Disclaimer: Law & Order: SVU and all associated characters belong to Dick Wolf and the folks at NBC.
What is that God-awful noise? She groans and reaches for her alarm clock...it can't possibly be 5 a.m. already, but it is. She rolls over in bed, half-expecting the other side to be vacant just as it has been for the majority of the past 10 years. Today, however, there's someone there. At first, she is scared: Who is he? What happened last night? How the hell did I get home? But then she sees his tattoo, a crucifix on the upper part of his left arm, and it all comes flooding back to her...the trip to the bar to celebrate closing a particularly difficult case, being driven home by her handsome, newly single partner, insisting that he come upstairs and sleep on her couch because he really shouldn't be driving, and him...not sleeping on the couch. She finds herself smiling as she throws on her robe and gets up to start a pot of coffee - the kind that is actually drinkable, as opposed to the sludge that will greet them at the precinct. She knows that all hell will break loose if anyone at the precinct, particularly their captain, finds out about the previous night, but, at that moment, she doesn't care. She finally slept with the one man she has been eyeing for the past decade.
She becomes so lost in thought that she doesn't hear her bedroom door opening or him walking down the hall. When he slides his arms around her waist, she instinctively leans her head back to rest on his shoulder, even though she is worried about what the day will bring. He can't hide his happiness, and he smiles as he says, "Good Morning, Livvy."
"Morning, El...we should really talk about last night." She's scared. Not because she feels like she should run, actually it's because she is afraid that he won't want the same things from their relationship that she does. That is, if he even wants there to be a relationship, other than the one they have at work. She wants to do everything she can to make this thing between them work.
Elliot releases Olivia and moves to pour them both a cup of coffee. He already knows where the cups are. When Kathy kicked him out the last time, he spent a couple of weeks sleeping on Olivia's couch until he could find a new, cheap apartment. She smiles at him as he hands her a cup, and they move to sit on her couch.
Elliot begins, "Liv, last night was...amazing."
Olivia smiles as she feels tears begin to well in her eyes, and she says, "Really, I thought so, too, well what I could remember about it anyway. And I...I was so afraid that you would think we made a mistake or that you would never want to see me again. I mean, we can't let the guys at the precinct find out about us, but..."
"Hey now...slow down. Everything is going to okay. We can make this work...well, if you want to that is."
Olivia smiles at him. "Oh El, I do, so much, but you've only been divorced for what, a week. What will your kids think?"
"Livvy, the kids love you, you know that. And, anyway, they don't have to know anything about this side of our relationship until you're ready. As far as they're concerned, you and I are still just partners. And, as far as the divorce only being final for a week, that's only the papers. You and I both know that Kathy and I were separated for over a year, and, emotionally, we hadn't really been there for each other for most of the past ten years."
"Yeah...I guess you're right. I was getting kind of carried away. Wait...ten years...that's how long I've...that's when...you mean..."
"Liv, I already knew when I met you that Kathy and I would probably not make it...I mean, she had kicked me out three times in the past five years, and we had even started the paperwork the last time. Then Lizzie and Dickie came along, and I felt like I had to stick it out, you know, for them. But Livvy, when I saw you walk through those precinct doors, I knew that somehow, someday we would end up like this."
Olivia's face is streaked with tears, and Elliot moves to pull her into a hug. She looks up at him and says the only thing she can think of. "I love you, Elliot."
Elliot is shocked...not so much that she said it, because if you know Olivia for more than ten minutes, you quickly discover that her softer side...unless you're a perp that is. He is more shocked that she said it first. She usually seemed to push men away. It was like she never wanted to let them get too close to her. "I love you, too, Livvy."
Just then the clock on the wall caught Olivia's attention. "Shit, El. It's already six o'clock. We have to be at the precinct in half an hour, and I still have to shower...and you, you still have to go all the way back to your apartment and get ready."
"Don't worry, Liv. You go get in the shower. I think I still have some clothes in the back of my car. We have plenty of time. I'll be here when you get out."
"Okay...see you in a few."
With that, Elliot moves toward the door. Before his hand even touches the handle, he hears Olivia running up behind him. He turns around, wondering what she forgot to tell him. Before he has a chance to ask her, their lips connect. It is their first real kiss. Well, the first sober one anyway.
They pull apart partly because they run out of oxygen and partly because they know if they don't, they will never make it to work on time. "Sorry, El, I couldn't resist. Knowing that we won't be able to do that for the next, who-knows-how-many hours was driving me crazy. I had to get one more in."
"Don't worry, Livvy. There are plenty more where that came from."
"Trust me, El. I wasn't worried." She smiles at him and heads back down the hall to quickly prepare for the day ahead. She realizes that, for the first time in her adult life, she wants this to work out as a real relationship, not just sex. For the first time, she feels truly happy with the direction in which her love life is headed.