Okay, I'm back thanks to DramaSVU. I'll try to get this damn story finished!

CHAPTER 14

All's Fair in Love in War

72 hours.

Olivia was lying down on her bed staring at the ceiling. She didn't know how long she had been there, she didn't really care either way.

72 hours.

She lay naked except for a towel. She thought a warm shower would wash away the ugliness of late. Needless to say it failed. A half a bottle of Skyy vodka sat on the night table next to her. That had failed too.

72 hours. My life is completely ruined and it only took 72 hours, she thought. She heard knocking at the door. She closed her eyes, willing it to go away. The sound was more insistent now. Groaning, she slunk off the bed, pulling the towel around her.

"Who is it?" she croaked

"Elliot."

Olivia mashed the palm of her hand into her forehead. She was too drunk for this. Struggling with the locks, she finally got the door open.

"Can I come in?"

"No," she replied, both of them knowing she didn't mean it. He followed her into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. "What the hell do you want?"

Elliot laughed harshly. Shaking his head, he sat down on the arm of her couch. He looked haggard and worn and Olivia thought he couldn't be getting much sleep.

"Where are you sleeping?" Olivia asked in a slurred voice.

"My house…Kathy took the kids to her mother's," he replied, catching on to her state.

"You might want to ask for a refund on that bed of yours, you look like shit." Olivia shrugged and plopped down on the couch next to him.

"How long you been drinking?" he asked.

"I've been drinking?" she asked, feigning surprise.

"We'll be alright Olivia," he assured her. "The captain has to take a hard line with this, but he knows we're good cops. We would never let anything get in the way of our jobs, our duties."

Olivia shrugged again, not really giving a shit. Elliot pushed off the couch and headed into the kitchen to make tea, Olivia following at a slower pace. She watched him silently, animosity growing in the pit of her stomach."

"You know what I absolutely hate about you?"

Elliot glanced back at her as he filled the teakettle with water. "What exactly?"

"Your fucking devotion. You are so fucking devoted. To your wife, your kids, your faith, the job…just so fucking devoted," she complained, hand on her hip. "But me? Oh noooooooo, no devotion to me. I'm expendable, I'm trash you can just wad up and throw away…"

He was silent during her tirade, instead busily searching the refrigerator for something edible. Finding a block of cheddar cheese, he pulled it out and grabbed crackers from the cupboard. "You need to eat…when was the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"You're devoted to everyone but me," she said petulantly, accepting his offer with unsteady hands. Smacking unlady like on the cheese, she headed into the bedroom to find her bottle to wash it down. Her towel was clinging desperately to her frame, dangerously close to slipping off. Olivia was oblivious as she took a swig of the acrid liquid.

"That's enough," Elliot said sternly, snatching the bottle away from her lips. Olivia stumbled with the force, highly irritated.

"You can't tell me what to do, I'm not one of your damn kids," she snapped. "What are you doing here, anyway? What do you want?"

Elliot dodged the question for the moment. "Where's Alex, Liv? Does she know…"

Olivia giggled. "Ohhhh, yes," she hissed, "Alex knows allllll about it. And she left me. Just like you, she left me. What is up with that? Why do I always find the people who never stay with me? Am I that fucking horrible? Do I have a sign on my forehead that says 'Fuck me, then leave me?'" She was screaming now, her arms flailing widly, the towel slipping off to the floor.

Elliot grabbed her arms to keep her from striking him "I didn't exactly leave you," he began.

"Oh no? Well then where the hell have you been the past few days? I'm about to lose my job, Alex hates me, people are talking about me and you are nowhere to be found!" She struggled to get away, but his grip was too strong.

"We have to keep a low profile," he said reasonably, trying to catch her eye. "But I missed you, that's why I'm here."

"Well this is a sight you don't see everyday."

The duo whirled around to find Alex standing in the front of Olivia's bedroom. "Don't let me interrupt," she said flatly, turning away.

"Alex, wait," Olivia called, squirming away from Elliot. She caught her arm. "What…what happened with your parents?"

Alex tried hard to ignore the fact that she had preempted a love act between her girlfriend and her male lover. "They left," she said shortly, keeping her gaze away from Elliot who was glaring at her. "And I don't know the next time I will see them again because my father told me never to contact him again. But that's…not your fault Olivia. I guess…I don't know why I'm here, I just felt like we left things un-ended."

"Really? Because I remember you breaking up with me."

The three of them stood there, awkwardly. Elliot reached down and picked up the hapless towel and handed it to Olivia, who absentmindedly wrapped it around her. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now, I think it's time for Alex to leave," Elliot answered.

Alex squared her shoulders. "Don't you have, oh I don't know, a family to tend to?"

"They left him," Olivia offered in a stage whisper.

"Isn't the XL Lounge having Lesbian night tonight?" he shot back.

Alex reddened. "My personal life is none of your damn business."

"It is when you drag Olivia into it," he said, stepping closer to the two women. Olivia swiveled her head between the two, eyes wide.

"I didn't 'drag' anyone into anything," she protested. "Olivia is simply getting to know a new and exciting part of herself, something she shouldn't be afraid of exploring, nor should she feel ashamed of."

"Yeah, because that makes so much sense coming from a 'closet' lesbian," Elliot said, sarcastically. "Maybe you should try following your own advice."

"He's got you on that one," Olivia threw in.

"Maybe if it weren't for narrow-minded, judgmental individuals like yourself, it wouldn't be so difficult for me to do."

"Oh, so somehow your self-hate is my fault?" he laughed incredulously.

"Listen," she said, trying to be reasonable. "I understand the relationship the two of you have on the job. It's perfectly natural for you to transfer those feelings and think that you are in love with her. Hell, if I spent as much time together as you two do, I might think I was head over heels too. But what you are doing to her is not fair. Leading her on like this is out of line and she deserves better than that from you."

Elliot took a step closer. "You think I am 'leading' her on? Counselor you don't know a damn thing about me or about how I feel about this woman," he said in a dangerously quiet tone. "What is wrong, is you capitalizing on her issues with intimacy and commitment and trust. She's the perfect girlfriend. You'll be so caught up in her misery that you won't have to face the fact that you are miserable."

"I have to pee."

Startled by her absurd comment, Elliot and Alex just looked at her. Olivia shrugged. "I can't leave you two alone, what if you wreck my apartment or something?" she whined.

Alex turned back to Elliot. "This is not over Elliot. If you think I'm not fighting for what's rightfully mine then you don't know me very well. You'll find that I am a formidable opponent." And with that, she took her leave.