Prompt #48: OC/SVU participate in a secret Santa gift exchange
A Small Exchange
~oOo~
It's that time of year again in the precincts. People buzzing with anticipation about the annual Holiday Gift exchange. Who's going to be paired up with who, and what will be given.
Olivia silently smiled, as she looked out at hers, and remembered a time when she, Elliot, and others did the same when Cragen was still captain of the 1-6.
Fin knocked on her door, interrupting her train of thought.
"Hey Liv, are you planning on signing up for the exchange?", he asked her with a smirk.
"I don't know, Fin. With all these cases piling up lately, I hardly have time for myself, let alone gift shopping," she said to him, matter-of-factly.
"Oh come on, it could be a nice break, and besides, I'm in charge of it this year, along with Carisi, and we have been in contact with Bell over at OC to try to set something up between the two precincts. The more, the merrier," he told her, with a small smile forming on his face.
She looked over at him and sighed. "These cases won't be solved without our help," she said to him.
"The cases can wait for a little bit, Liv. They're not going anywhere. We all could use a rest, especially you," he said back to her.
"It's been far too long since any of the precincts have taken a breather, apart from the occasional day off."
"'I know, Fin. I'm glad that both you and Carisi have been in touch with Bell over at OC. This could be good for overall morale."
"I'm glad that you understand, Liv. We're just getting things in order now for the gift exchange. Are you interested?"
"You've gotten that far along with it?" she said with a small laugh.
"You always surprise me, Fin. And you're the first one up to try to help others."
"You've set a good example there, Cap. I'm proud to be your friend and to work in this precinct," he said, walking over to the office door.
"We have to keep some light in our lives, no matter how hard it is to do so."
She nodded at him, as he left.
The precincts have been rather tense lately, any holiday cheer aside, she thought.
The day went on as usual, with people popping into and out of her office.
She looked out of the window and at the snow that was falling outside. People were hustling around, going from place to place. The holiday season was in full swing and she felt behind somehow.
Helping others, yet not helping herself.
She walked out of her office to the sight of Fin and Carisi working on gathering people for the gift exchange.
There was a line of people interested from both her precinct and OC's.
"Hey Liv," Carisi said to her, as he waved her over. "The amount of people signing up this year is fantastic. Thinking, that this year has been a bit much and they needed a break from all the madness."
"Yeah, I can see what you mean, Carisi. Crime never takes a holiday, let alone any other kind of insanity."
He nods at her. "I'm just glad that things like this still go on regardless. It's needed."
Fin looks over at them and nods in silent agreement.
"Don't worry, Liv," he says to her with a small smile, "we didn't leave you out of this."
"Oh, Fin... you both shouldn't have."
"It's the least we could do. And besides, the surprise is fun."
"Seeing how people react to their gifts. All in the Holiday spirit."
She smiled and watched him and Carisi get back to work signing people up for the gift exchange.
The week passed by and she got a knock at her office door...
"I have your Holiday gift exchange partner…" Fin said to her.
"I see, don't keep me waiting…" she said with a laugh.
"Your gift partner is Munch," he said to her, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, he won't be hard to shop for, Fin. He's always up for the newest conspiracy theories."
He chuckles.
"Yeah, I miss him talking about that kind of thing in the precinct. Just added that air of unpredictability."
She nods her head.
"Yeah, he did. Really made the precinct the place it was. Even if people didn't always agree with him."
"When did he stop by to sign up?"
"Earlier this week, Liv. You must have missed him."
"Oh, I see. I'll have to make a point of it to catch up, once the gift exchange happens."
He nods at her and leaves her office.
The rest of the day passes by, as he hands out everyone's assigned Holiday exchange partner.
He makes it over to Organized Crime and smiles as he hands out Jet's, and Bell's assigned partners. Now all he has left is one more.
"Hey, Bell... is Elliot in?" he asks her.
"Yeah, he is, he just got back from a small assignment."
She calls him over.
"What is it?" he asks her.
"Fin's here from the 1-6 with your Holiday exchange partner."
"Oh, thanks for reminding me."
He turns around and sees Fin smiling.
"Your partner is Olivia," he says to him with a smirk. "And you better treat her like the queen she is, because I'll be watching."
"You know that I won't let you down. I care about you and her."
Fin grins at him.
"Well, I gotta get the rest of the Holiday Exchange partners done now."
"Good luck with that, Fin."
He walks away from Elliot and over to Jet.
"Here's your Holiday exchange partner," he says to her.
"Really?" she said to him. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Jet," he said to her.
"Where's mine?" asked Bell.
"Here you go. Happy Holidays."
"Happy Holidays to you as well."
He nodded, finished handing out the rest of the Holiday exchange assignments and left.
The week went by in a blur, with people buying their assigned person their gift.
Olivia went over to the local bookstore, Bluestockings Cooperative Bookstore, to try to find a conspiracy theory book that Munch would like.
She was combing through the section, when she spotted the perfect book, Beyond the Great, Bloody, Bruised, and Silent Veil of This World by Jordan Krall.
He'll love this, she thought to herself.
She picked up a copy, paid for it and the cashier helped to wrap it up nicely and she left the store.
Elliot went over to a nearby clothing store, Macy's, and bought Olivia, a grey Ralph Lauren hoodie, similar to the one from long ago.
He hoped that she liked it, paid for it, and had it wrapped up.
Munch went over to a close by music store, Generation Records, and bought Jet, a Rage Against the Machine record, and a t-shirt.
He paid for them and had them wrapped up nicely. He hoped she enjoyed them as a group as much as he did.
Jet went over to a nearby video game store, GameStop, to buy a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 for Fin.
She paid for it and went home to wrap it up.
Fin headed over to the Met to pick up a pair of Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now tickets for Bell.
He paid for them and had them boxed and wrapped.
Bell headed over to a local coffee shop, Che_Brooklyn, to pick up some nice coffee for Elliot. She looked around the Italian coffee section and found some Segafredo - Intermezzo coffee.
She picked it up, paid for it, and had it boxed up and wrapped.
Everyone had their gifts ready and delivered them to Fin and Carisi.
"Wow, everyone did a great job with this. It's going to be fun handing the gifts out," Fin said to Carisi with a smile.
Carisi nodded. "Yeah, no one's bound to be disappointed here. People put a lot of thought into their gifts. Can't wait to see everyone open theirs."
Everyone arrived a little while later to exchange gifts and have a nice Holiday brunch.
Munch and Fin helped out with the catering.
Fin and Carisi handed out the gifts to everyone.
Olivia opened up hers and smiled. She knew immediately who her exchange partner was. "Oh, El, you shouldn't have…" she said quietly with a grin. She still remembers the talk they had on his porch, all those years ago. It was obvious to her that he hadn't forgotten.
Fin was up next. He opened up his gift and smiled. "Was looking forward to this game all year," he said to himself, as he looked over his game.
Jet opened up her gift. "Wow, this is pretty cool. Whoever got me my gift, really put some thought into it," she said to herself quietly, as she looked at the Rage Against the Machine record and the t-shirt.
Elliot opened up his gift. "Oh, this is nice. Gonna love drinking this in the morning", he said quietly. "Appreciate that someone took the time to find this coffee."
Bell opened her gift and smiled. "I've been wanting to see this show all year. It looked wonderful," she said to herself.
Munch opened up his gift and grinned. "Aww, whoever got me my gift remembered," he said to himself, as he looked at his copy of Beyond the Great, Bloody, Bruised, and Silent Veil of This World by Jordan Krall. "I'm gonna enjoy reading this."
The gifts were all handed out and now everyone was telling the others who got who what gift.
Elliot walked up to Olivia and smiled, shyly.
"I got you that gift," he said to her softly.
She grinned.
"I knew it, right when I first saw it, that it was you."
"I never forgot us, Liv. Our history and our friendship. That's what that grey hoodie meant to me. I was hoping that it meant the same for you."
"Of course it does. I appreciate the fact that you still remember after all this time."
She reached out to hold his hand and squeezed it.
"I love you. Always have and always will."
"I love you too, Liv. Thanks for not giving up and for caring."
They hugged one another and she felt at peace and at home.
Munch walked up to Jet and said, "I'm glad that you like the gifts. Wasn't totally sure what the young conspiracy theorists of today would like, so I just went with my gut."
She grinned. "Well, your gut is awesome and has great taste. I've heard a lot about you from Stabler, by the way."
"I'm sure you did. And your superior was a firecracker when he was younger. Oh, the stories that I could tell."
He chuckled. "Time flies."
"Yeah, it does."
She laughed and grinned.
Fin walked up to Bell and said, "I was the one who got you the Met tickets. Jet was a great help too, since I wasn't sure about what you'd want at first. She's a great cop by the way."
She grinned.
"Well, you both have great taste. I appreciate the fact that you both took the time to see what I like. Planning on going to the exhibit with a friend soon."
He smiled. "I hope that the both of you enjoy it."
Jet walked up to Fin and smiled.
"I was the one who got you the Call of Duty game."
He grinned. "Thanks. Will be playing in tonight with my son. He loves these kinds of games too."
"That's nice to know. Hope the both of you have fun."
Bell walked over to Elliot and waved.
"I was the person who you got your gift," she said to him with a smile.
"It's a nice gift. I can't wait to brew some of it."
"I'm glad that I was able to find any. It seems like coffee isn't the easiest to find during the holidays," she said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, it seems like a lot of people love it as a pick-me-up during the winter."
"Thank you, Ayanna, for the thoughtful gift."
"You're welcome, Elliot."
Olivia walks over to Munch and grins at him.
"I'm the one who got you that new conspiracy theory book."
"Oh, I should have known it was you, Liv. You're always so thoughtful. I can't wait to start reading it. It looks like a real page-turner. Thanks for taking the time to find such a wonderful gift."
"You're welcome, Munch."
"It's time for brunch, everyone," he said with a smile. "It's mine and Fin's treat. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!"
Everyone got up to line up for it and the precincts lived happily ever after.
The author of this SVU - Season of Love story will be revealed in January