Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the delightful prose; the rest belongs to NBC universal and so on.

Note: This is my first story, I usually have to write essays and such…so I think my grammar is pretty sound, I hope you enjoy.

Forgiveness

Elliot felt himself waking up, and he was not pleased. A terrible pain was pulsing its way through his head, and as he turned onto his side he felt an even more unpleasant ache coming from his side. "What the hell happened to me?" he thought, stretching his heavily muscled arms as far as his advancing age, and emerging infirmities would allow. He was prepared for the now familiar aching pain that accompanied his waking hours; it coursed through his body after, years of handling suspects in a less than gentle manner. What he didn't expect however, was the startlingly soft skin that his arm brushed, his eyes shot open, and with his heart pounding beyond the confines of his chest, he looked over at the sleeping form beside him.

His eyes examined her form in pieces, not seeing the whole… glossy, brown locks strewn haphazardly across the pillow, her arms buried underneath it, then the breathtaking expanse of skin that was her back, unbearably smooth and inviting, a subtle dip eventually giving rise to what he was certain was a nearly perfect ass, unfortunately covered by his sheet. " Oh God" he thought, " My sheets", he looked around cautiously, nearly expecting to see Kathy standing at the edge of the bed with a kitchen knife, or even better, his gun.

He scrubbed his hands furiously over his face looking over at his partner, deciding whether it would be too perilous to wake her up , or let her come to the same realizations as him, in her own time. "What did we do?" he whispered desperately into his palms, which were now cupping his face.

Elliot's ears strained for the sounds of the usual cacophony which accompanies a house of so many. He was met with a puzzling silence, until he began to remember. The twins were gone now with Eli visiting cousins for the weekend… if it even still was the weekend. Driven by panic more than anything, Elliot moved hastily to get out of bed when Olivia began to stir.

He froze, a look of alarm etched onto his face, one leg on the floor, the other awkwardly perched on the bed. He'd planned to spare her the indignities of discovering him naked, in his bed watching her lying naked, in his bed. But before reason could will out, she'd turned over onto her back, eyes still closed. He inhaled a shaky breath as his eyes took her in.

The sun's early rays were snaking their way across her body, highlighting the curve of her breasts. He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath, the early morning chill causing her nipples to harden. Before he could consider the consequences, and indeed before he was even aware, he felt himself harden.

The blinding pain that was pounding through his skull was now muted to a dull roar under the sound of the blood rushing through his body, on a desperate path to his groin. In spite of himself or perhaps for self-preservation, he pulled the sheet over her and went to find some clothes before someone interrupted them in a very precarious position.

He stumbled down the stairs, pulling on a frayed t-shirt and some boxers he found on the way. Elliot through back to the night before, the last thing he remembered was going for drinks with some friends in from out of town. They were planning to drink copious amounts of alcohol since he didn't have to worry about surprising his family, drunk at 4 in the morning.

What he didn't understand, was why his house looked like several fraternity brothers had been squatting there. Instead of the general clutter of case files, toys, and the occasional stray sock, the coffee table was littered with endless bottles, and impossibly full ashtrays. His eyes scouted around for a cell, he hadn't found his in the bedroom and didn't want to risk waking Olivia. " Please let it be Sunday, " he chanted as he picked through the disarray that was once his living room.

It wasn't until he ventured into the kitchen that he was able to breathe again. There on the kitchen table were his and Olivia's guns, badges, and phones. He checked the date, the kids wouldn't be back until tomorrow and Kathy would be 2 days later than that, he sighed heavily and slumped into a chair. Bits and pieces from the night began to seep in, and as he look around the events came back to him.

Fin and Munch had come to the bar for drinks as well…and then Liv came later, but they were fighting…..he couldn't remember about what. He remembered that he'd nonchalantly told Liv about their plans when she's asked. " It's just going to be the guys, some old friends nothing too serious….but feel free to stop by if you're not too busy Benson", he'd said," I know you're always having those priceless dating adventures." She'd narrowed her eyes then and told Fin and Munch she'd see them there.

All the stress was getting to him he supposed, and he took it out on Liv as was his usual fashion. Elliot remembered very little after that. Olivia came later as she promised, but they didn't speak the whole night, only anxious looks when the other wasn't looking, and glares when they were. They must have all had too much to drink, and ended up back at his place… "But how did the guys let us take it this far?"He thought. They'd always fought the attraction and never let it grow into anything tangible, just stolen moments or intense glances that often left them both breathless. But, never this…never while he was married, and never in the bed he shared with his wife. Something else had to have happened, and as soon as Olivia was up they'd figure it out together. "After all," he thought, "we are partners".

He sighed loudly, eased himself out of the chair and made his way upstairs to Olivia. She was fully awake by the time he got there. He peeked through the slightly open door, catching her just as she was fastening the last few buttons on her blouse, he watched the lacy cups of her blue bra disappear behind her form fitting blouse.

Her hands stilled when she saw him, and she looked up, her lower lip trapped between her teeth. She dropped her hands to her sides and shook her head. "Elliot….I" he cut her off, raising his hand as if to say stop. Elliot took tentative steps toward Olivia until he was close enough to reach out a shaky hand and touch her. Perhaps it was the heat that had suddenly enveloped the room, or the slight tremble in her lithe form, but he couldn't stop himself from getting closer to her.

He reached out to her, threading his fingers through her silky hair and pulled her slowly toward him. She made no move to stop him; her eyes were focused on his lips, darting frantically between them and his eyes. He ended their torture when he closed the distance between them, touching his lips softly to hers. He'd planned to wake her up, and figure a way out of this mess, but his plans failed miserably when he saw her, smelled her. As their mouths opened for one another, the kiss deepened and Elliot was walking her toward the bed. Then Elliot was on top of her, kissing her, and whispering her name over and over,

Next Chapter: hands will be laid, this is rated M for a reason.