Bruno stood outside her office with two sub sandwiches in his hands. He hesitated briefly, watching as his captain spoke into the phone with obvious exasperation. Probably McGrath. The displeased grimace on her face was one he only saw when she spoke to their asshole of a chief.

"Uh, what are you doin'?"

Velasco's voice made him jump. "God Joe. Make a sound or something," he complained.

"Sorry," he grinned. He was obviously not sorry. "What are you doin anyway?"

Bruno lifted the sandwich. "Brought Cap lunch. She's been stuck on the phone with McGrath all morning."

Velasco eyed him skeptically, obviously questioning his motives. "Why…?"

"Good God, it's not like that," he groaned as he suddenly caught Velasco's meaning.

Joe lifted his hands defensively and said, "Sorry, man." He chuckled. "I just wanted to be sure you weren't, you know…"

Bruno rolled his eyes. "Seriously? She's my boss…and like twenty years older than me."

"Hey, I don't know. Older women could be your thing; how would I know?!" Velasco defended himself with a smile. He was enjoying the interaction far too much.

Bruno groaned. "Look, man, I'm just a stupid idiot who's still hung up over my ex-wife." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Cap's just a friend. Things have been tough with Maddie Flynn's case, and I thought she needed a pick me up."

"Okay, okay," Velasco laughed. "Look, I just had your best interests at heart. I'd hate for Stabler to come down here and beat your ass."

Bruno shook his head in confusion, "What are you even talking about?"

"You haven't met Stabler?" Suddenly, Velasco's eyes brightened with a strange sort of amusement.

"No…" Bruno responded carefully.

"Well. I want to be there when you do." Velasco patted Bruno's shoulder before taking off towards his desk. He snatched up his phone and began texting with a weird smile on his face.

Bruno shrugged it off. Olivia had just gotten off the phone, so he slipped into her office with the sub sandwiches in his hands. "Lunch?" He asked with a smile.

Her eyes dropped to her watch as if she hadn't realized what time of day it was. "Oh yeah," she smiled and dropped her glasses on the desk. He held out a sandwich, which she happily took. "Thank you. I got so caught up with..." She couldn't hide the displeasure in her voice. "McGrath…" she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, thanks for this."

"Anytime," Bruno said, taking the chair across from her desk. The rustle of paper filled the air as they unwrapped their lunches. Bruno kept his eyes down, not certain what to say. To be honest, even if he wasn't romantically interested in his captain, he was a little lonely, and Benson always provided a safe space for him and his colleagues.

When the silence began bordering on awkwardness, Liv finally asked, "How are things, you know, with Rose?"

The captain knew he had been trying and failing in his attempts to get his ex wife back into his life. "Yeah, I don't know." He couldn't help the deflated tone of his voice. "I thought maybe things could... I don't know. It was stupid. She broke it off with her boyfriend, and I thought maybe? But I don't know. She's moving on. I probably need to find a way to do the same."

Olivia chewed her food and mulled over his words for a moment. "Give her time," she said as she set her sandwich down. "Don't give up on her yet. Sometimes," Liv sighed. "Sometimes, no matter how much you want to forgive someone... it takes time." She gave him a warm, sympathetic smile. "Give her time. She'll come around."

"Maybe," Bruno said, biting into his sandwich. Maybe it was because Velasco had just put the thought in his head, but on a whim, he asked, "You have anyone in your life, Cap?"

She choked on the bite she had just taken from her sandwich.

He instantly regretted asking. "You don't have to answer. Sorry. Dumb question." The captain liked her privacy. He knew that, but her hesitance to reveal any part of her life made her a puzzle he couldn't quite make out. The only person who seemed to know her, really know her, was Fin, and he was basically a secret-keeping vault when it came to the captain.

She recovered well, even smiling at him like the question hadn't bothered her at all. "It's just Noah and me," she said simply, but there was something behind the answer that didn't feel completely truthful. The captain was hiding something—better yet, someone. Bruno could only wonder why.

Desperate to cover his faux pas and move past the awkward silence, he asked a more benign question. "How old is Noah?"

The captain's shoulders visibly loosened at the welcome change of subject. He mentally noted "Noah" in his safe topic pile. "He's going to be twelve soon."

"My niece just turned thirteen. She's kind of a handful," Bruno said while reaching for his drink.

Just as Olivia opened her mouth to respond, there was a light knock on the partially opened door. Bruno turned in his seat so he could see who had come to the office door. He half expected Velasco or Fin to stick their heads in with some sort of case-related question, but to his surprise, a man he had never seen before filled the doorway.

The first thing Bruno noticed was the man's overall intimidating presence. He was a big dude, but something about him made him seem even bigger than his already formidable size. He looked to be in his late fifties, bald but with well-kept facial hair. His piercing blue eyes intimidated the hell out of him.

A strange buzz filled the air as the man's gaze fell on him heavily. The captain read the rising tension in the room and stood behind her desk. "Elliot, what are you doing here?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he eventually chose to ignore Bruno entirely. He lifted a brown paper bag, and Bruno watched his captain's hand grasp at the compass necklace she had worn nonstop since late spring. "Thought you might want a break. I stopped at that bakery you like." His eyes drifted back to Bruno, appraisingly. "But it looks like you're busy, so I'll just leave this and go."

He set the bag on her desk and stepped back. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again. Bruno's eyes flicked over to his captain, who had now folded her arms in front of her. Her eyes danced with a sort of amusement Bruno hadn't witnessed from her. When the man stepped back again, she rolled her eyes. "God Elliot. Would you just relax? This is Detective Bruno. I'm not sure the two of you have met yet."

Bruno stood and immediately stuck his hand out in the direction of the older detective. Elliot squinted skeptically at his offered hand before shaking it firmly. "Elliot Stabler."

Realization dawned on Bruno; he immediately looked out the office window where all the detectives desks sat. Sure enough, Velasco was sitting on the desk, grinning. Fin was doing the same.

When Stabler dropped his hand Bruno figured it was a good time to make his exit. "Uh, enjoy the sandwich, Cap. I'll, uh, check in with you later, I guess."

He tried not to scurry out of the room; rather, he took his time on his exit. As he stepped through the door, he overheard the captain say, "Do you really have to intimidate the hell out of every person I come in contact with?"

He was curious about the answer, but he was more interested in punching Velasco. He approached both Fin and Velasco, who were laughing their asses off.

"Imma go back to my desk," Fin said, still grinning. "Nice one, Velasco."

Once Fin retreated, Bruno asked, "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry," he laughed out loud. "I couldn't help myself. I mean, you hadn't met Elliot Stabler yet." He shook his head as if it were some sort of crime.

"Fine, fine." Bruno began to tire of all the office antics. "I'll bite. Who is he?"

They both turned towards the captain's office, passively watching the interaction take place.

"Cap's old partner."

"Okay?" Old partners weren't exactly something special. Bruno had a few partners in the past.

"For thirteen years."

Now that was something. Bruno watched the pair converse with each other through the slatted blinds. More context made things more interesting. "What's their deal now?" Bruno wondered.

"Close friends. At least officially." Velasco's face indicated he didn't believe that for a second.

To be honest, Bruno didn't buy it either. His one interaction with the man left him slightly intimidated. Without a doubt, that man would take a bullet for her. No questions asked.

The captain had made her way to the other side of her desk. She leaned back into it, her hands grasping its edge. Stabler reached for one of her hands, and there was clear adoration in the way he watched her.

The captain bit her lip shyly. It felt strange and foreign to watch his badass captain demure like that. She looked up at him shyly, and he tugged on her hand, pulling her closer. As if they were a pair of magnets, her body practically fell into his in what looked like a bone crushing hug.

Bruno looked away, suddenly feeling like he was invading her privacy. He smiled to himself. The captain could deny it all she wanted. She definitely had "someone" in her life.