A/N: Suansil4 – All I'm going to say is that this chapter might feed your curiosity ;)

10. Something's wrong

The meeting with the principal, Rod Harrison had been incredibly successful, he had been very promising to Kathy. He couldn't believe the news that one of his best teachers was currently in a secret relationship with a parent at the school. Kathy had expressed the deep problems that this had been causing her family, which may have been a bit of a stretch but Rod expressed that he would look directly into this himself. Kathy knew this man from a while back and she knew that when he said he would do something, he stuck to his word. It would be highly unlikely that Olivia would last out the week at the school but if by some miracle it was all brushed under the carpet, Kathy had stated explicitly that she would take this to the media or even the police, but that kind of thing wouldn't look good for the school. Kathy had left the meeting with a smile on her face, knowing that it wouldn't be long till Elliot's mistress would be out of their lives for good and she could have her husband back.

Kathy wasn't at all surprised not to see Olivia at pick up duty, although she had to admit that had been a very quick turn around on the school's part, she'd only complained this morning. Elliot wasn't at pick up because he'd been called into yet another meeting with a few financial advisors, leaving Kathy to make the afternoon pick up. Bernie was supposed to be with Kathy to pick up the twins but Kathy had convinced the older woman that she needed to have a chance to be alone with her children. Richard had obviously come running over the minute that he spotted her and Kathy smiled as his teacher had watched closely, however Elizabeth had been more hesitant to come over. Kathy didn't recognise the teacher that Elizabeth was with but it wasn't Olivia Benson which was the main thing. She hoped that Olivia was being served right now for her inappropriate actions dating a parent in her class, and would no longer be teaching.

Olivia couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that such claims had been made against her. She couldn't believe that the school, where she had given so much time and dedication, were taking the claims to be the absolute truth either. Rod had called her into his office this afternoon, before home time dismissal, to have a talk. As Olivia had sat listening to him, she had known the meeting that Kathy had this morning with him, was about her. The meeting was too suspicious not to be and now she was in the same office, being accused of inappropriate conduct and favouritism towards students in her class as well as pursuing an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a parent of her student. Olivia had always tried to be the upmost professional with Elliot whenever they were at school and she was pretty sure that no one at school knew about her relationship with him. Well except Clara but she wouldn't say anything and no-one else had ever said anything. So, if this was being investigated now and she was on notice, it had to come from Kathy, so somehow Elliot's ex had found out about their relationship.

Rod had informed her that as a school, they had to take these kinds of allegations very seriously and he had never thought someone as professional as her, would ever have these kinds of allegations made against her. But whilst the school made the appropriate investigations, Olivia would be placed on paid leave and they would contact her when they had more news. However, Rod had warned her that there were really 3 possible outcomes; she could be completely fine as there was no truth to it, she could be transferred to their sister public school or other school or lastly, her contract could be completely terminated. Whilst Olivia had to admit she didn't want to be fired completely, she really wasn't sure whether she preferred now to stay at this school or be transferred somewhere else. One thing was for sure now though, Olivia could not contact Elliot or have anything to do with that family. She had to be distant whist she was being investigated and could possibly lose her job. But what would happen afterwards? That would depend on what happened next.

Elliot could tell something had happened at school on Monday when he didn't hear from Olivia that night, nor did he see her at school or hear from her on Tuesday. When he enquired where Miss Benson was, he'd simply been told that something had come up and she was taking the rest of the week off from school. Elliot normally spoke to her in some form every day. Usually, they spoke on the phone for a while every night, before bed, whenever he couldn't be with her. It was his way of connecting with Olivia even when he couldn't physically be with her, still putting a focus on his relationship. However every time he'd called since Monday afternoon, he'd been sent straight to voicemail which she never responded to and his texts went unanswered as well. Elliot was starting to grow really concerned about Olivia as this was not like her at all, she'd never just seemingly shut him out. By the time Wednesday rolled around, Elliot still hadn't heard from Olivia and he was planning to start to take things into his own hands to find out what was going on. He'd last heard from Olivia at lunchtime on Monday. He'd texted to see how she was and if she'd heard anymore about the meeting, Olivia had replied to that message saying she hadn't but it had been radio silence ever since.

Elliot knew where Chloe went to day care and he knew most of Olivia's routine when it came to daycare as he'd done that drop off or pick up with her before. So he knew that he could check if Chloe was still there, but then thought against it as he didn't imagine Olivia would be sending Chloe if she was still off work. Elliot hated the radio silence from Olivia like this and he hated the thought that she could be in danger or hurt or worse and he wouldn't know. Olivia was his one true love and he simply couldn't handle the thought of something happening to her, which he couldn't stop. He protected the ones he loved and right now he couldn't protect Olivia if she needed him to. Elliot really didn't want to be seen as 'stalking' her, he didn't want her to think he was possessive over her, as that was not a good trait when he knew her past with Brian. But Elliot just wished that she would talk to him and let him know that she was ok or what was going on.

The more Elliot thought about it, the more he wondered if all of this had something to do with the meeting that Kathy had with the principal. Elliot wondered if that meeting had impacted Olivia and thus created the radio silence. It was the only logical explanation that Elliot could think of but even then, why would Kathy go to the principal, about Olivia? Elliot wasn't sure, he only knew that he simply wouldn't be able to concentrate at work any longer until he knew what was going on and he had answers. He knew that Kathy would be at her hotel room and so Elliot just had to confront her about all of this and then if she didn't have any understanding on the matter, he would plan the next step. No matter what happened, he would get to the bottom of this whole thing.

She missed him.
She hated that she couldn't talk to him.
She hated that she was trying to protect her career but knew she was impacting her relationship. In the time that Elliot and Olivia had been in a relationship, she'd never gone more than a day without talking to Elliot in some form or another, until now. Even when it may have stretched to a day without contact before, usually that related to travel. Not like this. Alex had informed Olivia not to make any dumb decisions and to try restrict the amount of 'ammunition' her actions gave the school by her actions as that could impact their resulting decision. But Olivia still missed Elliot and hated that she couldn't talk to him, she couldn't ask him for advice or hear his thoughts on things. She knew from the kind of man Elliot was, he would be wondering what was going on and she knew he was trying to get in touch with her. She'd seen every one of his calls and had to just let it ring out, she'd listened to the voicemails he left just to hear his voice. She could tell how worried he was. But Kathy's complaint had put her job on the line and she couldn't jeopardise that by her love for Elliot. Olivia also wasn't prepared to give Kathy anything more that she could use, in her obvious attack against her.

Chloe had been asking about Elliot all the time lately, especially when he was going to come and have a 'sleepover' again. Olivia had to lie and say he was very busy and it might be a while before he could come visit. Olivia didn't know when Elliot would come over again and she didn't want to unsettle her daughter too much with this.
To keep Chloe from experiencing too much change at the moment and being unsettled by it, Olivia had decided to still send her to day care every day like normal, though she was picking her up a little earlier than usual and they weren't seeing Lucy as much this week. Olivia had to admit, whilst work was stressing her out a bit, she was enjoying the extra time with her daughter.

The only person that Olivia had spoken to about the school situation, besides her father, was Alex who had instantly advised Olivia to get in contact with a lawyer. Alex didn't believe that Olivia would truly need one but it didn't hurt to have backup in this kind of situation and legally be protected. Alex had told her that she was doing the right thing by not talking to Elliot and keeping all communication clear of that family. Elliot and that family would technically be part of the investigation, even if they weren't aware the school was investigating. But Alex had agreed to talk to Elliot herself, let him know what was going on and hopefully put his mind at ease. Olivia knew he had to be really worried about her by now if he wasn't before, as it wasn't like them to go so long without talking and she wasn't at school. Olivia hated the thought that Elliot would think he'd had a role in her disappearance, or he'd done something to make her shut him out, because he hadn't. Olivia just wasn't sure if Alex had actually spoken to Elliot yet and if she hadn't, then Olivia hoped this continued silence wasn't hurting Elliot too much. There really was nothing else she wanted to do more right now, than talk to Elliot. But she just couldn't risk the chance her phone calls were traced, or online activity was watched. She was sure that once Elliot knew what was going on, he would understand her silence.

Olivia had just finished tidying up from dinner when her phone rung, based on the ringtone, she knew it was Alex. Olivia had different ringtones for different of importance in her life, as it helped her know who it was if she couldn't get to the phone. Not to mention the fact that Alex and her father were the only two real people she expected to hear from at the moment and she'd already spoken to her father earlier tonight to let Chloe speak with him too.
"Alex?" Olivia answered the call.
"Hey Liv, how are you?" Alex replied, she had been growing quite concerned over everything that was happening for her friend and liked to check in regularly this week.
"Alright, I guess" Olivia grumbled in reply. She wasn't feeling too great at the moment considering she'd probably lost her job, had to distance herself from the man she loved because of this possibility of losing her job and Chloe was really the only that kept her focus at the moment.
"No news on the school front then I'm guessing?" Alex queried, as she hadn't heard anything from Olivia and knew her friend would call her if she had news.
"Nope, I am yet to hear anything back about that. I think I'll be off from school for at least another week, if I even have a job to go back to" Olivia remarked, as she moved to sit on the couch with a glass of wine, which had become the usual this week.
"Come on now, I'm sure it won't come to that" Alex tried to remain hopeful.

"You know what, I don't even think I care anymore. The past few days have really given me time to think and if one word from one parent is going to cause this much of a fuss at school, then maybe I don't want to work there. I've done nothing wrong in terms of my employment but if I'm going to be suspended and they have to do a full investigation over it, maybe I'll be better off teaching somewhere else" Olivia explained, clearly having spent decent time thinking this whole thing through.
"You love your class though and I know you've made a real difference to those kids…Are you really sure that you want to transfer or just walk away?" Alex asked, concerned that her friend was no longer thinking clearly.
"I do love my class and I am really proud of all the progress and learning that we've done this year, that class has also brought some of the most important people into my life. But if I stay at that school, I have to give that up, I have to walk away from them and I'm not sure I want to do that, so maybe it's easier I just move"
"You don't want to give up Elliot?"
"No, never. I know that I have something special with him now and something that has made me happier than I think I've ever been in my life. It's honestly killing me that I can't talk to him, did you even tell him why yet?" Olivia turned the conversation focus onto Alex.
"I haven't managed to get a hold of him just yet. I've called a couple of times but had no response" Alex confessed which made Olivia run her hand through her hair and sigh, Elliot still had no idea what was going on.
"What if I call him over and tell him face to face? Surely the school can't be as controlling as having someone outside my house, it's not a criminal investigation" Olivia stated.
"Liv, I really don't think that's a smart idea. We agreed that until you hear back from your school you can't giving them anything more to use against you and if these allegations are in fact coming from his ex, then it's safer for you to just keep your distance. I'll keep trying to contact him when I can and talk to him on your behalf but just stay strong, ok? Let's wait to see what the outcome of everything is before we go making big decisions?" Alex suggested which Olivia agreed. Despite wanting nothing more than to talk to Elliot, she knew that this wasn't the best option now as she had no idea the lengths which such an exclusive school would go to, to investigate the complaint.

Elliot spent most of his time now in his study at home whenever Kathy was around. He had no idea what she had done but he knew that she had to have something to do with Olivia's disappearance now. Richard had invited Kathy over for dinner Thursday night after his basketball game and whilst Elliot had been very polite to her during dinner, the minute it was over he escaped into his study. He claimed that he had important business matters to attend to but the truth was, he didn't want to be around anyone right now. Instead, he just preferred to be alone in his study, with a drink and his thoughts because otherwise he couldn't be sure he wouldn't do something he might regret.

Elliot gazed out the study window, watching the lights reflect off different buildings and admiring the sunset over the skyline. Olivia loved the view from his place and she particularly loved the view from in here, watching the sunset like this made him think of her. He wondered where she was and what she was up to now. He wondered how Chloe was doing, what she was up to and whether the little girl was asking about him. Elliot knew it had only been a couple of days, since he was over with them last weekend, but he still wondered. Elliot was only drawn out of his thoughts about Olivia and Chloe by the sensation of his pocket vibrating, he was getting a phone call.
"Elliot Stabler speaking" Elliot answered the call, he hadn't looked at the ID before answering the call, so he had no idea who it was.
"Elliot, thank goodness I finally managed to get through to you" the voice on the other end of the line spoke up, it was Alex. But Elliot still didn't understand why she was calling.
"Alex? Is everything ok? What's happened?" Elliot asked, sitting up a little straighter in his chair and bracing himself for the worst news.
"Relax, she's fine. They both are. But she is the reason I'm calling and I've been trying to contact you for ages" Alex replied, she could hear the concern in Elliot's voice the minute she spoke, feeling guilty that she'd not been able to speak to him before now.
"She's not talking to me and I don't know why? I've tried calling and texting, she's not at school and I didn't want to be seen as stepping over a line if I turned up at her house" Elliot tried to explain himself.
"I can tell you that she has read every message you sent and she's listened to every voicemail that you've left after she couldn't pick up your call. She just can't return any of them right now, as she's under investigation at school and I advised her not to" Alex explained.
"Investigation? By who?" Elliot asked.

"The principal at school. Your wife has made a complaint against Olivia and the treatment of your children, as well as a mention of an affair between the two of you. So, Olivia has been placed on 'paid leave' until further notice and she has been told that they will get in contact with her when the investigation is complete. Whilst I honestly don't think they are monitoring her actions or her phone calls outside of school, it is an elite private school and we don't want to give your wife anything more to use against Olivia. So that is why she's not talking or making contact with you. I have been in regular contact with her though and I've been trying to get in contact with you for a couple of days to tell you this as she can't. But it has taken me till now to actually get through?" Alex explained and Elliot felt his stomach drop. Alex had been the mystery number that he kept getting calls from recently, if he'd actually picked them up then he would have known about Olivia days ago.
"Sorry, you came up as a mystery number and I've been screening my calls for various reasons. I'll save this number to my phone as you though so I will pick up if I can in the future. Thank you for letting me know about her, I was really starting to worry…Is there anything I can to do help?" Elliot asked, wanting to assist right now in anyway that he could.
"Olivia knew you would be. Now she told me to tell you that you've done nothing wrong, she loves you and she misses you. You can believe me when I say those words have never been truer, I spoke with her earlier and she's even thinking about quitting at the school all together or transferring to another school if she makes it through this. She loves you so much and isn't prepared to lose you and what you two have, for a job" Alex explained and Elliot just smiled into the phone, he wasn't prepared to lose her either.
"How long is the investigation going to take? When can I see her again?" Elliot asked, he would be there the first chance he could.
"We don't know, I would advise staying away until we get more information from the school and she can actually call you again. But if you're desperate to see her, keep it to her apartment as that's the safest option. Olivia told me that you have a key, so you don't have to buzz up, you can just go up and see her" Alex explained.
"Thank you Alex, thank you for telling me this and thank you for always being there for Liv" Elliot concluded whilst Alex just smiled into the phone, accepting the thanks. She was glad that she could help these two out as she had seen so clearly how perfect they were for each other.

A/N: Well, Alex to the rescue? Elliot knows now that his suspicion about Kathy at school is right, but what will he do with this information? How will the investigation end? Will Olivia still have a job?
Leave me a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter or what you would like to happen next?
School holidays here are almost over but I'm hoping that I will have a chance to get at least 1 more chapter up before school goes back next week.
Until Next Time :)