I know I have not finished "Watching" yet, but this was just an idea that I had while watching a few consecutive episodes of season 9. I see a pattern there ... if anyone is interested?

...

Prologue

Things had not been the same. They had not been the same. It felt like the mutual understanding they had always had, had been broken. They had tried to fix it - they had even talked about it on that rarest of occasions, when she had shown up on his doorstep early in the morning with a cup of coffee for him and a cup of tea for herself. They had actually addressed their partnership and had assured each other that they weren't going anywhere. But the shift that had happened after the Gitano case, had remained. They had not shifted back. She had moved away from him, twice. And she had returned, twice. Still, the shift remained and it had made him move away from her as well. Not physically but emotionally. Up to the point that he had sought solace with his estranged wife after a hard case, resulting in a pregnancy none of them had really wanted. His sense of duty and responsibility had kicked in and when his wife asked him, he had gone back home. Yes, they were still partners. Yes, they still argued about cases. Yes, they still had each other's backs, always. But it wasn't the same. They had tried to fix it but the shift had remained. It was complicated.

Deep down, he knew what it was. Of course he knew. And that was exactly why there was no fixing it. Not now. It's not that he wasn't happy to become a father again. He was. He loved kids and he knew he would love his fifth child every bit as much as the other four. But this pregnancy, this child, had made it final. Well, it should have been final a long time ago - no, it shouldn't even have been there in the first place. But it had been, probably right from the beginning. And when she told him why she left the first time, he knew it was the same for her. It was complicated.

His heart ached for her because she was alone. She was only making fleeting attempts at dating these days, almost as if she had resigned to being alone and staying alone. He felt guilty because he really didn't mind her not dating. He was a selfish bastard.

The day his fifth child was born, was etched in his brain. Seeing the little boy had been overwhelming and he was filled with love for this new little creature. She had saved his life, as well as his wife's. She had helped bring his son into the world. He didn't know anyone more selfless than this woman. And at the same time, he knew he was saying goodbye to her. That was why he had pulled her in his arms at the hospital. To show her his gratitude for being there for his family when he wasn't - and to say goodbye. In that one embrace, the first they had ever shared, they had said goodbye to whatever might have been. To what was never going to happen. To what could not happen. Not now. Not ever.

...

"Snitch"

He didn't know if she was aware of it, but Olivia certainly wasn't making it easy for him. How could he not look at her when she was wearing things like that! The tight dark blouse with the black low-cut top underneath really didn't leave much to the imagination. After visiting the crime scene, chasing a suspect and questioning him in the hospital, they talked to Melinda Warner at the morgue. His eyes were still drawn to her ample cleavage but he tried to focus on the case.

The ME told them that the scarring they had found on the girl was from an improperly healed female circumcision. 'If done safely, women lose all sexual sensation.'

He wondered why any woman would agree to it.

'Tradition,' Warner told them. 'In some cultures men won't court women until they've had this procedure.'

Olivia suggested they go visit the immigration agency to possibly identify their victim and asked him if he was still friends with agent Williams, who worked there. He nodded and they left the morgue. He felt a little uneasy and hoped Williams would not mention that they had dated briefly. She didn't need to know. Naturally, she sensed that he was uneasy while they were driving over to the immigration office.

'What's up El?' she asked.

The question was innocent enough but he didn't feel like telling her what was really on his mind. In stead, he mentioned that he still couldn't understand why any woman would agree to have a circumcision.

'It kinda takes all the fun out of it, wouldn't you say?'

She agreed, looking very serious. 'It's discrimination. Men can do and feel whatever they want and the women don't even get to enjoy it.'

He looked away from her, trying very hard not to think about her enjoying it. God, why was he still like this? He had said goodbye to all other options when he went back home so why were these thoughts resurfacing? He chewed on his lower lip, trying to think of something meaningful to say. He would have to, since he was the one who had brought it up.

'I don't think I would enjoy it myself if my partner wasn't enjoying herself,' he managed to say.

Why the hell did he have to use the word partner! He wanted to kick himself and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, silently cursing the busy traffic. He really needed to get out of this car, this conversation. Why were they suddenly discussing his sex life anyway? He glanced at her. She was looking out the window, supporting her head with her arm, which was leaning against the door of the car. A small smile was playing on her lips and he wondered if she was thinking about his Freudian slip of the tongue. Slip of the tongue. That was an interesting phrase in itself ...
He was very relieved when she spoke again, pulling him out of his unholy line of thinking.

'Maybe you wouldn't, but if this line of work has taught us anything, it's that a lot of men don't care about anything but getting off themselves. I wonder sometimes if any of them really care if they had to be very honest about it ...' she trailed off, frowning as if she regretted adding that last bit.

He was silent for a few minutes, processing what she had just said and what those words implied. Had she really been treated that poorly? Usually, he would try to push thoughts about her in 'that' situation out as quickly as possible but he allowed himself to think about it now. He assumed Olivia would always be in the lead. She wasn't one to surrender herself, under any circumstance. Would she concern herself with the feelings of her bed partner, before, during or after the act? He was certain that she would always get what she needed from them. She wouldn't wait until it was given to her. She was a very closed-off person and he couldn't even imagine her opening up to anyone other than the vulnerable victims of heinous crimes. She didn't even open up to him. Not really. If you want people to care, you will have to show them you are worth caring about.

She was staring at him with her mouth open and shock written all over her face. it wasn't until she spoke again that he realized he had said that last bit out loud.

'Excuse me? When did this become about me? And who the hell are you to say I'm not worth caring about!'

He saw actual tears spring in her eyes and he was shocked himself. He looked in his rear view mirror quickly and pulled the car over behind another parked car. Olivia was looking out the window again and he hesitantly put a hand on her left arm to get her to look at him again.

'Liv. You know I would never say such a thing,' he said softly. 'That's is not what I meant!'

He knew she didn't think very highly of herself. It had been ingrained in her from a very early age that she was indeed not worth caring about. During their partnership he had tried several times to convince her that she was, so he couldn't believe that she would interpret his words that way. He hadn't even wanted to say them out loud but it looked like he had.

'So what did you mean?' she asked, shrugging his hand off her arm and still not looking at him directly.

'Liv, I ... I didn't even know I was saying that out loud ... I was ...'

She glared at him and he knew he was making things worse.

'Listen,' he tried again. 'I was just thinking about things in general and then about you and how closed-off you are to everyone around you. How you don't open up. I didn't say I don't care about you!'

She was still staring at him and he was really afraid that he had made things even worse.

'Liv,' he said softly, taking a bold step by taking her left hand in his. 'You are worth caring about. You just don't let people see it. That's what I meant to say. Well, I didn't mean to say it but ... that's what I think. You know that, don't you?'

She was looking down at their hands, clasped together on her thigh. She sighed and he thought he saw new tears glistening in her eyes. He couldn't read her mind right now and he could only guess what she might be thinking. Overthinking being a more suitable word. But she surprised him by changing the subject back to where they had started.

'Well, it doesn't really matter. I still think this circumcision is basically discriminatory. Men get to have all the fun and women are only there for them. It's medieval.'

He knew he should feel relief that their difficult conversation was over. But he didn't. He wanted to know what she had been thinking, he really did. She had sealed up again. The tears were gone and she was back in her detective mode. She had moved her hand away from his and he had put his hand back on the steering wheel. They were going to drop it and not discuss it again. Just like always.

'Let's go, we have a victim to identify.'

Reluctantly, he put the car in drive again. How did they end up here anyway?

...

Agent Williams was very helpful, although she did point out to Elliot that he didn't have to come all the way down there in person for the information. He explained that they were in a rush. While the system ran their victim's fingerprints, agent Williams told him she was surprised that she hadn't heard from him. Here we go, he thought. He should have known she would say something. He managed a tight smile and told her that he got back together with his wife, trying desperately to ignore Olivia's facial expression changing, which he could still see happening in his peripheral vision. Agent Williams said she thought that might happen and he was relieved that the awkward moment was over. He glanced at Olivia who, as expected, was totally surprised. He looked away quickly and just then, the system turned up a hit on their vic. Agent Williams printed it out for them and smiled at him while handing him the paper. Olivia glanced at them both again while he thanked the agent and they walked away, but she said nothing. He could almost hear her think about it but she stayed silent all the way to the Nigerian crafts shop where their victim's aunt should be.

They continued working the case, bringing in the aunt and then the man claiming to be their 15-year old victim's husband, and finally a thug who was intimidating witnesses who were going to testify against him in court about a murder. The husband of their vic being one of those witnesses, they were taking him into protective custody. He wanted protection for his entire family and told them that both Almani and his attorney Sarah were also his wives. They were shocked and he could see the wheels starting to turn once again in Olivia's head.

Naturally, they didn't fully agree on the matter. He said if it's legal for a man to have three wives in Nigeria, what is he supposed to do when he gets here? The thought of having more wives, although against everything he is supposed to believe in, didn't seem so appalling to him at all. Face it, what man would object to legally have a choice like that ... Still, they had to arrest the man because it's illegal in the US. They discussed the issue outside the interrogation room.

'Maybe he'll take a plea. Poor guy can get 1 to 3 off each count.' he mused.

'Poor guy? I find polygamy degrading. His third wife was a fifteen-year old that he married over the phone.'

She said it softly but so decisively that the tension between them was palpable immediately. But he wasn't going to back down so easily.

'Yeah, to save her from religious persecution in Africa.'

'Only to mutilate her in America,' she retorted.

They were interrupted by their captain who ordered them to carry out the protection that had been promised their polygamist while they would investigate further. They took the husband to the safe house first and then had a heart-to-heart with the two remaining wives while they and their children packed up. Sarah told him that polygamous families are stronger than monogamous ones.

'Says who?' he asked.

'How many men in this country have affairs, or abandon their wives for younger women?'

He didn't know what to say.

'My dad left six wives,' Sarah continued. 'All legally. We're a family that sticks together.'

...

It gave him something to think about. However, their main concern was to keep their witness safe. After receiving a threatening note, the family would not return to the motel. When they insisted on going home, he offered to stay with them. It wasn't very comfortable to sleep on the couch of this family but he didn't feel like sleeping anyway. His thoughts kept drifting to these unusual family arrangements. If he were allowed to have more than one wife, would he go for it? If he was totally honest with himself, he didn't think he would want to do that to a woman. To her. He sat up on the couch when he realized who he was thinking about. This can't be right, he told himself. He was thinking it anyway. If he could have her, he would want to be all hers. But he couldn't have her. That was the point. He was supposed to be someone else's all. He probably was, but that someone wasn't his all ...

He got up abruptly and walked from the living room into the kitchen area. What was he going to do? He wasn't home, he was a guest here. He walked back to the couch slowly. This man had two wives. If he had two wives they would probably kill each other. If they were the two women he was thinking of, they would definitely kill each other. He sighed and lay down on the couch again. This was going to be a long night.

...

In the end, good old jealousy was the cause of one wife killing the other. It had been Sarah who killed the 15-year old third wife because her husband had actually fallen in love with the girl.

'Still think polygamy is a good idea?' she asked him after the trial.

He looked at her sideways while they walked down the stairs in the courthouse. 'I never said I thought it was a good idea.'

'Hm.' She gave him a small smile and he saw a twinkle in her eyes when she said, 'I thought it actually appealed to you to have some variety in your menu.'

He stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to look at her.

'Liv, I am a one woman kind of guy. All the way. You know that.' He was dead serious.

She bit her lower lip and looked around before looking at him again.

'Yes, I know.'

...

So ... could this be the beginning of an interesting story or should I just leave it here as a one-shot? Do let me know!