A/N: I DO NOT own any part of the Law & Order franchise. Hope everyone had a great Christmas or whatever else you may celebrate. I know I did! And I am joyfully writing this on my new iPhone...which is good for everything except making calls. But...whatever. So since the case is solved I'm not quite ready to move on to a sequel yet and I'm attempting to make a new plot in here somewhere. I know the last two chapters have been kind of...eh. I've got a good idea for this one.

Happy Holidays

"That's looks wonderful." Jodi commented as she stood back and admired her handiwork. After an endless day of decorating the living room was finally finished.

John wrapped his arms arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. She smiled happily as he buried his face in the nook between he neck and shoulder. The past few days had been unlike any they had together so far. They'd gotten closer. After repairing their relationship they had become stronger then ever.

"Like it?" she asked stepping in front of the tree.

"Yeah. I've actually never decorated a Christmas tree before."

"Well I hope you enjoyed it."

"Don't we have to out the star up still?" he asked.

"Yes. We do. I need a chair or something...unless you can lift me up there."

"I can try."

She leaned down to get the star then looked up at him.

"Up you go." he grunted as he grabbed her waist and lifted her up. After taking her out to dinner nearly every day for the past week, he had gotten her back up to previous weight. After working out two times as hard as well, she had gained extra muscle to counter the eating she had done as was more toned as well too.

She stuck the star on top of the tree before tapping his arms to let her down.

"Well this has been enjoyable." she breathed as she turned around, their faces centimeters apart.

"So what now?" he grinned boyishly.

"Hmm...you hungry?" she asked before kissing him briefly.

"Yeah I am actually. What have you got for me?" he replied, his voice becoming a notch huskier.

"That depends, what are you craving?" she played along, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He grinned before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She giggled loudly as she hung upsidedown. John carried her to the couch and set her down.

Both of them laughed as they pulled each others clothes off. The past few days had been incredibly full of sex in everywhere they could imagine besides the bed.

As they made love under the hundreds of Christmas lights, she held his body close, with no intentions of letting go.

After they were done, the lawy there resting against one mothers body. Jodi kissed his chest tenderly.

"Well, now that we've wasted energy...you still up shopping with me?"

"Gimmie some time to regroup and I'll be good as new."

"What about this? You like?" she twirled around.

John watched as she spun around in a skimpy black dress that didn't even clear her ass.

"I wouldn't wear it in public." he smirked as she struggled to keep the top pulled over her nipples at least.

"Unzip it please. I feel like my lungs are constricted."

John carefully pulled down the zipper, his knuckles brushing her skin. She sighed under his touch, before ever so slightly arching her back so that her backside rubbed against his crotch.

His eyes rolled in the back of his head as his pants got tighter.

"You waant to don't you?" she moaned, feeling herself becoming extremely aroused.

He rubbed up against her before breathing in her ear.

"Do you have any clue what the hell I want to do to you?" he growled in her ear, hearing her whimper. After discovering that nothing turned her on more than him talking dirty, it was all he could do. He loved watching her squirm just by his words.

"And what do you want to do to me?" her voice strained as she struggled to contain herself.

"What I'm gonna do is I will fuck you right here in public. In this dressing room. I'm gonna listen to you scream and I won't let you come until you say my name."

She shuddered involuntarily at the thought. She felt herself begin to throb and wouldn't have been surprised if her panties were completely soaked.

"What do you mean you won't let me come?" she gasped as he ran his fingers in between her legs.

"You're going to need it fast and hard, and I'm going to make you beg for it."

"Oh god, fuck me now please." she begged.

John grinned to himself before turning her around and removing the tight dress and her underwear completely.

He grabbed her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He quickly slid into her before thrusting slowly against her pulsating walls.

She attempted to keep her moans silent but found it almost impossible. She bit her lips as he moved inside of her closing her eyes.

"Do you want it harder?" John panted, trying to keep his own composure,

"Yes!" she cried as softly as possible, digging her nails into his shoulder so deeply he bit his lip.

"Harder." she moaned.

"Say my name."

"John." she complied softly.

"Louder." he replied, wanting to hear her scream it.

"John!" she repeated.

"Louder!" he grunted.

"Fuck me harder John!!!" she screamed loudly.

John began to hammer into her, pulling all the way out of her before pushing all the way back in. Her face flushed bright red as she neared her climax.

He bent down and pressed his lips against the scar on her chest.

She made a strangled noise as her body tensed around him. John grunted as he released himself inside of her.

They rested for a moment before he let her down. She quickly redressed herself before opening the door.

Several shoppers stood there, staring after hearing the heated cries coming from the dressing room.A store clerk glared at them evilly before going back and folding her clothes.

"I think I'm done shopping for now." Jodi sighed, getting all of her purchased bags together.

She grasped his hand as they walked out, ignoring the stares coming from every direction. Life was too short to pass on risks such as having sex in a dressing room.

*****************

Jodi knocked on the door of the Stabler home, praying it wouldn't be Mrs. who answered. After getting Elliot's address from Fin, she told John she had to go on a quick run somewhere.

To her surprise and relief it was Elliot who answered.

"Jodi...what are you doing here?"

After several days and John's indifference towards him, the memories of his drunken night with Jodi came flooding back.

"Um...I came to bring you something."

Elliot closed the door behind him and stepped out.

"Listen Jodi, I've got a wife, kids...I don't know what you're expecting but..."

"I just came to bring you something to apologize. Relax." she replied cutting him off. She handed him a giant gift bag,

"What's this?" he asked.

"Just a little something for Christmas. I wanted to thank you all the work you spent on my case and...I wanted to apologize for what happened. You may have been drunk, but I wasn't and I never should have let you jeopardize your marriage or anything."

"Wow..." was all Elliot could say, at a lose for words.

"Honey who is it?!" came a voice. Jodi's heart began to pound as Elliot's wife opened the door and stepped out.

"Um hi Mrs. Stabler, I'm Jodi. Jodi Stanford. Your husband here has been working on my case for the last few weeks and I wanted thank him for it. So I brought gifts for your family."

"Oh honey that's so sweet! Thankyou!" Kathy exclaimed before stepping out into the cold and giving Jodi a hug. Jodi squeezed her back, hoping somehow it would convey her remorse,

"Merry Christmas." Jodi smiled before stepping down and running across the street to her car. After Kathy went in Elliot continued to stare at her. There was something about her. He could see why John was so in love with her.

"Honey what are you doing out there?!" Kathy called.

Elliot watched her drive off before going back into his house.

"What's this?" Jodi asked as John handed her a wrapped box from behind as she was cutting up vegetable for dinner.

"Something for you. Open it." he replied before wrapping his arms around her waist.

She pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid off the box to reveal two plane tickets.

"Wha-?" she started.

"I remembered you saying how you wanted to go back to Cali to visit your old home so I got us tickets."

"John!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around him.

He laughed as she planted kisses all over his face.

"I love you so much!" she beamed in his ear.

"Those are for tomorrow so...get packing." he said before smacking her ass.

"I guess I can add this to the list of things I've never done." John grinned as he kissed Jodi. It was Christmas Eve and they were laying beneath the stars looking out at the Pacific Ocean from the beach.

Jodi smiled and kissed him. John gently traced the contours of her body. It was just them now. The entire day the bikini she wore stirred more attention then he liked. He couldn't blame them either. The top clung to her breasts and the bottom hugged her round ass, barely covering it.

"Hmm...would you add sex on the beach to that list?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I could if you wanted to...have you?"

"Yeah actually."

"What's it like?"

"....I vaguely remember having grains of sand in my teeth for days after."

"Ah. Well that sounds promising."

She giggled before kissing him again. The sound of the waves crashing around them boomed loudly. John took one of the straps of her bikini and pulled it down her shoulder gently. He kissed her shoulder gently, before pulling it down proceeded to move the other one down as well before untying her top and letting it fall to the giant towel they were sharing.

He kissed her large breasts tenderly, She moaned loudly as he sucked one of her nipples gently before burying his face in between her breasts and moving his lips down her sternum. He kissed his way down her flat stomach before gripping the strings to her bottoms and loosening them. He pulled them off and kissed her inner thighs. She grabbed a handful of sand. His lips brushed her sensitive spot. She whimpered loudly and grabbed a handful of his hair.

As he moved back up to her face she stroked the back of his head and neck. After kissing endlessly John finally parted her legs and began to thrust into her.

She moved her hands down his back staring up at the night sky as he moved inside of her. With as much strength as she could muster, she rolled over so she was on top. John put his hands on her hips, holding her as she rode him vigorously.

The sea breeze brushed her cheeks, battling against the beads of sweat forming around her face.

John stared at her under the night sky as she moved on top of him. The night sky over the ocean gave a blue tint to everything and her red hair whipped in front of her face, appearing toes curled and she pressed her fingernails into John's chest as she fought her climax.

John sat up and kissed her before he twitched and tensed inside of her. As soon as he moved she felt herself lose control as she joined him. She fell beside him, a moment later before wrapping her arms around his chest.

"Hey, what did you do about work?" she suddenly asked realizing the fact at once that he was in California, 48 states away from SVU.

"Oh I just told Cragen I was home with the swine, although I know he didn't believe me."

"Why?"

"Because I've made it very clear around the office of my beliefs that Swine Flu is just an invention of the government to keep the population down."

"Huh. Then why use it as an excuse?"

"In New York City? Swine Flu is an excuse from everything. Unless I perhaps said I was a terrorist. I would then get out of work for quite some time although I'd probably be spending it in Attica."

She giggled and rested her head on his chest.

"You know what I'm thinking?" he whispered in her ear.

"What?"

"Perhaps we should go back to our room before morning comes and we get attacked by the morning seagulls."

She laughed loudly before sitting up and redressing herself. She grabbed her flip-flops in her hand and stood up, brushing small sections of sand from her feet. John followed suit and grabbed the towel they were laying on and her giant tote bag. She swung it over her shoulder before grabbing his hand as they walked up the beach back to their hotel.

"Wait wait wait." she stopped just as they climbed the stairs to the parking lot.

"What?"

"What time is it?" she muttered before digging for her phone in her purse. She pulled it out then smiled before looking up at him.

"It's 1:27." she grinned.

"Yes...why is this number relevant?"

"Because...it's Christmas!" she exclaimed before skipping across the parking lot to the hotel doors. John jogged momentarily to keep up with her before they walked into the luxurious lobby.

"Miss I'm going to have to ask you to put those back on." one of the men behind the desk said as she walked past shoeless. She smiled at him before dropping them on the floor and sliding her feet into him then intentionally making them thwack as loud as possible. All the way back to their room she jumped up and down restlessly, like a twelve-year old who had just eaten a jumbo-pack of Sour Patch Kids. The moment they got back to their room she kicked off her shoes and jumped on the massive bed happily. John disappeared in the bathroom for a few minutes.

Jodi turned on the TV and sat back in the bed, with no plans of going to sleep anytime soon.

John walked back into the room with something behind his back.

"Merry Christmas." he said softly before getting in and handing a wrapped box to her. She looked down at it with confusion. He'd just gotten her an trip back to her hometown. What else did she need?

"John...you've gotten me enough already." she looked up at him.

"Well...I like spoiling you. Open it."

She smiled before opening the box, only to find a beautiful sterling silver chain with a diamond snowflake on the bottom.

"John..." she breathed, tears pricking her eyes.

"It's not much, but I remembered you saying how much you loved the snow and I thought of you when I saw it."

She looked up at him again with watery eyes. Why was he so good to her? With all her flaws and mistakes.

"I don't know what to say." she sniffed, running her fingers over the smooth and elegant flake.

"Here let me put if on for you." he smiled before taking it from the box and motioning for her to turn around. He fastened it around her neck as she held her hair up before she turned around and pounced on him.

"I. Love. You. So. Fucking. Much!" she exclaimed between kisses. As they fell back into the sheets he thought about how happy he had been with his exes. The internal answer to his inquiry was definitely not as happy as he was now or any other time he was with Jodi.

"I think I know what's coming next." he grinned, feeling her nipples get hard through the paper-thin fabric of her bikini.

"Hm. I've got an idea. she grinned before walking over to the dresser and knocking off everything.

"What the hell are you doing?" John chuckled.

"You said you knew what was coming." she eyed him, taking off her top before bending over.

John grinned before walking over to oblige her. Certainly better than he had ever felt with any woman.

Jodi took a deep breath before she got out of the car. The stone path her mother had put in shortly before her death was still perfectly intact, leading up to their small brick home.

John got out after her, looking around the neighborhood. It was picturesque. The azure sky overheard with nary a could to be seen. There were Christmas lights and decorations around them everywhere although the thought of snow was laughable. John was struck by the image of a gang killing and raping young girls in the home. It looked like a scene right out of Desperate Housewives.

She walked slowly up the stone walk. Nothing had changed. There was an old Buick in the driveway that belonged to Rosalie, a housekeeper her father had payed before going to jail to keep the house like it had been when they left it. In exchange Rosalie got to live thereas long as she wanted. Years later she was still there.

John caught up and put his arm around her waist, wishing he could know what she was thinking although it was written all over her face. He could see the terror and trauma as she remembered being raped and attacked there. He could see the homesickness as she longed to be back. The sorrow over her dead mother. The joyfulness of being back.

As they walked and stepped onto the front porch she rang the bell anxiously. There was a long pause and just as she was going to ring it again the door opened.

"Can I help you?" a short woman with an indistinguishable accent glared.

"Um Rosalie? Hi, I'm not sure if you remember me, I'm Jodi Stanford. I used to live here."

Rosalie's face softened a bit before she smile.

"I'm sure you don't remember me either. I helped out around here right after you were born. Come in dear."

Jodi grasped John's hand and squeezed it as they walked into her old home. Plants covered virtually everything mixed in with mahogany walls and black carpet.

"In the living room here. I'm sure you remember where it is."

Jodi nodded in a daze. The old feelings and memories crept back. They were led into the living room where John and Jodi sat down on the red couch together.

"Can I get you two anything to drink or something?" Rosalie asked.

"No thanks." Jodi managed to choke out.

"For you?" she looked at John.

"No thankyou, I'm fine too."

"Okay then." she smiled before sitting down. "It's been such a long time. You've grown into such a beauty, just like I knew you would. And who's this?" she gestured to John politely.

"This is John Munch. My fiance." she smiled.

"Fiance? My word. Well I never thought you would be the one to get married before you hit twenty but...I was mistaken. Hello there John." she smiled and extended her hand.

He got up and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you miss...?"

"Buolos. Rosalie Buolos."

"Ah. Nice to meet you Ms. Buolos. Is that Lebanese?" he asked listening to her accent.

"Yes it is. Everyone always guesses Pakistan. So what do you do for a living John?"

"I'm a cop."

"Ooo. Where at?"

"New York City. I work in a squad called the Special Victims Unit. We specialize in sex crimes and child abuse."

"Wow. How long have you been a cop?"

"About 30 years. Almost 40 I'd like to say."

"40? How old are you."

"I'm 57."

"57? Well Jodi...at least your not dating some twenty year old drunk who beats you." she said bitterly, remembering her own first marriage.

"Yeah. This place is just like it was when I left." Jodi looked around.

"Your fathers orders. How is he doing by the way? Have you talked to him lately?"

"Um...no actually. I've just had a lot of things going on. I'm going to go visit him as soon as I get back though."

"Make sure you do that. You're all he has left."

"Yeah, I know."

The made light conversation for a few more minutes before Rosalie left to let Jodi and John explore the house. He watched as she touched everything with stopped at the door of her bedroom and she took a deep breath before putting her hand on the knob.

"I'm here." John let her know, rubbing her back. She nodded sullenly before opening the door.

All at once the memories pummeled her. Her hand clenched on the doorknob and John rubbed her back again before grabbing her hand. She closed her eyes and walked into her old bedroom. Shades of pink and white decorated the entire room. She sat down on her old bed and looked around.

John looked down and noticed a series of faded red spots on the floor and he knew what they were from.

He sat down next to her and put an arm around her.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

She gave the tiniest nod before standing up.

"I have to get out of here." she breathed on the verge of hyperventilating.

He nodded and quickly grabbed her before the tears started. They rushed down the stairs back to the front door where Rosalie met them.

"Leaving already?" she asked.

"Yeah we're going to go now. Thanks for everything." John spoke for both of them before ushering her out of the door.

"Shit. I forgot my purse." Jodi muttered as soon as they got to the car.

"Do you want me to go get it?" he asked.

"No I'll be fine. I'll be back in a minute." she said before walking back up the stone path and knocking on the door.

John waited, leaning against the car.

"Excuse me." a soft voice came out of nowhere.

John looked up. Approaching him was a tall and thin woman with long red hair. She looked vaguely familiar although John couldn't place her from where.

"Can I help you?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes...the young lady you were with...was that Jodi Stanford?"

"Yeah it was. Why?"

"I'm Elizabeth. Her mother."