Olivia had been in Boston with Amy for almost a week, and she couldn't believe how quickly the time had gone. Luckily, Amy had a two-bedroom apartment, and she and Chloe were able to stay with her. The first night, Amy had asked her to sleep with her in her king-sized bed, and it reminded Olivia of their college days. They lay awake talking for hours, neither of them able to sleep. It had been that way all week…talking until 2 or 3AM…sometimes all three of them piled in the bed…until they would finally succumb to the exhaustion they were feeling. They would sleep in, drink coffee and eat breakfast in their pajamas, and no one seemed to care if they ever got dressed those first few days. If it weren't for Olivia's bruises and Amy's nightmares, they could almost fool themselves into thinking it was a vacation…three college friends reuniting for a few days.
The second night spent lying awake was the night that Olivia confessed to kissing Elliot. She had wanted to try to distract Amy, and it had worked. Amy was giddy to see she knew it, and she wanted all the details. Olivia was happy to see Amy crack a smile, so she told her everything that had happened, including the make-out session on the couch.
"And you didn't have sex?" Amy said, practically sitting up in the bed.
Olivia couldn't see her face in the dark, but she knew she was probably in disbelief. Olivia never had been shy about sex and didn't have much experience with men turning her down. "I know."
"That doesn't sound like any men I know." Amy said.
Olivia waited for Amy to breakdown…thoughts of what happened to her always looming in the background. But Amy seemed thoroughly distracted by what Olivia had told her. "He said he wanted to wait…until the timing was better."
"I need to get to know that man better. A lot better." Amy said. "Sounds like one-of-a-kind."
"He is." Olivia agreed. "Elliot is very much about doing the right thing. He's a pretty devout Catholic. He has a strong sense of honor."
"A Catholic boy?" Amy snorted. "Does the man have any idea what he's getting himself into? I swear, if you ever went to confession, there wouldn't be enough penitence for you." Amy said.
"Those days are behind me." Olivia said quickly. "And yes, Elliot knows me better than anyone."
Those words echoed in Olivia's head when she realized six days had gone by and she hadn't sent a single text message to Elliot, or called him even once. Of course, she hadn't heard from him either. But she knew that he was respecting boundaries…that he wouldn't want to intrude on her time with Amy. It was all about her at this point, and he wouldn't want to bother her or steal her attention away.
She felt horrible. She glanced over at the closed bedroom door. She could hear the shower running, and she glanced over and saw Chloe's door was still closed too. They had finally decided to venture out and catch lunch somewhere, finally tiring of the stale air of Amy's apartment. Olivia had showered first, and was ready and waiting for the other two.
Olivia pulled her phone out of her pocket, and tried to decide if she should call or text him. It had been almost a week…and a text seemed like a slap on the face. She opened the phone app, and found Elliot's number at the top of her favorites. Two seconds later, she had pushed the connect button and put the phone to her ear, butterflies creating a fluttery feeling in her stomach.
EOEOEOEO
Elliot had been almost unbearable these past few days and he knew it. He just couldn't seem to work himself out of it. He had finally left the squad room the day before, sick of dealing with everyone, and tired of looking at Olivia's empty desk. But now it was Saturday, and even though there were still people in the precinct, the emptiness made him feel even worse.
He had picked up his phone dozens of times since Olivia had left. He wanted to know how she was doing…if her bruises were fading and her headaches were gone. He wanted to know how Amy was…if Olivia had gotten her into counselling…if she was having nightmares. He wanted to tell her that he missed her…that Fin was a regular son-of-a-bitch to work with and he couldn't stand the sight of her empty desk. And the feeling of her in his arms. Even though it had been such a short time since he'd been able to kiss her and hold her…the loss of it was heart-wrenching.
Elliot looked across at her empty desk once again. "Fuck it." He muttered before he slammed the file on his desk closed. He started to push himself out of his chair when he saw his phone vibrating on his desk. His breath quickened when he saw Olivia's name on the caller ID, and he snatched the phone off the desk and answered it.
"Liv." He said.
"Hey." She said softly.
"How are you?" Elliot asked. "I wanted to call but…"
"I know. I appreciate that. And I'm sorry I didn't call you." Olivia apologized. She could hear the relief in his voice when he answered, and she knew she should have called him sooner.
"You sound tired." Elliot said. He had spent enough long days and nights with her to know what fatigue sounded like. "Are you having more nightmares?"
"No. Just…Amy's not sleeping well. So we're up late talking…" Olivia's voice trailed off again. She knew Elliot would love to hear that he had often been the topic of conversation. Amy had loved to pepper her with questions…and Olivia had blushed when Amy suggested he was probably an animal in bed. Olivia honestly had no idea. The man had been married most of his adult life…and she thought that married sex was probably pretty vanilla. She had definitely been more of the aggressor so far…but when Elliot had let himself go…
"Liv?"
Olivia realized her mind had wandered. "Sorry. So how is everything there? You playing nicely with others?" She knew that Elliot hated it when she was gone…and didn't like to partner with Fin or Munch.
"I resent that." Elliot said, a smile on his face. She knew him so well. "The guys miss you."
"I miss you too." Olivia said with a smile, reading between the lines. "Now that I'm talking to you, it seems like I've been gone a long time."
"You have." Elliot could probably tell her how many hours and minutes it had been. "Wh…" He stopped himself before he could ask when she was coming home. "What are you doing today?"
Olivia knew that wasn't what he was going to ask her, but she didn't have an answer to the question she thought he was going to ask. "We're leaving the apartment for the first time all week. We're going to lunch." She said, glancing back towards the closed bedroom doors. "In fact, I probably should get going." She wasn't used to talking to Elliot on the phone except for updates on a case or to let her know he was on the way to pick her up for a ride to a crime scene. They didn't have normal conversations like others did and she found she didn't know what to say.
"Yeah. OK. Thanks for checking in." Elliot said, disappointed that she was going to hang up. "Call me again…I mean…if you have time."
"I will." Olivia said. There was an awkward pause then. "Say hi to the guys for me, OK?"
"OK." Said Elliot as he tried desperately to think of something to say…something to keep her on the phone. "Liv…" he said her name quickly before she could hang up.
"Yeah?"
"I love you." He said.
Olivia looked up as Amy came out of her bedroom, starting at Olivia on the phone. She felt a blush creep into her cheeks as Amy raised an eyebrow at her, and she covered her mouth as she spoke into the phone. "I love you too." She whispered, and then she disconnected the call.
EOEOEOEOEO
"When's Liv coming back?" Fin grumbled after getting into another argument with Elliot. "I'm sick of dealing with your shit." He shook his head.
"Shut up." Elliot said.
"You're an even bigger asshole than usual when she's not around."
Cragen was sick of the grumbling and arguing in the squad room, and he agreed. He wanted to get Olivia back too. Even though she and Elliot got into trouble themselves, everyone was much better balanced when she was here. Especially Elliot.
"Everyone calm down. Olivia will be back soon."
"Can't be soon enough." Fin grumbled.
Elliot stood up and pushed his chair back so hard it tipped over. Cragen took a few steps closer, effectively standing between Elliot and Fin. He put his arm out towards Elliot. "Go cool off."
"Cap'n. He…"
"Get out of here." Cragen said, shaking his head. Olivia had been gone for nine days, and Elliot was coming undone. Elliot said he had spoken to her once, but he assumed it hadn't been anything recent, and he knew that if she didn't get in touch, he was going to have to call her. He needed to anyway. She had a lot of vacation time coming and he hadn't given her any grief about getting back anytime soon. But it couldn't be forever.
EOEOEOEOEO
"Hey."
Elliot turned when he heard Olivia's voice. There she was…standing just outside the door to the roof…and he scrubbed his hand over his face to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. When he opened his eyes, she was still there, and his eyes roamed over her face. Her bruises were almost gone…just a little yellowing around her eye. The cut looked almost healed. She looked tired, but absolutely fucking amazing.
Olivia watched the expression on Elliot's face. Disbelief followed by pure relief. He smiled then…a huge grin lighting up his face…and he was moving towards her. His movement spurred her from the spot she'd been rooted in, and she felt her feet moving towards him too. It was seconds before she fell into his embrace, and she buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh my God. You're here." Elliot mumbled into her hair as he took in the feeling of her in his arms. "You're here." He repeated.
"I was going to call you. I should have called you." Olivia started. "But I just decided to leave this morning and I thought it would be good to surprise you." In all honestly, she'd felt like a shit for not having been in touch again, and she wasn't sure how he would react if she called him now. She decided that maybe seeing her would ease his anger. Maybe it worked, because he didn't seem angry now.
"It's OK." He said. "Amy was your focus." He kissed the top of her head. "But I'm so glad you're here now."
Olivia flattened her palms against his chest and pushed slightly, wanting Elliot to loosen his grip on her so she could look up at him. Elliot let his arms fall to her waist, keeping her close but giving her some room. She smiled up at him, but before she could say anything, his lips were pressed against hers. She felt a tingle all the way down to her toes as he showed her just how much he had missed her.
Olivia tilted her head, opening her mouth to his, and she snaked her arms around his neck. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth and he let out a small sound as his tongue met hers. She felt his hand slide up her back until his fingers tangled in her hair. Then he was devouring her mouth, holding her head in place with the hand in her hair.
Olivia found herself wishing she had surprised him at home…it wasn't lost on her that they were on the roof at the precinct. Anyone could interrupt them at any moment. But she hadn't wanted to wait. Once she had hit the city limits, she had driven right here.
Elliot moaned into her mouth and the fingers of his left hand dug into the skin at her waist. The surprise of her showing up here…his immense relief at seeing her…was dwarfed now by the want coursing through him right now. He wanted…
Olivia broke the kiss, breathing heavily as she slid her hands down his chest. "We're…we have to…" She couldn't put together a coherent thought…her bruised lips and the feel of Elliot's body pressed against hers was too distracting.
Elliot loosened his hold on her, dropping his hand from her hair and letting his hand fall to her shoulder as his left hand dropped to her hip. "I know." He said quietly. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "You look good."
Olivia put a hand to her face. "Yeah, the bruises are pretty much gone."
Elliot wiped his thumb beneath her left eye. "I'm glad. I hated to see you hurt."
Olivia covered his hand with hers. "I know."
They spent the next few minutes catching up. Olivia talked about getting Amy into counseling, and how she was doing about as well as could be expected. Amy was anxious to get back to work suddenly, needing to get her life back to normal, and so Olivia had decided it was time to get back.
"I'm really sorry I didn't call." She said, taking a few steps away from Elliot and turning slightly. "It was just…"
"Hey." Elliot said, catching her hand as she started to move away from him. "This is all new to me too." He wrapped his arm around her waist as they both started walking slowly towards the door. "And it's OK. You're here now."
"Fin said you were a pain in the ass." Olivia teased. "I think he was almost happier to see me than you."
"Not a chance." Elliot said, tugging her into his side. "It's not the same when you're not here."
"I've had days off before…"
"Things are different now." Elliot said.
"Yeah." Olivia said quietly.
They had reached the door and they both stopped. There was so much left to say, but they knew they didn't have time.
"I'm not officially back to work for a few days still." She had asked Cragen if she could take a few more days and get settled. She wanted to start fresh on Monday. "Are you on a case? Are you going to be late tonight?"
Elliot raised his brows. "Are you saying you want to see me tonight?" he teased.
"I'm saying that you should take me out to dinner." Olivia said, giving him a small smile as she turned to face him again.
"Like a date?" Elliot asked. He absolutely wanted to take her out…he had already planned on doing just that when she got back. But he couldn't resist giving her a hard time.
"Is that a problem?"
Elliot shrugged. "I guess not." He leaned in and ghosted his lips over hers. "But only if you wear that black dress."
Olivia knew exactly what he was talking about…remembering the look on Elliot's face when she had held up that skimpy black dress that Amy had picked out for her. She never thought she'd wear it, but on the drive back to the city, she had been thinking about it. "I was already planning on it."