The Letter

Elliot and Olivia Get Their Act Together:

Someone was knocking on her door. How dare they? Didn’t they know that she was working through an emotional loss at the moment? She was tempted to let it go, but if any member of the squad was out there, they might bust down her door to check on her. 

“Alright, alright,” Olivia called out, tossing the throw blanket onto the floor and walking over to the door.

She was not prepared for the sight that greeted her.

“Liv.” 

“Elliot?” she breathed out.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” She stepped to the side, gaze still fixed in the hallway as his shoulder brushed hers. 

“Liv?” he repeated.

She shook her head slightly, finally moving to close the door and turning to face him. He was waiting there in the kitchen for her. 

“Where is it?” he asked, glancing around.

“What?”

“The letter.”

She shook her head, looking down at the floor. Her hair draped in front of her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t give me that crap. Where’s it at?” Elliot’s gaze was fixed on her now.

“Why are you here?”

“Liv, whatever she said-”

“The truth. It was the truth.”

He shook his head vehemently. “She said I should apologize to you. For whatever she wrote. I wanna know what it was.” 

Olivia worried her lip. “It’s fine.”

“No. It’s not.” Elliot walked over, reaching out to brush the hair out of her eyes. “Have you been crying? What the hell did she say?”

“It’s not that.”

“Well, then, what would-”

She cut him off. “Cragen told me. Your papers.”

“Oh.”

Olivia pushed past him, going into the living room. She dropped back onto the couch. “You weren’t going to tell me.” It was a statement, not a question.

Elliot followed her into the room, remained standing. “I didn’t think I should.”

“Right, this was better. You were just gonna leave. You were gonna leave and not say goodbye.”

“I didn’t know how.”

“You didn’t know how? You didn’t know how, so you let your wife write me some horrible letter about how you’re moving out of the country, how we were only partners and you didn’t care about me, how I shouldn’t call you ever again so I don’t mess up your perfect little world. Was that better, Elliot?”

His mouth fell open. “I didn’t know…I never thought she’d…Liv, I’m sorry.”

“Your Catholic guilt brought you over here for fake apologies about a letter your wife meant every word of. You didn’t come here to say goodbye. I don’t know why you came at all.”

Elliot sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “You’re right. I didn’t come here to say goodbye-”

“Then, get out. Now.”

“Liv, I’m not saying goodbye ‘cause I’m not going anywhere.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m not gonna leave.”

“Don’t mess with me. I don’t have time for games about how we’ll talk. How you’ll call me when Kathy’s not around.”

“For God’s sake, Olivia, let me explain.”

She rolled her shoulders, picking a spot on the wall to stare at. “Fine.”

Elliot took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts and remember everything he’d come over here to say. “I’m not moving out of the country. I’m not taking that job in Italy. Kathy and I are getting divorced. I’m leaving SVU.”

“Well, damn. Way to soften the blow,” Olivia said, her sarcasm falling flat with the hurt in her voice. 

He finally moved to sit beside her, grabbing her hand. “Hold on, ‘kay? I’m not leaving you.”

“What?”

He smiled, pushing the hair out of her face as she turned to look at him. “For better or worse, alright? We’re still gonna be partners. No matter what.”

“You are leaving, though,” she protested, eyes searching his.

Elliot nodded, looking at the floor for a moment. “Yeah, SVU. It’s getting to be too much.”

“How’re you not leaving me then?” Olivia asked.

He grinned. “Come on, you’re a better detective than that.”

Her brow wrinkled. “Elliot, what are you saying?”

His eyes darted down to her lips. “Well, I’m saying in a few seconds I’m gonna kiss you, and if you don’t want me to, say something now.”

Olivia gave him a rueful look. “How could you scare me like that, you son of a-”

“Time’s up.”

“Then, kiss me, Stabler.”

So he did.