Disclaimer: Things I Own - three collectible Barbies, a zebra-striped purse, and a pink piggy bank. Things I Don't Own - Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, and Law and Order: SVU.

A/N: This chapter is slightly longer and slightly better. Hey, what's the difference between a hit and a visitor? It doesn't really matter, because I still only got one review from the whole lot of you. But it told me to keep going! So here it is. Chapter two. The song is "Collide" by Howie Day.

Chapter 2 – Collide

Elliot climbed the stairs to the cribs slowly, not wanting to alert Olivia to his presence right away. He found her sitting on a cot, facing the far wall, staring straight ahead. The early morning sunlight from the window hit her face, making her eyes shine. He watched her shoulders rise and fall slowly for a few moments before he cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Coffee?" he offered, holding out one of the paper cups in his hands. She nodded, and he walked over to sit next to her on the cot. She took the cup from him, but she didn't drink. She just looked at the swirling brown liquid, as if examining it, while her finger traced the rim of the cup.

Elliot examined her. She was a mess. Neither of them had slept in two days. They were hunting a kidnapper who kept calling the unit to taunt them. They had finally found the child a few hours before. The boy was alive and unharmed, but Olivia was shaken.

"It's okay, you know," Elliot offered, straight ahead, almost as if he was addressing the wall. Olivia said nothing; she just looked up at him. He met her gaze. "Everyone loses it their first kid case."

"I didn't lose it," Olivia said quickly, barely allowing Elliot to get the words out.

"Yeah, you did, and it's okay," he said quickly, before she could interrupt him again.

"If I can't handle one measly kidnapping-"

"Olivia," he interrupted, his voice powerful but gentle at the same time. "It wasn't a 'measly' kidnapping. You handled it great. I'd be concerned if you didn't react like this."

She chuckled darkly. "How have you done it for so long?"

"I scream at the perps," he said, amused. Olivia considered this, until Elliot laughed quietly. "I'm joking. I don't know how I've done it. I just know why I do it. I do it for the victims. They need someone to help them, to fight for them." He looked at Olivia, who was examining her coffee again. "Even the best fall down sometimes, Olivia," he said seriously. She nodded slightly in acceptance. "But that's why we have partners. To pick us back up when we fall, and to buy us coffee," he cracked. Her lips turned up into a small smile. "There it is," he said softly. He loved her when she smiled. She was beautiful no matter what, but she melted him with her smile.

"Come on," Elliot said, standing up. "Let's go. I'll drive you home."

Olivia began to protest. "I live-"

"Uptown," Elliot finished for her.

"And you li-"

"In Queens."

She looked at him. "Do you get where I'm going with this?"

"Yes. And it doesn't matter. You shouldn't take the subway home after a case like this. I'll drive you."

She finally relented, and Elliot followed her down the stairs so she could get her coat from her locker. "You really don't have to do this," Olivia said one last time before they left the precinct.

"I want to," Elliot assured her with a smile. "Listen, I think we can be more than just partners. I like you, Olivia. We can be friends."

"Friends?" she said skeptically.

"You've heard of them?" he quipped. She slapped him across the arm playfully as they walked to Elliot's car.

Olivia flicked the lights on and off, twice, like Elliot asked her to when she got upstairs to her apartment. She took off her coat and sighed, examining her living room. It was quiet. Much quieter than the precinct, that was for sure. She slid her shoes off, not bothering to move them out of her doorway. She'd take care of them later.

She went to her refrigerator, grabbing some leftover chicken fried rice and a fork, before settling on her couch and turning on the television. A police drama was playing, and she chuckled. Story of my life.

She woke, six hours later, to the chirping of her cell phone. Her back was stiff from sleeping on the couch for so long, and the television was playing an infomercial for some ab cruncher or butt blaster or something. She located her cell phone and answered it with a groggy "Benson."

"Good morning, sunshine," Elliot chuckled from the other end of the line. "Sorry to interrupt your nap, but we caught a case, and Cragen wants you on the scene with me."

"Oh, okay," Olivia said, standing slowly and taking a few steps before tripping over her empty Chinese container. "What time is it?"

"Almost one," Elliot responded. Olivia slipped on the shoes that were still sitting by the door. "Listen, the scene's on Forty-Fifth. Can you get here okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Olivia assured him. "I'll be right there."

"What have we got?" Olivia asked Elliot, who jumped from surprise.

"Didn't expect you to be there," Elliot excused himself. "Twenty-five year old woman; her name's Tiffany Abel. Found her ID in her back pocket."

Olivia looked down at the body, which the medical examiner was musing over. "Fluids?" she asked.

"Not that I see now," M.E. Warner said, "but I'll know more when I get her on my table."

"Alright," Elliot said. "If you find anything else-"

"You'll be the first to know, Stabler," Warner assured him.

"What about the rest of the scene?" Olivia asked Elliot.

"A few fingerprints, but out here, who knows who they belong to. We haven't found a murder weapon – she was strangled."

"With what?"

"Probably his forearm."

"Or something with the same shape," Olivia added.

"Right. There was a box of condoms in her purse. Could've been a date gone wrong."

"Either that, or the girl's always prepared."

"Wow," Melinda mused. "Are you sure you two just met?"

Both Olivia and Elliot looked over at the medical examiner. "What do you mean?" Elliot asked.

"Well, you're just very...in-sync with each other, is all," Melinda clarified.

"Nah," Olivia said. "He made quite the first impression; I wasn't sure we'd click at all. But we just...collide, I guess," she said with a small smile. Elliot met her gaze, and matched her expression. They had collided, alright. In the best way possible.

A/N: Yeeees? Please review, or how will I know what you want from me? :) By the way, the last chapter's song was "I've Just Seen a Face" by the Beatles, if some of you didn't catch that.