A/N: Hi everyone! My muse and I are working closely together, though our fights are so frequent that I can never be sure where we are one day to the next, but as for now, this very minute, we're doing our best to get along. This FF goes out to Mariah94 – my SVU inspiration, who never fails to leave me with kind words. Thank you… and I hope this FF lives up to your expectations. =))

"TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS"

Olivia wasn't sure how true that statement was. She wasn't sure she believed in it at all. She had never told any victim that time healed their wounds, physically maybe, but emotionally, it was a lie. There was no such thing as closure - it was a myth. So what made her think that the above statement could bring her any comfort.

Sure, Olivia hadn't been the victim of someone's violent rape act. She hadn't had to stand up in court and re-live the horror of her deepest pain for the world to see. No. Olivia didn't have to share her feelings with anyone, if she didn't want to, and she didn't. She had never been one to go around sharing her emotions for sympathy, though in this case she was sure if she opened her mouth, she'd have all the support she could ever need.

That was the thing about the precinct; her friends always had her back. Or at least, they did if she excluded the one person she always believed would never let her down. It happened that way sometimes, and that's what she consistently told herself, that nothing was forever, that no one could promise the impossible.

But they were just words and thoughts, it helped none for her broken heart. The way it left a gaping hole in her heart, the way the mere mention of his name was enough to rip her heart wide open, causing her insides to crumble and her legs to feel like jelly. Olivia had never experienced such an emotion in all her life, not even the death of her mother was as hard to live with as the pain Elliot Stabler had caused, when he left.

But somehow, Olivia managed to live with it. She got up in the morning, despite the will not to want to, and she went to work. She focussed all her energy into the cases she was given, and when she couldn't help the victim, she went home and cried herself to sleep, believing that she had somehow failed them because her spirit was crushed. Olivia felt little comfort in the way her colleagues smiled at her. In fact, even knowing it came from a good place, she still felt the hunter's blade rip through her like wildfire, reminding her that he wasn't there.

Smiles were rare and magical, when they occurred.

Though anyone who didn't know her, might not have seen the difference at all, because somehow, Olivia had kept her head above water, barely, but above water, and sometimes that was a miracle in itself.

The day was drawing to a close and Olivia was ready to go home, crawl into her bed, and drown out the world for the next few hours, until she was called in again to help with a case.

"Hey, Benson!" Munch called. "You want to come out for a drink?"

Those in the precinct had taken to calling her Benson, because each time they'd called her Olivia, or in some rare cases, Liv, she seemed to shut down and lose her focus. It was easier, if they just called her Benson. And it seemed to work. It was a name that she didn't associate with Elliot, a name that didn't kill her a little more, each time it was said, giving her heart a chance to heal enough that she could survive.

Her answer was always the same. "Maybe next time." Olivia didn't have the heart to tell him that she never wanted to go out again, but she always appreciated the gesture. Munch, it seemed, never gave up on her.

He stepped toward her, so that when he spoke their conversation was a little more private. "I think you should come this time," he urged. "You'll be surprised at how good it feels to be out and about."

"I just can't," she said, fighting back the tears.

He took her hand gently in his own. "I promise not to leave your sight for a single moment, not for anything," he said, pleadingly. It hadn't been easy for everyone who loved her to sit back and watch her spirit diminish with each passing day. Munch wouldn't have been surprised if any day now, she put in her papers and disappeared.

Olivia shook her head, determined not to associate with Nick and Amanda. Not because they weren't good detectives. She had been forced to work with him a few times, and they were good at what they did, both of them bringing something new to the group. But Olivia was afraid that somehow if she associated with him, if she turned them from colleague to friend, she was betraying her partner… ex-partner.

"Olivia…" he said, soothingly, using her first name on purpose. "It's been two years, baby. It's time to get your feet wet. You have to get back into the world, you have to try…"

The tears stung her eyes. "Please, don't," she begged. "I just can't."

Munch looked sucker-punched. He just wanted to help her, and he didn't know how. "How about you come out for ten minutes or so, have a drink, and then you can call a cab. Amanda and Nick are nice… you'd like 'em."

Olivia felt her defences rise. "No," she said, forcefully. "I don't- I just can't. I'll see you tomorrow," she turned to leave.

"Please!"

Olivia paused for a moment, long enough to hear the trepidation in his tone, before she fled the precinct. For ten minutes she sat in her car, unable to drive home, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. What harm was one drink?

Finally, she made her way to the tavern, where they always drank, memories of Elliot stirring with every corner of the bar. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed the memories to go away. When she opened her eyes again, she saw her friends crowded in a corner.

Munch smiled when he saw her, and she walked to him.

"Beer?" he asked, slipping an arm around her shoulder.

Olivia nodded.

"Someone get the woman a drink!" he shouted.

A moment later, she had a beer in her hand. She watched her colleagues with interest. Nick and Amanda had seemed to settle in easily, having found their place in the group. It was hard for Olivia to accept that, since she only interacted with them at work, when she was forced to. Fin seemed to get on well with Nick, and Amanda seemed like one of the guys, in her own feminine way.

The familiar stab of pain that reminded her that he was gone, striked again and she couldn't hide it from her face.

"You're doin' fine," Fin said, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Olivia wasn't so sure, but she didn't run, she stood tall and she sipped her beer, wondering if it would ever get easier.

I would love some feedback from you… good or bad is welcome. =)) I have some plans for this FF, and I hope you guys will follow me, because this is just the beginning.