Elliot rested his arm on the open window of the car door as he tried desperately to get some air into the car - it was too hot, far too hot to have driven to three different witnesses homes in one afternoon. They drove back along the road toward the local police station where Cragen had instructed them to go and introduce themselves if they were going to be making themselves known. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea at first, but if it meant that Olivia was doing what she loved, then Cragen relented, hoping that it would ultimately bring her home to them.

Elliot felt the slightest tendrils of a breeze as the car sped along, and he caught sight of a motel, where the words 'air conditioning' and 'pool' were prominently advertised underneath the sign. He sighed as he glanced at Olivia who was concentrating on the busy street ahead of her, and noticed that her hair was dampening and she was clearly flushed from the sweltering heat in the car.

"Liv, we gotta take a break, you're gonna overheat in this car. Let's go some place with air conditioning and get a drink, one of us is gonna pass out otherwise, and we should really eat."

Olivia glanced briefly at him before turning her attention back to the road, "Ok, look - maybe we should ditch this car and get a hire car - something with air conditioning."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan Liv," he said, as she pulled over and stopped, pulling out a map, "and sat nav...it's confusing around here,"

Elliot unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over, stroking her cheek tenderly, eliciting a smile from her before getting out of the car and stretching.

Olivia unbuckled her seatbelt and watched him as he stretched his arms above his head - she felt just as cramped and uncomfortable and felt a pang of love as she took him in. He was in a hot, cramped car in sweltering heat, but he wasn't complaining really - he was doing this for her, and she knew it.

Looking at her, he noticed her gaze on him and smiled, "you coming out of there?"

Olivia climbed out of her seat, her clothes almost sticking to her in the heat.

"Once we are done at the police station, we could get a motel further up near Phoenix - we want to be over that way, so no point driving back tonight."

"Air conditioning, shower, dinner," Elliot said, looking relieved as he walked over and pulled her into his arms, "bed, sounds good to me."

Olivia smiled and giggled as he suddenly held her closer and placed a flurry of light kisses down her neck. He smiled warmly, loving the sound that she made - feeling so privileged to see this side of her, to share these intimate moments with her.

FIVE THIRTY PM, THE CALAWELL MOTEL

Olivia sunk back against the soft sheets of the bed as she watched Elliot pacing as he spoke on the phone, updating Cragen of their progress. She felt so much more refreshed having eaten, showered and rested. Deciding not to bother dressing as she had spent most of the day wanting to peel her own clothes off, she lay back against a pile of pillows which were serving to prop her up, in only a tank top and panties. She smiled at Elliot as he talked on the phone and noticed him stammer as his eyes fell to her bare legs and then began to roam up her body.

Olivia stifled a laugh and picked up a pillow, throwing it in his direction in an attempt to get him to regain his focus. Elliot caught the pillow easily and glared at her, making her laugh until she returned her attention to the folder in front of her as Elliot got Cragen up to speed on their activities.

- Olivia has identified three links - two of the witnesses we saw today - from different jurisdictions, both reported a man walking a dog - one of them said that the police didn't think it was anything worth considering so didn't put it in the report. The officers here showed us the witness statements and notes from their canvass of the surrounding streets, and there are a few common factors, but the other links aren't concrete. We have some leads to chase tomorrow though.

Elliot returned his attention to Olivia as he held the phone out to her.

"Liv," he began, "you know Cragen needs you to check in personally….."

Olivia smiled slightly as she took the phone.

-Hey Captain, I'm fine, really. Do you really need to make sure you speak to me personally every time?

Elliot watched her silently, listening to her end of the conversation. Her annoyance at Cragen's continued concern as well as his insistence that she check in regularly gave him a certain comfort. She hated the attention cast her way - she just wanted to focus on the investigation and didn't want her own feelings to be the source of any debate - and certainly not the cause of any interruption in her ability to immerse herself in the case.

Elliot smiled - she didn't even realise how much she had healed in the past two weeks. He could see her focus and her drive returning with the passion that she always had for her cases. It warmed him to see that - her passion shone from within her.

Once she ended the call she flopped down on to the bed and turned to look at Elliot with a smile.

"Can't do anything more tonight, we should get to bed."

Elliot climbed on to the bed and immediately straddled her, eliciting a surprised laugh from her.

"Yeah Liv, we really should go to bed…" he said playfully.

Olivia swallowed as he leaned down over over, his chest touching hers as he looked into her eyes.

"We definitely," he said as he placed a light flurry of kisses on her neck, "should go to bed."

Olivia laughed as she ran her hands up his back, her fingers tracing lightly to the back of his neck.

He looked at her for a moment, pausing as he took hold of her arms, and then placed them either side of her head. Olivia maintained eye contact, loving how desired she felt, lying underneath him.

Elliot ran both of his hands up her arms slowly, the firmer pressure of his touch sending a shiver of pleasure through her. Reaching her wrists he stopped and grasped - using just the right amount of pressure to hold her in place, but knowing that he was not holding her too tightly so that she could release her wrists from his hold if she really wanted to.

"I can't get enough of you, baby," he said, his voice low and sincere.

Olivia sighed and wriggled underneath him as she raised her thigh, moving it slowly between his legs.

"Mmm…" she moaned, "that's good, because I can't get enough of you, either."

As his lips met hers, their mouths collided with passion, and their bodies pressed tightly together. Elliot groaned as he released her wrists, focusing on pulling her tank top up, and over her head. Glancing down at her, he placed his hands on her stomach, running a path up towards her breasts, where he stopped before lightly skimming his fingers across her sensitive flesh.

"You are so beautiful Olivia," he whispered.

As his fingers found their way into the delicate material of her panties, he gripped, tugging them slowly down. He honestly didn't think that undressing her would ever lose it's eroticism.

As they made love Olivia pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel his body connecting with hers.

"I love you," she whispered as she allowed herself to slip into the moment with him and think of nothing but their love for each other.

8AM THE CALAWELL MOTEL

"Morning beautiful," Elliot said warmly as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

Olivia opened her eyes and smiled, "Hey El, what time is it?"

"Little after eight - I brought breakfast up from downstairs," he said, placing another kiss, this time on her head, as he stood up and brought a tray over.

Olivia moved up, until she was sitting, resting her back against the cushioned headboard. She smiled, noticing a flower in a small vase on the tray, "breakfast in bed? This is a first...thanks El."

Elliot looked at her quizzically, "You've never had breakfast in bed before?"

"Well...I -" she paused, suddenly feeling embarrassed, "no..but I could certainly get used to you waking me up by kissing me and bringing me breakfast..this is nice."

Elliot smiled as he climbed onto the bed next to her and put his arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"What's the plan for today?" he asked as he deftly stole a piece of toast from her tray, earning him a playful glare.

"Well - Munch had a theory - don't even ask, but the basis of his theory is going to help us."

"We're back to alien abductions?" Elliot asked jokingly.

Olivia gave his wrist a playful slap as she spotted him reaching for another piece of her toast.

"No...but he has a map of the last seen locations...I think it's the perps hunting ground...and his base is in the centre….it's almost exact - they are all within the same distance outside of one central area."

Elliot took hold of the map and looked at it, intrigued.

"There's something to this - a large wood in the central area and a few houses within the radius...you've got something here," he said as he took a sip of her orange juice.

Olivia reached for her juice, her hand closing around Elliot's instead of the glass as he placed it back on her tray. She looked at him and smiled as he returned her gaze, and the warmth and love they both held so deeply for each other reflected back.

Elliot relinquished his hold on her glass and leaned over, kissing her on her cheek as he smiled.

"Eat up, looks like we have a lot of ground to cover."