Author's Comments: Okay, I guess I have been making one flawed assumption. I always thought that George Huang had an office he used at the precinct in addition to his FBI office, but then I re-watched "Florida", and realized he probably only has his FBI office. So for the sake of my story, play along with me . . .

Too Close

Chapter Fifteen

Part 1.

Olivia sat down in the chair in front of George Huang's desk in his makeshift office at the precinct as he shut the door. "Olivia," he said as he returned to his desk, "I just want to apologize for everything that happened. I feel partly responsible—I should have been able to get you out of there."

"It's not your fault," she said softly.

"Still, I keep thinking of what I should have done, like maybe I could have called in some favors." He raised his eyes to meet hers, and said, "But let's talk about you. You understand that I have to conduct an evaluation so that I can approve your release from commitment, right?"

She nodded, and he said, "I'll try to make it as painless as possible. How do you feel right now?"

"I, uh—" she began, glancing down at her hands. "I'm still trying to process everything that happened to me in there, along with the events leading up to my commitment."

George looked down at her file and said, "Yeah, and I want to talk to you about what happened in there too. They finally released your records to me, and it confirms that you had ECT, without your consent, and unmodified at that. Did that scare you?"

"It did at the time, yeah," she said. "But you know George, I'm starting to consider having it done again—the proper way, of course—"

"What? Why, Olivia? In my professional opinion, I don't think your depression is severe enough to warrant that kind of treatment."

Her eyes met his now, and she said, "Because, I did forget some things. And if I can forget the things that made me depressed in the first place—the rape and torture that I endured, the problems with Elliot . . ."

She expected him to ask more questions about that last statement, but instead he said, "Elliot told me about how he physically assaulted you."

She paused, surprised that Elliot would confess to anyone, let alone George. "The point is," she said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "when I forgot all those things, they didn't haunt me so much anymore, and maybe that's what I need to feel better again."

"Olivia," George said, clasping his hands together, "it may seem like an easy solution, but you have to consider the side effects. The memory loss from ECT isn't selective. You sometimes forget things that are important to you as well, like the people you love. Some people forget who their own spouses and children are."

"Huh," she scoffed. "Don't have to worry about that."

"You don't think there are people who love you and care about you?" he asked. She stared out the window, chewing on a fingernail. "Besides, there are other consequences to ECT. Many people can't work anymore, can't function, because they lose important mental processes. People lose entire IQ points, go on disability because they can't think at work."

She shook her head and said, "Maybe you're right. But I still want to take some time to think about it."

George sighed and said, "I really hope you don't go through with it. There are so many other ways to get better—they may take longer, but you have such amazing gifts, and I would hate to see that part of you wilt away."

Part 2.

Amanda approached Olivia outside Huang's office, and they ducked into a quiet part of the hallway to talk. Amanda said, "I heard you're having trouble remembering some things. Do you remember the fight you had with Elliot?"

Olivia rubbed her forehead and said, "Yeah, that memory just came back to me."

Amanda nodded, saying, "If you want, you can come crash at my place tonight."

"Yeah," said Olivia, "I think that might be a good idea. Thanks."

As Amanda left her, Elliot came to her. "Hey," he said, his eyes full of longing. "Are you ready to go home?"

Olivia grimaced, saying, "You know, El, I think I'm going to crash with Amanda for a while."

Silence formed a wall between them. His lips pressed together, and then he said, "O-okay. Yeah, that's fine. You do what you need to do."

She took his hand in hers and said, "Look, Elliot, I really appreciate you being there to get me out of that place. I just . . . I just need some time to think."

He lifted his chin and said, "I know. It's fine, Liv." He hesitated and said softly, "Can I . . . can I kiss you?"

She smiled and said, "Sure."

He put his hand on the back of her neck, carefully drawing her head toward him so as not to pull her off balance, and she exhaled and put her lips to his, allowing their mouths to blend together in a tentative kiss. There was a tenderness in his lips, a softness that melted the igloo she had built around her heart. The suppleness of their contact created adult urges in her gut, and she pulled away to gasp the sweet air around her.

Fin turned the corner, and Elliot jolted back and wiped his mouth, guilt widening his eyes. Fin stopped in his tracks and said, "Whoa." Putting his hands up, he said, "I didn't see anything, going the other way now."

Elliot cast a fearful look in her direction, and then left her so he could chase down Fin. Olivia watched him go, and then leaned back against the wall, gulping down clumps of air. Nothing about the kiss with Elliot had frightened her—she wanted him in the worst of ways right now. But the thought of what could happen flashed through her head, and she didn't know if she could risk ever letting him close enough to hurt her like that again.

Part 3.

Elliot followed Fin to the lockers, and said, "Hey, you're not going to say anything, are you?"

Fin narrowed his eyes at Elliot and curled his lip up, saying, "Nah. I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt Liv's career. But you guys gotta be more careful, man. Anyone coulda walked up on you. How long you two been—nah, nevermind. I don't even want to know."

"Thanks, bro," said Elliot, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm not your bro," said Fin. "I'm doing this for Liv. Plus, it's not my thing to rat a brother out, ya know?"

Fin disappeared from the room, and Elliot sat down on a bench and sunk his head into his hands. All this time, he had been waiting for Olivia to get out so he could make up with her and take care of her and show her how much he cared about her. But now he knew the effects of his actions couldn't be erased by a few days space and a dramatic rescue.

But having her so close, seeing her in the flesh, and not being able to touch her soft skin and luscious hair, was torture of the worst kind. And now he feared that the damage he did might be irreparable—what if she never wanted to be with him again? He just didn't know how to go back to the way things used to be. He got up and kicked the lockers, opening his to collect his things so he could go home alone.