Present

The next morning she awakens alone in his bed. Looking around at the Spartan bedroom she finds a book he's been reading on Stonehenge and she hears him in the kitchen. She looks for what should be the trail of her clothing still on the floor from the previous night but her clothing is nowhere in sight. Then she notices even her ankle holster is missing. She considers what to do next. It is one thing to be nude in the throws of passion and quite another to wander about a strange place without a stitch on, so Olivia snuggles under the thick comforter.

It doesn't take long before Adam returns wearing a robe carrying a tray of breakfast foods. Presenting it to Olivia he says "Breakfast m'lady? I'd be happy if you stayed, but if you're going to work you'll need to get moving pretty soon."

"Where are my clothes?"

"Mmmm, that's for me to know any for you to figure out."

"Where is my piece?"

"Safe"

Olivia begins to eat her breakfast as Adam slips off his robe and gets under the covers. "Really, where is my stuff?" Olivia asks in between bites.

"It's where I put it…. Not necessarily inside the apartment…."

"Not funny. It's bad enough I've got to go to work in the same clothes I left in. I'll have Stabler asking questions all day."

"Should have thought about that last night before you decided to find one of the places I live."

"One…?"

"Yup"

"Is there a shower here?"

"Of course and after the shower you'll need to search high and low for your stuff… literally." Adam says with a devilish grin.

"Where did this side of you come from?"

"It has always been here. I could sense that you were becoming a bit bored and I aim to please you Olivia. You deserve to have someone excite you for a change even when that means teasing you for a little while. You also deserve to have someone pamper you most of the time and I'd already done that."

"It was nice." Olivia concedes.

When Olivia returns to the squad room wearing the same clothes she left in she can feel the eyes of her fellow cops watching her as she hurries to the locker room to change. When she comes out, Stabler is waiting for her. Pointing her finger she says "Don't even start" Stabler grins.

As they head out to run down a lead Stabler mutters "I know the walk of shame" to himself but deliberately loud enough for Olivia to hear. Olivia glares at him. "I thought you were gonna dump the wimp."

"He's nice. I don't want to hurt him. Besides, there is… I don't know, a sense of mystery. Besides, he can be surprising."

"Yeah? Did he not cut the crust off of your sandwich?"

"Actually, while I was still asleep he hid all of my clothes and made me search for them without a stitch on, some of it was high and some of it was low."

Stabler starts giggling, "There may be hope for him yet."

"The son of a bitch turned off the heat; gave me pokies." Olivia says as even she starts to giggle a bit and Stabler starts to laugh. "My underwear was hanging on the doorknob… on the outside of the door." Stabler starts laughing so hard he has to wipe his eyes. "I met his neighbor when I was reaching around the door to get them."

Stabler turns his head sideways peeking and reaching around an invisible door and saying "Oh, hello Mr. Johnson, I'm Olivia."

"Stop it. I shouldn't have told you."

"I'm sorry. But it is funny and it's good to see somebody get you to feel like a kid again. I just didn't think it would be this guy."

"I can laugh now; this morning, I wanted to strangle him nonchalantly standing there in the only robe in the place while all I was being damp from the shower."

"Thanks for rushing that paperwork Doctor, Elliot and I owe you one." Olivia says already turning to leave.

"Olivia, I heard you're dating Adam Pierson." Melinda says and Olivia turns back.

"How did you hear that?

"Police officers, they gossip worse than old women. Let me give to a bit of unsolicited advice. Don't let him go."

"Do you know him?" Olivia asks.

"We lived together for awhile." Melinda says to Olivia's shock. "It was quite a long time ago." Melinda explains and Olivia is incredulous. "The massages are great aren't they?"

Olivia nods saying. "They are very relaxing. I fell asleep once. Do you know what his reaction was?"

"He was probably pleased."

"Yeah, but most men wouldn't be." Olivia observes.

"Most men would consider it foreplay, but for him it is an end in itself. He wants to relax you and ease your woes and stress. Olivia, don't ever ask him any questions about his past. He'll tell you very little and it will drive him away. He has his reasons for privacy. He loves rarely, but deeply. Just accept it."

"I'm sorry if I…." Olivia starts to say afraid that her relationship is painful to Melinda.

"It's okay, like I said it was a long time ago. When I met him, I was in a bad situation. When we went our separate ways I was ready to face the world on my own." Olivia starts to ask a question, but before she can utter a sound Melinda stops her. "I'm not answering any of your questions. I've already said all that I'm going to on the subject."

"Thanks." Olivia says and turns to leave.

"One other thing Olivia…. How have you been sleeping?"

"Okay. Better, I think."

"Dreaming?"

"Not like before. My dreams are … peaceful. Kind of strange…."

"You're riding a horse." Melinda speculates.

Shocked Olivia responds "Yes. It's odd since I grew up in the city. I have very little with me, but I know it is all that I need and I know that there is very little that can harm me. I'm calm and just wandering as my mood takes me with no particular place to be. How did you know?"

"They are the same dreams I had."

"How? What do they mean?"

"I suspect he whispers when he senses his lover is having a bad dream and gives the suggestion of a peaceful scene."

"There is one other thing that's not so peaceful."

"Did you have a sword?" Melinda says to Olivia's shock.

"Yes. You too?"

"I thought in your case it might be a gun since that is what you normally carry."

"What does it mean?"

"Protection, you are not defenseless. At least that was the conclusion I reached." Melinda chuckles. "I decided the obvious Freudian metaphor made no sense. You are traveling light, no baggage, but you have all that you really need. You can go wherever you wish and you are master of all that you see. Let go of your emotional baggage. Let yourself go where life takes you. It isn't fancy, but when you think about it, it is better than swimming with dolphins or anything 'New Age' like that."

"I see your point. It isn't a fantasy that I would have imagined that he would create though." Olivia says before leaving.

Standing alone getting ready for her next case Doctor Melinda Warner says to herself "Who said it was a fantasy Olivia." She smiles to herself thinking back to the beginning of her relationship with Adam, when he brought her out of slavery shortly before the start of the American Civil War and they made their way through a troubled land to Canada. But Melinda's knowledge of the man she knew as Nathan is only slightly deeper than Olivia's.