suspect

chapter 5

They were quiet on the car ride to Mill's listed residence. Olivia wasn't sure if she should be mad, annoyed, or excited. All of the emotions just made her nervous.

"You know, if you told Dodds that your daughter was one of the victims he'd never have allowed this," Olivia said to break the silence. "You could have said something."

"So could you," Elliot fired back simply.

Olivia continued to watch the road, tapping the steering wheel.

"Come on, Liv, admit it. It felt good to bounce off each other in there and figure out a case. It was like I never left. You know that nobody works better together than you and me. If anyone is going to find the prick that raped my Lizzy, it has to be Benson and Stabler."

She couldn't disagree, but she wasn't going to let him know that. She remained silent. She still felt the need to stay guarded, like he could turn her life upside down again at any moment. She didn't want to get too attached, but it was difficult not to. Being with Elliot was so… easy.

"Liv," Elliot began, lowering his voice like he was about to tell her a secret. "I don't know how else to apologize."

She glanced at him briefly and sighed before turning back to the road. "I don't need you to apologize again, Elliot," she explained. "I just…"

"You need time?"

She nodded. "Yeah… I guess."
Elliot nodded and his lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Well, I just hope all this time hasn't put a damper on our long-lasting sexual tension," he said as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

Olivia's jaw dropped and she turned completely toward him for the first time since they'd been in the car. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Elliot was laughing at her reaction. "Oh don't play naive, Liv!"

"Um… I'm not… But in twelve years of sexual tension it was never once addressed, so forgive me if I'm a little shocked!"

"Wrong," Elliot said. "It was addressed after Gitano when you left for Computer Crimes and it was addressed five years ago when I couldn't say goodbye to you."

"Okay, it was never address out loud," Olivia corrected. Elliot continued to laugh as he watched the people he passed through the window.

Olivia tapped the steering wheel again. "Kathy confronted me about it once," she said. She saw Elliot's face turn to her in her peripheral vision. "Said she worried that you would rather spend time at work with me than at home."

Elliot focused on the people outside again and shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes I did," he said.

"I know," Olivia replied. She couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. The topic of conversation something she never thought they would address. It was funny to her. They both knew that the sexual tension was no secret, but they never dared mention anything at the time. "But hell if I was going to tell her that. You're an idiot," she added.

They pulled up to Mills' apartment complex and got out of the car. It was so natural to them that they didn't even notice it, but anyone else would have seen that the detectives' steps were perfectly in sync as they walked.

…
Olivia let out an exasperated breath and rubbed her neck to relieve the tension. She and Elliot sat at her desk. The rest of the precinct was empty. "His apartment is cleared out, his probation record was perfect, no other criminal activity, family says they haven't seen him… I don't know where else to look for this guy."

Elliot finished his last bite of takeout and set the box down on Olivia's desk. "It's like he just went cold-turkey off his meds one day and started raping again," he said.