A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed...keep e'm coming! :) A HUGE thank you to the super talented DarkAlley29 who Beta'd about 98% of this for me! On with the story...
He had been sleeping on Olivia's old, worn out pull out couch for a little over two weeks while he sorted things out with his wife and children. She kept true to her word, being there for him when he needed to vent and even when he just needed to drink until he didn't feel anymore.
He'd been looking for apartments, but not with the urgency he probably should have been. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was actually enjoying staying with her. He learned something new about her, nearly every day and they were growing closer as friends.
It beat being alone in his big, empty house in Queens.
He and Kathy put the house up for sale three days ago, as they both agreed that neither of them wanted to live there anymore with all of the memories they shared together. Kathy had moved in with her mother for the time being and the extra help with Eli was definitely appreciated.
Together, they told the kids about the split, almost a week after Kathleen left the hospital.
Kathleen had decided to take the rest of the semester off to get herself together. She was on a new medication, and going to therapy again weekly. She was on her way to making peace with what happened between her and Jake, but was just not ready to go back to the dorms and class. She came to see Elliot and Olivia at least twice a week, their relationship even stronger than before after all they had been through together.
The rest of the kids hadn't taken the news of the split as badly as they thought they would. Perhaps they just didn't take the threat of divorce seriously anymore.
Elliot really hadn't either until the expedited papers for legal separation came in the mail the previous day.
For the first time in his entire rocky marriage, Elliot truly knew it was over this time. As distraught as he was, he knew it was the right thing for everyone involved. He and Kathy had simply been going through the motions. He did love her, but his main focus had been on their children, not on improving their strained relationship. Truth is, he'd been lonely for the type of romantic love they once shared. It had been years since he felt that for her.
He felt guilty as fuck for that.
Fortunately, everything had been amicable between the ex-couple. He and Kathy had agreed that they would always care for each other and would try to remain good friends. Despite everything, she had been a huge part of his life for over 23 years.
He would never stop caring.
A knock at the door jarred him from his melancholy thoughts.
Olivia shouted from her bedroom, "Be right there, Ben!"
Elliot watched her, finding it entertaining as she flittered around the apartment looking for her cell phone and purse. He smiled to himself, amused at the girly side of his partner as she got ready for a date. It was kind of cute.
Shoving her phone into her clutch, she asked, "Do I look okay?"
Elliot took her in for the first time that night, really looking at her. She had on a royal blue dress that hugged every sensual curve just right. Her gleaming, chestnut hair was in soft waves and her eyes were smoldering. Her plump, glossy lips were moving again, but he didn't hear a word she said. His gaze slowly raked down the length of her voluptuous body to her shiny, black, stilettos. He breathed in the subtle but hypnotic aroma of her perfume. As his eyes met hers again, he realized she was staring at him, her right eyebrow quirked.
He swallowed hard, "What was that, Liv?"
She smirked. "I said are you sure you don't mind being on your own for the night?"
He watched as she sauntered over to the door to meet her date. "'Course not," he said roughly, his throat suddenly dry. "You have fun. I'm gonna head out soon to take the kids to the movies anyway."
She smiled at him and winked as she placed her hand in her date's arm, closing the door behind her.
What the hell was that?
She didn't even introduce him to her cheesy looking date. And why the fuck was his face burning, his heart rate beating out of control?
He had always been protective of her, but this felt different. The past two weeks had been filled with seeing his partner more as a woman and not just "one of the guys." He had always thought she was cute, but lately…it was just… different.
{EO}
Looking over in the darkness at the glowing digital numbers on the DVD player clock for the millionth time that night, Elliot grumbled under his breath about the late hour, turning over on the uncomfortable sofa bed. Olivia still hadn't come home from her date and it was approaching 1:30am. Just as he was about to send her a text message to make sure she was all right, she came stumbling noisily into the apartment.
"Shhh," she giggled to herself as she tossed her clutch onto the kitchen counter, where it landed with a metallic ping from the buckle on the front closure. She shut the door behind her, and then slumped against it heavily for a moment before she noticed Elliot staring at her, sitting up on the sofa bed.
"Elliot!" she flopped onto the bed next to him. She shucked off her jacket, toed off her heels, and made her way under the warm, fleece blanket. "Hi," she said sleepily.
Elliot rolled his eyes at her, but was amused at the same time. "Liv, what the hell are you doing…you're bombed!"
She sat upright, offended, and pointed her index finger, touching the tip of his nose. "You're bombed!"
His eyes narrowed at her, "Geez, Liv how much did you drink tonight? Must've had a fun date…"
"Terrible, terrible. Date was terrible." She mumbled. She leaned into him and he could feel her hot breath against his cheek. "Can I tell you somethin', El?" she whispered against his ear, sending chills down his body.
He cleared his throat and glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'm afraid to ask…" he snorted.
"I shoulda just went to the movies with you and the kids." The words left her lips in a rush of air, strung together.
Elliot chuckled, shaking his head as he pushed himself off the bed and made his way into the small kitchen. He grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and placed it on the side table next to her. "That bad, huh?"
Olivia snuggled down under the blanket, rubbed her face against the soft, down pillow and closed her eyes. "Yeah, but I'm kinda used to it…"
He laid down next her, over the cozy blanket, and smiled at her. "Why is that?"
In her hazy state of mind, she whispered dreamily, "No one compares to you…" She dozed off with a soft smile on her face, leaving Elliot looking over at her in disbelief.
Did that really just happen?
{EO}
The next morning, Elliot left for work hurriedly before Olivia woke up, needing the time with his thoughts. He could barely sleep last night after Olivia's words. He wondered if it was just the liquor talking, or if she actually felt that way. He had felt a flutter deep in his stomach at her admittance and tossed and turned on the hard mattress while she snored softly at his side.
Maneuvering his way through the early morning rush hour traffic, he tried to make sense of everything that happened in the last couple of weeks. He had been feeling so low since he moved out of the home he shared with his wife and children for the past nineteen years. The last few weeks though, Olivia had made him feel hope again; made him feel like he could get past the dark thoughts and emotions that he suffered through every night since Kathleen's incident. It had truly surprised him. He had always looked at Olivia as somewhat of a tortured soul. As someone who over-identified with the victims and had not much of a personal life. Living with her and learning who she was first hand made him realize how wrong he was. He discovered a silly, carefree side to his partner he never knew existed. He discovered that despite all he thought he knew about her, she could also be quite feminine and insecure…and beautiful. Elliot, for the first time, began to see her as more. More than just his partner of over a decade, but as a sexy woman that actually had feelings for him.
Elliot entered the bustling squad room with two strong coffees in his hands, knowing that both he and Olivia would be in need of the extra caffeine boost. About twenty minutes after he arrived, Olivia came traipsing in, her usual radiance absent from her complexion. She eyed the Styrofoam cup on her desk, then Elliot with a look of extreme gratitude.
"You might need to heat it up a bit there, drunky," Elliot teased.
She scanned the surrounding area before she responded quietly. "Did I do something stupid last night, El?"
She had woken up alone on her sofa bed, head pounding and with a distinct feeling she may have said something a bit too revealing to Elliot in her drunken state. Olivia couldn't even remember how she ended up on the sofa, and not her own comfortable queen sized bed. She had quickly showered and rushed to the precinct, wondering why he didn't wake her before he left.
Elliot stared at her, brow creased, a look of sheer disappointment marring his handsome face.
"No…not at all, Liv." He broke eye contact and focused on his computer screen, fingers typing furiously.
Olivia watched him, confused by his short reply, and then shrugged. She put her purse in the desk drawer and began to log on to her computer, stealing the occasional curious glance at Elliot while she prepared for the work day.
Elliot stared at his computer screen, not really seeing anything that was in front of him. Olivia hadn't remembered anything. Apparently she had been drunker than he thought last night. He watched her as she sipped her coffee and wondered if he should jog her memory. After all, she did drop a pretty big bombshell on him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn't bring it up. The truth is that when it came to her, he was a bit of a coward.
It had always been that way.
It had to change.
"Hey, Liv, do you have plans tonight?" he whispered across their joined desks.
She arched her brow at him and said, "No, why?"
"How 'bout we order in and talk about…well just talk?" He glanced down at his desk awkwardly.
She tilted her head to the side, considering his statement. "'Kay…sounds good," she said slowly.
"Good," he replied
"Good," she said nervously.
What the fuck did she do last night? Fucking alcohol!
She let out a frustrated sigh and peered over at him again, meeting his gaze across the desks.
He was smirking at her and blushing at the same time.
Again…what the fuck?
She focused back on her work, heart pounding in her chest, wondering what the night would bring.
