Olivia tried focusing on work and planning Fin's upcoming award ceremony. She managed to wait five days before giving in and texting him. She retyped the text six times before settling on the simple,

You okay?

She didn't expect his quick response.

Yeah. This case has been an f-ing nightmare.

She knew how much of a shit-show undercover ops could be. Not to mention the paperwork. So. Much. Paperwork. Her phone pinged again.

I'll call you as soon as I can.

An involuntarily smile snuck up on her. She almost expected radio silence when she texted him. His timely response gave her hope that maybe they could break this miscommunication cycle after all.

Elliot cussed and threw a file across his desk. He wanted to call Olivia as promised, but the damn paper work seemed never ending. You would think he would be good at all the paperwork due after discharging his weapon, but hell, it seemed never ending.

"You okay over there?" Whelan asked, immediately regretting the question after being met with Elliot's glare.

"Yeah yeah." He muttered under his breath. Two days of paperwork and he still didn't have time to have any kind of conversation with Liv. He tried again to focus on what felt like the millionth form, but his eyes hurt, and his head hurt, and he felt mentally done with this crap. He shoved his chair back and grabbed his coat. The scraping of the chair caught everyone's attention. "I'm getting coffee." Not really. He needed a minute to call Liv. He promised to make her a priority and so far epically failed.

He pushed his way out the doors and let the cool air whip at his face. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled to her name. "Damn it." He said under his breath. Voicemail. Why does the universe insist on making it impossible to talk to her.

"Hey Liv. I only have a minute. I swear the paperwork for weapon discharge is twice as long as it used to be. Call me when you have a sec." He chuckled ruefully, " you know, if you ever get a minute."

He hung up the phone and groaned, knowing he had to return to the sea of forms waiting on his desk. As he turned to head back to purgatory several people pushed past him. His anger flared, and increased tenfold when he read the letters FBI screaming loudly from the backs of their jackets.

"Shit." He muttered. He bounded up the stairs fully knowing whatever is going on up there will certainly ruin his day. -

Olivia finally settled into her office chair. She finally got Fin to go home and sleep, and she should probably follow suit. She dug around her desk and pulled her phone out from under some papers. Missed call and voicemail.

"Seriously?" She questioned out loud, not believing she missed the call she'd been wanting for days. She punched in her code and listened to the message. She let out a little laugh. Memories of his distaste for bureaucratic paperwork flooded in. She shook her head. Some things never change.

She decided to text him back rather than call. She knew he was most likely still working.

I can't believe I missed your call. Fin caught a case last night so we have been up all hours.

She tried not to go to the worst case scenario when he didn't text her back. However, worry seemed to be her default setting. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind. She was tired and annoyed and probably just needed sleep.

She shut the blinds to her office and laid on her office couch. After last night's case, things appeared to slow and she sent most of the staff home. She closed her eyes for what felt like only a minute before she heard a knock at her office door. For a moment she hoped it was Elliot, but she knew it wasn't.

She opened the door to Bruno standing there. "I thought I sent you home?"

He walked past her into her office. "Yeah, I just slept here." Liv knew his apartment was much nicer than the squad room but whatever. She gave him some credit for being extremely dedicated to the job.

"What do you need?" She knew her voice sounded more curt than she intended, but damn she was tired.

He hurried to the point, explaining the details from a cold case file she'd never seen before. He continued his discourse and she felt herself spacing out, but everything came into clear focus when he asked, "Do you think this is something OCCB should help with?"

She snatched the file from him this time actually taking a minute to read the original preliminary report.

"I think these other three have a disturbingly similar MO. It really feels like someone is disposing of their used up sex workers."

Olivia pulled the other files from his grasp. She noted the similarities in the cases. Especially the location where the remains were found. The area was a known dumping ground for one of the most vicious gangs in the city. She felt like she just barely recovered from the BX9 case, and she wasn't sure she could handle another on her own. "Call OCCB and ask them when they can meet with us. Keep in mind they are just coming off a big case and might not want to pick this up until they completely close their current caseload."

Bruno nodded. She continued, "Run the MO and see if anything pops. I need to go home and see my son for at least a couple hours."

She started gathering her things realizing she wasn't going to sleep unless she was home in her own bed. "You can get Fin and I up to speed first thing in the morning." He followed her out and hurried over to his desk to begin the assigned task.

Before she started her car she checked her phone one more time. Still no response from Elliot. She threw her phone into the passenger seat with a little angst. She tried to tell herself he was just busy. It hadn't been THAT long since she texted. He already told her this case went to hell and he had a lot of things to finish up. Still, she wished the voice in her head telling her that he didn't really want her and he was just getting ready to leave again would shut the hell up. -

Once she settled Noah for the night Liv poured herself a glass of wine and settled on her couch. She resisted the urge to check her messages for the millionth time today, instead she threw her phone to the other side of the couch.

She sipped her wine and tried to talk herself down. One day doesn't equal ten years. She let out a breath. She remembered the day he left. At the time she expected to hear from him the next day, but one day turned into two, and months later she came to the devastating conclusion that he was never coming back. The thought of him disappearing from her life triggered actual pain in her chest. She hated that he had this type of hold on her. Even with the current state of their relationship being undefinable she knew she could never sever her relationship. She shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about this.

Just as she was deciding whether to go to bed or sit in her own misery her phone buzzed on the other side of the couch. Her moment of hope was dashed as Bruno's name flashed across her screen.

"Benson." She answered.

"Sorry for calling so late. I finally got a hold of sergeant Bell over at OCCB." At least someone is answering their phone, Olivia thought bitterly. "She told me they could meet first thing in the morning. Are you okay if I brief everyone together instead of briefing you and Fin first?"

While she hadn't known Bruno long she knew he was a great detective and thoroughly researched the case. "Yeah that should be fine." She already read the preliminary information and felt up to speed enough for now.

"Yeah apparently the OCCB's current case came to a grinding halt earlier. Feds took it over and now they can't prosecute." Olivia suddenly felt guilty over her anger and overreaction to Elliot's brush off. "Ayanna's pretty pissed about it."

"I'm sure." Liv knew how she felt. Liv felt certain Elliot spent his entire day yelling at the feds, and calming his sergeant down. He probably hadn't checked his phone all day.

"Well I'll see you in the morning." Bruno said, ending the call.

Liv quickly typed out a text.

Heard about the feds. Idiots. See you in the morning?

She sent the text and readied herself for bed. She didn't expect to hear back from him tonight, but she was pleasantly surprised when her phone pinged.

I'm sorry I couldn't call again today.

Apologetic Elliot was not something she often experienced. It felt strange and foreign, but validating at the same time. Before she responded another text popped up on her screen.

I missed you.

She felt her body tingle with warmth, but she hated the fear accompanying it. Every step forward he took she responded with two steps back. She hated it. She wished she could just love him and leave all the baggage behind. Maybe she could take a small step forward. She took a breath and texted,

I miss you too.