Disclaimer: Are Elliot and Olivia constantly making out? Is Kathy off on some deserted island? Is the storyline good? No? Well that means they don't belong to me, and I don't own them. SVU belongs to Dick Wolf and Associates. Again, the main storyline is with huge thanks to ITV; creator of Wire in the Blood.

Author's note: …Sniffles. This is the last chapter of Serial. But do not fear, there is another story in the works called 'Lies'. It's about three chapters long so far, but I won't be posting it until I'm well into it. I have to thank the living daylights out of Kinsey and Sam for their wonderful contributions that you've all enjoyed immensely. They're angels, and I'm so, so grateful. Thank you my darlings!

Finally, to all of my loyal readers who read and review; thank you soooo much for going through this fun but mostly grisly (lol) journey with me. I love reading about what you think, and I'll take everything into consideration as I write 'Lies'.

I find it funny that people who don't leave reviews, are able to click the little button, favourite the story or me as an author, but don't bother to type three words and click submit, there aren't really any words…but there are a number of finger gestures! Lol. But please, if you read it, review it – leave some sort of comment that you enjoyed or hated it. It's the last chapter, so just take the time out to let me know what you thought. Better late than never!

I have one final recommendation for you all to read. A Winding Road by fire4effect is sensational. You want good casefile? Read this. It's so much like the show it's freaky, but the fantastic work by this author hasn't been rewarded. So go there are leave a review please! You can find the author in my Favourite Author page.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, the mystery is solved! Thanks for sticking with me,

xoxo Laura xoxo

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Stabler and Benson Residence

West 51st St, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 27

1:55am

"Shit," Olivia exclaimed, her voice thick with sleep, "what time is it?"

Elliot unwrapped his arms from around Olivia, reaching out and slapping at the alarm clock repeatedly; that is, before he realised the sound wasn't coming from it. The noise was in fact coming from both their beepers, buried in the neat pile of work clothes sitting at the end of their bed. Olivia seemed to regain some form of consciousness before Elliot, and rose unsteadily from the bed to retrieve the source of their annoyance.

Elliot finally turned his head to absorb what time it actually was, "it's not going to be good news," Elliot warned, realising it was barely two in the morning.

Olivia rubbed sleep from her eyes as she dug through their clothes for her work pants, "turn the lamp on for me?"

Elliot reached for his switch, flicking it on; flinching slightly as his eyes adjusted to the light that now filled his corner of the room. Stretching, he swung his feet over the side of the bed, raising his arms over his head in a vain attempt to work the kinks out.

"It's Cragen," Olivia sighed, "we've got another victim."

"Shit," Elliot swore under his breath, pausing halfway to the bathroom, his shoulders dropping where he stood.

Olivia walked towards him, his back still to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his back, just below his neck.

He relaxed under her touch, "come on El, we need to go."

He nodded; there was no use delaying the inevitable.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Corner East 51st and Broadway

Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 27

2:20am

The air was unseasonably sticky - almost suffocating - as they exited their sedan in the middle of the deserted road; save for the vehicles that belonged to those that were canvassing the scene before them. A car, its windshield smashed to pieces, was stationary in the left hand lane, it's headlights still on.

Olivia and Elliot approached Melinda, who was bending over the body within the light that streamed from one of the car's headlights. The volume of blood surrounding the body, and that which stained the car's interior and hood indicated a considerably violent death. One look at the victim's butchered body lying on the ground proved them right.

Melinda looked up, shaking her head, "two victims; one the owner of the car, Zack Mode, 34. The other," she gestured to the side of the car, where another body lay motionless, "is Paul Carey, 20. We called the girlfriend of the car's owner, and she had no idea who he was."

"How'd you know his name?" Olivia asked, moving around the front of the car, and opposite Melinda.

"He had a video card with a photo ID in his wallet," she pointed at the body in front of her with her pen, "and Mode had his registration and license in the car with him."

Olivia looked up from the body, "what was the cause of death?"

"Butchered, for want of a better word," Melinda said, "both victims were stabbed repeatedly with a knife consistent with a length of a machete. Both necks were slit from left to right; the carotid artery was sliced clean in half."

"Jesus," Olivia whispered, "no wonder there's so much blood."

Melinda pointed at the windshield, "CSU reckons Mode stopped for his killer, the windshield was shattered from the outside by the branch at the side of the road," she turned to Elliot, "there's glass embedded in its surface."

Elliot nodded, "he was pulled from the car?"

Melinda nodded, "as far as we can tell he was dragged by his collar, there's a tear in his shirt, and glass in his hair. But then again that could have been made by the knife as it was driven into his neck."

Elliot moved his eyes from the body Melinda was talking about, to the car's broken driver's side window; blood staining its edges and interior.

His gaze finally rested on the body to his left, the youthful face pale and yellowing in the artificial light, "So what were they doing together?"

Melinda shrugged, "there are no obvious signs of sexual activity, nor any indication that they even knew each other," she rose off her haunches, "maybe Carey was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Elliot shook his head in opposition, "I don't think so," he said, using his gloved hand to open that of the young male at his feet, "Liv, look."

Olivia retraced her steps to where Elliot was crouching, bending to look at what Elliot was pointing at. Elliot had pried open his fingers, revealing a number of marbles sitting in his palm. They watched silently as a couple rolled off his hand and onto the bitumen of the road under their feet; into a circle drawn using chalk. It looked like he was in the middle of a game of marbles before he was brutally attacked.

"The submissive," Olivia breathed, Elliot's head nodding to her left, "Huang was right."

Elliot sighed, standing straight again, "the Dominant crossed the line."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

16th Precinct, Manhattan, New York

SVU Squad-room

Sunday, October 7

9:20am

The mood in the room was decidedly sombre, another two faces added to their already over-crowded evidence board staring back at them in the middle of the room. Cragen was in his office, the door closed as he talked to the Police Commissioner on his phone.

"Paul Carey was on the list of ex-pupils from Graham Kenny's Special Needs Class in Manhattan," Olivia read off her computer screen, "he had a string of anti-social and violent offences to his name. However, he doesn't have any known associates."

Munch's phone rang, interrupting her report, "Munch," he answered.

Olivia re-focused her attention to her screen, "he spent time in a juvenile detention centre in Lower Manhattan where he was on the Learning Disability Program."

Huang nodded his head, "he's definitely the submissive then. A victim that never reported Kenny's advances because he lacked the capacity to know what was being done to him."

Elliot opened the lab report in front of him, "his blood matches the sample that was taken from the fridge in Paula Marshal's house."

Olivia shook her head, "his partner made him write in his own blood?"

Munch rose from his desk, "sorry to interrupt, but that was the manager from the shoe store we last canvassed for those work-boots. She says one of her employees admitted to stealing a size 11.5 work boot not long ago."

Fin dropped his pen, "guess that means we're going out?"

Munch nodded, "let's go."

Olivia watched as they disappeared down the corridor, "coffee?" she asked Elliot and Huang.

Huang declined, but Elliot remained silent, "Elliot?" Huang asked.

He finally tore his eyes off his computer screen, "guess what happens at the juvie centre that Paul Carey stayed in every night at 9pm?"

Olivia shrugged, "what?"

"Lock-in," Elliot answered, the pieces starting to fall into place.

Huang nodded, smirking, "a time when they could sit and fantasise."

Olivia began to type into her computer, "let's find out who he shared a room with and who he was closest to."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Shoes n' Sox

West Broadway, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 7

9:45am

"It was…just that she was so…adamant that I call the police is all." Marina Klein's large face was etched with worry and confusion.

Munch placed his hand on her forearm, ignoring Fin's smirk, "you did the right thing."

Marina nodded, "it's probably nothing. But she just seemed desperate is all."

Munch nodded in understanding, "did you have an address for Ms Cash?"

Marina reached under the counter for a folder, turning it so that Fin could note down her address.

While he copied down the necessary information, Marina leant forward over the counter, "thank you for coming in Detective," she eyed Fin who was purposefully avoiding looking at them, "I know you're incredibly busy."

Fin gave the folder back to her, "thank you for your help Ms Klein."

They moved for the entrance, "don't be a stranger," she called out, "and for the record, it's Miss Klein."

Munch stalked out of the shop before Fin could say anything; but he thought it best to beat him to the punch, "don't even…"

Fin's eyes widened in innocence, "I said nothing."

Munch pulled open the car door, "yeah, well don't."

Fin snorted, "Just cause she loves your bony ass."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Apartment of Sophie Cash

West 34th and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 7

10:00am

"Press it again," Fin instructed, moving back onto the footpath to look up at the windows of the apartment building.

They had been buzzing Cash's apartment for five minutes, but there was no answer. The building in question was considerably run down; and it was a safe-bet that it was both rat and cockroach infested. The front door, while locked, looked as though it would take limited effort to pull it off its hinges.

Munch was increasingly losing patience, so he pressed each button in succession, hoping at least one resident would open up for them.

"Who the hell is it?" A male voice boomed over the intercom.

"NYPD, can you buzz us in?" Munch asked.

"How do I know you ain't no crazy killer?" The voice replied indignantly.

"You'll either have to come down and look for yourself, or take our word for it," Munch said wryly.

There was silence, and then the buzzer to open the door sounded.

Munch turned to Fin, "didn't think so."

The entrance was dingy, cobwebs hanging in the corners on the ceiling. There was a dank smell, and the walls were stained with what they really didn't want to know. They moved slowly and silently down the main corridor, before scaling the stairs to the second floor; third apartment. Fin banged his fist against the door, calling out Sophie's name. There was no movement beyond the door that they could hear and the paper-thin quality of the wall wouldn't conceal much.

Fin turned to his right, noticing a woman's face staring back at them from the apartment next door, called out, "hey!"

She tried to close the door, but Fin's foot prevented it from closing completely. He winced as the door shut on his foot.

He ignored the pain, pulling out his badge, "I'm Detective Tutuola, and this is my partner Detective Munch," he pointed at Munch who was loitering behind him, "we're wondering if you could tell us about Ms. Cash from next door?"

The neighbour opened her door a little wider, sighing, "She lives with two guys, about twenty years old. Her boyfriend scares me, I try and keep out of the way."

Munch nodded, "anything else?"

She nodded, looking over their shoulders warily, "I don't want to seem like a gossip, but she had this terrible bruise on her eye this week, and another one on her side the week before. I think he hits her a lot."

Fin shook his head, "do you have any idea where they are now?"

"I saw them leave about a half hour ago. I don't know where," she replied, moving to close the door.

"Thanks for your help,"

They made their way to the top of the stairs, "we need to get in that apartment, call the precinct."

Munch pulled out his phone, dialling their Captain's number, "Captain, it's John. We followed a lead to Sophie Cash's apartment; she lives with two other young men, about 20."

Munch listened as Cragen relayed the information to those in the room with him, "Huang wants to know if she was abused."

"Neighbour says she often saw her with bruises, and that it seems like she's taking a beating from her boyfriend." Munch replied.

Munch heard Elliot's voice in the background, then Huang's and then their Captains, "Huang says that Cash is the Dominant's girlfriend. He reckons that his behaviour is going to escalate by involving her."

Munch's eyebrow rose, "is she in danger?"

More muffled voices, then, "Huang says definitely. And that she knows it," Cragen replied.

"What makes him think that?" Munch asked.

"Because she admitted to stealing the shoes; she wants someone to help her escape, according to Doc. Don't move, I'll get a warrant and be there ASAP with gang."

"Right, Cap," Munch said, hanging up.

He turned to Fin's questioning gaze, "I think we hit the jackpot."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Apartment of Sophie Cash, Paul Carey and Elias Tobin

West 34th and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 27

11:23am

"That was quick," Munch said, taking the search warrant from Cragen.

"Yeah, well Casey wasn't happy," Cragen sighed, "Was up my behind when I said she needed to find a judge on a Sunday."

Elliot kicked the door down, the jamb splintering with the force.

Cragen raised an eyebrow, "you couldn't wait?"

Elliot shook his head, pulling out his gun as a precaution, "We need to find these guys now; we can't wait anymore."

Olivia followed behind Elliot, clearing the small space as Munch, Fin, Huang, Cragen and the CSU techs filtered into the dirty and messy apartment. Cigarette butts, food wrappers and leftovers littered the floor of the main room; a large television sitting right in the middle, stationary and black; ominous.

Olivia noticed a framed photo to her right, lifting it for observation, "that's Paul Carey," she said to Fin, pointing at the male on the far left.

"And that's Sophie Cash," Fin said, pointing at the girl in the centre.

"And that must be the dominant," Olivia deduced, indicating the male that had his arm wrapped around Sophie's shoulder.

He was unattractive and brooding; his smile revealing a large gap-tooth and set of yellowing teeth. His hair was a dark brown and greasy, his gangly arms full of tattoos; his right one with a fierce-looking dragon winding it's way up his forearm, disappearing under the sleeve of his shirt.

"Guys, in here," Elliot called from the cramped bathroom at the back of the apartment.

Olivia and Fin joined Munch in the doorway, watching as Elliot pulled a bloody shirt out of the sink with a gloved hand, "Bag it," he directed one of the techs who was lingering behind the group.

They moved out of his way and instead into the grimy living-room; lifting the sofas cushions for anything that would help to find the identity of the last remaining in this trio of misfits.

"Got something," Olivia said, bending over to retrieve the wallet that had fallen from the gap between the sofa and pillow.

She opened it, moving the money and irrelevant receipts to the side, "no credit cards, but I think…yes." She finished, pulling out a video rental card, similar to the one Paul Carey owned from one of the pockets.

Elias Tobin leered back at her in the photo, just as creepy as the other photo she'd seen of him. She replaced the card in the wallet watching as Fin moved wrappers and food off the coffee table sitting in front of the couch.

"His name's Elias Tobin," Olivia relayed, placing the wallet into an evidence bag and into the waiting hands of a tech to her right.

"Let's see what they were watching," Fin said, switching on the television.

It seemed that they had been in the middle of watching a movie that had been taped, as the video machine whirred into life. On the screen appeared a woman, in her thirties tied to a tree, her mouth gagged. In front of her a fire blazed; and in it rested a knife, the flames licking at its surface, turning it red-hot. Her attacker was watching her in guarded amusement, before rising from where he was seated against a tree-stump, pulling the knife out of the fire. Surrounded by trees, the woman realised how isolated they were and gave up screaming against her gag, slumping against the tree she was tied to as her captor attacked her.

"That was on last night," Munch breathed, ignoring Fin's stare.

"Turn it off," Olivia said in disgust, startled slightly by the sound of Elliot's ringing phone.

"Stabler," Elliot answered, surprised to hear his Captain on the other end.

"Elliot, we just got a report of a male and female in their early twenties abducting a woman at knifepoint in your general area. They're driving a white SUV," Cragen paused, "we're circulating the description with strict orders not to attempt to apprehend them; he's extremely dangerous."

Elliot sighed, "we got a name of the remaining partner," he said as reply.

"I have the list of Kenny's students in front of me, run it by me," Cragen said, the sound of shuffling paper distinct in the background.

"Elias Tobin," Elliot answered, moving to the side as Olivia moved past him.

There was silence as Cragen scanned the list, "I have an Elias Tobin on two lists."

Elliot's eyes widened; Olivia noticed, mouthing, "what?"

Elliot shook his head, "what did he do?"

"I have him as a student of Graham Kenny and on the system with charges for assault and luring and abducting a 16 year-old last year."

"Shit," Elliot replied, "anything else?"

Silence.

"Captain?"

"Tobin shared a cell with Carey in the juvie centre for six months. Carey came out four months ago, Tobin came out the day before Graham Kenny disappeared."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Stabler and Benson Sedan

Portable SVU, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 27

11:45am

Huang, Elliot and Olivia had piled into their sedan, setting out to find where Tobin and Cash were gone. Their last known whereabouts was two streets over where they had abducted the woman, since then they had remained well hidden; perhaps by the volume of traffic caused by the pouring rain that was pelting their windshield. They could barely see two feet in front of them; the hope of finding a white car was less than slim. They remained silent as they travelled down the street, Munch and Fin close behind.

"Could they be dead already?" Elliot asked, breaking the silence.

Huang watched Elliot carefully in the rear-view mirror, "no," he said firmly, "torture's a ritual, it takes time."

"Where are they?" Olivia asked frustratedly, rubbing her forehead furiously with her hand.

Huang shrugged, "they're following that recording; so somewhere amongst trees, somewhere in Manhattan. It has to be here, because that's where it all started."

"Central Park." Elliot said, starting as their video crackled to life.

"This is grand central to all units. White SUV spotted on outskirts of Central Park West; unoccupied."

Olivia picked up the radio, "this is portable SVU to grand central, we're too far away right now. What units are present?"

"Two dog handlers. The rain's kept people away, no beat cops in the area." The voice replied.

Huang leant forward, "if we don't act, they'll die."

Elliot tapped his thumb on the steering wheel angrily, "if we send them in, Tobin is alerted and kills them both. We do nothing? He kills them anyway, what are we going to do?"

Huang rubbed his chin, "we have to rely on Sophie."

Olivia turned around in surprise, "Sophie?"

"Detective Benson?" The voice on the radio asked, "How do you want us to proceed?"

Huang shrugged, "she wants a way out of the relationship," he paused, "they have to go in without alarming him. Get them to send the dogs in the form a perimeter around him, no human presence."

Olivia relayed the information into the radio, sitting back nervously.

"I hope you're right."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Central Park West, Manhattan, New York

Sunday, October 27

12:15pm

Cragen was at the scene before them, liaising with one of the dog handlers that had remained back, his fellow handler further in the park with the dogs. The rain was still teeming, soaking them all to the bone. If only that was the single affect of the rain; the area beyond the initial border of trees was barely visible and the ground was incredibly muddy and slippery. Fin, losing his footing slightly, had to grab Olivia's elbow as they climbed the incline to Cragen for stability.

In the car, the radio had informed them that five police dogs had formed a perimeter around Tobin, Cash and an unknown female being held captive; abducted from her car.

"Captain?" Olivia asked as they finally reached him.

Cragen looked over, gesturing to the equipment van, "get on your Kevlar and check your guns; and get in there now," he turned to Huang, "Doc, I want you to stay back, this guy's got an eight inch knife on him"

Huang nodded, watching as Elliot and Olivia pulled on the thick bullet-proof vests with Munch and Fin.

Five minutes later they were armed, covered and extremely wet; standing in amongst trees where they were sheltered slightly from view; their dark attire aiding in their task.

In front of them stood Elias Tobin, startled slightly by the appearance of the police dogs; so much so that he was yet to realise that there were now officers surrounding him completely. To his right was his girlfriend, Cash, crying inconsolably, her arms wrapped around her middle in a vain attempt to ward off the cold. To Cash's right, tied to the tree, was the female that had been abducted by Tobin. She had a cut above her left eye and was crying just as hard as Cash, her body falling limp against her restraints.

The fire that Tobin had tried to light was long gone, soaked by the pouring rain. It remained as a pile of wood, smoking lightly from the previous efforts he'd made at lighting it.

Tobin began to pace, yelling "shut up," sporadically; whether at Cash or the woman against the tree was unknown.

Elliot and Olivia tightened their grips on their guns, watching intently for any sudden movements. They could see the knife resting in the pile of wood, just to the left of Cash's foot. Tears and rain were flooding her vision so there was every chance she didn't know it was there.

"What are we waiting for?" Elliot whispered.

"For Tobin to get far enough away from the knife, so everyone gets out alive." Munch whispered back, moving further behind the tree.

They watched, quietly, as Tobin turned around, searching for something.

"What's he doing?" Olivia breathed, Tobin moving away from them, and towards a nearby tree.

"I can't see, there's a frigging branch in the way," Elliot replied, swiping at the offending twig.

Just as he moved it aside, he could see Tobin pulling up a huge branch resting against a tree stump, intending to run at one of the dogs that were barking insistently at him.

"Shit," Olivia hissed, realising what was going to happen just before it did.

As Tobin made to move past Sophie and into the dense shrubs, she had gathered control of her emotions; reaching down, lifting the knife at her feet and plunging it into Tobin's abdomen. It all happened in slow motion; Tobin's look of surprise, Cash's look of surprise and the officer's look of surprise.

"Go!" Elliot yelled, racing forward with Olivia and the officer to his left, "call for a medic," he called out behind him.

Munch pulled a radio out of his belt, "Captain, we need a medic. Tobin's down, stab wound to the abdomen," he paused, "it doesn't look too severe, but we don't want to chance this guy getting out easily."

Olivia reached Sophie, wrapping a cautious arm around her trembling shoulders, "It's over," she whispered, "it's over."

While Olivia was busy consoling Sophie, Fin had made his way to the woman tied to the tree; his fingers slipping on the rope tied around her hands, "what's your name?" He asked kindly.

She sniffed, "Caroline," she said, voice trembling, "he was going to kill me!" She screamed, the gravity of the situation finally seeming to make sense in her head.

Fin shushed her as he followed Olivia to where an ambulance was waiting for them.

"He killed Paul didn't he? And the others on the news?" Sophie asked quietly, leaning heavily against Olivia as she was bundled into the back of the ambulance.

Olivia nodded, "yes sweetheart. But it's over now. Ok? It's over."

Sophie nodded, but she didn't look convinced.

Fin helped Caroline after Sophie, turning to Olivia, "you going to ride with them?"

Olivia nodded, "yeah, help Elliot with Tobin; make sure that son-of-a-bitch hits his head on his way into the car."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

16th Precinct, Manhattan, New York

SVU Squad-room

Monday, October 28

9:13am

Olivia bit her bottom lip in an effort to stem laughter that threatened to bubble from within her. Elliot and she were sitting in Cragen's office with Huang, Munch and Fin, while they waited for the Police Commissioner to grace them with his presence. Munch was leaning quietly against the wall, intrigued by the condition of the nails on his right hand and Huang was flipping through a file that was sitting to his left. Fin on the other hand was watching through the horizontal blinds on the back of the office door so they had enough time to gather their bearings upon the Commissioner's appearance.

Tobin had been arraigned on Sunday; and Casey was spending the morning speaking with his attorney. Sophie was at Mercy General; under observation until the medics felt she was ready to be left on her own. Huang felt that it would take her a while to get used to her newfound freedom; the first three months would be critical to both her physical and emotional recovery. Huang had promised to give her therapy once a week while this rehabilitation took place, and that had satisfied the mind of the doctor's observing her.

The Commissioner had made an appearance on the television on Sunday night, thanking the Special Victim's Unit and Cragen for their diligence and hard-work on the case; with special mention to Huang for his help in aiding the investigation. Huang had smirked as they watched the telecast, and upon Fin's insistence – more for the awkwardness than anything - had made himself available at the Commissioner's request to meet them this morning.

Elliot yawned, bored with the surroundings. He turned to his left, well, with most of his surroundings. All they needed to do was change location and lose the other detectives and he'd be incredibly happy. Olivia smiled, watching him watching her out of the corner of her eyes. He had given up making faces at her; she wasn't going to budge, so he started poking her in the side instead.

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Elliot, stop it," she scolded, slapping at his hand.

Elliot grinned as she swiped at air, poking her thigh instead, "Elliot," she warned, crossing her leg away from him.

Before he had a chance to poke her again, Fin moved quickly away from the door to Cragen's office, sitting on the filing cabinet behind Elliot, "he's coming."

Olivia felt like she was in the Principal's office all over again. She sat straighter, Elliot and the other's in the room mirroring her actions. The door flew open and the Commissioner strode in, followed by a slightly happier looking Cragen.

The Detectives and Huang stood as he made his way behind Cragen's desk, acknowledging them with a nod of his head. He cleared his throat as he eyed them all separately with his piercing gaze.

Munch shifted uncomfortably, glad that Huang was covering the majority of him from the Commissioner.

"We're extremely pleased that this case has ended without further loss of life than we had expected," he paused, rubbing his chin, "we're also pleased that the case of Graham Kenny has been closed," he coughed, "uh…permanently."

Olivia nodded, watching Cragen roll his eyes behind the Commissioner's back.

"This case has been obviously very hard on this unit, you've all been working for a week straight, so I think it's fair to grant the Captain's request that another two weeks be added to your annual leave when you choose to take it."

Elliot's mouth twitched in an almost half-smile as he shared a quick look with Cragen.

"Also, it came to our attention that there may also be a promotion in the works. Bearing in mind the paperwork still needs to be filed and worked out before anything formal occurs. We'll get back to you within the week," he stopped, giving a genuine smile, "I know that sometimes we don't always see eye to eye," he looking pointedly at Huang who remained stoically impassive, "but the fact remains, we play for the same team. I wanted to express our gratitude and your hard work."

"Thank you," Huang said, surprising the rest of the detectives with his response.

The Commissioner nodded, making his way to the office door, "and I'll put a good word in with your superiors at the FBI."

Huang nodded, unmoved as the Commissioner left.

"Ice-man," Munch commented, clapping a hand on Huang's back.

Huang smirked, looking at his watch, "I have a meeting with 'my superiors'," he made air quotation marks with his fingers, "so I have to get going. Have a good week," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.

"Munch, Fin," Cragen started, pulling up a file from his desk, "Casey needs you in court today for the Macon case," he handed the file to Munch, "head over now and see how the Tobin case is going."

Fin nodded, following Munch in the same direction Huang disappeared.

Elliot and Olivia tried to slink away out the door without notice, "you two," Cragen called out before they could make it out the door, "paperwork."

"Dammit," Elliot said, sagging heavily into his chair.

Olivia smirked at him as she lifted the first file off the large pile that sat on their partition, "don't be such a girl."

Elliot raised an eyebrow, "a girl?"

Olivia signed the page in front of her with a flourish of her pen, ignoring the bait Elliot was offering her with his question. She could still feel his eyes on her and she was getting increasingly hot from the intensity of it.

"Liv?" She could hear the smirk in his voice, but refused to look up like he wanted her to.

"You're wearing the red one?"

Olivia's pen froze momentarily, and she tried hard not to look down her blouse to see if he was right. Her curiosity won out, and her eyes flickered down and back up just as quickly. She thought it was fast enough, but she caught Elliot's victorious grin in her peripheral vision.

Olivia looked up and caught Elliot's eye, just as his fell to the computer screen in front of him. For all she knew it was off, but his fingers ran over the keys on the board, his mouth still showing the remains of his Cheshire grin.

His fingers froze however, when he looked at the clock over Olivia's right shoulder and saw as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth, her fingers playing with the collar of her shirt, flirting with the button at the centre of her chest. Elliot tried half-heartedly to quell the appreciative groan from sounding from his throat, but it made it across the desk; loud enough for her, quiet enough that it didn't draw the attention of those surrounding them.

Olivia shook her head, moving the completed file aside, reaching for another one. Her hand remained where it was however, and Elliot watched intrigued as she popped the button open and closed; barely catching a glimpse of the lace that sat underneath.

"You know what we need?" Elliot asked, his voice at a dangerously low level.

Olivia's heart beat increased at the heat he was permeating, "what?"

"Coffee." Elliot answered, watching Olivia' brow furrow a little in confusion.

"Coffee?" Olivia echoed.

Elliot nodded, "From Downtown."

Olivia nodded, a hint of a smile twitching at her mouth, "that'll take us at least half an hour, maybe more with the traffic."

Elliot stood from his chair, pulling on his suit jacket, "Well we better get a move on."

Olivia sauntered past him, "leave the jacket. It'll only get in the way."

Elliot grinned, "exactly. Coffee's much better without a jacket."

The end

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Thanks guys! Remember to leave a review!

I'm going to leave you all with the summary of my next story 'Lies'…

The body of an esteemed Judge is found cold and lifeless in his chambers by a court clerk and ADA Casey Novak. A confession from a teenage girl makes it seem to be an open and shut case; but upon closer inspection, the detectives at the 1-6 uncover an intricate web of deceit and lies. With accusations of illicit affairs and molestation, will they be able to find who is really telling the truth?