Lights, Camera, Action
Summary: Takes place during the most recent seasons of SVU and OC. During his undercover op with Donnelly, the stern leader orders Elliot to do a job, that will solidify their group, and give them even more power. The problem? It involves a certain curvy, smart, gorgeous SVU Captain. Will Elliot go through with it?
Disclaimer: I don't own SVU, if I did it would have been off the air since February, because you know; life.
Chapter 1: You Want Me To Do What?
Donnelly's House, Late Afternoon, March 2022
They should have all been working, instead they were all meandering around their real boss's house. Just as Elliot was getting restless listening to a couple other members of the group argue about the new MLB season, Donnelly saved him, pulling him into his private office.
"Close the door," Donnelly commanded, watching as Elliot did so, before dropping down onto the empty love seat in the corner of the room.
"What's up?" Elliot inquired, Donnelly didn't normally pull him aside, especially into his private office.
"Things are going pretty damn good here, in our little group, aren't they?" Donnelly asked him.
Elliot couldn't help agreeing, even though he didn't want to. "You nailed it on the head, doing damn good."
"There's still a few things we need to wrap up and one of them may concern you," Donnelly continued.
"Uh, okayyy," Elliot wasn't quite sure where Donnelly was going with his questions, and statements.
"Captain Benson, you know her, would she be able to defend herself?" Donnelly asked, trying to get a read on the current relationship between his friend and the sexy Captain.
"Cut the crap, and tell me, what's going on?" Elliot tried to keep his tone light, but anytime anyone even mentioned Olivia's name with a negative connotation, it sent a cold dreading sensation through his body.
"I've always liked your spirit Elliot, I'll get to the point then, we need a Captain on board, somebody with some power, leverage on other high ranking cops, especially those white shirts in their glass houses."
Elliot actually chuckled, "And you think Benson would help us? Liv's jacket is as clean as they come, I'm assuming that's how you were planning to get her on board? Dredging up something from her file?" Elliot continued to laugh, "There's no way she'd take part in this unless she was desperate."
Donnelly paused for a moment, studying Stabler from the couch he was lounging on.
"True, and that's where you come in," he gave Elliot a sly grin.
Elliot smiled, "Look I understand wanting a Captain in our group, but you're barking up the wrong tree with Captain Benson."
"Oh I know I am, but you, you're the only one who can, let's say, persuade her to join us," Donnelly pressed.
Elliot rubbed his shaved head, he hated how cold his head got in the winter months, "Donnelly man, I'm sorry to disappoint but I really don't have anything on her, that I could use to-
Donnelly cut him off, "Yet, my brother, you don't have anything yet."
"You can't be serious," Olivia Benson crossed her arms as she listened to the recorded conversation between Detective Stabler and Donnelly.
"Who else has heard this?" Olivia addressed the only other person in the room, Stabler's boss, Sergeant Ayanna Bell.
Sergeant Bell shook her head, "Obviously you and I, and of course the detective himself, who is due back here any moment."
"Ah speak of the devil," Ayanna nodded at Elliot as he closed his Sergeant's door behind him.
He didn't make eye contact with his ex-partner, "You heard everything?" he asked his boss, as he too came to stand in front of her desk, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Ayanna wondered for a moment if they had meant to stand in the exact same pose, "Uhhh yes, I got most of it."
Elliot bobbed his head up and down, taking off his beanie, "And ummm, Liv, I mean Detecti- Captain Benson, you played it for her?"
After asking his question he finally allowed himself a quick glance at his ex-partner, she was rubbing the back of her neck. A habit she had when they were partners and she was in need of a real good massage. He could tell she was tense, from the moment he closed the door, her stance and lack of a friendly greeting, already told him his answer.
"I did," Ayanna looked between the two previous partners, unable to discern who was more uncomfortable with the action Donnelly practically ordered Elliot to do.
Elliot took a deep breath, "Look Liv, if any part of you is uncomfortable with this, I can-"
"You can what Stabler? Because from where I'm standing, you have zero clout yet in that group, and it would look suspicious as hell if you didn't deliver what he's asking for."
"It's not like this was my idea, this is all Donnelly, however I didn't realize what a pain this would be for yo-" Elliot was interrupted by his new boss/partner.
Ayanna stood from her office chair, "Hey, enough. Nothing any of us say will change what Donnelly asked you to do, so let's cut the crap before someone says something they can't take back."
Olivia rubbed her forehead, before pressing the heel of her palms into her eyes, "Story of my life," she muttered quietly, but not quietly enough.
"Seriously?" Elliot was just getting ready to take a trip down memory lane, where he could easily point out many different times when her words got her or both of them into trouble. One brief look at Sergeant Bell subtly shaking her head, 'no,' gave him pause.
Ayanna took a calming breath, "I know this isn't an ideal situation for anyone, we obviously had no idea that Donnelly would take things in this direction, but we're all professionals here, we all agreed to doing whatever we needed to, to bring down Donnelly and his affiliates. Agreed?"
Sergeant Bell waited, holding her breath as the two officers in front of her slowly but surely nodded their heads in agreement.
"Good, great! Elliot how long did he give you?" Bell asked her Detective.
"He figures I can get it done on Friday or Saturday night, wants to meet for brunch on Sunday," Elliot reported, noting clearly that they didn't listen to the end of the recording, when Donnelly had stopped him before he left, to tell him he'd meet him for brunch on Sunday and Elliot could give him the material that would assure the Captain's help and full cooperation.
"So that gives you two, two to three days to get the job done, that work for you Captain? You could do it on Friday, say you had a shitty day at work, it'd look like you were blowing off some steam," Ayanna suggested.
Olivia shrugged, moving to put her long winter coat back on, "Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice."
Slipping on her own beanie, Olivia paused at the closed door, "Friday at 7?" she spoke so softly Elliot barely heard her, but nodded his head.
"I'll be in touch," Olivia whispered. "Ayanna, next time I make the trip down here in the middle of winter, I expect better news."
Ayanna chuckled at the look of indignation on Elliot's face, "I'll try my best Captain."
Sergeant Bell watched until the gorgeous Captain was out of her line of sight, "You can take off, you've got quite the assignment, work and planning to do."
Elliot gave her a curt nod, before turning to leave her office too. He too paused at her office door, not turning back to look at his boss Elliot asked, "Yo-you heard it, this was one thousand percent his idea right?"
"Yessss," Bell replied wondering where her Detective was going with this line of questioning.
"And, uhhh, I didn't seem-what I mean is-I didn't—did maybe-ughhhh-" Elliot huffed, scrunching his knitted hat in his hands. "I didn't seem too enthusiastic at his request?"
Ayanna had lost count of how many times she questioned what the real state of their relationship was currently, and in the past. The way they currently floated around each other, she sometimes felt like they were all back in highschool. She never felt more like a teenager when during a meeting she had caught them more than once not paying attention and bickering back and forth with each other. She felt like a stern teacher, throwing them stone cold glares that would make them shut up for a couple minutes.
"Ummm, no, you played it well, seemed very natural," Bell finally responded.
"Go-good, that's uhhh, yeah that's good, I'm outta here, get home safe," Elliot stated as he left her alone in her office.
Ayanna sighed heavily as she flopped back into her chair. If the situation wasn't so serious she'd find the two cops reactions to be quite funny. She didn't know how on earth Elliot was going to pull this one off. A part of her wanted to be as far away as humanly possible when he tried to complete his assignment, yet the other part of her would kill to be a fly on the wall when things went down. Either way, she had inadvertently put them into a position where their relationship was going to change one way or another.
A/N 1: Any guesses on what Elliot has to do/is doing?
A/N 2: Since I haven't watched the second half of the new seasons of either show, any likeness to SVU/OC is purely coincidental. I imagine some people are wondering if I have so much free time why haven't I watched/caught up or written more for my other unfinished works? Well it's because I've been too unwell, check out my insta new2svu2017 for some hospital pics and health updates. This has hands down been the worst/sickest yr of my life, I've been in the hospital all year except for the first 6 weeks of 2022. Drs don't even think I'll make it home this year. Long long long road ahead, lots of expected and unexpected setbacks. And somehow despite already being in isolation and being allowed no visitors, only staff in and out of my room, I still managed to catch covid this week for the second time this yr, on the same unit, in the same hospital. And as someone who now needs oxygen regularly, covid fckng wrecks me/other immunocompromised people. Stay safe everyone.
I will try to focus on Protégé and finishing Undercovers when I'm done this short fic. Just couldn't shake this idea. And I have to reread Protégé and Undercovers, before I can start writing them again. My writing is probably not up to par yet, go easy on me as I ease my way back into this crazy writing/fandom. 175 consecutive days today in the hospital, hope everyone else has a good weekend.
Happy reading!