21. Lunch

Olivia stopped by her apartment because she realized she'd forgotten her books. Days at the hospital crept by so slowly without any distraction, and she knew Elliot needed a lot of sleep. Still, she wanted to go as early as possible and Dodds junior had actually saved her a trip to 1PP so she walked into Elliot's room, coffee in hand, by 11 pm. Greg Daniels was just leaving and smiled at her. Olivia walked up to Elliot's bed and could tell immediately that he was tired. He'd just done his morning exercises no doubt, and she was a little disappointed. She had hoped they could catch up on Kathleen's visit to the hospital as well as to her.

"Hey," he said, his voice soft and raspy and managing a smile.

"Hey. Looks like I caught you at a bad time."

She put her coffee on the nightstand.

"It's never a bad time to see you," Elliot answered, holding out his hand to her.

She placed her hand in his and leaned against the bed. Elliot still looked so vulnerable, but at the same time he had such a powerful presence. She wondered if it was the same for everyone else or if it was just her. She'd always been able to sense his presence, even in a crowded room. She'd even wondered sometimes if she'd sense him if he'd be near her unexpectedly, and if they might one day just run into each other by chance. That it had happened so literally was something she still found incredible. Yet here they were, holding hands as if they had always done that, and smiling at each other, each caught up in their own thoughts.

"You wanna get some sleep?" she asked him, wondering if it would be out of line to caress his face.

He nodded only slightly and she could read so much in his eyes, even now that they were half closed. Their connection was there and growing, even without his memories. She could see the apology in his eyes that he was so tired and she sent him her reassurances the same way. His eyes slipped shut as the corners of his mouth tugged up. Olivia felt a pull towards him that was almost too strong to resist. She wanted to touch him. Caress his cheek or kiss his forehead, or both. She'd only ever felt this way with Noah and it took an effort to stay still and eventually pull her hand out of his grasp and step away from the bed.

Olivia took a deep breath and picked up her coffee. She got settled in the comfortable armchair and pulled her book out of her bag. There would be time, she told herself. They both weren't going anywhere for quite a while.

...

She must have dozed off as well, because she jolted upright when a nurse put a hand on her arm and shook it gently.

"Miss. Miss."

"Yeah, I'm up," she sighed, grabbing her book before it could slide off her lap.

"I'm sorry but we're serving lunch now and Mr. Stabler asked me to wake you so you could eat something too."

Olivia looked up at Elliot's bed and saw him, wide awake, sitting up in bed and smiling at her. She couldn't believe she had fallen asleep in the chair. She flexed the muscles in her shoulders and back and rolled her head from side to side.

"If you come up here I'll rub those kinks right out for you," Elliot said and she blinked a few times, looking at him as if she was seeing water burn.

The nurse just smiled and left them alone. Olivia stood up and spotted a bag from the hospital cafeteria on Elliot's lunch tray. She guessed Elliot had charmed the nurse into getting her some lunch from downstairs.

"Come on," Elliot said innocently, patting on the mattress next to him. "Park it. Don't tell me I never gave you a little massage before."

"No, you didn't," she said, wishing she could come up with something a little more original to say, but she was drawing blanks.

"Well, I should have," Elliot said firmly, placing his big hand on her shoulder as soon as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Turn a bit? Yes, that's it."

Her back was turned to him and she felt his left hand knead her left shoulder. It felt so good that she relaxed into it, consciously blocking any thoughts about who was touching her. When he moved his hand to her right shoulder, she moaned softly. Elliot's hand stilled briefly and then continued, his thumb pressing on a particularly sore muscle, making her groan again. After about a minute, Olivia moved a little, indicating that she wanted him to stop. She didn't really want him to stop, but it seemed inappropriate so let the man work on her muscles while his bones had been broken because of her. He was still receiving pain killers through the IV in his right hand so he shouldn't wear himself out too much.

"Better?" Elliot asked, flashing an innocent smile when she turned to face him.

"Better."

"I had the nurse bring you lunch," Elliot announced, pointing at the bag on his lunch tray on the nightstand.

"Thanks. You shouldn't have."

Elliot shrugged and Olivia just let it go. She helped him place the tray in his lap and they ate quietly, chatting about what they were eating. It was such a normal moment that it took Olivia a while to notice that they were eating from each other's food, just like old times. Before she could comment on it, or even decide if she wanted to make a comment, Elliot said,

"This is nice huh? Feels like we've done this a million times."

Olivia took a sip of Elliot's orange juice while deciding if she should or shouldn't tell him more about their past together. She didn't want to create the illusion of memories for him, but there was no denying that having lunch together was something utterly familiar for them.

"We have," she admitted. "And you always let me have your tomatoes."

Elliot's smile widened and something seemed to click in his head.

"I don't really hate tomatoes."

"I know, but you know I like them more."

"I do," he said. "I know you like them more."

The openness in his face and eyes was totally disarming and it helped Olivia to lower her defenses and open up a little too. She chuckled and picked up a piece of chicken from her own Caesar salad.

"Trade you for my chicken?"

Elliot opened his mouth without hesitation and Olivia popped the chunk of chicken in his mouth. She ignored the little electric shock she felt as his bottom lip grazed her thumb and felt like a lovesick teenager when Elliot picked up another slice of tomato and held it out to her. She leaned forward to eat it from his hand and when their eyes met, they both froze for an instant. Olivia quickly took the bite and started chewing while she moved back a little. They never broke eye contact and when Elliot took a breath to say something, Olivia knew something completely unfiltered was going to come out of his mouth. And the look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat even before she heard the words.

"I so want to kiss you right now."

...

Dun dun. (Sorry, I love that sound.)

I know I promised you Munch, and he really is coming. When he does, you will wish he'd waited just a bit longer ... (heheheh) Review?