A/N: I'm back to the one-shots! I haven't written one of these in a while, and this is my first C/E pairing. I hope you guys like it. I do. Review and let me know! Special, special thanks to zero-zip., my wonderful beta. You rock, girl!
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Dick Wolf owns SVU. If I owned it, I wouldn't have done what he did in "Cold." Lyrics are "Fishin' in the Dark" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Lazy yellow moon comin' up tonight
Shinin' through the trees
Crickets are singin'
And the lightning bugs are floatin' on the breeze
Baby, get ready…
"When are you gonna tell me where the hell we're going?" ADA Casey Novak folded her arms across her chest and glared at her friend.
Detective Elliot Stabler grinned and glanced at the fiery attorney. He couldn't see her furious gaze in the dark, but he knew it was bound to be there. "C'mon, Casey. Where's your sense of adventure?"
"We've been driving for two hours! It's already after nine."
"Don't tell me you turn into a pumpkin after ten."
"No," she retorted. "It's not that."
"Well, I know it's not work. Considering you have your first day off tomorrow in almost two weeks."
"So do you. So why aren't you home with your kids?"
"It's Kathy's weekend with them."
Casey immediately kicked herself mentally. The divorce had been hard on Elliot, harder than the initial separation. She knew he blamed himself, his job.
"Besides." His baritone voice broke into her thoughts. She turned her head to see his grin, the one that melted her heart every single time she saw it. "I wanted to spend a little time with you."
Her mind whirled at that statement. She'd always had a crush on him. Who wouldn't? Piercing blue eyes, rippling muscles, a heart of gold – he had everything a woman could possibly want. Was he actually flirting with her? Or was he just being her friend?
Elliot glanced over at the suddenly-silent young attorney. Was it something I said? His relationship with Casey had always been something of an enigma. Out of his four fellow detectives, he was the closest to her. They had always been good friends, but lately his affections toward her had shifted a little.
Now, he wasn't sure what he felt for her. It was certainly something that could only be defined as more-than-friends, especially after he'd had that one particularly steamy dream about her a couple of weeks ago that made a very cold shower necessary.
"You still haven't told me where we're going."
Casey's voice startled him, and he jumped a little. She snickered, and he shot a glare in her general direction. "It's a surprise."
"Can't you at least give me a hint?"
"It's a very special place."
"Uh-huh." She shook her head, tendrils of strawberry-blonde hair falling into her face. "We're out here, on Long Island, in the middle of nowhere. For all I know, you're taking me out here to kill me."
"Damn it! You ruined the surprise!"
Casey laughed heartily. "That's what I thought. You're a cop; you know how to hide bodies."
"Got that right. No one would ever suspect someone like me."
They laughed for a few minutes, until Elliot reached over to change the channel on the radio station. The peppy guitar riffs and falsetto voices of the Beach Boys filled the car. "And we'll have fun, fun, fun, 'til her daddy takes the T-bird away."
"I love this song!" Elliot exclaimed.
His companion groaned and rolled her eyes. "You're seriously dating yourself, Stabler."
"What?"
"Beach Boys? My dad used to listen to them."
Elliot glanced at her, and he could have sworn, even in the dark, that he saw a twinkle in her blue-green eyes. "Great. You sure know how to make a guy feel wonderful," he said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, El, but seriously. The Beach Boys?"
"Nostalgia's an old man's best friend." He grinned again at her snort.
Across the field where the crick turns back
By the old stump road
I'm gonna take you to special place
That nobody knows
Baby, get ready…
Elliot's eyes spotted the dirt road, marked with a dead and rotting wood stump, on his left hand side, and he immediately turned on his blinker and slowed down.
Casey glanced around, still trying to figure out where they were going. They really were out in the boondocks. She'd seen a sign for a town about five miles back, and there were no other signs or houses in sight. The trees, in their full summer bloom, lined the rough dirt road, creating a beautiful canopy. She craned her neck to look up at the night sky. Millions of tiny stars twinkled down at her, and her eyes grew wide. It was absolutely beautiful.
"Are we there yet?" she asked, still looking up at the sky.
A chuckle escaped Elliot's lips. "Almost. God, you sound like my kids."
"Well, maybe I wouldn't be asking if you'd just tell me where we're going."
Elliot quickly pulled off to the side of the road into a little clearing. He put the car in park, turned off the ignition, and swiveled in his seat to face her. "We're here," he said with a smirk.
She raised an eyebrow at him as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "And where exactly is here?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he pushed open his own door and quickly walked around the car to her side. With a smile, he opened her door and held out his hand for her. "I used to come here with my dad," he explained as he helped her out of the car. "He'd take me fishing. Just me, never my brothers and sisters. Always made me feel special."
"So what exactly are we doing here now?" Casey rubbed her bare arms briskly. The night air was a little chilly. In the distance, she could hear the sound of rushing water mingling with the chirping of the crickets.
Her mouth fell open as she turned around to see Elliot pull two fishing rods and a blanket out of the trunk of the car.
"Fishing," he said with a smile.
"In the middle of the night?" she asked, laughing.
"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Elliot handed her one rod and pulled a thermos out of the trunk.
"I've never been fishing in the dark." Casey quirked an eyebrow at him skeptically.
"First time for everything, Counselor." He slung the rod and blanket over his shoulder. "Follow me." With that, he turned and headed down a dark trail.
Casey glared at him for a minute, but she trailed after him toward the sound of the water. He's sure acting strange, she thought.
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark
Lyin' on our backs and countin' the stars
Where the cool grass grows
Casey couldn't suppress a gasp as they finally broke out of the tree-line into a meadow. It was absolutely beautiful. The full moon reflected off the softly babbling river, and fireflies winked at them from across the water. The grass looked soft and cool, so much that she wanted to take off her shoes and bury her toes in it.
"Hey."
She looked up to see Elliot standing on the bank of the river, watching her curiously. He'd spread out the blanket on the grass and kicked off his shoes.
"You comin'?" he asked with a smile.
"Sure," she replied as she returned his smile. Casey joined him on the blanket and set her rod down to pull off her shoes. She sighed as her feet touched the feather-soft grass next to the blanket.
Elliot sank down onto the blanket with a sigh. "Have a seat," he ordered her as he patted the empty spot next to him.
Casey obliged with a smile. "This is gorgeous, Elliot."
"Yeah." He gently shrugged off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. He smiled at her grateful look. "It was always one of my favorite places to go. Away from the city, no one around. I loved to come here and just think."
"It's so peaceful out here," she agreed as she reached for her rod. "I don't think I've seen so many stars in years." Expertly she put a little slack on the line and, with one flick of the wrist, she cast the lure into the water.
"Wow," Elliot said, clearly impressed. "You never told me you'd done this before."
Casey held the rod loosely in her hand and lay down on her back. "My dad took me fishing sometimes when I was little." She sighed, looking up at the stars and pulling Elliot's jacket tighter around her shoulders. "I loved it. Just me and my dad, out on the lake near our house."
Elliot cast his line out into the river and lay down next to his companion. "You know, I've known you for years now, and you never talk about your childhood."
He heard her inhale deeply, and he thought for a moment that he'd hit a nerve. For a moment, the only sound that reached his ears was the river.
"It wasn't bad," she said finally. "It just wasn't incredibly exciting. My dad didn't commit suicide like John's father, and my mother wasn't an alcoholic like Olivia's."
"That doesn't mean that I don't want to hear about it."
Casey turned her head to give him a strange look. He looked back, his blue eyes clear in the light of the full moon. He smiled at her reassuringly, the skin around his eyes crinkling.
"I grew up in Virginia," she said finally. "Two brothers, one sister. My dad, after he came back from Vietnam, owned a gun shop in Norfolk. My mom was a teacher at the local high school. It was a pretty simple life."
"Why'd you want to be a prosecutor?"
She reeled in her line a little and then propped the rod up next to her. "My dad always talked about the law, how he joined the army because he believed in the laws of this country. He was furious whenever criminals got off, and he told me that there needed to be someone putting these guys away for as long as the law allowed, someone who was dedicated to the law. I figured it might as well be me."
"You do a good job of it."
Casey looked at him incredulously.
"No, seriously. I know we get on your case sometimes when you can't get us a warrant or subpoena, but you do a good job."
A slow smile spread across her face. "Thanks, Elliot. That means a lot to me."
He returned her smile and reeled in his own line a little bit. "One thing still bothers me though."
"What's that?"
"How the hell did you get so good at softball?"
Casey laughed hard, her slender arms hugging her sides. "Jealous, Stabler?" she forced out between guffaws.
"A little," he said with a wide grin. "C'mon, what's your secret?"
She snickered a little more and tried to catch her breath. "My brothers taught me. It was the only way they could get me to quit bugging them."
"Wait a minute. Your brothers taught you to swing like that?" Elliot looked at her, astonished. She had one of the most powerful swings he'd ever seen on a girl.
Casey nodded. "Yep. Then they got mad because I was better than them."
Elliot chuckled. "Figures. Any chance I could meet them, get a few pointers?"
She laughed again and shook her head. "You're hopeless, Elliot. Talk about desperation."
"You'd be desperate too if your team was oh-and-three to the freakin' lawyer squad."
"You're just pissed because a bunch of ADA's kicked your ass."
"Damn right."
Down by the river in the full moonlight
We'll be fallin' in love in the cool of the night
Just movin' slow
Casey struggled hard to catch her breath through fits of laughter. "Wait, wait, wait," she said as she struggled to sit up. Her slim frame shook as she tried to hold in her giggles. "You and your buddies actually stole your platoon leader's helmet and put shaving cream in it? How exactly did you get away with that?"
"We didn't." Elliot leaned back on his elbows and grinned at the ADA. "He made the whole platoon do ten mile field hikes in full gear for a week. The best one we ever did though was the time we caught a bunch of field mice and jump-qualified them."
"What?"
"We tied parachutes on them and dropped them off the roof of the barracks."
Another burst of laughter escaped her. "Did it work?"
"Four of them didn't. We buried those with full military honors, including a twenty-one kazoo salute."
Casey snickered.
"The last one actually completed all five jumps."
"What'd you do with him?"
"We set him loose in the mess hall."
She shook her head and chuckled. "I never would've pegged you for a prankster."
"It's kinda hard to play pranks when you're chasing down a rapist."
"Point taken." A cool breeze suddenly blew in from the north, and Casey shivered. Other than Elliot's light jacket, her arms were bare.
In the course of two hours with him, they'd forgotten all about their fishing rods, which lay on the grass next to their blanket. Elliot's stories from the Marine Corps were both amusing and sobering, especially when he talked about his tour of duty in the first Gulf War. Some of them reminded Casey of the stories her father told her when she was young.
And in the course of two hours, Casey had become increasingly attracted to the detective.
Elliot noticed her quivering shoulders. "Cold?" he asked.
"A little."
He held out one arm and gestured for her to scoot closer to him. When she balked, he just smiled. "I don't bite, Casey. At least most of the time."
Casey chuckled and shook her head. "I know. It's just that –" She caught herself just in time, and closed her mouth with a snap.
Elliot could tell she was getting nervous, but he wasn't completely sure why. They'd been talking animatedly for hours, finding out more about each other's pasts. And he was becoming more and more enchanted with the intelligent, beautiful attorney. He'd always been attracted to her, but this was something different – something he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
Her blue-green eyes widened. "Of course."
"Then what's stopping you?"
The line between friend and more-than-friends, she wanted to say. But instead she shook her head and smiled. Silently she moved closer to him, her slim body fitting snugly into his warm side. Against her better judgment, she let her head drop onto his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her.
"Thanks," she whispered.
"You're welcome," he returned with a smile.
Casey sighed and looked up at the sky. Once again, the simple beauty of the night sky astounded her. The millions of stars winked down at her. The full moon shone brightly off the river as it talked to no one in particular. Even though the fireflies had long since abandoned their light show, the music of the crickets beat a steady rhythm, more pure than any man-made music on the face of the earth.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, trying to snuggle deeper into Elliot's warm side. She couldn't remember a time she'd been this close to him.
Elliot swallowed hard and looked down at the woman in his arms. "Yes. You are."
For a moment, she thought she hadn't heard him right. Did he really say she was beautiful? She pulled her head back to look him in the eyes. "What?"
He swallowed hard again, feeling like a teenager with his first crush. "You're beautiful." He chuckled. "I've been wanting to tell you that all night."
"Elliot, I –"
"I mean it. I think you're the smartest, funniest, most beautiful woman I've met in a long time." Before he knew what was happening, his face was inching closer and closer to hers. The way her porcelain skin looked in the moonlight, the way she bit her lip nervously, the way her eyes searched his – he just couldn't resist.
"Elliot," she whispered one last time as his lips drew within inches of hers.
"I'll stop if you tell me to," he whispered back, his warm breath tickling her lips.
Right then she made a split-second decision.
Casey gently touched her lips to his and closed her eyes, savoring the taste of his lips. Her hand came up and caressed his cheek. His stubble was rough against her skin, and she smiled into the kiss when his hand pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her other arm around his neck and pulled him closer.
She tasted better than Elliot ever thought possible. One hand stayed on her waist, and the other hand entangled itself in her long strawberry-blonde hair. Elliot felt her shiver as his fingers brushed against the small strip of skin between the top of her jeans and the hem of her t-shirt, and he smiled at the thought that he'd caused that reaction.
His tongue skimmed the seam of her lips, begging for permission to explore. She immediately acquiesced, and their tongues battled for control, communicating unspoken feelings and desires through teeth and tongues and lips.
Elliot gently laid her back onto the blanket and pulled back, opening his eyes to look at her. Casey's lips were swollen from his kiss, but she still looked beautiful as she opened her eyes to look at him. "That was –"
"Amazing," she finished with a smile. "I always wanted to know how that felt."
"How what felt?"
"Kissing Elliot Stabler." She grinned and caressed his face with her fingertips.
He smiled and lowered his lips to her neck, kissing and gently nipping the soft, tender skin. Her moan reverberated through his lips, and his body felt like it was on fire. His hand moved to the snap of her jeans and hovered there for a moment.
"Elliot," she croaked. She couldn't think straight while his lips were doing that to her neck and jawline.
"I don't want it unless you want it."
Casey grabbed his face and looked straight into his eyes. "I want it," she said firmly.
Elliot lifted his eyebrows and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Are you sure, Case?"
She nodded and smiled. "I want you."
He returned her smile and nodded. "I want you too." With those four simple words, his lips crashed down on hers again.
Stayin' the whole night through
Feels so good to be with you.
Elliot groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes. An early morning mist had settled over the quiet riverbank, reflecting the soft pinks and oranges of the rising sun. The river still quietly rushed along its course, babbling to itself.
But he thought that even the beauty of nature couldn't measure up to the woman still sleeping beside him.
Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and he resisted the urge to kiss her closed eyelids. Immediately he had a flashback to the night before, how they'd moved together as one unit, finally getting what they'd held in for so long. How he'd stifled her moans with his lips. How she'd trailed kisses along his jawbone, meeting the movement of his hips with her own. How they'd laid together in the afterglow, legs and arms entwined, and fallen asleep together.
In that moment, he decided that that was how he wanted every night to end up.
Casey stirred suddenly, and he reached up and brushed a strand of strawberry-blonde hair from her face. She opened her eyes and looked right into his own intense blue orbs. "Good morning," she said with a sleepy smile.
"Good morning." He leaned in and softly kissed her lips, then reached out and pulled her to his chest.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pressed a kiss into her hair, and she giggled when his morning stubble scratched her cheek.
"What?"
"You're scratchy," she replied with a grin.
"And you're gorgeous," he retorted.
"Oh, great comeback, Stabler."
"I thought you might like that."
Casey tilted her face up and gently brushed her lips against his. "Last night was…" She bit her lip thoughtfully.
Elliot shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, it was." He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and smiled as she closed her eyes. "Casey, I hope you know that last night wasn't a one-time thing for me."
Casey was taken aback. She pulled back from him so she could look him in the eyes. "Wh-what?" she stammered.
"I mean it. I don't do one-night stands. Tonight, I'm going to take you out to dinner. The best restaurant we can find."
"Like a date?"
He grinned. "Exactly like a date. Kathy's supposed to bring the kids by tonight, so we'll head back to my place, and we can hang out."
Casey's mouth dropped open in shock. If he was having her meet his kids like this, this was something serious. "Elliot –"
"Casey, I want last night to happen every night from now on. I want you to be the person I see when I wake up in the morning, and the person I kiss goodnight."
Oh my God, she thought as she fought back the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes. She'd always wanted to hear those words from his mouth, and now that she'd heard them, the only response she could think of was to press her lips to his. His mouth immediately opened to let her in, and Casey gently stroked his tongue with hers, rediscovering every inch she'd explored the previous night.
Finally the need for air became too much, and she pulled back, smiling wistfully at him. He tightened his grip on her waist and sighed contentedly.
"Hey, Elliot?"
"Mmm?"
"I like fishing in the dark." Casey grinned as he rolled his eyes and kissed her again.
You and me goin' fishin' in the dark…
A/N2: By the way, the story about the field mice was actually a story my dad told me from his days at West Point. Some details are different, but it's the basic idea. It's one of my favorite stories my parents told me. Please review! Let me know if you liked it!