I needed some good old-fashioned EO comfort today, so in case anyone else does, here you go :)

Nick steadies her and gently guides her out of the house, wrapping a blanket around her in an effort to stop her body trembling. He knows it's not from the cold, but he needs to feel like he's doing something, anything, to help her. Ignoring the way she tries to push it away, his only focus is to get her out of that hell hole she's been kept in for god knows how long- too long.

There are so many arms around her, when she finally steps into the daylight. It almost blinds her, but that doesn't stop her from looking around, scanning the crowd of police in front of her.

'You're ok,' Nick whispers, squeezing her shoulder.

She's not afraid, though. She should be, she knows that, but she's not looking for danger, or Lewis. She's looking for someone else.

'You have to let me through! That's Liv; I need to see her!'

She hears him long before she sees him, and despite everything she can't help but smile slightly. It's been years since she last heard his voice and had to put up with his stubbornness and, even after everything she's been through in the last four days, she doesn't envy the man with whom he is arguing. Because he can't win, she knows that.

'El?' she whispers, her voice cracking.

She stops on the porch, looking in the direction of his voice and soon sees him. He's grown a beard since he left, and he's lost his hair which doesn't make him look any less crazed as he's fighting to get past the swarm of men and women blocking his path. At one point, he looks about ready to start a fight.

'El,' she says, louder this time so Nick can hear and he looks up too to see the fabled Elliot Stabler he's heard so much about.

Nick isn't quite sure where she finds the strength, but Olivia breaks free from his grip and stumbles down the steps, occasionally losing her balance. At this, Elliot manages to push past the officer he was arguing with and runs over to her as quickly as he can. No one tries to stop him after seeing the determined look on both their faces.

He reaches her and pulls her tightly into his arms, rocking her slightly and burying his face in her hair. Even after all these years, she still uses the same shampoo.

'You're ok,' he whispers into her hair, squeezing her tightly as though he'll never let her go; and he won't- not again.

And then she breaks. It's been too long. Too long since anyone showed her an ounce of compassion, since anyone held her, since she was safe. It's been too long since Elliot held her and promised her everything would be ok. Just the sight of him is enough to bring down the walls she's built around herself.

He holds her while she falls apart, shielding her from the world he knows she would loath to show such vulnerability to. All he can do is promise her repeatedly that she's ok, that she's safe, that he's got her and he'll be damned if anyone tries to take her away. He can't hurt her anymore, Elliot reassures her, and she knows that. He knows she knows that, but it doesn't stop him from murmuring the same words over and over again. Her knees buckle and he takes on all of her weight, not that it's very much. He doesn't know how long they stand like that, him supporting her with his whole body while she cries.

'I'm not going anywhere. I'm here and I'm so sorry, Liv, but I'm here now and I'm not leaving; I promise.'

The guilt has eaten him alive for years and not a day has gone by where he hasn't thought about what she was doing, whether she was ok, who she was with. The headlines were enough for him to book a ticket to New York and check into a hotel, where he followed the story of the hero cop who had been taken hostage by a crazed serial rapist and killer. Against his every instinct as a police officer, it had been Cragen who had given Elliot the heads up. He knew there would only be one person Olivia would want to see when they found her and besides, he also knew the consequences of not telling Elliot where she was would be much greater than any punishment the brass could deal him.

'Viva and Luisa, the woman and her little girl, are they okay?' Olivia asks, her voice steadying as she stops crying.

'They told us where you were, Liv. They're ok; you saved them.'

It was just like her to focus on the other victims above herself. It was what made her the detective she was, but Elliot only had one priority.

'Let's get you somewhere else, ok?'

He doesn't wait for an answer before he leads her through the crowd, one hand still wrapped around her protectively so she can lean on him. Her feet drag against the ground every few steps and she grows heavier in his arm and he knows she must be exhausted from the adrenaline finally wearing off. She's safe now, he's got her, and she can rest.

If it was anyone else, she'd still be hypervigilant, on edge. But it's Elliot and she trusts him with her life, even after all these years. If he says he's got her, then she knows he's not letting go and right now, that's all she needs. The arm wrapped tightly around her tells her all she needs to know and, though she doesn't want to admit it, despite everything this is the safest she's felt in years. He's back where she belongs and even though she always thought she'd be furious when he came back, she can't help but revert immediately back to their old dynamic. She needs him like nobody else.

They reach an SUV and Elliot opens the back door, moving his arm to hold her hand as he stands behind her, still acting as her bodyguard, before he follows her into the car. Nobody questions whether he should be in there with her when she lays her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes, holding onto his arm tightly with one of hers. Wordlessly, he shifts so that she's rested more comfortably against him and his fingers trace gentle patterns on her thigh. It doesn't surprise him how easily they fit together, even after all these years.

He's back where he belongs, and he's not leaving her again.