Title: Collide
Author: tiny
Summary: Why does *she* want to talk to Olivia?
Spoilers: Doubt
Disclaimer: They're not mine…but wouldn't that be nice if they were?
CHAPTER 1
Olivia gazed across the desk at her partner. He was focused intently on the file in front on him. After a few moments, his hand raised to rub his forehead. She could tell that-between the fatigue and the frustration-this case was getting to him.
Elliot looked up to find Olivia staring at him. She grinned and threw a small, wadded piece of paper at him. He chuckled and tossed it back to her desk. It wasn't much, but the small display was enough to keep them sane.
"You want some coffee?" he asked.
"Yeah. That'd be great. Thanks."
Her cell phone rang as he got up to walk away. He glanced back in her direction, but she just shooed him off toward the coffee pot.
"Benson."
"Olivia?"
She closed her eyes and cringed slightly upon recognizing the voice on the other end of the line. "Umm, yeah. Hi," she replied, unsure of what to say.
"Hi. Listen, I don't want Elliot to know that I called you." Olivia's face took on a slightly confused expression but she remained silent as Kathy continued. "I know that this may seem very odd, but I was wondering if we could meet tomorrow for lunch, if possible. I'd like to talk to you about Elliot."
She hesitated. Olivia couldn't think of any logical reason why she would make such a request. And Kathy was right, it was very odd. They had always been cordial toward one another, but they certainly weren't friendly enough to be having lunch together.
Reluctantly, she agreed to meet her. Although she was a bit nervous about what Kathy wanted to say, she was also very curious. They agreed on a place, and she wrote down the time as a reminder to herself.
Elliot had returned and was eyeing her suspiciously. He expected her to mention who was on the phone, but she just went back to reading the file in front of her.
"So…who was one the phone?" he asked, even though it was obvious to him that she didn't want him to know.
Olivia raised her eyebrow and grinned. "Oh no one. Just a lunch date for tomorrow," she replied, indulging his jealous tendencies.
"You have a date for lunch?" he asked. "What about me?"
She laughed. "Find your own damn lunch date."
He shook his head and chuckled as he handed her the coffee. He took another file from the stack and laid it out in front of him. He tried to concentrate on the words displayed in front of him, but he couldn't help but wonder about her plans for lunch.
Olivia was having difficulty focusing on the files as well. She couldn't imagine what Kathy could possibly want to talk to her about. Not only that, but she was also a little anxious about meeting her behind Elliot's back. He had been quite sensitive about any mention of Kathy. She assumed he would be pissed if he found out what was going on tomorrow.