Welcome!

I am uploading the first couple chapters to get an idea of where I want to go, and to determine if this is a story that interests readers. I hope that these first few chapters aren't too boring. I know that this is a little OOC. I have rated M for content beginning in in later chapters. Please let me know what you think.

Chapter 1

Manhattan Special victims Unit Squad Room: Monday, July 18, 2:33 p.m.

"Over my dead boney ass."

"C'mon Munch, nobody wants to picture that." Fin said throwing him a smirk.

"Well, you may be in denial, but I'm sure someone is storing that image away for personal use." John quipped heading towards the coffee pot, "Right Liv?"

The room chuckled seeing Olivia's body shudder dramatically.

"As sweet, and disturbing, as that image is Munch, I'm not currently looking for any material." She flicked her eyes from Elliot to John," and I'm going to have to bleach my mind to get any sleep!"

John put his hand over his heart mocking emotional pain.

"All right! All right!" Don clapped his hand to regain the attention of his detectives, "As much as I enjoy your protests, they are all in vain. We have been asked, meaning told, by One-P-P, to attend this training conference. They are sending us all as a reward … "

"More like a punishment" Elliot said putting his head in his hands.

"And I would appreciate if you tried to make the best of it." Don finished, his final comment pointed towards Elliot.

"One-P-P really knows how to reward their detectives. Forcing them to sit in a hot room, that will definitely smell like stale donuts and bitter coffee." Olivia grinned, spinning her chair back to her desk, away from her captain.

"Well, I guess they think that the all-inclusive hotel and spa will make up for the unearthly smells you are so looking forward to." Don said, a smirk forming as he watched the brunette detective turn back around.

"How much of it is mandatory? I'm in for the R&R, but I'm not sure if I can handle four days in a conference room with detectives who should've retired ten years ago." Elliot's frustration was evident in his voice and body language. He leaned all the way back in his chair and interlocked his fingers behind his head, letting out a huffy breath. His eyes wandered across his desk to the back of his partner. Her body language was much more relaxed than his. He watched her bring her bottom lip in between her teeth and saw the thoughts turning in her head.

Olivia was certainly intrigued by her Captains words. She thought about the hours of overtime she had accumulated the past few months, and the very few nights she had been able to string together 6 consecutive hours of sleep. Some of that had been due to her own decisions, choosing to spend some of her night time hours engaged in other various activities. And though she was happy with the decisions she had made, she was definitely exhausted and currently considering the benefit to cost ratio of One-P-P's demands. Midway through her internal debate she caught up with the conversation occurring around her.

"What?" Olivia said, turning her eyes quickly to meet Elliot's. She saw the light blue of his eyes turn dark. His jaw clenched and she could see his refusal rising within him.

"All of it is mandatory. You will all attend the team building activites, an emotional regulation seminar and session, fitness and skills training, and a review with on-site counsellors on your last day. This company is not employed directly buy the NYPD, so what your final reviews reveal will not be reported back to One-P-P or I.A.B, but you are meant to gain a better understanding of yourself and how you contribute and cooperate within our team. Plus, like I said, in your downtime, you have access to the full hotel and spa, on the NYPD's tab." Don explained, trying to settle the anger that bubbled inside of Elliot.

It was well known that Elliot didn't like sitting down and discussing his feelings, especially with the fear of his gun and badge on the line. Though Cragen had tried to alleviate his fears, Elliot still struggled. The tough, sturdy exterior that was Elliot Stabler, shelled an emotional and somewhat fearful man, and the possibility sharing this piece of him scared him more than the risks of the job he dedicated his life too. His father had ensured that Elliot grow up building a thick wall to conceal anything but strength and courage. This was the Elliot that others- his friends, family, and lovers, past and present- saw. Although, Elliot had noticed that his strength to conceal had been somewhat overpowered by his current love, who continued to weaken his defenses and, he feared, threatened to remove his armor entirely.

"It's final, and we will all be on a flight to Canada on Sunday." Cragen ended the conversation, or at least his contribution, by turning into his office and closing the door.

"Canada?!" Munch exclaimed, "Why not Antarctica? Or Russia?!"

"Calm down man! It can't be that bad!" Fin frowned at his partners whining, "besides, you know what they call Canada?"

"Too Nice?" Elliot asked, watching Olivia grin at his comment.

"Nah! America's hat." Fin laughed.

JFK Airport – Departures: Sunday, July 24, 4:33 a.m.

Elliot hopped out of the Taxi, making sure that he hadn't left anything on the seat. He had arrived later than he wanted, not for lack of trying. He had spent the night in Manhattan and then had to drive back to queens and taxi back to the airport, after snoozing his alarm. Twice. His phone had already notified him of two texts from his Captain, three from John, and one from his partner, all making sure he knew that he wouldn't live to hear about the trip if he didn't show up. Fortunately, the baggage check-in was quick and security was smooth. Elliot neared his terminal and saw Fin laying back in a chair covering his eyes with his hat. Elliot laid his backpack close to what he assumed was the rest of the squad's carry-ons, and set off to find some decent coffee.

Elliot's nose led him to a small Starbucks where he found the rest of the detectives waiting for their beverages.

"I really thought he was going to skip." Munch sighed handing Don a ten-dollar bill.

Elliot chuckled, and Olivia handed him a large coffee. "Thank-you."

"Mhmm" Olivia replied, taking a long sip of her own coffee. After feeling the pleasant burn, Olivia tried, and failed, to stifle a long yawn.

"Late night?" Elliot asked. A small curious smirk on his face.

Olivia's eyes snapped to his, her face threatening to show her surprise. Without giving Elliot the satisfaction, she quickly replied, "No, just a night of packing."

"Actually," Munch stepped in, "What Ms. Benson is neglecting to tell you, is that she is tired from our incredible night together. I'm shocked too, and a little hurt that she has already forgotten."

With the three simultaneous eye rolls from Olivia, Elliot, and Don, the group returned to a sleeping Fin and their luggage. At this time, more passengers had shown up to the terminal and airline staff had begun to board families with children and elderly.

"Does that mean we can board with Munch?" Olivia jabbed, payback for his earlier comments.

Elliot chuckled and leaned in behind her, "A boring night? Really?"

Olivia turned. Her brown eyes daring Elliot to make another comment. "Yes. Absolutely nothing exciting at all."

The plane was average, allowing three to a row and providing decent, but not much, leg room. Olivia had begged for, and won, a window seat. Elliot sat next to her and Cragen took the aisle seat next to him. John and Fin were seated in the row next to them, with another passenger beside them. The plane was dim and quiet during the taxi to the runway and the crew preformed their preflight safety procedures.

Elliot noticed the shifty passenger beside him, checking and double checking her seatbelt. She opened, closed, and then reopened her window before removing the grey zip up she had worn that morning. As the plane settled at the end of the runway, the whir of the plane's jets startled Olivia and she grabbed for the arm rests; her left hand wound up on top Elliot's. Her eyes snapped to his, her anxiety clear and prominent in the dark brown orbs. Elliot moved his hand on top of hers and squeezed it gently.

"It's going to be fine." Elliot assured her quietly. Olivia's eyes moved from Elliot's eyes, to their hands and then to Cragen, who had already dozed off. She squeezed Elliot's hand back, and kept the pressure until the plane reached an acceptable altitude and leveled off.

Olivia could feel her hands sweating. Embarrassed she pulled her hand from Elliot's and wiped it on her jeans.

"Sorry!" She whispered.

"Nothing to apologize for. "Elliot replied, continuing to watch her actions.

Olivia has settled into an in-flight movie, giving Elliot a chance to take her in. Her medium length hair had been pulled back into a tight braid, with a few strands of hair framing her face. She had worn minimal makeup and completed her casual look with a white t-shirt, dark jeans, tan Blundstones and the earlier discarded grey zip up, which Elliot was certain had belonged to him at one point.

Elliot closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander. He wasn't sure how long, if at all, he had been asleep, but he woke when he felt his partner tense up beside him. He could feel the tension run through her body and into the arm that shared an armrest with his. It took him another minute to figure out why his partner's energy had woken him. He felt the plane shake mildly and opened his eyes to see a very stiff, very green Olivia.

"Are you o-"as Elliot shifted forward to address her, the plane dropped slightly in altitude and Elliot felt his stomach rise into his chest and then settle again.

Olivia now had her head between her knees, breathing hard.

"It's okay. It's just a little turbulence." Elliot smoothed a hand on her back and reached for the backpack tucked under the seat ahead of him. Elliot took out a small bottle of Gravol and offered Olivia two small pink pills and his bottle of water. Without hesitation, Olivia took the pills and water, keeping her head low. Elliot's hand remained on her back for a few moments, until he felt her begin to sit upright. Her colour was better and the physical signs of her anxiety had subsided.

"How are you doing?" Elliot asked.

"Better, thank you. I'm getting tired though." Olivia twisted in her seat, leaned against the side of the plane and brought her knees up to her chest, breathing deeply.

"The Gravol will make you drowsy. Why don't you try to get some sleep? We still have a few hours left until we land. I'll wake you when we begin our descent." Elliot offered.

Olivia closed her eyes and nodded.

"Are you cold?" Elliot asked, but she had already drifted off. Elliot grabbed the zip up from the seat, opened it up and laid it over her legs and arms. He took a final glance in her direction before laying his head back and dozing off again.

Elliot felt something shift on his left. His eyes fluttered open, to see Cragen latching his seatbelt.

"Hey Cap, everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're beginning our descent. They turned on the seatbelt signs." Cragen explained.

Elliot glanced over at Olivia, who was still sleeping soundly against the side of the plane. Elliot placed a hand on her knee, brushing his thumb back and forth in an attempt to wake her.

"Liv? Olivia?" Elliot shook her knee gently.

Olivia stirred, arching her back and stretching out her neck, "Mmm morning babe." Olivia mumbled.

Elliot's hand froze on her knee, causing Olivia's eyes to snap open. She shifted her eyes from Elliot to Cragen and then across the aisle to two very amused detectives. Olivia quickly straightened up in her seat, a deep blush crept up her neck into her cheeks. Elliot looked down and smirked before straightening himself out and latching his seatbelt.

"I didn't know that you were afraid of flying?" Elliot whispered to Olivia.

"I'm not!" She huffed, "I just don't trust the idea of flying through the air in a tin can."

The last statement had been announced a little louder that she intended, and Munch and Fin chuckled, "Big Bad Benson is afraid of flying."

Olivia's glare reminded him that she didn't find it amusing, and Fin turned to hide his smile.

Landing in Saskatoon had been smooth and uneventful, and so had customs. John had joked with all of the agents about how they were no nicer than the TSA agents at JFK, which few found amusing. They had all gathered at the baggage claim, and were watching as luggage traveled around the carousel.

"You know Liv," Munch chimed in, "they say flying is actually safer than driving."

Olivia stared at John, contemplating her next jab, until Fin beat her to the punch, "Man, we should have left your ass at customs."