Summary: Elliot checks on Olivia after a difficult case

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Law and Order: SVU

Rating: T+

Pairing: Elliot and Olivia

FORBIDDEN FRUIT:

MORNING:

Liv woke to a warm body behind her. She fought not to open her eyes. Instead she turned into him, pillowing her head on his chest, breathing him in. Olivia tried to remain within the grips of sleep for as long as she could. All she wanted to feel was Elliot lying against her and fought to beat back the wave of guilt trying like hell to make her regret what happened between them last night. Now that she was thinking about, there was no way Olivia could fall back into a restful slumber. She carefully got out of bed so she wouldn't wake Elliot and then grabbing his dark blue dress shirt, she slid it on before heading to the kitchen to get the coffee started.

Elliot woke from a sound sleep to missing the warmth of Olivia's body by his side. He took a deep breath, breathing in the subtle scent of fresh coffee being brewed. Sitting up, the sheet pooled in his lap while he stretched. His tired body popped, his back cracking. Elliot got out of bed and instead of pulling on his pants, he reached for the towel, and wrapped it around his waist before going to the kitchen. There by the counter, Olivia was dressed in his shirt and her hair mussed. It made him smile seeing her like that. Then, his eyes traveled down to her pert backside. Fin accused him more than once of staring at her like that. Guilty as charged apparently. Liv had a nice backside he was proud to guard.

"El, I know you're watching me." Olivia said without turning. She was focused on the coffee, drastically needing coffee to help her battle the wave of guilt that was rising higher and higher. The scent of coffee wafted around her, calming her, centering her in this moment of time. And then there was Elliot. His hands slipped over her waist pulling her back against his hard chest. She focused on the coffee dripping into the pot and the smell was divine. "Least we have time for a quiet cup of coffee before heading in." Liv said resting the side of her head against his jaw.

Elliot held Olivia, his hands resting over each other on top of her abdomen. He, like Liv, had a caffeine addiction due to the job. "I was watching you, yes, but more importantly," El slid his right hand back and cupped her lovely backside that he had been accused of watching many times. Liv chuckled leaning further back into him. "I was watching this." Elliot growled angling his head so his lips could nip the edge of Liv's ear. Her hands reached back and grabbed him in return. "I think I like adultery." Elliot teased.

"Hmm, that's why it's a sin." Olivia murmured, "I know the feeling." The coffee would percolate without her watching, so she turned in Elliot arms and put her arms over his shoulders. "I like to watch your back… side… too." She chuckled angling her head to kiss him. Elliot responded, his tongue sweeping in her mouth to once again bring to life the simmering boil of her sleeping lust. It demanded to be sated, to be joined to him, feeling him move inside her. With his strong hands, Elliot lifted her setting her on the counter without separating their hungry mouths from each other. The one thing to break them apart was the all too loud sound of Elliot's cell phone.

Elliot pulled back from Live and groaned, "I hope it's not a call." He went for his jacket to pull the cell phone from his pocket to see the caller idea. The bottom dropped out of his stomach. It was Kathy calling. He came back to the kitchen with the hone still ringing in his hand. El looked to Liv trying to figure out what he should do. He knew he should answer, but standing in front of Liv, El couldn't bring himself to flip the phone open. "Liv I…"

"Answer it El," Olivia placed her hands on his shoulders. She had no right to stand between him and his wife. The guilt was back and gnawing at her worse than it had when she had woken up. "She's your wife." Liv slid down off the counter to leave him to his phone call, but Elliot slipped his arm around her waist. She watched as Elliot flipped open his phone and answered the call. Olivia's heart stopped.

"Hey Kathy," Elliot said cheerfully with just the right amount of sleep in his voice. He had no idea what he was going to use as a lie, but whatever it was it had better be good. Liv went still against him. Elliot knew what this meant. She was ready to rabbit any second. Slowly he rubbed his palm over her abdomen to try and soothe her.

"Hey baby, I saw you didn't come home last night."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Elliot apologized. "We had a late night and I was too tired to drive home."

At the precinct Kathy stood in the doorway of the SVU squad room with a clean suit for Elliot after asking if he had been sacked out anywhere. Munch and Fin had told her that he hadn't stayed. Elliot had left ten minutes after Olivia. She knew something was happening but she hadn't wanted to believe it. "I thought I would bring you a clean suit."

"Thanks, but I'm not at the precinct. I crashed on Olivia's couch."

"That was nice of her." Kathy kept her voice calm even though there was hurt and anger and pain stirring inside of her. She went to Elliot's desk and left the suit draped over his desk chair. Kathy didn't know what she wanted to believe. Elliot's tone didn't waver, usually when he lied he would get this hitch in his voice, but not this time. "Ok, well, I left the suit at your desk." She didn't say she would see him later, Kathy didn't know if she would.

Back at Olivia's apartment, Elliot heard a slight waver in his wife's tone. Kathy suspected something. There was guilt rising inside of him just at the thought of what would happen to her if the truth came to light. "Thank babe," Elliot said keeping the smile in his voice to keep up the pretense of nothing but partners working late and one of them crashing on the couch. Kathy said nothing to him as the line went dead. "Ok, that went better than I thought," He closed the cell phone and set it on the counter.

Olivia turned in Elliot's embrace, "What'd Kathy say?" She asked. Her heart was beating out of control. Last night had been so right, her and Elliot. Now, it could all come crashing down on her and all Liv could think about was how good Elliot looked standing in her kitchen wearing nothing but a towel.

"She brought me a clean suit." Elliot looked at his phone; his cop gut telling him that Kathy was suspicious. There was something about her tone that had his mind spinning possible lies he could tell her. Lying was wrong, he knew that, but when he looked into Olivia's eyes he was put at ease. "Still, there was something in her voice." He said it and felt lousy for breaking the ease.

"What're we going to do?" Olivia asked crossing her arms over her chest. Her skin itched and ached for the touch of Elliot's skin against hers, but she couldn't get past her guilt to take what she wanted when she had done just that last night.

"Like we always do." Elliot shrugged. Because he knew she needed it, and because he needed, Elliot reached out pulling her in against his chest. The Catholic in him was pouring on the guilt, but the man wanted Olivia no matter what. She was the best part of him even with the violence that waded through. Holding her close he let his body calm. He needed to be at balance again before they went back to work.

SVU SQUAD ROOM:

Half of the day had gone by with nothing being said in Olivia and Elliot's direction. It was a normal day, well, about as normal as it could be in Special Victims with endless rape and tortures and murders. Liv sat on the edge of Elliot's desk, not out of the norm, and she was glancing at one of the many files in her Inbox. Elliot was looking at the same copy while eating an apple. She was trying not to smile, but each time he took a bite, chewed, Olivia had the urge to take the apple and take a bite of it as well. After all they shared food all the time. Just as Elliot was about to take a bit, he was lifting the apple to his mouth, when Liv took it from his grasp. He looked at her, but she just smiled, and took a bite.

"Cute," Elliot smirked and shrugged. He set aside the file he was reading and rested his elbows on the edge of the desk; his upper arm resting against Liv's thigh. She took another bite of the apple, chewing slowly. 'Oh the irony.' He thought knowing full well that he tasted the forbidden fruit, and it wasn't just Liv's lips, or the sensation branded into his skin from being between her thighs, it was everything. It was her smile. It was her compassion and her way of empathizing with the victims. Most of all it was her heart. Elliot loved his wife and kids, but he also loved Olivia. The Catholic in him shouted at him that his love for Olivia was wrong. Yet, his heart knew differently. The human heart was capable of loving more than one person.

"What?" Liv asked with a mouth full of red apple. Elliot was staring at her with a smile on his face. This morning had been awkward, expecting comment or joke, but then she and Elliot had finally fallen back into their normal routine. She couldn't keep the flutter from her heart every time Elliot looked at her, smiled, or used his sarcasm to make a joke. So far they hadn't been called to a crime scene. They had spent their day cleaning up paperwork. In the back of her mind, Olivia had been thinking about what would happen at the end of shift. Elliot would go home. She couldn't believe how that twisted her guts in knots.

"Nothing," Elliot shook his head as Olivia took another bite. It was scarcely away from her lips when Elliot took the apple from her and took a bite in the exact same spot Olivia had. She was chewing and smiled at her knowing that no matter what happened, he was going to continue to fall for her. Day by day his love for her would grow stronger and stronger. "After we finish typing up witness statements we should grab lunch." Elliot said turning back to his file and Olivia went back to her desk.

Lunch rolled around with Elliot and Liv going down to the café that catered to cops down the block from the precinct. He was sitting across from her while she ate a sandwich, drank a soda, and had a salad. Elliot chowed down on a burger, a soda, and some fries. Liv said nothing, just as he did. All they did was smile and watch their surroundings. Elliot's gaze was drawn to another detective taking with the M.E they often dealt with and looked back just in time to see Liv steal one of his French fries. "Hey!" Elliot shouted playfully. Olivia only smiled at him chewing on the fry. Glaring at her gently, he snatched her fork and took a bite of her salad; he'd done it before.

Olivia lightly kicked Elliot under the table when he took a bite of her salad. Though, he had done it before. He smiled at her again and when she went to kick him again, he trapped her foot between is strong legs. She tugged halfheartedly to free her foot, but it was all part of the game. Then, she turned the tables and used her other foot, slipped her shoe off, and placed it on his lap, rubbing gently. Elliot's body went rigid the moment the heel of her foot touched him though the thin material of his pants. Olivia could only smile wickedly. Easily she moved the ball of her foot in a circle and kneaded her toes into his crotch. She watched as he grit his teeth, trying like hell not to moan out loud.

Outside on the street, Kathy had planned on surprising Elliot so they could have lunch together. She stopped in front of the window to see Elliot having lunch with Olivia. They were laughing, smiling, but not saying a word. This was something new Kathy hadn't seen from them before. They were just staring at each other. Elliot looked away, Olivia took one of his fries. That was nothing new. She knew partners were closer than spouses. Still, she couldn't shake this feeling that some line had been crossed. Elliot, to get back, took Olivia's fork, and helped himself a bite of her salad. Olivia was making a face, but she couldn't see what Elliot was doing. Why was this happening now? Why Olivia? They were supposed to be just partners. Kathy turned from the window and walked the streets to clear her mind.

Inside, Elliot put his left hand below the table and as much as he hated it, he stopped Liv's foot from what she was doing. "Liv." He warned squeezing her foot. When the shift ended he would go home to his wife. When he went to bed he would be sleeping beside Kathy, but he would be dreaming about Olivia. She was definitely more to him than an affair. Olivia was a part of his heart he had no idea he had been missing until he met her, worked with her, and was in danger with her every day of the week. "I'm glad you're my partner." Elliot mused.

"I am too." Liv replied with a bright smile. This new form of their relationship seemed like a natural progression. It almost seemed like the next step they would take. Logically she knew she should be riddled with guilt over sleeping with a married man, her partner, the man she trusted to watch her back when she went through a perps door. Yet, there was no guilt, not any more. Liv could look at Elliot and there, the darkness that surrounded the job, just faded away. "This job," Liv sat up, sliping her foot back in her shoe, and set her hands on the table just close enough for his finger tips to touch, "It eats everything in my life. The only good thing about it is when I walk in the squad room and you're there."