When Olivia's mouth connected with his, Elliot was temporarily caught by surprise. He quickly recovered, placing his hand behind her head to hold her in place while he deepened the kiss. This wasn't his plan when he came over tonight. He just wanted to see her and spend time with her to get his mind off of everything. But now that her soft full lips melded with his, he knew there was nothing else he wanted more.

He tilted his head to grant himself better access to savor her mouth fully. When his tongue touched hers, he heard her moan and the sultry sound went straight to his groin.

"El," she whimpered but was powerless to stop it. She didn't want to stop it. They were a mess of tongues and lips and breaths and moans.

Olivia pushed him slightly back into the corner of the sofa and her left side and hips were between his legs. She lied across him taking the power back from the kiss and her tongue regained dominance. She landed on his solid chest and Elliot moved his hand from her head down her side and cupped her right breast. His thumb flicked across her pert nipple and she bucked into him, her knee impulsively rubbing against his erection.

"Shit," he hissed at the contact and jerked upright reversing their positions with their mouths never breaking contact. Olivia didn't want to relinquish control. As long as she was in the driver's seat she could regulate how far this would go but the truth was she was already out of control the second her lips touched his. He laid her down on the opposite end of the sofa and immediately descended on her.

Her hands grasped the hem of his t-shirt pulling it up and squeezing his bare back. His mouth left hers and he worked his way down her cheek to her neck. Her skin tingled beneath his lips and she opened her legs with him fitting snugly in between. His groin connected with her core sending a burst of liquid heat through her. "Unhh," she cried out. The sound was so sexy and sent Elliot's need into her overdrive. He sat up on his knees pulling his shirt completely off. His hands were on the button of her pants and he locked eyes with hers silently asking for permission.

"Please," she breathed. She closed her eyes writhing beneath him desperate for him to touch her. She was flushed and the temperature in the room was stifling. She needed him on her. Inside her. He fumbled to get her pants down her legs because he was just as eager. Olivia leaned up to help him pull them off and they hit the floor. His hand cupped her intimately over her panties and she could tell by his sharp intake of air that he felt how wet she was.

She was still trying to process that this was happening with Elliot. Her body and mind were battling with each other. Every time she had a somewhat rational thought he would touch her and everything was lost. His hand rubbed her back and forth over her panties and his knuckle rubbed against her clit causing her to moan. The sensation felt so good that it was almost painful.

"El-"

It was supposed to be a plea for them to come to their senses but it sounded more like a plea for him to make her come. She needed to get his pants off. The slow torture was killing her and she was afraid she was going to come before he had a chance to get inside of her. She put her hands on his belt with the intentions of unbuckling it but there just wasn't enough time. She needed to touch him, to feel him. She let go of his belt and opened her palm against him to feel his length. Elliot growled against her neck as she gently squeezed him and that's when she felt it.

His cell phone was vibrating in his pocket.

Olivia tore her lips away from his. "El-"

"Yeah," he sighed in frustration pulling away from her. "Fuck."

She rested her head in her hands while he jerked the phone out of his pocket obviously annoyed.

"Stabler," he snapped. "Yeah….ok….we will be there in twenty minutes…bye."

Elliot threw the phone down and scrubbed his hand down his face trying to regain control of himself. He was pissed. He wanted her so much and she felt so good in his arms. Now the moment was lost. He had sacrificed a lot for this job over the years but he didn't hate his job more at any other moment than he did right now.

Olivia watched him warring with himself was suddenly a little bashful at her lack of clothes. "I guess that was Cragen," she concluded and grabbed her pants off the floor.

"Yeah," he gruffed.

She didn't know what to say so she got up and just started to get dressed. Her panties were wet to the point of discomfort. The atmosphere was awkward to say the least and the silence was deafening. Once her pants were on, she turned around while continuing to button her shirt and his eyes were on her. He hadn't moved since the phone rang.

"We have to get ready and go," she clarified and tried to read his expression.

"I know."

His expression was wide eyed and he hoped she could see how much he hated that their moment was ruined. He eventually got dressed and excused himself to the bathroom to calm himself down. Their ride to the crime scene was silent except for him regurgitating Cragen's message that there was a rape murder in Central Park. They traded glances during the drive but Elliot had to stop looking at her altogether or risk that his hard on would resurface. Her face was still slightly flushed and he wanted nothing more to hurry and process the crime scene so they could finish where they left off.

His wish was not granted.

Thanks to the rape murder in the park and April Troost and her crazy mother, it was another week before they had a free moment to talk about anything else other than work.

Olivia was wrapping up her paperwork on the Troost case when she noticed that Elliot kept looking at her. There were no active cases at the moment and she was nervous because she knew he wanted to talk. Just her luck. Elliot was never the world's biggest talker but she could feel him chomping at the bit. It was only a matter of time.

"Do you want to grab some lunch?" he asked breaking the tension.

And there it was.

"Umm, I really have to finish this paperwork."

He looked around to see who was near them before approaching her. Munch and Fin were bickering in one of the interview rooms and Cragen was on the phone in his office. He sat on the corner of the desk for a few beats willing her to talk. "We need to talk Liv."

She continued to type avoiding eye contact. "I have to finish this paperwork." She kept typing hoping he would eventually go away but this was Elliot. She knew how he operated. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Fine," she declared. She closed her laptop and stood up. "Something quick though I need to get back."

XXXXX

They sat across from each other picking at their sandwiches at the deli they frequented often. Elliot wasn't quite sure where to begin and Olivia was certainly not going to make it easy for him. He wanted to talk so she let him take the lead.

"So…" he muttered. "We haven't really talked since that night. Are we ok?"

She wanted to put her defenses up and be a bitch to him to hopefully get him to drop it but when she saw the crestfallen look on his face she simply couldn't.

"We're fine El. I promise," she tried to assure him. "It's just been a long week. I mean you know. You were there." She chuckled lightly at her desperate attempt at a joke. He gave her a small smile and began to pick at his salad.

"I don't regret it. I hope you don't either," he blurted out. Her hand stilled on her sandwich and she didn't know what to say. "Just say something. I'm worried that—"

"It's fine I told you. We're fine. We are normal like we've always been," she tried to convince herself. He was clearly not buying it.

"Do you regret it?"

It was the only question he needed the answer to. He needed to know that they were not permanently broken. It was all supposed to be a joke. Their innocent flirtation had turned into something more and now he felt like he was suffering the consequences without actually having had the reward of having sex with her.

She played with her napkin trying to search for the right answer.

"Do you regret it?" he asked again a little more forcefully.

"No."

And it was the truth. She hated that the air between them was thick now and they didn't know where to pick up without the stakes being higher.

He breathed a sigh of relief and she could see the tension release from his shoulders. She smiled despite herself and saw his arrogance slowly start to seep back into his posture.

"So..you don't regret it. Does that mean you liked it?" he smirked.

"Check please," she yelled towards the waitress.

They laughed and she was relieved that they were at least able to pick up be a little normal again.

"Come on Liv. I'm serious," he whispered. "Before we got interrupted…I uhh was enjoying myself."

There was that voice. The one that had her sprawled out on his sofa in practically nothing but her underwear.

"Yeah I think it was pretty obvious you were enjoying yourself," she flirted. The grin that he gave her in response sent those feelings rushing back into her and she adjusted herself in her seat.

He leaned in, his voice even lower so none of their colleagues that frequented the deli could hear. "I seem to recall that you were enjoying yourself as well. At least from what I could feel when I had my hand on your—"

"Elliot? I thought that was you," the voice interrupted. "Hey Detective Benson."

It took Olivia a moment to regain her composure and place who it was that approached the table. It was Agent Lisa Williams from Immigration. They worked together a few times over the years but she was surprised to see her so friendly.

"Hi Agent Williams," she greeted back but quickly noticed that her attention was not on Olivia but on Elliot.

"Hey Lisa how are you?" he finally asked.

It took Olivia a half a second to realize they were on a first name basis while she was addressed as Detective Benson. Elliot's demeanor had changed and he seemed a bit anxious.

"I'm good," she answered cheerfully.

"Good."

"So.." she started and shot a quick glance at Olivia, "Are we still on for Friday?"

Elliot started to clear his throat and Olivia tried her best to seem unaffected but she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Friday…Friday," he repeated trying to jog his memory. "Oh yeah that. I actually had something come up with the kids and I'll have them this weekend so…"

Olivia was starting to squirm. She needed air and to get out of there as soon as possible. Elliot watched her looking for a way out and needed to talk to her. He had completely forgotten about the date with Lisa. They had gone out twice over the past month and although she was nice and he enjoyed the date, he didn't feel like they had chemistry. They had agreed two weeks ago to go see a movie she liked. Now that there was something sparking with Olivia, even though they agreed for just one night, he wasn't interested in seeing Lisa again.

Olivia's phone started to vibrate and she didn't know who it was but she took it as a way to step away from the booth.

"Sorry I have to take this." She rushed to the restroom and was both thrilled and dejected to see it was Casey calling.

After convincing her to lie to anyone who asked that they had a meeting scheduled on a case she happened to not work with Elliot a few weeks ago, she took a few minutes to get herself together in the bathroom. Seeing Elliot with Agent Williams shook her. She knew that he probably dated but witnessing it up close and seeing that he had plans with someone else in a few days was a bit much for her. She needed air and to remove herself from the situation as quickly as possible.

When she walked out of the bathroom the first thing she noticed was that Lisa was now sitting down in the booth next to Elliot and he looked uncomfortable. She charged towards them and began to grab her belongings.

Elliot jumped to attention the second he saw her and started to panic when he saw her picking up her jacket. "Hey where are you going? Who was that on the phone?"

"That was Casey she needs me to meet her about the Meyers case," she declared trying to act nonchalant.

Elliot saw that she was barely making eye contact and talking a little too fast so he sprung into action. "Ok Lisa it was nice to see you," he started to stand and grab his jacket.

"Oh no you stay here. I'm going to catch a cab." She put her hand on his chest to stop him.

He leaned in to whisper so Lisa couldn't hear. "Olivia it's not what you think. She's—"

"Ok I'll see you back at the station," she interrupted noticing Lisa's prying eyes when they talked.

In a flash she was out the door.

She was at Casey's office within thirty minutes after walking a few blocks and then catching a cab. Casey was wrapping up a phone call but gestured for her to close the door and sit down.

"Sorry about that. That was April Troost's attorney."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "What did he want?"

"Same ole posturing but don't worry she's not seeing the baby and the Pallister's attorney is seeing to that. Its all good."

"Good."

"Soooooo you going to tell me what's going on?" Casey asked noticing Olivia's defensive posture.

She sighed and slumped in her chair.

"Uh oh," Casey said putting her phone on do not disturb and opening her bottom cabinet to pull out of a bottle of scotch.

"I'm in the middle of working Casey I can't drink that right now."

"If I know you, we are both going to need this to get through this conversation. Plus no one will know. I won't tell if you won't."

Olivia agreed and they both took a sip of the liquor. She fidgeted with the empty glass in her hands trying to figure out where to start. Much like Elliot, Olivia wasn't one to discuss her feelings all the time but she felt like she was in unchartered territory and she needed advice. Her first instinct was just to deflect and not deal with it but her job meant everything to her and as much as she didn't want to admit it Elliot meant even more. She didn't want to make any moves that were going to jeopardize her job or their partnership.

Casey waited patiently while watching Olivia gather the courage to talk.

"I kissed Elliot," she admitted. "Actually I kissed Elliot and we ended up half naked on his sofa and were about to have sex when we were called out on a case. We haven't talked about it and it's been weird so we decided to talk today."

Casey watched her closely and could see how self-conscious she was with the whole situation. "And what happened?"

"Well we talked about it and we got back on solid ground for about 2.4 seconds and then Agent Williams from Immigration walked up to remind Elliot about their date on Friday."

"Shut the fuck up!" Casey gasped. She was never one to mince words.

"Yep," she said casually putting her glass next to the scotch bottle again and Casey poured a little more.

"So they've been dating?"

"Guess so."

"Is it serious?"

"Well I have no idea, shit I didn't even know they had gone out before. He never said anything."

Casey poured herself another drink and waited to see if Olivia had more to say before she began.

"So anything else?"

Olivia looked appalled and sat back in her seat.

"It wasn't a crack against you Benson I just wanted to make sure you said everything before I give my two cents. Well in this case it may be more like a nickel."

She rolled her eyes and braced herself for what Casey had to say.

"Yes I'm done."

"Ok a few questions first. Who initiated the makeout session?"

Olivia shot her a guilty look.

"I'm so proud," Casey teased holding her heart in fake dramatics.

"Ok how was it?"

"Oh god," Olivia rolled her eyes. "This isn't the time to for your usual antics and being nosey."

"Humor me here. It's not what you think."

Olivia reluctantly acquiesced. "Ok fine. It was—It was—I expected it to be weird. I mean it's Elliot. But it wasn't. I kissed him and the next thing I knew we were all over each other," she explained suddenly wishing she could take another sip of scotch. "It felt good. Too good." She looked down feeling embarrassed at having said it out loud. The truth was over the past week whenever she had a free moment she couldn't stop thinking about how his hands felt on her, how soft but demanding his lips were and how her body instantly reacted to his touch.

Her body language didn't go unnoticed by Casey.

"This Agent Williams thing bothers you. Why?"

Olivia scoffed and started pacing. "Because I was about to sleep with someone that I don't even know what the hell he's doing or who he's doing. I had no idea that he was dating someone that we work with."

"And you feel like he should've shared that with you," Casey finished for her.

"I know he doesn't owe me an explanation."

"Exactly," Casey agreed.

"But I was blindsided and it bothers me and I don't know why."

"Can I say my piece now?"

"Am I going to need another drink?" Olivia asked with a small smile.

"Probably but you can't have another because you have to go back to work and so do I," she replied. "It bothers you because the thing with you and Elliot has always been gray. It's evident there are feelings there but the two of you won't go there for whatever reason."

Olivia got ready to interrupt and Casey held up her hand to stop her.

"I know I know you are friends and partners. I get it. I don't want to get it but I do. Anyway, you knew he was dating. You even mentioned it to me when we were at the bar that night. It bothers you now because maybe that kiss opened up something within you that you finally have to face. I'm not naïve enough to believe that you don't know you have feelings for him. You are just in denial and won't admit it to anyone else and I'm cool with that. Just please don't penalize him because he hasn't done anything wrong. Just because your feelings are hurt it doesn't mean he did anything wrong. He is single for all intents and purposes and he's dating. His hot partner kissed him and he wasn't going to turn that down. If anything I think I just developed a whole new respect for the man," she joked. Against her better judgment Olivia couldn't help but smile.

"I hate you sometimes," was the only response she could come up with.

"I know I know. But honestly what are best friends for?"

Olivia pulled out her phone and began to scroll through her missed calls.

"I still hold firm to my original thought," Casey said. "You need to get laid or maybe go out on a date. So maybe you need to pick up where you guys left off."

Before she could finish Olivia pressed on the number and had the phone to her ear listening while it rang. "Casey you are half right. I do need to go out and get laid." A second later the person on the other end of the phone picked up. "Hey Charles it's me Olivia Benson. I wanted to take you up on that offer to go out if you are still interested."

XXXXX

When Olivia got back to the station, Elliot was gone with Fin to chase a lead. She had missed his phone calls while talking to Casey and even though she made plans with Charles she wasn't in a big hurry to talk. The next day at work he informed her that he would be leaving early to get ready for his weekend with the kids. They were going camping for the weekend and he was excited to spend some extended time with them. She was expecting him to address what happened the day before at the diner and her avoiding his phone calls but he was preoccupied with finding camping equipment and the kids were calling him all day.

She was a little disappointed but she decided to not let it get to her. She was preparing for her date with Charles. He had theatre tickets to see Spamalot and they were going to dinner afterwards. It had been a long time since she went to the theatre or just had a normal date so it was something to look forward to. She arrived home later that evening after shopping for a new dress to wear on the date. When the elevator doors opened and she glanced down the hall the first figure she saw standing at her door was none other than Elliot Stabler.

She took a deep breath and almost stopped in her tracks but he made eye contact with her and she slowly kept walking.

"Hey," she said breathy. "What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving tonight."

His hands were in his pocket and he was shuffling anxiously back and forth. "I am. I'm on my way to get the kids I just wanted to talk to you first."

He waited for her to open the door and invite him in but when she didn't budge he continued. "I'm going to be late so I have to be quick. That whole thing with Lisa at the diner—"

"You don't have to explain anything to me Elliot. What you do with your time is your business," she cut him off.

"I know I don't have to but I want to. Her and I went out a couple of times before anything with—this," he explained gesturing between the two of them. "I just wanted you to know I'm not seeing her again and I wasn't trying to keep anything from you."

She shook her head and chuckled uncomfortably. "Like I said you don't have to explain what you do on your own time. We were just having fun right? One night that's what we agreed to."

"Yeah. About that," he replied hesitantly. "I hope it's still on the table."

His eyes met hers and she saw the same look of sincerity mixed with desire that catapulted her into action the last time. This time her feet stayed planted firmly on the ground and she fought with herself not to move.

She didn't want it to be off the table. She wanted him. Against her better judgment and all things that made sense in the world. She wanted her partner.

"El—"

She couldn't finish her sentence because he was not going to sit there and listen to her make up some excuse or turn him down. He didn't have much time so he reacted on instinct. What he wanted and what he hoped she wanted as well.

His lips were on Olivia Benson.