Zebras

"Stuckey said you went to get sushi. You and raw fish?" Olivia quipped, still in shock of what had transpired before her eyes.

Elliot chuckled dryly, still in shock as well, not knowing what to say.

They made their way back to the squadroom and told the team what happened. Olivia told them she was taking Elliot to the hospital to get checked out since he was still slightly bleeding from the cuts on his chest, thanks to Stuckey.

"Liv, I told you I'm fine. I'm not going to the hospital," Elliot argued.

Before she could respond, Captain Cragen interjected. "Elliot, you're going to the hospital with Olivia and that's all I wanna hear about it. Also, you and Olivia have a week off. No objections." He held his hand up when they began to protest and pointed to the elevator, silently telling them to leave. Olivia mouthed the words 'thank you' to him with a small smile as they left.

Once they made it to the hospital, Elliot was examined, stitched up and bandaged. He was told that the cuts weren't that deep and that he was fine to go home.

He put his dress shirt back on and as he started buttoning it up, he caught Olivia watching him and tried to joke. "Like the view?" He quipped with his signature Stabler smirk that always made her smile.

All he got in return was a weak smile and a nod of her head, not making eye contact with him. If she did, she would cry. Olivia Benson did not cry, especially in front of her partner. She had to be strong for him. And herself.

"Liv, I'm okay. Stuckey was a little punk who obviously didn't know where to cut to cause serious damage. You really think you can get rid of me that easily? Think again," he tried to joke again and that's when he saw her bite her lip to stop herself from crying.

"I could've lost you, El. I don't know what I would do without you," she admitted softly with a sniffle and Elliot pulled her into his arms.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that 'cause I'm not going anywhere," he said with a smile as he held her in his arms.

Just then, the curtain to their small area opened and they both turned their heads to see Kathy, Elliot's ex-wife.

"Elliot, what the hell happened? James called me and told me that you had been cut," Kathy said frantically, not realizing her slip up.

"James? You mean Dr. Reynolds, right?" Elliot said with a smirk as he kept one arm around Olivia's waist.

Shit, Kathy thought. She tried to cover it up by saying, "Well, he saw that I'm your emergency contact person and since he was your doctor, he called me."

Elliot shook his head with a smirk still on his face and said, "Nice try, Kathy. Liv is my emergency contact person. I'm glad to know you're moving on though so you can stop calling me all hours of the day and night to come over so we can "work things out"," he said, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Well, it seems like you are, too. Good luck with that," Kathy hissed as she eyed Olivia up and down then rolled her eyes and left.

Olivia was silent during the whole exchange and when Elliot caught her wide eyed expression, he chuckled and explained. "Kathy has been seeing Dr. Reynolds, or should I say, James, for about a year now. She just didn't know I knew about it," he said, still with that signature Stabler smirk on his face.

Olivia chuckled in disbelief then said, "So, wanna get outta here?"

Elliot laughed and grabbed his jacket as he said, "Let's go."

One hour later

After stopping at Elliot's apartment so he could grab some fresh clothes and pack an overnight bag, Olivia and Elliot were sitting next to each other on her couch watching TV and eating Chinese food from their favorite place. Suddenly, Olivia set her food on the coffee table and took a deep breath.