Pippa looks back and forth between the two of them confused.

"You two know each other?"

"You could say that," Olivia pipes up after Elliot just stands frozen staring at her with his mouth open. "Elliot was my old partner."

Patrons talk.

Glasses clink together.

There's a faint baby cry off in the distance. However, all Elliot can see is his former partner staring back at him. His throat is dry, his stance stiff. Even if he wanted to move or speak he can't. Her brown eyes waver between shock, anger and other emotions that he could read at one point in their lives but can't quite make out anymore.

Olivia grabs her purse and stands up. There is talking and her mouth may be moving but he can't put the sounds together but she's there. Right in front of him. Her mocha brown hair falls in loose waves past her shoulder with a little eyeliner and a faint pink trace of lipstick on her full lips. A pale blue silk shirt and trademark black pants hug her curves and she's right there.

Still in cop mode. Still staring. Still beautiful.

"Elliot, did you hear me?" Pippa snaps and pulls on his arm to get his attention.

The gesture breaks his reverie and he's back in the present.

Olivia continues to look on, a scowl slowly beginning to form on her face.

"Yeah-umm I mean no. I didn't," his hand scrubs down his face in frustration. "What did you say?"

Pippa observes him closely. "I said I didn't know you two were old partners. You never mentioned that."

Her tone is a bit accusatory and in normal circumstances he would remember to address it later but for now his focus is solely on the woman in front of him. The woman who had once been the closest person in the world to him, who he cherished and made it his duty to protect for years. The same woman who was now avoiding his gaze, fidgeting with her phone and looking like she was about to bolt out the door.

No.

He didn't want her to leave. They needed to talk and if she left he wasn't sure when he would see her again.

"I told you I had a partner we just never got into specifics," he retorts attempting to sound aloof. "It's good to see you again Liv." His voice sounds dry and he clears it right after.

"It's good to see you too." Her words tumble out hurriedly and he knows what's coming next before she says it. "So I need to head out. I'll see you two later."

Olivia clears her throat and takes one step forward to walk on the side of Pippa towards the door when her keys fall out of her hand.

"Shit," she curses under her breath. She needs to get out of there and everything from the waitresses who keep walking by to the sudden increase in people is making it harder and harder for her to make it to her ultimate destination.

The door.

"Liv-I mean Olivia," he corrects himself from using her nickname. "Don't leave. Why don't you join us?"

She pivots to look at him as if he's crazy and doesn't miss the surprised glance on Pippa's face. There's no way in hell she's staying. In fact, hell would be better than sitting in a bar with her colleague who is now dating the man that was once the center of her world. They haven't kept in touch and this was not going to be the day that gap was bridged.

"I've got to get going. I was already running late," she explains pointing to the door for emphasis. Olivia tries to look over his shoulder instead of in his eyes to make the situation less awkward but the damage has been done. There will be an uncomfortable conversation that they will both end up having with Pippa and she couldn't be more annoyed.

"It won't take long," he pipes up stepping towards her. The movement catches her attention and their eyes are locked on each other again. There's something there. It's familiar and foreign at the same time. The air between them was thick with years worth of regret, anger and something else neither are willing to admit.

She's missed him so much and hates herself for it. He wants her to stay. That's evident. What's not clear is why. No explanations could make up for his absence for the past five years. Elliot Stabler had been filed under "been there, done that, moved on-well try to move on" and she needed to keep going in that direction. It wasn't worth reopening that wound. While her mind went through everything they were still there. Just standing. Staring.

God, he missed her. There was so much to say and although this wasn't the time he just needed to know that there would be a time. Sooner or later. Whenever.

Pippa cleared her throat and they both jerked their heads to look at her.

"Olivia actually has to get home to her son," she says pulling his arm back in her direction.

Son? She had a son?

He blinks rapidly letting the thought sink in. She has a child. A son. Motherhood was something she always wanted and now she has that. So much has changed. Cragen had never mentioned him.

"Yeah," Olivia jumps at the out she's just been given. "I need to get home my sitter is already there so….." she pauses not quite sure how to end this. "I will see you later Pippa. Bye Elliot."

"No wait." The panicked words are out of his mouth before he realizes it. She can't just leave. He steps closer to her, freeing his arm from Pippa's grasp. "Can you give me your number and we just….talk? Catch up?"

It sounds innocent in theory but her nervous stare quickly shifts to an angry glare. "Actually my number is the same. It never changed." There were things about her that had changed and her firm stance when she was angry was not one of them. "I need to go. Goodbye."

Before anymore words can leave his mouth, her long strides took her halfway across the restaurant. Olivia Benson had walked away from him but he was determined to make sure it wouldn't be for long.

"Noah one more story and then it's time for bed ok?" Bargaining with a two year old to go to sleep was not easy but Olivia had become used to it. The toddler's eyes rolled back in his head giving away his exhaustion but he was fighting sleep with everything in him. As she read him another story in a soft lulling voice, her hands caressed his mop of brown hair and he was soon drifting off.

"Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere," she finishes and places a kiss on Noah's forehead. She tiptoes quietly to his bed and laid him down, careful not to wake him. Kissing him again, she watches him for an extra minute basking in his presence.

Olivia was still amazed that she was a mom. And that she managed to create a little family of her own.

"Good night sweet boy," she whispers walking to the door and shutting it quietly. Standing in the hallway, she takes a deep breath and leans her head back into the door. The day is winding down. There are some work emails to catch up on and a call or two to make but her mind shifts to the events of a few hours ago. The events she effectively put on hold until she got home and settled.

Elliot.

Elliot was back.

Elliot was divorced and on a date...with Pippa.

She shook her head trying to clear the pictures from her mind. Overthinking was her specialty in these types of situations. Breaking down the way he looked at her, his body language, what he said and with Elliot most importantly what he didn't say was something she needed to ponder.

Beginning to feel drained by the speculation already, she walks the few steps into the kitchen and pulls out a bottle of wine. While pouring the Cabernet she looks down briefly at the small scuff mark in front of her black boots. The proof of her eagerness to get away from her old partner.

After being given a perfect exit strategy by Pippa, she had managed to get almost to her car before the tears blurred her vision causing her to almost tumble over a cement block in the parking lot scuffing her boot. Olivia had been determined to not let Elliot see her fall apart. He didn't deserve to know that despite all her efforts to try….she still cared.

Her short manicured nails drum anxiously against the white tile of her kitchen counter while she sips from the glass thinking about everything Pippa said about him. They had chemistry clearly and Pippa liked him. It wasn't rational but the idea of the two of them together pissed her off. They were supposed to go to the movies and dinner tonight.

Were they still on their date? Did Pippa feel insecure about her and Elliot's interaction and call the date off? Or worse did they still go and he was dropping her off at home right now? What if he went upstairs and they had sex?

A low groan escaped her throat and she refills the glass with more wine quickly. She had no right to have these thoughts. Elliot was a grown man and could do whatever he wanted to do. And apparently what he didn't want to do was keep in touch or maintain a relationship with her. She could tell he was shocked to learn she had a son and a small part of her took twisted pleasure in that. She had managed to move on with her life and achieve her ultimate dream without him. A small triumphant smile played on her lips for the briefest of moments. Then her thoughts turned to everything else.

She had become a mother and she had become a lieutenant, two major accomplishments that she isn't sure would've happened if Elliot had still been in her life. Or at least that's what she told Nick when he let her know that he was leaving too.

Her breath catches for a second and she sets down the empty glass. The alcohol hasn't kicked in completely but she starts to feel a little more relaxed and a small pang of sadness.

Olivia learned early on in her life that everyone always seems to leave. Friends came and went as she grew up, her mom left her long before she actually passed away, her half brother who popped in and out only when he needed her, her coworkers who had become like her family had left and moved on. Plans to keep in touch never panned out and she talked to them sporadically because of her hectic schedule.

And then there was Elliot.

With everyone else there was a plan or an occurrence. Their departures were not sudden even in Nick's case it was unexpected. There had been a chance to say goodbye. With Elliot, there was just the sound of his voice on the voicemail greeting she heard when she called him over and over again and he didn't bother to answer. Never bothered to tell her goodbye. She called that phone more times than she cares to ever disclose and in moments of desperation she called not expecting to hear him pick up, but just to hear the sound of his voice.

A tear slides slowly down her cheek and she furiously swipes it away. The sadness disappears and is quickly replaced with anger.

Fuck him.

She's not interested in talking or anything else. They've moved on and it needs to stay that way.

Olivia is untucking her shirt and about to reach for the bottle again when her phone rings. It's Ed. Her finger hovers over the button debating whether or not to decline the call but she answers instead. The distraction is welcome and she just misses hearing his voice.

"Hey," she answers right before it goes to voicemail.

"Hey. I thought maybe you were already sleeping."

She looks over at the clock on her microwave. "It's only a little after 9. I'm never in bed that early. I was actually about to check some work emails."

He chuckles lightly. She's always been all about the work. "Why am I not surprised? I just wanted to call and say I'm sorry I couldn't take you up on dinner after work. Things got crazy at 1PP and well you know how it goes."

Walking into the living room, her right leg folds under her left and she sits on the couch. She grabs her iPad to go through emails while they talk. "Of course I do. Speaking of, I'm sorry about lunch."

"Seems like we are always missing each other," he muses and she can hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Well it's the job. We should be used to it by now but how about this? How about dinner Friday night? My treat. I won't cancel. I promise."

"Wow," Ed sounds surprised. "You promising not to cancel seems a little too good to be true but I'll take you up on that Lieutenant under one condition."

"What's that?"

"That its my treat."

Pippa sighed restlessly picking at the fabric on her navy blue skirt. She hadn't had time to change out of her work attire since Elliot picked her up from the bar for their date. It seemed like a good idea at the time but after sitting through a nearly two hour movie, and an hour long uncomfortable dinner, she's regretting that she didn't have on a more comfortable outfit. She shifts around in the leather seat of Elliot's trying to distract herself from saying something that is certainly going to ruin the night.

Whether it was a result of being an attorney and having to be confrontational all day or it was just her natural personality, it didn't matter. Pippa never really held back when there was something on her mind. Her dad often teased her growing up that her red hair matched her fiery personality. Some guys found it incredibly intimidating and others found it a turn on. She wasn't sure which category Elliot Stabler fell in but at this point she didn't care.

"You should call her," she blurted out. Elliot kept his gaze fixed on the road pulling up behind a red Ford SUV and trying to remain cool and composed.

"Who?"

Pippa scoffs and pivots her body to face him, the seatbelt limiting her movements. Her eyes bore into the side of his face willing him to tear his eyes away from the road for a second and look at her. "Olivia. You should call Olivia."

He is affronted and looks off to the left in the opposite direction. "Call her for what? Why are you still hung up on that?"

"Are you serious?" Her voice is raised and she struggles to reel it back in. "I know you don't want to talk about this and you've made that painfully clear all night but you need to talk to her."

He pulls off into traffic getting closer to Pippa's apartment building and trying to buy time with how to answer. The movies were a decent cover because they didn't need to talk but dinner was much harder to pretend through. He could feel the attorney sizing him up the entire time and he wasn't doing a great job hiding his conflicted emotions at seeing Olivia again. They skipped the appetizers and made small talk over the entrees about a trip she was taking to the Mountains that was coming up soon.

He needed time to process everything and decide what if anything he would do. The simple solution would be to call her but Olivia seemed in no place to have any type of conversation with him. There was a time he could read her emotions and know what she was thinking without a single word. Those days were clearly gone. Her eyes didn't give much away anymore except the fact that she was indignant with him.

"Look I'm sorry if I've been a little off tonight," he apologizes. Elliot looks over to Pippa and sees her annoyance begin to fade marginally. "It was just a bit of a shock that's all. I didn't realize the two of you worked together."

She nods and settles back into her seat. "How long has it been again since you've seen her?"

Too long. "Five years."

Pulling on to her street, she points to her building and he finds a parking spot a block away.

"A lot's happened over the last five years," she starts.

He nods his head agreeing. "Yes it has."

"I mean to her."

Elliot's hand stills on the steering wheel and he can feel his chest start to tighten. He had no idea how long Pippa and Olivia knew each other but it made sense she would know about William Lewis. Everyone had. Except him before it was too late.

"Yes I know." His hand grips the key turning off the ignition and he gets out of the car. Pippa watches him make his way around to her door and open it for her to get out.

Her nude pumps hit the pavement and they walk silently the short distance to her stoop. "So are you going to call her?"

Elliot chuckles bitterly. "Do you always ask so many questions?"

"I told you I can't help it," she shrugs and the wind blows her long red hair briefly across her shoulders. "It's what lawyers do."

He smiles taking the lame excuse but his pace picks up when they reach her steps hoping to end this night sooner rather than later.

Time. He needs time to think.

"Yes you are an attorney. But we aren't in the Courtroom right now counselor."

"No we aren't. We were out on a date and you spent most of it completely checked out because you were thinking about Olivia the whole time."

Well there it is.

His immediate reaction was to deny it but once he saw the look on her face he knew better and closed his mouth to regroup.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be distracted. Look, how about a do over?"

She smirks a little and he can't help smiling back at her.

"A do over?

"Yeah yeah I'll take you out again. Dinner and anything else you want to do this weekend. Pick a day."

The tension is lifted a little bit but Pippa has other ideas. "I'll go out with you but you have to do something for me first."

His small dimple on his right cheek shows when he smiles at her again. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"You have to talk to Olivia."

His smile fades fast. "Pippa.."

"Elliot," she starts and moves close to him to put her hand on his arm. "I like you. I think you're a good guy and I like spending time with you."

He steps a little closer, his hand rubbing up and down the length of her shoulder and arm. "I feel like there's a but there."

She folds her arms, her navy blazer tightening around her. "Look maybe I'm crazy or just being overly paranoid but I think there's some things you need to talk to Olivia about and I think she needs to talk to you too."

"I-" she places her fingers over his lips to silence him. A simple but intimate gesture that catches him off guard.

"It's not my business. I know we have only been on a few dates and the truth is you don't owe me anything. But I just think that you need to talk to her. It would be good for both of you."

His eyes are cast down at the small cracks on the asphalt and his hands play with a small piece of lint in his pocket. He appreciates her candor and the fact that she isn't freaking out on him about what can only be perceived as unresolved feelings for another woman.

"I'll talk to her," he agrees lifting his head to meet her gaze again. "I promise."

"Good. Let me know when you do and we will schedule that next date."

Pippa fishes her keys from her handbag and begins to turn towards the steps to her building.

"Hey," he calls out and walks towards her. She looks confused for a second but that doubt goes away when Elliot steps toward her. His arms slowly wrap around her lower back and he presses his lips to her cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asks pulling back from the hug but still holding him close. Briefly her gaze falls to his lips but she knew they weren't wasn't ready.

"For understanding."

Olivia wraps the plush white bath towel around her body after enjoying a long hot bath. Relaxed and sated, she stepped carefully into her bedroom to find something to sleep in. Fishing out a plain white camisole and gray pajama pants, she lays them across the bed and drops her towel when she hears her cell buzzing.

"Not tonight," she groans and grabs her iPhone off the nightstand praying it's not a work call.

"Benson." There some rustling in the background and she pulls the phone back to look at the number on the caller ID. It's not one she recognizes.

"Hello?"

His unmistakable voice comes through shortly after. "Hey Li-Olivia it's me. It's Elliot."