Oooh... (hides from mobs of angry readers) I know it's been a while with this one, but I've done so many changes and played around with it so much... Anyways, ya'll will all be happy to know that I've finished it, so the updates will be coming regularly... I hope...

Disclaimer: Uh, they're not mine?

This chapter is for my little RoadRunner, for asking me very nicely to update this. Here ya go, bunny!

Mt. Sinai Hospital

Deakins, Mike and Carolyn were all waiting for Bobby and Alex with bright smiles that became even bigger as Bobby pushed her wheelchair through the double doors. "I can walk," they heard her grumble at her partner, and Bobby came back with, "Yeah, but you almost wound up in this thing for the rest of your life. Five minutes won't kill you."

He pushed Alex outside, and Mike, Carolyn and Deakins immediately walked over and hugged Alex. She didn't say anything, but they could all see the tears shining in her eyes, and they separated and allowed Bobby to gently lift her out of the chair and into the passenger seat of his big SUV. He shut the door, then turned and looked at their colleagues, none of them saying a word.

He gave them a small nod, then climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV and drove away, leaving their colleagues there.

Apartment of Bobby Goren

Bobby was sitting on the edge of his big bed when his cell phone rang, and he cursed under his breath and quickly stood up and walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind himself. Once he was in the hall, he grabbed his cell phone and opened it, answering with a slight huff. "Goren."

Bobby? I just got a call from Don Cragen. They caught the guy that did this to Alex.

"Are they sure it's him? I mean, are they absolutely sure?" he asked skeptically, pacing around the hall in front of her door.

Hundred percent sure, Bobby. They've got his D.N.A., and Olivia Benson identified him positively. They've got this son of a bitch hooked, lined and sinkered.

"Will she have to testify?" he asked, and he heard Deakins sigh slightly.

Hopefully not, but there's a chance she may have to, Bobby. They can't go after him for Olivia's rape, statute's already up. But they've got him for Alex.

A piercing scream from his bedroom cut off Bobby's reply, and he quickly said, "Cap, I need to go. I'll talk to you later." Without waiting for a response, he shut the phone and darted into the room. Alex was in the bed, the covers twisted around her body. She was thrashing and moaning, caught in the throes of a nightmare, and he quickly ran to her side, murmuring softly as he carefully untangled her from the blankets.

"Alex. Alex, wake up, sweetheart!" he muttered, but she continued to scream and fight him. Afraid that she might hurt herself, he grabbed her arms with one hand and held her to his chest, his body absorbing the blows from her thrashing limbs. Finally she went limp in his arms, and he released his death grip on her, shifting slightly so that her head rested in the crook of his arm.

"It's okay, Alex. It was just a nightmare. You're safe," he continued to murmur, smoothing her hair out of her face. She awoke with a start, gasping loudly and pushing away from her partner's protective hold. Gently he maintained his grip on her, and she finally stopped fighting and laid her head on his chest. He sighed in relief and pulled her closer to his chest, pressing gentle kisses to her hair.

"Bobby," she hiccupped, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh God, he was trying to kill me." She let out another sob and buried her face in his chest, and he used one hand to rub comforting circles on her back. "Shh, it's okay, Alex. He can't hurt you. I won't let him," he promised, kissing the top of her head.

Once he felt her sobs subside, he began to talk in a soothing voice. "Alex, I've got some good news for you, honey." She sniffed and looked up at him, and he winced at her red and swollen eyes. "They found him. Munch and Fin arrested him, and he's never getting out," he said, and she shuddered in relief and pressed her face into his chest again. With a sigh, he gently laid her back against the pillows, pulling the comforter over her.

"Will you be okay?" he asked softly, and she opened her eyes and looked up at him, then patted the bed.

"Would you lay down with me for a little while?" she whispered, and he immediately nodded and stretched out beside her, smiling as she scooted close to his side. Soon he felt her breathing grow deep and even, and he smiled and kissed her forehead, holding her closer to him. But something lurked in the back of his mind, something that kept him awake even as he held Alex in his arms.

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Apartment of Elliot Stabler

With a gasp, Olivia bolted upright in her bed, shaking and drenched in sweat. "Oh God, oh God," she mumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees, slowly rocking back and forth.

"What's the matter, Liv?" Elliot mumbled sleepily, sitting up and drawing her into his arms. He felt the tremors course through her body, and he pulled her into his lap, kissing the top of her head and gently rubbing her back. Outside, thunder rolled ominously in the distance, and a streak of lightning lit up the room for a split second, making Olivia jump slightly. "Shh, it's okay, Liv. It's just a storm," he crooned, stroking her hair.

Suddenly the phone rang, startling them both, and Elliot cursed under his breath and grabbed his cell phone, opening it with a snap.

"Stabler," he answered, using his shoulder to hold the phone to his ear and keeping his arms around his partner.

Elliot, it's Don. We've got a problem.

"What is it, Cap?"

Welsh escaped from the precinct. I need you to go pick up Olivia and get down here, right now. Wong thinks he's going to come after her again.

He nearly dropped the phone, but he quickly recovered and spat into the phone. "What do you mean, he escaped?" he hissed. "Who was guarding the cell?"

Martinez was, and he's on his way to Mercy General. Welsh shot him and stole his uniform-

"And strolled right out of the precinct," Elliot concluded angrily. He contemplated throwing the phone against the wall, but he felt Olivia shivering in his arms, and he exhaled and growled into the phone. "Look, Cap, Olivia's here with me at my place. Let me wake her up, and we'll be down there in a half hour." Then he closed his phone and dropped it to the floor.

"We have to go down to the precinct," Olivia stated emotionlessly, and Elliot nodded and tightened his arms around her. She pulled away from him and stood up, mechanically grabbing her clothes and peeling off Elliot's shirt that she had borrowed. As she pulled on her clothes, Elliot climbed out of the bed and pulled his own clothes on over his boxers and undershirt.

"You ready to go?" he asked softly, gently kissing her forehead and looping one arm around her waist. She nodded, and he guided her out of the apartment and into the approaching storm.

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Apartment of Bobby Goren

Bobby heard the phone vibrating on the nightstand, but he ignored it and buried his face in Alex's stomach, gently running his hand up and down her arm. He closed his eyes and slipped back into a light sleep, soothed by the sound of Alex's breathing.

A crash just outside of the room yanked Bobby out of his light sleep, and he quickly stood up and looked around the room. Glancing at Alex's sleeping form, he stood up and slipped across the room, cracking the door open carefully.

Another crash resonated from the living room, and he walked out of the room and shut the door, aiming the gun at the shadowy figure. "Hello, Bobby," the man smiled, wiping at his eyes. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Who the hell are you?" Bobby growled, tightening his finger on the trigger of the gun. The man smiled and stepped around the debris on the floor, closer to Bobby, and Bobby felt anger surge through his entire body at the man's cocky grin.

"Why, Alex didn't tell you who I am? After everything we've been through together? Cause she told me a lot about you, Bobby," he purred, an oily smile appearing on his face.

"Rodney," Bobby growled, pressing his finger tighter against the trigger. "You son of a bitch. Get the hell out of here."

"Well, I can't very well do that," Rodney stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "You see, you have something of mine, and I intend to take it back. So just hand it over, and I'll leave right now."

He means Alex, Bobby quickly realized, and his blood boiled. This man was talking about his partner like she was a piece of property that he had stolen. "No," Bobby seethed, glaring at Rodney. "You aren't going to lay a finger on my partner. I'll kill you with my bare hands before you get the chance."

"Now, now, now, Detective, there's no need to get violent about this. You and I both know that the whore is mine. So just let me take her, and you won't ever have to see me again. How's that sound?" Rodney smiled, and Bobby lost it. With a growl, he lunged at Rodney, the gun forgotten.

Alex heard the crash, and once she realized Bobby wasn't in the bed beside her, she panicked and reached under the mattress, producing her gun. Suppressing her fear, she climbed out of the bed and darted into the hallway, her heart nearly stopping at the sight that greeted her. Rodney had pinned Bobby to the floor, and now he was sitting on the bigger man's chest, his knees holding Bobby's arms to the ground, and his hands wrapped around Bobby's throat in a crushing grip. Bobby was struggling against Rodney, but Alex could see that he was quickly losing the fight to stay conscious.

"Let him go, Rodney!" she shrieked, raising her gun and aiming it at the center of Rodney's chest, a shot that would kill him. He just smiled at her and tightened his grip on Bobby's throat. "See what you made me do, Alex?" he demanded, and Alex watched in horror as Bobby's eyes fluttered closed. "You made me kill an innocent man, whose only crime was trying to protect you."

"No," Alex mumbled, ignoring her shaking hand. "No!" With a scream, she pulled the trigger, once, twice, then watched as Rodney fell backwards and landed on the carpeted floor with a dull thud. She dropped the gun with a sob, then ran to Bobby's side, running her hands over his face. "Bobby, Bobby can you hear me, baby? Come on, sweetie, talk to me," she murmured, nearly passing out with relief as he gasped and nodded his head. Standing up, she grabbed his hand and gently pulled him to his feet, then wrapped her arms around his waist and guided him into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later, Alex was sitting beside Bobby on the bed, clasping his hand in hers and watching as the paramedic looked him over. Once he was satisfied, the medic smiled at them and said, "Okay, Mr. Goren, looks like everything's okay. You're going to have some nasty bruises on your neck, but there were no breaks, so that's good. Unless you have any more questions, we're going to head out and let these other people in."

"What other people?" Alex asked suspiciously, and the medic pointed his thumb in the direction of the living room and said, "The detectives in there. We told them not to come in until we made sure that both of you were alright. They say they're friends, and they seem pretty anxious to see that both of you are alive and uninjured."

"Deakins," she realized with a small smile. "Let them in. They're probably about to have heart attacks." The medic nodded and grabbed his bag, then walked to the door. "Okay, you can come in now," he announced, walking out of the room. Alex squeezed Bobby's hand tighter as Deakins, Munch, Fin, Mike and Carolyn walked into the room, their concerned gazes sweeping over the two detectives.

"Are you two okay?" Deakins demanded, crossing the floor and standing beside the bed. "We're okay," Bobby rasped, and Alex squeezed his hand and shushed him, saying, "Bobby, don't talk. Yes, we're both okay. How's Rodney? Is he dead?"

Deakins looked at her curiously, then said, "No, he was still alive when they carted him out." Bobby felt Alex tense at his words, and he slipped one arm around her waist, gently hugging her to him.

Munch stepped closer to the bed and pulled out a notepad, then pulled off his sunglasses and looked at Alex. "Alex, you know that I have to ask you some questions while the events are still fresh in your mind, right?" he asked, and she nodded slowly, glancing at Bobby. "Okay, starting at the beginning, what happened?"

"I woke up when I heard a loud crashing in the living room, and I knew something was wrong when I realized that Bobby wasn't sleeping beside me." Mike and Carolyn's mouths fell open, but Alex ignored them. She didn't care if they knew that she and Bobby were sleeping in the same bed. He was alive, and there was a chance that she had killed Rodney. "I heard another crash, so I grabbed my gun from under the mattress and went into the living room to see what was going on."

"What happened next?" Munch prodded gently.

"Rodney had Bobby pinned to the floor, and he was strangling him," she mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose as the memories flooded back into her mind. "I pointed the gun at him and told him to get off of my partner. He just smiled at me and choked Bobby harder. He was going to kill him!" she shouted suddenly. "So I shot him twice, and I don't care. I did it to protect Bobby."

Munch and Fin looked at each other, then Fin sighed heavily and pulled out his handcuffs, saying, "Alex Eames, you are under arrest for attempted murder." Bobby looked horrified, while Alex mechanically climbed to her feet and held her wrists out for Fin to put the handcuffs on her. "You can't arrest her!" Bobby protested hoarsely, rising to his feet and standing between Alex and Fin.

"Bobby, you know they have to do this," Deakins reasoned, placing his hand on his detective's shoulder. Bobby shrugged him off, and Alex wrapped her arms around him, kissing his cheek. "I'll be fine, Bobby," she assured him, running her hand over his face. He shook his head and kissed her forehead, blinking back the tears as Fin gently grabbed her by the arm and led her away.

"We'll get her out, Bobby. The only reason they're taking her in is because she shot him after he raped her," Deakins said, and Bobby shook his head again. "She didn't do it because of that. She did it to protect me," he growled. "I know she did. But the only person who can prove that is you, and the defense is going to use that against her, to try to prove that she did it as an act of revenge, not protection," Deakins said.

"We'll just see about that," Bobby snapped, grabbing his cell phone.

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SVU Precinct

"Bobby," Alex breathed, running into her partner's open arms. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head and holding her close. Looking up at Cabot and Cragen, he held Alex tighter and said, "Are you sure she can go? There's no way they can try to bring more charges against her?"

"Welsh died last night, and all the physical evidence supports your testimonies, so we're not pursuing charges on his death. As far as the D.A.'s concerned, it was a justified homicide. He attacked her partner, and she shot him because she saw an immediate threat to both her and her partner's lives. So as soon as she signs some papers, she can go home with you," Cabot smiled, patting Bobby's shoulder.

Olivia stepped forward and gently touched Alex's back, saying, "Alex, why don't you come with me and I'll help you get that paperwork done so your partner can take you home, okay?" Alex nodded reluctantly and followed Olivia into an interrogation room.

"Okay, I just need you to sign these," Olivia said softly, shutting the door and pointing to a table and two chairs, and Alex nodded and took one of the chairs.

"I assume there's another reason why I'm in here, other than paperwork," Alex mused, staring down at the papers in front of her.

Olivia looked at her curiously, then nodded her head and produced a small business card. "This is a support group for victims of rape. I know you think that you have it under control, but so did I when it happened." She sat down in the chair beside Alex and laid her hands on the table. "I tried to commit suicide a month after my attack, and I almost succeeded, except a neighbor found me and called 911. When I came to, my doctor gave me the number of a support group just like this, and they helped me so much."

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, then looked at Alex again. "I've never told anyone this, but it's also when I met my partner, Elliot. I never told him about my attack, but when I finally had the strength to, he was so incredibly supportive of me, through everything. He even gave me the courage to tell our boss, who's also been very understanding and helpful."

Alex smiled softly and accepted the card from Olivia, then put the pen down and stood up. "Thanks, Olivia. For everything," Alex said softly, then she hugged Olivia. When they pulled away, both women wiped at the tears in their eyes, and Olivia said, "I think your partner's waiting for you." "I bet yours is too," Alex laughed, walking out of the interrogation room.

Bobby saw Alex and Olivia walk into the hall, and he quickly wrapped one arm around Alex's waist and pulled her close, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "There's a couple dozen reporters out there waiting to harass you. Do you want to go the back way?" Alex shook her head firmly and reached into the pocket of her jacket, producing a pair of dark sunglasses. "Let's go," she said, and Bobby shook his head and tightened his arm around her waist, leading her out of the precinct.

Bobby wasn't exaggerating. As soon as they walked through the doors of the precinct building, into the bright sunlight, they were immediately surrounded by dozens of shouting reporters.

"Detective Eames, is it true that you shot an unarmed man?"

"Did you shoot him in self defense?"

"Was it really an act of revenge?"

Alex had expected to be attacked for her actions, but she hadn't expected as much as they were throwing at her. One reporter stepped out in front of them and said, "Detective Eames, is it true that you shot and killed Rodney Welsh because he raped you and Detective Olivia Benson, then attempted to kill your partner, Detective Robert Goren?" Then she shoved the microphone in Alex's face, and all of the other reporters went silent as Alex cleared her throat, and Bobby glared at the nosy woman.

"No comment," Alex stated, and Bobby almost laughed at the sour look that appeared on the reporter's face. He smiled falsely at the reporters and wrapped his arm around Alex's waist again, pulling her close to his side as they continued to walk through the crowd. The reporters continued to shout, but she just leaned closer against her partner, slipping her own arm around his waist.

They were a few feet away from the car when the gunshots rang out, and the air instantly filled with terrified screams as the reporters dropped their equipment and dove for shelter. One bullet whizzed dangerously close to Alex's ear, and she screamed as her partner pulled her down to the ground and covered her with his big frame.

They heard tires squeal, and Bobby saw a dark Sedan race down the street, leaving black skid marks on the pavement. "Are you okay?" he demanded, running one hand over his partner's face. "Yeah, I'm fine, Bobby," she assured him, pushing herself to a sitting position. Bobby stood up slowly, then extended an arm to Alex to help her up. But when she took his hand and pulled, he let out a gasp, and Alex's eyes flashed to his left side, where she noticed a growing bloodstain on his right shoulder.

"Bobby, you're hurt," she cried, tugging his jacket away from his injury and inspecting the wound. "It's nothing, Alex," he muttered through gritted teeth, flinching as she carefully applied pressure to the wound. He tried to push her hand away, but she slapped his hand and glared at him, and he sighed in submission to his fiery partner.

"Alex! Bobby!" Bobby and Alex turned their heads, and they both saw Cragen, Elliot, Olivia, Fin and Munch run out of the precinct and skid to a stop in front of them. "Are you two okay?" Cragen demanded breathlessly, and Alex said, "I'm fine, but he's hurt. Did anyone call a bus?" "Alex, I'm telling you: I'm fine," he mumbled, and she glared at him again, to the amusement of the other detectives and captain. He took a wobbly step forward, and Fin and Elliot grabbed his good arm and helped him down to sit on the sidewalk.

Alex sat down beside him on his left, scooting close against his uninjured side. "Was anyone else hit?" Bobby asked softly, and Munch said, "No. They all got to safety." Bobby sighed deeply and laid his head on Alex's shoulder, and the others watched as Alex slipped her arm protectively around her partner's waist.

Elliot squatted down beside Bobby and Alex and pressed his hand to the other man's shoulder, holding it tightly against the bleeding wound. "Bobby, hey man, did you get the license on the car?" he asked, trying to get the bigger detective's attention. He mumbled unintelligibly, then said, "Didn't get it." Elliot moved in front of the other detectives and cupped Bobby's chin in his hand, looking into his eyes.

"Pupils are dilated, movements are uncoordinated, he's pale and barely responsive. Cap, I think he's going into shock!" Elliot growled, and Alex immediately pulled Bobby's head down into her lap, while Olivia sat down on the concrete and lifted his feet into her lap. "Bobby! Talk to me, sweetheart. Talk to me," Alex begged, gently slapping his cheeks. He didn't respond, and she moved her hand and placed two fingers on his pulse. "His pulse is weak and thready," she stated, tears clogging her throat. Somewhere in the distance, they all heard sirens wailing, and Alex kissed her partner's forehead, running one hand through his matted curls.

Finally, the ambulance pulled up alongside the curb, and Alex watched helplessly as the Elliot and Fin helped the paramedics lift Bobby onto the stretcher. Climbing shakily to her feet, she kissed her partner's cheek and watched miserably as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance and drove away into the distance.

"He'll be fine, Alex," Olivia said gently, pulling Alex into a supportive embrace. Alex collapsed against the taller woman, and the rest of the group surrounded them in a large group hug. "I want my partner," Alex sobbed, hiding her face in Olivia's shoulder. Olivia felt Elliot's hand on her hip, and she held Alex tighter, running her hands up and down her back as they slowly swayed back and forth.

"He'll be fine. He'll be fine," she repeated over and over again, but Alex barely heard her. She needed him back in her arms, safe and alive, snuggled against her side. I'm so sorry, Bobby, she thought desperately as another sob shook her petite frame. I love you so much. Please come back to me.

TBC...

A/N: (ducks rotten fruit and cookies while diving under sink to hide) Yeesh! Review please!