Olivia woke up with a startle, but she relaxed rather quickly. For years she had slept alone and she was used to having her bed all to herself, but that was not the case this night. There was warmth radiating from the middle of the bed, and Olivia was feeling rather hot.
She shifted in the bed, turned her back to the other body on the other side and slipped her foot out of the covers. He shifted too. Like gravity, he angled himself towards her, his head landed on the same pillow she was using, his one hand was placed on her side on her ribcage, and the other was against her back. His breathing didn't change.
Olivia realized no matter how hot she was getting and how annoyed she was for no getting a full night sleep, she had missed having someone to share her bed with. She'd missed hearing somebody breathe next to her and on an occasion have an arm wrapped around her.
And then she fell back asleep with his burning hot body pressed into her. And she'd probably never get used to this.
She woke a bit later again. His hand was still on her ribcage and his chest was pressed against her back. She shifted, and messed with the covers to kick them completely off her feet. Her hands were hugging the pillow and cooler air hit her. He must've been alerted by her movements, she tried to mimic deep even breaths so he wouldn't think that she was awake – this was one awkward conversation she didn't want to have. He swallowed, rolled to his back and then surprising Olivia, got up from the bed, he went to the bathroom. Olivia moved in the bed, she realized she was quite on the edge of her own bed with a serious threat of falling on the floor. She was quick, by the time he flushed and turned off the tap, she was a little further from the edge, still hugging her pillow with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
Elliot stopped on the edge of the bed and Olivia heard him take off some clothes – they had watched a movie and then fallen asleep unexpectedly in their clothes – she had her comfortable loungewear on, while he was wearing his button up shirt and jeans. Would make sense that he'd want to take it off.
Then he got back into bed. He hesitated briefly, then moved under the covers until he was pressed up against her again. He placed his hand back on her ribcage, but he did something she didn't anticipate – with his free hand, he moved her hair from her neck and placed his lips against her skin there. His beard tickled her, but it was nice. It felt good. His lips were soft and tender against her skin. Then he did something completely unexpected and moved his hand from her ribcage to her breast. He gave it a bit of a squeeze, then released it and kept his palm there quite casually.
Ironically, Olivia didn't mind it. She found herself not feeling even a bit uncomfortable. In a very weird way it felt good. For some guys over the years have had their hands over her boobs in a similar way, most of the time she felt a bit uncomfortable. Not all of the guys in the past have always been very gentle with her boobs and she's had bruises on them from letting some guy play with them. But that was not the case with Elliot – he didn't feel possessive, it wasn't his way of claiming her, she was confident it wasn't his way of touching her inappropriately either. She wasn't quite sure what it was, other than maybe his deep seethed want to touch her. She wasn't sure if he was even consciously doing it. But in that moment she realized for sure that she wanted Elliot to touch her.
And like that with his palm on her boob and his head on the other side on the pillow and the heat from his body all over her, she fell back asleep.
When she woke up again, Elliot's hand had slipped just below her breast and was resting against her ribcage. She was hot again. At some point she'd slipped back under the blanket, but now it was being torturously hot again and she wiggled her feet back out from the blanket. There was sweat on her forehead, she felt herself sweating at the heat he emitted. She decided that she'd been sleeping alone for too long and she simply couldn't sleep well with someone holding her, even if that someone was Elliot.
Brian had rarely been cuddly, on occasion after sex he'd hold her and then roll into his side of the bed, Olivia had to roll herself into him to have him wrap his arms around her, but somehow it felt different back then. Ed had been more of a cuddly person, who'd thought? Most nights Ed would have his arms around her, but Ed didn't spend too many nights at her place. He was surprisingly warm and sweet, he was also protective of her. He liked to have Olivia in his arms or simply feel her touch on him. Olivia was surprised, but she came to like it. And not too long after she craved to be touched like that, that craving carried over after they had broken up, and probably without her quite realizing, it had never disappeared.
As Olivia moved her legs so they'd not be touching one another, Elliot roused slightly. He took heavy breaths and yawned. Momentarily he removed his hand from Olivia, she instantly missed the warmth he radiated. He rolled over to his back and completely removed himself from Olivia. She moved a bit, but continued to pretend to be asleep, maybe he knew she wasn't, she had no idea. Unless… Unless he moved away from her because he realized that she was awake and felt like he had crossed the borders with holding her in his arms already.
She hoped it was not the case, because now she missed the burning hear his body transferred to hers, the same heat that had kept her awake majority of the night and the heat she'd been cursing at.
She was wrong.
Elliot rolled himself back to her, this time even closer than he'd been before. His head was close enough to her neck that she felt his hot breath fell against her skin, where he had kissed her before. His one hand went around her midsection and fell on the sheets in front of her, the other was pressed between them, his palm touched her upper back.
This was Elliot being protective, possessive, staking his claim on her. And she realized that she liked being claimed by him. She imagined waking up like this every morning. She thought that she would surely get used to the heat he was emitting and maybe she could sleep through the night without waking up at every hour just to feel him hold her slightly differently.
But that was very forward thinking. She and Elliot were not together, far from it. Yes, he'd shown up at her door drugged and out of his mind. Yes, he nearly kissed her – she could tell how much he wanted to kiss her. She knew how much she wanted to kiss him too, but that's not how it was going to happen. She needed him to be fully sober and lucid for it.
Smile appeared on her face, when she thought of the ease with which he put his arm around her shoulders, when she opened the door. It was done as if they've spent their lives falling into each other like that. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him, and she remembered how good it felt, how natural it was. Not that she'd admit, but she's always liked having Elliot's arms around her. Nobody could compete with the safety his arms offered. It was the same, when he tried to climb to her and wrapped himself around her on his knees. There was something so different in having his palms on her back, on her shoulder, holding her, keeping her there. It's the same way she liked his arm around her in the bed. It felt protected.
But the most important revelation came from the letter. For months now, she'd held those words he wrote with her, dwelling on them. Getting confused by his actions, some of the words he's spoken, all the reconnecting they have done, only to keep replaying that line in her head.
What we were to each other was never real and we got in the way of each other being who and where we needed to be.
But it was real, what they were to each other. They never got in the way of each other being who and where they needed to be. They were who and where they needed to be, because of each other.
And if there was a man in her life, he should be the kind and faithful and devoted man she deserved.
She knew Elliot wanted the best for her. And she deserved a man like that. But also she knew he didn't really wish she was with someone like that, because he wanted to be with her.
Now she knew, it was Kathy Stabler who broke her heart again and Elliot let her. She knew Elliot was a devoted man and a loyal man, and maybe it was his way of honoring Kathy. Still, Olivia would need time to forgive him for breaking her heart again. Maybe he was hoping that saying truth now, would make everything undone, but it wouldn't. The damage has been done.
The intervention came back to her, the words he said to her that night, the words she convinced herself were not true. Now there was strong possibility of those words being true.
I love you.
But the one line she couldn't get out of her head had been his all along. It both haunted her and made her dream of dozen possibilities.
But in a parallel universe – it will always be you and I.
Like Rick and Ilsa would always have Paris, she and Elliot would have their parallel universe. It's the magical land of what ifs and all the things that could've happened. In a parallel universe in which Elliot wasn't married or had gotten divorced, their present would look different. In this universe something always seemed to be in their way.
She was pulled from her thoughts by Elliot moving behind her again. He pulled her slightly further into him, her feet slipped back under the covers and he buried his nose against her neck in her hair.
"Liv," he whispered hoarsely.
She didn't respond.
"Oh, Liv," he repeated, this time with affection.
It could've been the drugs, he seemed to be dreaming, Olivia knew he'd occasionally talk in his sleep, but most of the stakeouts and rare night in the cribs, she hadn't been able to make out any words he'd say.
"I love you, Olivia," he said, still sleepy and groggy.
Drugs, Olivia thought. She partially regretted not taking him to the hospital and find out just what he'd been drugged with. Well, it was too late now anyway.
And then he fell silent again and just like that Olivia fell back asleep with his boiling hot body pressed against her and sweat building on her forehead.
The next time she woke, it was morning. It was before 6 am, her alarm hadn't gone off yet, but she was too hot to stay asleep. She moved again to get her feet into the cool air of bedroom, away from his heat. Olivia couldn't really turn around and look at him, but she knew he had the blanket covering him. She couldn't understand how he wasn't hot.
He was still sleeping next to her, his one arm was still around her middle, holding her in place, protecting her. It was slightly weaker than it had been before she fell asleep, but she didn't mind.
Her shoulder hurt from sleeping the entirety of the night on that side, it was a bit uncomfortable position she'd been, but Elliot's body around her stopped her from moving too much. She mostly didn't want to give away the fact that she was awake and she didn't want to take a chance than he'd misinterpret her intentions and coil away from her.
He stirred at her movements. He moved his hand around her so that his palm was resting on her belly. Then he jolted his eyes open and lifted his head from her neck. He cursed in a whisper, then let go of her completely and rolled onto his back a bit away from her, but she could still feel the warmth radiating from him.
He sighed.
She remained still, pretending to be asleep, she missed his arm around her and for a second she thought he might spoon her again, but he wasn't going to. Maybe he was now lucid enough or maybe he'd see that as a mistake. Maybe he'll regret everything he said last night? Maybe he won't even remember? For a brief second she thought that she should've let him kiss her, for that could've been the only time they had a chance. Besides there was a good chance he wouldn't remember it.
Her head was spinning and not in a right direction.
After some 10 minutes, or maybe just a few, Olivia decided there was no chance to put off this conversation, she stirred on the bed and rolled herself to her back, groggily opening her eyes. She glanced over at him, he had his arm up under his head, which was tilted so he had a good view of her.
"Morning," she whispered, her throat was dry and her words came out coarse. She cleared her throat
"Good morning," he replied, his voice was clear, a bit groggy, but surprisingly sweet.
The silence took over the room. It was not their usual place to talk about anything – until today they had never shared a bed together.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
He laughed. "My head is no longer spinning from the drugs; I can see clearly. I feel like me again," he joked.
"You can walk on your own again?" she asked with light joking tone.
He nodded.
"Liv, I don't think I'm gonna pass out again," he said, slight teasing in his voice.
"That's good," she agreed.
Elliot rubbed her forehead, like he always did when he was trying to process something or admit to something. Olivia remained silent and gave him the time and space she sensed he'd need.
He turned to his side so he was facing her and popped his head up on elbow. He looked at her and she was looking at him. For a second he lifted his other hand like he was going to reach for her, but he let it fall back on top of the cover in a space between them.
"Liv, look. I'm sorry about crashing here like that, I don't know what came over me. I was at this party, a really pretty lady was sitting in my lap, giving me the drugs with a kiss and I just remember thinking I had to get out of there. I was walking down the street and all I could think about was you and how much I needed to see you," he spoke softly, a bit hesitantly.
He paused and rubbed his forehead again, swallowed and started talking again. Olivia remained silent.
"I felt like we never talked and then this Navarro happened. I swear I had no idea about any deal with the feds. Liv, I promise you. I wanted to see him rot in jail for the rapes. I swear, I am always on your side," he said earnestly, his eyes told her he meant that, unless he'd become expert liar in the past 10 years. Which was actually quite strong possibility. Olivia remembered Amanda reminding her that she used to know Stabler, but she pushed that thought away from her head.
"I was as surprised as you were," he said.
Olivia believed him. She needed to believe him.
"I know," she said, letting him off the hook, but it wasn't forgiveness and they both knew it. But it was a start. Or something to help them rebuild the trust that was once given, but now is full of doubt at every step.
He looked down and sighed. He clutched the blanket in his fist and looked at her with a small smile and something in his eyes, that she had seen on a very rare moment. He looked raw, he was looking at her like she was the only person in the world. She'd seen that look on Elliot a few times in the past, never this intense though. She couldn't quite put it into words. It was definitely something strange, something new, something she had dreamt about.
"I was a mess last night," he admitted. Olivia rolled her eyes and smiled. That was an understatement.
He swallowed.
"I've wanted to tell you the truth about the letter for so long now, but we never had the time. Kathy died and I was only focused on bringing his killer to justice. Wheatley is a dangerous man and I couldn't involve you in that, I couldn't have him fixated on you," he spoke.
"You think the car crash was his doing?" she quipped.
Elliot nodded.
"I have no doubt. He threatened you once, he took an interest in you, when he saw you and he's not going to give up. I think your crash was just a warning," he said seriously.
His lifted his hand again like he wanted to touch her, but hesitated and then put it back on the bed between them, slightly closer to her than before.
"I'm a Captain with NYPD, you think he'd be stupid enough to come after me?" Olivia asked.
Elliot nodded.
"He wants to make me hurt and take down everyone I care about," he confirmed.
"Your kids?" Olivia said with new fear. Those kids had been through enough, they lost their mother, their father is currently absent.
Elliot shook his head.
He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He swallowed again and took a deep breath.
"Look, when he was arrested, I went to see him with Angela Wheatley," he said.
Olivia nodded, but raised an eyebrow. Elliot ignored it.
"You told me about it, you said he made threats," she confirmed. "I had an unmarked car sitting by Noah's school and my building for weeks."
Elliot swallowed again.
"He was talking about this other woman in my life. I know he was also trying to hurt Angela, but he was right," he stopped and rubbed his face. "I have no idea, how he'd know about you or how close we were, but he did somehow. And that put a target on your back."
Olivia shifted, she leaned up on a pillow so she was half sitting and half lying down. She yawned.
"I'm sorry for getting you involved and about your car, your ankle," he said heavily, guilt painted all over his features.
She turned towards him, reached out and placed her palm on his shoulder. His eyes followed her hand as she curled her fingers around her muscled shoulder and around the crucifix tattoo he had there.
"Like you could've kept me away," she joked. "We were partners for a long time. I couldn't have let you do this alone."
"Even with people telling you to stay away?" he asked with a joke.
She nodded. "Specially with people telling me to stay away," she confirmed.
"We were never too good at staying away," he joked, but it came as a punch in the gut, because he had been good at staying away. He stayed away for 10 years.
She wasn't laughing anymore and he felt jolt of pain, but they had come far enough, they needed to talk about it.
"Liv," he breathed out.
He made the bold move and reached for her this time. He placed his palm on her side, the same way he had held it in his sleep, his thumb moving in circles over her cardigan. She didn't flinch or move away from him. The blanket had fallen to her waist.
"I know the way I left, it wasn't fair to you. I wanted to tell you, I wanted to see you again and talk to you about all the reasons I had to leave, but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't just walk away from you, from SVU," he said with rawness he didn't let people see too often.
"I was a mess," he continued. "I was in a bad place, I kept seeing Jenna lift her gun and aim at you, aim at me, aim at Sister Peg. She'd sometimes shoot you… I shot her so many times in my dreams, I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop. It felt like my personal hell loop."
He stopped. His breathing had become rapid, he was starting to spin again.
"El, look at me," she said softly, she moved her hand on his shoulder.
He complied, his were searching until they landed on hers.
"I know," she said, she didn't know all that went on in his head, but she could imagine. After all, there was a time, when she knew Elliot better than anyone else, including his wife.
He squinted his eyes, his breath still uneven.
"I know," she repeated, offering him forgiveness he wasn't really asking for, but she knew he needed it. She didn't grant him absolution yet, she didn't take away his sins, but she threw him a rope.
"Kathy," he whispered the name of his dead wife. Olivia stilled her hand on his shoulder, she had lost a lot of respect for the woman over the past 12 hours. She had respect for Kathy before, now… She wasn't so sure, and it seemed like she kept on giving.
"She suggested I wait before contacting you. She thought it was for the best. She wanted to go visit her sister in Jersey and I agreed. She handed me a new phone there, a new number and she was so happy. I just couldn't bring up the idea of contacting you or anyone from the NYPD. Next thing I was doing security in Europe and then somehow I found myself living in Rome," Elliot explained, he chuckled and looked at her with longing. "I don't really know how all of it came to be. Sometimes it felt like I was watching somebody else and I wasn't really there, like it was all a dream."
Olivia nodded with understanding. She understood the auto-pilot and then ending up in situations she never intended, like her ill faithed relationship with Brian Cassidy. She too found herself suddenly living with him and not really knowing how or why she got there.
"And then my dreams stopped," he admitted.
"Sometimes I'd think about you," he said with heavy breath. "And sometimes I wanted to reach out to you, but I didn't know how to. I didn't know if you'd want me to, if you'd even pick up the phone," he spoke with hurt in his voice.
"I would've picked it up," she whispered, not intending to make him feel more or less guilty.
They fell silent for a minute; his thumb was still moving over her cardigan, touching her ribcage and her hand was still on his shoulder. It was offering and receiving comfort only they knew so well.
"Then I received invitation to your award ceremony, I was coming to New York anyway and I thought it was now or never. I wanted to be there to tell you how proud I am of you. Kathy encouraged me to RSVP and to make a trip out of it," he continued talking, leading up the car bomb, Kathy's death and the letter.
"I told you they wanted me to talk, but I don't do public speeches that well. And then Kathy suggested I write a letter to you. And if I asked what I should write, she told me to be honest. I'd seen your photo before and I made the mistake of saying you looked good in front of her," Olivia rolled her eyes at the compliment, but it made her feel all weird inside. She'd never been good at taking compliments, specially from Elliot. "And then Kathy told me to write what you needed to hear from me. She told me to write the one thing I should've told you when the left the force. She said we needed to move on," he finished.
"That what we were to each other was never real and that we got in the way of each other being who and where we needed to be," she quoted for the second time in the past 12 hours that one sentence that broke her.
Elliot nodded.
"Liv, I don't know what we were, but it was always real. You never got in the way of anything, you made me the man I am, and I know now where I needed to be – it's next you, Liv. My place is with you," he said sincerely, his voice was soft, it was a bit louder than a whisper. It made him sound more sincere and completely ripped open.
Olivia shivered involuntarily.
"And who I needed to be was the kind, faithful and devoted man you deserve. That is the man I wanna be. And that's the man I hope you'll have in your life," he added.
His eyes were looking at her intensely. It was the same look she couldn't quite place, the same one he was using to look at her before, the same one she'd seen on him a few times, but she had never figured out what it meant. She liked being looked like that, she liked the intensity, the rawness and… love. Could it be?
She laughed, while her brain was busy processing his words.
It felt ironic how the words that ripped her heart apart months before and now the same words in a bit different order made her feel warm inside and could possibly put her back together. It was always him, only him had the power to break her apart or put her back together with his words so easily.
He laughed as well to lighten the mood.
"I never thought I'd have this conversation in your bed half-naked," he joked.
Olivia nodded and laughed.
"Looks like it will be you and I even in this universe," she said with a smile.
His breath hitched, his thumb stilled.
"Liv," he whispered once he recovered, his grip on her tightened, his hand moved to her back, pulling her closer to him with the same movement that moved him closer to her. She shrieked with surprise, her palm moved up to his neck and then caressed his cheek.
"El," she said and swallowed.
They were close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin, and Olivia expected Elliot to make the move and kiss her, but he didn't. He was close enough for his beard to tickle her skin.
And she realized that it's either his Catholic faith or his years at SVU, but she needed to make the first step and he'd follow her lead. He made his intentions well known, she had been more reserved.
So she kissed him.
23 years of longing, wanting, wishing and hoping.
She brushed her lips against his. He responded eagerly, his lips claiming hers like he'd wanted for years. His hand was firm around her back, pulling her chest against his and his other hand went to her neck and got tangled in her long brown hair.
She pulled away for a second only to meet him again in a soft kiss, their lips parting slightly in anticipation. The anticipation came to end when she opened her mouth and Elliot's tongue didn't wait for further invitation before entering.
He tugged her back to force her body into his, more than it already was, she came willingly. Her softer body was pressed against his hard muscular chest and stomach. It seemed fitting as she'd always been the softer one in their partnership and he was rough and hard, just like their bodies.
Her lips parted from his, her head moved to rest against his, her chin on his shoulder. Elliot wrapped both of his strong arms around her, her fingers spread over her back and he exhaled deeply. She slipped her arms around his neck, her eyes remained closed and she relished the feeling of being in his arms.
He moved his hands – feeling her body, touching her, but he remained firmly on her back, not slipping down to cup her bottom, maybe it was his way to keep some boundaries. His lips moved to her neck, he blew gently to move her hair away and then started dropping kisses along the skin there. She moaned when he sucked on her skin just below her jaw and above her neck.
"El," she whispered.
"I know," he replied. "No marks, I promise," he said like he'd been reading her mind. He probably was.
"El," she whispered again.
Elliot mused. He loosened his hold around her and pulled away just enough to see her face. He smiled, so did she.
"We'll take it slow," he said, reading her mind like a book. "We have time, I'm not going anywhere. I want to do this right, Liv. When I'm no longer undercover, I'll take you out for a dinner or I'll cook for you, and we can talk about us and everything that we are to each other."
"And where we need to be," she added, repeating him.
He nodded.
He removed one of his hand from her back, to move a strand of her hair from her face. Then he caught her lips in his again. He used his strength advantage to push her down on her back and he partially covered her with his body, he held himself up with an elbow, giving his other hand space to move up and down on her side, tracing her curves.
He moved his hand down to her hip and then back up, not making a single move to go for her pants or to remove any clothing items, he didn't even make a move to slip his hand under her clothes. He settled his palm on her ribcage, just below her breast, slowly he worked his way up to cup the swell he'd longed to touch for so long.
Olivia stopped him. She placed her palm against his chest, she didn't need to push, it was enough for him to remove his hand and lift his lips from hers.
"El, not like this," she whispered.
He shook his head and closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," he apologized, he lowered his head with shame. "Liv, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
She lifted her hand and placed it under her chin to lift his head, their eyes met.
"Elliot," she whispered.
"I'm sorry," he said again.
She shook her head and moved her thumb over his beard.
"El, no, it's okay," she said a bit awkwardly. "You can touch, if you want to," she added with a smile.
Elliot's eyes glimmered, he gave her a half smile at the explicit permission, because he wanted to touch her, he wanted to touch her more than anything.
"I think we should think through what we're doing here," she suggested.
He smiled and hummed. He moved his hand to her face and brushed a loose stand of her hair. "Liv, we can do whatever you want," he said sweetly.
She rolled her eyes.
"Olivia, I wanna do this with you, but I don't wanna step on any boundaries. I'll take whatever you're willing to give me and nothing more," he spoke in a low voice.
"El, it's not just me anymore. I have a son," she said and swallowed.
He nodded with understanding.
"Eli is still in school, I need to think about him too," he said.
She smiled.
"Liv, I get it. It's a big step for both of us. And I'm not expecting sex. I mean I want to make love to you, but I can wait. We should wait," he stammered a bit awkwardly, it had been a few decades since the last time he did that. "Liv, I want this, I want you. We've waited for so long, I think we can wait a bit longer."
Olivia nodded, she sighed.
"Waist up, over the clothes only," she said, setting a clear boundary, which he was happy with.
Elliot smiled like a schoolboy who's just been granted access to a promised land. Olivia was his promised land, his blue moon.
"Thank you, Captain," he whispered, then lowered his head to meet her lips in a sweet kiss and his palm moved back to her ribcage and moved around her breast again, he was gentle with her, his actions lacked urgency to move this forward and she was grateful for it.
Annoying ringing of a phone stopped them, Elliot came to a halt and fell onto her. He cursed and buried his face against her neck in her hair. She reached for her phone on the nightstand, but she fell short.
"El," she whined.
Elliot pushed himself up on his elbow and reached for her phone. He handed Olivia her phone after briefly checking the caller ID.
"Fin," she said answering his call.
Elliot fell back onto her, his head landed on her chest, one hand cupped her breast again, the other landed against her neck. Olivia gasped at the surprise, but managed to hide it from Fin.
"Can you handle it? I might be a bit late this morning," she said.
Elliot hummed approvingly against her, he ran his thumb over her neck in a tender loving fashion.
"Oh, it's nothing, had to call a plumber, there was no hot water this morning," Olivia lied professionally.
Elliot chuckled. He pressed his lips against her chest over her clothes and closed his eyes, while his thumb was still touching her neck.
"Thanks," Olivia said and ended the call.
"You're a good liar," he mumbled.
"I don't think Fin needs to know yet," Olivia decided.
Elliot mumbled in agreement.
"I'm sure he knew to call right the second I had your boob in my hand," he commented.
Olivia chuckled, then took a deep breath and sighed.
"But I need to go to work, and you need to call Bell," she said, not liking the sound of those words.
He grunted and refused to move. "Just 5 more minutes, Liv," he mumbled.
Olivia chuckled and then decided to close her eyes as well, what's another 5 minutes anyway.
***SVU***
It was hours later, when there was loud banging on Olivia's door. She woke with a jolt, Elliot's head bolted up, his arms flew around her.
They heard sergeant Bell's voice from the hallway.
"She must've had Jet ping my phone," Elliot guessed and cursed.
"Shit," she cursed.
She untangled herself from Elliot as quickly as possible and got up from the bed, with no help and a loud disapproving grunt from Elliot.
"Get dressed, I'll go distract her," she said, as she was still fully dressed, whereas he was not dressed to see his supervisor. And for a minute it felt like the old times, when the two of them would cover for each other in front of the captain. For a minute Olivia felt like a detective Benson again.
Olivia stumbled into living room, when Bell knocked again.
"Coming," she yelled, but walked slowly.
Olivia took a deep breath, then opened the door to see surprised and slightly annoyed Ayanna Bell standing on the other side.
"Captain," Ayanna greeted.
"Sergeant," Olivia replied.
"Is detective Stabler here?" Ayanna asked with distinctive hesitation. She was trying to peek into the apartment behind Olivia.
"Yeah," Olivia said with a smile she hoped was not too fake. "I was going to call you about it," she said and held out the door for Ayanna, praying that Elliot had managed to get his ass off the bed and put his clothes back on.
Olivia held the door out for Ayanna, who entered with some reservation.
"Do I wanna know about it?" Ayanna asked.
Olivia smiled awkwardly.
"Stabler showed up here last night, he was drugged and pretty messed up," Olivia explained, giving Ayanna the part of the story, she needed to know.
"Did he blew his cover?" Ayanna asked with concern.
"No," Elliot said from the bedroom door. He was finishing up buttoning his shirt.
He came to stand next to Olivia, he didn't reach for her, but he stood just a bit closer than he had before.
"I kept it together," he elaborated proudly.
Ayanna lifted an eyebrow.
"I was only a few blocks from Liv's place. I realized I had been drugged and needed to get out of there before I blow my cover. I knew I'd be safe here with Liv," Elliot explained, he looked over at her.
"You stayed here all night?" Ayanna asked with new set of suspicion for the former partners, she alternated between looking at Olivia and Elliot, but she couldn't get anything from their facial expressions.
"El passed out in my bed, I slept on the couch," Olivia came up with believable lie.
"I'm sorry about it," Elliot said to Olivia quickly, but she knew he was not even a little bit sorry.
Olivia rolled her eyes.
"I've been calling your cell," Ayanna said, trying to poke holes in their story.
"I must've left mine in the bedroom," Olivia didn't even lie this time, but she was curious to see how she could've not heard it.
"I've been so out of it. I can barely remember how I got here, I must've slept through it," Elliot added.
"You slept through my alarm as well," Olivia noted, silently saying that they slept through her alarm.
"Mhmm, right," Ayanna said, she was not buying what Olivia and Elliot were selling, but she didn't have time to figure it out at that moment.
In an awkward moment Olivia announced her departure as she needed to get changed and get ready to go to work, so Ayanna and Elliot could talk about his undercover job, the things she didn't need to know about. Most of all, she wanted to remove herself from that situation.
She found her phone on the bed underneath a pillow and checked it, and saw indeed a few missed calls from Ayanna and one from Fin.
No wonder, it was 9 am.
Olivia cursed to herself. She was only thankful that Noah was in a dance camp for the week.
There was a soft knock on her bedroom door.
"Liv?" Elliot asked softly. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," Olivia responded. She put her phone in her pocket and turned to the door.
Elliot entered the bedroom, he went straight to her pulled her into his arms.
"Liv," he whispered to her ear.
"Go, do your job, we'll talk later," she replied before he could say anything.
"I'll call you when I have some time off," he promised.
She nodded against his shoulder, she knew he would, specially now. He pressed his lips against her temple.
"I meant everything I said last night," he whispered.
"I know," she replied.
Ayanna cleared her throat in the living room.
Olivia rolled her eyes, but reluctantly stepped back from him. Elliot swallowed, then leaped forward for long enough to steal a quick kiss from her, Olivia more than welcomed it.
"I'll see you soon," he promised.
Olivia nodded knowingly.
"I promise," he added.
"I know," she said once again.
Before they could say anything further, Ayanna interrupted them again.
"Today, Stabler," she said and cleared her throat.
Olivia and Elliot shared a knowing look.
"This universe, parallel universe, I'll see you again," he said loudly enough for Ayanna to hear, winked at her and disappeared from the bedroom.
Olivia sighed, picked up her phone again and dialed Fin just as she heard her front door closing.