The Station House

Chapter 2

The alarm clock on Livs nightstand doesn't beep more than once before she abruptly hits the off button resuming the silence in the room. She's been awake for hours. She can't stop thinking about what happened last night. For years she's wanted nothing more than the slightest clue that he felt the same way about her. She never could have expected what happened, last night was more than she ever could have dreamed of, yet she fears it's all she'll ever get.

She lays there playing it over and over again in her head. Has he always felt that insatiable desire for her? She ponders on all their moments that she holds dear to her heart. All those years she spent second guessing whether he had feelings that resembled her own. She sighs heavily, disheartened by the idea of things going back to the way they were.

She jumps out of bed walks to the closet and looks for something to wear. She scans all the regular professional pant suit get ups but ultimately settles on something more casual for the day. She grabs a mid cut blouse and a pair of her favorite jeans.

She pours herself a cup of juice and pretends to read the morning paper while waiting on a pot of coffee. She reads a few paragraphs before trailling off and letting her mind go free. She thinks about the events that unfolded last night, yet again. This time no longer downplaying the fact she almost let her partner fuck her in the middle of their office.

She gets completely lost in the thought, entranced in the idea of letting him take her. The coffee pot beeps to alert her that it's done and she jerks suddenly, pulled back to reality. She walks over and pours herself a cup of coffee before heading out the door, locking it behind her and continuing the rest of her morning routine.

She stops at a donut shop she frequents on the way to work and collects a few of her favorites. Elliot slips into her mind again and she can't help but think about how his idea of breakfast is a bag of chips out of the vending machine, and he might not have grabbed anything to eat before heading into work. She asks for a couple extra donuts she knows he likes before leaving the shop and heading to the car.

She makes her way through the downtown traffic and is caught off guard when she realizes how nervous she's becoming as she gets closer and closer to the station house. Each block making her stomach turn, accompanied by a butterfly feeling in the pit of her stomach that she can't seem to shake.

She pulls up in front of the office and parks her car in her usual spot. She exits the car and makes sure she has everything she needs for the day before locking her car and heading towards the door.

She steps up to the steps of the precinct and the cutesy butterflies feeling in the pit of her stomach has now become a whirlwind. She shakes her head and mutters "Keep it together Olivia" before taking a big breath and walking up the stairs.

As she walks into the room she notices everyone in their usual spots. Fin and Munch across from each other. Munch predictably rambling on about some political nonsense that it's too early for. Elliot's sitting at his desk eyes focused on a paper seemingly in a different world entirely. As soon as she walks up he lifts his head and quickly lock eyes with her. She was half expecting some sort of awkwardness or avoidance but he just looks her over briefly before a smirk creeps over his face "Good morning."

"Good morning." She replies anxiously. "I brought you a couple donuts, I was at the shop and figured you might be hungry." "Ooohh is it from that place on Thompson we love?" he lowers his head in a hopeful inquisitive way. She smiles "You know me too well. Of course it is. 2 bear claws okay?"

"Who knows who too well?" He jokes.
She hands him the bag, as he reaches for it he caresses her hand with his thumb, looks her up and down, and smiles as he pulls the bag away. He excitedly pulls one out and doesn't hesitate to take a too large of a bite-bite of the donut. He smiles "It really is the little things I'm grateful for Liv. " He looks around the office briefly before winking at her and taking a drink of his coffee.

She smiles nervously attempting to remain calm. She's not sure if she's dreaming, if she's losing her mind, or if this actually happening. Is Elliot fucking Stabler flirting with her in a completely non subtle way, in the office, with their coworkers just feet away? She can feel her face growing increasingly warm and mutters "I'm going to hit the ladies room real quick.", completely flustered.

He smiles in a proud smug way and goes back to looking at the paper on his desk. "Take your time" he says, "We're here all day."