Hell Hath No Fury
Chapter 2 On All That's Sacred
"Hey, come on in." Robert smiled softly, opening the door to Elliot and Olivia, as Sam slipped by, feeling as he moved through the house.
"Where's Alex?" Sam asked sitting on the couch.
"Sam, remember your 'hellos'," Elliot corrected gingerly.
Sam grinned, "Hi, Robert…where's Alex?"
Robert laughed, "I think you're as addicted to her as I am…she's resting in bed, a little tired, I'll tell her you're here though, okay?"
"Um, Robert?" Olivia chimed in.
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind, if I go and talk to her? Haven't seen her in a while." She informed him.
"Um…sure, I think she'd like to see you right now." He smiled softly, "We'll all have a little manly time out here." He tried to laugh, but it was hollow, sterile, she kicked herself for not seeing it before, for not staying in contact, for staying too consumed with her own situation not to see it.
She made her way down the hall knocking softly on the door, "Alex? It's Liv." She heard the sniffles, the clearing of the throat, but no response. She cracked the door and peeked her head in, "Alex?" she furrowed her brows seeing her curled up in the bed on her side, tissues strewn about, seemed roles had changed.
"Alex?" She closed the door made her way to her and sat softly on the bed, "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing." Alex sniffled.
"Lot of tissue for it to be nothing." Olivia smiled softly, "I'm sorry about Sam calling so early on a Saturday…almost sac religious."
Alex smiled faintly, "It's fine, I love when that little guy calls or stops by my class at work, he's starting to take after you and Elliot…it's sweet." She informed her sitting up and tucking her hair behind her ears, wiping her nose with a tissue and starring down at her lap.
"Hey," Olivia grinned, "I've got news that'll make you smile-"
"I miscarried." She blurted softly cutting Olivia off mid sentence.
Olivia felt her grin dissipate, her brows furrow, "What? Alex…you we're pregnant?"
"We we're keeping the pregnancy quiet until we passed the three month mark…didn't want any bad mojo." She laughed bitterly, "Got it anyway, two days before the three month mark." She exhaled and wiped her nose again.
Olivia toed off her sneakers and climbed the rest of the way over to her hurting friend, wrapped her arm around her and pulled her tight, "I'm sorry. I wasn't too good at keeping in contact with you the past weeks."
Alex rested her head on her shoulder; "It's okay…you didn't know, besides, Sam keeps me informed on his Mom and Dad." She emphasized the terms, smiled and then began to cry.
Olivia exhaled feeling Alex weep bitterly in her arms, there was nothing that could be done except hold her…and let her cry.
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"What's a Lincoln block?" Sam furrowed his brow and tugged on Elliot's slacks, "What is it Dad?"
"You build with them." Elliot laughed softly.
"So, what do you say Sam?" Robert grinned softly, "Want to build while Liv and Alex are having a little girl time?"
"Yeah, yeah." He smiled eagerly, and made his way back to the couch as Robert disappeared into the hall reemerging with the blocks.
"Alright, Sam, come and sit down, bring your old man with you." He chuckled.
"Old man?" Sam furrowed his brows standing with Elliot.
"You're dad, Sam." He laughed.
Sam grew serious, "My dad's not old." He said leaning back into Elliot as they stood, "He's strong."
Elliot laughed, kneeled next to him, "Sam, he didn't mean anything by it, he wasn't being rude, it's a saying that people use is all. I'm not offended, but thanks for sticking up for me."
Sam furrowed his brows and kneeled on the carpet, "My dad's not old, Robert." He mumbled.
Robert laughed, "Duly noted, my apologies."
Sam felt for the blocks, "It's okay…where's Alex?"
Elliot ran his hand through his hair, "Remember? Mom and Alex are talking…she'll be out if she feels better, but you have to understand she may not be up to coming out…okay?"
Sam pressed his lips together in irritation, "Where's Olivia?"
"Sam," Elliot smiled at the boy's persistence, "I told you, Son, she's talking to Alex in the bedroom, and she'll be here when she can."
Sam furrowed his brow, rubbed the back of his neck a sign that Elliot learned was a pretty good indication he was digging in his heels; debating if what he was about to do would be worth a good scolding or not. Elliot watched as Sam stood to his feet, "Where's Olivia? Where's Alex?"
"Sam," Robert smiled, "Would it help you to see Alex?"
"I want my mom."
"Sam-" Elliot reached for him only to feel him withdraw his hand in frustration, "I don't want you, I want mom, where's Olivia?" he asked again and trained his ear carefully, turning quickly on his heel and making his way back to the room that Alex had let him nap in several times. He was at the door before Elliot or Robert could catch him. Perhaps Elliot was old.
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Alex exhaled puffing out her cheeks and sitting back up, "I'm sorry, Olivia." She wiped her face with another Kleenex, "What did you want to tell me? I think I need a smile right now."
Olivia swallowed hard, there was no way she was going to tell one of her best friends she was pregnant after she'd just lost her own baby. "Um…you heard about…Serna?"
"Yeah," Alex laughed, "Robert saw it on the front page of the paper." She waved her hand into the air as she spouted off the headline, "MAMA COP, GETS JUSTICE IN MISSING SONS CASE"
Olivia smiled softly, "Mama Cop, huh?"
"According to the Post." Alex chuckled softly, and then blinked out her own tears, "Mama was starting to sound pretty good to me." She whispered.
Olivia held her tighter, "I know." She whispered only to be taken back when the door opened.
"Alex?" Sam called into the room, "Are you in here Alex? Mom?"
"Sam." Olivia furrowed her brow, "Honey, can you give us a sec?"
He furrowed his brow hearing a sniffle in the room, "Alex?" he stepped in, slowly defying Olivia's request.
"Sam," Olivia's voice was firmer, "I asked you to do something, please don't make me repeat myself."
"Hey, sweetie." Alex rested her hand on Olivia thigh assuring her the disruption was fine, "What's the story, handsome?"
Sam grinned, and in an instant Olivia was grateful for the connection he had with Alex. "Are you okay?" he furrowed his brow making his way to her voice, leaning against the bed, "Your sad."
"No, honey." She laughed softly, "I just woke up were not all early risers like you."
"Olivia, was sad this morning, she told me the same thing…girls are…confusing." He informed them both, "Dad says you should tell the truth."
"Sam," Olivia kept her voice in check, no need to startle him for being concerned, "remember our word Discretion?"
"Yes."
"Now is one of those times honey."
He exhaled and climbed up onto the bed, at first Olivia found herself shocked; this would be the first time he ever openly defied her, let alone twice in a span of a minute. But it was when he embraced Alex tightly and rested his head on her chest, that Olivia realized he wasn't defying her at all; he was showing his version of discretion. She smiled to herself and watch her friend hold her son, watched her friend gain comfort through the touch of an eight year old, who knew far too much for his age.
And just as innocently as he dropped in on their conversation, he held Alex's face within his hands and gave her a lingering kiss complete with the 'Mmmm' sound right on her cheek and slid off the bed citing something about building and that his dad wasn't old.
"You've got an amazing boy there Liv."
Olivia wiped the moisture from her eyes, "He surprises me every single day." She laughed softly and patted Alex's thigh, "I know it sounds cliché and probably not what you want to hear right now, but you and Robert could try again."
Alex smiled softly, "I know…but it still hurts just the same."
Olivia nodded her head and exhaled, "I know."
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"How's our baby?" Elliot smiled snaking his arm around Olivia as she changed into a t-shirt.
She grinned, holding his hands over her stomach and feeling his lips against her cheek, "Fantastic." She responded turning in his embrace and kissing him playfully through a grin.
"Tease." He beamed, kissing her back, "How are you?"
"Good." She exhaled, "A little sleepy."
"Alex must have died when Sam called her this morning." Elliot laughed then frowned when he notice Olivia wasn't, "How is she?"
"Apparently our son is pretty intuitive." She informed him leaning into him and sighing as he wrapped her arms around her.
"What happened?"
"Alex was pregnant." She whispered.
"Was?" He furrowed his brows, pulled her back to look at her, to make sure he understood correctly.
"She miscarried…that's the sadness that Sam picked up on."
"Oh no." he furrowed his brows, "What can we do for them?"
Olivia shook her head, "Well, I was just about to tell her I was pregnant when she told me…I don't know what to do…I won't be able to hide it forever…I don't want to upset her."
"She loves you." He assured her, "She'll be happy for you."
"I know…but I don't want to tell he so close together…seems wrong."
"Did you want to take a nap today?" he asked tucking her hair behind her ears, "I thought maybe tonight, we could hit Isaac's case if you're up to it."
"What's on your agenda today?" she asked thankful he was changing the subject.
"Well," He smiled, "Sam asked if I would take him to see a movie…boy time."
"Movie?" she furrowed her brow at the concept.
"He asked." Elliot shrugged his shoulders, "I figured since he asked, I should take him."
Olivia mulled it over and decided it sounded good to her, "Think he'll enjoy it?"
"I think I might have to explain things here and there but we'll sit in the back…throw M&M's at unsuspecting senior citizen's." He chukled.
"Elliot." She laughed, "Do not corrupt that sweet boy."
"Who, me?"
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Olivia stepped out of the grocery store pulled her sunglasses down to protect her eyes, happy to be alone for a short time, thankful that Sam felt comfortable enough to go out with Elliot without her. She'd hit the button on the alarm unlocking the doors to the mustang and hit it a second time to get he trunk to pop. She was going over the list of clothing items she needed to pick up for Sam and Elliot, there was a tie that Sam had asked for in lieu of an allowance for completing chores, to which she found her self shocked he would forsake potential ice cream money for a tie.
Then there was Elliot's apparent need for socks, a discovery she made folding the laundry the night before and feeling her hand literally go through the heel of several of his socks. When she'd asked him why he didn't say anything he shrugged his shoulders, said they didn't bother him. She smiled to herself and then frowned almost dropping the bag of groceries into the trunk of the Mustang.
That cheap after-shave that alarmed her senses of the wearer.
"Ice Princess!" He called to her, "Still looks like you got a thing for me…got to say; I'm impressed."
She bit her lip, closed the trunk and turned around resting her glasses on top of her head, "Not a thing for you, so much as a repulsion for sleazy individuals."
"Ouch, name calling, I'm offended." He grinned shoving his hands into his pockets, "We got to stop meeting this way."
"I agree." She smiled dryly, "So how about next time you see me, you just keep walking?"
"Ah," he laughed, "Tempting, but my mom always taught me to be polite, to say hello to friends."
"Ah," She smiled menacingly, "I assure you Nicky, we're not friends, in fact, adversaries is more the term I would use."
"You've always been a little more linguistically gifted." He smiled taking a step closer.
Her body tensed immediately, heels positioned for a fight, keys extended in a split second to be used as a weapon.
"Imagine my surprise when I read the paper the other day and saw that Mama Cop took in a little blind cub…how sweet, although I'd be a little upset having my family affairs in the paper." He eyed her, "But hey, at least this way, there's no more bastard children, no more bad genes huh, Livy?"
She furrowed her brow at his selection of wording, at the dream she had just this morning. She stood her ground.
"How is blind boy?" he asked. A jab. A hit below the belt.
"Not really any of your concern." She responded starring him down with equal hatred. Perhaps adversaries wasn't the word either, perhaps archrivals was more appropriate.
"Oh, come on, I'd like to met him one day, see what all the fuss is about." He smirked, "Kind of hard to explain blond hair and green eyes isn't it Liv, what with your dark hair and eyes, his blue ones…seems odd to call him your son, doesn't it?"
Olivia squinted her eyes at him, closed the gap between them enough so that what she was about to tell him could be heard only by him. She stretched slightly to his ear, "I'm going to kill you one day Nicky." She said softly, almost as intimately as two lovers would talk, and perhaps that was what they were, two lovers dedicated to dystroying the other.
He tried to step away, to leave, but she grabbed his jacket, held him firmly in place against her car, turning his wrist just enough to make him comply, not enough to draw attention as she let her eyes scan for onlookers, "I'm going to get an unregistered gun, and I'm going to kill you." She assured him, "Maybe not today, or even this year, but I swear on everything sacred," she applied more pressure, heard him groan, "if you come near me, my family or my son again, it'll be sooner than you think." She released him, patted his abdomen and stepped back pulling her sunglasses back down.
"Don't you pay attention Nicky?" she smirked opening her car door, "You never mess with a cub, the mother bear is always near by…ready to kill."
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Elliot walked into the house surprised that it was quiet; he'd thought Olivia might have curled up to watch a movie or get caught up on 'Lost'. He adjusted a sleeping Sam in his arms and walked with him into his bedroom, laying him softly on the bed, a gentle kiss placed on his forehead before turning on a baby monitor and leaving in search of his wife, he laughed to himself at how much Sam enjoyed listening to the movie.
"Liv?" he called softly into the bedroom to find it empty, the office yielded the same discovery, as did the rest of the house until he caught an interesting sight from the corner of his eye. He walked to the sliding glass door and watched one very angry woman trying to work out her frustrations on a heavy bag he'd installed for her because she liked to work on her accuracy, like to work on her speed. Right now she was working on sheer aggression.
He tried to recall a time seeing her hit with such a ruthless nature, a deadly speed, he came up blank. Yet here she was, bouncing on her heels, compression shirt soaked with sweet, belt tied securely on her hips, the sound of white canvas snapping as she move back, then forward with each kick, dancing with the bag as she moved, sweat dripping here and there. He wondered if it was actually safe for him to interrupt her, but the look on her face, the tension in her body, he wondered if such hard hits were good for the baby.
He decided to take his chances; he withdrew a bottle of water from the kitchen and made his way into the backyard. "Liv?"
In a split second, perhaps a reflex of being startled she'd spun around chambering for a back fist only to see him pull his head back just in time, "LIV!" he barked out of fear of having almost been hit.
She stopped immediately, "El!" She panted, "I…I'm…sorry, you…scared me." She tried to catch her breath.
"Yeah," He stared at her wide-eyed, "Apparently…you almost knocked my block off."
She blushed, "I would have stopped…well at least before the second one." She teased softly, "Seriously, though, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you home, I thought you might stop for ice cream."
Elliot exhaled, smiled at the mishap that almost took place and offered her the water, "Sam fell asleep in the car, so I skipped it, laid him down in his room."
"Ooh." She winced, "Good luck explaining that one when he wakes up."
"Well," Elliot shrugged, "I didn't tell him we we're going in the first place so what he doesn't know isn't gonna kill him."
"Good call." She smiled handing him the water to open it for her.
He took the cap off easily and handed it back to her, "So…this new found aggression…"
"El." She groaned taking a drink of the water, "I just needed a work out."
"Looks like you we're mentally killing someone…very painfully." He winced looking at the bag.
"Just…working out some frustration." She assured him, that was the truth, her encounter with Ganzner had frustrated her, but she didn't want Elliot to loose his temper and hunt him down, which she knew was exactly what he would do.
He smiled and moved closer to her wrapping his arms around her, unconcerned with the warmth or the sweat that came from her, "Sam had a blast."
"Really?" She grinned, "Could he follow the movie?"
"Surprisingly yeah, he asked a few questions and I had to explain a couple things but yeah, in fact, I think he caught more than I did." He chuckled.
"Well, you've always been a little slow on the uptake." She teased resting her hands on his chest; "I picked up some socks for you, and a cute tie for Sam."
"Cute?" Elliot furrowed his brow.
"Excuse me," She cleared her throat and smiled, "I picked up a manly tie for Sam."
"Ah better." He grinned kissing her tenderly on the mouth and resting his forehead against hers, "How are you…with the nightmare? Feeling better?"
"I'm okay." She assured him although she wondered if she was. "Went grocery shopping, picked you up some Oreos."
"Ah…savior, thank you." He grinned and kissed her again, surprised when she kissed him back again as if she thought she might not see him again, as if this was perhaps their last kiss. Or perhaps it was more that she just wanted to kiss him in such a way that he remembered her lips against his, her fingertips at the contour of his jaw, her chest against his. He smiled when she pulled away slowly, "Boy, I must have done something really good." He chuckled.
"Maybe." She grinned, "Or maybe I just like to kiss you."
He laughed at her playfulness, his hands on her belt, "Do you like to do other things with me?" he asked mischievously as he started to untie the belt, kissing her mouth gently only to feel her hands cover his.
He chuckled, "You are fiercely protective of that belt."
"Worked hard for it…right up their with the badge." She informed him, "But," she grinned pulling him close to her, "If I recall correctly," she whispered playfully, "I think I owe you some sort of fantasy this week."
He arched his brows, a grin covering his face, "Why Mrs. Stabler, are you trying to get me naked?"
Olivia grinned, "Absolutely."
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Olivia laughed softly as Elliot drew her body flush against his, "Didn't see that one coming, did you?"
Elliot laughed and kissed the warmth of her neck, "Nope, can 't say I expected that…what magazine were you reading?" he chuckled tightening his embrace.
"Hey," She covered his hands with her own, "You're the one that wrote that, I merely complied with the request."
"Yeah you did." He whispered kissing her again, "I have to say, you're an amazing, amazing creature."
She turned in his embrace, kissed him playfully on the mouth, "I got to say Mr. Stabler, you're pretty fantastic yourself."
"Well," he shrugged, "I aim to please."
"You're cocky."
"You seemed to enjoy that…isn't that what you were moaning about?"
"ELLIOT!" she blushed, eyes widening, at the remark.
"What?" He grinned, "Just a question." He said innocently.
"Yeah, my butt."
"Yet another cute asset." He teased.
"Shut up, Stabler." She smiled, resting her head on his chest, hearing him breath, it was comforting to her, to have just made love to him, to feel his body against hers, to feel his chest rise and fall taking in oxygen, to hear his heart beat…to know he wasn't the dead creature laying over her body, to know she hadn't killed her husband, she couldn't have because she could hear him, feel him taking in air.
"Elliot?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you call the locksmith?"
"Yep, coming out Monday afternoon with the alarm company hot on his trails." He assured her running his fingertips along her arm, "Maybe Monday or Tuesday we can head down to K-9 since we didn't go today?"
"Please." She whispered soflty
"If that's what you want, that's what we'll do." He told her.
She kissed his abdomen softly and returned her head to his chest, counting the beats of his heart, each one making the nightmare a little more distant.
"Olivia?"
"Yeah?"
"What really happened today that had you so upset?"
"Nothing, I told you, just frustrated."
"You're lying to me."
"No, I'm not."
"Yeah you are."
She smiled, it was a dance between the two of them, one trying to cover up a truth to protect the other, knowing full well they knew one another enough to know exactly when they were lying, exactly when they were telling the truth. "I think…the nightmare just really bothered me." She offered.
"Liv…what else?"
"That's all." She assured him.
"No its not…what happened?" he asked pulling her up softly so she rested against his shoulder, "What are you trying to protect me from…is it the news article form the other day…I read that, does it bother you that they put Sam out there like that? That we got put back in the spot light?"
She exhaled, "Yeah, it bothered me." That was another piece of truth; that was after all the basis of Nick's accusation.
Moments passed before he called her on it, "Liv, I'm ready to listen when you're ready to tell me the truth."
"Elliot," She groaned, "Come on, what do you want me to say?"
"Hey," He smiled, held her firmly against his chest and kissed her head as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm not saying you have to tell me anything right now, I just want you to know that I don't buy it all and when you want to be honest, I'll listen…not condemning, not judging, just letting you know, I'm here."
She exhaled, rested her head against his chest, "Thank you."
"Hey," he furrowed his brow, "on a different subject, do you think I'm old?"
She laughed against him, "What? No…besides, I'm two years younger than you…saying yes would incriminate myself."
"Robert called me an old man today." He smiled, "You know like, 'hey where's your old man?'"
"Yeah, and?" she sat up and leaned on her elbow.
"Sam, almost hit the roof, stuck up for his old man." He laughed, "Should of seen it, Liv, thought he was gonna go toe to toe with Robert…too funny."
She laughed, "I suppose that was what he was talking about when he left the room." She smiled, "He likes you."
"Yeah," he smiled, "But you're his heart, he loves you like I've never seen."
"I love him too." She grinned, kissed his mouth; "I don't suppose you'd want to take a shower with your 'ol'e lady'?"
"Ah, well, only if you want to see an old man naked." He laughed then stopped immediately when he felt her hand caress him softly.
She allowed her body to cover his chest, her lips to meet his ear ear, "Believe me, El…there's nothing old about you."
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"He's still out." Elliot informed her sitting down in the office of the house.
"It's kind of late in the afternoon, he's slept a long time." She furrowed her brows looking at her watch, "Was he feeling well today?"
"Yeah." Elliot shrugged taking the lid off of the box that contained everything related to Isaac's case. "He was up pretty early, Liv…he's probably exhausted."
"Yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck, "Probably."
"But you're not buying that are you?"
She exhaled, "He just sat in Huang's office, wouldn't utter a word."
"That was days ago Liv…he wouldn't still be bothered by it would he?"
"I don't know." She bit her lip, "Think maybe we pushed him too fast, going to Huang?"
"I think we're trying to do the best we can for him. You heard what Huang said, he probably didn't like the different environment, it could have been that he didn't like us not being in the room with him, it could be anything." He assured her.
"You think it's a good idea to have George try and talk to him here? You don't think it will confuse Sam, that George was here as a friend so many times and now he's suddenly here as a doctor?"
"No." Elliot shook his head placing the empty box onto the floor and organizing the files on the desk, "Liv…we don't even like talking to George, we can't expect that he'll just open up and confess everything at the first meeting."
"Yeah, I know." She agreed taking one of the files, "El?"
"Yeah?"
"When Sam came into Alex's room today?"
"Yeah, Liv, I'm sorry I wasn't watching him closer."
"What?" She shook her head, "No…believe me I think Alex actually preferred to have him there, but he said something that makes me worry."
"Yeah? What did he say? That nail gun thing was a one-time deal. I swear." He assured her.
She rolled her eyes a smirk playing on her lips, "No, he said sometimes he's not sleeping too well…and by the way, Frankie's nail gun is still here…it needs to go before you hurt yourself."
Elliot furrowed his brow, "Don't you mean before Sam hurts himself?"
She smiled, "No, I mean before you hurt yourself…do you think Sam would tell us if something were keeping him up?"
"He knows he can wake us up if he's bothered."
"I know that, and he knows that…but do you think he'd do it? I mean, he really wants to be a big boy, and I'm worried he's laying in his room scared out of his mind, hanging onto his puppy because he wants to be a big boy, instead of just coming to us."
"Liv," He smiled softly, "we can ask him at dinner tonight, okay?"
She exhaled, "Okay…you still need to get rid of the nail gun though."
He chuckled, "Noted…you ready for this?"
"Not so much," She exhaled staring at the folder and opening it, "Alright, one thing that I noticed when we first started looking through this was that-"
Elliot cut her off looking in another box as if something suddenly dawned on him, "No one ever interviewed Casey and Paul."
Olivia leaned back in a chair, "Exactly."
"They called off the investigation before they even had an opportunity to question the only people who could witness the crime." Elliot muttered looking around, "Where's the legal pad?"
Olivia moved some files around, found the pad and tossed it to him, "Heads up."
"Thanks…pen?"
"Look out." She warned tossing it to him.
"Alright, then," Elliot paced the room with the note pad, "Give me questions."
"Well," Olivia exhaled, "We can start with, 'what the hell happened that night?'"