Healing Love (A Bensler fanfic)

Therapy Session

It was Tuesday, a week after Elliot had returned, and Olivia was sitting in her therapist's office. 

"It's good to see him again, but, I don't know. I'm still angry at him, I'm hurt. And he thinks he can just ignore it and everything be okay, but that's not how it works," Olivia said repositioning herself on the couch. Dr. Lindstrom nodded, his hands folded together in a professional manner.

"Olivia, have you talked to Elliot, I mean really talked to him, about how it made you feel when he left?" 

"Oh, well I've told him he hurt me." 

"I don't believe you can move forward with Elliot until you have talked to him, because unless you do, he's not going to understand the depth of your hurt. I'm not saying that you should try and make him feel bad, but without sharing your feelings and pushing it aside, you will be stuck in the hurt and pain." 

"You're right, but what if I break down, what if I cry uncontrollably?"

"Then you just do. You're human, Olivia. Why are you worried about crying?"

Olivia looked down and was twiddling her thumbs. "I have to be strong. I don't want to be weak anymore," she said in a broken voice. "I can't let him take away my strength."

"When you say him, do you mean William Lewis?" 

Hearing his name made Olivia cringe. She nodded her head in response. 

"Crying doesn't mean you're weak. You deserve to cry, Olivia. You've been talking to and seeing Elliot again. That's overwhelming, having to confront the one who hurt you. And the only way you would be weak, is if you ignored this completely. Talking about this makes you strong, wanting to deal with it and heal makes you strong." 

Olivia didn't respond but sat there taking it all in. She deserved to cry? Good, because she had a lot of it to do! Dr. Lindstrom continued. 

"And make sure you give Elliot a chance to tell his side. Ask him to explain why he left, how he felt, because he also matters and his feelings and reasonings are important, too." 

"I know that, I do. But am I ready to talk about it?" Olivia asked timidly. 

"That's not a question I can answer. Only you know if you're truly ready," Dr. Lindstrom replied. 

Olivia walked out of Dr. Lindstrom's office trying to figure out the answer to that question. She felt if she didn't take this step towards making amends with Elliot then it would drive her crazy, knowing she had had the opportunity and letting it slip away. And she wanted her friend back, very much so. Sure, they had gone to dinner twice and even kissed, but the problem at hand was pushed aside. Olivia made the decision that she was going to sit down with Elliot and really talk to him. 

*Sorry for the short chapter everyone! I thought about writing from Elliot's POV, but I can't think of anything. And I wanted the meeting between them to be a chapter of its own. Thanks for reading!*