This is it people. Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always feel free to review and let me know what you think.
"I see you Olivia," he says kneeling. "You can crawl out on your own, or I can drag your ass."
Olivia exhales dejectedly before painstakingly crawling onto her stomach through the muck of the log. After having cleared the tree, Alejandro wastes no time grabbing a fistful of her hair pulling her to her feet.
"Ahh!"
Once she's standing he lets her go and puts his gun in her face. Olivia puts both hands out in front of her, hoping to talk him out of whatever plans he has.
"Please, you don't need that," she tells him. "I'll come with you."
"You are very lucky that I need you to get Jimenez," he reveals. "Or else you'd have a matching bullet hole in your pretty face," he seethes. "Now move!"
Olivia marches back in the direction from which both of them came with Alejandro at her back.
"Who are you," she asks, resulting in an instant scoff from him. "If you're going to kill me, can I at least know your name?"
"My name is Alejandro…De La Costa," he informs her, emphasizing his last name.
Olivia immediately stops walking and turns to face her captor.
"Christian was your brother," she acknowledges. "I'm s-
He slaps Olivia across the face before the insincere apology can fall from her lips. She slumps but doesn't fall over, rubbing a hand on her cheek to soothe the sting.
"Don't insult me," he tells her, pulling her within an inch of his face by the t-shirt she wears. "You are not in the least bit sorry that he's dead," he fumes before pushing her away harshly. "Now walk."
She does as she's told, folding her right arm at her side as if it's in a sling. Crawling in and out of the old tree, being grabbed my Alejandro and the simple stress of the situation has exacerbated her injury.
They both stop when they see and hear Jimenez approaching. Alejandro immediately grabs Olivia around the waist from behind and sticks the weapon into her side.
"I'm the one you want Alex," Jimenez tells him, raising his gun at him. "I killed Christian, let her go," he orders. "This is just between me and you."
"He trusted you Max," he yells. "I'm sorry, its Aaron isn't it you son of a bitch," he teems. "And you betrayed him!"
"I was doing my job," Jimenez reasons. "You know what you're brother did for a living," he continues. "But you are a good man Alejandro. You don't have to do this."
"My brother was a good man," he counters. "He helped raise me after our parents died, put me through school, made sure I was taken care of," he tells the agent. "He was the only family I had left!"
"He was a drug dealer," responds Jimenez. "And he ordered me to hurt people, to kill people!"
The agent sees Cragen, Elliot and everyone else quietly approaching from behind the unstable man and continues to try and stall him.
"But he always said the worse thing he ever had to do was kick you out of his life," he says in a calmer tone, surprising the man. "He never wanted any of it to touch you."
"He would want me…to kill you," he responds with tears beginning to fall from his eyes.
"He knew you were a good man Alex," he says trying to appeal to his conscious. "He wouldn't want you to become like him," he advises. "He loved you."
Olivia stands quietly by in the arms of the unstable man hoping for a peaceful resolution. But with every fiber of her being, with every instinct she's developed over the years, she knows absolutely…that someone is going to die today. Maybe her.
"And I," he says quietly. "Loved him."
Alejandro is completely calm before he quickly and stealthily turns the gun from Olivia to Aaron and returns the favor of shooting him in the heart like he did his brother. With Olivia being used as a shield, Aaron could not return fire.
"No!" Olivia screams, dropping to her knees slipping out of Alejandro's grasp.
The moment she's out of the way, Cragen and the troopers descend upon him ordering him to drop his weapon. Elliot impatiently waits on the outcome from behind a tree.
Alejandro turns slowly, appearing to follow the commands of the officers. When he sees Olivia in his line of sight he swings the gun in her direction, preparing to fire.
Cragen puts three bullets into the man before he can get off a shot. The force of the rounds knock him backwards, effectively killing him. He lays motionless on the ground.
A trooper cautiously approaches his body with her weapon drawn, kicks his gun away and kneels beside him. Seeing the blood ooze from his mouth, along with the three holes Cragen's gun has made in the man's body, the woman draws one conclusion.
"I'm pretty sure he's dead Captain," she tells Cragen.
Moaning comes from the direction of where Agent Jimenez has gone down. He's sitting up, raising his shirt above his head revealing a Kevlar vest, eying the lodged slug. Olivia crawls over to him and they help one another up.
"Damn that hurts," he says to Olivia. "I don't know how you handled actually catching a bullet," he tells her, releasing their hold on each other once they're standing.
"I'm told I died at least three times," she reveals to him. "So not that well," she adds as they watch Elliot approach.
"First you were shot and then you were kidnapped, all courtesy of the DEA," Jimenez tells her. "That guys gonna kill me with his bare hands."
Suprisingly, Elliot ignores the agent and beelines for Olivia sweeping her up into his arms. He completely forgets that she'd been shot just two days ago.
"Ow," she says, causing him to immediately loosen his hold.
"Sorry Liv," he tells her, moving his hands to her face, looking at the bruise Alejandro's slap has left.
"How bad did he hurt you," he asks, lightly touching the mark.
Olivia notices the stares they're beginning to get and reaches up to pull Elliot's hands away from her face. She's not comfortable with him publicly doting on her.
"I'm fine El," she tells him, squeezing his hand before letting it go.
Captain Cragen approaches the two after speaking with the state troopers.
"How are you feeling Olivia," he asks sincerely. "And don't tell me you're fine because I can see you're in pain."
"I'll be okay Captain," she responds. "Better once I get home."
"You're going back to the hospital Detective," he begins. "You hadn't even been released yet."
Sweat had begun to break out on Olivia's face, partly from the mounting heat from the summer sun but mostly from the pain in her chest. She agrees to go to the hospital without putting up a fight. That in and of itself convinces everyone that she must be really hurting.
Olivia stays there for three more days before being released. During that time she has visits from everyone in the SVU, her two favorite ADA's and even Dr. Huang. Elliot calls but she puts him off. She's had some time to think and remember how he just walked away from the job and her without explanation. As deep as she is, she doesn't want to get any deeper with him and have that happen…again. Olivia doesn't know how well or how soon she'd recover.
They never had that conversation about them. Between the mountain of paperwork special delivered to her by Cragen courtesy of the NYPD and the equally daunting stack from the DEA delivered by Jimenez along with his apology, she hasn't had the time. Closer to the truth, she hasn't made the time.
After being in that nice spacious condo for several weeks, now that she's back home she's bumping into her own furniture.
"Damn it," she shouts, flopping onto her sofa to rub her toe. It's the middle of the day and she's bored out of her mind.
All the paperwork is done. Her housework is finished. The laundry is all clean. Olivia was so happy to be out of the hospital and back to her own place that she's finished it all in one day. Not being able to sleep had much to do with getting up early enough to do it. She alternated between dreams and nightmares until she decided she'd had enough of both.
She knows it's a normal reaction to all that she's been through recently. Huang assured her that after a couple of days of being back home and returning to her routine, she'd be fine. Olivia didn't fight Cragen on ordering her to talk to him either. It's only been about a week since having to face her own mortality and reconnecting with Elliot. She needed to talk to someone.
The pain in her chest has lessened as her wound heals. She finds she's able to go longer without her meds and she's skipped the muscle relaxers altogether. Olivia's life seems to be returning to the normalcy she had before the De La Costa brothers entered it. Or at least as normal as her life gets.
After perusing her bookshelf, she's sitting down with a mystery novel when there's a knock at her door.
She's comfortable in her rolled up sweats and tank top, so she hopes it's not anyone inviting her to leave her apartment. When she sees Elliot on the other side of her peephole, she's happy she at least decided to wear a little makeup today...and a bra. Olivia ditches her ponytail holder, shakes her hair out a couple of times, unlocks the deadbolt then turns the knob. She almost feels silly primping for him. He's seen her at her worst a million times over.
"Hey," she says, opening the door.
"Hi," he says, smiling with two bags of carry-out in his hands. "I hope you haven't had lunch yet."
"Um, no," she tells him, stepping out of the way to let him in. "I haven't. What'd you bring me," she asks, returning his smile.
"Grilled chicken, steamed veggies and brown rice," he informs her. "Fin tells me you've been on some type of health kick lately," he reveals, entering her kitchen to place the packages on her counter.
"Yeah," she tells him. "Though with the number of threats to my life lately it seems kind of futile."
"You know I thought you might say something like that," he says with a wicked grin. "That's why I also got you this," he begins, removing a smaller bag from the larger one. "They call it Death by Chocolate," he explains before putting it into her refrigerator.
"Well if you gotta go," she begins, grinning.
"What a way to go," he finishes, returning her smile.
Elliot takes out two plates and begins transferring the food from the Styrofoam containers. Olivia joins him in the kitchen, removing two bottles of water from the refrigerator. When they both turn at the same time, they collide in the small space.
They simultaneously apologize causing both of them to laugh. Elliot's face turns serious when he notices the fading bruise on Olivia's cheek. He can't seem to stop himself from touching her anymore when she's in his presence.
He reaches for her face with the feather light touch of his fingers.
"Are you really okay," he asks, in his low raspy tone. Olivia's noticed he's using that with her more and more these days. She recognizes it as something reserved for intimate situations.
"I'm fine El," she tells him as he lowers his hand again. "I've certainly been hit harder," she adds, feeling her own bruise. "I forgot it was even there."
"What about that," he asks, gesturing to the wound dressing easily seen through her low cut tank top.
"I'll be good in a few weeks," she advises him. "Dr. Valentine refuses to sign off any sooner," she adds. "She doesn't want me to rush the recovery process."
"Liv…if I'm careful can I," he begins the question shyly. "I just want to-to hold you."
She nods and steps into him putting both arms around his waist. In her bare feet he's several inches taller than she is. She doesn't tighten the hold, just rests her head against his chest. Elliot wraps his arms around the tops of her shoulders not wanting to hurt her.
"I'm okay El," she tells him. "It's just a dull ache now."
They both take a moment to just hold on to one another taking pleasure in the fact that their both alive to do so.
Elliot is enjoying the feeling of her hands on him. The smell of her has always had the power to both calm and excite him. Her hair is soft and scented with some combination of fruit and flowers he can't name. The skin of her shoulders is smooth and begs to be caressed so that's what he does.
She listens to his heart beating just beneath his worn NYPD t-shirt. Olivia inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of him without her chest feeling as if it's on fire. She rubs his lower back feeling the sinewy muscles beneath the material. She has to stop herself from slipping her hands into the back pockets of his jeans. It feels like something they've been doing for years. It's comforting and unnerving for her at the same time.
"I'm scared Elliot," she confesses, nearly mumbling.
"Huh," he asks, not really hearing her.
She pulls away from him completely, enters her living room and sits on the sofa. He follows her over, sitting far enough away not to crowd her. Elliot wants her to tell him whatever she needs to without feeling pressured.
"I said I'm scared," she repeats, sitting back into the corner with a leg folded beneath her. It's something she never would've voiced in her role as his partner.
"It's okay Liv. I was a little jumpy after I got shot the last time too," he explains. "It'll pass."
"Not about that," she says, with a small smile. "About us," she begins. "About you," she adds a bit more quietly, rubbing her forehead. This isn't easy for her.
He mimics her position on the opposite end of the couch. As much as he'd like to comfort her through whatever she has on her mind, Elliot knows touching her would only be for his benefit.
"What about me," he asks, placing an elbow on the back of the couch.
"After you retired…it was hard…for me," she admits. "Getting used to the idea of walking into the squad room and seeing another person at your desk," she tells him. "It uh…wasn't easy."
"Liv I-
"Please, let me finish," she tells him. "It took me awhile…a long while, but I finally got over you…not being there," she quickly adds. "I finally figured out that you weren't going to be a part of my life anymore," she continues with a voice filled with emotion. "Then I met someone."
"What do you mean you met someone," he asks, with knitted eyebrows.
"He's an executive ADA, a good man," she explains. "We talked, we went out on a few dates, I didn't have to watch that expression spread across his face after I tell a guy what I do for a living, he made me laugh," she tells him, smiling at the memories. "After over a decade with you being the most important relationship in my life, he helped me see what a normal one could be like."
"We were normal," he defends quickly.
"We weren't normal partners Elliot," she informs him. "Normal partners aren't threatened with being split up for being too close," she continues. "Normal partners don't look at one other the way we did."
"We were good friends."
"We more than friends El, just less than lovers," she comes back with. "Everyone saw that and we both felt it."
"So what happened with this wonderful guy you met?"
"We had to end it because of a conflict of interests," she explains. "He was chosen to head up a task force to investigate cases that may have led to wrongful convictions. And some of those will be SVU cases, my cases."
"Sounds like you really cared about the guy," he tells her. "I'm sorry."
Elliot says it sincerely enough to believe. And while he is sorry that she was hurt again so soon after he left, he's not sorry he has the opportunity to start something new with her.
"I did," she admits. "It's the first time I've had to end a relationship that was actually working out. He was good for me."
"So why do I scare you," he asks, earnestly.
Olivia removes her foot from beneath her butt and plants them both on the rug before her. She rests her elbows on her thighs, clasping her hands together and taking a breath before she begins.
"When you left SVU," she tells him. "That…that hurt way more than just ending a partnership should have," she reveals. "If we were to become…something else…and you walked out, I don't know if I could handle that."
Elliot rises up from the sofa after realizing what she's trying to tell him. He puts some distance between them so he can take a couple of breaths. He's pissed and he doesn't want to start yelling.
"We're already something else," he reminds her as calmly as he's capable of doing. "And you're ending this before we even have a chance?"
Walking away from him has always been painful for her. When she left for computer crimes she couldn't even tell him to his face.
But that was before they were intimate. He deserves to be told in person.
"Yes," she says, stronger than she feels. "I've had time to think over the last few days," she tells him. "I've found my way again El, I'm working well with Amaro-
"Good for you," he interrupts, failing to reign in his anger.
"Elliot please-
"Don't Olivia," he seethes. "I am not going anywhere!"
"You just got divorced after twenty-five plus years of marriage Elliot," she says, getting off the couch. "You don't need to jump back into another relationship!"
"Don't tell me what I need," he tells her. "You think I just wanna go out and sow my wild oats or something," he asks. "I don't want to date a bunch of women hoping to find what I already have with you."
Olivia turns away from him then. She doesn't want him to see how much that last statement has affected her, but it's too late.
Elliot approaches her from behind and wraps his arms around her waist. She tries to pull away but he holds on, still careful not to hurt her.
"We're not in a hospital, neither of us is dying and we're not under the influence," he rasps in her ear. "So I think it's a good time to tell you…how much in love with you I am."
"Don't do this Elliot," she says, with tears pooling in her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," he repeats, letting her go and coming around to stand before her. He cups her face, using his thumbs to wipe away the fallen tears. "And I'll do whatever it takes to make you see that."
"What if we don't work…like that," she ask him. "You can't promise-
He reaches for her face, cutting her off with a kiss. It's desperate and needy before it turns slow and tender. Instead of nibbling, he suckles her lower lip until she opens her mouth to him. As he deepens the kiss she gives in and steps into him, wrapping her arms around his back. When they need to stop and breathe, Elliot rests his forehead against hers.
"I can't promise I won't hurt you…or that we won't hurt one another," he tells her. "But I'll hold onto you…to us…for as long as you let me."
"I don't know El," she says, leaning away from him but not letting go.
"In the hospital," he begins. "You wanted to tell me something?"
Olivia looks down at her feet and takes a breath before looking into his eyes again to answer.
"Yes," she confesses. "I did."
"Then tell me," he asks, taking both her hands in his. "Please."
"I'm," she begins. "I'm in love with you too."
"Then give us a chance," he pleads. "And if we don't work and you want to end it, I'll respect that," he bargains. "You have all the power here Liv. I won't be the one to walk away."
The conversation probably could've been over a lot sooner if he would've told her that to begin with. He holds her eyes for a few beats before her lips turn up into a small smirk.
"The food's getting cold," she says, pulling away from him. "And if this is your idea of a first date," she adds, heading towards the kitchen. "I don't know how long I want to keep you around," she says with a smile in her voice.
Elliot stands there with his hands on his hips. A smile creeps across his face listening to her. They've never just come straight out and said to one another what they wanted. So he knows without her saying so, that she wants to give them a try too.
Olivia makes it halfway back to the kitchen before Elliot catches her, spins her and lifts her up causing her to yelp in surprise. She instinctively wraps her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. There's no hiding the smile on her face.
"What did you have in mind for a first date," he asks, smirking.
"Well I am hungry," she tells him, and as if on cue her stomach growls. They both laugh before his face turns serious again.
"So am I," he says, eying her seductively before planting warm moist kisses behind her ear, and nibbling on it.
A moan slips from her lips and before she knows it, Elliot is carrying her towards the bedroom sucking on her neck.
"I'm not supposed to engage in strenuous activity El," she says, halting his ministrations.
"Don't worry," he tells her. "I'll do all the work," he whispers into her neck, before hearing her stomach growling again. It stops him in his tracks.
"At least feed me first," she says, rubbing the back of his neck. He gives in, puts her down and leads her into the kitchen by her hand.
The food has gotten cold and they have to nuke it before they can eat. They talk genuinely during the meal like they used to. She tells him about some recent and interesting SVU cases, he talks to her about the craziness he witnessed working for Christian De La Costa.
"Speaking of him," she begins. "What did you do with the DVD," she asks, eating the last bites of her food before returning the fork to her plate.
"I brought it with me," he responds, nearly causing her to choke. "It's in my jacket."
"What," she gasps. "Why didn't you just destroy it?"
"I didn't know what you wanted to do with it."
"Did you watch it," she asks curiously with a raised eyebrow.
The side of his mouth turns up before responding. "Well I had to make sure it was the right one Liv," he advises her. "And don't worry it is," he continues, smiling.
"And I'm sure you watched it in its entirety," she tells him smirking.
"I didn't need to," he explains. "I was there," he adds with a smirk before getting up to retrieve the disc from his jacket.
Olivia clears the breakfast bar to rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. She turns to find him handing her the DVD.
"Whatever you want to do with it is fine with me."
She takes the disc from him and wastes no time breaking it in half and throwing the broken pieces into the garbage.
"And Jimenez assures me that he sanitized De La Costa's hard drive of the footage from the room that night before handing it over to the FBI," he says garnering a relieving sigh from her.
She takes a moment, leaning against the counter resting her hands behind her. Olivia eyes Elliot, giving him a small smile. He's held so many titles with her over the years.
"What's that grin about," he asks, approaching and sweeping a stray hair behind her ear before planting his hands next to hers on the counter.
"Just thinking of all the important roles you've had in my life," she informs him, putting her arms around his neck. "You were my partner, my friend, my lover and now-
"Liv are you proposing," he asks, being silly.
"Um…no," she responds immediately, shaking her head at his juvenility. "I'm just saying I don't know what to call you anymore."
"Well in private you can call me whatever you want," he starts, waggling his eyebrows at her. "But if you're talking about introductions it doesn't matter," he advises. "I think they'll figure it out once they see my hands on your ass."
She raises her eyebrows at him. "You'd better be kidding Stabler," she says firmly.
"Of course I am," he tells her. "I'm not concerned with titles Olivia. I just want to be with you."
"One night of passion, an office quickie and you're already whipped huh," she says grinning.
"Like a mule," he responds immediately, causing her to laugh deeply.
"Here I thought I was too rough on you that night," she reveals. "And I felt bad about it because you were so affectionate with me."
"Well don't," he begins. "I loved every scratch, bite and bruise you gave me."
She raises her eyebrows again, surprised by his confession. "I knew you were a freak," she says, ribbing him.
"I deserved it for hurting you but I didn't hate it," he says, taking her hands leading her onto the sofa. "The pain I caused you was also the reason why I was so tender with you," he says punctuating the statement by putting her feet into his lap.
She sits back putting a hand behind her head, resting the other on her stomach. He begins massaging her feet as they continue talking.
"The next time we make love," he tells her. "I'll follow your lead."
"That could be awhile El," she informs him. "No strenuous activities remember? And if I remember correctly, I was sore after that first night with you."
"Sorry," he says, tongue in cheek. "But if you can wait so can I. I'm not just here because you look incredibly sexy in those sweats and that tank top."
"Oh really," she says sitting up to straddle his lap. "Why is it you're here again," she asks, returning her arms to his neck.
"I'm," he begins, kissing one side of her neck. "So," he continues kissing the other side. "In love with you," he finishes, capturing her lips. And he can never just stop there. He always has to taste her fully, nibble at one lip and suck on the other and she thoroughly enjoys it.
"I love you too," she says. "Do you really think you can wait," she asks slowly grinding into him.
"That's not fair Liv," he tells her, sliding his hands beneath her shirt and smoothing his them up the contours of her back. He sits forward putting his face into her cleavage enjoying the scent of her. He's kissing his way up her chest when she stops him and gets off his lap.
"I told you payback was a bitch," she tells him, smirking. "But," she begins backing up towards her bedroom smiling. "If you think you can go nice and slow," she continues eying him predatorily. "I won't tell Dr. Valentine if you don't."
He rushes towards her scooping her up as she wraps her legs around his waist and carries her into the bedroom. Olivia Benson genuinely giggles as Elliot closes the door with his foot.
The next morning just before she wakes up, hers is a short assessment. She knows she's on her stomach in her own bed. She knows she's naked. She knows the deep even breaths she hears, are coming from the man lying next to her. And most importantly she knows that that man is Elliot.
Olivia opens her eyes smiling to herself. As she scoots up next to him he wraps an arm around her. Lying against his chest, the sound of his heart beat has her eyes drifting closed again. Elliot rubs small circles on her back until she reluctantly falls back to sleep, because her reality is rarely better than her dreams.
Roll credits.