AN: This chapter is super long! I appreciate all the reviews I've been getting and I hope you like this uber-long chapter! (: Happy New Year, by the way!

Elliot and Olivia walked back to their bedroom after buying everything they needed, and set their stuff down.

"I'm hungry," Olivia said, looking at Elliot.

"Me too," he agreed. "Let's look at a map and see what's to eat.

Olivia nodded, looking around the room. There's got to be a map around here somewhere, she thought. She pulled open the night stand drawer and spied a brochure/map. She looked over it, Elliot coming up to her shoulder to look at it as well.

"The ones with the green dots are restaurants," she stated.

"Hey, Liv?"

"Hmm?" she asked, looking up from the map.

"What if we just went to the deck and got a hot dog or something at the concession stand? We can hang out or something while the food settles and then we can swim," he suggested.

"Sounds good," Olivia agreed, smiling and pulling out her new clothes and swimsuit. She took the swimsuit off the hanger and grabbed one of her t-shirts and shorts. Elliot did the same.

"I'll change in here and you can change in the bathroom," Olivia said.

Elliot nodded and took his stuff into the bathroom. Olivia pulled on the swimsuit, scared about wearing it and feeling modest.

"Can I come out yet?" Elliot asked.

"Uh, yeah," Olivia said as she started to pull a shirt over her head but Elliot was already looking at her.

"I'm not sure if I want to wear this," she admitted.

"Why not?"

"Just...because. People like me don't wear bikinis."

"People like you?" Elliot questioned.

"I...well, I'm not..."

"You look hot," he said. "You're right, maybe you shouldn't wear it. I don't want you to get stolen," he said.

Olivia chuckled and finished pulling the shirt on. She then put on some shorts.

"Let me wash my face real quick so I don't have make up running down my face when I swim," Olivia said.

Elliot nodded and Olivia disappeared into the bathroom. She came back a minute later. "You ready to go?" Olivia asked.

Elliot kind of stared at her.

"What?" she questioned.

He walked closer to her and touched her face. "You are really pretty," he said, like it was a shock.

She shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean? I just took my make up off, Elliot. If anything, I look ugly right now. What are you talking about?"

"I mean, you don't look bad without make up. You still look really pretty," he said.

Olivia furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, did you expect me to look like some kind of monster or something?" she asked, chuckling. "It's just make up, Elliot, it's not like some sort of mask. Not the way I wear it, anyway," she added.

He kind of chuckled. "Well, I just...I don't know. A lot of women aren't pretty without make up."

"By a lot of women you mean Kathy," Olivia said.

"Yeah, her," Elliot replied.

"Well, obviously I'm not Kathy, so..." Olivia's voice trailed off as she pulled open the door and walked out of the room, Elliot following her, holding his room key.

They both walked up to the deck. The sun was going down so the sky was lit up an amazing shade of orange, fading out to yellow the further away it was from the sun. They went to the concession stand and got something to eat. They were incredibly surprised when they discovered that they didn't have to pay for their hot dogs.

"Don't we have to pay?" Olivia asked the big man at the counter.

The man looked at her like she was crazy. "Didn't you read about this when you paid for the cruise? Everything on the cruise is free, aside from souvenirs and extra stuff like that. Meals and activities all come free with the price that you pay to get on the cruise," he said.

Olivia grinned. "Oh. I...I knew that. I just didn't know if this stand qualified, I thought I heard it didn't. Thanks," she said, walking away, still feeling embarrassed.

"Wow, everything's free. Awesome," Elliot commented.

Olivia nodded. They walked over to lounge chairs and sat down, both starting to eat. They'd gotten on the cruise around 10:00 a.m., and now it was 7:45. They hadn't eaten in hours. After they both finished their hot dogs and fries, Elliot glanced over at Olivia.

"I'll be right back," he said, getting up.

A few minutes later, Elliot appeared with a beer in his left hand and a frozen drink in his other hand. He gave Olivia the tall frozen drink and she grinned thankfully, taking a gulp and then immediately squeezing her temples from brain freeze.

Elliot chuckled at her momentary stupidity.

"What?"

"You started guzzling a frozen drink. You must really be in need of some alcohol," he said.

"I...kind of am," she said, smiling.

"Why? Because being on a cruise ship is so stressing?" he inquired, smirking.

Olivia removed her shirt and laid down on the lounge chair. "Hmm," she moaned, wiping her eyes. "The cruise part isn't stressing, it's being with you," she said.

Elliot laid down as well. "That was low," he said.

Olivia looked over at him. Then she got up, holding her drink, and sat at the bottom of his lounge chair. "That," she started, "was a joke." She grinned. Then she picked the small umbrella on a toothpick out of her drink and held it up for him to see. She turned it around in her fingers and slowly poked the bottom of Elliot's left foot. She drew a little invisible heart with it and tickled him to death. He kept twitching. Olivia couldn't stop laughing.

"Stop!" he shouted playfully. "I'm seriously afraid I'm going to kick you."

"You know you want to," she said, continuing to tickle him with the toothpick, trying to see if he would really kick her or if he would try to keep himself composed.

He curled his toes up, trying to avoid thinking about the ticklish feeling on his sensitive feet. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore and he was sure he was going to kick Olivia in the face, he pushed his legs around her body, straddling her and sitting straight up. He pulled her in with his legs and plucked the toothpick right out of her hands. She reached up to get it but he held it up high so she couldn't get it. She kept leaning forward until she almost fell on Elliot. He held her off by putting his left hand on her bare stomach, holding the toothpick up in the air. He finally tossed it. It went flying overboard, floating off in the wind and becoming invisible to the two of them.

Olivia tried getting up but Elliot pulled her closer with his legs. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and stared her down.

"What's up with you?" he asked playfully. "Since when do you act like this, all giggly? Are you drunk? I didn't know Olivia Benson could get smashed that easily," he said.

Olivia grinned at him. "I'm not smashed," she said. "I'm completely sober. You just never see me outside of work. I'm not that tense all the time, you know," she said. "And what about yourself? You're just as bad!" she pointed out.

"I'm not that tense all the time either!" he said.

"Well then we should hang out some more outside of work. I like you better like this," she said.

"I like you better like this too," Elliot agreed.

Olivia extracted herself from his grip.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Hot tub. The one for adults. The kids' pool is over there," she said jokingly, pointing to the left.

"I probably should go over there, you're right. But um, I probably shouldn't leave you alone, don't you think? With that swimsuit on, someone just might try to pull a move. That wouldn't be too good, now, would it?"

Olivia smiled. "I beg to differ," she said.

They hung out in the hot tub for a little while, just relaxing, playing around, being carefree. Olivia felt better than she'd felt in a long time.

After a little while, it got dark. The concession stand closed and everyone started leaving. Soon, Elliot and Olivia were nearly alone. The guy from the concession stand came up to them when they were in the pool.

"The deck and pool is closed for tonight," he said.

Olivia nodded at him. "Okay. We'll be out," she said. She climbed out of the pool with Elliot and they went over to a small shelf and got a towel. Olivia noticed the guy from the concession stand leaving, and she and Elliot were now alone on the deck.

"Hey, El?"

"Hmm?" he grunted.

"Are you tired?"

"Nope."

"Who's going to know if we stay out just a little bit longer?" she asked, a grin flashing on her face.

Elliot noticed her eyes lighting up mischeviously in the darkness, the sequins on her swimsuit illuminating her chocolate brown pupils. "Good idea," he replied, throwing his towel on the ground.

"I'm cold though. I'm going to get in the hot tub," she said, looking up at the starry sky, noticing the breeze.

"Me too," Elliot said.

They got back in the hot tub and relaxed a little longer. After a while of silence, Olivia felt kind of awkward. She wanted to talk about something.

Olivia was about to open her mouth to speak when they both heard a cell phone ringing from the lounge chair. Elliot got out of the hot tub quickly, knowing that it was his ringtone beeping. He picked up the phone and Olivia tried to listen to what he was saying.

"Hello?" he said. There was silence for a minute. "I...I can't. I won't be back in town for at least five or six more days," he said in exasperation. Olivia paid close attention. Who was he talking to? "Because I'm on a cruise ship with Olivia," he murmured. "What? No, I...I didn't come for a vacation. I was catching a suspect with Olivia and we ended up on the ship," he spat. Oh, so that's who he was talking to, Olivia realized. "Even if I was, it's not your business. You can't keep tabs on me; we aren't married." Suddenly Elliot's voice raised. "I don't care!" he yelled. Then his voice lowered again. "Look, that's not the point. Never mind that. Can I have the kids next weekend instead?" He was quiet a minute. "That's ridiculous. Another month is a long time to wait. They're my kids too." Olivia tried to listen well enough to hear Kathy too, but Elliot was too far away with the phone for her to make out what she was saying. "I hardly ever get to see them, Kathy. Please just let me have them next weekend." There was silence for a long moment that got longer and longer. Finally Elliot brought the phone down from his ear and pressed a button. He dropped the phone back on the lounge chair and grabbed his towel. He dried off a little, and then went and looked out over the water, his hands tightly gripping the gold railing of the deck.

Olivia climbed out of the hot tub and grabbed the towel she'd had earlier. She wrapped it around herself and tucked in the corner so it would stay up without her having to hold it. She walked up to where Elliot was, leaning against the railing of the ship, staring at the starry sky. She approached him from behind, walking up next to him and leaning against the railing as well, looking at the ocean rather than Elliot for a minute. She finally turned around and looked at him. She gently lifted herself up onto the railing and sat on it, turning a little bit to the side so she could look at him more easily.

"What was that all about?" she asked quietly.

Elliot half-smiled, but it was a bitter, exasperated smile. "I'll talk about it once you get down from there. It's worrying me to death," he said, taking her hand.

She looked at him a little stubbornly, not moving.

"Come on, get down," he said, finally wrapping his arm around her back and pulling her down. Once he got her down, he didn't let go of her. He continued to hold her, embracing her.

She rubbed his back comfortingly for a minute and finally pulled back. She tried to look at him but he didn't make eye contact with her. Instead, he turned around and looked back out over the sea. Olivia put her hand on his shoulder, silently begging him to look back at her.

"Hey," she said gently, noticing his fondness towards her and his sadness about his recent telephone conversation. "Are you okay?"

Elliot glanced at her but quickly looked back over the railing. "Not really," he admitted. "I never get to see my kids. At least it seems like that. I only see them once a month, and I'm missing my weekend with them. I won't see them for another month."

Olivia stared at him with sympathy. "What kind of custody do you have?"

"Kathy's the custodial parent. I have visitation."

Olivia pulled on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Then she has to let you see them every other weekend, El. That's what visitation is," she said.

"I...I know that," he said.

"Then why won't you do anything about it?" Olivia questioned him.

Elliot shook his head. "I don't know. I just don't want to fight with Kathy, and a part of me would feel guilty if I took the kids every other weekend like I'm allowed to do," he confessed.

"Why would you feel guilty?" she asked.

"Because...I can't be near as good of a parent as Kathy can be," he said, looking her in the eyes now. "I work all the time. I'm never around for the kids anyway. I hate when they're at my house and I get called in for a case late at night. They always get pissed off. It's like...it's like if I enforced my custody rights, then my kids would have more time without a parent at all than they have now. If I have them all the time, then they'll be left alone all the time, because I'm not able to be around much anyway." Elliot looked at Olivia for a minute. "Do you get what I'm saying, Liv?" he asked.

Olivia nodded. "I know what you mean," she replied. She got quiet and looked at him for a while with sorrow and understanding in her eyes. Finally, she gently squeezed his shoulder. "Let's go inside," she said.

He nodded at her and followed her back into their room.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, digging out a pair of knee-length shorts he'd bought and some boxers. Then he went in the bathroom and closed the door. Olivia stared at the closed bathroom door for a minute until she heard the shower start. She then picked up Elliot's phone and found Kathy's number in his contacts list. She was going to straighten this out.

"Hello?" Kathy said.

"Hi," Olivia replied.

"Oh, um...Hey, Olivia," she said, shock evident in her voice.

"Hey. How are you doing, Kathy?" Olivia asked.

Kathy was quiet for a minute. "I'm...good, I guess. How about you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about Elliot...and the kids," Olivia said.

"Okay..." Kathy replied reluctantly.

"I know that Elliot only sees the kids once a month, and this weekend was when he was supposed to see them. He's going to miss it because I got him stuck on this cruise ship. He couldn't find me, and that's why we got stuck here," Olivia lied. "This is all my fault, and I'm really sorry about that, Kathy. But Elliot doesn't deserve to have to pay for that, you know? He's really bummed out, he's been silent since your phone conversation. He really misses his kids. And you know, technically, he's allowed to see them every other weekend. That's what visitation is. But he doesn't ask to see them every weekend because he has to work all the time and he doesn't have time to see them every weekend. So, you know, what if he just saw them next weekend instead of this weekend? He's really upset that he's going to have to wait another month to see them. Please don't blame Elliot for being gone and not being able to get them this weekend, because it's my fault. I got us stuck here. Could Elliot please have the kids next weekend instead?" Olivia finally finished her lecture, crossing her fingers.

Kathy was silent for a very long moment. "I...I guess. Yeah. You're right. I didn't know everything you just told me. I'll tell Elliot that he can have the kids next weekend," she said, sighing quietly.

"Actually, he's, uh, in the shower," Olivia started. "But I'll tell him if you want," she added.

"Okay, that's fine I guess," Kathy said.

"All right. Bye," Olivia said.

"Oh, wait, Olivia," Kathy started. "Um...thank you for calling. You helped me see things differently. Thanks," she said.

"No problem," Olivia said, smiling slightly. "I just wanted to make sure your kids are happy," she said.

"Thanks, Olivia. Bye," Kathy finished, hanging up.

As if on cue, Elliot walked out of the bathroom just a few seconds later. He was shirtless, like usual when he slept, and Olivia tried not to marvel at him as he came out, steam emanating from the bathroom and drops of water running down his body.

Olivia stood up quickly and dug in her bag for something to wear to bed. She pulled out what she'd need and went to the door of the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower real quick too," she said. She really was "real quick." She got in the shower, washed her hair, shaved so fast she was scared she'd cut herself, and got out. She got dressed quickly and brushed her hair, then went back in the room. She dropped her clothes in a dirty clothes bag and looked at Elliot. He made eye contact with her and didn't break it for a minute. She sat down next to him, on the left side of the bed.

"I...I did something for you. I meant for it to be a favor, but I've been thinking about it more and I don't know if you'll appreciate it or not," Olivia admitted.

Elliot looked over at her. "What did you do?"

She looked up at him. "I called Kathy, and I told her that you were upset that you didn't get to see your kids. I told her that she should let you see them because it was my fault that we got stuck on this ship and she shouldn't blame you. She said that she would let you see them next weekend instead of this weekend. She said she was sorry about everything and that you were right," Olivia finished.

Elliot continued looking at her for a minute, and then closed his eyes for a second, smiling. He opened his eyes. "Thank you," he said, staring her down gratefully. "Why would I not appreciate that?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I...I don't know. It's not my business at all, for one thing," she said.

"Liv, I don't mind you cutting in. I wouldn't have been able to convince her myself, so I'm really glad that you did. But I'd never expect that of you," he sighed.

She nodded and smiled at him. "I'm kind of tired," she said.

"Me too," he agreed. He reached up and pulled the chain to turn off the light, careful not to turn off the fan. Olivia laid down on her side, awkwardly finding herself all of two inches away from Elliot, her knee hitting his leg when she laid down. She quickly pulled her leg back, trying not to freak out. This was weird. A big part of her enjoyed it, but it was weird nevertheless. She didn't know how to react. She didn't know if Elliot wanted her to say that this was weird and she should get up, or if he wanted her to just stay there like she was, or if he wanted her to get even closer to him. She didn't know how to react, so she just stayed silent, trying desperately to make her mind shut down and allow her to go to sleep but failing at that task miserably.

After several minutes of silence, Elliot reached out to Olivia, setting his hand on her stomach above her belly button.

"Olivia, I appreciate everything that you do for me. And even if you mess up, I still appreciate everything you do. I know you have good intentions," he said.

Olivia stayed quiet for a minute. "Of course I do...I care about you more than you'll ever understand. I'd never do something wrong to you on purpose," she replied.

Elliot scooted closer to Olivia, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. She relaxed, all the tension in her body releasing as she collapsed onto his chest, her nose nestled in his neck. "I think that I do understand, because I'm the same way," he confessed. He held her close for a minute, and then said, "Um...Just tell me if this gets too weird for you."

Olivia laughed out loud. "This is fine."

AN: Pretty please review for me! I worked really hard on this chapter. I kept coming up with these scenes and then deleting them, one after another after another. I fixed about 10 billion things, trying to make this as good as I can make it. So please tell me what you thought of this chapter!

~Allison Wisdom