Chapter 2

Lewis jumped at the sound of the phone ringing in the next room. He grew bitter, the sound having cut him off from burning the Detective's stomach and chest with cigarette butts. The sounds of her screams being muffled by the tape had been better than he'd imagined them to be, and he'd just started really getting into it before the call. Now he'd lost his groove, and someone was going to have to pay for that.

"Be right back," he scowled, dismounting. He quickly pulled on his boxers and rushed into the next room. He pressed the speaker button on the phone, catching it just in time. However, the voice that came through wasn't who he'd thought it would be.

"Olivia, it's Elliot. Before you hang up on me, there's something I need to say. I love you. I've been in love with you for as long as I remember and this year without you has been killing me." Elliot paused, waiting for her to say something. Hearing nothing on the other end, he continued. "I know what you're thinking, that I'm a married man and all, but I got divorced last November. Kathy wasn't the person I'd married, and…and even after all we'd been through, after she'd heard how I'd shot that girl...she left. She couldn't handle it anymore. But that's not what I called to talk about. I called because I miss you. I miss seeing you smile, and I miss your laugh, and damn it Olivia, I miss everything about you. You're my best friend, and my partner, and I….I want to come home. But I need to know if you feel the same way." Another silence. "Liv, please, talk to me."

Lewis' head was spinning. How in the hell had he gotten so lucky? What a development this was! What scandal! He was so caught up in his scheming that he nearly forgot to answer.

"Olivia, please. Don't shut me out. I don't normally let out my feelings like this. I'm vulnerable right now and I need you to answer me."

Lewis tried to mask the amusement from his voice.

"Is this Elliot Stabler?" he asked. "Like, ex-partner Elliot Stabler?"

Elliot's breath caught in his throat. That wasn't Olivia's voice.

"Y-yes," he breathed. "Who is this?"

"You sorry sap!" Louis shouted with glee. He laughed hysterically, using the counted to brace himself. "And all this time I'd been told that you were the strongest, manliest man she'd ever seen. What a load of crap! You're a fucking pansy!"

Elliot's face turned a beet read, and his voice grew thick with anger and embarrassment.

"Who the hell is this?" he demanded. "And why are you at Olivia's apartment?"

"I'm Olivia's boyfriend," Lewis grinned widely, mentally patting himself on the back for his quick thinking. "I was just about to pound her when you called." He looked over at Olivia's still body lying on the bed. "She's actually in bed waiting for me right now. But I'll let her know you called!"

"I-I..." Elliot stammered, his words caught in his throat.
Lewis felt himself get a little carried away. He leaned in closely to the receiver, grinning from ear to ear at his own cleverness.

"I bet you wanted to pound her, didn't you?" Lewis sneered. "You imagined taking her to bed with you, with hands full that soft brown hair as you pounded her harder and harder. Did you imagine her squirming underneath you as you-?"

"Now you listen here you fucking prick!" It was Alex this time that piped up. "If you expect me to believe that Olivia would date the likes of you, you've got another thing coming! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna rip your tongue out!"

Lewis chuckled, his hand reaching for the hang-up button.

"Come and get me, then," he growled, and hung up.

Lewis yanked the cord from the wall, taking the time to grab a pair of scissors and cut the other phone lines as well. When he saw Olivia's cell phone buzzing on the counter, he took the liberty of dropping it in the toilet and flushing. She wouldn't need it anymore, he figured. Not where she was going.

Elliot stared at the phone in his hand, his face still burning red. He was angry now, angrier than he'd ever been. Who the hell did this guy think he was, anyway? Why, when Elliot got his hands on him-

"Elliot." He was quickly brought out of his red fog by Alex's frightened gaze. He forced his anger down, seeing how scared she was. "Elliot, the Olivia I know would never date someone like that, ever. You know it too. Whoever that is in her apartment..." Alex ran her fingers nervously through her blonde hair and stared intently at Elliot. "...he's not there because she asked him to be."

Elliot stared at her, and immediately knew that she was right. Whoever this prick was, he was in Liv's apartment -his Liv- and he had said that... Oh God. His stomach did a somersault and he immediately knew why Alex had been so scared.

"She's actually in bed waiting for me right now."

Elliot and Alex shared knowing glances, and immediately shot up from their table. Alex tossed a $20 bill from her purse onto the table and they ran to her car, only one thought on both of their minds: they had to get the New York, and they had to get there FAST.

"Sorry about that," Lewis smiled cruelly, slipping off his boxers and climbing back onto Olivia's stomach. "Where were we?"

Olivia stared back up at him with blank eyes. Every limb of her body ached, and she was still wincing in pain from the burns on her stomach. The only thing that hurt more was the angst and pain that had overwhelmed her at hearing Elliot's voice again. Tears brimmed in her eyes, escaping down her cheeks. She'd heard everything. She'd heard Elliot say that he loved her, and that he wanted to come home, and suddenly all of that pain and longing that she had put up a wall against had crashed through her, causing her to tremble. Elliot loved her. He loved her. And he wanted to come home.

Olivia was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that Lewis had begun to pull down her trousers.

Notes: (I don't usually update this quickly but your reviews made me really happy and I'd already had this chapter written and I'm not gonna lie I had a great idea and it's making me really excited to move this story along so here you go)