When Don put the phone down after speaking to his girls he got up out of his seat and threw the door open to his office, gaining the attention of his detectives in the process. "Stabler! My office!" He called out to Elliot who looked at him inquisitively. He didn't remember beating up any perps that day, so why was he being summoned like he had?

"What is it, Captain?" He asked as he stood in front of Cragen's desk.

"I think Liv might need some help sorting out Maria's room. She asked me but I've got all this paperwork. Would you-"

"No, sorry, I'm busy after work." Elliot quickly interrupted him.

Don cut his eyes at Elliot suspiciously. Usually Elliot and Olivia were joined at the hip, where one was the other wasn't too far behind the. He even admitted to himself on a number of occasions that the dynamic duo had chemistry and would make a wonderful couple. So that's why both their responses the his suggestion that Elliot should lend her a hand confused him. "Elliot, have you and Olivia had an argument? Usually I can't get two minutes alone with either of you."

"We're fine Don, I just thought that I would give her and Maria some space." The younger of the two quickly jumped to his own defence, he knew how protective the older man was of the woman he saw as his daughter.

"Huh, space?" Don stated more than asked as he nodded his head. It was obvious he was being a little sarcastic and didn't believe Elliot.

"Yeah, you know? To bond?"

"Ok, well just so you know, if you have had an argument, I don't want it effecting your work. She's due back on Monday." Elliot's eyes widened at this new piece of information and shifted from foot to foot, this didn't go unnoticed by Don. "Is that going to a problem?" He quizzed with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Of course not." Elliot told him, trying to convince himself as well as his Captain but he failed miserably. "Was that all, Captain?"

"As your Captain, yes. As Livy's surrogate father? No, not by a long shot."

Elliot gulped and visibly stiffened. "I don't know what you mean, Don." He said.

"Don't think I haven't seen how you two are around each other. Ever since your divorce you've been sneaking glances, touching her when it's not necessary." Don't pointed out. At Elliot's confused 'innocent' expression he chuckled, a little too darkly for El's liking. "I'm not blind Elliot. Don't worry, I'm sure the feelings are reciprocated."

"Feelings, Sir?" Elliot asked, feeling like a teenage boy all over again.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go on 'overprotective dad' mode, not too much anyway. I just wanted you to know that I'm aware of the situation and if anyone, and I mean ANYONE, ever hurts MY daughter, they'll pay. No matter who they are. Understand?"

"Yes Sir, I'm not sure who would want to hurt Liv anyhow. I've got her back." Elliot tried to reassure him although he wasn't so sure if he fully succeeded.

"Now that we've reached an understanding, it's time you got back to work." Don finally dismissed his 'daughter's' partner.

Elliot let out a sigh of relief, glad that Don was done grilling him. He then turned on his heel and made a speedy exit. Don smirked as he watched him before chuckling to himself.

It was fun watching Elliot sweat.

XXX

For the rest of the day, Elliot couldn't concentrate. He thought about his and Cragen's conversation. If it was obvious to Cragen that he had feelings for Olivia then who else knew? Did fin know? No wonder why he was so abrupt with him on occasions, Elliot knew the cared for Liv like she was his little sister. And what about Munch? He was always searching for new conspiracy theory's. Did he know that Elliot was in love with Olivia?

'No Elliot! Don't be ridiculous, you're not IN LOVE with Liv. She's your BEST FRIEND.' Elliot laughed inwardly at himself. But then his smile began to fade as he started to piece the facts together. Loving Olivia WOULD explain the fact that he was always thinking about her. The way she smiled and the way her eyes lit up when she was able to achieve closure for the victims. He loved the fact that she was so compassionate and he loved it when she was aggressive with sleazy perps. He thought it was...god he though it was downright sexy!

'Oh my god! It's true! I'm in love with Liv! I'm in love with my partner!' The detective finally admitted to himself. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had risen from his chair abruptly, ignoring the looks he received from his fellow detectives, and collected his I'm belongings so he could make a swift exit.

He was going to go to Olivia's apartment to make amends. What better way was there to do that than by helping her set up her foster daughter's room?

Who knows, he might even end up telling her how he truly felt...

XXX

Olivia and Maria were sat watching a movie on the couch. About half an hour ago, Maria's bed had arrived but there was nothing Olivia could do about it so she just left the boxes in a corner of her room. If she left it in Maria's slightly smaller one there would have been no space to move in there.

The serenity of the apartment was interrupted when there was a knock at the door followed by a voice that Liv wasn't planning to hear anytime soon. "Liv?!" It was Elliot. Olivia panicked discretely to herself as she figured out what to do.

"Livy! It's Elliot! Let him in!" Olivia heard Maria exclaim excitedly and before she could stop her, the little girl had jumped up from the sofa and had flung open the door. "Hi Elliot!" She beamed up at him.

Elliot looked down at the seemingly care free child in front of him. He was about to respond when he heard a sharp "Maria!" come from a few feet away behind the child.

"You don't answer the door unless I say. Understand?" Olivia reprimanded as she pulled the girl towards her and crouched down to her level.

Maria looked down sadly as he lip began to tremble. Since the little incident in the hospital, she hadn't been in trouble with Olivia and now here she was a few days later getting reprimanded again. "But I knew who it was." She muttered.

"I don't care, you should have waited. I want you to wait in my room while I talk to El, ok?" Olivia's voice softened towards the end as she realised her annoyance at Elliot was making her be too hard on her little girl.

"Ok." Maria whispered sadly in her ear as she pulled her into an apologetic embrace.

"Good girl." Olivia praised and with a light tap to her bottom, Maria went down the hall towards her room. The female detective stood up and crossed her arms in front of herself as she stared her partner down, waiting for an explanation as to why he was there at her apartment.

"Hi." Elliot said awkwardly with a small smile before quietly closing the door that was still open.

Olivia raised her eyebrow before responding verbally. "Hi? Elliot, why are you here?" She asked, not meaning sound as rude as she did.

"Cragen said you needed a hand setting up Maria's room. I thought maybe I could help out." He told her as he followed her over to the kitchen area and stopped opposite her, the breakfast bar acting as a physical barrier between them.

'Urgh, Dad...' Olivia groaned in her mind as she filled the kettle and rolled her eyes. Only Elliot didn't see this as her back was to him

"Liv?" Elliot called her name when she didn't respond.

His best friend sighed as she placed the kettle in its holder and set it to boil before she finally turned to face him, leaning against the kitchen counter and folding her arms again. "You didn't have to come. I was going to to handle it tomorrow." She excused him of his 'duties'.

"Liv, she's waited long enough for a home. The sooner you set that room up, the sooner she'll feel like she has one." He pointed out.

Olivia chewed the inside of her cheek for a few moments, thinking through what he had just said. Realising he was right, she finally relented. "The boxes are in my room. First door on the-"

"On the right." Elliot said with a smirk. "I know Liv." He added before departing from the kitchen. He entered her room to see Maria sitting patiently at the end of Olivia's bed. "Hi Princess, Livy says you can go back out into the living room now. I'm going to set up your room and you're going to love it. Does that sound cool to you?" He asked with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Maria nodded excitedly and hopped off the bed. "Thanks, Elliot!" She exclaimed excited before skipping out of the room she seemed so different compare to little girl he had met just a few days prior. He wondered, if Olivia could have that much of an effect over her in a few DAYS, what would she be like in a few YEARS from now? At this moment in time, he couldn't imagine.

With a wide grin on his face, Elliot began to move the furniture boxes across the hall to Maria's room. He'd always wanted to transform a room into one for his own child and he was content to do the same for Liv's kid. After all, he was starting to feel for the girl in the same way his partner did even if she wasn't his little girl, that wasn't going to stop him from being a father figure in her life.

XXX

A couple of hours later, Elliot emerged from Maria's room and returned to the kitchen where Olivia was preparing dinner. "It's all done Liv. The paint might need to dry but it looks good to me. I hope she likes it."

Olivia went over to the sink and rinsed her hands to get rid of the excess ingredients before she made her way over to Elliot. She surprised him by wrapping his arms around his neck. "Thanks, El." She whispered into his neck. Elliot froze for a few seconds but slowly wound his arms around her waist. He was shocked to say the lease as, even though they were best friends, affection was rarely shown towards one another. They didn't need constant hugs and words for them to know that they love each other, as friends, of course. After all, they just...knew...

'If only she knew I loved her more than just a best friend.' Elliot thought to himself before he replied to her out loud. "It's fine Liv. What are best friends for?" They pulled apart just as Maria came into the kitchen.

"Is my room ready now, Livy?!" She asked, full of excitement.

Olivia turned to face her child and smiled. "It sure is, Baby. Why don't you go take a look then come back and say thanks to Elliot?" She suggested and the little girl nodded before hurrying off down the hall. "Just don't touch the walls!" Liv added remembering Elliot's words from before.

Elliot chuckled at Maria's enthusiasm as he watched her skip away before he turned to face her 'mother'. "She's like a completely different girl to the one I saw at the hospital. That's all down to you, you know?" He pointed out and Olivia blushed a little at the complement and smiled.

"Thanks and...I'm sorry for the way I reacted to your little joke the other day. I think it was just all the stress with Maria and-" Her rambling was cut off by Elliot who decided it would be a good idea to silence her with a hard kiss to her lips. It only lasted for about three seconds but it was enough to shock her into silence.

"You don't have to explain. I understand, I was stupid for joking at a time like that." He replied before going in to kiss her again. This time, much to Elliot's surprise, Liv returned the kiss with just as much as he was using. Her hands traveled to the back of his neck as she pulled more towards and he returned the gesture by pulling her into his chest by wrapping his arms back around her waist.

The two quickly jumped apart when they heard a tiny gasp from the archway that lead to the hallway. Olivia wiped at her mouth and Elliot cleared his throat as he flushed red with embarrassment at being caught making out with his partner by said partners child. "Let's go wash up for dinner, Sweetheart. El, could you, um...could you serve up three plates?" Olivia said turning to Maria and ushering her out of the living room and into the bathroom without even looking up at El.

AN Sorry I was so late with updating...and even more sorry for not even having a good excuse. I'm going to try and get to more important events in a quicker than I was originally going to at first so hopefully this fic will get more exciting soon. Also, I have plenty of ideas for this fic it's just I'm having trouble planning how to get to those points in this story's timeline. Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently for an update and I apologise for the rushed ending of this chapter, I just wanted to get it uploaded ASAP...x