AN: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the support, please keep it up! I usually like to drag out the formation of their relationship, but I really wanted to make this story shorter so I had to make some sacrifices, sorry. This chapter will have a lot of stuff that you'll recognize, but I swear I mean no harm, lol! There's also some fluff, I promise that part was all me. The next chapter will focus on Casey and Elliot clashing and the whole trial issue.

Disclaimer: I may not own law and order svu and the characters, but it took forever to get some of those lines word for word, so I'm using it, lol! #sorrynotsorry

"Okay, so that's a win for me…again" Olivia teased. She had beaten her captain at dominos three times already and the day was still young. Although she woke up feeling much better than the night before, her sight was just about the same. She thought that maybe it was a tiny bit clearer and the shadows were a little more defined, but she was still bad enough to need a babysitter. Elliot insisted that he would find someone to stay with her for the day, but she really didn't want to be stuck in her apartment.

Cragen had suggested dominos because she would be able to feel the dots and it was actually quite challenging. He and Marge used to play together on rainy nights…

"Beginner's luck" he muttered under her breath, making her laugh. He had noticed as soon as he saw her that she was in a much better mood than she usually was. He also saw the way Elliot held her hand, but he didn't want to assume anything.

"So how are you things going for you?" he asked as he mixed and separated the dominos, setting up for another game.

She immediately thought of her morning and how wonderful it was to wake up with Elliot beside her, his arms wrapped around her. His voice was still sleepy when he greeted her with a "good morning", nearly making her melt in his arms. She responded with a sweet kiss, waking him up the rest of the way.

Captain Cragen would not be told about that.

"My head feels fine and my eyes are still on strike, but I'm okay. You go first" she ordered, knowing that he wanted to make the first move this time.

"That's good…You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?".

She felt the shift in the conversation. It went from silly to serious in about three seconds. He was offering to listen to anything that she had to say, and that made her feel warm inside.

"That means a lot to me, Cap".

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

She shook her head. "Not that I can think of".

"Are you sure?" he questioned, hoping that she would open up.

"Well…"

"What?" he sounded a little too eager.

"I can't" she whined. She had wanted to tell someone about kissing Elliot, but her boss was not a good choice, even if he did say that she could tell him anything.

"Is it about Elliot?"

"Why the hell would you say that?!"

He could tell by the look on her face that he was right, it was about Elliot. Part of him wished that she could see the cocky grin on his face.

"Because I'm right, but I won't push you. You can tell me when you're ready".

"Thank you. Now, are you ready to lose again?"

"Cap, you're needed" Fin called.

"Come on" Cragen said, helping her up and out of the office.

( A lot of this part will look familiar)

"The girl Picard kidnapped is Tiffany Lemarsh, nine years old. Disappeared last week from a bookstore at a shopping mall in Gulfport, Mississippi. Found last night after four days without food and water, in what's left of Picard's house in Louisiana". John had just been filled in on what happened, so he filled everyone else it.

"Alive?" Elliot questioned.

"Barely" John said grimly. "Neighbor's dog got a whiff. Sniffed her out just in time".

Olivia heard footsteps, but she didn't know who was joining them until the attorney started to speak.

"They're charging Picard with interstate kidnapping. Feds faxed me the indictmet. Who called them?" Casey was clearly unhappy with the situation at hand.

"Didn't you?"

"No" she quipped.

"We just picked him up this morning. Never even got him into the system" the new guy, Chester said.

"The how do they know we collared him?" Fin pondered.

Olivia had picked up on Elliot's lack of participation in the conversation. Red flags went up in her head. It was him. It didn't make any sense to her. Picard had hurt her; wouldn't Elliot want to deal with him personally?

"Feds' jurisdiction trumps ours" she heard Casey say.

"We don't even get an extradition hearing".

This was all getting a little too weird.

Elliot and Munch had said something, but she missed it. She was too caught up in her thoughts.

"Raping a child under the age of 12 in Louisiana…is a capital crime".

Now things were starting to make sense.

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Elliot and Olivia sat at their usual table in their usual diner, quietly waiting for their food. Even with all the work that needed to be done, Elliot was given an hour long lunch break to take Olivia out. She saw this as her chance to figure some things out.

"El, we need to talk abou-"

"Oh God, we've only had our first kiss last night, how could I have possibly screwed up yet? I need at least a full 24 hours for that".

She chuckled but quickly settled. She didn't have time to joke around. "I meant the Picard case…I find it extremely weird that the feds knew that he was collared before we even got him in the system".

"Crazy" he mumbled, trying not to say too much. It was moments like this that she wished she could see him clearly. She could normally see it in his eyes when he was lying or holding something back, but now she would have to rely solely on his voice.

"He did rape a little girl, Liv. Louisiana wants him because quite frankly, rapists deserve to suffer".

She knew that being the father of four, he strongly believed that. However, even though she was conceived because her mother was raped, she did not feel that every rapist should die. Most, even Picard, but not every single one.

"I've been thinking".

"That's dangerous" she retorted.

"Cute. But I was thinking that I could take you on a date tomorrow night?"

She felt a flutter in her stomach. Elliot Stabler, her crush of nine years, just asked her on a date.

"Yes! I mean that depends on what we will be doing on this date".

Liar! You'd say yes even if he was taking you to an AA meeting.

"That my dear, is a surprise. Don't worry; I'll make sure that you can handle whatever it is".

They finished their lunch without another word about the Picard case. He could make her forget about the bad things in life, even if just for a minute.

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(Huang and Picard)

"Why did you attack Detective Benson?"

"Well, I saw the sign on the truck in the park. It said, 'time to escape'" Picard answered. He went on to explain how the message was meant for him and how they were coming from Francine. His sister was sending him those messages because she was raped by many boys.

Huang watched as the memory took over Saul Picard. The next thing he knew that man was crying and shaking, suffering as her relived the memory. He was only 17.

His medicine had worked for a long time, until his sister died. The stress was far more than he could handle. Those girls were Francine…

He was making things right.

He's a schizophrenic.

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(That night, Olivia's apartment)

"I really need a shower" she stated, feeling dirty since she had yet to get one since her incident.

Elliot wordlessly made his way to the bathroom to run a bath for her. It would be much easier and more relaxing for her to just soak for a bit. He mixed some of her lavender scented bubble bath and made sure that the water was warm, but not too hot.

"Come on, I filled the tub for you". She grabbed his arm, allowing him to lead her to the bathroom even though she didn't need it.

"Will you be able to do this by yourself?" He didn't want to leave her alone without at least offering help if she needed. He had helped her into a pair of jeans and one of her usual work shirts, but she had managed her undergarments by herself. She was becoming more comfortable doing that on her own.

"I think I will be fine, but I will let you know if I need you".

Once her clothes were discarded on the floor, she lowered herself into the soothing bath. It had been a long time since she was able to take a nice long bath. The water was warm and her muscles had never felt more relief than in that very moment. She could smell lavender as she played with the bubbles, moving them up and over her chest.

She felt for her loofa so she could scrub her skin, removing the dirt and filth of the last few days. Much to her approval, it left her skin feeling nice and smooth. Her hair was in desperate need of a nice washing and conditioning.

She reached for the bottles, and then it hit her. The bottles were exactly the same. They smelled exactly the same. The textures were exactly the same.

"Elliot!" she yelled loud enough for him to hear without disturbing any of the neighbors.

"Yea, Liv?" he asked, peaking his head in the room.

"I need you to tell me which one of these is the shampoo".

He took both bottles from her, glad that he had thought to put bubble bath in there, or else he would be getting a free show. He wouldn't want to make her feel exposed.

He watched as she slid down, completely submerging herself so that her hair was nice and wet.

"Let me" he said.

He crouched down on the floor next to the tub and squeezed a very small amount of shampoo into his palm. Her hair was so short that he was sure he had gotten too much still.

She bit her bottom lip as he massaged it into her scalp. It felt amazing. She loved when guys would play with her hair, but this was completely different in a good way. No one had ever cared enough to wash it for her. He was taking his time with it too; making sure that she enjoyed it.

He grabbed the detachable shower head and tested the water on his own skin before rinsing her hair.

"Are you one of those people that actually listen to the directions and lather, rinse, and repeat?"

She lazily nodded her head, not caring that she had just lied to him. His fingers in her hair felt too good to give up the opportunity that she had been given.

"Liar" he teased. If something so simple like washing her hair made her happy, Elliot had no problem doing it for her.

"No you have to condition it" she said, handing him the other bottle.

"I know, I know. There's no need to get bossy on me". He quickly finished with her hair and grabbed her towel.

As much as she hated for it to be over, she knew that the water was going to get too cold.

"Just close your eyes". He did as he was told. He closed his eyes and held the towel open for her. He felt the towel come out of his hands when she fastened it around herself.

"You're good" she said as she grabbed his hand, being careful as she stepped onto the cold tile.

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Once she was ready for bed, Elliot decided to take a quick shower himself. He had said something about needing to go grab more clothes from his place soon, but it would wait until tomorrow.

Her eyes felt extremely heavy even though she had kept them closed most of the time they were home. She didn't like the fact that Elliot could look her directly in the eyes when she could barely make his out.

She was just about to fall asleep when she felt the bed dip under Elliot's weight. He smelled like vanilla. He had probably used her soap.

"You smell nice" he said, trailing feather-like kisses from her cheek down to where her neck and shoulder meet.

"Back at you" she husked, partly out of appreciation of his lips, but unfortunately mostly out of exhaustion.

She tried to stifle a yawn, but Elliot still caught it.

"Go to sleep, sweetie. I know you're tired". He kissed her once more on the lips before taking her light form into his arms, holding her close.

"Night, El".

"Sweet dreams, Liv".