A/N: Maybe love really is all you need. Until your ex finds out about it, that is. Then it becomes clear that it was all you ever had to begin with.

DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue, and plot of this story.

"I'm not sure I understand," Alex Cabot said, furrowing her brow behind her glasses. "Do you have what I need to arraign him or not?"

Olivia sighed, folding her arms. "Alex, this case isn't exactly in our hands anymore. The perp, he, uh, he's wanted by a few other people, too."

"Who?" Alex snapped, now pissed off. "If you two would have just done your fucking jobs…"

"Woah, Alex!" Elliot barked. "Don't you dare! We had no idea the feds were on this case when he stepped into our territory, so don't blame us! We did our fucking job!"

Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "And when can I expect to see…"

"Good afternoon," a man's voice interrupted.

Olivia's eyes widened as she turned around, slowly. "Porter," she gasped.

"Nice to see you, too, Olivia," Dean Porter said with a smirk. "Where's my guy?"

Olivia was about to say something when her phone rang. She held up a finger, telling Dean to wait, as she flipped open the cell. "Benson," she said. "Oh, um, that's not…that's not good. We measured the…hold on." She handed her phone to Elliot and said, "The new couch won't fit against the wall in the living room. The movers want to know what you want them to do with it."

Alex and Dean looked at each other, then each raised an eyebrow at Olivia. "Olivia," Dean said, his smirk now gone, "Something you care to share?"

"Um, nope," Olivia said, shaking her head. "And he's not your guy, Porter, he's our guy. We've got requests pending to have the entire thing handed over to us and…"

"Liv," Elliot interrupted, "They want to know if we care where they put the bookcase, because if they move that, then the couch will fit."

"I don't care, El, I just want the damn couch in the fucking living room," she said, running a hand through her hair.

"Okay, Liv," Elliot chuckled and went back to his conversation as Olivia continued fighting with Porter.

Dean furrowed his brow and folded his arms. "What is he talking about?"

"None of your business," Olivia barked. "You can question him, but you can not take him with you. Not until a judge says that…"

"Are you moving in with him?" Dean asked, cutting her off.

Olivia's eyes widened and she tilted her head. "Porter, knock it off and work with me here. Go interrogate Logan Nichols and then…"

"Why aren't you answering me?" Dean asked, stepping forward.

"Because it's a ridiculous question," Olivia said, taking a step back. "Go!" she yelled, pointing toward the interrogation room.

Dean leaned in toward Olivia and whispered, "You'll move in with him, someone you aren't even dating, but you wouldn't move in with me? I heard about you and Trevor, Olivia. You dumped his ass the minute he wanted a real commitment, too." He narrowed his eyes and said, "So, you can only make a move like that with someone you don't stand a chance with? Is that it? Becuase you think he's safe, huh? Or are you finally getting a chance at what you wanted after all these years, now that Kathy's out of the picture?"

Olivia, tempted to tell him how wrong he was, smirked. "Trevor and I broke up because he cheated on me, with at least ten different people. Thanks for the sympathy. I wouldn't move in with you, Dean, because you and I weren't gonna last. As for me and Elliot, you have no idea what's going on, so why don't you just march your federal agent ass into the interrogation room, ask Nichols your questions, and get the fuck out of my squadroom."

Dean, backing up, hung his head. "Trevor cheated on you?" he asked, sounding somewhat sorry.

"Yeah," Olivia said. "A lot."

"What a fucking idiot," Dean spat, shaking his head, then he picked up his briefcase and walked into the interrogation room.


Elliot and Olivia walked into their new house, both irritated and angry, and kicked off their shoes into the foyer closet. They hung up their jackets, silently fuming, and plodded into the living room. "Oh, what the fuck is this?" Elliot yelled, throwing up his hands. "You wanna gimme a hand, Liv?"

The couch was set up on an angle, the carpet was half unfurled, and the coffee table and bookcase were still in the middle of the floor.

"We didn't pay those guys yet, did we?" Olivia asked, helping Elliot push the couch back against the wall.

"No," Elliot grunted, "And we're not going to, Liv. Look at this place!"

Olivia kicked the carpet, unrolling it the rest of the way. Then she straightened out the coffee table. "This was really the last thing we needed to come home to," she spat. "I can't believe Porter! The arrogant twit actually took that case right out from under our…"

"Actually," Elliot interjected, sliding the bookcase into the corner of the room beside the fireplace, "He did us a favor. We didn't really need the aggravation of finding twelve victims, getting them to talk and testify, then linking the bastard to three murders."

Olivia fell into the couch. "Maybe," she said with a sigh as her head fell back.

"We're in our house," Elliot said, as if he'd just noticed. "Our house, Liv. Yours and mine, baby. Can you believe it?"

Olivia, her eyes closed, mumbled, "I'll believe it when I curl up in our new bed."

"Aw, baby," Elliot said, chuckling as he plopped next to her, "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He lifted her tired legs into his lap, and without her asking he began to rub her feet.

"I love you," she moaned, her head lolling to the side.

Elliot laughed. "I love you, too, Liv."

"And you yell at me at work all the time," Olivia said, letting another moan escape as Elliot rubbed her foot harder. "I yell right back. It's what we do."

"Come here," Elliot said, softly.

Olivia scooted closer and leaned into him, meeting his lips as he continued to give her a footrub. She moaned into his mouth as her hand softly grasped the back of his head.

Elliot, kissing her back eagerly, ran his hands up her legs and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. He left his right arm around her waist and skimmed his left hand over her chest. He was flicking open her buttons when there was a loud knock on the door. "Do not move," Elliot groaned against her lips. "Don't even think about moving," he warned, pointing at her as he pushed her legs off of him and got off the couch. He shifted his pants and untucked his shirt, hoping to hide his rather painful erection. He walked over to the door and opened it, then narrowed his eyes. "What the hell do you want? How did you even get my address?"

"I just want to apologize," Dean said. "I, uh, got your new address from the lovely woman at the front desk. Since I'm a federal agent, she didn't ask me why."

Elliot, folding his arms, asked, "Apologize for what?"

"Stealing your case, fighting so damn hard so you wouldn't get the glory," Dean said. "Are you gonna invite me in?"

"Who is it, El?" Olivia asked, walking over to him. "Oh, hi."

"Olivia," Dean said, raising an eyebrow, "Awfully late for you to be at your partner's house, isn't it?"

Elliot jumped in before she could answer. "It's her house, too, Porter," Elliot said, a smug smirk on his lips. "Our house," he added wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer.

"So, asking you to dinner is probably pointless," Dean said, looking at Olivia.

Olivia nodded. "Probably," she said. "Well, uh, definitely. We're pretty damn serious."

"When, uh, when did this happen?" Dean asked, leaning against the side of the house. "I mean, I'm not surprised, I just want to know how long it took you to realize what everyone else has known for years."

"It's recent," Elliot said, not willing to divulge the torrid details to Dean Porter of all people. "And what do you mean, everyone else has known for years?"

"Maybe not everyone," Dean sighed. "I knew, at least. The way she'd look at you when we were all out together, the way you'd look at her when you didn't think anyone was looking. I knew that you were the reason she wouldn't move in with me, I knew that I'd never be enough for her because she always found some way to make everything about you." His voice had gotten cold and his face had sharpened.

Olivia's eyes widened. "Dean, don't…"

But Dean kept talking. "She walked into the fucking fire for you, a thousand times, taking the blame for shit so you wouldn't lose your badge. You know the Frederickson case? They were gonna suspend you for knocking his head into the wall during the interrogation. Who do you think pulled your ass out of the water with that one?"

"Dean, stop!" Olivia begged, closing her eyes.

Dean narrowed his eyes, even more, and glared at Elliot, ignoring Olivia. "When you were sent home for emotional distress during the Thompson case, Olivia was up all night, on the goddamn phone with every psychiatrist in the city, begging them to take a look at your statement. She didn't stop until every single one of them faxed over a handwritten letter declaring that you were having a perfectly normal reaction and could return to work."

Elliot's brow furrowed. "I thought Cragen…"

"No, that was Olivia," Dean spat. "Eight months, Stabler. For eight goddamn months I stayed with her, watching her risk everything for you, over and over again. For eight months, I had to pretend I didn't care! I had to pretend I didn't see the way her eyes lit up when you walked into the goddamn room. And when I asked her to leave the unit and work with me at the agency, and I pulled out that ring…"

"What?" Elliot barked, turning to Olivia. "You never told me that's why you got pissed off at him!"

Dean continued, "I offered her a chance at a real life, a chance to do something good for herself. But instead of taking that chance, she didn't just say 'no,' she said, 'I can't do that to Elliot!' She was more concerned about you, even when I was throwing myself at her!"

"Dean, please, you've said enough," Olivia said, clutching Elliot's hand, praying he wouldn't be pissed. This was all stuff he was never supposed to know.

"Have I? I haven't told him about the mind-boggling proposal you got from Trevor, yet! Did you tell Elliot the real reason you said 'yes?' Did you tell him the real reason you agreed to transfer once you were married?"

Elliot, staring at Olivia, said, "I think she did. Didn't you?"

Olivia looked at him, sighed, and said, "El, please, I don't even think you wanna know about…"

"Your wife," Dean said, harshly. "Stabler, your wife asked Olivia to let you go. Your wife told Olivia that she would leave and take the kids with her if Olivia didn't go away. So, when Trevor asked, she said yes and informed Cragen she was gonna file for a transfer. But I guess none of that matters now, right?"

"It matters," Elliot said, nodding, still staring at Olivia. "It all matters. Liv, why didn't you tell me any of that?"

Olivia shook her head. "I thought I knew how you'd react. And at the time, El, we were just partners. Just friends. It wasn't my place to…"

"You were really going to marry Langan and leave, destroy your life, because you wanted to protect me?" Elliot asked, astonished, interrupting her.

"I was," Olivia said. "Yes."

Elliot brushed her hair back and said, "You know if I had known, if you would have told me the second Kathy asked you to do that, I would have left her in a heartbeat."

"I know that now, El," Olivia said, scoffing. "I was just doing what I thought I had to do to keep you…"

Elliot pulled her toward him, kissing her, before she could finish her sentence. "It really has always been me, hasn't it?"

Olivia nodded with a laugh. "Yeah, El. You're not mad? Not about any of that?"

"No, baby," Elliot said, surprised she'd even ask that question. "I'm a little upset that I had to hear it all from Porter, but I'm not mad. I'm sure if you talked to Kathy you'd hear some similar stories," he said with a smirk.

"I really don't wanna talk to Kathy," Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

Elliot chuckled as he kissed her again, then turned to tell Dean to leave, but he was already gone. He closed the door, locking it, then turned to look at Olivia. "I'm pretty sure all the kids are asleep," he said, stepping closer to her.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It is almost midnight, so that's probably true."

Elliot pulled her into his arms, kissed her, and trailed light pecks down to her neck, behind her ear. He said, "So, how about you and I go up to our new bedroom, get into that new bed, and I will make you forget that Dean Porter and Trevor Langan ever existed."

Olivia tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "Who?" she asked.

Elliot chuckled. "Is that your way of telling me I've already done that?"

"El, you did that the night you first told me you loved me, up in the cribs," Olivia said, running a hand through his hair.

"You really are the only woman I've ever really, thouroughly, and completely loved, Liv. This is what love is," Elliot told her, kissing her again. "And I've never felt like this before, baby. I swear."

Olivia got chills as he said that, and brushed her lips across his again. "Me either, El. You have to know that, especially now," she said, chuckling.

"I wanna hold onto this, to you, forever," Elliot declared, giving her a short, deep kiss.

"So do I, baby," Olivia said, looking into his eyes. "I love you."

Elliot, leading her upstairs to their new room, stopped her on the step and said, "I love you, too, honey." He brushed her hair behind her ear, kissed her again, and pulled her into their bedroom. They would, at least, have one night of intense, passionate romance before work, and something else, would get in the way.

A/N: What was Dean trying to pull? He had to know that it would just push them further together! Anyway, what happens at work? You want more?