I'm back! :) What did you think of "Persona?" I thought it was an amazing, classic SVU episode. We need more of these. I am so excited for "PTSD" on Tuesday!

Disclaimer: Of course, I don't own the characters. It's on my X-mas wish list though. :)

A/N: Okay, here is chapter 3! YAY! ^_^ After some deliberating, I felt this was the best scenario to go with. Enjoy~!

BANG! BANG! was all Elliot had heard ringing in his ears. As he lay there on the cold-hearted sidewalk, he felt his lifeblood leave his body. He couldn't move or speak. Am I paralyzed? He thought he heard a car pull up, but he wasn't so sure.

"This is Olivia Benson, Manhattan SVU. We have an officer down at the corner of Clarence and Queens Avenue! I repeat: we have an officer down!" Oh God! Elliot! Her voice, though it sounded miles away, grew increasingly panicked as she came closer to him.

"Liv…" he whispered hoarsely.

"Elliot…" Olivia whispered as she dropped by his side. He felt the presence of warm, caring hands on his shoulder and knew she was trying to save him.

"El, look at me." He slowly turned his eyes to look up at her. She had tears in her eyes. "Can you hear me?" Elliot wanted to say yes, but he couldn't form the words to answer her. "Please hang on, Elliot. Don't leave me," she pleaded. "You'll be fine. The ambulance is almost here."

"Liv… I love …" As the ambulance pulled up to the curve, Elliot faded into unconsciousness with Olivia screaming his name.

----------------In the Lobby Outside of the Emergency Room--------------------

Olivia waited outside in the lobby for three hours for the doctor to come out and tell her if Elliot would be fine or not. Before he passed out, he whispered that he loved her. Was it true? She must have been hearing things. Elliot Stabler would never say such a ridiculous thing. What about Kathy? He has his happy family to love and support him. Speaking of Kathy, she was nowhere to be seen. I suppose Kathy doesn't know yet, but I would think Cragen would've told her right away. The doctor came out of the doors towards Olivia. His face looked very tired and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"Doctor, how is he? Is he…?" she asked.

"Mr. Stabler is doing fine for now. One bullet went straight through him and the other just barely missed his vital organs. He's very lucky to be alive right now." Olivia released a sigh of relief.

"Will he make a full recovery?"

"Yes. He's already been asking to go home twice now. I think it would be in his best interest for him stay here one night just for observation."
"May I see him, doctor?" she asked. Would he be conscious after the surgery or would he be resting? Would he even want to see her? she wondered.

"Sure. He's resting in Room 212. It's the first room on the right after you make a left at the end of the hallway."
"Thank you."

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As Olivia approached Elliot's room, a sense of anxiety washed over her. What would he say? What if he tells me to leave? I don't blame him for wanting to be upset at me. If I hadn't shown up, none of this would've happened. Looking through the glass, she saw Elliot peacefully asleep. She slowly turned the door handle, but it squeaked anyway, and she sat down in one the chairs close to the bed. As she touches the bite mark she left him on his shoulder, it reminds her what happened earlier.

"Elliot…" she spoke. As she watched him sleep, tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry about everything tonight. It's my fault you're there in that bed. It's my fault you were shot. I almost lost you back there on the curb." Olivia didn't notice she was crying until she felt a tear splash on Elliot's hand. The tears made her realize she couldn't be doing this now. This was not the time nor place for discussing things like this. They never discussed how they felt. It was an unspoken rule they followed almost maliciously.
"I love you, Elliot. Goodnight." Olivia wanted to leave. She needed time to think about everything. Before she could set a foot outside the room, she heard her name.

"Liv…" She couldn't face him yet. Not with the way she looked now. One look would give her away and she couldn't allow him to see this side of her. Not yet. "I'm sorry I'm not very exciting when my eyes are closed," he said. Olivia cleared her eyes before she faced him. He heard everything.

"Elliot, you are awake," she said in a startled voice. "How are you feeling?" Elliot smiled, but the distance between him and his partner was killing him. It hurt him to see her very distanced physically and emotionally from him.

"I'm feeling pretty good right now. What about you, Liv?"

"Me? I'm just how I always am, El," she replied. Elliot cocked an eyebrow at Olivia.

"Liv, want to tell me what's on your mind? It's clear something is bothering you." Olivia just stood there by the door and stared at Elliot.
"Elliot… I can't. It's complicated."
"I've heard that before," he replied nonchalantly. Both of them remembered that case. Elliot thought that Gitano had killed her with that knife. Those scars, while not physically visible, were still present in other ways. "About earlier, Liv…" Olivia was hoping that he had forgotten about the events that transpired earlier that night.

"If you don't want to see me again, I'll understand. I didn't mean to put you in an uncomfortable situation. I can put in my transfer papers if you want me to."

"Olivia, come over here and sit next to me." Olivia shook her head.

"Can't."
"And why not?"
"I just can't right now, El."

"Olivia, please. It hurts to see you so distant. You've been so distant from me and it's killing me." Olivia gave in and slowly walked to Elliot's bed and collapsed in the chair.

"I didn't intend to play the part as the prostitute. I only came up with the idea because I just thought Bushido would give me the boot, but…" Olivia stopped herself. She was dangerously close to a mental meltdown. Her eyes were focused on the floor while she spoke. She could not deal with these feelings of guilty love and couldn't bring herself to look into those honest eyes. "I was only kidding about the '$100 to watch, $250 to join' part. I just said those things to save your life. I didn't think we would have to act on them. I interfered and almost cost you your life, Elliot."

"Your intentions probably saved me, Liv. Had you not been so clever, we would've been killed and we would not know the location of the gibbon." Olivia wouldn't lift her head to look at Elliot. "Let me look at you." When she lifted her head, Elliot discovered that tears stained her face and her eyes were puffy and read. She had been very upset because of her guilt. Olivia allowed Elliot to gaze into her chocolate eyes.

"You know I'm not angry with you, Liv-"

"You have to let me finish what I started to say," she cut him off. "I could have been held responsible for your death and I was preparing to be unable to forgive myself for it. What was I supposed to tell Kathy or Cragen if you died?"

"Kathy wouldn't have known. She left me a while ago. This job has taken its toll on my family and my marriage. It was too much. It worried her every night that she would get "the call" from Cragen. The stress killed my marriage, Liv."
"Elliot, I'm sorry."
"I set her free from the burden of my job. I couldn't talk to her about the terrible shit we see everyday, Liv. When I get home from work, I can't discuss a case where an eight-year-old girl was gangbanged, beaten, and left for dead in an alley or another one where a twelve-year-old boy was molested by a candlestick by a Catholic priest. I can't share my feelings about what I've seen. I did that once and the look in Kathy's eyes just killed me. There are some very sick people out there, Liv, and I learned a long time ago not to let them into our house." Elliot reached out for Olivia's hand and she tangled their fingers together.

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"I just had the guiltiest thoughts running through my head that I had ruined your marriage, our friendship, and our partnership after we had to fuck. I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me again. I figured you would be very upset at me and would blame me for getting shot... for everything!" Elliot wiped a tear away gently with his thumb.

"Liv, don't cry…" He leaned over and pulled Olivia into an embrace. "I'm here now."
"Elliot…" She closed her eyes and smiled. "Thank you."

"I care about you very much, Liv. When I said I'd be there for you a year ago, I meant every word."

"I love you, Elliot," she whispered in his ear.

"Me too, Olivia." Olivia's cell phone interrupted their embrace.
"Yeah? He's right here. Okay. I'll let him know right away." She clicked her phone shut and looked at Elliot.
"That was the Captain?" he asked.

"Yes. He wanted to know how you were doing and also wanted me to tell you we've located Bushido. We'll be paying them a visit very soon."
"I need to be there." Elliot tried to sit up, but pain flared up in his shoulder.

"You can't, El. You have to rest. What if you split your stitches open again?" Cragen would probably kill her for allowing Elliot to release himself from the hospital. She knew Elliot wouldn't stay down for long. This man, her man was a fighter.

"If I can't nail that bastard, Liv, I won't be able to rest. Let me go with you."

"But I want you to take it easy, though. I don't need another close call." Olivia leaned her face towards Elliot's and allowed their lips to touch.

"Promise me you'll be careful?" she asked when she pulled away.

"I'll be fine, Liv. We'll get those bastards. Let's go." Olivia helped him out of his bed and he dressed for work. Elliot would make sure that Bushido paid for all of his crimes. As he grabbed his coat, he gave Olivia a reassuring smile.

TBC...
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