Author's Note: This is the last chapter to this story! I really loved writing this one!

Chapter Ten: Escape

It was about eight in the morning and Olivia woke up to someone shaking her gently. She rolled over to see Elliot awake and balancing on his arm. It took her a second to gather their previous nighttime activities. She smiled warmly but the look on Elliot's face wasn't smiling back. He looked worried and upset.

"What's wrong, El?" She asked tiredly and sat up on her elbows.

"Kathy called me five times last night and left me three messages. I need to go home. Eli's got a cold, Kathleen came home drunk again, and Dickie's grades are slipping." Elliot sighed, "Kathy is panicking about where I am."

Olivia's face darkened, realizing and remembering that Elliot did have another life, "Alright. I'll see you at work." She said. Elliot nodded and kissed her lightly on the lips. Olivia didn't return the kiss as genuinely as she would've if she didn't know the reason to Elliot's sudden leave. She watched him get dressed, say goodbye, and leave her apartment. Olivia fell back on her bed and let out a shaky sigh. She felt like an idiot to think everything would be okay after that one night. Olivia knew that she and Elliot could never have a romantic relationship despite how much she loved him. Elliot already had a family to take care of and Olivia didn't want to be the burden.

Was this casual sex, then? Olivia came to the conclusion that it was. She couldn't help but feel dirty and pathetic. She scolded herself being so easy after being raped. She felt deplorable for thinking Elliot loved her; they never even said those three words the previous night. Olivia was sure Elliot wasn't this kind of person, the kind to just leave after something so special. Maybe it was her own poor judgment to think that something could come out of this. Olivia turned on her side and covered herself with the sheets. She looked out at the morning sky alone.

One Week Later

The Tuesday that Olivia was supposed to return to work, was just like any other day. Except it wasn't with Olivia. Nobody saw her come to work that day and people became concerned. Elliot mostly. All day he tried to call her but there was no answer. They haven't had a personal conversation since the night they slept with one another. Elliot couldn't help but feel that Olivia's absence had something to do with that.

"Anybody know where Liv is?" Elliot finally asked openly, her disappearance was killing him. Nobody answered but by the look on some of their faces, they knew the answer. Feeling irritated and a bit foolish, Elliot went back to his work. At the times he couldn't focus, he tried dialing Olivia's number, still no answer.

Later On That Night

Elliot was the last one at the precinct. He was about to leave when he heard movement somewhere. No one was supposed to be back at this hour. Elliot had his hand on his gun and snuck around the corner. He saw a figure at the desk across from his.

"Olivia?" He asked and relaxed. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Olivia didn't move nor did she comply when he tried to kiss her.

"Elliot, I can't." She said and moved away.

"What happened, Liv? Is it something I did?"

"No, Elliot. You did nothing wrong. I made the stupid decisions."

"What are you talking about?"

"If I got a ride home that night, then I wouldn't have gotten attacked but I did. Then, I got you involved, which put your job at risk. If I hadn't gotten you involved then you wouldn't have any problems with your family now and Cragen wouldn't have a problem with you. I almost got you killed because I let you help me with this case. If none of this happened, then we wouldn't end up sleeping together."

Elliot's eyebrow raised, "Is that what made you so reclusive?" He walked over to her and took her hands in his, "Olivia, I wanted to get involved with you in that case and that night was incredible. I don't regret a single moment of it."

Olivia slipped her hands out of his grasp, "I didn't either until you left early that morning. It made me realize what a big mistake I made by letting you into my room, letting you cheat on your wife. I'm not going to make any more mistakes with you."

"What are you talking about, Liv?"

"I'm not going to be the one to put you in danger anymore, El. I'm not going to be the reason your job in danger, next time. I'm not going to be your mistress, either. I don't want to be in competition with your wife and five kids."

Then she began to pack up her personal things on her desk and putting them in her bag.

"What are you doing?" Elliot asked in a slightly panicked tone of voice.

"We've sacrificed so much for each other and put each other in danger many times. It sometimes steers us away from what's really important and that's the people we're trying to help. You need someone who won't cause you to do that anymore."

"Olivia-"

"I talked to Cragen the other day. I told him we couldn't be partners."

Elliot swallowed strenuously.

"He didn't agree at first but then I told him what happened. He still felt I was making a bad choice but we ended up talking about relocating me. Right now, I'm back in Computer Crimes but that might be temporary."

Elliot only looked at her with a glassy stare. Olivia gave him a weak smile and grabbed the last of her things. When she was about to walk out, Elliot sped up behind her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She stopped but didn't turn around

"Olivia, I love you." He finally said.

Olivia finally turned around in a bit of a shock but soon simmered down to a look of dismay. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I love you too, Elliot." She choked out but stopped Elliot by placing her hand on his chest when he rushed in to kiss her, "But that's the problem. I love you too much to focus on anything else. I don't think I could live with anything or anybody hurting you because of my negligence."

Elliot only stared at her in anguish.

A few tears ran down her cheeks, "I'm sorry." She whispered and turned around and walked out of the precinct, leaving Elliot standing alone and staring at the empty doorway.

Fin.

Author's Note: Didn't like that ending? Me neither. That's why I'm writing a sequel to this story! It will be up soon so look out for it and we'll see how this new life is going to treat Elliot and Olivia! Look out for it! C: