I swear I am working on Both Hands! But this popped into my head and I wanted to get it out into the universe before it ate my brain.

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Elliot stared at the number glaring at him from the bluish white light that radiated from his phone. "Liv". His finger lightly rested on the "talk" button. He was so tempted. He longed to do it. He sat, staring at her name while a non-descript ring cut through the previously silent air around him. His desire built higher and higher and he had almost given in when suddenly his phone quieted like a scolded child. Unhappy in it's quietness. Elliot sighed at the screens new message for him. "Eight Missed Calls"

Liv. Liv. Liv. Liv. Liv Desk. Liv Desk. Liv. Liv Home. "Four new Voice messages"

His heart slammed against his chest. He found his finger giving into it's greatest desire as it pressed the tiny button bringing him directly to his Voicemail. Earlier he had been unable to listen to what he knew would be the confused, upset and eventually angry messages that his partner had been leaving. Now, in the security of his apartment, he felt ready.

"Hey El. Can you believe this? Call me."

"Elliot, where are you? Call me."

"It's me. You're not actually taking this crap seriously, are you? Call me back."

"Elliot. It's Olivia. Screw you. If you're seriously not going to talk to me then fine. Cragen said you're moving to homicide until all of this bull blows over. I hope you stay there."

Elliot lowered the phone from his ear and buried his head in his hands. He never thought he'd hear Olivia speak to him with such disdain in her voice. He wanted so desperately to talk to her. To make her understand. He detested that he had to trust the A.D.A. to pass on the accurate information. To tell her that it wasn't his decision. That he would be back. That it would just be until the trial ended. Obviously they hadn't. He knew he had to deal with it. He couldn't bear Olivia being this angry with him. He thought about going to Cragen but he knew the A.D.A. would stop him as soon as he hit the door. And he was sure that his phone was being dumped daily. He was not to have any contact with a squad member of SVU until the trial blew over.

It wasn't his fault that he was being called for the defense. He had screwed up and they knew it. They were going to milk it for all it was worth. It was normal lawyer games. He'd played them before. But this time, Langan didn't want his case tainted by the "unprofessional conduct of Stabler and his relationship with his squad." He had been officially ordered to stay away or be held in contempt of court.

The worst part of it was, he had fought with each member of SVU before the case came to trial. When the motion had been put foreword, he had been swiftly removed to the judge's chambers where he was ordered to stay away from Olivia Benson, Odafin Tutuola, John Munch and Donald Cragen until further notice. If he were to disobey the order he would be thrown in a cell for contempt of court. He was trapped. Unfortunately he was stuck with leaving his team at a time where they were shaky in their relationships.

He had yelled at Fin and John and Cragen. And Olivia had been caught in the middle. She tried desperately to smooth over the situation but was pushed aside like a little sister with pigtails to pull. She was to be seen and not heard by the aggravated, testosterone pumped males angrily slamming their fists on tables and arguing on how best to solve the case. It had quickly turned into a power struggle between Elliot and Fin. A dick-measuring fight that no one could control. They had almost reached a breaking point when Grayleck entered the room in a huff and removed Elliot to the court. Olivia was not permitted to attend. Munch and Fin wouldn't have, even if he had been allowed.

Then Elizabeth Donnelly sided with Trevor Langan. And Elliot could not return to resolve the conflicts he had been involved in.

He knew Olivia was livid. He felt like he could feel the heat from the angry vibes she was surely sending his way. She managed to affect him so deeply even when she was nowhere near him. He knew she was probably pacing in her apartment, thinking over the various ways she could punch him without leaving a mark. She was probably wondering what she had done wrong and then cursing his name because she knew she had done nothing. This was not on her but yet at the same time she would still take it like it was.

He finally threw his phone onto his bed and he rushed into his washroom and turned his shower on as hot as it would go. He needed some scorching water contact in order to distract himself. He couldn't think about it anymore. He would deal with it tomorrow.

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3 Weeks Later

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Elliot did not deal with it the next morning. He was quick to catch on that IAB was watching his every move. He had broken the rules too many times before to be trusted by OnePP. He had been quickly shifted into homicide. Olivia had continued to call for the next few days but as the hours wore on, her persistence faded to a point where she no longer attempted to contact him. He had seen her once, a week after the verdict, getting into their car and leaving a scene before he was to arrive. They ruled out the initial rape that the witness had claimed and the case was tossed to Elliot and his new partner Ben.

Elliot rubbed his face roughly before returning his blank stare at the dead body in front of him. His mind didn't even register the sobbing woman standing with Ben. The air around him was dense and intense. The crews surrounding the scene bustled around him, all lost in their own worlds. Elliot stared straight into the bullet hole that screamed at him from the young man's forehead. Elliot's gaze was adrift in the small pool of ruby blood. Suddenly one word touched his ears that cause him to raise his gaze to the woman standing a few feet from the body. It was a word that caught him quickly like a sucker punch. He knew it would leave a mark on the few days to come. "rape". It was whispered into the air like a curse from the underbelly of hell. Elliot stood quickly and headed straight for the woman. His partner rolled his eyes at Elliot.

"We gotta call SVU." Elliot pointed out quickly.

"Yeah, Stabler. I know. And you gotta get out of here."

Elliot glared at the young detective who was quick to challenge Elliot's experience and opinions. The young man didn't like being stuck with a hot head cop who didn't want to be working with him. He was constantly blocking Elliot's attempt at involving SVU in their cases.

"You leave. Now."

"Alright. Just let me finish up here." Elliot walked away from Mike and headed for the ambulance to ask the paramedics to take the victim to St. Matthew's and notified them that she was claiming rape.

All of a sudden a large hand rested on his shoulder. "Hey El. We can't talk for long but Cragen wants to meet you. Here's the address." Fin's voice whispered in his ear and a small piece of paper slipped into his hands.

Elliot frantically searched for something to say and blurted out the first thing he could think of, "I'm sorry- It's not personal."

"I know. She's doesn't. She's hurtin' man... Go see Cragen. I gotta go deal with this victim."

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Elliot recognized the tall body and hairless head standing at the edge of a small pond with ducks swimming and plenty of foliage hiding him from being seen. Elliot steeled himself against what he could sense was coming his way. He felt Cragen was going to shred into him for leaving without saying anything.

"Hey Captain."

"Elliot. I'm glad you came."

"I'm going against an order from the court. But Fin said it was important. What's going on?" Elliot didn't know why he felt the need to state how much of a mess they would be in if caught.

"Olivia is a mess."

Elliot's eyes enlarged in alarm. He swallowed to try and remove the burning sensation in his throat. He knew it must be true. Cragen would not be saying anything otherwise. "What do you mean?"

"She's gotten sloppy. Aggressive. Angry. She never stops working. She's refusing any temporary partners but she's refusing to admit she's waiting for you to return. She's lost touch and can't communicate with the victims. But she's doubled her caseload. It's like she's trying to do it al to prove she doesn't need you when really, she's just proving herself ineffective and explosive. It's as if she replaced you with a more volatile version of you. It's not Olivia. You have to talk to her."

"Are you asking me to risk being in contempt of the courts?"

"I couldn't do that. But if you happened to bump into Olivia when she's heading to her apartment then that wouldn't be so awful..."

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Elliot watched as Olivia walked up the stairs to the front of her apartment building. She stopped for a nanosecond to make sure what she was seeing was actually true. She then shifted her gaze to the keyhole in front of her and let herself in. Elliot immediately stuck his foot in the door after her to slip in. It was clear Olivia was ignoring him until they were out of sight from the street. Elliot knew she wasn't happy to see him when she took a turn for the downstairs, instead of the elevator that would lead to her apartment. She began to descend to where Elliot assumed there was laundry room. They reached the bottom of the stairs and she promptly turned and punched Elliot in the upper body several times. Hard enough that he knew she meant it but not enough for him to do anything about it.

"You sonofabitch. What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I had to see you. I was waiting for the heat to wear off."

"Screw that. You didn't even call me. I deserve better than that- especially from you."

"Liv- I had no choice... If I wanted to come back to work I had to stay away from you."

Olivia suddenly became quite silent. She stared at the ground and bit her lip, clearly frustrated.

"Liv, you've got to move on. We can't be around each other."

"I didn't think you'd take it so literally. You didn't even call."

"I wasn't about to risk both our jobs and contact you when IAB was watching my every move."

"So what Elliot? This is all bullshit and you know it. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm going to corrupt you."

"I wont disobey a direct order."

"Screw the order Elliot! You should have called."

"Liv-"

"I was a wreck! I needed you! Not as my partner... as my best friend. You knew how deep I was in this case..."

"Olivia..." Elliot's voice cracked with the regret he was feeling as he stared into the pain filled eyes of his partner.

"I couldn't stop thinking about that little girl. And what she must have gone through. And how scared she must have been." Olivia was choking back tears, "And all you could do was argue with Fin. If you want to get into a pissing match leave me out of it."

"He was wrong."

"And that's what's important. Right. He was wrong and you were right. And while you were arguing about it, the little girl died. As if she hadn't suffered enough." Olivia's tears poured down her face, the salt stinging her skin. "She was ten years old for God's sake. And I just can't stop thinking about her-" She was cut off by the connection of Elliot's hands on either side of her face. The electricity between them buzzed as he forced her deep chocolate orbs to stare into his ocean deep blues. The tears that tainted her cheeks soon shifted to Elliot's cheeks as he connected his lips with hers. He kissed her tenderly, unhurriedly, breath sizzling, tongues quivering together. Elliot's hands reached up into her hair and he gently grasped a handful, feeling it between his rough fingers. His other hand pulled her body in closer to his. He moved his hand onto the nape of her neck. Their lips never parting. He softly took her bottom lip between his pearly teeth and caused Olivia to whimper with excitement. They finally separated their mouths and he rested his forehead against hers. He let his thumb wander to her cheek and wipe away a stray tear. They were both acutely aware of the noise that silence brought. The laundry tumbling in the dryer. The buzz of the radiator. The rising and falling of their chests. They couldn't seem to break eye contact. She breathed in his subtle scent of aftershave and sandalwood. The couple didn't move until a lost tear landed on Elliot's hand. They pulled apart slowly ad Olivia let out a deep breath.

"I-" the terrified expression on her face caused Elliot to take a step back from her. His hands hung limply at his side as Olivia moved for the door, only glancing back once before disappearing from his sight.

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