Elliot and Olivia are lying in the bed naked, covered only by a sheet from their waist down. They are facing each other and talking.
"First guy I ever loved was a total jerk. I fell in love when I was 16. My mom… she was troubled, because her assault resulted in me, so she never could love quite right. She became a drunk, and she hit me. She called me a monster spawn, that I was cursed by my beauty, and I'd only ever be wanted by my body, no one would really love me. And I met Burton, he treated me right, he showed me affection, and he promised he'd get me out of that house. I was completely attracted to him. He was so handsome and smart, he was 21. So when he asked me to marry him and run away, I didn't think twice. That's how I ended up here. He couldn't quite love me for more than four months."
"Liv… that's… I don't even know. This guy, he was a piece of shit." He says.
"So here I was: no money, no friends, no jerk."
"So then you chose this as your profession?"
"I worked at a couple fast food places, parked cars at wrestling. And I couldn't make the rent. I was too ashamed to go home, not that my mother would ever let me back in. That's when I met Amanda. She was a hooker and made it sound so great. So one day I did it," her eyes filled with tears. "I cried the whole time. But then I got some regulars and, you know... It's not like anybody plans this. It's not your childhood dream."
"You could be so much more."
"I wanted to do something that involved writing. My mother was a literature professor and I loved reading. I don't have a lot of time now, or even money to spend on books, but sometimes I still read." She reveals.
"You would be great at that, I really believe it," he reaches for her face, running his thumb down the side.
"People put you down enough, you start to believe it," she whispers in the intimate atmosphere.
"I think you are a very bright, very special woman," she had to know that's what he thought. He had to make her see.
"The bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?" She gives him a sad smile.
STABLER'S OFFICE N.Y.
RECEPTION HALL
Richard, standing in front of the desk, and talking to the receptionist girl. "No, I don't want to talk to him now. Tell him I'll call him on Monday." He walks away from the desk.
"Yes, sir." A blonde female secretary walks into the room, carrying a thick pile of documents.
"Where are you going? Did Elliot sign these?"
"No, he said he had to leave," the young woman answers.
"He had to..." Richard walks nervously across the room.
He meets Elliot coming out of an office.
"Elliot, you can't disappear now. We're in this too deep," he protests.
"Don't panic, Richard. Cragen isn't going anywhere. I'll be back here in the morning," He stops at the reception desk. "Did you send the tickets to the hotel?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you." He starts walking out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Richard looks completely out of his element.
"I have a date," Elliot grins.
"With the hooker?" Elliot stops walking. His smile falls at what Richard just said. He slowly turns around, facing Richard.
"Be careful, Richard," he warns before walking away. Richard slowly turns around and walks into his office.
-PENDRY MANHATTAN WEST-
Penthouse
Elliot stands in front of the closed bedroom door. He is elegantly dressed in black tuxedo and bow-tie. He hears the bedroom door opening, he crosses his arm and leans on the bar.
The door opens and Olivia appears, very elegantly dressed in a long red evening dress. She is also wearing long white gloves. She walks into the room. She stops in front of Elliot and faces him. Elliot moves around her.
"Do I look okay?" she asks nervously.
"Mmm."
"Mmm?! What does that mean?" She was sure he was gonna like it, but she felt so out of her element.
"Something's missing." He says. She looks at herself and at her tight-fitting dress.
"Well, nothing else is gonna fit into this dress. I'll tell you that." Elliot picks up a mauve-colored box on the bar.
"Well, maybe something in this box. I don't want you to get too excited. This is only on loan." He warns before she gets her hopes up.
He opens the jewelry box. Olivia comes closer to the box and looks into it. She sees a very beautiful and expensive looking necklace. She moves her hand to touch delicately the necklace, but Elliot snaps the lid of the box shut, almost squeezing her finger into it.
"Oh!" She is startled by the movement. She bursts out laughing loudly. Elliot opens the box again.
"Elliot, this is beautiful," She touches the necklace. "Will you put it on me?" She asks, moving to stand in front of the mirror.
He moves behind her, and fixes the necklace around her neck, leaving a kiss just below her ear.
"They really let you borrow this from the jewelry store?" She just couldn't believe it was possible.
"I'm a very good customer," he informs.
"If you were gonna buy this, how much would it cost?"
"Quarter of a million." Olivia laughs nervously, thinking he is joking.
"A quarter of a million dollars?"
He opens the door so they could proceed to the elevator.
-PENDRY MANHATTAN WEST-
Elevator
Elliot moves to stand beside Olivia in the back of the cabin of the elevator. She is carrying a small golden purse.
"So, where are we going?" she asks.
"It's a surprise," he teases her. But her face softens and she smiles sweetly at him.
"If I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight."
"Thank you." He says sincerely.
Joey is standing near the door of the cabin, and smiling at the couple.
-PENDRY MANHATTAN WEST-
Lobby
Olivia and Elliot are getting out of the elevator and they start crossing the lobby. Joey comes out of the elevator to have a better look.
Everybody looks at the passing couple. Olivia and Elliot keep on walking across the lobby. He looks at her. She touches her necklace, worried that it would suddenly go missing.
Fin is standing near a wall tapestry, talking to a guest. He looks at the couple and is very happy by what he sees.
"When you're not fidgeting, you look very beautiful... and very tall." He compliments her and she gives him a laugh.
As they step outside to get into the limo, Olivia sees Johnny D across the street, smoking a cigarette. She almost misses a step, but Elliot grabs her arm.
"Are you ok?" He asks.
She looks at him and then again to the other side of the street, but the spot where she saw Johnny D is empty, so she shakes her head.
"I just thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong," she looks again, but the spot is still empty. Perhaps her talk with Amanda made her so alert, she was now imagining things. She gives him a weak smile and enters the limo.
The big gray limousine that Elliot uses all the time leaves the curb in front of the hotel.
The limousine enters the airport field, and stops near a corporate jet plane.
Elliot comes out of the back of the limousine. Darryl comes out of the driver's door and holds the door for Olivia, who looks surprised to see the plane.
"You don't want to go to Boston in a limousine, do you?" Elliot teases.
Darryl closes the back door, and stands near the car.
"I've never been on a plane before," she admits.
Elliot walks toward the plane, followed by Olivia. They talk together.
When they get to the Opera House, the lobby is almost empty. Olivia felt a bit nervous and held tightly to Elliot's arm.
"We're late."
"No, it's all right. Opening night never starts on time," he tranquilizes her.
"Okay." They walk near a stand, where a girl, wearing black tuxedo and bow-tie, is distributing programs. Elliot takes a program.
"Thank you."
"Right this way, Mr. Stabler, sir." Olivia enters first, followed by Elliot. Olivia looks down from the balustrade of the box. Elliot shakes hands with Doris, an old lady in the next box.
"Doris." he greets.
"Elliot, how are you?" They make small talk, but Olivia couldn't take her eyes away from the beauty of the place. She moved to the corner of the balustrade.
"Hey, come here. You gotta look at this," she says excitedly, but Elliot was still afraid of heights.
"It's all right. I've already seen it."
"If you're afraid of heights, why do you get seats up here?" she asks exasperated.
"Because they're the best." He sits down, and Olivia also sits down.
"The glasses are there," Elliot points.
"Oh!" She picks up the opera glasses."So, you said this is in Italian," She tries to look through the glasses, but doesn't succeed in setting them right on their handle.
"Mm-hmmm."
"So how am I gonna know what they're singing?" The glasses still wouldn't sit right. "These are broken."
Elliot takes the glasses from Olivia's hand. "Mine are broken." She repeats.
"No, no. That's okay. It's alright." He sets them right on their handle, and gives them back to Olivia.
"Oh, thanks," she says embarrassed.
"You'll know. Believe me, you'll understand." Olivia looks through the glasses, while the lights are switching off and on, to warn the spectators that the opera is about to begin. "The music's very powerful."
"There's a band!" she exclaimed as she looked through the glasses.
"People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic. They either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate their soul."
"Mmm."
The orchestra plays the overture of La Traviata.
The lights coming from the stage enable Elliot to see Olivia's face. She is smiling broadly. She turns briefly toward Elliot, and then goes back to looking at the stage. She bends down over the balustrade to have a better look at the stage. Elliot looks at her.
As Violetta kisses Alfredo on the mouth, and then walks away, a tear rolls down Olivia's face. The play deeply moved her.
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" Olivia stands up. She still has tears in her eyes. She walks away from her seat, coming near Doris' box.
"Did you enjoy the opera, dear?"
"Oh, it was so good, I almost peed in my pants."
"What?" She seems a bit surprised by what she just heard. Olivia walks away, and Elliot turns toward Doris.
"She said she liked it better than Pirates of Penzance."
"Oh!" Elliot walks away, leaving a very pensive Doris. She doesn't completely believe Elliot's translation of Olivia's words.
"Yes. Good-bye now." Still very pensive, Doris absently waves her hand to him.
-PENDRY MANHATTAN WEST-
Penthouse
Olivia and Elliot are seated on either side of a round table, playing chess. The room is very dimly lit, and there are two lit candles on the table. They are still wearing their opera clothes, but Elliot has taken his jacket off.
"Did you really do that?" He laughs. "Why don't we finish this tomorrow? It's really late, and I have to work," he proposes.
"Why don't you not go to work tomorrow? Take the day off." She asks.
"Me, not work?" He raises his brow
"Yeah." She smiles
"I do own the company."
-STABLER'S OFFICE N.Y.-
Richard's Office
Various documents are spread on the desk. A female secretary comes into the room, handing some documents to Richard.
"Here are the storage reports you wanted, and Mr. Stabler called," she informs.
Richard doesn't take the documents and she puts them on the desk.
"What'd he say?" He asks, still not looking at her.
"He said he's taking the day off."
Richard looks very surprised. "He's taking the day off?"
"That's what he said." She walks away, leaving a very perplexed Richard behind.
They decided to go to a park. Elliot and Olivia walked along the fountain, Olivia on a low wall, and Elliot walking in the lane. Olivia chose a white dress with thin vertical stripes, and carrying a little black purse. Elliot is wearing a very elegant grey suit, and he is carrying his leather briefcase.
"I'm starving. There's a snap dog vendor over there. Do you have any money?" She jumps down from the low wall and takes Elliot's arm.
"I have money. I don't know what a snap dog is, but I have money."
"Well, I'm gonna give, um... you'll buy a snap dog. We'll cop a squat under a tree somewhere." She offers.
"Cop a what?"
"Cop a squat." He shakes his head but smiles at her.
They spread a tartan red blanket on the lawn. Olivia is kneeling on the blanket, with Elliot seated next to her. She is getting herself comfortable while Elliot is talking on his cellphone.
"All right, read the first two pages," He says to someone on the other side of the call.
She leans against him and looks at the side of his face.
"Okay... Mmm..." Olivia stands up, and takes Elliot's cellphone away from his ear, and shuts it.
"I was talking to someone." He protests.
"Well, you are not anymore." She smiles at him and leans back
Later…
Elliot and Olivia are seated next to each other inside the limousine. Elliot is wearing a suit and a tie, and Olivia is wearing a purple dress.
"Did you know that two of the Bach pieces that we heard tonight... were found by Felix Mendelssohn in a butcher's shop? They were wrapping meat with the sheet music." But Olivia was not listening to him. She kept looking through the car window seeming nervous.
"What's with you? You're fidgeting. What's wrong?"
"Um... There's a club up here that I'd like to stop into for a second to see my roommate, if that's okay?" She asks nervously.
"Absolutely," He raises his voice. "Darryl!"
"Uh, Darryl, can you just pull up into the back alleyway, please?" She thinks that way they can avoid the attention.
The limousine slows down in front of 116. There are several motorbikes parked in front of the club.
"The 116?" He asks.
"The 116," she nods.
"Very colorful life you lead."
The limousine enters the alleyway and stops. Olivia jumps out of it, and Elliot comes out after her.
"You say this is a nice place. I'm sure it's a very nice place," he closes the door of the car.
"Look, I just wanna run in for a minute and see if she's there, so just stay here, please?" She tries to convince him. "I'm hoping they don't spot this limousine as it is." He sees how nervous she is, and caves in.
"I'll block it with my body." He leans on the limousine.
She gives him a smile that doesn't really reach her eyes and walks away toward the entrance of the night club.
Olivia enters the club, already looking for Amanda. Customers start looking at her and at her elegant dress.
"Hey, Liv, you looking good, man. What'd you win, the lottery or what?" One of the customers said.
Olivia ignores him and walks toward Rachel, one of the dancing girls. "Hey, Rachel, have you seen Amanda?"
"No, not since, uh, Tuesday. Hey, and Johnny D is looking for her too.
"Hiya, honey, you look great." She hears someone say, she turns around identifying the voice.
Olivia walks toward the bar and Pops, the bartender, standing behind it.
"Hi, Pops. Thanks. Have you seen Amanda ?
"I think she went to Queens."
She grabs a piece of paper and a pen, and writes something down. "Here, give this to her, please? She has my number, have her call me or come by, okay?"
"Okay, honey. Thanks."
"Thanks." She walks away from the bar.
Muffled sound of the music coming from inside the night club as Olivia comes out. Olivia stops when she sees the strange crowd around Elliot, then she starts walking again. She stops when she gets near Elliot. Among the tough-looking guys around Elliot, we recognize Johnny D, still wearing his eternal hat, and another guy, one of Johnny's lieutenants, wearing a leather jacket, and holding a long stick in his hands.
"What's going on out here?"
"I don't know. You left and all of a sudden I'm in the middle of West Side Story."
"I think you owe me some money, baby," He says, focusing on Olivia.
"Two hundred dollars." His backup says.
"Why don't you go to school tomorrow?" Elliot says. A girl, standing behind the group, starts giggling very stupidly.
"Now I hear you got yourself a new job?" Johnny D asks Olivia.
"Let's just leave," She starts walking away, but Johnny D puts himself in her way.
"You ain't going no place."
Elliot takes a step forward. "Hey, hey, hey…"
The guy, standing next to Johnny D, takes a very long knife out of his skateboard.
"You're out of your neighborhood, home boy. This ain't no Beverly Hills!"
"I don't believe this. He has this knife coming out of his skateboard. He's going to stab me." He turns toward the guy with the stick. "What are you gonna do, you gonna strangle me with a Slinky?"
The stupid girl giggles again. Johnny D turns toward her.
"Shut up!"
"All right, okay, this is what's happening. You believe that this person owes you money, right, two hundred dollars?" Elliot asks.
"That's right."
"Why?"
"Because this is my block."
Elliot turns toward Olivia. "His block?"
"He's a drug dealer. It has to do with Amanda. Let's just go, El." She starts walking away. But Johnny D is in their way.
"El. So how's it feel to be a trick?" He says.
"I am not a trick. This is a trick," Elliot points his hand toward Darryl. "Darryl! Left pocket."
Darryl, standing near the limousine, opens his jacket, revealing a holster with a gun inside.
"Isn't that incredible? And he does have a permit. Thank you, gentlemen." He pushes Olivia in front of him and crosses the group. He stops for a couple of seconds near Johnny D.
"Don't you ever go near her again." He warns.
Once they were at a safe distance, she asked. "Does Darryl always carry a gun?"
"When he drives me, yes, always." He pauses. "What was that all about?"
"Amanda, my roommate, she has made some bad choices lately," she sighs.
"And why was he harassing you about it?"
"Johnny D has developed a pretty unhealthy obsession with me, he wants me to pay out her debt. But you see, Johnny D is also a pimp, and he is very violent, I'd never go near him. I…" she hesitates.
"You.." he urges her to finish.
"Last night, you remember I stopped before entering the limo? I thought I had seen him across the street. But when I looked up again he was gone." She admits.
"You should have told me! Olivia, how does he know where you are?"
"Amanda must have told him, I don't know. I'd like to believe she wouldn't do that, but lately I feel like I don't even know her anymore. Addiction can change a person." She says sadly, remembering her mother. "That's why I wanted to see her, I gave her some of the money you paid me so she could give it to him, I guess she didn't."
"I think you need new friends," he says.
"Yeah…" She looks defeated.
"Liv, nothing is going to happen to you as long as you are with me…" He promises.
"Yeah, and then you leave. Then what?" He pulls her against his side and breathes her in, also trying to figure out an answer to that question.
-PENDRY MANHATTAN WEST-
Penthouse
Olivia gets ready for the night pulling on a sleeveless nightdress. She releases her hair, which was tied in a bun, and walks out of the bathroom. She stops and looks at the bed.
"He sleeps."
Elliot is asleep half-sitting in the bed. He is bare-chested. She walks toward his side and sits down on the bed.
She smiles. She gently kisses her index finger and puts it on Elliot's lips. She slowly bends down toward his face, and kisses him on the cheek, hesitates a second, then kisses him on the lips.
He slowly wakes up, and blinks his eyes. He answers Olivia's kisses. He raises up from the bed, kissing Olivia passionately.
Olivia removes her nightdress, and goes back to kissing Elliot. He runs his kisses down her neck, but comes back to her mouth, unable to resist now that he is finally allowed to kiss her. He turns her on the bed slowly trailing kisses down, stopping to slowly circle her nipple with his tongue, feeling her tremble beneath him.
"Elliot.." she moans.
Later they lay together. Elliot is asleep, holding Olivia in his arms. She is still awake and smiling. She gently strokes his arm.
"I love you." She whispers and closes her eyes, falling asleep.
He opens his eyes and looks down at her, feeling his own heart skip a beat.