A/n: Okay, so here's the next chapter; I hope you all like it. Thanks to all the reviewers, you guys are great.

Going Out With a Bang

Chapter 3

It was different, working with Dani instead of Olivia. They were two very different detectives, not to mention people. This time, he wasn't the one who had to be calmed down; he was the one doing the calming. Dani was rash and wanted things to be closed and over with quickly. She would just have to get used to Special Victims, while he was still trying to get use to life without Olivia. How much longer would it be before she woke up? Elliot wondered to himself. How much longer will I have to work with Beck?

Things had been fine - not fixed - but it was getting there. Elliot knew that after everything they had now gone through together, he and Olivia would never be as it was. At least I can't. I can't go back to before. Not after this.

Seeing Cragen walk in, Elliot let his thoughts trail off.

"Grab your partner and get to Mercy." Elliot winced at the word partner, but got up to get her nonetheless.

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The ride to Mercy was long. It was nothing like the car rides with Olivia. Elliot wondered when he was going to stop comparing Olivia to Beck.

"So, what happened to Benson?" Dani asked.

"She was shot," Elliot deadpanned. This was not a subject he wanted to talk about. He realized, though, that it probably was something he was going to have to talk about. He was supposed to have her back, supposed to keep her safe, and all he had ended up doing was getting her shot. Huang had taken him aside a few days after she was shot and told him, his door was always open. Elliot had thought about taking him up on the offer, but had decided against it.

"She was a good cop," Dani offered.

You didn't know her - didn't work with her, hadn't gotten to know her, Elliot thought. How could this woman possibly know what Olivia was like? How could Beck know all that Olivia and he had gone through? How?

"Yeah." Again, he deadpanned his response.

"Look, Stabler, at least I'm attempting to be civilized. I know that I'm not Olivia but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're going through."

"Oh? And how would you know?" Elliot mocked, not knowing what the answer would be, not really caring.

"My husband was also one of New York's finest." Elliot's eyes widened; he didn't think he was going to like the end of this story. "Unfortunately, he's not with us anymore. He was shot a little while ago…" She trailed off "So the next time you want to tell me I don't know how you feel, think again, because at least your partner is still alive."

What was he supposed to say to that? 'I'm sorry' was too common and he would bet she had heard it more than enough, so he settled for, "I didn't know."

"Well, now you do."

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Elliot was here again, in her room. He had been to see her everyday; he was starting to lose hope, all the hope that she would come back to him. Beck was good, but she wasn't Olivia. Olivia had that special touch with their victims. She was great with the children, knowing how to calm them down or how to get them to trust her. She knew, truly knew, how they felt. Beck was good, but Elliot had to wonder how long it would take for the victims to become too much.