A/N: Hello again! You can thank the writing support group chat on Twitter for the fact that I am once again procrastinating on adulting to write a one-shot. Hahaha. Based on the season one episode Stalked. Oh, and I'm changing a couple of things about this episode. While EO aren't an established couple, he and Kathy are divorced. I don't like writing him married. ;) Due to this episode being about Stalking some parts may be triggering. Proceed with caution.

She poured the orange juice into the pitcher and made a mental note that she needed to buy some more next time she went to the grocery store. Of course, she had no idea when that would be. The job took up most of her time, so her fridge was rarely, if ever, fully stocked.

She didn't mind though, after all, that's what delivery was for, right?

The realization that she needed to buy more orange juice reminded her of the discovery her partner had made the night before; that their perp, Richard White, knew which store she frequently shopped at. She had brushed it off. It could easily be a coincidence and as sweet as it was of her partner to be protective, even going so far as to offer to do her shopping for her, he had to be overreacting about this. She had a gun. She could take care of herself if she had to. She wasn't going to panic until there was a real reason to.

Elliot was overreacting. Right?

She couldn't deny that White had made her uneasy, but she didn't want to grant him the satisfaction of making her anxious. She was sure he wouldn't be the first perp to set his sights on her and if she wanted to prove she could do the job she couldn't let him get to her. Therefore, she decided, Elliot was overreacting.

She had to keep telling herself that so she wouldn't focus on how Richard White had made her skin crawl. She wasn't afraid of him, but she wanted to get him off the streets as soon as she could so he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Despite her confidence that White wasn't after her, she looked through the peephole before opening the door.

"Who is it?"

"Elliot." She hadn't been expecting him, but she smiled when she heard his voice. "One of your neighbors let me in. I was just in the neighborhood. I thought I'd give you a lift."

She almost rolled her eyes, but deep down she was glad to have a partner that had her back and looked out for her.

"Elliot, what's going on? Last night Munch offered to give me a ride home."

"Munch did that?"

"Yeah. That's not like him, is it? Then this morning you're offering to drive me to work? 'In the neighborhood'?"

"I was."

Bullshit.

"You have the sedan with you?"

"Yep."

"Which means you drove all the way uptown from the Queensboro Bridge, dropped off the car, picked up the sedan, turned around, all the way back downtown to get here? That's a lot of neighborhood, my friend."

"Stop acting like a cop." This time she rolled her eyes.

"That's what Richard White would like me to do," She reached into the cabinet for a glass to pour the orange juice in and then turned back to Elliot. "Look, I appreciate everyone's concern, but we don't know that White is coming for me. He may have gone out of town."

"I just don't want to take any chances. That's all."

"I know that and I-are you seriously drinking from the carton?" He shrugged, and she took the orange juice carton from his hand and gave him her glass. He took a swig and handed it back to her.

"I'll tell you what since I drank from this carton I'll go to the store and buy you a new one, and any other groceries you need."

"You just did that so you would have an excuse to be my bodyguard. I'll be fine Elliot." His phone rang before he could respond, and they each took one last swallow of orange juice before heading to the address Cragen gave them.

X

The urgency to get White off the streets was amplified when they discovered Louise's body that morning. As was the squads' concern for Olivia's safety. Cragen stopped her before she could follow the other detectives out of the precinct.

"Benson, you got a sec?" She inwardly groaned knowing what he was going to say.

"What?"

"I don't want you out there today."

"I need to be out there." She protested.

"No. Come on, you really pissed this guy off. He's focused on you. If he's still in the city you could be next on his list.

"I need to watch my partner's back."

"We'll get him someone else."

"Captain-"

"Olivia, I will be fine knowing that you're safe," Elliot spoke up as he reentered the room.

"You guys-" She sighed and shook her head at Elliot who had moved next to Cragen. She addressed her boss first. "Captain when I first came on board here you told me I don't get to pick the victim. So what if I'm the next potential vic?" She could see Elliot start to speak, but she cut him off. "The same rule should still apply. Let me do my job."

The looks on their faces told her they didn't like it, but they knew when she was determined to do something trying to stop her was no use.

"I want you back here safe tonight."

"She will be," Elliot responded to the Captain before Olivia could speak. "I'm not letting her out of my sight."

"El-"

"I'm just as stubborn as you are, Benson."

"Fine." At Cragen's orders, they were about to leave the room when a delivery person arrived carrying a large bouquet.

"Is there an Olivia Benson here?"

"I'm Benson."

"Two dozen roses. Your boyfriend must really love you."

"I didn't know you were dating anyone." Concern colored Elliot's tone as Olivia flipped the note over.

"I'm not."

"Son of a bitch." The words No hard feelings were etched in red ink.

"Where do you work?" Olivia addressed the delivery man, refusing to focus on herself and the clear threat White made against her.

They were directed to Eva's Garden Florist and Events where they learned the flowers had been charged to the credit card of Richard White's mother, Lila. His mother told them her son was there that morning borrowing money. She gave him her card because she assumed he had none. He told her he was going back to Manhattan.

"He was going to look up some special lady friend. A policewoman." Elliot's jaw clenched and the color drained from his face when he and Olivia exchanged a look. "I told him he should drop her before she started taking from him. No offense, but I know you people don't make any real money, and for that, you get to deal with filth all day."

"All shapes and sizes." Elliot gritted out and placed his palm on the small of Olivia's back as they walked back to the car.

X

To ease his worry, Olivia didn't object to Elliot driving her home that night. They rode in a comfortable silence as he drove. The streetlights lit their path as the rain pelted the windows.

"My jacket is in the backseat. You can wear it. It's got a hood. I don't think this storm is gonna let up anytime soon."

"Elliot I'll be fine. I'll just run in."

"Olivia you don't have an umbrella or a jacket. Take it. I don't want you to get sick." Her heart warmed at his words. Even though his overprotectiveness could be annoying sometimes it was nice to have someone who cared for her as he did. She wasn't used to that.

"Alright. I'll bring it to work tomorrow to give back to you."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." He gave her a soft smile. "I'll be by to pick you up around seven."

"El-" He parked and cut her off before she could finish.

"I'll walk you in."

"I know how to protect myself. I'm not a civilian."

"You're not a superhero either."

"Elliot, if I let White change my life in any way he wins. I'm not gonna let him win."

"This isn't about winning."

"Yeah, it is."

"Blink your lights when you get inside." He told her that every time he drove her home, but she knew tonight those words carried more weight.

"You're just gonna sit out here all night until I do aren't you? You stubborn son of a bitch."

"Yes, I am." He always would.

She slipped his hoodie over her head and stepped out of the car.

"See you tomorrow." He watched as she walked into her building, and he kept his eyes glued to her window until he saw her lights flicker.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, but he didn't leave. He couldn't shake the fear that if he drove away something would happen, so he leaned his seat back and took the keys out of the ignition. He didn't care if he was being paranoid. He wasn't going to leave her. Not tonight.

X

It was two in the morning when Olivia poured another glass of orange juice. She couldn't sleep and she didn't know if that was because of White, or because she was wearing Elliot's hoodie. She could smell his scent on it and while it was warm, comforting, and made her feel safe, it also stirred up feelings she'd been trying to ignore since they became partners. She tried to shake the images from her mind of how it fit his muscular form, and what it would look like if he took it off and was shirtless.

She groaned.

Yeah, she wouldn't be sleeping tonight. It wasn't the first time she'd thought of her partner this way and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.

She was broken from her thoughts by a knock that put her on alert instantly. She moved to where her service weapon was, but before she could pick it up the door was thrown off its hinges.

X

Elliot realized he must have dozed off and his heart jumped into his throat as he remembered why he was in the car outside his partner's apartment in the first place. He had intended to stay awake the whole night to keep watch. What if something had happened to her while he was sleeping? He pulled into a parking spot and stepped out of the car. He tried to tell himself she was probably fine but decided it couldn't hurt to check on her just to be sure. She may be irritated with him but at least he'd know she was safe.

The shouting he heard when he got to her floor amplified his fear and he pulled his gun as he raced to her apartment.

"I don't like being ignored!" The voice was undeniable, full of anger and grit, and muffled the sound of shuffling against the hardwood. "This is how it's going to go, Olivia." She tried to reach for the knife but was trapped under his weight. She realized she would have to go with her last line of defense and screamed.

"Help me!"

Seemingly, as suddenly as it had started, the weight against her was gone, but she was still paralyzed on the ground. She sat up shakily to see her partner restraining her assailant. The two men threw a few punches before Elliot wrapped his arm around White's neck in a chokehold, forcing him to drop the knife.

"Liv! You ok?" Elliot called out to her once their perp was unconscious on the ground. Olivia couldn't find her voice for a moment and just looked at him. "Did he hurt you?"

"Not really. You got here in time. Thank you." She was still out of breath from being pinned under White. "I thought you went home. How'd you know?"

"Well, when there's a scumbag going after my partner I like to stick around." After placing the handcuffs on White he walked over to Olivia and helped her off the floor. She leaned into him slightly as she steadied herself. "You sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine El. We should call Cragen." Elliot nodded but didn't move away from her as he did so.

He stood close to her until the squad arrived, and the minute they left he was back at her side. He noticed the orange juice carton spilled on the ground and realized she'd dropped it in the struggle.

"I'll buy you some more juice and I'm staying on your couch tonight."

"Elliot I'm fine. We got White."

"Still. That would've been a traumatic experience for anyone. I don't want to leave you alone tonight. Please let me stay?"

The earlier panic was still etched in his features.

"Alright." Maybe she could use the company, and she couldn't deny that she felt safer with him around. "Thanks, El."

X

He'd only been asleep for ten minutes when the sound of her bedroom door opening woke him up.

"Hey." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "You alright?"

"I can't sleep." He could hear the vulnerability in her voice, something he wasn't used to hearing, and it made him want to murder Richard White. "It's just...I thought I'd be able to fight him off but he...if you hadn't shown up when you did-" Her voice was shaking. "I can still feel him."

"Come here," He knew not leaving her alone had been a good decision. She sat next to him and he wrapped his arms around her as he leaned back on the couch. "I've got you. You don't have to be strong tonight. I'm here. You're safe now."

"Elliot I thought...I've never been as scared as I was at that moment." She leaned her head on his chest and allowed his heartbeat to soothe her.

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't get up here sooner."

"It's not your fault."

"Shh, I know. Try to sleep, ok? I'm right here. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I know you won't."

"You want the light on tonight?" She considered it for a moment but shook her head.

"I'm ok. You've got me."

"Always, partner."

A/N: Thanks for reading! If only something similar could've happened at the end of season fourteen too right? *wistful sigh. Please review!

Thanks to my beta FragileVixenFic :)