Author's Note: Sorry about the wait, life decided to get in the way and sadly I have to keep my priorities straight, as much as I would rather just sit here and write all day ;) Thank you for all of your reviews and I look forward to reading more of them. Enjoy!

ps- I absolutely LOVED the finale, as heartbreaking as it was. I wrote a one shot for it called 'Ruined.' So if you get a chance, please check it out. I know some of you have already read it and asked me to continue it instead of leaving it as a one shot, which I do want to let you know I am considering it. I already have a different story in mind based off of the finale as well.

CHAPTER 10

"Hank!" Erin screamed. Marcus shoved her battered body up against the wall, pining her there with one hand while aiming his gun at her with the other. "Get off of me!" she bucked, determined to fight to the very end.

"Let her go," Hank demanded, his own gun trained on Marcus.

"No, she escaped her fate once before, I won't let her do it again!" the convict yelled back, his finger twitching on the trigger.

Hank gritted his teeth. If he shot Marcus now, with his finger tensed so precariously around the trigger, Marcus could still fire off his own shot and kill Erin. But if he did nothing, Marcus could still kill her. "Trust me, it won't end well for you. You don't want to do this."

"Oh but I really do!" he sneered. A gunshot reverberated off the walls.

"NO!" Hank shouted, lodging his own bullet into Marcus' skull. The man died instantly, crashing to the ground with a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

Erin's eyes were wide, her body slowly sliding to the ground now that Marcus was no longer supporting her weight. A streak of blood smeared on the wall as she fell. Hank ran to her, weapon forgotten. He ripped his jacket off, balling it up and pressing it to the wound in Erin's chest. "Hey, hey kid, look at me." Her wild eyes darted back and forth. Hank placed his free hand on her cheek, directing her gaze. "Erin, it's me, Hank. Focus on me."

Her brown eyes rested on him, finally registering who it was. "Hank..."

"Yeah kiddo," he said, his voice heavy with emotion, "I'm here." He shivered, remembering the last time he had held Erin like this, the last time Marcus had shot her and left her to die. Her eyes started to drift shut. "No, no, Erin you have to stay awake." He lightly tapped the side of her face. "The ambulance is on it's way. You have to fight, don't let him win."

Her eyes flew open, only to have them roll up in her head, her lids closing once more. "M'sorry," she whispered, losing the battle.

Hank felt her head become dead weight in his hand as she lost consciousness. "Erin? Erin!" Her breathing stopped. He dove straight into CPR, the chest compressions causing more blood to leak out of her injury. "Come on Erin, don't you dare give up on me!" He breathed into her mouth, continuing compressions. Tears started cascading down his face. He repeated the process over and over, with no results. He could hear the sirens in the background. Hank cradled his deceased daughter in his arms. "I love you," he choked out. A familiar tone sounded in the background, but he ignored it, his attention solely focused on Erin. The paramedics rushed in, pushing a reluctant Hank aside. The tone stopped for a brief period of time, then started again, becoming louder.

Hank jolted upright in his office, that annoying tone still chiming in his ear. He settled down when he realized he was at the district, having dozed off by accident. He brought his hands up, making sure they were not stained with Erin's blood. Hank shook his head at himself, rubbing a hand down his tired face. The familiar tone rang again, frazzling his already frayed nerves. The sound that had woken him up was his cell phone ringing. He picked it up just as the call was transferred to voicemail. He pushed a few icons on the screen, revealing he had four missed calls, all of them from the same number. Before he could do anything else, the same person called back again, obviously persistent.

"Hey Olivia," Hank answered, his voice hoarser than usual from having just woken up.

"Hank," Lieutenant Olivia Benson from the SVU breathed in relief. "I was concerned when you didn't answer."

"I noticed. Calling five times in a row Liv?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Olivia's tone was serious, "I'm worried about you, and Erin." She heard Hank's breath catch in his throat at the mention of his detective's name. "I know what's going on Hank."

There was a long pause. "Who told you?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. She didn't know, given the current situation, if Hank would be livid with the detective who had called her. "Your team is trying their best to find Erin," she hinted at why she had been notified in the first place. "I want to help."

"I appreciate it, but there's not much you can do from New York."

"I'm taking a few personal days off from work to fly out there," she offered.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm telling. I've got a case I need to wrap up here and then I'll be on the next flight to O'Hare," she told him, leaving no room to argue. "How long has she been missing?"

"It's been almost three days," he said softly.

Olivia swore mentally. Why hadn't anyone told her sooner? She might not be part of Intelligence, but she'd worked closely with them on a few occasions and had grown to care about them as if they were part of her own team, especially Erin and Hank. She had worked with Erin the most. The woman reminded her of herself: smart, determined, and headstrong. Nothing deterred her from finishing the job, not even when she was sent to the hospital after a bicyclist collided with her during the pursuit of a suspect. Hank was the only one who could talk some sense into Erin and send her home. He had to fly all the way out to New York in order to get her to go back to Chicago. She witnessed Erin's strength again when they dealt with Yates, twice. Her heart broke for Erin, finding her close friend like that and knowing what had happened to her. She'd seen a lot of cops break from witnessing a personal tragedy. Her and Erin had a sort of kinship now, ever since their talk at Molly's after Erin killed Gregory Yates. Both of them were haunted by things they endured in the field, but they were each haunted by a specific man. For Olivia, it was Lewis, and for Erin, it was Yates. Once they brought Erin home, she was going to have to deal with a whole new set of nightmares from what her kidnappers must be doing to her.

Ever since the first case they had worked on together, Olivia took Erin under her wing, always looking out for her. Hank had asked Olivia to keep an eye on her when he couldn't. She could tell this detective was important to Hank, but it had taken him a long time to finally confide in her, explaining his and Erin's relationship. She was the only one in the SVU that knew, and Hank wanted to keep it that way. Hank and Olivia had talked many times on the phone. They had an unspoken agreement that they would always protect the other's team members when their forces combined. The two had an understanding between them that only two sergeants could understand. While they may operate in separate manners, Olivia often times lecturing Hank on the tactics he used, they both fought and risk their lives to protect the innocent.

"Liv?" Hank asked, wondering if she was still there after he heard nothing but silence.

"Sorry," she apologised, not realizing she had gone quiet while she was lost in thought. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as can be expected," he replied shortly.

She nodded. Hank had a tendency to close off any emotions that weren't anger. If something hit too close to home, he would lash out. "That's not a real answer," she pushed.

He huffed. "What do you want me to say Liv? That I'm scared shitless I'm never going to see Erin again? Or if I do it will be at a morgue?"

Now they were getting somewhere. "It's a start."

"I can't let those feelings show right now or they'll take control. I need to keep it together until we find Erin."

"But you also can't keep bottling everything up inside, or you'll get to the point where you lose it. It'll cloud your judgment. Don't let your emotions control you, you take control of them. Use them to help you get Erin back. Don't close yourself off, your team needs you and you need them."

"What they need is for me to keep a level head and lead them," Hank protested. "Erin is my responsibility and I let her down."

"Hank, Erin doesn't see it that way. She would never blame you for this. You can't be there to protect her 24/7, as much as you would like to. Sometimes shit happens when we least expect it. Besides, Erin doesn't want to be anyone's responsibility; she's too independent and stubborn for that. I wonder where she gets that from." The Intelligence sergeant chuckled at Benson's comment. Olivia smiled at the sound. "She'll be okay."

Hank's face fell, "you can't know that."

Liv pursed her lips. "I'm not going to lie, whatever she's going through right now, she's going to have a long road to recovery from it."

Hank knew she was speaking from experience, an experience he wished she never had to endure.

The lieutenant continued, "but trust me when I tell you, she'll come out of this on top. We'll make sure of it," she promised.

Hank didn't miss how Olivia included herself in Erin's recovery. He was very appreciative of the sentiment. Knowing Olivia was coming out to help made things a little easier to deal with. "She's been through so much, how can I be sure this won't be the final straw that pushes her over the edge?"

"Because it's Erin, because she has you looking out for her, and her whole team to back her up," she said confidently.

"I just hope that's enough," Hank said, less sure than his friend, images from his nightmare replaying in his mind.