1. Chapter 1

**A/N Season 12 has just started airing where I live and is on every Wednesday night, starting this week (5th December). So I am writing this story as a kind of background to the season with each chapter relating directly to each episode. This story will be my interpretation of Elliot and Olivia's behind the scenes relationship throughout the season. Since there are 24 episodes I am committing myself to writing one chapter a week after each new episode airs. I have planned out some events that do not appear on screen but will hopefully come across as being believable within the context of what we do actually see.**

1

"Locum"

She had been quiet ever since they had got back from the reunion. She was sitting in front of him now at her desk, filling in the necessary paperwork, a tired haunted expression on her face. It had been a particularly abhorrent case. A ten year old child had disappeared a decade ago and most people involved with the original search had assumed she had been killed; some even thought it might have been the parents. Instead they found that the mother's initial suspicions had been correct and the girl was still alive and had been held captive since her abduction all that time ago. Ten years away from society, effectively kept as a slave, forced to be the wife of an abusive man and it had been clear to everyone that this girl had a huge task ahead of her if she was to regain a semblance of a normal life after this. She was so acutely traumatised that it was one of those sad cases where a rescue didn't feel in any way like a successful outcome: it just felt way too late.

He kept glancing up at her as he struggled on with his own paperwork and every time he took in her despondent appearance, he grew more worried. He knew her well enough after all these years to know that she needed to talk and release some of the tension she had been building up ever since the whole thing had first taken a turn for the worse. The paperwork could wait.

"Liv," he said with a very slight touch of urgency in his voice. He spoke quietly not wanting the other team members listening in. She wasn't one for broadcasting her feelings and having everyone know she was struggling now would make her uncomfortable to say the least. It had taken years for them to build their relationship up to the point where she was willing even to admit to him when she was finding things too much. He knew that at first she had feared that it would be seen as a weakness and that she prided herself on her tough image. He knew it wasn't easy being a woman in a male dominated profession, but the truth was she was one of the people he respected the most in this job. To him, admitting her feelings was a sign of their friendship, not of weakness. He knew full well that these cases got to everyone, because they got to him too.

She looked up from her desk and stared at him listlessly as he said her name. He nodded his head indicating towards the door. It was code for let's get the hell out of here. He expected a struggle. She would no doubt insist on ploughing on, finishing up her work and she'd probably add that he was being ridiculous; that she was absolutely fine. He was prepared to have to work to convince her to leave early and so he was more than a little surprised when instead she simply nodded in agreement. Things must have gotten to her even more than he had thought. He rose to his feet and headed over to his locker, sensing her following right behind.

"Mick's?" he suggested. It was close, there was a fairly good atmosphere there, but more importantly there were several tables scattered around where they could talk in relative privacy.

"Sure," she replied unenthusiastically, once again her demeanour reminding him why he had invited her to go in the first place.

They grabbed their coats and headed out to his car. Lately he would often drive her home, especially when they finished late and it had long turned dark outside. Ever since her ordeal at Seal View she had been more accepting of his offers to see her home. It was bittersweet. He loved that he could do this small thing for her, but he hated that it signified a complete change in her. He thought back to that time she had been stalked and how incensed she had been when he had put that protective detail on her. Back then, she would have scoffed at his offers for a lift home, insisting she could take care of herself. Of course he knew she could. The main reason he offered was more self-orientated than anything else. They would chat about work, his kids, the latest episode of CSI and all the inaccuracies they had spotted and a hundred other things that he would never even recall the next day. It was so easy talking with her. Even after all these years they never seemed to run out of conversation and even when they disagreed on an issue, their arguing was more in the vein of light-hearted banter, not too dissimilar to the kind of arguments his twins had, he had sometimes thought. It was for this precious time alone with her that he really offered.

Today, however, she barely spoke. He didn't press her though. He knew she would talk when she was ready, if she wanted to. All the same, it was a little more awkward than usual, not least because without the usual chatter to distract him, he was left only to muse about her appearance, including how she seemed to have a new pair of ear rings on. He wondered whether she had bought them for herself or whether they had been a present. She never was overly forthcoming about her relationships, but things had changed, they had grown closer again lately and he kind of expected she would mention it now if she had someone. She had told him how that creep, Erik Weber, had come on to her after he had been released from questioning; the nerve! She had at least had the sense to say no, which had soothed him somewhat. The thought of her dating anyone tended to rub him up the wrong way, even though he knew it was unfair of him to expect her to stay single. From a purely selfish perspective though, it suited him, knowing that she was always available on the other end of the phone or to go for a drink like now. He knew he would miss that if she started dating someone.

Once they arrived at Mick's he pulled into a nearby car park and cut the engine, reaching for his wallet which he had shoved in between their seats as he didn't like the feel of it in his back pocket while driving. She didn't move at all.

"Shall we go in?" he asked, concerned at just how distracted she was this evening.

"Yeah," she said. Then she seemed to pull herself together, opened the door and got out. They walked briskly, slipping inside and picking a table away from the bar, tucked away in a corner of the room.

"Beer?" he asked.

"Thanks," she nodded. "I'll get the next round." He nodded, amused at how important it always was to her never to allow him to pay any more than she did. He had confronted her about this before, but she had insisted he was supporting five children, whereas she had no one but herself and so in fact it should really be her buying, not him. He had refused to allow that and so they continued to split everything equally. He headed over to the bar, returning a couple of minutes later with their drinks.

"Cheers," he said, clunking her glass before he took a long sip, watching her as she did the same.

"So you want to talk about it?" he asked, placing his glass back down on the table and looking straight at her, taking in the marks under her eyes which clearly betrayed her fatigue.

"Not really," she said. "Can't we just have a couple of drinks, chat about nothing and pretend we do regular jobs?"

He smiled. He had to agree that their job was certainly anything but normal. The thought suddenly popped into his head just how inappropriate this would seem to most outsiders, given the fact that he was married and was now here alone with her. Fraternizing with the opposite sex outside of work wasn't something he expected most wives would tolerate, but his partnership with Olivia was much more than just the job and Kathy had reluctantly come to accept that, even if she didn't really like it. It was difficult to talk to Kathy about the things he saw at work. He didn't want to take any of the depravity home with him for it was bad enough he had that stuff in his head. Talking with Olivia made sense since they saw the same things and went through similar kinds of emotions. It wasn't just about the actual cases either. It was sometimes just nice to de-stress by deliberately avoiding the difficult subjects and just focusing on the less distressing ones. Olivia seemed to instinctively know what he needed, unlike his wife who would often be unable to accurately read his mood and inadvertently worsen it with her nagging or complaining about how he was never at home. Olivia only ever seemed to calm him down and make him feel he could then cope with whatever the job threw at him.

"I wonder what that would be like?" he asked, realising he was getting much too deep into his own thoughts and that Olivia was sitting there, expecting, needing his company.

"What?" she asked with a confused expression on her face. She seemed lost in her own thoughts herself. He knew her mind was likely racing over recent events and she was struggling to stay focused on their conversation.

"A normal job," he reminded her, grinning. She shrugged and smiled back. She was really quite pretty when she smiled, he thought, not for the first time.

"Do you ever think about it seriously?" she asked pensively, taking another long sip of her beer.

"What leaving SVU?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Yeah I do," he admitted. He could tell she hadn't been expecting him to say that. "Don't you?" he asked. He had assumed they all did.

"I can't imagine doing anything else," she replied, a slight air of acceptance and definite resignation in her tone.

He looked at her tired expression and wondered why she was still so passionate about this job after all this time. Yes she was jaded, they all were, but yet she still found the dedication to fight so hard for the victims. He had felt his slipping away over the last few years, the last few months especially, and he felt that much of what he did now had come down more to instinct than any real desire to make a difference any more. He wondered if maybe that was why this case had got to her more than it had him this time. Maybe he just didn't care enough any more? It was a startling thought, for it made him wonder if he should be seriously questioning his future in the job.

"I can't imagine doing it alone though," she said, lowering her eyes to her beer glass as she spoke and awkwardly making small circles with her finger on the glass. The significance wasn't lost on him. It wasn't like her to get all sentimental like this. They didn't generally tend to do much open discussion on their feelings towards each other, mostly leaving things implied. He could tell she was feeling particularly vulnerable tonight though and was probably looking for some kind of reassurance from him. In an unusual move, he awkwardly placed his hand supportively on her arm. He wanted her to know he was there for her. She immediately, although still somewhat shyly, put her hand on top of his and for a few seconds left it there, before pulling away.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I guess this case really did get to me."

"It's OK," he said. "It's been a rough few days."

"Let's get drunk!" she suddenly suggested impulsively.

"What?" He was momentarily thrown by her uncharacteristic suggestion. Understandably, given her history with her mother, she was not a particularly heavy drinker and tended to be quietly disapproving on those nights the others really let their hair down and drank considerably more than usual.

"I just feel like drinking," she said sheepishly, as she realised just how startled Elliot was by her unexpected proposition.

"I have to drive back," he said weakly.

"Of course," she replied. He could feel her disappointment at his reluctant reaction. He felt guilty. He was her partner. She obviously needed to let off steam and she deserved his support.

"It's OK, El," she said, as though she was reading his thoughts. "You should be thinking about getting off soon anyway. We've been stuck together all week. You should be with your family, enjoying your time off."

He hated it when she told him to go and be with his family, making him feel that she thought he was just spending time with her because he felt sorry for her or something. He didn't understand why she didn't get that he actually liked spending time with her like this. It was different at work. It was all business. Relaxing in the pub or over lunch were occasions he generally looked forward too. She was so guarded about her personal life that every time they were alone and she let something new slip, it felt like a strange kind of victory, like he was one step closer to understanding the mystery that was his partner and friend. It was truly bewildering how you could spend so much time with someone, know so much; yet at the same time know so little.

"Let's do it," he said. "I do believe it's your round though, Benson."

"Oh it is, is it?" she said, laughing at his use of her surname. "Fine, I'll be back in a moment."

She stood and walked over to the bar and with only a slight twinge of guilt he felt his eyes briefly wander to her backside as she walked away. He was soon thwarted however, when she suddenly spun round and stared directly at him. His cheeks coloured slightly and he immediately averted his eyes to his beer glass. How the hell had she known? Maybe she hadn't though, he decided. Maybe it was all in his mind.

She returned with the drinks and he thanked her. He watched amused as she started downing her beer, but not getting very far before she decided to come up for air, with a very slight splutter.

"What's so funny?" she asked indignantly.

"You," he chuckled. "You've never chugged a beer in your life, have you?"

"Course I have!" she insisted.

"There's no shame in it!" he said. "Look, if you want something you can down, let's get tequila."

"Tequila? Yuck," she said, wrinkling her face in distaste at the thought.

"I'll get us some after we've finished these," he said.

"Great," she said sarcastically, grinning at his mock insulted expression at her tone.

She leaned back in her chair, just at the same moment a guy passing by suddenly their table stumbled and knocked into her. He reached out to regain his balance and placed his hand on her shoulder. Elliot watched as she immediately tensed at the unexpected contact, her mood instantly changed. The guy started to apologise amicably. He was obviously drunk and with his hand still on her, he moved in a little closer, causing her to visibly flinch. Elliot started to get to his feet.

"Hey, simmer down," the drunk guy said, recognising Elliot's warning, but still obviously too drunk to take it completely on board as he was still touching her.

"Get your hands off her," Elliot growled, watching as Olivia seemed to shrink even further into her chair if that was even possible. The guy threw his hands up in the air in mock surrender and backed away.

"You didn't need to do that," she said in a low voice. "I could have handled him."

Elliot almost rolled his eyes at her predictable response. Instead he looked straight at her.

"I know," he said sincerely. It seemed to appease her. She looked slightly less pissed off, he decided.

They both took a few more sips, but the mood had been ruined. He felt awkward about how quickly he had jumped in, knowing that he had probably embarrassed her, by making her feel like she needed a man to come to her rescue or something. He knew she hated that. She on the other hand was obviously not her usual self this evening and even though Elliot still didn't know the full story of what had happened to her at Seal View, he knew enough to know that ever since she had changed. She had without a doubt felt threatened by that guy this evening. It could well have been just a moment of weakness because she was feeling off and it had only been brief, but he had seen the raw fear in her eyes and it had shaken him. It was a strong reminder that underneath she had her vulnerabilities, just like anyone else.

After another couple of minutes of awkward silence, she spoke. "You know what, I'm really tired, El," she said apologetically. "Do you mind if we call it a night. I just want to sleep."

He couldn't help but feel disappointed. He had been enjoying the evening up until that idiot had bumped into her and he thought she had been too. She was beyond a doubt thoroughly exhausted though. The alcohol had probably made it worse. He'd only had one and a half drinks, so would still be OK to drive home at least.

"If you're sure," he said. "You do look like you could use some sleep."

"Thanks, El," she said. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "We can do this another time. Come on, I'll drive you back."

Abandoning the remainder of their beers, they stood and left.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Sorry about the slight delay with this. My children have been sick this week, so what with that and work being as busy as usual, I haven't had as much time to sit and write... **

2

"Bullseye"

"You OK?" he asked as soon as they were out of ear shot of anyone else. They were heading back towards the car. A couple of the other officers at the scene had taken Erik Weber with them and they were all heading back to the precinct.

"It's not the first time I've been called a bitch by some scumbag, El," she replied coolly. Yes, it had jarred, the personal verbal attacks always did, but she knew she shouldn't take them to heart. They were just lashing out, trying to cause her as much distress as they blamed her for causing them. It would be a complete lie though, if she said Weber hadn't got to her. It wasn't something she really wanted to discuss though. Her own insecurities were something she tried to avoid broadcasting, especially at work, especially to Elliot.

"I'm sorry though, Liv."

"What for? She was genuinely confused now.

"For pushing you to go for a date with that creep."

"It was purely professional. You know I wasn't interested in him."

"Yeah, but if I had suspected he was what he is… well I wouldn't have."

"No one guessed. His sob story threw us all."

"He had everyone fooled!"

They reached the car and both got inside, Elliot taking the driver's seat. He paused before starting the engine.

"Seriously, I'm fine El," she said, wondering if he was still worrying about it.

"OK," he said.

"So, how are things at home?" She decided changing the subject might get his mind off Weber. She wasn't expecting the grimace and immediately felt bad. So much for veering his thoughts to more pleasant things! He and Kathy frequently had their spats and given his expression, she assumed they'd had another one.

"Sorry," she said. "It's none of my business."

"Don't say that," he said suddenly and adamantly, surprising her. She remained silent, not sure quite how to react. "We've been partners for twelve years, Liv," he continued. You don't need to be nervous about asking me about my family."

"I'm not, I just, I don't know. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You're not. We had a fight… again. It's nothing major. It'll blow over."

"Right." Olivia took a deep breath. It was hard hearing about their fights. She cared about him and wanted him to be happy and sometimes couldn't quite understand why Kathy wasn't a little more patient, considering the job he did and the incredible amount of stress he was under due to that.

"In fact it was about you," he said, glancing at her briefly to check her reaction.

"What? Don't say that. What did I do?" She was horrified at the mere idea that she had anything to do with their arguments.

"Well it wasn't you specifically. It was the other night, when we went out for that drink. I forgot to let her know I'd be late and it happened to be the same day she planned a surprise dinner for me and by the time I rolled up it was ruined."

"Oh, God! Poor Kathy," Olivia said, cringing at the thought of being the cause of Kathy's upset, even if indirectly.

"I didn't say I was out with you," he continued. "Given the situation it felt like I'd be rubbing salt into raw wounds, so I just said work was busy."

"You lied to her? She believed you?"

"Of course. She'd be more suspicious if I said it wasn't probably." He grinned now and Olivia smiled back. It was certainly true that their jobs were pretty hectic the majority of the time. "It wasn't completely a lie either."

"But she's still mad?"

"She was upset about that initially and then since then things have just been a bit tense. She's probably PMSing."

"El," Olivia scolded. "A woman just has to slightly disagree with you and you bring out the PMS accusations?" She sounded positively irritated now and Elliot grinned in spite of himself, wondering if she realised how her cheeks flushed slightly and her eyes sparkled when she got angry. Realising that unless he wanted to be in the bad books of both the women in his life he would be better to back down, he relented.

"Sorry. It was just a joke, you know."

"Not funny!"

"OK, OK," he threw his arms up in mock surrender.

"You're so infuriating," she said, a smile suddenly breaking out. She knew he was just teasing her, yet she had still fallen for it, hook line and sinker. At least it was taking their minds off the latest case. That was always a good thing.

"Do you want to grab a coffee?" He put the key in the ignition as he spoke.

"We should probably head back. We've got interviews to do, not to mention all the paperwork."

"It can wait twenty minutes. Weber won't be going anywhere anyway. Might do him good to sweat it out in a cell for a while! Maybe he'll be more cooperative and less mouthy once he realises he's getting a glimpse of his foreseeable future?"

"Well, I suppose a quick one wouldn't hurt."

Elliot turned the key and the engine sparked to life. He buckled his seatbelt and then pulled off. Olivia always wondered why he started the engine and then did his belt rather than the other way round. It was just one of his many quirks she supposed.

The coffee shop they chose was a quiet place since it was still new and not many people had discovered it yet. The best thing about it was the chocolate muffins and it didn't take much convincing on Elliot's behalf to get Olivia to agree to share one. Lately she had been a little self-conscious about her weight gain, another fun aspect to growing older that they all reluctantly had to acknowledge. Not willing to completely forgo the odd treat, she had roped Elliot into sharing hers whenever she felt the urge. They chose a table towards the back and sat opposite one another, both clutching their drinks. He had his usual latte and she had chosen a hibiscus tea.

"So do you have any plans this coming weekend?" he asked. Cragen had insisted everyone in the department take a four day weekend over the next month and it was Elliot and Olivia's turn this coming week.

"Not really," she replied. "I almost forgot about that to be honest. I guess I should do some laundry and sort a few things out around the apartment."

"Seriously? You have four days off and that's all you can come up with?"

"Well what about you?"

"Kathy's working, so nothing special either." She punched him playfully. Cheeky bastard teasing her about her unexciting plans when he was no better!

"You know I was kind of thinking about heading down to Baltimore," he said. They have a motorbike show going on this coming weekend which I thought might be good."

"Really? I didn't hear about that. Sounds good!"

"You know, you could come if you like." He looked down intently at his coffee cup, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason. "I mean, since you don't have anything else on." He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. He wasn't really expecting her to say yes.

"To Baltimore?" She sat back slightly. "I mean, I'd love to, but wouldn't it be weird. I mean, what about Kathy?"

"She'll probably be glad to get me out from under her feet. She told me the other day she sometimes prefers it when I am at work and she can get on with things more quickly."

"She really said that?" Olivia was surprised. He didn't seem too bothered by it, but she wondered how she would feel if her partner told her something like that.

"She's used to not having me around so much, I guess." He shrugged. Kathy wouldn't be a problem. He had already mentioned the bike show and she had stated there was no way she would go anywhere near it. She had also added sarcastically that maybe he should ask his _partner_. In fact it was her who had put the idea in his head in the first place.

"I don't know El. I mean, it sounds great, but it's a bit of a drive, isn't it?"

"We can stay overnight. I'll book a motel. Come on, it'll be fun. Kathy's not into bikes, so who better than my best friend to come with me?"

Olivia smiled. It was nice to hear him say she was his best friend. Still an overnight trip was no small thing. She knew there was nothing to it, but even so. What else did she have to do that weekend though? Sitting in her apartment alone was not exactly the most inviting prospect. Maybe she should just throw caution to the wind and go and enjoy herself for once. Kathy knew she and Elliot were just partners and friends. There was no need to feel guilty over something that would never happen. Maybe she should go?

"Sure," she said impulsively.

"You'll come?" he said excitedly.

"That's what I said," she replied.

"Great. This is going to be fantastic."

"You're driving though," she said.

"Fine!" he replied. "But only if we can go in your car!"

"Whatever," she said, shaking her head at his predictability. It would be good to give the car a run anyway.

"Wonderful. I'll book us a motel then. Any requests?"

"Nope. Just as long as it's clean… and I prefer a double bed."

He nodded, trying to ignore the place that his thoughts were in danger of heading, on hearing the word bed. He averted her gaze and swallowed the remainder of his coffee quickly.

"We should probably think about heading back," he said.

"Agreed." She finished the remainder of her own tea and they stood and headed back towards the car.

_The following Saturday_

He had turned up early, as planned and they had left for Baltimore, swinging past a café for a quick breakfast before they got on the expressway. He was dressed in jeans and a loose casual shirt which had seemed so strange to her, as she was used to his formal suits at work. He seemed so much more relaxed and care free and it was a side to him that she was enjoying getting to know. She herself had debated long and hard over what to wear. At work she almost always wore dark mostly modest clothes in an attempt to seem not only professional but also make her stand out less as a woman. She had no desire to be noticed like that by the kinds of people they dealt with day in day out. She got enough attention as it was.

She wanted to look good for it was rare she had the opportunity to dress up lately, but she didn't want it to be too over the top, for they were travelling as friends, not on a date. She knew Elliot had seen her dressed up to the nines when off out on a date and he'd also seen her at her worst, on the odd occasion had popped round when she had been sick or just chilling out in her apartment, not expecting any visitors. She wanted to go for a happy medium. She didn't want him to think she was making any kind of special effort for him.

She decided on a pair of smart jeans, some white sandals with a medium sized heel and open toes, allowing her to show off her freshly painted dark blue toe nails. After a slightly longer debate she settled on a fairly run of the mill top. It was shaped, showing her curves nicely, but wasn't too low cut, so left plenty to the imagination. It was a beautiful dark blue colour, which she thought went nicely with her nails. She wore her usual necklaces, but added a bracelet which she felt accentuated her delicate wrist perfectly. It had been given to her by Alex a while ago, when she had left to go to Africa and she treasured it. However, it wasn't usually appropriate to wear at work as she preferred her hands unfettered. She was quite pleased with the final result when she glanced at herself in her full length mirror. She looked youthful, attractive, but it wasn't too over the top. It was perfectly suitable attire for a trip with a good friend, she decided.

Once they got onto the expressway, they put on a CD.

"So how's the car?" she asked.

"It's great!" he replied. "It's a nice change after driving around in my rust bucket." She smiled. His people carrier was certainly no rust bucket, but he had definitely picked it for its practical qualities over anything else. The only thing was, she thought wistfully, she would happily trade in her car for one like his if it meant she had the family to go along with it.

"So do you need a bathroom break or are you OK?" he asked. Her cheeks flushed red slightly, embarrassed at his teasing. A week or so ago they had set out to interview a suspect on one of their other cases and not five minutes into the journey she had insisted they pull over at a convenience store to use the bathroom and ever since he had relentlessly teased her about it. She knew the teasing was probably just his weird way of showing affection, but it was starting to get a little old.

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" she said the frustration clear in her voice.

"Maybe eventually I will," he joked.

"Well at least it wasn't me who rendered the male restroom impenetrable for an hour last Thursday" she retorted quickly, remembering the ribbing Elliot had received at the hands of Munch who had made the mistake of attempting to enter straight after Elliot had been in there.

"Ouch," he said, although his grin suggested he wasn't as bothered as she had been hoping he would be.

"You know," he said after a minute. "I'm glad we're doing this."

"Exchanging insults?" she asked, wondering exactly what the appeal was.

"No, getting away. It's nice to spend some real time together."

She felt the awkwardness of the moment. The irony of a situation where the pair of them were generally more comfortable teasing each other about their respective bathroom habits than talking about their feelings towards each other didn't escape her either.

If he noticed her discomfort at the sudden turn in the conversation, he ignored it.

"So I was thinking tonight, if you didn't mind, we could do Indian."

"Sounds good to me," she agreed. "Did you have anywhere in mind?"

"Well I googled a couple of places that are nearby the motel. They aren't exactly going to be the Indian equivalent of haute cuisine, but the reviews are generally good."

"I'm impressed you went to the trouble to look it up." She remembered the last time she went away for a couple of nights and just stumbled into the closest run down looking café she could see. Elliot's obvious effort was touching.

"I don't get away that often. I just wanted to make the most of it." He looked more embarrassed now that he had at the mention of the toilet incident.

"It's OK. You don't have to explain. I get it." She felt bad. She hadn't meant to make fun of him. She was actually flattered.

"When was the last time you went away like this anyway?" he asked, obviously deciding a change in subject would be prudent.

"Gosh I don't know." She genuinely couldn't remember for a second. "Oh wait, it was a few months ago. I went up to Canada for a few days. An old school friend's wedding actually."

"Really? You never mentioned it!"

"It was right after Melinda got shot. I wasn't going to go. It was a last minute thing. You know how Cragen insisted on us taking some decent time off, like he does."

"Oh, yeah. I remember now. Eli came down with chicken pox right around then and I was busy at home helping care for him and we didn't get much chance to talk before the Captain made us take the time. I remember meaning to ask you where you'd been."

"Well, now you know."

"You've just reminded me about it all though. That moment when I heard you were in there…"

"Luckily Melinda made a full recovery."

"Thanks to you!"

"I didn't do much. She told me exactly what to do."

"You kept your cool. I can't even imagine doing what you had to do!"

"It was horrible, but it was that or watch her die in front of my eyes. There was no choice. I had to do it. You'd have done the same."

"All the same, I think you were amazing. I'm not sure if I told you that after it happened."

"Thanks, El," she mumbled. She wasn't used to such outright praise, especially from him and it made her feel self-conscious.

"You really need to learn to take a compliment you know," he said, seeing her discomfort and knowing the reason for it.

"I've never been very good at that," she admitted.

"I'm surprised, since you probably hear them a lot."

"Not so much as you'd think," she joked. She had heard her fair share, but most of them she put down to having an ulterior motive.

"Well you deserve them."

His words hung in the awkward silence that followed, with both choosing to concentrate on the music for a while rather than dwell on his words and the meaning behind them.

_Later, after the bike show_

It had been a fun afternoon. Now they were waiting for a table to become vacant at '_Ganesh_', the Indian restaurant they had decided to try. As they waited they sipped at their martinis, still chuckling at the sudden decision by Olivia to order them one each in true James Bond style, a move that had drawn a huge snort of laughter from Elliot.

"Why did you order martinis?" he asked. "You know me! I'm a beer guy, through and through."

"I always wanted to do that though," she said a playful sparkle in her eyes.

"Well it was hilarious. Did you see the look on that girl's face? They must be out the back now tossing a coin to see who gets stuck with us!"

"Ha, I'm sure we're not the first crazy New Yorkers they've had to deal with," she said dismissively.

"Speak for yourself!" he muttered, causing a mock indignant glare from her to fall his way.

He was enjoying all this good natured banter. There was something hugely enjoyable about the way they could flirt safely like this with one another, both knowing the score and so able to just enjoy it for what it was. He was starting to realise he hadn't had this much fun out in a while. He couldn't even remember the last time he and Kathy had been as carefree as this. Life had a funny way of taking over sometimes. He wished things could be more like this with her. Instead it just seemed to be one row after another lately and he had been sent to Maureen's old room to spend the night more often than he'd be willing to admit to anyone.

"Excuse me, Sir, Madam. A table is now available."

They thanked the guy who had come over to escort them over, clutching their martinis as they went.

"Can I get you another drink?" he asked, eyeing their glasses, both close to empty.

"Erm, we're good for now," Elliot told him, although he was half tempted to order something just as unexpected to show Olivia she wasn't the only one who could be spontaneous. He decided to wait and properly read the wine menu though. There was no point just drinking for the hell of it. He wanted them to savour every moment of the evening. Who knew when or if they would ever get to do this again?

They waited for their server to step away before they started to examine the menu.

"Shall we get a set meal to share?" he suggested, thinking it would be a lot easier than trying to decipher every single dish separately. She agreed and a minute later the waiter returned and they placed their order, adding a house bottle of sparkling white wine. Elliot wasn't really a wine drinker but he knew Olivia was partial to it. She tried to protest, knowing his usual preference, but he insisted.

"To our partnership!" he said once their wine had arrived, clinking his glass against hers gently.

"And friendship," she added and he smiled.

"We are a good team, aren't we?"

"I like to think so." She was pleased he had said that. Their partnership meant the world to her.

"Have you thought about what you want to do tomorrow?" They had discussed this earlier. The choice was to spend some time looking around the city or to head up to Philadelphia and spend some time there, with the added attraction that it would break up the return journey a little.

"I don't really mind," she said. "But I've been to Philly a few times, so maybe we should hang out here a bit."

"Then that's what we'll do."

Olivia sipped her wine. It was a little bit disconcerting having Elliot being so nice to her. It wasn't that they didn't usually get on, but a lot of their interaction was dictated by the cases they worked. They were a good team, but it was still a little bit novel finding out just how much they gelled outside of work too. Her thoughts would sometimes wander to the 'what ifs'. What if he had never married? What if he had never returned to Kathy after their split? What if he kissed her right now? She stopped that thought right there though, telling herself firmly that martini and bubbles on an empty stomach were definitely not a good mix. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"You OK?" he asked, infuriatingly ever observant to the slightest change in her, it seemed.

She nodded. "I think the wine has hit me," she said. He looked amused. She was waiting for him to taunt her by calling her a _lightweight_ or something, but he refrained. He'd obviously decided he liked his balls in tact after all, she found herself thinking, at the same time realising that the drink had definitely turned her into what her friends termed 'feisty'. It was one of her qualities that she tried to tap into when dealing with the perps and she often enjoyed it when she did. It was invigorating saying exactly what was on your mind sometimes. She smiled as she wondered if Elliot knew just what he might be letting himself in for this evening.

She caught him staring at her, a bemused look on his face and she realised he was probably curious as to what she had suddenly found so funny.

"I wonder when the food will get here," she stammered.

"It looks like it's on his way." He nodded towards the kitchen from where their waiter had just surfaced carrying a dish with something that looked like it could be what they had ordered. It turned out he was correct and within seconds they found themselves faced with the delicious aroma of the assortment of starter dishes that were a part of the set menu.

"Wow, this smells amazing," Olivia said, reaching out to begin moving the food to her own plate.

"Definitely worth the wait!" Elliot added as he tasted his first bite. "I haven't had Indian in a while actually."

"Me neither. I'm really glad we came here." Elliot smiled pleased she was enjoying the food and the evening.

"Me too," she agreed wholeheartedly. Coming away with Elliot wasn't something she had ever imagined happening, but here they were. She hadn't had this much fun in ages, of that she was certain.


End file.
