Disclaimer: I do not own any of NBC's incredible characters, nor do I have rights to their script. Hopefully I have used both the characters and their words and returned them in pristine condition.

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Olivia Benson took a deep breath of the crisp New York air and let it out slowly, feeling the tension in her shoulders lessen slightly. Five weeks ago she had stood in this exact location, staring up at the building she was more apt to call home than her own apartment. It was a Thursday afternoon, and she knew Elliot would be there. She had missed him; it was fact. The weeks she had been away had been brutal, both in body and mind. Emotionally she was spent, but she needed to get back to work. She had missed the people she called family, and she knew she would be able to jump back into her work with their support.

Out of habit, she climbed the steps two at a time and pulled open the door, following a route she knew by heart. She turned a corner, expecting to see Elliot at his desk, head buried in a file, but was startled by the image before her. A lanky blonde sat at her old desk, eyes roaming over a multitude of files, her fingers moving quickly from column to column, comparing information.

“Excuse me,” Olivia said, making her way to the cluttered desk. “I’m looking for Elliot Stabler?”

Feeling Olivia’s eyes on her, the blonde looked up and flashed a half-smile.

“He’s in interrogation right now, but maybe I could help you. I’m his partner, Dani Beck.”

His partner? Surely they hadn’t replaced her so soon. At least, not with someone like her. She didn’t look like the type to work in Special Victims, not by a long shot.

“Oh, um, no, that’s okay. Is the captain in his office?”

The blonde smiled. “Sure.”

Feeling a bit put off, Olivia nodded her thanks and made her way to Cragen’s office. At least one person here would recognize her.

He looked up in mild surprise as she shut the door quietly behind her.

“Olivia,” he said, “when did you get back?”

She smiled. “Just a few days ago.”

She watched Cragen carefully. Maybe she was overreacting, but he didn’t look as happy to see her as she had thought he might have; He hadn’t even cracked a smile.

“I don’t have a place for you,” he announced. “Warrant sent a body to partner with Elliot.”

They aren’t partners, she reassured herself. It’s just temporary.

“Yeah, I just met her. How’s it working out?”

She made her way to the door and peered out between the blinds. Elliot had just arrived, and she was about to open the door and make her presence known when she saw his hand go to Beck’s shoulder, an intimate gesture for someone as reserved as Elliot. Her throat recoiled and she took her hand away from the doorknob.

“It was a rough start, but it’s all good now,” Cragen replied.

It’s all good now. That didn’t sound promising.

“I can shift Beck out, but it make take some time to find her a hew home,” the captain continued, seeing Olivia’s hands clench at her side.

Olivia’s chest felt heavy, as if someone had just handed her a box full of bricks, and she was completely incapable of holding it for more than a few seconds. She could sense the water building up behind her eyes and swallowed, regaining her composure.

“No, don’t,” she said after a brief pause. “I’m not ready to come back.”

Her head was pounding, and there was a shrill ringing in her ears. She had been prepared to dive head-first back into her job, and suddenly there wasn’t a place for her, and Elliot was flirting with her replacement. It certainly hadn’t taken long for everyone to erase her from their minds.

Suddenly feeling the urge to leave, Olivia hurried towards the door behind Cragen’s desk and pulled it open with a bit more force than was necessary.

“You’re going to leave without seeing Elliot?” he asked cautiously.

“Oh, he’s busy. I’ll, uh, catch up with him later.” She tapped her fingers lightly against the door’s frame. “Don’t tell him I was here.”

She waved a brief goodbye and hurried out to her car, slamming the door shut and resting her head against the cold leather of the steering wheel. She should have expected them to replace her, she knew that. Nobody knew when she would be able to come back, and Elliot couldn’t work by himself for long.

“But why couldn’t they have found him a male partner?” she wondered aloud.

Driving home, she blinked repeatedly, trying to suppress the tears threatening to leak out the corners of her eyes. Why she was so emotional about something as silly as Elliot’s new partner, she couldn’t guess. They hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms when she’d left, so what did she expect?

But she knew what she’d expected. Olivia had expected to return and for things to go back to the way they were. She had expected to come back to a place where she and her partner finished each other’s sentences, knew what the other was thinking, acted before a command was even issued. She had expected to see him dressed in his usual attire of dress slacks and a button-up shirt, complete with tie, and today he had been wearing jeans, worn-in running shoes that had seen decidedly better days, and a thin cotton t-shirt.

No, this wasn’t the Elliot Stabler she knew through and through. This strange man was dressed down and being affectionate with a woman he hadn’t even known for very long. It was downright terrifying, if she got right down to it. She wasn’t sure what to think, but she certainly had plenty of time to figure it out, seeing as how she couldn’t come back to work until this overbearing woman was released from her position as Elliot’s makeshift partner.

Makeshift partner, Olivia reminded herself. This is only temporary. Everything will be back to normal soon enough.

But she couldn’t help but worry that perhaps things would never be the same again.