Deluge
by BenslerXOC
Chapter One ~ Sleepless in New York
16th Precinct - SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, June 24 - 10:05 p.m.
The squad room was tranquil; the low hum of computers, printers and fax machines having long since quieted. There were no conversations taking place, no shrill rings from the phones. It was just past ten and Olivia was starting to wear down but she needed to work this out. She knew that she was on the verge of figuring out this perp's timeline and once they had that, they would be prepared for his next strike. It had been some time since they'd had to track a serial rapist and this one was smart—so far. He seemed to be staying more than just a step ahead and had the unit pulling out its collective hair. Taking a deep stretch in her chair, Olivia decided to step out for a few minutes to pop into the bodega around the corner.
The evening was warm and slightly humid. She wanted a kick of caffeine and she was tired of tea. She'd given up sodas almost two years ago but occasionally, she found herself craving one; that quick jolt, the burn of the carbonation as it bubbled down her throat, the cool refreshing liquid working quickly to aid her second wind.
She'd made many trips to this bodega in her years at SVU, mostly late at night but sporadically in the mornings when Munch had yet again burned the coffee. A Greek family owned the shop and Olivia knew the night manager very well. He was the nephew of the owner, in his mid-twenties and studying to become a criminal defense attorney. Olivia never made it a habit to befriend the "enemy" but liked Alex very much and she'd known him since before he even entered college. He was a tall, thin man with olive skin and curly, black hair. He had deep black, serious eyes under dark eyebrows that belied his playfulness.
Pappas Grocers - Tuesday, June 24 - 10:17 p.m.
Olivia approached the small shop that was nestled between a shoe store and a deli. The harsh florescent lighting spilled out onto the sidewalk from the plate glass windows and the lingering aroma of freshly baked spanakopita hit her as soon as she opened the door.
"Detective Benson," Alex greeted her with his usual enthusiasm and Olivia gave him a quick wave and a nod as she made her way back to the drinks fridge on the far wall. When she reappeared at the front counter, Alex leaned in and flashed a bright smile. "So, back on the toxic waste in a bottle, Detective?"
Olivia laughed, pulling a couple of folded bills from her pocket, "Don't judge, Alex…and how many times do I have to tell you, the name is Olivia?"
Alex quickly punched out the numbers on the register and taking Olivia's two dollars from her, turned back to the register to make change. "At least one more time. As always," he smiled and then emphasized, " Detective Benson."
"Thanks, Alex," Olivia took her change and looked down at the sizeable book on the counter that the young man was leaning over. "How's school going?"
He let out a quick breath and rubbed his palms into his eyes, "It's killing me. It's tough."
"Yeah, but I bet you're still pulling in those A's aren't you?"
Alex nodded. "Uncle wouldn't pay for it if I didn't."
"And you're sure you want to try criminal cases for the defense?"
Alex laughed and shook his head in mock disbelief. Just about every time Olivia came in she asked the same question. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"Ok. Such a shame," Olivia teased as she grabbed her drink from the counter and twisted off the top letting the carbonation fizzle up before taking a gulp.
"Don't you have a soda machine in your building, Detective?"
"Umhm," Olivia hummed over a swig of her soda. "Coke. I'm a Pepsi fan myself."
"And here I though you stopped by just to flirt with me, but I'm guessing I'm not your type."
Olivia's eyebrow shot up and with a puzzled look plastered on her face, she questioned him, "How would you know my type?"
Alex smiled, "The guy you come in with sometimes. Brusque, broad guy. You kind of have a thing for him, am I right?"
Olivia's eyes widened but she played it off with a laugh, thankful that she didn't have a mouthful of Pepsi because she'd be paying for a new law book if she had. "That's my partner, Alex. You know that."
"Uh-huh. And partners don't date, right? The rules and all."
Olivia nodded, "Exactly."
Alex put on a faux-serious face and shook his head. "Shame about the rules. It's really amazing how they can keep you from being attracted to someone...just like that. 'Cause of the rules and all."
Olivia bit into her bottom lip and a shot of air escaped her nose. "Get back to studying, Alex. You're much better suited to the study of the law than you are to detective work or matchmaking."
"'Night, Detective," Alex merrily shouted after Olivia as she moved with purpose toward the front door and exited as she came in, with a short wave and nod.
She made her way back around the corner to the precinct with Alex's last comments on her mind. She wasn't attracted to Elliot. Not really. Not like that. That was ridiculous. Alex was just bored and having fun at her expense. That had to be it because even if she were say slightly attracted to him, she certainly didn't show it. She wasn't so obvious that a kid she saw what, once a week, would notice.
16 th Precinct - SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, June 24 - 10:40 p.m.
She reached the doors to the precinct and all thoughts of Elliot evaporated as her head returned to the case at hand. She knew that she would be in for a long night alone. She might even just crash in the crib later. Everyone else had gone home for the night. Fin and Munch, even Cragen had actually left at a decent hour. Elliot was in court all day and she assumed left straight from there for home. It had been two weeks since the last rape but Olivia was certain that he was just biding time. There had been three rapes with the same signature. The M.O. varying only slightly. They were fairly sure that he was a novice but he was getting better. He was learning and the longer it took them to track him down; the tougher it would be to catch him. He was making fewer slip-ups and yet, he wasn't so experienced that he was starting to get cocky. Olivia didn't want it to come to that. She didn't want new victims, new crime scenes to study. She would go over and over every scrap of information they already had until she could piece this puzzle together.
When she rounded the hall back to the squad room, she saw him at his desk. The lamp was off, his head in his hands. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or just thinking.
"Elliot?" Her voice came out slightly raspy from her soda, her throat unaccustomed to the high level of carbonation. She approached their desks and he looked up. She thought she saw a momentary smile flit across his face at the sight of the Pepsi she swore she no longer drank but it disappeared before she could be sure.
"What are you doing here? Thought you would have headed home after court?" She checked her watch. It was now 10:45. "It's almost eleven."
Elliot nodded. "Yeah, just had some stuff to finish up here first."
Olivia pulled out her chair and set down her soda. She settled back into her desk and jiggled her mouse until the ViCAP login screen replaced the screensaver. She quickly entered her username and password before turning back toward Elliot. She'd noticed right away that he didn't have a thing on his desk. "What are you working on?"
Elliot looked up without an answer for her. He was planning on sleeping in the crib and had just stopped by his desk to check his messages for the day. Of course, his messages. "Just wanted to check my messages."
He sounded even more exhausted than he looked and Olivia wondered how much sleep he was actually getting with a baby in the house. She knew that Kathy had gone back to work already, taking a morning shift at the hospital and she imagined that Elliot was doing the bulk of the nightly up and downs with his young son. He seemed to be trying to make up for the time he missed with his older children. His excuse was poor, and Olivia saw right through it but they were both too exhausted for her to push him now and she wasn't really sure she wanted to know.
She'd been through enough mayhem with Elliot in the past few years and lately, things had been better. They were once again sharing meals, grabbing drinks after work and joking around. She'd even felt comfortable enough sharing some very private things with him that seven years ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about but seven months ago, she'd kept from him. She hadn't told him, but it meant a lot to her when he told her that the adoption agency had been wrong to turn her away. She knew that he would never say it if he didn't truly believe it and the look on his face that day, standing in front of the elevator, had only emphasized his hurt for her.
"Liv, you look tired. Why don't you go home?" Elliot wasn't lying, she really did look beat, as they all did, but he had an ulterior motive. He wanted to go to bed but he didn't want her to know that he'd been sleeping in the crib for the past several days. It wasn't that he wanted to keep it from her; he just wasn't sure what it was yet. His personal life had caused way too much friction between them already and the last thing he wanted was for Olivia to think he couldn't hold it together…again.
Elliot wasn't in the mood to press her; to do their normal back and forth about how much she was working and how she wouldn't be of any use if she ran herself down, got sick and was forced to go home. So, he was surprised when without an immediate answer, she logged out of her computer, turned off the screen and grabbed her keys.
"You're right. Unfortunately, I've just downed half of this soda." She waited for him to make a clever remark about her flip-flopping beverage choices but when none came, she continued. "Why don't you come have a drink with me?"
Elliot leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands behind his head and let out a deep sigh. "Sure, Liv." He grinned. "Why not?"
O'Malley's - Tuesday, June 24 - 11:10 p.m.
"So, you been pouring over the Waterfront Rapist stuff?" Elliot leaned back on his stool at the bar, speaking to Olivia but keeping his eyes on the beer in front of him. The bar was busy for a Tuesday night but it was a cop bar and filled with the many unis who had just ended their shifts.
"Mm." Olivia put down her bottle and leaning on her elbow on the worn wood of the bar with her chin resting on the back of her wrist, she answered, "Yeah. I know there is something in those files. Something we're missing." Olivia was determined to know this case backwards and forwards. She was the lead detective on it, and she was in command of her entire squad-- Munch and Fin having been pulled into it as well after the second reported rape.
Elliot sighed, "Liv, we've been over them a hundred times. He's going to do it again and next time…" he took in a deep breath through his nose and turned his shoulders to meet Olivia's gaze. "Next time, he'll slip up. We'll catch him."
"Elliot, I don't want there to be a next time. Three is enough! And that's just the three that we know about." Her voice was raised but mixed with the constant hum in the bar she didn't draw any attention.
"You've been all through ViCAP, Liv. His signature doesn't match any other case out there."
Olivia nodded, "None that have been reported. Come on, El. He's out there raping people who don't matter to the rest of society. Two homeless women…"
"The jogger," Elliot cut her off.
"Fine, the jogger but he could be the doer in any number of attacks on the indigent who are either too scared to report or don't have the state of mind to do so. I just…" Olivia smiled and then took a pull from her beer. "Sorry. Work talk after work isn't exactly a social evening out, is it?"
Elliot laughed and shook his head. "Liv, it's us. It's what we do. Besides, what else would we talk about?"
Olivia looked hurt, he saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes and he quickly added, "Dirty diapers, midnight feedings, unpredictably emotional teenagers…that's what I have to offer and I'm sure you get sick of hearing about it."
He could see the light return to her irises as he smiled, and when she smiled in return, he could feel her warmth reflected in his own eyes.
"Oh, the exciting life you lead." Olivia laughed and clinked her bottle against Elliot's mug. "I've been living and breathing work lately so…"
"Not still mourning the loss of Moss?" Elliot emphasized his rhyme and winked. He knew that was a safe topic and at least it provided a diversion from shoptalk. After he found out about the relationship Olivia had been keeping such a tight secret, she'd been open about the breakup and even admitted to him that her time with Kurt had lasted far longer that it should have, which came as a huge relief to him.
Olivia laughed again. This time, more heartily. "No. Well, it's always nice to have someone around but I do just fine on my own. Besides, I've decided to turn a new leaf...you know, be more optimistic. Law of attraction or...something like that. There's someone else out there for me."
She turned back to her beer and missed the look of admiration that had taken up residence on Elliot's face. He smiled and nodded. There absolutely was someone else out there for her.
Olivia took a deep sigh and finished off her beer. "So, Stabler. Will you stay for one more or should I make my way home?"
Elliot gulped down what was left of his and raised his hand to catch the bartender's attention. He really was exhausted but in the past couple of weeks, he hadn't had much down time with his partner and he missed her. He needed her like a dog needs attention and if the case picked up again soon, who knows when the next time they could just hang out like this would be?
Olivia smiled as the bartender made his way over. "I guess that means you're up for another." That's when Elliot felt her hand resting lightly against his knee and all of his senses immediately went on high alert. "Elliot, if I'm keeping you from being home…I mean, if you think you should head back, it's ok. No worries here."
Elliot shook his head. "No, Liv. I need this. It's nice talking with you outside of the job. Only, promise me, no more shop talk."
"Ok."
"What can I getcha?" The bartender looked at Olivia and she pointed at her bottle.
"I'll take another of these and this one…" she turned to face Elliot. "He'll have a Murphy's."
The bartender headed off to make the pour after sliding another bottle over to Olivia.
"Ugh, Liv. I'm gonna have to sit here for another hour to wait out a buzz from another stout."
Olivia smiled and squeezed his knee with the hand that Elliot had most certainly not forgotten was still resting on the edge of his knee. While it was the most plutonic of touches, someone should really tell his stomach that because it was clinching and his head in turn was spinning; not from the alcohol, but from the heat of her hand sinking through his dress pants and into his skin.
"You'll be home by one." Elliot groaned. "You're gettin' old on me, Stabler."
Benson Residence – Wednesday, June 25 - 12:45 a.m.
Olivia unlocked the door to her apartment and bolted it behind her. She tossed her keys onto the kitchen table, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then headed back to her bedroom. She needed to get some sleep. The beers had helped put her into that foggy state just the sane side of buzzed. She was confident that sleep would come tonight but she could still see fragments of the Waterfront Rapist case file floating across the inside of her lids every time she blinked and held her eyes closed a fraction of a second too long. She'd had a nice time with Elliot and when she glanced at her alarm clock, she was not surprised to see the accusatory red numbers marking the time at 12:45. She was glad that she lived relatively close to the bar and pitied Elliot's drive back to Queens.
She unclipped her badge, cuffs and gun and set them on her nightstand. She then headed toward her bathroom, stripping out of her clothes along the way. She'd learned long ago that on late nights before early mornings, it was best to take a shower in the evening; or in this case, earlier in the morning. That way, she could afford to hit the snooze button two or three times when her body told her it was way too early to be getting out of bed.
She'd forgotten that she'd promised Elliot that she would text him when she made it home. He'd sworn up and down that his request stemmed from his own paranoia and not because she couldn't be trusted to get herself home safely. He insisted that he would never be able to sleep until he knew for sure she was locked in safe and sound and to please, just humor him. He'd even cracked a lame joke about being Sleepless in New York. After the third time he said, " Get it? Only New York, not Seattle , " she stopped staring at him and just started to laugh. So, she was startled when her cell started to ring from the pocket of her jeans that were piled up with her other clothes on the bathroom floor.
"Crap!" Olivia stepped out onto the rug, trying carefully not to slip and break her neck because really, wouldn't that be just the way to finally go? Sprawled out, totally exhausted, halfway to happy, naked on her bathroom floor. She flipped the phone open quickly and with a hurried breath, hoping to catch him before he hung up called out, "El, I'm so sorry. I'm here. Just got in."
"Yeah sounds like. Is that the shower I hear running?" He disguised the sudden flash of desire in his voice with a light chuckle.
"Yeah…ok, so maybe not just got in. You already home?"
Elliot took in a deep breath. "I'm heading into bed now."
"Ok, well, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't wake Kathy. Bye, El."
Elliot pulled open the door to the crib. The room was cool and quiet. "Good night, Liv."
SVU Crib - Wednesday, June 25 - 12:27 a.m.
He ended the call and sat for a moment on the bench in front of their lockers. The last thing he needed in his mind was a mental image of Olivia in the shower. He quickly shook his head and stood up to open his locker. He took off his badge, gun and cuffs from his belt and placed them on the top shelf. He pulled out a clean pair of sweatpants and quickly rid his body of his suit pants in exchange for the more comfortable sweats. He closed his locker and settled into his favorite bunk. He just needed six hours of uninterrupted sleep. He'd called Kathy on his way back to the precinct and told her he was just too exhausted to make the drive. He'd heard the visible strain in her tone but she'd said she would rather him not fall asleep behind the wheel and asked hopefully if she would see him tomorrow. He didn't know but he would certainly try his best. This was his fourth night in the crib.