Meet the Neighbors

By Evelien Michaels

CHAPTER ONE: Olivia Benson's POV

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

The sky was cloudy and gray when I entered the precinct this morning. Bad weather seemed to be a symbol of our entire unit's mood for the past few days. At first only Fin and Munch were working the case, but after another victim was killed, we were all anxious to catch those responsible for these horrible crimes.

Three days ago a woman, Alicia Stone, was raped and beaten to death with a lamp in Queens. She was a tall, blonde, beautiful model in her early twenties. Her parents were devastated by the sudden attack on their daughter, and told us about her many friends and her spotless school records.

The case was more than frustrating; not only did the perpetrator leave no DNA inside her, but there was no evidence suggesting anyone as a suspect. Then the next night, another young woman was killed, in the Upper Eastside, Alexia Schiel, who was an actress and once again a tall, blonde, woman in her early twenties.

She was raped like Alicia, but no semen was found inside her either. Dark purple bruises covered her body, and the shape suggested that she was also beaten with a lamp. After Munch found her body, the captain assigned Elliot and me to the case also.

We were relieved to be pulled away from our paperwork, however, I felt my soul being torn to pieces and those around me knew that ever since Kristin's attack, I was working harder and feeling more remorse for the victims who were being abused. Elliot was a big help to me though. Ever since we began dating, he was only a phone call away. It provided me a slight bit of comfort knowing that in several minutes he would be sitting on the couch with his arms wrapped around me. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without his support. At first I was afraid that Cragen would threaten to break us apart, but he understood that our relationship was more than a little "fling."

I heard the door open and close behind me, causing me to spin around to see who was here as early as I was.

"Liv… I'm sorry for startling you…" Elliot emerged from the shadows of the dimly lit precinct. My racing heart beat slowed down when I realized it was just my partner. The two of us laughed at how antsy I was.

"Coffee?" I asked pouring myself a cup and grabbing another for Elliot.

"Can't say no to that offer," he smiled, coming up behind me and snaking an arm around my waist.

"Here…" I returned his smile and spun around to face him, holding a cup of coffee for him.

"Are you ok Liv? You look kinda…"

"I'm fine El," I stated placing a quick kiss on his cheek, "it's just the case… don't worry about me."

He chuckled under his breath, "You know that I always worry about you Liv…" he took the cup from my hand and placed it back on the table.

Without a second thought I allowed my head to drop on to his shoulder. I let out a huge sigh; he smelled like shampoo and his skin felt cool against my warm hands.

"Elliot… this is wrong… we're at work…" I whispered, though inside I wished I never spoke those words.

"Olivia… it's not even 5 AM… we're more than four hours early…" he breathed into my hair.

"I know, I know… it just seems… wrong…" he sighed heavily, and I could feel his shoulders rise and fall underneath me.

"So… what should we do then?" he drew away from me and his sky blue eyes locked unto mine, taking my breath away.

I just stood there like an idiot, gazing into his eyes, unable to say anything.

"Liv…" Finally, I found the strength to look away from him and at the chalkboard before me.

"Well let's see if we can figure anything else out…" I sat down in my desk chair and began a search for both Alicia's and Alexia's phone records, praying that there would be some similarity.

"Ok then, what do you want me to do?" he plopped down on top of my desk, but I didn't dare look in his eyes.

"I guess you could look through some photos for comparisons."

"Like what?"

"Do you remember that one case where that serial killer showed up at each of the crime scenes as well as the victims' funerals?"

"So you get the fun stuff and I get to look at pictures… that's really fair Liv…" he smiled and I turned away from my computer, propping my feet up next to where Elliot was sitting.

"Oh yeah, going through phone records is really exciting…" I laughed, catching his gaze once again. That was a mistake… I told myself silently. He immediately challenged me with his eyes, but I worked up the courage to say, "oh no El, that's not gonna work! I told you, we're at work, so we are going to work…"

He raised his right eyebrow and responded, "Oh really… well we'll see how you feel about working in I dunno… fifteen minutes…"

I felt myself giving in to his smile, but I resisted kissing his lips and turned back to my work once again. "You're wrong Stabler…" Once he realized that I was serious, at the moment at least, he grabbed the chair and sat down across from me.

By 6:30 AM neither of us had found anything that seemed somewhat suspicious or even possibly relevant. Elliot seemed to be absorbed in his work, or at least pretending to be, I wasn't sure.

"You checking me out Benson?" he smiled, lifting his head to focus on me rather than his paperwork.

Damn it… he caught me looking… I thought, embarrassed that he noticed me staring at him. "So what if I am?" I grinned, leaning towards him and crossing my legs underneath the desk.

"Wanna take a break Liv… maybe get some more coffee?"

"I know about your little plan Stabler… it's not gonna work…"

"Oh come on Liv… you really gonna turn down coffee?"

I had no idea what he was up to really, but he knew me too well. It was almost impossible for me to turn down coffee. "Alright… one cup of coffee, but that's it Stabler… nothing else…"

We walked out of the office and I glanced at the clock, 6:35 AM. We had been in the station house for over an hour and a half, but hadn't found anything.

"Here let me get that for you…" his hand lightly touched mine as he took the cup from me.

"Are you alright El?"

"What do you mean?" he replied handing me a full cup of strong, black coffee.

"You're cold…"

"Well…" he smiled, "you could… warm me up…"

"Elliot!" I exclaimed sipping the hot liquid, "I can't believe you said that!" I nudged him in the shoulder playfully. He raised his cup to his lips, smiling as he literally chugged the fluid. Before either of us spoke again, I finished my coffee and walked back into the office. Within seconds Elliot was behind me, enclosing his arms around my hips and kissing my neck. I sighed and realized that I had been defeated.

"So, you wanna do more paperwork or what?" he asked sarcastically in between kisses. After completely giving in, I spun to face him and allowed myself to lean up against him. Our lips finally touched sending a shiver up and down my spine even after all these months of dating. He deepened the kiss, gently pushing me back against the desk. My mind was racing, unable to sort my thoughts. There was no other place I would rather be in the world. The feeling of his arms around me, him kissing me… I still had a hard time believing it was all true.

For awhile I made myself believe that it was ok. After all, we were extremely early, but I felt bad bringing this behavior to work.

"Elliot…" I broke away, licking my lips, "we can't do this here… It just isn't right…"

"It's alright Liv… I understand… how about we have dinner tonight…"

I thanked him for changing the subject, so I didn't feel so awkward, "Sure… what do you want?"

"Hmm… Italian?"

"Works for me…" I said, sitting in the desk chair once again. The clock was now displaying 7:05 AM, a half an hour before Cragen arrived. In several minutes my eyes had drifted shut, and I was leaning back in my chair, fast asleep.

Elliot must have turned music on, because the sound of Whitney Houston's voice filled the office shortly after. He started to laugh, which woke me from my slumber.

I eyed him evilly, questioning why he had woken me. I tipped back further in the chair, but it flipped over knocking me to the floor.

"I told you not to do that anymore Liv!" Elliot laughed, pulling me up off the ground and making me feel like an idiot.

"That's not nice El!" I said, punching him in the stomach.

"Hey Liv…"

"Yeah…"

"You wanna dance?"

"I don't dance Elliot… you know that…"

"Oh come on… please?" He gave me the old puppy eye look trying to make me feel like I did something wrong.

"Ok fine!" I stood up from the ground, and he instantly wrapped his arms around my waist. I slid mine around his neck, stepping closer to him.

"See… this isn't so bad, now is it?"

"No I guess it's not," I stated watching the light dance in his blue eyes. He smiled down at me; it was a smile that could make anyone melt at his feet.

"What?" I asked, wondering what was making him smile like that.

"You're so beautiful Liv…" he answered lightly placing a kiss on my lips. I didn't know what to say, so I just gazed into his eyes intently. The song slowed down and ended, so I released my hands from around his neck, but he didn't let go.

"Elliot?"

"Olivia…"

"What is it?"

"Liv… I wish I could hold you forever…"

"Well aren't you being romantic today…" I smiled. "Too bad we have to work…"

He pulled me tighter for a brief moment, then he let me go. "7:30…" I whispered, "Cragen will be here soon…"

"You're here early," Cragen stated turning the rest of the lights on.

"We've been here since five looking through phone records and photos…" I groaned pouring another cup of coffee.

"Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed," Munch murmured walking into the precinct, with Fin following behind him.

"Morning Munch, morning Fin," Elliot greeted, joining me for another cup of coffee.

"That stuff still fresh?" Fin asked.

"Yeah… here," I handed him a cup full of steaming coffee. After five minutes we were all sipping coffee and ready to work. We sat in silence looking at pictures, when I finally noticed something.

"Who are these people?" I asked, taking a marker and circling a couple found at the crime scenes of both the victims. The man looked about fifty and had an arm around the shoulder of a woman who appeared to be about twenty.

"Mr. and Mrs. Drake. They were Ms. Schiel's neighbors," Cragen answered.

"Ok… but how are the related to Ms. Stone?" Fin questioned, scratching his forehead.

"Well the ME said that Ms. Stone was killed about two months ago," I started typing like a maniac on the computer, "Two months ago Mr. and Mrs. Drake moved from Queens to the Upper Eastside… they were Ms. Stone's neighbors too…" I looked up at the Captain who seemed lost in thought.

"Munch, Fin go talk to the Drakes… Olivia, Elliot look for any other information you can find.

"Captain, we have a problem…" Munch declared, coming back into the precinct around one PM.

"You've been gone for almost six hours! What do you mean you have a 'problem?'?" Cragen was angry. The three of us spent the last six hours wondering where they were and going through phone records.

"The Drakes weren't home and we've been looking everywhere, no one knows where they went…" Munch argued.

"Captain we've been at this for hours and have no new information… maybe we can get lunch or something…" Elliot suggested, already grabbing his coat. Munch and Fin exchanged glances.

"We can't say no to that!" Munch agreed tossing Fin his jacket.

"You coming Cap?" Fin asked.

"No, I've been meaning to talk to an old fried of mine…" he answered.

"Ok then…" Fin put his coat on and followed the rest of us out and into our cars.

"Central Perk?" Munch radioed to Elliot and me.

I grabbed the radio and answered, "Sounds good to us."

We arrived at the café shortly after and were seated in the back towards the window. The guys all ordered burgers and fries, but I wanted a salad instead.

"You and your salads…" Munch sighed.

"Hey, it's not my fault I wanna drop a couple…" I joked, squirting low fat Ranch dressing on my salad.

They exchanged glances as I ate, "What?" I put my fork down and stared at them.

"You sound like Kristin…" Elliot teased.

"Oh yeah like weighing ninety-five pounds is really bad!"

"You women and your weight obsession…" Munch rolled his eyes. I threw a crouton at him and Fin burst out laughing. We finished our meals and everyone was once again staring at me.

"Now what did I do?" I asked.

"I believe it's your turn to pay," Munch replied.

"Ok fine…" I reached for my wallet, but Elliot touched my arm.

"I got this one Liv…" he smiled.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah… it's not a problem…"

"Aww how cute… look at that Munch…" Fin laughed.

"Thanks Elliot…" Munch followed Fin back to the cars, and I checked my watch as we headed out the door.

"It's almost 4:30 guys; do you think we should head back?" They nodded and we started driving back to the precinct, but were stopped by people who wanted donations.

I gave each of them a twenty dollar bill and continued driving. "What?" Elliot was staring at me again.

"You are Miss I-gotta-save-the-world now aren't you!"

"Shut up Stabler!" We pulled up in front of the precinct and led Munch and Fin up the stairs. I could feel Elliot's eyes on me once again and turned around whispering, "You better not be looking at my ass Stabler!"

He smiled, "So what if I am?"

I rolled my eyes and walked into the precinct. "Sorry we took long Cap…"

"We just received a phone call… another body was found two hours ago."