Back at the station, Elliot and Olivia found Lake explaining his recent visit to Warner's lab. Feeling the long hours catch up with him, Munch rubbed his eyes while he listened. Fin was in the crib, trying to cram eight hours worth of sleep into forty minutes.

"The doc got a closer look at some of those slivers embedded in Andrea's neck. They're wood all right, and look to be painted yellow. I just got back from the crime scene—thought one more look might help. I didn't find anything, but I did talk to the manager at Schank's deli. He claims that the yellow broom they usually kept in the covered doorway out back is missing. That's gotta be our murder weapon."

Cragen sat on his desk corner and praised Lake's findings. "Great work, Chester." Then Cragen turned to his two best detectives. "You guys have been gone a while. Hope you have something to show for it. We're all too damn tired for you not to have."

"Don't worry. You're gonna love this." Olivia explained to them what they'd learned at Carbon Copies. "According to a Carbon Copies employee, Tim Blackner was there at least twice in the past twenty-four hours. First he was there around 10:30 p.m. to pick up his paycheck. The Carbon Copies employee we spoke to, Jason, who got off work at 10:00, saw Tim come in as he was leaving."

Elliot interjected their theory. "This was most likely when he would have met Andrea, since Olivia spoke to her at the apartment building just after ten o'clock when Andrea was leaving for the party in Soho."

Hearing her cell phone, Olivia checked the caller I.D. Seeing that it was Simon, she silenced the ring, noting that she'd need to call him back later.

"So he meets Andrea while picking up his check, she takes pity on him and invites him to go with her. What do we have that places him there again at the time of death?" Munch thought out loud.

"Jason had already gone home, but today when he got to work he heard a story about Tim returning to Carbon Copies around quarter to one this morning claiming an error had been made on his check. We spoke to the employee that was on duty at that time. Her name is Hannah Westover and she says Tim was hostile, demanding to speak to the manager. Hannah said he was irrational because he knew very well that the only person that could remedy the payroll mistake did not work nights. Tim said he wasn't leaving until he was given what was due to him and sat down on the floor. Hannah figured if she ignored him he would give up and leave, but he stayed there for nearly half an hour. When she told him to come back after 9:00 in the morning he was very antagonistic. Hannah threatened to call the police and Tim left."

This time Fin theorized. "Tim leaves the building but not the premises. He runs into Andrea who is on her way home."

Surprised eyes turned towards Fin's direction. "Sleeping Beauty awakens," Munch mocked. "Nice of you to join us."

"How can I sleep with you all yakking away so loud?" Fin grumpily replied. "'Sides, couldn't sleep anyway. Not with some psycho out there killin' in Liv's neighborhood."

Cragen put an end to the babble. "Now, Tim's angry about his job and his social life and wants to take it out on someone. He feels she led him on by inviting him to the party, but then rejecting him, so he confronts her. Things get out of hand, he takes her back into the alley. He rapes her then strangles her with the most convenient weapon—the broom. Then he takes her purse and phone to make it seem like a robbery, dumping the phone in Chinatown." He paused thoughtfully, debating their next move.

"It's good enough for me," he decided, standing. "I'll call Novak and fill her in. In the meantime, you head over to Blackner's apartment—the arrest warrant will be waiting for you when you get there."

The arrest for Blackner didn't go well. It was plain by the disarray in his apartment that he'd left quickly, without plans of returning any time soon. Even his fishbowl was empty. Further investigation into his bank account showed record of the remaining $174.38 being withdrawn. The account was closed and his credit cards cancelled. There were no known relatives and his neighbors called him a loner, keeping to himself, hardly ever saying a word to anyone. The only record NYU had of him was from a year ago when he'd dropped out of school.

Deciding the only leads were his apartment and the crime scene, a stakeout was set to take place. Fin and Lake would cover Carbon Copies and Elliot and Olivia would keep an eye on Blackner's place. Cragen sent Munch home so at least one of his detectives would be well-rested on the morrow.

Sitting in the sedan with Elliot, with the lights turned off as to not draw attention to themselves, Olivia was grateful for the excuse exhaustion gave them to avoid having an actual conversation. Deciding they would take turns sleeping, Elliot let Olivia recline her seat and close her eyes while he took the first watch. Although he wasn't sure what he needed to do more, watch Blackner's apartment or watch Olivia. They so rarely made eye contact these days. Hell, they didn't look in each other's direction without having an obvious reason first. He thought back to their nine-year relationship. Since we did friends need a reason? Then the answer struck him: since they had become more than friends. At least subconsciously. The tension between them was palpable, but as much as they wanted to label that tension "anger" or "resentment", deep down they both knew those labels were nothing more than masking it's true identity. If they were brave enough to dig down to the core of the problem, they'd admit that the tension was founded on need. Sexual need. Emotional need. A raw dependency upon each other that went far beyond anything casual or lustful. And it was how far their feelings went beyond those things that scared them from admitting their feelings or for once having an honest conversation with each other.

Hearing her breathing come to an even rhythm, Elliot watched her ribcage expand with each breath. Her left arm lay across her flat stomach, rising and falling in cadence. The other arm extended up to her face where the hand rested near her cheek. Her skin seemed flawless and he couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked when she slept. He wondered if she'd lay still and peaceful like that in his arms after making love. At once, self-aware and embarrassed by what he'd envisioned, he returned his focus back to the apartment building across the street. Blackner's windows remained dark and lifeless. And an hour later nothing had changed.

A sudden chill must have come over her because Olivia's raised arm dropped down as she hugged her arms in her sleep. Rolling to her side, she tried to curl in, attempting to warm herself with her body heat. Elliot had the urge to help her, protect her. Give her the warmth that she needed. Turning up the heated air, he also removed his jacket and laid it across her body. As he did so, her eyes fluttered open and he looked to see her staring at him. Frozen in place, his hands still grasped the jacket's hem. The enchantment was broken as she blinked and gave a sheepish smile.

"Uh, you seemed cold, so I…" Elliot tried to explain as she sat up.

"Oh, well, um…thanks." Olivia stammered as she flexed her hands in front of the heat vents. "I think it did get a little cool. I feel warmer now. Thank you. I'm sorry."

Handing Elliot's jacket back to him, their hands touched in the exchange and again it sent shockwaves through her body.

"Don't be sorry," he said, taking the jacket and laying it the backseat.

"Anything from Blackner?" Olivia gestured out the window.

"No—I don't think he plans on coming back here, but what else do we do? Sit at the station? Right now he's our only lead, and a good one at that. We might as well keep an eye on things, just in case."

"Well, it's my turn to be on the lookout. Why don't you try to sleep for an hour?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." And with that he reclined his seat, grabbing his jacket back and bunching it up for a pillow.

Not five minutes had gone by when Elliot's cell phone rang. Groaning his protest, Elliot reached into his pocket and saw the caller ID.

"Hello?…Hi, Kathy. Everything okay?…"

Olivia took a deep interest in watching for Tim, trying to appear as though she was not listening to Elliot's private conversation.

"…Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I know you wanted me there…Well, what did the teachers say?…Yeah…Mmhmm…Oh, that's good. Good for her…I wish I could have been there…I can't right now, but hopefully in a couple hours…Well, presently we're watching this guy's apartment hoping he'll get desparate and come home…"

His voice becoming softer as he turned his body away from her, Olivia could hear him whisper, "Of course she is. She is my partner…When is this going to stop?…I will not talk about this now. I'll call you later."

Closing his phone, he looked at Olivia out of the corner of his eye and tried to pretend that last thirty seconds of the phone call did not take place. Lying back down in the seat, he closed his eyes and tried to drift off, but had to settle on just resting his eyes.

Hearing Olivia open her purse, he interpreted the sounds coming from her side of the car to be a bottle of lotion being opened and squirted. As she rubbed her hands together, the scent of the cream made its way to him. It was familiar to him. She'd been using the same lotion for several years now and he could never smell it without thinking of her. Once, while he was still separated from Kathy, he ran across it in the mall when he was doing some Christmas shopping. He'd recognized it all the way from the main corridor. He'd felt like an idiot walking into that girly store—and it was as girly as they come—but he'd gone in anyway, determined to finally know the name of her signature lotion. Lying to the sales clerk that he was looking for his daughter's favorite lotion, he described it to her. Right away the clerk knew what he wanted and brought a bottle to him: Japanese Cherry Blossoms. Holding the bottle in his hand he considered buying it, just so he could take it home and smell Olivia. The absurdity of the moment hit him and he'd chickened out, apologizing to the clerk because he had changed his mind, deciding he'd wait to purchase it for his daughter. There were nights that scent haunted him in his sleep. It was light, yet mysterious. He found the blend of cherry and vanilla quietly seductive. And now here it was full force, filling his senses and forcing him to swallow back his fantasies before he made a fool of himself with her in the car.

Knowing that he couldn't fake it any longer, he sat and adjusted his seat upright.

Olivia watched him give up on sleeping with apprehension. "I'm sorry," she said. "Was I being too loud?"

"No, I've never really been able to sleep during these stakeouts. I don't know why I bother trying."

Olivia snorted a laugh. "Are you on crack, Stabler? I've been on enough stakeouts with you sawing logs to know that's a bold-face lie!" Olivia gently punched him in the arm, calling him on his fib.

Elliot feigned innocence. "Well, that's the pot calling the kettle black! I saw logs? You put power tools to shame, my friend."

"You're in deep now! Don't you know you're breaking the cardinal rule of partnership? You're not ever supposed to admit that your partner snores—especially when you're partner is a woman."

"Oh, don't get too upset. You're nothing compared to Kathy with a cold."

Both detectives chuckled until the moment had passed. Then it was awkward silence. It always was when Kathy's name came up.

Finally, Olivia summoned the courage to ask, "Does she still feel so insecure about our partnership? I mean, I guess after nine years, I thought that…"

"Yeah, I'd have thought so, too. Actually, I think deep down she knows she doesn't need to worry, but this pregnancy has been the worst when it comes to her hormones fluctuating. I've got to be patient, though. I know it's much worse on her than on me."

"How's she doing, anyway? How's the baby?"

"She's having a baby when her first baby is old enough to be. I think she's excited about a second chance, but worried about how different things will be."

Elliot paused. When Olivia didn't respond, he said, "We had a sonogram last week, you know." Olivia nodded. "It's a girl," he said flatly.

"Hoping for a boy?" Olivia smiled kindly.

Elliot shrugged, "Eh, Dickie would have liked a brother and I'd have liked another son, but I consider myself lucky to have three girls, and will be even luckier to have four. At this point, I'm just hoping for healthy."

"Does the doctor anticipate any problems?"

"We haven't done any in-depth testing, but so far things seem normal. That's good, I guess. Just keep trying to focus on the positive."

"That's exactly what you should be doing, El." Olivia placed her hand on his compassionately. "Don't dwell on the could-be's. Just focus on how great your other kids turned out. If this kid's anything like them—"

"What was that?!" Elliot interrupted, leaning forward in his seat.

"What was what? Where? Where are you looking?" Olivia looked up at Blackner's apartment. It was still dark and showed no sign of movement.

"Over there, in the doorway of the building next door. I thought I saw someone standing in it." Elliot turned on his lights and rotated the wheel as he slowly moved forward. The car rolled forward, turning so that the lights would shine on the area of which he'd thought he'd seen Tim.

Nothing. Just concrete steps leading up to a door framed in white moulding.

Frustrated and confused, Elliot squinted his eyes at the darkness. "I swear I saw someone move in that doorway."

"Let's go check it out on foot." Olivia suggested.

Elliot put the car into park as Olivia radioed to Cragen their suspicions. He responded, advising them to be careful and to notify him soon.

Stepping out onto the quiet street, where only the occasional car drove by at this hour, Olivia and Elliot walked cautiously with their guns ready, pointed downward. Shielding herself behind a parked car, Olivia motioned to Elliot to move towards to the doorway in question.

Pressing himself against the building, Elliot was precise and specific in his movements. Nearing the doorway, he took a deep breath. Effortlessly swinging himself around to face the doorway, his arm held his gun out in front of him, ready to face any would-be assailant. Empty. And the door locked. It appeared to be an office building, so only someone with a key could get in.

Considering they'd been out there for hours with no sign of Blackner at either the alley or apartment, Cragen called them all back in. While he waited for them to arrive, Don located the owner of the office building. After learning the offices were empty and only the owner had a key, and that he lived in Florida, the possibility of his assisting Tim in any way was dismissed.

Four weary detectives entered the precinct and were relieved to be discharged for a few hours to go home and sleep.

"There's nothing more we can do tonight. Besides, you all look like crap—I want you to go home. Home. And don't let me see any of your ugly mugs before ten a.m. Not a minute later," he commanded.

Turning off his computer, Elliot offered Olivia a ride home. She'd been awake for nearly twenty hours now on what had been an especially difficult and personal case. She was exhausted and the last thing she wanted to do was walk home. Not to mention she would enjoy another five minutes with Elliot. It was incredibly tempting. However, as she reflected on what she'd heard between Elliot and Kathy earlier tonight, her instinct told her it was not a good idea.

Elliot could see her inner conflict in her eyes, as they turned dark with thought.

"Thanks, but…I think I'll just walk. It's just a few blocks."

"Just a few blocks? I think it's a bit farther than that. And you're going to walk it at this hour?"

Olivia sighed, "I don't know, Elliot. I might walk, I might get a cab. I'm not sure at this point. But I think it would just cause problems for you if you take me home." She pulled her purse onto her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Liv, hold on," Elliot whispered as he quickly grabbed the strap of her purse. "You need to understand something."

She looked at him with expectant eyes. The way she'd given him her complete attention caught him off guard and he momentarily forgot his words. "What goes on between me and Kathy…I mean, I can handle it."

Seeing that he had not chosen the best phrasing by the expression on her face, he tried again. "I mean, Kathy really isn't as threatened by you as you may think. It's just the hormones. And she trusts me. You are my partner and I've got your back. I'm not comfortable with you walking home alone when you're this tired."

"What's that supposed to mean? That I need a babysitter? A bodyguard?" Olivia pulled away from him defensively. She knew she was just worn-out and holding his concern over his head, but it hurt too much to let him worry about her.

"You know I don't mean it that way. I just mean that your reflexes are tired and home is not 'just a few blocks'." Rolling his eyes in exasperation, he tried once more, "C'mon. I'll drop you off on my way."

Sticking to her guns, Olivia proudly but gratefully opposed his plea. "I appreciate the offer, El, but it's not that far. I've walked it after longer days and it's really not that big of a deal. If I decide I'm too tired, I'll grab a cab. Besides, I want to pick up some groceries on the way first."

"You're getting groceries at this hour?"

"Elliot, these are the hours we work. I'm used to it. Besides I've got nothing at home. I at least want to pick up some stuff for breakfast."

Patting his arm with finality, Olivia stepped onto the elevator. As the doors closed, she pushed the button to hold them open for an irritated Elliot. "Are you going down or are you going to stand there all night feeling irritated at me?"

Peeved at her snappy remark, he brushed past her and pushed the button for the first floor. As the elevator lowered itself, it was obvious he was unhappy with her. "You are so stubborn sometimes. Why don't you let people help take care of you, Liv? Why can't you let me take care of you?"

"I don't need someone to take care of me, El, especially you. I learned that a long time ago." She knew she was lying. And she also knew he knew it, too. But it didn't matter. They hadn't spoken the truth in their partnership for a very long time, so why start now? She ended the lie with, "I'm just fine by myself. So don't worry about me anymore, okay?"

Grabbing her by the shoulders roughly, Elliot clenched his teeth. "I can't, Olivia. I can't not worry about you. I can't not care about you!"

Seeing the whites of her eyes and the nervous expression on her face, he let go of her shoulders as his head slumped in defeat.

Ding.

Shaken and pierced by his outburst of honesty, Olivia stared up at the elevator ceiling. Humbly and with tears in her eyes she whispered, "Then you have to learn how to not care so much, Elliot. Or we'll never survive this partnership."

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out. Away from Elliot, away from his honesty.