A/N: One moment always leads to another.

DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.

Olivia pulled away from Elliot, slowly, every part of her body trembling. She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes cloudy and wide as she said, "You just...why did you just..."

"Why did you?" Elliot asked, his eyes not yet having focused either.

"I told you," Olivia said, running a finger over her lips.

Elliot looked at her, tilted his head, and said, "You really don't know." His lips curled into a smile and he admitted, for the first time, "Liv, I'm in love with you, too. I just...I'm married...and..."

"Yeah," Olivia said, interrupting. "That's why I have to..." she paused, shaking her head. "How am I supposed to walk away after you kissed me like that?"

Elliot lowered his eyes, furrowing his brow. "You're not," he said, letting his hand run down her arm gently.

Olivia scoffed with a half-smirk. "I don't have a choice now," she said, hating herself for something. A lot of somethings. She turned but Elliot's grip on her arm tightened.

"You can't just walk away after…" Elliot paused, trying to rationalize. "Liv, we can think of something," he said with a hopeful look in his eyes.

Olivia looked into his eyes, stepped back toward him, and gave him one, small peck on the lips. "Goodbye, Elliot," she said, fighting tears and turning around, pulling her arm free. She walked through the park fast, ignoring his shouts and calls. She knew he was following her, but she knew that when she needed to be, she was much faster than him.


She wasn't sure how he beat her to her apartment, but she saw his car on the street and she panicked. He had a key. If he was up there already, if he saw her boxes, he would be flipping out. She parked and ripped the key out of the ignition, then ran up the stairs. She pushed the door open, bolting down the hall and up the steps to her floor. She ran down her hallway, then sighed in defeat when she saw her door open. She gulped and walked through it, slowly, looking at the back of his head, the back of his entire body, as he stood stiff in the middle of her living room.

"What the fuck, Liv?" he asked, not turning around. "You can't...you can't be serious. Really, you were just gonna tell me you love me, then take off like this?"

Olivia bit her bottom lip, made an odd humming noise, and said, "That's kind of what I was gonna do. Yeah."

Elliot turned to face her. "And what about me, huh?" he asked, sounding more hopeless than he planned. "Did you even think about how I'd feel?" he asked, angry and hurt.

Olivia dropped her keys into a bowl on her coffee table and said, "I really didn't think you'd mind, actually. See, I never, not for a second, thought you'd fee..."

"Well, I do," Elliot said taking a large step toward her. "Even if I didn't, I wouldn't want you to leave! You are my partner, my...you're my best friend, and nothing changes that, do you understand?" He took another step toward her and grabbed her hand. "Nothing will ever change that," he declared, his tone serious and slightly authoritative, dominant.

Olivia looked towards the ceiling and licked her lips. "Nothing except being fucking crazy in love with you, unable to do anything about it, El...I can't live like this anymore. It's been killing me for years. I just...I just wanna be happy. I can't be happy if I can't be with you, but still have to see you everyday."

"Shit, do I look happy to you?" Elliot asked. he glared at her, his eyes gleaming. "Munch dies of cancer, none of us even knew he fucking had it, and it makes you the most impulsive bitch in the world, is that it? Life's short, live hard, screw everyone else! Is that your new policy?" he yelled, tossing the transfer papers at her.

Olivia caught them, her eyes drifting shut. "El," she whispered, "I thought you were you gonna hate me, okay? I had to tell you, but I didn't want to be a problem. I don't wanna come between you and your wife, or do anything that might hurt your kids, so I...you don't understand."

"No, you don't understand," Elliot snapped. "If you leave, you'll be taking everything I've got left with you! I won't be able to do my job, that's for damn sure, and my heart...shit, I won't even have a heart if..." He stopped, then took both of her hands in his. "If you wanna move, I will help you pack. I hate this place anyway. But I am begging you, please, if you love me as much as you say you do, do not leave me."

"You?" Olivia asked, shaking her head. "It wasn't just about you," she said, pulling him toward the couch. "I need a change, Elliot." She ran the hand not holding his through her hair. "No one sees the things we see, or does what we have to do. I've sacrificed everything, for so long, given up relationships and opportunities because I loved the job and I loved you. I love you," she said, correcting her tense. "What happens if I'm late on the trigger, huh? If I get shot, or stabbed, or if I...I don't know, if I fall down the stairs and break my neck, El? What have I really..."

Elliot stopped her rambling with a kiss. A soft one, delicate, filled with emotion and heat. He pulled back before he got carried away, his hands still cupping her face. "Liv," he whispered, "Stop talking like that. You're not going to die. My job is to keep that from happening and I swear I'm going to do it. We could both use a change of scenery, I'll admit it, but you know you can't do anything but this. You'd go crazy even trying to do something else. And if you can look me in the eyes and tell me you can live without me, then..."

"I don't have a choice," Olivia said, cutting him off, her voice threatening to break.

Elliot sat back, squeezing her hand, and said, "You do. We both do."

Olivia looked at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"We can make choices," Elliot said, giving a firm nod and caressing her cheek. "I can make a choice, Liv. Well, maybe, and you can choose to stay."

Olivia shook her head. "Those are choices neither of us is prepared to make," she said.

"I'll make it for you then. You're not handing those to Cragen," Elliot said, nodding toward the transfer papers in her lap. "What do I have to do to make staying worth it?" he asked.

Olivia scoffed. "You wouldn't do it," she said, shaking her head.

"Try me," Elliot said. "You keep talking about living in the moment, not regretting anything. Did you ever think that maybe we want the same things? Maybe I want to share those incredible, regret-free, moments with you? That I'm afraid of never getting the chance to love you the way you deserve to be loved? That I'm willing to risk everything for the chance to do that?"

Olivia shook her head. "I didn't actually," she said. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she said, "That's why I already gave the papers to Cragen. I left them on his desk, El. These are copies." She held up the papers and looked at Elliot, a slight sob taking over her as her head fell back in defeat.

Elliot took a deep breath; he squeezed her hand, and got off the couch, pulling her up roughly. he had a determined look on his face and a clear decision had obviously been made as he yanked her off of the couch.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked, losing her balance as she tried to stand.

Elliot caught her, and he loved the feeling of her in his arms. He resisted the urge to kiss her and asked, "You really wanna live in the moment?"

Olivia blinked at him. "And do what?" she asked.

Elliot smirked. "We're gonna break into Cragen's office and get the little fuckers back before he sees them."

"What?" Olivia asked, not believing him. "Elliot, you can not be serious! I'll just tell him..."

Elliot pulled her toward the door. "Oh, I'm serious. We go in, we get 'em back, we leave. He'll never even know we were there, he will never know these pieces of shit existed, and I will never give you a reason to wanna leave again."

"I already told you it wasn't just you," Olivia said, trying to reassure him.

"I know," Elliot said, turning to her. "But I mean, I'm gonna make the reasons you wanted to leave in the first place go away. For good." He tugged her hand, leading her out of her apartment, and she wondered what he meant by that, and how he planned to do it.


They walked into the precinct casually, waving to the night receptionist. They calmly walked over to the elevator and pushed the button, waiting for the lift in silence. The ride up to their floor was tense, neither one knowing how to handle the shift in their relationship now that the truth, which didn't mean much right now, and a few kisses hung between them.

They walked off the elevator and down the hall, turning. They'd never seen the squadroom so dark. Only a few desk lamps were lit. The night shift was ambling about in the back of the room, all surrounding one desk. The Graveyard Crew, as they were called, knew they were meant to call Cragen and the other detectives if anything huge rolled in, but little cases and phone calls they could handle alone. Therefore, they were waiting for the phone to ring, and weren't paying much attention to the front of the bullpen.

Keeping one eye on the squad, and carefully avoiding Munch's desk, they moved slowly toward the captain's office. "I can't see the lock," Elliot hissed over his shoulder.

Olivia fished around in her pocket, then handed him a penlight. "Here," she said, sounding annoyed. "I can't believe you are actually doing this," she added. "Or that you're making me do this."

"I'm not letting you leave, Benson," Elliot said, sticking the sharp end of a large safety pin into the keyhole. He jostled it around as he said, "You're stuck, right here, with me. Where you fucking belong."

Olivia's eyes closed at his words. "El," she said with a sigh. "You should know…I called Dean before you found me in the park."

Cragen's door clicked open, shifting open. Elliot grabbed the knob as he turned toward her slightly. "You aren't telling me what I think you're telling me," he said, stepping into the captain's quarters.

Olivia followed him and closed the door behind her. "That depends," she said, biting her lip. "What do you think I'm telling you?" she asked.

Elliot moved toward Cragen's desk, shuffling around papers, starting to panic. "They aren't here," he said. "Shit! They're not here!" he yelled.

"Calm down," Olivia said. "Move," she said, pushing him to the side and looking through a letterbox on his desk.

"Tell me you didn't tell him you would marry him," Elliot said, almost a plea, a whisper, as he leaned over her, breathing hotly onto her neck and into her ear.

"I want a real life," Olivia said, pulling her transfer papers out from under a stack of reports. "If that means I have to…"

Elliot ripped the papers out of her hands and grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes widened at the ferocity in his eyes. "Do not marry him," he demanded, sounding firm and harsh. "Do not make my mistake, Olivia," he warned. "You don't love him, and you'd be killing me. You'd be killing yourself, killing us."

"Fuck, Elliot! There is no us!" Olivia yelled, trying to get his hands off of her.

Elliot shoved her back against the wall and pressed himself against her. "There is now," he said, and then he crashed his lips into hers, ripping her shirt open, sending the pearl buttons flying.

A startled, strangled moan was ripped from Olivia's throat, but muffled by Elliot's mouth and garbled by his tongue. He invaded her mouth and forced his kiss onto her, into her. She wasn't complaining, just taken very much by surprise. "What…" she managed to pant as he pulled away from her.

Elliot yanked his own shirt off, pulling his tie over his head and breathing heavily as he divested himself of clothing. "Live in the moment," he said, parroting her new philosophy back to her. He smirked and grabbed her hips, grazing her soft skin slightly as he shoved down her pants.

"Are we really gonna do this? Now? And here?" Olivia asked, fear, excitement, and a lot of hope in her voice.

"Unless you stop me," Elliot said, wrapping an arm around her and moving her away from the wall. He swept a hand over Cragen's desk, clearing it. He lifted her with ease, laying her flat on the cherry wood. "Unless you tell me you want this about as much as you want to marry that asshole," he said with bitterness, tension and rigidity in every muscle, clearly visible to Olivia as her eyes danced over his body.

Olivia moaned as she felt his hands slide into her black, silk, boy-cut shorts, and she shook her head. "Don't stop," she said forcefully with a groan, her eyes darkening as he cupped her bare mound.

Elliot grinned and pressed further into her, using his other hand to unbuckle his belt. "Don't marry him," he said, just as forcefully.

"Get divorced," Olivia hissed, her eyes narrowing, spitting back his demand. Two could play that game.

Elliot chuckled, seeing what she was doing. "Who's in charge here?" he asked.

Olivia smirked. "Depends on the day, I guess," she said, sliding her hands down his chest. "Today? You," she whispered.

Elliot chuckled, suddenly sounding evil and slightly sadistic. "Moments," he said. "No plans, no rules," he hissed as he felt her hand grazing over his shaft. She pulled down his boxers and started to stroke him. "We live for us now," he moaned, dropping his forehead to hers.

"What was that you said at my place?" Olivia asked, holding in a yelp as his middle finger speared into her. "Life's short, live hard, and screw everyone else?" she chuckled, moaning as his finger started turning and moving.

Elliot nodded. He pressed his lips to hers. "As long as we never hurt each other, I can live like that," he said, kissing down her chin and her neck.

Olivia squeezed him harder and stroked faster as he pushed another finger into her. "Don't make promises you don't intend to keep," she said, biting her lip.

"I'm not," Elliot said, thumbing over her clit. He slammed his lips down to hers again and moved his hand, sliding on top of her, preparing to make the most of this moment. A moment he'd been waiting for, for a very long time, and a moment he'd want to make as long as possible.

If they could go uninterrupted.

A/N: How long will they be stuck in this particular moment? Will someone realize they're in Cragen's office? And How, exactly, will living in the moment, and only for themselves (and Elliot's kids?), affect them in the morning? Olivia decides to take a BIG jump, next! Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212