He was always a thought that rested at the back of Olivia's head, no matter how many times she thought she had pushed him entirely from her being he found a way to edge back into her mind. The mere mention of the man made her tense, made her take pause when she passed by the mirror in the bathroom, searching her body in the reflection as if expecting to see a fresh bruise or burn mark. Always nothing, but that little irrational fear would worm its way into her thoughts every once in a while.

Steel bars suited William Lewis well for the past 4 years. Just as he'd seemingly exited her life, Noah came into it, heaven replaced hell. She found that with time and therapy her nightmares about Lewis faded, she was able to move forward in her job; going from detective to sergeant, and then to lieutenant, something that at one point she didn't think had been possible. She flourished with Noah at her side. It seemed to her that the universe had rewarded her for all the hardships she'd had to face to get to that point.

But she supposed life had been too good to her.

The month was May and it had been a long night with her rambunctious 4 year old. "Just one more minute mommy, please! " He'd begged and batted his big puppy eyes and she relented. It was a Friday, and she had a day off tomorrow...Oh and how she had regretted letting him have that second bowl of ice cream because now he was running around, excited and on a sugar high. It was 10:30 when she'd finally managed to get him in bed and he insisted she read the longest bedtime story he had, and then when she found him awake after that he pleaded for another and she gave him that too. By the time 11:30 rolled around he was fast asleep and she was eternally grateful, kissing his forehead and whispering a goodnight before turning off the lamp and turning on his nightlight, closing the door quietly behind her.

Her eyelids felt heavy and her muscles ached; she would take care of the dishes in the morning. It had been a long day, and an even longer week and she needed to catch up on some much needed rest. It felt like she was walking on air when she entered her bedroom and slipped into her PJs before falling into bed. She could almost bet she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

2:43 AM

He entered silently, giving the quietest whisper of a laugh before closing the door as silently as he opened it. It was pitch dark aside from the soft blue glow cast in from the windows. Her apartment was spacious, in a nicer part of town he noted... She's done well for herself. He couldn't say he was unimpressed, this was certainly an upgrade from where he'd met her last time.

Escaping had been a piece of cake, all of them were idiots, he should have been put in a maximum security prison. He'd had four years to meticulously plan every part of this, which was new for him. He hadn't needed to every little detail planned out from the start, usually he got lucky. He knew this time though, there was no room for error. A little help from Bronwyn and some well-acted crocodile tears for the lovely Doctor Cole was all it took. The ruthless and terrifying William Lewis, reduced to a mess of tears before the good doctor; " I'm in fear for my life! That detective, she has friends everywhere, they've threatened me before! I'll be dead before next year, I can't defend myself with all these permanent injuries!" He'd given her a wide doe-eyed look she hadn't been able to refuse.

So when he'd ODed with a little help from the lovely Bronwyn, he was able to play her like a fiddle. He'd timed everything almost perfectly! Almost. He hadn't accounted for what the drugs would really do to him, he hadn't expected the long blackouts and he was certainly surprised when the doctor told him they'd declared him dead only for his heart to start back up 10 minutes later. Once he'd recovered enough he just needed to convince the guard to pity him, to uncuff his just a moment so that he could stretch his cramped muscles...And attack, he had the element of surprise, the only good his injuries did him was make him seem weak and powerless. After four years he still had lasting issues yes but it was nothing compared to how he'd felt in the months following the initial beating. He'd waited until the shift changes came, knowing it would be so hectic no one would look twice at him. The nurse just happened to be a lovely little surprise he took full advantage of. She was completely blacked out the entire time he raped her though, which had been disappointing but nonetheless satisfied a need he had to fulfill. He didn't want to let lust cloud his judgement! Not this time.

Finding her hadn't been too hard, he'd given his sweet eyes to Bronwyn weeks before and laid the charm on thick; " I'm still upset that Detective Benson felt she had to lie. She had nothing to be ashamed of, we were together, her and I...Do you know perchance what she's doing now? I-I'd hate to think she lost her job over this!"

The next time he saw Bronwyn she'd spilled it to him; "Oh no she didn't lose her job! In fact she's a lieutenant now...I still don't understand why you care so much about her when she put you here." Bronwyn had been jealous; she was so easy to read, an open book really. When he asked where she lived now, Bronwyn found out for him. She had been stupidly oblivious to what he was doing, how easily he had been able to manipulate her into 'innocently' finding out everything he wanted to know about her.

Finding Detective Benson's apartment had been a little harder in the dark but once he did he felt that rush of adrenaline, he was excited. Shift changes at Bellevue took half an hour, maybe an hour. It would take even more time before they realized he was missing, after all he'd propped the guard up outside his room to make it look like he was sleeping. He hated being on a time constraint but he knew he had no room for error this time, looking at the clock on the cable box as soon he walked in. 2:43? Perfect!

He'd coax her out of sleep with bumps in the night. 3 AM was the witching hour when evil came out to play and he couldn't think of a time more fitting for their reunion.