Brian left the squad room just as Liv came around the corner. She felt ice cold, but he seemed happy to see her. What did he think? She was never going to find out about Kathy? That divorce drama in Elliot's life would somehow push her to leave Elliot and run back to him?

The more she thought about it, the more pissed she got. Brian had the audacity to greet her with a hug. She didn't resist it, but didn't return it either. She wasn't having this discussion in the hallway.

She tried to keep her voice from betraying the fury she felt, "Can we go somewhere? I need to talk to you." Before he could invite her to lunch or something she spotted the door to the locker rooms. She tilted her head in that direction and walked down the hall. Brian followed closely behind her.

He seemed a little apprehensive, finally clueing in on her mood. He jogged ahead of her to get the door before following her into the locker room. The room was silent. At least she could be grateful for that. She didn't want to do this with an audience.

Once inside she leaned against a set of lockers with her arms folded. Her eyes shot daggers. She let out a frustrated sigh before saying, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

He mirrored her body, leaning into the lockers. He looked a little startled and confused. It annoyed her that he didn't seem to know what she was talking about. How could he not know how much damage he caused? Suddenly his eyes darted to her wrist where her hospital bands still sat. She had honestly forgotten about them.

"Wait," Now he looked frazzled, "were you in the hospital?" He noticed her hospital bracelets but couldn't figure out why she was at his precinct seething?

She couldn't help her snarky explanation. "Oh yeah, you know. I was admitted for puking blood all over Cragen's office," that might have been a little exaggerated, oh well. "After I got a nice visit from Kathy Stabler.

His face fell and she knew he finally knew why she was here and what they were talking about. Still, he steered the conversation away from what she really wanted to talk about.

"God Liv! Why didn't you tell me? Are you okay?" He reached for her arm and she brushed him off.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said succinctly. She steered the conversation back. She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why would you call Kathy?" She felt hurt and betrayed by a person she loved. "Why? Were you that jealous, that insecure that you needed to take a stab at Elliot?"

She heard the bite in Brian's voice when he answered, "He needed to remember he was married and there was a place he should go home to."

She couldn't believe this. Like what the actual f-k? "So you're telling me," she began angrily, "that you called Kathy, destroyed a 25 year marriage so he would leave? Are you f-ing kidding me?"

"He destroyed his marriage long before I got there." He said bitterly.

"What the hell do you even know about it?" Her volume raised.

He matched her noise level, "I know that he thought no one was good enough for you. I know that instead of spending time with his wife and kids he was doing God knows what with you."

"I can't believe you. You're such an idiot. NOTHING has ever happened that shouldn't between me and Elliot, and even if it did, why would it be any of your business."

"I can't believe you would be okay sleeping with a married man!"

"That's NOT EVEN CLOSE to what I just said!"

"All of that is besides the point," he said flippantly. "He destroyed you when he left. You were never quite the same, and you're telling me nothing ever happened. "

"What is it Brian? Are you mad he showed up for me or are you mad at the outrageous idea of me sleeping with him? Because right now I'm having a hard time keeping track of your list of grievances and none of them seem equal to what you did."

"What?" His voice filled with snark. "I couldn't inform his wife of his whereabouts?"

"You're an ass. You know that is NOT what this is about!"

"Then what is it about!?"

"It's about you destroying someone's marriage. Elliot's or not, that's a pretty shitty thing to do."

He waved his hand with disregard. "That's more on him than it will ever be in me. There were problems there before I even made that phone call, and if he really wanted to save his marriage, he would have stayed away!"

Olivia shook her head. Her voice dropped, laced with hurt, "Did it even occur to you that I wanted him here?"

"Of course you wanted him here." He said bitterly, "I don't get it Olivia, I really don't. I was here. Your squad was here. Cragen was here. He was gone. He left you." His next words stung. "He didn't want you."

She wasn't sure if she wanted to slap him or cry so she just stood there. Stunned.

Less than a second later she heard the sound of Brian being slammed into the lockers.

She wasn't sure how long Elliot had been there or what he heard, but here he was, seething, with Brian pinned to the lockers. Before she could even process anything Elliot's fist found Brian's face.

Part of her wanted to let Elliot beat the hell out of Brian, but the more logical part of her brain realized they were in a police station and neither of them could afford any more black marks on the record.

Brian had already swung at Elliot's face before she yelled, "Enough!" She gripped Elliot's arm, knowing she could talk him down the easiest. "Not worth losing your badge El." She tried to keep her voice soothing, close to his ear.

Brian seemed to still be itching for a fight but she kept her hand on Elliot's bicep, almost digging her fingers into his skin. His wild eyes found hers and she whispered, "Don't." She watched Elliot unclench his fist and his body relaxed. She eventually released her hold on him, "Let's go." She said quietly.

Elliot nodded at her but turned to give Brian one more scathing glance before threatening, "If you ever speak to any member of my family," his arm slipped around Olivia, indicating her inclusion in that statement, "I will not hesitate to beat you into the ground."

With that, they left the precinct.

-000-

Elliot kept his hand on her hip the entire way out of the precinct and to Amanda's car. Amanda jumped when Elliot opened the passenger side door for Olivia. Her eyes widened in surprise. "When did you get here?"

He slid into the back seat. "Oh I got here right around the time Brian accused Olivia of sleeping with me. Not a huge deal. People say that all the time. I might have lost it when he told her that I left because I didn't want her." Liv slumped in the seat, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her lungs all over again. It was like Brian found her biggest insecurity with Elliot and exploited it mercilessly.

"F-k him." Amanda said seriously. "Let's go home."

Funny how that one statement made her feel like for the first time in a long time, she had a family. A weird family full of dysfunctional kick ass cops, but a family all the same.

-000-

While Elliot showered, Amanda and Olivia sat on the couch, feeling mentally exhausted. Both their heads were leaned back into the couch cushions. Amanda turned her face towards Liv, biting her lip nervously. Whatever she wanted to say she must have thought the better of it because she returned to her previous positioning on the couch.

"What do you want to ask me Amanda?"

"Nothing. It's none of my business and I don't need to know." She spoke to the ceiling rather than looking at Liv.

Olivia sat up and tucked one of her legs beneath her. "Just ask. I think you've probably earned the right to ask me a personal question."

Amanda turned her face again, still keeping her head back. "It's the question everyone asks, and I really don't need to know. It's just something I wonder about I guess."

Olivia thought for a moment before answering. "It's not really the question that bothers me," Olivia's eyes suddenly felt like they should study her hands. "It's the fact that people talk about it and speculate over it that bothers me."

"I one hundred percent understand that," Amanda said sadly. Olivia didn't know all of Amanda's story but she knew rumors hadn't been kind to her either.

"The answer isn't salacious. I have never slept with Elliot. Not then. Not now. Not ever." Olivia was sure to maintain eye contact so maybe, for the first time in her life, someone would believe the truth.

"Okay. But you've kissed him," Amanda clarified.

Olivia felt a blush starting to develop but she answered, "Yeah, but not until that time in the courthouse. You remember, you found me handing out in the bathroom. That was the first time he'd ever kissed me. Before then, he never even got close to trying."

"It's annoying that everyone thinks you did something wrong."

"What's annoying was trying so hard to do what's right, only to have people assume the worst." Olivia leaned back into the couch. "Can I tell you something?"

Amanda sat up at Olivia's change in tone. "Of course."

"You won't tell anyone?" Olivia asked, but she knew Amanda would keep it to herself.

"You know I wouldn't say anything."

"I know." Olivia shifted her weight, "I love him you know."

Amanda chuckled, "Yeah, I figured."

"But what everyone doesn't know is how much I've loved him all along." Olivia let out a long slow breath. "I didn't want to be that woman, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Amanda agreed, her voice pained.

"Nothing ever happened, not even close, but sometimes I wonder if I would have stopped it if he had tried."

"You are trying to figure out a choice that could have been made under a very specific set of circumstances. I think the more important thing is what you're doing now. I'm pretty sure you would have stopped it because even though he's here, on the verge of divorce, sleeping in your bed, you still have kept that line firmly in place. You would have never made him cheat. You love him too much for that." Amanda's eyes filled with all the empathy and understanding the rest of the world seemed to lack.

Olivia swallowed back the rising emotion. "Thanks."

"For what?" She asked.

"Being here. Believing me."

"I got you Liv. I know Stabler is the guy but I'll always be here if you need me."

There was no stopping those tears now.