A/N: Hi everyone! I'm sorry its been so long since my last update but school has been kicking my butt lately. The good news is that I am slowly but surely working toward my special education degree, and I have a 4.0 average right now, so I don't feel bad about taking some time out to update this. As always, I own nothing and am not making any money off this story.

Dove: Part 8

By LittleMissMisha

Misha writhed and screamed in terror, the grotesque images her subconscious held made even more twisted by the night. In a room down the hall, Olivia shot awake, her training in law enforcement having conditioned her into a light sleeper. She threw her blankets off of her and swung herself out of bed, hissing slightly in surprise when her bare feet met the cold floor. She ran out of her room and down the hall toward Misha's, hoping Alex had heard the screams, because stopping to wake her right now was not an option. When she reached the bedroom of the frightened teen, she was saddened, though not surprised, by the sight she was met with.

The room was heavy with the acrid scent of urine, and both Misha and the bed were soaked in it. Moving closer, Olivia could see that Misha was badly tangled in the wet blankets, and still thrashing wildly. She turned back toward the doorway, intending to call for Alex, only to find the blonde ADA already walking over to join the grim tableau, a dark expression marring her pretty features.

"Jesus, Liv. I can't imagine what hellish things she's seeing in her head right now. They must be bad, to cause this." She indicated the bed as she spoke, but there was no mocking in her voice, no sign of reproach or ridicule, just overwhelming concern.

Olivia nodded silently, wanting desperately to grab onto Alex and not let go, but right now Misha needed her to be strong, and so she pushed the urge away. The sound of Misha begging for her, and for Alex, brought her out of her reverie. Quickly she laid a hand on the teen's trembling shoulder, and said gently,

"Misha. It is Olivia. Alex and I are right here sweetheart. Open your eyes. Its only a dream. No one is going to hurt you anymore, you're safe now."

Misha's eyes flew open, and she pushed herself desperately backwards until her back collided with the headboard. Feeling cornered and ashamed, she tried to draw her knees to her chest, struggling against the protests of her uncooperative muscles in order to feebly attempt to protect herself. Only when she saw Alex looking at her in obvious concern, and saw a look of hurt surprise flash across Olivia's face before being replaced with a concerned look matching Alex's, did Misha realize where she was and what must have happened. She blushed furiously, groaning in frustration as she realized that not only had a nightmare made her wake both women, but she had lost control of her bladder too. Alex laid a hand on her shoulder and Misha used all the self control she possessed not to flinch.

"Misha, you're okay, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. From the way you were screaming when we came in, its no surprise you lost control. If I had been through what you have, I probably would be in a similar situation right now. But we can talk about this in a little bit. I think our first order of business needs to be getting you cleaned up." Misha relaxed at Alex's words, giving a small giggle at the thought of strong, composed Alex Cabot wetting the bed in her sleep. Then she nodded gratefully at the suggestion of getting cleaned up. Olivia, who had been silent until now, got up and came to Misha's side. Before bringing Misha home, both women had been taught how to transfer Misha, much to the chagrin of the teen. Though at the time Misha had protested the idea of needing Alex and Olivia's assistance when transferring, now she could see the merit in the doctor's suggestion. Thanks to her physical conditioning, Olivia lifted Misha easily and had her in the bathroom next door momentarily.

Misha sat on the toilet where Olivia had set her down and slowly peeled off her wet pajamas, looking up with a smile when Alex appeared in the doorway, holding two fluffy towels and clean clothes, and offering to help her fill the bathtub. Misha accepted the clothes and towels and seemed about to refuse the help with the bathtub until she registered through a foggy mind that she was not only tired, but the painkillers she had taken before leaving the hospital were almost completely worn off. She sank back down on the toilet seat while Alex started the water, using the sheer volume of its pounding against the ceramic tub as an excuse to collect her thoughts.

The nightmare had been awful, and though Misha had obviously not been consciously trying to wake Alex and Liv, she was glad she had managed to. The scene from the day she had called SVU had played over and over like a broken record in her mind. With each repetition the sounds had grown louder and more distorted, making it harder and harder to block them out. Blocking them out. Up until today, the trauma of what she had experienced, combined with the sedatives that had been a constant presence in her bloodstream while hospitalized, had created a mental buffer that prevented Misha from having to relive what she had been through. But the evaluation with Dr. Huang had chipped away at that mental wall, and brought not only those horrible memories, but the tumult of emotions they evoked, to the surface. She was sure the nightmare was the result.

A comforting hand on her back brought Misha back to the present, and Alex gestured invitingly to the now full bathtub. Blushing again, but only slightly, Misha said,

"I'm afraid I'll slip. Can I have some help please, Alex?"

"Of course." She let Misha use her arm as leverage, so she was able to get into the tub, then sat down on the closed toilet lid to keep an eye on the teen. For a few minutes, both blondes were silent, though the quiet they shared was not tense or unpleasant. Alex studied Misha carefully, wincing at the sight of the scars that littered her body where the worst of the gashes had once been. Misha blushed as she saw that she was the object of the blonde's scrutiny, and inwardly thought,

'No wonder she's such a good prosecutor. If she studies everyone she comes across that intently, its no surprise she does wonders in the courtroom'

Misha lingered in the tub for quite some time, knowing when she got out, she would need to face her nightmare. But eventually, the once steaming bathwater turned murky gray and cold, and Alex, seeing the teen shiver, lifted her easily from the tub before she could argue and wrapped her in a warm towel.

However, Misha was in for quite a surprise when she reached the hallway of the appointment, now redressed in her pajamas. Instead of herding her back into the bedroom, and slamming the door as Misha had grown used to from her parents, Alex ushered her in the direction of the kitchen. Slightly confused now, she allowed herself to be propelled over to the kitchen table and guided into a chair. A gentle pressure on her shoulders from Alex forced the dazed teen to sit, though it wasn't done roughly. Another minute or so, and Misha found herself staring blankly at a cup of hot cocoa, the steam rising off the cup and into her face finally providing the impetus for her to speak.

"Wh…what..?"

Olivia chuckled slightly as she watched Misha's brain frantically try to process what she was experiencing, yet another part of her was sad, knowing that the fact that this experience was so new to Misha most likely meant she had not been comforted or consoled very often in the past. It took a moment for Olivia to answer Misha's confused query.

"Hot chocolate, sweetheart. You've had a nasty shock and Alex and I have no intention of letting you go to bed still afraid."

Misha relaxed at this declaration, before tensing, her eyes dropping to stare at her bare feet, which were currently dangling well above the linoleum kitchen floor.

"Do I hafta talk about it?"

Tears sprang into the eyes of both older women present, though Misha failed to notice, being afraid to look at them. Alex and Olivia were struck silent for a moment, though when they noticed the alarm their silence caused, both cleared their throats before Alex said,

"Of course not, though it would probably help. But we aren't here to force you. Just drink the cocoa, and when you're ready, we'll help you get back to bed."

The thought of going to her darkened bedroom again was daunting, so Misha prolonged finishing her cocoa for as long as possible, but though she sighed with regret when it was finally gone, the cocoa had warmed her and made her ready for sleep. Once back in her bed, Misha said a soft prayer of thanks that Alex and Olivia had been the ones to find her, and not for the first time, before she drifted off.

"POLICE! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

In the week following Misha's release from the hospital, she had become more comfortable and felt more safe with Alex and Olivia. She had gradually opened up about her abuse, not just on the day she had called the detectives, but also the nine years previous to that day, during which she bore her cross silently for the most part. She had told various adults every so often, but they had done little besides patting her on the head and recommending that she stop exaggerating. Once the detectives were able to convince her they were capable of doing all that so many others had failed to do, she had explained the mess in her parents apartment right down to the scattered pills, and though it had taken strong doses of medication to calm her down following the recitation, little clues she had dropped as she spoke had finally led the detectives to her parents.

Fin growled dangerously in his throat, as his pounding yielded no response. Not that he had expected any. Misha's parents were like most people he arrested. They liked doing things the hard way. As Fin kicked in the door easily to the abandoned loft where they had tracked the Golden's to, he smirked. Had the Golden's seen it they might have thought twice before disobeying further orders. That smirk did not bode well for lawbreakers. As it was, things after that moved quickly.

Fin and the other detectives he had brought for backup swept through the loft quickly, before finally locating the cowardly excuses for humans that called themselves Misha's parents cowering in a narrow closet. They were quickly dragged out and subdued, before being handcuffed and marched from the loft. Once they had gotten outside and were placed in separate squad cars, they both proudly confessed to their crimes, which made Fin almost sick. He found it unfathomable that these horrible people, if they could be called that, actually felt that their child's disabilities made her inferior at all, let alone reducing her to the level of a mere slave. But Fin's dark look vanished as he turned on the sirens and pulled away from the curb, before pulling out his phone and calling Liv's apartment, where he knew he would find Alex and Misha, as well as Liv, of course.

"Hello?" Olivia answered, her voice tight with hope and anticipation

Fin was unable to keep the smile out of his voice as he said, "Hey, Liv. We got 'em!"

A/N: Finally, justice moves forward for Misha. And that nightmare sounds nasty, I wonder if we'll ever find out what it was about. Next chapter: The Goldens are interrogated, Misha is prepared for trial, and other things. Stay tuned! ~Misha