He managed to cut almost 15 minutes off his commute to Olivia's apartment. It was pretty late, both Kathy and all the kids had been asleep for a little while now. The worn out father and cop was drifting off to sleep himself on the couch when his phone rang, his partners ring tone chiming off.
"Stabler." He answered, half asleep.
"Elliot." He sat up quickly, his chest burning at how uncharacteristically small her voice sounded.
"What's the matter, Olivia?" He could hear her mind working even over the phone of what to say.
"Nothing- It's fine. I just, um. Would you come over?" In the months they had been working together he usually gave her a ride home. He waited outside to make sure she made it okay, and he waited for her to blink her lights. But she had never asked him to come over.
"I'll be there in thirty." He said, already standing. The door to her apartment was opened before he could even knock.
"Liv-"
"Hey." She moved out of the way so he could come in. He couldn't help it but he always started investigating. His eyes roved the apartment, seeing the two wine glasses still sitting on her coffee table. He was beginning to become worried.
"You had someone over." He began.
Olivia smiled lamely. "Yeah I," she shrugged in discomfort. "I guess that's why I asked you to come over." Elliot nodded, closing some of the distance between them.
"Are you alright?" He asked, an eyebrow twitching. Olivia waited a beat but then nodded.
"Yeah, El. I am. I just, um. I went out for drinks with that reporter." She admitted. Elliot nodded.
"The sleazy one?" Olivia took a seat on her couch.
"Yeah. Him. I invited him back over." Elliot took a cautious seat next to his partner, his hands fidgeting.
"He do somethin'?" He asked, his voice small now. It was one of his worst fears, like someone causing his children or Kathy harm. That someone would change his talented, intelligent, magnificent partner for the worse by hurting her in a way that never really healed.
His eyes studied forward, fearful he might lose it if he looked at her. Olivia heaved a heavy sigh.
"I'm okay, El." She placed a hand on his leg. "But he uh, he crossed a line." Elliot felt his eyes go black.
"What kind of line was that? Just using you for his subway rapist scoop?" Olivia laughed bitterly.
"Oh yeah, definitely. And he intended to kill two birds with one stone and fuck me while he did it." Elliot inhaled, suppressing his rage because he knew it couldn't help her right now. "But I think he thought that because I work sex crimes and I have a sex life that..." Her voice trailed off.
"That you're into rape play?" He finished, his lip curling in disgust. Olivia nodded, fighting valiantly agains the onslaught of her tears.
"He came up behind me. And started talking about the subway rapist. Asked me to imagine," She fought the urge to dry heave. "Imagine what was going through his mind? The women's minds." Elliot squinted, trying to find something constructive to say. Olivia swallowed.
"I'm sorry, this isn't like me. I'm whining." Elliot shook his head.
"No, you're right to be bothered by this. You wouldn't be human if you weren't." Olivia sighed, wiping at her face. "Liv, did he do anything else?" She smiled sadly and looked at the ground.
"He didn't. But I had to shove him off of me forcefully, I had to keep saying no." Elliot clenched his jaw, picturing the smug reporter in his head. "When he came up behind me though there was this second of panic. Of fear." Olivia hung her head and placed her hands on her neck. "Fear that I was always destined. Destined to to meet the same fate as my mother-"
"Liv. Stop." Elliot almost begged.
"Look at my whole life, Elliot. Fighting desperately against what happened to my mother. Trying to fix what happened to me. I'm an SVU detective. Maybe rape is as much a part of me as-"
"Olivia, enough. Ganzer used you in more ways than one. He crossed a line. He made you very uncomfortable and he assumed that you bring your work into the bedroom. None of this is your fault. No more your fault than it's your mother's fault for what happened to her." A single tear slid down her cheek, and she nodded.
"Yeah, you're right." She agreed, hugging herself. Elliot smiled, emotionally exhausted. He rose and grabbed the glasses off her table and dumped them in the sink.
"Enough of that, how about some food. You hungry?" He began rifling through her cabinets. She smiled.
"A little. But you know I don't have any groceries-" He opened a drawer and saw dozens of menus.
"Okay. Take out it is."