"No." She shook her head.

"But Mooooooom!" Noah whined.

"Why in the world would you want to go camping?" She literally couldn't fathom this. She grew up in this city. The closest her mother ever let her get to the 'great outdoors' was letting her and her friend sleep on the roof one time, and there was a distinct possibility her mom had been drinking when agreeing to that request.

"It's a science trip! We get to learn about plants, geology and stuff. I really want to get into that honors science class this fall because they do way cooler projects than the other science classes" he was doing his best to sell her on the idea. "And if I want to be in the class I have to do this camp out thing. You have to start this advanced life science notebook if you want to get into the class." His wide blue eyes were begging, and she hated when he did that. She was a sucker for blue eyes. "Please Mom?"

She wanted to say no. She should say no. The woods? Really? Didn't people create cities for a reason? She glanced down at her son, who still had his begging face blaring with full force. She knew why he wanted to be in that class. Noah didn't have a lot of friends who were boys. He was a gentle kid who loved dance, and not many boys enjoyed the same things. Most of his friends were girls, which suited him fine, but he had struggled with bullies off and on. That stopped when he made friends with Jace and Colton.

The twins were new to Noah's school the previous year and befriended him in science class. They were good boys, not necessarily interested in dance, but they were smart and excelled in school. They loved things like coding and graphic design, two things Noah enjoyed too. It was stupid, but now that he had friends who were boys, the bullies left him alone.

She knew this trip would be so fun for him, and he would learn a lot. Noah had such a hard time connecting with kids his age, and she really wanted to encourage healthy peer relationships.

It wouldn't hurt him to go, but she hesitated to let him go with unfamiliar adults. It was probably the cop in her, but overnights with unfamiliar adults made her nervous. She needed to think about it.

"Let me think about it, okay, Noh?" He didn't look outright disappointed, but he was a little hopeful. "When do you need the permission slip in?"

"Friday. They need a kid count so they can get parent volunteers or whatever." He looked like he was going to ask something. "You could come, Mom. They are going to need parents, and…"

He didn't finish the thought, but he was her son, and she knew he knew her hesitation had to do with the other adults. He was trying to find a way to do the campout while still letting her be comfortable. Problem was that there was no way in hell she was camping. Literally all of her experiences with "the woods" included dead bodies. Probably not the best backdrop for a middle school trip. "I don't know Noah. I'm not exactly made for camping," she inadvertently grimaced. "Maybe I could see if Uncle Fin could go."

His eyes lit up. "How about Elliot? He was a Marine, right?" She tried to figure out how the hell he knew that…"He could come!"

That familiar anxiety filled her gut. She needed to put the brakes on this. "Woah, Noah, wait a sec. Elliot's case load is crazy sometimes, and he's been on assignment for a while, and he just got back." She made every excuse she could think of. Elliot had gotten back from his extended assignment two days ago. They talked about meeting up, but they hadn't pinned anything down yet, and she was pretty sure they weren't to the point in their relationship where she could ask him to take her son on a camp out. Too much, too soon.

"Moooommm. He would say, Yes, I know it! And I know you trust Elliot, especially since he picked me up. I would be totally safe, and you wouldn't have to hover." He said the word with distaste.

He was right, though. Elliot would keep her son safe. In any situation, serious or not, Elliot would die before he let anything happen to her boy. That made her feel lots of feelings she didn't want to analyze right now. She needed to end this conversation. "I'll talk to him okay, but don't get your hopes up. They are shorthanded at work, and he's busy." She hoped she could let him down easily. There was a slim chance El would be available, especially on short notice, and she wasn't sure he would even like sleeping on the ground while entertaining preteens.

That promise settled Noah, and she sighed. She wanted the best for her boy, and that might mean a camping trip. Hopefully she could find him and a person she trusted to go with him because she wasn't sending him by himself, and she was not sleeping on the ground in the woods.

-000-

She pulled her text window up, and chickened out. She set her phone back down and shuffled some papers around her desk. She just needed to ask. He really was the only one she felt comfortable with. Fin laughed his ass off when she asked him. He told her there was a man on the other side of town who would happily take her son. She didn't even ask Carisi. Amanda was going to have that baby any day now, and he needed to stay close. She groaned and pulled the text window up again.

You have time for coffee? Gotta ask you something.

She stared at the text. Her thumb hovered over the send button. She just needed to send the damn thing and get it over with. It wasn't a marriage proposal. She was just asking for a favor from a close friend.

Her fingers closed around the compass that permanently hung around her neck. He was more than a close friend, and everyone knew it. Even Noah seemed to know that her relationship was different with Elliot. Noah called all of her close friends Uncle/Aunt. They were their family, but for some reason, Elliot had always been just Elliot. No label attached. Just Elliot.

Damn it. She needed to send the stupid thing. Her finger hovered over the send button for another moment before she closed her eyes and hit send .

It was done. It was out of her hands. She didn't expect a response for a while, but it took him less than a minute to reply.

Got time today? I'm pretty free today and tomorrow. You'll save me from filling out thousands of case summaries…

She smiled and leaned into the conversation for a bit.

O: Bell won't mind? I have a huge favor to ask. And you totally can say no.

E: Now I'm intrigued. When are you free today?

O: I have a call scheduled in twenty minutes. Meet me in an hour.

E: I'll be there.

She almost felt annoyed when her heart raced at the idea of meeting with Elliot. She felt like a goddamn teenager, and she had to resist the urge to back out. This was for Noah. She would do anything for him. Even ask her—whatever Elliot was—for this big favor.

-000-

Her call dragged on and on. She glanced at the clock. Damn it. She was going to be late. Keeping her office phone tucked under her ear, she texted Elliot.

Bronx SVU is a shit show. My call is going long. Reschedule?

Her call demanded her attention, and she left her phone face down on her desk.

-000-

He wasn't entirely surprised when she canceled. He had already cleared the rest of the day so they could talk. He stared at the text window for a moment and then dropped his phone into his pocket. He knew what she wanted to talk about. Noah already spilled the beans when he texted last night.

He glanced at his watch and made a plan. After grabbing his keys and jacket, he gave Ayanna a wave before heading out to Olivia's favorite coffee cart.

-000-

Forty minutes later, he stepped into the precinct. When he entered her squad room, he noticed that she still had her phone stuck to her ear, a scowl etched across her face.

He strode past her detectives. He only remembered one detective's name. Most of her squad was new. He stopped at Fin's desk for a moment. "She still on the phone with the Bronx?"

"Yeah," Fin muttered. "We're still pickin up their overflow, but we are shorthanded without Muncy. She's tryin to light a fire under the Bronx unit's ass so we can get to our own cases."

Elliot nodded. She would be pissed and stressed when she finished the call, which meant this visit could go well or fail epically. Time to roll the dice, he thought.

He wandered to her office door, knocking lightly before pushing it open. Her eyes widened when she registered his presence, but he thought he saw a smile teasing at the corner of her mouth.

She lifted a finger, indicating she wanted him to wait. She tersely continued what seemed like a mind-numbing conversation. He shuffled over to her desk, leaving the coffee cup there, then sat on the couch close to her desk.

He sipped his coffee and watched her work. She obviously looked stressed, but she was also beautiful and authoritative. He couldn't believe how much she grew in his absence. She had always been beautiful, and she had always been smart, but watching her in this capacity was almost breathtaking. She was born for this role.

She wrapped up the call and dropped the phone into its receiver, letting out an elongated sigh. She blinked her eyes exaggeratedly, allowing her mind to switch tracks before she turned to engage him.

"Hey," she sighed. She sounded exhausted.

It astounded him, her ability to compartmentalize every part of her life. There was a different Olivia for every occasion. The NYPD captain, the victim advocate, the friend, and the mother were all different facets of the beautifully complicated woman he loved. The Olivia that he always met was the carefully guarded one. The one who feared trust, and refused vulnerability. Funny thing was, he knew the real Olivia. The one under a stoic facade. The tender one. The one with the enormous, pulsating heart. The one he loved.

He returned the simple greeting with his own. "Hey," he said, and sipped his coffee. To his surprise, she reached for her cup of coffee, stood, and settled in next to him on the couch.

Their outer thighs touched while she drank her coffee. Her dark eyes caught his and then dropped to her coffee cup. "I need to ask a huge favor," her eyes lifted again as she nervously added, "and you can say no. It's a big ask, and I don't want you to feel like…" she was rambling.

He cut her off with a soft chuckle. "Just ask Liv."

She bit her lip nervously. "Noah is begging to do this science camp out thing with school. He has to do it if he wants to get into the advanced science class in the fall," she seemed more nervous as she got to the point, "I know I'm being overprotective, but I don't want to leave him overnight with adults I barely know." Her leg started to bounce nervously. "I'm sure you're aware that I don't camp…"

He laughed out loud. From her designer shoes to her perfectly manicured nails, Olivia was all city girl. Not that it compromised her abilities in her job. She was a kick ass cop, but not much of an outdoorswoman. "Yeah not so much."

"Remember you can say no, but Noah is begging to go and…"

He knew this was extremely uncomfortable for her, and she was powering through for the sake of her kid. That made him love her even more. "I'll take him, Liv." He spared her the actual act of asking.

"You will?" Her voice oozed with gratitude and relief.

"Of course," he grinned. "I'm not sure you even own a sleeping bag." He teased.

"I don't." She laughed. "Camping isn't exactly in my wheelhouse."

He bumped shoulders with her, "Don't worry, I got your back Benson." And he always would.

-000-

The next week flew by in a crazy whirlwind. Work held her with a death grip, and she didn't have any time to see Elliot. Or Noah really. The school emailed her a list of things Noah needed to bring. She took a quick look and realized she had none of those things. She ended up forwarding the email to Elliot, asking him what things he already had, and what things she needed to go buy. He told her he had everything on the list, but she suspected he went out and bought Noah any of the things he didn't already have on hand. Liv felt tempted to ask him how much he spent so she could pay him back, but she knew he would just insist he had everything in storage or whatever.

To his credit, Noah was serious about being prepared for the trip. He and his friends watched all the safety videos provided by the school, and a few other wildlife information videos so they could start their life science notebooks.

The day arrived too quickly, and Olivia was a bundle of nerves as she drove to the school bright and early on the Saturday morning. Noah buzzed with excitement, and he continued fiddling with his backpack, checking and rechecking the items there.

"Elliot said he'd meet us at the school right?" Noah asked anxiously.

"Yep," she affirmed. To be honest, Elliot would probably beat them there. Hell, he would probably already be best friends with the bus driver.

"I'm glad he could come," Noah's voice bounced with energy. "Colton and Jace's dad couldn't come because of work so I'm glad someone I know is gonna be there."

Olivia was too. The closer this got, the more nervous she got, and the only thing that kept her from changing her mind was the fact that Elliot would be there. If her son insisted on sleeping in the godforsaken woods, at least he had Elliot with him, and she knew Elliot would do everything possible to keep him safe.

She smiled in the rear view, "I'm glad too."

They pulled into the school's auxiliary lot, and parked near the bus where other parents were starting to gather. Before she had a chance to turn the car off, Noah already had his seatbelt off and backpack slung over his shoulder.

She smiled and shook her head at his enthusiasm. She might be nervous, but her boy was more than excited to tackle this adventure.

They hopped out of the car, and of course they saw Elliot standing, arms crossed, near the bus, chatting with the driver and the science teacher.

Noah's eyes lit up when he saw him and he called out, "Hey Elliot!"

Elliot's eyes brightened just as much as her son's had and he stepped away from the group to greet Noah. "Hey dude! Ready for some camping?" He gave Noah a fist bump and a quick hug.

"Yeah!" Noah bounced excitedly. He looked around, and spotted the twins pulling their duffles from their parents' SUV. "Can I go say hi real quick?"

Olivia laughed. He was going to spend the whole weekend with them, but he couldn't wait one more minute to see them. "Of course buddy, but hurry back okay."

"Kay!" He agreed, and dropped his backpack before jogging over to the boys' car.

She and Elliot watched him for a moment, but then he turned towards her, and she could feel his eyes on her. She let out a nervous breath before turning her body towards his. "Thanks for doing this….this is … a lot…"

His eyes smiled, and she knew he was just as excited as her son. He was loving this, and it made it feel her feel like less of a burden. "It's no big deal Liv. I've kinda missed this kind of thing. Ya know. School trips. Camping with the kids." He shrugged. "I might be just as excited as he is."

She laughed again, "I'm not sure about that. It's been like Christmas. He took forever to get to sleep last night."

"It's something new. That makes it fun."

It was the newness and uncertainty that made it fun for her child, but anxiety inducing for her. She must have been spacing out because suddenly his hand was on her elbow. Her eyes lifted to his. "Don't worry. I'll keep him safe and this will be a great experience for him."

"I know I know. I just hate when he is so far away. Even the times he's in Woodstock it's hard. And this…" she blew out another nervous breath. "This is well outside my comfort zone."

His other hand brushed up and down her upper arm and he turned her more towards him. "Look at him. He's not nervous, just excited. You've got a great, well adjusted kid who isn't scared to try new things and experience the unknown." His hands gently gripped her biceps, "that's all you Liv. You've given him everything he needs to succeed, but you gotta let him spread his wings a little."

She glanced over at Noah who was talking animatedly with his friends. Elliot was right of course, but it was hard for her to let her baby boy, the one she found in a drawer, experience the world outside her sphere of influence. It was hard, but necessary. Her eyes flicked back to Elliot. The only reason she allowed Noah this experience was because Elliot agreed to take him. She was so grateful for that. "Thanks." She said again with her voice low and sincere. "Thanks for helping with this. For helping me let him do this."

"Of course, Liv. It's going to be fun. We will take lots of pictures and I'll make him call you in the evenings."

"Kids! Parents! Let's round everyone up for last minute instructions and goodbyes. Make sure to check your email for the pickup instructions for Monday."

Elliot leaned in and gave her a tight hug. "He'll be okay," he promised. To her surprise he dropped a light kiss on her cheek.

Before she could process the feeling of his lips on her skin, he called for Noah. "Noah," he hollered. "Come say bye to your Mom."

Noah ran back over, crashing into her with a tight hug. "Love you Mom!" His bright blue eyes looked up at her, "Thanks for letting me go."

Alls she could do was nod. She was sure she would burst into tears otherwise. She dropped a kiss onto his curls, rubbed his back, and let him go. He gave her a big perfect smile and scooped up his backpack. "Come on Elliot! Let's go! I want to get a good seat on the bus!"

"Alright alright." Elliot chuckled. "You head over. I'll be there in a sec." He reached for Olivia's hand and squeezed it quickly. His blue eyes glowed with quiet reassurance. "Bye Liv." With one more squeeze of her hand, he let it drop, smiled, and hurried over to Noah's side.

-000-

Elliot took one more look back at Olivia as he boarded the school bus. Noah settled into a seat next to a dark haired girl, and his buddies sat together across the aisle. More kids filtered in, finding seats near the back of the bus.

Elliot found a seat a few benches ahead of Noah, enough to give him breathing room, but close enough to keep an eye on the shenanigans that would inevitably occur in a bus full of twelve year olds.

He reached into his bag and pulled a package of plain M , Noah's favorite. It was probably stupid, but he wanted to continue his good rapport with the boy so he brought a boatload of junk food he knew Liv would have banned. "Noh!" He yelled, and lifted the bag of M .

"Sweet." He clapped his hands twice and opened his hands so Elliot tossed him the bag. He caught it with ease, and immediately opened it so he could share with his friends. "Thanks," he called over his shoulder with a smile.

Elliot turned back around. While digging through his bags for a healthier option than M he overheard some of the kids' conversation.

"I thought you didn't have a Dad, Noah." The girl wasn't being malicious, just curious about her friend. "Did he do that deadbeat dad thing where all the sudden they show back up? You look a lot like him…"

Noah laughed at that. "That's weird. He's not my dad. I really don't have one."

"Noah's adopted," one of the twins provided.

"Ohhh. Really?" The girl seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yep." Noah stayed proudly. Elliot loved how proudly that boy claimed his mom, and their unique family unit.

"I never knew. That's pretty cool Noah." She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder.

Jace leaned towards Noah with another question, "So is your mom dating him or what?"

Sheesh. These kids were straight up gossips.

"Nah, they're just friends," he hesitated. "Well at least I think they're just friends. It's always kind of hard to figure out those kinds of things with her."

"Really. That's crazy. I thought he was for sure with your mom." It sounded like Colton offered that observation.

"Well whatever he is, he seems nice." The girl smiled kindly.

"Yeah. He's pretty cool, and you know my mom…"

"Overprotective." The twins said simultaneously. The group laughed.

"Yeah. But she's weirdly comfortable with him. He was her partner, you know, on the job. Like before I was born."

"That's kinda cool," Jace said.

"Yeah. My mom only seems to trust cops.." all the kids laughed at the observation, and the conversation turned to a new coding program the girl and Colton were working with.

Elliot's phone buzzed. He looked at the time. They had only been on the bus for twenty minutes.

O: Make sure he's safe

E: I got him Liv.

O: I don't want him to get eaten by a bear- or a mountain lion. Are there mountain lions there?

E: Have you been googling wildlife predators or something?

O: No

E: Liar.

O: Nat Geo had this documentary…

E: God Liv. He'll be fine.

O: I know. Sorry. Just worried.

E: You're a great mom. I got him okay. I won't let a bear eat him or anything else crazy.

O: I'm not crazy

E: Didn't say that… relax. We'll call ya when we get there.

O: Okay.

E: You're still worried aren't you

O: Yes .

God he loved her.

E: Just a minute .

"Hey Noah!" He called behind him.

A head of bouncing curls popped up above a seat a few rows behind him. "Yeah?"

"Come 'ere for a sec." He waved him over.

Noah glanced at his friends and shrugged his shoulders before joining Elliot on the seat. "Send your mom a quick voice message. She's stressing."

"Ugh." Noah groaned. "She's always stressing."

"I know bud, but this will help her relax." He nudged his shoulder, "then maybe she won't need to call us during the whole trip."

Noah sighed and took Elliot's phone. "Okay." He hit the button to record a voice message. "Hey mom," Elliot almost laughed at the dramatic change in tone. "I'm doin fine. I'm just hanging out with Colton, Jace, and Clem. I promise not to die, okay." Elliot covered his mouth to keep from laughing at the boy's snark. "You know I'll be fine with Elliot." He smiled at his next words, and their loving sincerity. "I love you Mom." He stopped the recording and sent the message.

"That okay?" Noah asked as his eyes darted back to his friends.

"Yeah that was perfect." He gave Noah a quick side hug and tilted his head back towards his friends. "You go on back. I'll try to keep her from smothering you."

That earned him a goofy smile, "She just loves me," he said with exasperation.

"She really does, buddy." Elliot affirmed.

"I know," he grinned, and acted like he was going to say something else, but shook his head instead. He pointed his thumb back towards his friends. "Okay if I go back now?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're good here."

With a grin that reminded Elliot so much of Olivia, Noah settled back with his friends.

Once Noah seemed fine and back into the conversation with the boys behind him, Elliot glanced down at his phone.

O: Thank you El. I needed that.

E: I got him Liv. Really. I won't let a bear eat him or let him stumble across any dead bodies.

O: I know. Thanks El.

E: I got ya Benson.

-000-

The bus ride went well. The kids played games on their phones and talked. Electronics would be banned once they arrived at the campsite. Only adults could have them for emergencies, but the service was so spotty they wouldn't be very useful.

Elliot discreetly watched Noah with his friends. In some ways he was exactly like Olivia. The way he talked, his facial expressions, even his laugh, were all her. But unlike his mother, Noah wasn't as guarded. He was friendly and gregarious, and most kids seemed to like him.

Elliot had noticed a couple of kids who seemed annoyed by Noah and his friends. They sat on the back seat, and Elliot couldn't hear what they were saying, but the snickering and random pointing made him think these might be the bullies Noah was always wary of.

The terrain changed as they entered a more rural setting. The trees began to thicken, and most of the kids' eyes were glued out the windows. Most of these kids were like Noah, city born, city raised. The idea of a wilderness seemed like a setting for a movie, not something that was ever real.

About a half hour after they began their journey down the winding tree lined road, they arrived at their destination. The bus parked and kids started scrambling for their belongings.

The science teacher waved his clipboard over his head to get everyone's attention. "Hey! Listen up! Everyone has a tent assignment. See me for your assignment. We're going to have a quick lunch, set up tents, and we will head out on our first hike. Please," he emphasized, "drink water. It's going to be pretty warm the next few days and I don't want anyone dropping dead from heat stroke. Am I clear?"

There were a bunch of mumbled yeses in response. The science teacher began unloading bags and the students filed off the bus. Once Elliot got off the bus, he was assigned a tent number, along with all the adults. "Stabler, right? I got you as number three. You will have Noah of course, and Jace, and…" he flipped the page on his clipboard, "oh yes, you will have Danny too." He pointed his pen in the direction of another boy.

"Got it." Elliot replied, and reached for the tent labeled "3". He looked up and found Noah still standing with his friends. He noticed Colton looking pretty disappointed. He walked over, figuring the kid was upset because he was split from his brother.

"They put me in four. This sucks so bad. I'm pretty sure he's gonna prank me or something."

"Colt, it will be fine," Jace reassured, "you only have to sleep in there. The rest of the time you can be with us."

"What's goin on?" Elliot asked as he approached.

"Colton got assigned to a different tent…with Lucas and Jackson…" Noah grimaced. "They're kind of mean."

Elliot guessed Lucas and Jackson were probably the boys from the back of the bus. "Do you want me to see if you can swap with Danny?" Elliot asked.

Colton adamantly shook his head. "It's okay. They are way more mean to Danny. Like Jace said, I'll be okay."

That made Elliot smile. Colton was a good friend, a nice kid, and a great friend for Noah. "Alright then, let's grab Danny and get this tent set up so we can have some lunch." Elliot motioned for the kids to follow. Noah ran over to where Danny stood, and brought him over to the group.

Just as they were about to get started, a booming voice called, "Colton! You're supposed to be with us!"

Elliot flipped around to see another adult waving for Colton to come over. He groaned. "No way," he said under his breath.

"It's gonna be fine Colt. Just get the tent done and come right back here." His brother reassured.

"Yeah yeah…" Colton's face was sullen as he walked his way over to tent four.

"I can't believe he came," Jace nudged Noah.

"I know. Isn't he, like, always traveling?" Noah asked.

"Yeah I think. I don't really know. They probably made him come if they were going to let Lucas do this trip."

"I wish he wasn't here. He doesn't even want to be in this class," Noah muttered, as Elliot handed him a tent pole to hold.

"It doesn't matter if he wants to be here. His parents make him take all these classes."

"That makes sense," Noah held the pole up. "Uhhh I don't know what I'm doing."

Elliot chuckled, "Let's pull out the instructions and I'll show you three exactly how to set this thing up."

-000-

Olivia's phone pinged as she sat across from Amanda at the cafe. She laughed and lifted the phone for Amanda to see.

"Oh my God, that's way too adorable." Amanda drawled. Elliot sent a selfie of he and Noah standing in front of a tent they put together, and behind them Jace made an epic photobomb. "You doing okay with all that?"

Olivia pushed around her salad. " I want to say yes. I know he will be fine with Elliot."

"But he's your baby, and this is a new thing."

"Exactly. I know it shouldn't be a big deal. He's almost twelve. He's allowed to do stuff like this." She swigged her drink.

"Yeah, but it's hard not to jump to the worst case scenario," Amanda reached for the salt.

"Think our jobs have made us a little jaded," Olivia asked humorously.

"Maybe a little." Amanda laughed. "I'm pretty nervous anytime Jessie is away for an overnight. I'm just trying not to smother her, you know?

"Yeah I feel exactly the same way with Noah." Olivia took a bite of her salad.

Amanda's phone pinged. "Damn it."

"What's goin' on?"

Amanda let out a frustrated groan. "I swear I can't ever have a minute. Jessie threw up, and the sitter said she doesn't do throw up." Her eyes were apologizing. "I gotta go."

"Go, go. Save the babysitter." Olivia encouraged.

"Thanks. Let's try this again. Next week?"

"Plan on it," Liv confirmed.

Amanda grabbed her bag, and waved before she hurried out of the cafe. She pulled up her phone so she could see the picture again. Noah looked happy.

O: Those are some handsome boys. How's being rugged wilderness explorers going?

E: Good actually. These kids are smart. I don't have to tell them how to do something 18 times…

O: Haha. Well it's supposed to be the advanced class. The kids are supposed to be smart.

E: That's true. Hey, what do you know about this Lucas kid?

O: Oh the future sociopath? Sorry. That was extreme, but he is a textbook manipulator. Noah has a hard time with him.

E:I gathered that much. How about his dad? He's here too…

O: I don't know a lot really. He apparently travels a lot. He's hit on me a few times…

E: Seriously? I already hate him.

O: Calm down. He's a jerk and I shut that down hard.

E: You aren't making me like him more.

O: I wasn't trying to. Lucas gets into a lot of trouble so he probably had to supervise him on the trip. I wish they weren't there. I usually tell Noah to ignore him.

E: Colton got assigned to his tent.

O: Poor Colton

E: He's pretty bummed.

O: Damn. Did you ask to swap?

E: Yeah but the boys said they are more mean to this Danny kid, so Colton decided to keep the assignment.

O: Colton is a great kid.

E: I thought the same thing. Hey I gotta go. We are finishing up lunch, and I gotta get the boys ready for the hike.

O: You're loving this way too much.

E: Hey! It's fun! Maybe we should go camping sometime.

O: Um sorry. Hard pass.

E: haha. I'll have Noah call you later.

-000-

The group of kids took off on the hike with half the chaperones. The other half stayed to set up camp. Elliot preferred to go on the hike, to keep an eye on the boys, but he was assigned to stay at camp. It was a short hike, and he trusted Noah would be fine with the other adults for at least that long.

Elliot started putting up tables so the kids would have space for dinner, and the different projects they were supposed to work on. He had it under control, but then he heard someone pulling more tables out behind him. He internally groaned when he saw Lucas' dad setting up more tables. He tried to keep his eyes down. He wasn't really interested in engaging with the man. Unfortunately, he couldn't ignore him when all the sudden the man stuck his hand out to introduce himself.

"I'm Marcus. Lucas's dad."

Elliot shook the man's hand quickly, and tried to get back to work. "Elliot." He said simply, while lifting another table.

"Which kid is yours?" Elliot really wasn't interested in all the small talk so he tried to keep working, hoping Marcus would go find something else to do.

"Noah," he kept his answers short. All the tables were up so he started on the folding chairs.

"Captain Benson's kid?" he asked skeptically.

Elliot resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yep." He pulled out another two chairs.

"I guess I didn't realize Noah's dad was still in the picture. I have only ever seen Olivia, so I assumed…"

Elliot really didn't want to know what that man assumed, and he was slightly irked by him referring to Olivia so casually. Not wanting to go through the verbal gymnastics of his relationship to Noah, he decided to just roll with Marcus' assumption. "Yeah well, I work a lot of undercover jobs, and I'm not around as much as I should be." Not an all out lie…

"So you're on the force too?" Elliot would give anything for this man to shut up.

"Yes." Short answers weren't getting him anywhere. "Thirteen years in SVU, five years in private security. Five years with international terrorism." Elliot stepped into his space a little, "And I'm currently working with the Organized Crime Control Bureau. So yeah. I'm on the force."

"Meet Olivia on the job or somethin? I'm not gonna lie, I asked her out a couple times as she turned me down flat."

For the love of God, he wanted this man to shut up. He turned around so he faced him. "Look man. I'm not interested in going into all of this with you. Olivia doesn't mess around, so if she turns you down, she means it." Elliot met the man's eyes with an intimidating stare, "Just leave her alone." Elliot knew he was being a little intense, but this man obviously lacked any sense of boundaries.

He lifted his hands up, "Sorry, just makin' conversation." He shuffled away while looking for another adult to chat up.

Elliot put up a few more chairs. Maybe it was because the man hit on Liv, or maybe it was because his kid was a total ass, but there was something about him that rubbed him wrong. He was well aware he had the tendency to be overprotective, but his gut was telling him there was something weird about the guy.

Elliot pulled up the contact list for the parents and kids camping. He found Lucas' dads last name. He texted Jet.

E: Hey, can you run a background check on a guy for me.

J: Aren't you supposed to be camping with small children?

E: They aren't really small children. They're like 12.

J: Whatever. Who do you need checked out?

E: Marcus Moore

J: How thorough do you want this to be?

E: I'm assuming he passed the basic background check the school runs.

J: Okay so more of a deep dive then.

E: Yeah.

J: I'll email it and let you know when it's done.

E: Great. Thanks.

J: Yep.

A/N

This story took on a life of its own! For the rest of the story go check out the complete version with my other works!