AN: Hello my lovely peeps! I hope you are enjoying your week. I probably won't be able to update again until Saturday or Sunday. Thank you for all the support and I hope you enjoy this chapter. The case mentioned is based off of the episode "Lead".
Monday, January 22nd
Olivia and Elliot made their way into the squad-room at the same time, something they had tried not to do since Elliot had been staying with her. It was weird at first, having someone to come home to (well with) every night, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Elliot had gone home to see his kids a few times, but he came back to her apartment afterwards. He and Kathy were being civil, but that was about it. He had told Olivia countless times that this time was different, and they were actually going to get divorced, but she'd believe it when she'd see it. He always wound up back with Kathy, so she wasn't going to hold her breath.
They had been staggering their entrances because people had been spreading rumors about them for years, and the last thing they needed was to add fuel to the fire before they could explain things to Cragen. He needed to hear the truth from them before someone else made their own version and it got back to him, so they decided to tell him today. Munch was already sitting at his desk, watching them move about the squad-room. Olivia unzipped her lunchbox, pulling out a popsicle in a baggy. At thirteen weeks she was feeling better than ever, all thanks to Kathy's suggestions.
"I too believe that the breakfast industry is a complete sham. They want us to believe that all of those carbs and empty calories in the morning is the key to a healthy life. That's the key to diabetes and early death" John ranted, making Olivia chuckle. She appreciated the laugh because it helped to ease her nerves. She pulled open the bag and took out the popsicle, giving it a lick.
"I have some extras if you guys want to try one" She offered. Elliot shook his head, but only because he had eaten three of them the night before. When she first told him the recipe, he turned his nose up at it. Apparently mango, pineapple juice, and baby spinach blended up and frozen didn't sound appealing, and honestly it's baby poop green color didn't help. She managed to convince him to try it by flashing him the puppy dog eyes and sticking out her lower lip. He was hooked after the first taste. Kathy knew what she was talking about when she suggested the popsicles. Olivia had been able to keep down most of her food for the last two weeks. She was down to puking once a day at most, and she hadn't had any cramping lately.
"No thank you" Munch said, turning his attention back to the computer.
"You ready?" Elliot quietly asked, gesturing to the open door of Cragen's office. She put her half-eaten popsicle back in the baggy and quickly ran upstairs to put her lunchbox in the freezer.
A minute later, Olivia scurried into the office and closed the door behind her, taking a seat in the empty chair next to Elliot. Cragen looked at them expectantly, waiting for someone to speak. Olivia turned to look at Elliot, who was already looking at her. She gave him a nod, silently telling him that she'd start.
"There was an incident back in November that we never reported" Olivia started, making Cragen's eyebrows raise.
"You're just now telling me because�" He asked, clearly frustrated that they waited so long to tell him.
"Because neither of us expected me to get pregnant from one night" She said, making his jaw drop. Cragen quickly regained his composure.
"And this happened on the job?" He asked, making sure he understood what she was saying. The two of them nodded. Elliot took over from there, telling Cragen the whole story. Ten minutes later the three of them were sitting in silence as Cragen digested all of the new information. He shook his head, tossing his pencil down on the desk.
"You know that I have to report this to IAB" He stated. "There's no way that we can brush this under the rug. You're having a child together!"
"Are you saying that we're going to be separated?" Elliot asked. "It hasn't been affecting our work" He defended as Olivia buried her face in her hands.
"It's out of my control".
A loud knock on the door made Olivia jump. Fin pushed open the door, telling them that they had to come see the news. They silently walked into the squadroom while Fin rewound the news report so they could see it from the beginning. ADA Kim Greylik was standing on the courthouse stairs, explaining that while Keppler was convicted, she was disappointed that his sentence was limited to sixteen years.
"Guilty on all charges" Munch explained.
There were days where their jobs felt meaningless. The amount of perps that walked everyday was discouraging, but days like today reminded her why she did it. would be in prison for sixteen years, unable to hurt anymore young boys. As nice as it was, Olivia was still confused about why Fin had called them to watch. Then Keppler's attorney made his way into the crowd of reporters, saying that he had a message for Captain Cragen and the detectives of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. He looked directly into the camera as he told the entire city that they knew that Keppler was sexually assaulting his patients for a month before arresting him. Fin turned off the tv, leaving the five of them standing around it in silence.
"I expect the rat squad to be here any moment" Cragen sighed. "You two" He started, pointing at Olivia and Elliot, "make sure that you have everything straight".
An hour later Olivia and Elliot sat at the table in one of the interrogation rooms, getting their asses handed to them by Tucker. Once they explained that their first victim had lied about being assaulted by his math teacher the year before, Tucker backed off of them in regards to how they handled the case. The only problem was that when he went to talk to Cragen he found out about Olivia and Elliot's situation. She knew that the captain was just trying to get it done and over with, but that didn't make it any easier.
"It's hard to believe that you two have been able to work at your best capacity with such a heavy secret weighing on you. How far along are you again detective Benson? Thirteen weeks?"
Olivia nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"How is your wife Detective Stabler?" Tucker asked with a smug grin. "I heard she has cancer".
"Had" Elliot corrected. "She's cancer free. I don't see how any of this matters".
Tucker shrugged. "I think it's safe to say that the two of you have been distracted".
Olivia could tell by the way that he clenched his jaw that Elliot was about to snap. "Look, can we continue to be partners or not?" She asked, wanting to cut to the chase.
Tucker circled the table, stalking them like they were helpless prey. "You two will have to undergo psychological evaluations and we'll go from there. As of now you are both suspended until further notice". He walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Elliot shoved the table, knocking it over.
"Elliot, you have to calm down" Olivia told him as she stood up. He started pacing the room while she bent over to fix the table. Elliot stopped walking for a moment to help her, mumbling an apology. "There are consequences to our actions, and all we can do now is sit back and take it". It was rather uncharacteristic of her to say it, but she was right. Getting angry or upset wasn't going to make anything better.
"I can't lose you, Liv".
"Elliot we can't talk about this here" She whispered, pointing to the two way mirror. There was no way to know if Tucker was still watching them. "We'll talk later".
Since Olivia had cooked dinner, Elliot insisted on cleaning up the kitchen. That had been their system for the last two weeks. One of them would do the cooking (usually Elliot) and the other would do the dishes and put away any leftovers. He tried to load the dishwasher as quietly as possible because Olivia was dozing off on the couch. He'd have to wake her eventually so that he could go to sleep, but for now she needed to rest. They had decided to use their unexpected time off to start cleaning out the second bedroom, which was basically a glorified closet. She had tons of boxes in there, most of them from her mother's house. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for her to go through her mother's belongings, even all these years later. They only got through a couple of them before she called it a day, which he was fine with. It was likely that they'd be suspended for a week or two, so they had plenty of time to get it done. He cracked a grin when Olivia started to snore. He put the washing tab in it's designated spot before closing the dishwasher and starting it.
Elliot made his way into the living room, sitting on the coffee table so that he was facing Olivia. "Liv" He whispered, trying not to fully wake her. All he needed was for her to be able to answer him.
"Yeah?" She asked without opening her eyes.
"What do you want to do for your birthday?" He asked, hoping that she'd answer him honestly in her sleepy state. Her birthday was tomorrow, and he wanted to give her the best one she had ever had. Years ago, she had confessed to him that she never celebrated her birthday until she was in college, away from her mother. Even now that she was an adult, the most she had ever done to celebrate her birthday was going out for a drink with the guys.
"You" She sighed, making his heart drop into his stomach. Her eyes opened and locked on his. "Should see your face right now!" She laughed, gently pushing against his chest.
"Ha. Very funny. I appreciate that" He deadpanned, standing up. "I'm sorry that I wanted you to enjoy your special day" He said, feigning hurt.
Olivia rolled her eyes, sitting up. "It's not a special day, El. It's just another day. If you're doing this because you feel bad about what happened today, please don't" She dismissed. She extended her hand, silently asking him for help. Elliot pulled her up, and took her by surprise when he grabbed her hips, making her skin tingle. Would she ever get used to the feeling of his hands on her?
"It's not just another day. It's the day that my best friend came into the world, and we should celebrate that, and maybe I do feel a little bad that we got suspended right before your birthday, but I swear that's not why I'm doing this. You're allowed to be the center of attention once in a while Olivia" He told her, watching as a few tears trailed down her cheeks.
"Damn hormones" She mumbled, knowing that it wasn't just the hormones. "Fine. You can take me to dinner, Stabler, but nothing too crazy, okay?"
"We never talked about it" He reminded her. "Can we do that now?"
She wanted to say no. Honestly, she wasn't sure she could hear what he had to say right now. She had just cried over him calling her his best friend and saying that her existence was worth celebrating, but she made a promise earlier. "Sure".
"I meant what I said earlier. I can't lose you, Liv...You, the job, and my kids are everything to me" He started, but he was cut off by her putting up her hand. Nope. She couldn't hear this right now. It was too much, too fast, and she wasn't ready to hear it.
She felt herself shutting down. "Ok, we talked about it. I'm getting a shower and going to bed".
He tried to protest, but she was already gone.
