Disclaimer: I don't own SVU.
Elusive (Or, Five Times Elliot Stabler Saw Olivia Benson Before They Became Partners)
I. The Grocery Store
Elliot Stabler was seven years old and did not want to be in the store, shopping with his mother. Running errands with his mother made the afternoon a very boring one. It was his father's birthday tomorrow, and the baby sitter had cancelled; thus, Elliot was stuck trailing behind his mother's shopping cart. He wished Sara hadn't cancelled. Elliot liked Sara; he would rather live with he than at home with his parents. It would be nicer that way.
Mrs. Stabler looked at canned vegetables, debating between string beans and canned corn. Elliot wondered where the deserts were. That would be much more exciting than this. Baseball would also beat this. He had a game on Saturday and couldn't wait.
Elliot glanced over his shoulder and saw a girl who looked about his age. She was pretty. Elliot gave the girl a closer look. She had reddish-brown hair that was in a ponytail. Her eyes were brown. The girl had sad eyes. Elliot wondered what made them like that.
"Olivia!" A sharp voice called. A woman with an unfriendly face and a frown appeared from the liquor aisle and began walking towards the checkout stands.
"Coming, mother," the girl - Olivia - said quietly.
Elliot wondered if Olivia's parents were mean, too. Her mother didn't look very nice. Maybe she yelled. His father yelled. Elliot looked around for Olivia, but she had disappeared. He wondered if he would ever see her again. Probably not, Elliot reasoned, as he followed his mother as she moved to a different aisle.
II. Field Trip
The next time he saw Olivia was when his fifth grade class was going on a field trip to the Children's Museum in Manhattan. They were sharing their bus with kids from another school. The incident in the grocery store had completely vanished from Elliot's mind. He was sitting on the bus, sharing a seat with his friend Jimmy. The two boys were talking about last night's ballgame. Their conversation came to a lull, and Elliot looked up.
Boarding the bus was a girl with long, red, shoulder length hair. She was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. Following her was another girl who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. The pair sat down on the seat across from Elliot and Jimmy.
Elliot stole another glance at the girl. She looked familiar, and he wondered if he had seen her before. He was still looking at her when Jimmy tapped on his shoulder.
"Elliot's in love," he said quietly, snickering.
"Shut up," he muttered. The two resumed their discussion of the previous night's game, and the girl was forgotten.
III. Summertime
Elliot sat on a park bench, taking a break from the pick up basketball game he had involved himself in. It was a beautiful summer day; the sun beat down over the park's inhabitants. He watched as his friends passed the basketball back and forth.
Someone sat down on the other end of the bench. A sideways glance told Elliot that the person was a girl who had red-brown hair that stopped right as it hit her shoulders. She was wearing red. Elliot, not wanting to be rude, stopped staring and turned his attention back to the basketball game.
A few minutes later, the girl sighed. Elliot looked at her again. She wore an impatient expression on her face. Elliot, unable to help himself, kept staring. It was probably nothing more than teenage hormones, but this girl had him transfixed. He wanted to get to know her; he wanted to know what she was like. The girl glanced at her watch, seemingly unaware of Elliot.
"Late again," she muttered, "Some boyfriend you are, Trevor."
She stood up. Elliot spend a few minutes debating if he should offer her a ride - he had both a car and a license, and she obviously needed to get somewhere. He was on the verge of opening his mouth when the girl stood up and began walking away. Elliot's glance followed her footsteps. He saw that she was walking towards a boy.
Must be Trevor, Elliot thought. She was gone, with her boyfriend. Elliot felt a strange sense of loss. He spent the test of the afternoon sitting on the bench, not quite in the mood for any more basketball.
VI. Fleeing
Elliot was seventeen and visiting a friend who lived in an apartment building in Manhattan. Mark was one of Elliot's friends from school, and the two were going to work on their history project that night. Elliot stepped out of the elevator and onto Mark's floor.
He was walking down the hallway when someone bumped into him. He couldn't see much of her face, and she was wearing a long, black jacket. The mysterious girl was crying, Elliot could see that much.
She hurried down the hallway before Elliot could ask if she was okay. As she got into the elevator, he saw a flash of brown hair.
V. Squad Room, Manhattan Special Victims Unit
Detective Elliot Stabler sat idly at his desk. It was a slow day, something that rarely happened for the Special Victims Unit. Elliot had quickly learned this when he had became a member of the squad. Working at SVU was both difficult and emotionally draining, but Elliot had the strongest liking for his job.
His boss, Captain Cragen, came out of his office. Elliot looked up attentively, wondering if a new case had materialized. Cragen walked past Elliot's desk and greeted a woman who was entering the squad room.
Instantly, Elliot knew he had seen her before. She had been at the park that one summer day and in Mark's apartment building a few years later. She had probably appeared in his life many times prior to those two days. And now, here she was again.
For the first time, Elliot was able to get a good look at her. She was of average height. He looked at her face. It was a beautiful one, although he could sense that there were scars behind her smile. Her hair had darkened and was now a pretty shade of brown. Elliot smiled; this was that mysterious girl, in the flesh.
"Olivia Benson," Captain Cragen said, "Welcome to Special Victims Unit."