suspect

chapter 6

"It's dead end after dead end after dead end!" Elliot exclaimed, slamming the phone down on the receiver. He and Olivia never talked about the small kisses that still burned Olivia's neck from the night before. As usual, they ignored anything between them and jumped into their work.

Olivia dropped her head into her hands on her desk. "God, I know. This is miserable. We're getting nowhere. I'm so sorry Elliot. I know how frustrating this is for you."

Elliot paced over to the couch in her office and plopped down when Fin walked in.

"This would be a great time for some good news," Olivia said to Fin.

Fin shook his head. "Sorry. We have vice stationed at every college campus in the area, but no new leads."

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Elliot said from the couch, his gaze was far away, like he was in a fog. "I was an SVU detective for fourteen years. How did this happen to my kid?"

"Hey man," Fin said. "You can't put that on yourself."

"This wasn't your fault, Elliot," Olivia added. "You know that. You couldn't have kept Lizzy locked away in your house forever even if you tried."

Elliot let out a humorless laugh and agreed with a nod.

"Look," Fin said. "It's 8pm and we've worked a 14 hour day. Let's take a break and all go get a drink down the street."

Olivia smiled at her friend. "You know, Fin, I think you're right. We could all use a break and relax."

…
"She was sassy but she was one of our favorites to work with!" Fin said a few hours later. "You know, after we found out that she wasn't a white supremacist…"

"Favorites?" Elliot asked after he practically choked on his beer. "I ended up hospitalized every time that woman showed up!"

They all laughed: Elliot, Olivia, Fin, Carisi, and Amanda. Olivia chimed in. "Well, to be fair, you ended up in the hospital quite a bit. Dana just happened to be around for a few of them!"

"Get yourself into trouble often Detective Stabler?" Amanda asked. She was leaning in and Olivia knew she didn't mean anything by it, but a pang of jealousy stabbed her gut to think she was flirting.

"Oh yeah," Fin said, laughing. "One time we even thought he was for sure a dead man! That time Liv practically blew his cover!"

Olivia's mind flashed to the face of Bushido when she came out of that bathroom. It made her heart race, just the memory of the fear that surged through her that night. "Oh god, don't remind me," she said.

"I don't think I ever heard how you got out of that one!" Fin added, speaking to Olivia.

Her eyes met Elliot's and she hid her shyness when she looked away. Her mind flashed through memories of that night- the feeling if his skin against hers, his eyes on her chest, her hands on his naked flesh.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you," Olivia joked as she downed the last sip of her whisky. She thought about ordering another, but she was sure that was her fourth tonight. How long had they been there?

"Tell us another one!" Carisi exclaimed.

Fin started speaking again as Elliot stood. He walked around Amanda and grabbed Olivia's empty glass. "I'll buy you another drink," he said to her. "Come with me?"

Olivia looked up at him, then around to her friends. "We're going to buy another round," she excused.

They walked to the bar and ordered their drinks. "You have a great crew," Elliot said.