Quote Prompt #131: "Every song has a coda, a final movement. Whether it fades out or crashes away, every song ends. Is that any reason not to enjoy the music?"


You're the Melody To My Song

~oOo~

Captain Olivia Benson was having lunch with her best friend, former detective Amanda Rollins. It had been awhile since the two had seen each other. Both had been very busy, Amanda with her growing family and Olivia with running her very short handed squad. But the two had finally been able to fit an hour in. After greeting each other with hugs and finding a table, Amanda asked, "Have you heard from Stabler at all?"

Olivia shook her head. "He's off somewhere he can't disclose."

Amanda nodded and then caught sight of the compass necklace that Olivia never took off.

"That the necklace he gave you?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Fin?"

Amanda smirked. "Who else?"

"Remind me to give him the weekend shift for blabbing."

Amanda shot her friend a look. "Quit stalling, Liv. Talk to me."

"What's to tell? He gave it to me and took off. Again," Olivia said, somewhat bitterly.

"He'll be back, Liv. He won't disappear like last time," Amanda reassured her friend.

Olivia scoffed, trying to hide her fears."How can you be so sure?"

Amanda took her friend's hand and looked her in the eyes. "You don't give someone a necklace like that unless you really care for the person. He loves you, Liv. I saw the way he looked at you when we were all working that case. I noticed how you acted around him, as well. You love him, too. You need to tell him how you feel. As soon as he gets back."

Olivia looked down as tears came to her eyes. "I want to, Amanda. I want to so bad. But I'm scared. I don't know if I can trust him not to leave again. And I have Noah now. I don't think I could deal with it if he left again. It hurt too much the first time."

Amanda sighed and thought about her next words very carefully. "Liv, you know that old song by Garth Brooks — The Dance?" Olivia nodded and Amanda continued. "Well, there's a line that goes, 'I could have missed the pain, but I would have missed the dance.' Liv, don't let your fear of getting hurt again cause you to miss the chance to share a life with the man you obviously love."

Olivia was quiet for a while, letting Amanda's words sink in. "You're right. I'll think about it."

"Don't overthink it. Follow your heart," Amanda advised.

Olivia and Amanda finished their food and then headed back to their respective jobs.

~oOo~

Several states away, Elliot was deep into a case involving human traffickers. Olivia was never far from his mind, but it was too dangerous to call her. He had requested that Bell let Olivia and his family know that he was alive and fairly safe, but there was no personal contact. Jet was the only other person besides Bell he was allowed to contact directly.

During one such Facetime, after Jet gave him the info he needed for the case, she unexpectedly got personal, blurting out, "Stabler, I need to talk to you about Benson."

Elliot tried not to panic. "What about her, Sloot? Is she ok? Did something happen to her? To Noah? What have you heard?"

Jet then realized her mistake. "Oh my god! I'm sorry, Stabler. I didn't think. Benson's fine and so's her kid as far as I know. I need to talk to you about her though. Something you should know."

"Ok. What's going on?" Elliot asked warily.

"You love her. Don't bother trying to deny it. Anyone can see it. It's so beyond obvious. What you need to know is…you should tell her. You've gotta tell her the truth about how you feel."

Jet spoke quickly without taking a breath, not giving Stabler a chance to interrupt. When he could finally get a word in edgewise, his voice was tense with annoyance. "Jet, you are way outta line. Benson and I are none of your business."

"Stabler, please just hear me out. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did," Jet pleaded.

Now Elliot was intrigued. "What are ya talking about?"

Jet sighed, trying to hold back the tears talking about Whelan brought on. "You can't wait, Stabler. You can't put off the conversation. I waited to tell Jamie how I felt about him. Kept waiting for just the right moment. By the time I got up the courage to tell him, it was too late. I told him I loved him, but twenty minutes later, he was dead. I wasted too much time and missed my chance."

"I'm sorry, Jet. I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, if I make a move on Liv too soon, she'll bolt. I hurt her. She doesn't trust me. I don't know how to make that right," Elliot told his friend who was also like a daughter to him.

Jet was no longer able to keep the tears in. As they came pouring down her face, she urged, "Stabler, you can't let the fear of what could happen stop you. She deserves to know the truth. She needs to know you aren't going anywhere. That you won't be pushed away. I missed my one shot. Don't miss yours."

It was Elliot's turn to sigh. "I'll give it some thought. First I have to catch these sick creeps and get home."

"Yeah. Go save those kids, Stabler. Then come back and get your girl," was Jet's reply.

Elliot couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

"Later, Sloot."

Elliot was able to wrap up the case within a week. After the debriefing he headed out of OC headquarters. In the parking lot, he sent a quick text to Olivia.

'Just got back. Are you free to talk?'

After a moment, she responded.

'Noah's at dance, so yeah. I've got a couple of hours. '

'On my way,' was Elliot's next text. Then he jumped in his car and took off towards Manhattan.

When he got to Olivia's door, she opened it before he even had a chance to knock. Before he had time to speak or even think, she was in his arms.

They held each other for a long time and when they pulled apart, they spoke three words at exactly the same time.

"I love you!"

Both pairs of eyes widened as they realized what they had both blurted out.

"Let's sit down for this conversation," suggested Olivia, breathlessly.

"Good idea," Elliot agreed.

The two of them sat on the couch. For a few moments, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Elliot spoke up.

"You wanna go first?"

Olivia shook her head.

"You go."

Elliot took a deep breath.

"I love you, Liv. I know you might not trust me yet. I know I hurt you when I left without talking to you. But I had to tell you the truth. I love you and I'll wait for you as long as it takes. I'm not going anywhere ever again. I lived without you for a decade. It was my own fault. But I know I never want to live without you again. You complete me, Liv. I'll do whatever it takes to regain your trust and rebuild our friendship and try for something more."

Olivia listened quietly until Elliot was finished. Then it was her turn to speak.

"El, I had a lot of time to think while you were UC. I don't want fear to get in the way of my happiness. I have discovered that while I survived without you, I need you. What I'm saying is, I know we still have a lot to work through. There is still so much you don't know about me. But, El, I'm ready. I'm ready to explore the idea of something more between us. You complete me too. For years I didn't know who I was without you. Now I know. But I also know my life is better with you in it. I love you more than I can say."

Elliot leaned in and his lips met Olivia's in a deep kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Elliot breathed out, "Wow!"

"You can say that again," was Olivia's response.

"Wow! That was incredible," Elliot stated.

"Agreed. What's next?" Olivia wanted to know.

Elliot looked at his watch. "Well, now I need to call my kids and visit my mom and let them know I'm back, but after Noah gets out of dance class, I want to take you guys out for ice cream. I honestly don't want this night to end."

Olivia smiled. "I feel the same way. Ice cream sounds great. I'll pick up Noah and you can come back to get us here after you see Bernie."

Elliot reached out and gently touched Olivia's cheek. "Sounds like a plan.I'll be back for you in about an hour."

Placing her hand on his, she nodded. "We'll be ready."

"Love you," Elliot whispered.

"Love you, too," Olivia replied just as softly before pulling her partner in for another kiss.

Eventually, they pulled apart and Elliot took Olivia's hand as they headed out the door together.


The author of this SVU - Quills & Shutters story will be revealed in October