March 3, 2016.
Okay, so I'm still in denial ..., even after Olivia didn't deny it when Barba asked her if ... well, you were there. She should have denied it out loud. They're just friends. Right? In my world, they are. Friends hug. Friends are biased towards each other.

Yes, my writer alias says it all. Only one ship for me and according to WL, it hasn't sailed completely ... woot! There were talks of a possible Meloni return finale if season 17 had been the last season. Let's hope they wrap it up before our lovely couple is really too old.

Alright, on to my unrealistic and hopelessly hopeful take on ManhattanTransfer.

...

Olivia and Tucker had met a few times for drinks, and she was enjoying his company. He'd asked her if she'd called Elliot yet, but she hadn't. She was actually a little nervous about it and thought that maybe Elliot should be the one to call. After all, he wanted to talk to her, right? Tucker had just smiled at her and told her he certainly wasn't complaining about keeping her company in the mean time. Their talks were relaxed and she felt that she finally had a friend she could confide in. Having the head of IAB in her corner wasn't so bad after all.

And then they stumbled upon a case that shook both of them.

Olivia couldn't believe how quickly the case had grown to monstrous proportions. They were on to a sex trafficking ring with ties up to very high places. It seemed that everyone was either in on it or being set up. They were even looking at Tucker. She knew he'd looked at the two cops that were involved a year earlier but he'd told her that he couldn't make anything stick back then. But she couldn't believe what Barba was telling her now.

Her money was on Father Eugene, Tucker's cousin, and Tucker had been pretty fired up about his cousin being in on it. She literally had to push him to stop him from beating up Eugene. There was absolutely no love lost between the estranged cousins at all, and even Nina had pointed the finger at the priest before she ran off.

"A lot of judges are reluctant to hand out financial and cell phone records of priests," Barba had told her and Dodds when they came to ask about warrents for the two priests they were looking into.

Monsignor Mulrigen (sp) had paid Barba a visit and he wanted to talk to Olivia alone about it, so Dodds had stepped out. Olivia was confused.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" she asked Barba.

"What do you really know about Tucker?"

Olivia shrugged, rather surprised by the question.

"We go way back. He's a straight shooter, intense. No nonsense."

Barba wondered if Tucker had ever abused his power or overreached.

"He almost destroyed both your partners," he reminded her.

"Yes. He arrested me too but we're way past that. What ... what is this about?"

Barba stood in front of her, a very serious look in his face.

"Monsignor Mulrigen's visit was not a social call. He has made some very serious allegations."

"Yeah. Against Father Eugene."

"No. Against Tucker."

Well, that was too ridiculous to even go into. Surely, Barba could see through this smearing campaign? Tucker supposedly buried a case against the two vice cops a year ago after father Eugene had come to him?

"And he's telling you this now?" Olivia asked, unable to hide her unrest about the enormity of the cover-up. She started pacing. "This is about protecting Father Eugene. I was there, at that church, when Tucker confronted him. I thought he was gonna rip his head off."

Barba wasn't sure but wondered out loud if maybe that had been what Tucker wanted her to think.

"No. Ed is not capable of that."

"Since when?" Barba asked. "I thought SVUhated this guy. He's gone after each and every one of you."

"That's his job. He has to be relentless. You're wrong about him, trust me!"

Olivia knew she was defending Tucker fiercely but Barba's next question took her completely by surprise.

"Wait ... Are you involved with him?"

She sighed. Define involved. They were becoming friends. Good friends, and she didn't have a lot of those. So yes, she was protective of the man who had admitted having a romantic interest in her but who wanted her to be happy above everything else. Either with him or with someone else.

"Don't ask me that," she told Barba, and took a few steps away from him.

"When were you gonna tell me? I am informing you that a Captain at IAB may be involved in a sex trafficking ring, and you don't mention that the two of you are sleeping together?"

Barba was pissed. Very pissed. She wasn't even going to dignify his last remark with an answer. She still wasn't over the fact that he even thought Tucker capable of such deceit. She didn't care what Barba thought of her right now. She walked back up to him and told him,

"You're wrong about him. Bring him in here. Ask him yourself."

Barba nodded slightly and told her,

"You and I are done talking."

...

She had to find Tucker and let him know what was going on and they agreed to meet at a café far away from both their homes and work places. She gave him a comforting hug before they sat down and he thanked her for coming.

"So what have you heard?" he asked, and she told him he was being investigated for sex trafficking, corruption and murder.

He told her he'd been invited to come in early the next morning. She couldn't believe it.

"Cousin Eugene set me up good."

He asked if she'd gotten the warrants yet for both priests' records but she told him they were stalled.

"I don't know if it was before or after Barba found out that I was .. biased towards you."

"Oh. Okay," Tucker said softly, and he reached for her hand, taking it in his. "You know how this goes. Don't stick your neck out. It'll look like you're covering for me."

He assured her that they couldn't prove anything because he hadn't done anything and told her to stay out of the case. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket to read the text message she'd received.

"Well, it just might be too late," she told Tucker after reading the text. "One PP wants to see me ... immediately."

She left him at the café after telling him not to hit the bottle, and he smirked at her. She believed he was innocent of all these ridiculous charges but was nervous about being called in at this late hour by the brass.

A Lieutenant at IAB had taken over the case and it soon became clear that she was now under investigation as well. Olivia asked them why but as usual, she wasn't getting any clear answers from IAB. She was being sent home, effective immediately and ordered to put Sergeant Dodds in charge of SVU for the time being. She wanted to ask why Dodds and not Fin but swallowed the question. Right now, she didn't know who to trust. For all she knew, Dodds senior could also be in on this mess. Maybe that was why he'd tried to get his son out of SVU in the first place. Putting him in charge would be a suitable alternative, no doubt.

On her drive over to One PP, she had decided not to mention Ed Tucker unless they asked about him, and only respond to direct questions. Much to her surprise, they hadn't asked about him at all, just about Nina and Eugene and what they'd told her. She couldn't put her finger on it but something was off, even at IAB. It was something big but she still couldn't see it. When she got back to the station, she packed up her desk and put Dodds in charge as ordered. She was surprised her Sergeant hadn't been informed yet. He seemed just as stunned as Rollins and Carisi. She took the two evidence boxes with her belongings home with her and sent Tucker a text that she'd been suspended pending the investigation, and wished him luck.

After checking that Noah was sound asleep and letting Lucy go for the night, she flopped on her couch and closed her eyes. What a nightmare. She could really use a drink but heard Tucker's voice ringing in her head. 'That won't help Olivia. You know that better than anyone.' She went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer, figuring it contained more water and less alcohol and sat down again. She glanced at her phone. Tucker hadn't replied to her texts. She picked up the phone and opened her contacts menu. She scrolled through the names until she came across the familiar number. She'd love to talk to someone who had nothing at all to do with the mess she was in, just to get some unbiased feedback. She smiled at the word. She'd called herself biased towards Ed Tucker. It must be freezing in hell ... She shook her head and looked at her phone again. He would be so surprised to hear about her friendship with Tucker. She realized he might not be as unbiased as she wanted. Her thumb hovered over the call button. And then she pressed it.

"Stabler."

He sounded groggy and she knew he'd been asleep.

"Elliot ... I'm sorry to wake you."

She heard rustling and could picture him shooting up in bed, stunned to hear her voice.

"No ... it's okay. I ... I'm so glad you called."

They stammered through the usual polite 'how have you been's' and Olivia took a deep breath. It had been so long. How could they just pick up where they left off?

"El ... you wanna hear a funny story?" she asked him.

"Sure. I could use a good laugh," he answered, and she could hear he was grinning.

Then she told him about Tucker. About how he'd changed over time and was becoming a real friend to her. Elliot agreed that it was a great joke and she laughed. But he confirmed that Tucker had contacted him a while ago and had seemed genuinely concerned about her. Olivia smiled. She decided not to tell Elliot that Tucker was more than just concerned, and was pretty 'biased' towards her, knowing he would be less pleased with the man if he knew.

Olivia relaxed on the couch as she discussed the case with Elliot, and it was almost like old times, as if their five years apart didn't count. She could hear him get settled in his bed again and suddenly wished she could see him.

"Hey El," she said. "When all of this is over, would you like to go out for a drink some time?"

She could hear him hold his breath briefly before he spoke again.

"Liv, I'd love to."

...