Chapter 37 - Anew
Benson Residence ∙ Thursday Morning, July 17th
Since seeing Rhett last night, her mind was caught in overdrive. She realized he had allowed them both to save face, to some degree anyway, by choosing to take the detail to London. He knew she would not leave SVU and Elliot, and this way he did not have to be around them, worrying about running into them in town or at family get togethers. She knew it would be awkward for all of them, but perhaps, after some time had passed, it would become easier. She turned over in the bed, stretching, yawning and checking the time on the clock. Six-ten. She needed to get up, shower and get ready if she was going to have time to go by the hospital for a bit before going to the station. She couldn't wait to see Elliot.
As she stretched, the light from the morning sun streamed through her window caused the sparkling stones on her engagement ring to come alive. Holding up her hand, watching as the light reflected from the beautiful piece of jewelry, she, unexpectedly, felt a lump in her throat. She had tried to give it back to Rhett, but he would not hear of it. He told her it was a gift bought specifically for her and he did not want it back. She could not keep it, she knew. Elliot would never understand it and she didn't want to keep it although it was beautiful. They finally agreed that they would put it up for auction and give half of the money to the Childrens' War Fund for orphans of war. The other half would go to a charity Olivia supported, the Joyful Heart Foundation, that helped victims of rape.
She had yet to take off the ring. She sat up, throwing the covers off and letting her bare legs dangle over the side of the bed. She held her left hand out in front of her. She sighed deeply, then let her right thumb and index finger frame the ring for just a second before she slowly twisted it and removed it from her hand. She held it up, scrutinizing it. So many things had happened, so many things had changed in the three weeks since Rhett had asked her to marry him. In just a short time, they had broken their engagement.
In some ways, she wished she had never met him because it hurt too much to hurt him, and yes, to lose him. On the other hand, he had shown her parts about herself that she never knew existed as well as reminded her about things about herself she had forgotten. She had lost a fiancé, yet, she was not even sure what she and Elliot were...and the way she left him yesterday...telling him she needed time, she was not even sure he would still want her. She held it between her thumb and index finger, admiring it. Then she opened her night stand and pulled out the box it had come in and returned the ring to its one time home. When she closed the box, she felt like it was symbolic of closing the door on Rhett. She sighed heavily and closed the drawer.
She flopped back on her bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling and wondering if Elliot were awake, yet. She wanted to see him, touch him, talk to him, just be with him. She smiled to herself thinking about him, this man who had held her heart for so long. Her cell phone rang, not bothering to check the caller I.D., she answered it with her last name.
"Benson."
Her voice was still husky with sleep and he found himself wishing he was there to wake up beside her. Perhaps soon. Very soon.
"Liv...did I wake you?" Elliot asked, smiling to himself.
Her smile broke quickly over her face. "No...just laying here...thinking."
"Oh...what are you thinking about?" His voice was low and gravelly.
"Mmmm...I don't know..." She answered lazily, not wanting to tell him.
"Sure you do...you were thinking about me." He teased, the smile evident in his voice.
She paused for a moment. "You really think I was thinking about you?"
"I'm right and you know I'm right, Benson." He was laughing.
"Mighty sure of yourself, Stabler." She laughed, too.
"Naw...just hoping...'cause...I was sure thinking of you." He softly admitted.
He heard her sudden intake of breath, but when she did not respond, he spoke again. "I was calling to see if you were going to come by before you went to work?"
"Yea...I am. I was just about to start getting ready." She answered.
"Good...I'll see you soon, then."
"Give me about forty-five minutes."
"Okay...hey...can you bring me some real coffee?"
"Sure...see you in a little bit."
"Okay. Bye, Liv."
"Bye...uh...El?"
"Yea..."
"I was thinking about you, too."
She flipped the phone closed and bit her lower lip as she smiled. She enjoyed this...flirting openly...teasing...admitting to being enamored by him.
CNN Headquarters ∙ Office of Rhett Chapman ∙ Thursday Morning, July 17th
Rhett was late getting to work. He had gotten very little sleep last night after he and Olivia broke their engagement. He doubted he would be much use at the office but maybe, just maybe something there would hold his attention long enough to get her out of his mind if even for only thirty seconds. Unzipping the case, he pulled his laptop out and set it into the docking station on his desk. He turned it on and while it booted up, he pulled some files, photographs and video cards out and began separating them. He had only been there ten minutes when his desk phone rang.
"Rhett Chapman."
"Hey, Rhett. Someone told me they saw you come in..." Her voice was soft and quiet.
"Jen, hey! How're you doing?" Jen was his best buddy from work.
"I know you just got here and all...but I...uh...can I come talk to you?" She asked hesitantly.
"Uh...yea...sure...come on." He was a bit worried by the tone of her voice.
Minutes later, Jennifer Richardson, appeared at his door. He met her halfway and embraced her. "Good to see you, Jen."
She smiled as she returned his hug. "Glad you are home safe and sound. I heard that you had a family emergency, but no one knew what."
"My brother. He was shot." He put his hands in his front pant's pockets, frowning.
"Oh! I am so sorry, Rhett! What happened?" Concerned filled her eyes and voice.
He squinted at her. They worked for one of the leading news outlets in the world and she did not know? "You're kidding, right?"
She looked at him oddly, like he was crazy. "Kidding about what?"
"You don't know? You heard about the FBI sting with the bar owners involved in prostitution and human trafficking..."
"Yes...that was the case that Olivia was in charge of...it's been all over the news." She told him.
Then he remembered that she did not know about him changing his surname, nor did she know Elliot was his brother because he didn't realize everything until the July 4th holiday and he left for Afghanistan right after that. He had not even seen Jen before he left. So, of course, she did not know.
He nodded his head. "Right...and her partner, Elliot Stabler..." He began.
"He's NYPD but was working with the FBI undercover and got shot...some detectives talked to me about all of that because they somehow thought you leaked information to me that you had gotten from Olivia." She explained.
"What? What do you mean 'leaked'? I never told you anything confidential because she never told me anything that could compromise her case!" He did not like what she seemed to be implying.
"Rhett...they arrested Rob...he's going to prison for life..." Tears began falling from her eyes.
"What?" He looked at her, unable to grasp what she was telling him. "Your Rob?"
"Yes...his family is a co-owner of all those bars...and he took the pictures of you and Olivia and altered the other ones putting your faces on the other bodies and I didn't know...I didn't know him at all, Rhett! I was going to marry a killer...a murderer...a Mafioso! But I didn't know what he was. I didn't know!" She was crying so hard now he was barely able to understand her. She wiped angrily at the tears, sniffling as she fell into a chair near his desk.
He stood there staring at her, letting the words begin to register in his mind. "Rob is a Sollecito?" He asked in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Jen...so sorry."
She nodded, still wiping tears away. He sat down in the chair beside her and pulled her into a hug as he wondered how long it would be before the SVU or FBI questioned him. Of course, they would. They had to make sure he had not purposefully given Jen information that she in turn gave Rob to help them figure out who they were trying to intimidate...or worse.
"Elliot is my brother." The revelation was made in a very quiet voice.
Jen's head lifted to meet his stare, the shock registering in her eyes as she realized what this meant. "Your brother?" He had told her that Olivia and her partner had the potential of being together a couple of years ago. "Oh, Rhett...I'm sorry...are you and Olivia okay?"
His head fell backward and he laughed a mirthless laugh. "No...we broke up last night..."
The compassion in her voice nearly made him let loose of the tears burning his eyes. "I am so sorry, Rhett..."
"Yea...me, too. And, uh...I'm sorry to hear Rob was involved in this..." His voice was shaky and he seem lost.
"Well...at least I found out before I ended up a member of the 'family'!" She tried to laugh, but sobs came out instead. Rhett pulled her to him and tried to comfort her.
The intercom on his phone buzzed, but he ignored it to continue trying to soothe Jen. A few minutes later, the receptionist knock lightly on the door frame.
"Mr. Chapman, you have visitors..." She looked nervous.
"I don't have any appointments scheduled...make them one for next week and tell them I'll see them then." He told her. He still had an arm around Jen as he reached for a tissue and handed it to her.
"Sir, I don't think..." The receptionist tried to explain.
"What the girl's trying to say, is the NYPD don't make no appointments...for nobody." Fin's hard street attitude caught Rhett's attention.
Rhett and Jen stood. "Looking mighty cozy here...how about you stay, Ms. Richardson. We'll kill the proverbial two birds with one stone." Munch plastered on a phony smile.
Forty-five minutes later, Munch and Fin had finished interviewing the two and were wrapping it up. They had let Jen leave after talking with her because they wanted to see if Rhett would talk to them about him and Olivia.
"Look...I know Liv is your colleague, your friend...but I just don't feel at liberty to discuss our relationship with you. It is not part of the investigation and I think you should talk to her about us." He was firm on that issue.
"We aren't asking from a professional basis...this is personal. We just don't want to see Liv get hurt..." Munch told him.
"It's too late for that...there's enough hurt to go around for everyone." He sighed and his eyes filled with tears. Munch felt sorry for him.
"Man, just so you know...we're really sorry about the way things turned out..." Fin apologized.
"Me, too." He stood and ran his hands through his hair. "If you're finished, I have a lot of things to catch up on."
"Sure. Thanks." Munch told him and they headed out the door.
"Munch, Fin...you guys...take care of Liv...don't let Sonny...uh...I mean, Elliot, hurt her, okay." He spoke quietly and looked down at the floor.
Munch nodded as Fin looked on. "You got it, pal." He assured him.
Once they were gone, Rhett stood at the window, looking out at the city skyline. He knew what he had to do, but the anxiety settled over him like a heavy blanket. No matter. He had to what he had to do.
Beth Israel Hospital ∙ Elliot Stabler's Room ∙ Thursday Morning, July 17th
It was hospital food. Unappealing. Tasteless. Disgusting. He picked at it trying to see if he could possibly bring himself to eat it because he was hungry, starving. He wished he had asked Olivia to bring him something to eat along with the coffee. He pushed the tray away, just as she entered the room.
"What's the matter, Stabler? Not man enough to eat the food in this joint?" She teased, her hands behind her back as she walked toward him.
"Are you?" He teased back.
She shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk...that was not nice, Elliot. Not nice at all. And, here I came bearing gifts of caffeine and..." She pulled a white paper bag from behind her and peeked inside as the aroma reached Elliot's senses. "Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits, hash browns, cini-minis and orange juice. Good thing I'm starving!"
"Oh, Liv...that sounds great and smells so good! I was just wishing I had asked you to bring food." He grinned at her as he motioned with his hands for her to come to him.
"I bet you wish you had been nice to me, now, huh?" She remained where she was and took a biscuit out, unwrapped it and took a bite, chewing slowly and moaning. "Mmmm...oh...this is so good."
"Great. Just great. I have to go and fall in love with a cruel and evil woman!" He leaned his head back on his pillow and turned his face away.
Olivia nearly choked on the biscuit. Swallowing the bite, she wiped her mouth with a scratchy napkin from the bag. "Gee, Stabler, I'm not sure how to react to that...I mean, admitting you are in love with me...well, that's good...very good." Her voice was very low, her left eyebrow raised.
She began walking slowly over to his bedside. "But then you go and insult me all over again..." She frowned at him. "Just how do you intend to make up for that indiscretion?"
"Why don't you come a little closer and see?" He taunted her, waggling his eyebrows at her.
She put the bag of food on the table and then leaned over him, one hand on either side of him. "This close enough?"
He pulled her to him, holding her close, smoothing her hair, kissing her cheek. After a couple of minutes, he released her. "Hmmm...yea, that'll do...for now."
He had wanted to kiss her properly, but he was not quite sure about what she expected or what she would allow just yet. After all, when she left yesterday, she had told him she was confused and needed some time. He could give her time...he had been waiting for years to have a chance, any chance with her.
Though he had let her go, she stayed hovering over him. Taking his face in her hands, she whispered. "Yea...well, it wasn't nearly close enough for me." She leaned down and kissed him, really kissed him.
Elliot was so shocked, it took a minute for him to respond. When he did, his arms went around her, pulling her down onto the bed beside him as his hands ran through her hair. He had never had a kiss like this, one that sent chills through him at the same time that it set his blood on fire. He did not understand how it was possible, but he loved this woman more each day. He prayed that this kiss meant she had made her decision about them and was willing to take a chance on taking their relationship to a new level. She finally pulled away, smiling at him.
"Wow! Gonna have to come up with a whole new repertoire of insults if this is what making up will be like!" He grinned lazily, playing with her fingers, he noticed something was missing. The ring. Her engagement ring was gone. His heart began pounding faster and he wanted to ask about it, but he knew she would tell him when she was ready.
Olivia just smiled as she pulled the table back over the bed and reached for the bag of food. She handed him a biscuit, put the cini-minis and bowls of hash browns on the table, and pulled the foil top off of the two orange juice containers.
The news was on and Elliot turned up the volume when Olivia's picture flashed on the screen. "You know you're famous now..." He told her, nodding at the television.
She glanced behind her. "Thankfully, it's my academy picture from so long ago, hopefully, no one will recognize me." Laughing, she put the sound back on mute, not wanting to be reminded of the night she almost lost Elliot.
She sat on the edge of his bed, facing him as they ate. She wondered what had gotten into her when she kissed him. She did not know for certain what he was going to do about him and Kathy and he was still married. They should not be kissing. If they were going to have a romantic relationship, she wanted to go slow, give them time to mend their friendship first and then see where it took them. She noticed his eyes seemed to be drawn to her left hand. It took several glances before she realized why. The ring was gone. She had taken it off just this morning and Elliot noticed it was missing. He always had noticed everything about her. She grinned to herself and that did not go unnoticed either.
"Care to tell me why you are smiling like a Cheshire cat?" He popped a cini-mini in his mouth.
"Care to tell me why you keep staring at my hand?" She countered, taking a swallow of her orange juice.
He sputtered, choking just a bit on the sweet roll. He coughed, pounding himself in the chest and then downed the rest of his juice and then the coffee.
"How many years have you been swallowing, now?" She teased, knowing he could not make a retort.
He rolled his eyes at her, still coughing. When he was finally back to some semblance of normality, he spoke, his voice cracking and squeaking. "Very funny. You're a regular comedienne, Liv. Just don't quit your day job, yet."
He reached over and took her left hand in his and curled his thumb and index finger around her ring finger. He looked deep into her eyes. Then he bent his head at the same time he pulled her hand to him and placed a soft kiss where the engagement ring had been just yesterday when he saw her. Just yesterday when she had told him she was confused, that she needed some time. Just yesterday, when he was not even sure he really had a chance at being with her.
She watched as he placed the kiss on her finger and then intertwined his hand with hers. She stared at their joined hands, memorizing how different they were. Her fingers were long and slender, her skin a dark, smooth complexion, a small straight scar on her middle finger. The faint outline of lighter skin where the ring had been, contrasted with her tanned hand. Her nails were neither short nor long, yet manicured and polished. His hands were wide, the fingers long and thick...strong hands. His complexion was lighter with just a hint of a tan, a few freckles scattered across them along with countless scars, old and new. His nails were short and neatly trimmed. He watched her. She finally looked up and their eyes met. Blue. Brown. He waited.
Afer what seemed like forever, but was, in reality, only about two minutes, she spoke quietly. "Rhett's taking a job in London."
Elliot was silent, his eyes never leaving hers.
"It was his way of giving me an out...he knew I would never leave New York or SVU or...or..." She trailed off, the lump in her throat aching.
Elliot reached up and brushed her bangs out of her eyes that had fallen, hiding her right eye. "Or?"
Taking a deep breath, she answered. "You. He knew I would never leave you. He saw us that day after you and Kathy argued..." Her gaze fell to their hands as she rubbed his hand with her free one.
"Hmmm." He paused, a million thoughts flying in his head. "Liv...this...us...we...you and me...this has got to be something you want. Not something you're settling for just because he's leaving." Elliot chose his words carefully, keeping his voice soft, quiet.
Her head lifted quickly, her eyes locking with his. "Settling? You think I think that being with you is settling?" Her voice was raised.
"Liv...I just need...I have to know that you are with me because you love me more than him...not because you can't have him...not because he took that option away...I can't be with you, thinking that you would go back to him if things got tough between us." He knew the words were coming out all wrong and he was afraid she would misunderstand and get angry and they would fight. Or worse, she would run again.
"Elliot...I have been in love with you for so long, no way would I be settling. I was going to tell him I could not marry him and that we needed to call it quits, but he beat me to it. But, he knows, El. He knows I love you. I told him at the lake. He was willing to live with it." She sighed. "This is such a big mess, huh?"
"We'll get through it. We will, Olivia. I promise." He kissed her hand. "I called the divorce attorney. He brought some papers by yesterday. I signed them. Kathy signed, too. He's going to file them in court today or tomorrow. It'll take some time, but we are going through with it. We should have never gotten back together."
"Oh, El... I hate that is has come to this...for the kids...and even for you and Kathy. I just don't want to be the reason..." She was interrupted by Elliot.
"Olivia, you are not the reason our marriage busted up. It took a long time for it to die...it started before I ever knew you. It's dead now. Someone just had to have the guts to admit it." He pulled her to him and just held her.
"El...can we take this slow? Sort of start anew? I mean...we've been at such odds the last couple of years...I just want...to be friends again...you know, like we used to be in the beginning. Laughing, joking..."
"Flirting?" He asked suggestively.
"Yes, flirting. Bantering, arguing, just being together, enjoying each other, you know?" She smiled that brilliant smile, her eyes twinkling.
"Friends? You broke an engagement, I'm getting a divorce...and you want to be...friends?" He acted like he was incredulous at this idea.
"El..."
"You want friends, you got it. I want to be your friend again, Liv. And you're right. We should take it slow. We need to secure the friendship we had...have before we do anything else." He agreed.
"Thank you, Elliot." She kissed his cheek and pulled away, looking at her watch. "Oh, no! I have got to get to the house! I'm late! Cragen's going to kill me!"
She stood up, cleared the remains of their breakfast, hugged Elliot and was nearly out the door when he called her name.
"Liv?" He called out.
She stopped and looked back at him. He had the biggest smirk on his face. "What?"
The smirk became even broader, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "That's friends...uh...with benefits, right?"
She rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her as she left.
SVU Squad Room ∙ Thursday Morning, July 17th
When she arrived at work nearly an hour late, she was surprised to find that neither Munch nor Fin were there. She glanced over at Cragen's office. He had his head buried in a file folder. Little ever escaped his attention, but she thought she might be able to pull this off if she were quiet enough. She tried to sneak in without calling attention to herself. Just as she got to her desk and pulled out the chair, she heard him.
"Benson! Need you in here! Now!" Cragen barked.
She bit her lower lip and rolled her eyes, not where he could see, of course. She threw her keys and cell phone on her desk and went to his office. He motioned for her to sit down as he shut the door behind her.
"Good morning, Captain." She said quietly, wondering what kind of trouble she was in.
"Good morning, Liv. How's Elliot? I am assuming you went by to see him and that is why you are late..." He went to his desk and sat on the edge, just in front of her.
"He's doing okay...they are going to started physical therapy this afternoon. You know he does not make a good patient." She chuckled and Cragen smiled.
"I called you in here to let you know that Munch and Fin went to talk to Rhett this morning." He watched her closely, to see how she would react.
"We broke up last night." She told him, looking down at the floor, she slowly lifted her eyes to his.
He held her gaze and nodded slightly. "You okay with that?"
"Yes...he would always have been my second choice." She smiled just a slight smile.
"Yea..." He stood and went behind his desk and picked up a file. "This is a letter from the FBI field office supervisor. Seems they got together with the NYPD brass and they want to honor the SVU, particularly you at a dinner next month. This is quite an honor, Olivia. I wanted you to know how proud I am of your tenacity to this case, trusting your gut. We felt like this was going to be a big case early on, but I never dreamed it would encompass what it has." He grinned and handed her the letter.
She felt herself blushing, but the grin on her face, told him she was pleased. "Wow...this is an honor...but I was just doing my job, Sir."
"And you did good, Detective." He smiled and winked at her. "Very good."
Beth Israel Hospital ∙ Elliot Staber's Room ∙ Thursday Afternoon, July 17th
He was exhausted after the physical therapy session. He knew they would push him, he just didn't realize they were going to be drill sergeants. In fact, he would take any of his Marine boot camp drill sergeants over that young PT any day. Her name tag said 'Carrie'. Her youth, sweet voice and cuteness belied a monster lurking beneath. He protested and she pushed. He moaned and she insisted. He begged and she threatened to keep him longer. This was just for his shoulder. Therapy on his leg would have to wait until they put the removable cast on. He could only imagine what she would have him doing for his leg. He was asleep nearly the instant they moved him back to bed.
Awake now, he looked out the window at the clear blue sky and wished he could be up and out. He wished he were in the field with Olivia again. Checking out leads, busting perps, catching lunch at Moretti's. Then he thought about them and their changing relationship. If things panned out like he hoped, their days as partners were limited. As much as he hated to think about that, the thought of being with her during the times he was not at work, outweighed his desire to remain her partner. He may be getting ahead of himself anyway. They could still be partners for a while. No one needed to know about them. He laughed to himself. Was he kidding? Everyone already knew about them. Some of them before they realized it. His head turned toward the door at the sound of soft knocking. Someone stepped inside. Rhett.
He sat up straighter in his bed. He did not know what to say. They had never even talked after they realized that they both knew Olivia, that Elliot's partner was dating his brother, that Rhett's fiance's partner was his brother. They had never talked since realizing they were in love with the same woman
"Sonny...how are you doing?" Rhett asked quietly.
" I got shot twice and nearly cashed in, how do you think I'm doing?" He replied sarcastically.
"Look...I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to see how you are doing and to let you know I'm sorry about what happened to you. Is there anything I can do for you?" Rhett had stepped closer to his bed.
"Haven't you done enough already?" Elliot snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rhett's voice kicked up a notch.
"You've done enough to me to last a lifetime, Manny! First leaving and then...then..." He growled, his eyes fiery with anger and he could not make himself finish his sentence.
"Listen...I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for bailing out on you and Mom and the others. I just couldn't take Dad any more...his drunkenness, hitting Mom and especially, when he told me I wasn't his son any more!" Tears began falling from his eyes and he wiped at them furiously, mad that he let his brother see him cry.
"He what?" Elliot asked, his brows knit together in a deep frown.
"What?" Rhett asked, confused, raking the back of his hand across his nose.
"Dad told you, you weren't his son anymore?" Elliot repeated what Rhett had said, letting the words sink in.
"Yea...that's why I left...why I changed my name...why...why I couldn't bring myself to come back." He ran his hands through his hair.
"I thought you just wanted out...you didn't care about us...about Mom." He trailed off, as everything suddenly began to make sense.
"No! That was not it, at all, Sonny! I just...I was...I was young and stupid and foolish. I wasted a lot of years...I'm sorry. I understand if you can't forgive me, but please...you have to believe me...I never meant to hurt you. Or Mom or anybody. Ever. You were my best bud, little brother. My best bud..." He trailed off as the lump in his throat took on epic proportions.
Elliot was dealing with his own lump and it was going to take an act of Congress to get a word out around it and besides that, tears were blurring his vision. His brother looked up at him and saw the tears streaming down his face and that was all it took for the floodgates to open. Here they were, two former Marines, staring at each other, sniffling and bawling their eyes out. Elliot held a hand out to him. To his big brother. His best bud. Rhett made it to his bedside in two long strides and they embraced. For the first time in nearly twenty years, they embraced.
Several minutes passed with them hugging and just holding on to each other. At last, they released each other and talked some more about Rhett leaving. It took awhile but the conversation finally turned to Olivia.
"If I had known you were in love with her, I never would have pursued her. You know that." Rhett sat on the edge of his bed, right where Liv had sat earlier.
"I know. You had no idea...and I am married...was married...whatever I am...signed papers yesterday and so did Kathy. I'm sorry about you and Olivia." Elliot told him, looking away.
"You are?" Rhett questioned.
"Yea...well, sort of. I mean, I hate that you guys broke up...that...look, she loves you, man." Elliot looked back at him.
"No...she loves you. Been in love with you forever." Rhett corrected him.
"I mean...she...Liv doesn't fall easy...and I watched her fall...hard and fast. She does love you..." He did hate that his brother was hurting over this.
"Yea...even Mom said Liv is in love with us both...but, Elliot, she really loves you...and I hope it will all work out for the two of you. I do." He smiled and nodded his head.
"But you love her, too...and I know this has hurt you, man..."
"Yes...I love her...enough to let her go...to be with the man she loved long before me. I've been hurt before...I'll get over it, eventually." In his heart, he knew he would never get over Olivia Benson. Not completely, anyway.
His head back, staring at the ceiling, Elliot did not respond.
"You just better treat her right...you got that?" Rhett told him. "Or you'll answer to me."
Elliot just looked at him, nodded, and laid back against his pillow. After a long moment, he raised up and looked at his brother. "So...are we good?"
Rhett extended his hand. "Yea...we're good." They shook hands and then pulled each other into another embrace, relieved that their relationship was on the mend. They could start anew and be brothers again...and maybe even, with time, best buds.
eoeoeoeoeoeo
A/N: Sorry it has taken a little long to update this. I had most of the chapter written but had a bit of a problem with the flow. Hope it is all right now. If it smooths things over a bit, I already have the next chapter finished...cause I wrote it before this one! I truly appreciate the time you take to review. " ) Bensler
P.S. I finally got accepted on SVU Fiction! I was so excited! And if you haven't already, please check out my 'short' story - "Illusions of Reality". " )