AN: Thanks to all that have read this story! This is the last chapter because alas, the chase is over. I absolutely love writing my 'summer' stories, but I don't know if I can call it that when there is our first snow on the ground here! Regardless, I have loved all of the feedback on Twitter and in reviews and I appreciate your support. Now, I would love your support and would ask that if you haven't reviewed on FF, please leave a review today! And of course, a huge thank you for those that have left such lovely reviews. I'm not sure what's next in my EO arsenal but keep an eye out for something new. You never know when inspiration may strike!

Tuesday, June 14th 10:32AM

Olivia really hadn't fallen back asleep. At least, not completely. And now she was stuck in an uncomfortable situation, having to use the bathroom and not wanting to wake Elliot. He clung to her tightly, even in sleep, as if he were worried someone was going to spirit her away while he was unconscious. It had reached a point where she didn't really have any options, at least none that wouldn't be exceedingly embarrassing, so she ran her hand over Elliot's chest lightly to try to ease him from sleep.

"What?" Elliot jolted awake, his arm clenching around Olivia tightly as he tried to get his bearings.

"It's just me." Olivia said, prying his fingers from their painful grip on her waist. "I need to get up." Elliot still looked confused, but he released her. She started to extricate herself from his body, but the sheets were tangled with the comforter, and it wasn't an easy escape. She glanced back at Elliot and laughed at the expression on his face, amazed that he had been sleeping that deeply. "You seem surprised to find yourself in bed with me." She teased.

Elliot was wide awake now, and he laughed. "Maybe I'm just surprised that you're trying to leave me." He reached for her, but she had already cleared his reach and was sliding off the bed on the opposite side, her back to him.

She snatched at the comforter, pulling it up to cover herself as she turned to face him. "Like you have any energy left. Seems to me that you're the one that called uncle last night." She looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Or rather, this morning." She raised a brow as she said it and was rewarded with a scowl.

"I did not cry uncle." Elliot said, teasing her right back. "I was concerned about your welfare." There was a bit of truth to it, but not much. She'd given as good as she got. It seemed that even in bed, there would always be a constant push and pull, changes in the power dynamic. He loved that she knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to ask for it, and that he could do the same.

"As you can see…" Olivia took that moment to let the comforter fall to the floor. "I'm absolutely fine." She gave him a mischievous smile, teasing him slightly.

"You're not fine." Elliot said, letting his eyes wander up and down her body without any apology. "You're perfect." He rolled onto his side and stretched his arm out across the bed, but she slapped his hand away playfully.

"Now is not playtime. I need a bathroom, a hot shower and some food." She shook her head. "I'm not even sure if that's the right order."

The pout returned to Elliot's face, but it quickly turned into a smile as he watched her walk around the bed and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door firmly behind her.

That answered the question of whether or not she wanted him to follow her.

He punched the pillow into a ball and lay back against it, unable to keep the smile off his face. He couldn't stop thinking about all that had changed over the course of the last ten days and particularly, last night. He had worried that somehow, they would feel awkward this morning, even though they had both been on the same page. There had been small changes along the way, inching them closing to obliterating that one final boundary between them, but it was still a lot to process. But Olivia had acted like everything was completely normal this morning, and he was thankful for that. He didn't want to go backwards; didn't want to rehash everything they'd talked about. He just wanted to move forward.

He closed his eyes and waited for Olivia so they could figure out what came next.

Tuesday, June 14th 12:05PM

Olivia sat across the table from Elliot, nursing her beer as he wolfed down his burger. He hadn't even noticed that her lunch sat untouched, or that she had barely finished half a beer when he was on his second. "You know how many times I've sat across from you and watched you eat?"

Elliot glanced up at her and saw the pensive look on her face. He glanced down and saw the uneaten sandwich and the full beer and set his half-eaten burger on his plate. There was obviously something on her mind, and now he wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer. He delayed just a few seconds too long and she started in again.

"It was a rhetorical question." She ran her finger around the rim of her glass, avoiding his gaze. She'd felt good this morning when she'd woken up; had felt confident and happy. But in the last couple of hours, as she'd replayed everything that had happened, she had allowed the smallest amount of fear and uncertainty to creep in. "So…what's next?"

"Well, we're supposed to leave today and head towards San Diego."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." He wasn't that obtuse, but had chosen the safe route, just in case he was wrong. "What do you want to happen?"

"It's my choice?" Olivia asked. Secretly she'd been hoping that he'd be bold and say something definitive, but she should have known better.

"Well…" Elliot felt like he was taking some kind of test and failing miserably. He had wanted to give her some space without pushing too hard but to him, there really wasn't much of a choice to make. "No? Yes?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well, that cleared things up."

Elliot leaned back in his chair. "I thought it was pretty clear." He felt like they'd had this discussion. Twice.

"It's just…a lot of things are going to have to change if we're going to…" She waved her hand back and forth between them."

Elliot furrowed his brow. "Keep having sex?" He teased and shook his head. "We work in sex crimes. How can it be hard for you to say that?" He lifted his glass and took a long drink of his beer, nearly draining the glass. "Well, I'm not interested in any other options." He said, setting his glass down on the table. "Are you?"

Olivia squirmed in her seat. "Well, I meant…sex is one thing. But it's about more than that." At least she hoped it was. "Isn't it?" She swallowed nervously. "What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, right?"

"Absolutely not." Elliot said with conviction. "But as for what's next…Liv…whatever you want." He reached out and touched her hand with his. She hesitated a second and then extended her hand, allowing him to cover hers. "We can keep it a secret for awhile if you want, or we can call Cragen when we get to San Diego…or…well, we are in one of the wedding capitals in the U.S." If she told him she wanted to marry him today, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

"That feels a little rash." Olivia said, feeling a flutter in her stomach at the thought of marrying Elliot.

"I'll drop down on one knee right now." He took his free hand and held it over his heart. "I swear. Just say the word."

"What if I never want to get married?" Right now, she didn't know exactly what she wanted, but a part of her wanted to know if he'd insist on it.

Elliot cocked his head and stared at her for a moment. "You have my heart Liv and I'm never leaving your side. Wedding or not."

"You can't promise me that." She thought that Kathy must have thought the same thing and look where she was now.

"I can absolutely promise you that. As long as there is breath in my body, I belong to you."

"And I belong to you?"

"God, I hope so. I'd be the luckiest man alive."

"I should have known you'd be a hopeless romantic." This was a glimpse of him she hadn't been privy too. She hadn't imagined he could talk to honestly from the heart. But then again, he could say the same about her.

"Buried deep down." He thumped his hand against his chest. "You bring it out in me." Now that she'd opened up to him, had trusted him enough to take that next giant step, it had made him want to tell her everything. They just held their gaze for a little longer before she looked away, squeezing his hand before withdrawing it from his and taking a sip of her own beer. "So…what's next for us Liv?"

Olivia set down her glass and looked back at him. "Well, I think…San Diego, right?"

"That's not an answer."

"That's all the answer you're going to get right now."

"Okay." They had a six-hour drive ahead of them, where she'd be stuck in the Jeep with him. He wasn't going to push her any more right now."

Olivia was a little surprised he let it go but was happy that he did. Her head was all over the place and she didn't really want to think about the future. She wanted to enjoy these moments with him now. She reached back across the table and wrapped her hand around his, getting his attention. "So…" She shot him a mischievous smile. "I have made one decision."

"Yeah?" He was a little curious about the sudden change.

"It's about a six-hour drive, and we haven't checked out of our room yet…" She trailed a finger up his arm, biting down on her bottom lip. "Maybe we could delay our departure? Just a little?"

"God, I love you and the way you think." He stood up, grasping her hand firmly in his. "If those are the kinds of decisions you're going to make, then I'm going to let you make all of them. Let's go."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she melted against him as they left the restaurant and headed back towards their room. "If I forget to tell you El, I really love road trips."