Olivia stretched and rolled over in the hotel room bed, smiling. She slept better than she had in a very long time. Her eyes searched for Elliot, finding him crashed out on the other bed. She laughed a little. He hadn't even bothered getting under the comforter. It looked like he fell over onto the bed, shoes and all. The man could fall asleep anywhere. The alarm clock flashed the time. It had been several hours since she talked to anyone, but Elliot, and she knew she should check in. Reaching for her phone, she braced herself for the onslaught of missed calls, voicemails, and text messages.

As expected, her voicemail was full, and she had an infinite number of texts from Brian and Amaro, however, the text from Amanda stood out.

Just checking in. No need to tell me where you are. Just need to make sure you are okay so I can reassure these idiots and they can stop losing their shit.

Olivia chuckled at her candor. She ignored the other messages, and texted Amanda back.

I'm fine. I just need some time to myself.

Amanda immediately texted back.

Okay. I'll tell everyone to leave you alone.

Another text pinged.

By yourself or with Stabler? I'm teasing. You totally don't have to answer.

Liv smiled, thankful for Amanda's respect for her privacy.

I don't think I'll answer that.

Amanda texted back.

Fair enough. Let me know if you need anything.

Liv tossed her phone on the pillow next to her. The hotel room was dark with only the light from the corner desk illuminating that small corner. Elliot snored softly and she decided it was a good time to take a long hot shower, and wash off all the ickiness of the day.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Elliot awoke to the sound of the shower. He glanced over to the neighboring bed, noting that Liv had taken him up on his offer. He rolled off the bed and walked over to the desk. He reorganized the papers and shut the laptop, trying to keep his mind off Olivia naked in his shower. He shook the images away, instead reading more of the documents in front of him.

He caught up on a lot of work while Liv slept. About an hour in, he stepped into the hallway to call Kathy, to update her on his "work related" trip. The lie combined with Olivia sleeping in his hotel room triggered some overwhelming Catholic guilt. Thinking of the way he held her and kissed her in that courtroom office really didn't help.

He spun the gold ring on his finger. This was the barrier. The boundary. He cursed his stupid teenage self for jumping into marriage, insisting Kathy was the only woman he could ever love. He didn't know years later, when he was older, more mature, Olivia would drop into his life, and his emotions had been a tangled mess ever since.

He made a vow to Kathy. Had five children with Kathy. By all counts, she should be the one who received all his devotion, and on the surface she did, but there was devotion to Olivia always bubbling beneath the surface. For a long time he thought he could have both relationships, as long as his and Liv's stayed platonic, but her pull, her sheer magnetism, called to him in a way he could never understand. He wanted to juggle his wife and his best friend, but in the end Kathy was hurt, and Olivia was hurt, and he was confused as hell. Choosing between Kathy and Olivia would have been easy without the weight of the ring on his finger, but the promises he made to Kathy, before God, left him no choice at all. It had to be her. It had to be his family. And with that choice he had thoroughly abandoned the true love of his life. His best friend. His partner. His everything. Two years later, the choices haven't changed, but coming here, seeing her, made it all confusing as hell.

Elliot dug through his bag for something more comfortable to wear. Not like he could sleep in his underwear tonight, and he had no idea how long Olivia planned to camp out here. The calvary was likely already chomping at the bit because of her current absence.

He heard the shower turn off, and he threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He settled back on his bed leaning against the headboard. The remote still sat on the nightstand so he picked it up and turned the TV on, looking for any distraction from Liv getting dressed in the next room.

The bathroom door clicked open and she came out in yesterday's clothes, but she ditched the cardigan leaving her in pants and a thick strapped tank.

The air felt thick around them, either from the shower steam or the intensity of this situation. He waited to see what she would do, and was pleased when she settled in next to him to watch junk TV. He knew he was playing with fire, having her here, having her this close. Let it burn. He thought.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Liv's phone kept buzzing, enough to wake Elliot. He reached for it, careful not to jostle Olivia too much. They fell asleep, Elliot still sitting up, pillow propped behind his head, and Liv crashed with her head in his lap curled up under the comforter. He lifted her phone, not snoop, but to see if it was something worth waking her for.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. 17 missed calls and 30 unread text messages. The top text from Barba read:

Why aren't you answering, jury's back.

"Liv," he shook her gently.

"Hmm."

"Jury's back."

She woke up instantly, sitting up with wild hair. "What time is it?" The alarm clock flashed 7:30am.

She jumped out of bed, grabbing her cardigan from the office chair. She ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to tame the mess.

Elliot quietly stood and gently grasped her wrist. "Breathe Liv." He dropped her wrist and added. "It's going to be okay."

Tears filled her eyes and he could see all the anxiety and fear welling up there. "I hope so," she whispered.

He walked over to the bathroom, pulling a random bag of toiletries that thankfully had a hair brush in it. He handed it over and she shot him a look of sincere gratitude. She went to the bathroom, and smoothed out her hair, twisting it into a clip. She came out to grab her purse and apply what makeup she had stored in there.

She looked in the mirror and sighed, turning to Elliot.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I don't really want to show up for court in yesterday's clothes and I'm not ready to go to my apartment."

He understood. After she basically ghosted everyone there would be a lot of drama waiting for her. Suddenly he remembered something. He held a finger up to her while he dug through his suitcase. "Kathleen throws everything everywhere." Olivia laughed, remembering how disorganized Kathleen could be. "Some of her laundry ended up in my bag, maybe one of these would work."

He pulled out a rock concert t-shirt, they both laughed knowing that wouldn't be appropriate. He dug around a little more and found a basic tank top, a blouse Kathleen used for work, and a light jacket. He also found one earring, a shoe, and two pairs of mismatched socks.

"That's quite a collection of women's clothes you got there Stabler." She chuckled

"Ha ha." He said sarcastically. "Just trying to help."

"Thanks," she smiled, "I think a couple of these might work. She tilted her head toward the bathroom, "I'll try a few things and see."

Elliot hurried and changed while Olivia tried on their Kathleen finds. He knew if what they found didn't work they probably could just swing by Kathleen's and borrow something, if Olivia was dead set on not going home. That might make them late though, and neither of them wanted that.