighed, he had no idea where to start but he knew she deserved the truth. She wouldn't like some of it. Really wouldn't like other parts. But she needed to hear it. He knew he deserved whatever reaction she threw at him for it. He wasn't sure he was ready to dive back into the past but he knew the likelihood of Olivia being the one to kickstart the conversation was slim, so he took a deep breath and started talking.

"After the shooting I needed time. I knew it was justified, she could've killed any one of us next. But she was just a kid, I never meant to kill her. I was just trying to get her to stop shooting. I thought if she realised that we weren't afraid to fire, she'd be shocked into dropping the gun. Every time I closed my eyes after that, it was one of my girls bleeding out in my arms. The nightmares were bad. When I found out IAB were opening an investigation into my entire career almost, I knew there was no chance they'd ever let me work SVU again. And if I couldn't do my job with you then I didn't want to do it at all.

"I needed time to process it and all I wanted to do was talk to you, but I knew that if I did you'd talk me out of leaving. In the end you'd be dragged down with me and I couldn't have that. You have a bright future and your whole career in front of you at SVU, Liv. Now you can go for it." He let out a long breath, unable to meet her eyes. He wasn't sure if her silence was a good or a bad thing, but putting the conversation off wasn't going to make it any easier, so he continued. "The night I came here, all I planned to do was talk to you, make you understand why I left. But when I saw you it was like nearly thirteen years of tension hit me all at once. When I woke up the next morning, I panicked. I didn't know how you were going to react and you looked so peaceful... I don't regret that night but I do regret how I left."

He looked up at her and saw the tears beginning to spill from her eyes, it made his heart ache that he was the one who cause and was still causing her pain.

"You hurt me so much when you left me that morning. It was like you were leaving the squad all over again only there was no job in the way this time, you were just abandoning me. Like all of those years, our history meant nothing. Like I meant nothing. I felt so used and then when it was radio silence from you after that? What else was I meant to take from it all?" She wasn't sure where the sudden honesty had come from. She'd planned to hear him out and go from there but she figured he should know exactly what being abandoned by him for a second time had done to her. Grace had started to fuss as she spoke, and busying herself with settling the baby on her chest was a good enough excuse to avoid his eyes.

"I know, Liv, and I'm sorry. I truly am. I know it's not enough, but it's the truth... It was that night that gave me a kick up the ass and made me realise that I needed proper help. I went to an anger management clinic upstate, I was there for a while. Even found another therapist back here when I came home. It's helped a lot. More than I expected. I've been told I need to use my words to communicate more, and show how I'm feeling instead of trying to handle things on my own.

"When I completed the course and got my shit together enough to finally face you and apologize for everything, I saw you. You were out for lunch with your boyfriend. You looked so happy and content with him and I didn't wanna fuck all that up for you. After everything, I figured you deserved a shot at being happy. It was obvious that he treated you way better than I would have at that point and I didn't want to get in the way. So I decided to focus on myself. I changed my number, only gave it out to close family and friends, got myself a job, tried to spend more time doing things that made me happy and helped me to improve as a person. I missed you. It hurt like hell not seeing you every day and I wanted so badly to call you, but every time I picked up the phone I remembered how bright your smile was when I saw you with Haden. You had enough darkness in your life at work, I didn't want to drag that into your personal life, too. I didn't know until way after the fact when you broke up."

He knew he sounded selfish. None of the reasons he'd given were really enough to excuse hurting her the way he had. But he truly had been trying to allow her a shot at happiness by staying away. He knew that if he resurfaced that it would only bring back the memories of their partnership, the night at her place and everything in between.

"I found out she was a girl that day." Olivia recalled, stroking Grace's dark hair with a smile. "And I finally told him that you were her father. When I found out I was pregnant we both knew she wasn't his. I was worried when I told him the truth that he'd run for the hills but he didn't. Instead he told me to get ready, we were gonna go celebrate my baby girl." She paused and looked at him sadly. "I was happy with him. Really happy. He treated me like a queen. But it should have been you. It should've been you at my appointments, you holding my hand when I found out she was a girl, you who helped me make sense of the mind boggling number of things I had to buy. He was so good to me. We still keep in touch a bit. I loved him, but like I said. He wasn't you."

Elliot nodded. There was nothing he could say that would change the past but he was glad she hadn't had to go through the experience on her own.

"He'd have been a good father to her. You'll be a good father to her. I know what it's like to grow up without a dad and I always wanted more than that for my kids when I had them. You're a good dad, so I'm not gonna stop you from seeing her or getting to know her. But it's gonna take time and effort - from both of us - to figure out how to put this behind us and move on for her sake."

When she finished speaking, he moved forward and carefully took Grace into his arms before he pulled Olivia into a tight hug. All he wanted was another chance and she was granting him one. He couldn't explain how much it meant to him that she wasn't keeping their daughter from him, so he just savored the feeling of holding them both. He gave her a small peck on the cheek as they parted, surprised to find that his own tears were trailing down his cheeks. They were silent for a moment, both looking down at their daughter who lay awake but content in his arms. It was Olivia who spoke again first.

"So therapy... How's that going? Never thought I'd see the day you willingly got your head shrunk."

He chuckled, thankful for her attempt to lighten the atmosphere. He'd floored Kathy and the kids when he'd not only made the appointment but attended the session, and even went on to schedule weekly sessions for the the next two months. It was going well, very well. He was still seeing the same therapist now, just not as frequently. She'd been gently suggesting for a while now that he reach out to Olivia again, so he hoped she was ready for the barrage of thoughts he was going to dump on her during their next session. He didn't want to focus too much on that for now though, so he flipped the conversation back to Olivia and asked about David Haden.

Olivia let a small smile grace her lips as she explained that she and David had met at work. It had started out being just a couple of drinks here and there, watching each other speak at a conference before they graduated to dinner than then real dates. It was a relaxed relationship, they were both busy people and their paths crossed a lot at work. She'd been worried when she found out she was pregnant that he'd leave her but he hadn't. He'd stood by her and committed to doing the best he could to support her. Between his help and Nick's she'd had plenty of advice throughout her pregnancy when it came to preparing for her baby girl. They'd ended when she was around six months pregnant. In the end they'd both realised that while they loved each other, that alone wasn't enough to build their relationship on. When she thought about it she realised that it had probably gone way further than either of them had anticipated. Probably because of her pregnancy. They'd been looking for company more than anything else when they met. She was still reeling from Elliot's departure and David was just starting to move on after his divorce.

"When you said you guys still keep in touch..." He trailed off but she heard his unspoken question and smiled. She assured him that they just checked in with each other every so often. He'd been to visit Grace the day after she was born and that was the last time they'd seen each other. He kept tabs to make sure that they were both okay, just like she'd drop him a message every so often to see how he was doing in his new job. They were just good friends now, nothing more. He had a serious girlfriend now, one who wasn't pregnant with another man's child and she had Grace to think of. The last thing Elliot had to worry about was her getting back together with David Haden.

Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review and let me know what you think of this so far.

My twitter is at Mhargibenson :)