"Oh, God, no! Please get away!"

"Liv, wake up," Elliot was shaking her gently.

Every time she closed her eyes, the nightmares were there. And every time she opened her eyes, there was Elliot. She sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was sitting on the couch, wrapped in Elliot's arms. She had called him in the middle of the night, fourth time this week. She hated doing it but she needed him. He protected her.

"Elliot, I'm sorry. I don't know why I keep calling you. I know that you haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately."

"Don't be ridiculous. You know I don't mind being here."

Liv got up and pulled on her robe that was draped over the arm on the couch. She walked into the kitchen. She sat down at her kitchen table and laid her head in her hands. Elliot got up and followed. He sat down in the chair next to her, grabbed her hand, and kissed it gently.

"Elliot, why are you doing this? Why do you keep blaming yourself? It wasn't your fault. Quit beating yourself up about it."

Elliot thought she was wrong, it was his fault. He should have done something, anything, but leave her alone with that pervert. "Liv, you don't understand, when I saw you on that bed- I thought he'd hurt you." Even though the incident had happened over a week ago, the two of them had never fully talked about it. "I thought you'd be dead or broken. And Liv, come on, you wake up multiple times in the middle of the night moaning and screaming and crying. I couldn't protect you then and I can't protect you now." Elliot was so broken inside because Liv, his everything, was broken. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Elliot, don't say that. Don't say that!" She yelled and then began weeping. "Elliot, right now, you are the only thing keeping me alive. You protect me every night. I may have nightmares, but when I wake up and see your face, it erases the nightmares. Oh, Elliot," she placed her hands on his cheeks, closed her eyes, and then gave him a quick kiss on his lips. She drew back slowly. She opened her eyes and Elliot was staring back at her. "I'm sorry."

Elliot stared in awe at what his partner had done. He had dreamed about kissing her for so long. "No, don't be." He stared at her, a battle going on deep inside his mind whether or not to tell her. He decided what could go wrong. "Liv, I—I," he stuttered through his words. Be a man, he thought. "Olivia Benson, I have known you for eight wonderful years. You are my best friend and the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Liv," he reached out and grabbed both of her hands and placed them on his chest. "I love you, so much."

Olivia wasn't sure she had heard him right. Did he say he loved me? She sat there in silence for a few seconds. "El," Tears streamed down her face. She had never been loved before in her entire life, and now that all changed. He loved her and she loved him. "I love you." She let go of everything. She leaned over and kissed him. They both stood up. He pressed into her as she ran her fingers through his hair to deepen the kiss. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to her bedroom. He broke the kiss and sat her on the bed.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just don't think neither of us is ready to do this." Elliot wanted to do it so bad, but he knew it wasn't fair to Liv or to himself.

"El, yes, I want this. I need this."

"Why? To make your nightmares go away." He said quietly. He hadn't meant for this to hurt her, he just wanted her to see that he wanted to protect her from herself so she wouldn't wake up in the morning with a bad case of regret.

Olivia instantly felt bad, she was just using him. She knew he was right. He was protecting her and that's what she loved about him. She scooted up on the bed and got under the covers. "El, oh my God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Elliot climbed on the bed and got under the covers. He wrapped his arms around her perfect waist. She turned and faced him. She placed a kiss on his lips and then curled up next to him. Elliot looked at the clock. 2:14.

I watch the morning dawn upon your skin
A splinter in the light
It caught and frayed the very heart of us
It's been hiding there inside for all this time
How a sure thing winds up just like this
Clockwork silence only knows

He gently brushed the baby hairs away from her face. "Liv, I love you. I love you so much. I just don't wanna feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"Elliot, I'm glad we're waiting. I want it to be special, meaningful." She gently pressed her lips on his. "I love you, Elliot Stabler." That was the last thing either of them said before falling asleep in each other's arms.