Chapter 1: Miami.

"Names?" the hotel clerk asked as Olivia and Nick walked up to the check in desk. Olivia pushed her bangs back from her face, and huffed. It was so damn hot in Miami.

Nick gestured for her to go ahead of him.

"Benson," she spoke to the guy behind the desk.

"I've got you down for one room, one bed, and one night. Is that correct?"

Olivia nodded, and nearly jumped for joy when he didn't ask for her credit card. This one was on the department. She'd only taken a trip where the department had paid for everything once- when she'd been assigned to go to LA to gather evidence to put a serial rapist away. She'd never been asked to really travel outside of New York since.

"Alright. Here you go," the clerk handed her a key card, and gave her a map to the hotel. "Have a nice stay, Ma'am."

She stuffed the key card into her purse, and moved to the side to wait for Nick. While she was waiting, her eyes roamed the hotel lobby. The place was nice, that was for sure.

"You good?" Nick asked as he suddenly popped up beside her. Olivia had to stop herself from jumping.

"Yeah, I'm good," she answered as she headed in the direction of where the elevators were. Nick followed closely behind.

"Hey, Liv, what floor are you on?" Nick asked once they were in the elevator.

"23," Olivia replied, after looking at her key card for confirmation. He nodded and clicked the button for her. Olivia noticed that they weren't on the same floor, he was on 13. She briefly wondered why the department couldn't book them rooms on the same floor.

She looked at the large mirror that made up the side wall of the elevator, and shook her head. She hadn't had time to put on makeup once they'd gotten off the plane, and she regretted it. She looked tired, and old. Her hand automatically came up, and she wiped at her eyes in a sad attempt at making herself look slightly better.

"You're beautiful, Olivia," Nick's voice sounded from behind her.

Just as Olivia turned around to respond, the elevator dinged and Nick stepped out. He was gone before the elevator doors slid shut.

Olivia still hadn't gotten her mouth to close.


Olivia carelessly threw her small bag onto her hotel bed, and then she sunk down onto the mattress. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon; but after spending a hectic morning getting through airport security, sitting through a two hour flight, then picking up a rental car and confirming the hotel reservations, she was completely drained.

The hotel room that the department had paid for was beyond impressive; the room itself was large and spacious, there were two large windows overlooking the city of Miami, and the bed was covered in white blankets and sheets that looked clean and smelt like spring flowers.

Sunlight was pouring into the room through the curtains, and she could hear the blaring sounds of traffic coming through the open window. Olivia was so exhausted that she didn't care. She closed her eyes, and laid on her hotel bed; she was still fully dressed.

Just as she was about to fall into a well earned nap, her phone rang. With a groan, Olivia searched around until she found the annoying device, and then she reluctantly picked up.

"Benson," she answered without checking the caller I.D.

"Liv, how's Miami?" Fin's voice answered.

"It's good so far. We just got here," Olivia sighed and shifted on the bed.

"Captain just wanted an update, we're still going through the files of Brian's victims," Fin said.

"Anything?" Olivia asked.

"Same pattern for all of the murders, and we're going to run DNA from the other victims. Hell, at this point we don't even need a confession from the son of a bitch," Fin said.

"Good. Glad to hear this won't be a wasted trip," Olivia said.

"Yeah, well, I better get back to working before Amanda notices and busts my ass. She's keeping me on my toes," Fin chuckled.

"Wouldn't want to be the reason you get your ass kicked, Fin. I'll see you later," Olivia yawned, and hung up. She tossed her phone down on the pillow beside her, and snuggled further into the warm blankets. Her eyes closed and she slowly relaxed.

Her phone rang again.

"Jesus," Olivia grumbled and snatched the device off the pillow, beyond annoyed. "Hello?" she answered.

"Olivia? Are you okay?" the slightly husky voice of her partner, Nick Amaro, came through the phone.

"Oh, Nick. Hey. I'm fine. What's up?" Olivia asked. She was hoping that he was calling to tell her goodnight, and not to drag her out of the comfortable bed she was currently resting on.

"Well, since it's only three, I figured I could show you Miami. If you're up for it?" Nick sounded hesitant, like it'd taken him forever to work up the nerve to actually ask her. Despite the thick layer of exhaustion that covered her like a blanket, Olivia found that she couldn't bring herself to shoot him down.

"Sounds good, Nick," Olivia responded. "Let me get dressed, and I'll meet you out front in ten?"

"Okay," Nick spoke, she could hear the excitement in his voice. It astounded her that she had that effect on him.

She hung up, and threw her phone on the bedside table. Olivia felt much more energized than she had two minutes ago, and she didn't even want to think about the reason why.


Olivia sloppily placed her sunglasses on top of her head, letting the metal frame rest against the dark strands of her hair. She leaned heavily against their rental car.

The sun in Miami was overbearing, and the intensity in which the rays came down was extremely different than in New York. Olivia could feel the back of her sleeveless black blouse starting to heat up, and suddenly she wished she'd worn a different color. She absentmindedly rubbed a hand over her bare arm as she tried to spot Nick through the crowd of people that had gathered in front of the hotel.

Her phone rang, and Olivia dug it out of the back pocket of her blue jeans.

"Benson," she answered out of habit, even though she was sure that it was Nick calling.

"Hey, Liv. Uh- I'm in the lobby," he spoke. Olivia wondered how long he'd been waiting in the lobby before he decided to call.

"I'm outside, I got the car from the valet," Olivia answered.

"Oh, I'll be right there," Nick spoke before he hung up. Olivia sighed and placed her phone back in her pocket, and then she adjusted her glasses one last time- trying to make it seem like she hadn't been standing outside for the past twenty minutes.

Olivia spotted Nick as soon as he stepped out of the hotel's front doors. Nick's presence was a strong passionate force, and she could always tell when he had walked into a room. Maybe that was a sign that they'd finally built up a strong partnership. She could see Nick struggling to find her; their car was parked a small distance away from the main entrance. Olivia put a hand up, and waved to him. Nick gave her his signature boyish smirk, and Olivia tried to ignore the sudden fluttering in her stomach.

"You look nice, Olivia," Nick spoke as he walked up. Olivia tucked a curly strand of hair back that had fallen from her sloppy bun. She remembered his comment in the elevator. She really wished he would stop complimenting her.

"Thanks," Olivia murmured. Her eyes automatically roamed his body. He was wearing dark jeans that hugged him nicely, and a tight white t-shirt that did nothing to hide his muscles, and made his naturally tanned skin pop. Olivia had to force herself to look away; there was no way that she could be having thoughts about Nick. She was a woman in her forties, and Nick was still in his thirties. The age gap wasn't that big, but it didn't matter. He was still young. He was also her partner, so there was no reason to even be having this conversation with herself.

"You ready?" Nick asked as he stepped around her, and pulled the passenger door open for her.

Olivia didn't respond, but gave him a small smile as she hopped into the rented Sedan. Nick closed the passenger door behind her, and then jogged around to the drivers side.

And they say chivalry's dead, Olivia thought.


"Olivia? Hey, we're here." A warm hand was on the side of her neck, and somebody was gently shaking her. Olivia groaned and tried to roll over, her hip connected with something hard and a hiss escaped her lips before she could stop it. Brown eyes popped open and she was met with Nick's amused ones.

Olivia looked down, she had rolled over on the stick-shift. She quickly scooted back into the passenger seat, and unbuckled her seat belt. Nick held his hand out for her. Olivia surprised herself when she took it, and allowed him to pull her out of the vehicle.

"Sorry for waking you," Nick said as he locked the car.

"That's okay," Olivia said. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around. They were parked beside a meter on a crowded street. Olivia could see the ocean from the sidewalk, and the salty breeze washed over her. She couldn't help but smile.

"I knew you'd like Miami," Nick said beside her. "We're going to this little restaurant I like to eat at when I'm in town."

"Who said I liked it? I can however appreciate a nice view," Olivia threw a glance at her partner, and noticed his smirk.

"Come on. I'm starving, and I think you should try the Cuban sandwich here before you make up your mind about Miami," Nick grinned.

"Sure," Olivia said. Nick placed a hand on the small of her back, and led her up the sidewalk.

He'd been touching her a lot lately, even in New York. She'd gotten used to him placing his hands on her when he was helping her into a crime scene, or supporting her as she cuffed a suspect, but now he was touching casually. Her brain didn't know how to feel about the contact, but her body was enjoying it so she allowed him to keep his hand where it was.

As they made their way down the sidewalk, they were pressed into each other by the other people on the sidewalk. Nick's hand never left her back as they maneuvered through the crowd.