Operation Heart

Memory Lane

When they got to Cragen's house, both men could see that Olivia was nervous. "You don't have to confront him about lying to you if you're not ready, Liv," Fin said softly. He was sitting right beside her, and noticed how she had kept adjusting her grip on the steering wheel throughout the drive.

She sighed and looked at him as she put the car in park. "We both know I'm never really going to be ready to confront him, Fin. But I need to, because the longer I let this anger sit and fester, the worse it will be for me. I've already waited three months," she admitted as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Can you two stay in the car for a few minutes, please? I'll text Fin when you can come in."

"Of course, Liv."

"Yeah, Cap," Elliot said right before Olivia got out of the car. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans before she walked up the couple of steps to the front door of the house she knew almost as well as her own. She reached over and rang the doorbell, bouncing slightly from the nervousness. "I hope she doesn't end up hating him," Elliot murmured.

Cragen opened the door with a smile on his face, though it was clear he was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here, Liv?" He inquired and hugged her tightly before they stepped into his house, the screen door closing behind them.

"You and I need to talk. I thought we decided twenty-two years ago that we weren't going to lie to each other, or keep secrets anymore," she said as she sat down on the couch, fidgeting with her hands.

He sighed as he looked at her, the woman who was his daughter, in so many ways. "You know that Elliot's alive, don't you?" She nodded, not looking at him, not wanting him to see the tears filling her eyes.

"I promised you no more secrets, and you promised no secrets. Why didn't you tell me? After everything we've been through together? For years, you were one of the two people I knew I could trust."

1999

Elliot was entering the precinct after running out to pick up some lunch for his squad. "Stabler, Cragen wants to see you in his office. I think he found your new partner," Munch told him as Elliot placed sandwiches on his, Munch, Cassidy, and Jefferies's desks. He then made his way to Cragen's office.

"You wanted to see me, Cap?"

"Come in and have a seat, Elliot."

Once he was sitting down, he nervously looked at Cragen. "Is this about my new partner?" He inquired and raised his eyebrow.

"Yes it is. The bastards over at OnePP sent over your new partner's resume, and a bunch of his references. He seems like an amazing detective, and a great addition to our unit. But for some reason they didn't send over his name. He should be here soon though."

"Alright, thanks, Cap. I can't wait to meet him." Elliot didn't really seem particularly happy to be getting a new partner.

They then heard a soft chuckle from the doorway. "Why is it that whenever a cop has great references, everyone assumes it's a man?" A distinctly female voice inquired. Both men turned toward the voice, and their jaws dropped, for two very different reasons, Elliot couldn't stop looking at her body. She had dark brown hair that went to right above her shoulders. Her brown eyes looked like pools of melted chocolate that Elliot could get lost in. She wore a t-shirt that hugged her chest in a way that left little to the imagination. Her pants seemed to be just as tight. Cragen knew her. "And the name is Detective Olivia Benson," she added, smiling ever so slightly.

"I'm Elliot Stabler, your new partner. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well."

"Stabler, can you please give me and Detective Benson a moment? You can leave the door open." Elliot left and Olivia took his seat, neither her nor Cragen would break eye contact. As they spoke, their voices were quiet enough that none of the detectives out there could hear them.