She's on her lunch hour, thinking about Laurel's case again, when she gets the call.

"El?" He can tell she's upset again, when she says his name tearfully.

"What's wrong baby?" It takes her a minute to realize that she is talking to him again..for the 2nd time in 12 hours.

"She just..wanted someone to love her. That was all she wanted..and I-"

"Laurel?"

"Yeah" she sniffles. "I was thinking, about what she said..and I realized-that deep down, that's all I wanted too. From parents, from a family, from relationships. I just, wanted love. God I must sound pathetic."

"No, sweetheart there's nothing pathetic about that. But..you know you have it now right? From the squad, from cragen, from so many people. And I love you the most, out of all of them"

"I know, I know and I'm so thankful to have you. So thankful that you've put up with me all these years and can still love me, unconditionally. You've been here Elliot, ever since we became partners you've been my shoulder to cry on, my source of comfort, support and love,the one person I can trust. You're the longest relationship I've had but-"

"I wasn't there at the beginning"

"I was a loveless child El"

"That wasn't your fault"

"Or my mother's, it just, I don't think it really hit me until now. That it's always been love that I craved so much."

"I love you Olivia, you hear me? I love you enough for every year of your childhood, for the love you craved as a child. No matter what has happened, what you've gone through in the past..you've got me sweetheart. You've got love, I promise."

His words move her to tears. "I know" she whispers. There is silence between them for a minute, and then she realizes that for the first time since being in WITSEC..it's HIM that called HER. And that there is nothing careful or quiet about the way he talks. He's not hiding from anyone anymore.

"El?" For the first time in years, her voice has a hopeful edge to it, but she is hesitant to believe. "What's going on? What were you calling about?"

"They caught them Liv"

"The men who made the threats, tried to kill you?" She holds her breath. His voice is laced with tears of joy when he responds.

"They just called me about 3 hours ago, said they found the psychos and that they were killed instantly..Liv I'm..I'm coming home baby"

They're both crying now, and she's stunned.

"This isn't a dream? You're really coming home? I'm not dreaming?"

"No honey, you're not. They said my flight had already been booked and paid for..that it was all over. To pack my bags and go back to where I belonged."

She can't believe it, and she's smiling bigger than she has in 7 years. Sobbing out of happiness. It's then that she notices that unlike the silence in the background she normally hears, it sounds like he's somewhere busy, crowded…. Like an airport.

"Do you know when? Sometime this week?" She asks hopefully. And an announcement in the background confirms her suspicion

"Attention passengers, flight 2780 to New York City will begin boarding in 30 minutes"

"Elliot?" She's standing now, shaking from happiness and hope. She can hear his smile in his voice when he responds.

"It was paid for, and scheduled for this morning..by someone you know pretty well actually"

"Someone I know? In the Feds? Don't tell me dean porter's back"

"God no, I wouldn't take a penny from that loser" he scoffs. "You know I was skeptical at first, wasn't sure I'd be able to trust anyone else to have your back, keep you safe but it sounds like he did a pretty good job." Then it dawns on her.

"Nick? You met Nick Amaro?"

"He works private security now and found out who I was. They were going to wait 2 weeks to send me home, cheaper flight that way. Till Nick insisted on paying for it, booking it for today, and driving me to the airport."

"Oh my god, that's, wow I, I haven't talked to him in a while either actually. I should call him and thank him." The knowledge that her most recent partner was the reason she would see her old partner for the 1st time in 7 years in just a few hours warmed her heart, and she felt more tears fall. She loved Nick too, not the same way she loved Elliot, but Nick had become a great friend over the years. She felt lucky that he had been her partner. She never thought of him as Elliot's replacement, because no one could ever replace her El. And because, there was a part of her that knew he would find a way back to her someday. That knew they wouldn't be apart forever, that one day it would be safe for him to come home. Of course, when she called him at 5:00 that morning, she never thought just a few hours later her dream for the past 7 years would come true. All thanks to whoever caught the monsters who threatened to take him from her. And of course the other man she had shared a desk with, who proved his loyalty and friendship to her by sending her the best christmas gift, best miracle she had ever received. Elliot Stabler was coming home, and nothing that had bothered her that week mattered anymore.

"Liv, honey are you still there?"

"Yes, sorry El it just, took me a minute. I don't remember the last time I was this happy."

"Me neither baby, I've gotta go through security now, I'll call you when I land. See you soon sweetheart, I love you"

"I love you too El, have a safe flight."

They hang up and she sighs happily. Before it hits her that she never asked him about his family, what time he'd be coming in, or gave him her new address. Her thoughts are interrupted when her phone rings again. She wipes her eyes before answering, trying to pull herself together.

"Benson"

"Liv, hey, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time. Just wanted to call and say merry christmas." She can hear the knowing smile in his voice.

"Nick, I-I don't even know what to say, how did you? Wha-"

"I'm assuming you got the news?"

" Yeah, he called me just a few minutes ago. Nick you have no idea how much this means to me."

"You deserve to be happy Liv."

"How'd you even know it was him? That he was in the program?"

"I'm working a security job now here in San Diego, we help protect anyone who needs a detail. Sometimes we cross paths with the WITSEC program if there's a particular witness who needs extra guards. Anyway, I overheard a couple of guys talking about this case that just got closed, former New York detective who's been in the program for 7 years. How glad everyone there is gonna be when he comes home. I was curious, since that would have been right before I started working at SVU that he was put in. Then one guy says something about how no one will be happier to see him than his partner, he heard they were pretty close. Then-"

"Nick slow down, take a breath" She says and he laughs before continuing.

"Somebody asked who this 'partner' was they were talking about..guy responds 'you haven't heard of her? She's the best lieutenant in Manhattan. She's been at that same precinct for 19 years now. Longer than most people last, she and Smith were partners for 12 years.' Of course that was all sounding familiar so I asked who Smith was and the guy goes 'Daniel Smith, his WITSEC name..real name's Stabler, Elliot Stabler. So then..don't laugh..I googled him" She's amused.

"You googled Elliot?"

"I had to know for certain. Sure enough I find tons of articles about 'Benson and Stabler, New York's best crime fighting dynamic duo' I knew right away that that was your old partner, that was who you missed so much. I know from the last time we talked that things have been rough for you lately, with Noah's grandmother suddenly coming into your lives and just the overall stress that comes with the job..and thought you deserved some Christmas cheer. Once I found out that you had been informed that he was in the program, and hadn't just abandoned you, I contacted the people in charge of letting him go, and they told me they were planning to send him home within a couple weeks if he could find the money for a flight, but-"

"Fin told you about the case didn't he? About Laurel?" Nick had kept in touch with the squad as much as he could, and she could sense he may have been updated about the case that tore her apart.

"Yeah, he did. He was worried about you, thought maybe a call from an old partner, well 'young' old partner would cheer you up. I was actually planning to call you today anyway just to talk, but when I heard about Elliot, I knew that was what you needed. For the man who makes you the happiest to come home for Christmas. So I called them, told them I was a friend of Elliot's partner, used to work in the same precinct, and that I wanted to pay for his flight. Cause he needed to be home today, there was someone who had been waiting too long and needed him. So I handed them a check and had them book him a flight for this morning, told them to call him and tell him Christmas came early. They called him and then handed me a note with his address on it, and told me I was his detail. To pick him up and get him to the airport safely. He's a good man Liv, we talked for awhile and I can tell he loves you a lot"

"I know he does, I'm so happy he's coming home and I could never thank you enough."

"You don't have to thank me Liv, I wanted to do it. He just boarded the plane a few minutes ago. I gotta go back to work but I'll talk to you later. Take a few weeks off, spend time with your other half, you both deserve it."

"Thanks so much Nick, merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Liv"

"And Nick? If you get the chance, call Amanda, she could use some cheer from an old partner too. You guys reminded me a lot of El and I. I think it would mean a lot to her to hear from you."

"I will."

A/n: He's coming home! I decided to make this a multichap. A post-ep for Wednesday's episode and also a Christmas fanfic. I felt sad for Liv after watching that episode, we already knew about the things she said so there really was no new secret but still, she deserves some happiness and love in her life. So this is a story of the people around her that love her, and the things they do to show her how much she means to them. Enjoy!