AN: Sorry, it's kind of a short chapter. But wanted to get an update out. Have a great weekend!

EOEOEOEOEO

It had been a long afternoon at Olivia's apartment and both Olivia and Elliot had been unsettled, moving around the apartment wordlessly, trying to deal with the emotional aftermath of their morning. It wasn't the tongue-lashing from Cragen, it wasn't the impending IAB scrutiny, or even the anticipated suspension. It was the harsh reality of the imminent end of their partnership. No matter what either thought the future might hold for them, their partnership was what their relationship had been built on. It was what they knew. A comfortable blanket of actions and activities, emotions and thoughts that they both knew…both relied on. They knew how to act in that space. The thought of that comfortable blanket being ripped away made them both feel raw…exposed.

They both avoided talking about anything meaningful, instead attending to basic needs and small talk. Are you hungry? Do you mind if we watch the baseball game?

Olivia pushed herself up off the couch with a huff and walked off towards the bedroom, and Elliot heard the bedroom door close behind her. He picked up the remote control and lowered the volume, muting out the announcer calling the play-by-play on the game. He debated about following her...did she want to talk or be left alone? He decided to leave her alone for about 15 minutes, and if she didn't come back out, he would see if she was doing okay.

Elliot got wrapped up in the game, and almost a half an hour had gone by when he checked the time. He got up hastily, and walked over to the closed bedroom door. He knocked lightly, and when she didn't answer, he opened the door a crack. Olivia was curled up on the bed, lying on her side with her knees pulled up slightly. She had her arms tangled up close to her chest, and it reminded him of a defensive posture someone might take that was under attack. Despite her pose, her eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping, her hair falling over her cheek. Elliot took a few steps into the room, trying not to wake her, and he stopped when he saw the tear tracks down her cheeks. He felt like an ass then. He knew that deep down, he hadn't followed her because he didn't want to talk…it was still raw for him too. But looking at her tear-stained cheeks, he knew he should have followed her in…forced her to talk. Everything felt fragile right now, and they need to keep the lines of communication open more than ever, or they might not be able to withstand the tremendous changes in store…the things that threatened to rip them apart. He felt an enormous sense of responsibility now, and he turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia woke and it was dark in the room. It threw her off-kilter as her mind tried to piece together where she was…what was going on. Then it all came rushing back. The morning. Cragen. Stone and Allen. IAB.

She brushed her hair back from her face, and stretched out. She had been sleeping for almost three hours, and her body was slightly stiff from lying in the same position. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark and she could see the bedroom door was still closed. She was a little surprised that Elliot had let her sleep this long, but she knew he was probably going through some emotional turmoil himself and was probably avoiding a long talk. She let out a sigh…they had some tough discussions ahead of them. But she was kind of happy that they both recognized that today was not the day.

She pushed herself up and then got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror, she could see the tear tracks on her face, and she splashed water on her face to get rid of them. She used the bathroom and then brushed her teeth, trying to clear the fog from her brain from her extended nap. She was a little mad at herself, because she was never going to be able to fall asleep tonight, but the emotions of the day had been taxing. She must have needed the sleep.

Olivia opened the bedroom door quietly, unsure of what she was going to find on the other side. Elliot may have fallen asleep too…maybe he even left. That thought sent a slight chill through her because he had pretty much been there for the past five weeks, so she didn't know where the thought had come from. As she rounded the corner, she saw him sitting on the couch, talking on the phone quietly. He smiled at her and held up his hand, as if the say he'd be off in a minute, and Olivia stopped, standing near the opposite end of the couch.

"OK. Yes, I said I would." Elliot said with a little scowl on his face. "I know." He glanced back at Olivia and rolled his eyes and she decided he was most likely talking to Kathy. She didn't want to appear to be listening in, so she turned and headed towards the kitchen to get something to drink. A few seconds later, she heard him say goodbye.

Elliot walked into the kitchen and saw Olivia reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. She was still wearing her work clothes…black pants and a long sleeved burgundy blouse…that were now rumpled from sleep. As she turned to face him, he could see she was still half-awake, and he smiled. "Hey sleepyhead." He teased lightly, taking a step towards her and brushing her hair back from her face. "I thought maybe you were going to sleep the night away."

"I can't believe I slept that long. You should have woken me up." She said, and then took a long drink of water.

Elliot shook his head. "Why? We're on vacation."

Olivia tilted her head. "Not really."

"That's what Cragen said. You're on vacation." Elliot challenged, knowing that she wouldn't argue it. "Besides, with all the hours you've put in this past year, and the little sleep you've gotten, you could probably sleep for two weeks and still not catch up."

Olivia had to smile because it was true. She never felt like she got enough sleep, and now that Elliot was living with her, even that small amount of sleep had been impacted.

"So, I was thinking…" Elliot said. He put his hands on her waist and pushed her body back slightly until she was pressed up against the counter. He saw Olivia give him her famous look of skepticism…with one eyebrow raised and her eyes wary. "Since we're on vacation…"

Olivia rolled her eyes, wondering what he had cooked up.

"Let's go away."

Olivia hadn't been expecting that. "What?"

"Let's go away for a few days. You and me."

"You mean…leave Manhattan?"

"I know you're born and raised Liv, but there is life outside of the city." Elliot joked.

Olivia slapped him playfully on the arm. "I know that. But can we leave?"

"I have a pass to get past the city limits…" Elliot's mood was considerably brighter since he'd had the idea of taking Olivia away for a while. "I used it for a long time to get to Queens, but they hadn't revoked it."

"You're not funny." Olivia said with another eyeroll.

Elliot leaned in and kissed her nose, pressing his fingers into her hips. "I'm very funny. And cute too."

Olivia shook her head, not confirming either of the two. "I meant, can we leave, as in…IAB wants to talk to us and maybe the 1-2 isn't done with us."

"No one told us we couldn't leave town. Cragen told us we're on vacation until further notice."

Olivia looked skeptical, so Elliot forged ahead.

"C'mon Liv." Elliot lifted his hands and rested them on her shoulders. He leaned down, looking into her eyes. "When's the last time you had a vacation? And I don't mean taking a day off and hanging around here. I mean a real vacation."

"I don't know." She admitted. She didn't know if she had ever been on a real vacation, as Elliot described.

Elliot pressed his lips against hers lightly, and then gave her a kiss on the forehead. He left his lips pressed lightly against her forehead as he spoke. "We can sleep in and order room service. We can sit in an outdoor bar and get drunk on overpriced drinks with stupid names. We can forget the outside world and lay in bed and make love all day if we want. No victims. No suspects. No crime scenes or interrogations." He pulled his mouth from her skin and leaned back slightly, looking back at her face. Olivia had a small smile on her face and he took that as a good sign. "Whaddaya' think?"

Olivia's smiled widened and she laughed at his earnestness. "I think you had me at room service."

Elliot released her then, happy that she had agreed. "Yes! That's my girl." He said. He looked left and then right, as if searching for something, and then leaned against the opposite counter. "OK. So, where should we go?" He was trying to contain his excitement, but now that she had agreed, he wanted to just go.

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we can find a little spot out on Long Island…"

"Long Island?" Elliot said, furrowing his brows. "Long Island?" he repeated. "No no no no no." he clapped his hands together. "Baby, you have to think bigger." He said.

It was Olivia's turn to furrow her brows together. "Baby? Didn't we talk about that?"

"Stay on topic Liv." Elliot teased. "Let's go somewhere warm."

"It's summer." Liv said matter-of-factly. "It's hot here." She was purposefully being difficult because she loved Elliot's reaction.

"Nice." Elliot said, not missing a beat. "I mean somewhere hot. Where there's a white sandy beach and turquoise water. And where you'll be wearing a bikini." He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Olivia rolled her eyes again. "You can't handle me in a bikini." She teased.

"You're probably right. I'm only going to want to take it off." He growled as he moved back over to where she was standing.

Olivia threw her arms around his neck and pushed herself up on her toes so she could kiss him. "Well, if that's the case, then the beach it is."

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot had only ever dreamed of a tropical vacation, and the thought of spending five days in paradise with Olivia was even better than his dreams. Cragen had initially balked a little at them leaving the country, but there was really no reason to keep them from going. They both had enough vacation time, and their situation could be addressed when they returned. Elliot thought Cragen was slightly relieved when it was all said and done…he probably didn't want to deal with it either.

Elliot glanced over at Olivia in the airplane seat next to him. She was wearing a simple white sundress that was stark against her dark skin. Sitting next to him, it rode up, and showed off a lot of leg. Which was fine for him, but he didn't appreciate the appreciative glances she was getting from some of the men sitting around them. He almost wanted to ask her to switch seats with him, so she was by the window and he was in the aisle of their two-seat row, but he had no real reason to ask her, and she would have clobbered him if she knew why.

As if reading his mind, at that very moment, she arched her back and stretched, and he let out an internal groan at how her dress strained at her breasts. Now that he'd had sex with Olivia, he felt like he walked around with a permanent hard-on sometimes. He had been naïve enough at one point to think that maybe if he could have her just once…but that was pure craziness. Because once you knew what lay beneath that clothing…once you knew what sounds she made when she came…God, he wanted her all the time.

Luckily, she was a willing participant. A very willing participant.

"What are you smiling about over there?" Olivia asked, and he broke out of his reverie and looked over at her.

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh." She looked down at his pants pointedly and Elliot shifted in his seat.

"You can't blame me for that." He said. "That's all your fault."

"We have another hour and a half on the flight. Do you think you can manage until we get to the hotel?" she teased.

Elliot leaned a little closer. "You a member of the mile-high club Liv?"

"No." Olivia said, shaking her head. "And I don't want to be."

"You're no fun." Elliot said, giving her a fake pout.

She laughed at him. He was so damned cute…those blue eyes…those pouty lips. It almost made her want to join him in that tiny airplane bathroom. "That's not what you said last night." She quipped back and that got a laugh out of Elliot.

"Well…last night was a new adventure. I'll never look at a bottle of chocolate syrup the same way again."