A/N: Enjoy! I'll update my other stories soon! Review please so I know if this was a hit or a miss ;) thanks for all the other reviews!

Chapter 6: Morning Swim

November 2

Olivia woke up relatively early, her normal tendencies to get up and out before 6 o'clock still intact. Her eyes adjusted immediately to the dim light from the sun reflected off of the glistening water, lapping lazily against the shore.

Sitting up in bed, Olivia realized just how truly breathtaking the wholescene was. It was outin front of her like a huge watercolored canvas. The splashes of light delicately wove through the vibrant greens of the palm trees on the shore. She had never seen a sight so beautiful in her whole life. Olivia had been on vacations before, of course, but she had never been to a place so expensive, rich, and inhumanly natural. She now understood why people paid millions of dollars for a house here.

It took all of Olivia's might to pull herself out of bed with an exhausted moan. She had slept like a baby, something that she hadn't done since she wasvery young. The unexpected relaxation made her body even more tired than it would've been had she only gotten a few winks. It scared her to think that she would soon be getting used to it.

Her mind then flashed back to the present, knowing that there wasn't anything she could do about it. This was her life now and she had to live with it. For a moment, she wondered what she was going to spend time doing, even today. God damn, she hadn't even been there for a full day and she was already bored, confused, and at a dead end for what people even did here.

Her dark eyes wandered to the sight before her, completely exposed for only her to see. The beautiful waves begging for her to swim in them and the sunshine she longed to soak in made it nearly impossible for her to not to have the sudden urge to swim for hours. She had a suspicion though that when Amanda had hurriedly packed her suitcase, she had figured that Olivia didn't own a swimsuit, which in fact she didn't. Well, she could go with a bra and underwear. Now that she was up and about, she might as well throw what contents of clothes she had into the closet.

When Steven had showed them the house, he had only showed them the master bathroom, something she considered to be modern in the sense that everything was white, polished, and the top materials. Olivia's closet was located directly next to the large, square sink, through a simple white door. She figured it would be a normal sized closet, like the one she had had back in New York, with a few plain, metal racks to put her pajamas and shoes on.

But when Olivia swung open the door, her duffle in hand, it was anything but normal sized. It didn't surprise her like everything out of the rest of the house, it was simple, but exquisite at the same time. It had to be at least the full size of the bedroom she had had when she was a child, maybe bigger. Although her mother was always drunk off of her ass, she still somehow was able to afford a decent place for the both of them to live in. It was different from her old bedroom in many ways though,. It was painted a pretty creme color with light hardwood floors, much like the ones downstairs. Much to her liking, it was also fully stocked with clothes, all in her size. Most of it, she probably would never normally wear. It was mostly beach wear and long, skinny dresses. At least she now had a large amount of bathing suits to pick through to find the perfect one to impress Elliot as teenage-like and cliche as it sounded.

The duffle bag lay forgotten in the corner as she fingered through the soft material of the bathing suits. There were no one pieces, which Olivia would prefer, even though she sometimes considered them to be old fashioned and modest and she was neither one. Still, she would rather Elliot not see her so exposed their first full day there. She always considered herself to have a rather skinny, fit body, working out when she wasn't catching up on sleep or working a case for days on end. So, instead of picking out the rather skimpy black one that probably wouldn't cover all of her breasts, she decided on the strapless white one that would surely catch the attention of a certain someone.

After she brushed her teeth, Olivia made her way out back, peeking into Elliot's room to see that he was nestled under the covers, sound asleep. It made her smile to see him like that, something she couldn't really explain to herself.

The air was hot and humid when she went outside, even in such early hours of the morning. There was a long sand pathway that wove around the huge, pristine pool and hot tub. It was surrounded by lush, green grass and tall palm trees that had most of the backyard shaded. She followed the long, winding path down to the beach until eventually it blended in with the soft sand extending all around the perimeter of the island. The white sand was burning hot against her feet, but it felt good to have a difference from the grimy streets of New York where when you stepped in something this hot and pleasurable, it wouldn't be a good sign.

Already, she could feel the sun soaking into her skin, making her a few shades tanner than she already was. Olivia contemplated tanning a bit in the sun before she went swimming, but sweat was already dripping down her neck and the last thing she wanted was to experience heat stroke. So, in a flash she kicked off her sandals and headed towards the glistening, turquoise water.

She was reluctant even to dip her toes in, expecting it to be like the icy ocean waters surrounding the city, butto her relief it was warm and inviting, almost like a silky, salty bath. Olivia wasn't hesitant at all as she waded out farther into the water, not the slightest bit scared of sharks or anything of the sort. She had a nagging and somewhat amusing hunch that Elliot might be. Sure, he could bust up the perps all he wanted with his sexy, bulky muscles, but he might not stand a chance against a shark.

Soon enough, Olivia had dunked her whole head under water and was now absorbed in warmth and experiencing that special floating sensation in water that she couldn't remember the last time she felt. The sun beat down on her hair and she took this as an invitation to dig her feet into the sand at the bottom of the ocean. It was cool and felt good. This whole thing was like being in a completely different world.

"Hey!" She heard a male voice from behind her and she didn't recognize it as Elliot's or Steven's. She whirled around in the water and saw a couple standing on the beach in expensive looking bathing suits and a happy, rich person expression.

"Hi!," Olivia called out as she swam to shore, not sure who they were, what they wanted, or why they were there on her property. As she got closer she saw that the two of them were about her age, 45. The woman was literally the picture perfect expectation of what a rich house wife would look like. She had obnoxiously colored wavy blonde hair down to her implanted breasts, bright blue eyes, and a rather slim, tall body. The man was the same way, the stereotypical business husband and father, she assumed. He was handsome and tan with a smirk she knew he had to use at all times when he was at work. He was probably the owner of some high class hotel chain or the inventor of fucking Nyquil. Whatever it was, he obviously got a lot of money for it.

"You must be Angela Kingston," the woman said in a bright, happy tone, extending a toned arm out to a sopping wet Olivia who took it gingerly, afraid she might startle her. "We're Mark and Ruth Montgomery. We live a little up shore, on the north end of the island."

"Oh yes," Olivia said, pretending she recognized their names. "I'm so sorry, Corbin and I didn't get to introduce ourselves yesterday. The flight from New York was exhausting."

"Of course that's completely understandable. Mark and I were just taking a walk here, when we saw you out there. It's been a while since there've been early birds like us here."

"I just couldn't resist. The ocean is so beautiful and warm. I would've moved here years ago if I knew what it was like," Olivia said, her act better than she expected it to be maybe because it was mostly the truth. Ruth snickered and nodded.

"Mark and I would have too, except it does get quite hard with our daughter and schoolwork," Ruth said.

"Oh you have a daughter?," Olivia asked. "How old is she?" Ruth smiled, giving off the obvious inclination that she was very proud of her daughter at any rate.

"Juliet is 7 years old. My lord, she's a gem. She looks just like my mother. Dark hair and dark eyes, so beautiful, although I did always prefer blondes. Sorry dear." She looked at Mark out of the corner of her eye and winked at Olivia who choked back a genuine laugh.

"Juliet. That's a beautiful name. Where does she go to school? Somewhere on Saint Johns'?" Olivia hardly suspected that Mark or Ruth would even consider sending her to a public school on Saint John's for one main reason. Most of the mainland business class people lived there and she doubted greatly that there were any private schools there, though she hadn't read through the education system in the islands so she couldn't be entirely sure.

"Yes, Saint Luke's is the only private catholic school in the entire Islands. Ruth and I are trying to change that, but you know these god damn people never listen to you. We're thinking that maybe half a mil will change their minds," Mark said rolling his eyes. Olivia was surprised there were enough students enrolled there to keep a private catholic school running. She doubted even with half a million dollars that they would have the funds, nor the students to open up another school, but she dared not bring that up. She was supposed to be a rich snob after all.

"I agree entirely. What do they think you're willing to send your children to a public school? It's pathetic and slightly worrisome," Olivia said with a convincing nod.

"Angela?" Elliot's voice rang out behind her and Olivia couldn't help but smirk at the dumbfounded expression he had plastered on his face as his eyes visibly raked over her body. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, which she suspected he had. She knew it had to be slightly embarrassing for him to be standing near to Mark who was dressed in a crisp, white shirt and was freshly shaven while El still had his 5 o'clock shadow.

"Corb, these are our neighbors, Mark and Ruth Montgomery," Olivia introduced them, trying to bite back the urge to laugh.

"Very nice to meet you both," Elliot said with a grin taking both of their hands with a smile that seemed to wash away their qualms of him being dressed like a sasquatch. Leave it to that charming Stabler smile to save the day. "Sorry about the outfit, I wasn't really expecting Angelhere to be out and swimming in the wee hours of the morning with our lovely neighbors."

"That's quite all right," Ruth said with a grin, not hiding her attempts to take in every hunk of muscle that were Elliot's arms. Olivia tried to resist the attempts to kiss him and brand him hers, but she knew that it would either scare him greatly or scare herself greatly. Whichever it was, she wasn't eager to experience it. She settled with sliding an arm around his waist and snuggling into his chest, liking the way he smelled fresh and crisp even when he just got up.

"How about this? Angel and I go back in, get cleaned up and head over to the beach on the North end of the island. How's that sound to you guys?," Elliot asked with a grin.

"Sounds good. It's right next to our house, so we'll bring the margarita mix," Mark said with a steady, sexy wink in Olivia's direction. Any other woman would have swooned. Any otherwoman wouldn't have Elliot Stabler in her arms though, so it wasn't a fair comparison.

"Angel, El? Really?" Olivia laughed as she rummaged through the refrigerator trying to find something decent to eat. There were drawers filled with fruits and vegetables and various types of unknown organic shit, but nothing that she wanted to put in her mouth. What she was craving at seven thirty in the morning was pizza and fries.

"Liv,come on you have to admit it's a good nickname," Elliot argued from the guest room as he searched for something to change into. "Besides it suits you."

"What is that supposed to mean?," she asked in an offended tone. Good god, the last thing Olivia Benson was was an angel. She was more of a bad ass devil since a large majority of her life revolved around kicking perps down to the ground and running around the city looking for more victims so SVU could throw him in jail as soon as possible. Still, she was quite offended Elliot called her that and she had a feeling he knew she would get pissed off. She wasn't some vulnerable, little housewife that did everything her husband told her to. No, she wasdefinitely not an angel and she was going to prove that to Elliot.

Slamming the refrigerator door, Olivia marched over to the guest room door which was slightly cracked. She pushed through it, not thinking that Elliot would be in the middle of getting dressed. How very wrong she was.

"Oh shit!" Elliot nearly fell over as he tried to hurriedly pull up his bathing suit bottoms over his dick. "God, Liv, haven't you heard of knocking?" She hadn't expected him to still be changing. All she planned on doing was marching in there, yell at him never to call her an angel again, and maybe get a little too close to him to emphasize she would really kick his ass next time if he wanted to joke about that. Now all she could do was stare at the place that had been so recently exposed.

"Sorry." But they both knew that she wasn't. Olivia still hadn't torn her eyes away from him, her eyes traveling upward and raking over the huge muscles that flexed when he saw that he had her attention in the bag.

"You asked me why Angel suited you," Elliot said taking a step closer to her with a cocky grin plastered on his face. Olivia couldn't speak so she settled with a nod, not entirely comfortable with the way her partner was advancing towards her. She knew he'd never hurt her, but she had no idea if she could resist tearing off his swim trunks and fucking him to oblivion.

"You're so delicate and beautiful," he was now pressed lightly against her, "and caring." Olivia felt her knees beginning to buckle out of the energy that was being drained from her only by listening to the way Elliot breathed so lightly against her ear. She did the only thing she could muster that might save her dignity.

"I am not delicate." That only served in Elliot chuckling. God, she couldn't help it any more. She took several clumsy steps backward until she was pressed against the wall, her chest heaving visibly. Olivia felt her cheeks burning as she tried to hide the way he affected her with a cough.

"Really baby?," Elliot asked with raised eyebrows walking towards her once again. Jesus, he wasn't going to stop until he killed her. And she was so turned on at the moment she was fairly certain she would die. He crowded her personal space in seconds, his head bending down to whisper in her ear once again as his rough, calloused hands gently made their way to her waist.

"I have to agree with you. Maybe headstrong was a better word for it." The both of them chuckled for a moment, remembering the way Georgie had said it, trying not to offend Olivia's character as Angela. It hurt her more than it made her happy though, recalling something that she would never again be able to experience.

"Yeah," Olivia said, "headstrong is more like it." In an instant Elliot's lips began to travel slowly towards hers, his icy eyes not once leaving her own. She braced herself, ready for the sensation of his soft lips massaging hers, something she longed for from day one of their partnership.

"Am I interrupting something?," Steven's voice rang out through the tiny guest room. Elliot lept backwards nearly tripping over himself in the process and Olivia's arms instinctively flew up to cross over the bikini top. Standing in the doorway with a smirk, Steven stood eating a banana still in his flannel pajamas. If there hadn't been tattoos all over his arms, Olivia would have snickered at how much Steven reminded her of a child.

"No," Olivia muttered, brushing past Steven so she could go upstairs and find something to wear over her bathing suit. "I was just leaving."

For the first time in a while, Olivia felt like she was going completely insane. She wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or if his advances had actually happened. Whichever it was, it also left her with a feeling other than panic that she was already losing her mind, happiness. She loved Elliot from the start, always knowing that someday they would end up together and whether or not it would be now, she didn't know. Whatever happened, she knew, their stay at Dolphin Reef would definitely be more interesting than either one of them initially thought.