Conversations were flowing, and the wine was too. Dinner had been served and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Olivia was at the end of the table, Noah on her left and Stabler on her right, the rest of the squad scattered around the big table. They were talking about funny and odd cases they did over the years, some old, some new. Olivia was glad Elliot could hear stories from when he wasn't there from other people.

She raised her glass to take a sip of her wine, but lingered as her eyes went to study his face. She took in his features as he listened to Carisi's story. His gentle smile, his attentive eyes, the way his head nodded a few times to encourage Carisi to tell him more. He was listening attentively to every detail and took in whatever information he got to catch up on her life.

Weather it was the wine or her heart, she felt the warming sensation spreading through her chest. He was here. He wanted to be here. He wanted to learn more about her life. And she was finally ready to let him.

Sensing her stare, Elliot's eyes found hers. She broke the eye contact and put her glass down on the table. She felt him trying to read her, so when she looked back at him, she smiled a little, telling him everything was fine and that she was glad he was here. He squinted a little, saying it back without words.

"Oh I got one!" Fin startled them out of their bubble. "Guys, do you remember this case with the tiger?!"

Elliot and Olivia turned back to the conversation and groaned at the souvenir.

"A tiger?" Noah exclaimed.

"No way!" Amanda added.

"Oh yeah, there was this gang trafficking wild animals across the border and Elliot got into a tiger's face." Fin pursued.

Everyone laughed in disbelief.

"Stabler had to go undercover to join the gang and find the animals."

Elliot and Olivia smiled throughout the story but didn't contribute much. They were lost in their own recollection of the events, most of them not case-related.

"Didn't your cover almost got blown too at some point?" Fin asked him.

They both froze for a moment but Stabler tried to recover.

"It wasn't."

"Yeah, you got shot because of it…" Fin was trying hard to remember.

"I only got shot because Liv brought me that phone." Stabler teased.

Olivia couldn't let it pass this time.

"I only brought you that phone so we could reach you, Stabler." She left out that part about Kathy and Eli almost leaving…

But Elliot didn't, replying quickly to her tease.

"You brought me that phone so I could call Kathy and save my marriage." He said without really thinking about the other people in the room.

An awkwardness fell over the table, but Olivia saw he was okay talking about it.

"That too, but that's not what got you shot." She continued.

"Nah I got shot 'cause you're not a very actress."

Olivia faked being hurt by exaggerating her expression, her mouth opened, her eyes twinkling.

"So what happened?" Amanda asked.

"I brought him the phone and he got shot." Olivia replied quickly, returning to her food, hoping the subject would be dropped.

"Woah there Benson, I think you're forgetting some parts of that story…" Elliot teased again, smirking. His eyes were full of…flirt?

Olivia couldn't believe he would talk about this. She sent him a stare, making him understand the dangerous grounds he was walking on. He knew, of course, his smug expression betraying him. Their eyes stayed locked for a full minute as they both replayed the hotel scene in their heads.

Olivia half heard Carisi when he turned to Fin.

"What's that look?"

Fin snorted.

"That means we'll never know the whole story."

Amanda cut the tension by standing up and picking up her empty plate.

"Who wants dessert?"

And the topic was dropped.