Title: Devil's Night

Author: The Raven

Show: Wire In The Blood/Law&Order: SVU

Pairing: Carol Jordan/Olivia Benson

Summary: Cross continental cooperation during an intercontinental serial-killer investigation leads to something else...

Rating: NC-15

Spoilers: Nope

Feedback: nerocorvo@gmail.com

Disclaimer: They are not mine, I'm just rubbing them together to see what happens. The story however, is mine...

Beta Reading: Yes, by me...

Note: Indulge me, ok? I know nothing much about SVU, but I have seen it about half a dozen times now, Carol Jordan would make a great counterpart in many ways to Olivia, they could be very good together; both characters have so much suppressed fire and caged passion, it's intoxicating...

Detective Inspector Carol Jordan hung up her phone, glancing at the silent woman who was currently standing by the window looking down over the city streets. The American Detective had been working as a liaison for 3 days now and Carol knew she had not slept much or at all in that time. In fact, no-one had...

The dark haired woman had promptly arrived at their doorstep only a 48 hours after it became apparent that the serial-murders that Carol was investigating, were linked to a similar set of murders in New York City.

Both women and Doctor Tony Hill, their consulting criminal psychologist, were convinced that they had the same perpetrator and though it was unorthodox and perhaps even in violation of legal jurisdictions, there had been no complains from either side of the Atlantic about their joint effort.

Finishing her silent contemplation, Carol rose to her feet and walked to the pensive figure and silently joined in the street-watching for a few minutes.

"You should try to get some rest, Detective Benson..." Carol finally said, knowing as she did that it was a futile suggestion.

People in their profession did sleep, sometimes for the whole night even, but not very often and never very well. From what Carol had observed, Olivia Benson was as dedicated to her job and as personally and emotionally wrapped up in it as Carol herself was.

Sable colored eyes turned to look at Carol and for a long moment, neither woman moved, before Olivia finally spoke, her native accent slowing smoothly over Carol's senses.

"I'm not even sure I still remember how to sleep..." The quiet introspective comment caught Carol off guard, especially when she realised that the enigmatic American had lowered her own guard for just a moment.

Captured by the dark brown gaze, Carol found herself mentally promising Olivia anything at all, but when she was finally able to tear her gaze away, her offering was somewhat less.

"How about you at least come to dinner, maybe we can put this out of our minds for just a few minutes..." Even as she spoke the words, Carol knew that they were nonsense, there would be no way of putting these or any other murders out of their minds, not in this lifetime anyway.

The string of women that stretched across the continents, had been brutalised and killed savagely, and though the net that was trolling for the killer was honing in, there would be no satisfaction when he was eventually caught, only the knowledge that others would be safe. But for every one they caught, another always stepped up to fill their place...

Snapping her attention back to Detective Benson, Carol caught the other woman accepting her invitation.

"I think I'd like that, Detective Inspector..." Though Olivia's guard was once again up, the words did have a quiet, almost wistful quality.

Without further ado, the two women grabbed their coats and headed out into the evening...

* * * * *

Three quarters of an hour later found the two women sitting in a small cafe type restaurant, where they were waiting for their orders to arrive and quietly sipping coffee. As they were still technically both on duty, in fact were currently on duty 24 hours a day, it was not really possible for them to indulge in something alcoholic, no matter how much it could have been useful to take the edge off of things.

Carol surreptitiously observed the American police woman over the rim of her cup, noting the way the brunette held her cup, how she sat and seeing that Olivia had cased out the entire room in the space of a minute.

As a matter of course, Carol had read Detective Benson's file and had been alternately impressed and dismayed by its contents; impressed by the quality of the other woman's work, dismayed at the nature of it. Carol was intimately familiar with the ghosts that haunted those who worked in the environment that Olivia worked in. The same ghosts haunted her, they just had different names and different faces...

Olivia was not necessarily the most talkative of persons and Carol was content to simply watch her, liking that they seemed to get along fine. It always helped when there was less friction on the job, though sometimes, conflict could achieve positive things. Mostly, Carol knew that they were both tired, strung out and living this case...

Carol's musings were interrupted by the arrival of their order and Carol could not help but smile slightly as she watched the tough New York City cop glance at her food. No doubt it did not match the usual fair that the woman was used to...

"It's good, trust me..." Carol offered, her voice slightly rough from disuse and fatigue.

Dark eyes glanced up and pinned Carol to the back of her seat, their intensity making her breath catch for a moment, then the moment was over.

"Well, if I can survive hot-dogs, I can survive this..." Olivia offered, her alien accent once more causing Carol a moment of mental pause.

Carol had easily surmised that she was attracted to Olivia from the moment that they had met, but like most police officers who had been working for as long as she had, she lived for her job, so was an expert at concealing and compartmentalising and dismissing her emotions.

So, it was only in an introspective and quiet moment like this, that Carol had any time or any inclination to examine her emotions or her id...

As they ate, Carol noted that the American Detective was slightly distracted and not really paying any attention to her food, it was just the mechanical addition of calories. Carol found herself wishing to somehow alleviate Olivia's mind, for even a moment, she wanted to see the brunette smile or laugh, without a care in the world, just once.

Without thought, Carol reached over the table and laid her hand on Olivia's forearm, feeling muscles twitch under her hand as the other woman snapped her gaze into focus.

"I'm ok, really... Detective Inspector." Olivia's voice sounded strong as she spoke and Carol could not help but notice that her eyes did not look strong.

"Call me Carol..." Carol heard herself say, as she gently rubbed the toned forearm under her hand.

Brown eyes stared at her unblinkingly for a fraction of a second before Olivia spoke again.

"The you must call me Olivia." The brunette's voice was softer now and by some unspoken signal, Carol knew that it was time to remove her hand, that whatever she had been trying to communicate to Olivia had been received, gratefully.

Smiling, Carol turned to the remnants of her food and the rest of the meal was passed in comfortable silence...

* * * * *

After they had finished eating and paid their tab, Carol called in and was told that Tony had gone to see a patient, the lab was promising results by noon the next day and that the canvassing that she had requested had been completed and they were now compiling the results and expected to have them done before the day's end.

In other words, there was precious little for either Carol or Olivia to do this evening, unless something new came up and there certainly was nothing for them to do back at the Station, except drink barely acceptable tea, completely offensive coffee and stare out the window.

With a frustrates sigh, Carol hung up her phone...

Intellectually she knew that even a few hours off would do them both a world of good, but professionally, emotionally, she was unable to see things in that light. So far as they knew, the serial-killer had not struck again, but it was only a matter of time and Carol felt helpless for a long moment.

As she closed her eyes, she felt a warm hand touch her arm and immediately knew that it belonged to Olivia, obviously the highly perceptive woman had noticed her lapse and was concerned, but also knew that platitudes or comfort could not be offered in the usual fashion to people in their profession.

"Nothing?" Olivia eventually asked, the nearness of her voice causing Carol to open her eyes and stare directly at Olivia.

"Nothing..." Carol confirmed in a soft voice.

There were a few more moments of silence before Olivia spoke again...

"So what do you usually do at night when you're not working, Carol?" It was the first time Carol had heard Olivia say her name and inwardly, she was enthraled at how it rolled off the brunette's tongue.

"Normally I go home, read case files, listen to music, let my cat boss me around..." It was not an admission that Carol would have made to anyone except perhaps Tony, but she knew that of all people, Olivia would understand.

"Sounds perfect, lead on..." Olivia said after a beat.

After a slight pause, Carol smiled slightly and led the way to her car, if nothing else, maybe the two of them together could come up with something new this evening. At any rate, Carol would enjoy spending some time alone with Olivia, from a purely selfish standpoint....

* * * * *

A short while later, Carol found herself closing the front door to her home as Olivia was shrugging out of her leather jacket and arranging it on the clothes tree in the entranceway. Carol found herself absurdly charmed by the familiar gesture and after hanging up her own jacket, Carol led the way further into her house.

Knowing that her cat would be waiting patiently in his usual spot on the kitchen windowsill, Carol waved her guest towards the living room and bade her to make herself at home as she sought out her wayward feline.

Five minutes later, Carol walked into her living room to ask Olivia is she would like some coffee, when she found the brunette intently examining her surroundings, so absorbed in fact, that Carol could see that she was oblivious to he audience.

Olivia had removed her shoes and was moving around silently and was obviously much more relaxed in the relative safety and privacy that Carol's home offered. Deciding that she had indulger her inner voyeur for long enough, Carol deliberately made a more noisy approach than she normally would and approached the American Detective.

"Would you like some coffee?" Carol asked when the other woman turned to look at her, her more relaxed, but still showing the tension that they were both feeling, living...

"Yes, that would be great... Let me help." Olivia said as she moved to follow Carol to her kitchen.

Carol took Olivia's example to heart and kicked off her shoes as she walked back towards her kitchen, luxuriating in the feel of the carpet under her tired feet. As they arrived, Carol's cat immediately turned towards them and upon spying a new person, rose from it's haunches and made a beeline towards Olivia.

Olivia immediately warmed to the creature and as Carol set a pot of coffee to percolate, she observed the fact that Olivia was now getting her fair share of cat-hairs adhered to her clothing. It was a touching scene and did a lot to make Carol feel even more at ease in the presence of her guests, colleague; this woman who intrigued her so much.

As if sensing her gaze, Olivia turned towards Carol with a slight smile on her face and as Carol watched, she saw the softness that she had been craving come to the edges of Olivia's eyes. Saw a glimpse of what the other woman would look like, if her work was not what it was. Carol knew that she had that same tightness her body language and features, for the same reason, but she also felt herself let go, just a little bit, as the moments ticked by to the sound of the coffee machine finishing its work.

Responding to the sound of the machine, Olivia moved towards Carol, obviously intent on helping her carry cups and saucers, or something like that anyway...

Caught off guard by the gentleness of the moment and the fatigue that weighed so heavily on her sometimes, Carol was transfixed by the other woman's approach and as Olivia came to a stop in front of her, a question on her face, Carol could not help but stare at her openly.

Unable to stop herself, Carol felt herself react to the other woman's scent, the warmth of the proximity of her body, to her breathing, to her and as she felt the slide of her id progress to a point where she would give herself away, Carol tried to valiantly reel in her reactions, somehow reassert her self control, before she lost it completely and did something that she might later be sorry for...

* * * * *

It was silent now, except for the sound of distant traffic, the walls settling, their breathing, so Carol could hear her heart start to beat out of her chest as Olivia's face showed the moment when she became aware of Carol's dilemma.

Another second passed and Olivia took a step towards her until their bodies were almost flush together. Carol felt her pulse speed up even more as her eyes focused on Olivia's eyes, which were now searching her's for an answer, a question, something...

A moment later, a hand touched her face, a soft and warm hand, that had the same calluses her own did, caused by endless hours at the range, the gym, the wheel of a car...

When Olivia's other hand reached out to caress her hair, Carol felt something within her give way and lifted her own hands to Olivia's face, seeing the dark pool of Olivia's eyes flutter slightly when she did, feeling the slight clench in the hard that was caressing the back of her head.

It was all the permission, allowance, impetus, that Carol needed and a heartbeat later, she brought their lips together gently, sinking her hands into Olivia's short hair, feeling the moan that bubbled up from within the brunette as their tentative kiss became something else, instantly...

Coffee and cat forgotten, Carol hugged Olivia to herself as her mouth willingly opened under the gentle probes made by the brunette's tongue. As soon as Carol felt her tongue wrap itself around Olivia's, any self control she might have had left was lost and she felt a deep growl emit from her own throat.

The response in Olivia was instant and Carol was sure that she was going to pass out when she felt Olivia's hands find access to her skin, soft and gentle and strong hands trailed up her body, leaving gooseflesh in their wake as Carol writhed.

Not wanting to be a passive participant, Carol tore her mouth from Olivia's kiss and moved her hands from the other woman's head, sliding one up the dark sweater and using the other to caress her neck.

As their laboured breathing filled the air, Carol found herself lost in eyes made black from desire, felt herself grow weak from the promise of fire in them.

"Perhaps we should move this somewhere else..." Carol murmured against Olivia's neck, feeling sweat start to bead on her skin and heat overflow her senses.

Without a word, Olivia moved back slightly and took Carol's hand, her expression clearly indicating that Carol should lead the way.

Without hesitation, Carol raised their entwined hands and planted a kiss on Olivia's knuckles before guiding the other woman to her bedroom...

* * * * *

The shrill sound of her phone ringing woke Carol up several hours later, she had been sleeping deeply and peacefully, a rare change from the norm, the feel of Olivia's strong arms around her somehow making her feel safe and cared for.

They had made love for many hours, interspersed with conversation and silence, before sleep had finally claimed them in the early hours of the morning. It had easily become apparent that neither of them was prone to intimate relationships, it was just impossible with their jobs and with the demands that those jobs put on their lives.

However, last night had felt relaxed, different, wonderful; Olivia had not flinched when police work was talked about during cuddling and had asked no questions nor had she passed any judgement on anything or about anything Carol had said or done.

So, it was with no small anger that Carol spoke into her phone, anticipation already pouring into her system and the sensation of the woman who was holding her so safely, waking up, a shark contrast to it.

"We'll be there in an hour!" Carol said into the phone, before hanging up and laying her arm across her eyes tiredly.

Olivia remained silent, her dark eyes invisible in the shadows of Carol's bedroom, but her heart and her breathing bringing Carol's heartbeat and nerves once more under control.

"Tell me..." Olivia eventually prompted, leaning over to kiss Carol gently as her free arm encircled Carol securely...

With a deep sigh, Carol uncovered her eyes and looked at Olivia...

"They have found another body, looks like it was dumped a few days ago, the preliminary evaluation of the scene suggests that it is our killer..." Carol felt a tear escape the corner of her eye as she spoke and was unsurprised when Olivia reached out and caught it with her finger.

"Why are you crying?" She asked softly as she planted yet another impossibly tender kiss on Carol's lips.

"I wanted this night to be ours alone, I do not want to get up and leave this..." Trailing off, Carol wrapped her arms around Olivia and pulled the other woman close, arousal pouring into her body just from the sensation of holding the beautiful brunette.

"It's not ending, Carol... This is just a beginning, if we allow it... Devil's Night be-damned!" With those words, Olivia seemed to break through something inside of Carol and for a few more long moments, she allowed herself to revel in the moment, in the mystery and wonder...

Devil's Night be-damned indeed...

The End