A/N: I don't own them, they belong to NBC and Mr. Wolf.

"Fuck...oh fuck!" Elliot's entire body stiffened at the guttural moans of a man whose voice he couldn't place. He lowered his fist from knocking position and leaned forward. He couldn't remember Olivia mentioning seeing anyone but that didn't mean she wasn't. He knew he was no longer privy to that information and he had no one to blame but himself. After he so callously shut her out of his life and met all her attempts at reconnection with unrivaled stoicism, she finally decided the only thing she could do was repay the favor. Elliot didn't like his own medicine, it was bitter. Still, that didn't help to diminish the pang of hurt he felt at the thought of finally being eliminated from Olivia's inner circle, a feeling that had been building since Oregon, reinforced by Kurt, and now made official by some loud nameless prick.

Elliot listened intently, even suspending his breath for the sake of silence. He wanted to hear her voice, her moans, her screams, but the only sounds being emitted from beyond the door were the exasperated grunts of a man he had quickly decided he hated. He never would have taken Olivia as the silent type. Her voice had always been so full of emotion, her laugh so loud...not that she did much laughing lately. Guiltily Elliot took a step back. Was he really imagining what Olivia sounded like in bed?

He had come here to ask if she had plans for the Holidays, to see if she'd like to join the Stabler family for a night of ham, mashed potatoes and uncomfortable small talk, not to stand outside her apartment listening greedily to her doing God knows what to God knows who. And there it went. It wasn't just sounds ravishing his mind now, it was images. He felt flushed and he knew he was blushing visibly.

The grunting had stopped and Elliot could now hear bodies moving around inside. Panicked he started to his right, only to realize his sole escape route was staircase D, which was 6 doors to the left. He turned, flustered and unsure, but before he could even make it pass her apartment the door opened and he was met by the figure of a tall lanky light haired man.

"It was nice meeting you...uh... Olivia," the man called over his shoulder as he stepped into the hallway with his cheesy blue and black stripped shirt half untucked. His eyes met Elliot's and he smiled, "she's all yours, buddy."

Elliot clenched his fists and prepared to cock his right arm back to deliver the grinning idiot what he deserved but the man was gone before the fog in his head lifted. Meeting you?

"Elliot?" She was standing in front of him, clad only in black panties and a white t-shirt. "What are you doing here?" She dropped her eyes to the floor and pulled on the bottom of her t-shirt in vain. There was no hiding from his gaze. She contemplated shutting the door in his face, but couldn't bring herself to do it.. He wasn't supposed to see this part of her.

"I wanted to ask you something," he replied flatly, still trying to shake the shock and confusion that consumed him. He had seen his partner half naked before, when she put on that little act for Bushido, but this was different. She wasn't doing her job, she was doing some random guy she had just met. He didn't want to but Elliot felt disgusted.

Olivia peered intently into her partner's eyes, hoping to discern what he was thinking but she had lost her ability to do so. He seemed so foreign to her now. Without another word she turned and walked towards her bedroom, leaving the door open for him.

When she emerged from the bedroom moments later wearing a pair of navy blue sweat pants and the same white t-shirt she found Elliot hunched over her kitchen counter carelessly holding a glass of half-finished whisky between his fingers. He raised the glass to her, "you didn't finish your drink."

"What do you want, Elliot?" she said harshly. She could feel him judging her. It was obvious in the way he pressed his lips together and the way he fixed his eyes on her, searching her, daring her to make a move. He had no right to be so damn self-righteous. She was an adult and what she did in her spare time was none of his business.

He put the glass down and decided to fully devote himself to antagonizing her. He couldn't fight his anger and this was the only outlet for it, besides he never denied that he could be an asshole on occasion. "I wanted to invite you to Christmas dinner," he answered. "That is if you don't already have prior engagements." The corners of his mouth lifted into something resembling a smile, but not quite.

"You had to come all the way here to ask me that? You couldn't have called?" She was a little taken aback by his words. It had been years since he made the effort to include her in his family gatherings, but she couldn't blame him entirely for that. Before the drama, before it all went to hell, she'd been reluctant to intrude on Stabler family territory, knowing Kathy didn't always appreciate her closeness with her husband. And ironically enough, or maybe it wasn't irony at all, once that closeness was gone there were no family get-togethers for her to politely decline invitations to. But they were back now, probably because Eli deserved to grow up in the same fashion, with the same traditions as his brother and sisters.

"I could have," he began slowly, "but I was in the city and thought I'd stop by." That was a lie. He came into the city to talk to her, to find out why exactly Cragen was making her take some time off. He had finally been able to get his head out of his ass long enough to see that he wasn't the only one with problems and that Olivia deserved to have someone care enough to probe, like she did, like he used to do. He had planned on actually being a friend to her tonight, but all that dissolved with the revelation that his partner fucked strangers on Saturday nights.

"Oh," was all she said.

"You're quiet tonight." He wasn't sure if the double meaning of that statement was lost on her or not but he hoped she didn't read too much into it. He didn't want her to realize he didn't just show up postcoital but had been present, listening carefully, during the act.

Olivia crossed over towards the kitchen counter, refusing to allow herself to act timid or ashamed. She snatched the glass from the spot Elliot had set it down in and with a quick flip of her wrist emptied the liquid into the sink. They now stood just a few feet apart and he turned to face her, boxing her in against the sink. "Umm, thanks for the offer but I already have plans," she finally responded. She tried to sound normal, sincere, unaffected but knew he could sense her discomfort.

"Ok," he said with a slight nod. "If your plans fall through, it's a standing offer." He wanted to ask about these plans, find out who she'd be spending the holiday with but any questions he'd propose now would seem like an interrogation.

Olivia smiled and leaned back against the sink, wrapping her arms around her midsection. "Thank you."

Elliot was quiet, allowing himself to take her in fully for the first time that night. Aside for looking a little tired, he couldn't detect any difference in her appearance. There was no tousled hair or smeared make-up that screamed sex. If he had arrived ten minutes later this conversation would have taken on an entirely different tone. She probably would have greeted him with a smile and offered him a drink. He would have teased her about her selection of reading material on the coffee table and made himself comfortable on her couch. She would have been wearing pants.

He straightened his back. To Hell with it. "Who was he?" he finally asked.

She sighed. "No one."

"Didn't sound like no one to me." Shit.

"You were listening?" She tried to get angry, to replace her panic with indignation but she couldn't control her emotions. She felt exposed, even more so than she did when his eyes settled on her bare legs in the doorway.

Elliot wiped a hand across his mouth. He had nothing to say. He couldn't deny it now and confirming it wouldn't help him.

Finding her anger, Olivia pushed herself off the sink, forcing Elliot to take a step back. "I can't believe you!"

"You can't believe me?" he returned equally infuriated. "I had no idea you were such a..."

"Whore?" she finished for him.

"I didn't...I wasn't going to say that." He honestly had no idea what it was he had intended on saying but he'd never call her that, even if his staunch Catholic mind couldn't reconcile her behavior. "Do you even know his name?"

Olivia felt her chest tighten. "Get out!" She was nauseous. She didn't know. Two hours ago she hadn't cared. It wasn't important. Tim? Tom? Dom? She couldn't remember exactly. All that mattered at the time was he was interested and that he bore no resemblance to him. "Who the hell are you to come into my home and judge me?" Damn him for making her feel guilty.

Elliot backed up defensively. He hadn't meant to hurt her with that question. He just wanted some reason to believe that her life wasn't as sordid as it suddenly seemed. "I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you're doing this to yourself."

"And you never will."

TBC as soon as I find some time. Reviews are greatly appreciated.