Thank you to everyone who is reading :-)

Olivia opened the motel room door almost as soon as he had knocked. Elliot smiled at her warmly, stepping inside and closing the door.

"There's a place to eat right around the corner...ready to go?" he said.

"Is what I'm wearing OK? I didn't bring anything with me so just bought a couple of outfits in a store - I have a total of three things to wear. I don't exactly have anything suitable for dinner..." she said with an obvious air of discomfort.

Elliot looked at her briefly, his eyes taking in her tight jeans, and black top which clung to her attractively. She had certainly lost weight, but she was still shapely in all the right places. Her hair fell to her shoulders in waves, and she wore a subtle hint of makeup. She looked natural and beautiful to Elliot.

Sensing her discomfort at his lack of response he realised he needed to speak, "You look great Liv...really."

"I don't know how you've managed with three sets of clothes for this long though - tell you what, how about we take you shopping tomorrow? If we're gonna be on the road for a bit you really need more..."

Olivia looked at him incredulously, "You offering to take me clothes shopping, El?"

"Yeah I am, Liv," he smiled.

Olivia shook her head and smiled back at him before heading out of the door.

It was becoming busy in the bar, and Olivia and Elliot went straight to the large restaurant area where food was being served. They sat in a booth, proffering them a certain amount of privacy, and with the soft covering on the cushioned seats, Olivia felt considerably more comfortable than she had in a while.

Elliot looked across the table at her, "You OK?"

Olivia looked back at him, "This must be the most people I've been around since I left. Sam's bar never got this busy,"

"You feel uncomfortable? We can go somewhere else, Liv."

"No, it's fine...it's nice," Olivia said with a slight smile.

They soon ordered their food, and both had a drink in front of them, the restaurant was nearly half full by this point, and they had said little to each other. Olivia braced herself for a barrage of questions about what she had been doing, and was surprised when Elliot hadn't begun to ask her about it.

She glanced at him, her eyes meeting his, "Elliot...I don't know what to say right now…"

"Liv, listen - it's OK. I want you to talk to me, I want you to be honest and open, and tell me what you were thinking when you left, and what you've been doing for the past six weeks...but I know this is hard. Why don't we just have dinner together - tonight let's just not get into it."

"I think I can do that," Olivia said, with a sigh of relief.

They both relaxed over dinner, Elliot relaying news of his children and updating her on how their friends were doing. He felt considerably reassured to see Olivia visibly relaxing as they talked. He ensured that he only told her the lighter side of the past few weeks, not venturing into the concern they had all held for her and the resulting investigation. He was determined to keep to his word and not discuss it - but tomorrow he had every intention of getting her talking.

As the evening had gone on, the background music had eventually been turned up, despite the gradually decreasing numbers of patrons. Elliot got to his feet and held out his hand to Olivia, who looked at him bemused.

"You asking me to dance?" she said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, come on," he said, "I wanna dance with you….come on Liv,"

Olivia sighed and reluctantly took his hand, which he gripped firmly as he led her to a space away from the table and pulled her into his arms.

"Elliot," Olivia laughed, feeling self conscious, "this isnt a dance floor…"

"Well - I don't see anyone looking at us Liv, just relax," he said with a smile, as he slipped his arms around her. He sighed as her head rested against his shoulder and her arms slid up his sides and around his back. It felt perfect - holding Olivia so close to him, and feeling her do the same. He leant down and placed a soft kiss on her head and smiled; he wondered why it had taken them so many years to do this when they felt so right together.

Olivia pulled back a little as she slid one hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her. He quickly got the hint and leant in, capturing her lips with his as she slid her other arm down, finding his hand and lacing her fingers through his.

Elliot ran one hand down across her hip as their kiss deepened. The feel of her body, pressed tightly against his felt so right - their tongues exploring and tasting was an intoxicating sensation.

"Elliot," she breathed, as she broke their kiss, "we should go, let's go back to my room," she paused, realising how forward she had sounded, before adding, "...I mean...there's coffee - I could make coffee."

Elliot chuckled as she stumbled over her words - he had never seen this side of her before, but he resisted the urge to tease her about it as he reached out and ran his hand through her hair.

"Let's go Liv," he smiled.

Back in the hotel room, Elliot sat on the bed, watching as Olivia made two mugs of instant coffee. In truth he didn't want a coffee that late at night, and he doubted she did either, but he could sense her slight nervous edge, and he knew she was just occupying herself. This was new for both of them, and now that they were alone in her room, he figured she wasn't sure what to do next.

He sighed and then with a slight smile he stood up, moving over to her as she placed two freshly made coffee mugs on to the table.

"Come here Liv," he said softly.

Olivia felt a warmth spread throughout her at his words. She wasn't used to hearing him speak tenderly to her and it was a whole side of him that just made her love him even more.

She walked over to him, her heart beginning to thud heavily as she stopped and looked at him.

He reached out to pulled her into an embrace, feeling her relax immediately. He stroked her hair as he spoke to her:

"Liv...it's OK to say no...I booked two rooms for us...but could I stay with you tonight?"

He paused, letting her process his words before continuing, "I just wanna hold you - I started to think I would never see you again...last night we kind fell asleep sitting up - I just wanna sleep all night with you in my arms," he pulled back a little to look at her, "is that OK?"

Olivia gave him a warm smile, but he felt concerned as tears pooled in her eyes.

"What's wrong baby? Talk to me," he said softly.

"I'm sorry...I wasn't thinking straight El...I love you - I wouldn't hurt you, that's the last thing I wanted to do..." she began but was silenced by a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Liv, it's OK...we're OK, and we are gonna get through this. Don't over think anything, please - it's just you and me OK?"

"OK," Olivia whispered, "just you and me."

She took a deep breath and returned to his embrace.

"Stay, El."

The dimmed lights from the lamps around the room cast a soft glow as Olivia lay under the covers feeling a strange mix of sensations. She felt significantly more comfortable physically than she had in weeks - the bed was large, and the room afforded a certain luxury. It was not a high end hotel by any means, but it was a far cry from the small room at the bar and certainly a significant step up from the back seat of her car. She leant her head back against the soft pillows and tried to relax - her eyes focusing on the bathroom door as she listened to the sound of the tap running. She knew that Elliot would be coming out soon….and getting into bed with her.

Her mind was racing - she knew he had been sincere in his words - he didn't expect anything from her, he just wanted to hold her. Suddenly though, she was focused on how that was going to work - it wasn't something that they had done before - she had no idea what Elliot would actually wear to bed and she began to feel apprehensive.

Closing her eyes, she took a slow, deep breath and admonished herself for being ridiculous. She was about to share a bed with him...he was obviously going to be in some kind of state of undress, especially as he had been in the bathroom taking a shower...she was about to share a bed with him.

She opened her eyes, turning her head at the sound of the bathroom door opening, wondering for the the third time in the past twenty minutes whether she had made the right choice in her own attire. Elliot emerged and gave her a smile, which she returned as she rolled on to her side and looked at him.

She propped herself up on her elbow as she looked at him - noticing that he had only boxer shorts and a t shirt on.

"So how do we do this, El?"

"How do we do this?" Elliot asked, slightly amused, "Liv, you have been lying there really overthinking this haven't you?"

Olivia smiled awkwardly, "You've gotta admit this is new...for us."

Elliot walked over to the bed and climbed straight in, pulling his T shirt off as he slipped under the covers and shifted over closer to her. He turned to face her, as she rested her head back down on the pillow, still facing him.

"Liv," he began quietly, "it's simple, it really is. We are two people who love each other, and we are just gonna lay here and hold each other," he said as he reached over and took her hand.

Olivia squeezed his hand, the feel of his touch relaxing her.

"I honestly thought I might not see you again Liv - it was tearing me apart.."

"You said we didn't have to talk about it tonight El…" she said her eyes drifting down toward their joined hands.

"And I mean that Liv, you don't...tonight, but I just need you to know," he said the emotion impossible to hide, "that I don't want you to be here - I want you to come home, with me, and go back to your life; but if you can't do that - then there's nowhere else I want to be than where I am right now."

He closed the distance between them and kissed her, their bodies instinctively moulding together. Olivia sighed as she ran her hand down between them, across his chest, until it rested on his hip. Touching him, her hands on his bare chest, was an intimacy forbidden to them until then - a part of her wanted to take it further - it felt right and it felt natural, but she needed time to process the situation. A day before she had been battling with the concept of even calling him on the phone and now she was lying in bed with him, both in their underwear, although Olivia was slightly more covered, having worn a t shirt. She wanted to make love to him; to know what it was like to be loved by him so intimately, but she was also scared on a whole other level...

This was Elliot - her partner and her best friend, if she crossed that line they could never go back… and on another level the fact that she felt so safe in his arms scared her. He wanted to help her - he knew she wasn't coping, but she was scared of feeling better with him here - scared of becoming dependent on him.

She shuffled closer, relaxing quickly into their newfound intimacy; the feel of his light caress on her cheek, the warmth from his body as her bare legs pressed against his - Olivia felt awash with sensations she had never felt with Elliot before.

As he shifted position to put his arm around her, she moved slightly, putting her head on his chest. She couldn't deny how loved she felt, how loved he had made her feel in just the past 24 hours. She wanted that - but it bothered her that she did.

Elliot knew she would be analysing the situation and he eased his head up, turning to place a kiss on her head before dropping back down to the pillow, hugging her close to him.

"It's simple Liv," he whispered, "I love you sweetheart."

Elliot stayed awake until he heard her breath slow into a steady even rhythm and knew she had fallen asleep. He could not rest until she had fallen asleep - he could not let her stay awake alone with her thoughts.

With another soft kiss on her head, he soon fell asleep, with Olivia in his arms.