AN: Hey ya'll! Sorry I haven't been updating, life is in the way! Anyway, I will be away this weekend and so I plan to update Wild Hearts tomorrow, but Blind Tenderness will have to wait until early next week, sorry

Thanks so much for all the support and I know this chapter is kind of…choppy. However, I am going waaaaay further into it in the next chapter, so have no fear! If you want to review, I am more than okay with that. Enjoy

Disclaimer: Yup. You already know where I stand.

They were snuggled up on the couch when there was a knock on the door. It wasn't an ordinary knock though. It was a loud, purposeful knock. It was a cop knock. Elliot gently moved Olivia out of his arms so he could get the door.

Olivia's heart dropped when she saw who it was. NYPD, just like they thought. She was frozen in her place. They knew.

"Can I help you, officers?" Elliot asked, stepping aside so that they could enter his apartment.

"Yea, are you Elliot Stabler?" the older, greying man asked.

"Yes".

"Well then, , I'm afraid that this is not a good visit for you. Elliot Stabler, you are under arrest for the murder of William Lewis".

Olivia ran up to them, putting her hand on the arm of the younger officer who was about to cuff Elliot.

"Wait! William Lewis isn't dead".

"He died this morning Ma'am, his injuries were pretty bad and since that caused him to die…"

"What makes you think that Elliot did it?" she asked.

Elliot and Olivia locked stares, each searching the others for an answer.

"His prints were found on the metal rod that was used on " the older man explained. Olivia felt like she had been hit by a truck.

"Please, you can't do this! I need him! William Lewis deserved to die!" she begged.

The younger officer's pity was evident on his face, but he had to do his job.

"I'm sorry. Elliot Stabler, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you can and will be used against you in a court of law-"

"Elliot, I'm so sorry! I can't lose you". She was sobbing, following them out the door.

"Liv, I'll be okay honey. I promise everything will be okay". He tried to reassure her. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms.

"Just promise me that you'll tell the kids that I love them". He was giving up. He was already accepting the fact that he was going to prison.

"Elliot! No!" she screamed as they made their way on to the street and to the squad car.

William Lewis ruined her life. She ruined Elliot's life. She was all alone.

"Olivia! Olivia, you need to wake up honey, you're screaming" Elliot said as he carefully shook her shoulder. It was very early in the morning and his neighbors were probably getting pissed. She had been screaming for about three minutes and tears were starting to flow. He was worried about her.

Her eyes popped open. She clutched her head and curled up in a ball. "I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry!" she choked out. That dream really shook her up.

She felt his arms wrap around her, bringing her close to him. One of his hands ran through her short tresses while the other tried to pry hers away from her face.

"Sweet heart, I need you to calm down. Take some deep breaths for me". She followed his lead, deeply inhaling and shakily exhaling, slowly gaining some control. Once she was able to breathe normally again, she crawled out of his arms and settled herself against the headboard.

"Now, why are you sorry? There's no reason for you to be sorry".

"I shouldn't have called you" she whispered, unable to look at him.

"Why do you say that?" He didn't want her to know that she had hurt him, so he kept his emotions in check.

"We have a problem. Your prints are on that metal rod. I never mentioned you grabbing it in my statement. El, you can go to jail for assault if they find out, or worse, if Lewis dies it's murder".

One of the perks of being mentally screwed up is that you never worry about the big problems since the little ones are far more haunting.

"El, what's going through your head?" It was bothering her that he hadn't said anything. How can a man be told that he might be facing prison and not react at all?

"You shouldn't be sorry. If you hadn't called me, I would be dead, Liv. My body still might be hanging in my bedroom. I was at the end of my rope. I would beat William Lewis over and over again every day for the rest of my life if I had to".

He watched as she shook her head in disbelief. He knew that she was still worried, but she had to understand that he didn't give a rat's ass.

"Elliot, we have to fix this. I can't lose you. I need you".

"Olivia Benson, you are the strongest woman that I have ever met, you do not need me. You have been independent all your life, you can do anything. You just think that you need me. Are we going to try to fix this? Yes, of course. But we can't guarantee that it will work. I will have your back no matter what, so what's the story?"

(Rafael Barba's office)

"So what was your emergency, Benson?" Barba asked, leaning back in his desk chair. She took her usual seat in the chair across from him while Elliot stood in the door way.

"Elliot's finger prints are going to be found on that metal rod that I used on Lewis".

Barba's brow rose as did his interest in their meeting. He was fully committed to Olivia and the case, but they still had a few days before they needed to start prepping. When she called him claiming that they needed to talk as soon as possible he was surprised. No victim that he had dealt with was so willing and eager to get started. At the same time, Olivia Benson wasn't just another victim.

"You never said that Elliot did anything with the bar".

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself to lie to one of the best lawyers that she knew.

They had practiced the story over and over again on the way. She had the bar in her hand when Elliot walked in and he grabbed it from her once Lewis was unconscious. Short and to the point.

"Elliot took the bar away from me once William Lewis was unconscious and unable to lunge at me again. He set it down on the dresser and called Captain Cragen immediately".

"Is that what happened ?" Barba asked, not showing his reaction.

"Yes, Olivia hit him in the knee, elbow, and head out of self-defense. I took the bar away from her because I didn't want her to do anything she'd regret".

Barba simply nodded and wrote down their addition.

"Look Liv, I need to know why you didn't tell me this little detail from the beginning".

She shrugged. "It didn't seem important until Elliot and I were reminiscing about the old days and how Tucker was constantly after his badge. He didn't like Elliot's anger and if he caught word of this, he might be able to get charges pressed against Elliot".

Barba wasn't buying any of it, but he wasn't going to press any further. He had to know as little as possible to be able to put them on the stand.

"Alright then, I guess we'll leave it at that. Oh, and Liv, remember, I'm in your corner. Lewis will be punished".

(Ride back to Elliot's apartment)

"Well, he knows that I was lying" she stated as she stared out the window, watching the rest of the world go on as if nothing was wrong.

"What did you expect? He's a great lawyer and he's known you for a while now. I'd be scared if he did believe you".

"We're not in the clear yet, but I'm glad we did that". He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they continued down the road.

(Elliot's journal)

To say that I need a drink is the understatement of the century. Olivia has been freaking out since that dream. She is beating herself up for "ruining" my life. I don't think she realizes that there was nothing left to ruin. Without her in my life, I had three friends: whiskey, vodka, and beer. We would hang out for several hours a day until I finally passed out.

I'm trying not to let the stress get to me, but I can't help but think about how nice it would be to dull the force of our troubles with a drink or two…

The only thing that keeps me going is Olivia. I need her. She doesn't need me even though she said she does. She is incredible and doesn't need someone like me to bring her down, but I've been blessed enough to have her in my life. Hell, she is my life. I love her. I would do anything for her.

That woman really is one of a kind though. I didn't buy very much clothes for her, so she's been wearing mine when we're home. I offered to take her out and get some new stuff, but she just smiled and said that she prefers mine anyway.

(Olivia's Journal)

The dream has occurred multiple times today. Every time I fall asleep actually. This cycle really sucks. I don't sleep much at night because of my nightmares, but then when I try to nap throughout the day, they continue to haunt me. I can't decide which is worse, reliving Lewis' torture every night, or losing Elliot over and over again. He's my best friend and honestly, I love him. He's my everything. I can't lose him and I will do everything in my power to keep him with me. We've been through enough and I'm honestly not sure that I could do the whole cry over your best friend that's gone thing again.

Elliot cracks me up sometimes. He worries about the little things. The fact that I ran out of clothes the other day is more important than the fact that we left evidence at the scene. That man needs some help, as do I, but I suppose that's why I'm writing in this thing.

(Bed time)

Olivia said that she wanted to watch a movie. It was hard to find one that would be okay to watch. They couldn't watch anything violent or gory because she didn't know if she was ready for that. He put on the movie with the most ridiculous title, which happened to be Bride Wars.

"This is one of my favorite movies" she confessed during the first commercial brake.

He couldn't help but laugh. He never imagined that Olivia would be the type to like the girly movies. "I can't believe that you've seen this before and you're telling me that this is a favorite of yours?"

"I don't appreciate your teasing. This happens to be a great movie". She stuck her tongue out at him before leaning in to his side and covering them with her blanket. She had every intention of enjoy her movie and Elliot as much as she possibly could.

Right before the commercials ended, Elliot's cell phone began to ring.

"Who is it?" she asked, not liking the stunned look on his face.

"Kathy".

AN: DUN DUN DUN! How'd you like their little confessions to themselves? Or that ending?