Chapter Two: Bond

The room was silent. The only sounds that disrupted the tranquility were the monotone beeps coming from the machines and the chatter and footsteps outside of the hospital room. Elliot sat in the quiet room sitting back in the chair in disbelief. His moist blue eyes focused on the body in front of him that lied still in the hospital bed. Olivia's beautiful tan skin was washed out and she was hooked up to wires and needles. Each arm had about two or three large bruises and there were more on her abdomen and legs. Her face was mostly clear of any signs of injury except for a small bruise on her jaw. Elliot blinked and let a few tears fall from his eyes.

How could I let this happen? He thought to himself. He should have stopped Olivia from walking out into the dangerous night by herself. With the things they see everyday, he knew better to let her become the victim. Now, it was too late. A long time ago, Elliot made a self-promise that he would protect Olivia no matter what. He broke the promise. He couldn't help but to take the blame for Olivia getting raped. Then, there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Excuse me." A female voice said. Elliot wiped his eyes and turned around. "I'm Doctor Caroline Keaton, Miss. Benson's doctor."

A middle-aged, African American woman in a white coat stepped into the room. Her professional smile turned sympathetic when she noticed Elliot's red and puffy eyes and his tear stained cheeks. She didn't say anything about it; she mostly pretended not to notice and used the dim lighting as an excuse. The doctor slipped a clipboard from underneath her arm and began to read off of it.

"As you already know, she was raped." That part alone made Elliot want to punch something, he feared the rest, "None of her internal organs were harmed, no broken bones, but she was beaten a little worse than you could probably tell. We found injuries on her head and if she was hit any harder, we would've had to perform surgery. Luckily, she'll go through the routine healing process of a ordinary bump, cut, and bruise. We ran a rape kit and she is clear of any STDs or other illnesses."

"Any fluids?" Elliot dared to ask. The thought of someone penetrating was bad but knowing that he finished off the job inside of her was ten times worse.

The doctor nodded, "He refrained from using a condom and we found skin cells underneath her fingernails. She's a smart one for that. We need to give her the morning after pill as soon as she wakes up so call me when she does. " Doctor Keaton tucked away her clipboard, "I'll call the Special Victims Unit to begin their investigation."

"We are the Special Victims Unit." Elliot said irritably, "She and I are partners." He showed her his badge and looked back at Olivia. He didn't look back but he presumed she left soon after.

Elliot went back to his sulking and self-remorse. He ran his hands along his face and then buried it in them. After letting out a few shaky sighs, he heard a noise to let him know he wasn't alone anymore. Soft moans began to fill the room and when he looked up, Olivia was stirring. Her worn out eyes opened and she blinked slowly multiple times. Then her eyebrows furrowed. It was clear on her face she had no clue where she was or why she was there. When she looked to her left, she calmed down a little at the sight of Elliot but she was still perplexed. Elliot tried his best to smile.

"The doctor said I had to let her know when you woke up so she could give you the pill."

Olivia's eyebrows furrowed again, "What pill?" She was whispering and her voice was hoarse, "El, what happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

Elliot sighed deeply, "Liv, you were raped. The doctor just said you'll be fine, though." The horror in Olivia's eyes appeared instantly. She knew that even though she would physically be fine, everything around her was not going to be All he wanted to do was hold her at that moment. Then she remembered everything that happened before she was knocked out. She fell back onto the pillow and shut her eyes tightly. Her left hand screened her eyes, covering the upcoming tears. Then, she cried silently. The teardrops poured down her cheeks like rapid rainfalls. Elliot watched her, unable to feel the pain she was going through. He positioned his hand lightly on her bruised shoulder; she jolted instantly at his touch and the look of fear appeared on her face for a quick second. At that moment, Elliot felt like he harmed her; he felt like part of monster who raped and almost killed her.

"Who did this to you?" He asked subtly and quickly took back his hand when she flinched.

Olivia wanted to tell him. She wanted to scream the bastard's name from the top of her lungs but she couldn't. If she told him it was Harris who did this to her, he wouldn't understand why an ex prison guard would want to come after Olivia out of everybody in the precinct. Most perps did, but Harris was still serving time in jail and Elliot assisted in arresting him. Fin was undercover there with Olivia. So why her? Olivia would then have to explain what happened in the basement that horrid day. Years later, Elliot still didn't know. After it happened, Elliot stopped asking and everybody dismissed the situation. Olivia didn't feel it was necessary to bring it up again, no matter how many times it replayed in her head.

"I don't know." She lied and masked it with a quivery sigh. She turned her head to him, "He hit me with something and knocked me unconscious." She turned away, giving him the message that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Then Fin appeared in the doorway

"Elliot, Cragen wants to-" He stopped when he noticed Olivia was awake. She gave him a weak smile and he smiled back. "Hey there, soldier. How you feelin'?" Fin knew about what happened to Olivia back at Sealview and he knew about her PTSD but he promised not to tell anybody before Olivia did, if she did. The promise still remains. Olivia didn't have to give him a verbal answer for him to know how she really was. Something this traumatic couldn't be a walk in the park. Especially the second time around. He turned back to Elliot, "Cragen wants to ask you a few things."

"I'll go tell everybody you're awake." Elliot said and began to stand up. He was midway upright when Olivia placed her hand on his forearm, "El, don't. Let me just talk to Fin for a moment." Elliot gave her a look of confusion but she smiled sweetly, "And the pill." She finished before he left.

Fin took Elliot's seat and as soon as Elliot closed the door, Olivia broke down. Tears instantly beaded in her eyes and fell down her cheeks, her chin was trembling, and she could barely speak.

"Harris.." She choked out, "Raped me."

"How the hell did he do that? He's in jail!" Fin exclaimed quietly, just incase people could hear outside.

Olivia only shrugged, "I looked him right in the eye, Fin."

"Did you tell Elliot?"

"No. I told him I didn't know who it was."

Fin sighed, "I think you should, Liv. He's going to find out the hard way if you don't. But until he does, I'll keep my mouth shut."

There was a knock at the door and Elliot stepped in. Doctor Keaton was behind him as well as the whole SVU team. Olivia looked at Elliot with interrogating eyes. He only shrugged.

"He's been in there for about two hours without us. We only figured you were awake when he came out." Munch said.

Olivia smiled and relaxed.

"Here you go, Olivia." Keaton handed her the pills and a paper cup filled with water. Olivia swallowed them as the event replayed in her mind and she did her best not to cry again. There was still some water left in the cup; Olivia stared down into it and swished it around when she was done taking the pills. She figured she should stop playing with it and drink it, so she did.

"I sent your rape kit to the M.E. and the results came back pretty quickly. It seems your attacker is already in the system. DNA of a Lowell Harris was found inside of you as well as underneath your fingernails."

"I guess this was the hard way." Fin muttered and looked over at Elliot.

Olivia choked on her water. Not because she was surprised, because the doctor announced it in front of everybody. Including Elliot, who did look shocked and angry. There was a big vein throbbing in his temple. Olivia's rarely ever seen him this angry. Elliot left the room to calm down. Everybody else looked from the doctor to Olivia for an explanation. The secret was out.