Happy Campers

Part 1 of 3

"Camping?"

"Yeah, camping!"

"Camping, as in a tent, sleeping on the ground, mosquito bites and taking a crap in the nature? That kind of camping?"

Amanda laughed at her partner's view on camping, knowing that he, of course, would blow this out of proportion and highlight the not so pleasant parts of sleeping outdoors in the wilderness. "It's only for a couple of nights. It'll be fun. I already spoke to Carisi and Liv about it and they seemed okay with the idea. Actually, Carisi was quite exited, saying that he use to camp a lot with his grandad when he was a kid."

Fin snorted. "He's still a kid." he looked at his partner's pleading puppy dog like blue eyes and sighed in defeat. "Fine, I don't want to be a partypooper so I guess I'll go, but I'm bringing my own toilet paper."

Amanda looked confused and a bit disgusted. "Of course. What else were you thinking of using? Leaves?"

The older man shrugged his broad shoulders and sat down by his desk. "Isn't that what people do when they camp, live primitive lifes and live of the land and stuff?"

"Um, maybe two hundred years ago, Fin. You bring the toilet roll and I'll bring the bug spray." smiling, she wiggled her eyebrows and almost skipped down the hall, exited about their trip.

"I can't believe you talked me into this, Rollins. This will be my first and last time camping." Fin grunted as he tripped over a rock trying to put up the tent with Carisi's all too ambitious help.

"No, Fin!" the younger Italian detective sternly corrected. "That goes into this loop right here, then you push the rod inside to keep the thing standing up, then you tie it to secure it and then you stretch the strings on the sides and hammer them into the ground to keep it taught. Come on!"

Fin muttered under his breath, already annoyed with his camping partner's constant corrections. Amanda and Olivia had already put their tent up and was now in the process of digging a small hole in the ground where they could put their food into to keep it cool. They chuckled discretely at the two men as they seemed to struggle with the flimsy material and the bunch of metal rods lying in a pile next to their feet. "Which one goes into this loop?" Fin questioned, as he stopped and looked at the half finished construction that was tilting steadily to the left, with a bewildered expression on his face, the whole situation getting on his nerves.

"I think that one." Carisi stated and pointed to the larger one in the pile but then changed his mind. "No, no, I think it's that one. Yeah, that's the one."

Rolling his eyes, Fin let go of the pole he was already holding on to and, as soon as he turned around to pick up the needed tool, the whole thing collapsed behind him, causing the two women to snicker.

"Need a hand, boys?" Liv asked with a smirk, choking back a fit of laughter when Carisi accidentally hit Fin in the head with one of the rods.

"Nah, we're okay, right Fin?"

Rubbing the sore spot at the back of his head, Fin clenched his teeth and mustered up all his willpower to not kill the younger detective there and then. "Hmpf." he mumbled and got back to his task of trying to solve their tent building issues.

It was still quite early in the day and it was bright and sunny, the odd cloud travelling over the blue sky, creating a much needed shade for the four campers as they decided to go on a little hike to explore the countryside and it's charms. Amanda, who was use to tough terrain and sleeping outdoors, wore a pair of combat style pants, sleek hiking boots and a tank top, showing off her toned arms. Liv was wearing something similar but decided on a pair of yoga pants for more comfort and Fin seemed to be confused about what was going on.

"I thought we were camping, not hiking?" he stated while looking down at his own attire of jeans, sneakers and a shirt.

"It's kind of a part of camping, Fin." Amanda said, rolling her eyes at her colleague who looked seemingly lost and frustrated. "We won't go that far anyway. We'll stay on the main trail the whole time."

The older man grunted but nodded his head in approval, still not very keen on this hiking idea. Suddenly Carisi crawled out from his tent after getting changed for their little exhibition, grinning proudly as he stood up. "I'm ready to hike." he confirmed, with way too much excitement for Fin's liking, before sliding a light backpack onto his back with vital necessities like water, sun screen, band aids, matches and a couple of flares in case they got lost. Amanda rolled her eyes at his excessive stash of survival gear, since they were only walking a couple of miles on the main trail.

Other than the backpack, Carisi was wearing a pair of hideous khaki green shorts with side pockets, a t-shirt and a vest to match, beige hiking boots and socks that stretched all the way up to his knees and on his head was a moss green sun hat, to keep his face from burning in the hot mid July sun, and, to top it all off, there was a green net that draped down over his whole face to keep any bugs or mosquitos away. He looked like a stereotypical Aussie but with a Brooklyn accent.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Fin asked as he studied the younger man from top to toe, not able to keep a grin from spreading across his face.

"What? I bought it especially for this, don't you like it?" he sounded confused but slightly hurt by Fin's outburst and looked over to his female colleagues, in hope for a better opinion on his outfit that he recently purchased in an expensive hiking store.

Liv found it extremely amusing and had a hard time not to start laughing hysterically at the man but, instead, gave him a nod in approval and said; "It suits you, Carisi. Now, lead the way."

Liv and Amanda kept their distance behind the two men as Carisi was trying to explain to an, uninterested Fin, how to tell the time by just looking at the sun. The blonde took a sip from her water bottle and offered it to Liv who also took a big gulp. "I will never look at Carisi the same way again. He looks ridiculous." Amanda chuckled as she couldn't help but to stare at Carisi's pale skin between the knee high socks and his shorts. "But kind of adorable at the same time."

Olivia snickered. "He sure looks better in a suit. We should take a sneaky picture and put it up in the squad room."

Amanda gasped in fake surprise and placed a hand over her heart. "Oh my! That's awfully mean coming from you, detective Benson. I'm shocked by your hidden mean streak."

"You don't know half of it, sweetheart. I'm a girl with many hidden secrets." the brunette wiggled her eyebrows at the petite woman next to her and chuckled.

They had only walked for a few minutes when the men in front of them suddenly stopped. "What's going on?" Amanda wanted to know as she approached the duo. "Why are you stopping?"

"Fin has to take a leak." Carisi said, totally oblivious to the other man's embarrassment for bluntly putting his private business out there for everyone to know.

"Thanks for your discretion, detective. Very smooth." he snarled and started to look for a good spot in the near distance where he could take care of his screaming bladder. After deciding on a particular area, he held his hand out towards Carisi and sighed. "Paper?"

"Paper?" the younger man repeated in confusion. "I have no paper. You said you were bringing the toilet paper, not me."

Fin took a step closer to the shorter and thinner man, his face drawn into a deadly serious expression. "The paper is in our tent. I thought you packed it in your little survival kit you're carrying on your back. Are you saying that we have no paper?"

Carisi held his hands up in front of him, in a defensive manner. "I'm saying that you didn't pack it. Is it all up to me to pack everything we need?"

Fin groaned and sighed in exasperation, rubbing his hand over his face vigorously and clearly annoyed. "So what am I suppose to do?"

Amanda stepped forward and patted him encouragingly on his shoulder. "The way I see it, you have three choices here Fin. You can hold it, use a leaf or... shake the snake." Liv snickered in the back at Amanda's suggestions and the shocked look on Fin's face didn't help either.

"Shake the...!" he turned all red, his anger stewing but his bladder won over any embarrassing feelings that he might have had and he stormed off, snagging a large leaf from a tree as he passed it.

A couple of hours later they were back at the camp, the two women sick of listening to the male detectives constant bickering and scolding and, while the men decided to start a light lunch, Liv suggested that herself and Amanda would cool off in a nearby stream that they had discovered at the start of their short hike and the blonde agreed eagerly, the sun getting a bit too warm for her liking.

"I didn't bring a bathing suit." Liv announced as they arrived, the sound of the streaming water made it look even more inviting and she didn't really care if she had a bathing suit or not. It was just too hot to care.

"Neither did I." the blonde confessed and pulled her tank top off, showing her toned abs and smooth skin underneath the material and Liv found it hard not to stare. "See something you like, detective?" she asked with a grin, unbuttoned her pants and slid them down equally muscular thighs and legs, leaving her in a black bra and panties.

Groaning, Liv covered her face with her hands, muttering into her palms. "You're gonna be the death of me, Amanda Rollins."

The two women had had a rocky start with each other since Amanda had joined the Manhattan SVU about two years ago but things had changed within the last year and they were now extremely close and knew one another very well. Nothing sexual had ever happened between the two but there was almost a constant flirting, sensual looks and remarks thrown back and forth, an innocent teasing behaviour that was mutual. They had kissed once, during a work related christmas party, but it was short and sweet and over before it even started. No one had mentioned it since, afraid of what it might bring up if they did but the flirting and the light banter had never seized between the two.

"You're beautiful, Liv." the blonde suddenly whispered in her ear. They had spent a good while cooling off in the stream and were now lying on a big rock, sunbathing in their underwear, enjoying each other's company and proximity. Amanda couldn't stop sneaking glances at Olivia as she laid there, her already tanned skin almost shimmering in the sun light, her hair toussled from the water and her make up free face was as stunning as always.

The brunette lazily turned her head to look Amanda in the eye, smiling gently at her female colleague, squinting at the bright sun. "You're not so bad yourself, Manda. I like what you're wearing. You should undress like that more often." she smirked while wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.

Amanda playfully slapped her arm, chuckling heartedly and turned her face back to the hot sun. "I'll keep that in mind, detective. I think I can get use to you looking at me in a sultry and passionate way." she giggled as she felt Olivia return the slap but she accidentally hit the blonde's boob rather than her upper arm. "Oh, good aim, Benson. I think you should slap me more often."

"Don't push your luck. The arm was my main goal, your boob was just simply in the way."

"These babies are never in the way, Liv." she mumbled, on the verge of falling asleep. "I'm gonna turn around and do my back. If you feel like slapping me, aim for my ass, will ya."

"Copy that."

Almost an hour later Amanda stirred from her hazy slumber as she felt gentle fingertips trailing down along her spine, caressing the skin with care but caution. "Amanda, honey, you never put any sunblock on, did you?" she didn't wait for an answer and gently placed Amanda's tank top over her bare back. "Your back and shoulders are burnt, sweetie. You're really gonna feel that later tonight."

"Hmpf, damn." the blonde mumbled and sat up. "Ouch, I can feel it already. Damn, I must look like a lobster." she tried to turn her head to get a look at her back but there was no use. "Is it bad?"

"Let's just say that you won't be sleeping on your back tonight."

Amanda leaned towards Liv, her lips so close to the brunette's ear that be could feel the warmth and smell the scent of the older woman. "Why, detective? Did you have something in mind that requires me to be on my back?"

Goosebumps covered Olivia's arms and neck as she felt the blonde's warm breath caress her skin and she shivered. "Um... I... I didn't mean... I'm just... damn, come on, let's head back. I'm pretty sure the guys have burnt down the whole campsite by now."

She had almost been right. The two men were sitting around, what the to women guessed was suppose to be a fire, but there was no actual fire, not even the slightest cloud of smoke emitting from the wooden sticks. "Guys, the food isn't gonna cook by itself, you know."

Fin snorted and threw Carisi an evil look. "No shit, Sherlock. Mr Master Camper here used up all the matches trying to light this thing."

"Every time I lit one, there was a gust of wind." Carisi came to his defense. "It's not my fault that mother nature decided to intervene."

"Yeah, blame something that can't even defend itself." the older man muttered and crossed his arms over his chest. "What do we do now, Carisi? Flint, Magnifying glass or rub two dry sticks together?"

As the men continued to argue, Liv had disappeared into her and Amanda's tent, returnd a minute later and handed Carisi a long safety lighter. "This should work."

They ate their lunch in silence, everyone too hungry to speak. However the silence was broken by Fin's slightly upset voice, causing the two women to snap their heads up to see what was going on. "Don't be caressing my face, man!"

Carisi looked baffled and slightly hurt by his colleague's sudden outburst. "But... you had some sauce on your chin, dude. I was simply wiping it off, not caressing your face."

"Just keep your hands to yourself, man. Maybe I wanted the sauce on my chin." he stubbornly stated.

Carisi rolled his eyes and swallowed his last bite. "Like a little snack for later?" he snickered sarcastically.

"Yeah."

Liv and Amanda raised their eyebrows in unison, turned their heads and looked at each other. No words were necessary as their gaze spoke for them, telling each other that this would be a looong couple of days.