Title: The Ties That Bind
Author: Sara and Lizzie
Rating: T for mild language, violence and sex
Disclaimer: We own nothing related to L&O. We can merely write fictious stories and curse Dick Wolf for teasing us.
Author's Note: This is our second SVU fic. It's set before Elliot and Kathy's separation, but they are having problems. We want to set it straight that we know it's out of character, and Elliot would never cheat on Kathy. That's why we call it fan fiction. We're trying to keep their basic traits the same, but in our situation. REVIEW. Please, we're slaves to your opinions.
A Long time no see note from the authors: We were in Rome for two weeks, and upon returning somehow ended up in the Hamptons for a few days. But we're back for awhile now, and dedicating ourselves to updating our stories, including this one, "Just Another Gamble", "Streetlights and Skylines" and our newest, "La Dolce Vita". Please read them, love us, and review.
"We could just stay in and save each other." -Train
She felt ridiculous. She wasn't afraid of perps or killers or serial rapists, but here it was, 4 AM on August thirty first, and all she could do was hover on corners between the precinct and Elliot's new Manhattan apartment. She was terrified to face him, terrified to wake him up, terrified to gauge his reaction.
So there she was slinking around Manhattan like the star of some film noir. All she really needed to complete her look was a cigarette and a trench coat. She sighed and headed up into the precinct to think.
Munch sat on the corner of his desk facing Fin, and their wall of photos and maps. Yesterday this place had been dead. Today, they had two dead girls, and a killer to find before he found another victim.
Fin studied the board, unable to come up with any similarities between the two girls. His eyes slid to the door as it opened, and in walked Olivia Benson.
"Shit." Fin said. "So much for a slow night."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of what to say to them now. Fin broke the silence.
"Damn, Liv. Been awhile but we don't bite."
She smiled at them and walked into the room. "Big case?"
"We got two bodies near the boat basin on 79th." Munch told her. "Two hours after we found Jane Doe number, number two's body was left in her place."
"How long ago was that?"
"About two hours."
"Anyone down there?"
Fin nodded. "Elliot."
Olivia nodded. "Right." She said, seeming to let it go. "By himself?"
Munch nodded. "The girls were about Kathleen's age. Made him a little touchy."
The fleeting look of panic on Olivia's face did not go unnoticed by either male detective. "Liv, he's a big boy. He's got backup." Munch told her.
She nodded, and smiled tentatively. "It's really good to see you guys."
"Glad you're back, Benson." Fin said, grasping her shoulder.
"Elliot missed his second checkpoint. He's cut off contact." Cragen barked, emerging from his office.
Olivia walked up to him and held out two hands. He blinked at her, twice as if not believing she was there, and then he realized what she wanted. He hurriedly unlocked a drawer in his office, and handed placed her badge and gun in her hands.
Before anyone could say anything, she was sprinting out the precinct doors.
Olivia wasn't sure what to do. Elliot had the sedan. She burst through the doors and hailed the first cab she saw. "79th street boat basin, as fast as possible." She said, flashing her badge.
As the cab sped off into the night, she suddenly felt a new kind of fear. The fear of rejection was replaced by something more familiar. The fear she felt every time they went after a perp. One of these days Elliot's impulsive rage was going to be his downfall.
She steeled herself against her thoughts. Not tonight.
She jumped out of the cab on Riverside Drive. There wasn't much lighting around the boat basin, and she was afraid to call Elliot and draw attention to him so she just started walking.
Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she scanned as far as she could see. Every twig that snapped made her jump…
Elliot was leaning against a wall, watching the spot where the bodies had been dumped. He knew he was overdue to call Cragen, who had no doubt realized that he had left his back up behind.
He heard anoise, and snapped to attention. He saw an unrecognizable figure in the distance. As it drew closer, he realized it was a man, pulling a struggling girl. With a sick realization, it hit Elliot. He wasn't bringing the bodies here. He was killing them here.
Without thinking, he rose from his hiding place. "Stop!" he called out. He was reaching for his gun when he realized he was staring down the barrel of one.
In the commotion, the girl had torn free and was running as fast as she could towards Riverside Drive. Her captor, however, had his finger on the trigger of the gun that was aimed, point blank, at Detective Stabler's chest.
It felt so fast to Olivia. She heard Elliot's voice yell, and then she saw a girl running back towards the city. And then, it seemed to go in slow motion. She saw the gun pointed at Elliot's face. Her basic instincts kicked in and she reached for her own gun, and without thinking, aimed….
Elliot was positive he was going to die. He had been in bad situations before, but this was a first. Completely alone, one on one with a killer and a murder weapon. He couldn't do anything clever with his police issued Glock, because he would get shot. He couldn't hit the guy or run, because he would get shot.
He couldn't move his eyes from the trigger. He saw the man's finger tense, and Elliot Stabler offered one last Hail Mary as he heard the shot.
She fired.
Elliot closed his eyes, waiting for the burst of pain in his chest, but it never came. When he dared to look again, the man was on the ground, and a few yards behind him, stood Olivia, gun in hand.
For a second, Elliot thought he was hallucinating, or that he had died, and was in some sort of afterlife. He shook his head as the figure strode toward him angrily. He felt her hand on his cheek, and it shook him out of his dream like state.
"What the fuck are you doing, Elliot?" She shouted. "Did you want to get yourself killed?"
He wanted to ask her a thousand questions. He wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her. But the roar of sirens and the ringing of her phone stopped him from answering her only inquiry. It was only the sting on his cheek that kept him convinced this was really happening.
Olivia accepted the replacement gun from Cragen, along with his promise that hers would be returned soon. She paced his office angrily.
"I could kill him." She muttered.
Cragen raised his eyebrows. "Fuentes would have if you hadn't been there."
She shook her head. "I don't know what he was thinking."
Cragen leaned over his desk and looked at Olivia for a long time. "Maybe it would help if you asked him."
Olivia knew he wasn't just talking about Elliot's latest stunt. "I am home." She responded.
The captain nodded. "And I couldn't be happier to see you. Let me deal with him for now."
Elliot met her eyes as soon as she left the office. She jerked her head behind her to indicate that it was his time to face the consequences. She winced when she heard the simultaneous click of the door and the thundering of Cragen's angry voice.
Elliot emerged half an hour later to find the squad room empty, Munch and Finn were nowhere to be seen, and most importantly, Olivia was gone.
He heard rain hitting the roof of the precinct and was taken back to the night at the beginning of June, the night he had shown up on her door step, as out of control as he was now.
He left at an all out sprint.