I know many of you are eager to see some more interaction between Olivia and Elliot, but there are more people involved here. I hope you'll enjoy this interlude!

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20. Taking time off

Olivia didn't sleep much that night. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Talking to Kathleen and hearing her explain why she hadn't heard from the kids over the past four years had helped, but she still had a lot of questions. And nobody knew the answer to the biggest question of all: how much would Elliot remember eventually? And another big one for Olivia personally: how would their relationship develop if he did remember more, and what would it become if he didn't? Elliot had made it clear that he wanted her in his life and he'd even discussed it with his daughter. But would he feel the same if he started remembering more of their complicated history? She liked this relaxed, unhurried version of her old partner, but would his intense moods return along with his memory? Would they start pushing each other's buttons again like they used to do? She had to admit she even missed that part of their friendship slash partnership. Nobody could rile her up like Elliot could and it had made her feel so alive. Livid at times, but alive. And it made her look forward to seeing him again so much, that she had to make an effort to focus on what Sergeant Dodds was telling her.

"So these are the court cases you'll be expected to attend, and these are the ones I thought you'd want to know about."

Dodds handed her two lists, and she scanned the papers, relieved to see exact dates and times and the names of the victims involved. It would be a great help over the coming weeks to have this schedule, and it meant she didn't need to actually remember what Dodds was telling her.

"Please don't concern yourself with the case of the guy who brands his victims. We're going to handle it," her Sergeant assured her, and she knew he was aware that the case was hitting close to home for her.

She pushed the memories aside that were trying to invade her mind of another time where a rapist had branded his victims - her - and concentrated on tucking the two lists in her bag.

"I'll let you know if anything changes, and Barba will be in touch about the two cases you'll be testifying in. Other than that, we've got it covered. I already spoke with my father," Dodds added, and Olivia looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.

She hadn't asked her Sergeant to talk to the chief. Mike Dodds smiled shyly and then clarified,

"I may have exaggerated your injuries after the accident a bit. I didn't think you'd want him to know the details of why you're taking some extra time off."

Olivia squinted but she could tell the younger man had meant well and she wasn't going to give him flak for his actions. So she just thanked him.

"Three weeks, right?" Dodds asked her, and she nodded.

"For now, yes."

She wasn't sure how long it would take for Elliot to recover from his injuries and become mobile, but it would be at least a few weeks before he'd be waking with crutches again. The holidays were coming up and she actually welcomed the time off. With emotions running high, it wasn't such a bad decision to evade the busiest time of the year for once. Typically, a lot of errors in judgement were made by people drinking too much during the holidays, resulting in a lot of unwanted sexual activity and he said/she said cases swamping the squad and the courts with work. She was going to be a little selfish for once, and choose to help someone else, like Cragen had put it. Elliot needed her right now and she would be there for him for as long as he wanted her to be.

Before leaving the station, Olivia walked up to Fin and asked him if they could talk. They went up to the break room together and Fin smirked at her when they sat down across from each other.

"I take it Kathleen told you I visited Stabler last night."

"Yeah, she did."

"You and she talk alright?"

Olivia nodded.

"It was very enlightening."

"It was all Kathy, right?"

"Yes."

"Told ya."

Olivia smiled. Fin wasn't a man of many words but he usually hit the nail right on the head.

"So what was it like for you, to see him again?" she asked her friend. "Did he recognize you?"

"Nah," Fin said, and he seemed a little sad. "But he aksed about you Liv."

Olivia clasped her hands together in front of her on the table and studied the nails of her thumbs.

"What did he want to know?" she asked Fin quietly.

"Well, what you two were like, workin' together, stuff like that."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth."

Olivia's eyes flicked up to Fin's, slightly shocked.

"Which is?" she asked, feeling her body tense up.

"That nothing could come between you two, not even when maybe it should have. That you both lived for the job and fueled each other. That everything you did was intense and that you fought like lions but always found each other again."

Olivia bobbed her head, looking down at her hands again. Fin's description of their partnership was very accurate.

"You know I'm not the guy's biggest fan but I know what he meant to you," Fin added, and she looked into his kind, honest eyes again. "Even assholes deserve a second chance, right? So I hope you two will find a way to hang out again, with or without his memory."

Olivia smiled and reached out to put a hand on Fin's arm.

"Thank you Fin," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

"If there's anything I can do," Fin said, trying not to show any emotions, and Olivia squeezed his arm.

"I know. Thanks Fin. Just ... keep an eye on Dodds for me, okay?"

"Will do, Lieutenant," Fin promised with a grin.

When they both stood up and Olivia got ready to leave, Fin gave her one last word of advice.

"Liv? Don't let him hurt you again."

She bit her lip. She shared Fin's concern. She knew Elliot wouldn't hurt her intentionally. In fact, he'd never hurt her intentionally, but he had hurt her. A lot. Just like she had hurt him. And she didn't know what was going to happen now. She was going to help him, there was no question there. At what cost to herself, was something she was going to find out. She gave Fin a small smile and left the break room to make her way to the hospital again. To Elliot. The new Elliot, who was still so much the old Elliot that it almost made her heart stop at times.

...

Coming up: More EO and John Munch comes to visit!