Elliot Stabler was standing outside of the SVU squad room, the place he spent 13 years of his life at. He was anxious to see everybody but, he hasn't been back here since he shot and killed Jenna so, he was also very nervous. He had left SVU nearly 7 years ago but, he had wanted to see her again. After all this time the attraction to her still hadn't faded away, he hoped that would be the same for her too.
He had divorced Kathy one year after leaving because it simply wasn't working anymore. They had left on good terms and were still friends and talked occasionally. His kids were doing good, Maureen moved to Colorado with her husband, John and her kids, Ellie and Ben, Kathleen was married to Adam and were expecting their first child in February, Elizabeth has been dating Levi for 2 years, and Richard had been seeing his girlfriend Valerie for 3 years. Little Eli still lived with Kathy and came to Elliot's place in Manhattan every other weekend. All was well except for his need for her. That was the reason he came back. Her.
He pushed open the doors and the memories came flooding back to him. He saw their desk and thought of all of the long nights they had spent together. He saw the coffee station and thought of all of the horrible coffee Munch used to make. It was like his second home most nights. He had missed this all too much. Elliot loved her, yes, but he was off limits to her because of his marriage. That wasn't holding him back this time.
Elliot immediately saw a familiar face, Fin, sitting next to a blond haired woman at two desk across the room.
"Elliot freaking Stabler!" Fin exclaimed loudly as soon as he saw him. Elliot started moving towards his desk.
"Fin! How has it been?" Elliot asked as soon as he reached Fin's desk.
"Better since you left," Fin joked.
"I see you're still your old self," Elliot joked back.
"Why are you back?" Fin asked bluntly.
"Hey Fin, did we get our rapist to crack?" A familiar voice asked from across the room. Elliot immediately turned around because he knew who it was. It was her.
Olivia Benson had gotten herself out of the door fairly late this morning due to her son, Noah, having a meltdown over one of his favorite toys missing. It had taken her nearly 15 minutes to find the toy, it was stuffed in between the couch cushions.
That little dinosaur had cost her to be 20 minutes late for work.
As soon as Olivia got into the squad room she felt different. Her skin started to get a tingly feeling and she shrugged it off thinking it was nothing.
She was halfway across the squad room by the time she called out to Fin, "Hey Fin, did we get our rapist to crack?"
Then he turned and she knew why she felt different and why her skin was so tingly. It was because he was here. She hadn't seen him in 7 years and it nearly broke her when he left. Now he was back to wreak havoc on their lives by coming back and ripping open old wounds.
"Elliot?" Her voice almost cracked but, she wasn't going to cry and look vulnerable in front of her squad. She stopped then, right in front of her office, and felt like the wind had just been knocked out of her.
Carisi came back into the squad room just then from the interrogation room, "Rollins you try and have go at him, I can't break him," Carisi said to the blond.
"Um sure I'll go at him," the blond replied and got up to go to interrogation room 1.
"Hey Lou, I couldn't get him so I sent Rollins in to go crack him, are you all right you look a little pale?" Carisi asked.
"No, yeah I'm fine," she replied quickly.
So Olivia had been ranked up to Lieutenant? That's good it fits her he thought.
"Olivia." He stated answering her question that it was indeed him. After all this time he's back.
"Elliot what are you doing here?" She asked while walking to Fin's desk.
"He came in the squad room 5 minutes before you did, he never said why he was back," Fin said answering her question.
"Elliot can you please come into my office?" Olivia asked looking at Elliot with her eyes looking like glass because if the tears.
"Sure Liv," Elliot says following her to her office.
When they first walked in to her office she turned around and looked Elliot. He was her partner and best friend for 13 years of her life and he just left her. It was like he didn't care.
"Why didn't you tell me when you left?" Her voice cracked on the last word and she told herself not to cry in front of him. He didn't deserve that.
"I needed to get out of here and Kathy said I should just cut ties with everybody from the job," he tried to explained to her.
"So you just listen to everything she says? What about all those times she said to come home? Or all those times she said to spend time with her or, to talk to her? You didn't listen to her then why now? I understand everybody else but why me? Why did you have to leave me behind? We were best friends and you were my partner for 13 years Elliot, I thought you could talk to me about anything, what about that?" Olivia questioned raising her voice.
"Who's Elliot?" Asked Sonny Carisi.
"You know Benson's partner that we told you about? She was with him for 13 years then, he retired and didn't tell anybody about it, not even Benson. We haven't seen him in 7 years, he just came in today," Fin informed Carisi.
"Oh that's Stabler? I've heard of him and the rumors around the department. A lot of people said they had a relationship is that true?" Carisi questioned.
"None of them were true but, they were too close and, Olivia would never do that to Kathy, Elliot's wife." Fin answered
"I wonder why he came back after all that time," Carisi thought out loud.
"I was thinking the same thing," Fin agreed.