Happy Valentine's Day everyone. This chapter is a little mature. Hope you enjoy the chapter and are having a great day!

Chapter 21: Currents

"Are you ready to do this again?"

Her voice floats toward him as he wades through the shallow water toward where she sits on the side of the basin. The blanket beneath her legs dangles mere inches from the rippling water below, while her feet dip beneath the surface, the water rising to just below her tan knees.

Her aura is an oasis that makes him falter for a brief second, it makes him feel higher than the sun, the heat starting to beat down on his bare shoulders a consistent reminder of the light she brings into him. She entrances him just sitting there, dipping her feet in and out of the water.

He wades closer to her through the clear, crisp water, dipping his shoulders beneath the surface a few times before reaching the grassy edge on which she's perched.

To his left is the flow of the river outlet, the water continually flowing down a rock ledge about five feet high making a small waterfall, and to his right is the narrower body of water that makes up the small stream.

Once he reaches her, he presses his chest into her knees and she brings her eyes away from the small waterfall and smiles at him. She then reaches her hand up and rubs her thumb across his cheek before letting her arm fall back to her side and continuing her earlier words.

"I mean, I know we just talked about it but it's a big deal..."

He stands higher in the water, his stomach pressing further into her knees until she parts them for him to slide in between. He plants his hands on the blanket beneath her and waits for her to continue, knowing she's being careful in assuming anything. It's just a part of who they are and what they had been used to dealing with back in New York.

Tomorrow was never a guarantee.

When she lets the words linger in the air he answers for her without questioning her meaning because it's all too clear to him.

"I have a feeling seeing Anabel grow up will be like glimpsing into what it would have been like to see you grow up... So yeah," he breathes out, his breath ruffling her wavy hair dangling against her shoulders.

It's all he can think of but it's the truth. He's ready for this, he's ready to step in. Of course he still has Eli to think of and he knows he has to make a phone call when they get back to the house tonight but that doesn't thwart his attempt to make this a good trip for them while they're alone.

"Good," she breathes out in return, her breathless retort mirroring his own inability to form words and he knows his words have affected her deeply. Her watery gaze and pursed mouth give it away and he feels that tether between them strengthen.

"The water's nice," he breathes out, his hands sliding across the blanket, closer to her legs that touch the outside of his hips. "You want to get in?"

She shivers against his touch and she hesitates a brief moment while looking at the shallow water. Her arms lift to his shoulders and he almost feels victorious before she speaks.

"I don't know, El. I don't think getting in will be the problem. Getting out is what worries me."

He swallows and rubs his palms up and down her exposed thighs where her white summer dress, the one she'd worn to the doctor, rides up her legs. The silk of her skin causes his arms to ripple with goosebumps, the smoothness of her legs a reminder of his inability to get enough of her.

He gently pulls her forward by her thighs and places his face in the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her body while kissing her shoulder and he feels her reciprocate the bear like hug.

He laughs softly when she lowers her hands to this back end of his khaki pants he'd worn into the water. "You looking for something? I don't think you're going to find a life preserver in my pants," he chuckles against the skin of her shoulder.

"El-...," she laughs softly. "I know what I will find though," she purrs in his ear and his back straightens and he doesn't want to get too ahead of himself. He's been fantasizing about this moment since he found that map with this location listed on it. He'd thought of all the ways and places here where he could make love to her again and it makes his face heat.

He still feels like a teenaged boy around her but it doesn't surprise him. She's always, in all their years of knowing each other, been able to get underneath his skin, say the one thing that has his mind racing all night long with possibilities.

He doesn't have to make believe what it'd be like with her in the deepest parts of the night anymore since he's had her as his own already, but that doesn't stop his mind from conjuring better ways he can make love to her again.

He sets those thoughts aside though and brushes off her come on for the time being, lowering his hands from her back and slides them down her sides until his palms are cupping the outside of her upper thighs.

"I can help you, Liv. If I survived last night, I can surely get you in and out of here," he groans. Clearing his throat in a more serious manner, he nods toward the water, "No one's out here but us, the water is the perfect temperature, the air is warm, you have an extra dress to change into," he smirks as he squeezes her outer thighs.

She looks at him from the corner of her eyes as she returns her focus to the small waterfall again. "I wish I wasn't starting to feel like there's a bowling ball is inside of me though."

He smiles and glances at the water rippling down the double slope which continues to hold her attention as she fiddles with a loose thread on her dress. "It's not a bowling ball, it's a baby girl whose wanting to take early swim lessons, you going to turn her down already?" he asks as he turns his eyes to her again

She looks at him, narrowing her eyes at him playfully and shakes her head with a small smile on her face.

"You're funny. Okay..." she gives him with a grin. "Help me in," she insists.

His eyebrows raise in slight surprise, not having expected her to acquiesce this easily and then watches as she pulls her dress about midway up her stomach. He carefully leads her by the arm into the water, a short drop from the grass but still something to be careful of with her growing body becoming more fragile by the day.

She holds onto the back of his neck with one hand and the dress with the other as he slowly slides her in completely.

"Everything okay? You good?"

"Yeah," she pants out as she lets go of the fabric of her dress allowing the material to float around her in the four and half feet of water around them.

"Good. You should relax, the water is s'posed to help soothe your muscles. That is one thing I do remember from the past," he adds, with a sly smirk on his face, remembering their conversation in the car.

She doesn't answer but she smiles with her eyes closed, and after a few moments of wafting around, he notices an expression he knows all too well floating across her face. "Feels good now, huh?"

She nods and leans back slightly against the grassy ledge, her stomach raising slightly out of the water as she floats. "Yeah, you're right. I want to stay in until I'm a least a little pruney."

"You got it," he smiles and then rests on his back in the water next to her. He stares up at the sky, lined with tall trees, birds flying back and forth from branches and he sighs taking in all the scenery around him.

He'd never thought in a million years he'd find himself here with her like this, at least not with the woman he'd been partnered with all those years ago.

He closes his eyes as the cicadas start coming to life all around them, mixed with a cacophony of other sounds. The constant running of water, the slight breeze that ruffles the branches, the birds chirping all around him remind him that the past three years of searching and fighting and hurting haven't been for nothing.

He remembers the day Don told him that Olivia had left the unit and that she didn't want to be found. His heart had shattered in his chest even though he continued to walk around like a zombie for days afterward.

He'd taken a few days off but forced himself to work without her, convincing himself she'd be back like the first two times. He'd convinced himself of that even after he separated from Kathy for the second time, and even after moving back home a few months later and then back into his apartment again.

He'd tried to convince himself of that even after it hit one year since she left. He didn't bother by the second year though, and by the time the third year rolled around, he had stopped keeping track of how many times he'd been in and out of that house in Queens.

He'd been all over the place, but his main problem was one that had nothing to do with his continuously failing marriage and everything to do with his miserable life without Olivia.

He still feels pathetic. But in the end, moving out before he got here a little over three weeks ago seems like the smartest thing he's ever done. Of course he feels bad for telling Kathy while thousands of miles away that he wants to make this move out permanent, but if he hadn't, he knows he would have guilted himself into the rest of a lifetime that was nothing short of a basic routine and nothing about being in love.

And he's thankful for the the fact Kathy was able and reluctantly willing to draw up the papers while he's been gone.

He wants things to be better for Eli. He doesn't want his son to have two parents who are better off separated forcing themselves to stay together for his sake. His other kids are grown. They're all either in their last years of college, in graduate school or working full time to support themselves now.

Eli is his main concern other than the person next to him.

He feels like bringing up what Kathy told him last year right now. He feels like it's his opportunity to tell Olivia everything he's always had to hold in for fear of sharing too much of himself, getting too close or feeling too much.

Interrupting his thoughts, Olivia grasps his hand tightly, he realizes she notices his silence and immediately he feels the coolness of her skin as she places his palm against the side of her stomach.

"I think she likes this," she utters softly. "I don't blame her, it's the most relaxed I've been in a long time."

Taking in a breath of air, he sits up more and lets the feel of the skin of her stomach burn into his brain as he waits for the baby inside to let them know of her presence. He moves his hand slightly back and forth letting his eyes slip closed as he waits.

Olivia's hand rests lightly ontop of his and he feels himself smile when she squeezes it. He opens his eyes, instantly locking his gaze with hers.

He can't stop the boyish way he floats closer to her, letting his eyes glance at her lips then back to her eyes.

Her dark browns gleam in the sunlight peaking through the branches above and they tug him toward her with their magnetism, the sunlight hitting them at just the right angle so a golden hue dances around inside. He also sees that she seems lighter, happier to see him close.

His body lightly bumps into hers as he leans down and captures her lips with his own. She immediately reaches behind his head and holds him to her as they revel in the ability to kiss so freely out in the open air.

He wonders if she sees those hypothetical fireworks every time she's near him like he does with her.

He wonders if her body feels heated even though they're drifting in coolest part of the shallow water.

He wonders if the way he runs his fingers through her wavy tendrils feels as intense as when she threads her fingers through his short hair.

Their lips taste and taunt the other's, pressing in and prying apart with tongues. Before he knows it, he's got his arms wrapped tightly around her body, hers flush against his, the only barrier, the six month along belly protruding against the wet white fabric of her dress that rubs against his bare stomach.

She's in between him and the bank, and she wraps both arms around his neck as they just stare at each other, listening to the sounds around them. His hands clasped behind her back beneath the water as he holds her close.

Her short breaths hit his face and he pulls her closer still, noticing the wet strands of hair sticking to her cheek, feeling her arms wrap even tighter around his neck and feeling her words more than hearing them when she finally beaks the comfortable silence between them.

"This feels nice."

"It does," he pants as he turns them about in the water in something of a slow dance as they gently wade around in circles near the grassy edge where she'd been sitting.

With their arms wrapped around each other in the cool water, their sides mere inches from the dirt and grass, from the realities and wonders of nature, he takes the opportunity to confess what he'd been distracted by only moments before.

"He's not mine," he whispers into the air between them.

Olivia slowly looks up from the water gliding past them and into his eyes. The sincere and confused look on her makes him shiver because he thought she would know what he means, but he sees now that maybe she doesn't and that he has to explain.

"I uh, last Spring, we had a falling out right before Kathleen moved up to Boston for graduate school. I'd been living at home for a few weeks and I suddenly got this feeling of doom. Like I was trapped in that house now that they were all leaving. Kathy told me I still had Eli, that we weren't alone but I told her, I didn't think I'd be able to stay anyway..." he trails off.

"What happened?" she barely whispers.

"I had my apartment ready. I'd been living there off and on for the past few years. The solitude of that apartment, it made me see clearer. It made me realize things I couldn't while living in that house. It made me understand that I couldn't keep pretending for the kids because they weren't there anymore. With the older four all grown up, I felt like my chance to make it up to them was over. But I didn't want to live like that with Eli. So I told Kath, I'd take him with me to the apartment and he could stay with me off and on until we could figure something out but she didn't understand."

"Understand what?"

"I couldn't live in Queens. I had to live in the city and she didn't want that. She wanted me to live near them and I couldn't. She got upset, and asked me why I would want to waste my free time," his voice cracks, as he remembers that day like it was yesterday. His breath trembles out of him as he tries to continue. "Why would I waste time raising a child that might not be mine better than I had my actual blood."

"Elliot," she breathes. "Elliot... no..."

Nodding, he swipes a hand down his face and turns his presumably reddened eyes away and then back to her.

"I don't know if she just got pissed and was trying to anger me enough into staying, but it hurt. She's never guilted me like that before. I mean the first time, she left me. But to say that, I knew... it was time. But Liv, that kid is mine. I mean, I don't care what happens between his mother and I, she knows he's mine and I know. In all the ways that matter."

"I know that, Elliot. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You love your children, that's what makes you such an amazing father. You love them. It's all you can do."

"Yeah," he nods, feeling the weight slowly lifting off his shoulders. "I love all of them. I do. I mean it, Liv. All six of them, blood or not."

She nods, then stands up taller in the water. "You're a good man, Elliot. She was angry. A part of me hates that this is happening to you both. But another part of me wants to be the one to help you."

"You are helping me," he whispers. "You're helping me. I'm helping you. Who woulda known that two of the most stubborn people would end up here?"

She smirks and inches closer to him, leaning in and kissing him gently on the lips.

"I'll support you anyway you want. Any way it goes, there will still be a little girl waiting to meet you right here," she whispers, grabbing his hand and placing it on the side of her stomach. "And there's a little boy who still loves his father, waiting for you too. You know what's best. I'll support it, whatever it is."

He closes his eyes as he feels the faint thump against his hand, and he grinds his teeth trying not to let his eyes water. But his heart swells inside anyways. He swallows as another thump occurs and his eyes slip closed and when they open again, he sees her staring back at him with those doe eyes.

"I love you," is all he can whisper with his hand still firmly placed on her stomach. "I love Anabel. I love my other kids. Most of all, I love being with you," he mumbles shyly, still getting used to saying these words to her.

She locks eyes with him and hers are glossy, and he watches as her eyes go back and forth between his, searching him for something but he doesn't give her room for an ounce of doubt, instead leaning in and kissing her again.

He doesn't think this will ever get old, this feeling every time his lips connect with hers. It takes him a moment to become cognizant of everything else each time he touches her, for her scent, touch, voice, everything takes hold of his senses.

When their lips part, her trembling voice burns into him, searing him, tying him even tighter into her.

"Like I said, " she speaks quietly after a moment, "I'll support whatever you decide, and I will, but I have to ask El, should I be worried about what Kathy wanted on the phone?"

He shakes his head immediately, again not wanting her to think that he senses any doubt. What Kathy wanted on the phone earlier has everything to do with him making final decisions once and for all, decisions he'd been set on making from the start but now, this was about so much more, this was about finally proving himself to Olivia, for Olivia.

"I'm sure she's just wondering how we are. It's been a few days since that storm."

"Will she change your mind though?" she asks innocently, ignoring his attempt at deflecting the inevitable call he'll have to make when they get home. He sees her holding back her breaths and his own voice comes out before he has a chance to stop it.

"I can't stop this,.. this, this thing happening between you and me...I can't... Training to become a cop, being a detective,...becoming a father, a husband, none of that... none of that prepares you for feelings like this."

She nods gently, a faint smirk lining her lips as she pulls both of his hands onto her stomach. Then with their eyes locked, she pulls his hands underneath her dress, using one of his palms to cup her intimately and quickly he realizes what she wants and he'll never be one to deny her anything.

. . .

They're on their way back to her house, riding along a rocky trail in the woods when she feels the need to start up conversation. She's sitting on the cushioned seat next to him in the cart but they've both been considerably quiet ever since he helped her out of the water with shaky legs.

"Hey El?"

She knows she's got his full attention when he slows down a bit so he can hear her over the clanking of the small metal bed attached to the back.

Instead of waiting for her to talk though, he speaks with an urgency she hadn't been expecting and so she sits back and listens.

"I know I threw a bunch of information on you back there, and I didn't mean to, I just... I just though you'd want to know."

She furrows her brows, not having expected this to still be on his mind. "Elliot, it didn't bother me that you shared that with me. I'm glad you told me. I mean, we've been on a roll being honest with each other. I'm happy you felt comfortable telling me."

He sighs in relief and nods a few times before gripping the steering wheel tighter in his hand. "Just, don't ever hold anything in on me anymore, I promise you I want to know everything you're thinking," he returns with a smile.

She nods back and bites her bottom lip as they sit in the silent cart. After a few moments, she starts again with her earlier thought.

"Remember that one case we had several years ago where you jumped into to the water fully clothed because you thought there was a child in that crate?"

He looks at her full on, his light t-shirt he now dons stretching over his chest as he lets the small vehicle come to a complete stop.

Scratching his jaw with his index finger, he eases the slight itch caused by the faintest hint of stubble lining it and smiles faintly before breathing out a laugh.

"Yeah, I do. That was Casey's first case as the new A.D.A. Why?" he asks softly.

"It just reminded me of today for some reason. I don't know, just tiny things remind me of who we used to be. I mean Elliot..., we were partners before all of this and what you just did in the water few minutes ago was not on the list of acceptable things partners do."

He chuckles, his face flushing red and he looks adorable in his dry pair of pants and t-shirt while driving with his flip flops on. She smiles and a tiny chuckle vibrates out of her only growing louder with his next question.

"But the night before was perfectly acceptable?"

"Not that I didn't enjoy it. Oh I did, but..." is all she can respond before he cuts her off.

"Good," he mutters, his voice low, almost growling. "I'm not the adventurous type, but I wouldn't be opposed to an encore before we get back. Didn't I hear you talking about Mandi's husband coming out to help Dominick make sure the house is sealed off since more rain is coming? And I said I'd help them so that means we won't have much alone time this evening," he blinks slowly, a mischievous grin forming on his face.

She narrows her eyes and plays along forgoing the more serious line of conversation she'd be trying to start, for now.

"I'm not sure what exactly constitutes adventurous, but uh, I'm willing to bet this cart will fit in between those to bushy trees if you know what I mean."

He nods, a flush forming down his neck and upper chest and it's the sexiest thing she's ever seen when it's obvious he's turned on. He starts the engine up again, it sputters a few times before it jerks forward and he drives it past a few trees until they come up on a bunch of thick trunks standing close together, their height seeming to stretch toward the sky.

They sit quietly for a few moments, taking in their surroundings, thinking of what they're about to do and hoping like hell no one is around for miles.

She glances at him and he's nervously tapping the steering wheel with his thumbs, and then, she's moving toward him before he has a chance to take his hands off the device. She holds onto her pregnant belly while sliding tentatively across the seat and he reaches for her.

"I've always wanted to have sex outside. Two times in one day? You're spoiling me, Elliot," she grins as she slides even closer to him.

"I'm not gonna lie, Liv. I feel like a teenager fooling around in the back of his dad's truck right now."

She laughs softly as she gingerly lifts one leg over his thighs, straddling him in the seat, her stomach presses gently into his as she places her hands on the seat behind his shoulders.

He becomes quiet and she can see he's letting her lead. He's always been about her pace and her comfort, even long before they were together this way and the realization of that makes her quiver with need. Slowly, she leans in and kisses him, his lips are warm, smooth, and pliant and she wants more, her hormones on overdrive.

Her being on top sets the stage for a much slower love making session than the evening before when all they wanted was that release from all the tension of being denied for so many years in whatever position would allow them to accomplish that goal.

Now, she gingerly raises up on her knees, pulling her dress from underneath her and bunching it up around her stomach again.

He raises his hands and runs his palms down her hips slowly, toying with the material of her thin panties. His fingers slip underneath the band along her hip bone.

She closes her eyes, losing herself in the touch of his hands again. She then takes a shaky breath as his voice filters through her haze of arousal and emotion.

"Are you sure?"

She breathes in deeply, letting her breasts touch his chest and then exhaling with her answer.

"Yes," she whispers into his ear, dropping her weight fully down onto his crotch. He groans into her ear and his fingers run under her panties once more, dipping precariously close to where she wants them again. "Oh God, Elliot."

His finger then does dip inside her and she jerks, the bundle of nerves between her legs rubbing against the fabric of the jeans he's threatening to bust out of. She slowly rocks back and forth and his finger slips out of her, his hands holding onto her hips as she wraps her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder as she continues to grind against him.

She glances at their surroundings for a moment, everything around them has seemed to have stopped and they're the only ones making noise as she rocks against him, the pleasure starting to make her mind spin. She clenches her thighs against his hips and jerks when she feels the splitting feeling of an oncoming orgasm.

She clenches her insides to keep from coming and looks down at him. His eyes are closed, his chest even redder and his neck bobbing from the sensation she's willing out of both of them. "Elliot, open your eyes."

He blinks several times before catching her gaze. "I want you inside of me," she whispers before leaning down and capturing his lips in a feather light kiss. "Please," she whimpers, the pressure in her own groin enough to drive her crazy, just like he does. His smell is intoxicating, his heat is reassuring and his solidness is enough to make her want to cry out to the wind that he's hers, everything about him was meant for her.

He doesn't hesitate but a second, his eyes slightly reddened she guesses from the intense desire she feels radiating off of him. He swallows and she sees the muscles in his neck move before she sits back and watches him unbutton his jeans. She feels like she's on a metaphorical high, a brisk wind drapes itself around her and she leans her head back as he moves beneath, freeing himself.

She glances down and he's waiting, again always so content to go at her pace and wait for her cues. She reaches down and pushes her panties to the side and then doesn't hesitate at all sinking down onto him. He groans and she takes another moment to appreciate everything about him.

He's the safety net when she's feel like she's about to fall. He's a solid barrier between she and the sadness that lingers inside of her still from loss. Elliot is the the reason behind every single happy sigh that overtakes her when she thinks about him being here.

She rocks back and forth, not trusting her her leg strength when he's buried deep inside of her. She wants him to be with her when she can't sleep at night, she wants him with her when she needs that all encompassing release only he can give her, she wants him to be the one squeezing her hand in return when she gives birth, she wants him to be the one who drives her around in an old beat up golf cart for no goddamn reason and she wants him to be the one who grows gray and old with her.

Her head falls back again and she's gripping his shoulders and he's got his hands buried underneath her dress that drapes across their lower halves, covering them as she tries to breathe. He fills her up so fully, his body aligning with hers so neatly and intricately that she starts to see spots behind her closed eyelids.

The bed of the truck starts creaking with her wayward motions and she can't help herself from crying out when he touches something so deeply inside of her she feels herself crack open a little more for him.

"Ahhhhh uhh," she whimpers when he pushes and pulls on her hips gently, and she looks down at him and his eyes are so intense, so full of love and passion and desperation that she can't hold on any longer. She feels every inch and it takes every ounce of her energy when she lets herself go, clenching so tightly, that she forgets where they are as she rides out her orgasm.

He's so quiet but his body language speaks volumes when he pulls her head down by the back of her neck, burying his face in her hair as he rubs her back in soothing circles, waiting for her to come down from the inexplicable high he has a way of filling her with every time.

Moments later, she feels his hips jerk slightly, and then his warmth as he fills her with himself.

His breaths hit her cheek and her eyes are clenched closed as she rests ontop of him, their bodies still entwined. He feels so good that she doesn't want to move. A warmth envelopes her and she almost lets herself entertain the idea of falling into a satiated slumber atop him.

His words are a wisp of air against her skin when he finally speaks.

"Are you okay, Olivia?"

She simply nods, and pushes up to where she can look at him face to face. She blinks lazily at him and feels a small smile tug at her lips and in turn, one forms on his as well.

"I'm much better now," she whispers. "Much, much better," and she leans down and presses her lips to his, capturing his bottom one in between hers before sitting back again.

He swipes the hair from her face and his eyes are glowing. The usual sky blue now burns at an intense sapphire and she simply stares at him, taking him in, swiping her hand down the slight stubble on his cheek.

He captures her hand in his before it retreats from his skin and he kisses her palm.

"Let's get you home so you can rest like the doctor told you to."

She nods, slowly slipping her hand from his and easing her body off of his. Pulling down her dress, she catches his eyes before sitting in the seat next to him.

"Thank you for today," she dispels, her breaths slightly labored from the mild workout. "I mean it."

"You're welcome, Liv," he returns sincerely.

She sits back in the seat, crossing her arms over her stomach and closes her eyes. The last thing she hears before feeling the bumpy terrain beneath them is the small ignition turning over.

At some point before they make it home though she notes through her sleepy haze that her left hand is lying in between them, intertwined in his.

tbc.