A/N: And now we go on to the next chapter of this story. In episode 14 of season 6, Olivia isn't there. It isn't explained. I'm going to assume she went on vacation.

December 26th,

Olivia Benson's Apartment

Olivia smiled for the first time in nearly five days. The captain had approved her request for vacation and she had four more days left. The last three days all she'd done was household chores. She'd put up a small Christmas tree, shopped for groceries, bought a new winter coat and court clothing she'd needed. Now she had to call her landlord to see if her apartment would be finished soon.

She reached for her phone and decided to stay in bed for this phone call.

"Dan Bailey."

"Hey Mr. Bailey, this is Olivia Benson from apartment 4D. I was just calling because I was told it would take a month."

She heard his sharp inhale. "Right, right Ms. Benson. I can completely understand your frustration with this clean up. It's looking like the building is needing all the pipes repaired. Even having the crew work non-stop, I can't guarantee when-"

She rolled her eyes, fingering the bedding as she spoke. "Then consider me no longer a tenant. I think this would be enough to get me out of my lease."

Olivia hung up, running her hand through her hair, and thinking maybe she needed a haircut. She stood, looking around the apartment. It wasn't like she needed most of the things in her storage unit. But that would mean that if, when, Alex returned she would be gambling on needing to buy more furniture. Not that she thought the blonde would make her leave, but she might want privacy after returning from the program.

She grabbed her phone, hitting speed dial. "Hey Casey, I had a question. Hypothetically, if I was living in an apartment building and there was a pipe that burst, and-"

She heard Casey snort, "Do you need a lawyer Olivia?"

"I might need a real estate lawyer. I want to make sure I'm okay to break my lease here." Olivia sighed.

"Right. Well, while I did clerk for a real estate firm in law school, that's not my thing. I can probably ask a friend. Want me to pass on your number to her?"

"Sure. Thanks Casey, I appreciate it." Olivia opened the kitchen cabinet, looking for a coffee mug.

"So, where are you living right now then detective?" The question was spoken with concern.

"Ah, I," she swallowed, "I inherited an apartment. So I've got a place to live, even if it is still weird to be here."

She heard a pen click in the background. "Oooh from the Ice Princess?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, her tone terse, "She was NOT an ice princess! Alex Cabot is, was, one of the few people who care about the victims and what happened to them. Best ADA SVU has had hands down."

She was pacing around the apartment now, upset Casey would think a woman who got 'killed' in the pursuit of a case was a cold-hearted bitch like the rumor mill had said.

"So I guess the rumors about you being involved with her were true then Liv, I've never heard you defend a lawyer like that before."

Olivia snorted. "Yeah, well Alex… She's one of a kind. And, no I wasn't involved with her before the shooting, we were just close. You get to be doing our kind of work."

Casey snort-laughed, a sound Olivia took to mean a 'yeah, right'. "Okay, well if that's all you needed, I've got to get back to trial prep for the Jones case. I've got Elliot meeting me at my office in 10."

"Good luck." Olivia hung up the phone, deciding she would go for a run.

AOAOAO

December 30th,

16th Precinct

"Benson!" the chorus calling her name was the three detectives in the bullpen. She waved to the guys, settling into her desk.

"So," Elliot grinned at her, "Have a good time with your vacation?"

Olivia blinked a few times. Elliot was trying to imply something here. "Yes. I got some errands I needed to do and finished fixing up my apartment."

"Oh! So, you're no longer in a hotel then?" Olivia narrowed her eyes at him.

"I've got a new place. Repairs were just dragging on and on. Honestly, I'm surprised Munch and Fin never told you."

The other two men looked up from their paperwork and between the two before studiously focusing once more.

"So, you'll let Munch and Fin go to your new place, but not your partner?" Elliot had narrowed his eyes at her, the expression on his face hurt.

"Well, you have a family and didn't help me move. They did. So I bought em' takeout and we ate in my new place." She looked down to her desk, digging through the files and hoping to see a letter among the stack of paperwork that had accumulated over the last few days.

Not finding one, she opened the top folder and set to typing out her supplemental reports. She was halfway through the stack when she was called in to Captain Craigen's office.

"Sir?" She spoke as she closed the door.

"Benson, since you just came back from vacation, I want you to go to this homicide conference this week. We need someone from SVU to go and everyone has their own cases their working, so you've drawn the short straw."

She rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Sure boss. When does it start?"

"Tomorrow. 10 am sharp." She nodded, closing the door on the way out.

AOAOAO

She entered with a map. "So, here's our crime scene, and here's the payphone where the 911 call was made. Now the 2-7 is the closest precinct, but they had no mobile or foot patrols anywhere near that phone. CSU's dusting for prints."

Elliot spoke up. "Maybe our guy was off duty. I'll check with personnel for a list of cops with black sports cars."

Captain Craigen nodded, "The body is covered with deep bruises and puncture wounds. He beats the crap out of her and then stabs her with somethin like a screwdriver."

"Either he was on PCP or this is personal." Elliot walked away from the board with pictures of the victim."

"You wanna go public, Captain?" Olivia spoke up, moving closer to the board. It always got to her when women were beaten to death like this.

"If nothing pans out, we may have to. When does your homicide course start."

Shit. She knew she was forgetting something about today. She looked at her watch, shaking her head. "Ah. Two hours ago."

"Get going." Captain spoke. She turned, grabbing her jacket and running out of the squad room.

AOAOAO

January 1st

Olivia Benson's Apartment

Olivia sat down on her couch, pulling an envelope out from her purse. Alex's latest letter. They had been communicating for three months now, but Alex still felt far from her. Like she would never get to actually see her again. She and Elliot had been trying to work on Alex's case in the free time they had between cases. This was the first time in a week she'd had to look at the envelope.

Dear Liv,

I hope you were able to get some time off from work so you can get a break. Lord knows that you need one with how busy SVU is sounding. It's wrong of me to want this, but I hope you stay in SVU. The unit is better for having you in it. It's also selfish of me, wanting you to be there so when I do come back this stupid exile I can know at least one of the detectives. If you've officially moved into my apartment, does that mean we'll share when I get home? I confess that thought is one my brain has formed into a need for me. I would love to come home, knowing you live there and that if I have any problems with my safety or nightmares about this, you'll be there and I don't even have to call you.

Olivia grinned at the thought. Living with Alex could be something that she enjoyed. She knew the blonde would be terrible as a roommate, unable to cook without fear of lighting the stove on fire. But she would be familiar, someone who would not question Olivia's need for justice for the victims of crime and would understand her need to sleep at the crib on some cases. She could almost feel herself making plans for Alex's return and for the way they would use the apartment. Would Alex want to share a bed with her? She hoped.

I suppose the thought that is most prevalent in my mind is that of coming home. I wish I could come home to you now. I asked the Marshalls the other day and they said it was still too dangerous for me to even consider calling anyone from home. I laughed. If only they knew Liv. This contact is the only thing that keeps me feeling sane here.

Olivia smiled grimly. If only Alex knew that they were working on her case in their free time. Her and Elliot had never stopped, hoping against hope that they could solve the case and bring Alex home. She stopped reading, glancing over at the case file that had been sitting on the coffee table for a week. Alex's file. She hadn't been able to bring herself to open it yet, knowing there would be reminders of the worst night of her life in it. Today though, after the letter she would open it, really begin to work the case. It's not like she had a lot to do right now, just a homicide conference with other detectives in the NYPD.

You'd be proud of me Olivia. I've made friends here. Even though they don't know most of my story, they're happy to include me in our work gatherings and I've even been invited to a barbecue at one of their houses. My problem now is what to bring. I wish I could say that this time has been productive in my learning how to cook but I still can't make anything that doesn't make me long for takeout. Maybe the local college has some cooking classes I can take. I don't see how this is something I can keep up forever. I can't take being unable to cook in small town America. I could get away with it in New York and I think you and the family court officers are the only ones who know I can't cook to save my life.

She snorted. The best thing to come out of the Tolliver case was the knowledge that Alex was not perfect in everything she did.

There's not much else going on here Olivia. I miss you, especially with the holidays coming up.

Love,

Alex

Olivia dropped the letter on the table. She missed Alex even more at this time of year. Though she had only been with the squad for a few years, their relationship had blossomed during the holidays. They were often the only two people catching during holidays consistently. She sighed as she opened the file.