Prompt #40: Bensler NYC Holiday Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger of your Heart

~oOo~

Christmas time brought up a lot of complex feelings for Olivia Benson. As a very young child, she loved the holiday. She'd get a present, and a hug from her mom, and it was one of the few days that her mom wasn't acting funny. As she got a little older, she realized it was one of the few days a year her mom wasn't drunk, and Christmas became a day just for them to be with each other. As the years passed, Christmas was often an afterthought, and as an adult, she tended to work that day more often than not—until Noah was born. She had tried then, every year to make it special for her son.

Last Christmas was hard. She had to fire her weapon instead of being home with her son, and then spend the day filing paperwork until an unexpected guest had dropped in to pull her away. To buy her dinner and send her home to her son. The one man who had always had her back. Who had heard her plight and had rushed to her side in the aftermath. Elliot Stabler. He had made her go home and shower, and salvage some of the day with Noah.

The next morning, she had come in to finish the paperwork before she heard about it from McGrath. Except her desk had been empty save for a note.

Seems I still remember how to forge your signature pretty well. Paperwork is signed and ready to be sent in. Have a good rest of your day Captain. ~ E

She had called him to express her gratitude and he had told her that if she really wanted to thank him, she'd join him for dinner that night at the cafe they used to frequent as partners. She had accepted his terms, and it wasn't long after that that "friends for now" became "screw being just friends, be my best friend again and fuck me". They'd been dating for about a year now, and Olivia was happy. Like the happy she never thought she'd allow herself to have.

And what's more, Noah was happy. He loved Elliot, and it made her tear up when she thought about it, both because of the time they'd missed together and because their relationship was what she had always wished for for Noah. Elliot was the best father she knew, and that he cared for her son, the two most important men in her life, bonding so deeply, so easily? It was something she had imagined time and time again over the years and it struck her heart that they existed in the same universe, so tightly bonded. That Noah was loved so fiercely not just by her, but by Elliot, who loved him as his own.

Early Christmas morning, Olivia had miraculously not been called in for work, and she, Noah, and Elliot opened Christmas presents in their pajamas, drinking hot chocolate Elliot had insisted on making from scratch as part of the "Stabler Christmas experience". While Noah danced around waving the Ballet tickets Elliot had gotten him like a golden ticket and pirouetted around the living room, Elliot gave Olivia a beautiful necklace, a gold delicate chain with an amethyst birthstone in the center, because her birthday was "one of his very favorite days, because it was the day his very favorite person came into the world."

Not long after that, Fin called her into the office, promising it shouldn't take long, but that she was needed. Elliot stayed with Noah while she dressed and made her way into the precinct, Fin pointing her in the direction of her office. When she got there, she didn't find paperwork or even a case file. What she found instead was a note, in her handwriting.

Your turn to buy breakfast, partner. I told you I'd get Danielson to crack first. Pay up!

Her eyes widened at the realization that this was the last note she'd passed across her desk to Elliot before he had disappeared. Next to the note was a cup of coffee just the way she liked it, her favorite peach pastry from the bakery down the street, and an egg sandwich from the deli they always frequented, bacon crispy, extra ketchup packets included.

Just as she was about to text him, her phone pinged with an incoming message from Elliot.

Hope you enjoy your breakfast, Captain. After you eat, we're going to play a little game. A trip into the past, so that we can welcome our future. By the way, I promised Fin I'd bring him a box of jelly donuts next week since he had to come in on his day off. Although I don't really think he minded as much as he pretended to. Anyway, once you finish, you'll find instructions on the back of the note. There will be a new note at each stop you make. You'll find a word or words color-coded in purple in each note, that will help you solve my puzzle, Detective Benson. The last note will lead you to me. I love you, Olivia. And I'll see you soon.

Olivia grinned. That lovable idiot. She ate quickly, mind eager to get started, and turned over the note.

Liv, share a glass with me for old times sake. Go to the breakroom. And I'd still drive just about anywhere to save your ass.

Damn him. He really was sentimental. Which meant she was about to take a trip down memory lane. She journeyed to the break room where she found a note stuck to a glass of orange juice, already half empty. She swallowed the rest of the glass before slipping on her glasses and reading the note.

Will you, for your next stop, go to the garage. You'll know what you're looking for when you see it.

Slipping on her coat, Olivia ventured down to the garage, walking through rows and rows of cars before she found a lot in the back that housed a familiar sedan. Moving to the passenger side, she found it unlocked, and opened their old squad car to find a bobblehead on the dash. A monkette bobblehead, causing Olivia to let out an unprecedented giggle before quickly looking around to see if anyone had heard, remembering the long-ago conversation. How things had changed since then! A sticky note was placed next to it in Elliot's signature scrawl.

Be my best friend, as you always have been. Drink a cup of tea on me, and go to our steps. And Olivia…I knew that day. Remember you asked me why I was staring at you after calling you a monkette? I looked at you and I just…knew. That scared me. Now, the only thing that scares me is the thought of NOT having you. And I never want that again. I love you Benson. Now, go.

Olivia smiled at the memory. Patting the old sedan and taking her bobblehead with her, she walked to her SUV and headed for Queens.

She pulled up at Elliot's old condo lost in thought. She put the car into park and walked up to his front steps. An elderly woman exited, smiling kindly at her. "You must be Olivia. I have a package for you dear. Your young man is very sweet."

"Thank you, ma'am…" Taking the package, Olivia returned to the car, opening it in the quiet of the SUV. Inside was his old hoodie, their old hoodie. The same hoodie he had borrowed back from her two weeks ago and hadn't given back yet. She unwrapped it, slipping it on, already letting it warm her frame. A note slipped out as she did.

Hey partner - ready for your next stop? This is me…giving something to you first. I couldn't leave it in the elevator, so visit the nurse's desk. You know the place.

Shaking her head at the nostalgic old fool, Olivia drove to Mercy West Hospital, 365 West 32nd street. She swore to herself, if he somehow was giving her a kidney in a jar or something like that episode of Grey's Anatomy they had seen…she was gonna kill him. Thankfully, the nurse on staff recognized her, and quickly allayed her fears, handing over a note and a plush kidney squishable, fighting back a chuckle as she did.

Me again. Last one. I'm returning something else that once belonged to you. It's coming back to you, just like I did. It kept me warm, thinking of you over the years. For life, my friend Olivia. It's in your locker. I'll be waiting.

Olivia returned to her car one more time, shakily driving to the one place her locker could be, since she didn't have one at the precinct. The old precinct, shut down so many years before, left alone but still standing. Not unlike herself for so long. But no longer. Before heading in, she put all the notes together, reading the full message he had hidden in his words, and letting out a soft startled gasp.

Will you be my partner - for life?

Olivia raced into the old squadroom, the musky smell hitting her nose immediately. She strode to her locker, her simple name tag above it, with a post-it attached as a little addendum. It now read Benson - Stabler. Her shaky hands opened the locker, pulling out a well-loved red scarf. Turning, looking for Elliot, she found him, perched at his old desk, waiting for her. When he saw her, he grinned, falling to one knee almost immediately.

"Olivia, I love you. You've been my best friend, my partner for more years than I can count. Being a part of Team Benson means the world to me. So this is me. Choosing you. Choosing us. In this and every universe, parallel or not. Forever my first and only choice in partners, in lovers, in everything. We are a family, one that you should know loves you unconditionally, always and forever. I know you never liked Christmas, but I'm hoping to change that. I want your Christmas, your every Christmas to be merry and bright and full of orgasms." He winked at this, Olivia choking back laughter and tears. "So Olivia Margaret Benson, will you do me the honor of being my wife, oh Captain, my Captain?"

Olivia threw herself into his arms, arms wrapping around his, one word on her lips.

"YES."

Hopping onto her old desk, Olivia pulled Elliot to her, kissing him passionately. "Yes. In every damn universe, yes." He laid her back across the desks, joining together once more as the best partners the world had ever seen. Just this time with a few less clothes.

Down the hall, Sam, the old janitor heard the ruckus. He still came by once a year on Christmas to take care of the old place. Some things just needed a little TLC. He grinned, hearing the voices he recognized so clearly from all those years ago, and remembered the day the old captain had paired the two of them up. Which reminded him. He pulled out his phone and sent a text.

I won the bet. Pay up, gentlemen…

The author of this A Merry SVU Season story will be revealed in January