Prompt #10: Elliot has to work on Valentine's Day. Olivia comes to visit.


Seeing Red

•••

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Elliot said into the phone. "I had everything planned, everything. I'm sorry I have to work late."

"El, it's ok. I understand, you know I do. You've more than made up for it," she said, reaching out and lightly touching one of the roses in the vase on her desk. It was a bouquet of 24 pink roses that had gold airbrushed tips, as well as 24 red roses. It was huge and it drew so much attention when it was delivered to her office. She loved the way everyone looked in awe.

She looked to the bouquet of red peonies and white calla lilies on the table in front of the sofa and to the box of fine Italian chocolates. He had also sent her dumplings and egg rolls for lunch, good coffee that met his standards, and macarons from one of her favorite bakeries.

"I planned all of that in addition to the night I wanted to have with you. I can't believe Brewster is making me do paperwork. Paperwork that can wait. Paperwork that's not urgent. I'm not behind on anything, Liv. I made sure."

"Elliot, it's ok. I'm not mad at you," she said. "I'll admit I'm disappointed whatever you had planned is ruined, but I'm not mad at you."

"I just wanted it to be special," he said with a sigh and she could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Well, as much as I love that you had reservations at that new fancy Italian restaurant, I know for a fact I would get the carbonara and it wouldn't compare to yours at all."

"That only makes me feel a little better," he grumbled. "I tried to reschedule the reservation for later. They wouldn't let me though, they're booked solid."

"You don't need to take me to fancy restaurants, Elliot," she replied. "Every dinner I have with you is special, every night I fall asleep next to you and every morning I wake up next to you is special."

"This was our first Valentine's Day, Olivia," he said.

"It's our second," she replied.

"It's our first as husband and wife," he said. "Brewster and Ayanna know that they're just both being unreasonable because of the vacation next week. I swear to god if they do anything to screw that up, I will explode!"

"Oh, don't you worry. No one, and I mean no one will interfere with that. I made sure of that," she said with determination.

"I really just wanted to spend tonight with you. You've been telling me about a red dress for a week, Olivia. You know how much I love you in red."

She smiled as an idea popped into her head. "I'll still see you tonight. You know I always wait up for you anyway."

"Yes, I know, but it's not the same Olivia." Annoyance was evident in his tone. "I've missed too much when I was…"

"El, I know. We will make up for it. Please don't let this anger eat you up. Get your paperwork done, then come home to me," she said. "Put your AirPods in, listen to your music and get your work done.

"Your right, music will help. You didn't drive in, I drove you in this morning. How will you even get home?" he asked.

"Oh, Amanda is going to drop me off. Don't even worry," she said dismissively.

"Will you call me when you're home? So, I know you're home safely?"

"You know that I will. I always will."

•••

"He was so upset about our reservation, Amanda, I never saw him this torn up over missing a Valentine's Day with Kathy," she said as Amanda double-parked in front of the restaurant.

"Well, that's a simple answer isn't it?' she asked with a smile.

Olivia looked over to Amanda, confusion etched in her features. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Because if he was with you on any of those missed Valentine's Days he was exactly where he wanted to be," she said pointing her finger at her.

A knock on the driver's side window interrupted further conversation. Amanda rolled down the window to see the valet standing there. "Ma'am you can't park here," he insisted.

Amanda flipped open her badge. "This is official NYPD business," she snapped, rolling the window back up.

Olivia laughed. "You're getting too much enjoyment out of having done that."

"Go get your husband's dinner, Captain." Amanda smirked at her. "I hope you bought that man a steak after those flowers and chocolates he sent."

•••

Elliot looked at his watch and felt the frustration start to creep back up. He should be sitting with his wife right now halfway through their first glass of wine and deciding on what they'd order for dinner.

It wouldn't have angered him so much if he was out on a case, but the fact that he was sitting at his desk after everyone else had left and doing paperwork that wasn't even vital paperwork really pissed him off.

He had his AirPods in, listening to music like Olivia has suggested. Listening to a Spotify rock playlist Eli had made him. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. When he saw Olivia turn the corner laden down with bags he jumped up in surprise, pulling his AirPods out and tossing them on his desk.

"Surprise, I bought you dinner!" she said with a smile.

"A very good surprise!" He walked towards her to take the bags from her hands and turned to put them on his desk.

When he turned back around he saw her taking off her coat. His eyes widened as he took in the dress. It was a red sheath-style dress that stopped several inches above her knee.

It was sleeveless and dipped down with a V-neckline. She had on silver heels that he was sure were the ones she wore for their wedding, her hair was down and tumbling over her shoulders in waves.

She had on makeup that was darker than what she normally wore to work, her eyes had a smokey appearance, and lined in black. She wore a dark red lipstick.

He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. "I really like this dress," he said, dropping his head down to kiss her.

"I thought why let it go to waste," she said with a smile. Bringing her arms up and wrapping them around him.

"You didn't have to come here Liv," he said. "I feel bad I had to cancel on you."

"I wanted to come, and don't worry about it. I'm staying until you leave," she said with a smile.

He smiled back at her. "I promise I'll make it up to you," he said, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"You don't have to, really. You've done more than enough. It could just as easily be me stuck at work," she said.

"So, you brought me dinner and you're going to stay with me while I finish my paperwork? What did I do to deserve you?" he asked.

"I think you'll like what I brought," she said with a smile.

"I already love what you brought," he said smoothing his hands down her sides.

"You'll like what's in the bags too. Go look," she said, pressing her hand against his chest.

He stepped back and turned to the bags 0n his desk. As soon as he opened the bags he felt his stomach start to growl.

He started to take out the take-out containers, lining them all up on his desk.

"It's not the best but it was all I could pull together on short notice," she said with a shrug.

He looked at her, shaking his head. "Liv it's perfect. This is great. That steak looks amazing! You got mashed potatoes, and Mac and Cheese, too?"

She smiles back at him, knowing she got all his favorites. He doesn't allow himself to eat them often, but she knows how he loves them. "There's salad there too, and I know they gave risotto too even though I insisted that I didn't want it because yours is better."

"You went to Prime! They have the best steaks. Thank you," he said turning to wrap his arms around her again. "I really needed this; I was in an awful mood. You just turned that around by walking in."

"I know I could hear it in your voice. You weren't happy. So, I wanted to come and change that," she said, sliding her hands up his chest to his shoulders.

"You don't have to bring anything with you to turn my mood around," he said staring into her eyes.

She reached up and put a hand on his cheek and slid her other hand to the back of his neck pulling his face closer to hers so she could kiss him.

"I will make this up to you," he said. "I do have a few other things for you at home."

"Do you?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I do," he said, leaning in to kiss her once more before he released her and grabbed a nearby chair, and wheeled it to his desk. He held the chair until she sat down.

She leaned her elbow on his desk and rested her chin on the palm of her hand and watched him. "The only thing I forgot was drinks," she said with a shrug. "Poor planning on my part."

He turned to her and grinned. "That I actually can take care of. Be right back," he said and he quickly walked down the hallway and out of sight.

She sat back in the chair and crossed one leg over the other while she waited. A voice from behind her started her and she jumped.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but you can't be here. I'm not sure how you got in here, but you shouldn't be here," a gruff voice said.

She turned in the chair and saw an older man in uniform with his hands on his hips. He glanced down at her legs before training his eyes on her chest.

She didn't even have to say anything, Elliot was back striding towards his desk. She could tell from the way his eyes narrowed and the frown on his face that he could see the man gawking at her.

"Is there a problem here, Steve?" he asked, walking towards his desk holding two cans of soda in his hands.

"Detective Stabler, I was just walking through to get a cup of coffee and I saw her sitting here. Was telling her she shouldn't be here is all," he said with a shrug, his eyes dropping down to her legs again.

She easily could've stepped in and said something, but she would let Elliot handle this. Knew he would take pleasure in it.

"Steve," Elliot growled. "This is my wife, Captain Olivia Benson-Stabler."

She grinned at the emphasis he put on Stabler. They had both agreed she would use Benson while at work, but in everything else, she gladly and proudly used Stabler as her last name.

"Oh I didn't mean any disrespect, just saw someone I didn't recognize," he said his eyes once again drifting down to her legs.

"Steve, I would appreciate it if you stopped staring at my wife's legs," Elliot said through gritted teeth. He walked around to stand in front of Olivia, setting a can of soda down in front of her. She couldn't help the grin on her face watching Elliot get territorial.

If it were her squad room of course she wouldn't allow it, but since it was his, she would give him this. She loved watching him when he was jealous. His chest would puff out, his biceps would tense, his eyes would squint, and he would clench his jaw.

"I…ummmm…yeah. Sorry," Steve muttered before he hurried away.

"You enjoying yourself?" she asked, grin still stretched across her face.

Elliot shrugged, his own grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I don't like it when people try to take what's mine," he said, staring at her, as he sat in his chair and pushed it closer to hers. He put both of his hands on her thighs. "These legs are mine, only I get to stare at them. He may have only been looking but he had want in his expression," he said, shaking his head.

"How do you know that he had want in his expression?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Simple. I know that because I stared at them for 13 years, then I dreamt about them for 10, I came back and started to stare at them again, continued to dream about them for what another year, so after 24 years I'm staking claim because I know what it's like to want these legs. No one else gets to want these legs," he said.

She shook her head grinning at him. "I know they're yours, but you've always been a possessive asshole," she said. "Your steak is getting cold."

He smirked as he reached for the container. "Haven't you figured it out by now, Captain? I'm only possessive when you're concerned."

•••

He looked over at Olivia, his suit jacket was draped over her shoulders, the sleeves hiding her hands, her shoes were off and her feet were resting on a nearby chair and she was looking through her phone.

He looked at his watch, it read 9:26. He had one more sheet of paperwork to go.

"This is my last one," he exclaimed.

She looked up and smiled at him. "It didn't take you long at all," she said.

He signed his signature on the last line and slipped it into the folder and stood. He walked over to the stairs, made his way up to Bell's office. He opened the door and placed the file folder on her desk.

He turned to make his way back down the stairs and saw her gathering up all the trash from their dinner and walking to throw it in the trash can a few feet from his desk.

He thought back to all the Valentine's Days he missed with Kathy. Even when he'd been in the 1-6 just sitting at his desk, she never would've come to see him.

Instead, she'd stew at home and be ready to fight when he came through the door.

"You know there are some discrepancies in your paperwork," she said, turning to look at him when he made his way back to her desk.

He looked at her with a confused expression. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you signed them wrong," she said matter of factly.

"No, I didn't," he said, with certainty. "I went over them 3 times to make sure I don't get called in tomorrow to have to fix things."

She shook her head. "You're wrong," she said. "I know for a fact that you're wrong."

"Liv, how exactly am I wrong?" he asked

"Well, you signed your paperwork Detective Elliot J. Stabler correct?" she asked.

"Yes. That's my name," he said.

"Well," she said reaching into her bag and pulling out a leather case, "you should've signed it Sergeant Elliot J. Stabler," she said with a grin, handing him the case.

He took the case from her and flipped it open. "I passed," he said quietly.

"You did. I called in a few favors and got your results early. Hope you don't mind. I wanted to be the one to tell you." She stepped closer to him.

"Wow, I didn't think I would pass," he said, running his fingers over the badge inside.

She smiled and slid her hands up his chest. "I knew you would."

"How did you get my badge?" he asked looking at her, shock still etched across his face.

"McGrath owes me, he called in a favor for me. After I insisted of course. Maybe I overstepped, and I'm sorry if you feel I have, but when I found out you passed on Thursday, I wanted to be the one to tell you. You still have to go to the promotion ceremony though," she said.

"Oh no, you didn't overstep. I love that you're the one that gave it to me. It means so much to me," he said, pulling her into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and leaned in to kiss her.

She slipped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You earned it. You put so much of yourself, so much of your heart into what you do. Maybe I'm being selfish and taking something away by giving it to you now, but for me when I made Sergeant, I only wanted you there. So, maybe this is my selfish way of trying to go back in time."

He tightened his arms around her and one of his hands moved up to the back of her neck. "What I wouldn't do to be able to go back and be standing there for you. You didn't take anything away, and you are not selfish. I'm glad you told me, it means so much more to have you hand me this badge, Liv."

"I had it with me since I got it Thursday morning. When I was working, in some situations that had the potential to turn bad, it felt like I had you next to me, and it was very good feeling," she said, pulling away and turning to reach into her bag again. "It got me thinking, maybe you'd like that feeling too. So, I thought maybe you'd want my old badge." She extended her hand out to him and handed him a similar-looking leather case.

He reached out and took it from her. He flipped it open and saw her detective badge, he ran his fingers over the raised 4015. He looked up at her, he could see the emotion he felt mirrored in her own eyes. "Then you should have mine," he said reaching to his belt where he had his badge clipped.

"Hold on to it for now. I don't have anywhere to put it on this dress," she said with a smile.

"I was wondering where you'd stash your gun," he said with a grin. He stepped back to her and grabbed her hand. "You ready to go home now?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, slipping his suit jacket off and handing it to him. "Let's go home."

He held her coat out in front of him and waited while she slipped her arms into the sleeves. He put his suit jacket on and slung her bag over his arm. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her up the steps and down the hallway towards the exit.

When they got to the end, he stopped, removed his arm from around her shoulders, and looked at her. His mind drifted back to that day when he called her to question the little girl. There was something he had wanted to do that day, only he didn't have the nerve to do it then.

She looked at him questionably and put her hand on his arm. "You ok?" she asked.

"Perfect." He pulled her back by her bicep and pushed her back to the wall. He placed one hand next to her head on the wall and the other cupped her cheek. "Just remembering something I really wanted to do but didn't," he said with a smirk before he leaned forward to capture her lips.