It had been six months, and the last thing she expected to see was a small gift bag sitting conspicuously in the middle of her desk. She dumped her stuff onto her office's loveseat and took a few cautious steps toward the apparent gift.

She wasn't sure when someone had time to sneak it into her office. She was the last one at the precinct the night before and the first person of her unit in the office this morning.

Something about the mystery gift giver's stealth freaked her out.

She realized only a special sort of jaded person approaches pink tissue paper and a bright floral bag with the level of suspicion she did, but she never had been the most trusting person.

"You gonna open that?"

Her hand flew to her chest, and she jumped. "God, Fin! Make a noise or something."

He chuckled and tilted his head towards the frilly pink bag on her desk. "You gonna open it?"

"Uh. I guess that depends." She eyed him suspiciously. "Do you know who left it?"

"Not a clue, but there's a card under the bag. That will probably tell you who your secret admirer is."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm too damn old for any secret admirer shit." She reached for the envelope that had been partially hidden by the gift bag.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure you're too old when your admirer is the same age."

Her eyes narrowed, and she tried to figure out what she had within reaching distance that she could throw in his direction.

He lifted his hands in an exaggerated defensive posture. "I'm just saying one minute he's everywhere and then he falls off the face of the planet for a year. I'm thinking an 'I'm sorry' gift might be in order."

She toyed with the corner of the envelope. Fin was spot on about how much time they had spent apart, but she could just as easily track him down to see him. He had lobbed the ball into her court, twice actually, and now they were both waiting for her to do something.

She could feel Fin's eyes still staring, so she shrugged and offered a noncommittal, "maybe."

"I'll, uh, get out of here, but promise me you'll open the damn thing. I don't want it in the corner of your office for the next six months."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here."

He grinned and gave her a wave before leaving her office and shutting the door behind him.

Once she was alone, she sank in her chair with a sigh. She wasn't sure she could start the day with the emotional baggage that always came along with Elliot Stabler. The alternative was to leave it in the corner and try not to think about it all day. She really couldn't win.

She groaned before breaking the envelope's seal and removing the card.

Olivia,

Thank you for lending me this beautiful piece of jewelry. It is something special, and whoever gave it to you must care for you very much. I may not have found my way, but I think there is some beauty in the wandering. Your compass gave me peace and the realization that everything I needed to find joy was sitting right in front of me.

Thank you for everything you've done to help me and my family on our journey. We might still feel very broken, but somehow we feel a little more whole when we are together.

I hope you found your joy in the absence of this compass, and if you didn't, I hope it helps you get the rest of the way there. We will be forever grateful for your presence in our lives.

Eileen

Her vision blurred with tears as she ripped the pink tissue paper from the gift bag. Buried in the tissue paper was a generic velvet box. She almost tore the thing open, her hands shaking as she ran her fingers over the familiar crystal surface of her most prized piece of jewelry.

She carefully lifted the chain from the box; the comforting weight of the pendant at the bottom felt beautifully familiar. It felt like home.

She lifted the pendant to her throat, easily clasping it from behind. The movement was effortless, all muscle memory from the year she wore it daily.

The pendant settled against her chest, and the light pressure made her feel more grounded. Safe. Secure.

Her fingers wrapped around it as if she were hugging a long-lost friend. Then the realization came.

Her long lost friend, her person, was within reach and refused to reach for him. The safety and peace she felt with a small piece of jewelry was nothing compared to the safety and peace the man himself could provide, that is, if she were brave enough to reach out and take what she wanted.

The words from Eileen's letter echoed in her mind.

Everything I needed to find joy was sitting right in front of me.

Everything Olivia needed to find her joy was within reach. Across the city, he was probably sitting at his desk grumbling about paperwork. Her heart ached for their missing decade and how she walked for ten years with a piece of her heart missing. And now, now that she could stitch the piece back into place, she found herself resisting.

Her thumb rubbed over the cool surface of the compass. In her heart, she was tired of resisting the person fate had always called her to. The missing piece of her soul.

Without another thought, she stood and grabbed her purse that had been haphazardly tossed on the couch. She slung it over her shoulder while one hand remained wrapped around the pendant hanging from her neck.

She barreled through the sea of desks, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. She wasn't stopping to fix one problem or another. She knew where she was going, and she refused to let anyone stand in the way. She was finally taking the path in the direction the compass had always pointed. She was taking the path home.

-000-

Elliot groaned when persistent knocking at his door pulled him awake. He glanced at his clock. 7am. Normally that wouldn't feel so horrifically early, but they made their collars around 4:30am, and he wasn't home until 5:45am. He'd been asleep for maybe an hour. He held a pillow over his ears, but it did little to mute whoever decided to take up residence outside his door.

He tossed the pillow across the room, fully planning on giving whoever was on the other side a reason to never come back. He shoved his legs into a pair of joggers but skipped the shirt. His mystery visitor could just deal with it.

He yanked the door open and nearly fell over in surprise when he found Olivia standing on the other side of his door.

"Nice shirt," she smirked before slipping past him, effectively inviting herself into his apartment. His sleep-deprived brain was really struggling to keep up with whatever the hell was going on at the moment. He hadn't seen her face in over a year, and all the sudden she's just in his apartment.

She dropped her bag onto the counter and shrugged her jacket off, draping it over a bar stool. For a moment, she stared at him. He tried to keep his breathing steady as her eyes drifted to his chest, abdomen, and lower. He swallowed, not sure what he should say since he had literally no clue why she was standing in front of him on this random morning.

She stepped toward him slowly. Her eyes filled with what he could only describe as want. He expected her to stop a foot or two away from him, but she continued moving toward him until she had completely invaded his space. His breath caught when her delicate fingers grazed over the bare skin of his abdomen. An involuntary shudder shot down his spine. Her smile broadened.

He finally dared to look down, since they clearly weren't talking at the moment, but he wasn't entirely sure what they were doing, but if whatever this was meant she would keep her hands on his skin, then he would be okay to follow her wherever she led him.

The light caught something dangling from her neck, and that's when he noticed that it was his necklace dangling tantalizingly close to her breasts. On impulse, he reached for the compass, letting it rest in his palm while the back of his hand pressed dangerously close to her neckline.

"I never got to see you wear it," he murmured. "At least not in person." His thumb brushed the surface. "It looks good on you."

He let his hand slip a little bit lower so his fingers still held the compass, but the back of his hand was definitely resting against her breasts. He found himself holding his breath, hoping and praying that she wouldn't push him away.

Her eyes closed as she pulled in a shuddering breath. He reveled in the fact that he affected her as much as she affected him.

After another frozen moment, he finally removed his hand, letting the compass drop back to the flat plane of her upper chest.

There still weren't words; just slightly labored breathing echoed through his silent apartment. His fingers danced along her collarbone, up her neck, and along her jawline. Her eyes remained closed, but he needed to see her warm brown eyes. He needed reassurance that she was falling as hard as he was.

"Liv," he said in a husky rumble. "Liv, look at me, please."

She pulled a slow breath through her nose before her eyes fluttered open. His hand settled against her neck, his thumb running along her perfect jawline. His eyes drifted to her lips and he ached to kiss her, to pull her full plump bottom lip between his teeth, to slide his tongue over hers.

When he finally pulled his eyes away from her lips, he found her gaze on his lips, and he knew she was thinking the same thing.

With his hand on her neck, he gently pulled her face closer so he could whisper in her ear. "You're going to have to tell me what you want, Olivia. I think I know, but I have to know for sure."

A warm shudder ran through her body, and her breathing had already become more heavy, laced with desire. The same desire that was burning him alive from the inside out.

She broke in the end. She ventured forward with the first firm press of her lips against his, but it was him that chased the movement, not willing to break away.

It started slowly, one of his hands sifting through her hair as he cradled her skull. The other pressed into her lower back. Her hands slid from his abs to his chest, leaving a burning tingle in their wake. It started slowly but didn't remain that way for long.

The tiny whimper that escaped her lips when he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth set his nerves on fire. His mouth moved hot and heavy down the column of her neck. His large palm tilted her head back, and she moaned when his mouth sucked at that perfect spot.

Her fingernails raked down his stomach, stopping right at the top of his joggers. He groaned at her proximity and began walking her back until her back made rough contact with the wall. She threw her head back, gasping as his mouth worked down her chest, following the path of the gold chain of her necklace.

He nudged the compass to the side with his nose, sealing his lips over the spot where the compass previously sat. He nipped the skin and flicked his tongue over the spot, marking her as his. Marking her like she had marked his heart all those years ago.

Her fingers dipped beneath his joggers just as he gripped the hemline of her shirt. He hesitated, giving her a chance to refuse what happened next. "Liv," he breathed heavily. He couldn't form the question on his lips because her hand had dropped even further.

She read his mind and responded. "God, yes. Please."

With that enthusiastic consent, he peeled her top over her head, dropping it carelessly on the floor. He took a step back, making her whimper, but he had to see her. He needed it more than he needed air.

His eyes raked down her body, and his breath caught in his chest. He could hardly wrap his mind around the image of Olivia Benson, chest rising and falling roughly, in only a white lacy bra and a pair of unbuttoned jeans.

His fingers lightly traced a line from the compass between her breasts and over her bellybutton. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"God, Olivia." He groaned as he pulled her roughly against him. "You are." There weren't any words to truly describe what he was thinking in this moment. "So damn beautiful."

Her eyes softened with affection before pressing a lingering kiss below his ear. "Take me to bed, El."

-000-

It was midday, and neither had left the bed since tumbling into it earlier. She rested her cheek against the warm skin of his shoulder while his hand softly ran through her sex-tossed hair.

His eyes were closed, and his other arm was tucked behind his head while he lay on his back.

She closed her eyes and nuzzled closer, basking in the afterglow, but his question startled her. "What made you come over?" His voice was a gentle murmur.

Her fingers grasped at the pendant—the only thing left on her body—when she answered. "Eileen brought the compass back, and God, I missed it." She sucked in a breath in preparation for her own blatant honesty. "But when I put it on, I realized that I may have missed it desperately, but I missed you more." She turned her head so she could place a lingering kiss on his shoulder. "I decided that a necklace was a poor substitute for the person it represented. We live in the same city, and I couldn't go one more day without you. I…I couldn't go one more day without coming home."

His blinked away tears before rolling over her. His eyes held hers in a way that communicated all the love, regret, affection, and longing that had plagued them both for the better part of two decades. His mouth fell onto hers as he kissed her with meaning, and she returned the kiss, pouring her love back into it.

She had let her necklace go, and it came back to her. More importantly, she had let him go, and at the most unexpected moment he had returned to her. They both had fought their demons, and by some miracle they both found their way home.