Title: Just Another Gamble
Author: Sara and Lizzie
Rating: T
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: Over300 hits, and only7 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!
It was innocent, the way Olivia leaned across his body to look in the windows of the house. But it did Elliot Stabler in. His whole body tensed, and he knew she noticed. He was trying so hard to act casual around her.
It was impossible to deny the mounting tension between them lately. And since he had pulled her to him while he was sleeping and then asked her to come back to bed with him this morning, he was trying to play it cool.
But when she leaned across the seats and was so close, Elliot couldn't help but think of where he really wanted her. And that place looked a lot more like the back seat than sitting upright on a stakeout.
She had started to call him on it, but Munch and Fin were, thank God, going in.
They strolled into the apartment building like they owned the place, and didn't even get any crap from the owner. It wasn't exactly difficult to search the place for evidence when they had files on all the girls who were making their money sitting next to their computers.
"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." Elliot gave Munch a look, and smiled at Liv rolling her eyes. He watched as her expression changed.
She gestured to the street, and before Elliot knew how they screwed up, they were calling backup and chasing the Escalade holding the head honchos of a prostituion scandal down Lexington Avenue toward the Souther end of central park. When they could cut around traffic and surround the Escalade, they stopped.
Elliot saw Olivia getting out of the car. He remembered how alarmingly large those guys were. He met her eyes and felt scared for her. "Liv…" he started. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to. She lowered her eyes, looking almost disapointed and got out of the car.
Elliot exited the vehicle as well and got clocked in the jaw on his way out. Nothing pissed him off more than getting punched when he didn't see it coming. He immediately began to show the perp who hit him wwho the cop was.
He reasoned with himself that by attempting to hit him and flee, this guy was resisting arrest and neededto be beat up a little. Elliot made sure Olivia was constantly in his periphrial vision.
His stomach tightened as he watched her struggle with another guy. 'Why the hell isn't anyone helping her?' he asked himself. He saw Munch and Fin, each attempting to subdue one of the guys from the car. Their 'backup' were working with two officers to each of the remaining perps and the rest of the help were helping the kidnapped girls out of the back of the Escalade.
Elliot saw this bastard twist Olivia's arm around. He was had just about settled down his target enough to be cuffed. Elliot pulled the cuffs out of his right pocket. It was then he heard Olivia yell.
It wasn't a scream. Olivia Benson didn't scream. But it conveyed pain. Elliot's full attention was on his partner. He dropped the cuffs and the arns they were intended for when he saw her hit the squad car.
"Olivia!" he called. He saw the lowlife who she was trying to cuff start toward her. Elliot felt frantic and panicked as if he couldn't move fast enough. His gun. He grabbed it.
Since he could remove the guy from Olivia without shooting him, he wasn't sure if he had grounds to fire his weapon, but he had seen his partner's head slam into the car, and knew she was in trouble.
The guy only had to kick her once before Elliot made up his mind. There were several more kicks made to Olivia's ribs before he fired the gun, but he got the bastard to the ground.
Elliot got himself to Olivia before Munch and Fin could look to see who fired the shot. He scooped her off the ground and headed for the sidewalk, where he ccould crouch behind a car. He looked down at her face, and could tell she needed to go to the hospital.
"I'm gonna have a headache later." She whispered. Elliot managed to crack a smile. At least she was coherent. Without thinking about it, he touched his lips to her forehead.
Elliot considered his options. He could call a bus and wait for twenty minutes. He could just run to the hospital from here, it wasn't far. No, thaqt was ridiculous. He looked around, as if something in the scenery was going to make the choice for him.
Suddenly, he heard his name. He bolted upright, still holding Olivia. He saw Kathy. She must have been sitting in the stopped traffic the whole time. He saw her car parked on the side of the road. She was striding toward them.
Elliot threw her the keys to his unmarked squad car and instructed her to head for the hospital.
He jumped in the backseat with Olivia, not willing to leave her. Elliot could tell she was blacking out, then coming back around.
"Come on Liv." He muttered, gently touching her face.
Her eyes fluttered open. "El?" she asked, sounding confused. He slipped the hand that Kathy couldn't see into hers. "Hey partner." He told her. He saw her eyes flick around the car, until she completely lost conciousness.
When Kathy pulled up in front of the entrance to the ER, Elliot refused to wait for a stretcher. He simply went through the doors, and up to the desk where he used his name and badge number to get her treated immediately.
Because Olivia kept losing and regaining conciousness, they gave her a mild sedative at the hospital so she could sleep. Elliot went back to the precinct for four minutes to retrieve some files, but other than that, refused to leave the hospital.
It was almost ten when Elliot closed the final file of paperwork. That left him nothing to do but wait. How… appealing. He heard footsteps behind him, and swung around eagerly, expecting the doctor. He saw Kathy, and his face fell.
Then his expression turned to confusion. "Where are the kids?"
Kathy sighed. "At home. With my sister, Elliot. She's visiting us, which you may have noticed if you had been home in the last two days."
"Kathy, please don't start."
"I'm not going to start. I'm going to finish." She sat down in the chair next to the one previously occupied by him, and gestured for him to do the same.
The waiting room was empty, so Elliot sat. "What's going on Kathy?"
"I can't do it anymore Elliot." She said. "I can't not see you for days on end, I can't keep cheating on you out of jealousy, and I can't be married to you when you're in love with Olivia."
Elliot's jaw dropped. He was floored. Absolutley floored. Knocked over by the fact that Kathy was cheating on him, and that she wanted out of their marriage.
He was about to continue the conversation, tactfully putting off the part about Olivia, when he heard his name.
"Detective Stabler?" He jumped up and shook hands with the woman who treated Olivia.
"How is she?"
"She'll be fine. She got off with a concussion, a partially dislocated shoulder and some bruises on her ribs. I wanted her to stay the night, but she refuses."
Elliot smiled fondly. "She'll be at work tomorrow."
The doctor nodded. "She told me as much. If you'd like to see her you can." Elliot started to follow her.
"Elliot. I want a divorce." Kathy said in a low, dangerous voice. The doctor stopped walking and looked between Elliot and Kathy.
"You know, Detective Benson has to fill out some papers and sign her release forms." The doctor said. "I'll get you when she's done."
Elliot sank down into a chair. "You want a divorce?"
"Elliot." Kathy said, her eyes filling. "You come home in the middle of a case, you kiss my cheek out of duty. You talk to your kids if theyre not already sleeping. Then you get as far away from me as you can and you call Olivia. And when you hang up, you can sleep. But if you don't get her, you can't."
"She's my partner Kathy. She gets the job."
"No Elliot, it's not because she gets the job. It's because your eyes light up when one of our kids says her name. It's because you can toss Liv around, while I call her Olivia." She paused, but didn't falter. "Today Elliot, I saw the whole thing. You didn't take your eyes off of her for a second. You shot someone to help her. You picked her up in your arms like they were made to carry her. And when you kissed her forehead, I knew."
"I'm not in love with my partner."
"Oh please Elliot. Stop convincing yourself. You are and you know it."
He looked at the ground. The doctor reappered. "Detective Stabler, your partner says she can just see you tomorrow at the precinct. I'm calling her a cab now."
"There's no need for a cab. I'll drive her home."
The doctor raised her eyebrows, nodded and walked away. Elliot prepared to follow.
"But you're not in love with her." Kathy spit out.
Elliot suddenly felt tired. "OK, Kath." He whispered. "You're right."
"I knew it." Elliot turned to walk away again.
"Where are you going?" Kathy asked.
"Kathy, I won't do this. You're having affairs, we don't talk. You're right. There's not much left to this marriage. I'll pay child support. I'll sign the papers. But right now, Liv needs to go home."
Kathy nodded, looked him in the eye for a moment and then walked away. Elliot regained his composure, and then made his way to Olivia's room.
"How you feeling partner?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"They wanted to keep me overnight." Olivia said with such disgust, you'd think they suggested a labotomy.
Elliot laughed, in spite of himself. "Come on, chief, I'm taking you home." He said.
Elliot sighed. They were sitting in traffic. "Why is it so impossible to get anywhere in New York?"
"Because cops like us cause traffic jams." Olivia chided.
Elliot snuck a sidelong glance at her. He was in love with her. In the back of his mind, he had always known that. It was the explanation for everything. Why they were such fantastic partners. Why they didn't get hurt a lot. Why they roughed up so many suspects.
He had a suspiscion that she felt the same way about him. But he knew Olivia, and he knew how guarded she was.
And why wasn't he more hurt by Kathy asking for a divorce? It was his marriage going down the drain, and she confessed to cheating on him. He knew why. He was relieved. Because for years their marriage, forged by unwed pregnancy, had been hindering both their lives.
He realized these thoughts had carried the car to Olivia's apartment. He turned off the engine and started to climb out.
"Elliot, one of my arms is in a sling. I can make it up the stairs."
"I'm staying with you tonight, Liv. I'm not taking any chances."
She sighed. "How noble of you, detective. But I'm fine. Go home. You know your wife? Your kids?"
Elliot shook his head. "Can't."
"Excuse me?"
"Kathy came to the hospital to talk to me tonight. She wants a divorce."
Elliot held her gaze for a long time. Then she sighed. "Come on up. We need to talk."
Author's Note: The chapters will stop overlapping now. Thanks to all who reveiwed. I know there are more readers, than reveiwers, but we need opinions. Should we get them together right away, or make it more angsty? Let us know.