DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, as much as I might ask.

A/N: Just a little something I came up with... I hope you like it! I know they're kinda out of character, too... Sorry.

"I'll be fine, Elliot," she persisted as she hurried around the small bedroom, stuffing clothes into a small suitcase.

He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. "You could die," he said simply, trying to keep the caring out of his voice.

She chuckled, throwing a pair of jeans on top of the messy pile of clothes already in the suitcase. "There's that possibility every day with this job. Besides," she sighed, turning to him and folding her arms, leaning her weight on the left side of her body. "It's just the eco-terrorists again, I've dealt with them. And it's not like you've cared when I left for undercover jobs before."

"That's not true," he said defensively. "That's not true," he repeated quietly, as if to himself, in lack of finding something better to say. He dropped his gaze from hers, looking down to his feet.

"Oh yeah?" she prodded him, almost playfully.

"I did care." His gaze remained on his feet.

"Sure as hell didn't seem like it," she said angrily, turning back to the closet and pulling out more clothes.

Elliot looked back up, seeing the messy pile of clothes. He chuckled. "You're a terrible packer," he informed her.

"You think you can do better?" she asked angrily, still rifling through the closet.

"Yeah, I can."

Olivia turned back to him, a fire burning in her eyes. "Well, let's see it then."

Elliot hesitantly pushed himself off the doorway and went to her suitcase. He picked up a pair of jeans and looked at them. They looked form fitting, but loose and comfortable at the same time. It was then that he realized that he almost never saw her in jeans, and now wanted her to put them on.

"Are you going to pack my clothes or just stare at them?"

He swallowed the question bubbling in his throat and went to her side by the open closet, still holding the jeans. He looked her in the eye and folded them.

Then, to Olivia's surprise, he pulled open a drawer and laid the folded jeans neatly in it.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he picked up another pair of jeans. She tried to grab them from him, but his grip was too strong.

"Give me my pants, Elliot," she almost yelled at him.

"You can't go, Liv," he said simply. "I couldn't take it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, loosening her grip on the jeans.

He sighed. "I don't want a new partner. I fell for Dani because I was at a crumbling point in my life." He stopped, unsure about the next sentence. "You're my support, you've kept me strong. I don't want to fall again… if you're not there to catch me." His voice was so quiet that Olivia almost couldn't hear him.

Almost.

"Again?" she asked softly, letting go of the jeans.

He nodded sullenly, tossing the jeans back onto the bed. He began pacing the small room, feeling suddenly hot despite the cold December weather outside.

"Did Kathy leave, Elliot?" she asked gently after a long minute of quietness.

He bit his lip and continued to pace. "She says the job makes me too much to handle, too much to deal with. And she says I'm not home enough. She says I'm not there for the kids, for her."

He could feel his muscles tense and he wanted to take a swing at something. Anything. But he refrained, clenching his fists until his knuckles were white.

"Elliot," Olivia said softly. "Elliot," she said again. She touched his shoulder and he slumped onto the bed. She sat next to him, putting her hand on his knee.

"So, you can't go, Liv," he said simply, looking up at her with pleading blue eyes.

She sighed, turning away and dropping her gaze. "I'll be back, El."

"I don't want you to get hurt, though. Not again." Elliot couldn't believe he was actually saying these things, he never said these things. Especially to Olivia. But he'd thought them; he'd thought them for a long time. Now they were just… pouring out.

"I won't. I won't get hurt," she tried to assure him, though doubt laced her words. Undercover jobs were always risky, both of them knew that.

And the last time Olivia went undercover, she was never the same when she came back. It had taken her forever to get the courage, or weakness, to finally tell Elliot what had happened. Her partner, her best friend… she hadn't been able to tell him.

"You can't promise that," he said.

Both of them sat next to each other on the bed, feeling a quiet tension and awkwardness in the air between them. Neither of them dared move, or hardly breath.

They both knew what was coming, but neither of them wanted to say it.

"Elliot," Olivia finally said, breaking the quiet. "I'll be back. I promise."

He sighed as she got up and continued packing the suitcase uneasily.

"I know you'll be back," he said after several long minutes. He turned his body to face her. "I know you will. But…" he trailed off. "But I don't want you to get hurt again. And you can't promise that."

"It's just part of the job, Elliot. I'm going, you can't change that."

He sighed, giving up.

Olivia finally zipped up the suitcase after some difficulty. She pulled it off the bed and it hit the wooden floor with a thud.

She stood in the doorway as their gazes met, their eyes trying to mask the pain this was causing both of them.

Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Elliot. "If you're going to say goodbye, then don't say anything."

She shut her mouth promptly.

Another silent, tensed minute passed as they looked at each other.

"Don't fall for anybody while I'm way. I don't want to have to pick up the pieces when I get back."

And with that, she left the room, leaving Elliot's sight. A slight grin crept across his face after she left, but he could feel his heart breaking at the same time.

A/N: ...Reviews? Please? I'm not gonna post more if I don't get many reviews (and "many" means at least like... more than 10.) Sorry, but I feel like my writing's gotten worse because I don't get reviews, and I don't want to post more if that's actually the case... But I do already have 7 chapters written, so if you really do want more, leave reviews. Thankies!