"I love you, Liv."

"Go home to your wife, Elliot. You're drunk, and I won't be the other woman."

Olivia couldn't believe her luck. The man she'd been in a relationship with for longer than anyone else said the three words she most wanted to hear from him, and she'd sent him away. It was the right thing to do; he is married, but that doesn't make her feel any better.

Now, she finds herself home - alone - finishing off a bottle of Cabernet and sitting in silence. The wine had been a gift from Elliot, so it seemed fitting for the occasion of her disappointment and discontent. She had considered calling Alex, but decided she would rather be alone. If she couldn't be with the person she really wanted to see, she would be better off by herself. She's been alone most of her life, after all.

Olivia glances at her phone that is sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Just as she reaches for it, the screen lights up with a text from Elliot. She knows it's not work-related. Neither of them are on call, hence the ability for them both to be drinking, and he would call if there had been an emergency. She doesn't open the text, and instead checks the next day's forecast. With the anticipated warm weather, she makes a plan to go for a run in the park the next morning and moves to put her glass in the sink. She'll take care of it tomorrow.

As Olivia readies for bed, she can't help but wonder what's happening in Queens with her partner. Did he show up at their house, where Kathy is staying with the kids? If he was there, what excuse did he give her for showing up drunk hours after his shift ended? Did Kathy know he'd been to her apartment? Did they fight - again? She knows things are rocky at the Stabler residence and have been for a while. She caught him fiddling with his ring again the other day like he did the last time they'd separated. She heard him on the phone talking about divorce. For the time being, though, they are still married, even if they have separated.

Olivia slides into bed and tries not to think about what she really wanted to do when Elliot told her he loved her. How she wanted to pull his face to hers and kiss him like she'd never kissed anyone before. How she wanted to lead him to her bedroom and spend all night underneath her partner - or on top of him. Probably both. She tries not to think of those things, but she knows she has failed miserably when she reaches into her bedside drawer and pulls out her well-used and well-loved vibrator. It never disappoints her, and it's not married. Not for the first time, she calls Elliot's name as she finishes.

The next morning, Olivia wakes to 3 more texts, two missed calls, and a voicemail from her partner. She glances at the texts. They were all from shortly after she'd finally fallen asleep, and he'd clearly still been drunk. The calls and voicemail, however, were from less than an hour ago.

"Hey, Liv. Um. We need to talk. I'm on my way over with coffee and bagels. I'll be there in about 30, and I'll wait outside until you're ready."

Her stomach is in knots. She knows he won't leave until they talk, so she throws on some sweats and a t-shirt before glancing out her living room window to the street below. He's there, propped against his car, coffee and a paper bag on its roof, with his phone in his hand. She thinks about sending him a quick text, but decides to meet him outside instead.

Before opening the door, Olivia takes a second to study her partner. He's looking at his phone, but she can tell that he is not so engrossed in it that he isn't paying attention. She pushes through the door, and Elliot glances up from his phone. He can see that she's nervous, and he hates that he's the cause of her anxiety.

"Morning, partner." He holds out a cup of coffee, and she takes it from him.

"Thanks, El. How's your head feeling this morning? You had quite a bit to drink last night."

"Not too bad actually. I wasn't as drunk as you probably think I was." He holds eye contact, hoping to get his point across.

"Seemed pretty drunk to me. Wanna come up?" She nods her head towards her building.

"Sure. As long as I'm still welcome."

He gives her a small grin when she says, "You're always welcome," and they go inside, taking the elevator up to the 4th floor.

Most of the time she's grateful to be in a building with an elevator, but this morning, she wishes for stairs. Then, there would be an excuse for them not to talk on the way up. She lets him through her door, leading him to her kitchen table. Elliot sets the bagels down and takes the seat across the table from Olivia.

"So, about last night," she trails off and averts her eyes, focusing intently on the food in front of her.

"Yeah, listen, Liv. I'm not going to say that I'm sorry for what I said. I meant every word of it." He looks across at her and sees surprise in her eyes. "I just wish I'd been sober - and single - when I'd said it."

Now he sees a flash of something else - anger - reflected back at him. "Yeah, well, neither of those things are true are they? What else aren't you telling me? I know there's more."

Her words sting, because she's right.

"Kathy's pregnant."

For the briefest of moments he sees the hurt in her eyes, but she quickly masks it with genuine concern. "I didn't know you'd moved back home."

"I haven't. I'm pathetic. Fumbling around like a kid."

"So what are you gonna do?"

He doesn't want to hurt her any worse, so he just says, "I don't know. I mean, I'm going to be a dad again."

"I think you do know what you're going to do. You're going to go home to your wife and kids in Queens. What else would you do? You'd never abandon your family." It's true, but when she says it, it sounds like an accusation, and for a moment he hates that she's right.