((Thanks to all my kind reviewer people. : ) Sorry it took so long to update, hope everyone had a ducky holiday!))
"Elliot?" The strong, attractive voice was certainly not Fred's.
But it was enough to yank Stabler from the ground, standing to face Olivia, his wounds concealed behind his back. "Olivia, what are you doing here," he almost barked, instantly cursing his tone.
She approached him slowly, a blinding light accompanying her presence as Detective Benson flipped the switch. Calming from what Elliot perceived to be a near heart attack, Olivia returned her gun to the holster at her hip. "I stopped in to talk to Casey, and I heard a crash. What happened?"
"Nothing." His reply was gruff still. Without thinking, he reached for his jacket in the maltreated locker that had recently suffered a brutal assault, allowing it to remain open, concealing the bloodstains that decorated the opposing side of the door.
"Elliot, do I look like an idiot," she asked, sternly, her concern evident. "What did you do to your hands?" A detour to her desk. Somewhere beyond a world of misfiled cases and Butterfingers wrappers, a First-Aid kit remained hidden.
Fishing it out in record time, his angel approached him, only to be met with more contempt. Or what appeared to be such a feeling of hatred. "Olivia, leave me alone, it's not…"
"Elliot, I am not going to sit here and pretend that everything is fine. You are falling apart. Everyone can see that. I am your partner; I am supposed to protect you. I'd be letting down my team, my captain, you, and myself by letting this continue. Like hell this isn't my business," she shouted, even catching Stabler by surprise. "Now get over here and give me your damn hands."
He began to protest, but her eyes, oh, those eyes, ordered his mouth to close, his feet to approach her, and his eyes to follow hers. Olivia wrapped his cuts, and no words passed between them as she worked. "Go home, now, Elliot. If you don't sort things out with someone, tomorrow, I'll talk to Cragen." Her own emotions were fuddled, and she was unsure of how to handle Elliot's obvious suffering.
She couldn't save him.
Not from this enemy.