Just as Olivia finished her phone call she heard a tap on her door. "Come in," she called without looking up. She shuffled the papers strewn across her desk into a neat pile, and looked up to see the smiling face of Elliot Stabler.

"Hey," he greeted warmly.

"Hey," she smiled back, "Did the arrests go down okay?" SVU and the OCCB had just finished up a joint case.

"Without a hitch," he answered. He gave her that smile, the one that preceded him asking her on a date, to lunch or to random family gatherings. She braced herself for the next attempt. Since nearly kissing her in her kitchen he checked in with an invitation weekly. "A bunch of us are going for a drink, wanna come?"

She eyed him warily, "Who's 'a bunch of us'?" She wouldn't put it past him to lie about a group of people going out together in an attempt to spend time with her.

"Bell and Jet for sure, pretty sure Whelan, and Fin, Velasco and Muncy from your squad." He tried the smile again.

She had no good reason to refuse, and it sounded much more like a friend thing than a date thing. "Okay," she agreed. "What time?"

"Most of us planned on heading over in ten minutes." He grinned wryly, "Ride with me?"

She resisted the urge to give him an eye roll. This man was relentless, but she had admitted she wanted to do this, eventually. A quick car ride wouldn't kill her. Hell, they had been in a car together alone thousands of times. "Okay," she looked around her desk, "give me like five minutes to get these files put away, then I can be ready."

He nodded and headed for the door, "I'll chat with Fin for a minute, just find me when you are ready to go."

He left her office and she gathered up the files she had opened on her desk. She opened the bottom drawer of her desk to file them away. She stood and took a second to go over her appearance. When she dressed this morning she hadn't planned on going out tonight, but she ditched the blazer and switched it for the cardigan she kept in her office, she'd look less out of place in whatever casual establishment they chose. She grabbed her purse, and pulled out her compact mirror. Her makeup looked untouched from this morning, probably because she was stuck at her desk most of the day. With her appraisal complete she tucked the mirror back into her purse, grabbing her cardigan on her way out the door.

She immediately noticed Elliot leaning against Fin's desk with his arms folded. They kept their conversation low so she wasn't sure what they were talking about, but the second Elliot heard her approach, he reached his hand out for hers. His steel blue eyes looked her up and down, and he smiled. "You look great. Ready to go?"

She nodded in agreement, and tried to ignore Fin's slightly amused face as he pointedly looked at their clasped hands. "Yeah let's go," she tugged his hand so they could get away before Fin thought of something embarrassing to say.

-000-

They arrived at the bar at the same time as Jet and Ayanna. Others slowly trickled in and Olivia let out a sigh of relief as the pressure of the evening reduced. Once more of their group arrived she dropped Elliot's hand. She knew most people coming already knew about their complicated as hell relationship, but hiding it was habitual at this point.

Elliot didn't even flinch, he was probably used to her randomly placed boundaries by now. The release of his hand didn't stop him from keeping just inside her personal space. His hand skirted her lower back as they wandered to a couple available barstools. They got their drinks, and comfortably talked about the previous case. Work talk was always a safe subject, and she was beginning to relax a little.

"Liv!" She turned her head to see Fin waving her over to the table he shared with Ayanna and Jet.

She lightly touched Elliot's elbow, "Be back in a sec," her fingers held to his elbow until she walked far enough away for them to drop.

She took a seat next to Fin, and he asked, "What was that one case where you and Elliot worked under cover?" He snapped his fingers, trying to remember the details. "The one where you had to pose as a married couple?"

Olivia smiled at the memory. That case was memorable to say the least. "Not just a married couple," she added cheekily, "a couple interested in becoming swingers."

Jet nearly spit her drink in surprise. Her dark eyes danced with amusement. "I think I need to hear this. I seriously can't imagine," she pointed her thumb back where Elliot sat, "in a swinger club. I can't even."

"That wasn't even the most shocking part of the case."

"Not sure you can top an investigation into a swing club," Jet noted.

"How about a man whose wife relieved him of his manhood because he fell in love with a woman at the club."

Jet winced, "Ouch."

"Oh, I'm still not done," Liv's eyes danced.

"No?" Jet hung on her every word.

"Wait for it," Fin grinned.

"The woman apparently had an abusive boyfriend, but turns out they were grifters who definitely had a sexual relationship." She paused for the shock factor. "Elliot and I catch up with them only after finding out that they were fraternal twins."

This time Jet choked and coughed out her drink. Poor girl. "No!"

"Twinsest," Olivia added with an amused expression.

"That is one of the craziest things I have ever heard," Jet turned to Olivia, "And I run in some pretty weird circles." Olivia easily believed that.

With the story finished she turned to find her way back to Elliot, but someone had taken her seat during all the story telling.

A young blonde. Of course. She had no desire to peel Elliot away from his new 'friend' so she turned back to the group, who had already moved on to a story about Jet's weird group of friends. She wasn't really listening. She was just spacing out and ripping apart a paper napkin. A hushed, "Liv," caught her attention. Ayanna was trying to get her attention. She jerked her head towards where she knew Elliot was still sitting. She nearly rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to be the follow up for the blonde who must have left. Ayanna got more insistent so she sighed and turned around.

The blond still sat in the stool next to Elliot, but she was currently talking to the bartender. Elliot's eyes gripped hers and he mouthed 'save me' while darting his eyes towards his unwelcome 'friend'. Olivia laughed softly before shooting him a 'serves you right' smirk. The blonde turned back to him, and he sent her one more pleading glance.

She waited a few moments, just to prolong his agony a little before sauntering over to stand behind him. She figured she could have a little fun with this. She slid her arms over his broad shoulders crossing her hands across his chest, hugging him from behind. She whispered loudly so the woman could hear, "Hey babe, who's your new friend?" His hands gripped her arms that still hugged his chest.

He dropped a kiss on one of her arms. "No one really, we were just talking." He turned his face toward her and gave her that look. The look he used only on her.

The blonde apparently got the picture and stood up with her drink, "Well," she started awkwardly. Olivia snuggled into his neck, you know, just to milk the awkwardness of the situation. "I better go…" she finished before walking away sheepishly.

Olivia loosened her grip on him but he didn't loosen his on her. She sighed before more insistently pulling back. He got the message and released her arms. She sunk into the barstool next to him. He met her eyes with an overly grateful look. "Thanks for saving me."

"Oh come on, isn't that every man's dream? You know, getting hit on by a young hot blonde?"

"It's not my dream," he said seriously. His eyes met her eyes again with that look and her heart pounded. She couldn't breathe.

She shook her head, and mumbled, "I have to go," before grabbing her purse and making a quick exit.

She was too busy trying to remember to breathe to hear Elliot following her. They made it out of the building and part way down the street before he called her name, "Olivia wait!"

She stopped but couldn't turn. Her composure had not yet returned and she needed to get her guard back up before she even attempted to talk to him. He made it to her too soon, and her breath caught when she felt his heavy hand on her shoulder. He ran his fingers the length of her arm before tugging on her hand. She complied and turned to face him. He held her hand for a moment, before he spoke, "I meant what I said Olivia. I don't want anyone else. I want you." She couldn't meet his eyes, and tried to keep her focus on her shoes. He lifted her chin, forcing eye contact. His eyes told her everything words could not. He took another step towards her, and she didn't move, hell she could barely breathe at this point. She let him bring his hands to her hips, and she didn't resist when he pulled her body towards his.

She kept her eyes on his, not moving, not breathing. He seemed content to hold her and wait for her to make the next move. She slid her hands up and around his neck and pressed her head in the space beneath his chin.

She knew what he wanted, and she wanted it too. But fear, her ultimate enemy, held her back. He didn't push her, seemingly content with the level of intimacy she currently allowed him.

"I want this so bad," she gulped down her emotions, "but I can't let go of this fear."

"It's okay Liv," he whispered against her hair, "I'm not going anywhere."

She nodded but felt tears threatening her eyes. She was so tired of being afraid. Tired of denying her wanting. She impulsively decided to try something, something that terrified her.

"El?"

"Yeah?" He murmured.

"I want to try something, but I reserve the right to back out without jeopardizing our friendship."

"Okay?" His voice was a little wary.

She pulled herself away from his chest, but kept her arms securely around his neck. She watched his slightly confused eyes before gathering courage to lean in and lightly press her lips to his. She waited for the fear to assault her, but to her surprise it didn't show up. All she felt was an assuring calm and a desire to push a little more.

She pressed her lips to his, this time with confidence. She felt him holding back, tempering his response, but she realized that was not what she wanted. She wanted that fire she knew he was capable of, but she knew he wouldn't push her unless she invited it.

So she invited him. She gripped his shirt pulling him towards her until she felt the cool brick of the wall behind her. She slid her tongue across his bottom lip, and that elicited the response she desired.

He immediately opened for her and his tongue tangled with hers. One hand slid up her back, pressing on her shoulder blades so her body melted into his. She felt his other hand sneak beneath her shirt and press into the skin of her lower back. She wanted it to go on and on, but the cool night air reminded her they were on a public street and making out like teenagers probably made the passersby a little uncomfortable. She pulled back, just a little, and let them both catch their breath.

"I think I should go," she whispered.

"I'm your ride remember," he smiled.

She had honestly forgotten that, and the warning she gave him before she started this echoed through her mind. She wanted more of this. She wanted him to know they were never going back to 'just friends'. Her next words rolled easily off her tongue. "Come home with me?"

He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. "Hell yeah," he answered.