A/N: Let me try this again. This is what happens when I don't have a beta. sigh I had an idea so I'm running with it. Enjoy ;) By the way, you should check out the Crunch classes, my inspiration for this story.
Olivia flopped back onto the hard mattress with a deep sigh. Damn she ached. Every muscle from her legs to her shoulders screamed in agony. She'd tried five minutes ago to pull herself into a sitting position, but the task seemed too daunting for her tired body. She now knew how those beetles felt, lying helpless on their backs. She didn't know how long she stayed here working up the desire to move.
"Liv?" Elliot peered his head into the dimly lit room. He squinted, trying to decipher if her eyes were open or closed. He lightly rapped on the door. "You awake?"
"Yeah. I think I'm stuck." She heard him near the cot and turned her head toward him. It was the only part of her that didn't hurt. Yet.
"You're going to have to help me out here." He studied the way her legs were flat on the blanket and how her arms rested limply on each side of her small frame.
"I switched gyms and had my free training session over lunch yesterday. God I hurt." She groaned and bit back a curse when his arm came down. She placed her thumb in his fist and let him pull her up. "I don't know how I made it up the stairs. I feel like someone hit me with a baseball bat."
"It'll get better. You're probably used to not working as hard." He walked a step or two behind her ready to reach down and grab her if she lost her balance. The way she was clutching the banister was slightly comical.
"I'm never going again. It's too damn expensive, anyway." She winced, feeling a sharp pain in her right hamstring. She walked on legs that ached, yet felt like jell-o. She wondered if that was how a baby cow felt upon taking its first steps in life. God, she needed drugs.
"Why'd you join a gym when you can use ours for free?" He slowed his strides, forgetting she wasn't able to keep up.
"My neighbor told me about the classes they have and I wanted to check it out. I can always cancel my membership, but I don't think I will. I like the change of scenery."
"What kind of classes?" Elliot saw her face go flush and his eyebrows receded into his thinning hairline in response. He chuckled as she realized what she'd gotten herself into.
"So you can give me a hard time? I don't think so, Elliot." She laughed, shaking her head. No way in hell. She hated how embarrassed she'd just gotten.
"We'll see." He took his seat behind the desk and watched her carefully lower herself into her chair. "Is it nearby?" Elliot clicked on the icon and waited for the browser to load.
"Well, one branch is. I go to another one in SoHo, though." She pulled a file from her inbox and began reading over her case notes.
"You go to SoHo." It sounded more like a question than anything. He wasn't sure how he'd meant it, really. He'd never known her to be so trendy. She dressed alright, he thought, but SoHo?
"Yes, Elliot, I go to SoHo. That surprises you?" She looked up from her folder, thoughtfully. "I guess I can see why it would. Sometimes it's nice to walk around and see how the other half lives. I hear the Mercer Kitchen is nice. I don't really get into art, but I enjoy walking around and looking at all the little galleries."
"The kids like Broadway." He typed in category he was looking for and narrowed the search down by the area. "Dickie's obsessed with Puma lately and Kathleen loves that they have not one, but two H&M stores."
"They have a better selection in Midtown." She felt somewhat angry that she was doing all the work. He still had a box full of messages, not to mention the case files he'd stuffed into his top drawer just so he didn't have to look at them anymore. "What are you doing?"
"I want to check something out before I forget. Eyes on your own paper, Liv." He grinned, mischievously, and clicked the search button. "I was thinking of getting a family plan for the kids. They get bored at home. I don't like the idea of them playing video games and watching television all the time."
"Daytime television is worthless." She scribbled her name onto the familiar dotted line and dated the form. "There's a fitness and defense class I bet the girls would like. The trainer I went to teaches that one."
"Yeah? Do you have his card?" Elliot tried not to smile. Getting information from her was too easy.
"Sure. I have his number in my phone. You can keep it." She rifled through her papers and handed it over. "He's freelance, I guess you could say. He doesn't really work for the gym; he just teaches there."
"Right. Thanks." Damn. Of course it wouldn't have the name of the gym. Not to be deterred, he went back to his computer. Aborting the current plan, he resorted to his trusty search engine. He stared at the screen, then back at her. She'd resumed her paperwork again, bless her heart. Gym classes? No…He tried to recall the trick his youngest girl had taught him. A shiver went through his spine at the thought of his baby girl falling victim to some online perv. He shook his head. He wasn't about to go down that road.
He stuck the quotes around the search criteria, and typed 'SoHo' directly after before hitting the enter button. He scanned the page and let his eyes fall on the first link. The description indicated that the facility offered classes in action sports, kickboxing, cardio, dance…and what? He clicked the underlined text and waited.
"Do you need some help?" Olivia observed her partner with a semi-amused expression. Whatever he was doing had him so engrossed he was oblivious to anything else around him. "Elliot?"
He tore his eyes from the two words on the screen. He felt her stare and slowly turned his head in her direction. It couldn't be. It took him a moment to recover. He took a sip of his tepid coffee, locked eyes with her, and spoke. "Yeah. I just thought I saw someone I knew on this offender's page."
"The look on your face…I'm glad it wasn't someone you knew." She reached across the desk and laid a gentle hand on his forearm. "Let me see your files. You've got enough messages over there to keep you busy for a while. I don't mind doing your paperwork, too. Just this once, though."
"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Liv." He plastered on a fake smile and caught the computer screen again with his peripheral vision. He quickly closed the window and hastily picked up the pink message slips.
"You should give him a call." Olivia nodded toward the white card on his desk. "I'm sure you could get a discount if Maureen and Kathleen took the class."
The class. Right. The reason she'd given him the card. He didn't live anywhere near the SoHo branch, but he could find a reason to be in the area. He could check out the machines, maybe tour the facility. After familiarizing himself with the layout, maybe wander over to the rooms, listening for that telltale music. Yeah, that sounded about right. He flipped the card over and jotted down the day and time quickly before opening his wallet and carefully placing it inside. "I will, thanks."
"Sure." She grabbed the files from his box and stacked hers on top.
For the next three hours, neither of them said a word. It was a comfortable silence, aside from a local news station calling for the 'inside scoop'. Olivia had gotten through half of her folders and the phone hadn't disturbed their work once. Silence was golden, she thought, as she realized they had yet to be sent on a call.
"Finally. I thought that guy would never shut up." Elliot resisted the urge to slam the phone down. "I hate the press."
"Well, I need a break. Want to go down the street and grab some lunch?" She stood up slowly, remembering to take it easy on her overworked muscles.
"Yeah, that sounds good." He grabbed his wallet and stuck it into his back pocket. As he followed her out, he stuck his hand out in front of her and held the door.
He had time to plan out how he would bring it up. The five minutes in line, the three minutes to wait for their order. He had plenty of time. He wondered how he should deliver the line. It had to be smooth, casual. He chose the perfect time, or so he'd thought. He wiped his hands off, set his napkin down, and cleared his throat. "So…pole dancing."
Olivia froze. The chicken wrap she'd just taken a bite out of somehow made its way down her throat. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Her breaths were coming in uneven spurts as her oxygen-deprived lungs struggled to work. She saw his expression, his wide-eyed expression matching hers. He was calling her name, she thought. Her ears started to ring and she grew confused at why she couldn't hear him. He was standing, coming over quickly, crouching down in front of her. She nodded, although she wasn't sure what he'd asked.
"Fuck." Elliot grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. Where were the damn pictures when he needed them? Every goddamned restaurant should have a fucking picture. His hands were shaking, and he felt himself being pulled away. He stood there in shock as the cashier he'd been cursing at being so slow before came over and took his place. He held his breath, and he swore his heart stopped beating right then and there as she collapsed against the table. He sprang forward. He could see the worried, startled expressions on the patrons' faces.
A balding man in his fifties clapped a hand on Elliot's back and squeezed. "Sir, your girlfriend is okay."
Elliot nodded mutely, unable to speak. He was sweating, and could feel the rivulets of perspiration rolling down his face. He crouched down and took Olivia's clammy hands between his palms. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face was bright red. He did the only thing he knew to do. He held her against him as hard as he could. "You're okay. It's okay." He sniffed, his tears mixing with the moisture of having nearly lost her. Jesus, and it was all his fault. "I'm sorry, Liv. I'm so sorry."
Olivia willed her breathing to return to normal. Her throat felt scratchy. She inhaled slowly and pulled away as a cool glass of water was placed in front of her. She didn't trust her hands. They betrayed her the moment she reached out to grab it.
"I got it. I'll help you." Elliot held the cup firmly in his hands as her fingers gripped his tightly. He turned his wrist and let the liquid slosh to the side so that she could take a sip. He waited until she was finished, and set it back down.
"I need to get out of here." Olivia spoke, her words sounding unfamiliar. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can we just leave, please?"
"I think you need to get checked out first." Elliot heard the sounds of the customers as they began eating once again. He knew Olivia wanted nothing more than to get the hell out, but he couldn't help but think of the fact that he could have lost her.
"No, I'm okay. I'm just a little shaken up. Please?" She felt like a little girl asking permission to stay up just five more minutes.
"The minute you feel like something is wrong, you tell me." Against his better judgment, Elliot stood and reached for his wallet.
"It's on the house. I see you two here all the time. I don't know what kind of work you do, but it must be awfully important if you're always called out of here in the middle of a meal. You take care of that one, son." The gentleman smiled and stepped back as Elliot helped Olivia to stand.
"You sure you're okay?" Elliot kept a firm grip onto her elbow as they walked out of the diner.
"Yeah, I just felt a little lightheaded. I couldn't breathe. It scared the hell out of me." Olivia shook her head, her mind still reeling.
"Scared me, too. I'm sorry I almost killed you in there. I gotta' say it surprised me. I didn't think you'd be into that sort of thing." He ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"Well, I'm not embarrassed anymore." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "I thought it was worth a try. Thought it'd be nice to feel like a woman again."
"Oh, you're definitely a woman, Liv. You don't see all the looks those guys give you?" He wondered when it became okay to broach certain subjects.
"Really?" She cocked her head to the side and stopped.
"Really." He grinned, enjoying the feeling of their relationship finally feeling right. He'd been so desperate to get back to how they were before, to find some semblance of how things were before the job changed them. "Ready to head back?"
"Yeah, I think I am." She began walking once again. "Hey, El?"
"Yeah, Liv?"
"Two words." She held up her index and middle fingers. "Strip Bar." She winked, and kept on walking. As she glanced over her shoulder, she couldn't help but laugh at his flustered appearance.