AN: Hello readers! So, I know this is my 50th story on FF, but I was feeling a lot of pressure because I wanted my 50th story to be something epic. And of course, an epic storyline just didn't come to me. So, I'm writing this story, and it'll probably only be a few chapters, but I don't want to count this as my 50th. Let's just call it 49-1/2 ok? No matter what FF says! Thanks! I hope you enjoy. Here we go…

EOEOEOEO

Olivia was laughing as Elliot and Sam stumbled down the hallway towards her apartment in some misguided attempt to make sure she got home safely. She was definitely buzzed, but the two of them had been drinking for hours before she'd met up with them, and they were both definitely more than buzzed. When they'd left the bar, it had been her plan to pour the two of them into a cab and then grab one of her own. But there had been a lot of testosterone and posturing tonight, and she had finally given in. She knew that Elliot wouldn't drive, and that they could either walk the mile to his apartment or catch a taxi.

Both men had their arms wrapped around her waist, and she felt Elliot's fingers dig into her side when Sam stumbled slightly. She looked sharply at him, thinking maybe she had underestimated how drunk they really were, but then Elliot was hauling her back against him as Sam regained his footing. They were both still laughing but trying to muffle the noise they were making at this time of night. She had to shake her head and smile at them.

Elliot had talked about his friend Sam off and on over the years, and Olivia knew they'd been close when they were stationed overseas. If she believed half of what Elliot had told her, they'd been through some pretty dicey times, but had also had their share of fun when they could. Elliot hadn't seen Sam in years, and he'd been excited to tell Olivia about his pending visit to New York City and insisted that she meet him.

Olivia had told Elliot she didn't want to interfere with their reunion, but he had worn her down and she had agreed to one quick drink. Which had turned into an entire night of drinking. She had really enjoyed Sam. He was funny and easy-going and a bit of a smart ass, and she could see why he and Elliot were friends. He had to be about the same age, or maybe a little younger, and was almost the same build and size as Elliot. The difference was a head full of dark hair and piercing green eyes, and she could see his natural charm.

It had been fun to flirt, mostly because she knew there was nothing behind it, and even Elliot had joined in. She was seeing a whole other side of Elliot, and the joking and laughter were doing wonders to ease the stress of work and everything else in their lives.

One drink had become two, and then two had become three, and every time she tried to leave, they had talked her out of it. It hadn't been a hard sell. She hadn't laughed like this for a long time. She had stopped drinking after that, but Elliot and Sam didn't seem to notice. The only reason they had left was because the bar was closing.

And now, they were here, stumbling down her hallway and trying to muffle the sound of their laughter.

They finally reached her door, and she settled heavily against it as Sam and Elliot dropped their arms from her waist and leaned up against the doorway on either side of her. She still had her keys in her hands from when she opened up the lobby door, but she fumbled them as she tried to find the key to her place.

She ducked down to grab them, and Elliot crouched down at the same time, and his nose knocked into her cheek, knocking her slightly off-balance. Olivia reached out to steady herself but made the mistake of grabbing on to Elliot's arm, and they both tumbled to the floor. Olivia heard Elliot grunt as her elbow landed squarely on his chest, and he wrapped both hands around her biceps. Then a large laugh erupted from him, and Olivia couldn't help but laugh along with him. Then she heard Sam laugh, and she wondered if someone was calling the cops on them right now. Seconds later, Sam had wrapped an arm around her and was hauling her up, and she felt them almost go down as he struggled with his balance. If anyone was looking out their door right now, they would undoubtedly wonder what the hell was going on.

Elliot swiped her keys off the floor and handed them to Olivia, and she unlocked her door. As she swung the door open, they both started to follow her inside, but she turned and put up her hand with the palm facing them.

"Party's over." She said with a smile. Both men stopped and looked at her, and she didn't know if they had expected her to invite them in or what, but that wasn't going to happen. It had been a long day, and she was tired. "Time for you to go home and sleep it off." She dropped her hand to her hip. "Do you two think you can manage to get a taxi for yourselves?"

Elliot managed a grin and he slapped Sam on the shoulder. "Yeah. We're good." He snagged Sam by the arm and pulled him back slightly. "Night Liv."

Sam took a step backwards and gave her a big smile and a slight wave. "It was nice meeting you." He said, and then stuck out his hand. It seemed an awkward gesture for someone she had spent an entire evening with, and she took a step forward and gave him a quick hug.

"I had a lot of fun." She glanced over at Elliot, and saw he was watching her, and she debated about giving him a hug as well, but that wasn't something she did, so she stepped back instead. A couple of awkward seconds passed, and then Elliot slapped Sam on the shoulder again, and they turned and headed back down the hallway. Olivia watched them for a few moments and saw Elliot glance back at her once before they headed down the stairs. She found herself wanting to tell him to text her when he got home but knew he wouldn't. So, she would just text him in a half hour to make certain he was home. Olivia closed the door and headed towards the kitchen. She needed to drink some water and take some ibuprofen before she went to bed.

Olivia downed a full glass of water and turned on the light over the sink. She turned off the overhead light and pulled her sweater over her head as she walked towards her bedroom. She tossed her sweater on her bed, and started to unbuckle her jeans, when she heard a knock on her front door. She let out a small groan, wondering if Elliot and Sam hadn't been able to get a cab. She snagged her sweater off her bed, and headed back towards the door, holding it up to her chest as she peered through the peephole. She saw Sam standing in front of the door, and she opened it quickly.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, noting that Elliot wasn't with him. "Where's Elliot?"

Sam propped one arm up on the doorframe. "I put him in a cab and sent him home."

"Uh…aren't you staying with him?"

"Nah. I've got a hotel."

"Oh. OK." She wasn't quite sure why he was standing in her doorway then. "Well…"

"Can I come in?"

Olivia started to object, but Sam didn't wait for an invitation. She was forced to step backwards as he walked by her, and she let the door close behind her as she watched him walk into her kitchen.

"It's late." She said as she followed him.

Sam leaned against the counter and broke into a grin. "It's not that late."

"You couldn't find another cab?" She leaned against the counter opposite him, still clutching her sweater against her. She wished she had taken the time to put it on before answering the door because her tank top didn't do much to cover her. "I can call…"

"I don't want a cab." Sam cocked his head slightly, and let his eyes run up and down her body. Olivia was slightly taken aback by it, and she wondered just how drunk he really was. Then, before she could even comprehend what was happening, Sam had closed the gap between them and ran his fingers along her jawline until he was tangling his fingers in her hair.

"What do you think you're doing?" Olivia asked harshly as she shrank back, feeling the ridge of the counter in her lower back.

"C'mon. The way you were flirting with me in the bar…" He motioned towards the door. "The way you hugged me…"

Olivia felt his left hand settle on her hip and the intent in his eye was clear. She placed a hand on his chest and tried to push him away, but she was at a bad angle and couldn't get any leverage. "We were just goofing around…having a good time."

"I was having a good time." He said, grinning down at her. "And now we can have a good time, just you and me."

Olivia heard the innuendo in his voice, and she was thrown. This was Elliot's friend. Someone he trusted, and she couldn't reconcile what was happening right now with the man she'd gotten to know tonight. Surely, he had to know that she wouldn't sleep with a friend of Elliot's, and she had to handle this tactfully. She pushed against his chest ineffectually again as he smiled down at her. "I'm sorry that you misunderstood…"

Sam furrowed his brows, tugged the sweater from her hand, and closed the gap between their bodies, pinning her tightly against the counter. He looked back and forth between her eyes. "C'mon. If you're worried about Elliot, we don't have to tell him. But he said the two of you weren't sleeping together so…" He leaned in then and tried to kiss her, but Olivia turned her head and his lips brushed her cheek.

"Playing hard to get?"

Olivia heard the teasing tone in his voice, and her anger spiked. Friend or not, she wasn't going to put up with his expectations and manhandling. "Get off me." Now that she wasn't clinging to her sweater, she used both of her hands to push him away from her.

Sam stumbled back a few steps and she saw a surprised look on his face. "What is your problem?"

"What's my problem?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Yeah." He said.

Olivia could see the change in his demeanor as he narrowed his eyes in confusion and anger. Before she could move, he had closed the space between them, circled his hands around her wrists and pinned them against the counter. He pressed his body against hers, leaning down and grasping her lips with his.

Olivia grunted with exertion and tried to turn her head, but he held her mouth firmly with his. She was no match for his strength, and it made her even angrier. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the kiss, pushing her hips against his. Sam shifted his stance slightly, and released one of her wrists, sliding a hand over her breast and squeezing lightly. Olivia bit back her anger, and slid one knee in between his, rubbing her foot along his lower leg. He moaned his appreciation, and she felt his hold on her loosen at her acquiescence. Olivia didn't waste another second. She brought her knee up quickly, hitting her intended target, and Sam released her as he yelled out in pain.

"Fuck!" He grabbed his groin as he backed away from her and doubled over.

Olivia wanted to smack the shit out of him as her anger at him and the situation boiled over. She was breathing heavily, and both hands formed into fists as she watched him try to recover. He was grunting in pain and continued to let loose a string of curse words, and she watched, seething in anger. A few minutes passed, and she could see he was getting over the worse of it.

"You need to get the hell out of my house." Olivia said vehemently. She edged past him and made her way to the door, wrapping her hand around the knob to open it, so there was no question about her intent.

"Olivia."

She turned when she heard him grunt out her name. "You didn't need to do that." He moaned, straightening up slightly as he took a step towards her.

"Get out." Olivia repeated herself as she opened the door. She had no interest in hearing anything he had to say.

"This was just a misunderstanding." Sam said, standing taller as he neared her.

Olivia shook her head. "I told you to stop…"

Sam interrupted her as he took a step closer. He held out his hands. "I thought…" He shook his head. "I…"

Olivia couldn't tell if he was genuinely remorseful or if it was the remorse of someone that had been caught, but she couldn't sort through her emotions right now. She was too angry…to charged with adrenaline. She just wanted him gone. "Just leave."

Sam looked at her one last time and opened his mouth to say something. He must have changed his mind because he ducked his head and headed out the door without a word.

Olivia slammed the door and locked it quickly, settling back against it. She realized that she was shaking, and even though she hadn't really felt in any great danger, the encounter had left her rattled.

Her mind was racing, and she knew when she woke up, just a few hours from now, she'd wonder if all of this had really happened.

She slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms around her bent knees.

She shouldn't have let him in.

But this was Elliot's friend. She hadn't had any reason not to trust him.

She tried to remember if she had done anything that would have made him think…

Olivia closed her eyes and closed off that line of thinking. She had done nothing to encourage him. And even if she had given him reason to think she may have been interested, the moment she told him no, he should have stopped. It didn't matter how much he'd had to drink. She had told him no. He had persisted and blatantly ignored her attempts to stop him.

She wondered if his natural charm usually worked on other women, or if he had forced himself on others, because behavior like that…this couldn't have been the first time.

Olivia heard her phone buzzing, and she knew it had to be Elliot.

Elliot.

The Elliot she knew wouldn't tolerate such behavior in a friend. So, maybe it had been a random occurrence…a one-time indiscretion.

Her phone buzzed again, and she scrambled up off the floor and walked shakily into the kitchen. She snatched it off the counter, and opened her messaging app.

Hey. Had fun. Got home. You OK?

Olivia read Elliot's first message, wondering how he knew that she wanted him to check in, and how he knew that maybe things weren't OK.

A second message had followed just a minute after the first.

Prob asleep. Talk tom

Olivia swallowed hard, wanting to reply…wanting to tell him exactly what had happened tonight.

But she knew she wouldn't.

If she told him…it would kill him. He and Sam were like brothers, and she didn't want to take that away from him.

She hit REPLY.

Everything's OK here. Night.

She hit SEND and set the phone back on the counter, knowing sleep wasn't going to come tonight.