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property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
A Quiet Drive
By ralst
Elliot Stabler stared through the windshield as his partner drove the car at breakneck speed towards the station house. He dared not speak. His last comment had been met with such vitriol that he was afraid Olivia would try to shoot him if he so much as opened his mouth.
He shifted in his seat.
Loosened his tie.
Combed a hand through his hair.
He couldn't take the silence. "They might not be dating."
"What!" Elliot winced. "You said they were going to Marco's."
"Yes, I know." As the car careened around a corner he wished he'd done the sensible thing and kept his mouth shut. "But it might not be a date."
"Not a date?" Olivia slammed on the breaks, her murderous glare aimed at the traffic lights for a split second, before reverting back to Elliot. "Who the hell goes to Marco's for anything other than a date?"
"Well..."
"Not just a date," she seethed, "but a date sure to be followed by four hours of hot, unbridled sex."
Elliot wondered if he should take Kathy there for their next anniversary. "You can't know that for sure." He was thrown back into his seat as Olivia slammed on the gas. "Jesus 'Liv."
Olivia's knuckles turned white as she squeezed the life out of the steering wheel, secretly imagining that it was the neck of a certain defence attorney. "Slimy bastard."
Horns blared and Elliot sent a silent prayer to the patron saint of insane motorists that his partner wouldn't drive them into a ditch. "Do you honestly think Alex is stupid enough to date that..."
"Slimy bastard."
"...that slimy bastard?"
Olivia's jaw clenched.
"Do you?"
There was a second's pause before Olivia eased up on the gas pedal. "I guess not." She merged into the left-hand lane. "But he might have fooled her." The car swerved across the interchange. "Taken advantage of her good nature."
Elliot snickered. "Are we talking about the same Alex Cabot?"
"Yes!" Olivia's foot slammed to the floor, propelling them to within an inch of the car in front's back bumper. "You don't realise how vulnerable she is, especially to the likes of Langan."
"Oh yeah, every time she rips me a new one, I'm sitting there thinking 'now there's one vulnerable little ball buster'." Elliot's ribs groaned as the seatbelt dug into his chest. "It's good to know the breaks work," he wheezed.
Olivia ignored him.
As the station house came into view Elliot began uncurling his fingers from the dashboard. "Next time, I drive."
Two uniformed officers scrambled to safety as Olivia swerved into the first available parking space. "I'll meet you inside."
Left alone, Elliot took a moment to compose his shattered nerves, before following his partner into the station house. The prospect of witnessing Olivia going ape-shit on that cretin Langan quickened his pace, but the thought of Alex eviscerating his partner in the middle of the squad room kept him from breaking out into a run.
The squad room was absent sounds of torture and pain, so Elliot was pretty sure that Langan couldn't be within a hundred yards.
"El?"
He turned at the sound of his partner's voice, his shoulders hunched in a defensive pose. "'Liv?"
"Could you finish the paperwork on Eldridge?" She smiled.
Elliot was taken aback by the look of glee on Olivia's face. "What's going on?"
Olivia shrugged, but the nonchalance she was trying to project was marred by the all consuming grin on her face. "I need to leave early."
"Why?"
"It's my fault." Elliot turned to see their ADA saunter back into the room, a determined look on her face. "I'm stealing her away for dinner."
"Dinner?" Elliot was sure he'd turned into the village idiot. "I thought you were having dinner with Langan?"
"Trevor?" Alex's tone was not friendly. "Why on earth would I have dinner with him? He's a..."
"Slimy bastard," Olivia supplied.
"Yes, but a slimy bastard whose brother-in-law is part owner of Marco's," Alex explained, "so he does have his uses."
Elliot replayed the conversation he'd heard between Alex and slimy bastard. "Oh." He smiled sheepishly at Olivia. "I guess I misinterpreted..." He looked at his watch. "Look at the time, you head off and I'll finish up the report."
Alex watched as Elliot practically ran from the room. "Three years and I still don't understand that man."
"He's a mystery," Olivia agreed.
Placing her hand on Olivia's shoulder, Alex lowered her voice until she was almost whispering. "Pick me up in an hour." Olivia nodded. "And don't forget to bring your toothbrush."
Olivia only smiled.
The End