A/N: First chapter of my newest story, so please let me know what you all think and send me a quick review!

'Elliot, do not do anything stupid.' Olivia put a restraining hand on his shoulder. 'This guy already killed three cops and five women. He now has not only a knife, but also two police-issue handguns. Sit the fuck down and don't provoke him.'

Elliot rolled his eyes impatiently. 'What the hell would you suggest we do then?'

She sat back against the wall. 'Sit tight and wait for someone to come.'

He snorted. 'No one's coming.'

'Yes. Yes, they are.'

He could tell that she was trying her best to sound convincing, but Elliot wasn't buying it. 'How, Liv? How do you know that? How the fuck could they? They don't know where the hell we are!'

'Well, whose fault is that?' snapped Olivia angrily. 'Oh, Liv, let's just look at this one place, Liv, I promise it won't take long, Liv, it'll be fine, Liv...'

'It was just one last thing-'

'We were on our way to an NYPD charity dinner event, Elliot! I'm wearing high heels! And a dress! I'm not exactly dressed for mortal peril right now, am I?'

Elliot shrugged. 'I don't know, I'm quite enjoying it.'

Olivia shot him a dirty look and elbowed him in the ribs.

The man sitting in front of the door with his head in his hands suddenly looked up at them. 'Will you SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

'Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we'll be quiet.' Olivia shot Elliot a look. 'I-'

'NO!' Now the man was looking behind them. 'YOU! YOU SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE!'

What? I'm sitting with my back to a wall... Olivia risked a glance behind her anyway. 'There's no one there, Michael.'

'Don't LIE to me!' He gestured wildly with the gun. 'They're everywhere, I can hear them...'

'I thought you said that psych eval came back clean,' hissed Olivia.

'It did...' Elliot made a mental note to speak with Huang about the 'friend' he had recommended to the unit in his absence.

She shook her head. 'This guy should be in a hospital...'

'Well, it's a bit late for that now.' Elliot silently cursed the bottom-feeder attorney who'd managed to get this psycho released on bail.

OIivia cleared her throat. 'Michael? Michael?'

His head jerked up. 'How do you know my name? Who told you?'

'Your doctor did. Do you remember Doctor Headley?'

His eyes narrowed. 'She works for them. She told them all about me. That's how they knew where to find me...'

'Michael, Doctor Headley wants to help you. Don't you want to go and talk to her?'

Michael hesitated and crouched down in front of her. 'Can you tell them to stop?'

'Can I tell who to stop?' Olivia had a nasty feeling that she already knew the answer to that.

'Them! The people who won't shut up! Please, just MAKE THEM STOP! They won't leave me alone, they won't let me sleep, they just keep going on and on and on and on...'

'I'm sorry, I can't, but you know what? If you'll just let me and my partner here go, then we can get someone who can help you.' Olivia smiled at him reassuringly. 'Would you like that?'

Michael fixed her in a cold stare. 'I don't believe you.'

'Well, I-'

'No, shut up! Leave me alone!' He began pounding on the wall with his fists. 'I CAN HEAR YOU! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE!' Michael spun around again and shoved the gun in Olivia's face. 'Make them stop.'

Olivia took a deep breath and tried to control her voice. 'I'm sorry, Michael, but I can't. Now, why don't we talk about this-'

'SHUT UP!' He jabbed the barrel of the gun against her forehead. 'Don't lie to me!'

Olivia swallowed nervously. 'I'm not lying...' She felt Elliot take her hand and stroke it reassuringly. 'I promise you, I'm not lying.'

He suddenly looked like he was about to cry. 'Why won't you help me?'

Elliot cleared his throat. 'Michael, where do you hear the voices coming from?'

He looked around him, his eyes filled with terror. 'They're everywhere, I hear them everywhere, they're always watching...'

'Well, you know what? I'm a police detective. It's my job to find people. If you let my partner here go, I promise I can help you find them.'

Michael looked at him suspiciously. 'Really?'

Elliot nodded. 'Yes.'

His eyes narrowed. 'How do you know?'

Elliot smiled confidently. 'I just do.'

Michael appeared to consider it before his face contorted with rage. 'No, no, NO, you're trying to TRICK ME, you BASTARD...' He began to pace around the small room, beating at the sides of his head with his fists. 'Why won't they STOP, make them STOP...'

Olivia decided to try again. 'Michael?' She waited a minute. 'Michael?'

He ignored her and carried on pacing. He seemed to have forgotten that they were there. Elliot briefly considered making a dash for it, but Michael was still between them and the door. It would only take a second for him to react and block their way, and there was no way that Elliot could bring himself to take that risk with Olivia there. He squeezed her hand and she looked at him, her eyes wide. 'El...' For the first time he could actually hear fear in her voice.

He put his arm around her. 'It's OK, Liv, I'm here.' He smiled at her reassuringly. She chewed her lip and laid her head in his shoulder, and he sighed and squeezed her hand again. 'I promise you, Liv, I'll make sure it's OK.' Actually, that's not true. I'll make sure you're OK. There's a difference. 'Do you trust me?'

She nodded. 'Yes, I do.'

He smiled again and wrapped his arm around her tighter. 'There we go then.' He stroked her hair. 'It'll be fine, Liv, really it will.'

'But what if it's not?'

'It will.' He smiled at her.

'STOP TALKING! STOP TELLING THEM THINGS! I KNOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ME!' He hit Elliot with his gun. 'STOP IT, STOP IT!' He began to kick out at the walls. 'LEAVE ME ALONE! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!'

Olivia felt a rush of panic. 'Oh Jesus, El, oh my God...' She bit her lip, and then suddenly she was kissing him, her hand holding the side of his face. She felt his thumb beginning to stroke the side of her neck and he was kissing her back, his hand in her hair...

The door crashed open and they sprang apart awkwardly as the room filled with uniform. 'Michael Lewis, drop your weapon and put your hands where we can see them!'

Michael broke into a wide smile. 'Have you come to save me?'

'Yes, Michael.' Elliot cleared his throat awkwardly. Beside him Olivia was staring intently at the floor, steadily turning redder and redder. 'They've come to save you.'

Michael burst into tears. 'Thank God!' He dropped the gun on the floor and threw his arms around the nearest officer, who almost fainted with shock. 'Thank God...'

Another officer whistled. 'Wow, I wish they were all that easy.'

'Ha, I know.' Elliot shifted uncomfortably. 'Thanks for, uh, helping us.' Would have been nice if you'd gotten here, oh, I don't know, an hour ago, but better late than never... 'It, you know, got a bit rough there towards the end.' Not that I was scared or anything.

One of the officers raised an eyebrow at them. 'I don't know, seemed to me that you two were getting on just fine on your own when we got here.'

Olivia somehow managed to blush an even brighter red.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Olivia and Elliot walked back to his car in silence, and it was almost twenty minutes into their drive back through the city before he finally said anything.

'So what do you want to do now?' Do I mean this evening, or with us? He didn't really know. Just see what she says.

'Uh...' Does he mean this evening, or with us? Assume it's this evening. You can always go on from there later. Olivia cleared her throat. 'Well, do you still want to go to that dinner?'

OK, that had made how she felt pretty clear. Elliot kept his eyes on the street ahead. 'I don't think that would be a good idea.' I don't think I could bear it right now. Not with you in that dress. Not after what just happened.

'Oh, OK.' Well, this is awkward. Looks like he's decided what he wants anyway. He can't even bear to look at me. Olivia fell silent and looked out of the window as he drove through the city. She didn't want to risk looking at him in case she cried.

The ride seemed to take forever, neither of them saying a word to each other, before he finally parked outside the precinct building. 'Is it OK if I just drop you here?' If I have to sit in silence for a minute more, I think I might say something stupid.

'Oh.' Olivia tried to hide her surprise. She'd just assumed that he'd drive her home. Come on, Olivia, of course he wasn't going to drive you home. Yes, he normally does, but that was before you ruined twelve years together by deciding to try and kiss him. 'Uh, sure.'

'It's just easier than having to drive all the way up to the Upper West Side and then back down to my place in Brooklyn.' He still wasn't looking at her. He didn't dare. She can't even bring herself to look at you right now, Elliot. Don't make it worse by accidentally letting her see how you feel about her.

Olivia bit her lip and nodded, looking at the floor. 'Of course, I understand.' Do not cry in front of him. 'Thanks for the ride, El, see you Monday.' She slammed the car door behind her and walked away, waiting until she saw his taillights disappear around a corner before slumping down on the nearest bench. This was not a good day for her. She buried her head in her hands. How could you have been so stupid? You've ruined everything now. She sighed.

'Bad day?'

She glanced up and saw a man sitting next to her. Where'd he come from? Jeez, Olivia, way to be observant. She smiled ruefully. 'Believe me, you have no idea.'

He laughed. 'Me too.' He smiled at her and stuck out his hand. 'I'm Jon.'

'Olivia.' She held out her hand to shake but instead he took it, raised it to his lips and kissed it. She felt her stomach flutter a little.

He let her hand go and sat back again. 'Want to talk about it?'

'Not really.'

'Ah.' He raised his eyebrows at her. 'Man problems?'

She rolled her eyes and laughed. 'That easy, huh?'

'Lucky guess.' He took her hand again. 'Though, if you don't mind me saying so, anyone who couldn't appreciate someone as lovely as you are doesn't deserve you.'

Oddly enough, she didn't mind. 'Well, it's nice to know that at least one person thinks that anyway.'

He smiled, leaned in and kissed her, and Olivia hesitated for a second. Hell, at least someone likes you, try living dangerously for once. Suddenly he pulled away. 'It's pretty chilly out here. Are you cold?'

What? 'Uh, yeah, a little...'

He nodded. 'Me too.' He grabbed her arm and hailed a cab. 'Come on, we're going back to your place.'

A/N: So, this is my first new story in a while, so let me know what you all think so far and send me a quick review or two so I know if it's worth pushing on with! It'll take you less than 30 seconds to write but it means so much to me to get feedback! Thanks!