Olivia walked into the precinct after her lunch with David. She walked over to her desk and pulled out her phone. She was disappointed that she hadn't heard from Brian yet. After their fight this morning, she just wanted to hear that they were okay.
"Hey Liv, you just missed Brian. He was just in here asking for you," Munch informed her as he walked over to the coffee table.
"Oh when?" she asked, surprised that he didn't call or text her before he dropped by.
"About 10 minutes ago. I told him you were taking your lunch break," Munch responded.
She nodded and dialed Brian's number. It rang and rand but, no answer so she decided to send him a quick text.
'Hey, call me when you get chance.' -Liv
She was happy that he dropped by to see her. Although they didn't get to see each other, it was nice knowing he was thinking about her.
Olivia hadn't heard from Brian all day. She tried calling him a few more times and sent him another text but they were all left unanswered.
He's probably busy at work, she thought. She was shaken out of her thoughts when Brian and his partner Michael Groves walked in.
"Cassidy what brings you to your old stomping ground?" Munch cracked.
Brian smiled. "We caught a case with you guys. Is Cragen in his office?"
Munch nodded and Brian and Groves walked over to his office. After a few minutes, Cragen emerged from his office with Brian and Groves following behind. They explained the case to the detectives and went on their way to interview the victim, witnesses, and to check out the crime scene.
The day was very hectic which kept Olivia and Brian apart. She could sense that he was being cold to her and she wasn't sure why.
They had some down time so Amanda and Fin brought dinner for everyone. They were all sitting around the table in the eating area. Olivia noticed that Brian was avoiding eye contact with her the whole day. He was acting like she didn't exist. He would acknowledge whenever someone else would talk but, not Olivia.
After dinner was eaten and cleaned up, it was back to work. Nick and Olivia were on their way to interview a new witness.
"You okay, Liv?" Nick asked as he noticed her spacing out.
She looked over and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Why?"
"Oh, nothing, I just noticed you and Cassidy weren't really talking?"
"No, we're fine," she lied.
He nodded and dropped it.
SVU~SVU~SVU~SVU
Nick and Olivia walked back to the precinct and filled the rest in on their new information.
Brian walked over to the coffee table. It was nearing 11 pm and there wasn't a chance they would be able to head home anytime soon.
Olivia took this as her chance to talk to him. She walked over and grabbed a coffee mug.
"I've been calling you all day," she told him.
"Yeah, I've been busy," he said, coldly.
She raised her eyebrows regarding his tone. "You okay?" she asked.
"Fine." He replied and tried to walk away but she grabbed his arm.
"Brian, wait."
He pulled his arm away and walked over to Munch who seemed to have a new theory about their case.
She walked back over to her desk with the hot liquid in her cup, ignoring the look from Nick.
SVU~SVU~SVU~SVU
Munch's lead led Brian and Groves to a gang member who caused quite the scene. They caught the gang member after he had shot at another gang member. They could charge him for that but, they wanted him for the rape too. They dragged him back to the squad and the detectives quickly stood up when they saw blood all over Brian's shirt.
"Whoa, you okay?" asked Fin.
"It's okay guys. It's not mine," he assured them. Brian had gotten blood on him when he went over to the victim while putting pressure on his wound until the ambulance arrived.
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.
Nick stood up. "I have a spare shirt."
They all looked at Nick, surprised that he was willing to help Brian out. They never got along but, Nick didn't want to cause problems with Olivia.
Nick led Brian to the locker room while Amanda and Groves took their suspect in for interrogation.
Nick handed Brian a plain black t shirt. It was big on Nick so it should fit Brian.
"Thanks man." Brian was surprised at Nick, as they all were.
Nick nodded. "No problem." Nick walked out as Olivia walked in.
She was quiet while Brian put the clean shirt on.
"I'm glad you're okay," she spoke with a sigh of relief.
He nodded, not bothering to look at her.
"Wanna talk?" Olivia asks, cautiously.
"Talk about what?" he mumbled.
She rolled her eyes at him. He was really going to do this right now? "About whatever it is that you're so angry about?"
"I'm not angry," he lied. He didn't want to get into this now. They were working and he didn't want to argue with her at work.
She scoffed. "So you're just being an ass for the fun of it?"
"Oh no, I have my reasons but, now isn't the time."
She could hear the anger in his voice. What had she done? Was this about this morning? "Now is as good time as any."
He stayed quiet.
"Brian, if you have something to say then just say it. Is this about this morning? Is it really that big a deal that you have to be a dick to me in front of my coworkers?" she was getting frustrated. She hated when he would beat around the bush.
That's it. He wasn't going to wait to get into this. She wanted to get into this now, well here he goes. "This has nothing to do with this morning. It has to do with the fact that I came to surprise you for lunch today after you've been a bitch this morning only to see you with that prick Haden. You want to be with this guy then tell me, don't do it behind my back and feed me this bullshit that I'm being the ass," he snapped.
She was taken aback. How did he find out? She hadn't told anyone.
"What, you think you can hide it from me and that everything would be okay? I don't even want to know how long this has been going on," he continued.
She walked a little closer to him. "Brian, it's not like that. He called and wanted to catch up after hearing what happened with Lewis. He just wanted to see that I was okay, that's it," she defended while keeping her voice down. The rest of the detectives and officers had gone home except the ones working this case. They didn't need to hear her and Brian fighting.
"Oh so you talk to this ass hat about what that piece of shit did to you but, not me. You shut me out when all I've been doing this whole time is try to help you. You're fucking unbelievable!" He threw his hands up and started to walk away.
"Why are you being like this?"
He stopped but didn't turn around. "Being like what? Being angry that you went behind my back with your ex-boyfriend who still has feelings for you?!"
"It wasn't like that Brian. I at least owe it to him-"
He quickly turned back around. "Owe it to him? Then go fucking be with him if you think you owe him something! You don't think you owe it to me to tell me what happened? To tell me what you're feeling?"
She felt the tears forming in the back of her eyes. "I didn't tell him anything! You think this is easy for me?! That I want to keep things from you?! It's not that simple, Brian! I can't just tell you everything that happened like it was nothing! I can't even think about it and you expect me to talk about it! I really don't need this from you, Brian." Tears were falling from her eyes at this point and she didn't care. She was so hurt and angry that she couldn't hold it in.
He just stood there shaking his head. He looked at her once more then stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
She sat on the bench after her legs gave out. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm her down but she just burst into tears. Her shoulders began shaking with each sob escaping her lips.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to hold her and tell her everything was okay. He wasn't supposed to walk out on her.
Olivia sat there trying to calm her breaths as she heard the door open. She quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her like this.
"Liv, what happened?" Nick asked as he took a seat next to her on the bench.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"Liv, we all heard you guys yelling. I'm just worried about you," he explained.
"Nick, I really can't talk about this right now. I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep for a few hours." She stood up and was about to leave then she turned around to face Nick.
"Did he-" she started.
Nick already knew she was asking if Brian had left. "Munch followed him out. He'll calm him down and you two will be okay."
She nodded and kept quiet.
"Come on; let's get you up to the cribs." Nick led her up to the cribs and went back to his desk, hoping his partner would pull through.
SVU~SVU~SVU~SVU
Brian looked down on the city and breathed in the fresh city air. He rested his head in his hands until he heard the roof door open.
Munch walked closer to him and joined him in looking over the crowded streets.
"You okay?" Munch asked. These two had a close relationship. They were partners 14 years ago but, they still kept in touch this whole time. Brian looked at John as his mentor.
Brian kept his gaze down, focusing on the city life. He just shrugged.
"I know it's frustrating to try and help someone who won't talk to you," Munch tried.
Brian stayed quiet.
Munch continued, "Olivia is a very stubborn woman but, I don't think she's being stubborn about this. I just think it's hard for her to even talk about it. She's always been the strong one of the group. Whatever we went through, she was always our backbone." He paused for a moment. "Brian, this is probably one of the hardest things she's ever been through and she doesn't know how to deal with it. I know it's hard for you too but, if I know Olivia as well as I think I do, she's probably feeling helpless. She feels like she's not the same Olivia Benson because she couldn't defend herself against Lewis from the beginning. I know you Brian. I know you only want the best for her but, maybe the best thing for her at this moment is not to talk about it."
Brian looked over at John with glassy eyes. "I just feel so useless as her boyfriend. The night after those four days, she just cried and cried. I held her for hours while she cried. I never saw her like that and I just wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know so that I can make everything better. All I want to do is help her. I just want her to be the same person that I fell in love with," Brian admitted.
John looked over at his friend. He knew Olivia was put through hell for those four days but, to hear what Brian was saying, was just heartbreaking. "I know. And eventually she will tell you what happened but, maybe now isn't the time. Let her get all her emotions together and then she'll be ready to talk. For now Brian, just show her that you still see her as the Olivia Benson we all know and love. Don't treat her differently because of what she went through. Treat her the same way you always have."
Brian took all this in. He looked at John and nodded. John was right. Olivia hated that people were treating her differently. That made her feel like everyone thought she was weak and couldn't handle herself. "I just need to cool off tonight and I'm sure she needs to do the same."
"Of course. Give each other space for the night but, just understand where she's coming from Brian."
SVU~SVU~SVU~SVU
Olivia lay in a cot in the crib that night. She was exhausted from the day. They were still trying to get a confession out of their suspect but, all he kept saying is that he wouldn't talk until he got a deal.
Brian walked into the cribs an hour later being exhausted as well. He saw Olivia laying there. She looked over at him and then back down. He saw that Olivia's eyes were red and puffy but, he was still so angry that he didn't care to ask at that moment.
He was turning to leave, not being able be in the same room with her at the moment.
"Brian, please stay," she whispered quietly that he could hear the weakness in her voice.
They both knew that she was too scared to sleep alone but, she was too stubborn to admit it.
Although he was mad at her, he didn't have the heart to leave her like this. He lay down on the cot next to her and turned his back to her. He was mad at her but, he wasn't about to let her sleep while she was afraid.
Olivia sighed, realizing that he didn't want to talk. She turned the other way and closed her eyes.
I loved writing the scene with Munch and Cassidy. I loved how when he came back to the show, he and Munch were still joking with each other and it's as if they've always been friends.
I know some of you may hate Brian in this chapter but, understand how frustrating it can be.
Please review. I made this chapter extra long you guys and I would love to know what you think.
