A/N: How do their friends react? One of them is a little, uh, unsupportive.
DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. Storyline, dialogue, narrative and originality belong to TStabler©
"Okay, Olivia, I only have twenty minutes, so let's pray this slow-ass waiter hurries the hell up with our lunch and you can tell us what you need to tell us," Alex said as she chugged her water.
"Alex," Casey said, sipping her iced tea, "We are having lunch with our best friend, why are you in such a hur...you told Munch you'd meet him, too, didn't you?"
Alex paled, and nodded limply. "He was so persistent, I couldn't say no. I'm sorry, Benson. Could you just kind of, I dunno, give me the abridged version so I can go meet John?"
Olivia sighed, with a disbelieving smile and a shake of her head. "Okay, so, you know how I've been avoiding every date you've tried to set me up on? Sudden colds? Headaches? My fear of Red Lobster?"
Casey nodded. "You need to see an allergist, a therapist, and I'm running out of single, male friends, Olivia!"
"I haven't been sick and I don't have a phobia of tacky seafood restaurants. I've um, I've been seeing someone."
"For eight fucking months? And you haven't introduced us to him? We had no idea! That is both rude and incredibly impressive!" Casey held out her hand and gave Olivia a high five as the girls laughed.
Alex shook her head. "I don't believe you. I think you just want us to stop trying to set you up so you can pine away for Stabler for the rest of your..."
"Oh, my Jimmy Choo!" cried Casey. "It is Stabler, isn't it?"
Olivia smirked, Casey laughed and Alex choked on her water. "Yeah," Olivia said, smiling impishly, with bright eyes. "But, you guys, please don't judge me. It wasn't an affair, really. I mean, we kissed, a lot, but it wasn't..."
"Olivia," Casey said, moving her glass so the waiter could put down her salad. "I swear to God, even if the man hung you upside down from the ceiling fan in the cribs and fucked you senseless on his wedding day, I wouldn't judge you. You've been in love with him since the day you met, and Lord knows he's had it bad for you for just as long. This is fanfuckingtastic!"
Alex bit into her sandwich and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Benson. I know how you feel about him, but, I hope you get him out of your system soon."
"Excuse me?" Olivia and Casey said at the same time.
"I know we spent a lot of time joking about how you two act like a married couple and treat each other like you're in a relationship, but that was before I knew you were actually in one! He's an arrogant, pig-headed, violent control-freak. Not to mention he cheated on his wife, so odds are, when he gets bored with you, and finds someone new and shiny, he's going to do the same thing to you. Elliot Stabler is nothing but trouble Olivia. Think about this," Alex said, pleading with her friend through her glasses.
Olivia, taken aback, hurt and shaken by Alex's brutal honesty, shuffled her salad around on her plate. "I think you should just go meet Munch."
"Oh, shit. Yeah," the blonde attorney muttered. "I love you, Olive Oil. I don't wanna see you get hurt. If you trust him, if you love him, then great, I'm happy that you're happy. But, I can't be happy about this." She got up, tossed a fifty-dollar-bill on the table and stalked off down the street.
Olivia and Casey looked at each other, confused and very upset, unsure if they should mention this to Elliot or not.
"Her sandwich was only nine bucks," Casey said, picking up the money. "Thanks for buying lunch, you Satanic, blonde, frigid bitch." She forked a bite of salad into her mouth, smirking, as Olivia laughed, thanking her lucky stars that she had Casey.
"Elliot, if you don't tell us what you came here to tell us, I'm gonna leave," Munch said, tapping his foot.
"Man, we get an hour for lunch. Why are you in such a...you told Alex you'd meet with her, didn't ya?" Fin asked. "Elliot said this was important!"
Munch sighed. "I know, but I don't get to see her a lot and this was the first day in weeks that we had the same lunch break!"
"Okay," Elliot said with a chuckle. "You guys know that Kathy and I have, uh..."
Fin interrupted. "Finally put your dying marriage out of its misery. Yeah, we know. Thank the Lord, all you two did was fight. You guys really didn't get along."
"I know, thank you, Captain Obvious," Elliot said smirking at Fin. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys that I'm not upset, I'm happier that I have ever been in my entire life, and I'm seeing someone."
"Stabler's on the rebound? With who?" Munch asked.
Elliot shook his head as he drank his soda. "No, not a rebound. It, kind of started before I was actually divorced. I'm in love with her."
Fin leaned back in his chair and looked at Elliot, knowlingly. "It's about fucking time, man."
"What are you talking about, 'it's about time'? The man's only been divorced for like a second!" Munch said, mocking, and shocked at Fin.
"Munch, you dope. He's in love with Benson!" Fin shouted.
Munch snickered until he saw Elliot's serious expression. "Wait, Elliot, Fin's right?"
"Yeah. Guys, um, I've been...Liv and I are together. Very much together. It's serious." Elliot said, bringing his glass to his lips again.
"Yeah, so I heard." Alex appeared next to Munch and glared at Elliot.
"So, I guess Liv told you and Casey," Elliot said, unsure of the reason behind the harsh glare.
Alex nodded. "I would say congratulations, if I thought this was an auspicious occasion. Seeing that I trust you about as far as I can throw you, it isn't gonna happen."
"Hey, Cabot," Fin said. "What's up your ass?"
"Olivia has had enough shit go wrong in her life. She doesn't need to have the one person she's ever been able to trust..." she paused, she felt tears welling up, but she swallowed back hard and looked, coldly, at Elliot. "If you hurt her, if you cause her any pain at all, it will break her. You know that, right? You've been the only stable thing in her life, keeping her up, for the past eight years, besides me and Casey, and I refuse to stand by and watch you be the thing that destroys her."
Elliot's blue eyes flecked and flashed white with anger, but he kept his temper in check. "Alex, I would never do anything to hurt her. She's been the only stable thing in my life, too. If she ever hurt me, which I know she wont, it would kill me. I'm not going to hurt her. Why do you think we decided to tell you everything? Keeping this a secret was hurting her. She hated the lying and the sneaking around. Do you know she lives with me? Did she tell you she's helping me raise my kids? We are completely serious, and I swear to God, if I'm ever stupid and reckless enough to do anything that does hurt her, Alex, you can kill me yourself."
"Don't worry, I will." Alex stormed off and Munch, shrugging apologetically, ran after her.
"See," Fin said. "That's why she's with Munch. Only someone obsessed with conspiracies could possibly love a woman who is clearly an alien."
Elliot shook his head. "No, Fin," he said. "She's just looking out for Liv, in her own way."
They went back to the precinct and met up with Olivia in the hallway. Fin gave her a warm hug. "Hey, Baby-Girl. Elliot told me. You two were meant for each other," he said with a wink as he stepped into the bullpen.
"So, you told him and Munch, huh?" she asked. "Did either of your friends turn into the devil and predict the impending horrible death of our relationship?"
Elliot snickered. "No, but Alex did show up and she gave me a piece of her mind. She cares about you, baby."
"She cares about me? Then why the hell did she break my heart during lunch?" Olivia looked up at Elliot with love and sadness in her eyes. "She told me to get you out of my system. She called you an arrogant, pig-headed, violent control-freak. Then she said that you're going to get bored with me and run off with someone 'new and shiny', just like you did to Kathy."
Elliot peered down at her. "And you believed her?"
"Of course not! But, hearing one of my best friends actually say those things, El, it scared me and it hurt and I wanted so badly to jump up and yell and tell her how wrong she was. But, you know why I didn't?"
"You were in the middle of a crowded cafe?" he guessed, placing a delicate kiss on her nose.
She laughed. "No, though that would have been mildly embarrassing. I didn't do it, because I don't have to defend myself, or us, to anyone. Not anymore. I'm madly in love with you, I'm happy with you, and you are the best morally wrong decision I have ever made. I love my life with you and the kids and I know that you're never going to hurt me, because it's your job to keep me from getting hurt," she grinned, kissing him. "Alex is going to have to get used to you, and to us, because you're not going anywhere. I'm not letting you go."
Elliot laughed and looked up and down the hall, grinning, then, when he was sure no one was around, he snaked a hand around her and pulled her into the nearest closet and yanked her close into an all-consuming kiss, pinning her to the wall. It was brief, but intense. "I love you, Liv, with everything I am, everything I have, my heart, body and soul."
"The things you do to me with words, El, are considered sex crimes. You're under arrest," she whispered.
"Oh, good, if you have your cuffs, we could get a little kinky," he quipped, capturing her lips again as they both laughed.
She pulled away and sighed, looking into his eyes. "I love you, El, but we have to get back to work. I'll read you your rights later. You know these handcuffs always come home with me," she said with a wink as she walked out of the tiny storage space and into the squadroom across the hall. Elliot smirked, slowly, as he straightened his tie and followed her.
A/N: Wow, Alex. Way to be harsh, but I got ya. Now, what could L be? Reviews? Thoughts?