I feel like a broken record saying this, but sorry it's so late!

This is a chapter of nervous confessions and near misses. Enjoy!

Elliot stood up and helped Olivia shakily to her feet just as Fin and Munch pulled up next to them.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Fin asked, jumping out of the car.

"We're fine. What about Mason?"

"We lost him. I think he got into a cab or something as soon as that car tried to run you down. That was probably the plan all along."

"We're making him nervous," Olivia said. "That means we're getting closer."

"Leave it to Liv to find the bright side of somebody trying to kill you," Munch joked. "Come on, we'll drive you to the precinct."

When they arrived at the station, Cragen immediately approached Olivia.

"Liv, you're here just in time. Dominic has been crying for the past ten minutes, and we can't calm him down. I tried giving him some licorice from my secret stash, but it didn't help..."

The young boy saw Olivia come in and ran to her, throwing his little arms around her as he collided with her legs. She lifted Dominic into her arms and he stopped crying right away, sniffling slightly as Olivia assured him everything was okay.

"I told you," Elliot whispered so only Liv could hear him.

"You told me what?"

"That you would make a great mom."

Olivia smiled, truly comforted by his words.

"What happened to you guys? And where's Mason?" the Captain asked.

"We were chasing him on foot...until somebody tried to run us over," Elliot stated.

"What? Somebody tried to kill you? And you didn't think it was necessary to mention this before?"

"Well, we were going to. We just got here. And, obviously, they weren't successful in killing us."

"Yes, I can see that. Did you get his license plate number?"

"Nope. I was kind of focused on making sure my partner and I didn't become roadkill. But I'm sure the car was stolen anyway."

"Okay, okay, so you didn't get the plates. No need for sarcasm. When was the last time any of you ate?" Cragen asked. None of them could remember, so he told them to take a break. Then he told Elliot and Olivia that he didn't want to see them back at work until morning. Olivia had expected him to take them off the case completely, so for once she didn't argue.

"Hey, why don't we take Dominic and go out to eat before we go home?" Elliot suggested. "I'm sure he's hungry."

Olivia agreed, and soon the three of them were at a nearby restaurant. Elliot sat on one side, while Olivia sat with Dominic on the other, and as they chatted and discussed the events of the day, she couldn't help but think, This is how it's meant to be. To the rest of the world, they looked just like a family. If only she knew that Elliot was thinking the exact same thing.

"This is nice," Elliot said, unable to contain his feelings.

"What's nice?"

"Being here, the three of us," he said, and he didn't need to explain. She knew exactly what he meant.

"Liv, I know it's none of my business, but can I give you my opinion?"

"Knock yourself out."

"I think you should adopt him. I mean, he already trusts you. And like I said before, you'd make an amazing mother. The victims always love you right away, especially the kids. And my offer still stands; I'll always be there for you and Dominic. I could..." Elliot cleared his throat nervously. "Uhh, what I mean to say is...I could be..." He was struggling with the words. "I could be a...a sort of father figure for him. If you wanted me to."

For a moment, Olivia stared at him, mouth slightly agape, as she tried to process what he had just said. Then a huge smile split across her face.

"Elliot, you have no idea how happy that would make me. I...I don't know what to say."

Upon seeing her joy, Elliot couldn't help grinning himself.

"I have a confession to make," he said, wringing his hands anxiously. "For years now, I've imagined what it would be like...to have a family with you."

Olivia blushed slightly, and had to keep telling herself, That's not what he means. He doesn't love you like you love him. He's your partner. He's just being a good friend.

"Elliot...I have a confession as well," she said, now just as anxious as her partner. "I've imagined that same thing. Elliot, I-"

She was interrupted by Elliot's cell phone ringing loudly.

"Stabler...Oh, hey, Fin...Really?...We'll be right down."

He hung up, then smiled at his partner. With her short, brown hair, her perfect face, and the big, brown eyes that he seemed to lose himself in every few seconds, he was too busy staring at her to think coherently. Those eyes...

"Elliot. Earth to Elliot. Do you read me?" Olivia said, Snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Uh, sorry, what?"

"Quit spacing out," she said, playfully poking his arm. "I asked you what Fin had to say. Is there a break in the case?"

"Oh, right. John and Fin found Mason in one of the warehouses listed in Alec Preston's name."

"Seriously? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go interrogate him again!"

"Um, there's a problem with that, Liv..."

"Why?" she said exasperatedly, itching to have another go at Mason.

"He's dead."

Realization spread across her face, followed by a look of sadness as she realized that their only witness had died, and with him the hope of finding those kids. Elliot smiled sadly and gave her uninjured arm a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on. They want us at the crime scene," he said softly.

"What about Dominic? I don't want him to see something like that."

"I'll call Kathleen. She's been looking for a babysitting job."

Elliot made the call, then they dropped Dominic off at Elliot's apartment, where Kathleen was waiting. The little boy seemed terrified to leave Olivia's arms, but Elliot's daughter assured him they were going the have lots of fun together. Then the adults headed off to the crime scene.

When they finally made it to the building, Olivia stopped in the doorway and deliberated on coming in. Elliot noticed her unease and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. His touch brought a stinging pain when he accidentally bumped a wound on her back, but she hardly noticed.

"Completely different warehouse, Liv. Completely different circumstances," he whispered.

"I know," she said, stepping into the room, but Elliot could tell she was still worried.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I just got you back, and I'm not letting you go again."

"I know," she said, and this time it wasn't a lie.

Elliot led a somewhat less nervous Olivia to the crime scene, where they found Mason lying, pale and cold, on the concrete floor. Warner was doing the preliminary examination with a look of extreme concentration on her face.

"Cause of death?" asked Elliot.

"Um...I don't know yet." she said, looking the body over once more.

"What do you mean you don't know? Was he shot, stabbed, strangled? What is it, Warner?" Elliot shouted angrily.

"El," Olivia said, shooting him a look. Elliot paused in his rant, looked at Olivia, and realized what he was doing. He took a deep breath and turned to the clearly hurt M.E.

"Sorry, Melinda," he sighed. "I guess I'm still wound up a little tight. And I won't be able to relax until we find this guy."

"It's fine, Elliot. I get it. I've been shouting at my interns all day. I want you to catch this guy too," she said, then turned back to the body. "He lost some blood, but not enough to kill him, as far as I can tell. Has CSU taken pictures of the body so I can reposition it?" Elliot nodded and she rolled Mason onto his side and lifted his shirt to examine his back. She gasped and her face paled slightly when she saw the wounds. "Oh, no...Elliot, come look at this."

Elliot squatted down next to the body, curious about what could frighten the never-squeamish Medical Examiner. Olivia followed him, and when they saw the victim's back they both gasped.

Etched into Victor's skin with a sharp blade was a message of blood:

Back off, Olivia, or the next dead snitch will be you.

Olivia was extremely shaken by seeing her own death sentence carved into the flesh of a man they had seen alive so recently. Elliot scooted closer to her as she tried to pull herself together.

"I will not let Preston anywhere near you, Olivia," he said, his voice filled with determination. "I'll protect you."

Olivia nodded, but remained silent. Melinda continued to search for cause of death, then suddenly grinned triumphantly, which is a rather strange thing to do when one is squatting next to human remains.

"What? Did you find out how he died?"

"Even better," she said excitedly. "There's skin under his nails! We can find out exactly who did this!"

"But we already know who did it," said Olivia, her mind still moving slowly from the shock of Preston's 'message'.

"No, we don't," Elliot corrected. "We only know his aliases. But how much do you want to bet that the real Preston/Gallagher/Mason is in the system? We can find out his real name and, hopefully, where he's hiding."

They thanked the medical examiner, then headed back to the station to fill in the others and await the DNA results.


"I hate this part," said Fin, who had finally gotten some much-needed sleep. "Waiting for DNA results is torture. And until they come back, we got nothing."

"I know what you mean," said Elliot, tearing his gaze away from his partner. She had been entertaining Dominic at her desk, since all of them had given up on getting anything done. "At least they're making it priority. Plus, DNA testing has gotten a lot faster over the last couple years."

"Back in my day...-" Munch started, using his 'crabby-old-man' voice.

"-Yeah, we know," Fin interrupted. "Back in your day, cops rode around in carriages because there were no cars, and the only scientific tool you had was a magnifying glass."

"Oh, real funny, Fin," Munch pouted as the other three detectives burst out laughing. "I'll remember that little quip when I become your boss."

"Like anyone would ever put you in a position of power," Liv chuckled.

"Um, excuse me. I have a package for an Olivia Benson," a voice called, interrupting the lighthearted moment the group had been sharing.

"Oh, thanks," Olivia said, still laughing. The delivery boy didn't even acknowledge her, but instead scurried put of the room as fast as he could. Olivia distractedly opened the box, still bickering playfully with Munch. She didn't see what it was until she heard a strange beeping sound. She looked down at the package, her smile disappearing and her face turning pale as she saw the glowing red numbers going down with each beep.

12...11...10...

"Liv, what is it?" Elliot asked worriedly.

"BOMB!" Olivia shouted. "Everybody get down!"

Chaos ensued as everyone in the precinct tried to find cover, or simply ran from the room. It seemed to happen so fast, but later Olivia would realize it was the longest ten seconds of her life.

With no time to think or consider her options, Olivia grabbed Dominic and dove to the ground, protecting the boy's fragile body with her own. A deafening sound ripped the world in two. Then she saw a flash of light, and then absolutely nothing.


Elliot froze when he saw the terrified look on his partner's face. When she screamed that there was a bomb, his instincts told him to sprint toward the doors. But as he looked over his shoulder, he saw Olivia trying to protect Dominic and he changed course. He would not let her die.

Before he could reach her, the bomb's beeping became one long, shrill note and he dove to the ground just as it exploded.

Half a second of flames and noise, and then it was over.

I'm alive.

Elliot did a quick check as he lay on the floor. Nothing seemed to be broken. Aside from being slightly dazed, he was fine.

"Fin!" a voice called out. "Fin, help me!"

"John?" Elliot asked, searching for the source of the voice. He spotted Munch trying to put out the fire on his pant leg. Elliot crawled over to him and used his jacket to smother the flames.

"You okay?" he asked. Munch nodded. "Where's Fin?"

"Over here!" Fin called. Munch went to his partner to assure his safety.

Olivia.

"Olivia!" Elliot shouted, frantically scanning the room. "OLIVIA!"

"El."

Elliot barely heard the reply, but his heart beat even faster as he made his way in the direction the voice had come from.

"Olivia, where...where are you?" Elliot asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"Over here. There's something...on top of me. I...can't get up." Her answer was still quiet, and she, like Elliot, was fighting for breath.

"Dominic...?"

"He's...he's okay. We both are."

Elliot crawled over to the pile of rubble that used to be their desks, which seemed to have landed on top of Olivia.

"Liv, I can't move these desks. Lifting one piece might cause another to fall on you. Can you move at all?"

"Yes," she said, and there was a shift in the rubble as she did so. "Are you okay, Elliot?"

"I will be," he said, "as soon as we get you out of here."

Even in the darkness of the precinct, Elliot could see the desks move again as Olivia's arm slid out from underneath the debris. He reached put and took her hand in his. Their joined hands were illuminated by flashing blue and red lights as sirens filled the air.

"Elliot..."

"It's okay, Olivia. I'm right here. I'm not leaving. Not now, not ever."

The desks shifted slightly, and Olivia let out a cry of pain.

"E-El?"

"It's okay," he whispered again, squeezing her hand tighter. "I will never leave you, Olivia."

I thought about ending with a cliffhanger, but I decided that I value my life. :) Please review, if you have the time!