"Turn that off," Elliot admonished. His head was aching from his hangover.
"But I need a current event for school," she whined.
"Read the paper," Elliot advised, standing up to turn off the radio, but he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Police last night arrested their own Detective Olivia Benson on charges of manslaughter...."
No one moved. Kathy turned white as Kathleen came back in with the newspaper.
"Hey, Dad," she said, flopping the paper on the table. Underneath the headline was a picture of Olivia taken from an older article. The phone rang and Elliot snatched it up.
"Elliot, it's Murray Coell here. Congratulations."
"What the Hell do you mean?" His voice was angry, and Kathy motioned to her children to leave the room.
"You've been reinstated," Coell began, "You can report back to work whenever you'd like. Looks like what goes around comes around," his voice was triumphant.
"What about Olivia?" He demanded.
"Oh, yes. Well, she won't find out that you flipped on her, if that's what you're worried about. Very clever of you, getting your wife to call in." Elliot turned to Kathy, who was standing in the doorway. She looked away. He slammed the receiver down. The radio continued.
"Detective Benson was arraigned this morning and will stand trial late this week." Elliot switched it off.
"I'm going into the city. I'll speak with you later." His tone indicated that there was no room for discussion.
Elliot stopped at the precinct for information.
"Welcome back," Cragen greeted flatly. He didn't look Elliot in the eye.
"Is she out?" Elliot asked.
"No," answered Munch shortly.
"I'm going down to Rikers," Elliot informed.
"Guilty conscience?" Munch said.
"What are you saying?"
"You sold out your own partner. Whatever happened to loyalty?" Fin asked.
"I didn't....." Elliot began.
"Save it," Cragen interrupted. Elliot exhaled in a sigh.
"How much is bail?" He asked resignedly.
"One hundred-and-fifty thousand. We're collecting donations," Cragen said, pointing to a jar on Munch's desk. Elliot pulled out his wallet and dropped in a hundred-dollar bill before leaving.
**********
Her lawyer sat across the table from her. He was a slick looking young guy named Stephen Miller. He wasn't the best, but he was the best that she could afford.
"Why haven't you posted bail?" He asked.
"I can't afford it. I have no job, I have an apartment in Manhattan...."
"It just looks like you've given up, like you're guilty. Not a good signal to send out there," he said. She wanted to tell him to shove it, but he was all she had left. She had lost her family, her job, and Elliot.
"I'll worry about that, thanks," she said bitterly. A guard knocked on the door before entering.
"There's an Elliot Stabler here to see you," the guard said, ushering him in. Olivia's throat knotted at the sight of him and she looked down at her hands.
"I need to prep my client," Miller said.
"Later," she said firmly.
"Yes, later. She'll see you later..." Miller began.
"No, I meant prep me later. I'll talk to you later, Mr. Miller."
"I'll remain here, if you don't mind," he tried again.
"As a matter of fact, I do mind. Come back later. I'm not going anywhere," she objected.
"All right. But I advise against this." He pushed past Elliot on his way out. The guard shut the door behind him.
Elliot sat down at the table and looked across at his partner. She was wearing standard grey prison uni's, but he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked, even with the obvious lack of sleep.
"Look, Elliot," she began, "What happened was all a big mistake...."
"Olivia......"
"No, let me finish," she said. He shut up. "And you don't need to apologize. I understand you have your family to think of. If I was in your position, I might have done the same thing. It's my fault. I was careless........."
"Olivia, for God's sake, this isn't your fault," he took her hand across the table and she didn't pull away, though her eyes began to brim with tears again.
"Did you tell Kathy?" She asked, finally looking at him.
"No. But I'm going to. I'm going to divorce her, Olivia," he said firmly. He hadn't thought about it before, but the minute he said it, he knew it was what he had to do.
"Why?" She asked.
"It hasn't been working for a long time, 'Liv. You know that. And, well, honestly, I'm in love with you." It slipped out, and he wondered if last night's alcohol had really worn off. She looked at him and her eyes were filled with shock and guilt and hope.
"What?" She had to hear it again.
"I love you," he said it, and it filled the grey box of a room. She couldn't speak, so he continued. "I'm going to find out a way to get you out of here. I promise." The only thing was, he wasn't sure he could.
***********
Sorry about the short-ness. Between school and work.........you understand. Please review!