Chapter 6: The Tape and The Affair

Disclaimer: Me no own. That make me sad.

A/N: Wow, I'm really bored, so I think I'll post this chapter. It's got some Captain Cragen and some Kathy in it. Enjoy!

"Benson! Stabler! My office, now!!" Cragen yelled.

"Think this is about us not coming into work yesterday?" Olivia asked, pushing out her chair.

"No, CSU told the Cap what happened." Elliot answered, standing.

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why we weren't in to work in the morning." Elliot only shrugged. He knew she was right, but Munch and Fin were close by and he didn't really want them to know where they had been. Not that anything inappropriate was going on…it was just…he didn't know what was going on.

When they were seated in Cragen's office and the door was closed, the Captain looked from Elliot to Olivia.

"You want to tell me the meaning of this?" He growled.

"What?" Olivia asked. She flinched when he threw a large envelope on his desk.

"What's in it?" Elliot asked, though he was pretty sure he knew already. Cragen glared at them.

"Pictures. Of the two of you." He threw three pictures on his desk. They were all of Elliot and Olivia from the previous night. They were sleeping nose to nose. The captain threw four more pictures on the desk. They were of Elliot and Olivia sleeping on the couch before she was attacked. He threw eight more pictures down in front of them. Two were of Elliot carrying Olivia back into the room after she was attacked and the other six were of them hugging. Then he threw a video tape at them.

"What's that?" Olivia managed to mumble.

Cragen snatched it up, shoved it in the VCR, and hit play. Olivia and Elliot watched as Olivia answered the door and was attacked. They watched as Elliot, fury written all over his face, shot the bastard and carried Olivia inside. Elliot closed his eyes as Olivia's screams for him echoed in his ears. Cragen stopped the tape and took a deep breath.

"Captain-"Olivia began.

"Shut up." He snapped. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Just what the hell were you two thinking?" Sleeping together? Internal Affairs is going to have a field day with this one. You know, they've been questioning me about the two of you for years? I always defended you, but not anymore. You've just ruined everything I tried to fix."

"We didn't sleep together." Olivia said before the Captain could stop her. "I was having nightmares and asked Elliot to stay with me. Nothing happened. Then we fell asleep on the couch. Again, nothing happened. Then I hugged him because he was freaking out about killing that guy. That's it." Olivia finished. Cragen glared at her, but instead of backing down she glared right back.

"Don." Elliot said. "White is trying to get you to think that there is something going on between us. But there isn't. We're partners, we're best friends. Nothing more." Elliot struggled to say these words. Olivia looked down as tears filled her eyes. She knew he was only saying that to convince the captain but they hurt all the same.

Cragen looked at the two. He had known that their friendship ran deep. Deeper than it should, but he didn't have the heart to split them up. He sighed inwardly. Their words didn't convince him, but they would convince IAB if they played it right. In order to do that he would have to play tough.

"Get out." He snarled at them. Inwardly he grimaced as the shock registered on their faces. "Are you deaf? I said, get out!" He was speaking barely above a whisper. Elliot turned and with one last shocked look left the office. Olivia turned towards the door, then turned back.

"What the hell is your problem? Nothing happened." She left before he could respond. Once they were both gone he sighed and put the pictures and the tape back in the envelope. He wasn't going to show them to IAB. There would be no point.

Later that day, Elliot walked into his house and immediately realized it was empty. He remembered that the twins were on a school trip and that Kathleen was staying at a friend's house. Maureen was living in a dorm now, so Kathy should have been here. Elliot sat on the couch and waited.

Half an hour later Kathy stumbled in. With someone behind her. A male someone.

"Kathy? What the hell is going on?" Elliot stood up.

"Elliot!" Kathy said, surprised. Then she giggled. "Elliot. Hey Elliot! This is Ben and guess what? We've been seeing each other for about 3 months!" She collapsed on the floor laughing.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I knew she was married, but she needed me and I-"

"Cut the crap! It doesn't matter anyway, I want a divorce. I think I finally realized why I haven't been happy. When she's sober tell her to get a lawyer. A good one." Elliot turned and walked out the door.

He was relieved and angry. The good Catholic in him said to stay and work this out. The other side of him told him what he really wanted. More like who he really wanted. He got in his car and drove to the precinct.

Richard White watched Elliot drive away. He smiled. Everything was going according to plan. Kathy's affair was just an added bonus. For his plan to work he had needed Elliot and Olivia to realize their true feelings for each other. He had needed Stabler unattached. White knew they hadn't read their first clue. Forgotten about it even. Well, they would pay dearly for their forgetfulness. He was running out of time. He frowned when he realized that in order to get the end result he needed, he would have to call the game off.

"Damn."

TBC

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