The precinct was uncharacteristically empty for the time of day. It was six-thirty, and just a few detectives mulled about the bullpen of Special Victims, some working on medial tasks like paperwork, others not even trying to hide their boredom. Olivia sat her desk, working on a DD-5 to try to pass the time and keep her mind occupied. She had nothing to do this Christmas Eve; the one person she wanted to spend the time with was quite unavailable. He was 6,500 miles away to be precise. Olivia didn't know she could feel physical pain from missing someone so much, but that was exactly what was happening. Her chest hurt whenever she thought of him, which was more often than not.

"Hey, Liv. I got you something. Want to can I stop by your place tonight?" Elliot asked, catching up with her in the hallway of the precinct.

Olivia turned towards him, confusion plastered across her face. "Aren't you going to spend Christmas Eve with Kathy and the kids?" She asked. Come to think of it, he hadn't spoken about his family in a while. She didn't think much of it, though; she just chalked it up to their heavy caseload.

He shrugged. "Um… no."

"Um, no?" She repeated, stopping in her tracks. "What does that mean?"

"I, uh… guess I didn't tell you." He said sheepishly. "Kathy kicked me out a week or so ago."

He could see the hurt in her eyes, and he didn't blame her. He hadn't exactly been honest with her; she'd asked how they were on several occasions during that time frame, and he always gave her a similar answer: they're fine, they're doing well.

"Well, I definitely need to let you come over now." Olivia said, stepping onto the elevator with him. "To figure out why you've been lying to me this week."

"I never lied. They are fine, and they are doing well." He said.

"Omitting and lying are the same thing, El." She said. "Isn't that what you tell your kids?"

Elliot shrugged, staring down at the tiled floor of the elevator. "Guess you caught me on that one."

"Why don't you tell me what's going on, then?" She asked gently. Her tone of voice was one that he knew well; it was the one she always used with the victims, and the one that she used whenever she had to calm him down comfort him. He wasn't sure why, but whenever he heard it, he always felt better, no matter what kind of mood he was in.

"I will. I promise." He said. "Just not here."

He did tell her everything. He told her how Kathy just had enough of his long work hours, coming home and leaving at all times of the night, and most of all, his attitude and his temper.

"She was tired of me being angry all the time." Elliot had told her. "Of me being closed off. I just wanted to protect her, that's all. I didn't want to put those images in her head, I can barely handle them myself sometimes."

Olivia had understood where he was coming from. If she was in the same position, she might have done the same thing. She knew how much he loved his wife, so she also knew how heartbroken he would be. She wished she was wrong… but she wasn't.

Olivia awoke to knocking on her apartment door. She sat up from the couch where she had drifted off, and heard more knocking. Her watch read '11:26 P.M.', and she immediately knew. There was only one person that would come to her apartment this late.

He stood on her doorstep, deep frown on his face, red-rimmed eyes, and wearing a rumpled suit, no tie.

"El." She greeted, heart sinking when she saw the sorry in his eyes. "Come in. What's wrong?"

Elliot walked into the living room, and turned towards her. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he spoke. "I was at the squad. I still, uh… I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You know you're always welcome here." She guided him over to the couch. "I'm here to listen if you want to talk."

Shrugging, he took off his jacket and sat down. "It's… just hard, Liv. We were together eighteen years, how did… how could she just walk away? Not to mention my kids."

Olivia sat down beside him and set her hand on his shoulder. "People grow apart, El. Our job is no picnic, some people just can't handle living with it."

"Trust me, I know." He mumbled, leaning back on the couch and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt.

She frowned. "Well, you're welcome to crash on my couch until you get back on your feet."

He had taken her up on her offer. For two weeks, they spent almost all of their time together. They went to and from work together, cooked dinner together, watched movies, just talked. He told her about his last few weeks with Kathy, how it went bad, and she offered a shoulder to cry on. He took it, albeit some hesitation. She did all she could to cheer him up, and usually, it worked. When he told her that he found an apartment, she couldn't help her disappointment. Obviously, it showed in her face.

"I think you're going to like the address. C'mon."

He guided her out of the apartment, down one flight of stairs, and stopped in front of the door of apartment 3C. Olivia smiled. "You rented the apartment right below me?"

He shrugged. "You know, I'm starting over, I could use a friend. If that's okay with you, of course."

Of course it was okay with her. It was more than okay with her.

"Hey, Liv. What are you still doing here?" Captain Cragen asked as he approached her desk. "Didn't I tell you to go home an hour ago?"

"Yeah. I just… didn't really want to go home alone." Olivia said. "Since…"

"I joined the reserves." Elliot said. He and Olivia sat on her couch, watching a movie and eating Chinese food for dinner after work.

Olivia reached for the remote, and paused the movie. "What?"

He sighed, sitting up and removing his arm from the couch behind her. "I've been thinking about it for a while. Even before Kathy handed me the divorce papers. I guess the only thing that was holding me back was my family. But now… well, you know."

"What about the job?" She asked. "If you deploy, if you…" She couldn't even finish. The thought was too much; him being shot, him being blown up by an IED, him dying.

Elliot shrugged. "I've done it once before, Liv. All these kids, going over there, dying before they even get a chance to live… it's not right. I just want to do my part."

"Didn't you already?" She asked quietly.

He shrugged, giving her a small smile. "Maybe."

He told her he joined the Marine Corps reserves on the third of January. He took a twelve week sabbatical early that spring, went to basic training all over again, and when he returned, he brandished the signature Marine Corps high and tight haircut and even more muscle than he had left with. She had to admit, he looked great.

"Well, how was it?" Olivia asked after a tight hug. She had missed him.

The smile that came across his face made those twelve weeks of waiting worth it. "Just like the first time. Easier, actually. I knew what to expect."

"You haven't spoken with him, huh?" Cragen asked, sitting across from her at his empty desk.

Olivia shrugged. "Not in a couple of weeks. I'm worried about him, Captain."

"He's smart. Strong." Cragen said. "He'll be okay."

"A bullet or an IED will kill you no matter how smart or strong you are." Olivia said softly.

"Why don't you come into my office?" Cragen asked. "I have something else to talk to you about."

"Why can't we talk about it here?" Olivia asked, looking around the precinct. "Everyone's gone."

"Trust me, you'll want to talk about it in my office." Cragen said. "Come on."

She sighed, and stood, following the captain. Cragen opened the door, and when she saw who sat at the desk, her breathing caught in her chest.

A/N: So, this whole twenty-five days, twenty-five chapters thing is a lot harder than I thought. Not to mention, finals are absolutely kicking my ass. Good news is, starting on Wednesday, I have an entire month off, so you guys will get your fair share of Elliot/Olivia Christmas action! But for now, please review! I could use some good news!

Oh, and for people confused, this is not a multi-chapter story. This is a collection of one and two-shots with no overarching theme other than the season. The chapters are now labeled if they are one-shots or two-shots.

Thanks for reading!