Disclaimer: See chapter 1
They walked to the Chinese place at the corner of the street. It was their favorite place to eat. After having their fill, they left for the zoo. After arriving and getting entrance into the zoo, they began in the tiger area and walked from there to the lions. Karla was fascinated by the animals and the tidbits that the signs in front of each enclosure had in front of them. She kept a hand in each parent's hands. She loved the zoo until she had to go to the bathroom.
"Mommy, I gotta go," she said.
Olivia nodded and told Elliot they needed to find a bathroom. They found one and went into it. After they were refreshed, Karla peeked out the door to see if her dad was out when she was grabbed and yanked out of the bathroom.
"Daddy! Mommy!" she screamed.
Olivia came out of the bathroom quickly after hearing that scream. She met up with Elliot who had cornered the guy. It was Carmichael. Karla was right about him coming after her. He had a hand around Karla's throat and was squeezing gently. Olivia breath caught in her throat and her heart leapt in her chest. Elliot was talking calmly to the man who held his daughter. His heart was beating wildly and he was scared of what could happen to his little girl. It was his greatest fear come to life. Not only his, but Olivia's as well. Olivia knew she had her back-up in her shoe, but was worried what might happen if she reached for it. By the position that Carmichael had Karla, he could snap her neck. Karla was shaking and crying.
"Karla, baby, it's okay," said Olivia.
"Mommy, help me, please," Karla cried. Olivia almost broke down right then.
"Let her go," she heard Elliot say.
"Let her go and you can leave. We won't go after you," he said.
'The hell we won't,' Olivia thought to herself.
"No, she's mine and don't try to stop me," Carmichael said gruffly.
Olivia reached behind her since Carmichael was watching Elliot more than her. She pulled her phone out and sent a message to Fin.
Across the city, Fin's phone chirped it's message tone. He flipped it open and saw that it was from Olivia. 'NY zoo now! Karla, trouble,' said the message. He told Munch and the captain who had stepped out and they all took off out of the precinct.
Back at the zoo, Elliot was still talking to Carmichael. Carmichael was getting edgy. He began to squeeze tighter. Karla whimpered in pain and Elliot shut up. Olivia gasped.
"Don't you hurt her!" Olivia screamed at the asshole. Carmichael looked over at her and grinned like a jackal.
"She's mine. I'll do what I please," said Carmichael smugly. Karla whimpered again.
The crowd that was at the zoo to begin with had gone. Olivia spotted Munch cautiously coming towards them with his weapon drawn. Elliot's eyes flickered to Munch which made Carmichael look over to the elderly detective. Once distracted, Fin jumped him from behind causing Carmichael and Karla to be knocked forward. Elliot saw this and lunged for Karla. He picked her up and handed her to Olivia. Carmichael was fighting Fin and Elliot kicked and punched the guy repeatedly. He kept going. Fin was pulling him off.
"Elliot, he's down! Elliot stop!" Fin was yelling. Cragen came running up.
"Elliot, break it up!" he ordered. Karla was hugging her mother and turned to see her dad still trying to fight. She knew he wasn't listening to anyone.
"Daddy! Daddy, stop please!" Karla cried. Elliot stopped immediately.
He looked over at Karla. Karla reached for him. Elliot jogged to his partner and child. He picked up his daughter and held her tightly to his chest, tears running down his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked kissing her forehead and cheek. Karla nodded. She hugged him tightly.
"I love you Daddy," she said.
"Oh, sweetie, I love you too," he replied. He looked over at Olivia who was in tears.
He opened his arm and she walked to him. Karla wrapped an arm around her mother too. They stood there and cried and hugged. After giving their accounts as to what happened, they left for Olivia's apartment. Once inside, they all collapsed on the couch. Karla leaned into her father and began nodding off. Elliot picked her up and put her into her bed. He walked back out to find Olivia looking off into space.
"Liv, you okay?" he asked. Olivia looked over at him. She had tears in her eyes.
Elliot walked over and sat down on the couch. He pulled her to him and held her. She cried into his shirt.
"Baby, she safe now," he said. He knew exactly what was wrong. Olivia nodded.
"I know, but it was too close," she said, "We almost lost her today, El." Elliot rubbed her back.
"I know, but we didn't. Even if the guys hadn't showed up, he wouldn't have gotten very far," he said, "I was going to kill him."
"I know," said Olivia, "I wanted to kill him too."
"I think if it hadn't been for Karla yelling, I wouldn't have stopped," Elliot said.
"El, she was scared more of losing you than of being lost herself. She was scared that you would kill him and she wouldn't have you anymore. I was scared too. Elliot, I don't want to lose either of you," Olivia said. Elliot kissed her head.
"You won't lose us, Liv. Never," Elliot said. Olivia leaned her head up and kissed Elliot with all the emotion and love she was feeling. Elliot kissed her back just as hard. The passion they felt was so overwhelming. They just held on tight and loved each other with everything they had.
A/N: Whew, that was a close one! Glad she's okay! Wanna get the epilogue? It may be the last chapter, but, believe me, there's more to come!