Disclaimer: I do not own SVU or its characters. They are the property of Dick Wolf.

Chapter 1 – Vacations are for Homicide Wimps

May 24, 2010 12:43 am

No matter how fast she ran, she couldn't catch up.

She could see the perp, no more than 6 feet in front of her. His legs were pumping, the heels of his white running shoes a blur as they slapped heavily against the pavement. Her own heart thumped like a drum in her chest, her lungs burning from the cold air she sucked in to oxygenate her body, her thighs throbbing from the bruising impact of her feet thudding against the sidewalk. She deftly skirted garbage bags and dodged debris, block after block flying by, her body starting to protest with each step. Instinctively, she knew he must be tiring too. If she could just hang in there a bit longer . . . Yet he still managed to stay an aggravating 6 feet ahead of her, slightly out of reach. She pushed herself harder and harder, but couldn't close the distance. It was like chasing a ghost; close, but untouchable.

Three blocks later, fatigue was really setting in, despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her fear that the gap would widen if she slowed was all that drove her. She couldn't, wouldn't, let him get away. As if sensing her exhaustion, the perp made a sudden move, darting out through two parked cars and slipping out into the rain soaked street. The night cloaked the dark bumper of the black Mercedes parked along the street beside her. When she moved to follow the perp, she clipped her knee against it.

Letting out a small curse, she limped out into the street, slowing her pace only slightly. The pain in her knee distracted her just enough to prevent her from seeing the danger: headlights of an oncoming vehicle. She had only a second to react, her arms flying up impotently to protect her head. The grill of the car struck the side of her right thigh amid the eardrum-shattering squeal of brakes. She crashed onto the hood and rolled upward, her arm smashing through the unforgiving glass of the windshield.

"Liv."

The feeling of a hand on her shoulder jolted Olivia awake. She shot back in her chair, heart pounding, hands gripping the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white, her eyes wide and wild, breathing erratically. It took several moments for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the squad room and for her brain to process the fact that the headlights she could still see in her mind's eye were just part of a dream. When her body finally relaxed and her breathing became more controlled, she noticed Elliot standing off to the side, hands raised in surrender.

"Jesus Elliot!," Olivia breathed, hand flying to her abdomen. She shook her head, trying to clear out the cobwebs before looking back up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Elliot didn't smile as he dropped his hands and took several steps toward her. His voice was soft as his eyes scanned her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Liv looked around, fully absorbing her surroundings for the first time. The squad room was empty, lit only by a few desk lamps left on by the desk's occupants, who had long gone home for the evening. Papers were scattered around her desk, and she suddenly remember the final paperwork she had been completing for the case they solved the previous afternoon. She had lay her head down, just for a second, around 11, swearing to herself that she would finish the paperwork before she headed home for the weekend. A quick glance at the clock told her it was now almost 1 am. "I was finishing some stuff up for a case. Guess I dozed off."

Elliot reached forward and gently peeled a damp strand of hair away from Liv's forehead. "You're soaked in sweat. You must have been having a hell of a dream."

"Yeah." Liv took in a deep breath and felt more like herself. She smiled warmly at her former partner and current boyfriend. "So I repeat, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on vacation for two weeks, spending time with the kids."

"I was. Kathy's new boyfriend rented a cottage for the weekend, she asked that I drop the kids off a bit early so they can all go up together. We traded, I will have them for another week in a couple months."

"That's good." Looking into his blue eyes, Olivia fought the urge to tell him she had missed him. Although it was the truth, it didn't seem the time or place. Although they weren't partners anymore, the invisible force in the 1-6 that had kept them from expressing their feelings for 11 years was still strong. He must have felt it too, because he didn't make a move to hug or kiss her, even though they were alone. Instead, he walked around her and let his fingertips slide across the smooth wood of the desk immediately across from hers - his old desk. A desk that was now littered with Fin's papers and personal effects.

"I tried to call you after I dropped off the kids. You weren't answering at home or your cell. Called Fin, he said you guys caught a brutal case this week. Parents pimping out their six daughters and one son. Ended in a murder suicide once you caught up with 'em."

"Yeah." Olivia blew out a sigh, closed her eyes, and ran her hands through her mahogany hair. "It was bad." She waved at the paperwork spread across her desk as she scooted her chair forward. "I was just trying to finish up the paperwork for it before calling it a night."

Elliot sat down in Fin's chair and gazed at her across the desks. "You look exhausted Liv. It's 1 am. Time to call it a night. Paperwork will still be there tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." Olivia rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I just want to put this behind me."

Elliot reached across the desks and touched Olivia's hand, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles. "You need to take a break Liv. And I don't just mean tonight. When's the last time you took some time off? It's time for you to take a vacation."

Shaking her head, Liv pulled away and stood up. She moved over to the file cabinet, pulled out a drawer, and began rifling through it. "Vacations are for Homicide wimps," she teased him, smiling genuinely but tiredly over the files.

Elliot shot her his trademark quirky smile as he stood up, moving over to stand beside her. "You're stubborn," he whispered, leaning over and dropping a light kiss in her hair. "Don't stay too much longer. Call me tomorrow."

Three hours later, Olivia finally dropped a fistful of papers onto Cragen's desk. Her eyes burned from hours of staring at a glowing computer screen and her fingers ached from the steady typing. Every bone in her body felt heavy and mentally she was just as exhausted. As if on auto-pilot, she walked mindlessly back into the locker room and entered the combination to her lock. She stopped for a moment, resting her forehead on the cool metal. At this rate, she was going to fall asleep in the cab on the way home.

With a sigh, Olivia straightened and pulled her locker door open. A heavy, brochure-shaped folder fell out, landing on the floor with a soft thud. Groaning, she bent to pick it up, her sore back complaining all the way down. The outside of the small folder was smooth and glossy, and she could feel two thinner pieces of paper tucked into it. When her tired eyes adjusted and she was able to read it, she felt a rush of warmth and happiness flush her face. It wasn't a brochure. Tucked into the holder was a pair of airline tickets for a flight to Aruba, leaving the day after tomorrow. Attached to the ticket holder was a sticky note bearing Elliot's scrawl. The question written there made her smile and fall deeper in love than she had ever thought possible:

"Go away with me?"