"It worked!" Olivia exclaimed as she and Elliot burst into their temporary precinct. Kyle and Dylan looked up from their work and Whelan emerged from his office at the sound of her voice. Laurence just smiled from his desk, knowing that the two detectives were capable of anything they put their minds to.

"That's great!" Whelan exclaimed as he looked between the two detectives.

"Yeah, great," Elliot said, a little less than enthusiastically.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Come on El," she said a she looked up at him. "You know that was the plan. Stop playing the angry fiancé."

Kyle and Dylan exchanged a look once they had registered the look on Elliot's face. They didn't know them very well, but even they had their predictions about the two NY detectives.

"Okay, so here's the plan. Benson, you're going to go alone tomorrow night and –"

"What!?" Elliot exclaimed. "You're going to let her go alone!"

Whelan gave him a suspicious look. "Calm down Stabler," he said, a knowing look in his eye. "I know you're protective of your partner, but let me finish. We'll have a car parked just outside of the building, Francis and Powell will be in it," he looked over to his two detectives and they nodded. "Olivia, you'll be miked and the boys will hear everything you say. So if anything seemed to get suspicious… you'll be fine."

Elliot looked up to Whelan. "I'll be in the car too, right?"

Whelan shook his head apologetically. "No, because remember, outside of these walls –"

"I'm not a cop," Elliot finished for him, a pained expression on his face. "I got it."

"Good!" Whelan finished. "Now, I want the two of you to get a goodnight sleep tonight. Be here early tomorrow morning so we can go over what you'll be saying tomorrow night to Carlos. We'll spend a good chunk of the day working on that."

Olivia nodded.

"What do you want me to do tomorrow evening while they're all working?" Elliot asked.

Whelan thought about it. "We'll see when the time comes."

Elliot nodded slowly, hoping he'd find something for him to do to keep him distracted. Or else, he didn't know how he'd make it through the evening.

It was going to be a long one.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Their evening alone had been quiet. Elliot was worrying about Olivia and what could go down the next day. Olivia was just pissed off at Elliot because she thought he was acting that way because he didn't think she could handle it.

They were back to the squad room early the next morning, still on edge with each other. Their coworkers noticed this and didn't get involved.

"We want to get to work right away on how you should be tonight," Whelan said to Olivia when he noticed they were there. "We figured to make things as easy and as believable as possible, we got someone out here…"

George emerged from the captain's office with a smile. "Let's get to it."

He motioned for Olivia to follow him. Elliot went to follow the two of them too, but Whelan stopped him. "We've got something else for you."

Elliot looked at him curiously. "Yeah? What would that be?"

"We've thought about how little time you guys spend in the city, just hanging around like normal couples do. You guys need to start getting out there, making friends. I want you to get out and meet people Elliot, I want Sean and Kate to have friends in this city."

Elliot nodded reluctantly. "But, shouldn't that be something I do with Liv?"

"You can start off on your own, meet a few people. Go from there."

Elliot sighed but agreed.

"Have a good day on the town Stabler," he called out as Elliot headed for the doors.

Elliot wanted to answer that he promised he wouldn't but kept it to himself. He hoped he would find some way to make this day less terrible.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So how does this man make you feel Olivia?" George asked as he inquired about their first encounters with Carlos. He wanted to get information about the man from Olivia's point of view before deciding what would be the best track to take.

"Honestly," Olivia started, thinking about it really hard, but always coming up with the same answer, "a lot different than I had expected."

"How so?" George asked, curiosity clear in his look, as he took notes.

"Well when we were told we were investigating a rape suspect, I was expecting someone shielded, mysterious. Maybe even cold. But Carlos… he's anything but that. He's joyful, smiling. He's living his life to the fullest. He's happy and you can see that in the way he talks about his family. Did you know he had a family? Him and his wife are just recently married and they have the cutest little boy. He's got dreams and I can't see him letting something get in the way of that. Including being sent to prison."

George took a few notes. "What about his other clients? Can you tell whether they like him or not?"

"His class is packed. People from all over the city come to him. And they all keep coming back so I truly believe that they have no issues with him. Other than the few husbands who complained before we came out here, who obviously dropped out of his classes, I haven't heard one bad comment about him."

George took all of this in. "Are you afraid of being alone with him Olivia?"

Olivia thought about this. But she knew her answer. "No. I honestly believe that this man is innocent. I know, it's too early and I don't know much about it to say that just yet. But I believe that he didn't do anything to these woman, I hope he didn't either for his sake. He's just… not the usual type."

Huang took a few last notes. "Okay then, let's move onto tonight. You're going in pained and upset because your fiancé was seen flirting with another woman. You're going to tell him all about how you just feel like giving up. My guess would be that if he tries something on you that is any bit not doctor/patient appropriate, you might not be the first and he will be arrested on the spot for medical malpractice. That way, even if he isn't our guy, we'll be able to see if the alleged attacks are still happening and we'll have our opportunity to grill him properly. He'll be sent to prison anyway for a few years and lose his license to practice medicine, so when he is released he won't have any patients to victimize. And if he is our guy and he does continue, if we aren't able to prove he's guilty of rape this time around, we'll have a better time next time around."

Olivia nodded as she took all of this in. "Do I get to arrest him or do I have to wait until Kyle and Dylan come to the rescue?" she said, hoping she could do it on her own. She didn't need men to come to her rescue. She was strong, even if Elliot couldn't see that.

"You can arrest him Olivia," he said with a knowing smirk. "The point of you being undercover is to catch him. If he does something and you catch him for anything, your job is done. You'll also be the one to interrogate him. I've already had it approved by the captain."

Olivia hesitated, but she had one more question. "What… what happens if everything goes like it should? I mean, if he's just there as a therapist?"

"You continue going to his classes until he is either caught or proven innocent. You stay Kate Bradley just a little bit longer." He paused and smirked. "Speaking of staying Kate Bradley, have you and Elliot started organizing your wedding?"

Olivia looked down at her ring, then back at George. "No, Sean and I haven't put any thought into it."

George nodded slowly. "Olivia, I hope you don't mind me asking, but this riff between you and Elliot is more than just an act, isn't it?"

Olivia sighed. "He's treating me as if I'm incapable of doing my job right, as if I'm some porcelain doll and I'll break at any moment."

George understood where she was coming from. "Olivia, he cares about you and he doesn't want anything to happen to you. It's his job to worry about you, as your partner and as your friend. And he knows that something happened at Sealview. He doesn't know what, but he knows enough to know that maybe this case is too much for you –"

"Well it's not," Olivia answered. "I'm over Sealview and what may or may not have happened. Elliot has no right to decide whether I can do this or not. It's my life, and I'm the one who decides the amount of risk I want to take. Not him or Sean. So I don't give a rats ass what he thinks anymore."

"So…" George attempted. "Back to the wedding."

Olivia's death glare made the topic stop there. George wanted to laugh, but he kept it to himself. They'll figure it out… Sooner or later.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Elliot had given up. He had gone into town, stopped at a few bars, looking to socialize, but came up empty at each one. He wasn't the type to hang around people in bars, other than with his friends. He was a social drinker, not a drowner like most of men he saw hanging around the places.

He stopped for lunch at a little dinner. It was a family dinner, and that's when he realized that he was used to socializing with family people. He had five kids. Well… He had brought up five kids and he realized that the very few friends he had made outside of work had been through his kids.

The thought of his kids led him to the park down the block. It was a nice little place, walking trails, woods, streams, and of course the jungle gym filled with kids from the ages of one to about twelve. He smiled as he pictured his kids at that age, enjoying themselves, not a care in the world.

He took a seat in one of the many available benches, and just watched as the kids played, their voices and laughter like music to his ears. He missed spending afternoons in the park doing nothing but enjoying the weather and the sounds and sight of happiness.

"How many?"

Elliot looked up to a man about his age as he took a seat beside him on the bench.

"Excuse me?" he asked, not understanding the question.

"How many kids do you have?" he said, pointing towards the jungle gym.

Elliot wanted to answer five between the ages of twenty five and four. But he knew that those were Elliot's kids. Right now, he was Sean. "None," he answered, almost sad.

"Then why would a grown man be in the park alone watching kids playing?" he asked with a laugh. He then became serious. "Shit, you're not a pedophile or more crap like that, are you?"

Elliot wanted to laugh at the irony. He was the cop who put people like that away. "No, no. Far from it."

The guy nodded. "So what's your story?"

Elliot looked at him. "My story?"

"Yeah. I mean, nobody sits in the park alone unless they have kids playing around or something to think about."

Elliot sighed. "I'm recently engaged," he started, playing his character rather than telling the guy what was truly gnawing at him. He couldn't. It would blow his cover. "My fiancée and I are thinking about kids. I've always wanted kids, but I never found the right woman. And now I have her, and she wants them too, and it feels like everything should feel right, but it almost… doesn't. You know?"

The guy nodded. "I know what you mean. My oldest," he pointed towards a little boy on the monkey bars, "he's nine. My wife and I weren't expecting him when the doctor told us she was pregnant. And even though we didn't know what to think, how to feel about it, I wouldn't go back and change a thing. We have two more," he said, pointing to twins, a little boy and a little girl playing in the sand box. "They're four. We didn't know if they would make it. They were preemies and we're in intensive care for four months before the doctor assured us they were going to be just fine."

Elliot nodded. "They're all beautiful."

He nodded back. "Yeah. Oh, I'm Mark by the way," he put out his hand. Elliot took it and smiled.

"Sean."

"It was nice meeting you," he said as he got up. "Well I probably should rally the kids and head home. We just moved here and we've got a lot of unpacking to do."

Elliot nodded. "I'm new here too. My fiancée's lived here most of her life, but I just moved out here since we've been together. Hey, what do you say we get together something for lunch or something? I can bring her along, and we can get to know each other. I'm sure she'd love to welcome you guys to the city."

Mark smiled. "That sounds… great actually." They exchanged phone numbers and said their goodbyes. Elliot had done his job. He felt like it was his first day in grade one and the one thing his mom had told him to do was make a friend.

His mom would be proud, he thought with a laugh.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Elliot got back to the precinct with a pizza around four, knowing that everyone would want to eat before going out for Olivia's first big mission. He put a smile on his face, as forced as it felt, but as soon as he heard her giggle before even reaching the entrance way into the squadroom, the smile became much less forced and as close to authentic as it got.

"Elliot would definitely do that," he heard Olivia answer to Kyle.

"Elliot would definitely do what?"

They all spun around when they heard him come in. Olivia's joyful expression soon became more serious and the laughing was all gone, no longer escaping her lips, no longer visible in her eyes.

"He brought pizza!" Dylan exclaimed, noticing immediately how things had suddenly gotten tense. "I'm starving!"

Elliot let out a small forced laugh. "Figured you guys probably would be." He looked up at Olivia. "You should probably eat some too Liv."

She rolled her eyes as she jumped off of the desk which she had just been sitting. "I can take care of myself Elliot."

Elliot. This couldn't be good.

He watched as she started to storm off. He followed. "Oh, so now I'm Elliot?" he asked.

She spun around and he could see the daggers in her eyes. "That is your name, isn't it? Or would you rather me call you Detective Stabler?"

Elliot shook his head. "Liv, what… why are you so upset with me?"

Olivia scoffed. "You… Why? You want to know why? I'm not some paper doll Elliot! You've been treating me as if I can handle this! This, this is my job. I've been doing it for nearly twelve years. So either you give me some room or a logical explanation as to why, all of a sudden, you start treating me as if I'm not the same person I was this time last year. I… I need to go get ready."

"Liv…" Elliot called out, but it was too late. She was gone up the stairs to their locker room, and he knew better than to follow her. She would calm down. Things would be fine.

He made his way back to the squad room where he found Kyle, Dylan, Laurence and the captain looking at him, the pizza box not even opened.

"She doesn't seem to want to eat with us," Elliot said with a shrug. "You guys start without her… us. I…I'll be right back."

"Elliot," Kyle called out. "Give her some space. I mean… I don't know what goes on between you two, but if I know anything about women like Olivia is that when they're mad, they need to let off some steam and to be able to do that they need to think clearly. She clearly can't think clearly when you're around her –"

Elliot looked him down. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kyle sighed. "Never mind. Just, let her cool down. She doesn't need to think that you don't believe in her right before she does this. She needs to know that she's just as good as you. In my opinion, I'd say better," he said with a smirk. "Elliot, let her breathe."

Elliot nodded. "Yeah… and speaking of breathing, I'm heading outside for some fresh air."

Whelan nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

When Elliot was out of ear shot, Dylan was the first to speak up. "They're fellow cops back in NY weren't kidding about them."

Whelan looked down at him. "When were you talking to the detectives in NY?"

"I called looking for Ian. Wanted to let him know about the Jones case. Finn Tutola answered. When I told him who I was, he asked me how Elliot and Olivia were doing here. Told them that they fit in quite well and that we were lucky to have them. He laughed and said we bet our sorry asses that we were lucky, but that things could get quite tense between the two of them. Then he muttered something about Elliot not being to keep his hands off of her. If I weren't mistaken, I'd say the two of them are much more than partners, even more than best friends."

"Thank you detective," Whelan said as he looked at Dylan, his expression full of sarcasm, "but I think the world has already come to that conclusion."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Elliot had done like he had been told to do. He gave Olivia her space. She only came out of the locker room just in time to go see Carlos. She took the car that she and Elliot had been given, and Kyle and Dylan took their usual car. They made sure to park close enough to the building that if they were needed, they'd be able to help Olivia out, but enough out of the way that it wouldn't seem suspicious. Elliot stayed back at the PPD, Whelan having given him another case they were working on to keep him distracted. He wasn't allowed to be known as a detective, but that didn't mean they couldn't put his brains to work and use his extensive knowledge in the matter to help them out.

Olivia wasn't scared of Carlos. The man gave her no reason to fear him. So she walked into his building, not missing a beat in her stride and smiled when she noticed him in a corner writing something she figured was the plan for their next class.

"Kate!" he exclaimed when he noticed her and he rushed to the door to great her. "I'm glad you were able to come. Follow me."

He led her to a much smaller room, yet still, she had no fear. She was bad ass Benson. Nothing scared her. Well, almost nothing.

"Sit down," he instructed. "Would you like something? Juice, pop, water?"

She remembered hearing that the husbands of the potential victims had said the women seemed delusional as if having been drugged. She wasn't going to take any chances.

"No, I'm fine," she said, trying to sound friendly, but there was tension in her voice. She was still mad at Elliot. But that could come to her advantage in this situation. As long as she remembered that it wasn't Elliot she was supposed to be mad at…

"It seems as if you're tense, emotionally speaking. Things not going well with Sean?" he asked as he took a seat across from her.

"He's being the ass I figured he was under all of that perfect," she said without having to think about it too much. And in all the ways that mattered, that was nothing but the truth.

"Trouble in paradise, huh? Well talking about it will help, I assure you."

She sighed. "He seemed so perfect, as if I had finally found my prince charming, my soul mate. He… I've been in love with him since day one. I couldn't imagine my life without him." As she said this, she had to control Olivia's emotions. She was getting to the point where Kate was no longer talking about Sean. Olivia was talking about Elliot. She shook her head. "Everything just started so fast that we had no time to really think about. But lately… lately he's started treating me like a… like a paper doll. Like I need his help with everything. I've been independent most of my life. Why does he think I suddenly need a man to protect me? I… I don't understand…"

Carlos nodded slowly. "I see where you're coming from. You're fearing that because he treats you differently, things will start going downhill in your relationship. Have you thought maybe that things have shifted between the two of you, that maybe something happened and he has started seeing you a different way?"

Yeah, Olivia thought. We got engaged and started living together. And he's getting divorced, and he's been treating me… Olivia finally thought she got it. She was the rebound girl. As for Kate…

"I… I don't know… maybe." She couldn't keep her mind off of the fact she had discovered. Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? He was hurt, and he needed someone to comfort him. She just happened to be around all the time. She felt bad for him, but in a way, she felt… used.

"Do you know what will really help you?"

Olivia shook her head. "What?"

Carlos smiled. "Talk to him. Let him know how you feel."

Yeah, she thought. Easier said than done.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Olivia walked into the quiet apartment a little after eight. Her talk with Carlos had been quite insightful. However, as good as it had been for her, it made him look even less guilty. Olivia couldn't see Carlos as a rapist. It just didn't make sense.

"Hey," Elliot's voice made her jump.

"Elliot!" she exclaimed. "You scared the crap out of me. How'd you get home?"

Elliot smiled at the way she said home. "Laurence gave me a ride. He figured I was going out of my mind at the precinct."

They were still in the dark, but Olivia's eyes were adjusting. She was finally able to see more than just the shape of Elliot's body. He was in a comfortable pair of sweats and was once again shirtless. She immediately flashed her eyes down to his tattoo.

"What?" Elliot asked with a smirk. "Are you checking out my ass Benson?"

Olivia chuckled. Elliot's heart warmed at the sound. "You wish."

"If not my ass then, what has got you so hypnotized?"

Olivia rolled her eyes as she finally pulled off her shoes and made her way into the living area, back to him. "Hypnotized? Seriously?"

Elliot shrugged. "Something caught your attention. And I'm going to figure it out."

Olivia spun around and gasped slightly at how close Elliot was to her. She was practically face up against his chest. She backed away slightly, but not quick enough.

"Come on Benson, you know my body hypnotizes you. Just admit it," he said as he caught her in his arms, his hands resting on her lower back. He had an evil smirk and knew Olivia had no way of escaping this.

Olivia took a deep breath. She was usually really good at lying, hell she was living someone else's life, she was trained to be able to lie. But Elliot saw right through her and she knew it. And his body did… have its affects on her. So she decided to tell the truth. It just wasn't what Elliot had been expecting.

"The tattoo."

Elliot scrunched his eyebrow and Olivia couldn't help but think how it made him look cute, his confusion not being something she saw often.

"Liv, you've seen my tattoos. You know that they're there… what… why…"

Olivia shook her head. "I know, I know I've seen them… but there's one…" she pointed to the line of his pants.

Elliot automatically reached his hand down, and pulled his sweats over it. Olivia was left in utter confusion.

"Oh, that one…" he finally breathed out. "It's… umm it's nothing. Just something I got in the heat of the moment this one time…"

Olivia nodded, not believing him. She suddenly realized she was still supposed to be angry with him and that realization put her back in a foul mood once again. She spun around and headed back towards the living area, dropping onto the couch, not even bothering with the lights.

"Liv… I –"

Olivia shook her head. "No, I get it Elliot," she said. She wanted to sound angry, but she realized he didn't need that right now. He needed sympathy and she was making it hard for him to come to her. "It's something personal, and I'm sorry I asked. But you know, if it's bothering you, you can talk to me. I'm all ears and I'm here for you El. I'll always be there to listen." She paused and looked up at Elliot who was now making his way to sit beside her. "Even when you are being a jackass."

Elliot nodded slowly as he sat beside her. "I… I could tell you…" Olivia nodded encouragingly, letting him know it was okay. Elliot looked her in the eye and Olivia was sure he was going to break then and there and tell her what he had cooped up inside him. "I could… but then I'd have to kill you."

He let out a laugh as Olivia's jaw dropped. "Elliot Stabler!" she screeched as she tried beating up on him.

He was chuckling now and Olivia couldn't help but laugh along with him. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. They continued laughing, not realizing just how close they had gotten.

When finally Olivia had regained her composure, being in Elliot's arms suddenly became odd and awkward.

"El," she whispered as he calmed down too.

"You were right Liv, today, at the precinct. There is a logical explanation. One that I can't really explain. But you're not the same person you were last year. Or at least, I don't see you the same way I did last year."

"El, what are you talking about?" She pulled away so she could get a good look at him, to make sure he was okay.

"Liv, don't pull away," he whispered. "Don't move."

Olivia looked into his eyes, expecting to see the pain she had seen there just a few days prior. Instead, she saw nothing but love and tenderness. It gave her chills. She wanted to look deeper into them, to read him completely, but he didn't give her the opportunity.

Before she had a chance to even put up a fight, or come up with some logical thought, his lips came crashing down on hers. It was like something she had never experienced before in her life. The kiss was magical, and at the same time it gave both of them the opportunity to let go and forget about everything. It gave them a chance to live in the moment and not care.

But as soon as Olivia pulled away, the real world came back.

"El... what… what just happened?" she asked, confused as to what had just happened.

Olivia was expecting sometime like an 'I don't know,' or a 'nothing, it was nothing', but Elliot just smiled.

"Something that should have happened a long time ago."

Olivia let out a small gasp as Elliot leaned back in, no hesitation, and let his lips find hers again.

"Elliot…" she mumbled against his lips. She didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, tell him to think about what he was doing. He had her swooped up in his arms, and had placed her hands around his neck. He picked her up and carried her towards his room. "El!" she screeched. "What are you doing?"

He set her down on his bed and climbed up over top of her. "Showing you that I'm far from being a caveman."

His Elliot smile took over his entire face and Olivia couldn't help but let out a giggle. Their night was far from being anything ordinary… It was about to become a night they had both always dreamed of, a fantasy they never thought would actually happen. But it was happening.

And it was about to change everything.

Hehe (: This is far from being the end ladies and gentlemen! They can't possibly get their happy this quick. Next chapter: Kathy. But not in the way you might expect...

.ENJOY!