Disclaimer: I do not own any of the SVU characters mentioned. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. This is for entertainment purposes only! I only own this fanfic (plot, idea, etc.) and the characters I, myself, make up!

So, I got this idea, obviously! I don't know where it came from, but whatever. It floats my boat. ;) Read & Review, please! Feedback makes me happy. :D I hope you like this. E/O...eventually. Takes place after 'Paternity', OBVIOUSLY. lol. Enjoy! -Andy :)

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, traffic was scarce, and, to top it all off, Elliot Stabler had just got word of the finalization of his divorce. He felt free and happy. There was no blonde she-demon lurking around every corner of his mind whenever he thought about the woman he'd been in love with for years. There was no more guilt. Except for his eternal soul being in trouble of damnation, Elliot was completely at ease.

Elliot didn't have to worry about anything. Well, until Olivia Benson, his partner, walked into the squad room. As she walked into the bullpen, she had a slight bounce in her step, a small smile on her face, and one coffee in each of her hands.

She plopped one coffee on Elliot's desk and then one on hers before taking a seat behind her desk. Smiling to herself and humming a chipper tune, she logged into the computer on her desk.

Elliot looked over the rim of his coffee cup with a raised eyebrow, "Someone's in a good mood," he commented before taking a sip of the deliciously hot liquid.

She looked into his eyes, across their two desks, with a smirk on her face, "Someone else is in a good mood too," she took a sip of her own coffee and leaned back in her chair, "Why are you so happy today?"

Elliot closed his eyes as he inhaled a long, deep, breath through his nostrils and then exhaled. Opening his eyes he smiled at her widely, "The divorce is final. I'm a free man!"

Olivia's face fell slightly, "Oh. That's so great, El!"

Elliot nodded, mistaking the hesitation in Olivia's voice for surprise, "I feel so great. Legitimately, I know the custody battle for Lizzie and Dicky is going to be hell, but I think they are old enough to choose for themselves."

Olivia crossed her arms, eyes wide, "What about Eli?"

Elliot looked away, anywhere but her eyes, "He's not mine."

Olivia's jaw dropped, "How…but I thought…but you said…and Kathy…what happened?"

Elliot looked up at her, the jubilance that had been in his eyes earlier, now a ghost of what was once there, "You know how babies usually have blue eyes the first few months after they're born?" Olivia nodded, "Well, it turns out that Eli actually has green eyes. You have to look because his eyes are still changing, but his eyes are definitely green."

"Is that supposed to mean something, El?" Olivia asked, cocking her head.

"Both of my parents, and grandparents, have blue eyes, and same with Kathy's side of the family," Elliot rubbed his bare left hand down his face, "A man she slept with while we were separated had green eyes."

Olivia understood, "Did she deny that the baby was his?"

"She didn't think the baby was his," he looked into her eyes, "at first. But, Eli is almost 11 months old now. He's starting to look like his father."

Olivia sighed, and stood up. She walked around their desks and placed a hand upon his shoulder, "I'm so sorry, El. I know how much you love Eli."

Elliot smiled slightly, looking up at her, "I do, but, since I'm not his biological father, I can't get custody of him," he paused, a slow smirk growing on his face, "You never told me; why are you so happy?"

Olivia stopped mid step, already half way back to her desk chair. She didn't speak until she'd reached her seat, "I…I think I'm falling for someone."

Elliot's grin froze as his heart shattered in a million glass shards. He cleared his throat a moment later, "That's great, Liv. Who is he? Is it serious? Do I get to meet him?"

"You've already met him, and, yes, it's serious. We've been dating for the last 6 months," she was about to continue, but Elliot interrupted her.

"Where was I?" Elliot asked, confused, "I don't remember you ever telling me about him."

"You were busy with your divorce, we were working hard cases, and…" she looked down at her hands as she fidgeted in her seat, "I didn't want you to know who he was until I had figured out if this was going to be…major."

Elliot held his breath, "Is it major?"

Olivia looked up into Elliot's blue orbs, "Yes."

Elliot could feel his airways constricting and he could feel his heart as the final pieces of it crumbled in his chest, but he put on a brave face, a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes and a very fake, very well rehearsed, "That's great for you, Liv."

He knew this day would come; the day she couldn't wait for him to make a move any longer, the day she decided that he wasn't all he was cracked up to be, the day she finally moved on. He had to admit that he was happy to see her happy, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

"What's his name?" Elliot whispered after a prolonged silence. Now, it was Elliot's turn to fidget as he awaited the answer he already knew.

Before Olivia answered, a man, from behind Elliot, called over to her, "Olivia, I need to speak with you."

Elliot turned his head slowly, wincing at the sight before him. Captain Donald Cragen, their boss, was standing in the door way of his office. He was oblivious to the fact that he had interrupted a very important conversation.

Elliot turned back to Olivia as she brushed passed him, muttering, "We'll talk later, El."

He nodded as she disappeared in to their captain's office. Elliot looked over at the window that he'd been looking out of earlier. It was raining.

Olivia and Elliot had, had no time to speak any further on the subject. They'd worked a 24 hour case and were too physically and mentally exhausted to deal with another mentally tiring task. Leaving the squad room on the same elevator, they held a silent agreement to speak the next day.

The next day, Elliot had come to work at the later time Cragen had told the squad to show up at, letting everyone sleep in. This time, however, he brought the coffee.

Olivia ended up coming to work late. She limped into the squad room. Unless you were as observant as Elliot, or as close to Olivia as Elliot was, you might not have noticed the change in her gait.

Limping over to her desk and plopping in her desk chair, she seethed, obviously in tremendous pain. Her shoulder had restricted movement and her back cracked when she turned to open her desk drawer. She threw her purse in her desk drawer and pulled her coat off, revealing a black and blue bruise that peeked out from under Olivia's dress shirt sleeve before she quickly tugged the sleeve down.

Elliot who had been watching the scene before him had become scared and worried. He walked around to Olivia's side of their desks and sat on the edge of it.

He whispered to her, looking into her eyes, "Olivia, what happened to you?"

Using her first name, he was trying to send her a message. He was sending a worried, scared, and an whoever-he-is-I-will-kick-his-ass message that Olivia read loud and clear.

"El, don't worry about it," she shook her head and her neck protested, "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night and, you saw that perp yesterday. She would have kicked my ass if you hadn't have been there," she looked into his disbelieving eyes, "Really, I'm fine."

"Alright," Elliot eyed her before walking back to his desk and plopping in his chair, "but if you need to talk to someone…"

"I know," Olivia smiled at him softly, "You're here for me. Thank you."

Elliot smiled at her, trying to get her to believe that he believed her. He, however, didn't see how she was fooled. He was going to keep an eye on her and he was going to figure out what had happened to her.

That perp last night hadn't laid more than one hand, a slap across the face, on Olivia's body before Elliot had her pinned against the wall. Of course, he suspected Olivia's boyfriend first.

He was going to protect Olivia - by any means necessary.

Like, hate? Really like, really hate? Feedback, please! No rude comments though, please! Jerks don't make authors happy - at all. Thanks for reading. On to chapter 2?
Who hurt Olivia? Who is Olivia's mystery guy? Is he abusing Olivia? Is Elliot in love with his partner? Is Olivia? *READ TO FIND OUT!* -Andy :)