A New Start
Chapter Eight
Zebraboymom
Disclaimer: They belong to me in my dreams only.
Author Notes: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. You make me want to write more every day and keep the updates coming. And now Olivia and Elliot as I have always wanted to see them. The scenes with David Haden in bed should have been her and Elliot back when his marriage ended the first time. What a disappointment it was to see that they let her have those scenes, but never with Elliot. Okay on to the Fluff. Remember I warned you.
The kiss was slow and deep. Liv felt Elliot turn her in his arms and pull her across his body as he held her and kissed her tenderly. This was what she longed for. This was what she needed.
Elliot ran one of the hands he had on her back up into her hair. He had wanted to feel her hair all these years. The few times he had held her and touched it he knew it was soft. Now he tangled his fingers in it and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. The kissing continued for long minutes and Elliot finally pulled back to cup her cheek and look into her eyes.
They were hazy and wet with unshed tears.
"Liv, what's wrong? Do you want me to stop?"
"No El. I…I just can't believe we are finally here in this moment. I never thought…"
"I know…me too."
He swiped his fingers under her eyes catching the tears that brimmed over and then captured her lips again.
"Elliot…"
"I know. I want you too."
He slid the arm from her face down under her knees, lifted her into his arms and stood to carry her to her bedroom. He bent his head to kiss her again, before he whispered tenderly.
"I love you Liv. I have since almost the beginning. I tried so hard to fight it, but I couldn't."
As he walked down the hall with her in his arms she looked up at him.
"And I've loved you almost from the day you shook my hand and told Cap you didn't want to be paired with a woman."
Elliot stopped at the doorway to her room.
"You knew I said that?"
"Yep."
"Then why didn't you ask to be paired with someone else?"
"It was Don. He said he thought we'd be the perfect partners and to just give it some time and trust him. I did and he was right. In more ways than I ever could have imagined."
As Elliot laid her gently down on the bed and crawled in over her he smiled.
"Remind me to thank him next time I see him."
"He's been like a father to us; strict, but loving."
"I know it's only been a few days, but it seems like we've been together for years."
"I know. We have though, right? In every way except this one."
Elliot reached for the buttons of Liv's blouse as his eyes darkened with emotion. He slowly undressed her, taking in every part of her. His eyes would go back up to hers each time he divested her of something else and she blushed under his gaze.
Once she was naked, she sat up in the bed and did the same for him. She slowly unbuttoned every button of that beautiful blue shirt and kissed each scar as they came into view. She knew them all and what happened when he received each: The gunshot wounds, the puncture wound from the pen when she had been in Oregon, cuts from Stuckey and the broken window when the meth head threw him through it, the scars on his head where he had been shoved into the car window and so many more.
"Liv, you're killin' me here. I want you."
"I'm right here El."
Both now found themselves skin to skin for the first time ever and it was glorious…overwhelming. They spent the rest of the night touching, caressing and making love over and over until the early morning hours before dawn.
As Liv snuggled down in his embrace near sunrise, his voice was in her ear.
"Take a personal day. There is no way you'll be able to stay awake."
Liv snickered, but agreed.
"And what do I tell Cragen? He knows I went on a date. Tell him I'm too tired from having sex all night with my partner?"
"Something like that."
Liv smiled and slipped out of bed. In the moonlight Elliot could see her beautiful naked form better and she took his breath away. He watched as she picked his shirt up off the floor and put it on.
"Okay, you win. I'll be right back."
She grabbed her cell and went to leave a message on her captain's machine at work before he came in. That way she wouldn't have to talk to him in person.
Several minutes later she reappeared in her bedroom doorway and as El watched, she slid the shirt down off her arms and strode towards the bed.
Elliot's eyebrows went up.
"Are you planning another assault detective?"
"I finally got my man, so yeah."
With that she was back in his arms for another round of lovemaking that was playful and a little more inventive than before. Her last thought as Elliot took her was there was no reason to even get out of bed today.
Don Cragen listened to the voice mail from his favorite detective and a smile crossed his face. This guy must be something. It couldn't be a coincidence that she took today off. She hardly ever did that. He sighed and sat down at his desk. He was happy for her, but a part of him was sad. He always thought that she and Elliot would end up together. The man's marriage had been over for years; Elliot and Kathy just didn't want to put it to words. He had been certain when his marriage did end that he would have to separate the two, but then the shooting happened and Elliot did something he thought he would never do…leave SVU…and Liv.
When he paired Olivia and Elliot he knew instinctively from working with Elliot, her captain's observations about Olivia and her profile that they would be good together. He had no idea that they would be so outstanding or that they would begin to care so deeply for each other. He had seen it for years, but the Psyche Eval told him all he needed to know. He had a feeling Stabler would live his life out a sad and empty man without Liv by his side.
He shook his thoughts away as Fin came into his office.
"You wanted to see me Cap?"
"Yeah, uh…Liv is taking a personal day. I need you to work with Amaro."
"A personal day huh?"
Fin couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face. Don was on to him.
"You know something don't you?"
"Me? No. I…no. Please don't ask me Cap. I promised."
"Okay, but I will find out. I just hope it isn't Haden."
"I know. Right? I told her the same thing. It isn't, but you may or may not be pleased with who it actually is."
Cragen could only think of one other guy…
"It isn't Stabler is it?"
Fin just stared back at him.
"It is isn't it? I never thought we'd see him again. So he contacted her and they spent last night together?"
Fin didn't offer any answers, but both men knew the truth. Don didn't know whether to be pissed or really, really happy. He opted for happy.
"Well, it's about time."
"You think those two can make it work Cap?"
"I'd place bets on it. They're a matched set. One doesn't function without the other one. Well, I'm glad. Now get back to work and keep this on the down low for Liv."
"That's what I was tryin' to do."
"Right. Sorry."
Don grinned and went back to reading files.
Fin spent the rest of the day dodging Nick's questions about where Liv was and with whom. The woman owed him big time for this one.
Liv opened her eyes and relaxed in the embrace of one amazing man. His hand was splayed across her stomach and his face was buried in her neck. He smelled so good. He was musky with just a tinge of sweat from their lovemaking. She turned in his arms and snuggled up to him, placing a kiss on his jaw.
Elliot cracked one eye open and smiled down at her.
"So much for taking things slow."
"We've been bottling it all up for years. It had to come out somehow. Last night was…"
"Epic?"
Liv sighed.
"Let's stay right here in my bed all day. Can we?"
Elliot rolled her over on her back.
"I like your thinking."
Before she could respond he was kissing her and she let herself be pulled back into his passionate embrace.
Some time after noon Liv could hear Elliot's stomach rumbling and they decided to make some lunch together. As Liv got up to put some clothes on, Elliot jumped out of the bed and grabbed his shirt.
"Wear this for me again?"
"What is it with men liking their women to wear their clothes?"
Elliot slowly buttoned the shirt up from the bottom, leaving the top three buttons undone.
"I don't know. It's just sexy."
"Well, I like you in your boxer briefs, so what is it about women and men in their underwear?"
"Hmmm. I don't know."
"I know I like what I see."
Elliot pulled her to him and kissed her deeply and then brushed her wild hair out of her eyes. He stroked his hands through her hair a few more times. He liked doing that.
"Me too. Let's eat."
They made sandwiches and chips, grabbed a couple of beers and curled up on the couch together to eat.
Elliot had a hard time focusing on his sandwich. Liv's open shirt was playing peek-a-boo with him and he wanted her all over again.
"You know the sandwich is lunch, not me."
Elliot laughed and almost choked on a bite.
"Sorry. It's just being able to openly look at you and not have to filter it, it's just hard to focus right now."
"I like that. I like that I can distract you. I wondered for years if I was even on your radar. You hid things pretty well."
"I could as long as you weren't in danger. Those were the times when my guard was down. I was so worried about you at times. My heart stopped when Gitano cut you and that day at the airport I thought you were shot. When I found out Harris hurt you at the prison I punched a hole in Captain Cragen's office."
"I never knew that."
"There were a lot of things you didn't know. That day after Gitano when I said what I did in the hall, it was to cover up how terrified I had been about how close you came to dying. I just couldn't admit it to you. In the hospital I said all the wrong things and I drove you away. I'm so sorry Liv."
"Elliot I understand. I pushed you away too. I knew you cared. You came by my apartment and you called me so many times when cases went wrong, but I was afraid if I opened the door and let you in I would do something stupid and ruin our partnership, so I kept you at arms length except when you were hurt. I just couldn't do it then, although it meant a lot to me when you stood by me with Simon. It meant so much that you trusted me and backed me through all that. You saved Simon's life that day. I wanted to throw my arms around you and kiss you, but I had to hold back. That's what we did right?"
Elliot sighed.
"I wanted to hold you that day too. I pretended to be all business, but when you were in that house my heart was beating out of my chest. When it was over I just wanted to hold you and pretend it didn't happen, but I didn't."
They sat in silence for a few moments before he continued.
"Liv…about the time with Dani…nothing happened. It never got further than a kiss. She wasn't you Liv. I missed you so much and I wanted her to be you, but she wasn't…she could never be. When you came back, I wanted to tell you everything I was feeling, but I wasn't sure where we stood and then Eli happened and the chance to be with you was gone. I swear Liv, we only slept together that one time, but we weren't careful. I spent a lot of sleepless nights wishing things were different, but I love my son and I wouldn't trade him for anything. It's ironic that he's the one who actually finally got us together."
Liv put her plate on the coffee table and slid over onto El's lap.
"And we are together. I like to think it was inevitable. Let's try to put the past where it belongs. Okay?"
Elliot pulled her close.
"Definitely okay, but if we need to talk about anything else that's happened over the years we promise to do it, okay?"
"Yes sir."
"Now kiss me and let's go back to bed."
Liv pressed her lips to his as he lifted her easily and walked down the hall to her bedroom again. Liv leaned back and looked into his eyes.
"I will never get tired of you doing that."
A/N: Next up, a hard case and Elliot comes to the precinct.
