The Ante
Chapter Five
By: Lizzie B
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Author's Note: Dude, was last night's episode not one of the best you've ever seen? I loved it. I won't give away anything encase some people missed it, but seriously, it was fantastic. And now I have to wait until May 2nd for the next new one, evil! Sigh, good thing I have all of season 7 from iTunes, lol.
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When Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson walked in the Special Victims squad room they both paused just inside the bullpen. Detective Ed Green and Detective Lennie Briscoe were sitting at their desk.
"Hey, does this mean we get your desk at the two-seven?" Olivia asked Green, walking around to stand behind him.
"Take it," Green waved a hand, "It looks like you've got less paperwork anyway."
"You guys catch a break on a case or were you just in the neighborhood?" Elliot asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.
"A little of column A, a little of column B," Green shrugged.
"We think our victim might have been a rape victim," Lennie said, "She kept a diary and in it she mentions being attacked. And since we were driving by, thought we'd stop in."
"You want us to take the case?" Olivia asked, looking perplexed.
"Nope, just wondering if you took a complaint from a Dora Freeman but she never pressed charges."
"Which would explain why you wouldn't find her in the system," Elliot mused, "I'll start checking files."
"So, where's the Odd Couple?" Lennie asked gesturing towards Fin and John's empty desk.
"Taking a complaint. You see the Captain?"
"Already played catch up, said we could hang around since you'd just called in."
"Found it," Elliot said, pulling a file from the cabinets, "Dora Freeman, never actually made a complaint, the paramedic who brought her in had the doctors call us, but since Ms. Freeman wouldn't say anything to us we had to let it go."
"Doesn't give us much to go on," Green said, getting up and taking the file from Elliot.
"Why am I not surprised?" Lennie sighed, also getting up, "Well, what's one more dead end between friends?"
Olivia laughed, "Sorry guys, we'll tell Fin and Munch you stopped by." Everyone said their goodbyes, leaving Elliot and Olivia to settle in with paperwork.
Elliot quickly got bored with paperwork, after what felt like an eternity on the force he could do most of it with his eyes closed anyway. So, on autopilot he studied the woman sitting across from him. She worked diligently on her pile, hacking away at a stack that was considerably less than his. Her efficiency reminded him of his first impression of her.
He had thought she wouldn't make it, honestly. She had seemed too soft and got too close to the victims. No one could last long with that much emotion involved, but Olivia had. Something about that ability to identify with the victims made her a better detective, and yes at times it cost her, but she always managed to come out stronger. Now, he couldn't see himself working with anyone else. Maybe he was too attached to Liv, but it wasn't messing was the job, so why should he worry?
And then he glanced at the picture of his family on the corner of his desk. Guilt rose up and choked him. Damn it, he was just thinking about how nice it was to have her as a partner, nothing else. But, the guilt said, you know exactly what you want to be thinking. Elliot cursed himself. Yeah, ever since the night Alex died and he'd held Olivia while she'd fallen apart he thought about holding again, about comforting her in other ways, thinking things a married man shouldn't think.
"Hey, do you have the report from the ME on the Anderson case?" Olivia asked suddenly, snapping Elliot away from his self hating diatribe.
"Yeah, somewhere." She rolled her eyes when he started to dig through the various piles of folders on his desk. He needed a maid, Olivia thought. Of course he claimed to know where everything was on his desk. If there was a method to his mess, she hadn't figured it out over the years they'd worked together. But she would take Elliot's clutter over John's almost spooky neatness or Fin's haphazard filing system. She never figured out what partner really meant until she was paired with Elliot. It was more just someone who would watch you back or investigate a case with you. Partners were friend and family. There was on way she could work with anyone else as well as she worked with Elliot.
All the personal feelings she had for him had to be shoved aside. One, he was married and whatever she felt for him wouldn't stand a chance against his family. Two, if she didn't have Elliot as a partner, this job would destroy her. He kept her sane when she got too close. It was risky to get as involved as she did, but with Elliot beside her, she could take it.
"Here you go." Elliot handed her the file and silently the partners went back to work.
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Author's Note: Yay! All caught up, now I can work on The Bet and The Ante at the same time! Whoot! I miss my Munch and Fin jokes, they're much more fun, lol.