Keep It in the Family

by Bensler

Elliot is back with Kathy; Olivia is moving on; despite ups and down, fights and arguments, they manage to keep the bond between them, tighter than most families. EO at some point, but it will take some time, and unusual and tragic circumstances.

14. Assumptions

Chapter 14 - Assumptions

SVU Squad Room

Wednesday Morning, May 28

Olivia stopped by the ladies room to wipe her face and try to fix her makeup. She could not believe how things went with Elliot. She thought she had finally gotten off that roller coaster ride. One minute they are made up, getting along fairly well, well enough for her confide in him about Rhett and Dean and then the next minute they are hollering and hurling insults at each other. He had told her she was a whore, trash. Well, he hadn't said it exactly, but it sure as heck was implied. She was absolutely sick and tired of how their relationship was one step forward and two back. She was better off ignoring him like she did when he said those things about her mother.

Coming out of the restroom, she saw the back of Elliot's head...he was at his desk, meaning she had to walk to her desk with him able to watch her. She had hoped to be sitting down when he came back. Taking a deep breath, she headed over that way. Just before she got to where he would be able to see her, Cragen's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Benson, Stabler!" Cragen barked, his face a study in exasperation, sternness and fury as he motioned for them to come to his office.

She raised her head high as she walked past Elliot, keeping her eyes on Cragen. "Yes, Sir."

Captain Cragen's Office

Wednesday Morning, May 28

Olivia sat down in one of the chairs to the side of Captain Cragen's desk. By the frown on his face, she knew this was not going to be friendly little meeting. Elliot came in and shut the door. He took a seat in one of the chairs to the front of Cragen's desk away from Olivia. This in itself spoke volumes to the captain. They always, always sat or stood next to each other when they were summoned to his office. Or most of the time, for that matter. It was as if they had this innate need to be near each other. Even when they were fighting, they maintained an outer facade of being united. The blue wall, thin though it may be, was always in place. The facade appeared to be crumbling this time.

Cragen's hard stare was long enough to make both of them uncomfortable, evidenced by Elliot's shifting in his seat and Olivia twisting her watch around and around her wrist. "In the almost nine years since I partnered you two, I cannot recall a single time when information about a break in a case was not relayed to your partner in a timely manner."

"Sir, I told you..." Elliot spoke up.

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak, Detective Stabler." Cragen snapped, glaring at Elliot.

Olivia knew he was upset beforehand, but when he called them as 'Detectives Stabler and Benson', she knew he was livid. Glancing at Elliot she saw he was turning red, whether from the embarrassment of being reprimanded or the anger from it or both, she was not sure.

"Now, what happened out there, made the two of you look bad. What's more is it made me look like I don't have control of my unit. I'd be angry even had it been just the SVU crew, but the fact that the FBI was in that meeting, infuriates me to no end." His voice was borderline shouting. He looked at his detectives, but neither would look at him.

"I want an explanation as to why you did not relay the information to Detective Benson." His demanding voice caused Elliot to shift in his chair and sit straighter. "And, I want the truth."

"Sir, I was going to tell her and something came up and ...I'm sorry...it...it just slipped my mind." Sticking to the story he had told earlier, he locked eyes with Cragen.

"That the truth?" Cragen was positive it was not.

"Yes, Sir." His gaze never left the Captain's.

"Detective Benson...you got anything to say?" He turned toward Olivia.

She glanced at Elliot, but he never took his eyes off of the Captain. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "No, Sir."

"All right, then. Detective Stabler, when this investigation is over, you will serve a two-day suspension for dereliction of duties. A report will be placed in your jacket for permanent record." He stood up and threw the pen in his hand on the desk.

Olivia's mouth fell open and her eyes went wide as saucers. "Sir, you can't do that..." Standing to her feet, she protested.

"Olivia..." Elliot tried to get her to shut up.

"I can and I just did. If you've got something to say, Detective Benson, I suggest you do so now." He warned, his voice stern.

"Let it go, Olivia." Elliot ground out through clenched teeth, clearly agitated that she was doing this.

"No, Elliot!" Their eyes locked for just a few seconds. She turned back to face Cragen. "Sir, I can't let him be punished for something that was my fault." Running her hands through her hair, she bit her lower lip.

Cragen stood there, silently staring at her, waiting for her to continue. So, the blue wall was still in place after all, he thought to himself.

"He called me...several times. My phone was off. He came to my apartment looking for me. I wasn't home." She explained.

"Olivia...don't do this." Elliot pleaded as Cragen shot him a look that told him he better can it.

She looked at Elliot and then back at the Captain. "He waited on me, but when I came home I was..." Closing her eyes, she paused. "I was drunk...and...I...I wasn't alone...so, he couldn't tell me. And then there wasn't time this morning...and...I'm...I'm sorry, Sir." She felt the heat rush to her face at this confession.

Olivia was drunk? That was not like her. Captain Cragen was a recovering alcoholic and Olivia had talked to him about her mother's alcoholism and he knew she drank only moderately and not very often, so this surprised, as well as concerned him. She said she was not alone. Didn't take much to figure out who was most likely with her. He saw how Dean could not quit looking at her and touching her. And...they used to date. And Elliot could not stand him.

Cragen let the words hang in the air for several minutes before speaking again. "This have anything to do with Agent Porter's black eye and bruised jaw?"

The way Olivia quickly looked away from him and down at the floor and the muscles in Elliot's jaw began jumping was the only answer he needed. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He sighed heavily. "You will both receive a written reprimand for conduct unbecoming of a police officer. Detective Stabler, for lying to me in the first place...Detective Benson, for allowing your partner to lie for you to cover your irresponsibility. Detective Stabler, you're dismissed."

Olivia looked up at the Captain and then Elliot as he headed for the door. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." He nodded to the Captain and then glanced at Olivia as he opened the door and left.

Cragen cleared his throat and looked at Olivia. She was still looking at the floor. "Drunk? I'm concerned about you, Olivia. What's going on?"

Surprised by the sudden softness in his voice, she looked up only to find that he was looking at her with the same softness in his eyes. She felt the tears well up and she blinked to hold them back.

"Just some personal matters, Sir." She sniffled and wiped at a runaway tear.

Nodding his head, he reached over and put his hand on her arm. "Well, you know I care about you, Olivia, and I'm here if you need someone to talk to...anytime."

"I know..." She turned to leave, but stopped at the door, her hand on the knob. "Don...thank you."

He smiled as she left. Watching her as she went to her desk and Elliot ignored her, Captain Cragen just shook his head. If he had hair, these two would be the cause of him pulling it out.

SVU Squad Room

Wednesday, Late Morning, May 28

The morning went by slowly. She reread the Tarasov/Kushnir files two times, making notes of things that they would need to do and follow up on as well as listing things that she thought might link the two cases. Dean and his agents had gone back to the FBI office to work on setting up the undercover assignment. So, at least she did not have to deal with him this morning. Elliot was enough. If he sighed dramatically one more time she was going to throw something at him. And if he asked Fin one more question that she could have answered about their end of the investigation she just might go ask Cragen to make Fin his partner and take her off the case.

She noticed her cell phone showed a missed call and she realized she had turned it off for the meeting this morning. Flipping it open, she saw that she had three more calls from Rhett. He had called her four times before she left for work and twice on the way. She was not ready to talk to him. Moving the mouse around on its pad, she logged back onto her computer and heard the tone signaling she had a new email. Opening Outlook she saw it was from Casey. She clicked on the top email and watched it open.

'Okay...we need to do lunch or you need to call me! What is going on? Sam just calledand said he talked to Rhett earlier and Rhett told him he thought you two broke up, but he wouldn't give Sam details. Sam said he is really upset and sounded so down. Call me! " ) Case

Before she could hit the 'reply' button, someone called her name. "Delivery for Ms. Olivia Benson." She looked up but all she could see was a huge arrangement of flowers moving toward her. It was by far the biggest, most beautiful bouquet she had ever seen.

"That's Benson over there." Lake motioned her way.

The teenage boy sat the flowers on her desk, while she stood there stunned and speechless. Munch finally stepped over to the delivery boy and handed him ten bucks. "You owe me, Olivia."

Elliot tried hard to ignore the flowers but it was quite impossible because they were so huge and everyone, especially all the women, had to come see and smell them and make some disgusting comment. 'Oh...they are so beautiful.' The secretary said. 'Way to go, Benson! He's a keeper!' An attorney passing through told her. 'What did he do that he had to send these?' One of the male unis asked. 'How do you know it wasn't because of what she did?' A female uni answered and every one laughed as Olivia turned red and Elliot silently fumed.

Finally, the novelty wore off and every one went back to work. It was then that Olivia pulled out the card and read it. Elliot pretended to be working, but he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. As she read it, he saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears and he noticed as a smile started at the corner of her lips, until it lit up her face. He wanted to know what in the heck that card said. Olivia saw if was handwritten in Rhett's big, fancy scrawl. She read to herself:

Foolish - lacking good sense or judgement, as in 'Rhett can be a very foolish man at times.'

Stupid - not very bright, as in 'Rhett was stupid to let Olivia think he did not care.'

Jerk - a stupid person, as in 'Rhett was a jerk to treat Olivia like he did.'

Beg- ask earnestly or humbly for something, as in "Rhett is begging Olivia to please talk to him, just talk.

Please, Olivia - Rhett

Elliot saw her put the card back in its envelope and slide it under her desk mat. Just as she sat down and glanced at him, his cell phone rang. He checked the I.D. and saw it was Kathleen.

"Hey, honey. What's up?" He asked, turning away from Olivia.

"Okay...second road on the right...okay, babe...give me fifteen minutes. Yea. Love you, too."

Oh, please, Olivia, thought to herself. With his 'honey and babe and love you too' she knew he was trying to push her buttons again as if he had not had met his daily quota earlier.

He logged off and stood up, pushing his chair under his desk. "Kathleen's car is broke down...she's suppose to be at work at 11:30. Tell Cragen for me."

"Yea...sure." She replied without looking up. Okay, so maybe he wasn't trying to push her buttons. Yes, he was and then make her feel bad for making the assumption he was talking to Kathy. That was button pushing at it's best. A double dose.

His keys in his hand, he stood there a moment longer. "Listen, Liv...I...uh...I..."

"What?" She looked at him now, curious.

He ran his hands over his head and sighed. "Nothing...just...nothing." He left

She opened another report on the Tarasov rape and began reading. A few minutes later, Fin rolled up to her desk in his chair. "You got a visitor, girlfriend." He nodded at the doorway and whispered.

Her head snapped up in the direction of the double doors and there stood Rhett. She thought her stomach hit the floor about the same time her heart jumped in her throat and her lungs constricted making the air around her seem too thin, too little. She stood as he walked over to her.

"I see you got the flowers." He motioned toward the bouquet.

"Oh, yea...I got them..." She smiled.

"Rather obscene bouquet, huh? I didn't realize it would be so large." He ran his finger over one of the flowers

"They are beautiful...and they were a big hit when they arrived...everyone had to come see them, even people from the other floors." She touched a flower, too, and his hand reached out to cover hers.

"Olivia, will you let me take you to lunch so we can talk...please?" His eyes were so blue, so sad, so irresistible. It didn't help that he had on a royal blue polo shirt with his khaki shorts that really made his eyes more gorgeous than ever. Just as gorgeous as Elliot's. At least when Elliot's weren't full of anger...which was rare these days.

It felt so good to have his hand on hers. "You know I can't refuse you after these flowers..." She teased him.

He laughed and kissed her hand. "They promised they would work or my money back."

Benson Residence

Wednesday Lunchtime, May 28

Olivia suggested they get something and take it to her place so they could talk in private. They decided on deli sandwiches. She got plates down while Rhett opened the bottles of water and laid out napkins and chips. They sat across from each other at her small dining table and made small talk about the weather, the traffic and politics. When they finished, Rhett cleared the table and Olivia wiped it down. As she squeezed out the cloth at the sink, Rhett came and leaned against the counter beside the sink and looked at her.

"I don't really know where to begin..." He watched her squeeze the cloth again and drape it over the divider between the two sinks.

She dried her hands on the dish towel and turned toward him leaning her right hip against the counter. "How about the beginning...when did you first see me and Dean?"

"When we were at the crosswalk, waiting on the light to change. I heard you laugh and he had his arm around you and you put yours around him...and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut." He was looking at the floor, remembering how it felt.

She vaguely remembered that and knew if the situation were reversed she would have been upset, too. "Rhett, I'm sorry. I can imagine how it looked. You know Dean and I used to date, but I am not interested in him that way. We were able to remain friends and I had not seen him in a several months and I am not going to lie to you...it was good to see him again."

"Okay, I can accept that the two of you are friends. But, the guy was all over you...and...and you didn't seem to mind at all..." He needed her to understand how it made him feel.

"Yea...Dean is a touch-feely kind of guy." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I didn't know how to deal with it other than to try and make you jealous, too." He told her.

"With Jen. That's a really nice engagement ring she has, by the way." She looked up at him knowingly and grinned.

"So...you knew what we were doing? Man, I really feel like an idiot, now!" He could not help but laugh and she joined in.

"Not at first...I took the bait. I was going to hug you and introduce you to Dean, but then you acted weird, like you did not want me to and that really confused me and hurt me..." She tried hard not to let the tears burning her eyelids make their presence known.

"Olivia, I am so sorry..." He was sorry. He would take it all back and do the day over completely different, if he could.

"Dean even said later that you sure didn't act like my boyfriend...I wanted to smack him for saying that..." She held up her fist and shook it.

Rhett grabbed her fist and kissed the outside of it and then opened it and placed several kisses in her open palm and gently closed it back. "For later, when you need a little something to remind you I am your boyfriend."

"Rhett..." She was touched by his thoughtfulness, his unusual way of showing he cared for her.

"I promise I'll act like the best boyfriend ever from now on, if you will just give me another chance!" He pulled her to him and hugged her.

"You said we'd talk later...but you never called and never returned my calls...and then when I came to your place... and I...I saw you kissing that woman, I was jealous. And so hurt, Rhett. Who is she? Do you care for her?" She shook her head. "You don't have to answer that, Rhett. I'm sorry. We never agreed to be exclusive...and you...you have the right to kiss or date anyone you want..." She was getting upset now and having a hard time breathing.

"Olivia, you are the only one I want to kiss...the only one I want to date." His voice was tender and she heard and felt his sincerity.

"Then why...why...did you kiss her? She must mean something to you." Now, there were so many tears were pooling in her eyes and she could do nothing to hide them.

"She does mean a lot to me...she's my sister, Emily." He told her, waiting for the anger he was sure would come. "I kept her son, my nephew, Joey, while she took an art class at the museum. Her husband is out of town."

So that was the kid in the car. "Your...sister? Your sister? You kissed your sister and let me think it was another woman! How could you do that?" She was angry now, but then Dean's face flashed before her and dancing in the bar and the scene in the hallway. She could not be angry with him given what she had done.

"I don't know...it just happened. When I saw how upset, jealous you were...I couldn't help but remember how Porter was all over you and I wanted you to think I had someone else, too. I am so sorry, Olivia. It was juvenile." He sounded like he was upset, too.

"Oh, Rhett." She sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Since we are clearing the air, I have some things to tell you...and please just promise me that you will try and understand how I felt last night and the state I was in...please?" She begged.

Dread washed over him, filling his stomach with a sourness and his heart with fear. What could she have done? He had to be calm, had to try to put himself in her position. "Olivia...just tell me."

"After I saw you kiss...your...sister...and you told me 'so'...I was devastated. I mean, I kept telling myself that I had no claim on you and you certainly had none on me if you were kissing someone else...so..." She let out a hard breath of air through puckered lips and rubbed her neck.

"You didn't go home, did you?" He asked, knowing that she did not.

Shaking her head, she answered. "Stopped off at a bar just down the street...LoJo's...had four or five beers...was pretty wasted when Dean found me. He wanted to take me home and..." She tried to explain.

Rhett immediately made assumptions. "You slept with him?" His eyes wide and full of disbelief and pain.

"No! No! He wanted to take me home, make sure I was safe and leave me. I...I wanted to dance and he finally did...and...and, well...we started kissing and...and you know...uh...touching...and he said we needed to go to my place...and we did...but..." She felt so ashamed having to tell Rhett these things.

His stomach was tightening and he thought his lunch was going to reappear at any minute. He stepped closer to the trash can, unable to look into her eyes anymore. "You...you let him take you home? You were going to sleep with him, weren't you?"

"Rhett...I was so drunk...so...out of it...so hurt...I..uh...I honestly...I don't know what would have happened if Elliot had not been there." She continued.

"Elliot? Elliot was there?" He was confused now.

"Sitting outside my apartment...there was a break in the case...my phone was off and he came looking for me and waited. He beat Dean up for trying to take advantage of me...being drunk and all...and helped me get settled and he stayed the night to watch out for me." She finished her story, knowing it created a whole lot of questions, but at least she had told Rhett everything. Nothing could come back later to trip her up again.

He was quiet. Very quiet. His mind was running in a thousand directions. All he could see in his mind was that Olivia had run straight into the arms of a former lover. He wondered if this was something she would do every time that they had a fight. Then he checked himself, knowing he was unfair to think she would do that. This was his fault because he was the one who started the game playing. He tried to make her jealous, first with Jen and then his sister. And it worked. She was jealous and hurt. He hurt her. He told her it didn't matter that he kissed another woman and that hurt her deeply. She felt like he had pushed her away and did not want her. She was just reacting to that hurt by falling into the arms of an old boyfriend. An old lover. And her partner spent the night? Did he have two men to do battle with over Olivia, he wondered? He wasn't sure how he felt right now. Part of him was furious at her for so easily turning to Dean. And part of him wanted to scoop her into his arms and tell her he understood and forgave her and would she forgive him for pushing her into those things.

"Rhett...please tell me you understand..." Her voice held the beginning of fear.

"Why, Olivia? Why did you run back to him?" The whisper of his voice was low and quiet.

"I didn't run to anyone, Rhett. He found me...he was there...I needed someone to want me and he was there. That's all." She had the distinct feeling this was not going to turn out in her favor.

"Needed someone to want you? I want you, Olivia...I'm not enough?" He asked, tears in his eyes now.

"You pushed me away, Rhett...all my life people have pushed me away. My mother pushed me away because I reminded her of the rape...my first boyfriend, fiancé pushed me away because my mother threatened to keep him from graduating college. Over the years I built up walls...it was easier to never get close to anyone than to be hurt when they left me. And they always, always leave me..." She whispered, a faraway look on her face.

Rhett watched her, silently, aching for her, almost feeling the pain of rejection she had suffered all her life. The pain of rejection he, too, had inflicted upon her.

"For years I never got close to anyone or let them get close to me...but then, he did it. Somehow, he got next to me, under my skin...and I didn't even know what he was doing. Little by little he tore down my barriers, wall by wall...until one day I realized I was standing in the rubble of what used to be my life and he had become so much a part of me, that I could not figure out where he ended and I began...we were that entangled...and when his wife left she took all the boundaries we had set up...and he told me he cared...but then he pushed me away and went back to her...and I never want to feel that kind of hurt again...never..." She spoke softly, almost reverently.

The look in her eyes was almost as though she were in a trance, in another world oblivious to Rhett. He was not even sure she knew she was speaking out loud or that she realized he was there.

"Who? Olivia, who?" He thought she was talking about Dean but was not certain.

"Elliot..." She whispered and the sound of his name broke her trance and she looked at Rhett.

"And then with Dean...I thought I was ready to take a chance again...I was so tired of being alone...so tired of not mattering to anyone...but when he wanted more...all I could think of was how bad it would hurt when he left me...when he was gone...I knew I couldn't go through that again...I pushed him away...and then I met you..." She looked at him and the tears she had been valiantly holding back, fell down her cheeks. "Oh, Rhett, I don't want to push you away...please say you understand, please forgive me, please don't push me away, don't leave me!" She fell sobbing, into his arms, clutching wildly at him and he held her to him.

Rhett truly felt her pain...he understood much more about this woman Olivia Benson from her confessions. He understood and he forgave her. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, love her, share his life with her. Whether or not she knew it yet, he was as entangled with her as she had felt she was at one time with her partner.

"It's okay, baby. I'm not going anywhere. I understand and I forgive you and I am not pushing you away, Olivia. I'll never push you away. Never. I want you right here with me. By me." He wrapped his arms around and held her until sobs finally stopped and her body quit shaking.

SVU Squad Room

Thursday Morning, May 29

Elliot still could not believe he was gone when Rhett came by the precinct yesterday. He had conjured up all sorts of images in his mind and really wanted to see what his competition...uh...Olivia's boyfriend looked like. It didn't help that everyone that had met him said good things about him. While Olivia was gone to lunch...with Rhett...he had gone and sat down at her desk pretending to be going through a file on her desk, but really looking for the card from the flowers. He found it. And read it. And nearly gagged. The guy knew how to get to a woman and Elliot now knew why Liv went to lunch with him. Some things are better left unknown. Now, sitting at the back of the group, he watched her every movement, the expressions on her face, the way she kept brushing her bangs from her face, even the way she clicked the ink pen. She was beautiful.

Olivia and Fin had begun their investigation into the life of Vincent 'Vinny' Sollectio, the third man that had been with Zhanna Tarasov the night of her alleged rape. They relayed what they had learned to the SVU crew who were gathered for the usual morning briefing. Mona Petrovsky had overheard Luka and Boris talking and realized the man they had no name for was Sollecito. She had called the precinct and talked to Fin. Vinny was the youngest son of Giuseppe Sollecito, and by most accounts, his father's favorite son. Vinny and his wife owned and ran several print and copy shops. His 'official' title for the Sollecito family business was the Director of Budget for the Giordani Group, meaning he oversaw all of the finances of the group. Other than the fact that two of the bars were co-owned with Gavlik, Olivia and Fin had a hard time figuring out just what the relationship was between the two men. Fin leaned toward the idea that Sollecito had something on Gavlik, Olivia was not so sure.

The clicking from the pen in her hand as she opened and closed it provided background noise for her presentation.

"Our plan today, is to talk with Zhanna Tarasov again to see what she might tell us about our friend Vinny. And, Munch, if you and Lake will visit Vic Gavlik again, ask him about Anatoly's traveling habits. We need to find him soon. That's all I have. Fin, got anything to add?" Olivia now rolled the pen in between both of her hands as she looked at him.

"Nah...I ain't got nothing...you covered it all, girl." Fin saluted and grinned at her. She popped him on the shoulder.

"Captain..." She nodded toward Cragen.

"Dean is going to explain the status of the preparation for the undercover operation." Cragen motioned toward Dean.

As Olivia went to sit down and Dean moved to the front of the group, they passed each other and their eyes locked for a brief second. They still had not talked since Tuesday night and things were pretty awkward between them. She knew they would have to have a reckoning soon, because they were both leads on this case and could not avoid talking and working together for ever.

Dean began telling the SVU crew what was going on. Though his superiors liked the idea of Elliot being undercover as a bar owner and Agent Cerek being his associate, they wanted to hold off on it. They had an idea of working the undercover from a different angle in the hopes of getting more information from the bottom up. Sending in undercover agents from the FBI as Ukranian women that already lived in the U.S. and wanted an education but were having a rough time securing jobs and places to live, they would create easy prey for Gavlik.

They weren't sure if Gavlik would go for it but they felt if they could get their agents in place and see, first hand, the process whereby these young woman get sucked into Gavlik's scheme, it would answer a lot of questions and help with the set up of the main undercover operation with Elliot and Cerek. The bad thing about it, Dean said, is it would postpone Elliot and Cerek's operation from two to four weeks.

Olivia, glancing over at Elliot, did not think that was a bad thing at all. Her stomach tied its self in knots at the thought of him doing this alone. Alone meaning without her there to watch his back. It was not even nine in the morning and he already had his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosed. He was so handsome, she thought. Not even aware that she was staring, she blushed when she realized he had turned and was now staring at her as a slow, knowing smirk played at the edge of his lips. She knew by the look on his face, he had taken the liberty of making assumptions as to what she was thinking. Assumptions that she was sure would cause her to blush even more.

xxxxxxx

A/N: Getting there, slowly but surely...thank you for the reviews! You guys are awesome! For those wanting the EO now...sorry...you should know by now that I enjoy emotional torture, extreme mental distress and great anxiety. Yours, that is! LOL! " ) Bensler