Hi friends!

So, I got such wonderful feedback with 'Back To You'; like y'all were awesome through that whole fic and I can't thank you enough. So, here I am again with something new, something a little different. Let me give y'all a little background.

This fic is set in the current year - 2018. Elliot is a Detective with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit of course, but Olivia is not. She's a nurse at Mercy General Hospital, and works with Casey Novak (who is a nurse as well) and Kathy Stabler. Ages are different as well; Elliot is 37 (turning 38 later in the year) and Olivia is 36. The Stabler kids ages are different as well than they would be in reality, as you'll see as the fic goes on.

I think that's all I had to clear up. If there's any other confusion, let me know in the reviews and I'll explain it asap!

Thank you guys, and please, enjoy xoxo

Just Friends?

Part One

Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!

"Okay, I'm coming!"

An exasperated sigh escaped the lips of the brown eyed young woman, her shoulder length brunette locks bouncing slightly as she made her way out of the bedroom and across the short length from the bedroom area to the door of her apartment. She was dressed in dark blue scrub bottoms and a matching scrub top as well as a pair of black shoes, symbolizing that she was soon about to embark on another shift at Mercy General Hospital where she was a nurse.

She checked the peephole, her plump, pink lips curling into a smile when she realized who it was. The tall, muscular form, dressed in a black suit jacket and slacks with a blue shirt and red tie, and the long coat.

It was only her best friend, Elliot Stabler.

And truthfully, the only man that Olivia Benson would ever admit gave her butterflies.

She undid the locks on the door and tugged the door open; his lips curled into a smile as he walked into her apartment. She shut the door back and put a lock on, before giving a raised eyebrow whilst he leaned against the island counter.

"Don't you have to be at work in like," Olivia glanced at the clock on the stove; 7:30am; "Half an hour?" Her brown eyes poured into his blue ones. He offered that shit eating grin as he spoke.

"My captain told me to take some personal time this morning since the last case bothered me a bit, so I thought I'd come by and take you to breakfast then give you a lift to work." He gave a shrug after his response, and she let out a laugh.

"Ah right; it's my turn to buy isn't it?"

"Well not today, it's a special occasion." He winked and a confused look came across her face. She opened her mouth to ask but he stopped her.

"I'll tell you when we get to the diner, but just get your stuff and come on." He told her, holding out her leather jacket for her to slip her arms into. His hands brushed against her shoulders as he helped her put it on, and she wanted to melt into a puddle.

She offered one last curious look over her shoulder, before grabbing her bag which contained her essentials like her money and phone, and her lunch for later as well. She grabbed her keys and made sure her electrics were turned off, before making her way out the door. After locking the door, she and Elliot descended the staircase together, their steps falling in tune with each other as they always did. Their shoulders bumped together. They even walked the same.

People always told them they were in sync, and they were. That's why they were best friends.

Once outside, Elliot sweetly opened the door to his Jeep. She slipped into the passenger seat and thanked him. Elliot was always such a gentleman, even though he spent a lot of the time annoying her.

He slipped into the driver's seat and turned the engine on. Olivia once again began to ask about the special occasion, but he refused to tell her. As they drove along the streets towards their favorite, greasy eatery, she looked out the window and watched the city pass by. Even though she'd never say this out loud, having a breakfast date with her best friend was one thing she loved and always looked forward to. In fact, it was one of her favorite things in the world.

"Okay, we're here and our food is now in front of us, so what is the special occasion?"

Elliot was giving her the shit eating grin again and it was amusing yet annoying at the same time. He'd told her to wait until their food had arrived, and now the table was covered with two plates; both containing three large pancakes, some scrambled eggs with cheese – and in her case, paprika too – as well as juicy sausage links. A large pitcher of orange juice sat between them so they could refill their glasses whenever they wanted rather than having to flag down a waitress, whom was rushing throughout the diner as it was busy with the breakfast rush.

"You really don't know what today is?" he raised an eyebrow.

Olivia thought for a second. It was Tuesday right? No. No; working so many shifts was causing her days to run together. It was Wednesday, March 27th. What the hell was so special about – oh!

"Oh," her eyes lit up with realization and she flashed that bright, dazzling smile; "Happy twenty years of being best friends."

It was on this day twenty years ago – in 1998 – that Elliot and Olivia had randomly met in this very diner. Olivia was sixteen years old then, and had just moved to New York from California to live with a relative, for reasons which she had never discussed with Elliot, no matter how close they were. Olivia was a waitress in this diner to support herself whilst she finished high school and to save money to go to nursing school. An eighteen-year-old Elliot Stabler had come in just after midnight, almost in a daze as he had recently had a fight with his wife of one year at the time (that very same wife that he was still married to), and needed something to eat to clear his head – well, which she later found out. The look on his face had concerned Olivia, so whilst she was serving him, she simply asked; "Long day too, huh?" which led to him launching into this whole long monologue of how long and awful his day had been. From there, the gates had opened and there was no going back for the two strangers.

Their friendship blossomed, and they became extremely close over the years. He was only two years older than she was, Olivia found him to be extremely interesting and compassionate and protective. She found herself trusting him completely and feeling so safe and comfortable with him. She told him so many things she had never told anyone, like about being a product of rape and suffering abuse at the hands of her mother. She didn't tell him exactly why she had left California, but she expressed that the abuse was not the only reason. Elliot never pushed it, not even to this day. Still, he knew a lot about her; "You know everything about me, even the parts I'd rather forget." She found herself telling him once. But that was okay; she trusted him enough and they were just that close.

The feeling was mutual for Elliot. For many years, he felt that he hadn't had anyone to really talk to about his own experiences in life, such as having to live with a bipolar mother and an abusive father. And later, his job; God knows his job was difficult. He had a wife and children of course, but he would never tell them about his job and the things he saw; that was too much for him to handle let alone them. Olivia, however, was someone he felt comfortable and safe with. He told her all about his own childhood as well, told her about his job and some of the things he saw. She didn't judge him or seem to creeped out; in fact, she told him his job sounded sad yet strangely interesting. She understood him when it came to his childhood as well as hers had been very difficult as well; something his wife Kathy, could not relate to. He just felt safe and like he could be himself with Olivia. She had the most dazzling smile, and a beautiful heart and warm personality. She was a wonderful person all around, and sometimes, it felt as though she was all he had. "You and my job are all I have left anymore." He had once told her when he and Kathy had gone through some problems some years back, and it was true, because Olivia didn't judge him. She stuck around.

Now here they were, twenty years later. She'd recently turned thirty-six, he was turning thirty-eight later in the year. Even though they were only growing closer to their forties with each passing year and didn't quite hang like they used to, they were still as thick as thieves and enjoyed each other's company. They had been there for each other's milestones; their thirtieth birthdays, the birth of Elliot's fifth child, Olivia finishing nursing school, his job promotions to senior detective within the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, her securing a job as a registered nurse at Mercy General Hospital. They had always been each other's support system.

"So that's what this breakfast is about?" she went on to question him, her eyebrow shooting up. He nodded his head as he munched his way through the fluffy, delicious pancakes.

"Celebrating twenty years of being a pain in your ass," he winked before continuing, "Back on schedule next time though, which means you're buying."

"Of course, I am." She muttered, rolling her eyes before smiling back at her best friend.

They engaged in light conversation as they ate. They talked about various things such as their jobs – he told her about the latest case and she told him about an adorable baby that had been born the other night during her shift. The conversation eventually shifted to other things such as sports, how his children were doing in school, how Kathy was doing. There were jokes and stupid, childish remarks that nobody else would find funny, but that Elliot and Olivia found hilarious as they had a similar sense of humor. The two loved being able to spend this time together and not worry about their chaotic lives for a bit; to just relax and hang out together like normal best friends would do.

After their tasty breakfast, Elliot sweetly gave Olivia a lift to work in his Jeep. They rode in silence as he expertly drove through the city streets, the only sound being that of some random songs that would play on the radio in between breaks from a morning radio show. There was something comfortable about this; there was never any awkwardness or tension when it came to their silence. It was just relaxed – a relaxing, comfortable silence. Elliot and Olivia were so close and connected that there never needed to be some chatter to fill the silence.

They were just that comfortable.

Roughly ten minutes later, the Jeep came to a stop outside the side entrance for emergency room staff of the large, widely popular Mercy General Hospital, one of the best in the City of New York. She unclicked her seatbelt and gathered up her bag, before turning her head to her best friend. She gave him a sweet smile before reaching over and squeezing his bicep.

"Thanks for the ride and the breakfast," she opened the door to slide out of the car, "Don't work too hard and be safe."

"You be safe too, please – seeing trauma vics and all that." He smirked, referring to her job as a nurse in the hospital's large, chaotic emergency room. She gave a hearty laugh, shaking her head in despair as she closed the car door. She gave one more wave before making her way inside; Elliot did the normal routine of watching to make sure she got inside safely. Once the glass door closed behind her, Elliot put his car into drive before pulling off from the spot, a soft smile on his face as it always was after spending some time with his best friend.

The morning passed by rather quickly for Olivia, though time only passed because there had been an influx of patients coming into the emergency room throughout the morning. Olivia kept busy with taking vital signs and prepping patients before the doctors would come through, and once things would relax a bit, she was able to take time to enter information into the computer system so things would be organized (the doctors did say she was one of the most organized nurses there was in the chaotic room). She did have to assist a few physicians during exams and had to administer medication to a few patients as well, which also helped to pass the time.

Olivia truly loved her job. The pay wasn't the best in the world, but for her, it was never about the pay when she decided to go into nursing. It was all about helping others and being able to make them feel comfortable in any way she could. Seeing others suffer had always been a problem for her, but it had been the suffering of her own mother that had put her on this path towards nursing. She never talked about the things she saw, but she vowed to do anything in her power to help others so they would never have to suffer the way her mother had done.

"Liv, here comes the bitch."

Olivia glanced up, briefly meeting the gaze of her blonde haired, blue eyed best friend and fellow nurse, Casey Novak. The two had started working at this hospital at the same time some years earlier and had hit it off straight away. Truthfully, they were night and day – Olivia was relaxed and gentle, Casey was blunt and outrageous sometimes. However, that was what brought them together; their opposite personalities that allowed them to balance each other out. "Case, you're literally the female version of my friend Elliot." Olivia had told Casey one day, and Casey had shrugged and giggled whilst debating whether to take it as a compliment.

Olivia followed Casey's gaze, only to turn away quickly as she saw the other blonde haired, blue eyed nurse wandering into the emergency room to start her shift. It was the woman whom had, had a problem with her for years now, for reasons that Olivia could never understand why.

Kathy Stabler – or in other words, Elliot's wife.

Olivia was great at reading people, so whenever Kathy was being polite to her, she knew that it was forced and that she was trying to be nice for the sake of their jobs. The few, very few, times that Kathy had been rude to her, Olivia gave it right back, which would surprise the woman and lead to her backing off. Olivia often wondered if Kathy had a problem because she and Elliot were such good friends, but then she would think; 'Kathy certainly can't think anything has happened between me and Elliot?' She wondered about the woman sometimes, but she always tried to be respectful to her and was especially respectful to her marriage to her best friend.

'I don't have to respect her, she's a bitch.' Was Casey's response, however; Casey and Kathy had gotten into a war of words more times than Olivia could even count.

"Casey." Olivia warned. Casey shrugged before plastering a fake smile onto her face as Kathy came up to the nurses' station. Kathy put on a smile as well, glancing between Casey and Olivia.

"Morning ladies." She greeted. Casey and Olivia responded with a simultaneous 'Morning' before looking at each other again as Kathy walked off to where the lockers were. The two women rolled their eyes at each other, only for Olivia to then giggle quietly when Casey muttered 'bitch' under her breath.

About twenty minutes later, Casey and Olivia were updating some patient information in the file system on the computer, when another one of the other nurses came rushing into the nurses' station. Considering it wasn't busy, she gestured for everyone to gather around whilst she increased the volume on the television. Everyone's attention was captured by the reporter speaking on the television, and Olivia felt a strange, sickly feeling that something was very wrong.

"We have just arrived on scene to Manhattan's 16th Precinct; the headquarters of the Special Victims Unit of the NYPD…"

"Elliot works there." Olivia gasped quietly, looking quickly to Casey who wrapped an arm around her friend, supportively squeezing her shoulder.

"We have had reports of shots fired inside the building and…"

And suddenly, more gunshots rang out as the reporter and several others began ducking for cover. Olivia felt someone brush against her arm and she looked up, only to see Kathy now standing right beside her. The nurses and doctors watched in horror as glass shattered as windows of the building exploded from the bullets; this all being captured on the cameras while the reporters and others around remained on the ground to avoid the spray of bullets.

The next few moments felt like the longest hours; the shots stopped and a swarm of SWAT personnel swarmed into the building. The reporter appeared back on the screen, looking extremely nervous and scared. She began talking quickly about reporting an update as soon as she could, before she was then stopped by the sight of medical personnel rushing into the building as well. Olivia watched in horror; Kathy stood beside her with tears in her eyes.

Stretchers began being rushed out with injured individuals, heading towards waiting ambulances to bring them to the hospital. But Kathy nor Olivia were prepared for what they would see next.

They both recognized that Marine tattoo anywhere.

Elliot.

Elliot had been shot.

NOTE: Allow me to briefly explain the date of March 27th - that was when I originally started writing this fic! About three days after my birthday. Idk - so I just put that date in as I was writing and allowed it to be Elliot and Olivia's friendship anniversary.

ANYWAY, here we have the first part of my new fic. Let me know what you think and stuff. Until next time... xoxo