Disclaimer: Yeah, I wish.
Author's Notes: This has been posted in other places before, but it may be new to some of you. Comments & criticism are more than appreciated.
- - -
"Hey," Olivia says, setting down her phone when her partner walks into the squad room. "I was just about to call you. I thought you already left."
Elliot shakes his head, taking off his coat. "I had a couple errands to run, but I figured I'd come back and take care of some paperwork. What'd you need?"
"We're going to O'Malley's and I wanted to see if you'd come along." She sees his hesitation and quickly adds, "It's wing night. Come on, El. I'll even buy you a beer."
"Who's 'we'?" he asks, looking down at his desk and pretending to move some papers around while he waits for her answer.
"Me and Ethan," she says. "I was going to call Casey, too." She waits for his answer, knowing that he's certainly not Ethan's biggest fan. But whether Elliot likes it or not, things have become serious between them and she wants her best friend to at least be able to be in the same room as her boyfriend. She knows that if she ever said those words out loud, he'd make an effort, but she's never been one to be that open, even with Elliot. He always just knows. "Please come?"
He looks up at her after a moment and watches her face. She rarely asks him for anything, let alone something that is so obviously a personal favor. He wants to say no, to tell her that he can't stand Ethan and his I'm-better-than-you attitude and that he'd rather stay here and do paperwork for the rest of his life than spend a couple of hours with him in a crowded bar. But...
"Okay," he finally says, rubbing his hand over his face. "I don't know how long I'll stay, though. I promised Dickie we'd play basketball tomorrow morning, so I don't want to be out too late."
"Good," she says, smiling. "You want to call Casey? I need to go upstairs and change."
He nods, picking up his phone and dialing Casey's cell phone number as he watches his partner walk up the stairs to the crib. He's distracted and Casey has to say his name three times before he finally responds.
He wishes he could just tell her.
- - -
Ethan Kelly is everything any woman would ever want in a boyfriend. Elliot knows this. He's handsome in that not-so-threatening type of way, so that he's attractive, but not so attractive that Olivia has to worry that women will be falling all over him everywhere they go. He's a lawyer, so he makes a decent living, and he's in corporate law and does enough pro-bono work on the side that Olivia forgets that she generally dislikes lawyers. He's funny and smart and nice and he calls when he says he's going to. He's disappointed enough when Olivia cancels dates for work that she feels wanted, but he never makes her feel guilty about it. And as much as he hates to think about it, he overheard Olivia telling Casey that he's probably the best she's ever had.
Needless to say, Elliot has the frequent urge to punch him when he sees him.
"Hey Elliot. It's good to see you," Ethan says, so sincere that Elliot finds himself wanting to roll his eyes. He simply nods in response, sliding into the booth next to Casey.
"Be nice," Casey whispers, leaning close to him. He raises an eyebrow in her direction as if to say, I didn't punch him, did I? What more do you want?
"How was work?" Ethan asks, kissing Olivia on the cheek.
"It was pretty slow today," she tells him, reaching for his beer and taking a sip. "How'd your big meeting go?"
Elliot tunes them both out as Ethan fills her in on some big merger his firm just completed. He turns to Casey and leans close, whispering so no one else can hear her. "Why the hell did you set them up? Did you really have to do that?"
Casey raises an eyebrow at him, then turns to Olivia and Ethan. "Elliot and I are going to go up to the bar and get something to eat. What do you want us to order for you?"
"Medium wings and some fries," Ethan says, then quickly adds, "and a burger because otherwise Liv will just eat the entire order of wings by herself."
Olivia hits him playfully in the chest, laughing. "It's not my fault you eat slow."
"Anything else?" Casey asks, noticing the look of disgust on Elliot's face. They both shake their heads and Elliot, relieved, heads off towards the bar with Casey following close behind. She grabs his arm and stops him, waiting until he faces her before asking, "What the hell is with you?"
"Nothing," Elliot says, shrugging, then finally says, "Nobody is that perfect, and Olivia does not ever act like that. I don't know who she is and what she's done with my partner, but that's not her."
"She's happy, Elliot," Casey says, looking more than a little pissed off. "You're one of my closest friends, but right now you're being an asshole. Ethan's a good guy and she's finally found somebody who understands her job and doesn't run away when he finds out all of her relationship issues. I know you're going through a shitty time right now and you have been for a while, but don't ruin this for Olivia by being a jackass. She's allowed to be happy, even if you aren't."
"I want her to be happy. I just don't think he's the right guy for her," Elliot says defensively. He looks back over at the booth where Olivia is laughing at something Ethan has said. "I don't know, Case. I've seen Olivia happy before and she didn't act like this. I just think-"
"Elliot, you haven't seen her happy. You may have thought you did, but you didn't. She's been alone and battling her demons for as long as you've known her and she's finally starting to let go and actually trust someone."
"She trusts me," Elliot insists, thinking of all the times Olivia has told him things she hasn't told anyone else and put her life in his hands.
"It's not the same. She's not in love with you," Casey says, and he can tell by the look on her face that she knows it isn't exactly the truth. He looks back over the table again and suddenly Casey grabs his arm. "I knew it! You don't hate him, you're jealous of him!" He reddens slightly and she shakes her head. "If you have feelings for her, you need to tell her. Soon. Things are getting serious between them and she needs to know about this. You owe it to both of you to tell her the truth."
He looks down at the floor, then back up at Casey, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "What if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"That's a chance you need to take," she says firmly, looking him right in the eye. "But for what it's worth, I think she does."
- - -
Casey drains the rest of her beer, then sets it down on the table. "Liv, do you know where the bathrooms are in here?"
"Yeah. Actually, I'll go with you," she says, getting up. "Another beer or two and I won't be able to make it across the bar, so I better go now while I can still walk," she jokes.
"Could you get me another Sam Adams while you're up?" Ethan asks, looking up at her.
"Sure. You need anything, El?" Olivia asks.
"No thanks. I'm all set," he says, not looking at her. She stands there for a moment, watching him, then turns to walk toward the bathrooms with Casey. He wonders what she's thinking, or what Casey will tell her now that they're alone. Aren't women on TV shows always swapping secrets on their group trips to the bathroom?
Hey, Liv. Guess what Elliot just told me...
"Elliot?" Ethan's voice finally cuts through his thoughts, and he can tell by the way he says his name that he's said it more than once.
"Sorry," Elliot says, looking up at him. "It's been a long day."
"I know what you mean," Ethan says with a smile.
No you don't, asshole. I spent all day chasing after rapists and pedophiles while you sat in your corner office talking about mergers and 401Ks. Don't try acting like we're in the same boat here.
"I bet," Elliot says, and Ethan doesn't pick up on his sarcasm.
"I, uh...I have a question for you. Well, it's more... I guess I just need to talk to you about something," Ethan says, suddenly looking nervous. "I figure that while Olivia and Casey are gone is the best time to do this, since I never see you alone."
"Yeah?" Elliot says, taking a sip of his beer and waiting impatiently.
He should have taken off while he still could. There's no telling how long Casey and Olivia might spend talking about what he had said earlier.
"I know I'm not your favorite person," he says, looking Elliot right in the eye. "But I love Olivia and I'm planning to ask her to marry me. It'd be great if you'd support her decision if she says yes."
Elliot's had the wind knocked out of him several times, but as he sits in the crowded bar trying to remember how to breathe, he realizes that the feeling has never before been caused by words.
- - -
TBC