Thank you for reading and taking a chance on this story. I hope you will keep reading and enjoy.
It was five in the morning and no one in the squad had slept since the night before. The evidence against Ellis Nickels lay spread out on a table in an interview room. Elliot sat there looking at each of the previous victims in the pictures. Regardless of how he tried he saw Emily in the face of those women. As much as he wanted to find her and save her from what he knew was coming, he wanted just as much to get his hands on Nickels and kill him slowly.
"He kidnaps, rapes, tortures, and kills. He's a sadist." Olivia says as she throws a picture on the table of burns on a woman's body. "He used lighters, curling irons, cigarettes, boiling water. What ever he can get his hands on."
"The ligature marks aren't how he killed them. That was just part of the hell he put them through. He would strangle them until they blacked out." Fin added to the over all picture of what Nickels did while he had his victims.
"Do we have any idea on where he's been staying this past year? Or why all of the sudden he's come out of hiding?" Cragen asked the room but paid attention to Elliot. He was never one to shy away from a case no matter how appalling the details. Contrary to his usual behavior Elliot was quiet.
"He's been taunting us for the past year." Liv holds up the stack of news articles Nickels had sent them. "All the post marks are from around the city, he has to be close."
"Fin go with Liv, start at his last known address. See if he left anything behind when he disappeared. Then go to witness for the last victim, see if she's willing to talk." Cragen ordered. "Elliot a word." Turning on his heel he went to his office with Elliot following closely behind. "Shut the door." He sat at his desk.
Elliot shut the door as instructed. Standing just steps inside the captains office he knew what was coming. In all honesty he thought he would have had this conversation months ago. He and Emily had been on every one's radar. Every one in the squad had asked them about things at least once. They just weren't ready tell anyone. So he stood there and just waited.
"What exactly is the nature of your relationship with detective Sullivan?" Cragen folded his hand in front of him.
"Captain?" Elliot tried to look surprised by the question. Cragen didn't say anything. He didn't need to, the expression on his face said all he needed to. Elliot took a deep breath, uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets. "We were gonna disclose."
"Are you sleeping with her?" His tone meant business.
Elliot sighed and rubbed his hand over his mouth. "Yes." He didn't have to say anything else but the events of the past eight hours had taken their toll and his eyes began to tear up. "Captain, were gonna get married."
Cragen could see the impact this whole thing was having on him. "You know you can't work this case."
"Captain, we need all the help we can get. Taking me off this won't help us find her any quicker." The desperation in his eyes, the pain written on his face said more than he could.
"You don't make a move without talking to me first." Cragen answers the phone. When he hung up he turned back to Elliot. "Let's go, they found her car." The two men left the office with a purpose. If Nickels used her car to move her they may be a clue as to where he was headed.
The second the car stopped Elliot leaped from it. Jogging to the car there was no doubt in his mind that it was Emily's car. He spent more than a few nights in that car with her. Their lips pressed firmly together, his hand tangled in her hair. Her hand on his knee, leaning toward him. Those quick moments alone before work would interrupt.
Liv stood up after having looked in the back seat. "Duct tape, and there's hair." She held it up for everyone to see. Elliot walked around to her just as she was putting the tape in a bag. Holding it up he could see the long dark hair. Rubbing the hair between his finger and thumb he wanted this to all be a sick joke. The not knowing what was happening mixed with knowing what Nickels was capable of was threatening to break him.
The squad was in an uproar over the case of a man and woman both claiming the other committed a crime against them. The woman was claiming spousal rape, while the man was claiming that she assaulted him with a taser. It seemed the unit was divided on which story they believed. It seemed to be an all out war of the sexes.
"They went out to dinner, they went home she took her cloths off in front of him then started kissing him." Elliot said as they stood in Cragens office.
"So that means she has to have sex?" Olivia asked throwing her hands in the air.
"No, but she made it pretty clear that she wanted to." He retorted.
"Okay so any time a woman kisses a man she wants to have sex?"
"Not every woman, but a married woman that undresses in front of her husband and kisses him as she drags him to the bed room. That's sending a pretty clear signal."
"They were home getting it on, when he calls out another woman's name she loses it. We just have to figure out who drew blood first." Fin finally chimes in.
"The marks on her neck are clearly from his hands." Emily hadn't said anything until then, but she felt she had to say something. When Elliot herd her voice he turned around and locked eyes with her. She knew what he thought, he didn't have to say that he didn't agree with her.
"He claims that she got pissed after he said the others woman's name and she tased him." Elliot pulled a picture out of the pile. With both Emily and Olivia opposing his view he felt they weren't going to believe him no matter what he said."While he was on the ground she grabbed the fire poker and came at him. He had no choice but to defend himself which is where she got the injuries she has."
" She says that the injuries came from him forcing her to have sex and she had to tase him to get him to stop." Olivia shook her head in disbelief. It seemed so clear cut to her.
"There's no proof a sexual act took place." Elliot began to get heated.
"And there's no proof one didn't." Emily countered.
"Fine, you two want to railroad this guy, go ahead." He looked at Olivia and Emily. "Do what ever you want. You don't need me here." The look he gave Emily said it all. He was pissed that she couldn't see what he clearly could. Pulling the office door open forcefully enough to throw it against the wall, he stormed out of the room.
Emily waited a few minutes before leaving as well. Leaving immediately after him would have seemed odd. Walking out the back door of the building she found Elliot standing next to his car. She looked around to be sure there was no one within ear shot before she began talking. "What was that?" She demanded waving her hand back toward the building.
"You two appeared to know exactly what happen, you didn't need me." He moved closer to her so that he didn't have to speak as loud. "Olivia was wrong, but women have to stick together."
"This has nothing to do with women sticking together. The evidence supported her story not his." She didn't back down as she stood there face to face with him. Elliot shook his head, sighed and walked around to the other side of the car. "What?" She knew he wanted to say something. "You have something to say, say it."
"You should have backed me up in there."
"Oh. I get it." She rolled her eyes and turned away from him.
"What?" He came back around the car and began to walk to her. "What do you get?"
"Because there's something going on between us you don't think I can have an opinion of my own." Emily began to raise her voice. Not intentionally, but because she was getting angry.
Elliot got just inches from her face and whispered. "I've done this a lot longer than you, you should trust my judgment."
"You know what," she smiled at him. "take your judgment and go to hell." She'd had enough. Turning on her heel she went back into the building.
Elliot stood next to his car for a moment before he left. Driving through the city he took a minute to breath and think it all over. 'Something going on' was what she said. They had been spending more time together outside of work. Getting something to eat two or three times a week. Having a few drinks.
There were even a few nights Elliot had invited Emily over to his place. She was someone he could connect with. She understood the job, and like him she was alone. Since the divorce he spent more time alone than he ever wanted. And Emily was new to town. No family and having not really made any new friends she spent too much time alone as well.
And sure there had been a lot of kissing, and laying on the couch together. But they hadn't had sex. There was no set date night. She didn't act like she wanted any sort of relationship, and who was he to push something. But did she think this was more than it was. Or at least more than he thought it was. He huffed. He couldn't have been more confused if he tried
Parked in front of his house Elliot wondered what had happen. Wondered what was going on between the two of them. He had feelings for her beyond just friends. But even if she felt the same way after that fight she may not any more. Running his hands over his face he didn't know what to do. Just let things go, or go talk to her. He knew from the moment he met her, he was gonna love her or hate her. And at that moment he felt like he may love her, but he hated it.
Emily walked toward her building in the dark muggy summer air. The day had been a real pain in the ass and all she wanted to do was shower. When she saw someone sitting on the steps to her building she stopped. After a moment she recognized the familiar outline of a man and began walking again. "Elliot." She said stopping next to him. He looked up at her for a second before he stood up. "What are you doing here?" She asked trying to ignore that he was close enough for her to notice how good he smelled.
"I don't know." He moved closer to her.
"That's a really bad apology." She knew that would bug him. But he pissed her off earlier that day so she felt that was fair.
"I didn't come to apologize." He moved his hand and softly ran his thumb across her cheek.
"So then what are you doing here?" She put her hand over his and leaned into his touch.
"I wanted to make sure your were okay." He wasn't lying. Since their first kiss he began to feel an over whelming feeling of need. Need to see her. Need to be close to her. But most of all a need to protect her.
"I'm fine, you?" She put one hand on his chest and the other on his belt, just above his zipper.
"I'm fine." He leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"You wanna come up?"