Author's Note: I didn't abandon this story! I meant to update sooner, but I had writer's block and totally forgot how I had planned this story to go. Sorry if it seems a little scattered, I am trying to get back on track… now if I could only remember what track that was! 

Olivia slowly slid the key into the lock of her Chicago condo. With Elliot standing behind her, she wondered if she had made the right decision to invite him over after leaving his sister's house. She wanted to turn around and tell Elliot that this wasn't a good idea; that she wasn't ready for this. Instead, the only turning she did was turn the doorknob to open the door into her secret world. She stepped into the dark living room and reached by the wall, turning on the lights.

"Take a seat; I'm just going to change."

Elliot watched her disappear into a small hallway and made his way around her living room. It seemed so impersonal. The only thing that made it feel even remotely like a home was the picture of the two of them together that was framed on her side table. Other than that, it was just four walls with some furniture in between them. He picked up the picture frame and held it in his hands, smiling at the memory of the night it was taken. It had been a late night at the precinct and he had one picture left on the disposable camera that he bought to take pictures of one of Dickie's games. It took a couple minutes of talking, but he finally had convinced Olivia to take a picture with him. He had one arm around her and right before he took the picture; he tickled her side which resulted in a huge smile on her face.

"Can't stop admiring yourself?"

He put the picture back down on the table and turned to face Olivia, who was now dressed in loose sweats and a baggy NYPD tee. She smiled softly as she sat down on her couch, folding one leg under her. Elliot followed her motions and sat on the other end of her couch, resting his arm nervously on the armrest.

"So, this is your place?"

"No, I decided to break into someone else's place. Yes, this is my place."

"Not funny. I was just trying to break the ice."

Olivia sighed, pulling her other leg under her body in an attempt to get comfortable. But she knew it was going to take more than a simple body adjustment to be comfortable with Elliot Stabler at the moment, "I know."

They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Olivia blurted out, "How is he?"

"Who?" He tried to feign confusion, but he knew exactly who she was asking about. Or who she thought she was asking about.

"Your new partner. How is he?"

"He is a… uh... she. Her name is Dani. She's a little rough around the edges, but she's an okay cop," he smiled.

"Oh…" Olivia leaned back against the couch. She wasn't one to be jealous, and she shouldn't have assumed that his partner would be male. She wasn't sure what made her more jealous; the fact that her replacement was female or how he smiled after he spoke. But it didn't really matter. It wasn't like Elliot was hers to be jealous about anyway, "Well, I'm glad she has kept you safe."

"Olivia, she's just temporary. You don't have to be worried."

"Worried? I'm not worried. She can have my job if she wants it, I don't know if I'm coming back."

The words coming out of her mouth shocked him almost as much as they had shocked her. Elliot quickly moved closer to Olivia, placing his hands on her shoulders, "What do you mean you don't know if you are coming back?"

"Maybe I'm not meant to be a detective anymore, El."

"Olivia, no, no…" His eyes pleaded with her as he searched her face for any sign of this being a joke, "You can't be serious!"

"Chicago isn't so bad."

"It's not New York!"

"No, no it's not," Olivia bit down on her bottom lip to fight tears and placed her feet on the ground to stand. With Elliot's hands on her shoulders, he was able to keep her in her seat on the couch.

"I never signed the papers until you were gone."

Olivia looked at him, confused at the sudden change of subject, "What papers?"

"My divorce papers. I never signed them until I thought you had died."

"Why… why did you wait?"

"I gave up hope for everything. Even though I gave up the hope for my marriage a long time ago, I couldn't bring myself to sign those papers. Signing those papers meant I was a failure. I couldn't admit to being a failure while you were relying on me to have your back every day. When I thought you had died… I had nothing."

"Oh, Elliot…" She pulled him to her in a tight hug as tears flowed down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her back, fighting back his own urge to spill tears. They sat like this for a while, each comforting the other. Elliot pulled away first, bringing his hands up to her face to wipe her tears away with his thumbs.

"You have to come back to New York, Olivia. It would kill me if you didn't. It took me so long to get over your death… I don't know how I could cope with knowing you are alive but not being able to see you everyday. Let's be us again, please?"

"I miss us," Olivia sniffled as put her hands on his and brought them away from her face to rest in her lap.

"So book a flight back with me tomorrow," he pleaded.

"Tomorrow? I… I don't even have a place to stay anymore."

"Stay at my place. I have a very inviting couch. Please, you deserve to have your life back. You can't tell me that you are honestly happy here."

She sighed. She knew in her heart that he was right. She wasn't happy, she was miserable. She belonged back in New York, back in his life.

"Help me pack."