Brutal Honesty

When Olivia woke the following morning, she was glad of Munch's company, regardless of how they had parted last night. She had woken up many times during the night, and each time she had wanted to run, but knew that this was the only way that she could get on with her life. Confront him and let him go. She knew the first stage would be easy, the second, she thought, almost impossible. But she was going to try; it was her only chance at survival.

"What happens now?" she asked John, quietly, positive that he would try to manipulate the answer.

"I don't know." He said honestly, wanting to be able to help her with everything that she was going through.

"Oh, John." She said, almost in tears again, "What am I going to do? I want to talk to him; I want to tell him that he can go to hell. But I don't know if I can face him. He really hurt me that night. Gosh, I'm so weak!" she said, sounding defeated.

"You're not weak! Liv, you are one of the strongest people that I know. You've been through so much, but you never break. This is the only time that something has gotten the best of you, and that is only because you love him."

"What are you talking about? I don't love him." She said, hoping that she hadn't made her feelings for Elliot that obvious.

"Liv, you know very well, that this wouldn't have hurt you nearly as much if you didn't love him. Don't deny it, I already know."

"I used to love him, but my heart shattered when he said those things. I'll never love him again," she said with conviction, "I'll never love again. It hurts too much."

"Liv, love isn't just a switch that you can turn on and off." Munch said gently, reaching for her hand, "You can't just forget how you felt about him. You've been in love with him for so long, that doesn't just disappear, if it ever does."

"No!" Olivia reacted loudly, "No. Don't say that. That's the only chance that I have to get over this. Don't say I won't get over him." She paused, before continuing quietly, "I have to."

"Talk to me about him. Tell me about what happened. You haven't really told me that much."

"You know the first time I saved his life, he told me he'd never hurt me. I believed him, and he was right, he never hurt me before that night."

"Tell me when you first knew that you were attracted to him." He asked gently.

"It was the first time; he smiled that smirk at me. It was the case with the Serbian Rapist, you remember?" she waited for Munch to know before continuing, "I asked him what that woman said to him, and he said, 'I just want to be with my family'. I think I started to fall in love with him then."

"When did you realize you loved him?" Munch asked, once again gently probing, still shocked she was answering his questions.

Flashback Begin

Elliot walked out of the room, closely followed by the department psychiatrist, Audrey Jackson. Olivia walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his forearm, and he wrapped her in a gently hug.

"You alright?" she asked gently.

"Um, yeah. I'll be fine."

"You wanna grab a bite to eat?" she asked gently, loving the feel of his arms wrapped around her frame.

"Nah, I should go home. Thanks though," he said, still not releasing her.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Olivia said softly.

He pulled away gently, and smiled softly at her. Olivia felt her heart tug, and knew that her feelings for him were far from platonic.

They headed to their respective homes, both wishing for the company of the other. Olivia arrived at her apartment, still in thoughts about how safe she had felt wrapped securely in his arms. Just as she was getting ready for bed, her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled.

"Hey,"

"Hey, how you doing?"

"Fine, getting ready for bed, you?"

"I'm good. Maureen's got a new boyfriend, I haven't met him yet. You know who he is?"

"No, of course not."

"Remember, Washington. It's his son."

"Really. He seems like a nice guy."

"No, he's not."

"Trust me on that, he's very friendly."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean, Liv?"

"He just likes to 'get together' with almost everyone. Gosh, he was good."

"Liv, I really didn't need to know that."

"Well, you do now. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, good night."

"Night."

They both hung up, falling instantly asleep.

Flashback End

"So you've loved him for eight years?"

"Yeah." She said looking forlorn, "I used to get so jealous of Kathy. She had him, and even if I never had him, one kiss from him would have been enough for me to last a lifetime. She could have him everyday and then she walked away. I couldn't believe that she could walk away from someone like him."

"Liv, she couldn't deal not knowing where he was."

"I know, but it was still hard to watch him go through that hell."

A sudden knock from the door startled them both and Olivia looked suddenly terrified. John walked over to the door, and invited Elliot in. He walked in slowly, looking at Olivia who as balled up in the bed.

"Hey Liv," he said quietly.