The Games We Play

It was late and Elliot's shift was coming to an end. Three days of working with Wheatley on the hacked jailbreak, and he was more than done with playing this game. He watched Wheatley walk from the OC building into his limo. If Bell hadn't been there to stop him, he would have followed the snake back to whatever hole he came from and waited for him to slip up. He knew the only way to get a predator was to beat them at their own game, but he was still so new to coding and computer wars. And sitting around waiting for permission to get physical wasn't Elliot's strong suit.

With his hands tied, he now stood at the window contemplating his next legal steps. He could hear Jet arguing about code patterns and revolutionary crypto warfare, when his phone rang.

"Moma, what's up?"

"Elliot, are you watching the TV? Olivia is on Anderson Cooper. She shot that man attacking the Muslims and Jews."

Elliot clicked on the nearest television and scrolled to CNN. Silver fox, Anderson Cooper reported on the latest of the New York City attacks. Jet and Bell, who were wrapping up paperwork for the day, stopped and slowly made their way over to the television.

"What you are about to see is graphic footage of NYPD officers taking down the alleged organizer of the Christmas hate crime attacks. He is said to have been carrying a live bomb with him through the middle of Rockfeller Center. NYPD's Captain Olivia Benson makes the lethal shot. Shooting him in the head."

"Moma, I gotta go," Elliot replied, heart pounding.

"When will you be home?"

"Don't wait up for me," he said, closing his phone and grabbing his coat.

Elliot touched Bell's arm. "Keep me posted. I'll see you in the AM."

She nodded. "Send our love to Olivia."

Elliot raced to his car and tried to call her.

"You've reached Olivia Benson. Leave a message."

"Siri, text Liv. Saw the news. Are you okay? Where are you?"

He clicked on his Find My Friends app and could see she was near the precinct.

He tried calling again and got her voice mail. "Hey, I'm headed to you. Call me back if you get this."

He then called Fin. "Is Liv at the office? Is she okay?"

"She just left. She's holding it together, but she's shook. We've been up for 3 days. IAB is gonna be up her ass for awhile on this one."

"Thanks," he replied and hung up and could see her dot slowly making its way home.

He got to her building and waited outside. She was walking toward him, holding her purse and out of sorts.

When she saw him she sped up and melted into his open arms. He held her close to his chest and kissed her head.

"I just saw CNN."

"I'm so glad you're here," she weakly replied.

"Come on let's get you upstairs. It's freezing out here. Why are you walking home?"

"I'm wasted with exhaustion. I was afraid to drive."

He took her purse and her hand, and walked her inside.

"Okay, we're gonna get you to bed," Elliot said, tapping the elevator button.

They got inside the elevator and she leaned into his chest as he held his arm around her. Slow tears rolled down her face.

"I should have shot his arm. It just happened so fast. All I could think about was that bomb going off and Noah losing his mother two days after Christmas," she yawned. "… and now instead of a memory of my son opening Christmas presents from Santa, for what might be the last year he believes in Santa, I will forever have that asshole bleeding out in my mind. And don't even get me started on McGrath. I'm so tired of proving every single decision and move that my department makes. It's insulting."

"Shhhh….Shhh..Shhh….breathe. Breathe," he pulled her into the hallway on her floor and wiped tears from her face. "I saw the video, your shot was validated," he gently whispered.

"But he's not even wrong. I could have shot him in the arm."

"And he could have made that bomb go off with the other hand. You did what you had to do. McGrath wasn't even there. When was the last time he had to make that decision?"

She started taking in deep breaths to stop the tears. "Yeah. Eh. I can't get the image from my mind."

"You will. It's okay."

He held her tight and just let her compose herself against his chest outside of her door. They could hear Noah and Lucy laughing inside having movie night.

Olivia was so tired she felt drunk in his arms. Her anxiety attack slowly subsided and her eyes closed.

Elliot whispered ", Come on. You need sleep."

"Noah…I can't let him see me like this," she mumbled.

Elliot lifted Olivia's purse up. "You got Kleenex in this thing?"

"Yeah," she helped him dig through it and wiped her face dry with the tissues. "Better?," she asked.

"We'll tell him you're not feeling good," Elliot responded.

Liv opened the apartment door.

"Mom!," Noah cried. "You're home. You're home! I missed you!"

"Oh, hi," Lucy smiled at Elliot as he came in and dropped Olivia's purse on the counter.

Olivia rushed over to Noah and held him tight.

"You okay, mom," he asked sweetly.

"I am now, baby," she whispered and held him tight.

"You've been gone forever," he added.

"I know. I'm home now," she said, holding back sobs. Tears welling up in her eyes again. "I missed you so much."

"Why are you crying?"

"I had a really bad couple of days, and I'm just so happy to see your face. Can I see what Santa brought you?"

Elliot introduced himself to Lucy. "Hi, I'm Elliot. You must be Lucy."

"And it is nice to finally meet the infamous Elliot," she smiled back.

"She needs to sleep. Does she have any tea?", Elliot asked. "For her..not me…"

"Of course," Lucy whispered. "I'll get the water started."

Elliot walked into the living room and took Olivia's coat off of her while she watched Noah go through all of his Christmas gifts.

"Hi Elliot!," Noah smiled. "Look Santa got me three tickets to the Mets. One for me, one for mom, and one for a friend. Want to go with me?"

Elliot grinned. "Ah man, I love the Mets, but you think about it, okay. I wouldn't want to take a ticket from one of your school friends."

"I want you to go."

"Sure thing, Bud," Elliot smiled and then turned to Olivia who was sleeping on the couch. "Looks like your mom passed out."

"Yeah, she does that sometimes."

"Your mom was a hero today, so we should get her to bed, and then when she wakes up you have to make sure to hug her a lot and make her some amazing breakfast."

"Okay," Noah replied. "How was she a hero today?"

Elliot hesitated. "She…stopped a bad guy from hurting a lot of people. She was really brave."

"I'm always so proud of her," he said very maturely.

Elliot was charmed by that. He patted Noah on the shoulder and went over to Olivia and started to pick her up.

"What are you doing-" she moaned.

"Taking you to bed."

Half awake she held onto his neck as he lifted her up.

"You're going to break your back…I can walk," she protested.

"It's okay, mom," Noah whispered. "Elliot has big muscles."

Noah followed Elliot into her bedroom and the two of them pulled her shoes off, and tucked her in.

Noah kissed her and whispered ", good night, mom. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered and then reached out for Elliot's arm as Noah left the room with Lucy pulling him out.

"Don't go," She pleaded to Elliot with her eyes closed. She was so sleep deprived that she was acting drugged.

"Let me get Noah to bed," he whispered back.

When Elliot came back out Lucy and Noah were watching the end of their movie.

"She's out," he softly spoke. "Is it okay if I just stick around and make sure she's going to be okay?"

"Yes!," Noah jumped. "We're watching Shang-Chi. It's so good."

"Eh…sure…let me just check in with my fiance," Lucy smiled looking down at her phone.

"She's been talking to him all night," Noah groaned.

"Lucy, I don't know what the arrangement is. I can get this guy to bed and take over, if you want to go home. I just have to leave for work around 7am."

"Oh," Lucy's eyes got wide. She also hadn't seen her family in days. "That…would be great. I mean…Noah, is that okay?"

"Yeah. yeah," Noah jumped. "We got this, Lucy. You can go home."

Elliot walked Lucy to the door.

"I really appreciate you staying," Lucy said as she got her shoes on. "I haven't been home since Christmas Eve. My fiance has been bugging me all night because we were trying to have a late Christmas. Though…I mean, I love my job…not complaining…I would do anything for that Kiddo in there….I just…"

"I get it," Elliot smiled. "Police work is hard on families. I have 5 kids and they can all understand your fiance's disappointment."

She nodded. "Thank you for understanding. I'll be back at 6:30am. Oh and there's no school, so Noah doesn't really have a set bedtime…but. 10-10:30pm is when I try suggesting it, otherwise you'll be up until midnight playing battleship and video games."

"Battleship…now there's a game I haven't played in decades. Good to know," he winked.

Before Elliot could even get back to the living room Noah had a board game out on the table.

"What happened to Shang-Chi?" Elliot asked.

"It was over, and I wanted to play this game," he smiled. "Can you read the directions?"

Elliot looked at the box. "Dungeons and Dragons. Adventure Begins."

"Here," Noah handed him a thick book of rules. "Lucy wouldn't play with me earlier today, so maybe you can figure it out."

Elliot looked at his watch, which read 10:15pm, and then back to Noah's sweet excited face. "Do you know how to make coffee?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, you make me a cup of coffee…with cream and sugar, while I figure this game out. But after we're done, we're going to bed. Deal?"

"Deal!"

And then they fist bumped.

Elliot was glad to be here playing with Liv's son. The kid was actually really fun to be around. Well mannered and easy to talk to. He had forgotten how much he liked this age. Old enough to do interesting things, but young enough to still talk to you and want to hang out. It made him think about Eli. He paused the game for a moment to text his son.

"Hey, wanted to let you know I'm not gonna make it home tonight. But after New Years, let's get tickets for something. You and me. Maybe there's a concert you want to see. Or a Mets game. Love you."

Eli responded with a thumbs up.

"Were you texting your work?," Noah asked.

"No, I was texting Eli, my son."

"Oh is his babysitter there?"

Elliot laughed. "No. He's in high school, so he doesn't need a sitter anymore."

"Oh. I can't wait to not have to have a sitter. My best friend George is allowed to stay home alone. His mom and dad leave him alone everyday after school. He gets to do whatever he wants."

"Sounds lonely."

"No, it's not. He has a credit card too. He goes to movies and the corner store and buys candy and does whatever he wants."

"How old is he?," Elliot's SVU senses were going off.

"Ten. Mom says New York is too dangerous and that I can't go to the store or the movies by myself. That I have to be much older."

"She's right. And it's not fun to go to the movies by yourself."

"He says he meets people there sometimes. And once he came to school with a bunch of cash and said that a guy at the movie theater just gave it to him for delivering a bag of food to his friend. It was $100!"

"What theater does he go to?", Elliot paused thinking about this kid, as if he had time to take on one more case.

"The AMC down the street. Are you dating my mom?"

Elliot abruptly stopped thinking about 'best friend George', after that last sentence registered.

"I don't know."

"Oh…", Noah deflated.

Elliot could see the confusion on Noah's face. "Let's just put it this way, I would like to date your mom, but for now we are friends. Would that be okay with you…if we dated?"

"Oh. Yeah! Adulting. It's so complicated. So you're at the coffee phase."

Elliot wanted to laugh thinking that he'd been at the 'coffee phase' with Olivia Benson since the beginning of time.

"Sure," he smiled, taking a sip of the coffee Noah made for him. "We are at the coffee phase."

"That dragon can't go in that space, Elliot. You have to figure out what kind of game he likes to play and then use his chosen power against him."

Elliot was no longer thinking about the game, but of Wheatley and Wheatley's game.

"See," Noah said. "This is a fire dragon. He uses fire, so you have to use water to get him to come out of hiding, and then BAM, your wizard can put him in lockdown. It's a basic tactic for taking down bad guys."

Elliot's mind flickered to Wheatley in his office telling Jet that the crypto wasn't going to Russia but to Queens. He was playing them with his internet skills. His…skills. Wheatley's the coder. Elliot started to reach for his phone but was stopped by Noah.

"I've always wanted a dad," Noah interrupted.

"A dad? We're over rated."

"Sometimes I think a dad would come in handy. Like for soccer and stuff. The kids at school always have playdates and the parents are invited. Their moms and dads are always getting together, but I don't think we get invited…because I don't have a dad."

"They don't invite your mom?"

"They did once, but she had to leave halfway through."

"Well, my kids had a dad, and we didn't get invited to things like that because I had too many kids and nobody wanted that many kids in their house at one time. You don't need judgy people in your life, Noah. Your real friends will invite you no matter what your parent situation is."

"Yeah. Also, at soccer, the dads take turns being the assistant coach, and when it's my turn, my mom always has to do it, and it's embarrassing. She never uses the whistle right and she's a girl, and some of the guys laugh at me because of it."

Elliot smirked to himself", Your mom did not do well at traffic cop classes, that's for sure."

"And AND! Sometimes I have questions that I just can't ask mom, because I know she'd freak out."

"Like what?"

"Like Tommy said in middle school we have to get changed in a locker room for gym class and everyone will see my…you know junk, and that freaks me out!"

"Whoa. I mean, yes, at some point you will have to change in a locker room with other kids, but you don't ever show someone your private areas. And if Tommy or anyone ever tries to see that, you tell your mom immediately, okay? Or me. I'm also a safe adult. But you tell Tommy, he doesn't know what he's talking about and to stop trying to look at your-."

"Junk," Noah snickered at the words.

"Yeah," Elliot grinned back. "And maybe I can try to be a soccer assistant with you."

"Really," he lit up. Elliot got slightly nervous, as he could barely keep his promises to his own kids, but now he would really have to step up and not let this kid down.

"Yeah, really if we can get your schedule early, I can make that happen for you. And bud, you can call me anytime if you ever have a dad question."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Elliot smiled.

"Can you put your number in my phone?"

"Sure, hand me your phone."

Noah pushed his phone over to Elliot, watched him type it in, and held back a smile. He was so excited to be able to have a dad friend. Then he looked down at the board and moved a piece.

"I just fenced in your dragon. Wizard to the scene, and I take him down." Noah yawned.

Elliot pinched his tired eyes and shook his head. "Oy. Does that mean you won and the game is over."

"No..but…this game doesn't really end," Noah smiled.

"Okay, so that means you won and the game is over. Get to bed, you wizard head."

Noah jumped up and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you, Elliot."

"Anytime, Bud."

"I like when you call me bud," Noah said, starting to get caught up into a monolog of feelings. Elliot stopped him.

"Noah…thank you for letting me play your game. It's late. We'll talk soon."

"Okay, yeah. Bed!"

SCENE

Elliot woke up in Olivia's bed the next morning. She was nestled against his chest, his arm around her, her arm around him. He didn't get much sleep, but he didn't much care. He watched her breathe and dream all night long. Just being in her apartment next to her was enough for him. Elliot's alarm went off and he slowly tried to move out of the bed.

"What time is it," she whispered.

"Too early. Go back to sleep. Lucy will be here soon, so you can catch up on sleep," he responded.

"You stayed all night," she blinked awake. "Is Noah-"

"Asleep. Don't worry. You need to take care of yourself first. Get some more sleep."

She grabbed his hand and lay back down with semi restless eyes closed. He watched her. She was beautiful even when she slept. Her thumb circled his hand softly.

"You have to work today?," she asked with her eyes still closed.

He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"I do. I'll call you later. Your phone is on the nightstand if you need it."

He kissed her on the hand one last time and headed out to his building for a shower and a new day of breaking down Wheatley with some new ideas that he got from his dragons and wizard game. If Wheatley was a tech expert, then Elliot would have to beat him at that game.

He left a message for Jet as he walked. "Jet, dig into Wheatley's past, go far back. I want to know all about his coding skills. Where did he learn it? Who his friends were in college? What made him excel? What cases he's worked on with the FBI? I want to see his code patterns. I want to know every detail of his cyber past. We're going to weed that bastard out of his cave."

SCENE

Olivia finally woke up and released Lucy for a few days. She attempted to make up for lost time with Noah by taking him to a movie and lunch, but work texts and phone calls interrupted more than she cared to allow. She and Noah sat at a Diner sipping on milk shakes as she finished the present phone interruption.

"Yes, Chief McGrath, I have already set up the meeting with IAB for tomorrow morning. Papers were immediately filed. Yes, I've gone through all of the necessary steps with a psych eval over zoom," She paused and took in a slow deep breath of air to regain her patience before lifting the phone back to her mouth. "Yes, I understand your concerns and have," He interrupted her again and she held her lips together and clenched her jaw. "I will not be in today….Why? For two reasons."

At that, Noah spilled his milk shake and they both jumped. Olivia caught the chocolate ice cream before it hit too much of the floor.

"Excuse me. Three reasons. One, it's protocol that I not work until properly evaluated after …a lethal shot. Two, I was 3 days over time on days I had previously scheduled to be off. Three, my son. It's Christmas break, and I'm taking my day off. So if you don't mind, I'm going to finish my family time, and I will check back in with you and IAM tomorrow….when I'm on the clock."

Noah was quietly apologizing as they juggled a mound of soggy napkins and sticky hands.

"Thank you for understanding," She said curtly. "Sure….yeah….okay…fine…goodbye. OH M G!," Olivia sighed dropping her phone from her chin into her purse. "I am going to throw my phone away. Noah can you please forgive me, and will you please clean up this chocolate table," she smiled.

"On it. What does lethal mean?," he asked.

"What," she heard what he said, but couldn't bear to talk about this subject matter with him.

"Lethal shot. Did you kill someone?"

"I…when…a cop is put in a situation where they are trying to protect the safety of another person or themselves, it's called self defense, and sometimes…if the situation is bad and the perp isn't cooperating…we have to use our guns to protect ourselves, and sometimes the person we are protecting ourselves from…can get hurt or…"

"Die?"

"Yes."

"Did you accidentally kill someone?"

Olivia was in the middle of taking a wet napkin and cleaning her sticky hand with it when she gave up and dropped it on the table.

"Yes, I did."

"Is that why you were crying?"

"…yes."

"It's okay mom. Even people with great responsibility can't control everything."

She grabbed both of his hands with hers. "When did you get to be so intuitive and wonderful! I love you."

He shrugged and slowly slide her full milk shake towards his side of the table and took a big gulp.

"Hey now, save some of that for me," she laughed.

As the words left her mouth, a hand touched the side of her shoulder.

"Olivia Benson, fancy meeting you here," the voice behind her hit her ear and she swung around in defense mode to see Richard Wheatley and a small crew of people in suits and expensive designer wear. "Looks like I'm not the only one craving a milk shake. Who is this lucky young man?"

Olivia stood up and put her body between Wheatley and her son like the ever protective mama bear that she was. "You don't get to talk to my son. What do you want?"

Wheatley smugly chuckled. "Olivia…Liv, as Elliot would call you, such harsh feelings. You know I saved OC's ass yesterday- or excuse me," He winked at Noah. "I saved Elliot's butt yesterday. Did he tell you? If it weren't for me, they would have been hacked and sacked."

Olivia grabbed her purse and Noah's arm. "Let's go. Wheatley, enjoy the milk shakes. My son dropped yours on the floor, but I guess you're used to bottom feeding."

"Ow good one, Liv," Wheatley grinned and got very close to Olivia's personal space. "Feisty, I can see why Elliot likes you."

Olivia turned to leave and Wheatley's men were blocking them in.

She then pulled Noah to the side of her body shielding him as best she could and held her ground. "Listen…Dick, what do you want from me?"

"Why so defensive?," he laughed. "I just wanted to say hello. This is such a cute little neighborhood. You have everything a single working mom needs for her only son. A top notch nanny service, a movie theater, a diner with milkshakes, and a sweet little private school. I bet Noah get's straight A's."

Olivia squeezed Noah's arm so that he knew not to speak.

"Yes, ]you're very observant. Now have your man over there unclog the aisle and let us pass."

"Or what…you'll shoot him…just like you shot that guy the other day."

Olivia tensed up and it read on her face.

Wheatley held his ingenue smile and glared at her. "I saw the video. You are not messing around with that gun. I sure am glad they take it away after a shooting like that, or else, I might be in danger too. I mean, who really knows what's in this brief case. Could it be my computer or could it be a bomb?"

Olivia got up in Wheatley's face and seethed under her breath. "What do you want from me?"

He could feel her breath on his face and it made him tingle with delight.

Wheatley slowly smiled and softly whispered back to her. His face was inches from her ear and the narcissism that poured off of his aura was giving her goosebumps ", I want pay back…and you and Elliot…are making it so much more exciting than I thought it would be. Tell Elliot that if he ever gets the balls to ask you out, Angela and I would love to double date some time. Maybe dinner at the Marriott in that room that spins or New York Steakhouse. What do you say?"

"I'd rather die of starvation than eat dinner with you. Now back off or I'll have a restraining order placed on you and all of your minions."

He chuckled and backed away leaving just enough space for her and Noah to pass.

She rushed out of the diner and pulled Noah down the street in a panic as she dug for her phone to immediately call Elliot.

"Who was that," Noah asked.

"Stay away from that man, Noah. If you see him, you run or tell me immediately. If you see him at school, tell the teacher and have me called immediately."

She stopped and pulled his eyes to hers before calling Elliot. "I mean it. He is a very bad man, and he will hurt you."

"Okay," Noah nodded.

Olivia clicked send on her phone but got Elliot's voice mail.

"El, call me as soon as you can. I know you're on over time with things, but Wheatley just paid Noah and I a visit."