Office Hours

Don never knew what to do with things like this. Elliot Stabler's wife had left him after twenty years of marriage. Took his kids and left him with an empty house and a job that no man could be expected to do without something good to come home to. At least a man like Elliot. John and Fin and Don himself knew different. But Elliot needed more. Always had and probably always would. And Don just didn't know what to do for him.

The door to his office opened and closed as the visitor let herself in without any kind of warning. "Sulking or processing?" she asked.

He sighed. She knew that he liked to shut himself away when he was upset, and it was usually about a case. Something they'd done wrong that he was feeling guilty about or something that happened that he was shocked by. It still happened, even after all this time. The depravity of humanity still got to him some days.

But that wasn't the problem today.

"You want a drink?" He didn't bother to answer her question.

"I'm not in the mood to drink alone." She sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

Don shrugged. He kept a couple bottles in his desk for anyone who needed it. He'd never touched it himself. He knew better. But no need to add that to his list of problems. "You don't usually come to my office, Liz. What's going on?"

"I was gonna ask you to dinner, but I think maybe we'll take a raincheck. What happened here?"

"We don't need to get into it. Let's go to dinner."

But she shook her head. "Not until you tell me something. You know I'm not going to let you just push it aside. Not with me."

She was right and he knew it. "Fine. Elliot's wife left him."

"And you're worried about him?"

He gave a nod. "He's not like my other guys. He doesn't know how to handle the end of a relationship."

She hummed in understanding. "And he's not going through what you did."

Don felt like she'd slapped him across the face. Never once in their years together had she even made reference to the fact that he'd been married or that he was a widower. Though Don had never really felt like he was a widower. Not really. He'd grieved, of course. But more than anything, he felt like he'd been married and then he just wasn't. And whatever he and Elizabeth Donnelly had going on, it was completely unrelated to any thoughts of his marriage.

"Well, I don't think I can offer any advice. Not that you asked me for it. I don't know anything about a marriage ending," she said.

"You ever get close?" he asked her curiously.

"Considering the fact that you are the only man I've been with for more than a couple of months, I'd say no."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I dunno how some lucky guy didn't try and snatch you up."

"You don't need to flatter me, Captain," she answered acerbically. "Going to school when I did, a woman was either looking for a husband or looking for a career. Each type of woman tended to get what she was looking for. And then us career gals had the fun of seeing every insecure idiot be intimidated and threatened by us or else getting hit on and harassed by every arrogant asshole. The good guys married the girls who snapped them up in college. So I'm much better off with my prestigious position to keep me warm at night."

While he hated hearing about what she'd gone through, he wasn't surprised. But the way she told it made him smile, just a little. She had the looks of a cool, willowy blonde, but she was all firecracker, and he loved it. "Come here," he said, turning his chair to the side.

Liz got up and walked toward him. "What do you want?" she teased, standing in front of him.

He gazed up at her. "If you were wearing a skirt, Counselor, I'd have you hike it up and straddle me on this chair."

"Guess I ruined the fun with a pantsuit, huh," she answered with a smirk.

"How about I keep you warm tonight?" he offered.

She took a step forward. He moved his legs apart so she could stand between them. She placed her hands on his shoulders and feigned consideration of his proposition. "Hmm…I suppose you're looking for me to straddle you in my bed?"

"Yep," he answered unabashedly.

"Buy me dinner and you've got a deal," she replied.

"Good," he said. He gave a playful swat to her ass. "Come on, I'm hungry."

"God, all you cops with your macho manhood bullshit," she said rolling her eyes.

Don stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Yeah, but you like my manhood."

Her eyes sparkled with mirth. "I like it so much, I'm gonna straddle it in my bed as soon as we get there."

He grinned, pleased that this unexpected office visit had succeeded in distracting and cheering him up.