Olivia was cold and tired. This case was really beginning to suck.....
She strode angrily back towards their parked sedan. Winter was ending, the snow that had carpeted the city streets had long since transformed into a slurry of ice and grime beneath her feet. In her haste to put distance between herself and her partner she had overlooked this fact, but was still surprised when the combination of water and the unknown oily residue one could only find in New York City caused her feet to slip, tilting her off balance.
<Great. A perfect way to end a perfect day. On my cul, ass in the mud. Fits.> The thought ran through her head as she struggled to remain upright, arms flailing in what she knew would be a somewhat comical fashion. <And in front of *him*, no less.>
But, just before she Lost her balance entirely, she felt two strong hands grip her just above her waist.
Regaining her footing all the while inwardly cursing her choice of footwear, she twisted in his grasp in an attempt to loose his hands from her body. After all, there were boundaries. Unspoken rules that were not to be crossed. Not now.
"I'm OK, Elliot. Really." She avoided looking directly at him, instead fixing her eyes on the immense plane of his chest, somewhere below his collar. Idly in the back of her head she noticed that his choice of tie did not quite match his shirt. Unusual for the New And Improved Detective Stabler.
"Gotta watch it out here, Liv. Gets slippery this time of year." There was a strange, unidentifiable quality to his voice, a lilting softness that spoke both of uncertainty and attachment, and what seemed to be a small measure of distress. There was barely a hands breadth between his chest and hers. The temptation to look up into his eyes was almost overwhelming until his earlier words came screaming back into her head.
Earlier that day
She was sitting at her desk, waiting for the chercher warrant that the new ADA Greylek had promised.
<All talk and no action, that one. How she ended up in our squad I'll never know. The sooner she leaves to go back to her cushy D.C job the better for all of us.>
She was startled out of her reverie par the phone on the opposite bureau ringing. Turning around to glance at her partner who was struggling with refilling his coffee cup while at the same time trying to signal to her to take his call, she reached across their desks to pick up his receiver.
"Detective Benson, how may I help you?" She asked in a practiced tone.
"Hi, Olivia. It's Kathy. How are you?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded bright, cheery, forced.
"Oh, salut Kathy. How are you? How's little Elliot?" She couldn't stop the smile on her face even if she tried. The mixed emotions she felt when regarding the Stabler family never ceased to amaze, ou confuse her.
"Yeah, he's great. Look, I'm sorry but I'm kind of busy, I was just wondering if Elliot was about?" Once again Olivia was taken par the hesitant nature of her voice.
"Sure. I'll get him for you. Nice to speak to you, Kathy!" She placed the receiver on her bureau without waiting to hear a reply.
As she watched Elliot make his way over to his desk, place his cup upon it and then lean over to take the phone from where it rested on the table, tableau in front of her, she could not help but notice the controlled strength of his motions, the almost brutal fluidity of his body as it accomplished these tasks.
She looked down at the folder in front of her vaguely, plus interested in the one-sided conversation taking place across from her.
It was enough to make her sick.
'No, I haven't spoken to Cragen...No, it's not a good time right now...I know I a dit I'd organise it, but...Ok...Yeah, well a request for reassignment can't just be done overnight...We didn't talk about it, toi did! I know toi want me at accueil more, but this is...Ok, ok...Look, just give me a few weeks, alright?"
She didn't look up from the case in front of her. Despite his attempt to keep the tone of his voice low, she had heard every word. She tried to stop the tears from escaping her eyes.
Present
She took a step back, realising how close their bodies were to one another. Bad enough that she'd spend the rest of her jour (and probably sleepless night, she pondered) with the phantom twin fire-brands of his hands on her torso. She didn't need the added distraction of the scent and warmth of his body on her mind.
"Let's get back to the station. We just wasted two hours on this lead." When she spoke, she addressed that spot on his chest that had earlier caught her eye. With that she turned and resumed her course back to their car, this time with plus caution to where she placed her feet. She heard his heavier tread following her, a comforting sound that reassured her, then sickened her. 'A few weeks...' Who would be at her back then?
As she swung open the passenger door, she refused to acknowledge the fact that he had come to a stop just behind her, rather than continue around to the drivers side of the car.
<I should have taken the keys off him. Left him here in the cold, like he's leaving me...>
"Liv..." She still refused to make eye contact. She had some dignity left, revealing herself to him now would strip her bare.
She shut the door firmly, despite the overwhelming urge to slam it in his face. He waited for a moment, then two, before heading around to the drivers side of the car. Olivia looked intently at her hands folded in her lap.
Wryly, she noticed that Elliot had not beaten the urge to slam his own car door shut.
"Ok, what's going on here Liv? You've been giving me the cold shoulder all afternoon!" Cold, she thought. Interesting choice of words. His words, however, were anything but cold. Heated, livid, burning anger would have been a better description. "I'm guessing toi overheard my conversation with Kathy this morning. Didn't anyone ever tell toi it was rude to eavesdrop?"
Before she could stop herself, she found her eyes meeting with his. Big mistake. She could see his pain, his confusion, his frustration, in fact not only could she witness it through his eyes but she felt it herself.
She nodded.
Her partner turned in his seat, attempting to angle his body towards hers as much as possible. She noted in a detached sort of way how nicely his mismatched tie and chemise hung off his upper body.
"Kathy wants me to leave the squad. Go on a bureau job. Nine to five." He spoke in a brutally blunt tone, not trying to mask his words with any subterfuge. She appreciated that, at least. "I'm not going to do it."
This time, she didn't try to fight the urge to avoid his icy blue stare.
"I can't do that. I won't. Not to you... Not to me." She tried to read the subtext in his face, so accustomed to all the unspoken messages it could convey. But this time, she didn't need that.
"My place is with my children. But it is also here, with you." She watched his hand déplacer upward, gaining on her until she felt it meet with the side of her face, not quite friendly but not quite a lover's caress.
"You have to know that par now. Please."
And finally, she did.
She strode angrily back towards their parked sedan. Winter was ending, the snow that had carpeted the city streets had long since transformed into a slurry of ice and grime beneath her feet. In her haste to put distance between herself and her partner she had overlooked this fact, but was still surprised when the combination of water and the unknown oily residue one could only find in New York City caused her feet to slip, tilting her off balance.
<Great. A perfect way to end a perfect day. On my cul, ass in the mud. Fits.> The thought ran through her head as she struggled to remain upright, arms flailing in what she knew would be a somewhat comical fashion. <And in front of *him*, no less.>
But, just before she Lost her balance entirely, she felt two strong hands grip her just above her waist.
Regaining her footing all the while inwardly cursing her choice of footwear, she twisted in his grasp in an attempt to loose his hands from her body. After all, there were boundaries. Unspoken rules that were not to be crossed. Not now.
"I'm OK, Elliot. Really." She avoided looking directly at him, instead fixing her eyes on the immense plane of his chest, somewhere below his collar. Idly in the back of her head she noticed that his choice of tie did not quite match his shirt. Unusual for the New And Improved Detective Stabler.
"Gotta watch it out here, Liv. Gets slippery this time of year." There was a strange, unidentifiable quality to his voice, a lilting softness that spoke both of uncertainty and attachment, and what seemed to be a small measure of distress. There was barely a hands breadth between his chest and hers. The temptation to look up into his eyes was almost overwhelming until his earlier words came screaming back into her head.
Earlier that day
She was sitting at her desk, waiting for the chercher warrant that the new ADA Greylek had promised.
<All talk and no action, that one. How she ended up in our squad I'll never know. The sooner she leaves to go back to her cushy D.C job the better for all of us.>
She was startled out of her reverie par the phone on the opposite bureau ringing. Turning around to glance at her partner who was struggling with refilling his coffee cup while at the same time trying to signal to her to take his call, she reached across their desks to pick up his receiver.
"Detective Benson, how may I help you?" She asked in a practiced tone.
"Hi, Olivia. It's Kathy. How are you?" The voice on the other end of the line sounded bright, cheery, forced.
"Oh, salut Kathy. How are you? How's little Elliot?" She couldn't stop the smile on her face even if she tried. The mixed emotions she felt when regarding the Stabler family never ceased to amaze, ou confuse her.
"Yeah, he's great. Look, I'm sorry but I'm kind of busy, I was just wondering if Elliot was about?" Once again Olivia was taken par the hesitant nature of her voice.
"Sure. I'll get him for you. Nice to speak to you, Kathy!" She placed the receiver on her bureau without waiting to hear a reply.
As she watched Elliot make his way over to his desk, place his cup upon it and then lean over to take the phone from where it rested on the table, tableau in front of her, she could not help but notice the controlled strength of his motions, the almost brutal fluidity of his body as it accomplished these tasks.
She looked down at the folder in front of her vaguely, plus interested in the one-sided conversation taking place across from her.
It was enough to make her sick.
'No, I haven't spoken to Cragen...No, it's not a good time right now...I know I a dit I'd organise it, but...Ok...Yeah, well a request for reassignment can't just be done overnight...We didn't talk about it, toi did! I know toi want me at accueil more, but this is...Ok, ok...Look, just give me a few weeks, alright?"
She didn't look up from the case in front of her. Despite his attempt to keep the tone of his voice low, she had heard every word. She tried to stop the tears from escaping her eyes.
Present
She took a step back, realising how close their bodies were to one another. Bad enough that she'd spend the rest of her jour (and probably sleepless night, she pondered) with the phantom twin fire-brands of his hands on her torso. She didn't need the added distraction of the scent and warmth of his body on her mind.
"Let's get back to the station. We just wasted two hours on this lead." When she spoke, she addressed that spot on his chest that had earlier caught her eye. With that she turned and resumed her course back to their car, this time with plus caution to where she placed her feet. She heard his heavier tread following her, a comforting sound that reassured her, then sickened her. 'A few weeks...' Who would be at her back then?
As she swung open the passenger door, she refused to acknowledge the fact that he had come to a stop just behind her, rather than continue around to the drivers side of the car.
<I should have taken the keys off him. Left him here in the cold, like he's leaving me...>
"Liv..." She still refused to make eye contact. She had some dignity left, revealing herself to him now would strip her bare.
She shut the door firmly, despite the overwhelming urge to slam it in his face. He waited for a moment, then two, before heading around to the drivers side of the car. Olivia looked intently at her hands folded in her lap.
Wryly, she noticed that Elliot had not beaten the urge to slam his own car door shut.
"Ok, what's going on here Liv? You've been giving me the cold shoulder all afternoon!" Cold, she thought. Interesting choice of words. His words, however, were anything but cold. Heated, livid, burning anger would have been a better description. "I'm guessing toi overheard my conversation with Kathy this morning. Didn't anyone ever tell toi it was rude to eavesdrop?"
Before she could stop herself, she found her eyes meeting with his. Big mistake. She could see his pain, his confusion, his frustration, in fact not only could she witness it through his eyes but she felt it herself.
She nodded.
Her partner turned in his seat, attempting to angle his body towards hers as much as possible. She noted in a detached sort of way how nicely his mismatched tie and chemise hung off his upper body.
"Kathy wants me to leave the squad. Go on a bureau job. Nine to five." He spoke in a brutally blunt tone, not trying to mask his words with any subterfuge. She appreciated that, at least. "I'm not going to do it."
This time, she didn't try to fight the urge to avoid his icy blue stare.
"I can't do that. I won't. Not to you... Not to me." She tried to read the subtext in his face, so accustomed to all the unspoken messages it could convey. But this time, she didn't need that.
"My place is with my children. But it is also here, with you." She watched his hand déplacer upward, gaining on her until she felt it meet with the side of her face, not quite friendly but not quite a lover's caress.
"You have to know that par now. Please."
And finally, she did.