AN: Wow! Just wow! The reaction to this story has been fantastic! Thank you for all the support and comments. Here we go!

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot opened his eyes slowly when he felt Olivia stirring. He winced at the stiffness in his neck as he looked over at her. He realized she was still asleep; she had just been shifting in her sleep. Looking back at the TV, he saw the movie was over and another was on, but it was still dark in the room. His legs were stiff and he knew he couldn't sleep here for the rest of the night, but he really didn't want to wake Olivia. The debate about moving or staying lasted less than a minute as he lifted one leg off the coffee table and bent his knee, biting back a groan as the pins and needles set in. He sat still until he had feeling back in his legs, and then lifted her legs as gently as he could and slid out from underneath.

Elliot considered his options. He didn't want to leave her out here alone, and he didn't want to wake her. But if he carried Olivia to bed, she'd most likely kill him. It was, however, the best option of the three, and he leaned over her and slipped his arms beneath her and lifted her off the couch. She protested in her sleep, but she was dead out, and he said a small thank you that she didn't wake up. Once he had lay her gently on the bed, he pulled the covers over her and retreated, closing the bedroom door behind him as he made his way back to his bedroom.

His last thought as he drifted off the sleep as that he hoped she wouldn't read him the riot act for carrying her to bed.

EOEOEOEO

Elliot looked over at Olivia as they stood by the board and listened to the updates from Cragen. He had been surprised this morning, at his apartment, when Olivia hadn't said anything about waking up in bed when she had fallen asleep on the couch. She had been up when he wandered out of his bedroom, and she had been dressed and ready for work. They were running late, and had a pretty quiet ride to the precinct…there was no mention of any of the personal things they had discussed the night before, Olivia's nightmare, the late-night movie, or how she got into bed.

For some reason, he felt disappointed by that. It was as if it hadn't happened.

When Cragen was done with the updates, which were disappointingly few, he motioned for Olivia and Elliot to join him in his office. Elliot closed the door behind them, but Cragen didn't waste any time.

"We traced the messages and the photo that were sent to Olivia's phone." He picked up a piece of paper. "The phone belongs to a woman name Amanda Jackson." He paused for a moment. "I'm going to have Fin and Munch pay her a visit, and I don't want any arguments."

"Captain, please let us do the follow up." Olivia said. She didn't look over at Elliot; she had a feeling he was shooting her a dirty look.

"Didn't I just say I didn't want any argument?" Cragen said sternly. "You're not following up on your own stalker."

Olivia tensed up at the term again, but she held her comment.

"Besides. Fin and Munch are already gone." Cragen continued.

Olivia clenched her jaw to keep herself from commenting. Cragen had obviously given them their marching orders before she and Elliot had arrived.

"I want you two to follow up with the surviving victims. See if they remember anything new."

"We've already spoken to them." Olivia said.

"Well, as you know…" Cragen said pointedly. "Sometimes victims remember things after they'd had a little time to process. And we're at a dead end right now with the information we have."

"We're on it." Elliot said, glancing over at Olivia. He started to move when Cragen spoke up.

"While you're gone, I have Officers Morrison and Hunt digging through Olivia's cases. I have them looking for anyone that made any kind of threat, and anyone you put away that's been released in the last 6 months." He looked at Olivia. "Anyone stand out that would be nursing a grudge?"

Olivia shook her head. Lots of those she put away were angry, but there really isn't anyone that sprang to mind.

"Any ex-boyfriends…" he started.

"No." Olivia said, cutting him off. "There's no one I can think of."

Cragen nodded. "OK. Well we will see what they come up with." When Elliot and Olivia didn't move right away, he added. "Dismissed."

EOEOEOEO

Elliot and Olivia got back to the precinct about 1:00, disappointed that they didn't learn anything new, but thankful they hadn't gotten a call about a new victim while they were out. Olivia saw Fin was at his desk, and she made a beeline for him.

"What did you find out about Amanda Jackson? Does she have a husband or a son that could have sent the messages? Have you checked the system and pulled up their record? Have…"

"Hold up Liv." Fin said, putting up his hands. "Let me get a word in."

Olivia let out a huff. "Fine."

Fin was shaking his head. "It was a dead-end Liv. Amanda Jackson is a 45-year-old ad exec. No husband, brothers or sons. Her iPhone was stolen out of her purse at the market about 2 weeks ago."

"Damn it." Elliot said, beating Olivia to it. "That was the first real lead we had."

"He's been careful up to this point." Olivia said. "I didn't really expect it to lead anywhere."

"I guess it was too much to hope for." Elliot said.

Cragen nodded in agreement. "Hunt and Morrison are making a list, and I don't know how much progress they've made, but you can check in with them after lunch." He headed off to his office, but then paused and turned back to face them. "But understand…you can't do any of the follow-up yourselves."

"Understood." Olivia said.

"Let's go grab a bite." Elliot said, nodding his head towards the doorway.

Olivia shook her head. "Let's order in. I want to see what they've found." She sat down at her desk, signaling the end of the discussion. She picked up her cell phone and dialed their favorite deli, ordering for both of them. When that was done, she pushed herself up and she and Elliot walked into the file room, where Morrison and Hunt were busy at work.

EOEOEOEO

"You have to give them a little time." Elliot said as they walked out of their meeting with Morrison and Hunt. "They've only had a few hours." He knew Olivia was frustrated by their lack of progress, but he really hadn't expected them to get very far in such a short time.

"I know." Olivia said, brushing her hand through her hair. She stopped when she saw their food on her desk. "Thank God. I'm starving." She sat down and opened up her chicken salad, taking a quick bite. She let out a small moan and then looked over at Elliot, hoping he hadn't heard her. By the smirk on his face, he had. "I was hungry."

Elliot shook his head and looked down at his food, a small smile still on his face. "I didn't say a word."

Olivia looked over at Fin and Munch's desk, but they were out. She looked back at Elliot and lowered her voice anyway. "Yeah, but you wanted to." She said. She knew she was playing with fire…opening herself up to anything he wanted to say.

Elliot looked back at her and pressed his lips together. There were so many thoughts running though his mind right now…and it was on the tip of his tongue to say something, especially with how things had gone last night. He felt like they'd broken through some kind of barrier…but they probably weren't ready for him to put a voice to what was in his head. Especially not here.

Olivia raised an eyebrow, surprised that he hadn't fired back with a comment. She finished off her lunch and tossed it in the trash. "Chicken." She said, as she stood off and headed off to the bathroom, never looking back.

Elliot finished his lunch with a smirk on his face. He had been surprised by Olivia's comment. The challenge in her voice. He wondered how the conversation would have gone if they hadn't been here in the precinct. He saw Olivia walk back into the squad room and reclaim her seat.

"So, what do you want for dinner tonight?" he asked.

Olivia flicked her eyes up at him. "Dinner?"

"You didn't think you were going back to your apartment, did you?" He readied himself for an argument.

Olivia hesitated for a moment, remembering everything that happened last night at Elliot's. It hadn't been anything major, but it had definitely been…something. She was a little nervous about what another night together might bring, but she knew she didn't want to spend the night alone in her apartment. Not that Elliot, or Cragen, would let her anyway. "No. Of course not."

"That's not happening until we figure this thing out." Elliot said firmly, waiting for Olivia to object to his overbearing manner, but she still didn't say anything. He looked down at the messages on his desk. "Maybe I can rustle up some chicken salad." He chuckled to himself, and then dared look up to see the reaction on her face.

He was surprised to see no reaction on her face at all. She was staring at him, a strange look on her face, and he furrowed his brow. "Liv?" She didn't move and then suddenly, her head dropped back, as if she had lost the ability to hold it up. Elliot stood up. "Olivia?"

Olivia felt herself sliding out of her chair, and she tried to catch herself but she couldn't seem to move. She saw Elliot out of the corner of her eye as he flew around the desk and she felt his arms catch her before her head hit the floor. He was leaning over her now, but she couldn't seem to move…to control her limbs. She couldn't talk but she saw the concern in his face.

"Olivia!" He leaned over her, one hand next to her head as his other hand grasped hers. "Talk to me. Tell me what's happening!"

Olivia closed her eyes, trying to focus, but she couldn't seem to figure out how to answer him.

Elliot looked down at Olivia as she closed her eyes and he shook her slightly. "Stay with me!" He turned and yelled at the officers and other detectives that had gathered around. "Call a bus!"

"One the phone now." Elliot heard someone say.

"What the hell is going on?" Cragen said and Elliot looked up at him.

"I don't know." Elliot said in a panic. "She was sitting here at her desk and then she just slumped to the floor. She's conscious but she's not answering me." Elliot turned back to Olivia. "Liv. Can you hear me?" He saw her eyes move to his and he knew then that she understood what he was saying. "Hold on." He said, brushing her hair back from her head. "Bus'll be here any second."

Elliot moved to slip his arm under her neck.

"Don't move her." Cragen advised. "We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"I don't want to leave her on the floor." Elliot objected.

"EMT's will be here any second." Cragen said.

Elliot looked back down at Olivia, bringing their clasped hands closer to his chest. "You're going to be OK." He said softly, despite the commotion surrounding them. "Just focus on me Liv. Just focus on me."

The EMT's arrived a few minutes later and Elliot was forced to the perimeter. He watched as the EMT's took Olivia's vital signs and looked into her eyes. He heard a sound to his right, and saw Olivia's phone beeping with an incoming message. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and he snatched the phone from the desktop. He opened the message and read it two times before he handed it to Cragen.

Ashes, ashes

They all fall down.

EOEOEOEOEO

Elliot, Cragen, Fin and Munch were all standing in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for an update from the doctor. It had been almost an hour since the ambulance had arrived with Olivia inside, Elliot by her side.

"There." Elliot said as the doctor strode towards them.

"Is Elliot Stabler here?" he asked, and Elliot raised his hand. The doctor looked at the others, but once Elliot told him it was okay to go ahead, the doctor started reciting the facts.

"We got the lab results back and Ms. Benson wad drugged with a high dose of Rohypnol."

"The date rape drug?" Fin asked and the doctor nodded.

"It rendered her unable to move, but luckily, she retained consciousness. The dose she was drugged with could have been more debilitating, but we've got her hooked to an IV. We'll try to flush it through her system, but it will take several hours to wear off."

"So, she's going to be OK?" Elliot asked. A part of him couldn't believe what the doctor was saying.

The doctor nodded. "There won't be any lasting side effects, except for potential memory loss. We'll release her in a few hours." He walked away and the rest of the team circled around.

"How the hell did this guy slip Liv a roofie?" Fin asked.

Elliot shook his head. "I don't…" He stopped. "Wait a second. Her lunch. From the deli. Olivia had an iced tea. He must have slipped it in there."

Cragen looked at Fin and Munch. "You two. Head back to the precinct. Bag Liv's garbage and get video footage of everyone coming into the building from…" he looked over at Elliot.

"I think Liv called about 1. Or 2." Elliot said. He couldn't remember.

"I'll just pull anything after noon." Fin said.

"And pull video from the day that envelope was delivered." He let out a heavy sign. "We need to put an end to this." He pointed a finger at John. "And you…light a fire under Hunt and Morrison. I want a list on my desk when I get back."

Fin and Munch took off, and Cragen turned to Elliot. "You call me when you leave here with Olivia. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Not a chance in hell."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia was exhausted when the doctor told her she was released. She watched Elliot hovering by the door, and he walked over when the doctor left her with the discharge papers.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah." She said quietly, but she stayed sitting on the bed. "I'm tired."

"Let's go back to my place and you can go straight to bed."

Olivia sat quietly. "I'm not just tired. I'm tired of all this bullshit. I can't do my job if I have to keep looking over my shoulder."

"We're going to get this guy." Elliot said.

"I just don't understand what this guy wants. If he wanted me dead…" She pressed her lips together. "He's had plenty of opportunity to kill me."

"Don't say that!" Elliot said sharply, as if her words would make something terrible happen.

"Everything he's done so far hasn't been…I mean, he hasn't really hurt me. It's more of an annoyance."

"It's more than that Liv. He's scaring the shit out of me. The thought of something happening to you is…unbearable."

"We live with that threat every day Elliot." It was one of the reason partners were so close. No one could understand what it was really like to put your life in someone else's hands…every day. To trust them so completely with your well-being. Olivia reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand. "I'm fine Elliot." She said softly.

"Liv." Elliot covered her hand with his. "There's only a few times in my life that I've been scared…really scared."

"Nothing's going to happen to me." Olivia rushed to reassure him. "As long as I've got you by my side."

Elliot gave her a little smile. "Just try to get rid of me."