No idea where this came from. I haven't written SVU in ages. Heh. Get your tissues and read on at your own caution.

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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The end came about in a dark alley.

She ran alongside him, footsteps pounding in perfect rhythm against the concrete as they chased their suspect. The moon shined brightly overhead, casting them in soft beams of light and guiding their vision.

Rounding a corner, the three found themselves in a dead end alleyway. The suspect spun around, nothing to lose and everything to gain. He reached into his pocket.

Olivia saw it long before Elliot did. She couldn't have been sure, but she also couldn't take the risk. Elliot had everything to live for. She had nothing except him. Without hesitation, she shoved herself into him, sending them both flying sideways as the gun went off.

She had never been so thankful to feel a bullet enter her body.

The sound of fading footsteps rang in her ears as Elliot, swearing and crying and pleading, caught her in his arms. She was surrounded by his warmth, so comforting and familiar and still foreign. The desire to comfort him, to reassure him she had done the right thing, was overwhelming but she had no strength to speak. This was the way it had to be, the way she wanted it to be. Elliot would walk away from this. He would go home to his children and continue doing the job he loved. Her life was a small price to pay to ensure his safety and happiness.

"Olivia, please don't…"

Her lips twitched as his face came into the line of her blurry vision. He was calling for help while applying pressure to her wound. She studied his face intently, wanting to memorize everything about him.

"Come on, Liv. Don't leave me!"

He didn't understand, naturally. He would grieve her death for months, maybe even years. But one day he would be able to look at her picture and remember the good times they shared. Maybe he would even understand one day, why she made the choice she did. He had more to live for than she ever could have dreamed and to her it was a fair trade.

His lips covered hers, pulling her out of her thoughts and just briefly out of death's embrace. It couldn't stop the inevitable, but it delayed it for just a few, precious moments. The kiss was desperate and tender, reminding her of all the things they would never have; the things she knew they could never achieve together. Life certainly had a sense of humor. The only man she could have ever had a life with, children and love and happiness, had already experienced them with another woman.

If anything, at least she would have this one moment. It would have to be enough.

Even though it wasn't.

The kiss ended, taking Olivia's ability to breathe. Her eyes closed but her lips moved.

I love you, Elliot.

"Don't leave me, Liv."

I always have.

She felt herself being gathered into his arms, a last ditch effort to keep her with him. The seconds were ticking by. The darkness was closing in on her, enveloping her in a sweet warmth.

"Olivia!"

I always will.

She had always said she would die for him. In the end, she did.

Finis.