Knowing

I don't own the characters, but the plot and dialogue you're about to read is property of my sick, demented, and twisted (in a good way!) mind. Enjoy!

Knowing

Olivia and David finished up their bath then made their way to the bedroom. Olivia put on his t-shirt and a pair of panties and David slipped into his boxers. Olivia smiled and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around him. She smiled into the kiss, and then she heard it.

"What the fuck?"

Olivia pulled away with a gasp, turning around. "Elliot, what the hell are you doing here?"

David looked from Elliot to Olivia. "Elliot, your ex-partner, Elliot?"

Olivia nodded and glared at him. "How did you get in here?" Elliot held up his key. "That is for emergencies Elliot! I would hardly call this an emergency."

Elliot sighed. "I wanted to apologize to you. I come in here and find you with him?"

Olivia shook her head. "Elliot Stabler, you don't own me! You walked out of this apartment months ago, after calling me a bitch and a whore. I've tried calling you, texting you, emailing you. You never answered. I moved on. David and I are seeing each other." She said seriously.

Elliot looked at Olivia. "What, you love this guy now?"

Olivia looked at David and then at Elliot. "I, we've only been together for a few weeks." She said, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes again. "I don't think I'm ready to say that I love David yet, but I think… Maybe I could." She said moving closer to David, feeling his arm around her. She rested her head against his chest, feeling vulnerable and exposed.

He moved closer. "You told me you loved me, and we weren't even dating."

Olivia looked at him, tears starting to stream down her face. "I did love you, Elliot. For a long time I loved you, and then you decided to walk out, that I wasn't good enough. I knew you a lot longer when I finally told you I loved you. But David, he rushed over here tonight. We had a bad case and he held me when I cried." She said, fighting the urge to just break down and cry. "He comforted me, he made me feel something I never have before."

Elliot looked at him. "So what, he banged you again?"

David put his hand up, feeling Olivia curl into his chest, feeling her body shaking. She was crying now. "Hey, man. Enough, alright? Not that it's any of your business, but no, we didn't sleep together tonight. I'm taking things at her pace. I care for her, a lot. I don't want to lose her."

Olivia turned her face back to Elliot, her eyes red and puffy, her face tear stained. "Get out of my house, Elliot. And don't come back until you've figured out whatever the hell is going on with you. I don't know if you're having problems with Kathy or the kids and the stress is just making you an ass, or maybe you miss work, but figure it out. I'd love to have you as a friend, but I don't associate with people who call me a bitch and a whore; so please, get out of my house."

Elliot didn't move, he stared at her for a minute. David stepped toward him. "You heard her. Leave."

Elliot glared at David then turned away and left. Olivia heard the door close and she wrapped her arms around David and cried. David rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. She looked at him. "Please, don't leave." She whispered. "Please. I know I didn't say that I love you and…"

She was cut off by his lips. "Olivia, I'm not going anywhere." He whispered when he pulled away. "Stabler doesn't scare me. Actually it kind of pissed me off that he called you that. He obviously can't see in here." He said, tapping on her heart softly.

Olivia sniffled and smiled softly. "I meant what I said. I'm not ready to say the "L" word yet, but at the rate we're going, I can see myself saying it to you." She smiled softly.

David smiled. "And I meant what I said, I care so much about you Olivia. I don't want to lose you. And I can see myself saying the "L" word to you as well."

Olivia smiled softly, feeling David wipe away the tears from her face. "Thank you." She whispered and she hugged him. She felt him hold her tight and she smiled, taking a deep breath. He rubbed her back gently. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

David pulled away a little bit. "Come on, let's lay down." Olivia smiled and nodded. They climbed into her bed, under her covers and she snuggled up against him, her head on his chest.

"I love this." She whispered. "Laying here with you, in your arms; it makes me feel safe, wanted, and happy."

David smiled and kissed her forehead. "That's exactly how I want you to feel." He whispered. "Let's get some sleep." He said softly. "We both have long days ahead of us." He said gently, wrapping his arm around her.

Olivia smiled and she looked up at him. "I think we should disclose." She said softly. "God forbid something goes wrong, something comes up. I don't want to lose you."

David smiled and kissed her gently. "We can disclose tomorrow." He smiled and looked into her eyes. "I want to be able to look into your eyes forever."

Olivia smiled and kissed him softly. She rested her head back on his chest. "Elephant shoes." She whispered softly.

He looked at her. "Elephant shoes? I wasn't aware they made them."

Olivia smiled and chuckled. "No, next time you look in the mirror, mouth the word elephant shoes. See what it looks like your mouthing."

David mouthed it to himself thinking about it. "Oh!" He smiled and kissed her gently. "Right back at you baby." She smiled. After that, they settled in and fell asleep. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

Elliot left Olivia's apartment, left her key on the dining room table. He was mad, not at Olivia, he was happy that she seemed to find someone who truly cared about her. He wasn't happy that it wasn't him. He wanted to be the one to comfort her after a tough case. He wanted to be the one who wiped away her tears. He wanted her to be wearing his shirt, not this guy David's. He had no one to blame but himself.

Olivia still hit the nail on the head, even though they hadn't spoken in months. Kathy was stressing him out. Fighting for custody of the kids, only now he had nothing to distract him. He'd turned to drinking. He was sober, both times he was with Olivia, but it seemed that was the only reason he would put the bottle down long enough to get sober. He didn't want Olivia to see him drunk. Because he was drinking, whenever he was sober, he was irritable. That was what was wrong with him, and he knew he needed to get his head straight.

But right now, he needed to get the image of Olivia crying out of his head. He'd seen her cry before, but he had never seen her cry because of him. Tonight he was crying because of what he had done, and what he said. That, more than anything, hurt. Elliot loved Olivia. He wished he could sit her down and explain that it wasn't that she wasn't good enough for him, it's that she was too good for him.

Elliot stopped talking to her, never answered her calls, her texts, or her emails, because he was always drunk, and he knew better to call or text, or communicate in any way other than face to face when he was drunk. He went to Olivia's apartment to tell her all of this, but when she saw David there with her, he just got angry, and at no one but himself.

Elliot walked back to his apartment alone. Kathy left him, took the kids. He now lived in a little studio apartment, taking a break from police work, and work in general. Killing that kid really messed him up, but he knew he would need to start working again eventually, he needed money to survive. To pay rent, buy food. He decided he would start going to precincts tomorrow. He wasn't sure how easy it would be to get a job, with his jacket. He realized he may not be able to stay in the city. He may have to go upstate, or even to a different state all together.

Maybe going to a different state would do him good. Maybe he too could move on, the way Olivia had.

Who was he kidding. His marriage ended for the pure and simple reason that he had fallen in love with Olivia. It wasn't her fault, it was his. He was the one that fell in love with his partner, and he could do nothing to stop it. He had fallen in love with Olivia, and now it seemed that he lost her.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I figured I would bring Elliot back. Now, it wasn't romantic, but we also got an explanation as to why he did what he did. Please R&R! Here or on Twitter- SVUConnoisseur.