Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.

He pulled up to her apartment, his body relaxing as he laid his eyes on her. He smiled as she walked toward his car, and he leaned over the console to open her door for her.

"Thanks," he heard her say as he watched her get in and buckle her seatbelt. She sat back and he handed her coffee to her. He winked as she sipped and drove off toward their destination.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked, his eyes switching from the road to her face. He noticed something in her eyes, something either new or just never seen before, and it made his heart beat a little faster.

"I didn't," she replied with a shrug.

"Thought it was just me," he laughed, slapping the blinker bar and slowing the car to turn the corner. "Everything okay?"

He saw her sip her coffee as she shook her head. "Not okay, but not...terrible," she told him, taking another sip of her latte. "This is good, thanks," she raised the cup and smiled at him.

He grinned at her, taking another turn. "I know how to keep you happy," he said smugly. He heard the light laughter and his heart sped again. God, he loved her laugh. "I, uh, I think I'm gonna need one of those patented Benson back massages, later."

"You got your ass kicked out onto the couch again?" She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"No, it...it's been a voluntary self-eviction," he joked. He turned down another side road, clearing his throat. "There's something...something I should probably tell you, but I don't..." He kicked his lips and then scraped his top teeth along his bottom lip, thinking. He pulled the car over, parking behind a black-and-white with its lights flashing. He turned the key, and then turned to look at her. "It's over. This time it's...really over."

He saw the look in her eyes, that same unfamiliar spark now brighter, and he wasn't sure if it was relief or despair. "Say something."

She blinked, took another sip of her coffee, and said, clearly, "We have work to do."

He laughed. "Okay, say something else. I know you've gotta be thinking..."

"Right now, I'm thinking that it's been a good morning so far, we have a vic waiting on us, and I don't want to think about..." She paused and looked at him with a crooked eyebrow, her cup finding its way to her lips again. "Wait, what's over?"

He narrowed her eyes and chuckled. "You really haven't been sleeping, huh?"

She unhooked her seatbelt and sent him a wink, one hand opening her door and the other bringing her latte to her lips for one last sip before she had to toss it. "You'll get an honest reaction later, okay? We really do have work to do, I don't need the distraction."

He watched her get out of the car, jumping when she slammed the door. He cleared his throat and exhaled slowly before getting out of the car himself. He drank his coffee slowly as he walked toward the taped off scene, catching up to Olivia. She turned her head, and he lost his grip on sanity for a brief moment. He could smell her shampoo, her body wash, her perfume. He offered a smile, and then sipped his coffee again, nodding his thanks when someone lifted the yellow tape for them.

They walked at the same speed, with the same gait, and they met the medical examiner and two uniformed officers near the body of their victim, lying in the grass, littered with twigs, and leaves. "What do we have?" Elliot asked, giving Olivia a few sidelong glances while he waited for an answer.

Melinda Warner turned her head, looking up at the pair over her shoulder. "How many years we worked together, you two have never brought me coffee."

Olivia laughed, and Elliot smiled, again filling with warmth at the sound of her happiness. Olivia tossed her empty cup into one of the nearby trash cans, and folded her arms. "We'll get you, next time. What's her story?"

Elliot sipped his drink, trying to focus on what Doctor Warner was about to tell them, but he couldn't get the way Olivia looked at him when they were in the car out of his head. He could swear, solemnly and so help him God, that her eyes were trying to convey a deep truth to him, convince him that he was making the right choice and moving in the right direction, and that it wasn't all in vain.

"Elliot!" Olivia's voice called, and he snapped his head toward her. "Are you with me?"

"Of course," he said with a grin. "I just, um, can you repeat that?" He made a face at her and looked at Doctor Warner. "Please?"

Melinda shook her head and sighed. "I said, your girl here was shot, point blank range," she said, holding out a small evidence bag. "Pulled this out of her skull."

Olivia took the bullet from her and shoved it into her pocket. "We'll have ballistics work with it."

"Was she raped before or, uh, after she was killed?" Elliot asked, though he didn't really want to hear the answer on an empty stomach.

Doctor Warner moved a gloved hand over the victim's skirt. "Before," she said. "She has defensive wounds, and the torn clothes indicate a struggle prior to the sexual assault. And yes, there are fluids present."

"You'll let us know when you run it?" Elliot asked. He watched her nod and then he took a gander at Olivia, for the first time getting a good look at the outfit she had on. He smiled, remembering his part in helping her choose it.

Olivia gave him a questioning look when she caught him staring, but shook her head and him and asked Melinda, "We got a name?"

Doctor Warner sighed dejectedly. "No ID on her, but she's wearing a graduation ring. This year." She looked down at the girl again. "Damn shame she didn't make it to June." Another sigh escaped her as she looked back toward the detectives. "Horace Mann, a high school in the Bronx. According to the ring, her name is Chelsea."

"That's one of the best schools in the city," Elliot said, stunned. "Fucking forty-five grand a year for high school, you have to be a goddamn genius, and it's a helluva commute. This girl should not be..." He cleared his throat and took a breath. "How'd she end up like this?"

"I'm the medical examiner," Melinda said, staring blankly at him. "You're the detective."

He laughed and took a sip of his coffee, and then handed it over to Olivia. "Just thinking out loud," he said. He watched Olivia take a sip from his coffee, no hesitation at all, and something within him cracked and softened. "We'll take a ride out to the school, see if this is the Chelsea on the senior roster. And then we...tell the parents."

"I was right," Olivia said, handing him his cup back. "We're gonna need more coffee."

"Is that all you got?" Elliot asked, sending the empty cup sailing into the trash can on the other side of Olivia.

Melinda scoffed. "Well, for now, yes," she said. "When I get her on my table and do a thorough exam, I'll know more."

"All right, then," he responded with a nod, "Let's go, Liv."

Olivia looked at Melinda, who gave her a warning look as she said, "Good luck with him today." She laughed and said, "Yeah, I'll need it."

Elliot gave her an offended glare and said, "Hey! Not nice!"

She laughed and followed him back under the tape, hitting him playfully in the shoulder. "You know you're a handful sometimes."

"So are you," he quipped, and at the moment he was fighting the urge to grab a handful of her. "You never told me...why you're not sleeping." He opened the car door for her, politely bowing and giving a flourish of his hand.

Rolling her eyes, she got in and had to laugh. She moved her leg so he could close the door.

He ran around to the driver's side and got himself settled in before he stuck the key into the ignition. "Well, it wasn't a carriage ride, but it was Central Park at sunrise."

"Oh, yeah cause that was real romantic," she intoned sarcastically. She let out a breath and looked at him as he began to drive. "You really wanna know what's been keeping me up at night?"

He nodded slowly, thinking that maybe he didn't. What if it was someone else, someone she'd been seeing? But he'd know if she was seeing someone, wouldn't he? "Yeah," he breathed.

She bit her lip, and as the car rolled to a stop at the light, she said, "You."

He stared at her, frozen, unblinking. The smile pulled at the corners of his mouth and his heart started drumming. He opened his mouth, but the bright headlights of the car careening toward them stopped him from speaking.

His reaction time was incredible; he'd yanked off his seatbelt and hurled himself over to her side of the car, covering her with his body. They felt the impact of the crash and held each other tight as the car spun around and slammed into a tee on the other side of the road.

When he was sure they had stopped moving, he looked down at her. "Liv! Liv, are you..."

"I'm okay," she said, nodding, trying not to react too strongly to his hands roaming over her. "El, I'm fine."

He moved and shifted over her, opening her door and falling out of the mangled car. He heard the sirens, and as he pulled her out of the vehicle, he watched the car that had driven into them back up, the tires screeching, and head for them again. His eyes widened and he pulled her with him as he ran back toward the park entrance.

"I don't think that was an accident," Olivia shouted as they ran, her heels hitting the sidewalk hard.

"What gave it away?" he spat back. He stopped running, panting, when they reached the crowd of uniformed cops and crime scene specialists. He turned around and watched as two squad cars chased after the dented, red car that had almost crushed him and his partner.

Doctor Warner, wide-eyed, ran over to them. "What the hell just happened?"

Olivia looked at Elliot and then at her. She shook her head as she struggled to catch her breath.

Elliot pulled her into him, hugging her as he, too, breathed hard. "I have no idea."

Reviews are always appreciated and motivating.

Peace and Love

Jo

MarchCommaJo on Twitter