So I'm trying to write a love story in episode coda's for Bensaro, hence the fic title. Also these used to be seperate docs but now I'm combining it because of 's set up it makes more sense.

"Thanks for having my back" was written and posted first but chronologically this one comes first hence why it will be made the first in the series.

This is a coda to episode 13x02. Also, I came up with the idea, wrote it and edited in a night so it might be a bit rough. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you thought :)

Detective Nick Amaro knew from the moment he laid eyes on her, that Detective Olivia Benson was a force to be reckoned with. Everything about her, the careful black liner rimming the eyes that narrowed at him threateningly, the flat line of her lips, the long, unimpressed look she gave him, it all screamed that she was someone that was not to be trifled with. 'A real guerrera' his mother would have called her. And when she opened her mouth and put him place with a single cutting remark, he knew she would have been right; Olivia Benson was a warrior with a badge and a gun.

Over that first case, Amaro didn't think he saw Benson let up once, and as he followed her lead in an interview he wondered idly if it ever grew exhausting. A lesser man might not have been able to let a woman take control like that but having grown up experience the strength of his mother and marrying an absolute powerhouse of a woman, he was more than used to and happy to stand back and observe. He was the rookie in this situation and Benson an expert, having worked in the unit for over a decade.

He saw it over and over again as he failed to get results and she stepped in, seemingly knowing exactly what to say and how to say it to get them to talk; whoever them was, whether it was a nervous victim or a stubborn suspect. And when she leaned over the coach's desk, getting right in his face Amaro felt a smile spreading across his face as he watched, Benson not even blinking when the perp got right back into her space.

But she didn't have the time of day for him, he quickly found out. Benson was stony with him the entire case, constantly toeing the line of polite and hostile and the animosity practically rolled off in waves. Amaro had no idea what he'd done and finally broke and asked Fin, after watching Benson toss him and Fin a curt goodnight and leave for the night without looking back, leaving the pair alone in the bull-pen to finish paperwork.

"What's her deal?" he asked, eyes still on the corner she'd just rounded "She just seems to really-"

"Hate you?" Fin finished for him. Amaro glanced over at him to find him nodding with a slight, knowing smile. "Don't take it personally."

Amaro gave a short laugh. "How am I supposed to not take that personally?"

"You just gotta know that it's not really you she hates." Fin must of seen the confusion on Amaro's face because he continued, "Look, Benson's old partner, Stabler, he left without telling anyone, not even Liv."

Amaro felt a frown tug at his lips. "But I thought you said she and Stabler were partners for twelve…?" Amaro said, trailing off as Fin nodded.

"Twelve years as partners, even longer together in the same unit and all that thrown away without even a phone call? Liv was going to hate anyone who walked through that door."

Amaro felt himself melt back into his chair, head tipping back to stare at the ceiling even as his mouth dropped open and a long sigh escaped him. He barely knew Benson, had no reason to like her after the way she'd treated him but damn did he feel sorry for her; losing your partner for any reason was hard enough, but for it to go down like that? Amaro had a strong and sudden urge to find this Stabler and punch him, even though he knew next to nothing about the guy.

Amaro was pulled from his thoughts by Fin's next words. "You just got to give her time. Liv's a great cop, but she's an even better person. She'll come round."

Amaro nodded absently, and he heard the creak of the chair as Fin stood. The other detective bade him goodnight and disappeared out of the office, leaving Amaro to sit and stare at the desk in front of him without really seeing it.

He stood after a moment, already having decided how he was going to play it when he came in for work the next day. Benson might not have given him a warm and cosy welcome, but he already felt like he understood her, and what he had seen through the shields she'd put up, the occasional wry twist of her lips when he said something amusing, the way she was with the victims, he already liked. He wasn't going to let her push him away, and when she was ready he was going to be an even better partner than Stabler had been.