The "elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit" is about to welcome back a familiar face. Chris Meloni is officially back on the Law & Order: SVU set. He even teased Elliot Stabler's return on Instagram, sharing a photo of Stabler's tattoo on Tuesday, Dec. 8. And while my Stabler-loving heart beats with renewed passion at the knowledge that Meloni has returned, my SVU-obsessed brain has questions. So. Many. Questions.

We won't see Meloni's official SVU comeback until 2021, which is almost 10 years after he left the show. And, in that time, Stabler has never appeared and rarely been mentioned. In fact, in the decade since Stabler retired from the force, we've watched his former partner/non-romantic soulmate Olivia Benson deal with an abduction, an adoption, more abductions, torture, dating as a single mother, promotions, and, of course, all the hundreds of criminals she's put away. The one thing we haven't seen her do at this point is reunite with her old partner. And thank the TV gods, that's about to change.

But while my heart beats for Benson and Stabler, I also have a lot of Benson and Stabler questions I need SVU to answer upon his return.

Are Stabler and Benson... Still Friends?

It pains me to ask this question, but given everything we've seen in the past 10 seasons, I have to wonder, are Stabler and Benson even still really in touch? I'm guessing no, and here's why: Stabler would never — never — trust that Olivia was OK after being abducted and tortured by William Lewis in Season 15 without seeing her for himself. (I mean, let's be honest, the old Elliot Stabler would have killed Lewis himself.)