Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not my own but are the property of Wolf Productions and NBC.
Rated: G
Summery: A short scene between Elliot and Olivia. My first shot at SVU fanfiction so feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
---The Sound of His footsteps---
She stared at the clock across the room. She didn't know how long she'd been staring at it but no matter how long, she just couldn't seem to focus on the numbers. Three minutes. Three more minutes and she could go home. Away from this desk, this office, the interrogation room, the horrific crimes. Every day she waited for this time as though walking out the door would somehow make the memories go away and there were often times that she'd found a way to forget... But not today. Today, she knew that she would take them home with her.
Her eyes slowly pulled away from the, once again, unfocused numbers. They traveled first across her desk taking in every picture, every paper she had yet to fill out but could wait until tomorrow, and every paper clip. Nothing seemed to go unnoticed today. And then her eyes traveled to the desk in front of her own. It was cluttered with more pictures than hers but less paper work. Through the days trials, he'd somehow managed to stay focused and he'd gotten far more done. She wondered how he'd done it. She wondered how he did it every day. And yet, she knew that not every day was always this hard and that's what made them a great team. Whenever she was having a bad day, he was her strength and whenever he was having a bad day, she was his.
She offered a glance down at the paper she'd been in the middle of writing up and she set about continuing but the silence in the room was broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. She didn't have to look up to know that it was him. Working together for seven years, she'd come to know him better than anyone ever could, even the sound of his footsteps.
She glanced up at him for only a moment, afraid that somehow her eyes might give away her momentary vulnerability and in that short instant she read in his own, the concern he surely felt at her noticeable distance from him. She hadn't spoke much at the crime scene that morning, on the ride back, or at the precinct and thankfully, he'd somehow known enough to leave her alone within herself. Sometimes she just needed the time to sort it all out on her own... but she wasn't so sure that she wanted to sort it out alone today.
Through her peripheral vision, she followed his movement as he crossed the room to grab a cup of coffee. She'd never admit it, but lately just by entering the room, he seemed to captivate her. Six foot with piercing blue eyes, she wondered why she'd never noticed it all before. She had in fact noticed, but not like this. This felt different.
He sat down at his desk now and began to straighten the few papers laying disorderly across it. He was just grasping for something to do, anything to do, to avoid the awkward silence and she was grateful for it. Kathy must be crazy, she thought inwardly at the fact that it had now been over a year since his wife had left him taking the kids with her. It had been a long struggle back for her partner and she'd been there as best as she could but it had been something he'd had to come to terms with on his own. It was only recently that he'd finally returned to the Elliot Stabler she'd always known.
She realized now that he'd finished stacking his papers as her eyes met his. She wondered how long she'd been staring at him and how long he'd known about it but she never shifted her eyes away from his.
" You all right, Liv?" He finally broke the silence. His voice seemed to echo across the room as they were the only two left at their desks now. She wondered momentarily what time it was and how long they'd been sitting there and why he hadn't left already but she knew that she really didn't care to know the answers. Home meant alone and that was something she didn't want to think about right now.
"I'm fine, El," she replied, her voice barely above a quiet whisper. She could hear the lie in her own words, she was sure that he could too.
"Looks like we're both working late tonight," he offered simply but she knew that he really didn't have anything on his desk that couldn't wait until tomorrow. He was doing it for her and she wondered how he knew exactly what she needed. Not words, not comfort, just him being there.
"Coffee?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yeah... thanks." The smile he offered her told her that he knew the thank you wasn't for the coffee.
She turned her eyes back on the paper in front of her as he stood to get her coffee. And she listening again to the sound of his footsteps...
Kate Taylor
January, 2005