Chapter 10

"Elliot, come in here."

Elliot got up and walked into Cragen's office, closing the door behind him. "What's up, cap?"

"How's it working out with you and Munch?"

"Pretty good."

"Have you heard anything from Olivia since she left?"

Elliot's jaw tightened. So Cragen hadn't heard anything from her, either. That really worried him. It had been 2 weeks, she should have called by now. He'd been over to her apartment (he had a key because he'd replaced the broken lock) and everything she'd left behind was still there. "No, I haven't heard from her."

"Did you talk to her at all before she left?"

"Yeah. If you're asking me whether or not she's coming back, I don't know. She said she wasn't, but I don't really know if I believe her. She might just need some time away."

Cragen nodded, "I hope you're right. Let me know if you hear anything from her. That's all." Elliot nodded and left the office.

SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU

Olivia ran full out, but there was nowhere to go one she reached the tiny room. He was on her heels and she had no hopes of getting away. She jumped over the bed and struggled to open the balcony door, her heart pounding from adrenaline, but her fingers wouldn't open the lock. He skidded to a halt and put his hands on either side of her, smearing his sweaty handprints onto the glass. She whipped around to look into his eyes, the sound of his panting almost drowned out by the pounding of her hear, "Gotcha," he said, his voice rough in his raw throat. She had lost and she knew it.

"Doesn't matter, I still beat you," she said, shoving him onto the bed and sitting down beside him to catch her breath.

"You didn't get to the balcony."

"Neither did you."

"You had a head start," He said, smiling broadly.

"Bull shit. Just admit I'm faster than you," she said, shoving him playfully. Everything they did together was so juvenile, but it felt perfect. She hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since she met Tori because suddenly she didn't need it anymore.

"Not a chance." He leaned over and kissed her. She returned his kiss, letting herself fall backwards onto the bed.

There was a knock at the door and Tori swore under his breath. Olivia smiled "Leave it," she said, pulling him down to her again. There was a soft swish sound and Tori looked up to see an envelope pushed under the door, "You've got mail." He said.

Olivia shoved him off of her, nearly knocking him off the bed, and darted for the door, grabbing her gun as she went. She flung open the door and looked around, but there was no one to be seen. She sighed and looked down at the envelope, then started laughing. Tori was stunned. He got up slowly and walked over to pick up the envelope, which had his name written on it, followed by small, cramped writing. It was a note from his friend Greg saying he was going away for a few days, with a key to his room inside. Olivia sat down on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands while Tori closed the door and slid the key back in the envelope. "So…you gonna tell me what that was about?"

Olivia uncovered her face and smiled brightly at him, "Nope."

He stood there with his arms crossed, his jaw clenched and his eyebrows squeezed together in an expression that seemed very out of place on his face. They seemed to transform him into a completely different person. 'He looks like Elliot,' she thought. She looked over at the clock. It was almost 11 at night. She reached over and grabbed the phone, dialing Elliot's cell number. She never dialed his number because it was on her cell's speed dial, but she knew it off by heart. Just when she thought he wasn't going to answer, he picked up. "Stabler," he sounded weary.

"El, it's me," she said, knowing he would recognize her voice.

"Olivia?! What the hell is going on, we've been worried sick about you, where the hell are you?" He said, jumping up so fast he nearly knocked over the chair. He was fuming mad, but not really at her, it was just because he'd been so worried about her for so long.

"I'm sorry I haven't called, I just needed space. But I'm doing fine. Getting away from work has been really good for me." She was fully aware of Tori watching her, listening to every word, but she would make it up to him.

"Liv, where are you? Are you coming back? All of your stuff is still here, I fixed your door…" he had so many things to say to her that he couldn't sort it all out.

"I'll worry about my stuff later. I gotta go, I just wanted to let you know I was okay. Bye, El." And she hung up before he could say anything else.

"Who was that?" Tori asked. He knew he was prying, but he didn't care.

"Elliot. My partner."

"So is it work you're trying to get away from or him?"

"Work. You know how it is. You see things like that every day and you can really lose faith in humanity if you don't get away once in a while."

"I bet. And I hear it only gets worse if you move up to detective. I've heard some real horror stories." Olivia couldn't help wondering about Tori. She wanted so badly to believe he was really who he said he was, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake her suspicion. The only thing she could do was remind herself that she had been attacked in New York and there was no way her attacker could have followed her.

"From who?"

"Friend of mine used to be an SVU detective. You know, sex crimes? He was there for 6 months then moved to homicide. He said every victim just rips your heart to shreds and there's never enough time to put the pieces back together before the next case. I couldn't imagine seeing what they see every day. A kid with cancer is one thing, a kid whose dad crawls in to bed with them every night is another thing completely," he shuddered, and Olivia felt a chill run down her own spine.

"Yeah, I've heard about them. I can't imagine working there," she said, her eyes slightly unfocused as she heard the cries of all the children she'd helped over the years, replayed every horror story she'd ever seen. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach.

"This is hardly a cheery topic, let's quit dwelling on it. You need to loosen up." He started massaging her shoulders and she let herself relax, the images in her head chased away by his touch.

Fooled you guys with that little tease, didn't I? :P Plenty of twists and turns left to come. Hope E/O shippers aren't disappointed, but I wanted it to be about the story, and since I'm really not a shipper myself, it's hard to write about. But I think there's a little something for everyone. By the way, it's looking like there'll be 21 chapters. Hope you're enjoying!