The next day was painful.
Walking up to her desk Olivia was a wreck, she had barely slept last night. Taking a seat she slipped off her coat and glanced at her coffee mug. She needed caffeine badly. Half way into pouring the milk she could sense him behind her.
"Hey." He said almost in a whisper as if the two of them talking would be suspicious.
She stirred the milk so it melted into the black liquid creating a light brown temptation.
"Hi." She mumbled, not even looking up at his presence.
"Listen, I'm sorry about last night, let me explain." His tone was uneasy, yet calculated like he had been practicing this conversation all night.
"Elliot, there is no need for an explanation, ok. I get it." She picked up her mug and began making her way back to her desk.
"I don't think you do." He followed close on her heels.
She turned around quickly and he stopped himself from running into her.
"What's not to get? Can we please just forget this?" She gave him a pleading look hoping he would drop it.
He went to respond when Fin entered the station, "Morning." He announced as he made his way through to the lockers.
They were no longer alone, so Elliot let Olivia off this time, but not without his final word.
"We'll talk later, this isn't over." He assured her.
She considered being childish, flying back with an intensified 'Yes it is!' but she gave in, somewhat satisfied that he was content to drop it for now. As she sat down with her coffee she noticed the list still plaguing her on her desk. She was instantly reminded of how painful yesterday was.
Nathan Thompson
The name she had left off at. She clicked on her computer and sipped at her coffee, it was hot and bitter just the way she liked it. She noticed Elliot wasn't looking in her direction, he had sat down opposite her and pretended to busy himself with the notes scattered across his desk.
This was going to be a long day.
She made her way into the database and began a new search. She smiled to herself in the hope that maybe she would be cut a break and that perhaps Nathan Thompson was the name she was looking for all along. As she typed in each letter she held her breath as she clicked the search button.
No match.
She sighed. She ploughed through the remainder of the list, now convinced that she wasn't going to turn up with anything and she had wasted her time. All she needed was one more hit to at least make a connection for a lead. She didn't think she would be so lucky.
As she made her way into the V's Elliot walked past her desk, catching her mission as he passed.
"You're not still doing that list are you?" He said in shock.
She bit her lip, here we go again, asshole Elliot back in full force.
"Yes Elliot." She gritted her teeth.
He pulled the list from her desk.
"V." He announced, "You've gotten all the way to V and yet nothing. When are you going to give up?" He said annoyed.
She snatched the list from his grip in a childlike fashion, "When I get to Z Elliot, that's the end." She mocked him.
"No, you're giving up now." He said, pulling the list from her grip and tossing it into the trashcan.
She gripped the side of her desk trying to steady herself from blowing up, faces around the office were already looking their way and she was trying her best to stay calm.
"It will take me less than an hour Elliot, it's going to seem pretty pointless if one of those Z's is a victim." She said it all in the calmest manner she could manage.
"In an hour we could have another victim on our hands." He pressed the issue.
She was pulling the list from the trash, barely paying attention to him.
"I'm finishing the list Elliot, how about you do something half productive." She mumbled entering the next name into the system.
He had noticed the eyes and ears in the room and obviously concluded it wouldn't be worth it to pursue this. He reluctantly walked back to his desk and picked up the phone. She pretended not to be interested in the call but listened with a keen ear.
"Hi it's Elliot Stabler with the Special Victims Unit, can I have all known information on Maria Luckata?" Olivia's eyes narrowed as her fingers froze over the keyboard, not wanting the tapping to drown out Elliot's words.
She listened as he explained what he required and gave them the fax number. She chewed on her lip, anxious for him to get off the phone so she could find out just what he was doing.
As soon as the phone hit the cradle Olivia called him on it, "Elliot that lead was dry, she had nothing to offer us."
"Exactly, maybe she had something to hide." He told her barely looking her way.
She shook her head, refusing to get into the semantics and continued with her list.
Finally she had reached the last name, she felt defeated and small. She didn't even pretend to hope that Julie Zillmerman would be a hit, she knew it was over.
'NO MATCH FOUND'
The words blared at her as if taunting her. Elliot was busying himself in the pages of the fax he'd been sent on Maria. She subtly pushed the list into a stack of papers she deemed no longer useful and grabbed her coffee mug, heading for the faithful machine once more. As she made her second cup she looked at her watch noticing it wasn't even 9:30am and she would already be caffeine overloaded.
She made her way back to her desk and casually asked, "So any dirt on Maria?" She didn't mean to sound skeptical but it had come out that way.
"More luck than you had on your list." He said childishly scanning through the papers.
She chose to ignore him, standing up and making her way to his side of the desk, "What have you found?"
"She was abused as a child." He mumbled. Father was sent to prison when she was three.
"Sexual or physical?" Olivia inquired.
"Does it matter?" Elliot said with annoyance.
"Yes, it does. These children were molested and then murdered so it's relevant. If it was only physical then-"
"In 1996 she was fired for unorthodox behaviour involving the child in her care." He cut her off. "But I'm sure you'll shoot holes through that fact as well." He looked up at her almost waiting for it.
She was stunned, "I'm just talking Elliot, I'm not shooting you down. I asked a simple question, was it physical or sexual?"
"Physical, but you've spoken to Haung, we all know it only takes a couple of bruises and you can be damaged goods." His voice was raised and his features were heated.
"Ok, Jesus would you calm down. I'm just asking." She told him.
"Just go back to your list Olivia." He said bitterly shaking his head.
She sighed, "I've finished." She informed him unwillingly, knowing what was coming.
"Oh," suddenly he took interest in the situation, "well how did that work out for you? Hours of your time shot to hell I can imagine, are you ready to do some actual work now?" He was beyond pushing it.
"Fuck you." She muttered almost under her breath. 'Fuck you' for everything she thought.
"What was that?" He said with a laugh of surprise. He actually stood up to face her, ready to hear this.
When she didn't answer he went further.
"What did you just say to me?" He said with half a smile.
"You heard me." She said eyeing him like the devil.
"You want me to fuck you?" He whispered with a phoney confused look on his face.
She could have hit him, right there - a hard slug to the left side of his face. She could almost hear the crack.
"Is that it? I didn't hear you." He stepped closer to her as if to hear her.
"Go to hell Elliot." She said bitterly, his face inches away, she then made motions to walk away from him. At the last moment she hesitated turning back, "Just for the record…you did this." She informed him, before turning around and heading directly towards Cragen's office.
If he had attempted to stop her she wouldn't have known because she didn't look back. She made a bee line directly to Cragen's door and knocked on it determinedly. She could see through the crack in the blinds that Cragen was waving her in. She pulled open the door and stepped in, he was just placing the phone down and suddenly she felt guilty for interrupting.
"What is it?" Cragen asked with concern, she noticed there was a little hopeful tone in his voice that he suspected we had a break on the case.
"Captain…" She began, as she took a seat in front of him. "I can't do this anymore." She told him openly.
His eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Do what?"
"Deal with Elliot." She summarised.
He didn't look as surprised as she thought he would.
"I know." He agreed with her, "He's been a little… trying lately."
She inwardly sighed with relief that she wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"So you have noticed the way he talks to me and the way he's been acting lately?" She questioned.
Cragen nodded, "I know he has been a little out of line."
A little? Olivia wanted to laugh.
Cragen sat back in his chair continuing, "But given the circumstances I think we should cut him a little slack."
Now it was Olivia's eyebrows that furrowed in confusion.
She was moments away from asking him what he was talking about when she stopped and nodded. If she questioned him, he may not tell her, where as if Cragen already assumed she knew, she might not have to ask.
"I mean how would you be acting if your wife of 20 years filed for divorce out of the blue."
Bingo.
Her mouth dropped, she couldn't fake it any longer "Kathy filed for divorce?" She asked wide-eyed.
Cragen studied her, "I thought you knew?"
"No, I didn't." She twisted in her seat.
"I was sure he told you. I mean Fin and Munch know."
Olivia slunk back in her chair, suddenly feeling very out of the loop.
"When?" She asked trying hard not to falter.
"About a month ago." He said softly, knowing she wouldn't take that well.
A month, a whole month and he'd said nothing. All those stakeouts, lunch breaks, morning coffee conversations and he'd said jack all. She was reeling inside, she couldn't wait to get back out there and punch him hard in the face like she'd pictured doing earlier.
"It was a month ago when she filed for divorce, and about a week ago when he signed the papers."
Pieces began to fall into place. A week ago when he started treating her like shit, a week ago when perhaps the denial had faded and he had signed his old life away. She couldn't believe he just gave up without a fight.
"He signed them?" She questioned, "Just like that?"
Cragen shifted in his chair, realising they were getting off track, "Look I don't know all the in's and out's, I just know his behaviour although not excusable recently is tolerable for the time being."
Olivia's eyes narrowed, "So you think it's appropriate for him to shoot down my every statement in front of the entire station?"
Cragen gave her a helpless look, like she didn't have much of a case. She racked her brain for a better excuse but anything she could reference would only incriminate their recent inappropriate behaviour in the weight room and on her couch.
She had a gold mine in his last statement to her. 'You want me to fuck you?' It gave her shivers thinking about it, but repeating it to Cragen would open up a whole other can of worms.
"So I just have to take it then? The insults, the sarcasm, the derogatory remarks?" Olivia threw her hands up in defeat.
He studied her, partially sympathetic, "Give him till the end of the week."
She looked away defeated.
"If he's still acting up, I'll talk to him." Cragen assured her.
"Ok." She got up, she could say a lot worse but she didn't want to push it. "Thanks." She mumbled as she walked to the door.
"Liv," he called out before she left and she turned around.
"You've put him in his place before, stand up for yourself, don't let him get away with it."
She smiled to herself knowingly and nodded before leaving. She could hear the phone ring through Cragen's office as she shut the door. He was right, she never used to take shit from Elliot, it was only recently that she would start to walk on egg shells and now ever since that devastating kiss in the weight room, she'd lost even more control. It was time to take it back.
As she took her seat at her desk she was sure she would be subjected to questions and condescending remarks about her visit to Cragen. He was just about to open his mouth when Cragen came bursting out of his office with a concerned but purposeful look on his face.
"Olivia, Elliot, a young boy has just been reported missing, same MO, taken from his bed in midtown, same note. We need you on the scene."
Elliot was pulling on his coat before he had finished his sentence, "Lets go." He called out to Olivia who was already dragging on her coat and following his lead.
The car ride was silent and uncomfortable for a multitude of reasons. Mainly the fury Olivia was feeling towards Elliot's complete lack of communication regarding his marriage. She dabbled in the idea of bringing it up but she knew it wasn't the time or the place.
"We put Jonathan to bed at 7 o'clock, and then Campbell came in to check on him at around 9pm and he was fine."
Olivia nodded as she took down the notes the distraught mother gave her.
"Then I came in to wake him up for school and he was…" her words trailed off as her tears began to stream.
"I know this must be hard, but I was told there was a note?" Olivia questioned trying to sound sympathetic to the situation.
The woman motioned to Elliot who was on the other side of the room, inspecting the note preserved in an evidence bag. Olivia nodded, and walked up to Elliot glancing at the familiar text from the previous case.
She motioned for him to let her read it and he handed it over to her and walked away.
'Roses are red, Violets are black, Johnny isn't 'missing', you won't get him back.'
Olivia's eyes widened, a very harsh way of informing us he intends to kill the child. Elliot had walked over to the woman and she listened as he spoke to her. "Mrs Thompson, did you hear anything, anything at all during the night?"
Olivia opened the drawers of the dresser and began lightly rummaging through. Nothing out of the ordinary and she knew it was probably a waste of time since the forensics had already run through them, but she continued regardless.
Elliot wrapped up the questions and made his way over to Olivia just as she was pulling open the last drawer. She stilled as she looked inside, slowly she pulled out the Mickey Mouse plush doll. She heard Elliot sigh in her ear and he quickly pulled the toy from her grasp.
"Don't." He warned her quietly and she just watched him as he placed it back in the draw and shut it.
Walking back to the mother she overheard Elliot wrapping things up.
"If you need anything at all here is my card, if you hear anything at all please don't hesitate to give us a call, we'll be in contact."
He didn't even look over his shoulder to ensure Olivia was following him. She clenched her fists and sucked in a breath.
Elliot already had the car started and he was practically revving the engine. She was surprised he hadn't just driven away without her at this rate. She slid into the passengers seat and pulled on her seatbelt. He already had the car in motion before she had it buckled.
The car was filled with silence and Olivia chose to glance out the window, focusing on the world around her instead of the tension inside.
When a good portion of their trip was out of the way Elliot finally broke the silence, "So you're not talking to me now?" Elliot's voice echoed through the car as he pulled to a stoplight.
Her eyebrows rose at the fact he was even questioning her silence. She shook her head at the insanity and cleared her throat, still refusing to answer him.
Luckily her phone was vibrating against her hip. She answered quickly, "Benson."
It was Cragen, and he wanted an update.
"No fingerprints, no sign of entry or foul play. Just the note." Olivia informed him.
She paused as he asked what it said.
She read it off the note in her hand. "Roses are red, Violets are black, Johnny isn't 'missing', you won't get him back."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
"Captain?" She asked when she couldn't hear anything.
"This doesn't sound good." He told her.
Olivia nodded, "I know, Emily's note was far less threatening, I don't have a good feeling about this."
"I'm gonna get Fin and Munch on this as well, they can take the note into ballistics while the two of you work on the evidence you've found and any other avenues you feel are worth pursuing."
She nodded again despite Cragen being unable to see her.
"Ok, we aren't far away." Olivia informed him and she clicked off the phone.
The car was enveloped in silence once more. Olivia chewed on her lip in frustration, she was worried. Their killer had practically informed them Johnny was dead if not dying and they couldn't do anything about it. Elliot was still silent as Olivia re-read the note in her hand.
"Fin and Munch are going to take this note into ballistics, he wants us to look into all possible avenues." She repeated Cragen's spiel.
"What avenues? That boy is as good as dead." Elliot muttered more so to himself.
Olivia sucked in a breath, "I know this doesn't look good, but we have to consider all possibilities, we can revisit Emily's case, decipher any links, there is always the possibility the killer will contact the Thompson's for a ransom-"
"Ransom?" Elliot cut her off rudely laughing, "This guy isn't interested in money, he has fucking stated that in black and white Olivia, so don't even waste your time."
She was through defending herself, she was through communicating with him, she was through with him. He had some nerve to talk to her like that and instead of getting all worked up and cussing back at him she sat there steadying herself and mentally brainstorming all the other possibilities regarding this case.
Three traffic lights later, the silence was almost a permanent fixture in the car. She was mentally mulling over a few details from Emily's case, trying to remember anything that may connect with Johnny when Elliot interrupted her thoughts.
"So now you are back to the silent treatment, how mature of you." Elliot spoke irritably. She looked over at him with a tired expression on her face.
"It's not the silent treatment Elliot, forgive me if I want to avoid being patronized." She spoke honestly, turning her attention back to the window.
"Call it what you want." He mumbled as he pulled to another stoplight.
With an edge of exhaustion to her words Olivia retorted, "Elliot do you have something to say to me?" Her brown eyes waited for his and when he finally looked over at her, she held them for any sort of answer. He watched her for a moment. A mixture of pain and nervousness flew through her at the prospect at what he might say.
He shook his head, needlessly following his gesture with a single word, "No."
She sighed quietly and turned once more to the world outside theirs.
Back at the station she was collating the information she received from the crime scene. Jonathan Thompson, eight years old, missing, assumed dead.
She was sorting through the scattered papers on her desk when she came across the list she had spent so much time on. She shook her head and angrily picked it up, moments from tossing it into the trashcan. Her eyes froze on the name she had marked a spot beside.
Nathan Thompson.
Quite a coincidence she thought. She looked across and spotted Elliot over the other side of the room talking to Fin. Quickly and without a moment of hesitation she picked up the phone and dialed the number on the list.
"Hi this is detective Olivia Benson with the special victims unit…" her words were close to a whisper.
"Can you please fax over the original membership form for Nathan Thompson, membership number 542354."
She quoted from the page. As the woman on the other line was noting her request Olivia looked up. Elliot caught her eye and she looked away too quickly. She knew she was being overly cautious hiding this but she couldn't take another argument with him.
"It's 555 2598. Thank you very much." She said just as Elliot made his way back to the desk. She put the phone down and slid the list between some papers as he sat down. He was eyeing her curiously trying to figure out what she was up to.
"Who was that?" He asked her fiddling with a pencil, leaning back in his chair. Just as she was deliberating a cover Elliot's phone saved her the trouble. He was still watching her, waiting for her to answer but she didn't, instead she just gestured towards his phone with her eyes. Reluctantly he answered it and she took that opportunity to stand up and make her way over to the fax machine.
It was an anxious wait, she knew Elliot would come and hound her after his phone call had ended. Just as the light on the machine turned on Elliot hung up and made a bee line for Olivia.
"Grab your coat, Maria's former employer has some information for us." He said with a victorious smile plastered over his face.
Olivia chewed the inside of her cheek, watching the fax machine out of the corner of her eye.
"You go ahead." She told him sucking in a breath, "I've some things I need to tie up."
He studied her skeptically, "What things?"
"Just some things Elliot, it's just an interview, you don't need me there." She told him directly.
He was about to say something but really he had nothing. They didn't always race off to these things together so he had no reason to question her. Elliot's eyes made their way down to the fax machine and she held her breath as it started to whir.
Just as the page started to emerge he cleared his throat.
"Ok." He gave in and walked away grabbing his coat just as the letterhead of the Mickey Mouse fan club peered out from the machine.
She snatched the form quickly and took it to her desk. She studied the information provided. 'Nathan Thompson' scribed in a child's writing, the child had filled it out himself. She squinted at the address portion, she couldn't make it out at first until suddenly it became clear. '145 Shelton Lane'. She sucked in a breath, it was the house they had just visited. She read the date of birth, quickly deciphering his age was eight but it was just the name that plagued her. Nathan. Jonathan was an only child so it couldn't have been his twin.
She noticed a little mark before his name so she turned on her overhead light to get a better look. There was a small dash of ink and a few lines on the paper before his name began. She quickly searched for a pencil but couldn't find one on her desk. She stood up leaning over and grabbing the one Elliot had been fiddling with earlier.
She slowly drew a line down towards the dip of ink forming a 'J' and then placed an 'o' in the space between Nathan. She sat back looking at the name
Jo nathan.
Jonathan. The pen hadn't worked when the child had begun writing his name. Whoever had put his name into the database hadn't noticed. She smiled to herself and made her way towards Cragen's office.
She had spent the rest of the day interviewing the managing director of the Mickey Mouse fan club and several employees. She had informed them of the situation and proceeded to get the membership department to provide a list of all members over the age of twenty. There were multitudes. She never realized how many adult members they had. She had figured it was either a staff member who had access to the list or an older club member.
So far her interviews hadn't turned up anything concrete but she was confident she was on the right track. It was getting late, she considered heading back to the station but the thought of dealing with Elliot was making her head spin. She took the stack of documents with her as she headed home.
The papers were scattered before her as she sat on her couch. She rubbed her eyes and then blinked glancing at the clock.
1:45am.
She needed to get some sleep.
A hard knock on her door snapped her awake. Her heart began racing as she stood up and slowly made her way towards the door, noting her gun was in close range she looked through the peephole.
Elliot.
She closed her eyes sighing. Maybe if she just stood still he would give up and assume she was asleep.
"Olivia. I can hear you, open the door." His voice was so loud it echoed through the hallway. She looked down, she was wearing a cream tank top and her pajama bottoms. Moments from walking over to grab a sweater she heard him again.
"Olivia?" He yelled through the door.
She pulled the door open instantly and stepped forward, grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the apartment, shutting the door behind them.
"Jesus Elliot, what is it? I have neighbors you know!" She pointed out in a loud whisper.
"What is it?" He repeated the question, "Oh, I've just spent the past five hours wondering why it is my partner doesn't trust me anymore."
She sighed realizing Cragen must have informed him of her whereabouts today. She could see the anger in Elliot's eyes but she couldn't help herself. "It took you five hours to figure that out." She hinted at the makings of a small smile.
"You think this is a joke?" He scrunched up his features, "I have to find out from Cragen that you had a major break in the case, while I'm out interviewing a family whose last involvement was over 15 years ago!" He yelled.
She folded her arms in front of her, the adrenaline was pumping and she was ready to even the score, "Oh yeah, and how did that go? Any major breakthroughs?" Her words were dripping in sarcasm.
His eyes narrowed at her in disbelief, "Fuck you." He yelled at her beyond pissed off.
She stepped towards him, letting her hands fall from their crossed position to their sides. "What was that?" She asked with a glare. She was being a smartass but she needed this, to give him what he deserved. "What did you say to me?" She was close now, so close, with only the slightest hint of a smile behind her eyes, "You want me to fuck you?"
Her words cut deep and he stepped back a couple of paces, moving away from her. He broke off the eye contact and she knew then that she had the power in this instance and that she'd finally put him in his place. She was still watching him, like a caged mouse, waiting for a response. Then out of nowhere he regained some strength. He moved back to where he was standing and got into her face, "What the hell is your problem?"
She licked her lips gearing for a fight, "You're the one with the problem Elliot, so why don't you tell me."
"My only problem is what you did today. Do you know how embarrassing it was to find out from Cragen that my partner was off doing our job without me? He couldn't figure out why you wouldn't have told me."
"Yeah well I bet you can," she responded in almost a whisper. "And don't even try to deny you were against this whole lead to begin with, what did you call it? A waste of time? You told me to do some 'actual work'. So if you weren't going to support my theory I was going to investigate it alone." She almost laughed, "I mean if it weren't for you holding me back, I'd probably have this case solved by now."
Something flickered in his eyes, "I'm holding you back?" He asked her in a low voice. "Well if I'm holding you back maybe you should request another partner." He told her directly.
She smiled, knowing she had the next battle in the bag. "I already did Elliot, Cragen told me to give you another chance."
If she didn't know any better she could have sworn he looked hurt by her words, in pain almost.
"You requested a new partner?" He said slowly in disbelief.
"Yes Elliot, I told him I've had enough of your BS. You've been treating me like shit for over a week now and I shouldn't have to take it." She stepped towards him, "So, if you want to get all worked up over the fact that I did my job alone today because I didn't want to deal with your crap then fine. I have more on you than I even need to use, but push me any further and believe me I will."
Elliot nearly laughed, "Oh, you're threatening me now Olivia? How tactful." He started to step towards her shortening the distance between them. He got too close and she stepped back, coming in contact with the wall behind her. He closed the distance once more, leaving her with nowhere to go.
"Go ahead, speak to Cragen, tell him you can't handle me anymore," he scoffed. "I don't think I want a partner who's going behind my back and hiding things from me." He told her shaking his head at her in disappointment.
"Hiding things?" Olivia smiled, "Well you're the expert on that." She responded without haste. "When exactly where you going to tell me you were getting divorced Elliot?"
She dropped the bombshell and Elliot's mouth nearly dropped with it.
She smiled, "Yes, could you imagine my surprize when I find out from Cragen of all people who couldn't understand why you would tell the whole precinct and not me. So do you have a reason Elliot, why you would keep that from me?"
He watched her, "My personal life is my business, so in that respect I don't have to tell you a god damn thing."
Her back was still pressed up against the wall and he made no motion to give her any more space than she had.
"I realise that Elliot, I just want to know why I was the only one who didn't know. I mean that piece of information certainly would have come in handy before the fact." She told him angrily.
His body softened a little and he smiled harshly at her, "Why Liv, would you have let me fuck you if you knew I was divorced?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief and she pushed him hard in the chest, he stepped backward but steadied himself before he fell. She walked past him determinedly and he reached out grabbing her upper arm. She snapped and hit him hard in the side of his face with her free hand. He let go and stumbled back, coating his face with his hand, wincing in pain.
"No Elliot, I would have put a stop to it earlier because I would have known it was just a piss poor response to your failed marriage. So next time you feel like you need to use someone as a rebound, don't be so fucking stupid as to choose your own partner."
She went to walk past him again but he stood in front of her.
"First of all, that fucking hurt," he rasped, "and second of all what happened between us had nothing to do with being on the rebound."
She swallowed, a definite moment of weakness rocking into her and he could see it in her eyes, she was petrified. Her mouth however wouldn't allow the weakness to take over.
"I don't care what you call it, it was fucking stupid and it's not going to happen again." She stepped forward to make sure he knew she meant business.
"You kissed me back Olivia," he moved her back against the wall, his lips hovering above hers, "You moaned into my mouth." Her heart was racing and she was trying desperately to cling to some control. His body was caging hers against the wall and his lips were drawing slowly closer, "You wanted me to continue." He concluded and she finally snapped out of it, pushing him away.
"Temporary insanity," she confirmed to his questioning eyes, "I won't let it happen again."
He shook his head at her, "Fine…" he gave in. "If that's the way you want to play this."
"I'm not playing anything Elliot, now if you want this to work I suggest you forget it ever happened and concentrate on the case. That includes treating me like a decent human being at work and not intimidating and patronizing me all day."
He looked as if he was taking her words in but then quickly dismissing them, "Do you really want to know why I didn't tell you about Kathy?"
She sighed, annoyed that he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.
"Do you?" He asked again, and she threw up her hands in defeat.
"Because you are the reason our marriage ended Olivia. There it is in black and white." He told her straight out.
She watched him in shock and then finally asked him.
"You're going to blame me for your failed marriage Elliot? Now that's a new low." She spat.
"It's true." He said through gritted teeth.
"What are you talking about?" She sighed, not actually wanting to receive an answer.
"Kathy was convinced that I was sleeping with you. I mean she always had her suspicions along the way but about a month ago she decided once and for all that I was a liar and I was cheating on her and there wasn't a thing I could do to change her mind."
Olivia furrowed her brow in response, not quite the answer she was expecting.
"So she filed for divorce just like that, I spent a few weeks trying to convince her she was being ridiculous but there was no point. She had my bags packed when I came home one night and that was it. So I'm sorry if I've been acting a little off with you lately, and excuse me if I don't treat you with the same graces as before." He finished off angrily.
Olivia laughed in surprised, "Wait a minute so you really are blaming me for breaking up your marriage? You've got to be kidding me!" She shook her head in disbelief.
"Technically, I'd still be living with my family if it weren't for you." Elliot told her stubbornly.
"You're fucking insane Elliot, why don't you place the blame where it actually belongs… with yourself. You could have done more to prove to Kathy that nothing was going on but you didn't. I cannot believe I've had to endure a week of you taking your personal problems out on me. You're a fucking asshole Elliot, get out!" She was really angry now.
"No, I'm not leaving until we are finished." He stopped her from opening the door.
"Oh believe me, we're finished." She told him bitterly.
When he wasn't going anywhere she let out a heated breath, her fingers curling over in frustration.
"You know what Elliot," she sighed, shaking her head in disbelief, "If you were so angry at me for causing your marriage breakdown then why the hell were you all over me in the weight room?" She yelled angrily.
He was looking at the mark on the wall behind Olivia when finally his eyes flicked harshly to hers. "I was thinking that if Kathy was going to accuse me of sleeping with you… I might as well get the benefits."
His words washed over her in a wave, there was no point hiding the hurt and sadness that was now evident in her eyes. She stood there in disbelief, biting on her lower lip in an effort to hold back any sign of emotion. She didn't have to ask him to leave again because he was already opening the door and just like that he was gone.
