He glanced inconspicuously across his desk at his partner. She was staring blankly at her computer, scrolling with her mouse and sighing softly every so often. Anyone who didn't know her well would simply think she was tired, maybe a little bored. The "tired" part was true enough, but Elliot knew there was more lingering behind those sighs, behind those sad eyes. They'd been partners a long time and, while the reason for Olivia's sadness was fairly obvious, the rest of her story was only revealed to those who knew her, those who loved her. Elliot knew he fell into that category.

Olivia stared at the computer but didn't take in a damn thing on the screen. Her ability to concentrate had gone out the window about three days prior, when he'd been ripped from her arms. She could still hear him calling her name.

"Olivia! Please don't let them take me! Olivia! Olivia!"

There was nothing she could do. Nothing but watch her heart shatter all over the floor. It had happened before and she'd gotten used to picking up the pieces. But this time was different. It wasn't that she didn't have the strength to do it; she knew she was strong, she had to be in her line of work. She just didn't have the desire.

She'd come so close. So close to having what she'd always wanted: a child. In spite of everything he'd been through, Calvin had a beautiful soul. She could see it. She wanted so badly to nurture it. To erase everything he'd been through, to show him the love he deserved.

"Liv?" A voice broke through the heaviness in her head. It startled her. And she realized that her face was wet. She touched a single hand to her cheek and closed her eyes. She never allowed herself to cry, at least not publicly. She knew that her partner had seen tears in her eyes before, but she never let them spill over. She was always careful not to.

She was surprised at how quickly she became frustrated. She pushed her chair out and hurried angrily from the room.

Elliot watched her leave, wordlessly, furiously. He knew she was angry with herself for letting him see her cry. She had no idea he'd seen her cry before. Perhaps the tears had never fallen, but he'd seen her soul cry. And right now, her soul was weeping, despairing harder than he'd ever seen.

He debated whether or not to follow her. He waited, waited for her to return. He realized that he'd spent their entire partnership waiting for her. She was right in front of him, every day, and yet he waited. Waited until she told him that it was okay.

Everything became quiet. Everyone went home. Before he knew it, Elliot was one of the few who remained. And Olivia still hadn't returned. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting there, lost in his own thoughts. But he knew that he had to go find her.

He pushed his chair back, stood and stretched the kinks out of his back. He walked to the locker room, opened the door and called her name. "Liv?"

No answer.

He was puzzled for a moment and then knew just where she was. He walked upstairs and opened the door to the cribs. It was so dark, but he could make out her form huddled on one of the beds. Her shoulders shook just slightly and he wondered if she'd been crying this whole time. She was going to have one hell of a headache if she had.

"Olivia." The searching in his voice was gone.

She cleared her voice. "Leave me alone, El."

He hesitated a moment. He was never sure how to proceed with her and it frustrated the hell out of him. Their relationship had always hung on the edge of a knife. Was it strictly professional? Rarely. Friendly? Usually.

Romantic?

It went so far beyond romance. It was a complete understanding of the other person's inner workings. When they were interrogating a suspect, they never had the "good cop, bad cop" discussion. They always knew the role the other would play and fell easily into step beside each other. They knew each other's secrets, they knew each other's habits, they knew each other's weaknesses.

But Elliot was married. And taking the relationship beyond professional was never an option, even if that's what he wanted. He found himself constantly suppressing the urge to touch her, to place his hand on her shoulder, to touch his fingertips to the small of her back, to brush the hair from her eyes. But he could never make himself cross those boundaries.

He knew everything there was to know about her and he knew that, despite her strength, she was fragile, breakable. If he touched her, he was afraid she'd shatter.

She heard the door close and breathed a sigh of relief. For once, he'd listened to her. She allowed the tears to fall again.

Until she heard bedsprings. It stopped her cold. She didn't dare turn over, not the streaks on her face. She couldn't let him see her like this. She didn't want him to know she wasn't as strong as she'd made him believe.

"Liv, it's okay," his husky voice cut through the silence.

She sat up quickly, her back toward him, and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. She cleared her throat again and went to stand. Her head spun and she stumbled. He stood quickly and caught her elbow. The skin on skin contact made her shudder inwardly. She didn't think he'd be up here with her when she'd removed her jacket. She sat back down on the cot and pulled her elbow in close to her.

"I'm fine, El," she said before he could ask her what was wrong. He already knew the answer to that question and she couldn't take the sound of his voice.

"I should get home," she started to stand again, somehow finding the energy to move. She didn't know why she should get home. There was no one there anyway. Just leftover Chinese food, a glass of merlot and the oppressive silence that crushed her, breaking her bones and making it impossible to breathe.

Elliot stood to counter her and said, "No, you should stay and talk to me."

She couldn't even look at him, how could she possibly talk to him? Without Calvin, everything was a struggle. She'd lost so much when he was ripped from her arms. And on top of it all, she had to get up every day and come to work with Elliot, a man who had always been her safety, her comfort. Everything was different now.