Loving the reviews. They're awesome.

This will be the last chapter I post until thursday; possibly wednesday.

Disclaimer: My cat doesn't know the meaning of personal space and so I was awake until 5am...which is the time I'm sure Dick Wolf gets up - I don't get up that early so I'm pretty sure I don't own anything that he does.

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Olivia's eyes snapped open, shocked to only see black. She soon adjusted and noted the small crack of light under Elliot's front door. She concluded that it must be night because eventually the shadows became more accentuated with the light from the streets below. Olivia shifted slightly from the odd angle she and Elliot had ended up at. If it wasn't for the armrest that Elliot was half hanging off she would be lying on top of him.

She shuffled out of his grasp and lifted the comforter, slipping out sideways and almost tripping over the corner of the couch. She needed some space and wished she could call a cab so she could go home. She refrained though, knowing Elliot would be at her door within two minutes of her arriving home.

Instead she headed for the refrigerator. Since she hadn't eaten at the diner her stomach was growling but that could also count as nausea. She really didn't feel like anything but if she was going to toss her cookies she may as well have something to toss. She pulled the door open and cringed inwardly at the slight groan it made which seemed to echo throughout the darkened apartment.

She poked through the contents, little of which looked edible. She found some Chinese from god knows when as well as a few limp vegies and a bit of what looked like yoghurt. She figured he hadn't been shopping since the kids had been over. That must've been about three weeks ago.

Deciding against the contents of the fridge, she turned to the cupboards. She raided the one near the fridge first; surprised she could read the labels of things in the dim light. The cupboard contained some stale crackers, some peanut butter to go on the stale crackers, a can of baked beans as well as a can of corn, a can of salmon and three cans of tuna. Olivia closed the cupboard, really not in the mood for fish.

She went through three more cupboards, one having mugs and glasses, the other had bowls as well as plates and salad dishes. The third cupboard had alcohol in it and although it was tempting, Olivia reluctantly closed the cupboard door.

She was about to give up on food when she realised she hadn't checked the freezer compartment of the fridge. She creaked the door open again and began rustling freezer bags and quietly trying to avoid banging containers that had some sort of soup which had been frozen solid in them.

Finally she came across something that she was pretty sure wouldn't give her food poisoning. She pulled the carton out to examine the label. It was some sort of brand of 'Rich Double Choc Fudge Ice-cream'. Satisfied with her find, she closed the freezer door and set about finding a spoon.

Several open drawers later and she found her utensil. She pulled the lid off and admired the fact that the ice-cream had yet to be touched by anyone else.

She ran the spoon across the smooth surface and let the ice-cream curl. She wasn't quite interested in eating it yet and messing had sufficed her hunger for now. She ran the spoon around the rim before scooping up her little frozen chocolate shaving and slipping the spoon into her mouth.

The ice-cream was good but it just didn't feel…right. She didn't know. She left the kitchen and went in search of something warmer to put on, ice-cream tub in hand, spoon secured in mouth. She went to the hall closet to find one of Elliot's jumpers. The NYPD one looked a bit daggy but there was a thick leather jacket which looked appealing. She undid the zipper and pulled it off the coat hanger with one hand. She held it by the collar, cocking her head to the side as if it would give her a better view.

Olivia shrugged. She slipped one arm into the jacket before swapping the ice-cream carton to the other hand and sliding that arm in too. The jacket drowned her but it was comfortable. The sleeves were way to long but she didn't care.

She padded back to the couch but didn't feel like going to sleep or anything so instead she set the ice-cream and spoon on the coffee table and raided Elliot's DVD collection for a movie that looked appealing.

No such luck.

The majority were movies that the kids would have enjoyed a couple of years ago and all Elliot's ones were explosion and machine gun orientated. She settled on 'The Lion King', never having seen it herself.

She put the DVD into the player and turned the TV on. Olivia grabbed the two remotes and went and sat on the couch, noting Elliot had shifted substantially and now took up the majority of the couch.

She opted to sit at the same end as his feet because had she fallen asleep, they could have woken up in very awkward positions if she sat with his head resting in her lap. Olivia lifted the comforter and pushed Elliot's legs to the edge of the couch before settling her self between the back of the couch and Elliot's calves.

She quickly grabbed the ice-cream and hit 'play' on the remote.

- - - - -

About an hour later, Elliot stirred groggily and tried to move.

"Liv, what are you doing??" he asked, midway through a yawn.

"Huh?" Olivia briefly glanced away from the screen before looking back, "Watching 'The Lion King'."

"Okay. Do you want to get off me?" Elliot asked, trying to sit up.

"No, I'm good." Olivia gave him a quick smile before looking back the screen.

Elliot grinned, that was the first time she had smiled all day- "What time is it?"

"I dunno? You tell me." Olivia shrugged, putting a mouthful of ice-cream in her mouth.

Elliot finally managed to sit up and quickly hooked his arms under Olivia's legs and supported her back as he lifted her off his own legs before moving them and lowering her once again.

Olivia shrieked at the sudden action and laughed as Elliot shuffled around awkwardly.

He fixed the comforter over the both of them before moving closer to Olivia and stealing the ice-cream away from her.

"Hey!?" She grinned, reaching out to grab the container, "That's my ice-cream; I found it fair and square!"

"Yeah, but that's my jacket." Elliot replied, also snatching the spoon.

"Nup, I found that too. It's mine as well," Olivia replied, her gaze now focused on the double choc fudge ice-cream instead of Timone and Pumba.

"Well, I found you so does that mean you're mine?" Elliot grinned, pulling the ice-cream out of Olivia's reach once again as she stretched across him for it.

That was it – he was done with this game because if she was going to do that she had an unfair advantage.

"No, I'm not yours!" Olivia grinned, still reaching across his lap and swatting out at the ice-cream.

Her voice tempted him to continue, even though they seemed to have gotten themselves into a compromising position., "But you're my partner and my best friend. Why not my Livvy too??" Elliot laughed, already knowing he was playing with fire by calling her his as well as 'Livvy'.

She gave up on the ice-cream. She wasn't interested any more. What Elliot said kind of hit her in the side, wounded her a bit and for once she hadn't seen it coming.

She moved out of where she had ended up pretty much in his lap and leant against the armrest on the right of her with her legs curled up beneath her. She ran a hand through her hair before resting her elbow on the couch and sitting with her head against her palm.

"What's wrong Liv? God, I'm sorry." Elliot apologized quickly, knowing he must have done something to upset her but not quite knowing what.

Olivia gave a small smile but shook her head, "Don't worry."

"I'm worrying, Liv. What just happened?" Elliot asked, shifting closer to her again.

"Just…" Olivia trailed off, shaking her head, unable to quite ascertain what had made her recoil.

"What?" Elliot asked quietly.

"What you said, it just…" Olivia expelled a long breath, shaking her head before rubbing her eye.

The fatigue had hit again and all she wanted to do was be wrapped in Elliot's arms so she could sleep peacefully and not worry about the hundreds of horrible memories floating around her mind – certainly not the most recent one.

She'd never tell him that.

"Come here." Elliot sighed, sensing her energy levels had dropped.

Olivia looked at him confused and frowned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"For once in your life stop being so damn independent. Just stop and breathe, okay? You don't need to be strong for everyone all the time." Elliot reached for her left hand and Olivia let him take it but wasn't going to have him pulling her towards him.

Maybe.

Olivia shook her head, sucking her top lip into her mouth and closing her eyes briefly before locking gazes with him again, "But I do," she murmured, begging the tears to just stay at bay and not overflow because she knew she wouldn't be able to stop.

"Why? What this girl did- You haven't even shed a tear. You keep going off into these little trances and- God, Liv." Elliot shook his own head, breaking the gaze and dropping it to his lap.

Olivia was wounded. She wanted to tell him her heart had shattered that morning; that she couldn't cry because she didn't think she'd ever stop. She wanted to tell him that her 'little trances' are nightmares that she can't fight her way out of because they feel so real. She wants to tell him that the small hours they had spent asleep on the couch was the best sleep she had ever have because she had her knight in shining armour and it was safe to sleep.

She. Felt. Safe.

With him and only him.

She didn't tell him though. Instead she shook her head again and just let him pull her to him. He lifted the comforter and shifted back so he was lying down and moved so she could lie in front of him. He dropped the comforter back down on top of them and let it warm them relatively quickly. Elliot went to slip his arm around her waist, instead finding the leather jacket so instead he slid his hand under the waist band which didn't cling to her in the slightest and held her close that way.

Olivia had her head rested on the arm rest where as Elliot had chosen to stay semi upright and was holding himself higher than her with his elbow on the arm rest. She was tense and Elliot could feel it in her back pressed up against his chest. He moved his arm back to her hip, letting his fingers graze across her bare stomach where her blouse had been pulled from her pants and hitched, coming to rest at her waist. He slowly began to draw lazy circles on her hip, his rough thumb making small patterns on her skin.

He felt her tense against him but after a moment or two she didn't have any strength in her any more. She didn't have enough effort to stay rigid. Instead she just let go of the façade and sighed.

She let her eyes flutter closed after a few minutes, Elliot's ministrations gently lulling her to sleep. He moved from her hip, dragging his hand up and under the heavy leather jacket to massage her back softly, just letting her supple skin be imprinted by his fingers.

"You're my partner, Liv. I'll always have your back." Elliot murmured, watching her face, gentle light of the TV flickering and dancing across her features, looking for any sign that she had heard him.

She let out a shaky breath, long and slow as a few tears trickly, running across her nose and dripping onto the sofa.

"You're okay," He whispered pressing his lips to her cheek gently before pulling away and bringing his hand out from the jacket and caressing her cheek softly with his thumb.

The words made a few more tears escape as she twisted a bit on the couch, now looking up at him with dark brown eyes. They were like liquid chocolate and they made Elliot's heart melt with the sadness they contained. They held each others gaze, reading each other like a book, knowing that they both held the same kind of pain but unsure of whether their story was going to have a happy ending.

Elliot moved from having his arm propped up to resting along the arm rest, leaning over Olivia and letting the other one meet it adjacent, creating a kind of box.

Their chests were almost touching and both could feel their hearts pounding. Elliot ducked his head slightly, his lips only about and inch from hers

"You're okay." He whispered, hovering above her with a promise of a kiss dancing across his lips, a promise of something more.

- - - - -

Dont kill me.

Love,

Curses.