I Know This One
Chapter 5--Trust


SVU Squad Room

"Where do we stand on the Banks case?" Cragen questioned the three detectives that were gathered around their desks sipping coffee and chatting about their personal lives.

"Elliot and I will be heading back to campus to speak with Brian," Olivia said.

"Didn't you do that yesterday?" Fin asked, voicing Cragen's thoughts.

"We did, but his alibi is full of holes," she added. "Besides something about that kid didn't sit right with me. He's definitely hiding something."

"Where is Elliot anyway?" Cragen asked calling on the absence of his fourth detective.

Olivia glanced down at her watch before answering, "He's still got a few minutes, probably stopped for coffee on his way here." The group dispersed, setting to their own individual tasks, Olivia taking a seat at her desk and reviewing the case files. She was onto the second page before she noticed her partner storm through the doors and trudge over to his locker.

"Someone is in a good mood this morning," Munch muttered from his desk earning a glare from Elliot that caused his mouth to shut immediately.

"Don't bother taking your jacket off," Olivia rose from her desk chair and grabbed her jacket, "we're heading back over to campus."

"Fine," Elliot grimaced. He grabbed the keys out of his pocket and headed out the door without waiting for his partner. Olivia shared a concerned look with their captain before following suit.

"He didn't even have coffee," Munch said.

"Oh this can't be good," Fin added.

An uncomfortable silence filled the car, Olivia stared straight out the windshield and Elliot's eyes never ventured from the road ahead of him. The tension could be sliced through with a butter knife.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to guess?" Olivia finally asked with a teasing voice. She was trying desperately to lighten the mood, but from the look on her partner's face it wasn't working. Elliot looked at her with his candid 'I don't want to talk about it' face, but she wasn't letting him off that easily. As the car pulled onto the Hudson University campus, Olivia unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look at Elliot. "C'mon El you need to tell someone."

"I think you already know what my problem is," he growled, opening his door and stepping out. Not bothering to wait for Olivia, he began his trek across the grassy area that separated the parking lot from the mass of buildings that housed the numerous classrooms.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked, her voice raising slightly with the level of her anger. She sprinted a few steps until she was even with him and gracefully fell into step with her partner, "If you have a problem with something I did or said, please tell me Elliot."

Without warning Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Olivia his normally flaccid eyes burning in anger, "How could you tell her? I worked so hard to keep my job away from my family and you screwed that up!"

Olivia was taken back. Sure she and Elliot had gotten into fights before but he had never seemed so angry, and never in a public place. She took a step backwards before answering, "And exactly how did I do that?"

"You told Maureen," he seethed. "You told her about the pictures, you let her into my world!"

"What was I supposed to do Elliot? She came to my apartment last night looking for answers that she couldn't get from you," she spat out. Noticing the stray looks they were drawing from passing students and faculty, Olivia looked at her partner with hard determination. "Let's just go talk to this kid, and we can finish this conversation later."


Himmel Hall
Hudson University

Elliot pounded angrily on the thick wooden door causing the sound to resonate through the relatively quiet hallway. Slowly the door opened and Brian poked his head out, "Oh detectives, can I help you?"

"Yes we'd like to have a word with you," Olivia said quickly not wanting to give Elliot the chance to say something he would later regret. She waited for Brian to open the door and invite them into his room before speaking, "Brian we just have a few questions about your relationship with Melody Banks."

"I already told you I didn't know her that well," the young man added defensively.

"Yeah that is what you told us," Elliot sneered, "but we've also heard that you were very close with her."

Brian seemed confused, but Olivia knew exactly what Elliot was doing; he was hoping that the presence of a fake witness would get the boy to confess to something he'd been hiding. And judging by the flushed look that was slowly appearing in Brian's cheeks, it was working.

"This is going to be much easier on you, if you're straight with us," Olivia said in a soothing voice. She knew if she could get him to feel comfortable he'd be more likely to talk, so she slipped out of detective mode and into what she liked to call "Sensitive Friend" mode.

"Melody and I didn't have a relationship," Brian said, "but it wasn't for lack of trying on my part."

"So you pursued her?" Elliot asked from the corner of the room. While he stilled looked angry, Olivia could see that his muscles were beginning to relax and his hands were no longer clenched into fists.

"I asked her out a few times, she always said no. I finally stopped trying."

"Maybe she was just too busy with her work for a relationship," Olivia suggested. She knew it was a lie; Melody had refused Brian because she was in love with Nate. She knew that by playing dumb it would give the suspect a sense of superiority and make them more likely to share their knowledge.

"It wasn't school, it was because of that damn kid!" Brian seethed. He began pacing the small area in the center of the room like a caged tiger.

"What kid?"

"That Nathan Grainer kid," he said. "She was always staring at him across the quad, making googly eyes at him. Made me sick."

"Did they have a relationship?" Olivia asked.

"No Nate's shacked up with some sophomore in Mel's hall," Brian said, his voice thick with disgust. "Mel was pissed that they were together. I heard her talking to her roommate about how loud they were one night and how she wanted to break down the door."

Before Olivia could act, Elliot grabbed Brian by the back of his shirt and slammed him onto the nearest bed pressing his knee into his back.

"Elliot!"

"Listen to me you little prick," he sneered, "that's my little girl you're talking about so how about showing some respect. Or I could always haul your ass downtown to spend a the night in the lock-ups."

"Elliot," she said sternly with her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, their eyes locking, before he slowly pulled himself off the boy and walked out the door.

"That's police brutality," Brian shouted rubbing his neck.

"I didn't see anything," Olivia said simply before leaving the room. She scanned the hall for her partner but could not find him. "Elliot?" she called as she stepped out of the building and into the afternoon sun. She glanced from side to side and finally spotted him leaning against the nearby railing, wringing his hands. She approached cautiously, as one might approach a dangerous animal, and strategize a plan in her head; Olivia decided it was best to play the part of the partner rather than the concerned friend.

"What the hell happened?" she asked with a slight hint of professionalism to her voice. She knew if she tried to get to the root of the problem he would only accuse her of trying to "shrink" him and storm off.

"I lost control," he growled. "What the hell was I supposed to do? He was talking about Maureen!"

"I know Elliot," she said, "but if he reports you, IAB is going to have your badge."

"I know," he breathed. He dragged his hands over his face as if to wipe away the stress of the day. "Let's get back to the house."


Olivia's Apartment

Olivia flipped on her living room light swearing at the incessant ringing that filled the previously silent room. 'I swear if that guy in 3B locked himself out again I'm going to break his fingers!' she thought bitterly. Pressing the small button on the speaker near the door Olivia cleared her throat and answered, "Yeah?"

"Liv? It's Elliot."

His voice startled her but she pressed the button to unlock the front door and waited for the soft rapping against her own door. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he breezed past her and started pacing her living room.

"I couldn't sleep," he said still facing away from her.

"So you decided that I shouldn't either?"

"Were you?" he asked, know the answer.

Olivia let out a frustrated sigh, "Not really." She moved across the room and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Elliot to join her. He settled next to her, burying his face in his hands. "I know this is killing you."

"You don't know the half of it," he said through his fingers.

"Then tell me," she pleaded. "El if you keep everything bottled up inside it's gonna break sometime and you're not going to be able to control yourself. You know what Huang says-"

"Huang's a shrink. I don't trust shrinks."

"Shrink or not he's still your friend," Olivia added. Taking his hands in her own, she lowered them till his palms rested on his knees and stared into his sapphire eyes. "I hate to see you like this."

"I'm sorry," he blurted.

"Sorry for what?"

"For yelling at you on campus. I was just so frustrated with the whole case and Maureen's involvement in it," he sighed and turned his head to look at her. Her brown eyes met his own with a soft understanding that only they knew.

"I'm sorry I told her about the pictures," Liv said venturing to take his hand in her own and hold it, gently rubbing her thumb over the back. "But when she came to me, I felt like she needed to know something. I've never had anyone trust me like she did, I mean she told me things that she couldn't tell you or Kathy."

Elliot's head shot up, "Like what?"

Olivia laughed and leaned into his side, "Nothing you need to know. Just girl stuff."

"It was about Nate wasn't it?"

"Can't tell you," she sang as she jumped up off the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water for her and Elliot, but when she closed the door and turned around he was standing right behind her, dangerously close. "Geez Elliot, don't do that to me!"

"What did she tell you?" he asked with a stern tone but a small smile that conveyed that he wasn't as serious as might appear.

"I said I can't tell you," she laughed. She tried to sneak passed him but he effectively blocked her path on both sides, planting his hands firmly against the refrigerator on either side of her head. "Are you trying to intimidate me?" she asked in a low voice.

The tension between their bodies was palpable, and growing as the distance between them closed. Olivia felt his hands fall slowly until they rested against the refrigerator door just beside her hips. She felt her body flush as he brought his face closer to hers and whispered, "Is it working?" Before she could answer his lips had locked onto hers, his hands finally coming to rest on the gentle curves of his hips. It was only seconds but it felt like an eternity before they broke, eyes locking onto each others searching for an explanation.

"What was that?" she asked a little breathless.

"Not sure," Elliot answered. "But can I do it again?"

Olivia nodded before crashing her lips to his own, deciding it was easier to leave explanations for later.