I'm a new writer and this is my first fanfiction. If you have any advice for me it would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think. I've been making rewrites as I go, so if you have a suggestion I'm up for it. So far this has been really fun and I have some different ideas for future chapters.

S.V.U.

Old Shoes

Scene 1: The East River Pier

Elliot's tennis shoes slapped the pavement as he ran full speed towards a man in a black suit. The man was standing next to a rope that was attached to an anchor hanging from an import barge. His left hand was holding a brief case and his right hand was on the rope that would release the anchor into the water. Tied to the bottom of the anchor was a woman completely stripped of all of her clothing, except for a men's white button down shirt. She was screaming and sobbing for help through the tape on her mouth. The man turned to look at Elliot. He was wearing a green apple Halloween mask and appeared to be posing as the faceless businessman. The man stood stock still as he spoke to the quickly approaching detective. "Elliot Stabler. The man of the hour."

Elliot pulled out his firearm and pointed it at the man. "Back away from that rope."

The masked man replied without moving, " We had an agreement Stabler. No firearms. Why don't you throw down your weapon detective, and I'll think about giving you an early Christmas present."

Elliot shouted back, " We had an agreement until you decided to invite a third party to this meeting."

"You can read the fine print all you want Stabler, but I never said this was a private event."

"Let the woman go. You and I can dish this out alone."

"Do you think I'm naïve? I know your game."

"Then why'd you call me here?"

The man answered him with a chuckle in his voice, "I wanted to meet the man who's going sign my last deal." He got shear pleasure from the mental games he played with all of his victims.

Elliot was tired of it all, "I don't make deals with scumbags."

"Yes that's right, you're the good cop. You're going to save the day with your fancy title and your shiny badge. Does that make you feel good about your sad pathetic life?"

"The only thing sad and pathetic on this dock is that mask."

"Oh yes, you're so powerful when you use that tone of voice with me."

Elliot's patience was pressing and he yelled, "What do you want from me?"

"ooo temper, temper. Detective you shouldn't speak with such angst in front a lady. For a woman of her stature she frightens easily. You're my last project Stabler and I needed to sell you the idea. Every good businessman has to sell his product" He then shakes the rope and the anchor starts to move around.

Elliot stepped forward. "Cut the Crap. Back away from the rope or you'll give me no choice but to shoot you."

"I couldn't possibly give you this trophy Stabler. She's much too powerful to let go. Or not let go." He starts to laugh.

Without a beat Elliot shot the man and hit the side of his arm.

The man grunted in pain and fumbled to the side. "That wasn't nice Detective. You shouldn't have done that." The man then flipped open his briefcase and released slime and smoke into Elliot's face. Elliot's eyes were burning and he was becoming dizzy. "AH! You son of a bitch!" He dropped his gun and fell to his knees.

The man walked up to him and looked down at his ratty Reebok tennis shoes, "You know, they're right, you can tell a man by his shoes. See you at our next meeting, Stabler."

Elliot's face turned bright red with anger and he started throwing his arms around trying to find his gun or to get in a punch. The world was spinning and he couldn't see a thing.

The man then unlatched the anchor and disappeared as the woman's screams faded with the splash. Elliot started cursing and trying to wipe the goo from his eyes. He reached for his radio and called for back up.

"This is Stabler. I'm at the East River Pier. I need back up now. Victim is female and tied to an anchor. Suspect is nearby and wearing a black suit and a green mask."

Scene 2: SVU Squad room.

Olivia sat at her desk when Elliot barged into the squad room. His face was goo free but the rest of his person was sodden in the slime.

"How was your jog?" She snapped with her all knowing gaze and her judgmental tone. Elliot was all too fond of that tone. It was a comfortable irritation that he missed when it wasn't around.

"Refreshing." He mumbled as he dumped his gun onto his desk.

"I'm glad you decided to fill us in on your little adventure."

Olivia stood up and looked him up and down. Grabbing a swab from her desk she proceeded to swipe the side of his head for goo evidence.

"If you mean I decided to let a serial killer get away for the 3rd time, then yes, you would be correct." He replied with hostility.

Detective John Munch chimed in from a desk to the left of Olivia. "Looks like you should've called a ghost buster."

"Yeah I'll think of that next time." Elliot jabbed with a hint of anger and sarcasm.

Munch continued, " While you were being examined for spirit feces we started without you. " Munch headed to the bulletin board to go over the bases. "He took is victim from an office building on 22nd st last Monday. The victim was then taken to the east river pier this morning. That's exactly 7 business days from the kidnapping. There he stripped her of her clothing, gagged and anchored her. The victim is Jacklyn Cronkite, head of the Tyboon Corporation. She was rapped and tortured. Objects include possible pipe or metal object and a brillow pad, which we assume he used to rid her of his evidence. Our perp has a real thing for powerful women. Two months ago he murdered the executive manager of the Carlyle Group, NYC's finest headhunters, on the empire state building. Rape pattern was the same. Cause of death was a beheading. And last month he murdered Senator Hilary Clinton's campaign manager. All three women were missing for a week and all three women were brutally raped, tortured, and murdered. This guy has a serious problem with women in the work force. "

Elliot sat heavily on his desk. "So why did he contact me?"

George Huang walked in and joined the debate without missing a beat, "Because he wants an audience and you gave him attention when he needed it the most. Your perp is a man who's been heavily neglected and abused by his mother. He's probably had problems coping with women at work. Some sort of life changing experience has set him off. I'd say he's not the kind of man who's going to stop."

Captain Cragen entered the room furiously and cut Huang off " Elliot, my office now."

Elliot started towards the door, his temper was hot and defensive, "Captain, I had to go without back up. This guy is too smart for games. It would have ruined the whole operation."

Cragen replied, "Oh, so getting an innocent victim murdered and letting the killer swim away was a much better plan. Why don't you explain that to me before I fire you? In my office, now!"

Elliot entered Cragen's office and slammed the door.

"Where's your head Elliot? You're not superman. You need to play with the team or I'm going to have no choice but to let you go."

"Well, when I get a partner who wants to be a part of my team, then maybe I'll start playing the right way." Elliot swallowed hard, wishing he hadn't said the words that just came out of his mouth. He knew he couldn't blame Olivia for keeping her distance.

"What's wrong with you and Olivia?"

Elliot quickly guarded his statement, "Nothing. Captain, I had no idea he had a victim. I thought I was on the right track with him. He's starting to reveal himself to me. This is the first time we've seen him. I thought if I could get him one on one-"

"He would what, shoot you? Elliot that was a rookie stunt you pulled. If you aren't getting along with Olivia then I'll get you a new partner."

Elliot sat down in a chair to the right of Cragen's desk, "No, don't do that. I mean, unless she wants it that way. I just lost my head when I got that call. Dani and I were the ones originally working on it and I don't want to force Olivia to take on a project that isn't hers."

The Captain pulled back his temper and sat in the chair behind his desk," Yes, well Dani isn't here anymore, so you need to use what's available to you. I can't have a killer walk because my detectives can't play by the rules. I'm taking you off of this assignment. You're too involved."

"You can't do that-"

Cragen threw his New York Times in the trash with a thud, "I can do what I damn well please."

"Captain, this guy is only giving us clues because he's chosen me as his audience. If you get rid of me now we could lose everything."

The Captain knew Elliot was right, he just wasn't sure he could trust him. "If I let you continue on this case you have to promise me that you will not work alone. I don't want to see you anywhere without a partner. And don't even think about meeting this guy without back up. I mean it, Elliot; you better live, sleep, eat, and breathe Olivia. And if that's a problem I better be the first to hear about it. "

"That won't be a problem. Thanks, Captain."

"Good. Now go clean yourself up. You look like crap."

Elliot exited the office and walked over to his desk. Olivia looked up at him with anger in her eyes. He couldn't bare looking at her disappointed face after the morning he just had. They had been having heated arguments since she came back from her undercover job. He spent the entire time she was gone thinking about her and now all he could do was disagree with everything she had to say. All he wanted was for things to go back to normal. The pit of his stomach turned to knots every time he thought about her. He could see her thoughts as clear as day and it weakened him. He backed up and left the room.

Scene

Storming into the locker room, Elliot ripped open the door on his locker, and wildly tore off his sweaty slime cover T-shirt. He kicked his sneakers with a bang into the metal doors. He reached into his bag and pulled out a dark blue button down shirt. Angrily he forced the clean shirt over his arms and slumped down on the bench behind him. His faded oxford shoes stared at him from the bottom of his locker. The hard leather over squeezed over his feet one foot at a time. As he tied the laces one by one he couldn't get his mind off of the woman at the pier, and the voice that repeated in his mind. "I wanted to meet the man who's going to sign my last deal." His brow was sweating. He held his head in his hands and searched his mind for right answers.

Olivia opened the door behind him.

"Elliot, what the hell's going on? I thought you had control of yourself. I can't do my job if you don't want me here." She cried.

Standing to face her, Elliot dejectedly replied, "Livia, you have no idea what you're saying, so stop."

"No, I get it, and I don't need your approval to do my job. You know, I don't know what went on between you and Dani, but if this is about her you need to deal with it on your own time."

Elliot stood up. His temper was heated, "What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with Dani. And I've never questioned your performance as a detective."

"Oh come on Elliot, you and I both know that's a lie. That's what started this whole thing. What's going on? You're dressed like a criminal, you're unfocused, and you've been avoiding me since I came back. "

Elliot got right up in Olivia's face. He was holding back his frustration as best as he could. His neck was throbbing and his eyes were glaring. "I wear the sneakers and the t-shirts because they make my job easier. And yes, Dani and I had an understanding, but you have to understand that you can't blame me for…if you have something to say to me, why don't you just say it?"

Taken aback, Olivia replied, "Why don't I say it? You're the one who can't finish his sentences. I have nothing to say to a man that can't be responsible for his actions."

" How would you know about my actions? You're the one who left me."

"Left? Yes, I left. I left because I love putting my life on hold and pretending to be somebody else. I've been having the time of my life. It was a real vacation from the babysitting job I have with you. I left you. You don't know what being left behind feels like. You make it impossible for me to work with you. I can't read your mind Elliot. I'm being pretty open about how I feel, so now why don't you tell me what's going on with you?

Elliot was switching through thoughts of Olivia's face, her smell, her mere presence. He fought a battle in his mind for weeks and the stress was building at the top of his stomach like a bad ulcer. "Alright, you want to know what's going on with me. This. You and I. This thing that both of us try so badly to ignore."

With fire in her body Olivia took a hold of Elliot's eyes and drew him into her, "What thing? Say it. Just say it."

Elliot yelled in frustration, "I can't say it."

"That's what I thou-"

Before Olivia could continue Elliot grabbed her face and pulled her lips to his in a fit of uncontrollable urges that he had kept inside of him for years. As their lips came together Olivia found herself completely thrown off guard. Her body gave into her mind and she returned the force of his kiss with equal frustration. Their angry lips smoldered against each other and the rustle of their clothing moved with the rush of their bodies. Just before things got out of hand Olivia pushed Elliot aside. They pulled apart and starred at each other. Breathing heavily, Olivia looked away; her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She wasn't sure if she should tell Elliot her deepest thoughts or slap him for making her vulnerable. Elliot stood frozen and speechless unable to admit out loud what he had just started.

Just then Cragen entered "Elliot, Olivia, get down to the forensics lab. They just found more evidence on your slimer."

They nodded and before Elliot could be rejected, yet one more time in his life, he rushed out of the locker room buttoning his shirt and diverting his eyes.

Olivia followed, "Elliot, wait. I …" He was gone.

"I missed you too."

Scene 4

Elliot was waiting in the car with the engine running and the radio on. He fell into an almost comatose state of mind. Olivia opened the car door and they both sat in silence while Sarah Vowell from "This American Life" jabbered on about public school lunch food in the background.

"There's nothing like the topic of hormonal meat to kill the fuzzy feeling caused by a woman", Elliot thought.

Olivia switched the radio off.

"Elliot-"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. We're at work."

"The lab is that way." She pointed to the right hand lane that they just passed.

Elliot pulled a U-turn and turned the radio back on. As the silence grew thicker Sarah Vowell threw in her usual music segways and Judy Garland started in with "You made me love you. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do it". Elliot changed the channel "Love hurts. Love scars. Love wounds and marks." He quickly reached to change the channel one more time and Olivia grabbed his hand and turned the dial off.

"We're here."

Elliot slammed on the breaks and pulled into the nearest space with a jerk and a squeal.

Olivia paused before they got out of the car "Elliot, can we do this? Are we ok?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm fine if you're fine. Are you fine?"

"I'm fine."

Elliot was unable to come up with words for the situation and decided that ignoring it was best "Fine, let's just do our job, please."

They got out of the car and avoided eye contact the rest of the day.

Scene

After a long day of goo research and endless video tape, the crew found a possible lead but nothing hard enough to make them jump to the killer. The Captain sent home his crew one by one. Olivia and Elliot were the last ones left. They both sat at a desk and looked over the security camera's video footage again and again in hopes to find a new clue. Olivia's mind was unfocused but she felt guilty for bringing her personal life into her job. She forced herself to read the information again. Elliot stood up and grabbed both of their coats. He watched her from across the room as she touched her disheveled hair and continued to persistently work as she always did on cases such as this.

Olivia spoke through an exhausted yawn, "God, he's like a ghost. He just disappears. So this guy has only gone after females that seem to be in charge of political or controversial corporations. Tyboon is known for their sweatshops, Carlyle is known to mix money for government favors, and Hilary is slowly moving on up to presidency. Besides power I can't see where these women connect? "

"Who knows, maybe they buy their shoes from the same guy. I've gone over that question a million times tonight, let's take a break and sleep on it. We can't get anything done like this."

"Now what did he say about the deal with you?"

Elliot's eyes glazed over at the thought of their perp's voice, "He said that I was going to be his last deal."

Olivia dropped her papers to the desk, "But you're not a woman."

"I hope not." Elliot joked.

"Well that doesn't make any sense. Why would he say that? "

"Liv, I can't think about this anymore. If we go by his timelines we have until Sunday. I need to get some sleep before my head explodes."

Olivia rubbed her eyes with the bottom of her palms, "I know. No. I have to just look at this one more time."

Elliot walked toward the desk. "Liv put the papers down. Go home, you'll be able to concentrate better after a night of sleeping. Remember what that's like?"

"Yeah." She sleepily looked up at him and stretched herself to a stand. "I suppose you're right."

Elliot caught a glimpse of her stomach as she stretched and the achy feeling in the pit of his stomach made its' reappearance for the third time that day. At this point of the night, he had completely lost his mind. Thoughts of Olivia swam through his brain and he shook his head to try and wash them away.

Olivia looked at him funny, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It's been a long day."

Elliot held open her coat. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and his strong hands rested on her shoulders near the nap of her neck. They could feel the presence of that awkward relationship starting up again and neither of them knew how to handle it.

Elliot asked, "Do you need a ride?"

"What?"

"A ride. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Oh. Yeah. Ok."

There was silence as they walked towards the door. The lights in the squad room were low and they were the only ones left in that part of the building.

Olivia stopped. She couldn't take the tension. "Elliot, what are we doing?

Elliot stopped and looked at her, "I'm taking you home."

"No, I mean, what happened earlier today?

Elliot looked at the floor, "I don't know Liv. I lost my head."

"Elliot, do you really want to ignore this?"

He looked into her eyes for the first time since the kiss, "No, but I don't know what do say about it."

Olivia touched the side of his face, "Is it wrong that we're placing our lives to the side for this job?"

"I wish I could say no, but I'm not sure if I can do that anymore. What do you think?"

"I think, I'm at a loss for words."

"That's a first.", he said with a smile.

Their eyes locked and they leaned in for a slow kiss. As their lips touched they opened slowly and Olivia slide her tongue towards his. For the first time all day Elliot felt comforted. He melted around her and she leaned into his arms. The kiss became more passionate and increased with each ebb and flow of the tongue over the lips. Their eyes were closed but every once in a while Elliot peeked at Olivia to make sure she was actually on the other end. She made an audible breath and he couldn't help but touch her. He ran his fingers through her hair and down her neck. He stopped and looked into her eyes and she smiled with acceptance. Her hands touched his stomach over his shirt and she slid them up to his chest and his shoulders. She took in every inch of his face.

Elliot softly spoke into her ear, "Liv, what if we screw this all up? "

Olivia whispered back, "Elliot, let's just enjoy this moment. I think we've earned it don't you?"

Scene

Elliot stopped his car at Olivia's apartment. They both stared out the front window of the car and waited in silence.

Olivia looked over to him, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She got out of the car and opened the door to her building. Elliot watched as she disappeared into the night.