Ayanna let Captain Benson step out of the room first. They moved down the hall a bit until they found a spot away from curious ears. Benson leaned against the wall, arms folded.

Ayanna always wondered how someone could be so beautifully soft, but also terrifyingly intimidating. Olivia Benson somehow managed to have a successful career with the NYPD without sacrificing her own femininity. It was really impressive. Her fierce demeanor coupled with her ability to connect with victims, made her perfect for SVU, and a strong drive pushed her through the ranks. She was aspirational, that was for damn sure.

And now, this beautiful, successful woman stood in front of her, waiting to be questioned about her personal life, and relationship with her detective. This was definitely not how she thought things would go today.

Ayanna looked for Jet and found her standing a couple steps behind her, clearly still trying to fly under the radar. This was going to be awkward. So awkward. And the look on Olivia's face really wasn't improving her nerves.

Ayanna let out a breath and dove in, "I talked to Elliot, and I had to ask him about the last few days, and his…" awkward. "His personal relationships." Ayanna's eyes flicked over to Benson's. Woman had a hell of a poker face. "Just so you know, I'm gonna try to leave this out of any reports, I just need to narrow down a direction for our investigation." Ayanna gritted her teeth, "Elliot said you're involved? He also said it was really new."

She kept her face neutral, but Ayanna thought she sensed a little discomfort with the question. "Yes." She answered. Her voice remained steady, but she didn't offer anything additional.

"Okay, well, because of your position we need to see if this maybe has something to do with you more than it does with Elliot…"

"You want to know who might hate me enough to kill my…" interestingly she hesitated with the label. "Uh, Elliot. You want to know if someone would hurt him to get back at me?" She clarified.

"Yeah. Have you had any cases lately where threats were made? Anything serious?"

Olivia thought for a moment, and let out a long breath. "Nothing specific comes to mind. I mean, I get threatened and called a bitch by basically every abusive boyfriend and husband that walks through the precinct. We had a couple tough ones last month. I'll get Fin to look up the case numbers."

Ayanna nodded. She wanted this to be over. "Would anyone know about you and Elliot? Anyone who might use that knowledge against you?"

Olivia shook her head. "I'm sure he told you that our relationship." Her eyes weighed heavy on Ayanna's. "Is really new. However…" she let out a frustrated sigh, "we have been the topic of speculation for years. Even if no one actually knew the details, people have assumed we have been more for years." She shook her head. "Not sure that helps at all."

"No that helps. We will check out those cases and see what we find. Thanks captain."

Olivia nodded and Ayanna motioned for Jet to follow her out. Just as Ayanna turned, Olivia stopped her. "I really don't want this broadcasted to the entire NYPD. I know you have reports, but I'm asking for discretion."

"Of course." Ayanna glanced over at Jet. "There is no reason for anyone to know any of the details we discussed." Not that they discussed much. Pulling information from this woman was worse than removing bubblegum from a kids hair.

"Thanks Sergeant.

-000-

Olivia shut the door and leaned against it, letting out a long slow breath. "How'd that go?" Elliot asked with a smirk.

She shook her head, trying to hold back a grin. She sauntered over to the hospital bed. "More personal questions than I'd like, but it went fine." She sat on the edge of the bed, and took his hand.

He rubbed his thumb softly over her knuckles. "I really tried to talk her off of that idea, but she insisted."

She dropped his hand in favor of settling back into the recline of the hospital bed. "Well, she's not wrong, and she needs to cover every angle. I'll give up a little privacy to find out who put you here." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah?" He rested his head on hers, and grabbed her hand again.

"Of course. I don't love my personal life being broadcasted, and I know I can be touchy about our relationship because… it's obvious why, but this is more important than me wanting to avoid rumors."

He started to play with her fingers."They won't leak anything." His team was solid, and Ayanna wasn't a gossip. He doubted she'd share any of the information she learned with other members of their team.

"I know. Ayanna said she would keep me out of the reports as much as possible. She's a good friend." She nudged his shoulder, " and a good partner."

"Yeah. Not my favorite partner though."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I think you know who my favorite partner was…"

"I could guess, but why don't you tell me anyway."

"Wellll…" his eyes danced with mischief… "I think you remember Detective Blaine…" he couldn't keep a straight face.

She smacked his shoulder. He laughed, but then doubled over. "Ahhh, I gotta remember not to laugh. Ugh that hurts."

Suddenly, her lips were on his and he didn't feel the need to complain anymore. She kissed him deeply, before pulling back, pressing her forehead against his.

"What was that for?" His eyes remained shut, and he tried to remember how to breathe.

She kept her mouth close, and her lips brushed his with every word. "Just needed to do what I wanted to do in the locker room that day."

This time he leaned in to kiss her fervently. "I wanted that too," he whispered.

She kissed him again, leaning in further. She happily opened her mouth for him when his tongue met the seam of her lips. His tongue tangled with hers until she pulled away breathless.

Both her hands cradled his cheeks. "You're going to get me in trouble," she said with a breathily laugh.

He lifted a hand to brush her hair away from her shoulder. "Isn't that always the truth," a smile teased at the corners of his mouth.

"Can't always blame you…" she kissed him deeply before pulling back. "I've gotten you in plenty of trouble as well."

He laughed, "but somehow I always end up taking the fall." He kissed her quickly. "Worth it," he said while dropping a kiss next to her ear.

She smiled sweetly and pulled away. "I gotta get back."

He snagged her hand before she could pull away further. "What? Fin can't keep under control."

She chuckled. "You know as well as I do that he can handle it, but he doesn't want to." She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back later." She grinned. "With Noah."

"Oh yeah?" Elliot was a little surprised.

"He's been asking," she shrugged.

"You have an awesome kid there."

"I know." She squeezed his hand. "I do need to go." She looked up shyly, "I love you."

"I love you too Liv."

-000-

Ayanna stood behind Jet as she pulled a couple of Benson's case files. Jet clicked through a few screens and entered the case numbers. Part way through the first file Jet leaned back and shook her head.

"What?" Ayanna asked.

"Nothing," she averted her eyes in a way that was so typically her. "I just don't know how Benson does this," she jerked her head towards the screen, "everyday. I'm ready to gouge my eyes out after five minutes."

"SVU is a rough gig. You have to be a certain kind of person for it not to eat you alive."

"And Stabler did this for thirteen years?" She shook her head, "no wonder the man has anger issues."

"To be fair, I think those probably existed before SVU…"

Jet laughed softly, "Probably. I looked into his file once."

"Jet!" Ayanna scolded.

"Hey! It was before I worked here. I only knew him in passing, and I wanted to know more about who I'd be working with."

Ayanna wondered if Jet had pulled information on her, but decided she would rather not know.

"Anyway. Apparently we work with a more mellow Stabler…hard to believe that's possible."

Ayanna snorted. "I know. Not sure how Benson worked with him all those years." She chuckled. "People used to call her his handler."

"Oh my God, that fits so well." Jet laughed hard. "God, that's so perfect."

Just as they both returned their attention to the screen, Reyes and Whelan thundered into the office. "Jet!" They rushed up to the platform where her desk sat. "Got a couple faces for you to run through facial rec. I emailed them on the way here."

Jet clicked out of the SVU files and opened the facial recognition program. A couple clicks later she had uploaded the pictures and started the scan. She leaned back, letting the software do its work. A sly grin crossed her face. "Hey Whelan,"

Oh God. Ayanna knew where this was going. She shot Jet a warning look. She knew she wouldn't actually say anything, at least not really. She just could resist the urge to dig at Jamie a little. "You missed Sarge questioning Stabler about his relationship with Benson…" her face was smiling all the way to her eyes.

"Damn it! Seriously!?" His voice whined in disbelief.

"Yep. Lots of questions about the nature of their relationship. All good stuff."

"You're joking." He turned to Ayanna, pointing a finger back at Jet, "she's joking right?"

Ayanna rolled her eyes at the antics. "No she's not. I had to get a little info on all the people in Stabler's life…" she sighed. "Including Captain Benson."

"Damn." He shook his head, dropping his eyes to the floor. "All I was doing was taking pictures and eating Reyes' fruit snacks."

Wait what? Ayanna was just about to ask for clarification on that weirdness, when the program got a hit on the first man. Jet pulled up the information and read it aloud, "Looks like this guy," she pointed out the one from the shop, "is Mark Cox…" the next profile popped, "and this guy is…oh look, brothers," her voice laced in sarcasm. "Family project." She shook her head, "the brother's name is Drew." She pulled up more info on the both of them. "Both have been pinched for some minor stuff. Mark must be the big brother because his rap sheet is a little longer than good ol' Drew's. Mark's got some assault charges alongside some things like petty larceny. Drew skipped out on the smaller stuff and came out swinging with an assault charge at eighteen years old, and oh this is interesting…" Jet leaned in closer, "he's been pinched for a couple bar fights where he pulled a knife…"

"I think we found our winners…" Ayanna muttered.

"Neither have any gang affiliations or any links to organized groups." Jet continued. "I guess these geniuses thought they would start their entrepreneurial adventure with the abduction of a cop."

"And then our friend Drew must have got a little stab happy…" Reyes added.

Ayanna pushed back against Jet's chair to stand up straight. "Well that's enough for me." She pointed a finger at Reyes and Whelan, "bring 'em in."

Both men jogged down the ramp, giving a wave as they left.