A/N: WOW! Thanks for the response guys, I really appreciate it. You reminded me why I wrote FF in the first place.

This chapter is from Olivia's point of view.

I looked down at my sick child. Noah was the only man in my life, and though I still missed the intensity of my old partnership, I was happy. Noah gave me a reason to live outside of work. He gave me a reason to keep the streets clean and to want to make the world a better place. It was for him that I lived now.

I felt someone's eyes on me and looked up to see the face of Elliot Stabler. It was no surprise that he was across the room from me. I saw him so often in my dreams that sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. For the last five years his face emerged everywhere, anytime, when stress was a factor in my life. But there was something about the way he looked at me, that made me question the reality of the situation.

I noticed a child beside him, eight years old perhaps. Eli Stabler. His youngest child. Memories of a car accident I had with Kathy eight years earlier flooded my mind. I thought Kathy was going to lose her child, as she sat in the passenger's seat of the mangled car, Eli's labour on the way. A memory of the aftermath in the hospital, brought me to a picture of Elliot and I in the hallway. I remember the way I felt when he held me in his arms, grateful that I had saved his wife and child. I had never been held that close before, not by anyone, and I ached for more.

Elliot was married, happily with five children, I was nothing more to him than his partner in crime.

As our eyes locked together, I noticed a look of melancholy etched across his face. I could still read him like an open book and I relished in the fact that some things never changed. He was somehow still the same man that had left me without a word. I should have been angry, ropable, I should have blamed him for all the things that had gone wrong since his absence, but I didn't. I understood his need to leave after shooting that girl. I knew it wasn't about me. It was about his own guilt. His own regret.

I looked back down at Noah, lying awake, staring up at me. This fragile little life in my hands. I had never felt as much joy in my life as I did with baby Noah. I was blessed looking after him, loving him, and I knew for certain that I would never take him for granted.

My gaze moved back to Elliot and when I saw him staring at me, I knew he was not a figment of my imagination. He was indeed there.

Elliot smiled, it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hi," he said quietly.

I nodded, the words unable to form on my tongue. I couldn't speak. I wanted to, but somehow my mind kept the thoughts inside my head.

"Liv..."

I closed my eyes. No one else said my name the way that he did.

I remembered the weeks I had been undercover and Elliot had been partnered with Dani Beck. Even thinking of the name made me wince. I hated her. I didn't want to and I knew it was immature and irrational but I couldn't help it. I saw the way he hovered over in by his desk. He never hovered near me. I was careful to keep my distance, afraid that if I got too close, I wouldn't be able to help myself from doing something foolish.

I opened my eyes, willing myself to talk. "Hi, El."

I watched him close his eyes for a moment and then uttered a greeting. "Hi." I watched him get up from the chair and move closer to me, his son following suit.

Nervously, I tightened my grip on Noah as if he could protect me from my own emotions. It had been a long time since I'd felt so nervous, the caged butterflies trying to make their way outside my stomach. He was as sexy as he always was, walking across the room as if he owned the place, completely oblivious to the affect he had people, the effect he had on me.

The two sat down and I kept my eyes focussed on the boy. I extended my hand to him. "Hi. I bet your Eli. You probably don't remember me. I knew you when you were really little."

"I know who you are," he answered.

I raised an eyebrow. How did he know me? He was so young the last time I had seen him. Curiosity got the better of me. "Yeah?" I was fishing for something more. A reason.

"My dad has a picture of you in his room. I see it all the time."

I tried to hide the surprise. Did that mean he still gave a damn? How did Kathy feel about a picture of me in the same room she shared with her husband? Or perhaps, it dawned on me, they no longer shared a room at all. I hated the hope that flooded through me at that very thought.

Eli was still watching me, waiting for me to say something. "Your dad and I used to work together. We were best friends." I had no idea what possessed me to say that, and I regretted it immediately. Maybe Elliot didn't want to be reminded of the past.

Finally, I felt brave enough to look at him. His eyes were that perfect shade of blue, so beautiful that I could get lost in them for hours. I had always been afraid that my own gaze would give me away, that he would somehow see right through me and know just how deep my feelings for him ran.

"How are you?" he asked.

I held Noah close, reminding myself what got me out of bed in the mornings. "I'm good. You?"

"Good." I could tell he was lying. There was something dark about his eyes. He titled his head in gesture. "You have a kid."

"Yeah. Noah."

"He's cute. Looks like you."

I laughed. Would he still say that if I told him he wasn't biologically my son? I didn't bother explaining myself.

"You married?"

The question threw me for a moment and I didn't know what to say. I guess it wasn't such a dumb question considering I was nursing a child. But I would have expected more from the man who had been my partner for 12 years. The only man I loved enough to marry, would have been him. But he'd never asked me.

I ignored the question. "How's Kathy?'

"I don't know," he said. "I haven't seen her in two years."

I blushed, unable to give him a proper reply. "Oh."

I sat awkwardly staring at him, not sure what else to do and then the doctor called for me.

"Noah Elliot Benson."

Damn it. Why had he used his middle name? There was no way I could talk myself out of this. Elliot had heard me. He smiled, a look of smug arrogance etched across his face. God, I had missed that look. I missed everything about him. I had to get out of there before I fell back into old patterns. Being around him would only cause a setback and I had Noah to think of now.

"I have to go," I said nervously.

"Ok."

I rose from the chair, baby Noah tucked safely in my arms. I took one final look at him, wishing there was some way to fix what had been broken between us. I followed the doctor into his office and once the door was closed behind me, I let a single tear roll down my face.

I was not ready for Elliot Stabler to come waltzing back into my life.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter too. Hit the review button and let me know if you want me to add a third.