Love at the Outback

They had been eating at the Outback Steakhouse since Elliot signed the divorce papers six months ago. He had been upset and she offered to take him to dinner so they could talk. He took her up on the offer and ever since, they'd made it their own little Monday night routine. Even when Olivia had been assigned to work undercover for the FBI, he'd taken Dani in her place. Just temporarily. Until Olivia got back. They always had the same server and went on the same night at the same time. He simply wouldn't have it any other way. Tonight was different though. Olivia was still on assignment and Dani had left, explaining that she couldn't deal with the cases involving children anymore. He sat alone in the almost empty squad room staring at nothing in particular. He'd be damned if he was going to stop his routine because of a slight mishap. Besides, he thought as he grabbed his jacket, I could use some time alone. He walked out of the precinct, putting on his jacket on the way out.

It was a nice night for the middle of October in New York City. Not too cold and just windy enough to let you know that winter was just around the corner. He inhaled the fresh, cool air as he made his way down Christopher Street towards 6th Ave. He thought, as he made his way briskly up the street, of Dani and how he'd felt when he'd kissed her. He didn't know whether he'd truly had feelings for her or if it was just a buzz induced urge to feel warm lips against his. Sighing deeply, he remembered when she'd told him she wanted out. Relief...that was really all he remembered feeling when the words escaped her pursed lips. Relief. He missed Olivia. He made the right on West 23rd Street which left him standing in front of the Outback Steakhouse. The hostess opened the door for him and greeted him with her usual warm smile.

"Good evening, Detective Stabler."she said cheerfully as he walked through the open door.

"Evening Stacy. How are you?" he asked smiling back at her.

"Very well thank you. Isn't your partner coming?" she asked curiously.

"No, it's just me tonight. Unless you'd like to join me." he joked playfully making her blush slightly as she shook her head.

"Right this way, Detective." she said giggling at his joke. He followed her to the back of the restaurant where she sat him in a booth, which she knew he preffered to tables. "Riley will be right over. Enjoy your meal!" she said in her cheerful manner before she turned and walked back to the hostess stand. He reached across the table, taking the menu that was leaning on the wall and opened it up, reading the new items. It wasn't until he heard her soft voice that he looked up and saw her sitting across from him in the booth.

"I don't understand why you look at the menu anymore. You order the same thing everytime you come in."she said smiling softly. He smiled back and let the paper menu softly fall flat against the wooden table.

"Hey Riley." He said noticing her piercing green eyes for the first time.

"Good to see you Detective Stabler. Where's your partner?"she asked tilting her head slightly.

"It's just me tonight" he repeated for the second time, suddenly making it feel more real than it'd felt five minutes ago. She nodded.

"Alright then. How about I get you something to drink?" she asked softly. He smiled at her.

"Am I too late for happy hour?" he asked hoping he wasn't. God he needed a beer. She shook her head still smiling. "Let me have a Fosters, then."

"Okay, let me go ahead and grab that for you. I'll be right back." she said standing slowly and walking into the kitchen. He watched as her hips gracefully swayed back and forth and for the first time, noticed her dangerously short jean shorts. Moments later she returned with an iced cold frosted mug, filled to the top with Australian beer. He took a single sip, soothing his suddenly dry throat. Putting the mug down he looked at her as she sat across from him again and smiled.

"Are you ready for me to take your order?" she asked softly. He nodded.

"12 ounce Sirloin, medium rare, with brocoli and grean beans." he said as she nodded and wrote the words on the once clean food ticket. Looking up, she smiled once more and slowly stood up.

"Let me go ahead and put that in and get you some bread to munch on" she said. He smiled again and nodded softly. She walked towards the kitchen and he watched as another server nearly bumped into her. A spoon fell from one of the plates the server was carrying and Riley bent forward to pick it up causing her shorts to ride up just enough to expose a little of her smooth, perfectly round bottom. He felt his mouth go dry and a familiar tingle in his groin as she picked up the now dirty spoon, straightened up and walked casually back into the kitchen. He shook his head, snapping himself out of the dirty thoughts that had momentarily possesed his mind and leaned back into the booth, throwing his arm around the back of it. Claiming it. Owning it.

If there was one thing to be said about Elliot Stabler, it's that he never sat in a chair. He sprawled in it, proudly branding it as his own. Whenever he sat on a chair or couch or booth, it was his and only his if only for time he was in it and no one could convince him otherwise. He took another sip of his beer as Riley returned with a loaf of bread that layed across a light brown board with honey butter on the side instead of the regular butter that usually came with it. He smiled up at her when he noticed that she had remembered that he preffered honey butter to the regular butter. She smiled back and turned again towards the kitchen.

He loved to see her smile, even when he'd only first met her. She had the warmest smile that seemed to take away all the stress and frustrations from his job and as of late...his personal life. He let out a deep sigh as he picked at the bread and watched the other servers walk around aimlessly, obviously bored, since it was a relatively slow Monday night. About ten minutes later, Riley came out with his food. She smiled as she placed it in front of him.

"Thank you." he said simply, smiling back up at her.

"You're welcome, Detective-"

"Elliot" He interupted.

"Elliot" She repeated as if testing the way it sounded coming from her mouth. "Enjoy" she finished, pivoting towards her other table. He smiled as she walked away from him and greeted the other table. He took his time eating and watched as she gave them an equally warm smile and told a corny joke here and there. He soon found himself, not really checking her out, more like admiring her. She stood at about 5'5" and couldn't have weighed more than about 115 pounds. He took in the darkness of her hair which was tied into a loose but neat pony tail, her perfectly pressed shirt which was covered in pins, her skin looked soft and tan and seemed as if it were begging to be touched and caressed. Her legs, long firm stems that led up to a perfectly toned ass. Her arms looked strong, muscular almost, no doubt from working in the restaurant and carrying the trays around. She had all the right feminine curves that a woman should have.

His steak long forgotten, he watched as she went back into the kitchen. He'd noticed how beautiful she was from the first day she served he and Olivia but never dared to act on it. Every time he'd gather up the courage to just ask her out, he reminded himself that she was only three years older than his oldest daughter, Maureen. And yet, despite her youth she possesed more maturity and wisdom than most of the women his age that he knew. The only exception was probrably Olivia. He sighed deeply and looked down at his food, moving the brocoli around on the plate. She walked towards him with a slight saddness playing on her features.

"Is it over cooked?" she asked frowning a bit. He looked up at her and decided that she was beautiful even when she frowned. He shook his head softly.

"No, not at all. I'm just full from the bread, I guess." he said. She nodded knowingly.

"Would you like for me to get you a box?"She asked as a smile replaced the frown that she'd worn momentarily. He took a breath slowly. The words escaped so quickly that he hadn't even felt himself saying them.

"Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" She froze not saying a word. Time seemed to stand still and he could literally feel his heart pounding inside his chest. He could feel his body heat begin to rise and a lump suddenly started to form in his throat. Please say yes he thought as he continued to look at her. Finally she spoke softly.

"Sure. Why not." she said smiling and grabbing her server book from her apron, retrieved his itomized check. She flipped it to the back and neatly wrote her number on it, making sure that it was perfectly legible, before handing it to him.

"Give me a call any time after 12." She said.

"I will" he replied, smiling. Then, turning around, she went back into the kitchen and came back seconds later with a box and a bag. Carefully she placed the barely eaten steak into the box as well as the green beans and brocoli. Then, setting the dirty plate aside, she put the box into the bag and placed it next to him. She picked up the plate and looked at him.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?"she asked with a hint of hopefullness in her voice which made him smile even more.

"Absolutely" he said with more confidence than he'd had when he first walked in. She smiled again and said good bye before going back into the kitchen once again. He paid the tab, leaving his usual thirty percent tip and made sure to take the check which had her number on it with him. He felt more alive than he had ever remembered feeling. Even as he walked out of the restaurant, back to the precinct, got into his car and drove back to the house that he once shared with the woman he thought to be the only love of his life. The same house that was filled with an emptiness and lonelyness that seemed to overflow into his heart, wasn't relevant anymore. Instead, his heart drowned in the victorious feeling of success and became indulged in the hopes of possibly finding contentment. It was the hope, the dream that was Riley Hamilton.