Picture In a Frame
Author's Note: HEY HEY HEY! SO HERE IS A BENSLER/BENSARO FIC I STARTED TODAY. THE PLAN IS TO KIND OF GO BACK IN TIME AND SHOW SOME CUTE E/O WHILST PARTAKING IN SOME BENSARO IN THE PRESENT TIME. LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK I SHOULD CONTINUE. I ALWAYS ENJOY REVIEWS BUT PLEASE MAKE SURE ANYTHING YOU SAY WILL BETTER THE STORY AND IS NOT JUST RUDE FOR THE SAKE OF BEING RUDE. PLEASE ENJOY!
Chapter 1: The Smartest Thing I Ever Learned Was I Don't Have All The Answers
It had been years but, she had barely changed. Her hair had grayed slightly and her eyes weren't quite as bright but, her smile could still light up a room. However, on this day she wasn't smiling. She picked a piece of lint off of her black dress and walked into the church. Cragen and Munch had been gone for quite a few years now. Fin was shot in the line of duty towards the beginning of last year and so he was gone too. Now she was the only one left and that really hit her at that moment. An organ's music hovered above the crowd as she approached the front of the room. Flowers covered every inch of the altar. A photo from about twenty years ago sat on a shelf.
"He would have hated this. All of this. " She whispered under her breath.
"Liv, I can give you a second if you want." He said pulling his hand away from hers.
"Please stay, Nick." She pleaded grabbing his hand tighter.
"I'm here."
She took a few more steps and stopped just shy of the glossy black box that contained what remained of her best friend and the love her life.
"Actually, I think I should do this alone." Olivia said tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Okay, that's fine. I will find us a seat. Near the front?" Nick asked giving her a quick hug. She nodded and gave him a weary smile.
She stepped up on the altar and closed her eyes. She drew in a ragged breath and looked down at his body. He looked different. Wrong even. The first thing she noticed was his tie. A bright red obnoxious looking tie. Rage took over Olivia's body as she began to shake and cry. She started to pull the tie off. Nick ran over and grabbed her in his arms.
"Stop, stop." He said.
"No, it's all wrong. This is all wrong." Olivia cried.
"Come here." He pulled her to their pew. He held her close as the priest stepped up and began to speak. For the next hour, the priest read his favorite bible passages. Olivia was able to regain her composure, barely.
"Next, I would like to invite Elliot's partner and best friend of thirteen years to say a few words. Captain Benson." The priest spoke her name and it sounded like a foreign language. Nick tapped her shoulder and helped her stand.
"I can't." She whispered to him.
"You can. Elliot wanted this." He said and walked her to the podium. She took a breath as she approached the microphone.
"Hi, I'm Olivia. Some of you know me but, I must say a great majority of you do not. Elliot was my partner at the special victims unit for thirteen years. We were the longest partnership in NYPD history at least for SVU and he was the longest partnership I had ever had." Olivia chuckled at that thought. "Elliot was hotheaded and cranky and infuriating and I love him. Loved him. He was so dedicated to his work and to his family. He made everyone around him want to be a better person." She choked on her words. "Elliot and I were estranged for almost eight years after he left the force and then about two years ago my phone rang and it was finally him. I can see how this sounds a little stalker-ish but, every time the phone rang I hoped it was him. When he first left I probably left fifty messages for him and Kathy can attest to that." She looked at the woman she spent her life competing with and then stepped away from the podium. "He and I spent a lot of time together before he told me about the cancer. I remember the day like it was yesterday. All the kids were in town for Christmas and we all went to dinner and had just gotten back to his house. I sat down on the porch like I always did but this time he didn't sit next to me. He kicked the porch swing and let out a grunt. I knew there was something off. There had been for months but, I just chalked it up to the time we spent apart. He looked thin and pale but, I figured he was just struggling through his sixties. Before I knew it my life was changed forever. We had five perfect months together after that. He was everything to me. I had no family most of my life and Elliot and his kids, they were my family. I have my loving husband now and he is perfect but, you never stop loving or needing your best friend. Last night, my husband, Nick, and I had a fight and I dialed Elliot's number. It wasn't until the fourth ring that I realized he is never going to pick up the phone again. Elliot Stabler will forever be my very best friend and I will always love him. Thank you." She stepped down and returned to her seat before collapsing into tears in Nick's arms.