Chapter 38 – Stabler

Thanks to Katydidit, AglaiaWar, Lizzie9, qt-angel, christopher-meloni-freak, littlesweetcupcake, volleylover, NeVeR-wAnTeD-tO-bE-dIfFeReNt-I-jUsT-wAnTeD-tO-bE-mE , boredsvunut, SVUchik18, viol8dbyalizzard, Lady Padfoot II, Opal Irises, Spikes Girl5, and nem for reviewing!
Katydidit-Almost like Munch with yourconspiracy theories. ;) Just kidding. You're just going to have to keep reading to find out!
littlesweetcupcake, new reviewer! Yay! Thanks for reading!
volleylover-Thanks for the info, but I'll be honest with you. It took me two weeks after first starting this story to muster up the courage to post it as a fanfic. I can't even imagine trying to send it to some big company. Thanks for letting me know that though.
NeVeR-wAnTeD-tO-bE-dIfFeReNt-I-jUsT-wAnTeD-tO-bE-mE-Romance or friends? The infamous question! You'll see... ;)
Lady Padfoot II-That obvious that Liv is gonna get too involved, uh? I'll just have to add a little twist now that you've figured it out! ;)
Opal Irises-I love that my updating makes you happy! Sorry you're home sick again! Get well soon! And to answer your question, there is absolutely no such this as a review that's too long! I wasn't too sure where I was taking the plot with Emma, but after yours and Lady Padfoot II's review, I've got it figured out!
Spikes Girl5, new reviewer! Thanks so much for reading! Yay!

Author's Note/Early Apology- You know, in the two weeks I've been updating every night, today was the day I got the most reviews commenting on it. That's why what I say next makes me feel like crap. My Aunt is getting married in a few days so I have to drive out to go see it. And while I'm gone, I won't be anywhere near a computer. So I can't update, therefore, breaking my updating-every-night tradition I've started. I feel so bad! This is going to be my last update until Tuesday, maybe Monday. Not that it makes up for it, but this chapter's mostly OE fluff, if that helps cushion the blow. ;) I feel so guilty that I'm gonna update with a bunch of chapters when I get back, I promise! 'Til then, here's Stabler.

Lyrics by Leann Rimes – Light In Your Eyes

Life can take your dreams and turn then upside down
Friends will talk about you when you're not around
Reality can really cut you down to size
But don't ever lose that light in your eyes
Don't ever lose that light in your eyes
People make you promises they'll never keep
Soon you'll know why people say talk is cheap
Life resembles one big compromise
But don't ever lose that light in your eyes
Don't ever lose that light in your eyes
Keep on shining
Keep on smiling
Don't lose faith and don't lose heart
When you're crying, just keep trying to remind yourself
You're a shining star, yes you are
Just let 'em see that light in your eyes
Don't ever lose that light in your eyes
Keep on smiling
Don't lose faith and don't lose heart
When you're crying, just keep trying to remind yourself
You're a shining star, yes you are
Don't ever lose that light in your eyes
Don't ever lose that light in your eyes…

Stabler

"Here's my card, it has my cell phone and home phone number on it. If you ever need to, call me, about anything." Olivia handed the card to Emma.

"Thanks." She just nodded and gave a nervous, awkward smile. Her mother's arm was tightly wrapped around her shoulders. Miss MacGuire was in her late thirties, brown hair, and blue eyes, almost like an older version of Emma.

"Thank you Detectives," she nodded towards Olivia and me, refusing to release her daughter for even a moment to shake our hands.

I just gave a warm, sympathetic smile to her. I could tell she was a good mother, but I wondered how she'd handle this. I couldn't imagine myself if it had been one of my children that were attacked. I would never let them out of my sight.

As the two women left, I watched Olivia watching them. If it were up to me, I'd never let her out of my sight. The very thought might have brought a smile to my face if I hadn't just watched Emma's statement.

I felt there was no greater crime than that against a defenseless child. I still heard her words as she clung onto Olivia. "Why me! What did I do? Why did this happen to me?"

As I replayed Olivia's words, they sounded like they might have been to convince not just Emma, but herself. "This is not your fault."

Everyone could tell you that it wasn't your fault. You could even have spent your life telling other victims that. But when it comes around to you… you tend forget that and all the other things you thought you once knew.

"No, I'm not." I suddenly realized that Olivia had felt my stare on her.

"What?" I tried to act like I hadn't been watching her.

"No, I'm not," she repeated, a depressed look on her face.

"Not what?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm not fine." She crossed her arms and sat down at her desk. She started shuffling through some papers but stopped when she noticed I wasn't talking back. "You were seconds away from asking me if I was okay. Don't tell me you weren't."

That brought a smile to my face. Olivia was the only one who could read me like that. "So, maybe I was." I sat down across from her, feeling her eyes follow me. "You make me worry about you."

She looked up and I saw one corner of her mouth twitch, like a smile was threatening to come on. "Sorry if I've inconvenienced you."

"Never," I said right away, sincerely. "You know that."

"Yeah," she sighed as if only recently coming to terms with that fact. "But I wish I knew who the hell could do that to a little girl." Olivia tossed the writing tablet that she'd had during the statement in between our conjoined desks.

"The world is filled with sick psychos. You've always known that," I pointed out.

"Still doesn't make it right," she shook her head and spoke softly.

"And it never will," I agreed. "But it's not changing anytime soon."

She glanced up and searched my face. "Yeah, that's the really sick part."

--XXX--

"We're going to go down to the alley where she was attacked, see if we can find anything, then call CSU down," I informed the Captain. Olivia and I were in his office discussing the case.

"You should hurry. It's going to be dark soon." He pointed out. Olivia and I nodded, heading back out to the squad room. "Elliot." Once Olivia was out of earshot, the Captain stopped me.

"Yeah?" I held my hand on the doorknob, halfway to closing it.

"Keep an eye on Olivia. Make sure she doesn't get too involved," he frowned, his brows wrinkled.

"You saw her with Emma in the questioning room. She's already involved," I sighed.

"Elliot, you coming?" Olivia's exasperated voice called out from the other room.

"Yeah, Liv." I stood still for a moment, giving the Captain a shrug before I left.

--XXX--

"I am starving!" I moaned as Olivia and I walked out of the precinct. It was about eight o'clock and we'd just finished looking over the crime scene. We didn't find anything but a trail of Emma's blood.

"You miss one meal and it kills you," Olivia smiled. I was on my way to get lunch when I heard them calling a bus for her. Everything had been so hectic since then that we hadn't eaten.

"It does," I insisted. "Hey, isn't there a new pizzeria on the corner?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just opened a week ago. I've heard it's really good."

"Let's go. I'll meet you there." I walked around to the driver's side of my car while Olivia did the same with hers.

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry." She tried to shrug my offer off.

"Come on," I urged. "My treat. I could use the company before I go back to that big, empty house," I grinned.

"So you're kicking me out already?" She called over from her car.

"What do you mean?"

She just smiled and shook her head as she opened her door. "I'll meet you there!"

--XXX--

"I could have walked and been here before you." As I stepped out of the car, I found Olivia already leaning against the brick building, like she'd been here for hours.

"Exactly how fast do you drive?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Faster than you," she shot back, a smile on her face.

"Apparently." I stuck my frozen hands in my pockets and stepped up onto the curb, walking towards my partner. "Seriously, how long have you been here?"

"Only a minute," she shrugged, opening the door to the restaurant. She went in first and held the door open for me.

"Thanks." I was instantly hit with a blast of warm air and an aroma that almost made my mouth water, a mix of dough, pepperoni, and all the normal things you'd smell in a pizza shop.

While I was preoccupied essence of the place, Olivia talked to the host. "Table for two."

"Okay." The host was a teenage boy with dark brown hair that came to his shoulders, gelled so that the ends stuck forward, covering his face. The "skateboarder" look and very cute, so my daughters told me. I had to bite my tongue to keep from suggesting him to a barber I knew. "Right this way." He led Olivia and I to a small round table, covered in a red and white checkered pattern. "Here you go." While Olivia and I sat down, he placed two menus in front of us. "Your server will be with you in a minute."

"Thank you." I politely smiled before he left. Turning my attention towards the menu, I started reading it over. They had all types of pizza, pasta, subs, anything Italian that you could want. Just as I was about to ask Olivia what she wanted, a voice interrupted me.

"Hi! I'm Paula and I'll be your server." The voice belonged to a fairly young woman, in her twenties with her curly red hair pulled back into a bun, an occasional lock falling out and curving around her freckled face. "Could I get you folks something to drink?" Olivia and I placed our drink order in. "Okay." She quickly jotted it down and looked back up, the smile never leaving her face. "I'll be back in a minute with those and to take your order."

"Thanks." This time Olivia spoke. "So, what are you getting?" I felt her eyes settle on me.

"Pizza." I looked up over the top of my menu at her. "You?"

"Same." She folded the menu back up and set it in the middle of the table.

"Wanna spilt one?" I offered, following suit.

"All that complaining about how hungry you were and now you want to split a pizza?" She sat forward, leaning her elbows against the table.

"I said I was hungry, not that I was a human garbage disposal," I answered her.

"Fair enough," she grinned. "What do you want on it?" She flipped the laminated menus over and scanned her eyes through the list of toppings.

"You decide. I don't care."

"Okay…" I could have sworn I detected a twisted grin on her face the moment I said that. "So how does anchovies, onions, and pineapples sound?" She looked up, a completely serious look on her face.

"Like a bad Spongebob Squarepants episode." I joked, referring to the cartoon Dickie and Elizabeth were obsessed with.

"Are you guys ready?" Paula reappeared next to the table, setting our drinks in front of us. Her pen and pad in hand once she finished.

"Yeah." Olivia nodded and turned towards me. "So anchovies, onions, and pineapples, right?" She whispered, like she was double-checking.

"What?" I felt my eyes widen, suddenly realizing she was serious. "No!" I didn't like any of those, much less on a pizza.

"Great." Olivia smiled and looked up at Paula, handing her the menus. "We'll have a large pizza," she paused and turned to me, mischief sparkling in her eyes. Opening my mouth to stop her, she quickly finished her sentence. "With extra cheese and pepperoni."

"Okay." The hostess smiled again, readjusting the menus in her arms before she left.

"That was mean." I stared at Olivia accusingly. "Threatening to ruin a pizza like that."

"But the look on your face was so worth it," she laughed, placing a straw in her soda and twirling it around before bringing it up to her lips.

I just smiled and left the subject alone, doing the same with my drink. "Now what were you saying before we left the station?"

She bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah." She was hit with a sudden recollection. "You're kicking me out of the house already?"

"Kicking you out?" I frowned at her question. "No. I just thought you'd want to go back to your apartment."

"Well, if I'm not wanted elsewhere…" She spoke with an attitude.

"Yes," I agreed. "I'll let you stay with me for three days straight, then suddenly kick you out just because I can." I pretended to boast. "Because that's the type of person I am," I played along.

"I knew there was a mean streak in you Stabler!" She declared.

"Very mean," I affirmed. "Very mean and threatening." I tried to put the biggest "tough guy" face on that I could.

My actions brought no fear, only a chuckle from Olivia. "You're as threatening as a puffy white cloud."

"Hey!" I was somewhat genuinely insulted as I objected. The two of us just played back and forth, bouncing 'insult' after 'insult' off of each other until the pizza finally came.

"Here we are." Paula placed the pizza and the metal plate it was on in between Olivia and I.

We thanked her and I dove right in. I picked a piece up by the crust and transferred it to one of the small individual plates Paula had left behind. I held it up to my mouth with both hands and took a big bite. I quickly swallowed it, feeling it burn all the way down. They must have just taken it out of the oven.

"Good?" I looked up to see Olivia with her hands folded on the table, a piece of untouched pizza on her plate.

"Hot." I said, gulping my soda as my eyes watered from the pizza.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to the waitress when she tells you that," she said in a disapproving tone.

"When did she say that?" I hadn't heard that.

"Right as you attacked the pizza."

"Oh." I said somewhat sheepishly. Turning my gaze back to the pizza, I picked a piece of pepperoni off and stuck it in my mouth. I was hungry, but not enough so to risk burning the skin in my mouth off.

"El?" I heard Olivia's voice and looked up.

"Yeah?" I rested my elbow on the table and leaned my head against my hand, still staring at her.

"I just wanted to apologize. I know I was snapping you off all day, and I shouldn't have. You were just trying to help." She stared back, waiting for me to say something.

"It's okay," I assured her with a smile. "I understand." The second that left my mouth, I snapped it shut. The truth was that I knew, but I could never understand. I waited to see if she'd call me on it.

"Why are you so sweet to me?" She suddenly asked, unaffected by my last statement.

Caught off guard, I responded with a joke. "First I'm as threatening as a puffy white cloud and now I'm sweet? You are so ruining my 'rep'!"

She smiled, but that didn't throw her off the trail. "El, I'm serious. I've been so horrible to you and you've been so nice and understanding through everything. Anybody else would have hated me or wanted to switch partners or something, not have me stay over at their house. Why haven't you?" I watched her big brown eyes bore into me, trying to read my face.

"Had it been anyone else I probably would have," I answered, turning my head to the side to look at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She folded her arms and stared at me curiously.

I sat in silence for a moment as I thought. "How long have we been partners?"

She didn't need even two seconds to think about that. "Seven years."

"Face it," I sighed. "For seven years we've been around each other daily, sometimes even longer than that. We probably know each other better than we know ourselves. After seven years of that and entrusting our lives in one another, we've gotten attached." I slowly felt a smile creep across my face as I spoke. "I couldn't imagine doing this without you as my partner. That," I added, "and if I switched partners, Cragen would probably pair me up with Munch or Fin. They're like giving a loaded gun to a kid, not a good idea." We just smiled, locking gazes for a moment before Olivia cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"So, think the pizza's any cooler?" She picked it up, holding it towards her mouth.

"About you test it out this time?" I suggested, my mouth still literally throbbing from burning it a few minutes ago.

"But your expression is priceless when you do it!" She argued with a smart-aleck grin.

"It's not priceless," I contradicted her. "It costs me another layer of skin in my mouth each time I burn one off."

"Nice visual," she commented, finally biting into the slice. This pizza wasn't only piping hot, but it was the greasiest thing I'd ever seen. As I watched Olivia's reaction, I also noticed a trail of orange grease start to slide down her hand. She quickly wiped it off on the napkin in her lap.

"Any better?" I hoped.

"It's good!" She remarked, taking another bite.

--XXX--

"I'm stuffed," Olivia sat back in her chair, watching me finish my fourth slice. "You going for a record?"

"Yep." I swallowed the last bite down. "I figure I'll join in some of those eating tournaments, earn some money, and quit the force. Competitive eating's my real passion."

"I bet." Olivia just rolled her eyes at me. "Are you ready to go yet?"

"You don't want some coffee or something? You know I don't have a coffee maker at home."

"All right, but then we're going," she pointed a finger at me like a mother allowing her begging kid stay at the playground for five more minutes.

"Yes ma'am," I mock saluted her.

"Hilarious," she remarked.

"Hey folks." Suddenly Paula appeared next to the table again. For someone with such an outgoing personality, she could sure sneak up on you. "Could I interest you in dessert? We've got some specials. There's our double fudge triple-decker cake, our homemade milkshakes, and our featured special for couples." She winked at us and pulled a dessert menu from her apron. "It's a heart-shaped piece of ice cream cake served with chocolate mousse, very romantic," she smiled at me, placing the picture on the table. Indeed, that's what it looked like in the picture. There was always a caption under it, "Perfect to share for that special someone."

"Oh, um no…" I felt my face reddening. Looking at Olivia, I saw her face suddenly start to flush as well. The waitress thought we were a couple. "We'll just have two coffees," I quickly ordered.

"You sure?" She picked the menu back up and slid it into her apron again.

"Positive," Olivia answered for me.

"Okay." She shrugged and wrote that down. "Two coffees." As she walked away, we heard her mumble under her breath, "Glad he's not my date."

"Do we look like a couple?" Olivia asked me once Paula was out of earshot.

I just laughed, my embarrassment gone at her nervous question. "Don't say it like it's a death sentence or something. It was an innocent mistake."

"Right." Olivia just slumped in her chair, still obviously embarrassed by the girl's insinuation.

"At least I know what you really think of me now," I pointed out with a smile.

"Shut up Stabler." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, straightening somewhat.