How Does it Feel
Chapter 14
Disclaimer: Ya know what, I'm still broke and I still don't own 'em. It's sad, isn't it?
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11 days later:
Elliot sat in the living room, on the couch, his head resting against the back, eyes closed. Oh, boy was he tired. He knew there was a reason he wasn't too thrilled about starting work again last night, and this was it. Exhausted didn't even begin to describe it, he should have gone to sleep earlier.
"You almost done?" He called out to Olivia; he'd been waiting for over 15 minutes for her to finish getting ready for work, 15 minutes well spent resting.
"Just a sec!" She called from her bedroom, like promised a few seconds later he could hear her shoes click on the hardwood floor and opened his eyes, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. She walked into the living room and grabbed her keys from the coffee table, looking at him expectantly. "Ok, I'm ready. Are you?"
"Have been for 15 minutes."
"Then get your lazy ass off of the sofa and let's get going," she said, walking towards the door.
"Hey, who's the one with the gunshot wound here?" He called after her, standing slowly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot, since you're crippled that means you can't get your lazy ass off of the sofa?"
"Ha, ha." He replied sarcastically, following her out the door. The rode down the elevator and then got into her car, Elliot riding shotgun. He wouldn't be able to drive for almost another month.
They talked little while driving to the 1-6, words weren't needed. She knew how anxious he was to get out of her apartment and actually interact with others. Not that it was a bad thing, her company, but it was minimal, and he had nothing at all to do while she was working.
When they got to work Cragean showed Elliot to his desk, which was by Munch and Fin's but a bit of a ways off from Olivia's. Great, he thought as he sat down, I'll get to listen to those two bitch to each other all day.
Cragean seemed to notice his hesitance to take the desk, because he smiled at him as if he planned it that way. Elliot could only glare and start on his paperwork. Which was bad in and of itself, but later on he'd probably be working the phones, which he loathed even more than writing and filing all of that paperwork. Today he was not a people person.
It only took him 10 minutes on the job to realize why Olivia had been coming home in such a bad mood for the past month or so. Her new partner, the temporary replacement for himself, was a bitch to say the least. The first thing she did when Olivia sat down was snap at her, asking where the paperwork she had been working on the day before was. Olivia kind of looked at her like she was the biggest idiot on the planet and told her she had filed it before she left work. It seemed to shut the woman up. Munch and Fin snickered, and Peterson glared at them.
He found out quickly that she (Peterson) wasn't too fond of him. Olivia had told him the horror stories about her arguments with Alex, and the ongoing battle between her and Munch, but he never expected to be on the receiving end of the attitude. He was, in fact, the reason that she was there in the first place. If he hadn't been shot she wouldn't be working at the moment. Maybe that was the reason; she blamed him for having to work with the sex police.
She really didn't say much to him, as much as give him the dirtiest looks imaginable. And, during lunch break when Munch and Fin had gone off to eat together and Olivia had gone to grab him something she sat down by him and started up a conversation. It started off in a bad way.
"So, Benson tells me that you are staying at her place," she said, as if implying something.
"Yes," he replied. "I am staying at Olivia's apartment until I am well enough to live alone. I am going through a divorce at the moment, so I can't go home, Munch is the last person that I would ever stay with and Fin, well he's the second to last person. So, yeah, since I really had no other place to go I'm staying with my partner, who happens to be my best friend as well. And, if you're implying that there is something going on between Olivia and I, there's nothing to say that we can't, and the last thing I'm capable right now is anything romantic. So, if there were going to be any other probing questions after that bad attempt at an idle conversation I hope I've answered them, because that's all I'm going to say." He turned back to his paperwork, leaving her sitting there, awestruck.
She snorted at him and got up, leaving the room heading where he figured was to get lunch. He shrugged to himself and went back to what he had been doing. A minute or so later Olivia walked in and pulled a chair next to his desk, dropping his sandwich on top of his paperwork. "Hot ham and cheese."
"That's something different," he said unwrapping it.
"It's good, you'll like it." She handed him his soda and took a sip of her own, "So. I hear that you and Peterson had an interesting conversation."
"Wow," he said, "news travels fast around here."
She shrugged, "Not much personal drama around here. Most of the time everything is case related, people like the distraction."
"I can buy that." He took a bite of his sandwich, "This is good."
"Don't chew with your mouth open," she scolded, smiling.
He finished chewing, then swallowed. "Yes, ma'am!" He said, saluting her.
She just rolled her eyes.
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His first day back hadn't been too much of a disaster, she decided. Besides that one incident at lunch Peterson had stayed out of his way, as well as Olivia's. The four had to leave him when they were called to a case, and when they got back he was up to his ears in paperwork and answering the phone every two minutes. She felt bad for him, she knew that wasn't fun.
The drive home was the total opposite from the drive to work. Whereas then they had tried to keep the conversation alive while she drove back to her apartment they were silent, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was an appreciated silence. He was tired from hearing people complain in phone call after phone call and she was tired of hearing Peterson complain as they traveled from destination to destination.
They picked up Chinese food before heading home for good. As she pulled into her parking space she saw him grimace, "You ok?"
He sighed, he had obviously thought she hadn't been looking. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
He didn't answer her; instead he grabbed the bag of food and opened the passengers' side door. But, she was quicker than him and already standing by the door waiting when he finally got out.
"If you still hurt this badly, Elliot, then you shouldn't be working. Maybe you should stay home for another week or two, give your wound some more time to heal up."
"I'm fine," he told her through gritted teeth.
"And I can spot a lie when I hear one, El. God, anybody could look at you and see that you still hurt."
"I'm going to hurt for a long time Olivia. If I stayed here until I was better I wouldn't be back at work for months, I can't do that. I'll be fine, ok?"
She sighed, she wanted to win the argument, but in the end it was his decision if he wanted to work or not. The doctor had said that he was well enough to return for desk duty, but to be cautious, and so far he was doing just that. But, as she watched him struggle to the elevator she couldn't help but reach out and grab his arm, helping him walk. He glared at her, grunting, but said nothing about it.
He took his painkillers as soon as he got into the apartment, then the two sat down for dinner. They didn't say much, he asked her about her case and she asked him about the paperwork but the conversation was a halfhearted one.
When they were done with dinner she helped him to the couch, he protested at first, but she told him that the less strain he put on the wound the quicker it would heal. He still did most of the work, but he allowed her to help out when she thought it was necessary. They watched TV in relative silence, only talking when commercials came on. At 15 till twelve she said she was going to hit the hay, and he should to.
He agreed and she helped him into the bedroom, then helped him with redressing his wound. As she was about to leave to go to bed he called out to her.
"Are you mad at me?" He wanted to know.
She shook her head, "Of course not, why?"
"You haven't even so much as mentioned our "relationship" in over a week, I was just wondering if you were having second thoughts."
She walked back into the room and sat down on the foot of the guest bed, "Why would I be having second thoughts?"
He shrugged, "I was just curious."
She sighed, "It's just the whole divorce thing is just starting and it's going to take a very long time until it's over with. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize it, so I'm trying to keep myself from doing something ... well, stupid."
"It's not like anything that "stupid" is even a possibility right now." He thought for a moment, "Well, it would be possible, but pretty painful on my part."
She smiled, "Goodnight, Elliot." She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. When she broke apart he had a cheesy grin on his face. "That answer your questions?"
He nodded, "Goodnight, Liv."
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A/N: I know, I know, it's taken forever to get this out. But, not my fault! The computer that has our Internet access on it screwed up and was being fixed and so I couldn't post anything! But, I worked on my stories from my computer, just so I could post it as soon as we got our computer back. Anyway, let me know what'cha think.
Chapter 14
Disclaimer: Ya know what, I'm still broke and I still don't own 'em. It's sad, isn't it?
XXXXXXXXXX
11 days later:
Elliot sat in the living room, on the couch, his head resting against the back, eyes closed. Oh, boy was he tired. He knew there was a reason he wasn't too thrilled about starting work again last night, and this was it. Exhausted didn't even begin to describe it, he should have gone to sleep earlier.
"You almost done?" He called out to Olivia; he'd been waiting for over 15 minutes for her to finish getting ready for work, 15 minutes well spent resting.
"Just a sec!" She called from her bedroom, like promised a few seconds later he could hear her shoes click on the hardwood floor and opened his eyes, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. She walked into the living room and grabbed her keys from the coffee table, looking at him expectantly. "Ok, I'm ready. Are you?"
"Have been for 15 minutes."
"Then get your lazy ass off of the sofa and let's get going," she said, walking towards the door.
"Hey, who's the one with the gunshot wound here?" He called after her, standing slowly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot, since you're crippled that means you can't get your lazy ass off of the sofa?"
"Ha, ha." He replied sarcastically, following her out the door. The rode down the elevator and then got into her car, Elliot riding shotgun. He wouldn't be able to drive for almost another month.
They talked little while driving to the 1-6, words weren't needed. She knew how anxious he was to get out of her apartment and actually interact with others. Not that it was a bad thing, her company, but it was minimal, and he had nothing at all to do while she was working.
When they got to work Cragean showed Elliot to his desk, which was by Munch and Fin's but a bit of a ways off from Olivia's. Great, he thought as he sat down, I'll get to listen to those two bitch to each other all day.
Cragean seemed to notice his hesitance to take the desk, because he smiled at him as if he planned it that way. Elliot could only glare and start on his paperwork. Which was bad in and of itself, but later on he'd probably be working the phones, which he loathed even more than writing and filing all of that paperwork. Today he was not a people person.
It only took him 10 minutes on the job to realize why Olivia had been coming home in such a bad mood for the past month or so. Her new partner, the temporary replacement for himself, was a bitch to say the least. The first thing she did when Olivia sat down was snap at her, asking where the paperwork she had been working on the day before was. Olivia kind of looked at her like she was the biggest idiot on the planet and told her she had filed it before she left work. It seemed to shut the woman up. Munch and Fin snickered, and Peterson glared at them.
He found out quickly that she (Peterson) wasn't too fond of him. Olivia had told him the horror stories about her arguments with Alex, and the ongoing battle between her and Munch, but he never expected to be on the receiving end of the attitude. He was, in fact, the reason that she was there in the first place. If he hadn't been shot she wouldn't be working at the moment. Maybe that was the reason; she blamed him for having to work with the sex police.
She really didn't say much to him, as much as give him the dirtiest looks imaginable. And, during lunch break when Munch and Fin had gone off to eat together and Olivia had gone to grab him something she sat down by him and started up a conversation. It started off in a bad way.
"So, Benson tells me that you are staying at her place," she said, as if implying something.
"Yes," he replied. "I am staying at Olivia's apartment until I am well enough to live alone. I am going through a divorce at the moment, so I can't go home, Munch is the last person that I would ever stay with and Fin, well he's the second to last person. So, yeah, since I really had no other place to go I'm staying with my partner, who happens to be my best friend as well. And, if you're implying that there is something going on between Olivia and I, there's nothing to say that we can't, and the last thing I'm capable right now is anything romantic. So, if there were going to be any other probing questions after that bad attempt at an idle conversation I hope I've answered them, because that's all I'm going to say." He turned back to his paperwork, leaving her sitting there, awestruck.
She snorted at him and got up, leaving the room heading where he figured was to get lunch. He shrugged to himself and went back to what he had been doing. A minute or so later Olivia walked in and pulled a chair next to his desk, dropping his sandwich on top of his paperwork. "Hot ham and cheese."
"That's something different," he said unwrapping it.
"It's good, you'll like it." She handed him his soda and took a sip of her own, "So. I hear that you and Peterson had an interesting conversation."
"Wow," he said, "news travels fast around here."
She shrugged, "Not much personal drama around here. Most of the time everything is case related, people like the distraction."
"I can buy that." He took a bite of his sandwich, "This is good."
"Don't chew with your mouth open," she scolded, smiling.
He finished chewing, then swallowed. "Yes, ma'am!" He said, saluting her.
She just rolled her eyes.
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His first day back hadn't been too much of a disaster, she decided. Besides that one incident at lunch Peterson had stayed out of his way, as well as Olivia's. The four had to leave him when they were called to a case, and when they got back he was up to his ears in paperwork and answering the phone every two minutes. She felt bad for him, she knew that wasn't fun.
The drive home was the total opposite from the drive to work. Whereas then they had tried to keep the conversation alive while she drove back to her apartment they were silent, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was an appreciated silence. He was tired from hearing people complain in phone call after phone call and she was tired of hearing Peterson complain as they traveled from destination to destination.
They picked up Chinese food before heading home for good. As she pulled into her parking space she saw him grimace, "You ok?"
He sighed, he had obviously thought she hadn't been looking. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
He didn't answer her; instead he grabbed the bag of food and opened the passengers' side door. But, she was quicker than him and already standing by the door waiting when he finally got out.
"If you still hurt this badly, Elliot, then you shouldn't be working. Maybe you should stay home for another week or two, give your wound some more time to heal up."
"I'm fine," he told her through gritted teeth.
"And I can spot a lie when I hear one, El. God, anybody could look at you and see that you still hurt."
"I'm going to hurt for a long time Olivia. If I stayed here until I was better I wouldn't be back at work for months, I can't do that. I'll be fine, ok?"
She sighed, she wanted to win the argument, but in the end it was his decision if he wanted to work or not. The doctor had said that he was well enough to return for desk duty, but to be cautious, and so far he was doing just that. But, as she watched him struggle to the elevator she couldn't help but reach out and grab his arm, helping him walk. He glared at her, grunting, but said nothing about it.
He took his painkillers as soon as he got into the apartment, then the two sat down for dinner. They didn't say much, he asked her about her case and she asked him about the paperwork but the conversation was a halfhearted one.
When they were done with dinner she helped him to the couch, he protested at first, but she told him that the less strain he put on the wound the quicker it would heal. He still did most of the work, but he allowed her to help out when she thought it was necessary. They watched TV in relative silence, only talking when commercials came on. At 15 till twelve she said she was going to hit the hay, and he should to.
He agreed and she helped him into the bedroom, then helped him with redressing his wound. As she was about to leave to go to bed he called out to her.
"Are you mad at me?" He wanted to know.
She shook her head, "Of course not, why?"
"You haven't even so much as mentioned our "relationship" in over a week, I was just wondering if you were having second thoughts."
She walked back into the room and sat down on the foot of the guest bed, "Why would I be having second thoughts?"
He shrugged, "I was just curious."
She sighed, "It's just the whole divorce thing is just starting and it's going to take a very long time until it's over with. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize it, so I'm trying to keep myself from doing something ... well, stupid."
"It's not like anything that "stupid" is even a possibility right now." He thought for a moment, "Well, it would be possible, but pretty painful on my part."
She smiled, "Goodnight, Elliot." She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. When she broke apart he had a cheesy grin on his face. "That answer your questions?"
He nodded, "Goodnight, Liv."
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A/N: I know, I know, it's taken forever to get this out. But, not my fault! The computer that has our Internet access on it screwed up and was being fixed and so I couldn't post anything! But, I worked on my stories from my computer, just so I could post it as soon as we got our computer back. Anyway, let me know what'cha think.