Title: Just Another Gamble
Author: Sara and Lizzie
Rating: M, Just to be safe
Disclaimer: We don't own Law And Order: Special Vicitims Unit. If we did, our favorite dectectives would be together. We don't own anything that we mention in the story that is owned by anyone else.
Author's Note: Over 90 hits, and only 4 reveiws? Come on guys. If you like it, review. If you hate it, review. If you want to offer advice, or anything, review. Thanks to those who did review. We love you!
When Olivia Benson's eyelids fluttered open that morning, she was staring at the chest of her partner. She felt one of his arms around her, keeping her close to him, and remembered how they had laid down on a cot in the precinct the a few hours ago.
Olivia thought about untangling herself and making a fresh pot of coffee, but instead, she closed her eyes again, not willing to let the moment go. Elliot mumbled something incoherent and pulled her closer. She sighed.
This type of thing had happened before. But lately, the incidents had become more and more frequent.Everything was becoming different. When their eyes locked, she felt it. When they touched, she felt it. When they were close to each other she felt it. And she knew he felt it too. All of their contact was more charged lately.
Olivia wasn't sure how she felt about that. She knew how she felt about Elliot. He was her partner and her best friend, and a lot more than that. She hadnt admitted it to anyone yet, but she knew. She loved him.
But she didn't know how she felt about the mood between them lately. Elliot was married. He and Kathy had kids. His family meant everything to him. The thought was enough to get her out her partner's arms. She quietly twisted out from under his arm, and raised herself off the cot. She looked down at Elliot, watching him sleep.
She shook her head in a fruitless attempt to clear it, and busied herself making coffee. Olivia looked around the room. It felt eerie to have it this empty. Aside from Cragen working in his office and Elliot, she was the only one there. Munch and Fin had left around 4:30, the time she had gone to sleep, to check out a lead.
The door opened, and Alex Cabot walked in, triumphantly waving a piece of paper. "I just got off the phone with Munch. The lead checked out. I called in a favor and got the warrant."
Olivia nodded. "Where are they?" She asked, referring to the six men who were forcing kidnapped teenage girls into prostitution.
"An apartment in Yorkville." Alex said, her eyes narrowing suspicuously. "Are you ok? You look flustered."
"I'm fine." Olivia responded.
"Better wake him up." Alex said, raising her eyebrows and nodding towards Elliot.
Olivia nodded, and strode to the cot, annoyed that she hadnt been able to recover before Alex arrived. "Hey, Elliot?" she said, shaking him gently.
He didn't stir. "El." She said, louder.
"God, Liv." He groaned, without opening his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Almost nine."
She could tell he was still half asleep, but it didn't stop her heart from fluttering as he slipped his hand in hers. "Come back to bed." He said rolling over.
Olivia could feel Alex's eyes on her, and she knew her cheeks were turning red. She grabbed a particularly large file off of her desk and hit him with it.
"Rise and shine, sweetheart." She said dryly. He opened his eyes, looked around and grinned at her, and she knew her last comment had come out a lot more provactive than she intended.
Olivia made tactful conversation with Alex to allow Elliot to get himself situated. She snuck a glance at him stretching, and buttoning his shirt back up and grinned. She hated herself for loving what was developing between them.
Olivia's reverie was inturrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. "Benson." She she answered.
"Olivia?" It was Fin.
"What've you got for me?"
"Tip was legit. They're hiding in an apartment on 86th off Lexington."
"Nice digs."
"Can you make it in an hour?"
"We'll be there."
She hung up her phone, and jangled the keys to the sedan she and Elliot drove. "Hey Stabler." She said, "Get moving, or I'm driving."
Exactly fifty- seven minutes later, they were parked on the street outside the apartment, sitting in the car, trying to judge whether or not anyone was home.
"Nice place." Elliot commented.
"Guess you can afford it if you're getting brokers to pay 1,500 dollars an hour for a kidnapped prostitute." Olivia said. She leaned across him to squint into the windows, and she felt him stiffen.
"Elliot…" she started. There was a knock on her window, as Munch and Fin walked by.
Olivia and Elliot climbed out of the car, Olivia clutching the search warrant, and followed. When they had cleared the apartment, they searched. For two hours, they scoured the place, collecting enough incriminating evidence.
"They weren't very good at covering their tracks." Elliot commented.
"This is like Cabot's wet dream." Said Munch. "A clean warrant and lots of evidence."
Olivia rolled her eyes, then froze. "Guys." She said, pointing out a window, onto the street.
Six men were climbing out of a black Cadillac Escalade and heading for the building. Olivia, Elliot and Fin headed for the elevators, while Munch called for backup.
The SVU team had soon realized that the elevators were not the best choice. As soon as the door cracked open, it had shut again, giving the perps a head start.
Joined by three cars of backup officers, they followed them all the way to the Southern end of Central Park, until they could manuver through traffic enough to surround and force them out of their vehicles.
Olivia locked eyes with Elliot before she got out of the car. "Liv.." He said, as she paused with her hand on the door handle. He didn't finish his sentence, but she got the point. These men were serious, and being the only woman, she was vulnerable.
She got out of the car, and attempted to cuff the nearest one, anyway. She felt Elliot's eyes on her, even though she could see he in the processing of trying to subdue and cuff another perp.
Olivia wasn't finding it wasy to get this guys in handcuffs. He was putting a fight. Suddenly, she felt her left arm twist painfully. It was after he lifted her off the ground and launched her into a squad car that she cried out.
Things happened so fast. The guy came over and started kicking her in the ribs. She heard Elliot calling her name. And then she heard the gun. And she knew who fired the shot.
Olivia tried to pick herself up, but she couldn't seem to move. She felt two arms circle around her, and lift her off the ground. Her body was trying to black out, but she fought it.
"I'm gonna have a headache later." She muttered to Elliot as he carried her. She saw him smile. The next thing she felt wasn't the pain that was coarsing through her body, it was Elliot's lips on her forehead.
Olivia's head was pounding, her ribs felt cracked and her whole body was aching, but that spot on her forehead was burning. She felt content as Elliot crouched on the sidewalk, holding her protectively.
All of a sudden, Elliot stood up. Olivia felt herself slipping out of conciousness, but she struggled to stay awake. She felt herself blacking out as Elliot opened the door to a car and slid into the backseat.
Olivia heard Elliot saying something to her, and felt his hand on her face. "El?" she asked, trying to keep alert. She looked around the car, trying to figure out what was going on. She scanned the review mirror and felt her eyes meet those of Kathy Stabler.
As realtiy dawned on Olivia Benson, she didn't bother to fight her loss of conciousness.
Author's Note: The next two chapters will cover that same day, only from Olivia's perspective and then Elliot's. Each chapter will reveal a few more hours of the day, and then the chpaters will just progress normally. Review, please!