Disgraced

Chapter 3: Elliot’s Confession

A/N: Hey guys! I thought I’d get this update to you tonight. There is a major twist and major admission in this chapter. You will be surprised, or not but hopefully you will be surprised. Regardless, I hope you will enjoy it. Reviews are much appreciated.

Beth had been escorted to an interrogation room by the same two officers who had removed her from the squad room earlier that day. She sat there, calm, collected, appearing as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Who are you?” Olivia asked the question before the door had even had a chance to swing closed behind her.

Beth looked up and offered the other woman a sugary sweet smile “Excuse me?” she asked, sounding a little confused.

“You heard me,” Olivia said almost bitterly, dropping into the seat across from her.

“My name is Beth Hudson,” Beth said calmly “You already know that.”

Olivia shook her head “If you say so,” she leaned forward “How do you know Detective Stabler?”

“I met him six years ago,” Beth’s eyes slid closed and a dreamy look crossed her face. “There was some sort of conference in town, a lot of cops. Not many cops usually come by where I work.”

“And where is that?” Olivia asked.

“Little rat hole of a bar,” Beth said bitterly “Or at least that’s where I was working when I met him.” She leaned forward and took a closer look at Olivia “You’re his partner, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Olivia answered simply.

“He screwed you yet?” Beth asked as casually as if she were commenting about the weather.

Olivia was taken aback but tried hard not to show it. Still, she couldn’t help the question that slipped out “What?”

Beth grinned, knowing that she had the other woman’s attention “Your Olivia. Yeah, he mentioned you that night. He may not remember me but I remember him and everything he said. He had a picture of the two of you in his wallet you know.”

Olivia hadn’t known that. “What else did you talk about?” she asked.

“Lot’s of stuff,” Beth said, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest “He needed a sympathetic ear, I gave it to him.”

“Uh-huh,” Olivia remarked dryly.

“He was a little drunk by the end of the night,” Beth continued “I decided to give him a ride back to his hotel,” the dreamy look returned to her face “I helped him to the room and…” her smile widened “Well, you can guess the rest.”

Olivia stood up and turned towards the door “An officer will come take you back to your cell in a moment,” she told her as she exited the interrogation room.

Cragen and Huang were waiting for her “That was interesting,” Cragen remarked “Not exactly what I sent you in there to find out. You didn’t ask her anything about her kids.”

Huang stepped forward “But Beth didn’t ask about her children either,” he pointed out. What Beth hadn’t said spoke volumes about the kind of person she was.

Olivia wasn’t listening to them. “Where’s Elliot?” she asked, looking around but not having spotted him.

“Up on the roof,” Cragen told her “I told him to get some air.”

Olivia nodded her thanks and walked past the two men. She took the stairs slowly. She knew what she would find when she got up there. He would have told Kathy that the boys were his. She would have told him she was leaving him and he would push her away if she even mentioned anything about it.

She pushed the door open and saw him there, looking out over the city. She came up from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder “Hey,” she said quietly.

He turned and smiled sadly at her “Hey,” he replied.

She followed his gaze to a far off point on the horizon and stood there in silence with him for a few moments before she spoke again. She wasn’t sure of what she should say. She knew what response any question she asked about Kathy would be met with. So for the moment, she just enjoyed the calm before the storm.

It was Elliot who, in the end, was the one to break the silence “Did Beth say anything?” he asked.

“She says you came into a bar where she worked, you got drunk, she took you back to your hotel, and you two had sex,” Olivia stated the facts in a soft voice, unable to bring herself to look at him.

“Oh God,” he whispered and she could hear tears and tension and fear in his voice “How drunk would I have to be not to remember anything about that?” he asked and turned to Olivia. He took her hand “I’ve been thinking hard about where I remember her from and I think I know.”

She almost winced from the grip he had on her hand. He was scared. Whatever he was about to tell her, it would make him vulnerable and he needed her to be there when he crumbled. She took her other hand and wrapped it around the cold fingers that he had grabbed her with. She looked up, meeting his eyes with a soft, reassuring gaze “Yeah?” she prompted.

“Remember when I went to that forensics conference about six years ago?” he asked timidly.

Olivia nodded “Yeah, I had one hell of a time while you were gone by the way,” she laughed, trying to lighten the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It didn’t work.

“Sorry,” Elliot mumbled. He had volunteered to go to this particular conference; he had wanted some time away from Kathy to be able to think things over. He took a deep breath “I went out for a drink on the last night,” he admitted. “I wanted to go some place where the other cops wouldn’t bother me so…”

“You went to a little rat hole,” Olivia filled in “Somewhere where people would just leave you alone.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. He only wished that he would have been left alone that night “This waitress came up and sat down across from me. I guess it was Beth; she was a redhead back then,” his gaze dropped to the rooftop.

Olivia gave his hand a gentle squeeze “El,” she said softly “What happened next?”

“We started talking,” he said quietly “But then, it all gets blurry. Liv, I couldn’t have been drunk. I only had one drink before it all gets fuzzy…” he trailed off and was quiet for a long time. Finally, he spoke again “I didn’t think much of it at the time but the next thing I can remember…” he fell silent again.

“What happened?” Olivia whispered, her eyes searching out his and holding their attention.

“I woke up in my hotel room,” he started “I wasn’t wearing any clothes,” this admission was more painful for him than anything “She took all the pictures out of my wallet. I thought she had just robbed me but… the more I think about it…” he stopped talking and turned away, intent on carrying his pain by himself.

Olivia wrapped her arms around him and held him, not letting him turn away “It’s okay,” she whispered “It’s okay.”