She didn't know he would be here. She anticipated Bell, maybe, but OCCB didn't regularly work with sexual assault victims so she didn't mentally prepare to see him sitting a few rows ahead of her.

She always needed to be mentally prepared before seeing him. She needed to make sure she was strong enough to keep things in check. But she didn't expect him, and they were here at this conference, far from their regular lives, and her stomach lept nervously because this was a recipe for disaster.

Maybe she could get out without him noticing her. She laughed at herself. There was no way that would happen. That man had a sixth sense, and she was willing to bet he already knew she was here and he was already planning to track her down after the speaker concluded.

She was still contemplating whether or not she wanted to bolt when the speaker finished. She sat, still undecided, but her indecision eventually made the decision for her when his eyes found hers through the crowd. There had to be at least 300 people here and he found her in a matter of seconds. He grinned and headed in her direction, and she felt her stomach filling with nervous butterflies.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she said back, "I didn't know you were going to be here." She hoped that didn't sound off putting.

He shrugged. "Bell sent me. We've had more human trafficking cases lately and she wanted at least one person on the team with the ability to speak to victims." He shrugged again. "Since my background was SVU I was the natural choice."

She gave him a genuine smile. His years at SVU seemed a lifetime ago, but at the same time it seemed like it was just yesterday. "That's good. I'm glad Bell noticed the need."

His hands were in his pockets and he was rocking from his toes to his heels and she knew he wanted to ask her something, but whatever he wanted to say was making him nervous, and that made her nervous too.

"Are you going to the thing tonight?"

Ah. There was a cocktail party thing planned as part of the itinerary. She was planning on skipping it, but she had brought a dress just in case she changed her mind. "I hadn't decided yet." Her eyes flitted to his and she hoped she didn't seem too eager, or not eager enough.

He shifted nervously. "I was going to go. Maybe," he rubbed his hand across the back of his head. "Wanna go together?"

She nearly laughed. This was more awkward than the time when she was 15 and the kid in Bio tried to ask her to prom. His clumsiness was adorable, how could she say no? "Yeah that would be fun."

"Kay." He said and she was almost blushing at how big his grin was.

She gave his arm a squeeze and turned to leave. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked away and she let out a slow breath. She was going out with Elliot Stabler tonight.

-000-

Elliot let out a long slow breath before taking a sip from his drink. He was nervous. When Bell volunteered him for this conference he hoped she would be here, but he also knew she could have delegated it to someone else. But she was here, and she was coming to an event with him, and he was nervous.

He glanced up towards the entrance of the ballroom for what felt like the millionth time in the last five minutes. He sipped his drink, and tried to be patient. His heart stopped in his chest when he saw her finally pass through the entry.

She looked incredible. She wore a deep red party dress, with lace overlay that showed off the tan skin of her shoulders. And damn those heels. God. He was going to have a hard time keeping his hands off of her.

She sauntered over to where he stood and he knew she was very aware of what she was doing to him right now. She brushed her hand against his elbow in greeting and that was it. He was going to die right here.

"Hey partner," she greeted.

His mouth was dry and he couldn't swallow. He managed to croak out a soft "Hey."

She grinned. Oh she knew. He let out a mental exhale before returning the grip on her elbow. He pulled her closer and whispered, "You look incredible." He was pleased by the light shudder that rolled through her body.

He motioned for the waiter to bring Liv a drink. "So," they needed conversation so he could distract himself from those perfectly tanned legs standing beside him. "I figured you would send one of your detectives to something like this."

She kept her eyes on him while she drank her drink. She set it gently on the coaster before saying, "I usually do, but once a year I go to one of these." She shrugged. "I may have worked sex crimes for a long time, but I want to make sure I know what I need to know to connect to victims." She sipped her drink again.

"I don't think you have ever struggled with connecting with victims."

She bit her lip nervously, and it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "Maybe not," she suddenly found her hands intensely interesting, "Connecting with others though," she sighed, "that's the hard stuff." She finished her drink and signaled for the waiter to bring her another.

He couldn't help but drop his hand over hers. "You don't have a problem with connection, Liv. You connect with everyone you meet." His eyes met hers. Everyone loved her. He loved her.

"Not in ways it matters," her eyes dropped to the table again.

He gripped her hand tighter, "In every way that matters."

The waiter dropped her drink next to her on the coaster. She took a sip. "You know me. I'm not an open person. I'm not an easy person. Sure, I can connect with victims, but I mess up every meaningful relationship in my life."

He wasn't sure where all this was coming from, but he was happy to reassure her.

"What about Noah? Fin? Amanda?" He took a deep breath, hoping he was still part of that list, "me?"

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm pretty sure I have screwed us up."

"No, that's on me. I'm an idiot."

She gave a wry smile, "You are, but relationships are a two way street and I have been so angry."

He felt a stabbing pain in his chest. "I get why. I was so stupid. In so many ways." He shook his head. He broke them, and he always worried he wouldn't be able to fix any of it.

He was taken aback when her hand was suddenly on his cheek. She looked like she was going to say something. She opened her mouth but shut it again. She dropped her hand and focused on her drink again.

He noticed her rolling her ankle around a bit, "Definitely should have worn more comfortable shoes," she complained.

He winced. That ankle injury was another thing that was his fault.

"Just take them off," he shrugged.

She eyed him skeptically, "I'm not wandering around this party barefoot."

"Okay, yeah, dumb plan." He laughed, "Go change them real quick." He smiled flirtatiously, "they make your legs look amazing, but I don't want you suffering through the evening."

She gave him a grateful smile, and started to walk away. She suddenly turned back. "You comin'?"

Of course he was. He caught up to her and snagged her hand before heading towards the elevators.