The Station House

Chapter 22

She began helping him with the bassinet and when she saw the ring on her finger and thought about how far they've come, she couldn't help but flash back to the day he proposed.

Elliot had sweet talked an agent at IAB into telling Olivia that he wanted all of her case files from her and Elliots first year on the job together. The agent didn't offer any further reason why at Elliot's bequest.

When she finally found the time to comply after dotting all the I's and crossing all the T's of the endless stack of paperwork that seemed to build for months, she made her way to the file room to collect all of the case files. It was late. She was the only one left in the office and she yawned as she began digging through the filling cabinets. She was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. Consensus was that if their relationship didn't affect their work they could remain in the same unit, surely this was Tuckers desperate attempt at finding dirt on the 2 of them to get back at and separate them.

Tucker was definitely the type to hold a grudge, that couldn't have been more obvious in the years he spent hassling Elliot every chance he got, which had far surpassed simply doing his job. Tucker had a clear dislike for Elliot from the beginning  and as far as she goes, Tucker had come onto her years ago and she had blown him off, and well he made it very obvious he didn't like being blown off.

She sighs irritably and smacks the filing cabinet. She leans over on top of it and rests her head on her hand. She closes her eyes just for a second. She just needed a second to pull it together. She hears a faint noise outside in the hall and grows concerned for a second until Elliot rounds the corner and she suddenly doesn't feel quite so tired. He enters the room and she resumes what she's doing searching through the files, squinting to read them through dim light and blurred vision.

"What are you doing in here?" Elliot asks walking up behind her and hugging her from behind. He rests his chin on her shoulder looking over her shoulder down into the cabinet. She moans slightly beneath his touch. "Just trying to get these case files IAB asked for." Elliot's hands slide across her stomach and down her sides as he pulls away. "IAB?" She sighs "Yeah. Think Tucker is trying to big foot us into switching departments." She mutters and grabs several files making a stack on top of the cabinet. "Tuckers a dick but why would he do that?" He asks, clearly knowing that's not the case but wondering why her mind went there.

"You remember I told you he hit on me and asked me out a few times?" He widens his stance and tucks his hands in his pocket. "He what?" He feels angry. Annoyed. But only for a second. He's not going to let fucking Tucker ruin this. "Yeah he asked me out a few times. He was pretty persistent too. After the first couple times it started to feel a bit awkward and he was noticeably annoyed at my rejections. As for you his dislike has always been pretty clear."

He feels himself get slightly angrier that he made her uncomfortable but bites his tongue and decides he can address it later.
"Do you need some help?" He asks softly trying to focus on the task at hand. She wipes her eye to try to get the blurriness to go away. "They want all the cases from our first year together."

"Why the first?" He asks still not letting on about his knowledge on the matter. "Who knows. Everyone thought we were having an affair then. I mean looking back I'm pretty sure I know why."

His eyes dart to hers as he leans against a filling cabinet, arms crossed. She can't help but notice how handsome he always looks. Hes wearing a light blue dress shirt, sleeves rolled up, black dress pants. "What are you talking about?" He asks, genuinely unaware this time, unlike before. "Before Jeffries left I told her how I felt about you. When she saw how we were around the office she told me to shoot my shot. I just shrugged it off but I think she thought I actually did it. The rumors picked up a few weeks later."