Author's note at end...

Chapter 19 -The Heart Won't Lie

As Olivia listened to the low hum of her electric pencil sharpener, she rested her elbow on her desk and propped her chin up on her hand. Continuing to feed the waning pencil into the sharpener, her attention wandered off as she wondered what Elliot and the rest of the guys were doing. Only a week into her "punishment" and she had already run out of things to do.

Glancing around the squad room, she saw the fruits of her labor and, with a frustrated and bored sigh, knew that she could be doing so much more out on the field. She'd straightened up every single case file in the entire squad room, the ones in filing cabinets, in boxes, and anywhere else they were floating around. She had also just completed all of the guy's paperwork, even John's, she added with a grin. And now, after organizing all her pens by color and her pencils by length, she had taken a box of new pencils from the supply closet and was absent-mindedly sharpening them.

A metal grinding noise suddenly caught her ear and she glanced down to realize that she'd been sharpening the same pencil for the past few minutes. Quickly yanking it away, Olivia brought it up to see that it had been gnawed down to the metal part. With an irritated groan, she tossed it into the wastebasket to lay with its fellow pencils that had received the same fate.

"You have gotta be kidding me!" A familiar voice floated into the room along with the sound of a few pairs of footsteps. "Why would the President's administration circulate a bogus tape of Bin Laden's voice? Do you think they want to cause any more pandemonium over post 911 terrorist threats?"

The corner of Olivia's curled up in amusement as she realized what was going on. Elliot and Munch were obviously in another political headlock. Normally, Elliot wasn't one to try and argue with the King of Conspiracies, but all the time he had served in the military had given him a great deal of pride in his country and president. There was only so much bashing against them that he could tolerate before he dove into defense mode. And everyone knew that having an opponent only egged John on even further.

"Of course they do! They have to find some way to quiet the uproar of anti-war protesters! Just remind the common man of why were over in the Middle-East, stir up some of that blue-collar anger everyone felt because of 911, and America will jump back on the bandwagon to keep sending troops over there to the slaughter!"

Fin was first to burst through the doors, his expression even more vexed then with John's normal tirades. As he stormed past her desk, Olivia tossed the pencil she was about to sharpen down and watched him. "Been going on long?" She inquired with a knowing smirk.

"Long enough for me to consider eating my gun on about three separate occasions," he huffed with a roll of his eyes.

Smiling, Olivia watched. "Maybe we should put them in a ring and let them duke it out once and for all," she spoke a little louder than normal, trying to make herself heard over the two men's arguments.

"Give them a couple more minutes of this and I think they'll take care of that themselves." Fin grabbed a pile of mail off of his desk and stood next to Olivia's chair as he skimmed through it. His eyes barely glanced up when the two bickering detectives finally entered the squad room.

Elliot walked over towards his desk, flashing Olivia a pained look as he shed his coat. She had to stifle back a laugh at his expression. He obviously wanted out of this debate, but they both knew he was too stubborn to go by surrendering.

Wrapping her arms around a foot-tall stack of papers and folders, she rose to her feet. "Munch, catch!" She pretended to jerk her arms forward, as if she was going to toss the bundle at him. Caught off guard, John jumped and awkwardly shoved his arms forward to catch nothing but air. The faintest smile appeared on Olivia's face while she watched his flustered expression while he regained his composure. "I wasn't gonna actually throw it," she pointed out in amusement, moving over to his desk and dropping the papers onto it with a loud thud.

"What are those?" Back to his normal state, John tipped his glasses forward on his nose and peeked over the rim at the pile of documents.

"Over the past few days," she gently smacked her palm against the top and let it rest there, "I've taken the liberty of finishing all your old, abandoned…" she spoke in a disapproving tone, "case files."

"Damn, girl!" Fin exclaimed, his eyes running up the stack as he did a mental estimate of how many cases it contained. "You must be bored out of your mind to do that."

"There's gotta be at least a few years of paperwork in there," Elliot chirped in, walking over towards Olivia. "Because we all know how meticulous Munch here is with his records." He flashed the detective a big grin and slapped him on the shoulder. John remained quiet, biting the side of his tongue to keep from saying anything in response.

"Like you're one to talk?" She turned to Elliot, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "I also did your paperwork and it was no better." The three men followed Olivia's outstretched finger to a sight similar to John's desk, located on Elliot's. She grew a contented grin as his face fell dejectedly. "This place looked like more of a pig pen than a bullpen."

"Well of course," Elliot shot back, knowing exactly what to say to push Olivia's buttons. "The ratio is completely off. Only one woman but four men? How can we seriously expect this place to be kept clean when you're the only one here that can do that?"

While the four continued their banter and good-natured jabbing, Cragen stepped out of his office. "Elliot! John!" He shouted, leaning halfway out of the door and presenting a small piece of paper in his hand. "Scene down the street, gun shot vic. She looks like a pro, so they tossed it to us. Go check it out." He passed over the address to John.

"No problem Cap," he said assuredly, tossing on his jacket. "Let's go, partner." Munch smacked Elliot on the back and continued walking out the door. Instead of immediately following John, Elliot stole a glace at Olivia. He was painfully aware of the sadness in her eyes sparked by when Munch had referred to him as "partner."

They were partners, she thought. She should have been out there, watching his back, not in here, color-coding the file system.

"Hang in there, Liv," Elliot whispered, letting his hand brush against her arm as he began to walk past her. Their eyes met lovingly for a split second before Cragen's voice boomed out again.

Failing to notice the detectives' subtle signals to each other, he turned to Fin. "And Warner wants you down at her office about your John Doe."

"Got it." He turned to leave the squad room, Elliot reluctantly trailing behind him.

Cragen, momentarily falling into habit and forgetting that Olivia was on desk duty, turned to her and barked, "Benson!" As soon as she glanced at him, he awkwardly realized that he had no orders for her. Hiding the fact that he had become flustered, he merely nodded. "Keep up the good work, file cabinets look very organized."

With a look that could easily have killed, Olivia forced a small, sarcastic smile onto her face. "Why thank you, Captain," she snapped, the bitterness just dripping from her voice.

Remaining indifferent to her cold response, he just ignored it. He knew that she was just frustrated with her suspension from field duty, as any could cop would be. After all, they didn't become a cop to sit behind a desk and do paperwork. For that, they could have become a secretary, which did, in its defense, come with many less hazards.

As he started to throw his blazer on, Cragen couldn't help but break the awkward silence. "The two-nine precinct is still ticked off about us taking the lead on that string of break-ins and sexual assaults that occurred down there, so I figured I'd go over and try to kiss a little ass to get us back on their good side. I'll be back later." Olivia just nodded, her eyes wretchedly gazing over the empty bullpen with hollowness in her eyes.

--XXX--

About one hour and 30-or-so pencils later, Olivia had moved on to a new activity to keep her interest. Stretching a rubber band between her thumb and forefinger, she'd created a make-shift sling shot. Picking up a paperclip, she set it on the rubber band and pulled back. Releasing it with a small flick of her hand, Olivia watched it sail over the wastebasket, her intended target, by a good foot and a half. There was a circle of paperclips around the trashcan, seeing as how she'd failed to make it in even once.

Olivia picked up another paperclip and prepared to launch it, this time focusing all of her concentration on it. Before she could shoot it, a loud, shrill ring rang out in the otherwise completely silent squad room. Jumping in surprise at the noise, Olivia's hand jerked up and sent the paperclip sailing towards the ceiling.

Her expression grew annoyed as she realized it was only her cell phone. While her hand sifted around in her coat pockets to try and find the phone, she inhaled deeply, trying to slow down the rapid beating of her pulse. Just as Olivia felt her hand curl around the noisy object, she regained her composure and felt her heart beats return to their normal pattern.

She flipped the phone open and put it to her ear. "Benson, Special Victims Unit."

"Hey beautiful."

Olivia felt her cheeks flush as she recognized the voice. "Hey," she replied, a grin spreading on her face. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Elliot laughed and glanced over towards the counter of the Chinese food place he was at. He and Munch were about fifteen people away from the front of the ordering line, so he had decided to sneak away to call Olivia. "Does a guy need a reason to call his lovely partner?"

"No, I suppose not. So, what's up?"

"John wanted to stop off to get something to eat. You want anything?"

"Chinese?"

"Of course," he grinned.

"Hmm…" She pretended to mull over it for a moment. "Oh, well crab rangoons sound pretty good."

Elliot chuckled again, rolling his eyes at her slight attempt of a joke. "C'mon Benson, I bet you just wanna see my with my shirt off again, right?"

"Maybe…" She responded flirtatiously, unconsciously blinking her eyelids as well. "Well, how would you like to come over to my apartment tonight?"

"Oh, I see," he said as if with a sudden clarity and undertone.

"Just for dinner." With a raised eyebrow, Olivia quickly corrected his thinking. "Nothing else."

"I know Liv," Elliot told her seriously, knowing she wasn't anywhere near ready to take their relationship to the next step. "I understand that."

Another smile crossed her lips as she was reminded of how extraordinary he was and how that never ceased to amaze her. "So, dinner?"

"Sounds great." Elliot glanced over again and noticed that John was almost at the front of the line. "We should be back at the station in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Okay." Just as he was about to hang out the cell phone, her voice stopped him.

"And El?"

"Yeah?"

There was a slight pause before she answered. "I love you."

His grin instantly widened. "I love you too."

--XXX--

"Absolutely amazing," Elliot said sincerely as Olivia cleared the dishes from her dining room table. As she was placing them in the sink, he stealthily walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. With a smile, he also noticed that she didn't jump like she normally would have. Elliot leaned his head forward and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Me or the dinner?" She questioned jokingly, turning her head slightly so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

"Both," he informed her simply, burying his face into the crook of her neck and inhaling the light scent of her perfume.

Olivia stifled a giggle as his neck tickled her skin. "Now, how about a movie?"

"Ugg." Elliot pretended to groan in antipathy. "Dinner and a movie, that's all we ever do. Our dates are so predictable."

An idea suddenly formed in her mind as she glanced at him again. In one swift motion, she picked his head up off of her shoulder and held it up just long enough for her to spin around and press her lips against his. After a few seconds, she broke it off much to Elliot's disappointment. "You were saying?" Her lip curled up in a grin as she raised an inquiring eyebrow.

His head bobbled around aimlessly for a few seconds before he spoke. "Yup, movie it is."

A half an hour later, the two were curled up on the couch, a predictable position that neither one of them minded. Instead of a movie, Elliot had suggested they listen to they radio. Olivia agreed and decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to acclimate him to what he so endearingly called her "banjo music." Joe Diffie's Tougher than Nails had just ended and much to both detectives' surprise, Elliot didn't find it half bad.

"Okay, you win," he finally caved. "It's pretty good, I'll admit." Tightening his arm around Olivia, he snuggled deeper into the couch.

"You know," Olivia turned around to face him as she lay on his chest, "you're probably the first person I've known to ever give this kinda music a chance, much less admit that it's good."

"I just did it because I love you, and I'd do anything for you." His crystal blue eyes sparkled as they gazed down at her.

Just as he finished his sentence, Olivia threw her arms around his middle and pulled herself as close to him as she could. "Have I told you lately just how incredible you are?" she asked, though her voice was slightly muffled.

"Probably," he laughed and replied jokingly, "but you can always feel free to tell me again."

"El, I'm serious." The tone of her voice spoke that as she searched for the right thing to say. "I just… I can't believe that a guy so amazing was right under my nose for years and years and I never noticed." Unbeknownst to Olivia, his eyes were beginning to mist over as her words struck a chord with them. "I mean, after everything we've been through, who would have ever thought that we'd end up here, together like this?"

Biting his lip and blinking his eyes to keep the tears from falling, Elliot gently grasped Olivia's chin in his hand and turned her face towards his. He was surprised to see the same unshed tears in her eyes as well.

"I think it was destined to be like this Liv. After going through so much together and getting so close, falling in love was just inevitable." He quietly paused for a moment as their eyes bored into each other's. "And I thank God everyday since I've known it, because I realize that I couldn't live with it any other way. I can't even remember my life before you, and I don't want to, since nothing could compare to the way I feel when I'm with you."

By now, Olivia's tears were freely flowing down her cheeks. Through them, though, she managed a smile that, to Elliot, seemed to brighten up her entire face and make her look as beautiful as ever.

"You want to know the truth, El?" She questioned him as he reached up his hand to wipe her face dry. Before he could though, she took his hand in hers. "Honestly, I think I've loved you since the day we met. But because of everything that was against us I just ignored it, hoping it'd go away because I didn't think it could ever be. I…. I don't know why I could never really stop my feelings. I guess my head knew it couldn't happen, but my heart didn't care. It refused to let me let go."

"Well, it's like they say, Liv." He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. "The heart won't lie."

As they continued to melt in each other's gazes, the radio suddenly caught Olivia's ear.

"Oh my gosh…" Her eyes instantly widened. "El, listen to the song." Somewhat puzzled, Elliot raised his eyebrow, but did as he was told.

Looking back over the years
Of all the things I've always meant to say
But the words didn't come easily
So many times through empty fears
Of all the nights I tried to pick up the phone
So scared of who might be answering

You try to live your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away

'Cause the heart won't lie
Sometimes life gets in the way
But there's one thing that won't change
I know, I've tried

The heart won't lie
You can live your alibi
Who can see?

You're lost inside a foolish disguise
The heart won't lie

Long after tonight
Will you still hear my voice through the radio?
Old desires make us act carelessly
Long after tonight, after the fire
After the scattered ashes fly
Through the four winds blown and gone
Will you come back to me?

You try to live your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away
'Cause the heart won't lie
Sometimes life gets in the way
But there's one thing that won't change
I know, I've tried
The heart won't lie
You can live your alibi
Who can see?

You're lost inside a foolish disguise
The heart won't lie

The heart won't lie

As the song faded out, Olivia slowly reached up and brushed her lips against Elliot's. Their faces still only a few inches apart, she whispered in his ear. "I love you so much more than I could ever tell you, El. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Now crying as well, Elliot just barely managed to choke out, "I love you too," before pulling her back into his arms. For the rest of the night, the two just laid in the other's arms until they silently drifted off to sleep, both with the knowledge that they'd finally found love in their life. Despite the odds being against them, despite the lies they'd tried to convince themselves of, and despite the rules, they'd found each other. And there was one thing that they could always be assured of in their relationship… that the heart won't lie.

The End

A/N: All right, before you review to start flaming and screaming at me, just read this first. Okay, despite my promises and everything, this is the last chapter. Yes, I know I promised many more chapters, but it's not going to happen. Lately, school and my life have just been so incredibly hectic and demanding that I don't even know where I found the time to write this. So I just really don't have the time to continue to update this, not for lack of ideas, but for lack of time. Also, because I haven't written for this is like three months, I've lost my inspiration for it. I know that any more chapters I write won't be my best work, and I don't want to post anything on here that's not my best.

So I just want to thank all of you who've stuck with me since BITFD and even those of you who just decided to read this story. All your reviews and support have meant the world to me. Even the reviews in which you just yelled at me for taking to long to update, I think you know who you are ;) , were what kept me going. And don't worry, I'll be back soon. Probably this summer when school lets out. Who knows, you might even see me around with a one-shot or two. ;) The next story up my sleeve will either be about Elliot or another one about Olivia. Since I still live for your opinions, good or bad, feel free to let me know what you'd like to see. :) Again, just thanks so much my reviewers, for everything!

Now, feel free to review, even if you want to flame me for my hiatus and abrupt ending, because I suppose, if my reviewers think so, then I deserve it.