A/N: Sometimes, even the best kept secrets are spilled. Along with a little blood.

DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and characters. TStabler© owns this story.

Olivia dropped from the vent to the floor, her heels clicking as she landed on her feet. She moved to the side, looking around, and Elliot dropped next to her, not as gracefully.

Elliot grabbed his gun, just to be ready, and asked, "What now, Ninety-Nine?"

"Really? A Get Smart reference?" Olivia questioned, rolling her eyes. "We get out of here, Max," she said, returning his homage to classic TV.

Their lighthearted moment was interrupted when they heard shouting. "Gone?" George's voice rang through the building. "What do you mean, they're gone?"

"Run," Elliot ordered, not having to look to know that Olivia was right by his side, keeping up.

They were halfway to the front door when they heard the cocking of triggers behind them, and Olivia spun around quickly, stepping in front of Elliot and firing fast.

The two men in front of them fell to the floor, unmoving, and Elliot's eyes widened. He didn't even see her aim, or blink. She scared him a little, but made him proud. "Nice," he said.

"I've been told," Olivia said. "You wanna get the door?" she asked, keeping her eyes and her gun on the doorway, knowing Huang could walk through any minute.

Elliot pulled the door open just as a shot was fired from the other end of the bar. "Yeah, we gotta go!" he yelled, pulling her out of the grimy establishment. He ran, still holding her hand, down the block and pulled her into an alley, just in case they were being followed. He held Olivia close to him, hiding them in the shadows, keeping quiet as he tried to regulate his breathing.

Olivia closed her eyes, listening to his heart pound as he held her against his chest. She, too, was breathing heavily, but she wasn't as on edge as he was. She was used to this.

Elliot pulled her closer as he tried to flatten them up against the wall when they heard footsteps running passed the alley. When the noises faded, he exhaled, but his grip on her didn't loosen. "Cragen," he whispered.

Olivia nodded into his chest, sighing, "Yeah." She gripped his arms and looked up into his eyes. "Welcome to my world, El," she said with a harrowed expression.

Elliot chuckled. "Fuck, Liv," he said. "It's an adrenaline rush. I could get used to this." he smoothed his hands down her body and cupped her ass, giving her a squeeze. "Who knew running for your life could be such an aphrodisiac?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

She quirked an eyebrow at him and smirked. "I married the right guy," she said.

"You did," Elliot said with a nod. He gave her bottom another squeeze and was about to kiss her, when their phones rang at the same time. They looked at each other, a dejected sigh coming out of both of them, and they answered their phones.

"Benson." "Stabler."

They looked at each other again, this time their eyes wide, and they took off running again. "When?" Olivia yelled into her phone. She listened and stopped in her tracks, looking at street signs.

"Liv!" Elliot called, running across the street, "This way's faster!"

Olivia followed him and hung up her phone, looking over her shoulder as they ran. She reached for Elliot, grabbing him, pulling herself to him.

Elliot turned, pulling her, finally slowing now that they were sure no one was after them. "You all right?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, nodding. "This is what I do." She linked her fingers through his and took a deep breath, giving herself permission to enjoy the walk back to the station, looking over her shoulder.


Elliot headed up the precinct stairs, dropping Olivia's hand, leading her through the doors. They seemed to melt back into slow professionalism, glancing at each other and smirking, sharing their secret. He held the elevator for her, she slid in beside him, and the doors closed, finally allowing them to breathe.

Elliot was about to take the private moment to give her a kiss, but thought better of it, as the camera in the elevator was in perfect working order for the first time in years. He settled for a quick, mumbled, "I love you."

Olivia, knowing she had to, brought her hand up to her mouth, as if concealing a cough. "I love you, too," she said, not looking at him, giving the appearance to anyone watching the tape of two normal detectives taking the ride to their floor.

Normal. As if they hadn't just run for their lives, away from someone who was supposed to be a friend. As if they hadn't just been given a couple of phone calls letting them know their worlds were colliding. The elevator binged and the doors slid opened, and they stepped out, cool and calm.

Olivia walked in first, making deliberate eye-contact with a very shocked Cragen. "Hey, Cap," she said cheerfully. "The bar was a bust," she said. "Didn't get anything you wanted. I mean, that we wanted."

Cragen cleared his throat and shook his head. "Yeah," he said, "Seems the girl was somewhere else when she was last seen. And this man, claiming to have legal business with her, took her away." He handed her a photo and looked nervously at Elliot.

Elliot nodded curtly, from him it was a warning, and sat in his chair. He wondered, as he sat, since Cragen knew he was with Olivia, how much of their relationship did they have to hide? Could he kiss her in the squad room? Could he hold her hand in the halls? Could he fuck her senseless in the cribs? He smirked and chuckled at his own thoughts, then realized someone had been talking to him. "Sorry," he said, "What?"

Munch looked down at him and repeated, "I said, we're getting company. Feds. Apparently, the vic worked with the CIA, retaining and gathering information from the streetwalking teenagers. Still think my conspiracies are dumb?"

"Yes," Elliot said with a nod. He glanced at Olivia, who was biting her lip, staring at the photo. "Hear that, Liv? We got ourselves a federal case."

Olivia nodded, dropping the photo of their suspect on his desk. "I heard," she said.

Elliot's eyes popped out of his head. He picked up the picture and shook his head. "No, no, this…this isn't possible." He stood up and looked at Cragen, yelling now. "You told me he would never…"

"It happened," Cragen said. "I don't know how, but it did. And it's not your case anymore. I'm sorry."

"Sorry my ass," Elliot hissed. "You probably got him out," he spat.

Cragen was hurt, taken aback, deeply wounded. He had gone through a lot of trouble to make them happy. He folded his arms and asked, "How could you think…"

"That thing with Huang!" Elliot yelled, not thinking, not caring. "What the hell was that?"

"Just a few simple questions, Elliot," Cragen shrugged, not understanding why he was so upset.

Elliot took a few steps toward his captain. "So what, the guns were just for motivation?" he asked, his voice low.

Cragen shook his head and furrowed his brow. "What?" he asked.

Elliot ran a hand down his face and jutted his chin toward the interrogation room. Cragen led him inside, and he closed the door. Elliot turned and said, "What the hell do you want from us? We would have talked to him, you didn't have to have armed guards and…"

"Hold on, Elliot," Cragen said, holding up a hand. "You were just supposed to talk to him. Have a few drinks and talk. Guns? What?"

"Don, he locked us in the goddamned basement!" Elliot yelled. "We got out, but then they shot at us, and Liv killed…" he paused, hearing a knock on the window.

Olivia walked into the room, then, throwing a file down on the table. "Huang works for the FBI," she said.

"Yeah," Elliot said, lifting up the file.

"So did Dean," Olivia said, folding her arms. "He was with the Special Affairs Division, El. Ya know, the people who have to do the really dark, corrupt, fucked up shit? He found out about me, and for the last month of our relationship, I was an assignment."

Elliot flipped through the file, his eyes widening. "He got drunk that night because he was upset that he had to hurt you," he surmised. "It was his job," he said, the pieces fitting together. "He…he's still on the payroll, isn't he? The government got him out, is that what you're trying to say?"

"His job's not finished," Olivia said as she shrugged. "So maybe they did."

Elliot slid the file over to Cragen, and then asked, "What does this have to do with Huang holding us hostage tonight?"

"Dean was supposed to shut me up, El," Olivia said. "Make me suffer and then take me out. But since he got the wrong girl and got locked up, the only other FBI agent close enough to me to earn my trust…"

"Was Huang," Cragen finished. "I let you walk right into his trap. He said you would need to clear some things up if you wanted to…I was…I would never do anything to hurt the two of you. I finally pushed you together, why would I want to rip you apart?"

Elliot looked at his Captain, seeing sincerity in his eyes. "Cap, Liv and I don't really trust anyone anymore," he said.

"I'll find out how he got out," Cragen said. "Until he's caught, you two can't…"

"It's our case," Olivia interrupted.

Cragen shook his head. "No, I told you it wasn't. Munch and Cassidy are…"

"No, Cap," Olivia said, sighing. "Not our case," she said gesturing to the three of them. "Just ours." She nodded once to Elliot. "This fell into the hands of the CIA the minute Kline found out Rignelli was dead. Dean is a fugitive and he has information and intelligence that could cause the NYPD a lot of problems. Not to mention he's being paid to get me out of the way so the FBI can get one of their own in here. I'm going after him, he's coming after me."

Elliot scoffed. "So we just have to wait and see who gets killed first," he said with an aggravated, pissed off, shrug.

Olivia nodded, not seeing the sarcasm or the fear in his face, and she smirked. "I have something he doesn't have, though."

"What?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked at Elliot, leaned over him with her hands resting on his knees, and said, "An amazing partner, whom I trust with my life."

She would find out, very soon, that her trust was in the right place.

Someone else, though, would do his best to convince her it wasn't.

And he would almost succeed.

Almost.

A/N: Who? What does he do or say to Olivia that almost loses her trust in Elliot's? And we finally get the night with the kids, and some love ;) Review here or on Twitter: TMG212