Fin walks into the squad room. He looks around, the room. He finds that Olivia's desk is empty. Captain Cragen comes out of his office.
"Hey, Captain, where is Olivia?"
"She called in sick again, she has the flu," Don reminds him.
"This is the third day in a row," he points out.
Rollins chimes in, "Why are you suspicious of that?"
Munch answers, for him, "Olivia has the immune system of a robot. I have only known her to be sick, one time, in all of the years that I've worked with her."
Fin nods, "Back in two thousand and four. It was a really bad year for all of us. We just kept catching what the other one had, and passing it back, and fourth. Olivia finally got it, and when she did, she got it the worst."
"Because she wouldn't go to the doctor," John points out.
"Even Munch went to the doctor."
"Must have been pretty bad then," Amaro comments.
"But, even then, with pneumonia, Liv only missed two days of work," Fin explains.
"Yeah," Munch nods.
"Hey, Captain, do you mind if I go over to her apartment, and just check to make sure that she's ok? She hasn't answered any of my calls, or texts."
"Go for it," Cragen nods.
As Fin gets into his car he dials Olivia's number. It goes to voicemail.
"Hey Liv, it's Fin. I haven't heard from you, in a while. I am getting kind of worried about you. I hope you're still among the living. Anyway I'm headed over to your place right now, to check on you. I'll be there in a few."
He arrives at her apartment twelve minutes later. He knocks on the door of her apartment. He elicits no response. He dials her number but it goes straight to voice mail. His gut tells him something is very wrong. He bangs on the door, one more time.
"Olivia! If you don't open this door, I am going to bust it down."
She doesn't answer, but he remembers that she has given him her spare key, in case of an emergency. Elliot had previously had the key... but now she trusted him with it. He unlocks the door, and steps into the apartment. Instantly he knows that something isn't right.
"Liv? Liv are you here?"
He hears noise, but no voices. He moves towards the bedroom door. It is slightly ajar.
"Olivia, are you in there?"
He hears what sounds like a muffled voice. Without further hesitation he pushes the door open. There is nothing that could prepare him, for what he sees. He freezes, in the doorway. Without a second thought, he pulls the gloves out of his jacket pocket. He flips on the light. The light only makes it worse.
"It's ok," he reassures her, "I'm here now," he approaches the bed.
He tries not to think about how she got zip tied to her own bed. He tries only to focus on her face. Even that proves hard. There is duct tape on her mouth. There is a look of fear, and panic on her face. There are cuts, and bruises all over her. He doesn't look away, even though he wants to. He freezes, inches from the bed. He is careful not to touch anything. He reaches out to her. He peels the tape off her mouth, and cuts her free of the zip ties around her wrists. She doesn't say anything. He notices the blood.
"Liv, where is all of the blood from?"
She turns her head, slightly and he sees the gash to the back of her head. He pulls out his phone.
"I need a bus, a CSU team, and SVU over here, now. Put a uni at the door, and don't let anyone but the EMT's in, until I say so," he demands.
"Liv, I'm right here. You're safe now."
The sirens arrive within moments. A uniformed officer stands at the door. He allows the EMT's through. Fin escorts Olivia out.
"Where did you park?" Fin asks.
"The alley. There was no where else to park."
"Take her out the back. I don't want anyone to see her."
They nod. He follows them to the squad. He climbs in, with them. He stays with her, until they get to the hospital. The nurse walks in, and looks at Olivia. She then looks at Fin. Fin looks to Olivia.
"I am going to step out, but I'll be right outside, if you need me? Ok? I'm not going anywhere."
She simply nods.
He sits outside of the private room, waiting, for what seems like an eternity. Finally the nurse comes out of the room. She hands the uniformed officer, who waits with him, the evidence bags.
"You can go in, now," she tells him.
He nods. He enters the room. His stomach turns at what he sees. Olivia sits in a hospital bed. She wears a gown. Her face is bruised. There are contusions, and abrasions. There are multiple gashes to her head. There are restraint marks on her wrists. There are bruises, that resemble handprints on her arms. Her collar bone is a deep purple. He swallows hard, and takes a seat next to her. He doesn't say a word. Neither does she. She just reaches for his hand. He gladly relinquishes it to her. She squeezes his hand, but she refuses to look at him.
"I'm not going to ask you what happened," he tells her.
The cop in her instantly kicks in, "I have to tell somebody. I need to give my statement."
"You don't have to do it now."
"I want you to take my statement."
"Are you sure?"
She nods, "Yes."
"Ok. I am ready whenever you are, he tells her, taking the recorder out of his pocket."
"Two nights ago, I woke up. There was someone standing over my bed. At first, I thought that it was just a dream. I have nightmares like that, a lot. Usually I wake up, before I can see a face. This time, I didn't. I saw a face, and I knew something was wrong. I didn't feel right. I couldn't get woken up. I felt like jello," she begins.
"Did you go out, before hand?"
"I had dinner, at a diner, a block from my apartment. I had a cheeseburger, and a milkshake. When I got home I was really tired. I took a shower, and went right to bed."
"What time was that?"
"It wasn't even nine, yet. Maybe a quarter til."
"What time did you wake up?"
"Nine oh seven."
"Did you notice anyone following you, on your way home?"
"No."
"Ok."
"Before I could do anything, his knee was on my chest. I tried to move, to push him off of me, but I was just so tired. He took the zip ties, and he bound my wrists to the headboard. He put the duct tape over my mouth," she trails off.
"Did he say anything?"
She nods, her lip quivers. She's on the verge of tears, "He said, 'I'll teach you what it means to be a special victim, Detective Benson.'"