The pitter-patter of rain against the roof of Olivia's apartment halted hours ago. Elliot was the first to wake. Peaking over Olivia's shoulder, he checked the time of 5:18 AM. The alarm on his phone would go off in roughly twelve minutes, but he was awake now and determined not to wake Olivia up under any circumstances. After locating the pocket that enclosed his phone, he shut off his alarm and crawled back into bed, right beside her.
On a good day, Elliot lived approximately 45 minutes away from the precinct. Getting over the Queensboro bridge was the most challenging part, but he was in the city already. The hardest part now would be finding a cab—Scratch that. The hardest part would be leaving her apartment, leaving her bedroom, and her.
Elliot's effort to keep her asleep is quickly shot to hell. She stirred and sucked in a deep breath before turning to face Elliot, who was still lying on his side.
With groggy eyes, she leaned in to kiss him, "Hey," she smiled, covering his lips with hers, "What time do you have to be at work?"
"Seven," he peaked back over her shoulder to look at the clock now read 5:24 AM, "Looks like I have some time to kill," He leaned back in and kissed her hungrily. Neither of them was wearing a stitch under the sheets. The delayed muscle soreness got the best of them, and any funny business would have to wait.
"I'm gonna get started on the coffee," she rolled out of bed and went looking in the pile of clothes in the corner. She found last night's panties and Elliot's dress shirt from yesterday. Elliot did not protest as he watched her intently slipping the underwear up over her rounded ass. Olivia only secured the buttons halfway when she turned around and looked at Elliot, who was grinning like the cat that ate the canary, "You okay, El?"
"Just supervising. My god, you're beautiful."
Olivia went into the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom, grabbed a few miscellaneous towels, a new toothbrush, and laid it out on the sink before returning to his side of the bed, "Towels are in the bathroom, and there's a toothbrush there for you too. Coffee will be ready when you get out."
He kissed her again gratefully, "You're the best."
She heard the shower turn on and went to work loading the coffee pot. When she listened to the small appliance roar, she padded to the mirror that hung near her door and took a good look at herself.
Her hair was going in six different directions, and the same could be said for the crumbling mascara that planted itself under her eyes. She looked like a raccoon who slept through a category five tornado by all accounts, including hers. No amount of makeup remover or hair brushing would fix this situation without a much-needed shower, and Elliot was already in there. Her shotty appearance would have to do for now.
Her nerves were getting the best of her, if she paced anymore, there would be a trench in the floor, and her fingernails would be stubs, "Calm down, Olivia," she whispered to herself, "Its just first-day jitters; it has nothing to do with him," she lied to herself.
Today marked her first day at Manhattan Special Victims Unit. Her introduction would have to change. It would take time to say 'Special Victims' instead of Homicide. Not that either one was much better, but this was the job she wanted. Maybe the job she needed.
Her thoughts were interrupted when out of the corner of her eye, her bedroom door opened, and outcomes Elliot.
She poured two identical mugs of coffee and held one out to him. He kissed her cheek in appreciation first but then took both mugs away from her and pushed her back against the counter. Olivia crashed naturally into his dominating embrace, and she held onto him just as tightly as he was holding onto her. Elliot tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Y'know, this is a perfect feeling," his nose brushed against hers.
"This is a perfect feeling," she agreed, not remembering the last time she felt like this.
Elliot sighed, "I'm all for making up for a lost time here. Is that something that interests you?"
"It does," she nodded, "I hope you stuck your toothbrush in the holder next to mine then."
"It's already there."
"That's a little fast, don't ya think?" Olivia teased. It wasn't too fast, not for them.
"Well, clearly there's something here. Otherwise we wouldn't have pounced on each other like rabbits."
She pecked his lips, "I did not doubt that there would be something, just didn't expect that." she gestures to her bedroom and the tangled bedsheets.
"In my defense—" Elliot started, but he couldn't finish his words. There was simply nothing that could defend him.
"In your defense, what?" Olivia mocked.
"You loved it," he smirked, earning a shot in the arm by Olivia, "Just like how it was back then, if not better."
Olivia gazed at his lips, floating centimeters above hers, "I'm inclined to agree with you there," she softened her frame further into his towel-clad bottom-half, "I wanna take this slow, alright?"
"As you wish," He went back to sipping his coffee and looking at her from head to toe, which of course, she noticed.
"More supervising?" She laughed.
"No, just looking to see where I could put a 'Property of Elliot Stabler' sign on you while we take this slow," he smiled with a deviled grin.
Olivia rolls her eyes and pulls the collar of his shirt down her clavicle, revealing multiple love bites, "Here's your sign," She grinned, "I'm not running away from you, El. Trust me. You'll be seeing a lot more of me."
"Good."
"I have to hop in the shower before the captain tears my ass out," Olivia kisses him sweetly, unbuttoning his shirt for him to put on, her naked breasts coming into clear view, "Just lock the door behind you," She spins on her heel and retreats into her bathroom.
As Elliot redresses, he feels something stirring around in his shirt pocket. He unfolds a sticky note, which to his astonishment, had her phone number and address on it. Elliot stepped back out into the kitchen and found the post-it pad she used. He jots down his info and sticks it to the fridge before his departure.
Elliot jumped into a cab and headed back to the precinct, remembering that he left his car in the precinct parking garage yesterday morning. The whole ride there, he smiled faintly. This morning was better than the last on many levels. Elliot stripped himself of yesterday's suit and quickly changed into some fresh clothes stowed in his locker at his arrival. One look in the mirror, and he could feel every effect of last night: the raging headache, the hurried heartbeat, and the ill-feeling he had in the pit of his stomach, all due to the increased quantity of drinks his body wasn't used to anymore. By all descriptions: Elliot was hungover. None of it mattered, not even the soreness that he still felt everywhere, all thanks to a brunette detective that was once again the apple of his eye.
The squad room in its vacancy was something he had rarely seen. Someone was always here, day or night. Being the first to arrive, he realized that the coffee wouldn't make itself, and he wasn't waiting for Munch to screw it somehow up either. He sat around and listened to the gust of wind blow against the window panes. It was the confirmation he needed to accept that summer was gone for good and colder weather was coming. When the coffee pot came to a halt, he retrieved his mug that hung on the wall by the banister.
Cup #2, and it wasn't even seven yet.
Fin was next to walk through the rusted doors, making a direct route to the staircase corner that housed the caffeinated goods.
Elliot looked up from the cup, "Mornin' Fin."
"Sup, Stabler," Fin greeted. He turned to the pot, "Yo who made this?" he looked around for his partner, but to no avail. John Munch was nowhere to be found.
"I did," Elliot answered. Fin grew suspicious. Elliot never made the coffee.
Fin sniffed the piping hot cup, "What did you do to it?"
Elliot rolled his eyes, "Nothing, maybe I wanted to do something pleasant for a change."
Fin's eyes widened, "You feeling okay, Stabler?"
"I'm fine," a thin smile replaced the scowl that normally inhabited his face.
Fin finally took a sip, "Not bad." The pair watched the blinds open in Cragen's office, someone, seated in the chair across his desk. From where they were sitting, Cragen was all smiles.
Elliot looked to Fin, "Cragen's here already?"
The office door opened, and out came Cragen, "Stabler, my office, please."
"What did I do this time…." Elliot muttered, setting his cup at his desk, "Cap the holes in the walls were fixed last week, and I got the dent out of the locker. It's not perfect, but—"
"It's not about that," Cragen waved a dismissive hand at him, "Elliot, this is Detective Olivia Benson, just transferred from homicide. Show her the ropes, her desk, the lockers, help her get situated in the department. Be nice. She has agreed to work with you, and I don't know why but—"
Elliot was reeling as soon as she saw her cross-legged in his chair, the chair that eleven times out of ten was meant for him when he was in trouble, "She's my partner?"
"Yes, is that a problem?" Cragen glared at him.
"No, Sir. No problem."
Olivia grinned, "Nice to see you again, Detective."
"You two know each other?"
Before words could formulate in Elliot's head, Olivia cut in, saving his ass, "Casey introduced us last night."
Well done, Benson.
"Very well, I'll let you two get to it then. You're both dismissed."
"Thank you, Captain," Olivia thanked.
Elliot and Olivia walked out of his office in sync. In the back of Donald Cragen's mind, he was trying to predict how long they'd last. Elliot's temper inched him closer to getting booted from the squad, and here was his newest addition: Olivia Benson, who has commendation after commendation from 1PP, Captain Material someday maybe.
"This can go one of two ways," he thought loudly, "She could be the one to save him from the wreck that is his life, or he could be the one to destroy her and all she's ever worked for."
For the sake of everyone, with Elliot and Olivia specifically in mind, he prayed for the first.
Out in the bullpen, still together in sync, Elliot was all sorts of confused, "So when were you going to tell me you transferred to SVU?"
"I like the element of surprise," Olivia chucked, "Casey, Munch, and Fin knew, don't you talk to your friends?"
"Not nearly as much as I should be. It would have been nice coming from you about two hours ago, or maybe during our little chat last light, You didn't say anything about—"
"Our night of passion? Absolutely not. You and I need to establish what we are to disclose, something like that," Olivia reminded him, giving him a cunning smile.
He rubbed his eyes, realizing he was more hungover than he thought, "I thought the world was small last night. Little did I know it only gets smaller and smaller."
"Just so we're clear, Cragen knows, El but—"
He stopped her, knowing what she was about to ask, "Your secret has always been safe with me."
It was the secret that had tormented Olivia her entire life. Olivia found out about the circumstances surrounding her birth when she was a Freshman in High School. She'd heard her mother talking to a colleaguethe landline to someone one night, and it clicked.
Why she didn't have a Father, why she thought her Mother despised her very existence and gave no indication as to whether or not her mother loved her.
"I was raped. I have to remember that night every time I look at her," Serena's voice reverberated in Olivia's ears.
"And I appreciate that, El."
"I know how important it is to you."
She didn't want to talk about it anymore. That much Elliot could read off her face.
Olivia tapped the mug in Elliot's hand, "Munch's?"
Elliot chuckled, "No, it's safe."
"Good, I heard that John makes coffee you can chew."
"Word travels fast around here."
Olivia shuffled through the box on her desk in search of her mug, "Casey briefed me on the elevator ride up," she grabbed hold of the ceramic cup, "She also told me to go easy on a detective that has the temperament of a toddler. Gee, I wonder who that could be?" her brow raised at him.
Elliot laughed, "You heard her," he leaned in close to her face, "go easy on me" Elliot took the mug from her hand and began fixing her a cup like she had done for him earlier, "Two sugars and some cream, right?"
"Yup," Olivia smiled and walked in the direction of her new desk, but not before turning back and whispering, "You know, El… I like my coffee how I like my men. Hot. Strong but sweet. Can keep me up all night long, but you knew that already, right?" She grinned innocently.
Just like that, a frigid chill descended Elliot's spine. His heart was pumping eratically but make no mistake, the blood was not going to his brain.
"Noted," Elliot gulped, "Cragen told me to show you around this place, though there isn't much to see. I'll take you anyway."
Through the halls, they went. From the file room to interrogation rooms one and two, and the locker rooms.
"Told you there's not much to see."
Olivia looked over her shoulder and saw Munch grabbing his coat and Fin doing the same.
"What do you guys got?" Olivia asked
"Same thing you do," Cragen interrupted, "DB on East 57th, signs of sexual assault."
"Why are you sending all of us out?" Elliot asked
"The vic's kid is still there."
Elliot took a ragged breath before stepping to his desk and grabbing his jacket. Olivia grabbed the slip of paper from Cragen.
"Let's rollout. Partner."
She tossed him the set of keys on his desk, "Great. You're driving."
And just like that, it began. Ironically, the start of something beautiful
The duo stepped under the yellow tape to the makeshift art studio, now a crime scene. Various displays of abstract art, hand-made pottery, and music memorabilia lined the walls and table space.
"What do we got, Melinda?"
Melinda Warner continued her examination, handing Elliot a bag containing the driver's license of the latest victim, "Olejandra Novelo, thirty-two, your do-er strangled her with a thin piece of wire, my guess either a guitar string or—
"A toggle wire," Olivia concluded, looking at the Les Paul guitar on the wall. All six strings of the instrument were still intact.
"She's a live one, Elliot," Melinda chirped, "I like her."
"Melinda, this is my partner, Olivia Benson, Liv this is Dr. Melinda Warner, our M.E."
"I wish we could have met under different circumstances, Dr. Warner."
"Girl, just call me Melinda. Everyone else does."
"You said there were signs of sexual assault?"
"Panties pulled down around her ankles, already bagged."
"Let us know when you have more."
"Will do Detectives."
Upon another glance around, they noticed the shelves of vinyl records, all meticulously categorized alphabetically and labeled accordingly.
"Vic's got enough albums to open a record store," Olivia pointed out.
"Anything good?"
"Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Cure…"
Elliot shut the record player off that was playing in the corner. He opened the Simon & Garfunkel album jacket and found a note inside. Olivia peered over his shoulder.
Between his gloved fingers, the note was meant for them.
"It was our silver girl's time to shine! She was beautiful, just so you know. Be kind or #2 you will find."
"Oh, this isn't good," Elliot grumbled
"Not good at all."
"I don't like where this is headed," Elliot handed the note off to a tech, "Bag that, dust it for prints."
Olivia turned to Elliot, "El, Cragen said there was a kid. Where are they?"
Before Elliot could answer, Munch called out from the next room, "Over here!"
In the arms of Fin, a little boy squirmed and whimpered. A CSU tech was trying to take trace evidence and samples off the toddler's bloody hands, which wasn't working out too great.
"A little help here!" Fin begged, the boy squirmed and howled even louder.
"Shhhhh," Olivia soothed, taking him from his arms, "It's okay, it's gonna be okay." The boy stilled, "What's his name?"
Munch sighed in relief. "Tommy. He's two."
"Hi Tommy," Olivia sing-songed, "Let's get you cleaned up, okay buddy?" Her eyes moved back to the frightened tech, who continued collective the evidence off of Tommy's hands.
Elliot looked at Olivia, trying to hide his bewilderment. The shock of her handling a child with such grace. Then overcome the thought of Tommy.
Elliot shuffled back to Munch and Fin, "Do you think Tommy will remember this?"
Fin shrugged, "At this age, who knows," he looked back at Tommy, who was now amazed by the cotton swaps and gauze the tech was using on him, "For his sake, I hope not, It will save him money in therapy when he's older."
Elliot squeezed the bridge of his nose, "What a fucking mess."
The case was fizzling out quick. The evidence was minimal: No DNA, no prints, and no suspects. Child services were dragging their feet, sending someone down to collect Tommy and find his next of Kin.
Olivia threw a pencil down on her desk, "First day at SVU, and we have a possible serial killer on our hands. Go Figure," She yawned.
"What a way to kick things off, Benson," Munch grinned, "Glad we had you today. I didn't think the kiddo would ever stop screaming."
Fin jumped up, heading for the coffee again, "You find your mom dead on the floor. You'd be screaming too."
Olivia deadpanned, "Fin, you were holding him like he was a sack of potatoes. What did you honestly expect?"
"It was either me or skinny-bones over here, and with his luck, he'd drop the kid. Besides, he looked cozy with you, Benson. You learn from the experience? Kids of your own?"
Olivia shook her head, "No. No kids," the words came out quicker than she had anticipated. She shrugged her shoulders in the hope of diffusing the tension she'd created, "Someday."
Elliot, though entranced by his monitor, heard every bit of the conversation. He wished they covered that topic in their limited conversation.
Munch spun around in his chair, "I never saw the appeal with the little buggers. The crying, the snot, poopy diapers…." Munch listed, "All for what?"
Elliot shifted his eyes to Munch, "For the good of the world? To put everything we've learned into perspective? To remind us that there is good in life, despite what we see every day?"
Munch was just about to retaliate when a feminine voice spoke, "He's right, Munch. Speaking from experience, Stabler? You got kids of your own?" Olivia glared up to meet Elliot's eyes, feeling she would know the answer.
"Can't say that I do," he sighed, "Someday."
They both stared at each other for a moment before glancing back down at the paperwork that riddled their desks. The door to Cragen's office creaked again, his jacket hung over his arm and hat in hand, "Go home, guys, the night shift will take over if any leads pop up. Good work today."
The quartet nodded in acknowledgment, signaling all of them to pack up and head out into the night.
"Maybe we can all go for some drinks?" Munch suggested, "maybe we could hear another tune from our songbird over here?"
Olivia rolled her eyes but smiled, "I have dinner plans with Casey. You guys have fun."
"Goodnight, Liv," Elliot called after her.
Olivia gleamed, "Goodnight, El."
A little while later, back at Olivia's apartment, Olivia and Casey were bookends on her couch, sharing a bountiful harvest of Mr. Chow's Chinese take-out. Which, by Olivia's standards, beat out any elegant restaurant all days of the week.
"So would you care to tell me why you pawned me off to the stooges last night? I was the meat shoved in the middle of a Fin-and-Munch sandwich in the cab,"
"Like you were complaining being shoved next to Fin," Olivia laughed.
Casey groaned, "I had Munch on my right talking about the moon landing being a hoax and the moon itself being used as an alien satellite."
"Wow, he surely is a bonafide conspiracy theorist."
"I told you that already on the elevator this morning. Stop deflecting! Why did you dip out so quick?"
"I told you I had to get home. My beauty sleep is a sacred thing."
"Liar"
Olivia chuckled, popping a piece of general Tso's chicken into her waiting mouth.. "Alright, you caught me," Olivia wondered how she would start this, "What if I told you I found somebody?"
Casey leaned back on the couch with her respected container, "Found somebody? Dead? Naked on the street? Dead and naked on the street? You don't find someone. You find a stray cat."
Olivia snickered, "Humor me, would you? I promise it gets good."
Casey relented, "Fine, who did you find?"
"My Marine." Olivia anticipated Casey's outrageous reaction, but it never came.
Casey was unamused, "You're lying."
"Why would I lie to you?"
"You told me that you went home for beauty sleep, which was a lie."
"Okay fine, but I'm not lying about this."
Casey put her container on the coffee table frantically, "Well are you going to tell me what happened, or are you just going to sit there and bat those pretty-pretty little eyelashes of yours at me?"
"Are you going to make fun of me again?" Olivia asked inquisitively.
Casey placed a hand over her heart, "I'm your friend; it is my job to make fun of you when I think you're stupid," Casey giggled, "and I can only hope you would do the same," Casey grinned eagerly to hear the juicy details of last night, "Spill the beans, Benson."
"I invited him back here. We had some wine and talked about the years gone by. Not a lot, though. He was adamant about expressing how much he missed me."
"Did you tell him—"
"No," she stopped Casey from speaking another word, "We only talked about a few things, and there is no segway to that. Besides, after our conversation, there wasn't much talking…." Olivia gleamed.
Casey pointed her chopstick at Olivia, "Get to the good stuff or else," she threatened, but it was an empty one at that. Olivia was barely holding it together seeing her ADA in dawn-tinted sweatpants and smiley-faced socks. If Liz Donnelly could see her now….
"Alright, fine," Olivia pulled off her crewneck sweatshirt, exposing a grey tank top with love-bites that were clear as day; Casey squealed in excitement.
"I take it he really missed you."
"One minute, I'm ready to kick him out of the apartment, and the next…" she gestures towards her bedroom door.
"I'm surprised you two made it to your room."
Olivia patted her end of the couch, "I was ready to take him right here." she propped her feet onto the edge of the coffee table and leaned back, faintly remembering the feeling of him inside her, "Single-handedly the most maddening….satisfying encounter...in my twenty-seven years."
Casey waved her hand, taking in the last drops of her bottle of beer, "You loved him...You let him go...He came back...So by the nature of that stupid saying, I believe he's yours to keep, right? I presume he stayed the night?"
"He did," Olivia confirmed
"Glad to hear you won't be grumbling on about him anymore. Any longer,, and I was going to set you up with Stabler. Maybe you would have been the one to tear him apart at the seams and re-stitch him back together again, the guy is a mystery still left unsolved."
"If it doesn't work out with my marine, I may need to take you up on that," Olivia challenged
Casey sunk her teeth into her eggroll, "Wouldn't it be weird? Dating your new partner?"
Olivia cleaned up her empty containers, depositing them all in the trash, "Totally, besides, there has to be some unit rule about that, right?"
If she was to disclose whatever she and Elliot had at any point, she needed to figure out the logistics before they dove in headfirst. But this was still new to her, new to him two really, what if it didn't work out?
"Don't know, I haven't looked too far into things like that, seeing as I work for the D.A's office and not Cragen directly, but I can check for you….Thinking about having an office fling with Stabler?"
"The way you make him sound, he's more of an occupational hazard, and No, Casey. I need to break the news to Munch that we can't run away on a Clydesdale into the sunset."
"Dirty Old Man," Casey snorted.
"I've spilled my beans, now spill yours," Olivia demanded.
Casey furrowed her brow, "What do you wanna know?"
"Tell me more about Elliot. He's not exactly the most forthcoming partner I've had," Olivia explained, "If I'm supposed to be watching this guy's six, I'd like to actually think he's mortal," Olivia drabbed on. She was laying it on thick for Casey. Being the almighty impressive lawyer she is, she could spot fibbing from a mile away, and she knew just how to get the truth too. For now, Olivia was in the clear. At least she hoped, or what a mess it would be.
"Besides the anger issues?" Olivia nodded, "From what I know, Elliot was married for like five years to this woman Kathy. Half of it, from what I heard from Munch, was hell, but he tried to make it work."
"Why did they get divorced?"
"Word on the street is she couldn't get pregnant. He wanted to start a family, but it wasn't happening for them. Munch, who told Fin who told me, said that she showed up to the precinct hollering at him that everything was just fine, that maybe he was the problem."
"Oh my god," Olivia's hand flew to her mouth.
"That day, he called me, asked to have the paper's drawn up and served to her. I went to the hospital where she worked, and she signed them right there, and then, she said, I'll save you a trip. The nerve of that woman," Casey scoffed. "I wonder if she was hiding something, but that's just me."
"Like what?"
"Like maybe she was secretly taking birth control or something, so she didn't get pregnant. Elliot is one of six children. His genes have to be fertile."
"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense."
Olivia was right. It didn't make sense. They were young and in their early twenties when he married her. A man and woman's body is in their prime during that time. Something was off, but it wasn't Olivia's business to get into.
Casey pointed to the lone eggroll that inhabited Olivia's plate, "You gonna eat that?"
"All yours."
"Scooch over, Beverly Hills 90210 is on, and I am not DVRing it this week."
"Whatever you want, Casey," Olivia changed the channel of the television. In her peripheral, Casey was already engaged in the program. If only she could focus on it too.
Olivia crossed her legs and decided to use this time to converge the last twenty-four hours into a synopsis. However, there were too many colorful words to describe the arousing encounter unfolding between her and Elliot. It was all that she ever needed and more. The familiar pressure grew between her legs just thinking about having him again in her bed. Nipping and teasing her body in diabolical manners. She thought about whether his dominant sexuality would proceed him to use toys on her, or maybe he was as vanilla as the frost-bitten tub of ice cream she kept in the freezer.
Her mind wandered to Tommy Novelo, the two-year-old that now was in the hands of the state, all because some wanna-be serial psycho decided to murder his mother. Olivia held him almost all day. It almost took a crowbar to pry him off of her. Though she was relieved of her duty to calm the child, Tommy just wanted his mommy. Olivia's heart went to her throat hearing his ear-piercing shriek after the worker had separated the two of them. Olivia wondered where Tommy would end up, seeing as his kinship was by all means unknown on paper. The neighbors of his deceased mother's neighbors weren't helpful in terms of what they heard. The apartment was soundproofed and padded, so Olejandra could work at all night hours without disturbing the other tenants.
Olivia pondered if she'd be a good mother, seeing as she didn't have a perfect one for the impressionable years of her life. Why should she bring a child into life as confusing as hers? Elliot's speech cluttered her head, "For the good of the world. To put everything we've learned into perspective. To remind us that there is good in life, despite what we see every day."
For what it was worth, she desired those 'little buggers' as Munch had so endearingly called them before. Hearing Elliot speak fondly of the matter only made her consider it even more. Maybe he wanted this for her just as much as she wanted this for him. Half of her genetics alcoholic and the other half is a violent mystery.
"Oh yeah," Olivia thought, "Prime parent material."
A/N: This was a tough one to write for me. All errors and mistakes are mine. I will always try my best for a quick update! Now let's get to business: So what big secret is Olivia keeping from her Marine? Does an even bigger secret lay with his ex-wife? Is Casey really that clueless? You know what to do….Follow, Fav, and Review! xoxo