A/N: Lizzy43 said it best-the plot thickens dun dun! Stabler is called to the stand in this chapter, and you can bet that he tries to do everything in his power to help Olivia, but we all know how sneaky Langan can be. Also, we see a little bit of what might be up his sleeve here, or at least what Alex thinks he's trying to get at. Thank you all again for the amazing reviews and thoughts. Enjoy!

Chapter 71

Stabler

Elliot stood up and straightened out his suit jacket. He came around the gallery chairs and walked towards the witness stand, swearing in and sitting down. "Detective Stabler, what was your involvement in the incident in question on September 5th?" Langan was questioning him, Alex noticed, and she wondered why.

"Detective Benson and I were called to The Met to assist two other detectives in our unit with a collar of a suspect that they had been tailing."

"Is it normal for four detectives to be involved in taking a suspect into custody?"

"No, not usually. However, detectives Tutuola and Munch were—."

"Thank you, detective. So this was odd from the start. What were you doing before you went to The Met with detective Benson?"

Alex tried to keep a straight face—it had just donned on her what Langan was trying to do. He wanted to expose the relationship between Alex and Olivia. Now his comment about 'going after' her made sense. She was silently happy that she recused herself, now. What would he have to gain now, though, by discovering that in this hearing? She said a silent prayer that nothing would come of it.

Elliot was a bit taken aback. "I had lunch." That Elliot Stabler shit-eating grin finally showed itself.

"With anyone?"

"Objection, your honor. Relevance?" Casey didn't stand up for this one, as she was somewhat annoyed by his line of questioning.

"Goes to frame of mind, your honor." Donnelley listened to Langan and answered skeptically.

"I'll allow it. But get moving, Mr. Langan."

Elliot shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, I met our squad's ADA Alexandra Cabot to discuss a case." He stared straight back at Langan. Alex was surprised—it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth. They looked right at each other, staring into each other's eyes. There was something about Elliot Stabler: sometimes the way he looked at you said more than his voice did. Langan backed off that line of questioning, knowing he probably wouldn't get where he wanted to.

"OK. So tell us about when you first saw Mr. Conrad that day."

"I was standing outside by the stairs when detective Munch informed us that Mr. Conrad was running. Detective Benson and myself closed the gap between us. We were probably about 40 feet apart. He made his way out the door, looked at m—."

"Thank you detective. So then you started a foot pursuit of the defendant?"

"Yes." It was terse, short. He was mad that the defense attorney had interrupted him and stopped him from his explanation.

"How far would you say you were when detective Benson gained ground on Mr. Conrad and you took a backseat?"

"Well, detective Benson is in much better running shape than I am." The mood was lightened a bit as he continued. "We had probably been chasing him for, I don't know, a couple hundred yards."

"Ok. And when did you lose sight of detective Benson?"

"I lost sight of detective Benson when she went down a rather steep hill. I approached the hill with caution so I didn't fall."

"Tell me why you decided not to go down the hill like Detective Benson did."

"As I was approaching the hill, detective Benson spoke into her mic and let us know that she had lost the defendant."

"What did she say?"

"She told us that he was there somewhere, in the park, and to help her look. So, I decided that since I was on higher ground I could probably see more, so I stayed at the top of the hill, and Munch and Fin were closely behind, searching other areas of the park."

"So what did you do after you heard her say she had lost him?"

"I turned around and started looking for him. There was a structure to my left and a couple benches that I thought he could have ducked behind, so I started to walk that way."

"And your back was turned on your partner, correct?"

Elliot took a breath. He knew that this was why he was called to testify for the defense. "Yes."

"So there was no way that you could have possibly seen the beginning of the struggle between detective Benson and Mr. Conrad..."

"No."

"What alerted your attention to the bottom of the hill?"

"I heard my partner's voice."

"What did she say?"

"She was angry abou—"

"What, exactly, did she say?"

"Motherfucker." Alex stifled a laugh. She knew this was a serious matter, but she could just see this playing out. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that that was exactly what she said.

"So it seems like she was upset at someone...maybe even herself for being eluded by Mr. Conrad?"

This time, Carolyn Maddox stood up. "Objection, your honor? Speculation."

"Sustained. Watch it, Mr. Langan."

"Yes, your honor." He looked down at the ground, tracing his thought process back to before he asked the question. "What did you see happen next?"

"I saw detective Benson start running again, so I followed."

"Then what?"

"Then I noticed that Mr. Conrad was a couple feet in front of her. She caught up with him, jumped on his back and pushed him to the ground."

"Was detective Benson physical with Mr. Conrad after she had pushed him to the ground?"

"Well yes but he was fighti—."

"Thank you detective. What did you see detective Benson do to Mr. Conrad while he was laying on the ground?"

Elliot hated defense attorneys: they always had a way to twist things to make them sound the way they needed to. Langan wanted everyone to believe that Conrad was just a defenseless guy lying on the ground and Olivia jumped on him and wailed on his ass for no reason. He calmed himself before answering—he knew Casey would get him out of this on cross-examination, hopefully. "Detective Benson was able to subdue the suspe—"

"Detective Stabler, perhaps you didn't understand the question. What, physically, did detective Benson do to Mr. Conrad while he was lying on the ground...specifically?"

"He turned over and started—"

"Your honor," Langan's voice rang a little louder than normal, and Alex knew he was getting frustrated. "Please instruct detective Stabler to answer the question in regards to detective Benson's actions."

Donnelley looked at Elliot and motioned to Langan. He got the point. "Detective Benson was lying on top of Mr. Conrad. He turned over below her and she hit him twice."

"Hit him, like with an open hand?" Langan displayed his hand, open as it would be if he were to smack someone.

"No. She punched him with a closed fist."

"In the face?"

"Yes."

"And, after reviewing Mr. Conrad's medical records, it looks like she actually landed three separate blows to his facial area, is that correct detective Stabler?"

"I don't know. I didn't count. Two or three. But he was still hitti—."

"Thanks, detective." Langan just wanted Elliot to shut up about the fact that Conrad was still trying to attack Olivia. "So just to make sure I'm summarizing your testimony correctly, you were on top of the hill and didn't see any scuffle start until you saw your partner tackle my client and land three blows to his face, correct?"

Elliot sighed. Of course, this way, it sounded horrible. But, he couldn't do anything except agree. "Yes."

"Thank you detective. You've been very helpful." Langan nodded toward Carolyn Maddox who stood up and began her cross-examination. Elliot wasn't expecting this, but he thought maybe Casey wanted her to take him as a witness because there could be an argument that he and Casey were too close.

Alex watched Carolyn in action: she had always been nervous to face off with her in court because of her ability to relate to jurors and make things sound worse than they were, but today, she was thankful she was on the prosecution's side.

"Detective Stabler." Elliot nodded at her. "Let's go back to when Mr. Conrad exited The Met. You testified that you and your partner were about 40 feet away from each other when he left and you both closed in on him...What is your opinion on why he chose to run towards detective Benson and not towards you?"

"Objection, your honor." Miranda Pond's English accent rang throughout the courtroom. "Speculation."

"No speculation," Donnelley responded. "She is asking the detective's opinion." Pond sat down, disheartened. This is why Alex liked Carolyn—she knew how to ask the questions.

"I think he chose to go toward detective Benson for two reasons. One, he saw my shield that was displayed on the outside of my hip and knew that I was a cop. And, two, he probably didn't want to get in a physical altercation with me because he thought he could get away from Benson or deal with her better, physically. I look a little stronger than her." Carolyn chuckled a bit.

"You and detective Benson have been partners for how long? 15 years?"

"Just about, yes."

"And you care about her deeply, I assume? Especially in this precinct, it seems that you would have to care for your own partner like yourself."

"Yes. I care about her like she is my own family." He knew where she was going with this, so he finished the entire conversation for her. "However, I wouldn't lie for my family under oath, either, if I knew they had done something wrong." Carolyn smiled and gave him a soft thank you.

"Tell me about what you saw when you were on top of the hill after you heard detective Benson's voice."

"She had wiped her face with her shirt and as I was running behind her I saw a stain on her white shirt. After we made the collar and detective Munch called a bus, I noticed it was blood."

"And this was before she tacked Conrad, correct?"

"Yes."

"And, after she got Mr. Conrad to the ground, what was his response?"

"He turned over underneath her and kept trying to struggle with her. Olivia pinned his arms above his head but he pulled his hands free and tried to hit her again. He is significantly stronger than detective Benson. That's when I saw her hit him to subdue him."

"When did Mr. Conrad look as if he was subdued?"

"I think he was surprised that she had actually hit him and so he tried harder to get to her, but she had him pinned. After the second punch to his face, I think he let up a little bit. That is when I was able to get to him and pin his arms down. Detective Benson got up and I cuffed him while detective Munch called a bus for both of them."

"After everything was over and you looked at your partner, what did you see?"

"She was bleeding profusely from her nose and her eye was almost swollen shut. She had a huge bloodstain on the arm of her shirt where she had wiped her nose before further pursing Conrad."

"We will talk to detective Benson a little later about her injuries, but you and detective Benson receive the exact same training, correct?"

"Yes."

"And, if you wouldn't mind, over the years, could you highlight some of the training that comes to mind when you think of situations like this one?"

"Sure. Each year we undergo 'unarmed suspect' training. This is a class that teaches us the newest forms of self-defense and protection if a suspect is fleeing and is unarmed. We also go through numerous physical assessments each year that document how well we are able to pursue on foot. Also twice a year we are administered a physical fitness test that determines what we can and cannot do out in the field."

"Thank you, detective." She took a breath. "Judging from your numerous hours of training and 15 years in the Special Victims Unit alone, how would you have responded if it had been you, instead of detective Benson that had caught Mr. Conrad?"

"Objection. Speculative."

"Overruled. I'd like to hear the answer."

"I would have done the same thing." Elliot looked to Carolyn and nodded, feeling that he had proven his point.

"Thank you, detective Stabler." He nodded and started to get up, before he heard Langan's voice.

"Redirect, your honor?" Donnelley granted it with a nod of her head.

"Detective, you say you would have done the same thing?" Elliot nodded, and Alex immediately held her breath—if this was going where she thought it was, it wouldn't be good.

Trevor Langan stood with a folder in his hand, displaying it to the judge. "Detective Stabler, could you please open this folder and tell me if you recognize it?"

Elliot did so and immediately stared daggers back at Langan. "Yes. It's my personnel jacket."

"And, how many incidents of unnecessary force have you been reprimanded for in the last 15 years of your work at SVU?"

He took a breath and answered. "Four."

"Seems a little excessiv—."

"Objection." Carolyn stood up.

"Sustained."

"So," Langan continued, making his point, "an officer with four complaints of unnecessary force is swearing under oath that he would have done the same thing to the defendant that detective Benson did." He looked toward Judge Donnelley. "That's all your honor."

She dismissed Elliot and he stomped through the hallway of the courtroom, taking a seat next to Alex on the prosecution side of the gallery.

"This is bullshit."

Alex placed her hand over Elliot's, whispering. "I know, El. Don't worry about it. You did great." She took a breath and paused. "It'll all be ok." She thought that maybe if she said it out loud, she'd believe it herself.

"Let's break for lunch. I want you all back in here at 12:15." Donnelley pounded her gavel and Elliot couldn't have been happier.

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Upstairs, Olivia had just finished filing all of her DD5's when she saw Alex and Elliot walk through the precinct doors. Alex rushed to be by her side, giving her a reassuring hug and kiss on the cheek.

"How's it going?" She was gloomy, Alex noticed, and not for a bad reason.

"It's ok." Alex cocked her head back towards Elliot, who had taken a seat in his chair. "Langan just grilled him. Made you guys look like aggressive cops." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure." She walked back toward her desk, Alex following. Elliot picked up a sandwich, a questioning look on his face. "I got you your favorite from Angelo's." A reluctant smile spread across his face.

"You're the best, Liv. I don't care what anyone else says about you." All three of them chuckled as Olivia opened her desk drawer, displaying another sandwich, handing it to Alex.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She grazed Olivia's cheek with the back of her hand. "Did you already eat?"

"A little bit." She paused and pulled up a chair to her desk, motioning for Alex to sit down. She did so, and opened her sandwich, beginning to eat. "So where are they at?"

"Well, they called Conrad and Elliot already. They just have Huang left."

"Huang?! That's great."

Alex placed her hand over Olivia's, rubbing it gently. "It'll be ok baby. Casey and Carolyn have done a great job so far." Alex looked down at the olive-toned hand and smiled. "You remember when you got this?" She traced over a faint, white scar over Olivia's knuckle.

"Yeah." They smiled at each other as Alex continued, lowering her voice significantly so not even Elliot could hear.

"I think I've always known that I've loved you, but I think, that night, was when I knew I was in love with you. I think that's when I knew you'd be my future." Olivia looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand.

"You always know what to say." The next few minutes passed in silence as Alex and Elliot finished their sandwiches.

"Well, I've gotta get back. Alex stood up and threw her garbage away, looking towards Elliot. "You coming back down?"

"No way. I hear enough bullshit up here."

Alex smiled as she bent down to give Olivia a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Olivia. Don't worry about anything—I'll see you later."

Olivia nodded and smiled weakly. She had to admit that still, after all this time, watching Alex leave never got old.