"Coffee?"

"Do I ever say no?"

Detective Olivia Benson smiled as she handed her partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, the small tray-for-two of coffees, and slid into the car.

"You look like you slept on the floor," she commented lightly as Elliot started the engine.

He gripped the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. "Yeah, Eli was feverish." It was easy to blame his lack of sleep on his two year old son, when in all reality he and Kathy had been having problems again.

He hadn't gotten home until nearly midnight after working a case in which a fourteen year old girl had been raped. They'd finally gotten it out of the dickwad who'd done it, but he'd held his tongue for a good four hours.

Kathy was outraged, and had lectured him on how 'a good father doesn't miss dinner with his children every single night!' for awhile before she'd gone to bed, without inviting him.

He'd been left with a pillow and a faded Power Rangers beach towel. The couch was currently inhabited by their oldest daughter, Maureen, who was home from college for a visit, so he headed to little Eli's room, where he'd settled down on the hardwood floor.

So yes, he had slept on the floor, but he hadn't thought anyone would notice. Olivia knew him too well.

A cryptic silence hung in the air for a few minutes before he sighed and asked, "Is it that bad?"

"Not bad at all," she assured him.

"Okay, so your hair is kind of sticking up everywhere, and the circles under your eyes are sort of big," she admitted sheepishly a moment later.

He snorted "You know, you could always lie once in awhile just to spare my feelings. I wouldn't mind."

Olivia raised an eyebrow and smiled ruefully. "I couldn't let you embarrass yourself in front of Cragen, Munch, and Fin! Oh, you also have a little something right-"

She licked her thumb and brushed it against his chin. "There. Got it."

Elliot felt a shiver up his spine at her touch. He held his breath until she withdrew her hand, and forcing himself to breath normally, he smiled sunnily over at her.

"Thanks."

"Mhmm." When he snuck a glance at her, she was gazing out the window, seemingly deep in thought. He was relieved not to have to start a conversation, and kept his eyes on the road until they reached NYPD headquarters.

Cragen met them at the door. "You two are late," he scolded.

Elliot lifted his hand. "My fault, captain."

Cragen eyed him suspiciously, but dropped it. "A ten year old girl is missing," he said solemnly.

Elliot took a breath and crossed his arms. "Why is that our territory?" His heart was already aching for the parents. This job was so painful sometimes.

The look in Cragen's eyes was blacker than doom, and his voice radiated seriousness. "CSU is comfortable saying she's been taken by the Brothers of Flame.

Elliot heard Olivia gasp. The Brothers of Flame were a group of sociopathic killer Satanists whose trademark was burning people alive as a part of twisted sacrifice. They were also known for performing strange sexual acts on their victims, a part of the torture they induced before the killing.

So far, they'd gotten two people, or as Elliot liked to say, two too many. A sixteen year old boy and a woman in her late twenties. That had been in Maryland,but there had been sightings reported of figures in the Central Park late at night dancing around bonfires, as well as three arson reports, including a burned nursery school. Luckily no one had had been killed in those incidents, but it was only a matter of time. It confirmed the entire squad's fears; the insane pyromaniacs had arrived in New York.

Elliot, face tight, spoke again. "What did they find?" He couldn't keep the dread out of his voice; he knew he didn't want to hear the answer.

"No body parts, thank god," Cragen answered. "Just a devil's star with a flame sketching inside and…"

He held up a plastic evidence bag. Elliot squinted, but couldn't identify of the flaky gray strips in the bag. "What is it?"

Cragen's face was impossibly grim. "Strands of burned hair."

[Please R&R below. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated; this is my first SVU FanFic, hope you all liked it :) I'll be posting the next chapter soon, probably within the next few days. Thanks! Also- you'll get an explanation for the title later in the story.]