I don't own these characters. No offense is intended and no money is being made!

Boredom

Boredom is not my greatest ally. It hits me hard. Usually there is something happening that distracts my attention. Sometimes it's work. Sometimes it's preventing myself from throttling Mike Cutter. Sometimes it's walking or going for a run.

But there are times when nothing stops the onslaught of this mind numbing, near death experience.

Now, I know what you're thinking. What's the big deal? Everyone gets bored!

True.

However, when I get bored the human race tends to suffer. Actually, more specifically, Detective Olivia Benson tends to suffer…

It was a dark and stormy night….

Seriously it was. The weather had been awful for days; changing rapidly from snow to hail to rain and back to snow again.

I hadn't been able to run and work had been so crazy that sneaking to the gym was impossible. The result being that I was a bundle of pent up energy.

After arriving home from work on the fifth day of this madness, I knew I needed to keep myself busy. So I'd tidied the apartment, done some laundry and taken a bath. As I finished filling the dishwasher, I looked around my kitchen. It was clean.

Damn. Now what?!

I stood for a couple of minutes trying to think of my next task when I heard a faint rustling in the next room. My head snapped up, my eyes narrowed and I felt a smirk form of my lips.

Benson.

I wandered to the kitchen door, leaning against it. Olivia was sat on the couch, one leg tucked beneath her; broad shoulders slumped as she made notes on a legal pad. Scattered around were, maybe, a dozen spiral bound notebooks open to various bits of scrawl.

The SVU squad had gotten a break in a, five year old, cold case and she had been going over her notes for the last three days.

A tiny furrow creased the skin between her brows, her hands furiously scribbled away. Her concentration was evident. She looked so cute. I really should have left her too it.

Ha! Nope!

I knew I shouldn't listen to the voice but I couldn't stop myself. It was a little demonic whisper that convinced me poking a bear would be good fun.

"Liv, honey" I called as sweetly as I could "do you want some coffee?" and so it began.

Her head turned and chocolate brown eyes captured my blue ones. "Sure. Thanks sweetie." She smiled at me then turned back to the pad on her lap.

I went back into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. I grabbed two mugs from the cupboard; 'accidently' making a bit too much noise, knowing Olivia would hear. Things progressed, as they tend too, and eventually I had two steaming mugs and a heightened sense of mischievousness.

"Here you go" I placed the mug on the coffee table. "How's it going?"

She continued to write, speaking without looking up. "Thanks. Not bad. I've found a few things that may help us."

"Good." Stage two had commenced. "Mind if I put the TV on?"

I took the answering grunt as ascent and flipped the TV on, and channel surfed rapidly, something Olivia hated, before finally switching to the only thing I could find.

"Oh wow! I didn't know this was still airing!"

A small sigh emanated from the woman at my side as The Love Boat theme tune filled the air. I grinned.

Oh Cabot! You are good!

I feigned interest in the show for a few minutes before turning to my girlfriend "Hey Liv…."

A sigh. "Yeah?"

"I need to go grocery shopping but I can't carry all the heavy stuff by myself."

Another sigh. "Ok we'll go together."

"Thanks." I continued watching TV for a few more minutes, chuckling occasionally.

"Hey Liv…"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have a sheet of paper? I want to make a list."

She lifted her head, glaring at me, as she tore a few sheets away from the back of the legal pad she was writing in.

I smiled innocently. "Thanks."

Grabbing a pencil, I started to make my list. I had genuinely been meaning to write one for days but my little game finally gave me the opportunity to do so. I scribbled a few things down and then, ever so quickly, tapped the eraser end against the paper once.

Most people wouldn't have even noticed. But Olivia Benson was trained to notice everything. I saw her fingers tighten around her pen.

"Hey Liv…."

This time practically growled at me. "Yep."

"Do you want Chinese for dinner tomorrow? I fancy Chinese. I could go for a Chow Mein or something….or maybe pizza. Yeah! Lets get pizza!"

There was a small snarl turning her lip but she replied "I'll be happy with whatever you decide."

I nodded then turned back to my list. I jotted down a few more things and once again tapped the eraser against the paper. I continued this pattern for about ten minutes.

Write…tap…write…tap…

Finally, I could hear the increased tempo of my girlfriend's breathing. She was really starting to get annoyed.

Before moving in for the kill, I judged her mood. She had been jovial when she'd arrived home earlier. Nothing serious had happened during the day and she was currently working on this case because she had some spare time. Fin was actually the lead detective.

I decided that I could continue pushing without fear of an argument. And I did…

I started tapping my pencil against the paper, really working it. I was Phil Collins a la "In the Air Tonight." I was even making cymbal noises. I started jumping around in my seat, jerking the couch and flipping my hair. Keith Moon had nothing on me!

"I can feel it coming in the air tonight..." I belted out at the top of my lungs.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed the back of my neck, albeit gently, and another ripped the pencil from my grasp. I looked up in time to see the detective snap it in two.

We both stared at each other, breathing heavily. Her eyes filled with shock. Mine filled with laughter.

Finally clued into my plan, she whispered a husky "You better run Cabot."

It took a split second for her words to register. But when they did, I bolted from the couch and took off running. I heard her memo books clatter to the floor as she came crashing after me down the hall, laughing all the way.