CHAPTER 4
Elliot wasted no more time as he stood up and took her in his arms, his lips finding hers as he kissed her with a tenderness that she found breathtaking. Their kiss instinctively deepened as they held each other - their hands caressing and exploring each other in a way which seemed almost forbidden.
Breaking away from their kiss, but remaining in each others arms, neither could help smiling.
"I've wanted to do that for so long Liv," he said
"You're not the only one El," laughed Olivia.
The sound of her laugh and the way her face lit up gave Elliot hope - hope that she would get through this, but also hope for them. He had been solely focused on finding her and not letting her go without knowing how he felt, but he hadn't dreamed that she would open up enough to tell him she felt the same.
"Personally Liv, I could just stay here and do that all day," Elliot joked.
Olivia smiled as she looked at him - the last thing she had thought she would be doing when she left the bar was kissing Elliot Stabler and telling him she loved him...or hearing that he loved her.
"Anywhere you wanna go baby, we'll go there OK?" he said as his hand dropped to hers, their fingers instantly intertwining.
Olivia smiled warmly at the use of the endearment. Elliot noticed her reaction and leaned forward placing a soft kiss on her lips.
"I'll go anywhere with you Liv," he whispered.
It didn't take Olivia at all long to get ready to leave, given that she had so little with her. Then she sat still on the bed, her back against the headboard, turning her body slightly toward Elliot as he sat on the bed next to her, closing her eyes as he placed a gentle kiss on her head.
"I'm glad you're here El," she whispered, as she shifted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
He instinctively put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. They were utterly exhausted, and both quickly fell asleep.
The morning came quickly, and they both woke as soon as the light broke through the thin curtains. They left in separate cars, Olivia driving behind Elliot until they reached the first location that he could drop off his hire car. He felt a big sense of relief once he had got that out of the way and they were finally in the same car.
They had been driving for just a few minutes before Elliot turned to look at her.
"Sam seems like a decent guy..." Elliot began.
"Yeah - he's OK..." Olivia replied, wondering where Elliot was going with this.
"So you stayed there for two weeks?"
"Yeah...working for tips in a place that quiet isn't great, but I got paid with food, and a free room. Big improvement..."
"Big improvement over what?" Elliot asked, watching her quizzically.
"Umm...well, I mainly slept in the car before that," Olivia said.
"Liv...you really didn't want to be found did you?" said Elliot.
Olivia glanced briefly at him before focusing her eyes on the road.
"I just wanted to disappear El," she whispered, "I didn't think about much else at all...all I feel is lost."
Elliot reached across and took her hand in his, his thumb lightly tracing the back of her hand as they drove in silence for a while.
Eventually Elliot broke the silence, aware that he hadn't communicated to the squad with the exception of a brief text message several hours previously.
"Why Arizona?" he asked.
"It was the first flight out - I just took it...how did you know to come here, El?
"Well..um..I am a detective..." Elliot said, attempting to change the subject now.
"So am I, and I worked damn hard to cover my tracks..." Olivia replied, a hint of suspicion on her voice.
"So you bought this car?" Elliot asked, abruptly taking the conversation into a different direction.
Olivia kept her eyes on the road ahead, although it was empty for some considerable distance.
"Yes, It only cost two hundred dollars though so if it breaks down, dont be too surprised," Olivia said with a hint of a smile.
"I'll keep that in mind," Elliot said, pausing as he pondered his next words.
"Liv...I gotta call Cragen..."
"OK…" Olivia said with uncertainty.
"He'll probably want to speak to you...I mean everyone does...but...how can I put this…"
Olivia felt a sense of unease, and quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road and switched off the engine as she turned to look at him, confused, "How can you put what?"
"We opened an case...you knew we'd try to find you, Liv...but after a while...well, I convinced Cragen to open a missing persons investigation."
Elliot braced himself, waiting for her reaction.
"You did what?" she said, her eyes wide.
"Cragen wouldn't listen to me at first - I kept under the radar running checks...but as Munch said...nothing we do is really under the radar...so yeah...Cragen wasn't too impressed with that - but he eventually agreed."
"Elliot…" she began, momentarily closing her eyes as she took a breath and composed herself, "what kind of checks?"
"Well...umm...financials, phone records...DNA, prints…"
"Elliot! You thought no one would notice all that? And you didn't think that maybe you were being seriously intrusive?"
"Intrusive? Olivia...why do you think I ran a DNA search? I ran it for the same reasons I called hospitals...Christ Olivia, you have no idea what the hell this has been like!"
"Elliot..." she said, her tone softening at his words, "If I knew you were calling hospitals...God El, I would have called you. I wouldn't have knowingly put you through that kind of worry," she sighed.
"Cragen eventually caved when he was unable to reach you, after I showed him the inactivity on your financials...but it took some convincing after he had made it very clear that I had no legitimate reason to be looking into it in the first place."
Olivia sighed, resting her head back against the cushioned head rest. "I took vacation time El, if I hadn't turned up to work OK...but..."
"Olivia, don't trivialise this - you took off after a shooting, you cut off all contact, you didn't even go back to your apartment. You've not exactly been taking a vacation - you've been falling, and trying your damndest to prevent me from helping you. We're partners, Olivia. We're...more than that...if one of us is falling, the other one is there to catch them."
Olivia reached over and this time she was the one to take hold of his hand. She couldn't find the right words and so she simply took his hand, and felt relief and comfort when he laced his fingers through hers.
"You telling me if this was the other way round you wouldn't have done the same? Would you just let me walk away?" he continued.
"No," she whispered, "you know that El."
They remained silent as they both looked out through the windscreen into the distance. They had passed no cars on the road so far and the long road stretched out far ahead of them.
"Let's get this over with El, we need to clear this mess up so they can close this," Olivia paused, "can you make the call?"
"Yeah, but you're gonna have to talk to him too Liv."
"Ok," she sighed, not looking forward to the conversation she needed to have.
Olivia focused on the road which stretched ahead of them as Elliot began to talk, trying not to focus on the side of the conversation she could hear, but it was an impossible task given the confined space.
It was only moments before Elliot held the phone out to her.
"Cap wants to talk to you."
Olivia took a deep breath and took the phone.
'Hey captain.'
'Olivia, are you OK?' he said, the relief unmistakable in his voice.
'Yes, I'm fine. Well...apart from being mortified that you have all been investigating me...'
'You fell completely off the radar and cut off any means of communicating with you. I did not approve of what Elliot was doing, but he raised enough concerns that I couldn't ignore it.'
Olivia sighed, taking in his words.
'Liv....look, we've all been extremely worried about your well being. There are a lot of people here that have been very concerned. I can't say I will feel much better until I see you.'
'Captain...I'm not coming back.'
"Liv, pass me the phone," Elliot said flatly.
Olivia sighed and handed him the cell phone.
'I'm staying with Olivia, she needs support right now and being on her own like this isn't doing her any good. Im not coming back without her - she knows that. I know the last thing you need it two of us taking time off...'
'Do what you need to Elliot, just take care of her. Has she been looking after herself - is she OK?' Cragen asked.
'She will be, I'll make sure of it.' Elliot said.
'OK - but I want both of you staying in contact. Will Olivia be OK with that?'
"Liv? You gotta leave your phone on, OK?" he said, turning to her.
Olivia nodded and took the phone back from Elliot.
'Tell Munch and Fin I will speak to them soon OK?' she said.
'I will, they will be very happy to hear from you. Be contactable from now on Liv,' Cragen said.
'I will...but you're closing this case?'
'Now I've spoken to you, yes... You left me with no choice, Olivia.'
Olivia sighed, 'I realise that...I just didn't expect Elliot would convince you to open an investigation...'
'It was the right thing to do Olivia - I was...I still am concerned about you.' Cragen said sincerely.
Olivia let out a slow, controlled breath, "I'm fine, really."
'Well I feel happier now Elliot is with you, but you need to communicate witht he people who care about you,'
'I will," she replied quietly.
'Talk to me again soon, and take it easy...and Olivia..it's good to hear your voice.'
As Cragen hung up he wasted no time in calling Munch and Fin into his office.
"Elliot found her. She isn't planning on coming back...but Elliot won't leave without her so lets just give her some more time."
"She's doing OK?" Fin asked.
"Hard to tell, but Elliot's with her and we have contact now, that's a huge step in the right direction," Cragen said.
"So Stabler's staying out there with her? Damn, our case loads just got heavier," said Fin, the relief in his voice unmistakable.
Munch folded his arms and looked at them both,"Hmm, I was just thinking..."
"Munch?" Cragen said.
"So, Benson disappears? Stabler goes to find her and he doesn't come back either? Lets not send anyone else up there given that track record...you know Arizona has one of the highest rates of missing persons in the country. There was the high profile case in 1975 of Travis Walton, claiming to be abducted by aliens in Arizona - some claim it to be a hoax, but there have been a lot of reported sightings of unexplained lights and similar phenomena, around Phoenix especially. Of course it's far easier if the general population believe that alien activity is taking place - it diverts from the real cause - secret government bases are well known to exist in Arizona…"
As Fin rolled his eyes and headed out of the office with Munch, whose commentary continued even once back at their desks, Cragen gave a smile. They would be happier if Olivia came home, but knowing that Elliot was with her now was a huge relief.
He would sleep far better tonight knowing that Olivia was not alone.
When Elliot asked Liv if she would do the same - not let him walk away...she was being honest. Best let me be happy and live in my season 1-12 EO dreamland where I pretend El never left ;-)
Now Olivia has Elliot by her side can he convince her to come home? Now they have both been honest about their feelings, will their relationship grow ? Will she let him in? :-)