Stay Chapter 7: Speed Of Life, a law and order: svu fanfic

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for Jetta and Teddy. Characters and show belong to Dick Wolf, music and lyrics belong to Sugarland. Song is called Speed of Life by Sugarland.

A/N: I'm actually rather happy with this one, I hope you are, too. :)

The soft sound of running water comforted her as the warmth of the water covered her body. She massaged her soapy head gently, running her fingers through her hair. She began humming a soft tune to herself.

She came into the bedroom with wet hair wearing tight jeans and a tight tank top. She smiled kindly down at the man sleeping in her bed, sprawled across the mattress.

She leaned down and shook him gently, kissing his bear shoulder with soft, tender lips. "El?" she whispered.

He mumbled something that sounded like, "What?"

"Get up, come look. You have to see this," Olivia said softly, smiling brightly.

He rolled over onto his back and looked up at her with sleepy blue eyes. He smiled weakly.

She picked up his jeans from the floor and put them on his chest. "Hurry up." And with that, she kissed him sweetly and left the room.

Elliot got up and pulled his jeans, leaving his shirt on the floor, and followed Olivia out the door.

We drove all night to get to Corpus Christi
My parents slept right through
They never missed me
We were far from sleepin'
When the truth began to creep in
That we weren't goin' home anytime soon

He found her sitting at the edge of the water, her knees pulled up close to her chest, the vibrant golden sunrise silhouetting her body. He walked up quietly and sat down quietly behind her, putting his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked him quietly.

"It is beautiful." He paused for a minute. "Just like you."

She smiled and rested her head on his. She felt like she was living something straight out of the movies, and she was loving every minute of it.

The mornin' light sure took us by surprise
We grabbed our clothes
Watched a beautiful sunrise
We were one together
And we must have talked forever
And it was then and there I realized that...

"Olivia?" Elliot asked softly. His voice sounded distant and far away.

She didn't answer.

"Olivia?" he said again, a little louder this time.

Again, she didn't answer him.

"Olivia?" his voice was loud and almost angry this time.

She shook her head as if coming out of a trance. She looked around and found herself sitting at her desk, resting on her fist. "What?" she asked, confused.

"You okay?" Elliot whispered as he leaned over her. His hair was beginning to gray and he had specks of white in his black hair, like salt and pepper.

Olivia smiled up at him. "Yeah," she said happily. Her hair, too, was beginning to gray and she had long strands of gray hairs scattered throughout her dark auburn hair.

He gave her a half smile. "What?" he asked, almost playfully.

"I was just remembering when we went on that road trip so many years ago, before we had Jetta. Do you remember? And we stopped at Corpus Christi and watched that sunrise that morning."

He smiled, remembering, too. "Yeah, of course I remember."

Elliot and Olivia were both in their sixties now and the only one's left from the original gang. Fin, Munch, and Cragen had all left and Elliot was now captain. Olivia had come back to SVU from Computer Crimes a number of years ago.

Just then, a young girl in her mid teens walked calmly through the doors into the squad room. She had long brown hair that was under a red baseball cap that's bill faced backwards on her head. Her brown eyes had a worn, tired look in them. She had tight blue jeans on and a button up red shirt, the same color as her hat. She had a small silver name tag buttoned on to her shirt.

"Hi, sweetie," Olivia said as Jetta came into the room.

"Hi mom. Hi dad," Jetta said, dropping her backpack on the floor as she sat in the empty desk opposite Olivia.

Elliot walked over to his daughter and put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. "How was work?"

"Fine," she gave a simple answer, reclining in her chair.

He smiled, looking at Olivia with an unsuccessful look in his eyes.

We worked our way through college waitin' tables
Bought a little white house with a picket fence and cable
I asked if he was ready
To become a Mom and Daddy
And then I found my answer in his eyes
And he said...

"Well," Olivia said with a sigh as she stood up. "Let's go home."

Elliot nodded as Jetta stood up again, slinging her backpack over one shoulder.

When they arrived home, Jetta went straight to her room with her cell phone in her hands the whole time, not looking up once.

Elliot sighed heavily. "She's acting just like Kathleen."

Olivia smiled as she ruffled through the mail, looking absently at it. "She's a teenager, what do you expect?"

"Well, she's our teenager. I thought maybe she'd be different," he sighed and sat down.

Olivia put the mail on the counter and sat down on Elliot's lap, putting her arms around his neck. "She's still got your stubborn genes."

Elliot smiled playfully at her. "She's her mother's daughter."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's stubborn, and wild, and crazy, and longs to be free. Just like you."

She rolled her eyes and blushed, knowing he was right.

Later that night, when the dark sky shown with sparkling stars and the house lay dark and quiet in the night, Olivia lay awake. She lay thinking about what Elliot had said, and knowing how true it was. She thought about when she was a teenager, and how her mother would come home drunk, and how she'd sneak out sometimes. That's what she was waiting for. The sound of the window unlatching and the hurried, hushed whispers.

And, sure enough, that sound came. She heard the window unlatching in the next room and the boy her daughter was dating, Theodor, or Teddy as she called him. His low voice came clearly through her shut window through the cold, quiet night air.

Now, our oldest girl is almost grown
She's got a boyfriend of her own
I heard her sneakin' out with him last night
And if she is anything like me
She's desperate to be wild and free
We know now, it's just a matter of time
'Til she says...

Olivia smiled, not even thinking to try and stop her. She really did remind Olivia so much of herself when she was young, she'd never really realized it before. A single tear came to her eye when she realized just how much her baby was growing up. It was only a few more years before she would be going off to college. She would be leaving home soon.

Olivia pushed the thought from her mind, deciding not to think about it at the moment.

She pulled the blankets and pillow closer to her, trying to bring comfort to herself through the soft blankets.

Suddenly, and to Olivia's surprise, Elliot mumbled, "Told ya so."

I don't want to wait even one more night
It's hard to slow it down when it feels so right
Knees buckled, white knuckled
We're holdin' on tight (holdin' on tight)
We're travelin' at twice the speed of
I don't want to wait even one more night
It's hard to slow it down when it feels so right
Knees buckled, white knuckled
We're holdin' on tight
We're travelin' at twice the speed of life
The speed of life

She grinned and rolled over, snuggling close to him. "I know," she whispered back.

A/N: Please tell me what you think! ^_^