Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU. It belongs to a genius named Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.

He gripped the gun tighter in a vain attempt to steady his hands, and held his breath as the knob stopped turning. As the door began to open slowly, Elliot planted his feet in as firm a shooting stance as his socks would allow and sent a quick plea to God for this person not to have a weapon.

Watching tensely as the door continued opening wider, a sudden thought made the blood rush from his face- he had taken the bullets out of the gun this very evening when he got home, so that he could clean the chamber.

A shadowed figure stepped slowly through the doorway, and animal instinct made Elliot rush forward and slam the body against the wall hard. The person gave a startled yelp and clawed at the hands that were gripping his throat. His heart racing, Elliot fumbled around his attacker for the light switch.

When the light invaded his eyes, he blinked harshly. His arm dropped instantly and he stepped back.

"Christ Sean!" he yelled, struggling to catch his breath. His body trembled in reaction to the intense adrenaline rush, and he had to lean against the wall to keep his legs from giving out. "Fucking Christ!"

His brother clutched his neck, breathing hard. "Jesus, Elliot," he said angrily.

A second later, Elliot dove forward and pinned him roughly against the wall again. His panic gave way to rage in an instant. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" he yelled.

Sean's face twisted into a defensive expression that recognized well. He ducked Elliot's grip and shoved him hard, knocking him backward a few steps.

"Fuck, Elliot!" he yelled. "Will you chill out? You don't have to be so god damned dramatic."

Elliot couldn't stop the astonished look from crossing his face…his brother had broken into his apartment in the middle of the night and snuck into his bedroom- and he was calling him dramatic?

"How did you get in here, Sean?" he continued, still yelling. "I swear to God….if you broke my locks, I'm going to-"

"Get over yourself," Sean said in disgust. "I asked the super to give me a key- I left one of my files in your locker before I left and you grabbed it by mistake."

Elliot barked out a disbelieving laugh and ran a hand through his hair. He stared at Sean with an expression that was both defeated and shocked.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he cried. He laughed shortly again. "I'm dreaming….I know I didn't just hear you say that you came over here because I took one of your files." His brother looked at him blankly, and Elliot threw his head toward the clock. "It's 4:00 in the god damned morning!"

"Who the fuck cares?" Sean yelled. "I just want to get the damn file."

"THEN PICK UP THE PHONE!" Elliot couldn't keep from screaming in rage. He threw his hands up in frustration. "Pick up the phone and call me to let me know I have one of your files, you fucking psycho!"

He was caught off-guard when Sean suddenly charged forward at him. He didn't have time to react before he found himself slammed against the wall, with his brother crushing him with his weight.

"Don't fucking insult me, shit face!" he screamed. He dug a knee into Elliot's abdomen, and he yelled in shocked pain. "Just give me my god damned files!"

Reaching beside him, Elliot swept a hand over the files he had thrown on his dresser. He threw the entire bunch in his brother's face. "Take them," he gasped, groaning out loud when his knee pressed deeper. "Jesus Christ….take all of them."

Sean let up and backed away, glaring at him. Staggering forward, Elliot doubled over as pain shot through his lower abs. The other man got up into his face, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"Don't you ever insult me again," he hissed. He reached out and snagged Elliot's face roughly. "You've forgotten who you're talking too, asshole."

Elliot jerked his face away roughly and shoved his brother away. "Get out!" he yelled hysterically. "Give me back my god damned key and get the fuck out!"

The sharp, slicing sting that hit his face made him stumble backward in surprise and clutch his right eye. When he could open it, he saw a gold key lying at his feet at the same time that he heard the downstairs door slam.

There was no way Olivia could get back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. Her gut instinct was to reach for the phone and call Elliot to make sure he was alright. She caught herself halfway through dialing his number.

"What am I doing?" she asked in disbelief, staring at the phone in her hand.

Sighing shakily, she replaced the receiver and flopped back down. She turned violently to the side and tried to relax. Still not comfortable, she sat up again and attempted to punch the pillow into a more favorable shape.

After another minute, she huffed angrily and slid out of bed. It was a useless battle.

The heat was relentless. It actually seemed hotter than the day before. She was dripping with sweat as walked into the squad room at quarter to eight. She put her purse in her locker and said hello to Fin, who was at his desk.

There was a bright yellow Post-It note stuck to her computer monitor. Walking to her desk, she snatched it up. She immediately recognized her partner's neat handwriting:

Can I use your locker?

Furrowing her brow in amusement, she scribbled a reply and stuck the note on his computer monitor.

I charge by the hour!

Smiling to herself, she shook her head and sat down.

Elliot arrived about twenty minutes later. Olivia raised her head and gave him a sly grin before looking down again. He looked at her in confusion before he saw the note. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he grabbed it.

His face split into a grin and he reached into his pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he thumbed through the numerous receipts he had shoved inside. Olivia watched him, chuckling.

Finding nothing, he reached into his other pocket and withdrew his keys. He held them up and looked at her sheepishly. "Can I use collateral?"

She laughed out loud. "You are so pathetic," she gasped.

Elliot laughed as well. "What can I say?" he said, shrugging. "I'm just a lowly civil servant." He dangled the keys in front of her face playfully.

Olivia batted them away. "Stop it," she said, shaking her head in amusement. She gave him a fake evil eye. "I'll put it on your tab for now." Getting up, she went over to her locker and began dialing the combination.

He gave her a lopsided grin as he picked up some files and followed her. "What's wrong with your locker?" she asked, stepping aside as he placed the folders beside her purse.

Elliot looked disgusted. "Nothing besides the fact that it's been commandeered," he spat out. Reaching to the locker above him, he wrenched the lock off and flung the door open.

She gaped in shock. It was stuffed to the brim with files, notebooks, and a large messenger bag. "I see what you mean," she said sympathetically.

"Besides," he continued, absently letting his arm drop. "There isn't a chance in hell I'd trust Sean with my stuff, especially when he knows my fucking locker combination." He turned to walk back to his desk.

"Hey, yeah," Olivia said suddenly, following. "How did he know that anyway?"

He threw a hand up in frustration. "I have no clue," he said. "He's always done shit like that- he likes to fuck with my head." He huffed angrily. "Fucking prick."

Olivia waited a full five minutes, listening to Elliot's pen scratching the page, before summoning up the nerve to ask the question that had been on her mind since yesterday.

"What happened between you two?"

Her partner's head shot up, and his intense eyes seemed to drill through her. "What do you mean?" he asked defensively

She shrugged uncomfortably under the smoldering stare. "Nothing," she said. "I don't know…you just didn't act the way I had imagined your family to act."

He tossed his pen down and looked at her in exasperation. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She quickly held up her hands in defense. "I'm just saying that I'm kind of missing the whole 'brotherly love' vibe with you guys….he was looking at you yesterday like he wanted to punch your face in."

Elliot grimaced instinctively and wryly thought about the irony in her statement-if she only knew how many times that had happened in the past. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward and stared at her. She was startled at the dark expression that had crossed his face.

"Listen to me, Olivia," he said, his voice soft and dangerous. "You don't know anything about the kind of person my brother is. Anything."

She looked at him in shock, but was spared having to speak by the doors being pushed open loudly.

Sean breezed into the squad room. Olivia watched Elliot's eyes darken before he lowered his head back to his paper. She continued to watch the agent as he sauntered over to Elliot's locker.

No, Olivia mentally corrected herself in surprise. Not sauntering….strutting. There was really no better word to describe his movement. He picked up an armload of manila folders, strode around Olivia, and proceeded to dump them surreptitiously right on top of the paper Elliot was currently working on.

Elliot startled and dropped his pen. He glared up at his brother. "What the hell?" he asked angrily. He looked through them and saw that they were the ones that he had given Sean that morning.

"You're not going to say thank you?" Sean asked dryly. "It's two words, Elliot….surely you can handle two little words, can't you?"

He looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Sure I can." Olivia saw his face split into a cocky grin as he turned to face Sean. "Fuck. Off," he said in a syrupy voice.

Olivia snorted and quickly tipped her face down toward her papers, covering her mouth and pretending to cough. Elliot looked at her and grinned.

Sean gave him a dirty look, but was spared having to reply by the captain sticking his head out of his office. "Stabler," he called.

"Sir?" they both replied at once.

Elliot glared at his brother. "He's talking to me," he said defensively.

"Uh, actually…" Cragen pointed a finger at Sean. "I was talking to Sean. Sorry."

The look on the agent's face was pure gloating as he sauntered toward the office.

They stepped out a minute later after a brief conversation, and Sean headed for the locker again. "I'm heading back to the hotel," he said to no one in particular as he lifted out the messenger bag. "Chief Hammond is going to hold a conference call at 11:30 and then I have to meet with the fire chief in charge of our little task force." He turned to face the captain. "So….I'll meet up back here at, say….around 3?"

Don nodded. "Sure," he replied. "Then you and Elliot can head over to Staten Island."

That got Elliot's attention. He whipped his chair around fast. "Why?" he asked, looking at Cragen.

"It's so we can…" Sean began to say.

Elliot gave him a fierce glare. "I wasn't asking you," he said icily.

"Answer him, Sean," Don said, leveling a stern gaze at Elliot.

"That's where the New York branch of ATF is located," he said. "Hammond wants us to brief them before we start."

"So why can't you just call them?" Elliot asked crossly.

"That's enough out of you, Elliot," Don cut in, before Sean could say anything. "It's not his decision…it's my decision. You're both going- end of discussion." He glared at him as if daring him to argue.

His eyes narrowed. Olivia shook her head slightly with a meaningful look on her face, clearly advising him to shut up. Deciding it really wasn't worth the effort, he sighed and shook his head in defeat.

Sean slammed the locker shut. "Later," he said as he walked out.

"Can't wait," Elliot muttered under his breath.

Don turned back to face him. "Elliot…" he began sternly.

Elliot knew by the look on his face that he was getting ready to tell him to go into his office and felt the tension bubble in his chest immediately. He had managed to hold on to his tongue yesterday…but if he had to listen to the captain reprimanding him like a naughty first-grader one more time, he was going to lose it in a big way.

He was saved when the doors burst open again. Munch poked his head in, and Cragen suddenly realized that he hadn't even noticed that John hadn't been there.

"I got a call from Warner," he said. "There's another dead prostitute."

Fin and Olivia got up immediately and headed for the doors. Elliot hesitated, turning back toward the captain.

He looked disgusted. "Go," he said shortly, waving him away. He ran to catch up with Olivia.

Three of the six Manhattan Expressway lanes were blocked off, but the uniformed officer directing traffic waved the two sedans through when he saw them. Pulling to a stop on the shoulder, the four detectives saw the crime scene tape at the riverbank off beside the interstate.

They climbed awkwardly down the steep slope of land leading to the road and headed for the group of CSU technicians grouped near the water's edge. Melinda was crouched next to the discolored corpse.

Elliot looked at the body apprehensively before announcing their presence. "Please tell me you found her by the side of the road," he said uneasily.

The medical examiner looked up at them and grimaced. "Sorry," she said grimly. "Fisherman discovered her about an hour ago."

The clothing and personal effects on the body made it obvious that the woman was a hooker, but John went ahead and questioned anyway just to be positive. "You're sure she was a prostitute?"

Warner gave him an odd glance. "Well, I won't lie to you," she said. "I don't know for certain, but…" Reaching down, she peeled away a bit of the soggy scrap of fabric that passed for the woman's skirt and dug into the side pocket. She unearthed a large wad of cash and held it up. "I'm guessing she was. They're all hundreds."

"So, are you thinking dump job, then?" Elliot asked.

Melinda nodded. "There are tire tracks about fifty feet away," she said, gesturing toward the trees beside the small river. "There are also scuffle marks that indicate the body was dragged toward the water."

Olivia's cell phone rang. "Excuse me," she said, turning back toward the road. "Benson."

"Take a look at this," Warner continued, crouching back down.

The three men followed suit. She waved a hand over the woman's throat, indicating the deep purple bruising that stood out starkly on the pale skin.

Elliot exchanged a look with Fin. "Just like the last one," he murmured. Fin nodded slightly.

"Guys," Olivia said urgently, stepping back over to him. "We have to go."

"What's up?" Munch asked, as they stood.

"That was Cragen," she said, looking shocked. "There's a fire at the 3-5 precinct."