Elliot sat at his desk, neglecting his paperwork. He was too busy to fill out DD5's. He was doing something more important anyway-he was watching Olivia-to him that was always more important. Right now, Olivia was staring intently at her computer screen and chewing on the cap of her pen. Elliot smiled as he watched her, thinking about how cute she looked.

Suddenly, he broke the silence that was lurking between them, "Hey, Liv, want to go out for drinks after work?"

"Ummmm," Olivia stalled, her eyes flying to the clock in the corner of her screen briefly. "Sure. It's just after 6:00, you want to head out around 7:00," she answered absentmindedly, her eyes never leaving the document she was reading.

"That's fine," he smiled happily, before getting back to his DD5's with a renewed determination. He now had a reason to finish them before midnight: he was going out with Olivia.

By 7:00, Elliot had finished the majority of his DD5's, storing the rest in his desk drawers and Olivia had shut off her computer. As always, they were in perfect sync as they stood up, put their coats on and walked towards the elevator. They stepped into the elevator and Olivia pushed the button for the first floor. As the doors closed, she spoke for the first time since they made their plans, "Where we going?"

"How about Meloni's?"

"Okay."

The doors opened and they stepped out together, matching each other step for step. They walked out of the precinct and to Elliot's car.

Within 20 minutes they were seated at a table in Meloni's drinking their first round of beers.

"So…," Olivia began, "You gonna tell me why we're here?"

"Sure," he smirked.

"Then why don't you?" she asked, slightly exasperated.

"We're celebrating," he stated as if it was completely obvious.

"Okay…," she looked confused now. "What are we celebrating?"

"My divorce. It was finalized yesterday morning. I'm officially single," he explained, grinning from ear to ear.

"That's great Elliot!" she exclaimed happily, her heart soaring, thinking, "Maybe now he'll notice me."

"Thanks Liv. You know what else?"

"What El?"

"I'm in love."

Her heart sank, "That's great El. I'm really happy for you," she told him truthfully, effectively masking her disappointment. She glanced at her watch, "Look, it's getting late, I better go."

"It's barely 8:30, don't go yet."

"I'm really tired. I just want to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled weakly as she stood up, grabbed her coat and left.

He stared after her, lost in thought, "What the hell? Did I say something? I wanted to tell her tonight. Aw, hell, I have to tell her. Tonight." With his mind made up, he grabbed his coat, threw some money on the table, and followed in Olivia's footsteps.

When Olivia got home she quickly changed into NYPD sweats and an oversized sienna college t-shirt, before crawling into bed. Once in bed, she curled into a ball and pulled the blankets tightly around her. Then, she started to cry softly, mourning the loss of someone that was never hers to mourn. "Why do I do this to myself? I let myself fall for him. I waited 12 years for him to get divorced and he finally does. I let myself think that I might stand a chance, but even when he's been divorced for just one day, he's in love with someone else. I'm happy for him. I really am. I want him to be happy and if she makes him happy, well then I wish them the best. It's just…I'll never be good enough, so I should just stop trying. I just need to stop loving him." Her tears continued to fall, "HA! That's not going to happen. I've loved him for 12 years while he's loved someone else, why should I stop now? Besides, I've grown used to the pain."

Meanwhile, Elliot had been pacing outside of her apartment for nearly an hour, unsure of whether or not his knocking would just upset her more. Finally, he decided that he had nothing to lose by trying, if she didn't return his feelings, he'd be just as alone as he was now, so he raised a fist and knocked on her door.

In her apartment, Olivia heard the knocking and knew it was him. She dried her tears and disentangled herself from the blankets, before slowly making her way to the door.

Elliot was just about to give up when the door swung open. He took in the sight before him. Olivia stood there, in her oversized sweats and t-shirt, with her gorgeous brown eyes bloodshot from crying, and even then he couldn't help thinking, "Damn, she's beautiful!"

They stood there staring at each other for a few moments, before he finally broke the silence, "Hi Liv, can I come in?"

She opened the door wider and stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. After he was inside she shut the door, locked it and went to sit on the couch. He hesitated and then sat down beside her.

He looked at her, trying to figure her out, "Are you going to tell my why you left so suddenly?"

"I already told you: I'm tired. I want to catch up on some sleep."

"You're lying," he stated matter-of-factly.

"No, I'm not," she protested.

"Yes, you are. If you had just wanted to sleep, you wouldn't have been crying."

"I wasn't crying."

"Then why are your eyes bloodshot?"

"Why are you here? Because if it's just to interrogate me, you can leave. I'm tired and I want to go back to bed."

She stood up, fully expecting him to leave, so she wasn't at all surprised when he stood up next to her. She was, however, surprised when he grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the hall. He tugged her into the bathroom, turning her to face the mirror, while he stood behind her.

Elliot met her eyes in the mirror as he told her why he'd come, "I didn't come just to interrogate you Olivia. I came because I wanted to tell you about the love of my life."

"I don't understand why that involves standing in my bathroom or why it couldn't wait until tomorrow," she said as she tried to walk away.

He placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her where she was: in front of him and facing the mirror, "Liv, will you just listen? This is really important to me," he pleaded.

She nodded sadly and met his eyes in the mirror.

"The woman I love is the reason I didn't try to stop Kathy from leaving this time. You see she's the most beautiful woman in the world. She has the most amazing smile, when she smiles she can light up the entire room. Her eyes, oh, those eyes. They're the deepest brown I've ever seen, I could get lost in those eyes for hours."

Tears started to fill Olivia's eyes, "I can't take this. Why's he doing this to me? Is he trying to make it hurt worse?"

Elliot saw the tears in Olivia's eyes, but he was determined and so he continued on, "She has beautiful skin, like caramel, and it's unbelievably soft," trailing his hands from her shoulders, down her arms, until he took her hands in his.

A single tear rolled down Olivia's face and she pulled her hands from Elliot's swiping at the tear and the others that threatened to fall furiously. She was frustrated at herself for showing such weakness in front of him, "Stop crying, you idiot! Do you want him to know how much this is hurting you? STOP!"

Elliot turned Olivia so that she was facing him and slipped his hands down to clasp hers again, "The woman I love is absolutely wonderful. She loves my kids and they love her. She calms me down when I'm angry. She cheers me up when I'm sad. She always has my back," he finished, hoping she understood that she was the one he loved.

Olivia forced herself to smile as she looked into Elliot's eyes and said to him, "I'm really happy for you, El. I can't wait to meet her." The words were barely out of her mouth when she broke free from him and all but ran down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She crawled into bed, pulled a pillow to her chest and did her best to keep Elliot from hearing her sobs.

Elliot stood in the bathroom for a few seconds after Olivia ran out, before going after her. He walked down the hall only to find her bedroom door shut and hear her muffled sobs coming from the other side. Without hesitation he opened the door and walked in.

Olivia's back was to him and her shoulders were shaking as she tried to stop her crying.

"Liv?"

"Go away," she cried.

Elliot walked over and sat on the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Come on, Liv, talk to me. I didn't mean to upset you. I just…I had to tell you how I felt. It's okay if you don't feel the same way. We can pretend I never said anything."

She turned to him, her face stained with her tears, "You want to know how I feel? I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest. I feel like I've lost my chance before I even had it, but that's not your fault, so you can leave now."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you're talking about. What chance? Who hurt you?"

"YOU hurt me! My chance to get you to love me. When you were with Kathy I didn't stand a chance and then you told me about the divorce and I thought maybe, just maybe you might notice me, but you didn't. Now you're in love with someone else and I'm happy for you, I really am, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. None of this is your fault though, I shouldn't have let myself fall for you. It was stupid and I'm sorry. Now, will you please leave?"

"No."

"Why the hell not? Is my pain that amusing to you."

"No, it's breaking my heart. All those things I said about the woman I love, they were all about you. I was hoping you would understand that and I certainly never meant to hurt you. I love you, Olivia, more than anything in the world."

She looked at him, stunned, "You…love me?"

He smiled, "Yes, Liv, I love you."

She sat up and looked him in the eye, "You really love me?"

"Yes, Baby, I love you."

She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face there, "I love you too," she murmured against his skin.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap, "Thank God because I don't know what I'd do if you didn't. I'd be a mess."

She pulled back slightly, so she could look at him, "Me too."

He moved one hand to the back of her head and pulled her down, so he could kiss her. Things became heated very quickly and the next morning found them naked and wrapped in each other's arms.

Elliot woke up and kissed the top of Olivia's head causing her to lift her head from his chest to look at him.

"Good morning, Beautiful," he said as he ran his hands through her hair.

"Morning."

"I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, El."

"I'm glad we're together."

"Finally."