OKAY! So here we go again!
Disclaimer: It's in Chapter 1
Chapter Three: Shhh...
------------------------------
"Hey Liv? Olivia! It's Alex. I'm downstairs waiting for you! Let's go!" It was Alex, alright. She had called, and Olivia hadn't
picked up the phone. And she hadn't picked it up, because she was sleeping. "Liv, it's 7:00. I really hate to do this, but I have to
go to work. I have an arraignment today, and I can't be late! Are you even awake yet? Well, I have to go. Sorry, Liv." And she hung up.
Olivia woke from the sound of beeping. It was her answering machine. As she played the message, she looked at her clock. 8:00 am.
She was supposed to be at work half an hour ago. She hated walking.
By the time she had reached the station, it was approaching 9, and Olivia was already exhausted. "Benson." She heard from behind her.
"My office. Now." It was Cragen, and he was PISSED.
"Shit." She mumbled under her breath. "Yes Captin?" She said, reaching the office and shutting the door behind her.
"It is almost 9 am. What time does your job begin?" he asked.
"7:30 am, sir." She said.
"Thank you. You can go back to work now." He shooed her.
"How'd it go?" Elliot asked her. Elliot. Then it all came back to her. The party, the mistletoe, the 2 kisses, everything.
"Ummm. It was fine." She said to him, not making eye contact.
"Liv?" he asked her. "Are you all right?"
Of course I'm all right, Elliot! We practically made out last night, and I don't know what to think! You act like it never even
happened, and yet we both know it did! she felt like screaming in front of everyone in the precinct. Officers, fellow detectives, and yes,
even the secretaries.
"Um, I'm fine. How are you?" She managed, still not looking at him.
"Right. I'm going to believe that. You can talk to me when you're ready." And they went back to work.
------------------------------
"Sorry about this morning. I don't know what happened." Olivia said to Alex, getting into the car.
"Don't worry about it. So, what happened last night that made you so tired?" Alex pryed.
Olivia then proceeded to tell her everything, from the car ride with Elliott, to the events of the morning.
"Well, how do you feel about him?" Alex asked.
"He's my partner. We work together. Every single day." She replied.
"You didn't answer my question, Olivia."
"I don't know! We're always around one another, he's like my brother!"
"You know what they say."
"No. What do they say?"
"Best friends make the best husbands." Alex replied, pulling up to Olivia's building.
------------------------------
"Where is everyone?" Munch asked.
"Liv went home, Cragen did, too. And as you know, Fin is still sick." Elliot replied, focused on his paperwork.
"So it's only you and me?" Munch asked Elliott.
"Just us." Elliot looked up. "What are you up to after work?"
"Nothing. I was just going to go home. Why?" He asked.
"Well, I was gonna grab a beer or something. Wanna come?"
"Sure. Just let me know when you're ready to go."
"Okay." Elliot waited a few seconds. "Now."
The two grabbed their coats and walked out to Elliott's car. They talked about cases, and Elliott's kids. General stuff.
They got to the bar and each ordered a beer.
"So, uh, Elliot."
"Yea?"
"What was that with Olivia? You know, last night?"
"Nothing." Elliot snapped.
"Are you sure?" Munch had to grill Elliot. It was all part of 'the plan'. Munch gets to Elliot, Alex gets to Olivia.
"Yes. You want a ride home?" He asked.
"Sure."
They drove home in silence, but as Munch got out of the car, he looked at Elliott.
"Stabler." He started. "As the wise man, Benjamin Franklin, once said: 'The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue
happiness. You have to catch it yourself.' Just some food for thought."
-------------------------------
That night, as Kathleen lay in bed, Elliot was watching the news. It was all he could do not to think about it. Just knowing that
she was so affected by it, and he was acting. Acting like it never happened. He stared at the phone. It was only 9:30. She might
still be awake. But she might not be.
"What the hell, Elliot." He said to himself. "What are you? In high school?" He picked up the phone. He decided to let it ring three
times. The first came and went. The second came and went. The third came and went. Elliot hung up.
-------------------------------
Olivia rushed out of the bathroom to pick up her phone. She could have sworn she'd heard it ringing, and by the time she'd gotten to it,
whoever had just called her had hung up. She wondered whether it was someone trying to get in touch with her, or just a prank call. She
picked up the phone and just started dialing.
"Come on. Please." She said as it rang.
"Hello?" She heard on the other end.
"Elliot." She breathed. For the first time all day she hadn't felt nervous about him. "Please tell me you were the one that just
tried to call me."
"Yeah. Why? Is something wrong? Hang on, I'll be right there." He said, hanging up before she could get a word in edgewise.
--------------------------------
He practically sped all the way to her apartment. When he got there, he pressed the button millions of times in succession.
"Elliot." He heard. "Calm down. Come on up."
As he walked into the building, a nervousness almost overtook him. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Why was he so worried
about her? Why didn't he let her answer him on the phone? As he stood outside her door pondering this, it suddenly opened.
"I figured you would be standing here." She said. "It's never taken you this long to get to my apartment. Come in. Sit. You want some coffee
or something? I'm making a pot."
"Sure." Elliot could do nothing but what she said. He was amazed. Even when she had just stepped out of the shower she looked breathtaking.
Even in her obviously men's-sized flannel pants and a tank top, he found her extremely enchanting.
"You aren't going to start this again, are you?" She said to him, handing him a mug.
"Huh?" He was confused.
"Come on. The whole mouth-dropping thing. You pulled this last night. Now knock it off." She said, realizing that this was the first time she
had been able to look him in the eye, and he couldn't do the same to her. "Penny for your thoughts." She said, sitting next to him on the large,
overstuffed couch.
He looked at her. He stood up and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. At the same time as throwing a penny on the couch next to Olivia he said,
"You." and sat back down.
"Okay. This might be a long night. Why don't you give me your coat?" She took the garment and hung it up. "Now, what about me?" she teased.
"Do I need to remind you?" he jested back.
"Maybe." she said, leaning into him. And they kissed again. Before long, they realized what they were doing, and Olivia backed off.
"Wait." she said.
"What?"
"What are we doing?"
"That's kind of a silly question." Elliot joked.
"No. Not that. I only invited you up so we could talk. We haven't talked in a while."
"So you don't want to talk about the fact that I would like for you to come have dinner with me tomorrow?"
"I would love to. But first, we need to talk about this."
"About what?"
"Elliot. This would not look good for Cragen. For all we know, we could be investigated by Internal Affairs. And if it gets that far, we
could be split up."
"You're right. So what do you propose?"
"Well, I'm not choosing between my job and you. We'll just have to keep quiet. For now."
"Sounds good to me."
"One more thing." Olivia added, getting up to give Elliot his coat.
"Shoot."
"What are *we*?"
"*We*, I would have to say, are going to be exclusive. You are my girlfriend." Elliot said.
Olivia smiled a huge smile. "Goodnight, partner."
"See you tomorrow." Elliot gave her a quick kiss before heading out to his car.
------------------------------------
Olivia walked out of her apartment building at 7 am to see Alex waiting for her outside her car.
"Hey. I was calling and you hadn't answered the phone I figured you were still sleeping." she said.
"No. I didn't sleep at all last night." Olivia replied.
"Couldn't stop thinking about a case? Or was it just a hot date?" Alex hoped it wasn't the former.
"I can't really say. I'm not supposed to. But it wasn't a case." Olivia divulged. Alex was getting nervous.
"Oh, come on. Tell me! Not as a co-worker, as a friend." Alex was prying again.
"Well, Elliot came over. He asked me to dinner tonight. And I said yes. But I'm not supposed to say anything. We don't want any
kind of investigations." She looked at Alex, who had an ear-to-ear smile on her face. "What's the shit-eating grin on your face?"
Olivia questioned.
"Nothing. By the way, how's your car?" She asked.
"It's ready. I just need to find someone to take me."
"Okay. Right after work. Promise."
"Speaking of which, we'd better go." They climbed into the car and listened to the radio for the rest of the way.
-----------------------------------
"What are you doing here so early?" Munch asked, walking into the precinct.
Elliot lifted his head off his desk and looked around. "Munch? What time is it?"
"It's 8:30. Are you gonna answer my question, or what?"
"Oh. Couldn't sleep. I went out really late last night, and I was on such an adrenaline rush that I couldn't fall back asleep."
"Adrenaline, huh? Where'd you go?" Munch asked.
He started to say Olivia's name. He got out the 'O' sound, but decided against it, opting for a cover-up. "Oh, just for a run."
"Mmhmm. And you can here because you couldn't sleep?"
"I figured I could get a jump start on paperwork. Before Olivia gets here." Elliot said, still waking up.
"Doesn't look like you got much done. How long ago did you fall asleep?"
"I don't even know."
Munch headed over to his desk. "How was your run, by the way?"
"Huh? Oh, the run. It was exciting." Elliott said, heading for the bathroom. "I'm going to throw some water on my face."
"Okay." Munch said. After Elliot was out of earshot, he continued with, "Running? Exciting? There's two words you
don't usually hear together." He knew something was going on, he just didn't know the exact details.
Elliot and Munch worked on paperwork and chatted when all of a sudden they heard someone come in from behind them.
"Hello, boys. Getting an early start?" They turned to see Cabot coming in. "Detective Munch, may I please speak with you?"
The two walked into an interrogation room, while Olivia walked in to se Elliott working.
"Hi." She said to him.
"Hey. Cabot bring you in again?" He asked.
"Yea. What time were you here this morning?"
"I'm gonna go with about 6:30."
"Why?" She asked.
"Couldn't sleep. I was too pumped up after last night." Elliot smiled at her, and she wanted to melt.
"Well, I know the feeling. You should've called me. We could've done paperwork together."
"We still on for tonight?" Elliot said softly.
"Of course. You pick the place. Come get me at 7."
-------------------------------------------
"Yes, Miss Cabot?"
"Listen to this: Elliot and Olivia are having dinner tonight. Together."
"No shit. When did this happen?"
"He went to her apartment late last night. She didn't sleep."
"Hmm. Neither did he. He isn't telling me a thing, otherwise. He told me he came in off an adrenaline rush he got from running.
Do you think..."
"No. She would've said something. They really aren't that kind of people anyways."
"That's wierd, though. She tells you everything, and I get jipped."
"Hello? They don't call it 'Girl Talk' for no reason! Let's just say this: Our plan worked. We're done. Good job, John."
"Good job, Alex. I have work to do now. Congratulations." He said.
"Ditto." And with that, the interrogation room was emptied.
-------------------------------------------
Hope you like it! So far. R+R!
Disclaimer: It's in Chapter 1
Chapter Three: Shhh...
------------------------------
"Hey Liv? Olivia! It's Alex. I'm downstairs waiting for you! Let's go!" It was Alex, alright. She had called, and Olivia hadn't
picked up the phone. And she hadn't picked it up, because she was sleeping. "Liv, it's 7:00. I really hate to do this, but I have to
go to work. I have an arraignment today, and I can't be late! Are you even awake yet? Well, I have to go. Sorry, Liv." And she hung up.
Olivia woke from the sound of beeping. It was her answering machine. As she played the message, she looked at her clock. 8:00 am.
She was supposed to be at work half an hour ago. She hated walking.
By the time she had reached the station, it was approaching 9, and Olivia was already exhausted. "Benson." She heard from behind her.
"My office. Now." It was Cragen, and he was PISSED.
"Shit." She mumbled under her breath. "Yes Captin?" She said, reaching the office and shutting the door behind her.
"It is almost 9 am. What time does your job begin?" he asked.
"7:30 am, sir." She said.
"Thank you. You can go back to work now." He shooed her.
"How'd it go?" Elliot asked her. Elliot. Then it all came back to her. The party, the mistletoe, the 2 kisses, everything.
"Ummm. It was fine." She said to him, not making eye contact.
"Liv?" he asked her. "Are you all right?"
Of course I'm all right, Elliot! We practically made out last night, and I don't know what to think! You act like it never even
happened, and yet we both know it did! she felt like screaming in front of everyone in the precinct. Officers, fellow detectives, and yes,
even the secretaries.
"Um, I'm fine. How are you?" She managed, still not looking at him.
"Right. I'm going to believe that. You can talk to me when you're ready." And they went back to work.
------------------------------
"Sorry about this morning. I don't know what happened." Olivia said to Alex, getting into the car.
"Don't worry about it. So, what happened last night that made you so tired?" Alex pryed.
Olivia then proceeded to tell her everything, from the car ride with Elliott, to the events of the morning.
"Well, how do you feel about him?" Alex asked.
"He's my partner. We work together. Every single day." She replied.
"You didn't answer my question, Olivia."
"I don't know! We're always around one another, he's like my brother!"
"You know what they say."
"No. What do they say?"
"Best friends make the best husbands." Alex replied, pulling up to Olivia's building.
------------------------------
"Where is everyone?" Munch asked.
"Liv went home, Cragen did, too. And as you know, Fin is still sick." Elliot replied, focused on his paperwork.
"So it's only you and me?" Munch asked Elliott.
"Just us." Elliot looked up. "What are you up to after work?"
"Nothing. I was just going to go home. Why?" He asked.
"Well, I was gonna grab a beer or something. Wanna come?"
"Sure. Just let me know when you're ready to go."
"Okay." Elliot waited a few seconds. "Now."
The two grabbed their coats and walked out to Elliott's car. They talked about cases, and Elliott's kids. General stuff.
They got to the bar and each ordered a beer.
"So, uh, Elliot."
"Yea?"
"What was that with Olivia? You know, last night?"
"Nothing." Elliot snapped.
"Are you sure?" Munch had to grill Elliot. It was all part of 'the plan'. Munch gets to Elliot, Alex gets to Olivia.
"Yes. You want a ride home?" He asked.
"Sure."
They drove home in silence, but as Munch got out of the car, he looked at Elliott.
"Stabler." He started. "As the wise man, Benjamin Franklin, once said: 'The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue
happiness. You have to catch it yourself.' Just some food for thought."
-------------------------------
That night, as Kathleen lay in bed, Elliot was watching the news. It was all he could do not to think about it. Just knowing that
she was so affected by it, and he was acting. Acting like it never happened. He stared at the phone. It was only 9:30. She might
still be awake. But she might not be.
"What the hell, Elliot." He said to himself. "What are you? In high school?" He picked up the phone. He decided to let it ring three
times. The first came and went. The second came and went. The third came and went. Elliot hung up.
-------------------------------
Olivia rushed out of the bathroom to pick up her phone. She could have sworn she'd heard it ringing, and by the time she'd gotten to it,
whoever had just called her had hung up. She wondered whether it was someone trying to get in touch with her, or just a prank call. She
picked up the phone and just started dialing.
"Come on. Please." She said as it rang.
"Hello?" She heard on the other end.
"Elliot." She breathed. For the first time all day she hadn't felt nervous about him. "Please tell me you were the one that just
tried to call me."
"Yeah. Why? Is something wrong? Hang on, I'll be right there." He said, hanging up before she could get a word in edgewise.
--------------------------------
He practically sped all the way to her apartment. When he got there, he pressed the button millions of times in succession.
"Elliot." He heard. "Calm down. Come on up."
As he walked into the building, a nervousness almost overtook him. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Why was he so worried
about her? Why didn't he let her answer him on the phone? As he stood outside her door pondering this, it suddenly opened.
"I figured you would be standing here." She said. "It's never taken you this long to get to my apartment. Come in. Sit. You want some coffee
or something? I'm making a pot."
"Sure." Elliot could do nothing but what she said. He was amazed. Even when she had just stepped out of the shower she looked breathtaking.
Even in her obviously men's-sized flannel pants and a tank top, he found her extremely enchanting.
"You aren't going to start this again, are you?" She said to him, handing him a mug.
"Huh?" He was confused.
"Come on. The whole mouth-dropping thing. You pulled this last night. Now knock it off." She said, realizing that this was the first time she
had been able to look him in the eye, and he couldn't do the same to her. "Penny for your thoughts." She said, sitting next to him on the large,
overstuffed couch.
He looked at her. He stood up and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. At the same time as throwing a penny on the couch next to Olivia he said,
"You." and sat back down.
"Okay. This might be a long night. Why don't you give me your coat?" She took the garment and hung it up. "Now, what about me?" she teased.
"Do I need to remind you?" he jested back.
"Maybe." she said, leaning into him. And they kissed again. Before long, they realized what they were doing, and Olivia backed off.
"Wait." she said.
"What?"
"What are we doing?"
"That's kind of a silly question." Elliot joked.
"No. Not that. I only invited you up so we could talk. We haven't talked in a while."
"So you don't want to talk about the fact that I would like for you to come have dinner with me tomorrow?"
"I would love to. But first, we need to talk about this."
"About what?"
"Elliot. This would not look good for Cragen. For all we know, we could be investigated by Internal Affairs. And if it gets that far, we
could be split up."
"You're right. So what do you propose?"
"Well, I'm not choosing between my job and you. We'll just have to keep quiet. For now."
"Sounds good to me."
"One more thing." Olivia added, getting up to give Elliot his coat.
"Shoot."
"What are *we*?"
"*We*, I would have to say, are going to be exclusive. You are my girlfriend." Elliot said.
Olivia smiled a huge smile. "Goodnight, partner."
"See you tomorrow." Elliot gave her a quick kiss before heading out to his car.
------------------------------------
Olivia walked out of her apartment building at 7 am to see Alex waiting for her outside her car.
"Hey. I was calling and you hadn't answered the phone I figured you were still sleeping." she said.
"No. I didn't sleep at all last night." Olivia replied.
"Couldn't stop thinking about a case? Or was it just a hot date?" Alex hoped it wasn't the former.
"I can't really say. I'm not supposed to. But it wasn't a case." Olivia divulged. Alex was getting nervous.
"Oh, come on. Tell me! Not as a co-worker, as a friend." Alex was prying again.
"Well, Elliot came over. He asked me to dinner tonight. And I said yes. But I'm not supposed to say anything. We don't want any
kind of investigations." She looked at Alex, who had an ear-to-ear smile on her face. "What's the shit-eating grin on your face?"
Olivia questioned.
"Nothing. By the way, how's your car?" She asked.
"It's ready. I just need to find someone to take me."
"Okay. Right after work. Promise."
"Speaking of which, we'd better go." They climbed into the car and listened to the radio for the rest of the way.
-----------------------------------
"What are you doing here so early?" Munch asked, walking into the precinct.
Elliot lifted his head off his desk and looked around. "Munch? What time is it?"
"It's 8:30. Are you gonna answer my question, or what?"
"Oh. Couldn't sleep. I went out really late last night, and I was on such an adrenaline rush that I couldn't fall back asleep."
"Adrenaline, huh? Where'd you go?" Munch asked.
He started to say Olivia's name. He got out the 'O' sound, but decided against it, opting for a cover-up. "Oh, just for a run."
"Mmhmm. And you can here because you couldn't sleep?"
"I figured I could get a jump start on paperwork. Before Olivia gets here." Elliot said, still waking up.
"Doesn't look like you got much done. How long ago did you fall asleep?"
"I don't even know."
Munch headed over to his desk. "How was your run, by the way?"
"Huh? Oh, the run. It was exciting." Elliott said, heading for the bathroom. "I'm going to throw some water on my face."
"Okay." Munch said. After Elliot was out of earshot, he continued with, "Running? Exciting? There's two words you
don't usually hear together." He knew something was going on, he just didn't know the exact details.
Elliot and Munch worked on paperwork and chatted when all of a sudden they heard someone come in from behind them.
"Hello, boys. Getting an early start?" They turned to see Cabot coming in. "Detective Munch, may I please speak with you?"
The two walked into an interrogation room, while Olivia walked in to se Elliott working.
"Hi." She said to him.
"Hey. Cabot bring you in again?" He asked.
"Yea. What time were you here this morning?"
"I'm gonna go with about 6:30."
"Why?" She asked.
"Couldn't sleep. I was too pumped up after last night." Elliot smiled at her, and she wanted to melt.
"Well, I know the feeling. You should've called me. We could've done paperwork together."
"We still on for tonight?" Elliot said softly.
"Of course. You pick the place. Come get me at 7."
-------------------------------------------
"Yes, Miss Cabot?"
"Listen to this: Elliot and Olivia are having dinner tonight. Together."
"No shit. When did this happen?"
"He went to her apartment late last night. She didn't sleep."
"Hmm. Neither did he. He isn't telling me a thing, otherwise. He told me he came in off an adrenaline rush he got from running.
Do you think..."
"No. She would've said something. They really aren't that kind of people anyways."
"That's wierd, though. She tells you everything, and I get jipped."
"Hello? They don't call it 'Girl Talk' for no reason! Let's just say this: Our plan worked. We're done. Good job, John."
"Good job, Alex. I have work to do now. Congratulations." He said.
"Ditto." And with that, the interrogation room was emptied.
-------------------------------------------
Hope you like it! So far. R+R!