A/N: Hey, everyone! As the title says, this story came to be thanks to a challenge. After my last one-shot, Bad Blood (which you should totally check out and review if you haven't), The Congressman challenged me to write out an Elliot/Olivia get together before the episode, "Fault". So, naturally, I had to write at least five. And so "The Challenge" was born! I'll be posting one-shots about Elliot/Olivia get togethers seasons seven and earlier.

As the title of this chapter says, this chapter's episode of choice is "Doubt", where we first learn that Elliot and Kathy split. Takes place in Season 6.

To say that there was a lot on Elliot Stabler's mind was an understatement. He'd been torn from the bed in his family's empty home (not that he could sleep, anyway) to a rape case early in the morning, which turned into a he-said-she-said, the type of case that he hated the most. Not only did he and his partner, Olivia Benson, have to gather evidence and support the victim, they also had to figure out who was lying. Most of the time it was the alleged rapist, true, but this time… he wasn't so sure. It was starting to put strain on his partnership, something that, on top of everything else, he really didn't need. He felt like screaming.

"To hide the fact that Detective Stabler sexually harassed my client."

Wait, what was that?

"Excuse me?"

Of course Lorna Scarry would be the one to accuse him of sexual harassment. He really shouldn't have been shocked, the woman would do anything to make her case, but shocked he was.

That's what you get for taking an emotionally unstable woman home alone. Great job, Detective.

"You took her home from the hospital."

"He was doing her a favor."

There his partner was, always the first to defend him. Over the past few weeks, she'd been the one that tethered him down, whether she knew it or not, even after their disagreement about the case at hand. He didn't know what he'd do if she wasn't there.

"And in her building, you touched her in an inappropriate manner."

"The only time I touched her was to stop her from falling down the stairs."

"Maybe you'll use that as an excuse to cop a feel."

"That's enough, Counselor. In twelve years, there's never been a complaint against this man."

"Men change. Especially when their wives file for legal separation. My investigator checked the court documents. He also found out that your wife took the kids and moved in with her mother."

Are you fucking KIDDING me right now?

Elliot was just as shocked as he was embarrassed. This was definitely not the way he wanted the information to come out, especially to his partner. If he had his way, she wouldn't know at all, but it was definitely too late for that now.

How DARE she?

Elliot stepped towards the counselor, swallowing the lump in his throat. "You have no right to use my personal life to make your case."

"I don't give a damn about your personal life unless it affects my client, and it does." BULLSHIT. He couldn't stand there and take it anymore. He had to get out of there, and fast. "Stay away from her!"

He stalked out of the captain's office, and made his way towards the stairs as fast as he could. He needed air; he needed to reign in his emotions. He couldn't believe Scarry would use that kind of ammunition against them. Even she had to know how low that was.

"Elliot. Elliot, stop!" He felt her hand on his shoulder, and didn't offer much resistance as she turned him towards her. "Hey. What's going on?"

My family is falling apart. I can't sleep at night.

"I touched her in an inappropriate manner, didn't you hear?"

"No, I don't believe that, forget that. What's going on at home?"

The gentleness in her voice broke his heart, but he still couldn't bear it say it. That would make it real, even more real than Scarry saying it.

"Nothing."

He turned from her, and headed back towards the door to freedom.

"Hey, would you talk to me?"

He froze only a few feet from the door, and turned back towards her. His mouth was dry as he spat out the words.

"Kathy left me."

With that, he disappeared into the stairwell.

"When I saw Polikoff and his daughter… Wednesday nights and every other weekend? That got to me." Elliot admitted. The weight on his shoulders was too much to bear alone. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. Her help, specifically. She's always known precisely the right thing to say, and he was hoping this case would be no different.

"Elliot, what happened with you and Kathy?"

Elliot shrugged. "Uh, the job. Makes me kind of hard to live with."

"She should try working with you." Olivia joked. Elliot glanced up at her, and smiled. "You okay?"

Boy, was that a loaded question. He wasn't even sure of the answer himself. Some of the weight had disappeared, just by getting the words out, and his raw anger and heartache were starting to turn into a sort of resigned sadness. There wasn't much he could do about the shit at home, but he could at least keep his partnership together. There was one woman in his life that wouldn't leave him willingly, and she stood in front of him now. Perhaps that was enough.

Just as he opened his mouth to answer her question, the captain called them from the doorway of his office.

"At least it's over." Olivia said as she sat next to Elliot in the courtroom. It was starting to empty, but they'd both been frozen in place since the verdict was read.

Elliot sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. He wasn't sure how to feel about the way things had turned out. On the one hand, Myra had done a lot of questionable things over the course of the investigation. Hell, she even accused him of sexual assault. Then again, Polikoff coached his own daughter in the interview room. Manipulated her.

"El?" Olivia asked gently, resting her hand over his, which sat limp on his thigh. "You still with me?"

"Hm?" He asked, jarred from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah."

"I have a twelve pack in my fridge at home." She said. "What do you think, want to order in and have a couple?"

"On you?" He asked, a lop-sided grin forming on his face, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, on me."

"Well, I can't refuse free food, can I?"

He stood, and she followed him out of the courtroom. In the car, Olivia turned the radio on low, and they sat in mostly silence. Elliot knew she was dying to ask him about what was going on, but he was glad she didn't. He was willing to answer whatever she wanted to know, just not here, in the car.

Olivia collapsed next to Elliot on the couch, and handed him a beer. He'd removed his jacket and shoes, and was now fiddling with his tie.

"Thanks." He said, flinging the piece of fabric onto the couch next to him. He let out a deep sigh, and took a swig of his drink.

"Mhm." She answered.

"Alright, I know you're dying to ask." He said finally, setting his beer down on the coffee table. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

If she's going to ask, we might as well get it over with now.

"What happened between the two of you?" Olivia asked. "Last time we talked, you two were doing fine."

Elliot shrugged. "That's what I thought, to be honest. I mean… I thought we were fine, then all the sudden her bags were packed and she was telling me it wasn't working." The emotions were starting to come back up. Water pooled in his eyes, and he tried desperately to keep the tears at bay, but it was a losing battle.

"She took my kids, Liv." he whispered. "I lost my children."

He shot to his feet, and paced to the window. The tears in his eyes were threatening to spill over… He lived for those children. Taking them away was like ripping out a part of his soul. His hands pressed against the windowsill as his head hung limply.

Olivia approached him slowly, and placed her hand onto his back as his shoulders began to shake. Glistening tears slipped from his eyes.

"I did everything I was supposed to do." He said, looking up at Olivia slowly. The tear tracts were visible on his face. "I work hard, I have a good job, I never cheated on my wife. What else could I have done?"

She gently turned him the rest of the way towards her, and placed both hands on his shoulders. "You did everything you could do. Sometimes, it's just not enough. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Elliot shook his head, scrubbing away his tears. She could sense his doubt… it made her angry, heartbroken and confused all at the same time. How could he question his own commitment?

"Elliot, you are a good man." She said, squeezing his shoulders. "I know how much you love your family. And if Kathy can't see that… I really don't know what to say. There's no one better that she could possibly be with. Anyone would be extremely lucky to have you in their lives. I know I am."

The emotions were overwhelming him. Those words meant more to him than she could possibly imagine. He couldn't even get any words out himself, no matter how badly he wanted to thank her, so instead, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her close. His forehead fell against her shoulder as he felt her arms wrap around him.

"Thank you, Liv." He breathed.

She squeezed him tighter, rocking him ever so gently. "It's why I'm here."

He pulled away slightly, and got lost in her eyes. This time, he was feeling something entirely different. He knew exactly what it was, but it almost made him angry. How could you be thinking like this when you're crying about your wife and kids leaving you?

The smile that she gave him melted his heart, and made it that much harder to ignore the emotions racing through him. He didn't know their lips growing closer and closer until it was almost too late.

They both jumped when intercom buzzed. Elliot's arm fell from her waist and he immediately backed to a safe distance, dropping his gaze to the floor. He didn't know what to think, never mind what to say or do. When she turned from him, he collapsed back onto the couch and reached for his beer.

Minutes later, she set a pizza box down in front of them, and flipped the lid. They always got the same pizza when together: sausage, peppers and onions with extra cheese.

"What do you want to watch?" She asked, turning on the television.

Elliot shrugged, taking a bite of his pizza. "There's a new NCIS on, isn't there?"

Olivia turned the channel to CBS, and sat back, reaching for her own pizza. This had become a tradition for them over the past several years; whenever a case was especially bad, and Elliot didn't want to go home or Olivia didn't want to be alone, they went over to her place, ordered in, and watched their favorite show. NCIS might be solving homicide cases, but at least they have a sense of humor, he always said.

Almost an hour later, the pizza box was nearly empty and they both sat back on the couch, watching another episode. Elliot's arm was resting across the back of the couch, and somehow, Olivia had ended up leaning on his shoulder. It felt much more comfortable than he expected.

"Liv?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

He was silent for a long moment. Finally, he turned towards her. "You said you were lucky to have me in your life."

"I am."

He shook his head, his eyes meeting hers. "I'm the lucky one."

There that feeling was again. Their hands laced together once more as they both leaned forward. Elliot's heart raced in his chest. He reached up, and brushed her hair behind her ear, taking a moment to simply look at her.

"El." She whispered as their foreheads gently fell together.

He didn't get a chance to respond. Neither of them could say who moved first after that, but what they did know was that in a matter of a second, their lips met.

Elliot had never touched a drug or gotten high in his entire life, but if he had to guess what it felt like, this would be it. His fingertips tingled, his heart soared and it felt like he was floating. Her lips were so soft, gentle… and simply right. He had never felt this sense of rightness from a simple kiss; it was impossible to explain. It took away all the pain of his wife leaving him; how could he be upset about that when he had this beautiful, kind, caring woman sitting next to him?

It seemed like the kiss was over just as quickly as it had begun. Elliot's eyes opened slowly (he didn't even remember closing them), and he tried his best to gauge her reaction, but he'd never seen this look in her eyes as long as he'd known her.

"El-

"Don't." He whispered. The moment was just too good; he didn't want it to end quite yet. He knew they had a lot to talk about, but he just wanted to lose himself now, because he didn't know if this would ever happen again. He was going to take every second he could get. "Please, just… in a minute."

She respected his request. In fact, he thought maybe she wanted the same thing. So that's how they sat, foreheads together, eyes closed, just being.

Finally, he took a deep breath, and said. "I'm sorry. I just… I can't even tell you how much you mean to me, Liv. I don't know what I'd do without you, especially over the past few weeks."

"El, I didn't even know what was going on." She said. "I didn't do anything."

He smiled at her. "You didn't have to know. You were helping me even if you didn't realize it."

Her arms wrapped around him, and she held him tight. He could feel the emotions rolling off of her in waves. "I'll always be here for you, El."

That was their relationship. She was his rock and he was hers, whether they knew it or not.

A/N: Decided to leave this one a bit open-ended. I thought that was the perfect place to end it. Any way, let me know what you think. As is my new tradition, if you leave a review, you get a sneak peak of the next chapter, or in this case, the next one-shot :)

Once again, thanks to TheCongressman for the challenge. If you haven't already, definitely check out his stories "Countdown" and "Prey". Also, follow me on Twitter Stabson10 for awesome stuff like sneak peaks, more info, or just to chat.

-Stabson