The Affair

35

Hi, I'm back on this story. The end is near for this one. However, I have another Bensler story going. The Love of Olivia Benson. I also have another original story going called Blood-borne. Give it a read and pass it on please. 

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Elliot and Olivia had been on desk duty for a week now. While they weren't on punishment, Cragen wanted them to take a backseat for a while so that Eli's trial didn't overshadow other cases. He'd put in a request for a new temporary team. They sent over a couple of greenhorns. One was Nick Amaro, the other was Amanda Rollins. They took over all of their cases while the trial was taking place. 

It wasn't what Elliot or Olivia wanted. They handed over their cases very reluctantly, with tense, angry faces towards the new people. Liv was sitting at her desk, clicking her pen with annoyance. It was a bad habit that Elliot found cute. He leaned back in his own chair, watching her watch the new team with relish in her eyes. 

He picked up a wadded piece of paper and threw it to her. It hit her in the chest and she jumped. She took the paper and looked at Elliot with a shocked glare. He grinned innocently and shrugged. She chuckled and tossed it back to him, who caught it and stuck his tongue out. He leaned forward to pick up the phone that started ringing while looking at Liv. "Stabler." 

He listened for several moments. "Yes, okay, I will be right there." He hung up and sighed deeply, grabbing his jacket and standing. 

"What's wrong?" Liv asked, standing as well. 

"At school, Eli had a meltdown in class. Started throwing things. He's suspended for a week. I'm going to grab him and bring him here. I don't want to put another kid on Lucy," he stated, giving her a kiss on the head as he left. 

Liv sighed as she sat back down. This wasn't going to be an easy day. When the phones rang again, she answered. "Benson," she said exasperated. "Okay, thank you." She hung up and looked at the other two teams, Munch and Fin working on her sons case in one corner, and Amanda and Nick on the other working on a small case. "Nick, Amanda, a call came in about an assault at a brownstone. I'll text you the address." 

The nodded and left the squad as Liv did as she said and texted the address to Nick. It was another ten minutes before Elliot and Eli came back. Eli's face was red from crying. He took one look at Liv and started crying again, rushing to her and enveloping her in a hug. "Oh, Eli," she whispered, lifting him into her lap as he cried. Elliot watched as Liv comforted Eli. 

Another week went by with Elliot and Liv answering phone calls. They were getting increasingly restless watching the greenhorns go out and cover cases. Elliot just hung up the phone and told Amanda about the new call. Nick was at the hospital doing an interview on a previous case, so Fin decided to go with her. 

Liv had just gotten back with Eli, all dressed up in his best suit for court. They were going down to decided the fate of the guy that molested Eli and Ursa. Elliot drove there, holding Liv's hand. It was hard for him to be vulnerable right now, but it was extremely hard to deal with this. Elliot didn't remember walking into the courtroom. He barely remembers watching his son go up to the stand and relive what he went through. 

There was a buzzing in his ears as the jury delivered their verdict only 30 minutes. He looked at Liv, who had a satisfied smile on her face. She looked at him, knowing something was wrong. "They put him away, they got him," she repeated to him. He blinked back a couple tears and sighed. 

The man got 50 years for each account. It was a small victory for them. The bigger picture now was getting Eli the therapy he needed. The boy was having nightmares and acting out in school. He'd already been suspended again after just coming back after already being suspended. It was becoming a circle. 

Liv made a decision to call a therapist for him. "El, I called a therapist for Eli. Its tomorrow at 11." 

Elliot was munching on some popcorn and nodded. "Okay, I'll let Cragen know tomorrow when I get in." 

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This is another short chapter, but this book is ending soon.