Chapter 11

Downstairs, Olivia opened the refrigerator and pulled out a container of mixed fruit. She wanted something more substantial for breakfast since they'd be on the road all day, but the sweetness of the fruit was calling her. Taking a forkful, she chewed thoughtfully as she looked out at the great room. Setting down the fork, she walked into the room and took the couch and pushed it back where it belonged from last night. She also picked up their snifters and the bottle of Cognac to replace in the cabinet. Washing out the glasses, she left them in the strainer to dry. They were good crystal; no way was she letting them near the dishwasher. Taking another bite of the fruit, she pulled the carton of eggs and package of bacon from the refrigerator. She couldn't hear the water running upstairs so she knew that Elliot would be down before long.

Heating the skillet, she dropped in a dab of butter and waited for it to melt and spread. Grabbing a loaf of bread, she added the slices to the toaster before turning back to the stove. Knowing that Elliot liked eggs sunnyside from many breakfasts together at work, she held off on his until she heard him come down the stairs. She heard him drop his duffle at the door and make his way to the kitchen to lay his suit jacket over one of the chairs. Cracking the eggs for him into the skillet, she took the two plates he handed to her and set them down. He finished removing the other few dishes they'd used from the dishwasher and put them back in their proper spots. Taking two of the glasses, he filled them with orange juice and placed them on the counter. He also poured two cups of coffee.

The toast popped up and Elliot grabbed the cutting board and a knife to prepare it. Olivia flipped her eggs and grabbed a plate for Elliot's since they were finished. Placing some bacon on the plate, she handed it to Elliot for him to add the toast. She finished her plate and turned off the stove. Taking their seats, they took their time and enjoyed their last breakfast in this magnificent house. Olivia laughed a bit and then explained her amusement. "You're back in a suit and I'm still in pajamas." She shook her head. "It just struck me as funny."

He smiled at her. "The sweats were definitely more comfortable." Picking up his coffee, he said after taking a sip, "I'm going to miss coffee this good. Think we can take a pack back to fix at the house?"

"No."

"Hey, you dislike Munch's coffee as much as I do."

"I know." Olivia was silent a moment as watched her fork push around the eggs on her plate. She had something that she needed to say, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Her partner took care of that.

"Liv, what's bothering you?"

She looked up at him. "Elliot. I know I said I wanted to talk to you about the kids, but thinking later on, I'm pretty sure we're too early to even start guessing what will happen in that area. I don't want to upset them at all and I know the next few months are going to be confusing enough. So, if you want to forgo that conversation for the time being, I'd understand."

"I'll be honest and say that I don't think there's going to be too much of a problem with them. I've been lucky, Liv. My kids all adore you on different levels. When I spoke to Maureen yesterday, she even informed me that she thinks that Kathleen will probably want to attend the Academy because of you." He smiled at her. "I couldn't ask for a better or stronger role model for the girls."

Olivia blushed slightly. "Thank you."

"And look at Dickie. At eleven, I swear he's already got a crush on you. That I might get worried about in a few years if it doesn't go away. Either that or admit that the boy has damn good taste." He grinned and forked up some more eggs.

She just looked down at her plate and continued to eat as she wished away the blush that she knew was staining her cheeks.

A while later, both plates were clean and they sat to finish the last of their coffees. "Why don't you go get dressed and I'll finish off the kitchen?" asked Elliot.

Olivia sighed. "Would it be wrong of me to say that I don't want to leave?"

He smiled slightly. "No, it's not wrong. But, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can start moving on, which means the sooner that we can make arrangements to come back here."

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him in surprise. "Are you serious? You'd want to come back here?"

"Hell, yeah, Liv." He reached over and covered her hand with his. "What better place away from everyone who knows us. I would hope that Gilson wouldn't rat on us by then, but it'd be a great place to bring all the kids sometime, too."

"They'd love that, El." She turned her hand over under his and squeezed. "Let me go get changed and packed. Gilson should be here by then." She stood and headed upstairs.

Elliot sat back and watched her walk off. Smiling to himself, he finished off the last of his coffee and stood to gather the dishes. Deciding to simply wash things up in the sink so Gilson's sister wouldn't find a dishwasher full to unload, he carried everything to the sink and turned on the hot water. Rolling up his sleeves, he walked to the small desk area in the great room and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. He took the envelope back to the kitchen and took a few minutes to wash off their breakfast dishes and the skillet. Rinsing them off, he left everything in the strainer and turned to the island. Reaching for his back pocket, he pulled his wallet and removed two fifty dollar bills. Also taking one of his business cards, he wrote a note on the back to Ginny simply telling her 'Thanks' and to please call him next week as he'd like to speak with her. Placing all items in the envelope, he sealed it and wrote her name across the front and then propped the envelope up against the vase of flowers that sat on the island.

Grabbing a towel, he finished drying the couple plates and returned them to their proper cabinets. Taking one last look around, he noted that everything was where it should be. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was nearly time for Gilson to arrive, so he just went and took a seat on the couch to relax and think. Considering all that would begin to happen when he returned to New York, taking a moment to himself right now sounded like the best thing to do. It probably would be the last for the time being. As upset as he felt about how his marriage had fallen apart, he'd at least still have his kids. And if they wanted to be with him, then he'd fight the court tooth and nail to keep them with him. He'd talk more with Olivia about it, but he was sure that it wouldn't bother her one bit as she was the one who always made sure that he got home as early as he did some nights by offering to finish off the paperwork. She knew how important his kids were to him. And he wasn't kidding when he'd told her earlier on how much the kids liked her. The youngest tended to even refer to her as 'Aunt Liv' because she'd been in their lives for so long. He smiled at the memory of a past Valentine's Day when Lizzie absolutely insisted on making Aunt Liv a card. Dickie had echoed his sister, and it had taken Elliot a while to figure out why Kathy had been so pissed at him. He'd finally realized that she thought he'd put the twins up to it. It took him a week and dinner out to convince her otherwise.

A pounding on the front door interrupted his thoughts, and he grabbed his suit jacket on the way to the door to let in Chief Gilson.

"Hey, Chief!" He shook Gilson's outstretched hand and held the door for him. "We'll be a few minutes yet, if you don't mind. I'm still trying to pry my partner away from her room."

"So she's in love, huh?"

A wide grin graced Elliot's face. I sure hope so, Chief, he thought. Aloud he said, "You could say that. I'm just not sure if it's with the bathroom or the walk-in closet. Earlier it was the fireplace, but she finally gave in and admitted that the car wouldn't be able to handle all of those stones and that I had no experience in rebuilding it in her apartment."

Gilson laughed heartily. "I've got to tell my sister about you two. She'll get a kick out of your partner. Most of her renters barely say 'Thanks' let alone comment on the house itself."

"I'm sure Olivia wouldn't mind expounding on the many wonderful things she took note of. However, if you sister notices that that huge plasma is missing...um...I didn't do it."

The chief chuckled. "Believe me, on Super Bowl weekend, if on a strange chance she hasn't rented the house, we usually move that sucker downstairs and the entire clan meets up over here. We'll notice if it goes missing."

Elliot heard footsteps on the stairs. "Let us just grab our coats and we'll be ready." He turned to the closet and grabbed their trenches off the hangers.

"I'll just grab this bag right now and meet you guys at the truck." Gilson picked up Elliot's duffle and turned to open the door. "Will we have to search your partner's bag for contraband?" he teased.

"Nah, Chief. Wouldn't want to have to arrest her." Elliot closed the door behind the chief and turned to see Olivia walk up.

"I thought I heard voices."

"Yeah, Gilson's here. He just took my bag out. Got everything?"

"Yeah," she said quietly as he helped her into her coat. She wrapped the scarf around her neck as he slipped into his trench and buttoned it up. Taking a deep breath, she stooped to pick up her bag, stepped forward and reached for the door handle. Feeling Elliot's hand on her arm, she turned to look at him, and as she did saw his face coming down to hers.

Lifting his other hand to cradle her cheek, he looked her straight in the eyes and said softly, "Last chance before hitting the real world, Liv." The look in his eyes stunned her and didn't protest when he softly kissed her. Heat flushed through her cheeks and she opened her mouth slightly and invited him in. She dropped her bag and reached both hands behind his neck to bring him closer to her. His tongue reached for hers and they both moaned quietly as the kiss deepened. Ignoring the need for air, Elliot wrapped his arms around her under her coat and simply picked her up and stepped to the wall. Olivia's arms went around his neck and she returned the kiss.

The tight rein she held on her emotions slipped a bit as she felt the strength in his arms as he held her against the wall. She closed her eyes and tipped her head a bit to take advantage of her position and allowed him total access to her mouth. His tongue left heat behind as it stroked against hers and his arms tightened their hold on her. One of her hands left his neck to slide up through the short hair on the back of his head. Her nails lightly scratched his scalp and caused a shiver to run through his body.

Moments passed and then by a seemingly unspoken mutual agreement, the kiss slowly came to a halt. Elliot stepped back from the wall and let Olivia's feet touch the floor. Looking up at him, she smiled softly and pulled a hand from behind his head to let her fingers brush over his lips. He kissed them as they went by and then felt her thumb press slightly harder to remove some lipstick that stained the corner of his mouth. He leaned forward and stole one last kiss, pulling back as he felt her sigh.

"Remind me again why I didn't drag you upstairs last night, El," she said.

Smiling back at her he kissed the end of her nose and replied, "Because I need to close one chapter of my life before starting another, especially if I don't want to wreck them both." He took a step to the side and leaned down to pick up her bag. "You ready to go?"

"When I get my breath back I will be."

The expression Olivia mentally called the 'Stabler Shit-Eating Grin" once again made its appearance and he leered at her. "So I leave you breathless, huh?"

Olivia patted him on the chest and turned to hold the door open for him. He stepped through and waited for her to close and lock the door. As they walked out to the truck, he nudged her with his arm. "Well?" he asked.

Smiling her brightest smile, the one meant only for him, she replied, "Always, partner. Always."

Grin still in place, Elliot opened the passenger door and waited for her to seat herself before closing it and putting her bag in the back. Seating himself, he struggled to bring back his professional persona as Gilson began backing out of the driveway. His mind was whirling with thoughts and possibilities for the future. He looked up and caught dark brown eyes twinkling back at him through the visor mirror above her.

We can make this work, he thought.

And he smiled right back at her.

End

A/N: Many thanks to many ladies.

AeroGirl: Beta extraordinaire and my very own comma cop (that's right...just send me to Elliot for punishment g) AG is getting dragged into this fandom one way or another ;) and I guarantee you will be seeing some amazing work from her.

Kat: For her dear friendship and sanity-saving missions out here. And her recent mention of my writing to a certain individual and making my day/month/year/century. And an amazing writer who continually keeps me entertained at work g Now will you please get busy on DYTT? g

Lori: For letting me play in her universe and her awesome conversation co-writes (99% of the funny lines in this story are her direct influence.)

SidleSmile: An amazing writer, cheerleader extraordinaire and evil-minded plotter ;). Vegas will never be the same after we were there g

This is just the short list...I'd never shut up if I got to everyone! So, a huge thank you to all.