In the Midnight Hour

The house was quiet much to Elliot's delight. The kids were tucked in for the night and he and Kathy were sprawled on the couch watching Jay Leno run through the "Jaywalk All Stars."

"You want some more chips?" Elliot asked, mouth full of the last ones from the bowl. Kathy was silent. "Babe?"

"So when is this undercover thing supposed to go down?" Kathy asked. Elliot, caught off guard, looked over at his wife. She was staring at the screen, a calm set to her features. He wasn't sure if he had heard right.

"Uh…I leave on Friday…I'll be back on Tuesday," he answered.

"Elizabeth wants to go to the zoo that day and take a couple of friends. I was hoping you could take them."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "…What have you got going on?"

Kathy shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing, I just thought it would be nice if you went, that's all."

Elliot half smiled. "Kathy…what is all this about?"

Kathy turned to him. "Maybe, I'm just a little miffed about the assignment itself," she admitted ruefully.

Elliot nodded slowly, understanding. "Liv is my partner Kat. You know that. It's just acting, nothing more, nothing less."

"Well, I would prefer it if you did your acting with someone who didn't look like her," she complained. She was being ridiculous and she knew it. Olivia had been nothing but nice and sweet to her for as long as she'd known her, but Kathy Stabler was a jealous woman by nature. She just did not like the idea of her husband spending a long weekend with a supermodel. A single supermodel at that.

Elliot reached for his wife, enveloping her in a tight embrace. Kathy rested her head on his chest and instantly felt guilty.

"Should I run through the script, or do you have it by now?"

Kathy sighed. "No, I know better," she admitted. "I'm sorry Elliot, sometimes I just can't help it sometimes…that world is only known to you. Maybe if you talked to me more about it-"

"No," he said forcefully, cutting her off. "My job is to protect you and the kids from that world. It's my burden to bear and mine alone."

Kathy let the subject rest. But it did nothing to calm her fears, irrational as they may be.

XXXXXXX

Olivia was in the throes of passion. She reached behind her and grabbed the headboard for support as her suitor increased his rhythm to keep up with Olivia's frantic moans.

"You are soooooo sexy," he panted.

"Yes…" What was his name? Oh yes, Ryan. "Yes, Ryan, yes, don't stop."

A few more minutes of harried pumping and the two collapsed together on the bed, breathless and sweaty. Ryan extracted himself from Olivia's limbs and pushed off the bed. Her eyes closed, she heard him head into the bathroom and shut the door.

She saw the guy every morning at the newsstand where she picked up her paper before work. He worked at the deli next door and they greeted each other every morning, exchanged a few pleasantries, then went on their way. It wasn't until today when Olivia decided to act on his many veiled looks and invite him home with her. She had been a good girl for quite sometime now, but after a while her fierce control needed a break. He was available and that was good enough for her.

She heard movement and opened her eyes. She was pleased to see that Ryan had already pulled on his pants. He knew the rules of one night stands.

"Can I walk you out?" she asked lazily.

Ryan smiled. He really was a handsome man. "No, I got it. This was fun. Keep me in mind for next time."

"Of course," Olivia said. Not a bad idea. Again, he was available.

After Ryan left, Olivia took a shower and got dressed. She felt restless and decided to throw in some extra hours at the office. If she and Elliot were going to be out of commission for four days, she wanted to make sure she was caught up on some other items that needed attention. She locked up her apartment and walked the brisk three blocks to the subway station.

Once inside the precinct, she ran smack into Alex. Alex, who had been holding a stack of files, failed to save them before they scattered all over the floor.

"Oh Alex, I'm so sorry," Olivia said embarrassed, squatting down to help Alex gather the files.

"Oh, it's okay," Alex assured her, trying to make neat piles. "I wasn't watching where I was going. What are you doing here so late detective?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Olivia stood up and handed her the last file. The first word that popped into her mind was statuesque. Yes, that would be accurate. Alex Cabot had a nearly perfect body and stature. "I wanted to catch up on some stuff before El and I went under."

"That's right the Pine Hills case," Alex nodded. "Cragen's burning the midnight oil as well, I just had a quick meeting with him. I'm in desperate need of some food though. Can I bring you anything back?

Olivia was about to decline when she thought a light snack would be good. "Tell you what, why don't I go with you? I can come back here later."

Alex was ridiculously pleased with Olivia's suggestion. She had a crush on the pretty detective ever since she took over the sex crimes post. Her recent break up with Pamela had her feeling a bit more vulnerable and open to distraction.

As the two women left the precinct and headed to the nearby diner, Alex couldn't help thinking she didn't really know what Olivia's orientation was. She knew she was single, but single from what? By all appearances she was straight, but there was a certain aura about Olivia that sent up red flags to Alex. The short haircut didn't help matters much either, but Olivia had been letting it grow out lately.

They settled into a booth and grabbed menus, talking about cases and other areas of mutual interest. Once their food arrived, they dug in. Uncharacteristically, Alex found herself trying to extract information from Olivia about her personal life. Might as well see just how hopeless this crush really was.

"So…do you find yourself working late a lot detective?" Alex asked innocently.

Olivia took a bite out of her toast. "This job owns me," she said, swallowing her mouthful. "Especially when we have a major case like the Pine Hills one. But I don't mind it. It keeps me out of trouble. How about you? Does your boyfriend mind that you come home so late?" Olivia smiled, a teasing glint in her eyes.

Alex smiled back. It was so easy to talk to this woman. "I'm sure he would if I had one…I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"Not even Langan?" Alex had gone on a few dates with defense attorney Trevor Langan. He had dropped by the D.A.'s office one afternoon and invited her out. She accepted for the sole fact that it helped to keep up appearances for her colleagues. After a few dates, the chemistry obviously wasn't there, but Alex had got what she wanted.

"No…he was too arrogant for my tastes," she answered, picking the lie out of the air. It occurred to her that she had no qualms about it. When you spent your entire life lying, it was as easy as breathing.

Olivia laughed. "That sounds like Langan," she agreed. "But, you have to admit he has to be the hottest defense attorney in the city."

Alex's smile faltered. Damn. "Well, there's Jason Whitaker too," she said hastily. "He's a hottie."

Olivia pursed her lips, searching her memory. "The lawyer for the Duvall family? Right! Damn…I don't know Trevor. I may have to pass."

Despite herself, Alex found herself laughing easily along with Olivia. She had such a beautiful personality and a way of making people feel at ease. That was why she was so good at working with sexual assault victims.

After they paid the bill, Olivia studied Alex. Olivia thought it was outrageous that such a smart and beautiful woman hadn't been snatched up yet. She liked the woman a lot. Olivia didn't have any real girlfriends so she was surprised how much she had enjoyed her company and how much the two of them had in common.

"We should do this again Alex," Olivia suggested. "Get together once a week and just talk."

Alex felt her insides starting to glow. "I would really like that Olivia," she said sincerely.