As Kathleen's situation becomes more concerning, Olivia is forced to choose between the loyalties she has to her old partner and the responsibilities she owes to her squad and the job. What will happen as Kathleen's boyfriend becomes increasingly violent and unpredictable? Will Elliot and Olivia be able to come up with a solution before its too late?

[Warning: Contains Domestic Violence]

Feedback, as always, is greatly appreciated.

The moment felt as though it was over in a flash. One second he was there, and the next he was gone. She could feel the eyes of her team watching her so she muted her reaction to avoid any judgement. In reality, all she wanted to do was scream, because watching him leave the way he did had ripped her heart from her chest. Blood flowing, pulse racing, she stood there knowing that if she let the man she loved walk out of her life again the consequences would be even greater than the last time.

She needed to go after him.

She hastily moved to her office, grabbed her jacket and made her way through the squad room in pursuit of Elliot. 'I need a little time, you guys can hold the fort while I'm gone, right?' Olivia's question wasn't so much aimed at anyone in particular, more aimed at anyone that would give her the answer she needed.

'We've got you covered' said Finn, interjecting before Dodds could say anything. She smiled at him in return, Finn had always had her back.

'Lieutenant Benson?' Yelled Dodds, clearly disapproving at her decision to drop her responsibilities.

'I'm sorry. I'll explain later Chief,' she yelled back, already halfway out of the door.

'It better be a damn good explanation,' muttered Dodds, under his breath.

By the time Olivia had reached the street Elliot was already a dot in the distance. When that man was on a mission there was no slowing him down. She sprinted after him, shouting his name. 'Elliot, wait! Elliot, please!'

She impressed herself with her own athletic ability in catching up to him as quickly as she did.

'Do not follow me Liv.' He shouted, without even flinching as he continued to march his path of destruction. Soon they reached a familiar looking vehicle. It was Elliot's old car. Of course, he still drove the same car, she thought. He had always been a creature of habit. As he got into his car it was clear that he wasn't going to acknowledge her anytime soon, so she did the only thing that made sense to her at the time. She got into the passenger's side.

'What the hell are you doing?' He said, looking at her, steam coming out of his flared nostrils.

'You need to listen to me, Ell...'

'Get out of the car Liv,' he said aggressively cutting her off.

'Listen!' She too could be forceful if she wanted to. 'I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I said it was complicated. That doesn't mean I won't help Elliot. If you had given me a chance to explain before you...' She was about to criticise him when she stopped herself. Elliot leant his head onto the steering wheel in front of him. She wasn't sure if it was stress or relief, or maybe a mixture of the two, but whatever it was the man was clearly going through enough without being verbally attacked.

She softly placed her hand on his back before giving it a tender rub. 'Why don't we go somewhere and talk?' Asked Olivia, attempting to rebuild bridges.

He looked at her and nodded.

After she practically forced Elliot out of the door, Kathleen spent the rest of her morning cleaning up her boyfriend and apologising for her father's actions. Even though she hadn't said anything, she knew that Tommy would blame her for the events of that morning.

As Kathleen treated his final wound, Tommy began his interrogation right on schedule. 'So are we going to talk about what you said to him, Katy?' When she first met him, she liked that he called her Katy - it was different and fun. If Kathleen was just daddy's little girl, she thought Katy could be a sexy, independent woman. However, now she realised that her name was just the first of many ways that Tommy changed her. Over the past six months, Tommy had slowly chipped away at her character until she became what she was now, an empty shell.

'I didn't say anything, I promise,' she grovelled.

'I don't believe you. What have I told you about honesty and trust, Katy?' Tommy was especially gifted at manipulating his flaws into becoming Kathleen's. 'If I can't trust you, how is this supposed to work? God knows I try my best, but dammit you always have to test me don't you,' he said, raising his voice. He had an unbelievable talent for making her feel guilty for his mistakes.

'I promise, Tommy. I didn't say a word,' mumbled Kathleen, avoiding all eye contact.

Tommy, sensing her fear, grabbed a hold of her chin and lifted her head to look at him before repeating the words: 'I. Don't. Believe. You.' It was even louder this time. Though he had lifted her face to look at him, she still attempted to avoid eye contact. Her non-compliance angered Tommy who cruelly spat in her face.

Kathleen had been in this situation before, she knew what happened next. So, she ran, up the stairs, into the bathroom and locked the door. This room had become a regular hiding place for her. She was still unsure whether the four walls acted as a safe space or a prison cell, but either way, they kept her secluded from any unwanted visitors.

He pulled up outside the diner they had frequented as partners. Of all the diners in the city, why did he have to choose this one? Olivia wasn't sure if she was ready for a trip down memory lane.

'Wow. I can't believe this place is still open,' she joked. The coffee had always been less than average, but it was their special place and they strangely liked it.

'Neither,' said Elliot in agreement.

'I haven't been back here since…' She wanted to say since you left me or since you abandoned me, but instead, she opted not to finish her sentence. That was a sentence that she would finish at a later date, at another time, with a different agenda.

'Neither,' affirmed Elliot. Maybe it was just as strange for him as it was for her. 'I know we have a lot of things to talk about Liv…'

'They can wait,' she reassured him. She had a thousand questions to ask, but they weren't important right now. Her and Elliot weren't the priority, Kathleen was. He looked at her before taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently as if to say thank you. 'I wonder if their coffee is still as bad as it used to be,' she said, raising her eyebrow and using her humour to hide behind.

Elliot sniggered. Olivia was glad to see the lighter side of him again, even if it was only for a second.

Like clockwork, a light knocking at the door commenced. 'Look, Katy, I just want to talk. Come on, unlock the door, baby… Please.' Tommy was incredibly good at playing the nice guy when the situation required it. He would be so tender and sweet that Kathleen would almost forget about the animal he could become. That was until she looked in the mirror, where a very visible reminder would usually stare back at her.

'Just give me a minute, Tommy, please.'

'Katy...' He whined. Sometimes his tone of voice would become so pathetic that Kathleen would begin to feel sorry for him. How twisted her world had become at the hands of her manipulative boyfriend.

'Let me just freshen up. I'll be out in a minute,' she said, buying time. The trouble was that Tommy was no fool, and she was almost certain he knew what she was up to. She needed time to process what had happened in the past 24 hours.

While Tommy had hit her before, his last attack had been particularly brutal and particularly unjustified. His behaviour was becoming more erratic and, as such, she was finding it harder to cover for him. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to cover for him anymore. She had been so close to revealing all to her father that morning, although she suspected that he already knew most of what she had to say. She couldn't predict what the future held, all she knew was that things were probably going to get worse before they got any better.

After a prolonged silence, a loud banging came at the door. This was it, the switch had flicked. Tommy has transformed from the remorseful saint to the vengeful sinner.

He began his next rant, 'I have been more than patient with you, Katy!' Then came the ultimatum. 'Either you come out, or I come in - the choice is yours.'

As they sat opposite each other, in their usual booth it was like no time had passed at all.

'Guess we can add this to thing list of things that haven't changed,' said Elliot as he took a sip of his coffee. A slight scrunch of the face suggested it was the same as always, nothing more than drinkable. 'Just like old times,' he said as he held his mug up, attempting to cheers Olivia.

'Elliot,' said Olivia, putting the breaks on their friendship. While she wanted to help him, she still hadn't forgiven him for everything that had happened and she didn't want any animosity she felt to interfere with the task in hand - helping Kathleen. 'Let's not get distracted by the good ol' days shall we.'

Elliot nodded. He was clearly disappointed but he knew she was right.

'I think I can help, but not the way you suggested. I think you're targeting the wrong person in all this.' Elliot's face was sceptical. 'Hear me out. We need to be looking at Kathleen here, not this scumbag that she's dating. Until she accepts that there's a problem nothing will change. I could flash my badge in this guys face a hundred times and scare him off, but unless she acknowledges that he's bad news, she'll keep going back.' Olivia's words were clearly difficult for Elliot to hear. The idea that his daughter had become one of those cases that used to land on his desk every day broke his heart. 'Come on, how many times have we seen cases like this Elliot.'

'I hear what you're saying, but she won't listen to me - I've tried.'

'I'm not saying you haven't, but sometimes it takes a new perspective. She won't listen to you because you're her father, but maybe she'll listen to me,' said Olivia, giving Elliot the new found hope he needed. 'I'll go round and talk to her tomorrow, but you have to promise that you'll stay away until then. The last thing we need is you getting charged with assault.'

Elliot closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. 'I promise,' he said through gritted teeth.

Kathleen sat on the floor in between the basin and the bath. She had spent so much time in that spot that she was sure the tiles had begun to mould to the shape of her body. She would often hum to drown Tommy's angry rampage on the other side of the door, but it was strangely quiet out there today.

She allowed her mind to wander. Maybe he had left? Maybe he had calmed down? Maybe he was dead? She'd have been happy with any option.

Just as she naively thought she was safe, a loud thump against the door brought her shattering back down to earth from her blissful ignorance.

'You have three seconds to open this door, Katy!' Shouted Tommy from the other side. A slap of the door was accompanied by the first number. 'One!' She couldn't give in to him, she had to be strong. Another slap could only mean another number. 'Two!' She was paralysed, she couldn't open the door even if she wanted to. The third and final slap at the door.'Three!' This was a huge mistake, she should have just opened the door. Now surely she would pay the price.

'I warned you, Katy,' his voice was more sinister than ever.

Now that they had a plan for Kathleen, Olivia was more open to exploring the realms of their friendship.

'So, how's the rest of the family? Maureen, the twins, Eli?' She wasn't sure whether she intentionally failed to ask about Kathy, or whether it was a genuine mistake. After all these years, she was still envious of the woman that had the one thing that she wanted the most.

'The kids are… Well, not kids anymore. Eli's starting middle school in the Fall, would you believe that?' They shared a similar expression of shock at Elliot's comment. Maybe counting the years out loud made them realise just how long it had been.

'They grow up fast... And Kathy, how's she?' She couldn't help herself. She had to ask, but was it wrong that she was glad he hadn't mentioned her yet?

'Kathy's good… I hear. We finally got that divorce a few years ago.'

'I'm sorry Elliot,' said Olivia, reaching for his hand. This hand-holding thing was becoming all too regular with them, it was strange, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the intimacy it suggested.

'Don't be,' he said, shaking his head. He had clearly made peace with the fact his marriage had ended. 'Kathy's the one you should feel sorry for. She's dating an accountant these days. I guess after 30 years with me, a nine-to-five desk job is pretty sexy for a girl,' he joked. 'What about you? I hear you have a son now?'

'Noah,' she said, smiling with pride.

'I always knew you'd be a great mother.'

Something about the moment was bothering her. She couldn't tell whether it was them sitting in their old booth, or her finding out that he and Kathy were divorced, or her talking to him about Noah, but it was all becoming a little overwhelming. She needed a break. She needed to recover from this unbelievable whirlwind of a day. 'I'd better get back to the station before Dodds has my head.'

'Okay, I'll drive you, partner.' Elliot was clearly having a hard time understanding that it would take a lot more than a coffee for Olivia to see them as partners again.

The banging at the door was louder than before, surely Tommy couldn't be using his hand any more.

A splintering of the wood provided the confirmation she was looking for. A small crack in the door appeared and through it came a hammer. She was petrified. Tommy was scary enough unarmed, but with a hammer who knew the damage he could do to her. She knew the door could only take a few more blows. All she could do was sit there and wait for the hurricane that was about to hit.

With one more blow, the hole in the door became big enough for Tommy to reach through and turn the lock. That was it, there was nowhere left to hide.

She remained where she was, a crumpled heap on the floor as he stood over her, hammer in hand.

'What have I told you about locking the bathroom door,' he said as he raised the hammer over his head.

The hammer came down upon her with the weight of all of Tommy's issues and insecurities behind it.

This was a tough one to write. I hope you're all finding the plot and characters engaging.

Reviews welcomed.