Better Together

He's Not Coming Back

Fin knew it'd been hard on her, not having her partner around. Olivia had been ripping into the new guys like there was no tomorrow. He didn't blame her the emotions; she was entitled to a little anger when things were off kilter, but Stabler would come back soon and Olivia would be fine. Fin wasn't always a fan of the guy, but she had let her walls down around Stabler. He knew her like nobody else did; Fin would give him that. The man was her best friend.

He had overheard Olivia leave quiet voicemails for Elliot, little pleas to call her back, talk to her, let her know something, anything. Fin wished he could comfort her, but what could he say that would take even a little of the pain away?

...

The entire squad had had a long day, and they were gearing up to go home when the captain called Olivia into his office. Munch made some joke about her losing her job, but Fin saw the grim look on Cragen's face. It couldn't be good.

A few minutes later, Olivia left the office, and something wasn't right; something finally stole the light from her eyes. It had been dimming for weeks now.

Fin had to go somewhere. She said she would ride with him. Give me five minutes.

Fin watched her walk toward the interrogation rooms. He waited a beat. Nobody was back there. There were no suspects. There was nothing she needed back there.

"Where you going?" Munch asked, watching as he walked away.

Fin ignored the question, hurrying to the room on the left, the one he knew Olivia had entered. He opened the door, and she was leaning against the wall, silent, gasping sobs escaping even as she pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle the sound.

"Liv?" Fin said softly, hesitating as he reached for her, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to be comforted; it wasn't exactly in her nature (comforting wasn't exactly in his nature either).

Olivia's reddened, tear-filled eyes met his, and her lip trembled as she tried to speak. "He, he...he put in his papers."

Fin knew he should have seen this coming. It had been so long, too long. Stabler wasn't going to come back and fill in the gap he had left in their squad room. It was already taking two people to attempt to fill the man's shoes.

"Oh, babygirl, I'm so sorry," Fin said, awkwardly patting her shoulder.

Olivia curled back in on herself, head tucked to her chest, then, she was sliding to the floor. She hid her face then, pressed it against her knees as she shook with those silent sobs.

Fin didn't waste another moment; the sight of Olivia, brave, independent Olivia, in so much pain wrenched his heart.

He dropped down beside her, tugging her gently into his arms. Her head fell against his chest, and he carefully brought a hand up to lightly smooth down her hair as she cried. The tears only lasted about a minute more, but she remained tucked against him.

"I think I've used that five minutes," Olivia said softly, the scratchiness of her voice evidence of the crying.

"Take as long as you need," he told her, hand still brushing lightly through her hair.

A few minutes later, she pushed gently against his chest, drawing herself away from him ever so slightly. "I may have stained your shirt." She ran a hand over the tear and mascara stained marks on his chest.

Fin shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He pulled his jacket over the marks and clicked his tongue. "See. It's fine."

Olivia chuckled, gave him a small smile, and though it didn't quite reach her eyes, Fin's heart swelled at the improvement.

"You need another minute?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm ready." Olivia dabbed at her eyes, stilling as Fin's thumb rubbed away a tear streak on her cheek. "Let's go," she said softly.

He stood, pulling her up with him. Before he released her hands, he squeezed them lightly, encouraging her to make eye contact. When she did, he saw that her big brown eyes were bloodshot and puffy but no longer shining with tears.

"If you ever need anything, Liv, and I mean anything, you let me know."

Olivia hugged him suddenly, wrapping arms tightly around his neck. "Thank you, Fin," she whispered.

"Of course."

When she stepped out of the embrace, they left the interrogation room. Thankfully, the others had dispersed from the squad room, and they avoided any unwanted questions.