Chapter 12

As soon as Lewis pulled Olivia into the taxi, she felt a wave of panic begin to envelop her. He closed the door, firmly wrapped his arms around hers, and told the taxi driver to get a move on, but Olivia wasn't about to let him win so easily. She screamed and squirmed, desperately trying to free herself from his grip. Eventually she was able to rip herself away from him long enough to begin to claw at his eyes, but tears were burning in her own gaze, and it was hard for her to see anything except a red haze. Faintly, she heard Lewis yell something at her, but the blood roaring in her ears was too loud for her to understand it.

She fought desperately to get away, but he was stronger than she remembered, and soon he had her hands pinned to the window with a grip that was firm but unusually gentle. Olivia screwed her eyes shut and turned away, refusing to look at him, and silently pretended that she was somewhere else. She continued to try and rip herself away from him, but his grip on her wrists remained iron-clad.

"Olivia, stop it!" Lewis suddenly ordered in a voice that wasn't his. "Liv, cut it out! Stop it, it's me! You're safe!"

Olivia stopped. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and cried out in relief.

"Elliot!" she breathed, and he released her.

She threw her arms around him, relief coursing through her body like ice water. She slumped against him and felt his arms wrap around her in a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry," she began, "Elliot I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize," he replied soothingly, "you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I was just running," she breathed, fighting back tears. Her adrenaline had finally run out, and now the terror and stress was crashing down on her again, drowning her. "Amanda and I were at my apartment, but there was someone already inside, and then Amanda said to run, so I ran, but he chased me to the road and I thought-oh God!" She clutched Elliot's shirt as she suddenly remembered that Rollins had been left in her apartment. "Oh God, Amanda! Elliot, we have to make sure she's okay-"

"Liv, relax," Elliot replied, gently releasing her grip from his shirt. "I'm sure Amanda's fine. You and I both know that she's completely capable of holding her own. I'll just call Fin to have him bring a squad to come check out your apartment. He'll make sure she's okay, and it'll give CSU some time to see if they can get some evidence from your apartment."

Olivia nodded, but anxiety still oozed from every pore in her body.

"I can't go back home, Elliot," she said, looking him in the eye. "I can't handle being there alone. It was bad enough before Lewis started harassing me again, but now...now I think I might actually lose my mind."

"You can come to my place," he replied. "I'll take the couch and you can have the bed. You can stay there as long as you like, and if you need anything, I'll be there."

Olivia paused for a moment, considering it, then slowly nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I'd like that. Thank you, Elliot."

Elliot smiled. "You're welcome, Liv."

It wasn't long before they were at Elliot's apartment, both in an exhaustion-induced haze.

"Y'know," Elliot yawned as he unlocked the apartment door, "you should really think about seeing a therapist. I think it would help with your anxiety, and they could give you some tips for getting through the trial."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed sleepily as he led her through the door, "you're right. I'll see if I can get on that tomorrow."

Elliot only had to look at her to see how tired she was. Her eyelids were dropping heavily, and he realized that she was only half-comprehending whatever he said. Elliot smiled and quickly led her into the bedroom.

"You can take the bed," he said, and she immediately took him up on it. She slid beneath the blankets and fell asleep almost instantly.

Elliot watched her breathing steady, and smiled as he saw the tension in her body relax. He could've stood there all night, he knew, but he still had to make sure that Amanda was okay. He put a call in to Fin, asking him to check on Olivia's apartment and to see if Amanda was still there. Fin quickly agreed, and promised that he would get right on it. Elliot thanked him graciously and hung up, glad that things seemed to be working out. Then, after checking on Olivia one last time, he quietly grabbed a blanket from the closet and made himself comfortable on the couch. He was asleep within minutes.

About 2 hours later, Elliot awoke to the sound of Olivia screaming in his bedroom. He immediately leapt off of the couch and dashed into the bedroom, but to his relief, when he got there, he realized it was only Olivia having a night terror. Elliot walked over and gently shook her, urging her to wake up from whatever nightmare was causing her to scream in her sleep.

"Fuck," Olivia breathed as she shook off her drowsiness. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, Elliot saw relief wash over her as she realized that she was out of her dream. Suddenly, she realized what had happened, and she turned to Elliot, quickly beginning to apologize. "El," she cried, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologize," he smiled. He sat on the bed and hugged her. "It was just a dream. It can't hurt you now." Olivia nodded, but just stared off into space. From the look on her face, Elliot could tell that whatever had been in Olivia's dream had really bugged her. "Do you want me to stay in here with you tonight?"

Olivia paused. "Um, I mean, if you're okay with that..."

"If I wasn't okay with it I wouldn't have offered." Olivia nodded, and moved over to give him room. Elliot moved over next to her and put his arm around her, while she made herself comfortable, snuggling up against his chest. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, and Elliot was close behind, until he felt his phone begin to buzz in his pocket. Reluctantly, he picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked sleepily.

"Hey Elliot, it's Fin," said the voice on the other end. "I'm at Liv's apartment, and I found Amanda. She was passed out cold when we found her, but she woke up a little while ago and was able to tell us what happened. CSU is picking the apartment apart now."

"Okay, good," Elliot said. "And Amanda's okay then?"

"Yeah, thankfully. Actually, she says she wants to talk to you."

"Put her on."

There was a pause as Fin handed the phone to Amanda. "Hello? Elliot?"

"Hey Amanda," Elliot asked warmly, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," Amanda answered truthfully. "But that's beside the point. Is Olivia with you? Is she safe?"

"Yeah, she's right next to me, why?"

"Because this crap with Lewis isn't over." Elliot heard Amanda sigh heavily on the other end. "There were two guys who came after Olivia. The first one held me captive in the apartment, while the second went after Olivia. The guy holding me told me that he was going after Liv for his 'friend' who had taken a 'particular interest in her.' He wouldn't tell me who it was, but I'm pretty damn sure he was talking about Lewis. Elliot, please, please don't let Olivia out of your sight. As long as Lewis is still out there, she isn't safe, and the last thing she needs right now is a reunion with the man who tried to rape her. Just please promise me you'll keep her safe."

"Don't worry Amanda, she's safe with me," Elliot promised. "If that bastard wants to get to Liv, he'll have to do it over my dead body. Just take care of yourself, okay? And try not to get hit by any more trucks."

"Ha, I'll try," Amanda smirked. "Good night, Elliot, and thank you."

"You're welcome."

Elliot hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. Amanda was okay, and so was Olivia. Lewis was still out there, he realized, but Elliot knew that so long as Liv was with him, the bastard wouldn't dare come near them. And with that reassuring him, Elliot soon found himself feeling relaxed enough to fall asleep.


Lewis frowned as he hung up the phone. He'd been listening to the conversation with interest, having decided to tap into it only on a whim. He didn't know exactly what had happened with Benson or Rollins, but it sounded as though someone had attacked them in his name. And Lewis had a pretty good idea of who would've tried to get to Benson for him, even without Lewis asking him to.

I mean, he thought to himself, who else would call me their "friend?"

But the fact that Stabler was acting as Benson's guard dog didn't bother Lewis. He'd dealt with more vicious mutts before, and each time they'd bit him, he'd put them down. What difference would one more growling bitch make?

"Over your dead body, huh Stabler?" Lewis murmured under his breath, smirking into the phone. "If you insist."

Notes: Sorry this update took so long. School has been kicking my butt, and I haven't had much time for writing. But I'm doing the best I can, and I'm working really hard to have the next chapter up soon. :) Thanks so much for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think!