By the time Elliot jerked the sedan, tires squealing, into the ER parking lot, he knew with absolute certainty that there was something seriously wrong with his partner. She hunched over the seatbelt, straining to favor her right side and shield it from jarring. Though she would not look at him, Elliot could tell that her face was drawn and pale and he could hear her panting breaths even over the usual din of Manhattan traffic. Slamming on the brakes, he didn't even bother to pull the keys from the ignition before jumping from his seat and hurrying to the passenger side. He threw the door open and, before she even managed a single movement, he had her out of the car and held tightly in his arms. Ignoring the disgruntled parking attendant demanding his keys and signature, Elliot rushed through the whooshing electric doors.

"I need some help," he demanded, unfamiliar desperation coloring his normally commanding tone. "She's a police officer." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a nurse rushed from behind her desk to meet him, calling for a chair and help. The words "police" always inspired this attention in any ER in the city; the hospital personnel worked too closely with New York's finest to warrant anything less then their best.

Elliot tried to ignore Olivia's growled groan as he bent to deposit her in the waiting wheelchair. He hated any sound or sight that reminded him that she was in pain. She was too good to be made to suffer, she meant too much to him. Someone had done this to her and he would discover who it had been. Elliot would find him and make him pay. Until then, however, his first priority was his partner. He squeezed her hand as the nurses whisked her away but he doubted she noticed. He looked after her until the doors shut behind her and only then acceded to the waiting nurse's badgering. Reluctantly, he accepted the clipboard full of paperwork and made his way to one of the available seats. The sooner he filled in the blanks, the sooner he would be able to see his partner. And then he would have the answers he needed.

Elliot wasn't sure whether it was his constant and irritated inquiries that did the trick, or whether the requisite amount of time had passed, but the sound of his name finally broke him free of his impatient pacing. Turning on his heel, he rushed to the white-coated man in the doorway and fixed him with an intense blue stare. He opened his mouth to demand to be taken to his partner but the doctor cut him off with a patient smile.

"Relax, Detective Stabler," he said clearly. "You can see her now. I'll take you. Since you're her emergency contact, I just want to give you my assessment. We can talk while we walk." He turned and strode familiarly down the hall, Elliot close on his heels. "I'm glad you brought Detective Benson in when you did. She has a serious kidney laceration and, if you had waited any longer, there is a chance we wouldn't have been able to save the kidney. As it is, we'll have to keep her for a few days to monitor her kidney function. If it doesn't improve, we'll have to operate to repair the damage. However, I have high hopes that surgery won't be necessary." Here he paused and turned to the worried detective. "Someone really did a number on her. It looks like she was beaten with a blunt object like a bat or a pipe. We've tried to ask her about it but she won't say a word to us. I'm hoping that she might talk to you."

Elliot nodded through the doctor's brief speech, keeping his eyes focused on some unidentified point behind the doctor's ear as he spoke. True to his training, Elliot took in every nuance of the doctor's voice and body language as he digested the information. Someone had beaten his partner. Someone had hurt her on purpose. Finally noticing that the doctor had fallen silent, he snapped back to attention and looked at the shorter man.

"Yes," Elliot grunted. "I'll… I'll ask her about it, Dr…." The doctor smiled again.

"It's Dr. Samson," he said quietly. "If you need anything, the nurses will help you or they can page me. And Detective, find the bastard. Anybody who can do that to a cop shouldn't be out on the streets." Elliot gritted his teeth and nodded stiffly. He couldn't have agreed more completely. With that said, the doctor returned to his work and Elliot steeled himself to talk to Olivia. Hand on the door, he mentally gasped a prayer that she would talk to him before turning the handle and entering.

At the first rattle of the doorknob, Olivia fixed her eyes on the doorway and waited. It must be Elliot, she thought. After all, it seemed like she had already been seen by every doctor and nurse in the hospital. It was time to face her partner and as much as she was reluctant to do so, she knew she no longer had a choice. When the door finally opened completely, she wasn't disappointed; there was her partner, stiff and familiar, a look of mixed worry and anger creasing his expression. Swallowing her own anxieties, Olivia forced a small smile on to her lips. To her great relief, her hard won smile seemed to relax Elliot enough for him to enter and sit at her side.

"Liv," he began softly. "Are you alright?" She sighed in lieu of an answer that was too difficult to give and nodded.

"Yeah. These are good drugs." He didn't smile at her joke, choosing instead to lean in intimately.

"Olivia, I want answers. You show up at work with a shiner and a busted nose. You won't talk about it and then you collapse in the middle of the squad room. I know you know who did this to you and I need you to tell me." He trailed off and, though he knew he shouldn't, he reached for her hand. They had never been ones for overt gestures of caring but his need to touch her overcame whatever reservations he had. He wanted to comfort her, like he would comfort his daughter or his sister, if he had one. But she again pulled her hand away and balled it into a fist at her side.

"El, I don't want to talk about it. Thank you for bringing me to the hospital, but I don't need you anymore. Go home to the kids and Kathy. I'll see you tomorrow." Elliot pulled back a little, tearing his eyes away from her turned face and focusing instead on his knees. He could feel the deep fury building in him and he used the time during which she spoke to take it in hand. He needed to focus. After all their years together, he had expected this rebuff and knew that, if he worked at it, he would be able to coax the truth from her. They had never been able to keep secrets from each other for long.

Silently, he clasped his hands together to keep from reaching out for her again and regrouped his thoughts. Just as he gathered himself and looked back up to speak, the opening door interrupted him. He turned to look over his shoulder just in time to see Casey, pale and hesitant, step timidly into the room. In her arms she carried a beautiful bouquet of flowers and on her face she wore a look of pale regret and shame. Elliot gaped for a fraction of a second and then schooled his expression into one of gentle welcoming.

"Hey, Case," he said quietly. "She's going to be ok, she…" His statement faltered as a harsh voice interrupted him sharply.

"Get out."

He turned quickly back to his partner. She had turned her head away from both of them and stared at the window. Her expression was flat and her voice held only contempt and carefully restrained anger. Her fists were now white-knuckled and Elliot could see the muscles in her forearms tremble and shake. For a moment, he could do nothing but look between his tense partner and the shaken woman still standing in the doorway as the wheels in his mind worked furiously. It couldn't be, he thought uneasily.

Casey inhaled raggedly and took a step towards the bed and her girlfriend. "Olivia," she whispered. "You have no idea…" Her words were greeted by Olivia's furiously twisted face and a snarl.

"I said, get out!" she hissed. "There's nothing I have to say to you and there's nothing I want to hear from you." Casey trembled under Olivia's red hot glare and her raw tone and she sniffled pathetically as fresh tears threatened. She took another step forward. Finally, Elliot snapped from his stunned silence and leapt towards the tall woman.

"You!" he roared. "Get away from her!" He took hold of Casey's shoulder and shoved her viciously back, slamming her into the wall and forcefully holding her there. He thrust his face towards hers, breathing his hot, angry breath over her skin, and glared. "What did you do?" he hissed dangerously.

"I… I…" Before she could confess, the sound of rapid footsteps approached and the door swung wide open. Barely pausing to take in the scene, nurses grasped Elliot and dragged him away.

"What is the meaning of this? What is going on here?" A tall and authoritative nurse bent to look at Casey before looking over her shoulder at Elliot. He took a few steadying breaths, once again reigning in the fury the so often boiled over, before regaining himself sufficiently.

"It was her. She's the one who did this to my partner." His voice contained nothing but naked anger and he radiated protectiveness for his partner. The nurse quickly turned back to Casey who, throughout the entire outburst, had remained silent and trembling.

"Is this true?" she asked calmly. She was no stranger to such scenes and she only wanted to maintain as much control and serenity as possible; they were in the middle of a hospital after all. Keeping her eyes guiltily downcast, Casey only nodded in response. Elliot growled and shook off the nurses still crowded around him. He wanted to kill Casey. Over the months she had worked with SVU, he had grown tolerant and then fond of the young woman. And, after she and Olivia had begun dating, he had begrudgingly accepted her as part of his life. However, his loyalty would always remain with his partner; they always had each other's backs. He stepped forward menacingly but was stopped short by the tall nurse's controlled gaze.

"Detective, remember that this is a hospital. I will take care of this. Maybe you should take a walk and cool down." He shook his head brusquely and swallowed throatily. No, he thought, Casey wasn't worth it. He would let the nurse handle it. Right now, he wanted to be with Olivia. He owed her that.