Chapter 2 Lucky Man
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order SUV or any of the characters
A/N: Thanks for all the reviewers! I am always open to advice!
Elliot watched Andy make a hasty retreat out the door and once he was sure that he wasn't coming back, the scowl fell from his face and he relaxed the hold he had on Olivia. He looked down at Olivia and realized that it was a really good thing that he decided to stop in and check on her. She looked like she was feeling no pain and he just knew that Andy would have tried to take advantage of her.
"Elliot! Why are you here?" She asked as she struggled to get her key in the lock. Elliot took the keys from her and unlocked the door. He held the door open for her and watched her flounce in the house dropping her jacket on the floor as she flopped onto the couch.
"Well I am here to see how my partner is doing. You really didn't sound so good on the phone and I was worried about you." Elliot finally replied after shutting the door and making sure it was locked. He walked into the kitchen and started going thru her cabinets. "Where do you keep the glasses?"
"Hmmm…. I think that I now have them in the cabinet next to the stove"
"Nope. No glasses there. Oh, wait, here they are." She heard him turn on the water. "Why do you constantly rearrange your kitchen? That would drive me crazy!" He walked back into the living room and handed her a glass of water. "Drink this while I fix you some coffee."
"Elliot, you don't need to fix me any coffee. You are a guest in my home." She paused to take a drink to appease him. "And to answer your question, sometimes I just get tired of everything always being the same and I need to change things up. That is why I rearrange all my rooms every few weeks." She looked like she was going to say something else so Elliot just stood there for a moment waiting.
"And?" He prompted. She just sat there drinking the water and staring at him like she had never really seen him before. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Olivia thought back to when she asked Andy the same question and remembered his answer and smiled. "No reason Elliot. I am just really glad that you are here, I didn't really want to be alone." She lied. She was really thinking along the same lines as Andy, was Elliot her 'one that got away'? Of course not she rationalized, he was never mine to begin with.
Elliot sat on the chair across from her and leaned in towards her. "Is that why you called him? I thought you said that you weren't going to do anything stupid." Olivia laughed bringing a scowl to his face. "Why are you laughing? I am serious."
"I know that's why I am laughing. You have gone into Daddy mode. Should I start having my prospective dates call you and ask for permission first?" For some reason the thought of this had Olivia laughing so hard that the water in her glass was sloshing over the sides. "I am a big girl El. I can take care of myself. Now I am going to go and make you some coffee." Elliot sat back as she started to get up to get the coffee and was really glad that he did, she lost her balance and fell right into his lap. Luckily he caught her before she fell to the floor. Olivia lost it and was in almost hysterics, she was laughing so hard.
"How many drinks have you had Liv?" Elliot asked as he tried to keep her from falling.
"I don…I don't know. Three or four I guess." Olivia said thru her giggles.
"Three or four what?"
"Whiskeys……Dad." With that Olivia fell back into laughter. Elliot was just shaking his head and debating whether or not to let her go and fall to the floor when she looked up into his face. As their eyes met, her laughter suddenly stopped and she just stared into the depths of his eyes. All her longing was shining for him to see and it terrified him to see it. At that moment there was a knock at the door. They were both jolted and jumped apart like they had been caught doing something wrong.
Elliot walked over to the door and looked thru the peephole. It was no one that he knew. "Who is it?" He asked.
"Pizza delivery."
"Sorry, wrong apartment, we didn't order pizza." He replied. The delivery guy apologized and went looking for the right apartment.
Elliot turned around and noticed Olivia wasn't there. He heard noises coming from the kitchen and went to see what she was doing. "I see you could get up by yourself and stay up this time."
"Ha ha. Real funny, El. I am not that drunk. I am perfectly able to fix some coffee." She was putting the finishing touches to the coffee machine. "Well, that will take a few minutes. I am going to go and change." She walked towards her bedroom and sent him a look over her shoulder. "You can always come and help me change if you want." She offered with a smile.
Elliot stood there stunned. Olivia started laughing again. "I was just kidding Elliot. What? Did I scare you?"
"Uh…. No. Why…why would you say that?" He managed to choke out as she started to untuck her shirt from her pants.
"Because of the look on your face! It was priceless!" She teased as she went into her room. She left the door partially open as she started changing.
Elliot could hear her moving around in there. "You never did answer my question. Why did you call him?" He inquired as he looked down the hallway.
"I didn't. He was there in the squad room and he asked me for drinks, and I really didn't want to be alone, so I took him up on it. It was no big deal." The last part of what she said was muffled and for a moment Elliot was picturing her pulling her shirt over her head. "Elliot! Hello! Are you even listening to me?"
He looked down and realized that she was standing right in front of him. "I'm sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment."
"Oh, is everything ok?" She looked at him with concern. "Was there a problem with court today?" She paused and before he could answer, her eyes grew round and she drew in a breath. "Is everything ok at home?"
Elliot put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "Everything went fine in court today and things at home are the usual. So just calm down." The coffee maker beeped. "Ah, coffees on." He went to fill the mugs he had found.
"El, why are you here?" Olivia asked again once they were settled side by side on the couch. She was leaning up against him and had her legs tucked up under her. He looked down to tell her and realized that the tank top to her pajama set was too loose. He had to tear his eyes away from her cleavage to meet her eyes. Luckily enough for Elliot, she didn't notice.
"I had to see how you really were doing. My God, you were taken hostage today and a man was shot right in front of you. I had to know that you were really okay." He explained. "I was also worried that Andy would try something and I didn't want to see you hurt."
She was really quiet for a few moments and then she was speaking so quietly that he had to strain to hear her. "I think that sometimes you know me so well that it's scary. I did need you tonight. And since I couldn't have you here and I didn't want to be alone, I accepted Andy's offer for a drink." Elliot was still trying to process all that he heard as she continued. "I would have done something stupid that I really would have regretted in the morning. Thank you for showing up and saving me from that."
"Honey, you don't need to thank me for anything! I am always here for you and you know that!" He turned and put his arms around her and laid his chin on the top of her head. He took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of her hair as he shut his eyes and just held on to her.
"I know Elliot." She sighed. "But I also know that if I had called you and said that I just needed to talk that Kathy would probably go ape shit on you because I would be taking time away from them. Especially since this is not an emergency." She paused for a moment and then tried to pull away to look up at his face, but Elliot wouldn't let up on his embrace. "How did you get out of the house?"
He took a deep breath. "I had gotten off the phone with you and Kathy came in and she took one look at my face and she just knew that I was heading out. I think that she believed that it was about a case. I never told her exactly why I was leaving, and to be honest she didn't ask." As he said this he saw the events enfolding in his mind.
He closed the phone and stood there with an unhappy look on his face.
Kathy came around the corner and stood there looking at him, it was the
same look that he gets when a new case comes in. "So you are leaving."
It was more a statement than a question. As Elliot looked up at her, he
realized that she was right and that he had to go to Olivia. Something was
not right with her voice when he talked to her on the phone. She needed him
and he knew that he had to go to her. She can take these cases so personally
and it tends to eat her up inside.
"Yeah, I got to go." Kathy sighed and she gave him that look and he knew
that they would probably end up fighting about this if she found out why he
was leaving. Olivia was a sore spot with Kathy lately. Then again, everything
with Kathy has been a sore spot lately. They never really talked anymore,
unless it was about the kids or fighting about the time they never spend
together anymore. He grabbed his coat, gave Kathy a peck on the cheek
and headed out. He had gotten to Olivia's about 10 minutes before she did.
"Elliot!" This time Olivia did pull away and she looked up at him. "Why would you let her think that?! Do you want to give her more to be angry with you about?" Olivia was getting that angry look in her eyes and Elliot was hoping that she wouldn't direct it all at him.
"Look Liv, I didn't lie to her and to be honest, she stopped asking where I have been a long time ago. She knows that I won't talk about cases and so she just doesn't ask. So why would we fight about it? Its not like she will find out." Elliot looked down at Olivia and said earnestly. "Even if she does find out, it's worth it. You needed me and here I am." He smiled. "We are partners right?"
"Of course we are partners and I love that I can always count on you but she needs to be able to count on you too. She is your wife. You took vows and…." She paused and tears welled up in her eyes. "Well, I don't want to be the reason you aren't there for her."
Elliot could definitely tell that she had drunk too much due to her radical mood swings. He could handle the anger much better than the tears. He grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. "Olivia. Olivia, look at me." He waited until she opened her eyes, then he continued. "Kathy and I are having problems in our marriage, we have had problems for quite a few years. Even before you and I were paired as partners, and I don't want you to ever think that you are the cause of those problems. Do you understand me?"
He looked earnestly into her beautiful brown eyes and she saw all the pain and loneliness that he usually kept hidden from her. "Yes, Elliot, I believe you. I have too." The longer she stared into his eyes the more she wanted to erase the pain that she saw there. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the timing or the just because of what she went thru today with Baxter. Whatever it was, she went with it. She turned, leaned forward, grabbed his face between her hands and brought her lips to his. She touched them lightly with her own and pulled back just enough, so that their lips weren't touching but they were sharing the same breath. Elliot brought his hand up and cupped her face and together this time, they kissed. It was a magical moment for both of them. As they separated they just stared at each other. At this moment Olivia realized that the pain was gone from his eyes. She smiled at him. Elliot sat there stunned. She turned and leaned her back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her again and rested his chin on her head, in the same position that they had been in before but this time it just felt different. It was more intimate. They didn't say anything else, there was no need too. After a few minutes, Elliot realized that Olivia was asleep. He knew that he should get up and move her and head home, but he couldn't seem to do that.
He sat there all night, just holding her and wondering what the hell happened here tonight. And what tomorrow was going to bring.