A/N: sorry, i didn't find a beta to look over this (anyone interested?) Hope you enjoy all the same

II

Zebras are important prey for lions and hyenas, and to a lesser extent for hunting dogs, leopards and cheetahs. When a family group is attacked, the members form a semicircle, face the predator and watch it, ready to bite or strike should the attack continue. If one of the family is injured the rest will often encircle it to protect it from further attack.

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The past few days have been nothing but a blur; a big scary, sad, incredible, blur. Incredible? Yes, and she feels horrible for admitting it, even to herself. Ryan's wake was awful, his funeral worse; but coming home to Elliot every night, was…well... comforting. She had lost control of her emotions a dozen times over the past few days and every time Elliot was right there, welcoming her into his warm embrace.

It was awkward at first, they will both admit. They had boundaries; strict boundaries that were never supposed to be crossed. They were not in writing, they were not discussed, they weren't even captain orders. They were their own personal rules that were never spoken of, but completely understood. And somehow over the past eleven years they never once crossed those boundaries, until a few days ago.

The emotional toll of the past few days left them vulnerable and needy. Normally Olivia would never allow Elliot to see her during an emotion breakdown, but since he was staying with her for the time being, it seemed it was all he saw. How could he not hold her when she was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably? He couldn't. He pulled her body close to his and let her cry until she could cry no more.

He whispered sweet things into her ear, his mouth so close to her neck that it sent shivers down her spine. She held onto him so tight at times, that she thought maybe he would leave a bruise.

Boundaries were needed when you fell in love with your partner.

After Ryan's funeral the gang (minus Cragen) had gone out for drinks. Quite a few drinks at that. They sat around a table telling stories about Ryan, some made them laugh, some made them sit in silence and miss the shit out of him, all made them realize how short life truly is.

It wasn't until she went up to the bar to get another round that she saw the familiar figure standing near the end of the bar. His eyes instantly made contact with her and immediately lit up. Shit. She smiled softly and prayed to God that he wouldn't come over to her. She needed to get the hell out of there, and she needed to get out of there fast.

"Liv, hey."

Damn, too late.

She turned around leaning in to his outstretched hands for an awkward hug. Upon seeing this, Elliot abruptly got up and rushed to her side. Only on after thought did he think maybe his colleagues might find his behavior a bit…possessive. He decided to wait a minute, play it cool, maybe he would order a couple of shots. Yes, that's what he was doing at the bar, ordering shots.

"I thought you would have called me after last Friday. I mean, we were amazing, Liv," He whispered into her ear, but just loud enough for Elliot's ears to hear.

His blood boiled. So this was the asshole, he thought. He wanted to rip him in two. His fits clenched at his sides as he waited to make his move. He played a mental game in his head whether he should interrupt them while he waited. This could be the guy. Like the one. Did he really want to screw that up for her? He wanted Liv to be happy, he did. He just wanted her to be happy with him.

Up until a few days ago he would have never thought that Liv had any interest in him. He was just her jar headed partner, with a hot temper and five kids. Olivia was gorgeous and so far out of Elliot's league it wasn't funny. In all these years it never occurred to Elliot that Olivia might in fact find him desirable.

The past few days; however, had changed that. He felt it when he held her. She held on to him tight and let herself fall apart in his arms. The boundaries were changing, the lines were being crossed, there was hope for these two after all; he just knew it.

Holding her in his arms while she cried, made him want her; more than he had ever wanted anybody in his entire life. It scared him when he realized how deep his feeling for her really ran. All these years he had to deny them, hide them, and never, ever let them out. It never occurred to him that maybe Olivia was doing the same.

"I don't mean to freak you out, but there is some guy over there, and he's totally staring at you, and it's creeping me out." Brett whispered into Olivia's ear.

She didn't have to turn around to know who Brett was talking about, so she didn't. She simply smiled at Brett and said, "That would be my partner. He gets a little…ummm--"

"Jealous? Protective? Crazy?" Brett offered and Olivia couldn't help but laugh, "I think he's giving me the look of death right now."

She turned around and smiled at Elliot. She couldn't help but feel a warm wave rumble through her stomach when their eyes caught. His jealous blues immediately calmed when they looked into hers. He made a hand gesture and mouthed, shot?

She shook her head, and mouthed back, one sec.

She turned back to Brett, but before she could say anything, Brett spoke first, "He's the one isn't he?"

Completely shocked, Olivia had no idea what to say. What was he talking about?

Brett leaned in closer, "I don't know if you noticed, this or not; but, every time you come to my bar, it's because of that guy." He said leering at Elliot. Olivia again, didn't know what to say. Sensing this Brett continued, "He clearly cares about you, Liv and I don't want to get on that guys bad side, so I'll catch ya later, Liv." He simply stated and walked away and out of the bar.

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"You notice Elliot's not wearing his ring?" Munch said quietly to Fin.

"Damn straight I noticed and probably before you," he joked.

They both sipped their drinks and watched suspiciously at Elliot and Olivia who downed shots at the bar.

"No! No!" Olivia shouted as she laughed at something Elliot was saying. She tipped her head back and lost her balance on her stool and almost fell over. John and Fin were about to jump in and help her, but they held back when Elliot stepped in and wrapped his arms around her until she stopped wobbling.

But he didn't let go once she was stable. His arms only wrapped around her tighter. Munch and Fin watched as Elliot whispered something into Olivia's ear. They both would have given up their entire pension to know what was being said.

"I didn't like that guy all over you," he whispered.

"Get out?" She joked, "you scared the shit out of him, Elliot."

For some reason, Elliot didn't move his position. His arms were wrapped snuggly around her waist and he liked them there, they fit perfectly. Over the past few days he had grown accustom to holding her like this. He liked being close to her and he wasn't ready to pull away from her yet, so he didn't.

"I didn't like it, Liv," He whispered into her ear, hoping that maybe she would get the meaning that he was trying to convey.

His breath was hot on her ear and it was driving her completely crazy. She wanted to tell him to back away, that this was inappropriate, especially with the whole department not more than 10 feet away. However, the words wouldn't leave her mouth, because…God how she loved them there.

She drunkenly leaned into him and he began rubbing circles around her back. "It's been a long couple days, Liv." He whispered into her ear, "I just wanted to tell you, that having you around; it's been…it…makes it easier, you know?" He looked her into the eyes and smiled, "I guess I'm trying to say thanks. Thanks for being my best friend."

When she felt him sniff her hair, she thought she was going to loose it. His one hand fell upon her thigh and he started rubbing it subconsciously. She began to feel like she was in the spot light. She looked over and saw Fin and Munch staring over at them. Lord only knew what those two were up too.

"Hey El, you want to get outta here?" She whispered into his ear. Her cheeks instantly turned red as the words came out a lot more seductively than she was trying to be.

He looked at her with huge bright eyes, "absolutely."

They didn't' say goodbye to anyone, they just got up and left, as if they were never even there.

"Should we run after them?" Munch asked Fin when they saw Olivia and Elliot practically run out of the bar.

"What? You think they are going to have sex, don't you? Look man, I know what everyone is saying about those two, ok? I've heard it for the past ten years, and I'm telling ya John, they're wrong. You're wrong. Elliot's a married man. I mean, yeah ok, I'll admit tonight they seemed more…uh cozy with each other than in the past, but blame it on the alcohol." He looked over at Munch who had a silly-ass grin on his face.

"I meant should we go after them cause Olivia left her purse here." He said as he held up the small black bag, "but I'm glad to hear your thoughts on Benson and Stabler after all these years."

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They walked home on the warm summer night. She hated to say it, but it was terribly romantic. The moon was full and bright, and the sky was lit up with trillions of stars. They didn't speak on the way home, they just walked, bumping into each other every once in awhile.

When they finally arrived at her door Olivia swore loudly, bit her lip nervously and turned toward Elliot, who had no idea, what the fuck just happened, "I left my purse at the bar."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, I don't have my keys…"

Elliot smiled, "No problem, I got mine."

Olivia smiled, "yes! I totally forgot I gave you set!" Her smile faded quickly though, "I should probably go back and get my purse though…"

"Did you leave it at the table?" He asked already getting out his phone, she nodded yes, and he quickly hit send on his phone, "Hey John, look Olivia ---ah yes. Great thanks."

"What'd he say?"

"He said that he has your purse he'll give it to you tomorrow at work if that's ok."

"Sounds good," she said and Elliot opened the door for her.

When they arrived on her floor she all of a sudden felt nervous, very nervous; like end-of-the-first-date nervous. She started to doubt herself. What if everything that was happening was really just in her head? What if she had just wanted this so bad, that she was tricking her mind into believing that Elliot was actually giving her those signals?

Once they entered her apartment she got her answer, because Elliot was on her like white on rice. It happened so fast she didn't even know what happened first. All she knew was that Elliot had her propped up against the door and his lips were fiercely attacking hers, and it felt incredible. His one hand cupped her jaw and ran through her hair, while the other hand wasted no time and was half way up her skirt.

She kissed him back fiercely, giving him everything that he was giving her. Her hands ran through his short hair, and she heard him growl and it awoke every animalistic instinct she had in her. She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his waist pulling him even closer to her. She could feel him hard against her, and he was everything she thought he would be, and more…much more.

She was aware that they were going too fast, and probably should stop and talk about this; however, no fiber in her being wanted this to stop, so for the first time in her life she kept her mouth shut.

They probably would have fucked right there, up against the door, if it hadn't been for Elliot's phone. He swore up and down when he heard it go off, and Olivia instantly felt awful. She didn't hear his cell go off, she was too revved up and wrapped up in Elliot to notice, so she naturally thought that he got upset at her, and what they were doing.

She felt little to no relief that he was upset because they were getting interrupted, not because he wanted to stop. The damage had already been done. It was too late, her mind already whirling the percussions of their act. He backed up just enough so he could get his phone out of his pocket.

"Stabler," he said into the phone, and the moment he heard the voice on the other end he backed up a few more steps from her.

She wasn't an idiot, she knew who it was. She quietly made for the bathroom to freshen herself up. She had to get a hold of herself; for starters she pulled her skirt down, and straighten out her top. She ran her hands through her hair, and reminded herself that Elliot was still married, M-A-R-R-I-E-D. She then tried not to panic when she realized that she had just made out with her partner, with Elliot, with the forbidden.

It hit her like a ton of bricks. She sunk to the floor and tried not have a panic attack. She almost just had sex with a married man. They had gone too far, and now she couldn't handle it. She was so embarrassed she didn't know how she was ever going to look at Elliot again. She quickly got up and locked the bathroom door; she wasn't coming out tonight, possibly ever.