The pain in her wrists was the only thing Olivia could feel as she stumbled through the dank, disgusting bedroom. Her police issued handcuffs had cut into her skin and bruised her deeply but the alcohol that was still running through her blood numbed everything else. Olivia's vision was fuzzy and she could hardly focus. Simply getting the maid and her daughter out of the house had taken a huge toll on her. They were damn lucky.

The sun had begun to set, casting an eerie yellow glow on Lewis who laid handcuffed to the foot of the bed, unconscious, bloodied, but alive. Olivia staggered and braced herself on the dresser as her legs threatened to give out from under her. Her reflection made her sick. She was expecting the bruises and the swelling but the blood...it took her by surprise and caused her to pause, hands shaking, to examine her injuries. A cut on her head that would require stitches, bruises on her face, swelling in her wrist, pain in her ribs; but she was alive.

And so was he.

Suddenly, Olivia felt clarity cut through her booze soaked thoughts as Elliot's face came to her mind. She grabbed the phone that Lewis had haphazardly thrown on the couch in his hurry to take his pants off. Olivia dialed Elliot's number without thinking. The muscle memory in her fingers saving her from having to remember.

"Yeah." Elliot's voice sounded distant, strange even.

"El." Olivia whispered, relief washing over her. She let her body fall back on the couch and held the phone in her hand by her side. She put him on speaker phone, too exhausted to lift her arm again.

"Liv! Olivia! Are you there? Are you okay? Where the hell are you?" Elliot was frantic.

"I dunno." Olivia croaked. "The beach." The alcohol and exhaustion were beginning to cloud her head again.

"I'll leave the phone on." She whispered and closed her eyes.


Elliot sprinted down the stairs from the roof and barreled into the bullpen.

"She's alive! She's here!" He said, waving his phone before handing it to TARU to trace.

Fin grabbed the phone. "Liv!" He called. "Olivia!"

Silence.

Fin set the phone down and looked at Elliot, hope and sadness reflecting in his eyes.

"No, man. I swear. She called. She was there! Just trace that number. Let's go!" Elliot said, running his hands down his face in exasperation.

"Got it." The tech said, writing down an address. He handed it to Cragen who jogged out of the station with his entire squad following behind him. Brian Cassidy and Elliot Stabler grabbed their coats and ran after them.


The beach house was dark by the time the squad cars pulled up and the sun had almost completely disappeared. Uniformed officers from Suffolk County had surrounded the house. They stood ready and waiting for orders from SVU.

Cragen and Nick Amaro jumped out of the first car, strapping on their bullet proof vests and quickly taking position by the front door. Much, Amanda Rollins, and Fin fell in line behind their captain and Olivia's partner seconds later.

Elliot and Brian pulled up just as Cragen kicked down the door to the house. They jumped out of the car and stood as close as the officers would let them. Elliot's heart was in his throat, beating wildly. He hated having to stay back. He should be the one in there. He should be the one saving her, not Nick. He should be the one at her side right now. Elliot couldn't stand still. He started pacing back and forth. What is taking so long?! He couldn't do this. Couldn't just stand there.

Elliot ducked under the tape and before anyone noticed, he was halfway to the house.

"Stabler!" Cassidy called. "What the hell?!"

Elliot ignored him and the calls of the officers behind him. Why Cassidy was even there was a mystery. He had abandoned Liv in Elliot's mind. Left her alone after a psychopath was released on bail. Had Elliot known, he would have never left Olivia's side.

Elliot opened the door to the house and was immediately nauseous. It was dirty. There were cans everywhere and a trail of blood the led from the door to the bedroom. He followed it, holding his breath, not sure what he would find.

"Call a bus!" He heard Rollins yell.

"There's one outside already." Fin answered. "Just pulled up."

Elliot jogged towards the commotion and stopped at the bedroom door. Olivia was on the couch, unconscious and bloodied. Lewis was handcuffed to the bed and looked as though he had gone toe to toe with the devil.

Elliot rushed to Olivia's side, blowing past a startled Fin and Amaro.

"Stabler!" Cragen barked. "What did I say about staying outside?!"

"You didn't" Elliot answered and Munch rolled his eyes.

"I'll call CSU and have them do a full work up of the place." Munch called, exiting the crowded room. Rollins and Amaro followed him to survey the rest of the house.

"Liv." Elliot whispered, kneeling down beside her and running his hand down the side of her face gently. Olivia startled awake and quickly grabbed Elliot's arm, yanking it away from her in an instant.

"Whoa, Liv. Shhh...it's just me. It's just me." Elliot soothed as Olivia tried to focus on the people in front of her.

"We're gonna get you out of here, Olivia." Cragen said, standing up and motioning for the paramedics to come in.

"No. No, I'm fine. I can walk." Olivia whispered when she saw the stretcher.

"Okay." Cragen answered. "But he can't." He said, kicking Lewis in the legs gently. Lewis moaned but didn't wake.

"Let me help you up." Elliot said, moving in front of Olivia so she wouldn't have to see Lewis.

"Elliot?" Olivia whispered as Elliot helped her to carefully stand.

"Yeah, Liv. It's me." He answered, wrapping his arms around her and supporting her with his weight.

Elliot led Olivia out of the house and to a waiting ambulance. Cassidy ran over as soon as he saw the two emerge from the house and jumped to Olivia's other side. She flinched and cried out as he touched her broken wrist in an attempt to help her.

"Oh geez. Sorry Liv. Here." He said, opening the ambulance door and clearing a path for her to sit on the gurney. Her body protested as she lowered herself down and she had to stifle a moan when she accidentally hit her wrist on the metal safety bar. Elliot held out his arm and she used it as leverage to scoot herself back against the backrest so she was in a sitting position with her legs stretched in front of her on the stretcher.

"Thanks." She whispered as Elliot handed her a bottle of water. He sat down across from her as the paramedics began to clean and document her injuries.

"I need to get her to the hospital" The young, female medic who looked like she was just out of high school declared.

Olivia didn't protest. She simply sat back and allowed herself to be strapped to the stretcher. She closed her eyes again and reached out her good hand. Elliot took it and gently traced circles on the back of Olivia's knuckles as the doors closed, leaving Cassidy behind.

The ambulance moved slowly down the Long Island roads towards the hospital as Elliot and Olivia sat in silence. The paramedics had started an IV fluid drip and begun to clean the wound on her head. Olivia winced each time the alcohol swab met her open skin and gripped Elliot's hand tighter. He could see that she was tensing and her breathing was becoming labored and rapid. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter as the panic began to overtake her. Elliot moved to sit on the gurney with her and wrapped both of his hands around hers. He wanted desperately to hold her but knew that if he touched her anywhere but the hands he had given him, her panic would increase. So Elliot sat and massaged her hand in his, humming a lullaby that he sang to his kids when they were little as they made their way to the emergency room.