A/N: Thank you so much for all those lovely reviews I've been getting! Every time I see that I've got a new one, you can only imagine how excited I become! So, many thanks! We're starting to get into the 'Case-stuff' that is essential to the story in the long run so I have to write it, not nearly as fun as EO banter but hey, what can you do? But I try to sneak as much EO in between as possible so don't fret none! Stick with me!

Disclaimer: Should we finally tell Dick Wolf that he has the actual ABILITY to get them together? I mean, he can't possibly know since they're still so...not... together.

Chapter 3: Something Like Silence

If I'm wrong I am right

Simmons' Residence

Friday, 8:30 am

"This is the guy that found her," one of the guys from the CSU said, leading the pair to the landlord. He was a short, fat man, who had hair everywhere except his head and kind of reminded Olivia of her own landlord. Did they all look the same or were stereotypes really taking over? Regardless, he looked nervous…and sweaty, Olivia noticed with an internal sigh of reluctance.

She glanced over at Elliot, who was taking out a pen and paper, as they prepared for the interview and introduced themselves. This place wasn't far from the precinct so in her heated mindset after their argument, she had made the muted decision to walk. After he had tried to apologize a few times, he eventually got the hint to drop it when she continued to give him the silent treatment. She didn't want to look at him, let alone hear whatever it was he felt the need to say, probably in order to ease his conscience anyway. All she wanted was to get the job done, do what she was here to do. And certainly not think of him.

Still, his words rang through her mind as if they were a track on repeat. I'm the closest thing damn thing you've ever had and you know it! And as these words reverberated in the hollows of her mind, she couldn't help but think that they were the truest words ever spoken. She tried to tell herself that he didn't care about her, plenty of other people looked out for her, and he didn't give a shit about her feelings at all – let alone if something actually happened to her. But as she told herself these things, she was ruefully unconvinced. More often than not, he was the one she turned to at the end of a hard day, and he was the first one to tell her whenever, and if ever, she was out of line. He was always the first one to build her up when she was misconstrued, and to tear her down when she was amiss. But that's what friends were supposed to do, they were supposed to be there for each other! He acted like it was a chore, not a will. Yes, he acted that way, and sometimes she seriously wondered if that was how he actually felt as well. It was in the heat of the moment, she told herself after a while. He hadn't meant those things…

She knew she had to focus on work or she'd be done for. This train of thought could lead down a gruesome path, a path down which she didn't wish to travel – not now, not ever. Work, she told herself, just work.

They had already checked in with the M.E. and it was horrific. If Olivia wasn't already feeling nauseous, the site of that girl's body was enough to do the trick. Her throat was slashed, it looked as if there had been some serious blunt force trauma, and her body was not only covered in bruises, but in cuts as well. It looked as if the bastard was trying to create a mosaic or some sort of dramatic work of art with her skin, nothing was untouched from the neck down - he took his time. But it wasn't merely that, the design and decorative, curling lines were so intricate, so precise, so meticulous. And to top it all off, she was covered in rose petals, scattered all around her, as if it was something of beauty. She knew they had to be dealing with sociopath, which just completely made her day!

"So let's start at the beginning," Elliot stated looking up at the large, perspiring man in the chair. "Where'd you find her?"

"In her bedroom, lyin' there on her bed," he told them. "She was covered in rose petals or somethin' it was like somethin' outta some Disney movie, I'm tellin' ya."

"Okay," Olivia said. "What were you doing in her apartment in the first place? Have a thing for her? Was she late on her rent? What?"

"She was always a little behind on her rent," he explained, wiping moisture from his brow. "But she was cute, ya know? So sometimes I'd let her slide a little… She always swore she'd pay me back and I knows she's got it a little rough but it was gettin' to the point where I gots IOU's spillin' out my ass! I had to do somethin' about it…so I come down to talk to her this morning because I know she'll be leavin' soon. When she didn't answer, I dunno… I guess I wanted to make sure she was okay, ya know? Make sure nothin' had happened to her. That's when I found her in there."

"You say you let her slide a little," Elliot pointed out, looking up at him. "You two, uh, ever work out some kind of arrangement?" he asked suggestively.

"No! No," the landlord said defensively, immediately understanding what Elliot was trying to insinuate. "Don't you be thinkin' that! I'm not that kind of guy and she was certainly not that kind of girl," he said looking down.

"What kind of a girl was she, you said that you knew she had it rough?" Olivia asked him suspiciously. For a landlord, he seemed to know a lot about this girl.

"Well, I knows that she was a dancer," he explained. "And ya know, it's New York, it's a tough road! But I mean, I don't know no details or nothin! Just what I see every now an' again…"

Walking out of the building a good hour later, the two began walking back towards the precinct. After they'd finished the interview, they'd found the address for both an aunt that lived in the city and the dance studio she attended. Elliot had just gotten off the phone with the Captain, telling him what they'd found out.

"So," Elliot started almost hesitantly. She still wasn't talking to him unless it was absolutely necessary. "You think we should pick up the Sudan this time instead of walking out to Brooklyn?" he asked referring to her earlier decision to walk to the vic's house.

"Fine." She was short with him and her voice was cold. She didn't exactly want to be in a car alone with him right now but it looked like she had no choice.

"How many times are you going to make me apologize to you, huh?" He knew he'd hurt her and he was sorry. He really was but he didn't know what else to do. If he wasn't still simmering about the fact that she still had some boyfriend that he still knew nothing about, he might see that he deserved the silent treatment.

A good 500 hundred thousand more times might do you some good, she thought to herself in response to his question. She considered saying something back but then decided against it. When was he going to realize that supposed friends don't treat each other like shit?

Sudan en route to the Green Residence

Friday, 9:42 am

They'd only been in the Sudan on their way to Angela's aunt's house for a few minutes and already the silence was eating at them. All that could be heard was the low vibrations coming from the rumbling engine and an occasional annoying click-click-click whenever the blinker was needed. Olivia sat, looking out the window, with her arms loosely folded across her chest as Elliot drove. He wasn't going to try and push her any more than he already had, she would hopefully forgive him in time. He only hoped it wasn't too long because with the way things were going at home, she was about the only thing he had to hang onto besides his job. So he kept driving. Thinking about the case. Or at least trying to.

Mark? His name was Mark? What kind of name was that anyway? Mark… He hated that name. It was so… Mark. Mark. Marrrk. He sneered inwardly. How could she date a guy with a name like that? He then wondered what the idiot did for a living. Was he a lawyer, someone he would have seen before? Nah… He probably worked at Burger Buddies or something like that. Did he even have an education? She was obviously too good for him! What was she thinking going out with some low-life like Mark?! But who was he kidding? Olivia was too smart for that, she wouldn't date any piece of trash off the street. This guy had a key, a key that she'd given him. She trusted this Mark guy. He then wondered how long she'd been seeing him again.

Suddenly a new sort of vibration could be registered throughout the car as Olivia's cell phone buzzed. She removed it from her pocket, wondering if Cragen was going to tell them to turn around and head back to the house for some reason but with one look at the caller-ID, her wonders were put to death. It was Mark. Right. Perfect. Because the situation wasn't already sufficiently awkward… Timing really wasn't on her side and she was becoming convinced that the universe really did hate her. It wasn't her imagination. Reluctantly she hit the talk button and held the phone to her ear, unconsciously shifting her body towards the window.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, it's me. How's your morning so far?"

Olivia could see Elliot's eyes dart in her direction and heat began to rise in her cheeks. She could only imagine what this would lead to. "Uh – alright, I guess…" she said, her voice audibly strained.

"Can't really talk about it right now, huh?" he asked picking up on her tone. God bless him.

"Not exactly..."

"Well, I really just wanted to ask if you were free for lunch but now I'm considering how long I can keep you on the phone while I talk dirty." She could practically see the smirk sliding across his face and she actually had to restrain herself from smiling as well. At least he made her want to smile.

"I'd advise you against it," she cautioned him. Knowing Elliot was listening, she attempted to make it sound like she wasn't talking to anybody in particular. But if he asked her about it, she didn't want to lie. He already thought she was keeping things from him. And it's not like she wasn't going to tell him eventually! It just never came up and what would she have said anyway? 'Oh, hey Elliot, guess what? I met this really great guy. I think this relationship might actually work! And I'm sure you want to hear all about it since I know you're marriage is practically flushed down the toilet-again!' Yeah. Right. That worked. Hopefully, he just wouldn't ask at all, knowing that he still wasn't in her good graces. Then again, it never stopped him before…

"You're lucky because I don't have time right now, but you just wait until next time," he said, knowing that she still wasn't in a place where she could talk freely since he could hear her trying to suppress a few muffled laughs. "So how 'bout it? Can you do lunch or will I be sorely disappointed?" he asked teasingly.

"I really don't know if I can…"

"Let me pick you up after work then." He didn't care. As long as he got to see her.

"It might be late," she said, warning him. They were on call tonight and even though she hoped this case would wrap up soon, there was no way to know for sure.

"It doesn't matter. Just call me when you get off. I'll take you home."

"Alright," she said, and then remembered that she'd driven to work today and if he picked her up, she wouldn't be able to get back the next morning. "But you might have to give me a ride to work tomorrow, if that's okay, because my car's still at the station."

"I don't see how that's a problem."

"Okay," she finally sighed in agreement.

"Great. I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, See you then, bye."

"Alright, bye," She said quietly, hoping her partner was more focused on the road than on her conversation. The few moments of silence between them after she'd ended her call, seemed to stretch into hours before he spoke. The tension spread and scattered hot needles across her back that caused her to feel like he'd just turned the heater on in June.

"That Mark?" He asked casually before he could stop himself.

"Yeah, not that I see how it's any of your business," she replied sharply, keeping her eyes glued to the road. Did he really expect her to just suddenly open up to him after what he'd said earlier? Even though she had basically decided that his words were the truth, that didn't mean she had to come to terms with them yet! As far as he knew, she still had every right to be furious with him! She wouldn't let him think that he could get off that easily.

"Just making conversation," he stated calmly.

"Well, don't."

More silence. "So, you two are pretty serious, then?" He couldn't help himself.

She turned her head to look at him with an expression of bewilderment. "What part of, Leave It Alone, don't you understand?"

"Can I help it that I want to know what's going on in your life?" It was practically all he'd thought about.

"Maybe you'll think about that next time," she began sternly, "Before you jump to conclusions and make an ass of yourself."

He ran a hand over his face with a sigh then put it back on the steering wheel. He didn't know what else he could say to her, how could he make her understand? How would she ever know what this was doing to him? "Olivia… what can I say? I'm sorry. You know that. I just…" he trailed off with a grunt, shaking his head slightly.

"Well, whatever you 'just…'" she sneered, "Just keep it to yourself because I'm sick of hearing about it."

He shot her a glare before turning his attention back to the road. "Fine," he said bitterly.

"Fine!"

"So do you love him?"

"God damn you!"

Green Residence

Friday, 10:45 am

"Do you have an idea how we could get in touch with her parents?" Olivia asked Angela's grief stricken aunt. Her mascara was already spread messily, dripping across her face and they'd only just told her. They must have been close.

"Both of her parents passed," she commented through her uneven breaths. "Just a few months ago. In a car crash," she barely got out with a sob. "How could this have happened?"

"We're very sorry for your loss ma'am," Elliot said comfortingly. "But if you answer a few questions, it could really help in our investigation." The weeping woman nodded her head slightly in compliance. "Alright, first of all, you know anybody who would want to hurt Angela? Any boyfriends? Creeps following her or causing trouble?"

She shook her head. "No… She did have a boyfriend a few months ago but I think she told me that she'd broken that off."

"Do you know his name or where he lives?" Olivia asked.

"I think she said his name was Brendan but I never knew his last name. I only saw him once, through the window," she said pointing next to the door. "He was waiting for her outside in a car one day."

"Do you remember what kind of car it was?" he asked and she shook her head and began to cry again.

"I – I know it was black but that doesn't help," she said breaking down again. Olivia put a soothing hand on her back and promised her that it would be okay. Even as heartbreaking as it was dealing with the victim's family, sometimes it was better than being locked in a car with her partner – and that fact alone, was even more difficult to deal with.

DSU Dance Studio

Friday, 12:12 pm

"Did she mention anything that was troubling her lately?" Olivia asked the older woman who had just finished instructing a class. She was dressed in loose dance clothing and looked maybe in her early 50's. She was blonde and wore too much makeup, making her eyes look more deep set than they actually were, but other than that she looked decent for her age.

"No, not really," she said evenly after getting over the initial shock. "She liked to keep to herself most of the time. I didn't know her too well."

"I thought she's been dancing here for 4 years?" he asked, thinking that after seeing someone practically day-after-day for 4 years, you should probably know a thing or two.

"Like I said," the woman started, her voice icing over as became slightly offended. "She liked to keep to herself." When she noticed that the two detectives were still staring at her expectantly, she heaved a deep sigh before deciding to continue. "But I suppose I did overhear her say something about being followed on her way here once or twice-"

"And you didn't see that as cause for alarm?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Angela was a beautiful girl," she explained, raising her eyebrows and accentuating her bad makeup. "She always had men following her, and she didn't seem as 'alarmed' about it as you might think. It was more of a joke than anything else."

Elliot couldn't believe it. A joke? Being followed was a joke to this woman? Some people, he thought to himself before looking up from his notepad. "There were no messages on her machine when we stopped by earlier. Why didn't you call when she didn't show up last night?" Elliot asked her with a hint of suspicion in his voice. She was quick to pick up on it.

"Girls don't show up for class all the time. It's nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose if she continued to no-show, I would have called eventually," she stated with air of finality. "Is that all?"

Outside of DSU Dance Studio

Friday, 12:16 pm

"You buy any of that?" Elliot asked her as they stepped out of the building and onto the streets. They faced each other, like they always did before making a decision on where to turn next, and Olivia nearly forgot that she was still angry with him but she wouldn't let him know that…at least not for a day or two. She couldn't let him think that he could get away with saying anything he wanted without consequence.

She was trying to stay mad at him, and minimally she still was, but she knew it couldn't go on much longer. Trying to convince herself that he was wrong, was not the right thing to do because she was well aware that he was right, and for that, she couldn't stay angry. In her heart of hearts, she knew that he'd said what he said, only because he was hurt that he hadn't known about Mark, hurt that she didn't tell him. But then again, after he'd gone back to Kathy, she didn't tell him a lot of things… It never seemed to bother him before, which was actually another reason she knew that she wouldn't stay mad at him. He was jealous. Truthfully, every time she thought about it, the fact that her partner was jealous of her boyfriend, she couldn't help the vindictive smile that curved at the sides of her mouth. A little jealousy would do him good - especially after the hell he'd put her emotions through. He deserved it. Besides, she could probably testify better than anyone that jealousy was easily punishment enough. Karma's a bitch.

"It's hard to tell."

"Alright…" he said dragging out the word a little and then looking away. Sighing, he knew she wasn't going to make this day easy on him. "Do you, at least, want to grab a bite before we check in with Cragen?" he asked motioning towards the little deli across the street. Neither had eaten breakfast in their hectic state of mind. Heck, he could hardly touch his coffee this morning, let alone eat, and he knew that if they didn't eat now, there was no chance of it once they got back to the one six.

He watched her follow his hand and look in the direction of the convenient eatery and nod. He also could have sworn he'd caught a glimpse of a smile as her eyes met his but he couldn't be sure. It wasn't promising but regardless…it gave him hope.

A/N: Hope that works! Suggestions are always taken, remember. I have an idea of where this is going but just let me know what you're thinking! And after this chapter, I have no one to edit (she's out of town for 3 weeks!) and tell me when I get them out of character so... I dont know what I'm going to do!! Oh well, I'll do my best. Just send those reviews my way & I'm sure the chapters will just get LOADS better ;) & Faster too! I'm sure! Haha. Do what you do. You know it's all I look forward to, right?! Haha Thanks! - Candice