"Persephone ! Run!"

"Hope watch out! Nooo! Come on Hope, open your eyes! Hold on, you can do it, come on!"

"This is all your fault! You killed her!"

"HOPE!" Olivia cried as she woke up with a start. For a few seconds, she had no idea where she was. She freaked out as she felt strong hands on her shoulders, fearing T-Bone would start beating her again for Hope's death.

"Shhh, Liv it's ok" Elliot tried to soothe her. "You had a bad a dream". When Olivia met his eyes, she was still agitated, like she didn't recognize him. "It's me. Elliot. Calm down".

Olivia slowly went back to reality and her breathing slowed down. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep and had a bad dream".

"More like a bad memory actually" Olivia smiled weakly.

Elliot took her hand and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Liv listen to me. I know you don't feel like it, but what happened to her was not your fault. You didn't pull the trigger."

"If I took a bullet that was meant to kill you, you wouldn't feel this way. You would blame yourself. You know I'm right."

Elliot remained silent. Indeed, she was right. He leaned back on the couch and Olivia did the same. A silence fell and Elliot started to feel powerless. His best friend was in pain, both physically and emotionally and he had no idea what to do about it. None of them said anything for quite a while until Elliot spoke.

"Can I draw on your cast?" he asked to lighten the mood.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and smiled at Elliot's playful smile. She chuckled and handed him a pen. "Have fun".

Elliot sat closer to her and held the cast in place on his lap. "Close your eyes" he ordered, a grin plastered on his face.

Olivia wondered what was on his mind but did as she was told. She closed her eyes and waited for Elliot to achieve his masterpiece. As the minutes passed Olivia sunk more and more on her couch. For the first time since she was back in New York, she felt good in Elliot's presence. No discomfort, no hate, no resentment. She just enjoyed the peace and Elliot's proximity. She noted that Elliot still wore the same after shave and smiled. Some things never change.

"All done" Elliot said after a few more minutes. He released her arm and Olivia opened her eyes. She laughed at Elliot's drawing that was basically a stick woman holding a gun and shouting "NYPD !"

"That's the best you can do? A four-year-old could do better" she laughed.

"Hey don't make fun of me! It took me ten minutes, I applied myself."

"You're right…. After all, Picasso is famous for painting a distorted face. You should sign it". She extended her arm and Elliot wrote something that she couldn't see but didn't look like his signature. When she got her arm back, she read "From your caring partner" and she tensed. Her smile faded and her face darkened. Elliot immediately saw it and gave her an inquisitive look. She looked away and asked "When was this… when was she partnered with you"?

Elliot sighed. "Mid October"

Olivia shook her head, still not looking at him. "What's her name?"

"Dani. Dani Beck". Olivia shook her head again. She had many questions on her mind but wasn't sure how much she wanted to know so she just said nothing.

"She's just a temp Liv" Elliot tried to reassure her.

"She looked quite cozy at my desk." Olivia pointed out. "And… with you" she added faintly as she remembered Dani's hands on his chest. Elliot said nothing, not knowing where she was going with this. "You get along well" Olivia finally let out.

"She's my partner" he answered. When Olivia frowned, he added "I mean-"

"I know what you mean" she cut him curtly.

"She's supposed to have my back so… yeah". Elliot cleared his throat and Olivia was still looking away. "We kissed" Elliot finally admitted. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had betrayed her and owed her the truth.

Olivia blinked as her eyes started to sting. "That's not my business" she said, trying to sound indifferent.

"She helped me" Elliot tried to explain.

Olivia snorted. "Sure". She tried to get up but Elliot grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Look… I was in a bad place ok?" Olivia looked at him straight in the eyes and he knew he had her full attention. He sighed heavily. "When I heard the news... I couldn't do my job correctly. Cragen tried to send me home more than once but I wouldn't listen. I tried to contact the FBI but they never wanted to confirm or disprove your death. I hit the bottom… I did shit all week and Dani covered my ass. She tried to help me, to support me. She even picked me up at Maloney's when I was passed out and drove my drunk ass home. She had an eye on me all week. You saw her today, she was trying to help me."

"She thought I was a victim" Olivia scoffed.

"Is that why you left?" Elliot inquired.

Olivia didn't answer right away. Was that why she left? "I'm not a victim" she said firmly.

"But you can easily understand why she thought so" Elliot gestured at her injuries.

Olivia shrugged. "I'm glad we talked but I'm really tired. It's been a long day… Actually, it's been a long month". She got up and this time Elliot didn't hold her back. She walked to her abandoned suitcase but before she could reach the handle, Elliot grabbed it and wheeled it to her bedroom. Olivia grinned and rolled her eyes at his gallantry but said nothing.

When Elliot reappeared in her living room, Olivia was opening the door. Elliot walked past her as she kept the door open for him, but before crossing the threshold, he abruptly turned around and pulled her onto a tight hug. Olivia froze at first and finally sunk onto his strong arms. "I'm really glad you're back" he said.

"Me too".

Elliot reluctantly let her go, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving her apartment.

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That's it for this story :) I might update later, or not, I don't know yet… I have some ideas for future chapters but I don't know how to go there, so I'll think about it and decide if it's worth writing (and reading) it or not.

Thank you very much for reading and for your nice reviews, you're adorable ^^