AN: I hope everyone's ready for another light-hearted story. It's similar to my summer stories, except, well, it's autumn? In case you weren't aware, the locations of my summer stories are always places I've been or trips I've taken, or have a striking resemblance to them. For this one, I have to give a special shout out to JessicaR_NY. She took a fabulous trip up to Maine and told me how wonderful it was and I'm stealing her spot and getting lots of insight from her because it sounded like a perfect spot for a little EO getaway.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia caught sight of Casey as she walked into the squad room, and the expression on Casey's face told her that she didn't have good news. Olivia took a mental inventory of the list of open cases on her desk, wondering which one of her victims was about to get screwed. Elliot looked up just as Casey rounded the desk behind him and she shot him a warning look, alerting him to the scowl on Casey's face.

"Hey." Olivia greeted the ADA as she reached her desk.

"Hey." Casey said uneasily, shifting on her heels as she looked over at Elliot and then back at Olivia. "I have some bad news."

"Yeah, we kind of got that." Elliot said, trying to be flippant, but ending with a pained grin. Casey didn't come down to the precinct to deliver good news.

Casey ignored him and turned her attention to Olivia. "The Simmonds court date got moved up."

Olivia furrowed her brow, trying to recall the case. She grabbed at the case files stacked on the corner of her desk, but Casey put a hand on top of the pile, effectively stopping her.

"It's not your case." She jerked her head backwards. "It's John's."

Olivia furrowed her brows. For some reason, she wasn't connecting the dots.

Casey raised her eyebrows and stared at Liv. "The trial starts on Monday." She said pointedly and Olivia groaned as the pieces clicked into place.

"But we're supposed to leave on Saturday morning." Olivia said emphatically.

"I know."

"Why are they moving it up? Can they do that?" Olivia knew very well that the judge could do whatever he or she wanted. It was more to make a point that it messed with their plans.

"Wesley Simmonds isn't well, and apparently they're claiming it's cruel to keep him locked up any longer than necessary. They're convinced the jury will find him innocent and thus, he should either be granted bail, or the trial should be moved up. The judge decided to move the trial date."

Olivia let out a snort. Even though it wasn't her case, she was familiar with it. There was no way he was getting off, and as far as she was concerned, he was right where he belonged. Another couple of weeks wasn't going to make a difference.

She and Casey had planned this week-long trip months ago. They had planned the getaway to Bar Harbor to escape the noise of the city and the grind of the job. They had rented a small two-bedroom cottage, and had planned on some quiet days, relaxing dinners mixed with some cocktails. Casey was excited about hiking, which Olivia could do without, but they had also booked a spa appointment, and she had purchased a couple of books, hoping for some quiet afternoons.

"I can't do anything about it." Casey said. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Olivia said. No doubt Casey was just as disappointed. "I was just looking forward to getting away." She said with a sigh. "And it's just a pain to cancel everything. I suppose we'll lose our deposits on everything, since it's just…what? Three days away?"

"Yeah." Casey said, pressing her lips together. "Unless, hey, if you still want to go, then go. I'll still pay my half, so you won't be out any money. I know it won't be nearly as much fun." She cracked a smile. "But it would still be nice to get away. I know you could use the break and it would be better than throwing all that money away."

"I don't know." Olivia tried to imagine herself all alone on the trip. She already spent a lot of time alone; she'd been looking forward to some companionship.

Casey braced her arms on the edge of Olivia's desk. "Or, if you don't want to go alone, you could find someone else to go in my place. I'd still pay my share."

Elliot had been listening in on the conversation, but neither Casey nor Olivia were paying any attention to him. He hoped they understood that they weren't exactly talking quietly, so he wasn't really eavesdropping. "I'll go." He offered up, intrigued by the thought of a week in Maine with Olivia. Neither of them reacted, so he assumed they hadn't heard him.

"Do you have someone else that you think could get away for a few days?" Casey asked Olivia.

"It's more than a few days." Olivia said with a small pout on her face. "And really short notice."

"I'll go." Elliot said, a little louder this time.

Olivia had been leaning back in her chair, and she straightened up, furrowing her brows slightly. "What did you say?" She thought her partner had invited himself along on her girl's trip, but she couldn't have heard him correctly.

"I said that I'll go." Elliot said with a shrug. "To Maine. With you." He clarified when Olivia continued to stare at him.

Olivia opened her mouth so say something and then closed it again.

"Unless I'm the one that you're trying to escape from." He said, grinning at her. He had been partially joking when he offered, but seeing the look on he face right now, he was warming up to the idea. A trip like this might give him the perfect opportunity to change the dynamic between them a little and dig a little deeper on just where he and Olivia stood. He'd been divorced for six months now, and so far, each of them had stayed carefully in their lanes. He hadn't expected that, of either of them, but it was hard to change paths when you'd been on the same one for so long and the scenery didn't change.

Yeah, this might be the perfect opportunity.

"No." Olivia sputtered, trying to grasp for a response. "I'm not trying to escape from you." She clarified. "I just…it's supposed to be a girl's trip." She said lamely.

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Are you doing things that only girls can do?" Elliot teased, looking at Casey and then back at Olivia. He saw the grin on Casey's face, and was surprised that she was staying out of the conversation.

Olivia rolled her eyes at her partner. "Of course not." She said quickly. "Well, maybe." She thought about shopping and the spa. Then she shook her head. "No."

Elliot got a kick out of her struggle with his offer to go along. She seemed flustered, and he didn't see her that way very often. He put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Hey, I don't go where I'm not wanted." He said, pressing his lips together.

"Do you have someone else in mind?" Casey asked Olivia.

"And I don't go if I'm the last resort either." Elliot added. He saw the exasperated look on Olivia's face, and he knew she was going to cave. He felt a little bad at pressuring her, but in reality, he knew they'd have a great time. A solid week out of the city sounded wonderful, even if they didn't get a chance to really talk about anything important.

"You're not my last choice." Olivia said. "I just didn't think this is something you'd be interested in."

"You mean, a free vacation in Maine?" Elliot laughed. "Yeah…I think that's something that anyone would be interested in."

"Fine." Olivia said, having made up her mind. "I'm just telling you that I'm planning on sleeping in and reading and laying around so it's not going to be very exciting." She wanted to set expectations that she wasn't changing her plans to accommodate his.

"Don't forget hiking." Casey added, looking back and forth between Elliot and Olivia.

Olivia glanced up at Casey and saw the small smile on her face. A part of her wondered if the court date really had been moved. Casey had been teasing her about Elliot ever since his divorce had become official, and she wouldn't put it past her to plan something like this. "We can forget about the hiking."

"Hiking sounds great!" Elliot said, picking up on Olivia's lack of enthusiasm. "But we can play it by ear." He added when he saw the dry look from Olivia. He rubbed his hands together in enthusiasm. "OK, so when do we leave?"

EOEOEOEOEO

It was the end of the day, and Olivia was grabbing her things from her locker when Elliot sidled up next to her. He leaned against the metal with his shoulder and waited for her to acknowledge him. She had been unusually quiet after Casey had left, and he wondered if he had crossed some kind of line.

Olivia brushed her hair away from her face and closed the locker door, turning her attention to her partner. "Yes?"

Elliot saw the slight lift in her eyebrow and a bit of exasperation in her tone. He was glad that he'd decided to talk to her. "I just wanted to let you know that if you'd rather go on this trip alone, or with someone else, it's fine. I didn't mean to push."

Olivia was surprised to hear Elliot's comment, since he really hadn't given her much of a choice when he had volunteered to take Casey's place.

"I know we already spend a lot of time together, so I get it. Maybe you do want some time away." He was trying to be sincere, but he couldn't help playing it up a little. He put his hand over his heart, feigning pain. "I'm not going to be hurt if you tell me to give you some space."

Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "So, are you here to tell me that it's really okay if I tell you that I don't want you to come along? Or are you here so I'll make you feel less guilty about tagging along?" She bit back a smile. She had already come to terms with Elliot tagging along. She just wanted to make him squirm a little.

"Okay, you know me too well." Elliot dropped his hand. "But seriously…" He let it hang out there.

Olivia sighed. "I don't really want to go alone." She confessed. "And I really want to have a relaxing time, so if anyone is going to come with me, it needs to be someone that I know really well and that I'm comfortable with. I don't want to always be worrying if they want to do this or that or feel like I can't tell them to leave me alone when I'm being lazy." She shrugged. "Who knows me better than you?"

"True." Elliot grinned.

"Plus, having someone around to carry all the heavy bags will be nice." She smiled, unable to resist teasing him as she brushed by him. She stopped and turned back towards him. "And…" Elliot turned to face her. "You get the smaller bedroom." She said. "And you're driving on the first shift."

Elliot let out a laugh. "I can see how this is going to go." He knew she was teasing. Or at least he thought she was. He bowed slightly. "Happy to be of service."

"I'll remember that." Olivia said, shooting him a quick smile before she turned and headed for home.

EOEOEOEO

The day of the trip had finally come, and Olivia was crossing her fingers that the trip was going to go smoothly. They were both more than ready to take off and all of her reticence about going with Elliot was gone. He was really excited about the trip and they had both discussed the length of time between this and either of their last vacations.

It had been way too long.

There had been lots of questions from Elliot about the house they were renting, the weather, things to do in the area and driving over the course of the last three days, and she'd had to laugh at his enthusiasm to keep from getting annoyed. He had saved them some money by offering to drive, since she and Casey had been planning on renting a car for the trip. He also claimed he could cook and had promised some awesome breakfasts, so they didn't have to get up and go right away in the morning. He also hadn't complained at all about taking the smaller, upstairs bedroom, although sharing a bathroom was going to be interesting.

All in all, Olivia found she was still looking forward to going. And Elliot might be willing to forgo some of the hiking Casey had planned. Some of the trails she'd pointed out to Olivia looked downright treacherous, and she couldn't imagine actually traversing the trails. She'd been pretty successful in hiding her fear of heights over the years, since it was partly the wide, open spaces and the subsequent potential to fall, that scared her. Standing behind glass on the twentieth floor of a building wasn't nearly as frightening to her.

Olivia looked at her watch. Elliot had said he'd been there about 9AM, and it was just a few minutes prior to that. She grabbed a large, oversized leather bag and slung it over her shoulder. It weighed a ton, holding her personal belongings, books, headphones, and any other miscellaneous things she'd thought of at the last minute. Her suitcase was thankfully on wheels, and she pulled the handle up, looking around her apartment one last time. She wracked her brain, trying to think of anything she may have forgotten, but nothing came to mind. If she forgot it, she could get it there.

Olivia was locking her door at the moment her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her back pocket and saw a text from Elliot, saying he was downstairs.

Here we go.

The thought popped into her head unbidden and she shook her head, wondering where that had come from. She'd let go of any anxiety with regards to Elliot and the trip, but maybe there was a tiny bit left. She headed to the elevator, and a few minutes later, she was spilling out on to the sidewalk in the early morning sun. Elliot was leaning against the side of his Jeep with his arms folded across his chest. She took in his baggy cargo shorts, his well-worn t-shirt and his Docksiders, also looking like they'd seen better days.

"What?" Elliot asking, pushing himself off the truck and walking towards her.

"Nothing." Olivia said, shaking her head. "You look like you're ready for a vacation."

"Damn right I am." Elliot took her roller bag from her hand and wheeled it over to the back of the Jeep.

"I didn't really mean you have to carry my bags." Olivia said, watching as Elliot hoisted it up and tucked it in the area behind the last seat.

"I promised full service." He said, giving her a wink. He looked around. "Is that it? Or do you have more bags upstairs?" He teased. The way Olivia had been explaining her issues with trying to pack for five days, a mix of weather, and casual versus clothes that were appropriate to wear out, he had imagined her struggling down the stairs with three suitcases.

"That's it." Olivia said, peering in the back of the Jeep to see how many bags he had. She just saw one medium sized suitcase, which at this point, she assumed was crammed with shorts and t-shirts.

"Hmm." Elliot said, somewhat surprised. He pointed at the bag on her shoulder. "What's happening with that?"

"It's staying with me." Olivia eyed the open top of the Jeep. "Are you going to put the top on? We're going to be on the freeway…"

"Don't want to mess up your hair?" Elliot winked at her again, giving himself permission to look at the way her hair curled around her shoulders. He wasn't used to the look, and he wondered if she had actually curled it or if that was what her hair looked like naturally.

"No." Olivia scowled at him slightly. "I just don't want to be blown out of the car or get bugs in my teeth."

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Don't worry princess. I already planned on putting it on." Which was 100% true. He'd just been running a little late this morning and hadn't had a chance.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at the princess remark, surprised to hear it.

Elliot caught it and he just smirked. He knew exactly what that look meant. But he didn't care. He wanted to have some fun this week. He wanted them to let their guard down a little. So, he was going to push her a little…maybe a lot. "Let it go Liv." He teased, already pulling the canvas out of the back of the Jeep. "Wanna help? Grab that side."

They started to work together to attach the cover on the Jeep. He stole some glances in her direction as they worked, taking in the dark washed jeans that hugged her hips and the white t-shirt paired with a black cardigan. It was just an average, white t-shirt, but she looked damned good in it.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Olivia stopped what she was doing as she caught Elliot's stare.

"What?" Elliot asked, confused by her question. "Oh. No." He shook his head. "Carry on."

Ten minutes later, the were both inside the Jeep. Olivia donned her sunglasses, and Elliot followed suit.

"Ready?" Elliot asked, glancing over at his partner.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

With that, they headed out, weaving through the Manhattan streets in search of some peace and quiet.

EOEOEOEO

The trip had gone quickly so far, but conversation had been limited. The Jeep was noisy, so they'd listened to music and the hum of the road and watched the scenery as it went by. They'd decided to stop outside of Boston to grab a late lunch, cutting the roughly eight-hour trip in half.

Elliot had pulled into what appeared to be a sports bar, which was fine with Olivia. She hadn't had breakfast, and a burger or sandwich sounded good. As they slid into the booth, the waiter was there with water, and Elliot quickly ordered them two beers.

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"We're on vacation." Elliot said, by way of explanation.

"I'm not objecting to the beers. I just…I can order for myself." Olivia said. She wasn't actually annoyed, but it was fun to give him a hard time.

"Noted." Elliot said. He slid both menus towards Olivia. "How about you order lunch then."

Olivia pushed his menu back towards him with a roll of her eyes.

Elliot laughed and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "I think maybe we need to lay some ground rules for this trip."

"Ground rules?"

"Yeah." Elliot gave her a slight nod.

"Such as?"

"I don't know…" Elliot said. "Like…you can only roll your eyes at me twice a day?"

Olivia caught herself before she did it again and smirked at him. "I can't help it sometimes. You know that you earn every single one." The waiter brought their beers and they both ordered a burger before he left again.

"OK, but in all seriousness." Elliot said. "This is a vacation, so rule number one, no talking about work."

Olivia nodded slowly and took a sip of her beer. "Okay. That's a good one." She had been skeptical of any rules, but maybe he had a point. "Except I promised to bring something back for John, so I might have to ask your opinion about that."

"That's not talking about work." Elliot confirmed. "And since work is off the table, it means we're not partners. We're just good friends."

"We are good friends." Olivia said. "Aren't we?"

"Yes, exactly." Elliot said. He wanted to adopt a more casual mood and remove the formality of who they were at work. "What else."

Olivia thought about it for a moment. "I think we also have to agree that we don't have to spend every waking minute together." Olivia said. "If you want to go somewhere and I don't, I'm going to say so. And you should too."

Elliot nodded. "OK. And if you want some time alone, you need to tell me that too." He was used to being surrounded by a houseful of people, except for this past year, so he didn't crave any time alone. But he knew Olivia might, and she may not want to tell him.

"Or…if either of us wants to spend some time with someone else." Olivia winked. She saw the look of surprise on Elliot's face, even though he tried to recover quickly.

"Uh. Yeah." Olivia's comment made Elliot wonder if she and Casey had planned on going out and looking for some companionship. Was that what women did on a girl's trip? He didn't know and he didn't want to know. "Whatever." He tried to shrug it off, and push the thought from his mind, but he was struggling. He looked up and saw a small smile on Olivia's face and she quickly took a sip of her beer. "What else?" Elliot asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I don't think we need a lot of other rules." Olivia said, leaning back as the burgers were delivered. "Or we can decide on any others as we go."

"OK." Elliot agreed. "But just so you know, I'm a lot of fun on vacation. You're not going to want any time alone or want to spend time with anyone else."

He was going to make sure of it.

They finished up their burgers and Olivia excused herself to use the bathroom before they hit the road again. When she came out and walked across the bar, he took in her freshly glossed lips and the aviator sunglasses pushed up on the top of her head. He was struck once again by how damned beautiful she was. He thought about the week ahead and how he was going to start to break down the barriers and let her know just how he felt. He knew he was going to have to take it slowly, and he hoped that his instincts were right, and she felt the same way about him.

Elliot saw a couple of other men at the bar glance in her direction, and he was up and out of the booth to meet her midway across the room. He handed her the keys and fell in step with her.

"Your turn to drive."

EOEOEOEO

Elliot relaxed into the seat, happy that Olivia was driving the last four hours or so to Bar Harbor. He'd eaten his burger and the last third of Olivia's, and with the two beers he'd had, he was feeling sleepy. They had just made their way through mid-afternoon Boston traffic and he heard Olivia sigh as they freeway opened up in front of them. He shifted in his seat to face her a little more. She was focused on the road, and it gave him a few minutes to observe her without feeling creepy.

"I like your hair like that."

Olivia glanced over at him but didn't comment before she turned her attention back to the road.

"Is it naturally that curly?"

"I wouldn't call it curly." Olivia had just taken the time to put a few waves in; time she didn't usually have. "But no. I did it this morning."

"I've just never seen it…like that."

"Yeah, well, I'm usually just getting up and running into work. I don't have time for that."

"Yeah, well…I like it."

Olivia laughed. "Noted."

Olivia could feel Elliot staring at her, and she shot him another sideways glance. "Do I have something on my face?" She reached up and brushed her hand along her cheek. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Just admiring the scenery."

Olivia turned her attention back to the road. First, he had commented on her hair, and now was staring at her with a self-satisfied grin on his face. Was Elliot actually flirting with her? Or was he just trying to set a more relaxed mood for the week? "Yeah, well, the scenery is better out the other window."

Elliot chuckled, please that his comment had obviously flustered her a little. He shifted in his seat a little, so he was looking back at the front windshield. "I guess I shouldn't distract the driver if I want to get there in one piece."

"Or have the driver drop you off somewhere in New Hampshire." Olivia fired back. She wasn't sure who this fun, flirty Elliot was, but it was throwing her for a loop. While it was kind of nice, it was also uncharted territory for them, and they had a whole week ahead of them.

Elliot leaned in towards Olivia and gave her his best puppy dog look. "You wouldn't drop me in New Hampshire, would you Liv?"

Olivia looked over at him and rolled her eyes, pushing him back to his side of the car. "Don't tempt me."

Elliot made a mark in the air with his finger. "That's one."

"One what?" Olivia asked, glancing over at him again before looking back at the road.

"Eye roll." Elliot explained. "I said you could have two per day. And I'm giving you a break since I'm only counting since we made the rules."

"I think we're going to have to revisit the rules." She said with a small laugh, wondering what the hell she'd gotten herself into with this trip.