A/N: Just a one-shot to get me out of my funk. This is pre-AO. Consider it around Season 3ish.

ELEVATOR

The lights flickered for a moment as Detective Olivia Benson sat at her desk, head buried in a file looking for anything they could use to arrest their suspect. She looked up for a second, wondering if this would be the time they actually lost power.

It was late and had been storming all day and night. It was part of the reason, aside from wanting to nail the bastard they suspected of rape, Olivia was still there. She wasn't looking forward to going out in the weather, but she promised Stabler and the Captain she would leave soon after they did.

That was three hours ago.

The lights flickered again. Olivia knew there was a generator in the building, which was more than she could say for her apartment. Of course, her building had a generator, but it conveniently always went out when they had really bad storms. She was sure her landlord never even bothered to get it checked on.

Soon, she heard a loud slam and looked over. Someone was coming through the door to the stairwell. Olivia looked back down at her file. It could be any number of people. She was the only detectie there, but she knew cleaning crews were probably in the building and it was about time for them to get to their floor.

"Fuck."

Okay, that got Olivia's attention. When she looked up, she had to stifle a laugh at the sight in front of her.

ADA Alex Cabot was standing with her foot lifted, trying to fix a heel and looking like a wet dog. Olivia was certain she had never seen Alex look so ... disheveled.

Then Alex dropped the files in her hand and Olivia couldn't contain her laughter anymore before quickly covering her mouth. Suddenly Alex's head snapped up and piercing blue eyes were shooting daggers at Olivia, who quickly got up to help Alex.

"Let me get that," Olivia said, rushing over and scooping the files off the floor.

"Were you just laughing at me?"

"I, uh, ...," Olivia grinned.

Alex hobbled over to the chair by Olivia's desk and sat down.

"You may want to reconsider that because after tonight, you're going to owe me," Alex said.

Olivia went back to her seat, handing the files to Alex.

Alex continued. "That file there. Open it."

Olivia did as she was asked.

"How did you get this?" Olivia asked, eyes wide.

"I called in a favor for you, but after you laughed at me ...," Alex said.

"I'm sorry," Olivia said. "This is great, Alex. I'll call Stabler right now."

"No," Alex said. "One of the judge's cavaets was you have to wait until morning."

"Alex!"

"Olivia, that's what I promised," Alex said. "Judge Rogers said we had to wait until the kids were in school tomorrow. He didn't want to disrupt the family in the middle of the night."

"You mean like that asshole has been disrupting the family for the past year? Alex, this is crazy," Olivia said.

"Look, I did what I could," Alex said. "You're lucky you even got a warrant. No other judges would sign off on it. Of course, it doesn't help that your perp is golf buddies with half of them."

Olivia ran her hands through her hair.

"Look, if I hadn't come out here, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a monsoon, you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway," Alex said. "So just say thank you."

"Fine, thank you," Olivia said, but she didn't really mean it. She was annoyed. "By the way, what happened to you? And why are you here this late, how did you know I'd be here?"

"I tried calling but the phones are down in my office and my cell wasn't working," Alex said. "And I just had a hunch you'd still be here. I just didn't expect it to be so bad outside. And my umbrella blew away half way here."

"And your shoe?"

"Broke it on the stairs on the way out because the elevator is conveniently down for maintenance," Alex said.

"Two days now," Olivia said.

"I don't know how you all do it," Alex said. "Better shape than me."

"You don't know about the service elevator?" Olivia said.

"There's another elevator?" Alex said. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Olivia smiled. "How about I get you some clean clothes from my locker and I'll show you when you leave?"

Alex nodded and Olivia got up and headed over to her locker.

"You were a size 9 shoes?"

"Usually, I can fit in them," Alex said.

Olivia came back with a t-shirt, sweatpants and a pair of socks and sneakers and sat them on the desk in front of Alex.

"You don't have to do this," Alex said. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, there is no way I'm letting you go back out in that with a broken heel and in a skirt," Olivia said. "You look ..."

"I look what?" Alex cut her off with a smirk.

"You look like you could use some coffee," Olivia said. "I'll make you a cup while you go change."

Alex smiled and shook her head and Olivia quickly got up and made her way to the coffee maker. Alex went to the locker room to go change clothes.

After Alex changed, she came back to Olivia's desk and sat down with the cup of coffee. She wondered how Olivia knew exactly how she took her coffee. Of course, she knew how Olivia took her, but it's not like they spent a lot of time together.

"Think it's going to let up soon?" Alex asked, appreciating the warmth of the coffee.

"It's not supposed to," Olivia said. "You should probably get home. Let me call you a cab. Our phones are working still."

"Don't bother," Alex said. "There are plenty around outside looking for stranded passengers."

Alex got up and stood, expecting Olivia to get up to leave, too.

"Well?"

"What?" Olivia said, looking up from the file she had turned back to.

"You're not planning on spending the night are you?" Alex said.

"I..um..."

"Liv, I'm not leaving here until you do," Alex said. "Besides, you got what you need. There's nothing more you can do here tonight."

Olivia leaned back and pressed her lips together, nodding as she stood up to grab her jacket.

"Besides, you're supposed to show me this secret elevator," Alex said.

"Oh, right," Olivia said. "It's this way."

The blonde followed Olivia to the back of the precinct, a place she had never been before. They then proceeded down a long hallway. Olivia reached down to raise the cage covering the elevator.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Alex said.

"What?"

"No way am I getting on that elevator," Alex said.

"We use it all the time, Alex. Relax," Olivia said. "Sure, it's a little old, but it's not out of order. Unless you want to take the stairs."

"Ugh, fine," Alex said. She was still tired from her hike up the stairs earlier. "If I die though, you're going to call have call my mother and tell her why."

Olivia chuckled. "After you, counselor."

One they were on the elevator and the door was closed, Olivia pressed the button for the ground floor and it began to slowly move and creak. She noticed Alex giving her a look as it squeaked it's way between floors. Olivia held in a smirk.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise and the lights flashed before going out and the elevator stopped. A small, dim service light in the top was the only light they had.

"Oh, no, no, no," Olivia said, pulling out her cell phone to light up the panel. She was afraid to see how angry Alex was at her right now. "It'll probably start again once the generator kicks on."

"It better."

Olivia pushed the call button, but it didn't light up. She then opened the slot for the phone and pulled it out.

"Look, I'll just call," Olivia said, holding the elevator phone for Alex to see. Alex shrugged and slid down to the floor to sit.

When Olivia put the phone up to her ear, she heard nothing but static. She pressed the button to call, still static. She used her finger to hit the receiver again, trying not to look too worried for Alex.

Still nothing.

"It's an old elevator," Olivia said, barely turning to look at Alex. "I'll just use my cell phone."

No service.

Olivia looked up at Alex pulled her phone out and saw the same message. Alex cocked her head at Olivia who just rubbed her forehead.

"Well?" Alex asked.

"I'm thinking," Olivia said.

"Yeah, well, I thought better of getting on this elevator," Alex mumbled.

"Look, it's been five minutes," Olivia said. "The power has to come back on soon. Maybe I can open the door from here."

She moved over and tried to pry the door open with no success. She then started looking around, toward the ceiling to see if she could climb out.

"Just sit down," Alex said. "You're making me nervous and it's clear we're going to probably be here for a while. I knew better."

"You knew better?" Olivia said, sitting down. "You think this is my fault?"

"Well, it was your idea to ride the secret elevator," Alex said.

"I didn't even want to leave!" Olivia said. "And you're the one that didn't want to take the stairs. I was just trying to help."

"Oh yeah, this was very helpful," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Aren't there cameras or anything in here? Security surely saw us get on."

"No," Olivia said. "There's no cameras on this elevator."

"What? Why? This entire place has cameras," Alex said.

"It's by design," Olivia said. "Or at least, when cameras were added, they neglected this."

"What? Why?"

"Let's just say, back in the day, sometimes perps would take the scenic route to booking," Olivia said.

"Oh, for the love of God, stop talking," Alex said. "I can't believe you, Liv!"

"Me?! I have never brought someone in here," Olivia said. "And besides, it's been years, I'm sure, since that's happened. I'm just saying that's likely why there are no cameras here."

Alex shook her head. "Cops."

"Cops?" Olivia said, still defensive. "What about lawyers? Because of all the hobnobbing lawyers and judges and their politics and golf game, I have a perp sleeping in his home tonight doing god knows what to his niece instead of in jail."

"Okay, you're right," Alex said. "And this isn't getting us anywhere."

"I'm sorry, you're right."

Alex started digging through her bag.

"Hungry?" She held up a bag of nuts and a bag of chips.

"You packed snacks?" Olivia said, smiling again.

"I get cranky if I haven't eaten all day," Alex said. "My assistant keeps me stocked."

"Cranky Cabot," Olivia said. "I'd never imagine that." She smirked.

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Olivia said. "Yes, I'll take some nuts, please."

Thirty minutes passed as the two women sat mostly in silence, waiting on power or help. Olivia had moved over to sit next to Alex so they could share a small bag of chips and a bottle of water Alex had in her bag.

"You really think he's going to hurt her tonight?" Alex said quietly.

"Huh?" Olivia said.

"Emily," Alex said. Olivia realized she was talking about their case. A man had been raping his niece, Emily for at least a year. She had moved in with her mother's brother after her parents had died. She had no other family besides his him, his wife, and their son.

"Oh," Olivia said. "Look, he knows we're on to him and his wife knows about the allegations, even if she doesn't believe them. He'd be foolish to try something tonight."

"Okay, because..."

"No, Alex, don't do that," Olivia said. "Look, I was out of line earlier. We just...these cases get to you sometimes."

Alex nodded. "You know, I'm not like them. The politicians and hobnobbers or whatever you called them. I mean, yes, I'd like to have a political career, but because I want to change the system."

"I know," Olivia said. "We're just using to having to fight for everything we have. I mean, in the past."

"I'm on the same side," Alex said. "Sometimes I wonder if you all know that."

"We do," Olivia said. "Trust me, we do."

"Then why are you and Stabler constantly on my ass?"

"Your ass?" Olivia laughed. "That's funny because we feel the same way about you. But, that' said, I think we all make a good team. Even if we get a little heated occasionally."

"A little?" Alex smiled. "Remember last week when -"

"I remember," Olivia said. "Okay, maybe a lot. But I'm not the only one. I can officially say I know how some of our perps feel on the stands now in court with you."

Alex chuckled."Yeah, I guess I get worked up, too. You just, sometimes, I don't know. Get under my skin."

"Likewise, counselor," Olivia said. "But, you make us better at our jobs. You make me better at my job, so if I never say it again, thank you."

"I feel the same," Alex said. "And thank you. You have helped me understand the law isn't always black and white."

Another hour passed, will still no sign of power coming back. Alex had fallen asleep on Olivia's shoulder and Olivia was lost in thought thinking about how comfortable she was beginning to feel with Alex. And seeing as how Alex was sleeping on her, she thought Alex felt the same.

"What time is it?" a sleepy Alex asked raising her head up.

"I don't know," Olivia said. "My phone died a while back, but I think it's about 1:30 a.m."

Alex tilted her head back against the wall and Olivia started laughing.

"What?"

"You just..." Olivia kept laughing.

"What is it?" Alex said.

"You have cheetos dust all over your face. It must have been on my shirt," Olivia said.

"Oh, good grief," Alex said. "Where?"

"I"ll get it," Olivia said, turning to face Alex.

She moved her hand to the side of Alex's face and brushed away some near Alex's temple. She was surprised by how soft Alex's skin was and let her hand linger longer than she meant before she tucked Alex's hair behind her ear.

Alex froze for her part. She hadn't expected Olivia's hands to be as soft as they were, and she certainly didn't expect the spark that than through her when Olivia touched her. She caught herself staring at Olivia's lips.

"Did you get it?" Alex finally breathed out.

"Um...almost," Olivia said. "You have some right here."

She moved her hand down to the corner of Alex's mouth, thumb on her cheek.

Before they knew it, both women were mere inches from each other's face, staring intently, with no doubt what they wanted. Olivia's hand never left Alex's face.

"This is a bad idea," Alex whispered.

"It's a really bad idea," Olivia whispered back. Neither moved.

"We should stop," Alex said.

"Okay," Olivia said. Neither of them still moved.

After what seemed like an eternity, Olivia inched closer, her lips grazing Alex's, stopping long enough to look at Alex, whose eyes were closed. They broke momentarily before their eyes said what their words couldn't.

This time, it was Alex who moved forward, kissing Olivia more forcefully and moving her hand to Olivia's face. The kissing grew more passionately and just as Olivia began to kiss Alex's neck, lights came on and the elevator began making noise and moving.

The sudden movement caused them to break apart and realize what they were doing.

"I, uh, I'm sorry," Olivia mumbled once they stood up and waiting on their door.

"Oh," Alex said. Disappointment was apparent in her voice. "I, uh, okay."

"Oh?" Olivia said.

"You're sorry?"

"I just mean, I...um..." Olivia was stumbling. She had expected Alex was think it was a mistake. "We said we shouldn't do...what we did."

"I know," Alex said. "But we did."

"We did."

"And I'm not sorry," Alex said.

"You're not?" Olivia said, surprised.

"No," Alex said. "But if you are..."

"I'm not," Olivia quickly said. "I mean, I know I said I was, but I thought...I don't know. It seemed like what I should say."

Alex nodded.

"I've thought about it before, you know," Olivia said. "Kissing you, that is."

"You have?" Now Alex was surprised.

"Yeah," Olivia said. "Last week actually, after our fight."

Alex laughed.

"What?"

Alex shook her head. "Me, too."

They both blushed and smiled, as they made their way off the elevator and toward the door.

"I guess we can talk about this tomorrow?" Olivia said.

"Tomorrow," Alex said. "You're going home, right? Not back to work?"

"I, um, yeah, home," Olivia said. "Although, I don't have power there, so I probably should stay at work."

"Wait? You don't have power?" Alex said. "Liv, come home with me."

"I, um, I'll be fine. I"ll go home. I promise. And I'm just going to sleep," Olivia said.

"Liv, no," Alex said. "Look, I have a spare bedroom. We're adults. I'm sure we can manage a sleepover. Besides, I kind of hate storms, so I wouldn't mind having company."

"You're sure?"

"Yes," Alex said. "In fact, I insist. Besides, I told you earlier you were going to owe me tonight, Detective." Alex grinned as she ran out the door to grab a cab.

Olivia shook her head and smirked as she followed Alex.

As always, your reviews are appreciated. Love it, hate it, have ideas? Let me know with a comment or on twitter -darkclocks!