Title: Genesis 7/9

Author: csiphile/hipinapple

AN: As promised here is another chapter today. Again, THANK YOU for the reviews, I so appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I anticipate the entire fic being posted by Christmas.

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Olivia stares at him incredulously over her plate of chicken fried rice and grins. Once the food had arrived, they had moved into the living room to eat, both seated on the couch next to each other. "Fin? Our Fin?"

He smiles at her and swallows part of the egg roll he had been chewing. "There's only one."

"Unreal…I just can't picture that." She takes another mouthful of food and is honestly grateful he had forced her to eat. She is starting to feel better physically, if not emotionally. Putting down her food on the coffee table, she looks at him. "You didn't have to come over here, you know."

"Yeah, I did," he says, and places his plate next to hers. "I was concerned, and you're my friend, Olivia. Besides, I didn't exactly see your partner worrying about you."

"He doesn't need to worry about me, El. We aren't exactly on friendly terms."

He shakes his head in apparent annoyance. "Shouldn't matter, Liv, and you know it. When you're on the job, you watch each other's backs…no matter what. That includes making sure the other person doesn't fall off the emotional edge."

She nods and looks down, suddenly fascinated with the beige upholstery on her couch. "You always did it for me," she says, sadly.

"Exactly, and you've put me in my place more than once. Liv…work partners are as important as any relationship you'll have. You have to trust each other."

Again, she nods -- this isn't somewhere she really wants to go with him. While it would be a relief to express her distaste of her current partner, she doesn't think telling Elliot would be wise. She isn't in the mood for a showdown between her current and former partners.

"Liv…Liv…stop." He grabs her hand that had been unconsciously playing with the edge of a cushion. With one hand lightly grasping her wrist, the other hooks her chin and forces her to look at him. "Do you trust him?"

"I…He's a good detective -- he broke a case wide open the other day." She's really not sure why she suddenly defends Mike; maybe only to spare herself from admitting how unsure of him she really is.

"No…do you trust him with your life?" he prods gently.

"No. I don't." Sighing, she looks at him steadily. "He seems to only be concerned about how his jacket looks instead of the victim. He wants to pull the biggest cases with the most exposure. He gets the `little' cases done, but not with the same effort. It bothers me, and I just can't seem to trust him…I try, but I can't. I think my subconscious knows something I don't."

"I'm so sorry, Liv."

She tilts her head at him and leans one shoulder against the back of the couch with one leg tucked under her, facing him. "Why? You didn't ask for him to replace you."

"No, but if I hadn't left…"

"No `ifs' remember? Besides, lets be realistic, Stabler -- one of us was getting stuck in that place alone eventually. The chances of keeping the same partner over a career are slim to none."

He nods and turns to face her, closing the distance between them. "Still, I wish you hadn't gotten stuck with that ass."

"You know…let's not discuss him anymore."

"Ok," he agrees and they just stare at each other for a moment. At some point, she had turned her hand over and their fingers had entwined of their own accord. Now she stares at their hands in front of her, and suddenly Olivia is very aware of the effect he is having on her. Her whole body is warm and she shifts slightly, only putting herself in closer proximity to him. It's not even the physical closeness that seems to be setting her off -- it's the look on his face, with his eyes never leaving hers. Watching her every movement like a predator would watch prey. When his free hand reaches across the back of the couch where it had been resting, and strokes her collarbone with a thumb, she knows she needs to stop this now, or she might not be able to at all.

"I should clean up…" she says, weakly, and pulls away slightly, but his grip on her hand prevents Olivia from getting far.

"Don't," he whispers.

Silently, she slides back into her original position so they are facing each other on the couch again. After a pregnant pause, he leans in slowly…almost torturously slow…and brushes her lips with his. He pulls away from the initial contact and she almost whimpers in response. When he doesn't lean into her again, she looks into the deep blue of his eyes. She can see the desire, the want, but she can also see a man who is thinking clearly -- whose lust isn't taking over his decision-making.

In that moment, she knows why he stopped. He wants her to know, to understand, that what is going to happen isn't going to be fueled by hormones or nature; that he is going into this with open eyes, acutely aware of the choice he is making and its ramifications. And in turn, he wants to know that Olivia knows this.

"Yeah. Are you sure?" she asks quietly, as his hand lightly runs up her arm, coming to rest on her shoulder, his fingers making light circles on her shoulder blade. This could be disastrous if they both weren't on the same page and willing to accept whatever the consequences were.

"More than anything. I've made my decision a long time ago, Olivia. I just didn't realize it."

It was what she needed to hear and what he needed to say.

She nods and brings both her hands up around his neck, linking them together and pulling his head down to hers. This time, there is nothing tentative about the contact. He presses into her, one hand on the back of her head, running through her hair, holding her in place. She can't get enough of him -- his taste, his smell – it's all addictive to her. She can feel the heat in her body increasing as his hands slide down her back and, finding the edge of her tank top, slip under the thin cotton. When his large hands make contact with her skin, she lets out a small gasp into his mouth. Smiling, Elliot pulls away from her slightly before returning his attack on her jawline and the soft flesh under it. Moaning, she arches into him and can feel Elliot smiling into her neck.

If any doubts were in her mind before, they are long gone now. For once, Olivia just lets go, allowing herself to feel something besides heartache. Allowing herself to open her heart up, if only a little bit, to the man with her, to the only man she trusts with it.

He smiles into her neck at the sound coming from deep in her throat. Wanting to hear more, Elliot moves slowly down her neck, coming to a stop at her clavicle and dipping his tongue quickly into the impression there. Leisurely, he moves across her collarbone, kissing her lightly until he comes to the end where he nips at her skin. This gets an even better reaction than he expected.

"Jesus, Elliot!" she practically hisses at him, and tries to move even closer.

Pulling his hands out from under her shirt, where they had been roaming freely across her smooth skin, he frames her face, pulling her into a heated kiss. With her hands trapped between them, Elliot can feel her start to unbutton his shirt, slowly at first, but quickening as their kisses become more frantic. Finally she gets low enough to slide her hands in and when she makes contact with his muscled chest, he understands why she gasped earlier. The sensation is unlike anything he has felt -- hot and cool at the same time, her smooth hands eagerly exploring as a blind man would do to a stranger. She seems to be memorizing his body by touch, and it's all Elliot can do to keep it together.

Grabbing her waist, he easily picks her up and moves her into his lap, allowing her room to wrap her long legs around his waist. This seems to placate her for the moment as she settles in, pulling her body as close to his as she can get without being in his skin. Looking down at him, her hair falls lightly into her face, and he gently tucks the locks behind her ears, allowing his hands to continue to roam down her neck, across her shoulders, following the spaghetti tank straps down the line of the material that crosses over the top of her breasts, finally coming to a stop in the middle, over her breastbone.

When he looks up at her, he finds her staring at his fingers, which have started sliding back and forth across the skin at the line of her tank. He watches her bite her lower lip lightly and slowly release it, leaving her mouth in a pout. Elliot is swiftly losing handle on whatever control had kept him from pushing her down on the couch up to this point. But when her small tongue comes out and licks her lips and she looks at him with desire, he does lose it. Easily he stands, placing his hands on her ass to keep her firmly wrapped around his waist. She laughs lightly as she shifts to make it easier for him to carry her, and wraps her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his flushed neck, returning the attention he had been paying her.

Carrying her across the apartment, she makes the most of the time, quickly shedding her tank top and pushing his shirt as far down as she can. When he places her lightly on the bed, Elliot knows this is it. Their relationship is about to change forever, and he couldn't be happier.

tbc…………………………………