Elliot stared at their evidence board, pictures of the crime scene in Central Park mingled with the new pictures that had just arrived from Warner's amended autopsy of Risa Tyler. Her body was stretched out, lying on a morgue table, the wounds on her neck enlarged to give a startlingly clear view of injuries she could not have inflicted on herself.

Lost in his own thoughts, he wondered about Fin's latest report. That all was at status quo—Liv was okay, and they were continuing as planned. He had made friends with a total slimeball—one that seemed particularly fond of giving Liv a hard time, but no more so than he enjoyed giving any of the women a hard time. Olivia had found a group to fit into—as best as she could--Elliot hated that he had been made inside the prison. If he went within a hundred yards of the place, the whole operation could be put in danger. It left him stuck with the second hand reports about his partner that weren't quite good enough. Not as good as seeing her for himself and reading in her eyes that she was okay.

Not knowing made it hard. It made him work harder on what he could do. The things that were falling into place outside the prison walls seemed to be happening so slowly, almost like walking in reverse. They were all reliant on the news being filtered through their inside sources and after nearly two weeks with nothing, all of them were frustrated.

He had always felt like Liv's big brother. It was his job to protect her. It was his job to look out for her, and now here he was. Outside. Not there for her. And her last whispered words to him, "Look out for Alex, 'kay?" played in his mind as he watched the blonde with a strange sense of apprehension. He was friends with her—they all were, but he had certainly never had an intimate conversation with her about her relationship with his best friend.

He could tell as Alex watched Olivia be handcuffed for her arraignment that she wasn't entirely sure of the decision that Olivia was making. She and Olivia just looked at each other, neither wanting a huge show of emotion in front of the assemblage of SVU detectives and the officers who would take Olivia, who would now be Katrina. They looked shyly at each other, Alex reaching out and letting a gentle touch run down Olivia's arm before saying her quiet goodbye. She had watched Olivia walk away and even though Olivia looked over her shoulder at Alex with a brave smile, Alex didn't seem reassured. Elliot watched as Alex turned her head and he looked away pretending not to notice when he saw the streaks of tears running down her face.

He felt like he knew too much about their relationship already. Sure, he teased Liv now, but it wasn't as though they had serious discussions about feelings. Both of them were too obtuse about emotions to actually discuss them. Instead he teased her, his way to show her that he cared about her, and she smiled at him and tolerated it, because it was her way of saying thanks. But it wasn't always that way. There had been too many nights he had sat with Olivia when she was blitzed out of her mind when she had told him things about Alex that he should never know. All the things that Olivia missed about her, from the way she smiled to far more intimate details about their sex life. So many times he had tried to stop her—to let her keep those intimate details to herself. He felt uncomfortable holding the memories that tortured her. Especially, since they were only so freely given under a haze of alcohol. There had been so many times he had held her while she cried. Olivia was his best friend and he knew what Alex meant to her. Far more than she meant to herself, sometimes.

It made it hard to look at Alex, who had a strange faraway look in her eye. Nothing was so off about her that someone who didn't know her would be able to put a finger on it, but Elliot could see it. Especially since he had seen the smile that had been on her face when Olivia had been there—after the two of them had been reunited.

He felt a gentle hand on his back, and he jumped. He turned around quickly to be faced with Alex. "Can I talk to you?" She whispered.

Alex walked into an interrogation room, Elliot behind her. "How's the case going?" She asked. Elliot knew he didn't have to ask which case they were referring to.

"Slow," Elliot said, truthfully, watching as Alex leaned herself against the table. He noticed for the first time how tired she looked.

"Have you heard anything, from her?" She whispered.

"She's okay, Alex." Elliot said.

"Have you talked to her?" Alex asked.

"None of us have. Except Fin."

"Oh." Alex sighed, leaning against the table. Elliot stared at her. He saw her, the same Alex he had seen so many times before, the same strong woman that he had never seen break. Only this time, he saw the pieces falling apart. She took a deep breath and steadied herself as her hand clamped down on the edge of the table.

For the first time, he actually realized how much this was affecting her. He knew Liv was lovesick, he had accepted it, but he never expected it from Cabot.

"If she could contact any of us safely, she would have contacted you." He said quietly. Her head snapped towards him as though she was surprised that he was standing there.

"I…" she started, finding that the words wouldn't come.

"She's going to be okay," he said, "Promise."

Alex smiled at him. "If you hear from her, you'll call me?"

"Of course," He said, watching as she walked away, wishing he could do more.