Disclaimer: Still don't own them, please don't sue. :-)

Author's Note: I know that this has taken a while, but I hope that it's been worth it. I know that I said this was going to be a one shot, but there were just so many of you that wanted a little more to this, I hope you like it.

Olivia took a deep breath, focusing all her attention on the wall in front of her before speaking. "I panicked," she admitted quietly, her eyes never leaving the wall. "I've never had anyone in my life Elliot, never someone that I needed, never anyone who meant as much to me as you." Her lungs burned as she said the words, unable to pull in enough air. She took a deep shuddering breath before continuing shakily.

"It scared me more than anything ever had. So I ran. I had gotten so good at running that it was second nature to me. I didn't even think about it, or about how it would affect you. I wanted to forget, to deny that there was anything between us. But I couldn't," Olivia said quietly, closing her eyes against the truth. "I swore to myself, when I left that it was for good," she told him, glancing at him as she spoke, noticing the look of pain on his features. "But you wouldn't go away. Everything I saw everyday reminded me of you, and how much I missed you. And I had to come back," she looked away from him then, the expression on his face too much to deal with. "When I came back, I told myself that I wasn't going to get close to you again, that I would keep my distance from you," she cried. "But you wouldn't let me; you were always there with me El, even when I tried to put distance between us." Silence hung in the air between them for what seemed an eternity before he spoke.

"You haunted my dreams, every night," he said softly, his hand sliding to where hers rested between them and laced their fingers together.

"You haunted my dreams too," she whispered back.

He fought against the tremor that went through him at her words and took a deep breath. Just knowing that she had dreamt of him over the months that she'd been gone sent a jolt of awareness pulsing through him. "I need to know how you feel Olivia," Elliot said quietly, his hand grasping hers lightly. "After all we've been through I think I deserve to hear the words."

Olivia took a deep shuddering breath. "I'm afraid," she admitted quietly, her hand trembling in his. "What if everything changes? We could never go back to how we were before. I'm not sure I could handle that."

Elliot gripped her hand tighter in his, ignoring the little rivulet of fear that wound through him at her words. "Liv," he said softly, waiting until she raised her eyes to meet his. "I don't want everything back the way it was. I want more, so much more than that. I am so in love with you. I tried to ignore it, to make myself stop feeling this way, but I couldn't. I love you Olivia," he said, feeling relief at having finally said it out loud.

She tried to raise her eyes to meet his, her heart hammering in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and tell him that she loved him too, that she had always loved him. But there was a part of her that was paralyzed by the fear of what could happen if they did this; the absolute fear of shattering their very tenuous partnership.

"I'm not good at this Elliot, I never have been. Relationships are hard for me, for a lot of reasons," she said quietly. "I'm scared," Olivia admitted reluctantly, her voice barely registering, even in the absolute silence that surrounded them.

Elliot squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's all right Liv," he whispered. "It's all right to be scared. Hell I'm terrified, for a lot of the same reasons you are. I know there are risks; I know that so much could go wrong. But there's so much that could go right too. Life is uncertain, and full of risks, risks we take every day. I think this is worth the risk. And I'm not going to let my fears to stop me anymore. Are you?" Olivia could hear the small tremor of uncertainty in his voice and felt her heart ache in response.

"No," she said softly, her eyes meeting his in the near darkness that surrounded them. "I love you Elliot," Olivia said, her voice gaining strength. "I've been too afraid to admit it but it's true. I'm in love with you, and I have been for more years than I can remember." She released the breath she'd been holding, feeling a weight lift off her she hadn't even been aware of. "Whatever happens, I'm not hiding from the truth anymore," she said, grasping his hand firmly, turning so that her body was facing him. She leaned into him, her eyes never leaving his. Her lips touched his softly and he felt like an arc of electricity jumped through his body, leaving him tingling all over.

"Liv," he whispered against her mouth, her name coming out part groan and part prayer that this wasn't some kind of dream. And if it was a dream, he prayed that he would never wake up again.

He took her face in his hands, bringing her face closer to his, his lips moving possessively over hers. Her arms wrapped around him, erasing even the scant inches that had separated them. Their breaths mingled, becoming indistinguishable from each other. Elliot's lips moved over hers with sweet promise, promises of everything that they could have together.

The sound of the door to the crib opening had the effect of a bucket of ice-water being poured across them. They jumped apart, each of them sitting on opposite edges of the bed and looking like teenagers caught making out. Olivia caught Elliot's eye and felt a laugh start to bubble inside her. She could just make out the edge of his lips rising in a small smile.

Seconds later Munch came into view, his face wary as though expecting to find a crime scene. "Is everything okay here?" He asked, looking between his friends.

Olivia smiled at him and tried her best to keep from laughing out loud as she answered. "Everything's fine Munch," she assured him, not completely able to keep the laughter from her voice.

Munch looked over at Elliot, raising his eyebrows as his friend nodded his agreement, a smile spreading across his lips. "Okay," Munch said slowly, the small smile that had been moving across his lips blossoming into a full blown smile as he walked away.

Munch walked down the stairs and across the room to stop by his partner's desk. Fin looked up at him and Munch felt a small laugh make it past his lips. "What?" Fin asked lifting his eyebrows at his partner's strange attitude.

"You owe me fifty bucks," Munch crowed.

Fin's eyes widened fractionally. "You've got to be kidding me," he said, his eyes darting to the closed door of the crib.

Munch shook his head, his face still twisted in a smile. Fin growled, swearing under his breath, as he pulled the money out of his wallet. He slapped the bills into his partner's outstretched hand with a glare. "Fifty more says it doesn't last a month," Fin said putting his wallet back in his pocket.

Munch laughed out loud as he pocketed the money. "You're on."