Author's Notes:

I am a Law and Order: SVU fanfic virgin, so be gentle with me please.

This story will be BOTH an EO and AO story. I am huge shipper of both couples and I could easily see Olivia being happy and in love with either Alex or Eliot. There are so many great EO and AO stories, but I have always wanted to read a story that explores both relationships in the same story and see with whom Olivia would end up with (if you know any stories like this, please let me know). Thus, I thought that I would try my hand at a story that explores EO vs. AO, explores the dynamics of each pairing, and explores the beauty and the ugliness of each pairing.

I haven't decided with whom Olivia will end up with yet. I thought I would start the story and see where it (and the reviews *hint hint*) leads me.

Important Timeline notes (please read so you are not lost):

1. This takes place two weeks after the Season 15 finale- i.e. two weeks after Olivia receives temporary custody of Noah. From there this story diverges from the canon.

2. In my world, Bensidy the redux never happened. I just never got Olivia and Brian Cassidy. Glad he was there for during the Lewis saga, but I always thought Olivia was settling.

3. Since Bensidy never happened, Alex was the one that was there for Olivia during the Lewis saga.

4. This story picks up with Elliot's return. He disappeared (for three years) the same way he did in the canon, but now he is back. I am not going to do the reunion scene between them, I think there are several stories on this site that do a better job than I could ever do with his return. This story is more about exploring EO vs. AO.

Disclaimer: If I owned any part of Law and Order, I wouldn't be writing fanfic. I promise you I wouldn't be.

Olivia Benson takes a deep breath, hoping it would to calm her nerves, as she enters Café Gitane. She glances around, looking the person she is there to have dinner with. Part of her hopes he has left already, she is after all nearly 45 minutes late. And she knows that this is bound to be an excruciatingly awkward…date? She is not sure what this meeting is supposed to be, but based on the ritzy, intimate setting, she has a strong feeling that this is supposed to be a date.

A date with Elliot Stabler. She feels like she has stepped in to the Twilight Zone. This cannot be real life. Café Gitane is certainly step up from the food trucks and bodega food he used to treat her with during their 13-year partnership.

His text had simply said Café Gitane. Thursday at 8:30pm. Wear something nice. Only Elliot could disappear for three years, casually reappear one day like his exit had not been one of the most traumatic experiences of her life, and disrupt the small piece of peace and stability that she had finally managed to find.

I had to leave, because I couldn't just be your friend anymore, Liv. He had said in her office upon his return. After a three-year absence, he had suddenly remembered where he could find her and had come to the precinct to talk to her. And not only had he decided that she was again worth talking to, he had decided that he wanted to be with her. Romantically. After not a word for three years. He just walked in a random Tuesday and blew her world apart. Asshole.

Her eyes land on said asshole sitting tucked away at a table in the furthermost corner. He had clearly wanted privacy for this…date. Elliot is dressed smartly in slacks and a blue button up. She notices that he has shaven the salt and pepper beard since the last- first- time she had seen him. It is definitely a date, Olivia muses.

Olivia smooths her sky blue, curve-hugging dress before she walks over to him. Almost as if sensing her presence, his bright blue eyes snap up and find her as she approaches. Apparently, three years had not changed their ability to sense each other. She straightens up a little taller as she feels his eyes travel up and down her body. She knows he will notice she is wearing his favorite color, very little is lost on the seasoned once detective.

He rises to greet her, "Hi." He reaches out to hug her. Olivia does not step into his embrace; instead, she sits in the seat opposite him. While she is willing to listen to what he has to say and even entertain the idea of a date with him, she is not ready to pretend that his treatment of her over the last three years has not cut her deeply.

"Hi, I'm sorry I am late. We caught a case-" She begins with the standard line she uses to explain to her dates why she was inappropriately late. She averts her eye and nervously unfolds her napkin.

"Liv. Liv." Her eyes snap up to his. He gives her a reassuring smile, new- at least new to her- wrinkles crinkling around his eyes. "Hey. It's me. I know." Realizing how silly it is to explain him, a man who had spent over twenty working SVU and a man who had spent almost half his life explaining why he was late to others, she smiles at him.

"Right. Sorry. I'm…" Nervous. She has no idea how to deal with the man that she had been friends with for 13 years, who no longer wants to be just friends. She has no idea how to relate to him now that they were no longer partners.

"Yea, me too." He acknowledges. His blue eyes scan her face as if searching for something. Olivia wonders if her face is still an open book to him. Whatever he is looking for he finds, he smiles confidently. "Thanks for coming."

Olivia lets out a wry laugh, "Because your message left me with much choice." She turns to the waiter as he comes up to the table, "Lilet Blanc, please?" The waiter nods and leaves to get her drink. Olivia turns back to Elliot who is staring at her intensely. Uncomfortable, she avoids his stare.

"You look beautiful." She flushes. It is the first time he has ever said that to her. She would be a liar if she said she was not pleased with his compliment.

She sips her water. "Tell me what you have been up to." She is determined to regain some semblance of control over the conversation. He had dominated the last conversation they had had, mostly because she had been so flabbergasted by his return and the subsequent bomb he had dropped, but this time she is determined to control the conversation and get the answers to her many, many questions.

He glances away from her, clearly uncomfortable. The small, petty part of Olivia savors finally throwing him off balance like he has thrown her, "I just started Queens SVU." Both of Olivia's eyebrows shoot up.

"'The much disgraced Queens SVU'? That Queens SVU?" Olivia asks incredulously. Queens SVU was barely surviving, marred by a long history of scandals, including dirty cops and improperly handled rape kits. Queens SVU currently has the lowest conviction rate of all the New York City's SVUs; there had even been talk of closing it down. She is surprised that Elliot, who had previously been vocal in his distaste for how Queens handled its cases, would consider working there. Much less, after the way his career had ended at Manhattan SVU.

"Yea. They cleaned house, got rid all'the dirt. They're tryna hire a new squad." He shrugs sheepishly. He sips his water nervously, "They want to raise the conviction rate-"

"And you have- had- one of the highest conviction's rates." Olivia fills in. Elliot gives a quick predatory smile. They both know he had been damn good at the job and had loved the job. That is why she can not understand how he could just walk away from it-her- without looking back, "They offered a sweet package. Say in a few months I can sit for the Sergeant's exam." He aggressively rips a piece of bread in half and stuffs it in his mouth. Olivia glances at his arms, he had filled out even more since he had left. He had definitely been in the gym in the last three years. She has to admit he looks good. Nearly fifty and he still has it. But she will not tell him that, his ego is big enough already.

"If only they knew what you used to say about that place." She teases. He laughs. She smiles. For a second, it is like three years have not elapsed and they are still Benson and Stabler.

But three years had gone by, and they are no longer the same, "Ever think of coming back? " She asks softly, feeling vulnerable asking the question.

"No." There is no uncertainty in his voice. It hurts, she had thought he had burned out from the job; turns out that he was not finished with the job, just finished being her partner. As if he can feel her walls and hackles rising, he says "Liv, I can't come back to Manhattan, because you'd be my CO. And I'm not sure how much has changed since I've been gone, but I'm fairly sure, tryna get into your CO's pants is still frowned upon."

Shocked by his forwardness, Olivia lets out a startled laugh, "You tryna get into my pants, Stabler?"

Watching her intensely, he says, "And more." And just like that, Olivia has lost the upper hand. She finishes the last of her water and looks around for waiter. Where was her damn drink? Maybe she should order something a little stronger, because the way this conversation was going, she was going need hard liquor to deal.

Butterflies erupt in her stomach as she plays his words back. There was a time she would have given anything to hear him says those words or words like them. But three years had gone by and so much has changed, she has changed. She does not know how she is supposed to feel now. "Liv, I'm asking for a chance."

"What happened with Kathy?" She deflects. She is not ready for this conversation. She is here for answers.

He glances away again. Absentmindedly, he rubs his bare left ring finger, "We divorced." Silence envelops them. Olivia realizes that is all he is going to say on the topic. Typical Elliot.

The waiter finally brings her drink and sits it down in front of her. Before the waiter can step away, Olivia throws back the drink and finishes it in a few gulps, "Another, please." The waiter shoots her a disturbed, slightly judgmental look. Olivia could care less. She needs to survive this conversation. And a lot of alcohol is the only way she was going to.

"Could you try to look a lil' less terrified." She can hear the annoyance seep in to his voice.

"Less terrified?" Olivia hisses at him, "Are you serious? After ignoring my texts, calls, voicemails, emails, smoke signals for the last three fucking years, you walk back in the same way you walked out -no explanations, no apologies, nothing- and, now you want to be what? I don't even know!" She can hear the slight hysterical edge in her voice, but she is finally getting a chance to say what she has wanted to say to him, and it feels too good to stop, " How did we get here, Elliot? Did Kathy leave you again and you got a little lonely? Did you wake up one day and decide you want to be with me-"

" I did not just wake up one day and decide that I wanted to be with you!" He yells. A few people at neighboring tables glance at them, but she is too busy returning Elliot's furious glare to notice, "You think this is easy for me? To come back after all the shit we've been through, to come back and admit I was wrong-"

"I have yet to hear an apology-" She tries to interrupt, but he is not having it.

"I did not wake up one day and decide that I wanted – do you know what I have given up to be here? I had to talk to..." He trails off. A therapist. She realizes and she is surprised, the Elliot Stabler she knew would knew would have had to been dragged to a therapist at gunpoint. Suddenly as it came, the anger leaves him ," This isn't easy for me either." He whispers lowly. He looks away from her and she realizes that he has closed down. She knows she will get no more from him today. To try would be a futile effort. And maybe she was not ready to hear it. They are done.

She pushes her chair back and stands up, "Well I guess I get to walk away this time."

Without even looking her, he jabs back, "Wouldn't be the first time." That hurts her, deeply. She straightens up even more and walks out. As she turns the corner, tears blur her vision to the point where she can barely see, but she continues walking away.

Olivia fiddles nervously with her skirt as she steps into the elevator of One Hogan Place. She hates wearing skirts, but she had to testify in court earlier that day, so a skirt it was. She feels comforted by the fact that she is fairly confident that they will win this case; her squad had done a thorough job collecting evidence and Barba had been in great form today. There were never any guarantees, but she had seen the looks of disgust the jury members had shot the defendant. She has a feeling she and squad would be going out to drinks to celebrate in a few days.

Since she was already downtown and the courthouse was a short distance from the District Attorney's Office, she had decided to walk over after she was done testifying.

She wants to see Alex. If she is honest with herself, she more than wants to see Alex. Though they had been on and off for nearly 14 years, and they had highs and lows, no one she had ever dated had ever been as there for her as Alex had been earlier this year. It makes her nervous how essential Alex has become to her life, because depending on people and letting them in will only blow up in her face and cause her heartbreak. Elliot had taught her that. She feels her eyes start to water at the thought of Elliot and their disaster of a date the previous night. She will deal with the consequences of letting Alex get too close another day; right now, she just needs to smell Alex's overpriced perfume. Baccarat's Les Larmes Sacrees de Thebes. She can hear Alex mentally correcting her. She mentally rolls her eyes.

Part of her is nervous. She has not talked to Alex in nearly two weeks. They had an argument last time they talked.

I am forty-three, Alex.

You want to talk about having children together, Liv, but you can't even say 'I love you' to me.

The next day the judge had granted her temporary custody of Noah.

She had not heard from Alex since. Though Alex did send a $10,000 gift certificate for Babies 'R' Us to her apartment. Olivia had sent it back. Undeterred, Alex had resent the gift certificate plus a ridiculously large bear and balloons to the precinct. Olivia had been embarrassed by the "Congrats, it's a Boy" balloons and the bear, but she was secretly pleased. She knows Alex well enough to know that, in her own way, Alex's message to her was: Congratulations. I am not ready to talk yet, but I am happy for you.

She took the bear and the balloons home to Noah, but still sent back the gift certificate. She does not want Alex's money. She wants Alex to want Noah.

The elevator dings letting her know that she has arrived to Alex's office floor- the second highest floor in the building. Knowing the way well, she walks down the hall to Alex's office suite. The door reads:

EADA Alexandra Cabot

A thrill runs through Olivia. She loves seeing the acknowledgement of Alex's hard work and ambition. Alex's passion and ambition are two things that have always drawn Olivia to Alex. They are also two of the reasons they argue so much. She smiles remembering what happens after their heated arguments. She knocks on the door.

"Come in." She hears Alex's alto voice call. She pushes open the door and steps in. The office is large and sunny; the classical and expensive décor matches Alex's personality perfectly. In the center of the office, Alex sits behind her desk. Alex is on the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Attorney General." Olivia raises her eyebrow at Alex. Alex merely shrugs like it is an everyday experience to be on the phone with the Attorney General. "Excuse Mr. Attorney General, can you give me a minute, something that needs my attention just came in. Thank you, sir." She puts down the phone and stalks to Olivia, using her long legs to her advantage. Stalk is the only word she can use to describe what Alex is doing. Alex is a lioness on the hunt and Olivia is her prey.

In a few strides, Alex crosses the span of her office and is crowding Olivia. With little choice, Olivia steps back until her back is pressed firmly against the door. Her heavy chest pushes out and heaving in anticipation of Alex's next move. Glancing down at Olivia's chest on display, Alex's gray-blue eyes flash hungrily. She steps further in to Olivia's space.

"You are wearing a skirt." Olivia can barely process what Alex says. She can only focus on Alex's glossy pink lips. She loves Alex's lips- they are Alex's most deadly weapon- both in and out of the courtroom. Olivia licks her lips subconsciously. Like a true predator, Alex's eyes, behind her black, thick-framed glasses, follow the movement of Olivia's tongue. Alex leans down slightly, bringing her mouth even closer to Olivia's lips. As if in a trance, Olivia parts her lips slightly, as if to encourage the kiss. "You are wearing a skirt." Alex repeats whispering against Olivia lips, but still not kissing her. Olivia nods dumbly. Part of her hates how Alex can render her stupid with so little effort; a bigger part loves how strong their sexual chemistry is. No one else could arouse her and play her body like Alex does.

Alex slides her leg between Olivia's thighs and nudges them apart. Obediently, Olivia spreads her legs. Her skirt rides up. This was not what she had planned for her visit to Alex's office. She had just wanted some comfort- well, this was a form of comfort, she supposes. Alex presses her thigh against Olivia's core. Olivia moans softly and rubs herself shamelessly against Alex's thigh. She can feel herself getting wet. She knows that if she continues rubbing against Alex's thigh, Alex will eventually have a wet spot on her skirt suit. But at this moment, Olivia does not care, Alex has started this and Olivia wants to finish.

"Hush, you wouldn't want someone to walk by and hear you." Alex murmurs, "They may come in and see you rubbing yourself against my leg, desperate for an orgasm." Olivia flushes and she is sure that it is a full body flush, but she does not stop rubbing herself against Alex.

Alex smiles predatorily at her. She leans in a finally kisses Olivia full on the mouth. The kiss is hard, punishing almost. Olivia responds in kind. She knows that Alex is still upset over their last fight and she expressing it through this kiss. Olivia nips at Alex's lips, harder than she should; she is mad that Alex has not come to meet her foster son and that Alex thought her anger could be bought off.

She and Alex have the unhealthy habit of fucking through there problems rather than talking them through. It has caused many problems for them over the years, but it also made for hot passionate, angry, sex.

After a particularly vicious nip at her lips, Alex twists Olivia's nipple through her shirt in retaliation. The pain sends a jolt directly to Olivia's core and she feels a resulting flood of wetness. Embarrassed by her body's response to Alex, she turns her head away. Alex grabs her face and forces Olivia to meet her eyes again. Olivia's breath is taken away by the lust and desire she sees in Alex's eyes. Olivia is not sure, after more than a decade, how someone could still want her that much. It was as if Alex could never get enough of her, and she could never get enough of Alex.

Alex's eyes, now shades darker, sought and held Olivia's almond eyes. Olivia can feel Alex's other hand creep up the inside of her thighs. "Alex?" She whispers. She is not sure what she is asking. All she knows is Alex's name. It is the only word going through her mind right now.

"Miss me?" She murmurs as her fingers glide up closer to Olivia's core. Olivia pushes her hips forward impatiently trying to rush Alex's ascent and in hopes that she can get Alex's fingers where she needs them to be. She needs Alex to be in her; pumping in and out her and giving her pleasure. She honestly was seconds away form begging for it. Of course, she would deny ever begging seconds after the climaxed, but right now she would beg if Alex asked her to. Alex's fingers hook onto Olivia's panties, brushing lightly against her heated core. Olivia's head rolls back, banging against the door loudly. She barely registers the pain. Alex chuckles and releases her face to rub the back of her head that she just hit.

Alex begins to pull her panties down her thighs, lightly touching her as she drags them down. "Miss me?" she repeats. Olivia nods again vigorously. She would agree to anything right now, just as long as Alex continues. Alex smiles softly- it is the first sign of tenderness that she has shown since Olivia has walked through the door. "Step." Olivia realizes Alex wants her to step out her lace panties, which are now down by her feet. Olivia steps out of her panties immediately. Her chest is heaving in anticipation, her nipples rock hard cutting through her blouse. If she could see herself from the outside, she be thoroughly ashamed, but she is too in the moment to care.

Alex trails her fingers back up Olivia's thighs. Olivia spreads her legs a little wider to urge her on. Alex watches Olivia's eyes as she slowly fingers her, gathering Olivia's juices on her finger. Unable to help herself, Olivia moans.

Quickly, Alex steps back from Olivia. Olivia almost falls, not ready to support herself. Confused, she watches as Alex bends down and collects Olivia's panties. Alex puts the two fingers that were touching Olivia in her mouth and watches Olivia as she cleans Olivia's juices off her fingers. Finished Alex turns and walks back to her desk.

Olivia mouth drops in shock as she watches Alex twirl her panties and she picks up the phone again.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Mr. Attorney General. It was a very pressing matter." Alex mouth 'you'll get these back later' waving Olivia's panties.

Olivia mouthed back "tease."

Alex blew her kiss.

Bitch.

Read and Review please and thank you. Let me know your thoughts and your couple.