This is for Laura (mrslee) without her I never would've remembered that I wanted to write this.
A follow-up of sorts to A Merry SVU Christmas & And A Happy New Year!
As a reminder, this is taking into account that Elliot got divorced, but Simon, and the debacle that is Elliot Jr's conception never occurred.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, if I did you'd see Elliot & Olivia together.
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OLIVIA'S POV
Six long weeks. It has been six long weeks now since our first official date. During that time we've done our share of sneaking around. Sure, his kids know we're dating, but with the exception of my best friend no one from work knows. Two days from now is the department's annual Valentine's Day Ball and we're planning to tell everyone then. The other thing we've done our fair share of the past six weeks is research. Neither Elliot nor I would let the cat out of the bag without finding out the repercussions first.
"So, everyone's got dates for Thursday night, right?" Chester Lake asks as he walks in the squad room.
"Yes sir, mine will be here tomorrow night." Fin replies.
"Paid extra for overnight shipping I see." Munch jokes with him.
"Very funny." Fin deadpans.
I am so glad I won't have to leave all this when Elliot and I go public with our relationship. I can't believe I ever left to Computer Crimes and Oregon.
"How about you Liv?" Lake asks, turning towards me.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Elliot cringe. I know he thinks Lake has a crush on me. I also know, by way of a secret I've been sworn to, that he's been getting cozy with our ADA the past few weeks.
Before I answer I shoot a quick glance at my partner.
"Just this great guy I've been seeing for a while now." I tell him.
Well, that did it. Now they're all trying to figure out a couple of things here. First, who have I been seeing. Second, when have I even had time to see anyone. It's true, we've pulled quite a few overnighters here the past six weeks. Thankfully, for me, Elliot plays along real well. Just when I think he's really good at it actually Fin gets this look like when he cracks a case. Uh-oh!
"El, who're you bringing man?" He asks suspiciously.
"Just one of the girls. Whichever isn't busy I guess." Elliot responds, nonchalantly.
"What about you Lake?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow.
It's about time someone turned the tables on him.
"I…umm…yeah, I have a date." He stutters out.
Just then Don comes out of his office. I'm sure Chester is thankful for that.
"Liv, Fin, I need the two of you to head down to Mercy to meet with a vic." He announces.
I'm about to ask why Elliot can't go with me when he chucks a piece of paper at me. After giving him a nasty glare I uncrumple the ball of paper. He threw a page of his desk calendar. Valentine's Day to be exact. I look back up at him, communicating silently with just our eyes that I got his message loud and clear.
"Ready Liv?" Fin asks, breaking our line of sight, as he stands there holding my coat.
"Sure. Let's go!" I reply, taking my coat before he can help me into it causing Elliot a coronary.
The whole walk out to the squad car I can tell Fin has something on his mind. If there's one talent I've picked up in the past nine or so years in SVU it's how to read the men I work with. I also know that they don't always willingly share what's on their minds though.
"Fin!" I yell at him as he almost gets in the wrong sedan.
"Yeah girl?" He looks up and I still don't think he realizes he's across the lot from me.
"Just thought rather than pulling a B&E we'd take the car we have keys for." I chuckle.
"Yeah, that works." He half laughs back.
As I open the door to get in the driver's seat I call over to him before dropping the subject entirely.
"My ears work if you need them." I say.
I know he'll get it before he's the one that started that joke a couple of years back after Alex 'died' and I needed to grieve. The ride to the hospital is relatively silent. The only noises coming from the heater and the rap CD Fin's get in listening to. That's my guilty pleasure. I listen to rap, but only Fin knows about it.
"I'm nervous about Thursday." He finally says as we pull in the lot.
Okay. Two things wrong with this declaration. One, we just got to the scene, not really time to talk. Two, I have never known Odafin Tutuola to be nervous about something like this.
"You owe me an explanation over lunch as soon as we leave, you do know that, right?"
"Yeah."
We go in the hospital, meet with our vic, and get all the information we need. What seems like a small lifetime later but is only two hours we finally leave. I drive us to the 14th Street Deli and we walk in and get a table.
"Alright, spill." I say as soon as our waitress has gone to put in our order.
"Last month I used an in I have with the Feds. I called up our good buddy Agent Hammond."
"Alex." Suddenly I know why he's nervous.
"She's getting to come home from good tomorrow night."
"You asked her to the Ball Thursday and you're nervous about it. All makes sense now. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." I reassure him.
Our food is brought to the table and there's a break in conversation while we eat.
"Swear?" He asks as we get up to pay.
"I do. Wow! I can't believe Alex is finally coming home."
"Tell me about it." He breaks out in a huge smile. "So, tell me about this mystery man."
I knew out of all the guys, other than Elliot, Fin would be the one to look for more information. We're just tight like that. He's the brother I never had.
"All will be revealed Thursday night." I tell him as I pull in the lot at the station.
He just chuckles as we get out and walk in to get the elevator up to the squad room. We walk in and Elliot immediately looks up at me.
"Liv, lunch?" He asks.
Hmmm…tough call. I know he doesn't mean lunch lunch just because we've done this three or four days a week the past six weeks. So I don't need to worry about having already eaten. However, there is the small fact that Fin knows I ate lunch when I was with him.
"I don't think I'll be able to today. Fin and I stopped at the deli on the way back." I tell him hoping he'll understand.
"Oh. Okay."
The rest of the day goes by relatively quickly. Once Fin and I got all our notes together from our case from the morning we all went over everything trying to figure out our perp. The victim, Natalie MacArthur, hadn't seen her attacker and the little bit of DNA they'd found was not bringing anything up yet. Melinda still had to run a kinship DNA analysis. We had nothing to go off, other than waiting.
We were just discussing pulling another overnighter when the phone finally started ringing.
"Benson."
"Jim McKenzie. Last known address is in Alphabet City, you're looking for his son. According to his record he's only 35 so it's next to impossible to be a grandson, too many coinciding markers to be any relative other than a son." Melinda tells me.
"Great! Thanks Melinda!" I say before hanging up.
I know that name, I'm sure he was one of my collars from my first few years in SVU. One of the few cases Alex lost actually. I run over to the file room and start digging through the cabinets.
"Livvie?" Elliot calls to me.
I know they're all confused as hell over there. Finally I find the file I've been looking for, grab the mug shot, and run back to the bullpen with it.
"Jim McKenzie. I collared him my second year in SVU. We're looking for his son." I tell them all.
"Great! Fin, Liv, go check McKenzie's last known address. Lake, Stabler, you two go hit up Vital Records, see if you can pull any info on this kid incase the father's no help. Munch, go over McKenzie's file, look for anything that might tie his case to his son's. Let's try and get the wrapped up tonight." Don commands.
Elliot comes over and whispers in my ear as I'm grabbing my coat.
"Dessert tonight to make up for lunch?" He asks.
"We'll see. Let's catch this guy first." I reply as I slip my coat on and head over to Fin's desk.
Two hours later, as it's approaching ten o'clock, we've got Michael James McKenzie sitting in interrogation room number one. It seems not only did he inherit his father's name, but 18 year old Mike inherited his father's penchant for attacking co-eds.
"Livvie, it's been too long since we've been together." Elliot whines, coming up behind me as I watch Fin and Lake in interrogation.
This guy was just not into being interrogated by a female detective so I had been pulled part way in.
"You're going to get us in trouble Stabler." I moan, fully enjoying this.
"So, we'll tell them tonight. Besides, it's not the first time we've gotten in trouble together."
"El, I told you, Thursday at the ball. Please?"
"Fine, fine. Thursday night." He relents before kissing my neck.
Just then we hear the magic words, a confession from McKenzie. The bad part? His use of the word 'them' rather than 'her.' We have more than one victim here. Welcome back to the overnighter.
"Sleepover party again." Elliot mumbles and I know he's frustrated that he'll be getting no 'dessert' tonight.
Eighteen long, exhausting hours later McKenzie finally cracks and slips out the name of his other victim. Hannah McIntyre, 22, college classmate of Natalie MacArthur. Surprisingly Don sends Elliot and I out to find her.
"I'll drive." He says to me, smirking as we get to our sedan.
"El, I'm not giving you a blow job while we're on a call."
He laughs. "Looks like someone has a dirty mind."
"Shut it Stabler! You know that's what you were thinking."
"Was not!" He smirks again. "Hand job?"
I reach over and swat him on the arm.
"No, none of that either, nympho." I laugh.
We get to McKenzie's apartment building and search the grounds for any sign of where he's hiding Hannah. 20 minutes later we find her. Once we bring her back to the station she ID's Mike McKenzie and we've got all we need.
"Well, Fin has to go pick up his mystery woman, but do you guys want to grab some drinks?" Lake asks Elliot and I.
We look at each other and without words begin a conversation.
'You're not going anywhere with him alone Livvie.'
'One drink, then we'll head home.'
'Dessert?'
'Yes.'
"Sure, we'll go Chester, but just one drink, we've both got paperwork to finish on McKenzie." Elliot replies.
"Great! John, you in?"
"You giving me a ride Lake?"
"Sure."
"Alright, I'm in." Munch concedes.
"You guys head downstairs. I'm going to say goodbye to Fin." I tell the guys as I walk over to his desk.
"Relax. Trust me here, you have nothing to be nervous about." I tell Fin as he walks down from the shower.
After a quick glance around the room he speaks.
"What if she just said yes out of pity or to secure an invite to see her friends again?"
"Alex would kiss me if she knew I was telling you this, but she has wanted you since your first day in the unit."
He's shocked I can tell.
"For real girl?"
"Yes. Now go get our girl Tutuola and stop stressing." I say as I pull him into a hug.
"Thanks Liv!"
By the time I get to the parking garage Lake and Munch have already left for O'Malley's, leaving Elliot waiting for me.
"Everything okay?" He asks as I get in his SUV.
"Great! He's just nervous about tomorrow night."
"You?"
"A little. Honestly, I'm the most worried about Don's reaction." I confess.
"I think you have nothing to worry about." He tells me, almost as if he knows something I don't.
"Alright. Let's go have this drink so we can head home baby."
One drink turns into seven or eight for me and just as I'm starting to let my guard down as far as expressing my love for my partner goes Elliot calls it quits for us.
"Well, before anymore embarrassing declarations are made, I think I'll take my partner and hit the road." He says in response to my questioning our fellow detectives if they were boxer brief guys too like El.
Elliot starts pulling me to the door as I yell out a goodbye to Lake and Munch. Unnoticed by me, he had switched to water after his first two drinks so he was sober now.
"I love you El."
"I love you too Livvie, but let's get you home right now so you can sleep this off." He says as he gets me in his SUV and starts off towards his apartment.
"Alex is coming home tonight. She's Fin's date tomorrow night." I confess, not realizing I probably wasn't supposed to spill the beans about that.
"I think someone's too drunk to know what they're talking about. Alex is in WPP, Sweetheart, she's not coming home for the ball."
"Okay, El, whatever you say baby." I mumble to him.
He gets me to his building and somehow manages to get me all the way up to his apartment, before dragging me back to his bedroom.
"El, what about dessert tonight baby, I promised."
"Livvie, I'd like nothing more than to make love to you, but right now, you need to sleep." He says as he starts taking my clothes off and getting me settled into bed.
The next morning I'm woken up by the sun peeking through the blinds and it suddenly hits me that I'm waking up a lot later than normal if the sun is out. Oh God, my head hurts too, what did I do last night?
"El?" I call out as soon as I realize that I am in fact in his bedroom and not my own.
"Yeah?" I hear him call back from what sounds like my kitchen.
"Why is the sun up this early?"
"It's 10:30, the sun's always out now."
"10:30!!!!" I yell, bolting up in bed.
How could he let me sleep until 10:30? We have to be to work by 8, and he knows I like to take a nice hot shower in the morning before I get ready to leave, no matter if I showered before bed or not. It's my calming thing.
"Yes, baby, 10:30."
Elliot walks in the room carrying a tray with breakfast on it as well as a single red long stemmed rose, an envelope, and a long slender jewelry box.
"What are we doing home at 10:30?" I ask, still confused.
"I called Don this morning, told him you weren't feeling good and that I was going to make sure that you were taken care of so you'd be well enough for the ball tonight." He explains like it's common knowledge.
"I see." I am in no mood to argue right now, my head is pounding.
Just as I wince from the headache he reaches his hand out with four aspirin in it.
"Take these, then I want you to enjoy your breakfast that I made you. Happy Valentine's Day baby."
"Thank you. Happy Valentine's Day too you too." I lean up and pull him into a deep passion filled kiss.
Breakfast is absolutely delicious, probably the best I've had in a long time actually. Boy can this man cook!!! After I finish eating and Elliot finishes picking at my food I pick up the card to read it.
"I have your gift at home you know. I didn't forget, I just didn't plan on not being home last night."
"It's okay Livvie, it's no big deal."
I pick up the box and open it up seeing the beautiful diamond bracelet lying inside.
"Wow, El, this is beautiful! Thank you so much!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"I do, and I love you."
"I love you too."
He pulls me into a kiss and finally while it still feels like the room is spinning it's a good spinning. This is what his kisses do to me. They make me light headed. We continue kissing until both of us realize we really need air.
"So, what time is Casey coming over to your place to get ready?" Elliot asks.
"5:30 I think she said. So I want to head home no later than 4 so that I can get a nice hot bath in before she comes over."
"Okay, works for me I suppose." He winks. "Movies and crashing on the couch all day?"
"You know my weakness oh so well Stabler."
He found my lazy day weakness around the fourth week we were dating, I love to just crash on the couch and lounge around watching movies all day long when I have a day off. I used to try and cram all the stuff I didn't get done on my work days into those few off days. That is until I realized that they really were few off days and decided I'd much rather just crash and watch movies on those days.
We lay around watching movies all day long, barely moving off of the couch except to get refills on drinks, food when we need it, and to use the bathroom. Just as we're finishing up Runaway Bride I glance over at the clock and see that it's just about 4pm.
"Well, I suppose I ought to get going now." I reluctantly tell him.
"Do you have to?" He whines.
"I did promise Casey we'd get ready together. So, yeah, I do have to go."
"Okay. I'll pick you up at 7:30, okay?" He asks as he helps me up off the couch.
"It's a plan Stan." I joke.
Elliot walks me to the door and we kiss goodbye before I head downstairs and realize that I left my truck at the station. Taking my phone out of my pocket I hit speed dial one and call Elliot.
"Stabler."
"My truck is at work." I whine.
"I'll be down in a minute to run you home, okay?"
"Thanks baby."
True to his word Elliot's down in just about one minute to give me a ride back to my apartment. Once I get inside I walk in the bathroom to start the tub filling up. I toss in a couple of capfuls of the bubble bath that Elliot once said he loved the smell of as the tub is filling. Before climbing in I set my phone down on the seat of the toilet just incase anyone calls and grab my bath pillow.
An hour later the buzzer is going off signaling Casey's arrival and it jolts me out of a nap I didn't realize I was taking. I stumble over to the door and buzz her up.
"What took so long?" Casey asks as soon as I let her in my apartment.
"I kind of fell asleep in the tub." I blush.
"Long night with Detective McHottie?" She chuckles.
"No, smartass, drunken stupor night with Detective McHottie actually, but I did rest up all day watching movies."
"I knew I didn't see you two around the bullpen today, just assumed you were out on a call or whatever."
"I fully blame your man. It was all his idea to go out drinking last night. I was only supposed to have one drink, somehow that turned into seven, or was it eight?"
She just laughs, fully used to my sometimes erratic drinking habits by now.
"So, tonight's the big night, eh? What're you wearing?"
I walk over to my closet and pull out a garment bag from Macy's, open it, and show her the ankle length red dress nestled inside.
"Very nice, Liv. I'm not so sure I want to be seen with you know, you're going to have every guy in the place drooling over you."
"Come on now, I'm sure you're going to look absolutely stunning in your dress as well Case." I assure her.
She opens up the garment bag she's carrying to show off a knee length black dress, low cut in the front and back, yet still very tasteful. I know Chester is going to be fighting the guys off her as soon as they walk in the door.
"You're one to talk, I'm going to have to fight my way through the crowd of guys just to get over to you tonight."
The two of us chuckle and decide to start getting ready. We work our way through each other's hair, makeup, and picking out jewelry before getting our dresses on and making sure everything is perfect.
"Gorgeous Liv, Elliot's going to be speechless when he sees you." Casey says as I finish putting on my heart necklace El had given me for Christmas and add the bracelet he gave me that morning.
"I guarantee you that Chester is not going to do anything other than stand there and drool when he sees you." I tell her.
Speaking of the guys, just then my buzzer goes off again. A matter of moments later there's a knock on my door and both guys are standing outside my door. Elliot dressed in a black tuxedo with a red bow tie and cummerbund to match my dress and Chester dressed in a black tuxedo with a black bow tie and cummerbund to match Casey.
"So, umm…Liv, I guess I know who the guy you've been seeing is." Lake says to me once I open the door.
"Yeah, about that, no one else knows yet, we're telling them tonight, so can you keep it quiet?" Elliot asks him.
"Oh my god!!! I'm so sorry guys, I didn't even think about that when I told Chester to meet me over here. I feel like such a blonde!" Casey replies, turning various shades of red.
"It's okay Case, really." I reassure her.
"Yeah, it's nice to see Lake's got some taste in women." Elliot says, winking at Casey.
"Well, what do you say we hit the road?" I ask, grabbing my clutch and wrap to head out the door.
"Casey, Chester, would you please be our guests and share our limo to the ball?" Elliot chimes in.
"Are you sure man?" Lake asks, not wanting to intrude I can tell.
"Positive."
The four of leave my apartment and walk arm and arm with our dates down to the front of the building where the limo Elliot has rented is parked. The guys help both Casey and I in and then we're on our way for the ball. As we pull up in front of the hotel that it's being held it I feel my nerves starting to kick in again.
"Livvie, it's going to be okay. These are our friends, just remember that. We're doing nothing wrong either, you know we looked into this, we can date and still be partners. Let's just go in and have a good time." Elliot pulls me aside as the other two walk in and tries to calm me down.
"Alright, let's go!" I say, taking his arm and giving him a quick kiss before we head inside.
"Elliot, Olivia, it's great to see you both!" Don calls out to us as we walk in the ballroom.
I give a quick glance around the room and notice that Fin and Alex haven't arrived. Let's see, if we break the news now all attention will be off us as soon as they show up. But then again, if we break the news without them here they'll be hurt that they weren't told too. Just as I'm having this discussion in my head over whether to wait or not in walks Fin and Alex.
"Oh."
"My."
"God!"
"So I was sitting there in the middle of nowhere and thinking about the most perfect way I could think of to spend Valentine's Day and it hit me that I needed my friends and family there." Alex says as she walks over to us.
"Welcome back Sis." I whisper in her ear as I pull her into a hug.
"I take it I haven't missed the important announcement." She whispers back, glancing between Elliot and I.
"Not the one you're thinking, but no, you haven't missed it." I reply, in a normal tone.
Don is next in line pulling Alex into his arms, if there's one thing I've noticed about Don in my years in SVU it's that he is very close to his squad that includes our ADAs. You wouldn't necessarily know it just by looking from afar, but it's in the little things he does. We are his kids in his eyes, and none more special than his three girls. I know it hit him hard when Alex had to go back in WPP after Liam Connors was put away, he was losing his daughter again in a sense. I see him whisper something to her and Alex's eyes get teary. Having been there myself I know he's just told her how he thinks of her like a daughter.
I pull Elliot over closer and take this opportunity to talk to him while everyone else is distracted by Alex and Fin's arrival.
"We should tell them now." I say.
"You sure?" He asks.
"Positive."
"Alright."
Before he barely has a chance to open his mouth I begin to talk.
"Everyone, Elliot and I have something we'd like to say." I begin, hoping to draw only the attention of our squad and not the entire NYPD.
Wow, this is a bit more intense than I expected. All six pairs of eyes on us is suddenly feeling like a lot more.
"We've been secretly dating for the last six weeks." Elliot bursts out, sensing my nervousness.
"Congratulations guys!!" I hear from somewhere, I think it was Fin, right now my mind is sort of numb.
I think I hear Elliot say thank you as I walk the three feet over to where our boss is standing. He doesn't look shocked, he doesn't really look hurt either, he too looks a bit numb. Much like I imagine I look like right now.
"Don? I need to know that you're okay with this." I tell him as I separate us from the rest of the group. "We've done all the research and I know the department's stance on this sort of thing. As long as we're just dating we can remain partners. When things go any further is when we need to make bigger decisions here."
He finally blinks.
"Please? Dad?" I know, I'm mean here pulling the 'Dad Card' but I need something to get a reaction out of him, and frankly I knew that would work. Even if he has said he thinks of us as his children no one has outright called him 'Dad' yet.
"Come here." He finally speaks, pulling me into his arms. "I knew this day was coming. I would have to be blind to not see it coming all these years. I truly am happy for you baby girl. I promise when the time comes we will figure this all out so that things don't have to change around here."
"Thank you. You have to know that your opinion about this is what matters the most to me." I tell him.
We walk back over to the group and Don pulls Elliot aside and whispers something to him, I can only begin to imagine what that's all about. I get no time to think about that though when the announcement comes the dinner is going to be served. We all gather around the table, now having been joined by both Don's date, Liz Donnelly, and John's date. Once we've all been served we all begin eating our dinner as conversation starts up about Alex's return and the fact that she's here to stay.
As we're finishing eating the music starts up and Elliot leans over and whispers in my ear.
"Would you care to dance with me Miss Benson?" He asks.
"I would love to." I reply as he helps me out of my chair and out onto the dance floor.
Standing out there swaying in his arms I suddenly feel at home, I don't feel like all eyes are on us anymore. I just feel safe.
"Mmm…Livvie, have I mentioned how absolutely stunning you look tonight?"
"Perhaps. But thank you."
"What do you say we get out of here soon and head home?" He asks as he places kisses discreetly all around my earlobe.
"We're never going to make it out of here without everyone knowing where we're headed. You do realize that, right?"
"I don't care right now baby. The only thing I care about is getting you home and getting you out of this dress."
"Alright, let me go say goodbye to everyone and then we'll go." I give in.
We head back over to the table where everyone has again gathered. I pull Alex and Casey aside first, making plans to get together over the weekend just the three of us girls. Next up I go over to Don and let him know that we're leaving.
"Thank you again." I tell him.
"Have a good night baby girl, I'll see you tomorrow morning." He says, pulling me into a hug.
Elliot and I finish our goodbyes and head out to the limo, once we reach his building he sends the driver back to the hotel to bring Chester and Casey back to my building to get their cars whenever they decide to leave.
The ride up in the elevator Elliot can't keep his hands off me. He's running his hand up the slit in my dress getting dangerously close to finding out that I'm not wearing any panties tonight.
"It has been so long Livvie, too long." He tells me as he pulls me in for a kiss.
"I know baby, trust me, I know."
We get to his apartment and manage to get in his door. From there it's a race to see who can get the other undressed the fastest. Elliot is winning the race until he gets me dress off and realizes that there's no bra or panties underneath. He's at a standstill from there.
"Honey, has that been under that dress all night?" He asks, just staring.
"Yes."
"Oh God!"
By the time he finally regains movement and takes off my shoes to lead me back to his bedroom I've already got him stripped down naked. We head back to his bedroom and he pushes me back onto his bed.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" He whispers before claiming my lips with his own.
We continue to devour each other with kisses until I feel his erection pressing against my core. It becomes too overwhelming and I tilt my hips up just enough so that the tip of his cock is now in me. Without another word or kiss he slides deep in me before letting out a low growl. He continues thrusting in and out until I can't take it anymore and he pulls me over the edge. Not being satisfied to be the only one pleasured here I flip us over so that I'm on top and commence riding him, trying to bring him to his own release. Within a few minutes I know he's close and bend my head down to whisper in his ear.
"Cum for me baby, you know you want to."
"With you sweetheart, not for you." He mumbles, before flipping us once more so that he's on top.
After a few more thrusts we're both falling over the edge simultaneously both calling out the other's name in ecstasy. As we come down from our high he pulls out of me and brings me into his arms.
"I love you so much. Thank you for the perfect first Valentine's Day together." He tells me.
"I love you too El." I reply before we both drift off to sleep.
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So I had to do it, I had to bring Alex back. I just couldn't stand to write a story without her in it. Anyone who knows me shouldn't be surprised in the least. So, see that little button down there? Yeah, that's the one, submit review, well, go for it. Please!!!