A/N: Hey, this chapter is based on Season 7 Episode 19 'Fault'. It's one of my favourite episodes that are EO centric so I thought it would be a good fit for this fanfic. Don't worry, the chapter is more focused on their dynamic as an actual couple rather than the episode itself and some bits I've changed to fit the story. I hope anyone doesn't mind. I have a couple more scenarios planned around certain episodes but the chapters will mainly focus on the personal effects on the characters rather than their professional lives. xxx

Two Months Later.

Elliot looked between his girlfriend and her daughter as they animatedly conversed in Spanish, a befuddled look on his face. To say he felt uncomfortable wouldn't be exaggerating. His discomfort wasn't due to any prejudiced against the foreign language, not by a long shot. The blue eyed detective was aware that Olivia wanted Maria to have some sort of connection to her Honduran roots and conversing with her in her native tongue was Liv's way of ensuring that the girl didn't forget where she had come from. Elliot wasn't one to complain either, he found it sexy when Olivia spoke in any one of the many languages she was fluent in. Spanish being his favourite.

No, he didn't care about the fact that they were speaking in a language he knew very little of. What bothered him was the looks he was receiving from the mother-daughter duo. Every now and then one of them would giggle and look over at him with a mischievous smile on their face. A couple of times Olivia had also gone as far as winking at him teasingly.

Elliot finally had enough when they both burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. "Ok, can we please speak English at the breakfast table? It's too early to be trying to understand what either of you are saying." He announced suddenly in exasperation, although his tone was light so that they knew he was only somewhat joking. El had only just started to make a conscious effort to learn Spanish. It became obvious to him since he had moved in that Maria often came out with phrases in the language when she was frustrated about something or was overly tired. He would like to actually know what she was saying without Liv having to translate.

"Awwww. Is Elliot feeling a little left out?" Olivia cooed as if she were talking to a very small child. She squeezed his cheeks together which forced his lips to pucker and landed a sloppy kiss to his mouth.

"No. It would just be nice to actually be able to converse with you guys over breakfast instead of having to listen to you two having a A and B conversation." Elliot stated as he wiped at his mouth, slightly disgruntled. He saw a look pass between Olivia and Maria but neither of them offered up an explanation as to what they were discussing. "So neither of you are going to tell me what you were talking about?" He asked when they remained silent.

"Maria said you look like a monkey." Olivia dead panned. She held back a laugh at the look of mock hurt on Elliot's face. She wasn't being completely honest though. Her and her daughter had been discussing plans for Elliot's birthday the following week. Olivia suggested they go for a family meal whilst Maria insisted they go to for the more childish option the zoo. The girl then said that she thought that Elliot would love the monkeys.

Maria gasped, her eyes wide. "I did not!" She exclaimed. She looked at Olivia as if she had betrayed her.

"A monkey, huh?!" Elliot ground out in jest before grabbing the girl and pulling her onto his lap. He began tickling her mercilessly until tears of laughter streamed down her face.

"Mommy...help me...make him...stop!" Maria managed to sputter out between giggles.

Elliot finally decided that she had been suitably 'punished' and released her from his hold. Maria sighed in relief and went over to Liv who beckoned her over to herself so she could fix her hair. She shot El a look admonishment. He knew how long it had taken for Olivia to do the child's hair for school. Maria often fidgeted when her mother made intricate braids in her hair. Once the brown locks were straightened, Olivia told Maria to take back her spot at the table and finish her breakfast. They only had about ten minutes before they had to leave for school.

The room was silent for a couple more minutes until Elliot broke it. "So you really aren't going to tell me anything?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Liv and Maria once again shared a suspicious look before turning to Elliot and exclaiming simultaneously, "Nope!"

Elliot sighed as he took a bite out of his eggs. He guessed he would just have to become fluent in a language he hadn't learnt in school.

Later that day, the SVU team were on the hunt for a man who had kidnapped two young children. Their names were Ryan and Rebecca Clifford. An intruder had broken into their home that morning and killed their parents and older sister. When they discovered that the dead man in the home was in fact the children's stepfather, the detectives first suspect became Ryan and Rebecca's biological father. That ended up being a dead end as they later found out a stranger had been spotted speaking to Rebecca on the other side of the fence of her school playground.

They had a break in the case when schools art teacher showed them a sketch of their new suspect. The results they got from the facial recognition software led the to an ex con Victor Paul Gitano who had just been released from prison. As soon as they found out that Gitano was convicted for child molestation, they were able to get a search warrant for his apartment.

The detectives and S.W.A.T. team didn't bother knocking when they got to the apartment but instead broke the door down. However, they didn't have any luck there as neither their latest perp nor the two kids were anywhere to be seen.

They began their search of the place in the hopes that they would find a clue as to where Victor would have taken the children. Elliot froze when a flash of colour caught his eye. "I've got something here!" He called out and every one went silent. Olivia went over to him to see what he had found. He showed her a pink hair clip that had been on the floor in front of the couch. "They were definitely here." He pointed out.

Olivia couldn't help but continue to stare at the hair accessory. She swallowed the lump in her throat and caught Elliot looking at her worriedly. "I'm sorry. It's just...Maria has a hair clip just like that one." Not only that but Rebecca was only a year or two older than her own little girl. After seeing that hair clip, Liv couldn't help but overthink and be distracted.

Elliot looked between his partner and the clip before handing the piece of evidence over to one of the CSU guys who was holding out an evidence bag. "Olivia, you need to stay calm. Rebecca isn't Maria. Maria is at school - safe and sound. You know if there was a problem, they would have phoned." He tried to assure his girlfriend.

Before Olivia could respond, Elliot's phone started ringing so he promptly answered the call. "Stabler." His widened as the other person spoke and he beckoned for Olivia to follow him out of the apartment. "Ok. We'll be right there." He returned the cell phone to his jacket pocket and looked at an expectant Liv. "That was Fin. A ticket salesman at the bus station not far from here thinks he's spotted Gitano and the two kids. I said we would meet them there." All Olivia did was nod and climb into the passenger seat of their squad car.

They arrived at the bus station and quickly made up a plan with Fin. Elliot spoke with the man who had phoned in the sighting through the ticket booth's glass. "You need to stay calm ok? He cannot make us. Two kids lives are at stake." He reminded the man who was sweating and visibly nervous. El hoped to God that this man didn't screw this up for them. "Has anyone seen anything yet?" He spoke into his communication device.

"Nothing yet." Came Olivia's response. She was stood at a payphone pretending to be on a call. "Fin?" She asked as she shot a subtle glance over at their colleague who was stood by the magazine stand scanning the area.

"Not a damn thing." Was Fin's response.

The three detectives were about to give up when the ticket sales guy's eyes widened. "He's there. He's walking right towards us." His tone was panicked and his eyes began to dart all over the place in a nervous manner.

Elliot subtly shook his head at him. "Don't look at him, just keep your eyes on me." He tried to calm the clerk down but to no avail.

"He knows something's up. He's looking right at me."

Without turning around to face Gitano's direction, Elliot walked away from the ticket booth. "I've been made." He notified his partner and Fin.

Olivia had now also spotted Gitano but he wasn't looking in her direction or at the sales desk, instead he was watching Elliot who was making it seem like he was looking at the bus departure times. Liv felt fear build up inside her when it looked as if Victor was about to go for Elliot but then her eyes widened when the perp turned and looked straight at her. He turned again and saw Fin who was looking at him now as well. Before either of the detectives made even one move, Victor bolted for the bus terminals. "He's on the move'!" Olivia yelled into her mouth piece as she took off after Gitano.

A series of onlookers gasped in horror and watched as three detectives chased after their suspect only to lose him in the crowd of people. Elliot and Olivia bumped into each other in the commotion and looked at each other.

"I've lost him." Elliot said.

"Me too. Let's split up." Olivia replied. They both nodded their agreement before heading off in different directions.

Elliot was looking around for any sign of Gitano or the children when he heard loud gasps coming from the direction of the escalators which lead up to the overground bus terminals. He looked over that area and saw Olivia in the door way, frowning when he saw her take at her gun and go after something that he couldn't see. El ran in the same direction however he couldn't see his partner anywhere. Instead he spotted the Clifford boy stood in a state of shock at the bottom of the escalators. "Hey, Ryan. Come her, Buddy. It's ok I'm a police officer." He tried to get the boy to come to him but the kid just remained where he was and stood in the same spot. Elliot went to coax him again but looked round sharply when he heard a scream which sounded like it came from a little girl.

What Elliot saw made him pause and his blood ran cold. There Gitano was with little Rebecca in his arms acting as a shield from Olivia who stood directly in front of him, her gun in her hand.

Olivia lifted the gun to try and get a shot. She was unsuccessful however as Victor had the girl pinned to his body. In a flash, Gitano whipped out a flip knife and the blade popped up but before Liv could move out of the way, he sliced at her neck. She struggled for breath as she held her hand to her neck and blood instantly poured out of the wound and through her fingers. Olivia fell to the floor, her back landing hard on the ground. This was the exact moment Victor took off once again, Rebecca still in his arms.

"Olivia! No! Olivia! Move!" Elliot pushed past a bunch of people to get to his lover and fell down to his knees beside her.

Olivia was still gasping for breath, her hand over the gash on her neck. "I'm ok. Go. I'm alright...go, Elliot!" She told him.

Elliot looked up to where he had last seen Ryan only to see that he was no longer there but instead was being dragged up the escalator by Gitano. The kid looked so scared and, realising that Olivia wasn't in too much of a bad condition, Elliot took off after the man and his victims.

Reaching the bus terminal, Elliot felt his heart sink in his chest when he saw Fin and about five other people crowded together. "Elliot, there was nothing we could have done. He sliced him as soon as they got up here." Fin tried to push El back but the detective still caught a glimpse of Ryan laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

"We were too late." A broken voice suddenly spoke from behind them. Elliot and Fin turned to see Olivia her eyes wide and skin pale as she still clutched at her neck. Fin, after seeing the blood, rushed towards her and began to dab gently at the wound with a handkerchief. However, she didn't pay him any attention and instead looked up at Elliot who was openly glaring at her.

It was later on in the day and they had finally tracked down Victor and Rebecca. They found them in an old abandoned warehouse. Olivia and Elliot had called in back up when they arrived, it was here during a stand off with Olivia that one of the snipers in the backup crew was able to get a clear shot of Gitano, leaving the two detectives to find Rebecca alive in a wooden crate.

Now the team were back at the precinct filling out paperwork for the stressful case. Liv breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her desk chair back before standing up. "Well, I'm done. I can't wait to get home to my little girl after today." She began to put on her jacket but frozen when Elliot spoke up, not even looking at her but instead focusing on his own paperwork.

"Yeah, and you almost didn't get to go home today." He muttered darkly and then glanced up at her, his focus on the stitches on her neck.

Olivia huffed and slammed her hand on her desk in frustration. Her partner had been off with her all day ever since the bus station incident. He even went as far as interrupting her constantly when they were interrogating a suspected co-conspirator of Gitano's. She had finally had enough. "What is your problem, Stabler?!" She exclaimed.

"You know what's up. You hesitated today!" Now Elliot was on his feet and was squaring up to her.

Realisation swept over Olivia's face. He blamed her for Ryan's death and there was no way he could deny it. "No one made you go to me." She said darkly shooting him a dangerous look.

Elliot laughed without humour and shook his head. He looked away from her briefly before once again directing his next words towards his partner. "Don't you get it?! I will always go to you and you want to know why? Because you're my girlfriend and I love you!" He roared. That's when the whole squad room went silent and all eyes turned on them at the shock revelation.

It was Cragen who finally broke the silence and the intense looks that his two best detectives were giving each other. "I would appreciate it if you two could take your argument elsewhere! Unless you want to both be suspended for misconduct in the work place?!" He yelled from his place at the front of his office.

Olivia and Elliot looked at their boss before Liv decided to take matters into her own hands. "The cribs. Now." She ground out through gritted teeth before stalking off in the direction of the cribs.

The rest of the unit watched them leave, their mouths agape in shock at what they had just learned about their colleagues. "Unless you all want to be written up, I suggest you get back to work!" The captain ordered when he realised his team were still looking in the direction of the path Liv and El had just taken.

Olivia slammed the door to the cribs once she and Elliot were both inside, not once had the glare left her face. Elliot remained silent as he watched her pace the length of the room. He didn't have to wait long until she turned on him. "If you've got something to say to me let's hear it!" She held her arms up as if to say 'come at me'.

Without hesitation, Elliot finally decided to get his issues off his chest. "Why did you get so close to Gitano? Why didn't you just shoot him while he was right in front of you? If you had, Ryan would still be alive-"

"Are you saying all of this," Olivia gestured to space around them, "is all my fault?"

"What I'm saying is I can't be looking over my shoulder all the time making sure you're ok!" He shot back.

Olivia gasped as she took a step back. "You son of a bitch!" She spat at him. Was he trying to say that she couldn't take care of herself? She had been doing exactly that her entire life and now this man thinks he can just swan in and act like he's her saviour?! "What's that supposed to mean?" Liv decided to ask for clarification in order to make sure her assumption was correct.

Elliot sighed tiredly and took a seat on one of the bunks. "I can't carry on like this, Liv. It's just too hard being your partner. I feel like I constantly have to choose between you and the job when we find ourselves in risky situations. You, Maria and my work – that's all I have left in this world...I can't risk losing any of that." His tone was defeated and by the end he ran his hand down his face out of stress.

Olivia was stunned as if she had just realised what he was trying to say. "Are you telling me you want to break up?" She asked and she felt her heart crack at the thought of them separating just as they were starting to enjoy their life together.

El looked up sharply and shook his head. "No! I'm not trying to end us. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think I can be professional partner's with you any more. My...our feelings for each other are just too intense and that causes us to be distracted. That's when mistakes get made and we can't afford to make mistakes with this job."

Liv finally found herself able to breath again and slowly sat down beside him. Her whole body was now shaking from the adrenaline caused by their argument. "I think you're right." She breathed out and closed her eyes only for them to snap open when a sudden thought came to mind. "Look, why don't you head home? Maria must be wondering where we are." She suggested.

"Aren't you coming?" Elliot asked as he stood up from the bed.

Olivia looked up at him and shook her head. "There's something I have to do. I'll be home in time for dinner." She told him. They held eye contact with each other for a moment before Elliot nodded his head and with a quick 'see you at home' he was gone.

Olivia returned to her apartment a couple of hours after Elliot to see her daughter and boyfriend sat on the couch watching TV. As soon as Maria saw her mother, she leapt off of Elliot's lap and ran to Olivia. "Mommy you're home!" She squealed. The girl came to a stop when she saw the stitches on Li'v neck. "You're hurt, Mama!"

Olivia went over to her daughter and picked her up. She had to hold back a wince when Maria went to brush over her latest war wound and took a hold of her child's hand. "I'm ok, Baby. It's just a little scratch." Liv assured her.

"Elliot said we had to wait for you to come home before we had dinner. I've been waiting forever!" Maria told her mom.

Liv sighed and placed Maria on the ground. "Maria, can you go play in your room for a little while? I need to have a grown up talk with Elliot."

Maria huffed but nodded and went off to do as she was told, leaving the two detectives alone for the first time since their talk in the cribs. "I spoke to Cragen after you left." Olivia told him as she sat on the couch beside Elliot. "You got your wish."

Elliot gave her a questioning look. "Wish? What wish?"

Olivia shrugged nonchalantly. "We're not partner's any more. You don't have to be constantly watching my back." Her words came out harsher than she had intended.

"What? I don't understand, Liv. What did you do?" Elliot enquired desperately as he began to think of the worst case scenario.

"I requested a transfer."

Elliot's eyes widened as he sat up straight. "What?!" He burst out loudly.

"You said you can't handle being partner's with me any more so I requested a transfer and Cragen agreed so...we aren't partners any more. Plus with this new position I won't be doing as many hours and I'm pretty sure I can figure out a way to work from home if Maria ever needs me here." Olivia said trying to convince herself as well as Elliot that this decision was the only decision.

"Olivia, where are you being transferred to?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked at him and smiled. "You're looking at the newest member of the Computer Crimes squad." She laughed at Elliot's crest fallen look.

"What's so funny? You love SVU...it's practically your second home and you're giving it up, just like that?" Elliot asked in disbelief.

Olivia moved closer towards him and turned his face so he was looking into her eyes. "Six months ago SVU was my home. My life, my...priorities are completely different now. I have a daughter, I have a wonderful boyfriend. You and Maria? You're my home now. I wouldn't risk losing that. Not after being alone for so many years. You'll see, this will be good for us." When she was done, she leant forward and kissed him softly, trying to convey to him how happy she was and that she forgave him for his actions earlier in the evening.

They parted and Elliot took a deep breath. "Liv, the moment we became partners, you were never alone. I will always have your back for better or worse. You're stuck with me for life. I love you so much."

Olivia beamed and nodded. "I love you too, El." She looked up at the clock and sighed. "Well, I guess I better start dinner. We can't have our little munchkin down the hall going hungry, can we now?"

She would miss working at SVU but what she had here was so much more than she had ever asked for.