Hey everyone! Long time no see...or no write. Anyway...

So I don't know if I'm back on the writing game, but I did have this in the vault and I wanted to just test the waters and see if it could become a short fic. I've never done this pair before, but I think it could be very different, and very interesting. So, here I am, and here we go. PLEASE leave some reviews if you want me to continue with this. Again, I'm not sure if I will, but I guess if enough support comes through, I'll have no choice but to continue - right?

Anyway, here is part one of a (possible) new fic called 'Someone New'.

Enjoy xo

Someone New - Part One

She slowly walked onto the street, heels clicking against the pavement as she took in a moment to take in her surroundings. She took a deep breath, breathing in the crisp night air, allowing the coldness to fill her lungs and ground her completely. She'd just had an incredibly heavy trauma related therapy session, and she was exhausted and overwhelmed and emotional all at once.

She needed to go home, but to what? Silence? Noah was hanging out at Amanda and Sonny's house for the night, so what did she need to rush home to silence for?

But she needed something. Therapy had been intense and emotional, drawing up memories of being abandoned by someone who had been so close to her. Her hand fiddled with the collar of her shirt, and she sighed to herself. She had taken off that damn compass necklace in the elevator on the way back down and honestly with the way she was feeling, she wasn't sure if she wanted to ever put it back on. Why would she want to wear something from someone who popped up when it was convenient? When he was doing nothing but trying to alleviate his guilt?

Why did she so easily fall back into the familiar?

She sighed to herself as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. She needed to get to her car and maybe go have a drink, and then go home to silence. That's what she would do.

Olivia seemed to move on autopilot; her heels clicking against the pavement, her fingers pressing the key fob to unlock the doors to her SUV. She slipped into the driver's seat and tossed her bag then started the engine. Just as she was about to put her car into drive, her phone began buzzing which captured her attention. She reached into her bag and whipped out the device, and her grip tightened as she saw who was calling her for the umpteenth time since he had come back three weeks ago.

Elliot Stabler.

She trembled slightly, her thumb briefly hovering over the screen as she thought about how comforting and familiar it would be to answer this and hear his voice. However, she shook her head; she didn't have the energy for him right now. She'd been avoiding him since he came back, and she would continue to do so until she got her head together. She would decide then if she wanted to even dig up the shit with him and have a conversation.

She sighed to herself. She sometimes really wished he had never come back.

The call finally stopped, a lockscreen photo of her and Noah returned, and then within moments a new voicemail from Elliot popped up. She stared at it for a moment before unlocking the phone, then she went to her messages app. She scrolled a little until she found the message thread she was looking for, then she typed out a message.

'Meet me at O'Neal's in 10? I'll be at the bar.'

And it was approximately ten minutes later; she was at the bar with a glass of bourbon, sipping slowly as she tried to calm her racing thoughts. She heard footsteps approach, the person sat beside her, and the deep voice was heard.

"Rough day?"

She looked up, smiling slightly at the person she had asked to come meet her. He filled out that blue suit perfectly, the blue suit and crisp white shirt combo contrasting perfectly against his dark skin tone. He gave her a sweet smile, his brown eyes gazed at her.

A drink with Jalen Shaw from Homicide was a good way to end this ridiculous evening.

"You could say that." she quietly replied, looking away again as she traced her finger around the rim of her glass. Jalen nodded then quickly flagged down the bartender, asking for a glass of bourbon as well. The bartender quickly poured the drink before sliding it over to him, to which he thanked him before lifting his glass.

"To two friends having a drink after a shitty day."

Olivia managed a small smile before knocking her glass against his. They both took sips of their drink at the same time, before then sitting in a comfortable silence.

This was comfortable, but in a different way. Not anxious; just comfortable.

"That guy was convicted of first-degree murder."

Olivia looked up, so Jalen continued; "Kenneth Cartwright; found guilty today on first degree murder."

Olivia shook her head. She and Jalen had talked about this case; well Jalen had confided in her a few days ago about his feelings related to this case. She knew that this probably was one of those complicated cases where there was a huge gray area; where folks could understand why it happened yet still not excuse the incident. She found herself putting a hand on Jalen's shoulder, squeezing affectionately as she spoke no higher than a whisper; "That was…a tough one."

"Yeah, it was…" Jalen paused to take a sip of his drink, then continued; "I could understand where he was coming from, it just didn't make it right."

"And that's the weird part of our jobs; we understand why the mess has happened, and yet it can't be excused or right sometimes, we just have to deal with it and try to clean it up as best we can…" Olivia took another sip of her drink then looked at him again; "Kenneth sounds like a good man who made a big mistake."

"A real big one, and yet I could see why." Jalen flagged down the bartender and asked for another drink, to which Olivia did the same thing. Once their drinks were in front of them, Jalen looked at her as he continued; "Remember last year when I was profiled by that Wagner prick?"

"Yep, because I remember when I heard, I could've shot the bastard in his toe." Olivia muttered as she rolled her eyes. Jalen laughed a little, nudging her.

"Protective, aren't you?"

"I don't like people messing with my friends."

Jalen chuckled a little as he sipped his drink, then he paused before continuing; "Well, I mean I guess…I guess that's why I could understand Cartwright's plight. I mean, I have worked my ass off to get to where I need to be, and to still be seen as less than, to have my pain or my concerns diminished? The people that are supposed to have my back end up not having it? That's fucked and can drive anyone to a level of madness."

"What keeps you sane?" Olivia wondered as she looked up at him.

"My bills and the fact that I actually want to keep my pension," Jalen smirked, causing Olivia to giggle a little; "Nah, I just…I just keep fighting hard to prove that I belong here just as much as anyone else; I want to be the cop that makes a difference."

"You already are, Jalen," Olivia put a hand on his arm then, giving him that sweet smile; "You are the cop that the world needs. You are calm, and caring, and really empathetic and above all else, you are all about doing the right thing; the right thing for the right reason while trying to make a difference…" She downed her drink again, then licked her lips before looking up at him; "Just let me say, there's a reason why Wagner still a piss ant foot patrol officer; fucking prick."

"Alright Captain, you've had enough tonight." Jalen joked, causing her to let out a little laugh. He flagged down the bartender and ordered a couple waters for them, then he turned back to Olivia; "I thank you for fighting in my corner, and for always being supportive. You don't understand, but you still stand in solidarity, and I love that about you. You aren't afraid to shake the tables and piss somebody off."

"I'm not, and one day it's gonna get me fired but oh well, it'll be for a good cause," Olivia joked as she leaned her elbow on the bar top; "You know I'm always here for you. We've become good friends over these last couple years since you came in, and I'm really glad that you did come into our world."

"Aw shucks Benson, don't make me blush."

"Shut up."

The two laughed together, then the conversation switched to other topics while they drank their water to sober up. Olivia had confided in Jalen a little bit about how her therapy was going, but she didn't tell him much about tonight's session other than it had been quite heavy and that she just had started realizing a lot of things that she had been kind of pushing to the back of her mind. Jalen nodded in understanding, and he also took note that she was no longer wearing that compass necklace that she had been wearing for a while. He knew that the necklace had been a gift from Elliot, and he wondered if whatever happened in therapy tonight was about him, hence her responses and why the necklace was no longer there. However, he would not encourage her to delve further into that right now. All he could do was be supportive.

He reached over and gently squeezed her hand, giving her that smile as he quietly spoke; "I'm proud of you for continuing to do the hard work; you're a damn good woman, Olivia."

The smile on Olivia's face - a genuine smile - couldn't have shown any brighter.

The pair finished their waters, and Jalen paid their bill before the two then exited the bar, slipping outside into the cold night air. Jalen sweetly walked Olivia to her car, but before she went around to the driver's side to get in, he gently grasped her arm.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

Olivia wracked her brain for a second; tomorrow was Saturday. "Weekend chores; I have a shit ton of laundry to do, and I need to purge my closet, and then sometime in the afternoon, I'll go pick up Noah from Sonny and Amanda's house." She tilted her head; "Why? You trying to hang out with me or something?"

"Actually yeah; it'll be my good deed for the week…" He joked, before laughing as she playfully gave him the middle finger. "Okay seriously, I was going to ask if you wanted to go get some breakfast tomorrow morning. I would have suggested lunch, but I promised my niece I would take her grocery shopping tomorrow afternoon." He rolled his eyes then, but Olivia just laughed a little while nodding her head.

She had been actually joking when she asked if he wanted to hang out, so this was a little unexpected. However, she really had nothing to do, and she enjoyed Jalen's company, so she would take it.

"First of all, I think it's so sweet how close you and your niece are, but secondly, I would love to go get breakfast in the morning."

Jalen nodded his head; "Pick you up around nine?"

"Sounds good."

Jalen gave her a smile and nodded his head, and Olivia bit her lip before slipping into her car. She started the engine, and after a wave to Jalen, she was pulling into the street. She glanced in the rearview mirror, and she had to smile as she saw that Jalen was watching until she had pulled off safely. She breathed out. There was a weird feeling in her stomach, one she couldn't put her finger on.

But it wasn't anxiety, she knew that much.

So, what was it? Why was it fluttery? And why was it present as Jalen Shaw filtered throughout her mind?

So that was thaaaaat! Again, still not sure if I will want to continue with this, but you guys let me know if you're interested in reading more! Thank you for reading, appreciate you always! xo