AN: Hi guys! Hopefully you all think this is a quick enough update. I did cut this chapter kind of in the middle of where I had originally planned to finish so I could get something out for you all to read, so it is a little shorter, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. This is more Elliot/Olivia focused, so that should be fun; leave your thoughts in a review please. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7 – Lunch with Elliot.

Olivia has to regroup after Halloween night. Her strategy to distance herself from Elliot had not gone exactly as planned. Instead, she'd ended up in the corner of a dim room, focused on his steely eyes, trying to catch her breath and almost hoping that he would make a move.

Luckily, the lights had come on before she had embarrassed herself. In all honesty, she had wondered before if she had been truly alone in her slowly developing feelings, but Elliot had never done anything to suggest differently. He was friendly of course, invited her to hang out and all, but she was sure he was just being a good friend. It was probably best that she didn't mess that up.

She had gone out with Brian that Saturday and it went rather well. Like he'd promised, they saw a movie, no alcohol involved, and ended up grabbing pizza for dinner at a small shop near the theatre afterward. It had been a pretty scary movie and although Olivia usually had good nerves, she jumped a few times before Brian had just put his armrest up and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, letting her wiggle towards him. Sitting close to him felt a little different than what she was used to. There were first date nerves in the air, and it seemed almost like Brian was holding his breath. Olivia couldn't relax all the way into him, but she couldn't figure out why that bugged her so much. She had exhaled, trying to shed some of her anxiousness, glancing up at Brian. He'd combed back his hair for the date, and Olivia could tell that he'd used some kind of gel. She chuckled slightly, making him glance down and offer a quick smile. He really was a sweet guy.

When he'd dropped her off that night, he'd smiled shyly at Olivia, nodding awkwardly.

"I had a really good time tonight," he said, making Olivia smile back.

"Me too," she said. This was true. She'd had the opportunity to relax for the first time in a while. It had been nice.

"Maybe we can do it again soon?" Brian suggests, sounding a little nervous. Olivia's smile widens, and she nods.

"Sure," she says. There's a small pause, a little awkward, but not in a horrible way.

"Um," Brian starts. Tentatively, he raises a hand, letting it rest on Olivia's shoulder and she lets out a short laugh, stepping in and standing on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. When they pull apart, Brian is blushing deeply.

"I'll see you around. okay?" she says, still smiling. Brian had nodded, a goofy grin on his face, not even moving as she disappeared into the apartment.

That date had helped to take her brain off of Elliot, at least for a few hours. For the next week, she's able to avoid seeing him, which works out well for her. The kids are staying with Kathy, and so she doesn't have to stop by his apartment for any reason. However, on Wednesday night, she does have to call him to go over the agenda for the next PTA meeting. It was supposed to be last week, but with Halloween and all, they'd moved it to this week just to space the events out for parents. The first time she tries to call him is on her lunch break at work. The phone rings and rings, and eventually she gets his voicemail. She just hangs up that first time, but by that night, after 2 more phone calls, she leaves a short message asking him to call her when he gets a chance.

She only begins to worry on Thursday after lunch. She'd tried to call again, both his work and his home number. She knows that he's a very busy person, but he's usually pretty good about answering the phone, or at least calling her back. At the end of the day, she sits in her car, exhaling and trying to figure out what to do. She could stop by his job, but she didn't want to make an appearance in a police station just to check that Elliot would be able to make it to a PTA meeting. She could also call Kathy. That seems like her best bet, but then she thought back to Elliot's birthday party and Kathy asking if she and Elliot had something going on. She didn't want to do anything to intensify her suspicions.

So, sighing, Olivia decides to call the 16th precinct one more time. She's not expecting an answer, and so she jumps a little when the phone clicks and someone responds.

"Special Victims Unit, Detective John Munch speaking," says Munch. Oliva exhales gratefully and relaxes in her seat a little.

"Hi John," she says. "This is Olivia Benson, from the PTA? Is Elliot around?"

"Hi Olivia," John says, his voice warming. "Elliot's been in and out for the last couple of days, he's working on a tough case right now. Do you want me to leave him a message?"

"Oh, no, no, that's okay," Olivia says. "Thanks."

"Sure," John says. "I'll just let him know you called."

"No," Olivia says, shaking her head. "Um, it's okay, it was nothing important and I don't want him to worry. Thank you, though. Bye."

She hangs up after this, able to let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like the case Elliot was working on was important, but he was at least safe. She hadn't realized that she was so worried until now, as her breathing returns to normal. She sniffs and shakes her head, starting her car before going to pick her son up from school.

•

On Thursday night, Olivia ends up leading the PTA meeting without Elliot. It's not too hard or anything, but she misses his company, his jokes, the looks she knew he would throw her when a couple of parents voiced their dislike for the Halloween event. But for the most part, the majority seemed to enjoy the haunted house and Olivia leaves feeling pretty positive about the way the rest of the year will go.

By Friday, she still hadn't heard from Elliot. She wished that she was okay with that. After all, she had decided just last week that she wanted to distance herself from him, and now here she was, hoping that he would call, just like a teenager. Maybe over the years, she had just gotten used to seeing his face, hearing his voice. She was beginning to think about him more and more as the day went on, and every time the phone rang her stomach leapt a little.

She's chastising herself now. It's about 11 am and she hadn't really done any work yet. She felt more than a little distracted, and she's just about to go take a quick walk around the building to straighten her head out when there's a knock on her door.

"Come in," she says. For some reason, her stomach flip-flops. The door opens and then just like that, there he is. Elliot, dressed in a button down and slacks, his gun still on his hip. He smiles when his eyes meet Olivia's, and reflexively, she smiles back. She stands as he makes his way into the office, heading behind her desk and wrapping an arm around her in a quick hug, pressing his lips to her temple. This makes her entire body flutter, the butterflies escaping her stomach, and when he pulls back, she has to look away to keep herself from blushing.

"Hey," he says finally, grinning and sitting at the chair in front of her desk. "Your office is impossible to find, you know. You're tucked away in the back corner; you haven't asked to be moved anywhere nicer?"

"Well, most of this building is set up with areas for the clients," Olivia says, shaking her head and brushing off Elliot, who has that stupid, playful grin on. "Okay, but what are you doing here?"

"I had to come apologize," Elliot says, his voice becoming impossibly sincere. "I know we were supposed to run that meeting together, and I didn't even get a chance to pick up a phone and call. I haven't even been home for more than a couple of minutes in the past few days. I did just get a cell phone, but I'm still trying to figure out the thing."

"It's alright," Olivia says, nodding quickly. She can't help but smile at how sincere he looks. "Everything went well, the haunted house got a mostly positive response. You could have just called when you got a chance though, you didn't have to come all the way down here."

"Well, our case is at a sort-of standstill right now," Elliot explains. "My captain told me to go out, get something to eat, and go home to nap if I could."

"And you came here," Olivia says, her voice softening. She runs her eyes over his face, pausing at the bags under his eyes. "Elliot, I really do appreciate you coming, but you should go home. I mean, you must be exhausted." Elliot shakes his head.

"Well, I wanted to take you to lunch," he says. "Make up my absence. I mean, unless you have other plans?" He raises his eyebrows slightly, and that same little voice that wonders if he had ever thought about Olivia in a more than friendly way asks if this is his way of asking if she's going out with Brian today.

"I don't," Olivia says slowly. Truthfully, she is the type to choke down a salad at her desk and keep working. If she ever has time to take a break, she'll usually go for a run to calm her nerves and then find the time to eat later. "But are you sure you want to go out?" Elliot's smile only widens.

"Positive."

•

Olivia recommends a sandwich shop around the corner and so that's where they go to eat. When they walk in, they're led to the only open seat – a corner booth in the back. Olivia doesn't realize how hungry she is until her sandwich gets sat down in front of her. Elliot watches as she takes a large bite, his smile slowly widening. He nudges her gently.

"When's the last time you ate?" he says, almost sounding concerned. Olivia rolls her eyes, setting her sandwich half down as she chews.

"I had dinner last night," she says through her food. Elliot pulls a face and chuckles, taking a bite of his own sandwich. Olivia sticks her tongue out before taking a bite of her pickle. She hums happily, satisfied, and Elliot wrinkles his nose.

"You like pickles?" he asks after swallowing. Olivia nods a little, taking another bite.

"Yeah," she confirms. "When I was pregnant with Luke, all I wanted was pickles and cheese. Jonathan thought I was out of my mind."

The mention of Jonathan makes Elliot's stomach feel like it's folding in on itself. He glances down, trying to subdue the rush of anger that rolls through his body. After clenching his fist at his side, he forces himself to continue the conversation.

"Well, when I was pregnant with the twins, all I wanted was astronaut ice cream," he says. Olivia coughs on her water, nearly spitting it all out over the table. Elliot manages to grin as he looks up at her. "What, is that not normal?"

"You're not normal," Olivia says, still chuckling as she wipes her mouth. She looks back at Elliot, watching as he takes a bite out of his sandwich and sighing a bit. "You know, if you have to go back to work after this, a meatball sub probably wasn't the best choice."

"Why not?" Elliot asks, his voice muffled by his full mouth. Olivia rolls her eyes and wipes his chin with another napkin.

"You're gonna get it all over your shirt!" she says. "And you had the nerve to insinuate that I was the messy one."

"I think this was an amazing choice," Elliot says, licking his fingers before going in for another bite. Another dribble of marinara sauce rolls down his chin and Olivia lets out a small noise of protest. Before she can really think about it, she leans in, her tongue darting out at his chin and catching the sauce before it falls on his shirt. Her cheeks redden after this, especially after she notices Elliot watching her. She wipes her own mouth and shakes her head before going back to her own ham and cheese.

"You're on your own from now on," she says, shaking her head. But Elliot is still watching her curiously, and this only makes the warmth rise on her cheeks. It seems like suddenly, she's very aware of their proximity, of the arm Elliot had draped across the back of the booth, and of his tongue darting out over his bottom lip. She quickly racks her brain for another topic of conversation.

"What case are you working on?" she asks. Elliot pauses, as if he's debating whether to even answer, but eventually he shakes his head, dropping the arm that had been behind Olivia's back so that he can grab a napkin and wipe his mouth.

"It's not really something to discuss over lunch," he says shortly. Olivia notices his demeanor change a little. She feels a bit guilty and she sets her sandwich down as she chews the bite she'd just taken. After swallowing, she reaches over, sliding her hand over to rest on Elliot's knee, squeezing gently.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "I mean, I know I'm not a detective or anything, but it's probably good that you talk to someone else right? I mean, I don't know, did you…talk to Kathy before everything?" Elliot lets out a short bark of laughter, shaking his head. He pauses for a moment before speaking again.

"When we first separated, she said she was tired of me being angry all the time," he says slowly. "Tell me, with a job like mine, how couldn't I be angry?"

Olivia watches him after this. She thinks about him wrapping his arms around her in her kitchen. Thinks about him sitting on her couch late at night after he and Kathy had that first huge argument, tears rolling down his cheeks that she pretended not to notice. Thinks about how his eyes had flashed when he asked if Jonathan hit her, about how he swore that he would have protected her if he had known. And then she thinks about Jonathan, about his foot against her ribs. She inhales sharply, letting her eyes close for a brief moment.

She wonders if she is crazy, or if Kathy and she just have very different definitions of anger.

Her eyes open and she rubs Elliot's leg gently, getting him to look back at her.

"I'm sorry," she says softly. Elliot sees the look in her eyes, impossibly gentle, ridiculously concerned. He nods slightly and squeezes her hand.

"It's okay," he assures. She pulls her hand back and they both take a couple more bites of their food. He glances over at her as she eats, eventually smiling. She feels his eyes on her and looks back at him, cracking a smile.

"What?" she says exasperatedly. Elliot chuckles and shakes his head, looking back at his food.

"Nothing," he says slyly. Olivia bumps his shoulder with hers. When he looks at her again, she sticks her tongue out a second time, crossing her eyes. This makes him laugh and he slides his free arm back above her shoulders, silently encouraging her to move closer. Olivia doesn't want to recognize that this feels comfortable, much more comfortable than she had on Saturday at the movie theatre. She doesn't want to realize that she could feel herself relaxing with Elliot, as she always did. So, she pushes the thought to the back of her mind, doing her best to ignore it.

"You're ridiculous, you know," he chides. Olivia chuckles softly, reaching over and taking one of Elliot's fries, ignoring her own chips. "And a thief. I could arrest you for that."

"Oh, you could?" Olivia says. She takes another fry as she talks, ignoring Elliot's protests. "I'm sure I could get out. You know, I am seeing a police officer."

For just half a second, Elliot smiles, the tips of his ears reddening. But then something clicks, and he clears his throat, his voice now edged with forced casualness.

"Right," he says. "How did your date go?"

"It was nice," Olivia says, sitting back a bit and watching his face curiously. Elliot did a pretty good job of keeping a blank expression, though. "We just saw a movie, got some pizza."

"You going out again?" Elliot asks. Again, Olivia can hear the effort to stay casual in his voice. She raises her eyebrows slightly, tilting her head.

"I think so," she asks. "Why, did you hear differently?" Elliot chuckles, shaking his head and popping a fry into his mouth. He chews slowly, but there is no way to make his next question sound casual.

"Did you kiss him?" he asks and Olivia coughs for the second time that night, laughing. She nudges Elliot again, crossing her legs.

"Da-ad," she teases, shaking her head slightly. "That's private."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure he treated you like you deserve to be treated," Elliot insists. Their waiter comes by to fill their drinks and drop the receipt. "You don't have to answer."

Olivia rolls her eyes, shaking her head.

"Thank you," she says, glancing up. She pauses after this, focused on something near the door. Elliot glances at her, then his eyes follow hers to the door, pausing on a blonde teen standing at the door with a group of kids. A boy with shaggy black hair has his arm draped over her shoulder.

"That isn't…" he starts, but Olivia is already reaching to stop him from getting up. "Olivia is that Kathleen?"

"Elliot," Olivia warns, pushing back against his chest, which she knows is futile really, but it slows him down slightly. "Elliot, don't freak out."

"I'm not gonna freak out," Elliot says, pushing past Olivia to get out of the booth and stand. He glances at the receipt briefly before grabbing a few bills from his wallet and setting them down quickly. Olivia stands hastily. "I'm just gonna go over there and calmly ask her what the hell she's doing at a sandwich shop in the middle of the school day."

"El," Olivia warns again, but he's already striding across the restaurant and Olivia is forced to follow him to the front.

"Kathleen Louise Stabler," Elliot booms. Olivia sees Kathleen freeze up and then quickly push the guy she's standing next to off of her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Dad," Kathleen mutters, her cheeks flaming. Her friends have quickly decided to distance themselves from her before Elliot can recognize any of them, making beelines for the bathroom.

"Dad nothing, what are you doing here?" he asks heatedly, his voice continuing to raise. He doesn't give her a chance to reply as he shakes his head, jerking his head towards the door. "Outside. Now."

Kathleen follows her dad outside, her shoulders slumping. Olivia does notice that Kathleen's eyes hover on her for just a second though, and she follows them out awkwardly, ready to give Elliot a quick goodbye.

"I can't believe you're skipping school," Elliot is saying. "You know you need to keep your grades up to get into prep school next year and this can't be helping."

"That was so embarrassing!" Kathleen yelps, her face beet red. Olivia's heart surges, but she knows better than to try and argue against Elliot, at least not in front of his daughter. She begins to tap him to tell him that she's leaving, but then his cellphone rings in his pocket and he exhales before pressing the answer button and raising it to his ear.

"Stabler," he answers. He's quiet for a moment as the person on the other end of the line talks and then he says. "Alright, I'm on the way." He slides his phone back in his pocket, glancing at Olivia helplessly then back at Kathleen.

"I have to get back to work," he says. Kathleen looks hopeful for just a second but then his eyebrows come down and he nods at her. "Come on, I'll drop you off on the way."

"What?" Kathleen says. "No, Dad, I'll walk; I promise I'll go back."

"Yeah, that means a lot to me right now," Elliot says, shaking his head. "Come on." Olivia glances at Kathleen's hopeless face, and then before she can think, she hears her own voice speaking up.

"I can take her."

Elliot turns back to look at Olivia and he shakes his head slightly, but she continues.

"The middle school is a lot closer to my building than it is to yours. My car is in the lot down the street. It'll take no more than 10 minutes." Elliot sighs, looking between his daughter and Olivia, then glancing at his watch.

"Okay," he says eventually. He looks at his daughter, who is staring at the sidewalk. "Kathleen, we'll talk later." She murmurs something in response and Elliot exhales, pulling Olivia into a quick hug and whispering "You call me if anything goes wrong."

"We'll be fine," Olivia says, rolling her eyes a bit. She pecks his cheek. "Thank you for lunch."

"My pleasure," Elliot says, managing to smile a little. He shoots another intense look in Kathleen's direction before crossing the street and heading towards the car.

Once he's out of their line of sight, Olivia looks at Kathleen, who is refusing to make eye contact.

"Alright," she says. "Let's go."