Disclaimer: Okay, so yeah. I don't own anything at all whatsoever. Except maybe the plot of the story. (:

AN: IMPORTANT TO READ: OK! It is important to know, before you read this story, that Elliot NEVER GOT BACK WITH HIS WIFE after 2006. THEY STAYED APART!

So anyway: I said I wouldn't post anything before New Year's but this idea just came along! I decided to throw a little bit of a summer vibe into your cold winter veins(: I hope you enjoy this!

Olivia put one foot forward, and then looked down at the dull, grey-carpeted floor. She looked back up and came face-to-face with a sharp, green-eyed ship assistant.

"Go ahead, ma'am."

Olivia nodded at him, pushed her head back down, and climbed aboard the cruise ship. She walked down the hall and was immersed into a colorful lobby. The lobby was welcoming and had a warm feeling in the atmosphere, with the walls painted dark blue and with bright red-and-yellow patterned carpet. There were doors attached to every wall of the room, leading off to more halls and rooms. At the back of the room, there was a big glass elevator that revealed the faces of excited children, shooting up the floors of the ship. On each side of the elevator was a gold-railed staircase with rich, solid red carpet. Olivia glanced at the top of both staircases. He wasn't there. Where was Elliot?

She pulled out her phone and called four times, but she didn't receive an answer on any of her hopeless calls.

She turned around slowly, standing in the center of the room, her eyes darting around quickly. Where was he? This was worrying her. The ship was leaving soon. Elliot was supposed to be with her, they had to catch Gabriel before the ship left!

Olivia looked around some more, but she still didn't see him. He'd promised that he would be at the top of the staircase. He'd had to board before her because they had split up searching for Gabriel.

When Olivia had looked for Elliot for about ten minutes, she finally approached security and pulled out her badge. "I'm Detective Olivia Benson from the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. My partner and I have great reason to believe that a rapist has boarded your ship-"

"Well, do you know his name? We can get the ship's security to find him, if he's on this boat," the woman interrupted, her big brown eyes getting increasingly wide.

"I know exactly who he is, but my partner and I would prefer to catch him ourselves. He's a very advanced rapist and he doesn't know that we're onto him. He can't know that, he's too smart, he'll get away if he finds out that we know he's on here. My partner and I have to be secretive; the last thing we need is a bunch of people looking for him. He'll know we're onto him and he will get away. Anyway, that's not the point. Have you seen my partner anywhere? You'd be able to tell he was a cop," Olivia said.

"No, ma'am," she replied, shaking her head quickly.

Olivia tried not to curse out loud. They couldn't stop the ship from taking off. There were hundreds of people aboard, for one thing. But the main reason they couldn't shut the ship down was that if they did, the brilliant criminal would most likely get away. Olivia and Elliot could not take that risk. This case had been open for nearly three months, and Gabriel had raped and stolen from eleven different women. He was really good at getting away, and this was their best chance at getting him. This attempt had to be handled with the utmost tediosity.

Where was Elliot? The ship was due to take off from New York in five minutes!

If Elliot wasn't there, then Olivia would just have to find Gabriel herself, because she couldn't get stuck on this ship finding Gabriel, but she also couldn't get off of the ship knowing that Gabriel would rape women aboard and that he quite possibly would never be caught if she didn't get him this time.

So she set out, jogging up the stairs, her hand sliding along the freezing golden railing as her eyes zoomed in on many different faces, none of which were Gabriel's. Could Gabriel fit in any better? Why did he have to have brown hair and brown eyes and such a subtle profile in general? He looked so normal, like most of the male population. At least 75% of the men on this ship looked very similar to him. Olivia would never be able to find him within five minutes! Where was Elliot?

She pulled out her phone and punched in his number once again, listening to the annoying, slow dial and sighing in defeat when she unsurprisingly received no answer for the fifth time. Oh, she was going to be so pissed when she finally found him.

Olivia walked down the halls of the seemingly endless ship, searching the dimly-lit restaurants and spa rooms, the balconies, the movie theaters and the game rooms, looking for Gabriel's face or Elliot's. Olivia knew she'd be able to spot Elliot anywhere, so he couldn't be in any of the places she'd already checked. But there were so many hallways and rooms on this ship! How would she ever find Elliot? And as for Gabriel, she'd never find him! He could have been in the places she'd already searched up and down, but she still wouldn't know because he was so damned subtle! What was she going to do? Why wasn't Elliot answering his phone?

Olivia shuddered when a booming voice came over the cruise's intercom, saying, "The ship is set to take off in two minutes. The ship will be departing in two minutes. I repeat, the ship will be departing in two minutes."

Olivia ran back down to the lobby and her eyes scanned the crowd, the faces becoming a large blur. Her heart sped and a chill went down her spine as she continued to see unfamiliar faces. She glanced at both of the elevators and still saw undistinct, blurry faces. None of them were Elliot's nor Gabriel's.

"The ship is now departing," the voice came over the intercom again.

Olivia looked around, trying not to get too upset. Everybody else looked excited. People were shouting in joy at take-off, children were skipping around happily, everybody was smiling except her.

Don't be upset, Olivia told herself. Everything is okay, aside from the fact that you're stuck on a cruise without anybody you know other than a serial rapist.

AN: Thanks so much for reading, please review! Reviews are greatly appreciated and the more I get, the more I write! (: