Chapter 2

A few hours later they arrived at the hotel. They checked in and found out that there was a double room booked for Elliot and Olivia.

Elliot's prize was for a family- one room for the parents and one for the kids. They tried to book another room for Olivia but the hotel was fully booked. Olivia didn't mind it but the look Kathy shot her was wild.

"I want the room next to the kids!" she said. So Liv just grabbed the key card for the room Kathy had booked for herself and her boyfriend from Elliot's hand and said she'll go get changed. She really didn't want another discussion. She didn't care which room she has, as long as she can finally start enjoying this trip.

Before she could leave, Lola stopped her and asked if they would meet at the pool in about 30 minutes. Olivia agreed and walked away.

Damn! She really tried to play it cool but Kathy just annoyed the heck out of her.

First of all, Liv had never done anything to sabotage their marriage, quite the opposite to be honest.

How often did she tell El to call Kathy to tell her why he was running late and how often did she do all of the paperwork, so he could go home to his family.

And second of all, it wasn't her fault that she was El's partner. Yes, she was a woman but nothing has ever happened between the two of them. She would never date a taken man. That's just not who she was and Elliot would've never cheated on Kathy. He wasn't like this either.

She could understand Kathy's jealousy while they were still married because it had to be hard for her to see how good they knew each other and how close they were but now her behaviour was a bit weird.

She was the one with the new boyfriend. Even if Olivia and Elliot would be together, it wouldn't be any of her business anymore.

Olivia was fed up with taking care of Kathy's feelings because no matter how obligingly she was, Kathy was mad and unfair. It was her holiday too, so she decided to put on her bikini, with nothing but a see through tunika over it.

She was on a fucking holiday and she wouldn't dress like a nun because of Kathy. She was about to leave the hotel room when she decided to put on a pair of shorts too. Seems like she wasn't that badass after all.

Just as she was about to open the door, she heard a knock, followed by Elliot's voice. "Liv, can I come in?"

She opened the door.

"Sure. Come in." He just stared at her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Uhh.. yeah.. I just haven't seen you dressed like this before." he stuttered slightly embarrassed but still not able to look away from her.

"El, you have seen me in various skin showing outfits when I was undercover as a prostitute or something like that." she said laughing.

"I know, but you look different. You look really beautiful." She blushed slightly.

"Um..thanks." Damn, this was kinda uncomfortable, Liv thought to herself.

"Okay, well I'll go meet Lola at the pool. See you there?" He stumbled a "Sure" and went into the hotel room.

What the heck was going on? Why did he behave like this?

Elliot could see that he had made her uncomfortable.

Why did he stare at her like this?

Well, he knew why, she looked stunning. Absolutely stunning! Her skin looked tanned already and her legs… Okay, stop it! She is your partner. Your best friend. Get your shit together, Stabler. You can do this without behaving like a hormone- driven high school boy.

When Olivia came to the pool, Lola and Sarah were already there and to her disappointment, Kathy as well.

"Olivia, see I am wearing my new bikini. How do I look?" Lola shouted happily.

"You look gorgeous, sweetie!" Lola's smile grew wider, if that was even possible. "Daddy, hasn't seen it so far. I am so curious what he will say." she said while jumping around like crazy. This girl was full of energy.

"I am sure he'll love it." Olivia said smiling. She placed her bag next to a beach chair. She could feel Kathy's stare on her back.

"Olivia, come on. Let's go in the pool." Lola shouted.

"Let me take off my clothes, then I will come."

"Okay, cool. Mom, you should come too." Lola shouted excitedly.

"No, I will stay outside. Let you kids play." Nice one Kathy, Liv thought. But she loved the water and didn't really care about what Kathy thought. She planned to enjoy her holiday.

So she took off her clothes and made a header in the pool.

God, the water felt so good. She swam over to Lola and soon they started to compete, in who can stay underwater for a longer amount of time and other games you can play in the water. They had a really good time. Liv didn't even realize that Elliot was at the pool as well.

Elliot went down to the pool and overheard Kathy talking shit again. He approached her from behind and said, "What is your problem?" She startled.

"Oh, I didn't know you were here." she said innocently.

"Stop it, Kathy. I heard everything. Just leave her alone. I really don't understand why you act like this. She didn't do anything wrong." Kathy looked at him unbelievingly.

"She didn't do anything wrong? Are you serious? She destroyed everything!

First, she interfered with our marriage and now she intrudes our holiday. We would still be together if she wouldn't have stolen you from me!" Elliot looked at her unbelievingly and angrily.

"You can't be serious! Our divorce had nothing to do with Olivia. Absolutely nothing! And you know that. I wasn't there for you and the kids because I put the job first.

And she didn't intrude this holiday. I had to talk her into this over three days because she didn't want Sarah to feel uncomfortable. Even Lola asked her to come along. She only accepted because I told her that Sarah was okay with it and even then it took her a while to accept. She thought it would be nice for the girls to have some alone time with their dad. The only one who intrudes this holiday is you! Think about how nice Liv was to you although you acted like a total bitch. Please get your shit together, so we can all enjoy our holiday!"

Kathy was so shocked that she wasn't able to say anything and Elliot went over to a beach chair near Sarah. He didn't realize that she was so close before but he hoped that the music she listened to over her earphones was loud enough to prevent her from hearing their fight. He looked at her and she took out the earphones.

"Why aren't you in the pool?" he asked.

"Don't feel like it." she said. He could see that something was bothering her.

"Is everything okay?" he asked cautiously.

"I… I heard the fight you and mom just had and I am confused." Shit, she did hear it. "Oh, honey. I am sorry. Don't worry. I was just annoyed about her behavior."

"I know, but why did you lie about the reason why you two got divorced?"

"What do you mean? I didn't lie."

"Sure you did! Mom said that Olivia stole you from us. That she wanted you all to herself! It had to be the truth because every time I visited you at work, she was there and every time you left the house, it was to be with her. She even answered your phone a few times! It had to be the truth."

"Honey, slow down. Let me explain." Elliot said, trying to calm her down. But she got even more upset.

"No, because now you say that it wasn't her fault and if that is true, mom has lied to me the whole time! I hated Olivia for so long, only to realize that she never was the enemy. I treated her badly although she didn't do anything wrong. She was so nice to me, she even worried about how I felt and I was still a bitch!

Why did mom lie to me about her? And why does mom hate her so much?" she asked, crying. Elliot hugged her and said, "Jealousy does things to people. They start to act irrational. Your mom knows that nothing ever happened between Olivia and me, but it is easier to say that Liv is the problem than to admit to herself that only two people are to blame here- Herself and I."

After a while she pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

"Olivia has to hate me, dad. I hate myself for how I acted towards her. I was so mean!" He smiled at her.

"No honey, she doesn't hate you. Never did, never will. She cares about you and understands that you took your mother's side. Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."

"Oh no! I think they are coming out of the pool. I don't know what to say or how to act around her anymore." She got up and ran towards the hotel. Elliot smiled. She could be so dramatic. He was glad they had talked. He should've done it sooner.

He looked over to the pool and froze, Olivia was standing in front of the pool, wringing out her hair with a gorgeous smile on her face. Damn! She was a fucking stunner. He knew he should stop staring at her but it was fucking hard not to look.

He always knew she was a really good looking, attractive woman but he has never seen her this relaxed and happy before. And he has never seen her in a fucking bikini, wet and tanned. Damn! Now he can never unsee it. He will never look at her the same way as before. God, he had to stop. She was his partner- his best friend!

He didn't realize that Liv had approached him.

"Whatcha starin' at?" she asked with this gorgeous smile. He felt slightly caught by her.

"I was.. uh... just…" he stuttered but fortunately for him he was interrupted by Lola.

"Daddy, did you watch us? We dived from one side of the pool to the other. Well, I couldn't do it but Olivia is really good at it. I think she could stay underwater forever. And did you see us jumping into the pool? Olivia taught me to jump in with the head first. I've never had the guts to do it. Come on, I'll show you!" She took his hand and dragged him to the pool.

"Okay, peanut. Slow down a bit or you will drown." he said with a laugh. Olivia went over to the showers to get rid of the chlorine. Elliot caught himself staring at her again. The way the water ran over her body, over every curve and.. Stop it! he told himself. You can't think like that about your partner and you definitely can't look at her like that. Stop staring!

"Dad, you aren't looking!" Lola complained. "Sure honey, your header was amazing." he lied. Of course he wasn't looking, he was busy staring at his best friend like a fucking creep.

"Compliment her on her new bikini. She was really excited about what you will say about it." Olivia said, suddenly standing behind him.

"What the heck! How did you get behind me so fast?" he asked surprised. Olivia just laughed and lay down on a beach chair in the sun. He tried to concentrate on Lola, so he wouldn't continue to stare at Olivia like a pervert.

"Look at this marvelous bikini. It was worth every penny." he said. Liv saw how Lola's face brightened up and smiled to herself.

"You like it daddy?" she asked happily.

"Of course I do!" he said while pulling her into a hug.

"Lola!"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Can you come to me please. You need to get ready for dinner." Kathy shouted.

"I'm coming!" When she passed Olivia's beach chair Olivia asked, "Would you like to explore the beach after dinner?"

"I would love to!" Lola said happily. "Awesome, see you at dinner." Liv said grinning.

"I hope that's okay with you?" she asked Elliot when Lola was gone. He smiled at her.

"Of course it is okay. She absolutely adores you." Liv smiled. He sat down on the beach chair next to her.

"Aren't you hot?" she asked.

"What? No, why are you asking that?" he said defensively. Liv looked at him amusedly.

"Well, because you were standing in the sun the whole time with your t- shirt on. Don't you want to go in the water?" He felt weird. Of course she was talking about that.

"Uh.. yeah. Maybe I'll jump in before we have to go get ready for dinner." he said embarrassed.

"You know you're acting kinda weird, right?" she said laughing.

Of course he knew, damn it!

Liv turned around to lie on her stomach. She opened her bikini top so she wouldn't get untanned bikini stripes.

Okay, this was too much for him. He got up, pulled off his shirt and jumped in the pool.

30 minutes later Liv asked, "Is it okay with you if I go take a shower now? Or do you want to go first?"

"No, go ahead." he said smiling. She packed her stuff and walked towards the hotel. He looked pretty damn good in his swim trunks, she thought to herself. She knew he had a trained, muscular body but she hasn't seen him topless very often and especially not when he was dripping wet. She shook her head. Stop thinking like this about him. Yes, he looks good, really good but he is your partner and best friend.

After her shower she stood in their room in her underwear, unsure of what to wear for dinner. She didn't want to provoke Kathy because another fight wasn't exactly what she wanted.

She could hear Elliot enter the hotel room so she put on her gown quickly.

He knocked on the door.

"Come on in." she said.

"I am sorry, I just need to grab my things." She smiled at him.
"It is your room too. You don't have to be sorry for entering it."

"It's still weird." he said grinning, grabbed his stuff and left. He was right, it was kinda weird. They went from partner to roommates in this holiday. She didn't really mind it because it was Elliot, her best friend. She knew she could trust him and she felt comfortable around him.

After trying on a few outfits, Liv decided to wear a knee length, cold shoulder ruffle dress, with huge flowers printed all over it. It was elegant enough for dinner and casual enough for the beach later and most importantly it wasn't too revealing. She knew Kathy would find something she hated about it but she was happy with her choice. She sat down on the bed, waiting for Elliot to get ready. A few minutes later he entered the room again, dressed in nothing but his shorts.

"Forgot my shirt." he said grinning. He went to his suitcase and put on a shirt. Liv got up from the bed to put on her wedge heels.

"Wow, you look great." he said staring at her.

"So it isn't too revealing? I really don't want to give Kathy another reason to start a fight." He looked at her guiltily.

"I am sorry. I know it isn't easy with her, she is just... No, there is nothing I could say to excuse her behaviour towards you." Liv smiled.

"Don't worry. I just don't want to provoke her even more than I already do with my existence." she said with a smile.

"She really acts crazy around you." he said, shaking his head.

They left their room and walked to the dining room. The others were already there. Lola started to wave like crazy when she saw them enter. Liv started to smile.

"I can't believe that she isn't tired at all, after a day like this." Liv said to Elliot.

"I tell you, from one second to another she is fast asleep. She is always super active and suddenly she is asleep." Liv laughed but stopped immediately after seeing Kathy's look.

Liv and El were about to sit down when Kathy said, "Lola honey, would you mind changing seats with your dad. I need to talk to him and it would be easier for us if he sat next to me."

She only wanted them to change seats so Olivia and Elliot wouldn't sit next to each other. Elliot was about to say something but Liv shot him a look that said, Don't!

So he sat down next to Kathy, obviously not happy with her behavior.

They were almost finished with dinner when Liv asked Sarah, "Are you feeling better? You seemed kinda unhappy when you left earlier." Sarah looked at her surprised.

"Uh.. ya, I am fine." Then she looked down at her plate again. Liv didn't know why she was acting so weird. Sure, Sarah didn't really like her but normally she stared at her with a death glare or something like that, she was never like this before.

"Olivia, are we still going to the beach after dinner?" Lola asked excitedly.

"Sure honey." Liv said smiling.

"Yey." Lola said happily.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Kathy asked Olivia.

"Uh sure." Liv said, well aware that this wouldn't be a nice conversation. They got up and walked a few steps away from the table.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Kathy asked furiously. Liv looked at her surprised and confused.

"I don't know what you mean?" she said politely.

"You can't just take my daughter to the beach with you, without asking me if it is okay."

"Elliot said it is fine. I am sorry. Next time I'll ask you too. I really didn't mean to.." she was interrupted by Elliot.

"No, you don't have to apologize. I "allowed" her to go to the beach with OUR daughter, so calm down. I thought it would be nice if we take the kids to the beach, so you and Kurt would have some time for yourselves." Kathy looked at him with big eyes and a red face. Everyone knew she was still furious but Elliot made it impossible for her to say anything else.

"Fine. But we will come with you! Kurt has to be here any minute." she said before storming off.

Elliot shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't even know what to say. I just hope you don't regret coming on this holiday with us."

Liv smiled at him.

"Of course I regret it but I can handle your .." El interrupted.

"You can call her crazy."

She started to laugh and he laughed too.

"Well, I can handle her, don't worry." On their way back to the table Liv asked,

"Do you know what's going on with Sarah? She acts kinda weird." Elliot stopped and looked at her fascinated.

"There is nothing you don't see, huh?

Well, I overheard what Kathy said to you at the pool and well we kinda started a fight. I didn't realize that Sarah overheard our fight but she started to ask me questions about you because she realized that everything Kathy ever told her about you were lies. She is embarrassed at how she acted towards you, although you never were anything but friendly to her. She doesn't understand why you don't hate her." Liv looked at him shocked.

"Did you tell her that nothing of this is her fault and that I could never hate her. Oh my god. Do you think it is okay if I talk to her? I really don't want her to feel weird around me. She should feel good on this holiday."

Elliot smiled at her.

"Of course it is okay. I'll take care of Kathy, don't worry."

As they approached the table, Liv saw a man standing next to Kathy. It had to be her boyfriend Kurt. She knew he was a surgeon, Kathy told them pompously that he had to take a different flight because he needed to do an emergency surgery.

Elliot and Kurt greeted each other friendly. Kurt turned towards Olivia and smiled friendly.

"You have to be Elliot's partner, Detective Benson." he said while shaking her hand.

"That's me. But please, call me Olivia. Nice to meet you." she said friendly.

"Kurt, nice to meet you. I am sorry for being late but I guess you understand when I say it was because I had to work."

"Unfortunately, I do." she said smiling.

"Let me guess, this is the first holiday you are on since... forever." Liv started to laugh.

"Well to be honest, I can't even remember"

Kathy didn't like their interaction, so she turned to Kurt and interrupted Liv in the middle of her sentence.

"Honey, do you wanna go to the hotel room before we go to the beach?"

He was a bit confused about the sudden interruption of his conversation with Olivia. "Uh yeah. The hotel room sounds good. I still have my suitcase with me but Olivia was in the middle of a sentence. Let me finish my conversation with her before we go." he said, unaware of the fact that Kathy knew exactly that he was in the middle of a conversation with Olivia.

"Oh, I am sure Olivia doesn't mind, right?" she turned towards Olivia with a fake smile.

"No, of course not." Olivia said not wanting to start another fight if Kathy wanted to be like that she wouldn't fight her.

"Kathy!" she heard Elliot say angrily behind her. Kurt looked at the three of them with a confused look.

"Well we will be back soon and then we can go to the beach." she said to no one in particular.

"But I don't wanna wait anymore, mom." Lola said impatiently.

"I think the others can go to the beach and we will meet them there later." Kurt said suggestively.

"Fine." was all Kathy said before going away with Kurt in tow.