Pairing: Olivia/Melinda
"We're Just BFFs"
Olivia and Melinda have been best friends since college. Olivia had dropped out her junior year to become a cop and Melinda went on to medical school. She initially wanted to be a brain surgeon but decided on becoming a Medical Examiner. It's been a total of fifteen years her and Olivia have been friends and Melinda had started developing feelings for Olivia five years ago. As a matter of fact, she was in love with Olivia but too afraid to admit it to herself.
"So, Liv, you wanna go out for a drink with the guys tonight?" Elliot asked her.
"Sorry…I've gotta pass but some other time, El"
"C'mon Liv, what else you got to do on a Thursday night?" he asked.
"Damn dude, how long you and Liv have been partners?" Fin asked as he stood up and walked over to Elliot's desk. "It's Thursday."
"Okay and…" says Elliot with a confused look on hi s face.
"Do I have to explain everything to you? You're not a very good Detective."
"Fin, what the heck are you talking about?"
"It's Thursday, right? And every Thursday night, Liv and Melinda have a girls night together" Fin tells him.
Elliot looks over at Olivia. "I didn't know that" he says.
"Told you, you weren't a very good Detective" Fin says. "C'mon grab your coat, lets go get a couple of beers"
Elliot, Fin and Munch put on the coats. "See ya tomorrow baby girl" Fin says to Olivia.
"Bye guys" Olivia says as she waves.
Fifteen minutes later Olivia put on her jacket and left the precinct. On her way home she stopped by the store and purchased two bottles of wine. Exactly at 7:30pm her doorbell rang. She knew it was Melinda, who was always on time and never late.
"Come in" she yelled from the kitchen.
"Liv, it's locked" says Melinda.
"Use your key, my hands are full"
Melinda opened the door to the apartment with the spare key Olivia gave her. "I've got Chinese" Melinda tells Olivia, as she entered the kitchen. "So, what are we watching tonight?"
"I Can't Think Straight" replied Olivia.
"What's wrong?" Melinda asked her.
"No, Mel…" Olivia says laughing. "I Can't Think Straight is the name of the movie"
"Oh" Melinda said, as she took two plates for the cabinet. "I never heard of it before. So, who's in it?"
"I'm not sure. Casey let me borrow it, she said, it's a good movie" Olivia said, as she poured the wine into the glasses. She then went into the living room and inserted the dvd and flopped down on the couch. "C'mon Mel, it's about to start."
Melinda walked into the living room, she hands Olivia her plate and then sat next to Olivia on the couch. "Is this an Indie Film?" she asked Olivia.
"Umm, I'm not sure but it looks like it"
They ate Chinese and began to watch the movie. "She has pretty eyes?"
"Which one?" Melinda asked Olivia.
"Tala"
"She does… but not as pretty as yours" Melinda tells Olivia. She then gets up, walks into the kitchen and placed the dishes in the sink. She grabbed the bottle of wine from the refrigerator. "More wine?"
"Sure" Olivia said, holding up her glass.
Melinda poured herself another glass of wine and then… "Umm, Liv…what kind of of movie did Casey say it was?"
"She didn't. She just said, it was a good movie and we'd like it"
"Doesn't seem like they have a lot of chemistry, to have just met? I mean, it's almost as if they are…Oh, God, they're dirty dancing with each other and kissing. Now, they're on the bed…Liv…"
Olivia sits there laughing at how embarrassed Melinda is acting. "What's so funny?" Melinda asked.
"I'm laughing because I've never seen you this embarrassed. C'mon Mel, we watch Grey's together and Callie and Arizona kiss all the time."
"Yeah, well, they don't do that" Melinda said pointing at the TV screen.
"Yeah…they don't do that, do they?"
"Liv" Melinda playfully gives her a nudge.
"Mel, it's just a movie, right?"
"I guess" Melinda said. She then poured herself another glass of wine.
"Hey, slow down…you're on your third glass"
"Don't worry Liv, I can handle my liquor" Melinda tells her.
By the time the movie ended the two bottles of wine were gone, thanks to Melinda, who had gotten tipsy and fallen asleep in Olivia's lap. Olivia picked up the remote and turned off the TV and dvd player. She didn't want to wake Melinda who was sleeping so peacefully. So she just sat there and eventually drifted off to sleep.
About an hour later Melinda began to awake causing Olivia to awaken. "Hey, sleepy head"
"I'm sorry, how long was I asleep" Melinda had asked her.
"About two hours" Olivia replied.
Melinda checks the time on her watch. "Damn, it's almost midnight, I've gotta go."
Olivia walked Melinda to the door. "Same time next week" Olivia says.
"Yep same time but at my place next week" Melinda replied and then gave Olivia a kiss on the cheek before exiting the apartment.
The next day A.D.A. Novak went down to the M.E. office. She needed to tell Melinda, she's been subpoena to be a witness for the State. "Hey Mel"
"Casey, how are?"
"Good. I need you on the stand next Tuesday" Casey tells her.
"Okay" Melinda agreed.
"Liv and I watched that movie you recommended"
"Did you like it?" asked Casey.
"Casey, it was a movie about two lesbians"
"Okay, but did you like it?"
"I fell asleep halfway through the movie"
"Oh, too bad… It's a pretty good movie" Casey tells her.
Melinda received a phone call and Casey left. For the rest of the day, Melinda tried to concentrate on work but her mind kept flashing back to that one scene of the movie, when Tala and Layla made love. She closed her eyes and imagined her and Olivia making love. A few minutes later a knock at the door broke her thoughts of Olivia. "Come in" she told the person.
"Hey Mel, what's going on?"
"Hey Fin. What brings you down here?"
"Oh, nothing…Well, I wanted to know, if you'd like to go to get a bite to eat tonight and maybe watch a movie afterwards?" Fin nervously asked her.
"Detective Tutuola, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Well, yeah, if you'd accept"
"Fin, I'm flattered you'd ask me out… but, I'm not into dating anyone at the moment."
"Oh, I see" he says. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure?"
"Are you and Liv…you know"
"Are we what?" Melinda asked.
"Are you two together…you know, girlfriend and girlfriend" Fin asked her.
"Yes, we are girlfriends. We're BFFs"
"No, that's not what I'm talking about"
"Then what are you talking about?" asked Melinda.
Fin clarifies for her. "Are you two lesbians? Because if you were…I mean… it wouldn't matter."
"Fin, just because I rejected your invitation to dinner doesn't mean I'm a lesbian. Liv and I, we're just BFFs, that's all" Melinda reassures him.
"I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that, you two spend a lot of time together and neither one of you have a man in your life. Well, if you change your mind about tonight, give me a call" Fin says and then leaves.
Melinda takes a seat in the chair. "BFFs…BFFs… you could have come up with something better than that" she says to herself.
Melinda's curiosity got the best of her and the next day, she went to the store and rented the lesbian drama series, the L Word. While at the check-out counter she hears someone calling her name. She turned around to see Casey.
"Holy shit" she says.
Casey walks up to her, "Hey, I'm surprised to see you here. So what movies are you getting?" Casey asked as she leaned over Melinda's shoulder to see, The L Word box series on the counter.
"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it" Casey says smiling. "So you and Liv have been holding out on me, huh?"
"There's no me and Liv. Besides, she doesn't know I'm here and I'd like to keep it that way" Melinda says to Casey.
"So, you mean to tell me, you and Liv are not an item?"
"Nope"
"Not at all" says Casey.
"Not at all" Melinda says shaking her head.
"Damn, I'm slipping" Casey says scratching her head. "But, I see the way you look at her and if I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were in love with her." Melinda doesn't say a word she just stands there. "Oh, my God…You are in love with her and she doesn't know."
"Casey, you don't know what you're talking about"
"You've gotta tell Liv. Tell her how you feel"
"No" Melinda says.
"So, you are in love with her"
"Case, don't say anything to Liv. It would only make things worse, besides, she's my best friend and I don't want to lose her."
"Okay, okay. She won't hear anything from me and I mean, nada" Casey tells her.
"Thanks" replied Melinda. She paid for the dvds and left the store. She went home, put some left over spaghetti in the microwave and popped the dvd in. After watching the first two episodes of the L Word, she was hooked; she couldn't pry herself away from the TV. "Oh my, Bette is something else" she thought to herself. In a way, Bette reminded her of Olivia; strong and confidant. After watching a few episodes Melinda had to take a cold shower. That night while lying in bed, she decided to tell Olivia how she felt.
The next day Melinda called Olivia's cell. "Hey Mel, what's up?"
"I was wondering if you want to come over tonight for a few drinks." Melinda said.
"Umm… not tonight. I promised the guys I'd go have a couple of drinks with them tonight"
"Oh" Melinda said, disappointedly.
"Hey, why don't you come along?"
"Are you sure?"
"Heck yeah, I'm sure" Olivia tells her.
"Okay… time and location" Melinda wanted to know.
"Charley's Bar at 7pm" Olivia tells her.
"I'll see you there" Melinda tells her before ending the call.
Around 7pm that night Melinda entered Charley's Bar. "Damn!" Fin says, as he notices Melinda.
"Is that Mel?" Munch asked.
Olivia eyes widen when she saw Melinda. She couldn't believe the woman she's known for fifteen years was the same woman that walked in the door. "Mel, you look gorgeous" she says.
"Thanks Liv" Melinda replied.
"Yeah Mel, you look great tonight. You got a hot date later?" Elliot asked her.
"No… I wear scrubs all day, so I wanted to look and feel like a lady tonight" she tells Elliot.
"Hey guys" Casey said, as she walked up to the table. "I see the gang is here" she said, as she sat down next to Melinda. "You look great Mel"
"Thanks"
Casey leans over and whispers, "Trying to impress Liv, huh. Well it's working…her eyes are glued to your breast."
"Case, be quiet before she hears you" Melinda whispered back.
"Okay, just kidding" Casey tells her.
The waiter comes over to take their order. Elliot ordered three pitchers of beer for the gang and two glasses of wine for Melinda. Everything was going great as they all went down memory lane with each other. All of a sudden everyone hears Olivia name being called from across the room. A lady walks over to the table.
"My God, it is you…Olivia Benson"
"Sam" Olivia said with a surprised look on her face. Samantha Brinkley stood 5'9" tall; she was a beautiful blonde with emerald green eyes. During Olivia's freshmen year in college she had a six month relationship with Samantha. This was before she met Melinda and she never told Melinda she'd been with a woman.
"Come here, give me a hug" she said with her arms out. Olivia got up and hugged Samantha. She then introduced Samantha to the gang.
"Have a seat" Munch said, as he pulled up a chair for the table next to them.
"I didn't know you were living in New York" Olivia says.
"I just moved here a month ago from Louisville. I wanted to start over, my partner and I just recently separated after five years together and I wanted to get away. Being in the same city with her was too hard for me" Samantha tells her.
"Partner…so you're a lesbian" Munch says.
"That's what they call it these days" Samantha replied.
"Damn and I thought I had a chance" Fin says.
"So how do you know Liv?" Casey asked.
"We went to college together" she tells Casey.
This really confused Melinda because she thought she knew all of Olivia's friends. "Funny, I don't remember seeing you in college."
"I dropped out after my freshmen year and went back home to Louisville."
"Oh" says Melinda.
For the rest of the night Olivia's attention went to Samantha. They were talking and laughing together and it seemed like Olivia was really enjoying herself. Melinda noticed Samantha was being very flirtatious with Olivia. Melinda got up from the table and went to the ladies room and a few minutes later, she heard Olivia's voice in the bathroom.
""So, which one are you with… the red-head or the black chick?" Samantha asked Olivia.
"I'm not with anyone" Olivia tells her.
"Are you sure, you're not with the black chick? She's been looking at you all night."
"Listen… stop calling her the black chick. Her name is Melinda and she's my best friend" Olivia tells her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you" Samantha tells her, as she closes in the gap between her and Olivia. "It's been a long time, Olivia."
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like" Samantha says, and then she leans in and kisses Olivia. Meanwhile, Melinda is watching the whole thing. Olivia welcomes the kiss by deepening it. Samantha broke the kiss, "Lets go to your place" she says to Olivia.
"I don't think that's a good idea" Olivia tells her.
"Okay, lets go to mine"
"That wouldn't be a good idea either" says Olivia.
"Okay, I get it… but, can I see you again"
"Sure" Olivia responded.
Samantha kisses Olivia again and then leaves the Bar. Olivia returned to the table where the gang were sitting. "Where's Mel?" Casey asked.
"I'm not sure" says Olivia.
Casey gets up to search for Melinda. She finds her in the ladies room. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah…I'm alright"
"If you're okay, why are your eyes filled up with tears? It's Liv, isn't it?"
"I saw her kissing Sam" Mel says.
"What? No…"
"Yeah… Apparently they had something going on in college"
"And Liv never mentioned it to you?" asked Casey.
"No, she didn't."
"Okay, dry those tears of yours" Casey says. "Never let them see you cry" she whispered to Melinda.
A few seconds later, they went back to the table. "Hey where's Olivia?" Melinda asked.
"Sam came back because she left her cell phone. Liv walked her home" Munch says.
Melinda sat back down with Casey and they continued to have a couple of drinks. All Melinda could think about was Olivia kissing Samantha.
A few days had passed and Melinda hadn't called Olivia. She was still upset about the kiss and wanted to get her mind off Olivia. Melinda's cell phone rings. She knows it's Olivia from the distinct ring tone.
"Hello"
"Hey Mel, what's going on?"
"Nothing much"
"I haven't heard from you lately and we usually talk twice a day" Olivia says.
"Yeah, well…things change"
"Are you sure, you're okay?"
"Yeah I'm good. I have a victim on my table, so I gotta go"
"Okay…we're still on for tonight?"
"Sure, you still want to"
"Of course, Mel… We've been doing Thursday nights for six years now"
Around 7pm, Melinda rang Olivia's door bell. There wasn't an answer so Melinda used the key Olivia gave her to enter the apartment. She saw Olivia sitting on the couch.
"Hey, you didn't hear the doorbell?"
"Sorry, I had the music up loud. I was watching a video on VH1" she tells Melinda.
"So, what is it, tonight?" Melinda asked.
"I thought we'd watch, Imitation of Life…your favorite"
"Aww, thanks Liv. You can be so sweet at times" Melinda says as she sits next to Olivia. "Is that popcorn I smell?"
"Sure is" a female voice came from the kitchen.
Melinda looks at Olivia. "Who's that?"
"Sam" Olivia answered.
"Sam" a shocked Melinda echoed.
"Yes" Samantha said, as she entered the living room with two big bowls of popcorn. "One bowl for one" she said, giving it to Melinda "and one for us" she said to Olivia.
All of a sudden, Melinda didn't feel up to it. She felt sick to her stomach and didn't want to stay to watch the movie. "Liv, I'm going to go. I really don't feel well" she says.
"But it's your favorite movie" Olivia says.
"Sorry, I've gotta go. I'll see you later" Melinda says and exits the apartment.
"Wait… hold on Mel" Olivia says running after her and catches up with Melinda by the elevator. "What's going on? Talk to me"
"It's nothing"
"If it's nothing, why are you upset?"
"Do you really want to know why I'm upset?" Melinda says.
"Yes, tell me"
"Okay" Melinda says, and turns to face Olivia. "Thursday nights are our nights together. For six years we've spent every Thursday night together and now you've let Samantha in on something I though was special…just between the two of us."
"I'm sorry, Mel. I should have told you she was going to be here"
"Liv, can I ask you something?"
"Sure"
"If it's too personal, you don't have to answer" says Melinda.
Olivia took Melinda's hand in hers. "Mel, you can ask me anything."
"Melinda sighs. "Okay, did you slee…." was all Melinda could get out before being interrupt by Samantha.
"Olivia, are you coming back in?" Samantha asked. Olivia and Melinda was unaware Samantha had been in the hallway listening to their conversation.
"Umm, yeah…give me a minute, will you" Olivia tells her.
"No, no…just go" Melinda says as the elevator doors opened.
Olivia watched as Melinda got in the elevator. She then reluctantly went back to her apartment to finish watching the movie with Samantha. She couldn't get her mind off Melinda. She's watched this movie twenty-five times and never without Melinda. Watching Imitation of Life without Melinda was like having chocolate milk without the chocolate.
"Hey Liv, what's going on?" Samantha asked her.
"Nothing"
"So, why do I get the feeling you're not in the mood to watch the movie anymore. It's her, isn't it?"
"Who?"
"Melinda" says Samantha. "She's the reason you turned me down the other night, isn't she?"
"Sam…Mel and I are just best friends"
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Samantha said to Olivia.
"What?"
"Liv, you two are more than best friends. I overheard you guys by the elevator. She's in love with you. The question is, do you love her?"
"You don't know what you're talking about" Olivia says. "I've got an early morning tomorrow, so….."
"I can take a hint" Samantha says as she gets up and puts on her jacket. "See you later."
"Okay" Olivia says.
The next day Melinda's mind started playing tricks on her. "Am I jealous of Samantha" she thought to herself. She decided to overcome her fears and tell Olivia how she feels about her. Melinda left the office and headed straight for the precinct.
"Hey Liv" she says.
"Hey Mel" Olivia replied.
"Hi Melinda" Samantha said, as she sat down beside Olivia's desk, returning from the bathroom.
"Oh…hey, Sam" Melinda said disappointedly.
"What brings you by?" Olivia asked Melinda.
"Umm, I wanted to know if you'd like to go to lunch…with me."
"That's great" Samantha says. "I'm here to take Olivia to lunch and now we can all go to lunch together."
Olivia saw the disappointed look on Melinda's face. "Never mind" Melinda says.
"Okay…I see someone's not in a good mood" Samantha says sarcastically.
Melinda sighs and rolls her eyes. "Liv, I'll see you later" she says as she headed out of the office and then stops for a few seconds. Melinda turns around and walks over to Olivia's desk. "I want to know, what the hell is going on between you two?"
Olivia looked up at Melinda in shock. "What do you mean?" she asked Melinda.
"You know what I mean. I want to know if you're sleeping with her?" Melinda asked.
"Umm, I think that's none of your business" Samantha says to Melinda. "Besides, you guys are just friends, right."
Melinda looks over at Samantha. "Shut up, I'm not talking to you" she tells Samantha. She then looks back at Olivia. "You know what, don't answer that. I'm outta here." Melinda immediately left the precinct.
Olivia looks over at Samantha. "You're not going to run after her?" Samantha said, sarcastically.
"Why did you do that?" Olivia asked.
"Do what?" asked Samantha.
"You made it seem like, we're sleeping together"
""So what…she's jealous" says Samantha.
"Look…since we ran into each other at Charley's that night, Melinda has become distance and it's all because of you. Just leave, okay" Olivia said angrily.
"Whatever" says Samantha. She gets up and leaves the precinct.
Around 7:30pm that night Olivia left the precinct. She decided to go by Melinda's to get everything out in the open. Melinda hears a knock at the door; she opens it to see Olivia standing there with a box of chocolate candy.
"If you think my favorite box of chocolates is going to do the trick, you're wrong" Melinda says. Olivia then poked her bottom lip out and gave Melinda the saddest look. "Okay, you can come in" Melinda says, then stepped aside letting Olivia in the apartment.
As soon as Melinda closed the door, Olivia pushed her against the door and began kissing Melinda, who deepens the kiss. They passionately kissed one another for about two minutes before Melinda broke the kiss.
"What are you doing?" she asked Olivia.
"Umm, kissing you"
"Yeah…but why?"
"Mel, I'm in love with you and I know you're in love with me"
"Did you sleep with Sam?"
"No" says Olivia. "It's you I want and love"
"Really"
"Really" says Olivia. "I've known for a long time that I was in love with you. It's just…I didn't want to act out on my feelings because I didn't know how you were going to take it and I didn't want to lose you."
Melinda took Olivia by the hand and led her to the couch. "Liv, for the past five years I've tried to fight my feeling for you. When Samantha came along, I thought I was going to lose you. I mean, she's tall and beautiful and I thought maybe I wasn't attractive enough for you."
"Mel…Sam, isn't my type. You are" Olivia then cupped Melinda's face. "You love me?" she asked Melinda.
"Not only do I love you, I'm in love with you"
"I'm in love with you too" Olivia says as she leans forward and kisses Melinda. Olivia breaks the kiss. "By the way…the guys heard you today, when you confronted me about Samantha."
"Oh God no" Melinda says. "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. Fin told me to tell you, if he had to lose you to someone he'd rather it be me than some guy" Olivia tells her.
Olivia looks toward the TV and see the L Word box sitting next to the dvd player. "The L Word" she says looking at Melinda.
"Oh, yeah…I need to take that back to the store" Melinda tells her.
"So did you like it?"
"Yep" says Melinda. "I really liked Bette; and I liked Tasha too. They're both cute."
"Cute, huh"
"Well" Melinda says as she throws her arms around Olivia. "You're cuter and smarter and sexier than any woman I know."
"Good answer" Olivia says and kisses Melinda.