Everyone was in the Captains office with the blinds shut, laughing at something I couldn't see, when I walked into work that morning. I dropped my purse into the middle drawer of my desk, and rifled through my mail, before I heard his voice coming from the other room. I would know that voice anywhere.
At first I thought that I must be imaging things. After all, it had been three years since I'd seen him. Well, more like two and half but still. He hadn't show up here for one single visit after he'd left. We'd had drinks a few times, made the occasional phone call. But things just weren't the same. You can only have so many conversations avoiding discussion of the job before it just gets tired and awkward. I swore it would never happen, but we drifted apart.
Pushing my hair behind my ears, I took a deep breath, and headed towards the captains door. It was partially open, so I finished the job, stepped in and said "What's going on in here?" with a big grin on my face, like it wasn't totally awkward that he was here.
"Just goofing around with an old friend, Detective." Cragen smiled. His feet were on his desk, and he was holding a bottle of water, despite the fact that there was an open bottle of whiskey on his desk next to a few mostly empty glasses. Munch was sitting in the chair closest to the door, and Cassidy was leaning against the window and then there he was, Elliot Stabler, standing next to Cragens desk with his arms crossed, smiling at me.
"Well, well," he smiled like the cat who ate the canary, "its Olivia right?" he laughed, pretending like we haven't known each other for the better part of our lives. His hair was the same, but his arms looked bigger, like he'd been lifting weights. He was wearing black suit pants, and a gray blue button up shirt with no tie.
"Who is this is weirdo, Cragen? He looks like a perp to me!" I smiled, walking towards Elliot. He opened his arms, and I stepped into them without hesitation. He smelled the same, like semi-expensive cologne and the scent of a real, natural man. Even after all these years, his hug felt like coming home.
"Get out of my office with all this mushy stuff. We've got work to do, and the bad guys aren't going to catch themselves." Said Cragen, capping his whiskey and stowing it in his desk.
We all filed out of his office as Cragen listed who had to get what done.
"..And Cassidy go talk to the ME and see if she got anything off the body from the river last night. Munch, head back to the crime scene and check with head of CSU, see if they've got anything new for us. Benson, you're off today. Go get some breakfast. "
"But I've got to-" I started but Cragen cut me off.
"Benson, go to breakfast with your 'perp', that's an order." He smiled.
"Yes, sir." And with that, I grabbed my things, and headed out the door to have breakfast with my long lost partner.