Prompt #15: NYC Marathon

Running

~oOo~

Of all the potentially self-destructive habits Olivia could've picked up after Elliot disappeared, she thought running was probably the least harmful. It had started innocently as early morning jogs to clear her head and quickly became an obsession. By November, she'd geared herself up to take part in the marathon.

Olivia had taken two days off for it, figuring she'd wanted the next day to relax. She needed the break from the 'new detectives.' Running allowed her to block the world out for a while. She put in her earbuds, nodded to those close to her, and waited for the start of the race. And I won't think about Elliot.

I won't think about the unanswered calls.

I won't think about any of it.

Ten minutes into the run, Olivia had hit her stride. She'd tuned everyone around her out. Her mind had finally settled down to allow her to push thoughts of Elliot to the side.

It was the perfect fall day for the marathon. Olivia could admit if only to herself, that running was an outlet for all the things she couldn't process. It helped her forget—though maybe not entirely heal.

She found herself caught up in a group of runners who were bunched together. Damn it. She put on a little speed, trying to get out ahead of them. A person strayed in front of her, forcing her to shift again.

Olivia was trying to dodge the runner on her left when another one fell into her from the other side. They both tumbled to the ground. She groaned when her ankle twisted in the process. Fuck.

"Oh my god. Fuck. I'm so—Olivia?"

Olivia stopped inspecting her ankle and slowly glanced towards the runner. "Kathleen?"

"Are you okay?" Kathleen managed to get herself up. She crouched down when Olivia grabbed at her ankle. "Hang on. Let me get some help. I was distracted by people waving and tripped. I'm so sorry. Just hang on."

"I'm—" Olivia winced when Kathleen shouted. She turned her head—and everything seemed to freeze. Elliot.

Elliot had pushed through the crowd and headed towards them after Kathleen's shout. He scooped her up off the ground, ignoring her protest. "Let me help. You can cuss me out after we get that ankle taken care of."

Olivia barely had time to process anything when he was setting her down near two of the paramedics who were part of the medics for the race. She grabbed his arm when he went to pull away. "Don't—"

"I'm not going anywhere," Elliot reassured. "Just giving them room."

It was impossible to keep her attention from Elliot, no matter how she tried to look away. Olivia barely heard anything the medic was saying. She finally managed to pay attention when the EMT began wrapping her ankle; she'd definitely sprained it, and they suggested a trip to her doctor, but nothing appeared to be broken or badly damaged.

To her, it translated as stay off it for a day or so, and you'll be fine. She had no intentions of going to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. She thanked the medic and stood up with a wince.

Elliot immediately rushed over to her, offering his arm for support. "How about I take you somewhere quiet where we can talk?"

"Talk."

"Somewhere private where you can justifiably yell at me, and we can have coffee?" Elliot slipped his arm around her back, allowing her to lean on him fully as she limped along beside him. "My vehicle isn't too far unless you'd rather stay here and—"

"No." Olivia winced at how loud it sounded. She cleared her throat a few times. "I'll be fine."

"Liv? I'm not abandoning you again. I swear to god. I'm not." Elliot thankfully didn't press her for a response. He just led her quietly away from the marathon. "Katie headed to the finish line to wait for her friends. She thought…we might not want an audience for our first conversation."

"She knows us well." Olivia limped along beside him. Her ankle didn't hurt too badly, but it definitely twinged every single time she put weight on it. "How far is your vehicle?"

"Just around the corner."

They fell into an awkward silence on the journey. Elliot drove them to what was definitely his apartment. It was nice—a bit Spartan—but nice enough. There were no signs of Kathy, though there were photos of his kids everywhere.

Where was Kathy?

Elliot had helped her to his couch and got her foot up, resting it on a pillow before heading into the kitchen to make coffee for them. He noticed her eyeing all the photos on the wall. "Ask."

"Seems like someone's missing."

"Kathy is very happy living upstate with her mother and her new boyfriend."

"New boyfriend?" Olivia shook her head. "It's only been a few months."

"Long enough for me to become an alcoholic, get sober, and get divorced. She's dating someone she dated while we were separated." Elliot didn't explain further, but Olivia could read between the lines on that one. Maybe they weren't the only ones to have fallen in love and try to fight it. "I'm sorry, Liv."

She took the mug of coffee from him. "What happened?"

"I couldn't get that day out of my head. I kept seeing Jenna dead on the floor. Sometimes it was you…dead from a bullet. I drank myself into a stupor. I didn't want to drag you into the abyss with me. It took therapy multiple times a day and AA meetings weekly before I started seeing light at the end of the tunnel." Elliot sat on the coffee table in front of her. He met her gaze head-on; she could see the sheen of tears in his eyes. "I had to crawl out of a dark hole and fix myself before I could call you back. I'm sorry, Liv. I should've reached out sooner."

"You were…" Olivia trailed off. She had no idea how to quantify it in words. "We were…I…"

"We were—are—best friends. Partners." Elliot shifted closer to her. His voice dropped to a whisper. "In love?"

"You were married."

"And we never acted on our feelings. But I'm divorced now. One of the many things I had to face when I sobered up and started therapy." Elliot shrugged sheepishly when she stared at him in confusion. "A lot happened after the shooting. When I stopped drinking myself into a mess, my brother and kids were bluntly honest with me about a lot of things."

"I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll give me a chance to make it up to you?" Elliot reached out to give her hand a squeeze. "Not expecting miracles. I've got a lot of unanswered calls to make up for. I wouldn't blame you if you told me to fuck off and not come back."

"How about we start with coffee?" Olivia lifted the mug in her hand. "Tell me about the kids. How are they doing?"

"All grown up, aside from little Eli and driving me crazy." Elliot shook his head. "They staged an intervention last week."

"Did they?" Olivia smiled at the idea. "Why?"

"They told me I should give you a call. That you deserved better. And if I didn't, they all planned to drag me to the precinct." Elliot smiled as well when she laughed. "They have a lot of love and respect for you, Liv. Never doubt that."

"Let's start slow."

Elliot reached back to grab his own coffee from the table. "We can do that, partner."

*Six Months Later*

"Who the hell is that?"

Fin glanced up when Amanda muttered under her breath. He turned his head to see a familiar figure strolling into the squad room. "What the fuck?"

"Fin? Who is it?" Amanda turned from where she'd been making coffee. She kept her voice low. "You know him?"

"Elliot Stabler." Fin couldn't help chuckling while he watched the man head straight for Olivia's desk.

"Are you seeing this?" Munch joined them in the peanut gallery to observe. "You know this means Novak won the pool, right?"

"Nah. She bet they were together before. If this ain't new, I'll buy you coffee for the rest of the month." Fin had known them both long enough to see the little hints of awkwardness as they talked while Olivia finished up her report. "If they're dating, it hasn't been long."

"Wait. Wait. Elliot Stabler? That's Liv's old partner?" Amanda continued to watch the scene unfold. "Wow."

"Listen, you two lovebirds, out of curiosity, how long has this officially been going on?" Munch interrupted the whispered conversation happening between the two.

"A few months from none of your business." Olivia smirked when Munch grumbled at her. "I'm going to lunch."

"If I help make it a long lunch, will you fudge the numbers so I win the betting pool?" Fin easily dodged Munch's bony elbow, which was aimed at his side. "What? Just sayin'. I ain't looking for a miracle. Just need it to have happened after he left."

"Congratulations. You win." Olivia rolled her eyes at him.

"Good to see you, Stabler." Fin nodded to the man, smirking when he slipped his arm around Olivia and lead her out of the squad room. He turned to Munch. "Pay up. I knew it."

"You didn't know anything. You got lucky."

The author of this SVU - Autumn in New York story will be revealed in November