I've Always Got Your Back
A Benson & Stabler Christmas Story
Olivia Benson walked up to the passenger side of the sedan and tapped on the window so that her partner, Elliot Stabler, would unlock the door and let her in. Once inside, she passed him a cup of steaming coffee.
"Thanks," he said, managing to pry the lid off and take a sip without ever taking his eyes off the building they had under surveillance. He gave an appreciative sigh and leaned back against the seat. "I wish this bastard would make a move." He grumbled. "I promised Kathy I'd be home to help her finish wrapping presents before Midnight Mass."
"Elliot, I told you, I can handle this alone if you need to go," Olivia said softly. It was dusk on Christmas Eve and they'd been watching this brownstone for hours after a tip that the couple they'd been hunting was holed up here together. Their ADA, Casey Novak, didn't feel the information was solid enough to get them a search warrant but she needed them to catch the pair together to make the case. It was a classic example of an older man using his position to take advantage of a young girl. In this instance, the older man was the girl's ice skating coach. Both he and the girl insisted there was no sexual relationship between them. But statements from other girls the "expert" coached led them to believe otherwise. He had a pattern of blackmailing his athletes into performing sexual favors by threatening to deny them an opportunity to try out for the Olympic team. Casey needed Benson and Stabler to catch them in an obviously non-skating related activity to have enough evidence to get a warrant for phone records and a search of the coach's home.
Elliot took his eyes off the brownstone long enough to cast a scathing look in her direction "I'm not leaving you here alone to deal with that jackhole." He growled, and then softened his tone. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer, Liv. But they've got to surface sometime; its dinner time and I doubt Casanova is much of a cook."
Olivia settled into her seat and took the lid off her own cup. "I know how disappointed your kids will be if you don't get home for Christmas Eve."
"Yeah," Elliot gave another long sigh. "Eli is just old enough to understand what's going on and be excited. I can't wait to see him open his presents tomorrow. It's nice to have a kid young enough to believe in Santa again."
Olivia chuckled at the memory of the little boy at the NYPD family holiday party, where Santa had made an appearance and Eli had run up and grabbed him around the knees. "Yeah, he seemed pretty taken with good old St. Nick at the party."
"It's going to be fun getting him to sleep tonight," Elliot laughed. "Now that he thinks he's "met" the real Santa, he wants to stay up and say hi to him. Dick persuaded him that the reindeer are too shy to land at our house if anyone is awake."
"Smart boy," Olivia acknowledged. "He has potential to be a great defense attorney."
"Bite your tongue," Elliot groaned. "That's all I need, to have one of my own kids go over to the dark side."
"So, what did you get Kathy for Christmas?" Olivia asked. Elliot usually dragged her along to help him pick something out for his wife, but this year he hadn't asked for help. She was curious. Either he'd thought of something wonderful on his own, or Kathy was going to have a disappointing Christmas.
Elliot smiled and Olivia's heart melted a little at the way his eyes softened when he talked about his wife. The Stabler's had certainly had their share of rough times, but since their reconciliation and Eli's birth, they'd seemed closer than ever. It gave her hope that there really was such a thing as love that lasted. It certainly hadn't been her experience, but maybe, just maybe, that was about to change.
"We were at the mall last month looking for a pair of earrings for Maureen," Elliot confessed. "And Kathy saw this sapphire necklace that she fell in love with. It was the same blue as her eyes and looked great on her. It was way too expensive and she said she'd never wear it anyway, but I could tell how much she liked it. So I went back and got it the next day. She's going to kill me when she opens it, but she deserves it. I don't know how she's put up with me and this job for so long."
Olivia laughed. "Hey, I have to put up with you too!" She exclaimed, poking him in the shoulder. "Where's my expensive jewelry? I deserve diamonds after working with you all of these years."
Elliot rolled his eyes. "I don't' think Porter would appreciate me buying you expensive Jewelry." He said in a sarcastic tone. "He has enough issues with me."
"Well, maybe if you didn't rag on him every time you saw him." Olivia retorted.
"Yeah, yeah…." Elliot scoffed. "He usually starts it. You two still coming over tomorrow afternoon? I promise I'll be nice."
"We'll be there." Olivia promised. She'd been dating Agent Dean Porter of the FBI for several months now. Since neither of them had family in the area, the Stablers had invited them for Christmas dinner. She was looking forward to a holiday she wouldn't be spending alone. Dean was at her apartment now, preparing a special meal for when she finally got done with this case and home. Although their working relationship had been turbulent over the years, it turned out that they were surprisingly compatible as a couple. Both were married to their jobs and understood when a case took priority over a personal life. As brusque as Dean could be on the job, he was gentle and kind when he took off his badge. She was happier than she'd been in a long time, and while she didn't want to jinx it by hoping for too much, she could see a future for them as a couple.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their thoughts of the coming holiday. Olivia glanced at her watch and sighed. It was almost six, full dark now and there was no sign of the couple emerging from the brownstone. One of the girl's teammates had assured them that Allison would be here at the coach's private residence today. Allison's parents had confirmed that she had left home early that morning, citing a long practice session to make up for the hours that would be missed on Christmas day, but there was no one at the rink. The rest of the group had been given the day off. Mr. & Mrs. Relinkski were more than willing to press charges if the coach was caught with their daughter.
"If only there was some way we could lure them out," Olivia mused out loud. She was as anxious as Elliot to get this behind them and get home. Dean was an amazing cook and had been hinting at a how pleased she was going to be with his gift for her.
"How?" Elliot asked. "Pretend to be Christmas caroling, ring the doorbell and tell them the acoustics are better outside?"
"That can be Plan B," Olivia said, peering out the window at the side of the building. "Hey, isn't that an Alarmtek system logo on the side of the house?"
Elliot followed her line of sight. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Remember when O'Halloran told us about that system? How it monitors everything—fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, home invasions…and tells the people to get out if it's an unsafe situation?"
"I remember…" Elliot was beginning to follow her line of thought. "But how are we doing to trigger it to tell them to exit the building?"
"Let's give Ryan a call, "Olivia said, pulling out her cell phone and punching in his number. "If he's still in the lab, he might be able to do something."
O'Halloran, a perennial workaholic, was indeed in the lab and more than happy to help. He told them he could access the company's online system through a back door (another word for hacking, but none of them were about to quibble over semantics at this point) and trigger a "test" on the alarm system, which would prompt the residents of the house to evacuate immediately.
"Give me about five minutes," he told Olivia over the phone. "You should see them shortly."
Olivia relayed the information to Elliot, who chuckled in appreciation. "Where would we be without our computer geeks?" They both sat forward, watching for signs of action from the narrow building. They knew from earlier reconnaissance that the back entrance led to an alley that connected two buildings, whichever door the couple used, they'd end up in front of the brownstone.
"Here they come," whispered Olivia excitedly. The front door opened and Young rushed out, pulling Allison behind him. Allison was frantically trying to button her blouse as he tugged her down the stairs.
"Whatever message that security system gives, it scared them right out." Said Elliot as he reached for the door handle. "We've got them."
After delivering Allison back to her grateful parents, the two detectives returned to the station to polish off paperwork so they could get to their respective homes. The uniform officers they'd called to the scene had brought Young in for processing, and unfortunately for the disgraced coach, there would be no arraignments until after the holiday. He'd be spending Christmas in the Tombs with the other low lifes.
"Done," said Elliot, as he took his form out of the printer and quickly signed it. He passed it over to Olivia so she could do the same and headed to Cragen's office to leave it on his desk. When he returned, Olivia had her coat on.
"Merry Christmas, El," she said as she turned to hurry out the door. "Have fun with Eli and we'll see you tomorrow for dinner, okay?"
Elliot reached for his own coat. "Did you check your desk drawer?" he asked, a small grin playing across his face.
Olivia turned back reluctantly, anxious to get home to see what Dean had planned. "My drawer?" she asked, confused. "Did I forget something?"
Elliot nodded toward his desk. "Just look in your top drawer, Benson."
Giving him a quizzical look, Olivia slid the drawer open and picked up a small gift bag. She turned to Elliot in surprise. They'd long ago agreed not to exchange presents on birthdays and holidays, and instead had a tradition of treating each other to lunch at a favorite restaurant.
"What is this?" She asked, holding out the tiny gold bag.
"Open it and see," Elliot laughed.
She reached inside the box and pulled out a small velvet box. "It's not a diamond necklace," Elliot cautioned her. Olivia flipped the lid open to reveal a tiny gold pendant. Tipping it, she tried to decipher the scene on the front: an angel with a staff pinning a serpent to the ground.
"It's St. Michael," Elliot explained. "The patron saint of cops, supposed to keep you safe."
Olivia lifted the pendant out of the box. It was small and delicate, just right for the thin gold chain she always wore around her neck. "But, why…" she asked, more than a little confused.
Elliot shrugged. "I saw it in the jewelry store when I was getting Kathy's necklace and I thought of you," he said, looking a little embarrassed at her reaction. "If you don't like it…"
"I love it," said Olivia quickly. "I just didn't expect it. We never give each other gifts."
"Well, don't start to expect it or anything," Elliot laughed.
"I won't." Olivia said and stepped forward to give him a hug. Elliot slipped his arms around her waist and hugged her back.
"Merry Christmas," they both said at the same time, then stepped apart, laughing.
"Thank you for the medal," Olivia said, slipping the small box into her coat pocket.
"He'll keep you safe." Elliot told her. "This way, I've always got your back, even if I'm not around." He threw a companionable arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the door. "Let's get out of here. We've got people waiting for us."