A/N: Where we left off, the Day of Fire has reached its tragic conclusion, and our two favorite detectives are trapped beneath the rubble in Ground Zero. Will they be saved? What will Tucker, Cragen, and the Squad do? And will they finally express their love? Read on.

Disclaimer: If I owned the characters of SVU: Dick Wolf and the show runners and the screenwriters would be out of a job, the Bensidy shippers would be forming an angry mob outside my house, and I'd be PMing all you EO writers on FF to write shows for me. Calling on you Kilea08 and Woodster93

This is for Swimhard500; check out the new fic I'm Going to Love You Through It, it's awesome.

PS: Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter for an important request.

Chapter 6: Darkness and Light

Lower Manhattan was almost like a warzone, the historic region covered in sheets of dust and rubble, a cloud of smoke enveloping the entire south of the island. All around the WTC, now dubbed Ground Zero, the crowds, paramedics, firemen, and police officers had pulled back when the towers collapsed, everything south of 16th Street closed to all but rescue workers. Watching from a rooftop just north of the demarcation line, the man watched the pile of rubble with his Zeiss binoculars, hoping that his subjects would make it out safely. He hadn't come this far to go home empty handed.

At the temporary NYPD HQ on Liberty St, everyone was on edge and tempers were flaring. The news of yet a fourth aircraft taken, this one forced down in an act of exemplary courage into a field in Pennsylvania, only added to the anger. For those that had family or friends trapped, things were close to the breaking point. "Send me in!"

"I'm sorry Sergeant, we cannot clear you to enter the area around the towers. It's too dangerous."

"Fuck dangerous," shouted Tucker, who in the hour since the North Tower collapsed had alternated from bouts of sobbing to manic rants at the top of his lungs. "My daughter is in there dammit! I need to get her out!"

"Which is all the reason you can't go there," replied Lt. Quinn, who had been summoned by One PP and the senior FDNY commander to corral the hysterical father. "You have too much of a personal interest. Plus, the likelihood of either her or Detective Stabler surviving…"

"You bitch…"

Knowing where this was going to lead, Cragen sprang up and grabbed his old friend around the waist and shoulders to hold him back. "Don't Ed, it isn't worth it!" he yelled as the IAB Sgt. started lashing out at his superior.

"Be careful Tucker," sneered Quinn, "Or I'll have to suspend you for this."

"Enough!" yelled Muldrew, wading in after a terse phone call with Gracie Mansion. "I've got Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki breathing down my neck, all or Lower Manhattan to clear out and secure, and a pile of rubble that used to be the World Trade Center to deal with! I don't have enough energy to listen to you idiots squabble! Quinn, go back to One PP and try and coordinate things from there. Don, please get Sgt. Tucker to go home. Anyone else who isn't earmarked for rescue efforts nor wants to volunteer, go back to your precincts and await further orders." Rubbing his scalp, the Chief left.

Sitting Tucker down, Cragen patted him on the back. "I know how you feel Ed. Elliot's trapped in that wreckage same as Olivia, but you can't go off like that."

"What if she's dead Don?" Tucker asked, choking back another sob. "What would I tell Laura? She's our entire life."

"I'm feeling the same way, as is my niece Emily. Elliot's got four kids depending on him too, but you can't lose faith. Just put your trust in God and He will deliver." Cragen hadn't been a very religious man in his lifetime (and still didn't go to church as often as he should), but after Marge's death he began reading the Bible more and found new meaning. He credited his new-found faith with his decision to sober up. "Go home, hug Laura and pray. I'll notify you if there's any news." Nodding, Tucker stood and shambled out of the HQ, face ashen.

"Poor guy," mumbled Munch as he and Fin walked up to Cragen. "Cap?"

"Yes John?"

"Fin and I are going to volunteer for rescue efforts. I'm not planning on sitting on my tuchus while there's still people trapped in the rubble."

"Plus," added Fin, "We want to be there when they dig Stabler and Babygirl out of the rubble."

Cragen nodded, inwardly proud of his detectives. "Jeffries and Cassidy on board with this too?"

"No, they're heading back to the precinct, and as a friend I suggest you do the same Cap," answered Munch. He and Cragen had been partners way back before Cragen's promotion, and was often the one to give him the straight talk.

Sighing, Cragen rose. "You'll call me if you get anything."

"Consider it done Cap," replied Fin.

Nodding, Cragen left the HQ, silent tears cascading down his cheeks.

A little later, Munch and Fin were strapping orange vests over their shirts when Alex Cabot walked in. Also worried about Olivia and Elliot, she had stayed at the HQ as long as possible though now she was leaving so she wouldn't get in the way NYPD and FDNY. "I'm leaving guys. What are you doing?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"We're going to help with the rescue efforts," replied Munch. "If Elliot and Olivia are still alive, it's our duty to get them out."

Alex nodded, admiring him for his dedication but still worried that he might get hurt. "Be careful John."

"You got it Alex," Much replied, smiling his classic wiry grin; the one she secretly loved. Once she left, Munch found Fin grinning at him. "What? Is there something in my teeth?"

"No, I didn't know that you like Cabot."

Much groaned. "And I thought I was the conspiracy king."

"Admit it, you like her. Why don't you get your bony ass to the DA's office and ask her out? She obviously likes you back."

"That's what they said about my ex-wives, and now I'm stick with alimony payments up the wazoo."

"Whatever man," Fin rolled his eyes. He had enough experience with Elliot and Olivia's crazy relationship to know when to stay out of it.

As they walked down Church St. to Ground Zero with a column of FDNY rescuers and EMT's, everyone stared in shock. "Man, can you believe this is America?" asked Munch to his partner.

"I keep thinking this must be Bosnia, not Lower Manhattan," said Fin, just as awed. A group of ragged people stumbled out of the distance covered in dust. It looked like a scene from Somalia.

Up ahead, through the smoke the jagged remains of the South Tower appeared, staring at them like a ghost. "We've got a long way to go," said Munch. The others just nodded.

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The light was blinding, all encompassing. It was just so white, pure white.

Finding himself in the middle of this whiteness, Elliot Stabler rose, completely confused of what was happening. The last memory he had was of Olivia calling to him as the North Tower collapsed all around him. Was he dead? Was she dead? Was this a hallucination? There was no way to tell, just the enveloping whiteness, the light shining from everywhere.

Suddenly, the light grew brighter in one particular direction directly in front, so bright that Elliot needed to shield his eyes. A small back shadow blocked part of the light, blocking more and more as it approached, the contrast preventing him from making out the shape.

When it approached him, Elliot's knees buckled, his jaw dropping and eyes filled with tears. "Kathy?"

His late wife smiled at him, the face which he last saw pale and gaunt in death now bright and filled with life. "Hi Elliot. I'm so happy to see you again."

Staggering to her, he enveloped her in a hug. "Am I dead?" he whispered in her.

"You're not dead Elliot, I just borrowed you for a moment, for your time has not come." She pulled away, staring intently into his eyes. "Elliot, I loved you and I always will. You gave me four beautiful children and have taken care of them better than I could have ever hoped."

"I love you too Kathy. I miss you so much," he sobbed, the entire experience too much for him.

"I know you do Elliot, but I'm gone and there is nothing that anyone can do to change that." She sighed and stroked his cheek. "That's why I want you to move on."

"Huh?"

"I know you're in love with Olivia Elliot. I can see it from up here. You both love each other more than even you and I did."

"That's not true…"

"Elliot, I'm not angry with you." A wan smile formed on her angelic face. "We were forced by circumstance to get married, only growing to love each other as the years went by. I would never trade those years for anything, but I know that Olivia is the one you are supposed to be with. Your soulmate."

Elliot was crying now. "I know. I love her so much. But she doesn't deserve me. Not after all that I've done."

He felt two hands cup his cheeks. "Elliot, look at me. Don't ever say that. You are a good man and none of us blame you for anything. Not me, not Aunt Marge, not your fellow marines, not your mother, nobody. We want you to live a happy life, so please tell Olivia the truth before it's too late."

"Kathy, I…"

"Elliot," came a faint voice.

"I love you El. Thank you for taking care of our babies."

"Elliot!" the voice was louder now, Kathy fading away.

"Tell her the truth," his late wife finally said, before the white aura faded into blackness.

"ELLIOT!"

His eyes opening, Elliot immediately felt a throbbing pain in his chest. "URRGH!"

"El, thank God. Can you hear me?"

His eyes adjusting to the near darkness, only a small flicker of the noonday sun filtering through the nearly twenty feet of rubble and wreckage, Elliot turned his head to see Olivia, lying on her back staring at him through a pile of concrete, a gap large enough to fit her hand through. "Yes Liv," he croaked, his chest on fire. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine El," she said, still shocked that she got off lightly. Aside from a gash on her leg and a plethora of cuts and bruises she was unharmed. However, there was the problem of the massive pile of rubble above her. They both had an apparent three foot gap, but that was about it. "The fireman is unconscious but alive. How bout' you?" God had blessed her with life, but she wouldn't stop worrying until Elliot was safe.

"I think my ribs are broken, and my head's sore," he gritted, shifting his body so that he could see her. She was staring at him through her gas mask, her beautiful brown eyes visible through the dust covered goggles.

"The pain is good El, it means you're still alive. You may have a concussion from the rubble. El, just sit tight. The rescue teams are coming. You're fine, so just hang in there," she soothed, her heart breaking at seeing him hurt because he saved her life.

"No Liv, I'm not fine," he groaned, ripping off the gas mask since the dust had mostly settled by now. This wasn't how he had always dreamed telling her his feelings. In his fantasies they always involved someplace romantic (where she'd either laugh and slap him or leap into his arms), but it was now or never. They could still die trapped beneath this twisted heap of concrete and metal that were once two of America's Landmarks, and he was not going to die without having told the woman he loved the truth, even if she rejected him. "I haven't been fine since Sunday night. I hurt you Olivia. You may have put on a brave face but I could see it in your eyes."

Olivia blinked, shocked that he was bringing this up here while they were in mortal peril. "El, it's ok…"

"No it's not ok Liv. I'm a fool; I let my own insecurities and fears cause you pain and I hate myself for it. I know that this isn't the place or the time to do this properly, but if I'm going to die in this pile of rubble, I can't do it without telling you the truth." He took a deep breath, the air filling his battered lungs and causing him to wince in pain. "Liv, I love you." There was silence, only broken up by the sounds of shifting rubble and the crackle of distant fires. Not hearing a response, he continued, closing his eyes not wanting to see her reject him. "I love you Olivia, I'm hopelessly in love with you. I know in no way deserve such a perfect woman like you, but it doesn't make it any less true. If you don't feel the same way I understand, but I had to say…"

"I love you too."

His eyes flew open, searching for her. Olivia was wearing a huge smile on her now bare face, one that did not fit at all with the surroundings but one that made his heart skip a beat all the same. That smile of her's could and always did make him melt. "What?" he asked softly.

"You may have the worst timing in the history of mankind Elliot, but I love you too. I've loved you for so long it hurts. I never thought you felt the same way, especially after Sunday night." A tear fell from her eyelids, dropping on the dreary rubble underneath.

"I'm so sorry about that Olivia," Elliot choked out, sobbing too. "I'll never forgive myself for how much I hurt you. I don't deserve such a perfect…"

"Don't say that Elliot," Olivia warned, a slight edge in her voice. "If anything it's the other way around."

His pain forgotten, Elliot couldn't believe this was happening, that his dream girl in fact loved him back. It all felt surreal. "Liv, if we make it out of here…"

"When we make it out of here El," she countered forcefully.

"When we make it out of here, do you want a relationship with me? It's not too late to back out."

"El, listen to me. I've waited too long to be with my dream man. If you think I'm going to let you go after all we've been through together, then you're crazier than I think. We've wasted enough time with our silly doubts and I don't want to waste any more. I want to be with you El, if you'll let me."

"How could I not?" He couldn't help but smile. "I love you Liv." He loved being able to say that now.

"I love you too El," she replied, overjoyed that she could say it back.

Reaching out, Olivia took Elliot's hand in hers, clasping it firmly in lieu of a kiss. Even in the darkest of times, there was light to be found peeking its head out through the darkness.

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It had been nearly two hours since the FDNY cleared rescuers to comb through Ground Zero in search of survivors. Over half or the FDNY's forces, augmented with NYPD, Port Authority, construction workers, and hundreds of private citizens were on scene to begin the recovery efforts. Most were grim (hoping not to find a friend or colleague grotesquely dead in the rubble) but determined to do whatever possible to save those still trapped. A large group of survivors was found in an intact stairwell on Tower One, boosting morale that more might still be alive.

Watching from a building north of the NYPD perimeter, the man inspected the recovery efforts with a watchful eye. His binoculars were the best money could buy, giving him an excellent view. He could make out the figures of the firemen and constables shifting through the rubble, including Munch and Tutuola, his subjects' fellow officers though not in the same league. Benson and Stabler were warriors, not entirely but damn close. The others were skilled but only that; in all other notions they were no different than the rabble that populated the world like insects. While there was a use for those people, unlike the innocents and the warriors, they were expendable once a conflict was announced. Some were worthy of being trophies but most weren't.

As the minutes ticked by, he started to grow restless. Boredom didn't faze him. He had been trained not to succumb to it. It was more that the growing realization that his subjects were dead, ascending to Valhalla with the Valkyries that was grating at him. While there was no nobler a death, it meant that the entire operation was a disaster before it even started. He had rescued himself from disaster before (Prague had been pretty close to a complete cock-up), but this was too much. 'Get a grip on yourself. Whilst there is a chance, you must never give up.' His training had taught him never to assume, and he wasn't going to go back on it now.

A sheen of sweat mixing in with the dust to create a sort of film on his forehead, Munch took a handkerchief from his picket and wiped the dust away, leaving the grey goop on the cloth. "God damn. I'm too old for this shit."

"I'm ten years younger than your sorry ass, and I'm too old for this shit," groused Fin, his voice muffled through the surgical mask that command had given all the rescuers. Helping his partner shift a piece of rubble that the FDNY supervisor had instructed them to, he looked up. "Look at that. Ain't that like the famous picture from Iwo Jima?"

Much glanced in the direction Fin was pointing at to see three FDNY personnel raising a US flag from a shattered flagpole. "Yep," he replied, she sight causing the normally dour detective to tear up. Called the classic skeptic/nihilist when One PP forced the unit to talk to a shrink, it shocked him to be so moved by a simple scene after experiencing decades of depravity and immorality the likes of which normal people could never even imagine. To see hope rise out of the ashes like that flag, it affected him deeply.

"Hello?" Fin waved a hand in front of his partner's face. "Munchy? You still with me?"

"Oh," he blinked, "Sorry. Just zoned out a moment." He took in the scene before him, what was once two proud buildings now a pile of debris and bodies called Ground Zero. "Can you believe this Fin?"

"No matter how many times people ask me that, my only answer is no way. Who would have thought one of your conspiracy theories would come true."

"No, I would have never thought someone would use a plane as a cruise missile and attack one of our buildings. What kind of depraved asshole would do that?"

"Who do you think did this?"

"I don't know, but if I were President Bush I'd start by looking at the guys who hit here before."

"The WTC bombing? You think Muslim extremists did this?"

"Think about it Fin, when there's a crime you look both at similar MOs and who had a history with the victim."

"Good point Munchy." He chuckled and slapped his partner on the back. "Leave it to my Jew to hit the nail on the head."

Munch raised an eyebrow? "Your Jew? What if I called you my Boy?"

"Then I'd be your Boy John, come on. Not all of us are Al Sharpton." He winked and nudged his partner, earning an eye roll.

Nearby, one of the hundreds of search dogs started barking. Trotting over, Munch, Fin, and five FDNY firemen arrived at the particular spot in the wreckage. "He find something?" asked the station chief in charge.

"I think so," the handler said. A fireman took a crowbar and started banging against a pipe.

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Olivia's ears perked up, hearing a faint metallic tap, tap, tap from the busted pipe to her right. They had been stuck here for the eight hours (her watch had survived), and there was now hope that someone had found them. "El, I think there's someone up there."

"Ok," he replied weakly.

Taking out her handcuffs from her belt, Olivia banged them on the pipe. "HELP! HELP!" She prayed silently that they would hear her.

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"Quiet!" The station chief put his ear to the pipe, hearing a bang from below. "Get a rescue team here! We've got someone alive down there!" Quickly, Munch, Fin, and the others got to work, hoping against hope that the survivors would hold out long enough for them to reach them.

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It had been an hour since the rescue, and Olivia was growing more and more hopeful as the sounds of the rescuers grew louder and louder. The fireman had faded in and out of consciousness but seemed alright, however across the concrete divide Elliot seemed like he was slipping away, overcome by shock and the concussion. 'No, I'm not going to lose the love of my life now!' "Elliot, stay awake baby. You have to stay awake."

She heard a slight groaning. "What did you call me?" She could visualize the smirk on his lips as he said that. It made her smile.

"I said baby. Is that a problem?"

"No, I like it. Is it ok if I call you something too? After all, fair's fair."

"Ok smart guy," she replied, hoping to keep him fighting for life. "You have a deal."

"Thanks gorgeous."

"Elliot!" she felt a blush creep under her gas mask. Even underneath a pile of rubble after an attack he could embarrass her. "Why do you want to call me that?"

"Because it's true," he answered flatly, making her blush again. His next words took the happiness away. "Listen Liv, if I don't make it I want you to live your life. Promise me that." His voice was weak, like he was fading away.

She knew she had to stop this. "No! I'm not giving you up just when I got you. You're going to pull through this Elliot Stabler." She didn't get a response. "Elliot," Olivia stumbled trying to find something to say, for the sounds were getting closer. "Tell me when you realized you loved me."

After the longest seconds of her life, he finally responded. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes El, please tell me."

Hearing him sigh softly so as not to aggravate his broken ribs, Olivia listened as Elliot began. "Remember when Richard White was stalking you? He had already killed that ADA and his former victim, and now he was fixated on you. You were being your usual stubborn self…"

"Hey!" she mock scolded, surprised as anyone that she could be so in this situation.

He chuckled before groaning in pain. "You were refusing a protective detail, so I decided to abide by your wishes and went home."

"But you called in the detail," said Olivia, confused.

"You didn't let me finish gorgeous. I went home but couldn't concentrate. I kept remembering what White did to his victims, and kept imagining it happening to you. It ate away at me, and then it hit me that if you were hurt in any way, I'd die. I realized I was in love with you at that moment, though it had been building since the day on the roof."

She couldn't believe her ears. What had she done to deserve such a man? "Oh El. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Just then, a loud thud erupted from overhead as the rescue workers lifted the massive slab of reinforced concrete from above Olivia's little cave. It was dusk outside, Olivia and Elliot having been trapped down there for nine hours. "You alright ma'am?" asked a fireman.

"Yes, my partner is to the left, please free him," she pleaded.

"Don't worry ma'am, we will," said the fireman as a team of paramedics went to the fallen FDNY firefighter. "Let's get you out of here."

Olivia was pulled out of the hole, clambering up onto the top and out of what could have been her tomb. "Olivia?"

She swiveled and smiled as she saw a gaping Munch and Fin staring at her. "Hey guys. Did you miss me?"

"Damn babygirl," Fin hooted, hugging her. "No wonder they call you Badass Benson. Not even a falling building can take you down."

"You can say that again," added Munch, hugging her back. "How's the big lug?" he asked.

Olivia couldn't help buys smile at any mention of Elliot, the man who loved her. "He's alive. Hurt bad but alive." At that point, the paramedics began to haul two stretchers out of the hole. The fireman was in critical condition, while Elliot was semiconscious, had broken ribs, a concussion, and dehydrated but otherwise fine.

"Liv," he croaked out, Olivia trialing alongside the stretcher after making much and Fin promise to notify their families.

"Yes baby, I'm right here," she said, gripping his hand in both of hers.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Olivia could never get tired of hearing those three words form him.

"Ma'am, he needs to be taken to a hospital, you too. There's another ambulance waiting for you."

She nodded, though not wanting to leave him. "El, I have to head off now but I'll come back." She smiled warmly at him.

"Can I wake up next to you?" he pleaded weakly.

"Always." She leaned down and kissed him ever so gently on the lips. It was their first kiss since they declared their love, the light in the middle of the darkness. Even in the abyss, Elliot and Olivia were happy that they found each other.

A third person was pleased at the situation. From the rooftop north of 16th Street, the man smiled, for he had found his targets. 'The game is on!'

A/N: And Boom goes the dynamite. I told you I wasn't going to have an entire story filled with angsty situations where we wait for them to get together only to have it happen at the end. I hope the EO moment was worth the wait and the cliffhangers

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT NOTE. THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS WILL BE FLUFF-FILLED EO ONES SINCE YOU GUYS DESERVE THEM AFTER PUTTING UP WITH MY CLIFFHANGER, LOL! HOWEVER, IF THE ENDING OF THIS CHAPTER IS ANYTHING TO GO BY THE MAN WILL BE PREPPING FOR HIS GAME, AND THAT IS AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS. IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS OR IDEAS ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO DO TO EL AND LIV, I ASK YOU TO PM ME WITH YOUR THOUGHTS (KEEP THEM SEPARATE FROM THE REVIEWS). I WOULD LOVE YOUR IDEAS WIT THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES:

NOTHING HAPPENS TO LIV AND EL DIRECTLY

THE ACTIONS HE TAKES PISSES THEM OFF AND GOADS THEM TO TRY AND FIND HIM

THE ACTIONS ARE BRUTAL BUT EFFICIANT

LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT YOU COME UP WITH

Up next, the recovery and what everybody thinks of them getting together.