Re-uploading to correct a few mistakes I didn't catch before I uploaded this the first time!
Disclaimer: They're not mine but I sure wish they were! All recognizable characters belong to Dick Wolf.
A/N: Thanks to my wonderful betas! Much love to you both!
I forgot to mention this in my A/N in the first chapter... but I know that married couples are not allowed to be NYPD partners in real life. However, this is fanfic land and in this fic Elliot and Olivia have been married around 10 years and they are still partners at work. Their marriage is not a secret; Cragen and all the others have known all along.
I'm sorry if things are a little confusing at first. But keep reading, most questions should be answered by flashbacks and as the story progresses. Please feel free to ask me questions in reviews if you're confused. I can't promise I'll answer all questions immediately but I'll answer as best as I can without revealing what's in store for future chapters!
Chapter Two
A couple of hours after their sudden departure, Elliot and Olivia sat in a diner somewhere in Pennsylvania. The diner was small, just big enough for 5 seats at the counter and 4 booths. But the food was good and the service was prompt and friendly.
"Sweetheart," Elliot broke the silence between them. "Please eat," he eyed the food on his wife's plate as she pushed it around with her fork.
"I can't," she sighed. "I'm too worried."
He reached across the booth and took her hand, "I know… I'm worried about her too." He knew how hard this was on her. The moment Serena told them of her pregnancy, Olivia had fallen hopelessly in love with her baby sister… they both had. They immediately took it upon themselves to protect the baby, to try and prevent her from suffering the abuse that Olivia had to endure at the hands of their mother. Just the thought of anyone hurting this precious little girl broke both of their hearts.
"She must be scared out of her little mind," tears pooled in Olivia's eyes. "She was just in a horrible car crash that killed her mom and put her dad in a coma. And now, she's separated from us, the only other people she really knows."
He remained quiet, but gently squeezed her hand, silently encouraging her to continue.
"What if she's hurt? I don't even know if she's hurt, El."
"Let's not jump to conclusions until we know something for sure."
"Why else wouldn't she be at the same hospital as Serena and Bruce?"
"I don't know, honey. Maybe CPS has her in foster care."
"But the hospital would know that… they said there was no record of a child being brought in with them at all," she bit her bottom lip as she fought to keep the tears at bay.
"Livvy…" Elliot quickly moved around the table and slid into the booth next to his wife. He wrapped his arm around her and gently pulled her close. "It's gonna be ok, Love," he whispered to her. "We'll find her, I promise."
She leaned against him, unable to hold the tears back any longer. "She's my baby, El," she cried. "She always has been, even before she was born."
"I know," he reached up and gently wiped away her tears.
"What if -"
He cut her off before she could voice her thought. "Don't assume the worse," he kneaded her neck, trying to relieve some of her stress.
Olivia took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. "Let's get back on the road."
"You've barely eaten, honey."
"I can't… my stomach's in knots."
"Ok, well, let's get a to-go box. Maybe you'll feel like eating later."
She nodded as she used a napkin to wipe away the tracks left by her tears. She sighed quietly, thankful for her husband; so very thankful that he had warmly and readily welcomed her sister into their lives and that he shared her desire to raise the little girl as their own child.
He motioned to the waitress and asked for a to-go box along with their ticket.
Flashback:
Three Months Earlier
"There's my lovely ladies!" Elliot called from the kitchen when he heard the front door to their apartment open and quickly close.
"How'd you know it was us?" a small voice rang out.
Elliot turned around and smiled when he found his wife standing in the kitchen doorway with the small four year old on her hip. He took a few steps to cross the kitchen. "Cause I smelled ya," he teased as he reached out and tweaked his young sister-in-law's nose with his left hand.
"Nuh uh!" she squealed with laughter. "We were too far away!"
"Well," he pretended to think. "Would you believe I heard your hair growing?"
"No!" laughter rolled from her. "You can't hear hair grow, silly!" She turned and finally saw the pizza pan in Elliot's right hand. She gasped excitedly and wiggled until Olivia put her down. "Is that cheese pizza?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"It -" Elliot's words died in his throat when he got his first glance at the child's right cheek. He shook himself mentally and forced a cheerful smile. "It sure is, pumpkin. With lots and lots of extra cheese!"
"That's my favorite!"
"I know! That's why I made it for you, birthday girl!"
"But my birthday was yesterday, not today."
"I know that, too. But Livvy and I didn't get to see you yesterday, so we're gonna celebrate today."
The little girl's eyes danced with excitement. "Really?"
"Really," Olivia spoke up. "Embree, go get your suitcase and take it to the guest room, baby. I left it by the front door."
"Ok, Livvy!" the beautiful little girl exclaimed as she ran from the kitchen.
Once he was sure she was out of hearing distance, Elliot looked at Olivia, the anger evident on his face. "Which one of them did it this time? Serena or her rat bastard husband, Bruce?"
"I don't know," Olivia answered quietly, her eyes flashed in anger as well. "It was the first thing I saw when I walked in that house. I asked, I demanded, I even begged trying to find out which one of them it was."
"And they both denied it."
"Of course," she rubbed her face with both hands. "And Embree's too scared to tell me who did it."
He practically growled as he turned and walked back across the kitchen. "Such a huge bruise on a tiny face," he grumbled as he put the pizza in the oven.
"And it's fresh," she answered. "They probably smacked her around yesterday… on her birthday… her fourth birthday, El. She's too young to have to deal with this."
They were shaken from their quiet conversation by excited squeals coming from the guest room. They both laughed lightly.
"I'm guessing she found the gifts on the bed," Elliot grinned.
"And the birthday decorations all over the room," Olivia added with a sad smile. "She's so easy to please; it doesn't take much to make her happy."
"Hey…" he spoke softly. "We're gonna win this. Our new lawyer is tough."
"Is he tough enough?" she asked, the fear evident in her voice and in her words.
Elliot pulled Olivia into a tight hug and whispered into her hair. "No way is he giving up. We're getting closer. We'll have custody of her soon."
"Hopefully before she has to go back home to them," Olivia sighed.
"How long do we have with her this time?"
"I asked for a week. But they only agreed to three days."
~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~EO~~
Hours Later ~ Around 2 AM
Elliot and Olivia were jerked awake by a loud knocking on the front door of their apartment.
Olivia looked over at the bedside clock. She frowned as the knocking continued. "Who in the world is banging on our door at two in the morning?"
"I don't know," Elliot grumbled. "But I'm about to find out." He got out of bed and pulled on his robe, retrieving his gun from where he kept it in the drawer of the bedside table.
The knocking grew louder and Embree's tearful, terrified voice cried out from the guest room. "Livvy!"
Olivia jumped out of bed, pulling her robe on as well, as she followed her husband out of their bedroom. "I'm coming, baby. It's ok," she called as she hurried across the hall and into the guest room. She crossed the room in a few long strides and quickly flipped on the bedside lamp. A soft, dim light spilled across the bed and Olivia's heart immediately went out to the young child. "I'm here, angel. I'm here."
The knocking grew louder yet again and Embree jumped in fear. She scurried across the bed, her arms held out to her older sister and tears rolling down her cheeks.
Olivia sat on the bed and quickly but gently gathered Embree in her arms. "Shhh, Little Love. I've got you," she soothed as she held the small child to her.
Reaching the front door, Elliot pulled back the safety on his service weapon. He aimed it in front of him as he unlocked and opened the door.
"Where's my daughter?" the man's voice was rough.
"Bruce! Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Yeah, I do. 2 AM. And I want my daughter home."
"You and Serena agreed to let her stay with us for three days."
"So, I changed my mind," Bruce growled.
"Too late," Elliot started to shut the door in his face.
Bruce punched the door before it closed, knocking it back, making it hit the wall as it bounced back open. "That's where you're wrong." He stepped into the apartment and yelled. "Embree! Get your little butt out here, right now!"
"Shut up! You're gonna wake up all our neighbors," Elliot tried to shush the older man.
"Embree!" he yelled again.
Olivia stepped out into the living room holding the young girl on her hip. "Hush!" She spoke harshly to the unwelcome visitor who was standing in the middle of her living room.
Unwilling to risk an accident, injuring his wife and the child they loved as their own, Elliot quickly put the safety back on and tucked his gun away out of reach.
"Come, Embree. We're going home," Bruce took a step toward them.
Olivia turned, putting herself between her step-father and her little sister. Her voice turned cold, "Walk away, Bruce. Walk away now. Embree is staying with me."
"She's going home with me," his voice was just as cold as hers.
"I don't wanna go," Embree cried and tightened her grip around Olivia's neck.
"Shhh," Olivia soothed, rubbing the child's back.
Bruce moved around to Olivia's other side and grabbed ahold of Embree.
"NO!" the little girl sobbed, holding even tighter to her sister. "I wanna stay with Livvy and El!"
Olivia held onto Embree. "Let her go!"
"We're going home… NOW!" Bruce's voice was harsh as he literally jerked the little girl out of Olivia's arms. He started toward the door as Embree kicked and fought against him.
She wiggled, squirmed and maneuvered herself until she was tucked under his arm and he held her as if she was a football. Crying, begging and reaching for her sister.
Olivia chased after Bruce as he walked out of the apartment and down the hall. "Give her back!" she whispered loudly, trying not to disturb her neighbors.
Bruce turned back suddenly with a wild swing, connecting immediately with Olivia's face. Then continued on toward the elevator with Embree still tucked under his arm.
Caught off guard by the movement as well as the force of the punch, Olivia was knocked off her feet. She landed on the floor, flat on her back.
"Liv!" Elliot gasped as he ran over, dropping down beside her. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she scrambled to her feet with his help then rushed toward the elevator, reaching it just as the doors closed. "No!" she yelled, hitting the doors with her fists as the sound of her little sister's cries for her faded away. She quickly turned and headed for the stairs, determined to catch them.
Elliot raced down the stairs behind her, both barefoot and in nothing but their pj's and robes.
A few minutes later, they returned, empty-handed and silently made their way back into the apartment and to their bedroom. They shed their robes and crawled back into bed.
"We'll get her back," Elliot promised quietly, pulling Olivia to him as her silent tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
Back on the road, Elliot drove as Olivia navigated from the passenger seat. She watched the GPS, double checking it against the atlas in her lap.
"We're making good time," he spoke, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah," she answered as she checked The Weather Channel app on her iPhone. "But I think we're gonna have to stop soon. We're gonna run into some pretty severe storms if we don't."
"We'll get a hotel room and catch a few hours of sleep."
Olivia nodded, even though she knew he probably couldn't see her in the dark car, especially with his attention focused on the road ahead of them. She sighed softly, trying to calm her nerves. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For this. For dropping everything to go find Embree."
"I love her, too, Sweetheart."
"I know you do," she answered honestly.
"She never belonged with them," he said quietly.
"All they ever did was hurt her," Olivia swallowed hard. "Serena insisted that she had changed and was a better mother. But she wasn't, she was just as bad as she was when I was a kid. Embree's so precious; I just don't understand how she could hurt her and allow Vincent to hurt her too. There's no way I could ever do that."
"That's because you have a mother's heart, baby. She never has."
A/N 2: Where is Embree? Is she hurt? Will Olivia and Elliot be able to find her? These answers coming soon if you want!
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