Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everything. Bummer.
Chapter in Olivia's POV.
I watch as Elliot fills in a DD5 from today's case. His eyebrows are wrinkled in deep concentration, a look that makes me silently laugh. He has been divorced from Kathy for about two months now, but the time is dragging slower and slower. When will it be okay for me to tell him how I feel about him? Never. I can't do that to him, no way. He's my best friend, and I would feel like I was an intruder on his kids. No, I could never do that. But when Cragen introduced me to him, I fell in love. I guess you could call it a case of love at first sight, but I'm not even sure if I believe in that. But he's been my partner for like five years, so yeah, you could say I am in love with Elliot Stabler.
I don't even notice that I am still staring at him lost in thought until he looks up.
"Liv, can I help you with something?" He laughs. I grab a pencil and throw it at him, and even though it hits him, he doesn't take the smirk off his face.
"No, you cannot. I was just noticing how much hair you've lost since I met you." I crack back.
"Well, you've only gotten hotter, partner." He replies with his famous shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Hotter? No way, but I like the compliment, especially from him. He's such a little kid sometimes.
"Now I will proceed to sue you for sexual harassment, please excuse me." I can't help but laugh.
"Liv, you're ridiculous." Why does he have to be so damn cute? Flirting with my partner is so much easier now that he isn't married.
I wink at him, and pretend to busy myself with paperwork. But really, I am trying to figure out how to go to dinner with him without it sounding like a date. I feel like such a teenager when I'm around him. He can never know that. Never.
At five o'clock, Cragen tells us to hit the road. Elliot and I always walk out together, and he picked me up this morning, so naturally he would have to take me home.
"El, you want to go get a drink?" Okay, that sounded dumb. Way to go Olivia.
"You paying?" He asks, although I know he's kidding, "yeah, sure. Where?"
"Maloney's"
We take our usual seat at the booth farthest from the door.
"So, how were Lizzie and Dickey's conferences?" I ask while taking a drink of my Corona.
"Good, actually, Kathy didn't show, but I never really expected that of her." He replied. I could tell that he was upset that Kathy didn't even have the decency to show up for her kids.
"Huh. Well, at least they have someone like you to take care of them." Kathy ran off with a rich lawyer and left the kids with him. I can't help but feel like I had something to do with it. She once accused me of sleeping with her husband. Hah, I wish.
"Yeah, you ready?" He asked while finishing his beer.
"Sure."
He laid money on the table for the drinks and we left. His phone rings when we get to the car,
"Stabler," I love when he answers his phone like that. Something about how he says it drives me insane.
"Hey darling…yeah, I'm with Olivia, we just left work…yeah…sure….I'll ask her…okay sweetheart…love you too, bye." He closes his phone and puts it back in the cup holder that's between us.
"Ask me what?" I ask wondering who was on the phone, although I'm sure it was Kathleen.
"Kathleen wants to know if you will come over so she can see you. I know you haven't seen her in a while and…."
"I'd love to."
I enjoy going over to the Stabler house to see the kids. I haven't been able to recently, because Kathy had her accusations about me and I figured it would be better if I just stayed away.
Kathleen was waiting outside for us, and when we pulled up, she ran to my side of the car.
"Liv, oh my god, I haven't seen you in forever." She grabbed me into a tight hug. She was like a daughter to me, and recently, she's been calling me with questions that she would have normally talked to her mother about.
"Hi sweetie, it's so good to see you!"
We walked up to the house, and were greeted by Dickey and Lizzie. Maureen is away at school, but I frequently talk to her on the phone.
"Hi guys." I smile as the twins hug me.
Elliot and I grabbed beers out of the fridge, and we all sat around and took turns playing Rockband. Elliot is horrible at this game, I just found out, while Dickey is the king of the drums. Kathleen and Lizzie sang, and I played guitar. Elliot was our personal cheerleader. It was about eleven, and the twins went to bed, and Elliot, Kathleen and I sat in the living room and just chatted.
"So, are you and dad going to like, date?" Kathleen asked me with eager eyes.
"Ha, Kath, you'll have to ask him." I said with a wink. Elliot, had having a few beers, jumped on top of me and pretended to kiss me.
"Ah, El. Stop, Kathleen help me." I laughed as Elliot was attacking me.
Kathleen was crying because she was laughing so hard, and I finally flipped Elliot over, and grabbed my cuffs of the back of my pants and cuffed him. I hadn't taken my belt off, but my gun was safely on the table, along with my badge.
"Awhh, now that isn't fair. You're holding me without reason. I want a lawyer."
"Excuse me, you assaulted a police officer." I laugh,
"Damn, Kath looks like our perp lawyer-ed up."
We chat for a few more hours, and then Kathleen heads off to bed. I un-cuff Elliot, and grab my jacket. I turn to leave when Elliot grabs my arm,
"Liv, we've been drinking, and you don't have a car. Maybe you should stay."
"You're right, thanks El."
He brings me a pair of NYPD shorts and an over-sized undershirt of his, and I sit down on the couch. He sits down next to me, and I hear him take a deep breath.
"El, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, It's just…well, Liv….I like you….a lot." I swear that my jaw hit the floor.
"I never…thought that I would here that from you. Elliot, I like you too. I've liked you from day one. I mean, it sounds stupid, but I think I'm falling in love with you."
"You're so beautiful." When he says that, I feel a single tear stream down my face. Not even my own mother cared about me, and Elliot has been my everything, my best friend, my love, my life.
He wipes the tear away with his thumb, and holds my face in his hands. I stare into his blue eyes, and I can't believe this is happening….to me.
He leans in and presses his warm lips to mine, and my entire body melts. I bring my hands up to his face, as he wraps his in my hair. The kiss seems like it lasts an eternity, but he reluctantly pulls away.
"Wow." Is all I can say. I was speechless, amazed.
"Finally…." We hear the whisper and both our heads whip towards the voice. Kathleen stands there with a grin on her face.
Elliot and I laugh, not able to think of anything else to do.
"So, are you love birds ready for bed? Because I'm tired, and I don't want to miss anything else."
"Goodnight Kathleen." Elliot says with a slight chuckle.
"Night Dad, Liv." She walks back into her room and shuts the door.
I turn back to Elliot, who is now standing.
"Well, I'm not going to make you sleep on this wooden couch, why don't you sleep in my bed."
"Fine, but don't try anything funny, Stabler." I laugh.
With a shit-eating grin on his face, he replies,
"No worries, Benson."
We walk back to his bedroom, and he takes off his shirt. I crawl into his bed, and he gets in next to me. He kisses my forehead, before rolling over.
"Night Liv."
"Night El."
