A/N: Do they get Kathy? Is a six year case finally coming to a close?
DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters are owned by Dick Wolf. This story, narrative, dialogue, and plot are owned by TStabler©
"You came!" Kathy exclaimed, seeing Olivia walk up to the party house. The car had dropped her off a block away then drove around to the other side of the street.
"Yeah," Olivia said. "I know we don't get along, usually, but your husband is my partner, so I think we should probably try to fix whatever went wrong with us," she suggested, trying to seem natural.
Kathy smirked. "Oh, we're gonna fix it," she said. "Come on in, Olivia. Someone is coming by later, someone I'd like you to meet."
Olivia nodded, then discreetly looked down the street at that parked, black car. She prayed this would go well, and that Elliot wouldn't get as hurt by this as she thought he would.
Kathy led her into the party, the strobe lights blinking and the music blaring were enough of a distraction for Olivia to be able to whisper into her watch and give Elliot and Freddie a soft, "I'm in."
Kathy turned and stopped Olivia from moving. "Oh!" she yelled over the music. "Here! Have a drink!" she exclaimed, grabbing a bottle off of a nearby counter and thrusting it into Olivia's hands.
"Kathy," Olivia said, putting the bottle on a table near her, "Can we go somewhere and talk?" she asked, trying to play the scenario as she normally would. "I mean, you invited me here, and you never ask me to do anything, so…I'm a little confused."
"Olivia," Kathy said, shaking her head. "You said it yourself! You are my husband's partner. And we have to make sure that it's not gonna be a problem anymore."
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware it was a problem to begin with," she said. What was Kathy playing at?
Kathy laughed, pulling Olivia through the party and out the back door. She shook her head, took a sip of the drink in her hand, and asked, "You expect me to believe you aren't sleeping with him?"
Olivia's breath hitched. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Kathy's cell phone rang. She knew who it was, so she waited, trying to listen to both sides of the conversation. Hearing Freddie through her earpiece and Kathy next to her, she heard it all.
"Great," Kathy said. "The address I gave Kisa, around the back. We'll be waiting," she said. She hung up and looked at Olivia. "Sorry," she said. "That was, uh, someone who wants to meet you. They're on their way."
Olivia smirked knowingly. "You're not setting me up on a blind date are you?" she asked. She knew the answer was no, Kathy was just setting her up.
"No," Kathy said. "So when did you start fucking my husband?" she asked, suddenly turning. "Does he ever slip and call you Kathy? Because he has called me 'Olivia' and 'Liv' more times than I care to remember. Not in bed, Lord knows he hasn't touched me in what seems like forever. He just calls me by your name in actual, everyday conversation. That means you're fucking him."
Olivia sighed. "Kathy, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not even gonna try. It isn't worth it," she said. "But you have to know…he made the first move. I tried to back off. I flat out turned him down, actually, but…you know how persuasive that man can be. He wants what he wants when he wants it."
"Yeah," Kathy scoffed. "He does. I just don't understand what he sees in you," she said, shaking her head.
"Honestly," Olivia sighed, "Neither do I."
Kathy raised her eyes at that remark. "What?" she asked, sounding surprised.
Olivia shrugged. "I don't get it either, Kathy. He has you, this beautiful, blonde, intelligent wife. You're the mother to his amazing children," she said. "Why would he give all of that up for me? I can't offer him…"
Olivia was interrupted by the screeching of tires as the black car pulled up to the curb. Kathy and Olivia watched as Freddie got out and gestured for them to meet him in the street.
"That's the guy?" Olivia asked, looking at Kathy.
Kathy smirked. "Yes," she said, grabbing Olivia's arm and practically pulling her down the steps. "Where's Kisa?" she asked, irritated, looking at Freddie.
Freddie shrugged, and in a thick Russian accent he said, "Kisa is a bit tied up now." He chuckled and grinned. He looked Olivia up and down, licked his lips, and said, "Kisa will approve." He held out his hand.
"Not until I get the money," Kathy said. "Where's the cash?" she asked, holding her own hand out to Freddie.
Freddie moved, taking an envelope out of his pocket. He slapped it into Kathy's hand.
Kathy smirked, laughed, and threw Olivia into Freddie's arms. As she looked into the envelope, Freddie and Olivia reached for their guns and Elliot got out of the car. Kathy began to say something as she looked up, then she froze at the sight before her. "What the fuck? Elliot?" she yelled, horrified, dropping the envelope.
"Don't move," Olivia yelled, stepping forward. "Don't even think about moving, Kathy. Or is it Katarzyna?"
"Mother fucker," Kathy spat, closing her eyes. She laughed then, an evil, sure-sounding laugh. "Wait, wait," she said, shaking her hands in the air. "You…you're Kisa? You set me up knowing I would set you up. That was...pretty damn slick actually."
Olivia nodded once. "It's what I do, Kathy," she said. "We get the bad guy."
Kathy shook her head and pointed to Elliot. "He would never do this to me, Olivia. In two seconds he's gonna turn that gun on you and the two of us are getting out of here. Right, honey?" she asked, looking at Elliot.
Elliot smirked. His blue eyes gleamed as he slowly moved out from behind the car. He had his gun raised, still aimed at Kathy. "Kathy," he began, "You should know by now." He stepped closer to Kathy, dropping his gun. He brushed his hand over her face, though her blonde hair, then down her arm and said, "I will always choose…" He paused, grabbing her hand and yanking her arm behind her. "Liv," he said, finishing his statement. "Kathy Stabler, or is it Katarzyna Molokowski, you are under arrest."
"Elliot, don't do this!" Kathy cried. "I'm your wife! The mother of your children!"
"And because of you, those children were taken away, Kathy!" Elliot yelled.
Kathy wriggled, trying to break free as she felt the cold metal of the cuffs being slapped on her. "Wait! You can't! You can't arrest me, it's against NYPD…"
"I'm with the CIA, Kathy," Elliot said, seething into her ear, whispering harshly. "Guess we both had secrets."
Kathy's eyes widened. She turned her head and looked at Olivia. "This is all your fault, you fucking bitch!"
Olivia, watching Elliot arrest his own wife, watching her best friend's life unravel right before her eyes, sighed and nodded. "Yeah," she said softly, heartbroken. "It is." She lowered her gun, looked away from the scene with a lick of her lips, and shook her head. "I'll meet you back at HQ, Freddie. Make sure he doesn't kill her," she said, walking away.
"Benson!" Freddie yelled. "Come on, where are you going?" he called after her.
Elliot slammed the door after getting Kathy into the car, and he, too, yelled after her, "Liv! Liv!"
All they got was a wave of her hand over her head, telling them to go on without her.
Olivia walked back into the offices an hour and a half later. She nodded to Freddie who was perched behind his desk. She walked into the screening room and looked at Kline. "It's over," she said, a whispered acknowledgement. "Isn't it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kline nodded. "Yeah, it only took you six years."
Olivia rolled her red, dry eyes. "I couldn't hurt El…"
"I know," Kline interrupted. "Did I say it was a bad thing? You have so much evidence against her, that you've collected through your six-year investigation. Elliot tossed it all in front of her and she told us everything. It was a pretty solid confession, and a surprisingly easy interrogation. Except…"
"What?" Olivia asked. She knew, but she had to ask.
Kline folded his arms. "You came up quite a lot. You really got personal with this one, Benson. Something agents are not supposed to do. That's why…"
"I know that," Olivia said, taking her turn to interrupt. "I didn't plan on it, but I couldn't stop it. If I have to, I'll leave, but it's gonna kill him. He just lost everything and…"
"Benson." Kline said, holding up a hand, "He made it perfectly clear that he could handle things, and he can handle you. Instead of running away he climbed on the train to hell with you. You can't leave him now, he's giving up his life for you. Any agent would be hard pressed to find someone willing to do that for him. Or her."
Olivia tilted her head. "You sound like you're speaking from experience," she said.
"When I joined the agency, I was married," Kline said. "It took me three years to finally tell my wife what I really did for a living. She thought I was a traveling salesman," he said with a laugh. "Anyway, I told her, and she flipped. She said there was no way she could handle being married to someone like that. someone who had to lie for a living. She took our kids and she left. That was twenty-five years ago." He ran a hand down his face and sighed. "You found someone who not only didn't yell and push you away, but someone who loves you enough to dive in with you, work with you. He wants to be here, with you, your partner. That's a rare thing, Benson. Hold onto it if you can."
Olivia sighed and looked back into the offices. She saw Elliot, laughing with Freddie about something. She watched as their secretary handed Elliot his new credentials and an ID badge. She smiled as she saw him shake hands with the other men in the room, starting to fall into place. "That's the thing," she said, turning back ti Kline. "I don't know if I can."
"How long have you been in love with him?" Kline asked.
"You know the answer to that," Olivia said.
Kline looked at her. "You kept that to yourself to protect him. You put your job on the line to protect him. You two have saved each other how many times? And tonight the man arrested, interrogated, and booked his own wife. I think he has made his choice perfectly clear. You've got nothing to worry about." He jerked his head toward the door and said, "Go home, Benson. Tomorrow, you need to clear up that little matter with Munch."
"If you would stop spilling all of the government's secrets to him when you're drunk," Olivia said with a laugh, "I wouldn't have to clear everything up."
Kline laughed and waved her out. She stepped into the bright, open, room filled with desks, and immediately Elliot was at her side. "Where were you?" he asked, his voice low. "I had to talk to her, by myself, Liv, I needed you there and…"
"El, please," Olivia said, stopping him. "I needed time alone, to think, to…"
"Cry," Elliot said. "Baby, you were crying," he whispered. "I can see it in your eyes. What happened?" he asked.
"I really just wanna go home," Olivia said. "We can't talk about this here, anyway." She walked over to her desk, picking something up off of it, and led Elliot out of the doors. They walked through the halls silently, took the elevator ride down to the ground floor with just the sounds of their light breathing filling the space between them. Once they got into the car, however, Elliot spoke.
"What happened?" he asked again.
Olivia sighed. "Watching you do what you did…El, you arrested your wife! She was right. It was my fault, you shouldn't have had to…"
"I did it to prove something to you!" Elliot spat. "Don't you get that? Liv, I made a choice. I made a fucking choice. I chose you, I chose this! Kathy doesn't matter anymore. She hasn't mattered in a really long time, and you…you matter to me more than anything. You and my kids, and my job. That's my life. That is what I want. Stop trying to convince me that it's not!"
"You're a stubborn son of a bitch," Olivia said with a small chuckle.
"Yes, I am," Elliot said, nodding. "I want what I want when I want it. You know that. I want you, and I want you now."
Olivia looked at him, smiled slowly, and shook her head as she laughed. "El," she said, "I want you, too."
"Then we don't have a problem," Elliot said. "I love you, Liv," he said softly, turning down the street toward his place. "I hope that's clear to you now," he added.
Olivia took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as the car came to a stop. She waited until Elliot turned the key and looked at her. She held his gaze as, for the first time with absolute certainty and clarity, she said, "I love you, too."
A/N: Next chapter: Olivia and Munch have a conversation. Elliot talks to his kids. A new SVU case, a surprise in the squadroom, and a new assignment that will bring Olivia and Elliot closer than they ever thought possible. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212
