Chapter 2: Someone Else

Benson Residence - Wednesday, June 25 - 12:58 a.m.

The hot water cascaded over her body relaxing her tired, tense muscles. Between it and the lingering affects of the few beers, she thought she could fall asleep standing in the shower. She enjoyed the heat for a couple of minutes before bathing and then picking up the honeyed pear and silk shampoo and lathering it into her hair. She rinsed and worked in the conditioner of the same flavor. Stepping out, she grabbed a big fluffy white towel and wrapped it around her.

Wiping at the steamed up mirror, she cleared an area big enough to see her reflection. She took some make-up remover and cleaned her eyes of the remaining mascara and eyeliner. She was really tired but she had to dry her hair. It only took a few minutes since she had cut it short again. She thought it had been more feminine when it was longer and really preferred it that way. But, after that day in the courthouse when Elliot told her Kathy was pregnant, that day when her world literally imploded upon her, she changed everything she could about herself. The first, being to chop off the long locks of her hair. He had never said whether or not he liked it longer, anyway.

She wanted nothing to remind her of the Olivia that had once again found a tiny sliver of hope to cling to that, maybe, just maybe she could have what she wanted for once in her life. After the Sennet case as they sat on his stoop, he told her he had finally signed the divorce papers. He told her things change and she intuitively knew he was talking about them and this thing between them, these feelings that had sent them both reeling out of control. It was his way of acknowledging that he was aware of those feelings and that he intended to do something about it.

The next few months, she and Elliot had been slowly mending their friendship and coming to terms with whatever else was between them. She was certain he was finally going to ask her out. She knew it. She felt it. Just like she knew everything else about him. Then suddenly, two words rang in her ears like crashing symbols. Two words that held the power to rock her off her very foundation. Two words that Elliot simply blurted out. Kathy's pregnant.

And now he was back home with his wife and his children including the baby, Eli, that Olivia had delivered after the car accident that almost claimed Kathy's life and his unborn son's as well. Thoughts of him lying next to Kathy battered her overactive mind. She shook her head violently to dislodge them. She had to get a grip. It had been over a year since he went home and she still found herself having to chant over and over that he was off limits. Once again. Sighing heavily, she threw back the covers and got into bed. Moments later as she stared at the ceiling her eyelids, heavy with exhaustion, fell shut.

SVU Crib - Wednesday, June 25 - 2:45 a.m.

Uninterrupted sleep? Not a chance. Not when he could not quit thinking of how royally he had screwed up his life. Again. Not when he could not quit thinking about how he and Kathy were constantly at each other. Not when he could not stop feeling Olivia's hand on his knee. He was married. He should not be having these thoughts about any woman and especially not his partner, his best friend.

He had convinced himself that he had gotten these forbidden feelings under control. When he had to go back to Kathy, he convinced himself he was not really in love with Olivia. It was just a mid-life crisis. He convinced himself that he did not love her like he thought he did. It was just because she was always there for him, to pick up the pieces of his life and put him back together. That was why he had such strong feelings for her.

But then he found out about Kurt Moss, that insipid egghead--suddenly, he realized all those feelings he thought he had shoved into the innermost part of his psyche, were really just below the surface taunting him, lurking, waiting for just the right time to ambush him. And ambush him, they did. Olivia had been dating Moss for months and never said a word. Not one word. That she never told him about Moss spoke volumes. Why? Why would she have not told him? Though he still was not sure if he was more upset by the fact that she had a boyfriend or that she had a boyfriend and did not tell him, he was absolutely positive of one thing. He was jealous--irrationally, insanely jealous to the point that it made him physically ill. To the point that he could not even face his wife.

He had to find out from Sergeant Tucker with IAB. In front of Captain Cragen. Had Cragen not been there, he was certain he would have wrapped his hands around Tucker's throat and chocked him until the breath left his body. Wasn't there a saying about 'don't kill the messenger'? It wasn't just that he was the bearer of bad news it was that Tucker clearly had it in for him and Olivia and Elliot hated him. Elliot could still hear his words echo in his mind. 'You didn't even know she was sleeping with the paperboy!' Tucker had called out, holding up a copy of the Ledger, smug that he obviously knew something so intimate about his partner, that Elliot did not. Sleeping. With. The. Paperboy. The mental images that now played through his mind were proof that he would get very little sleep tonight. Very little.

SVU Squad Room - Wednesday, June 25 - 8:20 a.m.

Olivia turned the end of the pen down on the pad and slid her thumb and index finger down it, flipped the pen and did it again. Over and over and over. Lost in thought, she was unaware that Munch was watching her. She had managed to make it to work by her normal time of 7:00 a.m. Elliot usually arrived ten to fifteen minutes later. It was now 8:20 and he was not here. She had called his cell phone several times, but it went straight to his voice mail. Strange. He always had it on. He always called if he was going to be late. The edge of worry was beginning to take hold of her.

"Hey, Benson. Where's your partner? Dirty diaper duty holding him up?" Peering over the top of his glasses, Munch took another bite of his cream cheese, blueberry bagel.

She glanced up at Munch, annoyed that he had to say something to remind her just where her place was in Elliot's life. On the outside looking in.

"Hmmm? I don't know…was just wondering that myself." She frowned, looked at her watch again and then past Munch to Fin sitting at his desk reading something.

"Well, you need to find him. Got a case. Along the Greenway at Glick Park. Warner and CSU should be there soon." Cragen's loud voice startled both of them.

"Morning, Cap'n. Then he hasn't called?" Olivia looked at Cragen as she stood up from her desk.

"No. I need you and Elliot down there ASAP. So, find him." His voice was stern, a frown etched into his face.

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Yes, Sir." She vaguely wondered what had gotten him in such a tizzy.

He turned to Munch and Fin. "Got a complaint of elder abuse I need the two of you to check out. Come to my office."

Olivia stood there by her desk, thinking what she should do next. She hated to do it, but she saw no other way around it. But first she would call his cell phone one more time. She picked up her phone, flipped it open and hit the number one and send. "This is Detective Elliot Stabler, NYPD. If you have a true emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Otherwise, leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks." Beep.

"El…where are you? We got a case. Call me." She ran her right hand through her hair, her hand stopping to massage her neck and bit her lip again. It was too early in the morning to start off with this level of stress.

Dialing another number, the one she dreaded having to call, she inhaled deeply through her nose, pinching its bridge and held her breath as the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.

On the fourth ring, it quit. "Hello" A harried voice answered.

Her stomach in knots, she spoke before she had a chance to hang up. "Hey, Kathy. This is Olivia. Is Elliot still there?"

There was a slight pause before Kathy responded and Olivia wondered what that was about. "Uh…no…he's not. Why?"

Olivia felt the worry as it transformed and solidified into fear as heavy as a block of concrete that now settled in her stomach. She forced herself to remain calm and her voice steady. "He hasn't made it to work and…"

"Oh? He told me he was sleeping at work again…that you guys had a lot of work to get done." Kathy explained to her.

The crib? He didn't say he was sleeping in the crib. Again? "Oh…okay. It was a late night…he probably overslept. Thanks, Kathy. Sorry to have bothered you." Olivia was relieved to know he was all right, but curious now, too.

"Have him call me, please. Olivia? What is going on that has you guys working so late every night? You know Elliot never discusses work…and…well, this is the fourth night in a row he has slept at work." She asked hesitantly.

"Uh…can't really get into the specifics, but it looks like we have a serial rapist on our hands. Listen, I need to go…we got another vic. Bye, Kathy." Olivia flipped her phone closed as she headed for the stairs to the crib.

The fourth night in a row? Didn't he say he was going home? She replayed their conversation from last night. 'Yeah…ok, so maybe not just got in. You already home?' 'I'm heading into bed now.' 'Ok, well, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't wake Kathy. Bye, El.' 'Good night, Liv.' No. He had never said he was going home…he just let her believe he was. Four nights in a row he had slept in the crib. Four nights and he never said a word to her. Four nights and she had not even noticed. Had he really been in the crib those nights? Or was he somewhere else? With someone else? Another woman? That thought made her heart constrict with…with something she refused to name. What was going on with him, she wondered?

SVU Crib - Wednesday, June 25 - 8:35 a.m.

Quietly opening the door to the crib, she stepped in and glanced toward Elliot's favorite bunk. There he was lying on his back. She made her way to him. The blankets were tangled around his legs, leaving his bare chest exposed. His right arm was draped at his waist, the left propped behind his head, his face turned into the swell of his bicep. Olivia could not help staring at him. This man was ripped. Her eyes traveled across his sculpted, lightly haired chest and abs to the blankets covering his navy blue sweats. His right leg was out from under the covers revealing a bare foot. Her eyes slowly made their journey back up his body to his face shadowed with the stubble of his morning beard.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her left hand on his right shoulder, her hand burning from the touch of his skin against hers. She quickly pulled it away, turning it palm up to look at it as though she expected it to be blistering from the heat. What was with that? She didn't feel like that about him. Not anymore. She was not attracted to him that way. Not in the least. She shook her head, an attempt to change her course of thinking.

Reaching out again, she gently shook him. "El…El…you gotta wake up."

"Mmmm…what…what…" He groaned, stretching both arms over his head, the muscles flexing and contracting, as his blue eyes opened and he stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"El…it is 8:35 and we've got a case…" She began but was interrupted.

He sat up suddenly, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands. "What! I set the alarm on my cell…" He picked it up and looked at it. "Battery died! Crap!"

"I'll wait for you outside. Hurry." She said softly, turning to leave.

"Just give me ten." He headed for the shower.

Police Cruiser - Wednesday, June 25 - 8:50 a.m.

Olivia threw Elliot the keys as he came down the steps of the precinct and then picked up the white paper bag on top of the car. They both slid into the vehicle and belted up.

"Where we heading?" Elliot loosened his tie just a bit then ran his fingers of his left hand along the inside of his collar as he turned the ignition to crank the car.

"Glick Part, along the Greenway. Melinda and CSU should be there by the time we make it." She opened the white paper bag and pulled out a steaming cup of coffee and handed it to Elliot. She took her cup of tea out and neatly folded the bag and laid it on the seat between them.

She wanted to ask him why he was in the crib. Wanted to know why he had supposedly slept there four nights in a row when there was nothing that pressing going on at work. But she knew it really was none of her business. Since that was all she could think of at the moment, she decided that not talking would be the best route to go.

He was quiet. He knew she wondered why he was in the crib. He did not want to talk about it. Not right now. Besides, even he was not sure he knew why he slept there. He just knew he could not go home. Could not face Kathy. And he could not quit thinking about Kurt Moss and Olivia. Even though she had kicked him to the curb, he kept thinking of them. Together.

She knew she could not do it. Her curiosity got the best of her. Maybe she could pull it out of him. "So…you should be well rested…sleeping so late." She kept her eyes on the passing scenery.

Glancing sideways at her and then back to the road, he swallowed hard. "Not really…last time I looked at my watch it was 2:45."

"Hmmm…yea…I had trouble going to sleep, too." She admitted, smiling as their eyes met.

He shifted in his seat and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. "Look…I know you want to know why I was in the crib…I…."

Her cell rang and she looked at the caller I.D. Cragen. "Gotta get this, El. It's Cragen."

He nodded and she opened the phone. "Benson."

Elliot could hear the Captain's loud, angry voice over her phone though he could not make out what he was saying. Not that it was necessary to know the words. He could imagine. Olivia rolled her eyes at him and he grinned.

"Yes, Sir…he's right here…we are pulling up, now…I can seen everyone…yes, Sir." She hung up as Elliot stopped the car.

"Cragen is not a happy man." She warned him as she opened her door and they got out of the car.

The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway - Glick Park - Wednesday, June 25 - 9:07 a.m.

The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a 32-mile route that extends along the perimeter of the island of Manhattan. The greenway was built as part of recent efforts to transform the run down, long ignored and derelict waterfront into a green attraction for recreational and commuting use. Wherever possible, it runs along the shoreline to reclaim the waterfront for pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, and other users of non-motorized transportation. Some areas were more developed than others and this particular area was quite attractive.

Elliot and Olivia walked up to the scene. There was an ambulance, several squad cars, unmarked cars and the lights were flashing on all of them. Cragen saw them and headed their way, his face set in stone.

"I'll deal with you later." Shaking his index finger at him, he spoke directly to Elliot, then turned back to the scene. "Warner is finishing up…"

"Warner?" It just registered with Olivia that Cragen had told them to meet Warner and CSU.

She had been so focused on Elliot's whereabouts, that it did not click about why Warner would be on the scene. Dr. Melinda Warner, their medical examiner was on the scene. That meant that this time there had been a death. Olivia had hoped they could find this pervert before his violence escalated.

"Yes…victim is dead." Cragen responded brusquely, rubbing his bald head.

"Does this look like the Waterfront Rapist?" Elliot asked, hands on his hips, eyes hidden behind his dark sunglasses.

Cragen just looked at him. It was unlike Elliot to be late, but he could have called. Cragen was ticked because the brass was already in on this one and it did not look good when his two lead detectives were late. It did not look good at all.

"That's why I have you and Benson, Stabler…to figure it out. Warner'll fill you in." He turned and stormed back into the crowd of people.

Olivia raised her eyebrows at her partner. When Cragen called them by their last names, he was usually upset with them. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, right now."

Elliot shrugged and walked toward the crime scene, Olivia running to catch up with him. They flashed badges to gain entrance to the area cordoned off by the yellow police tape. Melinda was talking to Ryan O'Halleran, one of the lead CSU technicians.

"Hey, Ryan, Melinda…what've we got?" Olivia asked the ME, who happened to also be her good friend.

"Hey, Liv." Ryan smiled at her. Elliot noticed and shot her a look even though she did not see it.

"Yea…what's going on? And why's Morris here?" Elliot asked nodding toward the Chief of Detectives, standing by one of the unmarked cars talking to Cragen.

Olivia's head snapped in the direction that he had nodded. Morris? Oh, no. This was not good at all. And wasn't that the Chief of Homicide beside him?

"Detectives…what do you know?" Melinda asked them.

"Not much…Cragen said you would fill us in." Elliot told her. He glanced at Olivia who was still staring at Chief Morris.

She squatted down next to the body. "Well…from what I can tell, she was strangled as well as stabbed." She pointed out the two obvious stabs wounds. "I don't think the stabbing was the cause of death, but I can't be sure until the autopsy. She was raped, violently…no apparent fluids present, but again…that will be determined for certain upon examination." She stood again and nodded at the tech standing next to Ryan.

He began covering the body and motioned for the EMTs to bring a stretcher. They all watched quietly as they took the body to the waiting ambulance.

"We got a name?" Elliot asked, hand on his hip.

Melinda looked from Elliot to Olivia and back. "You really don't know much, do you? Her name is Lenora Whittington, age 71."

"Whittington? As in Senator Davis Whittington?" Olivia's eyes were huge. That would account for the brass being here.

"Yes…this is his mother." Melinda confirmed.

"Does he know yet?" Elliot looked at Olivia and then Warner.

"No…that's your job, isn't it?" She answered as she turned to leave.

Elliot groaned and Olivia sighed heavily at the same time. "Let's get going." He told her and turned toward the cruiser.

She was right behind him, but Ryan called out to her. "Hey, Liv…wait up a sec."

Elliot, about five feet ahead of her, slowed down and stopped when she did. "What's up, Ry?" She smiled.

Ry? Ry? Oh, please. Does she do this with all the men in her life, Elliot wondered? Brian Cassidy had been 'Bri', Andy Eckerson had been 'An',he was 'El'. Now, Ryan was 'Ry'. He felt a sudden intense pressure in his head as it began to pound.

"I was…uh…wondering…" Ryan glanced at Elliot. "…you want to go eat at that seafood place again Friday night?"

Elliot looked away and thought about starting toward the car again, but he decided to stay put and see what happened when Olivia shot the kid down. Wait. Did he say 'again'?

Olivia put her right hand on Ryan's arm and smiled that brilliant smile of hers. "That would be great, Ry. What time?"

"I'll pick you up…say…seven?" He grinned at her.

"Seven, it is. I'm wearing jeans." She winked at him and looked over at Elliot before she headed for the cruiser

Elliot was quieter than earlier as they rode to the Whittington's residence. Inwardly he was seething and trying to maintain control of his anger while at the same time trying to decide what exactly he was angry about and why. Come on. He knew what he was angry about. And why. He was mad that Olivia had just made a date, right in front of him. He thought she was going to say no. Instead, she had put her hand on him and accepted. On Ryan. Like she was used to doing that. Like she had done it before. She had done it before because Ryan had said again. And he was jealous. Jealous of anyone that got to spend time with her, be with her, touch her, be touched by her. He was slowly going to go insane.

He knew he should keep his mouth shut. It never failed to get him in trouble, but old habits die hard. "Got a date Friday, huh?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, knowing she was about to be interrogated. "Looks like it."

"This a date date?" He kept his eyes on the road.

"Date date? What's that mean?" She turned toward him now.

"You know…is this just a friend thing…just going to dinner or is it a date date…you apparently have been out before…so he get a kiss goodnight?" How obvious could he be…he wished he could retract the words.

She smiled that beautiful smile at him. "Oh…yea…we've been out before…and, sorry…but I never kiss and tell."

"That's right…guess I shoulda learned that from your thing with Moss." He snorted.

She was surprised at how mad that statement made her. "Elliot, my private life is just that…private. What I decide to share or not share with you is my business!"

"Yea…well, you used to share a whole heck of a lot more than you do now!" He snapped, his voice loud, his eyes narrowed.

"Aren't you one to be talking, Mr. I-spent-the-last-four-nights-in-the-crib!" She hollered, immediately wishing she had not said it.

She watched as he cringed. "What are you talking about?" He asked angrily.

"Give it up, El. Kathy told me." Her voice was quiet, trying to calm them both down.

His anger turned to fury. "What? Kathy? What does she have to do with this?"

"Chill out. I called the house when you wouldn't answer your cell. She said you had spent the last four nights at the precinct." She looked at him and again wondered what was going on.

He did not respond. She noticed how his jaw was clenching and knew he was upset and furious. "El…what's going on?"

"Nothing!" He replied in a terse voice.

"Elliot…something is wrong…talk to me…are you and Kathy fighting again?" She spoke softly, concern filling her features.

He snorted and shook his head. "Olivia…I…I…just…" He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned it off. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

She watched him for a moment. His profile was strong, familiar, handsome. She saw a lone tear escape the confines of his closed right eye and trickle down his cheek. They did not touch, not in this way, but before she knew it, her left hand had reached across the space between them and cupped his cheek, her thumb brushing away the tear.

"El…is there someone else?" Her voice was but a whisper and it cracked upon the last two words as the lump in her throat nearly choked them out before she could say them.

He sat up, his hand taking her hand, and opened his eyes. The blue was bluer because of the red from the tears. "What are talking about?"

Taking a deep breath, she asked what she dreaded knowing. "Is there another woman, Elliot?" She looked deep into his eyes as her own shimmered with unshed tears.

A/N: Okay, gang…I know you know the drill. Read, Review, be Rewarded with another chapter…soon. " ) Bensler for BenslerXOC