It was the next morning and John walked in, late as ever. He found it odd that the squadroom was empty, and was slightly disappointed, for he wanted to talk to Olivia. He figured he had dropped a lot on her shoulders last night and she was still sleeping it off. He couldn't figure out why his partner wasn't there. Fin made an effort to be early if it was John's day to make the coffee. Sighing, he sank down into his chair and began reading a file.
"John!" He looked up to see Cragen standing in the doorway of his office. Immediatelty, John leaped out of his seat and launched into yet another conspiracy theory about the public transportation system. Cragen let him go on for a few minutes.
"John..."
"...the government is discovering more and more ways to siphon money from the common people. You know the fare has leaped exponentially since I last rode the bus. Granted, that was over ten years ago, but still..."
"John!" John stopped talking. He looked at his captian, who looked slightly annoyed, but mostly worried. John wondered what was going on. He thought perhaps a threat had been put out one of his collegues life. After all, that was how they lost Elliot.
"Where is everybody?" John asked, glancing into Cragen's office. He couldn't see the whole room, but from what he could see, it appeared to be empty.
"They're up in the crib. I walked in this morning and found the two of them looking at something. They wouldn't let me see it, but whatever it was had Fin looking like death warmed up and Olivia looking like hell froze over. I...go wake them up, we have a break in the case."
Upstairs, Olivia turned restlessly. Cragen had sent her and Fin to the crib over two hours ago, but she still hadn't slept. Her mind had been racing with questions about the picture. She wondered where John was; it wasn't unusual for him to be late, in fact, one could count on it. What was unusual was for him to be late without calling in with some sorry excuse about his landlord plotting against him. Fin was still snoring softly. She sighed at the otherwise quiet room. Then, she heard the door open.
FLASHBACK
It was a couple weeks after Elliot funeral. Olivia felt sick. She had been questioning herself lately and hadn't come up with few answers. She felt the month of therapy she had been in was worthless as she found herself in the same habits she developed when Elliot had transfered.
She had found out that Elliot transfered out to California because his ex-wife's job had transfered her to Oakland. Kathy had been bitter about the move, but Elliot couldn't keep working with Olivia after what happened. Olivia was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her. Was Kathy glaring at her? Surely, she didn't think it was her fault. The woman had just lost her husband, even if he was an ex. What was Olivia to Elliot? His partner and part-time lover?
Olivia couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She had hoped it would be an open casket service, but then she remembered that Elliot's untimely death had been caused by a explosion. They had told her that his face was burned beyond recognition. They only knew it was him by the watch that Olivia had given him for his birthday. She smiled as she remembered the trouble she had gone through to get the damned thing personalized. She kept smiling as she remembered the way his eyes lit up when he unwrapped it.
She slowly became aware that someone was knocking on the door. Sighing in frustration, she walked to the door. She suspected it was Casey, coming to drag her to another therapist or yoga or for a run in the park. She opened the door to find she was wrong. There stood Elliot's ex. Kathy looked unusally well for someone who had just lost a spouse. Olivia supposed she could be wrong; she knew first hand that the eyes told all, and presently, Kathy was sporting giant sunglasses that covered half her face. Kathy pushed her way past Olivia and boldly entered the apartment.
"Olivia, I'm here because I have received information I'm hoping to confirm," Kathy stated coldly, staring hard at Olivia. She hated the woman standing in front of her with all her heart. It was her fault that Elliot was gone.
"Well, hello to you too, Kathy," Olivia replied, just as cold. She didn't even bother to try to supress her feeling.
"Don't mock me..."
"How are the kids?" Olivia cut her off. She knew why Kathy was here and knew she wouldn't leave without an answer.
"Don't change the subject. I hear that you slept with my husband and drove him away."
"First off, he walked away. Second, you were divorced..."
"That's where you're wrong, detective. We were seperated, not divorced. But you had to go and sleep with him. You had to make him leave. I hope you can't sleep at night, because you killed him, you whore!" Kathy had been screaming, and now turned on her heel, and headed for the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned slowly. "You'll get yours detective. I can guarantee that." Kathy slammed the door behind her.
Oliva sank to the floor, sobbing. She, deep down, knew that Kathy had been right. She had known Elliot wasn't truly divorced, even if no one else knew. She felt she had been that reason that Elliot died.
She heard her cell phone go off. She had been on paid vacation for a while now, and she still had another two weeks off. She picked the phone up off the coach. What she saw chilled her to the bone. The display read Elliot's cell number.
"Benson?" Olivia answered shakily. Whoever was on the other line gasped and hung up. Olivia cut off the phone, never feeling lower than she did now.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Olivia looked up to see John standing in the doorway. She immediately climbed off the rock hard cot. She turned to see Fin still slumbering. Deciding to let him sleep awhile longer, she walked out of the room with John. She stole glances at him as they walked toward Cragen's office. He looked as bad as her, if not worse. She wanted to ask him about the picture, but waited for him to make the first move.
"Olivia, you're awake." Olivia smiled at Cragen's sarcasm. "The suspect was spotted leaving his apartment thirty minutes ago. I want you and Munch to go wait for his return." Olivia nodded and turned to retrieve her coat. She knew she'd be sitting in the car a while. What she didn't know was the ride she'd be going on with the information John was going to give her.
TBC
A/N: HAHAHAHA! Thank you to all those who reviewed. The site hasn't logged out for me yet, so I guess it hasn't been three days since my last update. See, I can be true to my word. The next chapter will answer more questions. I think there will be, at least, three or four more chapters. Keep reading and reviewing!