Author's Note:
Hey guys!
First of all, thank you all sooooo much for the reviews! They were all much appreciated :)
Secondly, I'm not so sure about this chapter, I don't really like it, but I thought I'd put it up anyway the first one is way better though, so I'm sorry if this disappoints!
Thirdly I am giving you all a heads up now, this is not a very e/o chapter, I'm kind of trying to establish other things going on in Liv's life too, so Elliot doesn't feature much here (I'm sorry!)
Disclaimer:
We all know the drill; it ain't mine, blah blah blah, etc etc etc
Liv checked the mirror one more time and wondered why she was fretting over her appearance so much. It's not like her and Simon hadn't met before and besides, she looked fine.
What would Elliot think of how she looked? The thought crept into her mind unbidden and Olivia turned away from the mirror in frustration. It seemed like there wasn't anything she could do anymore without thinking of him and it drove her mad. When had she become so dependent? Liv checked her watch, pushing her partner resolutely from her thoughts – 5:42. She had arranged to meet Simon at 6. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. Enough, Liv thought forcefully, there was nothing to be anxious about. Taking a steadying breath, she grabbed her coat and left the apartment before she could change her mind.
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She walked into the diner soon after and cast a look around. Her brother was already there, sitting in a window booth and Liv was relieved to see he looked as nervous as she felt. He hadn't seen her yet, so Liv made her way over to him.
'Hey.' She said, offering him an easy smile as she slid into the booth.
He looked up, startled 'Hey.'
'Have you ordered yet?' she asked, determined no to have them lapse into an awkward silence.
'No, I thought I'd wait for you. Anyway, I only got here a few minutes ago.'
'Well in that case, I strongly recommend a burger and fries. This place makes the best in town, trust me.'
He gave her a hesitant smile, 'I do.'
Liv gave a small laugh at that and as they ordered, she felt the tension that had been so thick in the air before begin to dissipate. He spoke to her of his family growing up, what school had been like, what he had always wanted to do with his life. He told her about little things too, things that didn't matter, like the time when he was seven years old, he had put a hole in his mother's bedroom wall and sworn to her it had been the dog. Liv found that these were the things she enjoyed hearing about the most, for she was rather in short supply of light stories herself.
When Liv had been seven, she remembered that her mother had almost put a hole through her bedroom wall by falling into it. That was because she had been blind drunk and afterwards, Liv had had to get her to bed and clean up the mess she had left. But that wasn't something she was particularly keen on sharing with her brother. She didn't want to have him burdened with stories of her hell of a childhood. Nor did she want to tell him about the hell that Liv had checked herself into as an adult – the SVU.
But that was a part of her life that he knew existed, so he kept asking, insisting that he had long ago grown tired of his own voice and that surely, she had too. This was far from true, but eventually, Liv eased open, just a little.
She tried to keep to the lighter side of her job, telling him about Cragen, about Munch and his endless conspiracy theories and how he and Fin were practically an old married couple. She told him about Casey's fiery manner at court and the gentle, reassuring Huang. And she told him about Elliot. Though Liv was careful not to cover him in too much detail. But Simon wanted to delve deeper, he wanted to know about the cases and the victims. So unwillingly, Liv told him about Joanne Mitchell. At one point, she looked up from her plate to find him staring at her intently.
'What?' she asked.
Simon shook his head, 'How do you do it? How can you keep working there day in, day out for so long?' when Liv said nothing, he added quietly, 'More importantly, why?'
'Someone has to, Simon.' This was the standard response that every SVU cop gave and she had said it without thinking, after a moment she decided to elaborate, 'And for every life you save, it makes you feel like yours is worth living.'
'And for every life you don't?'
She looked away from him and out the window. He would never know the countless nights she had lost as that question loomed in the forefront of her mind; every second it remained unanswered was another bit of her sanity it would claim. Liv didn't want to ruin what had been a great night, so she painted her smile back into place and met his somewhat concerned gaze.
'Do you think you could fit dessert?'
Simon took the hint and wordlessly conceded with a laugh, 'Maybe just an ice cream.'
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'She wouldn't go out with you so you took what was yours by force, right? Isn't that what happened James? You couldn't take the rejection and her laughing in your face, so you raped her!'
'NO! That's not what happened, I swear to God! I didn't touch her, I swear!'
Elliot threw the pictures of Joanne Mitchell's broken body on the table for James Miller to see. He nearly had the bastard, he could feel it.
'Please, stop it! Stop! I swear I never touched her!'
'Do you know what they do to rapists in prison James?'
'Stop! I want a lawyer!'
Elliot's temper flared dangerously. Damn, he had been so close! Fighting the insane urge to grab Miller and shake a confession from him, Elliot leaned forward so that they were inches apart.
'A lawyer isn't going to save you, Jimmy.'
On the other side of the glass, Liv shook her head, if only she had been in there too, the pressure they both would have been putting on Miller would surely have been enough to make him crack. But after her display with Thatcher, Liv could hardly fault Cragen for his reluctance to allow her to interrogate anyone. But then again, Liv thought as she watched Elliot stalk out of the interrogation room, his rage palpable, it wasn't like her partner was exactly Ghandi or anything.
'Don't worry Ell, we'll get him.'
'Yeah' He replied grudgingly and Liv ducked her head to hide a smile. At times, he really was like a petulant child cheated of candy. Elliot took a calming breath and glanced across at her.
'How did it go with Marsden?' he asked, wondering again why he couldn't bring himself to call the guy by his first name.
Liv looked up at him, some level of content showing in her dark eyes. 'Great.' She said quietly and though Elliot burned to know more, he knew better than to push. Gazing at her, he found that, for the time being, it was actually enough for him that she seemed happy.
'Guys, how did it go with Miller?' Cragen asked, appearing at the doorway.
'He lawyered up.'
'Alright, well get yourselves to my office. The both of you.'
After Cragen left Elliot gave Olivia a worried look, 'You didn't-'
'I haven't done anything.' She said, half to herself. She was as perplexed as he, and then it came to her in a sickening rush – their evaluations. The ones that Cragen had made them both take before he made a decision. The decision about whether or not Olivia and Elliot were fit to work together anymore.
She turned to her partner, 'Elliot…'
Yeah, see what I mean? But still, tell me what you think! Please do review! And I'll try and make the next chapter better.