AN: Hey guys, I'm back. I do apologize, but let's say for over a month I was convinced that I should give up writing, but then I decided that I'd at least finish this, wherever it might lead. So, this one is a little shorter, but I needed to be done.
Happy Christmas/Hanukkah! And enjoy the rest of this year, I know I will ;) .
L.
***SVU***
8.09 Choreographed
Elliot had finally found the courage to go see Olivia again. He had flowers and chocolate for her, and he was not working the night, so it was perfect. When he reached her building he realized, that she probably wouldn't like the gifts, but it was all he had. Frankly it had taken him over a week to contact her and even at that moment he hadn't contacted her, but decided to show up at her apartment. She'd probably like the effort.
He parked the car in her usual spot and entered the cold streets with chocolate and flowers. He pulled his jacket closer to him and crossed the street. He entered the code, but before he could open the door, his phone rang.
"Not now," he grunted.
It took Elliot some balance to hold the box of chocolate and flowers with one hand while he fished out the phone from his jeans' pocket.
"Stabler," he barked.
"Good evening, Elliot, I hope you're not doing something too important," Cragen said.
"As a matter of fact I am in the middle of something pretty important," Elliot said through his teeth.
"You have to cut it short, because we have a rape victim," Cragen was serious.
"Let Munch and Fin deal with it," Elliot tried.
He knew there was no other chance, so he walked away from the door and back to his car.
"They are staking out a suspect," Cragen explained.
"Where is the crime scene?" he asked and started the car.
"Central park," Cragen replied.
Elliot flipped his phone shut and drove away angrily. He glanced to her window for a quick moment and saw a figure moving in the room. He turned away and headed towards the crime scene, while wondering when he'd see her again. Probably in the next century if his workload stayed like that. He really needs a new partner, or old partner – for all it matters is that he needs a partner.
***SVU***
Olivia walked through the 16th precinct and found her way to the floor, where SVU department was located. The room was almost empty, Fin, Munch and Elliot were all out, but Cragen had called her in and she was there to see her captain, former captain(?).
She knocked on the door gently and entered upon hearing Cragen call her in.
"Olivia," he said, seemingly surprised.
"You were waiting for me, right?" Olivia asked, suddenly unsure.
"Yeah, I did," Cragen confirmed and put away the file he was reading. He pointed to the chair and Olivia took a seat.
"As you might have heard, then Dani transferred out some weeks ago," Cragen started.
Olivia shook her head – Elliot failed to mention that, but then again she hadn't seen him in a week.
"Oh, anyway I have a spot for you if you want it. But I need an answer pretty soon, because I have been given some files and I need to choose another partner for Elliot," Cragen said, "I need to know if you want to come back and if you are ready."
"Wow, I was not expecting this. I don't know what I want to do," Olivia said in surprise.
"Okay," Cragen said easily.
"It's just a little bit complicated," Olivia tried.
"Yes, I heard that months ago, right before you asked to be transferred out of here," Cragen said bitterly.
"I'm sorry Captain, seems like I have lost my ground and I have no idea where I stand with SVU and everything," Olivia tried to give reasons, but seemingly she needed them more than Cragen.
"Maybe it's time you pick another unit for you, something less personal and traumatizing," Cragen suggested sadly – he had been fearing that day since she started and enclosed her reasons for wanting to do the job.
"Maybe," Olivia agreed.
"But just think about it, I need the answer by the end of the week. Friday at 5 pm. You have 3 days," Cragen said finally. He was having an inner debate, because while he wanted her back – the squads need a female detective and Olivia is one of the best, then she had seen enough of the crimes – as have all of the detectives here – but she had a personal connection and for her it might be healthy to find herself another spot. So he wasn't sure what he wanted her to do and everything was up in the air, and in the end she had to make the decision not him.
"I will give you my answer then," Olivia promised.
"But for now, I have a job to do and you have a decision to make," Cragen said heavily.
"Yes, have nice day," Olivia said.
"You too," Cragen replied.
Olivia got up and left the squad room. She looked over and noticed her empty desk across from Elliot's which was covered with files and empty mugs. The picture frames caught her eyes and she smiles as she saw a picture of her and Elliot on the table by the pictures of his kids.
She left the squad room with heaviness inside of her. While she wanted to come back and be a detective like she had been for countless years already, but maybe a change of scenario would be good. Those past months away from SVU had taught her one thing – she would find her way to sex crimes one way or the other. Maybe there was no escape one she had been taken in by the darkness and violence those crimes represented and she had been there way too long to give up now. Just like she had told Casey when she started – somebody had to do the job. It might as well be her, the woman, who was brought into this world as a result of this violent crime and ever since she had been surrounded by it. At some level she was paying the price of her father's sins and it's highly doubtable if she'll ever escape it.
As much as she might belong here, she could have a new beginning away from the violent bastards she gets to meet at SVU daily.
Maybe the right thing to do would be getting as far from this place as possible. And there was Dean, who offered her a job at the FBI…
***SVU***
Cragen looked through her office and noticed Elliot staring at the screen replaying the video over and over again. He decided to approach his detective.
"Some sleep and fresh eyes would probably help," Cragen suggested.
"Nah, I'm good," Elliot brushed the suggestion off.
"You've watched that tape a dozen times," Cragen pointed out.
"I just wanna make sure I can ID him, when I see him," Elliot said.
Cragen realized, that Elliot was like a dog with a bone and there was no way he was going to leave it alone.
"Where are you planning to look?" he asked.
"Well, there's a homeless camp in a tunnel near the spot where she was killed, so…" Elliot replied and turned to look at the captain for the first time.
"If you're gonna stake out Central Park, you take somebody along," Cragen said firmly.
"You offering to be my partner?" Elliot asked, hint of teasing in his voice.
Cragen chucked, "I'm not your type," he said, but decided not to elaborate, because both of them were well aware, that Elliot had a tendency to flirt with his partners, at least with previous two.
Elliot smiled – it was true. "I don't know, maybe I'd have a better luck with a guy," Elliot suggested, because he knew Cragen was looking for a new partner for him. "Women keep leaving me," he added.
"You may have another chance," Cragen said and tilted his head.
Elliot turned around with a smile on his face, "Oh, Dani change her mind?" he asked hopefully.
"No," Cragen said quickly, "Olivia's back. I offered her the position, but she hasn't given me an answer yet," he explained.
Elliot's face was all serious now. A ping of pain flashed through him, a guilt for not calling her in over a week and pain of her leaving. It felt like every raw emotion inside of him was brought to life. Besides he could remember how Olivia wasn't certain if she wanted to come back and now she's thinking about it and didn't call him first.
Then again he hasn't called either…
"But Liv doesn't want to come back, at least that's what she told me," Elliot said in confusion.
"I know. She is still in between, but she might come back. We need another detective in the squad and I prefer it to be a female," Cragen said.
"I know," Elliot replied.
Cragen took a deep breath. "I suggest you call her and talk things through. Get some rest and you'll be fresh tomorrow," he said.
Elliot nod, but Cragen knew he was not planning on doing either – he knew his senior detective well enough. And he also knew there was no changing his mind, so Cragen said his goodbye and left, giving himself plausible deniability.
Elliot picked up his phone and dialed Olivia, but the call went straight to voicemail and he decided to try again later, while he kept on watching the tape. Once positive, that he'd recognize the man from anywhere, he left the precinct and headed straight to the camp underneath the tunnels.
***SVU***
Olivia had poured herself coffee and sat down at the couch with newspaper in front of her. She did love those quiet moments in the mornings without any horrible case on her mind, not that the past cases left her mind completely even after they had been closed and the trial had been done. Guess, she'll never be free from the horror she had seen during her time at the SVU.
Her phone rang and disturbed the silence in the room. Olivia suddenly remembered her phone on the living room table. She ran there and picked up the phone after seeing Cragen's name flash on the screen.
"Benson," she answered.
"Liv, it's Cragen," Cragen said.
"What happened?" Olivia asked, "Is Elliot okay?" she was instantly worried.
"He's okay, but he is reckless. Last night he went to homeless camp in Central Park alone and some guy pulled a knife at him. Elliot is unharmed, but he beat the guy up. He is out of control," Cragen explained.
"That's not good," Olivia commented.
"Olivia, I need him handled. And I know you can do that, so are you willing to come back a little sooner?" Cragen was serious.
"Yeah, where is he?" Olivia replied after a brief pause.
"He's at Bellevue interviewing the homeless man," Cragen said with a relief.
"Okay, I'll head down there," Olivia decided.
"No," Cragen said fast, "You need to come here and take your gun and badge. I'll draw up your contract, so I need your signature too."
"Okay, I'm on my way," Olivia said and ended the call.
Olivia dropped the phone on the table and went back to her coffee and newspaper. She discarded the paper, but finished her coffee.
She opened her closet to find the clothes she used to wear to work or something equally suitable for a detective – she doubted NYPD dress code had changed and she could show up in jeans and sweatshirt. Olivia settled for black pants, white t-shirt and blue sweater.
Olivia took the familiar walk to the precinct and took the lift to the right floor. Cragen was waiting, when she arrived. He handed her the badge and gun she used to wear before computer crimes and undercover work. Olivia also had to sign for the gun and she was given a new contract with the NYPD.
"Now you're officially reinstated as a NYPD detective," Cragen said after she had finished.
"Good to be back," Olivia said.
She placed the badge and gun on her belt, content to be back, because she has no idea where else she could be, but here.
"Have officer Russo drop you off, I'm out of squad cars at this moment," Cragen suggested.
Olivia agreed and left her captain's office. She caught the named officer and got a lift to Bellevue, where the nurses directed her to Elliot. As she got closer to the room she hesitated. Olivia even briefly stopped by the door and listened in. She made out Elliot trying to get the guy to tell him hair color.
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Is it the color of my hair? Is it brown?" she asked as she entered the room. "Like that?" she added and touched her hair.
Elliot turned around instantly and his eyes were on her. He moved towards her in surprise.
"You here to give me a hand?" he asked coldly.
"Well, Cragen called me. After what you did last night I've been assigned to be your handler," Olivia explained
"The guy pulled a knife on me," he protested, "But it's good to see you," he added quietly.
"You too," she replied and offered a quick smile.
As Elliot turned around to focus on Mr. Keener and Olivia walked past him, their bodies coming to contact for a brief moment. Elliot had his hand on the small of her back out of habit as he came to stand beside her.
Olivia continued to ask if the hair was brown, but their witness kept on shaking his hand violently. Then she got it – salt and pepper hair.
Mr. Keener walked over to the board and painted their suspects' hand in red. He hit the board roughly, then came over to the detectives and grabbed Olivia's hand roughly. Elliot was on guard and grabbed his hand.
"That's okay. We're getting somewhere," Olivia said, trying to avoid Elliot hurting the guy again.
Mr. Keener kept on shaking Olivia's hand and trying to say something. "Break," Elliot exclaimed and forced him to drop Olivia's hand.
"Broken arm," Olivia repeated and wrote it on the board.
Finally they got to the point, where they had a description and the connection is coffee shop.
Both Olivia and Elliot thanked their witness and left the hospital room.
"Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" Elliot asked.
Olivia nod. "Yes, you can," she said.
They got to the car and drove to Café Gabrielle, where their victim was last seen alive. Elliot bought 2 cups of coffee and they sat down at a table. Uncomfortable silence took over as both tried to come up with some conversation topics.
"So why couldn't Dani cut it?" Olivia asked.
"Couldn't deal with the victims," Elliot replied.
"But you liked working with her," Olivia stated.
"She was not you, but she didn't have to handle me either," Elliot said seriously.
Olivia nod and let out a small laugh, then sipped her coffee.
"How'd you like working alone?" Elliot asked.
"I didn't," Olivia replied quickly.
Elliot looked around the place and then focused on Olivia again. He covered her hand with his and waited until she was looking at him.
"Look, I should have called after the theatre, but work was hectic and I never had a moment. I was going to come see you, but then I was called back to work. We're missing a detective and everyone is beat," Elliot tried to explain.
"It's okay. We have to figure out what we're doing and if we can be partners again," Olivia said, "But it's not the time and the place."
Elliot agreed.
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand and leaned in. He kissed her cheek.
"Look," Olivia said as she noticed a guy matching their description walking in.
"Let's go," Elliot said.
***SVU***
At the end of the day they had Wes with a bottle of dieldrin and Naomi having an affair with him, but they were still lacking confession, still they called it a night and decided to hit Homeland Security the next day.
Olivia and Elliot left the office in sync as they always did and walked out of the precinct.
"Should we talk tonight?" Elliot asked carefully.
"Yes, it would be wise. My place?" Olivia asked.
"Sounds good," Elliot agreed.
They made a stop to get Chinese and then got to her apartment. In a habit they ended up on couch with the Chinese while watching TV.
"We still work well together. The interrogations went well," Elliot commented.
"Yeah, it's nice," she agreed.
"Are we together?" Elliot was blunt.
Olivia almost chocked at the noodles she was eating. Quite honestly she had no idea what they were, because they hadn't discussed that lately.
"I don't know," she replied.
"I don't know either and that's the problem," he said seriously.
Olivia placed her carton on the table and angled her body towards him. "Do you want to be with me?" she asked.
"I do," he replied quickly, "And I don't."
Olivia leaned backwards, away from him and created more distance between them. She was waiting in case he decides to elaborate.
"I never know where I stand with you. You don't let people in and when faced with a problem, then you choose to run without giving any reason. Yeah, I sometimes act like a class–A prick, but you don't run away when things get a little bit hard, you fight for it. You make these decisions about us on your own and I can't do it like that. I'm too old to be your fuck-buddy or booty call," he spoke.
"El, I've been alone all of my life. You are the longest relationship I've ever had," Olivia explained.
"And I know it. It's just hard for me too. I can't do something half-way," he said.
"We're still at the crossroads," she stated.
"I don't quit things and I don't want to quit you either, but let's face it's not working like this. It hasn't been working for quite some time," Elliot said sadly.
"Gitano," Olivia whispered – that's when everything changed.
Elliot nod.
He dropped his carton on the table next to hers and leaned back on the couch. Elliot hid his face in his hands and took a deep breath.
"Elliot?" Olivia asked hesitantly.
Elliot didn't reply, instead turned to her and took her hand in his. His thumb caressed the back of her hand like he always did.
"It hurt. The way you left, when you asked for a new partner and left for computer crimes. It hurt even more when you left for undercover operation. I didn't like it, but I understood, what I didn't understood is that why you didn't tell me yourself. How you left without telling me, without talking it through with me," he said, pain evident in his voice.
"I'm sorry. It was really fast and I tried to call you," Olivia defended her choice.
"You could have tried a little harder," Elliot snapped.
"I know," she said weakly.
She scooted closer to him and turned to her side, her body angled towards him. She moved her left foot underneath her, so her knee came to contact with his thigh and threw her hand over the back, resting her head on her palm.
"We need to get over our issues and work through the differences or we need to end this," she said seriously, hoping he wouldn't want to break it off.
"Yeah, we can't postpone it any further," he agreed.
"I know you must hate me for the way I left and handled our first big roadblock, but I never meant to hurt you," she was sincere.
"I get why you left, you were hurting too with the pregnancy and the way I acted was not okay either, but if we decide to continue, then this can never happen again," he was firm, "And I don't hate you, I could never hate you But I hate what you did."
Elliot let go of her hand and closed the distance between them. His head fell to her shoulder and he closed his eyes.
"Maybe we need some time off, while we work it through," Olivia suggested painfully.
Elliot lifted his head up and stared at her.
"I think we've had enough time apart," he replied.
"So what should we do?" she asked.
Elliot shrugged his shoulders.
"I want you, that's all I know," Elliot said finally.
"I want you too," she replied.
She leaned forward and almost threw herself at him as she lunged into his embrace and hugged him. Elliot accepted her sudden need for physical contact and hugged her back.
"I just can't trust you," Elliot whispered.
"Neither can I," she replied, bitter memory of Elliot kissing her temporary partner in her memory.
Olivia pulled away from him and sat back.
"We can't be partners without trust. We can't be in a relationship," She said seriously.
"I know," he said sadly, he took her hand again and pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
"Does one of us need to resign?" she asked in shock.
"No," Elliot said firmly and shook his head violently.
"But then what…?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said and looked away, trying to think of something better, because he needed Olivia at SVU.
"Well…" Olivia started, "We can try being just partners and see where it goes. Let's see if we can be partners and if we manage that, then we can decide what to do," she suggested.
"Yeah, I think it sounds reasonable," he agreed, "Do we tell others about it? I mean mainly Cragen."
"I don't know. Do you want to?"
Elliot shook his head, "Not really," he said shyly.
An uncomfortable silence took over the room, neither of them knowing what to say. Olivia finally stood up and went to the kitchen to get some water.
"I should go," he decided
Olivia didn't reply, but she came to the hallway, where he was putting on his coat. Elliot turned to her and for a moment he really wanted to kiss her, but then he remembered, that he shouldn't.
"So, I guess this is it," he said.
"Yeah, we're broken up," she agreed.
Elliot stepped closer and leaned in, she followed his lead, but before their lips met she turned away. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted it. It was Olivia, who closed the remaining distance and Elliot eagerly welcomed her lips on his.
"El," she started, when they broke apart.
"It's just a break-up kiss, one final goodbye to the rollercoaster," he said casually and kissed her again.
Unconsciously, but both of them put their pent up passion into the kiss, and moments later Elliot coaxed her into wrapping her legs around him tightly and her back was pushed hard against the wall.
This time he pulled away, and created some distance between them, but he didn't release her.
"What are we doing?" he asked and was reminded that they had faced the same question some time ago and then it led to night of lovemaking.
"Breaking up?" she asked in a lack of better answer.
"Yeah, just one more time?" he asked.
"One more time, one break-up sex," she agreed, after they never had problems with being intimate.
Elliot didn't need to hear more, he kissed her passionately and despite his growing erection and need for her, he found her bedroom, because at least in his mind break-up sex had to be good, intimate and lasting longer than 5 minutes, which would have happened if they'd have had it against the wall.
Once again he placed her on the bed and climbed on top of her. Instantly his fingers went to her hair and loosened the band so her long brown hair was freely on top of the blanket.
"I love your long hair, I never got why you cut them," he commented.
"But I cut them over 6 years ago," she said with wide eyes.
"I know, and I've missed them ever since," he was sincere.
"You've been wanting to see me with long hair much longer than we even were together. You're hopeless," she was compassionate, "but cocky son of a bitch and for few hours you're still mine," she added.
Elliot smirked.
"I actually like you the way you are and I wouldn't change a thing. You looked just as beautiful with shorter hair," he complimented her.
"El, just shut up and kiss me, I'm starting to regret breaking up with you," she joked.
Elliot leaned in and kissed her cheek, then moved his lips to her ear and whispered: "There's not a universe, in which I don't regret it." He kissed her behind the ear and continued working his magic on her, he knew will pleasure her and so much more.
***SVU***
There they were, watching Naomi and Glenn talk, while Naomi confessed her affair and how two people who loved each other fell apart. Olivia sneaked a look at Elliot, who focused on the scene in front of them. She couldn't help but think how this was the same situation with her and Elliot, despite the different consequences and the outcome, this was them.
They watched Glenn storm away.
"Glenn. Glenn, wait!" Naomi shot after him, but he didn't respond.
Olivia stormed to the room with Elliot few steps behind. Naomi was obviously hurting and feeling terrible for what she did to her husband.
"What a mess," Naomi said and turned to window.
"Naomi look," Olivia started, "What you did is not the worst thing in the world," she said seriously, feeling his eyes on the back of her head. She continued: "Things happen. People fall in and out of love all the time."
Elliot's eyes on her were really penetrating and she could feel it. Something in her wanted to run away, but she didn't. Elliot stepped closed to her, which increased her urges to run even further and his silence made things even worse. She couldn't help but think how true her last sentence really was, because he had fallen in and out multiple times, but so had she… or maybe she just fell in love with him, but forgot to fall out with him.
"I thought Wes could help me. He said I could dance two leads every season. I feel terrible. I didn't want Glenn to find out like this," Naomi rambled while hyperventilating. That prompted Olivia to move in closer and grow concerned.
"Naomi, are you okay?" she asked and placed her hand on Naomi's back.
"I…" Naomi started.
"You okay?" Olivia asked again, but before Naomi could say something she collapsed on the floor. Luckily Elliot was right behind her and caught the woman.
Olivia called for a bus instantly, while Elliot informed her that Naomi wasn't breathing and started CPR. Luckily the bus arrived shortly and transported Naomi to the hospital, Olivia and Elliot took their squad car and followed. They got Naomi's information from the front desk and got to the right floor.
Elliot stopped to get soda from the vending machine and handed one to Olivia.
"Oh, I don't drink soda anymore," she refused politely.
"Any other major changes you wanna let me in on?" he asked, slightly disappointed.
"Well, you're the one, who traded in your suits for jeans," she commented, but she was not complaining, because she had to admit that his ass looked even better in jeans. She sneaked a peak, but restricted herself for thinking further.
"I'm just trying to stay comfortable," he excused himself, but it was not the whole truth. After Olivia left for undercover, he had reevaluated his choices and he decided that he needed some change, and he started by changing his wardrobe. And partially of course because he too was well aware that his booty looked nice, and even better in jeans – his way of trying to make her feel some regret or something else entirely.
Olivia smiled at the comment – that was not it.
"So, what do you think? Wesley poisoned her?" Elliot changed the topic.
Olivia agreed – the symptoms were pretty much the same.
Came out that he didn't, Naomi was going into liver failure which was genetic condition, but at that moment it was brought on by unsterile injection to her shoulder and they found their killer – Glenn.
It was the next day, when they arrested Glenn and now they needed a confession. It was Elliot's idea to take Glenn to a hospital. They got him to confess and then Glenn got to talk to Naomi, so she could get answers and he was willing to give them.
Olivia and Elliot stood at the back of the room and listened. At the end they got their confession, but Naomi's condition worsened. Though they were surprised, when right after Glenn confessed and Olivia placed him under arrest, Wes showed up. Things got a little ugly and Glenn fought Wes. Elliot of course broke it up, but in all fairness, he could've done it sooner.
They sent Glenn to central booking and got back to the squad room to finish their paperwork. They both decided to get coffee, and that's when Casey arrived.
She caught Olivia, who was at her desk.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Casey asked her.
"I don't follow you," Olivia replied.
"Your procedure. You took a suspect to the hospital to visit his wife?" Casey elaborated.
"Well it worked, didn't it? I got a confession," Olivia said easily – she didn't really see the problem with it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Elliot coming towards them.
"Which may be thrown out due to your coercive tactics," Casey attacked.
"Oh no, wait a minute. This isn't charm school, Casey," Elliot interrupted and came for Olivia's aid, "We were leaning on a killer."
"You did more than lean," Casey shot back.
"Glenn Cheales is in central booking, beat to hell," Casey stated.
"Elliot broke it up," Olivia protected her partner.
"He took his time," Casey shot back, in all honesty Olivia nor Elliot failed to have any defense to that.
"That is sloppy reckless work. What? What's the deal?" Casey attacked the detectives, but before they could defend themselves, Casey continued and turned to Olivia: "You rusty? Is this your first case back? You too busy thinking about Stabler to focus on anything else?"
Elliot stepped forward in front of Olivia, because this time Casey had crossed the line. Olivia looked up, ready to protest, but Elliot beat her to it.
"Hey, Casey, you're out of line," Elliot said seriously. He felt Olivia standing beside him, her hand ghosting by his back, barely touching.
"And what's your excuse? Too busy sleeping with your partner?" Casey attacked Elliot.
"We're not sleeping together, so stop with the nonsense," Elliot shot back at Casey, surprising everyone in the squad room at the moment.
The silence took over the squad room, it was rather uncomfortable one.
"Are you done with the character assassination?" Olivia asked finally.
"That depends. You finished flushing my case down the toilet?" Casey asked.
Olivia turned to Elliot, looking for something to get back at her friend, but they came up empty. Luckily Cragen saved them from the uncomfortable situation, even just for a moment.
"Naomi's doctor just called, her liver failed," Cragen announced.
"How much time does she have?" Olivia asked.
Casey walked to Cragen, on her way to leave – she had done her work here.
"Without a transplant, 48 hours," Cragen answered.
"Is there a chance of a donor?" Olivia asked.
"Only if we let a killer out of jail. Her husband's a match. They were tested years ago," Cragen replied, "He can donate a lobe of his liver."
"No he can't," Casey said firmly and all eyes were on her again.
"Why not?" Olivia asked aggressively, Elliot leaned closer to her trying to subtly let her know to cool down.
"Because he copped a murder and you placed him under arrest. He's no longer eligible to donate, but he would have been if you hadn't gotten him to confess," Casey said, once again letting the detectives know how bad work they were doing.
Both Olivia and Elliot were taken back.
"So, how do we make this right?" Olivia asked, when she had recovered.
Elliot was behind her, he had his hand on her shoulder to offer some comfort, but she barely registered that.
"You can't," Casey said roughly, "Not without a special dispensation from the commissioner," she said softly.
Casey left the squad room with that, while Cragen eyed Olivia and Elliot carefully. He was not angry, rather concerned, because even though he wanted to see Naomi make it, he had heard, when Elliot said that they were no longer sleeping together – it might not be the way to announce it, but it meant that the detectives had broken up and that was a cause to worry. He had noticed the cool behavior and even anger that radiated from both of them every time the other person was around. Quite frankly, he didn't understand it, because the last time he saw them together, they were about to go on a date and couldn't be happier. The question remains – what happened?
Olivia pushed Elliot's hand away and grabbed her coat.
"We have to go see the commissioner," she said decisively.
Elliot nod, but stopped her, while she put on the coat.
"Liv, it's not our fault. We got our murderer, there was no way of knowing it would end like this," he tried.
"But we still have to make it right," she said.
"Hey," he said and tilted his head. Out of habit, his hand was on her shoulder and the other one on her back, trying to hug her in an attempt to comfort her.
She shook her head and stepped backwards.
"No, don't do it," she hissed.
Elliot removed his hands and put them up in a defeat. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
"Don't act like we're still together, you don't get to do this anymore," she said firmly.
Elliot nod and went to his desk to grab his coat. Silently he followed her to the elevator – they had a commissioner to convince and a woman to save.
The cool interaction between the two didn't go unnoticed by Cragen, who sulked back to his office – he did have another cases to worry about and the personal life of his detectives should not hold a place in his thoughts. So he refocused and hoped that Liv and Elliot will get the commissioner to reconsider and they can save Naomi's life.
***SVU***
Olivia and Elliot made sure than Naomi was okay and awake, then their job was done. They made a quick stop at Glenn's room to thank him like Naomi wanted to, greeted Fin and Munch, who were babysitting him for the moment and left for the elevators.
"Love's a bitch," she said suddenly.
"Tell me about it," he agreed and looked her.
Elliot pressed the button for the elevator.
"You know, we've been partners all these years and we were in a relationship for some time, but I don't even know your blood type," Olivia brought out.
"A-positive," Elliot said easily.
"How about that? Me too," Olivia replied, a bit surprised.
They shared a look, but they were interrupted, when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. They got in the elevator side by side and Olivia pressed the button for their floor. They stood there in silence, until Elliot broke it.
"I'd give you a kidney," he said in a light of this case, hoping she'd get the real meaning behind his statement.
"Not if I gave you mine first," she replied with a smile.
Both of them turned to each other, when the elevator doors closed. Elliot didn't second guess and pushed her – more like she willingly backed – to the elevator wall and their lips met in a hot kiss. There was no way of knowing who initiated it, because both of them were thinking about the same thing. His hands were on her underneath the coat, familiarizing himself again with her and she was doing just the same thing. Both of them were completely closed off in their own world with little knowledge of what's happening around them.
They broke apart abruptly, when the elevator dinged again and the doors opened. They exited the elevator and awkwardly headed towards the car, neither of them sure how to act or what to say.
"Seems like we can still be partners," he said finally.
"Yeah, we can act professionally," she confirmed.
"And we don't need to get reassigned or anything. We can still be professionals and do our work, despite the status of our personal relationship," he continued.
"Yes. We can do it. After all we were just partners for 6 years or so," Olivia brought out.
"Yeah, we can just act as if I'm still married," he suggested, but it killed the mood instantly and they fell into silence.
They got to the car, but Elliot didn't start the engine.
"We can't go on like this," she said seriously.
"No, we can't," he agreed.
"It's like a limbo – we're not together, but then we're not really apart either. We have to choose," she decided.
"I'm sorry about the kiss, I just…" he started, but Olivia stopped him.
"It was both of us, not just you," she said quickly.
"You know, we can always do this friends with benefits thing? It's pretty common with youth at this moment from what I can make out," he suggested.
Olivia raised an eyebrow and stared at him.
"Or then not," he said.
Olivia's face broke into small smile. "I don't know what to do, so just drive to the precinct, we have mountain of paperwork to complete and maybe a pissed ADA to defeat," she said casually.
Elliot started the car and did as he was told, because he too had no idea what to do or how to go on with Olivia.
"Maybe we should have another conversation, because it can't go on like this," she said firmly.
"Like this, how?" Elliot asked.
"Every time we talk or have a moment alone we're at each other like teenagers at the prom. It's not acceptable," she explained.
"I know. We'll figure it out," he was optimistic.
She nod – they will figure it out, one way or the other.