Hey guys! A reader informed me that sometimes I switch back and forth from present to past tense. I've been writing these stories so fast that I hadn't even noticed. I try to stay consistent, but I guess I've been slipping up at times. I need to slow down and I'll watch that from now on. I hope it hasn't been too much of a distraction for you guys. If you have any other constructive criticism to offer, please do. I won't be mad… I love improving my story. Thanks!

Location: Olivia's Apartment

Elliot and Olivia approach Olivia's apartment door and Elliot kindly takes Olivia's keys from her hand to unlock the door.

"You've had a long night," he says while removing the key and pushing the door open. "You were very brave tonight, Liv."

Olivia simply nods her head and walks past Elliot and into her apartment. She stops and looks down at the clean floor where one of Grant's victims once was, dead with her neck slit open.

"I still think you should have stayed for a bit longer," Elliot says while gently removing his jacket from her back. "I want to make sure that you're well."

Olivia walks over to the sofa and sits down, sighing.

"Elliot, I'm fine. I was only gone for a day. I was beat up a little, but bruises heal. I don't need to be cooped up in some hospital all night," Olivia answers in a soft tone.

Elliot nods and swallows hard. He really wants to ask her what she means by "beat up a little." He wants to know everything that went on while she was with Grant. However, Elliot knows better. He knows that it is too soon for Olivia to open up to him. As much as he wants to question her, he wants her focus entirely on getting better, not on Grant Meyers.

Elliot knows that Olivia was raped and it breaks his heart. When she didn't refuse the rape kit at the hospital, it tore Elliot up inside. Elliot is not surprised that she was raped. Truthfully, that is what he expected to happen. However, a big part of him was hoping by some miracle that Grant chose not to rape her. Elliot flashes back to finding Olivia on the sofa, her thighs bruised and wet with semen. His eyes burn as he tries to hold back his tears.

He watches her hand go to her bandaged arm where Grant had burned her. She presses down on the bandage, making sure it is secure. Elliot torments himself as his mind races to figure out how she got that burn. His eyes fill up with tears as he imagines all the tortures that Olivia endured.

Elliot sits on the sofa and gently takes Olivia's hand in his.

"I'm sorry, Olivia," he whispers. "I should have been there for you."

Olivia slowly shakes her head and stares into Elliot's eyes.

"This has nothing to do with you, Elliot. Grant Meyers did this," she responds.

Although Elliot knows that Grant Meyers was to blame, he partially blames himself for not listening to Olivia and backing down when they were confronted by Grant Meyers in the bar.

"I know," Elliot continues. "But I was selfish… I couldn't protect you because I didn't listen to you."

Elliot gently massages her hand while staring into her eyes. Olivia notices the tears forming in Elliot's eyes and shakes her head again.

"Elliot, that was just plan A," she whispers to him. "Meyers had a plan B. If you would have never gone off on Meyers, he would have thought of some other way of taking me. Trust me."

Elliot bows his head and allows some of his tears to roll down his face.

"I'm just sorry that he hurt you. Liv, I'm never going to let him hurt you again," Elliot cries softly.

Olivia knows that Elliot would sacrifice everything to protect her. However, she also knows Grant. She knows how obsessed Grant is with finishing what he started and how drawn Grant is to her. She can't help but to feel uneasy, even with Elliot by her side.

Elliot looks up at her and sees the fear in her eyes.

"Liv, there's no need to be afraid," he says, shaking his head.

Olivia decides to be truthful with Elliot. She is tempted to agree with him, but she feels suffocated as she keeps her true feelings to herself.

"Elliot, Grant has nothing to lose now… and you weren't there. You don't really know him. I do. Even if Grant doesn't succeed, I know he's at least planning on coming after me. He's obsessed, Elliot. He lost his control over me and he will want it back," Olivia whispers.

Elliot doesn't respond. He can't argue with what she stated because part of him feels the same way. The only thing that Elliot can do is offer his protection.

"I'm looking after you… we have several cops looking after you, as well. Grant's not getting near you," he reassures her.

Olivia nods her head and stares into her lap. Tears begin pooling in her eyes as her fear builds up. This isn't her first time hearing that.

"I'm scared, Elliot," she whispers.

Those words break his heart.

"Liv… what did he do? Please, tell me what he did," Elliot whispers as he places his hand on her knee.

Olivia is wearing hospital scrubs and feels Elliot's hand through the thin material.

"Everything," Olivia responds softly.

Even though it does, her intention isn't to torture Elliot, but that one word truly explains how she feels. She thinks of the beatings, Grant forcing a pillow down onto her face, burning her, killing women in front of her and Grant raping her. She feels as if she had experienced it all. In her mind, there is nothing more that Grant could have done to abuse and break her down.

Elliot frowns and lifts himself to scoot closer to her.

"What do you mean? " he asks.

Olivia doesn't respond. She doesn't think that Elliot can handle it. Furthermore, Olivia's not sure if she can handle it.

"Olivia, you can tell me," Elliot says, gazing into her eyes.

Elliot gently lifts her arm up and stares down at her bandage.

"What did he do? What happened here?" he asks, whispering.

Olivia closes her eyes and flashes back to the kitchen. She remembers Grant hovering the pan over her and the sadistic look on his face as he approached her.

"A pan," Olivia answers. "He burned me with a pan."

Elliot furrows his eyebrows and clinches his fists. Maybe it's best that Olivia not tell him. She shares only one part of the abuse with him and Elliot's rage toward Grant is already showing.

"I'm gonna kill him," he whispers under his breath.

Suddenly, Olivia starts to speak again, taking Elliot by surprise as she goes into further detail about the previous hours she spent with Grant.

"Roy was going to help me… I could see it in his eyes," Olivia whispers to him. "It was only a matter of time."

Elliot struggles with the fact that Olivia feels sympathetic toward Roy. He hates Roy for not helping Olivia and it took everything in him not to strangle Roy while he was cuffed.

"But he didn't. He could have called the police, Olivia…you cannot allow yourself to feel sorry for that animal. He's no better than Meyers for not helping you," Elliot tells her.

Olivia nods her head and continues speaking.

"I thought he was going to kill me. I thought I was going to die, Elliot. When he had that pillow over my face a part of me thought that was it for me," Olivia speaks in a soft tone.

Elliot closes his eyes and sees red. His nails dig into his palms as he imagines Grant suffocating her.

"That coward," Elliot says. "He's a fucking coward."

Olivia jumps slightly when Elliot speaks. Grant's yelling and cursing quickly come to her mind as Elliot uses the strong language. Olivia is no longer comfortable with that word because it was used against her so many times during Grant's tirades.

Elliot notices Olivia's reaction and immediately apologizes.

"I'm sorry," he says, gently grabbing her hand again.

Olivia blushes, embarrassed by her frightened reaction to Elliot's cussing. She shakes it off and gazes into Elliot's eyes again. She trusts him. She knows that if she were to share her painful experience with anybody that it would be Elliot.

"He shot her, El. He raped her and shot her right in front of me," Olivia continues. "Where'd they find her?"

Elliot knows that it won't help Olivia any by providing her with a mental image of Christina's body stuffed away in some closet, but he can't disregard her question.

"They found her in one of the closets," Elliot answers her, his tone gentle.

"They probably found my clothes in there too then… He threw me down on top of her, ordering me to clean up the blood," Olivia says, closing her eyes.

Olivia tastes Christina's blood in her mouth as she thinks back to that moment, remembering how Christina's blood covered her lips and face.

Elliot feels sick to his stomach as Olivia speaks. His hatred toward Grant increases the more she shares with him. Elliot is no longer interested in killing Grant on the spot. He wants to make him suffer. Elliot wants Grant to call out for mercy as he inflicts unimaginable pain on him.

"What else did he do?" Elliot asks, gritting through his teeth.

He tries his best to appear calm as Olivia continues explaining. Olivia pauses as she thinks back to the bed. Elliot caresses her hand as he watches her slowly space out, looking at the wall directly in front of her.

"Liv," he whispers as he gently shakes her hand.

Olivia's eyes become glossy as she stares blankly out into nowhere. She feels Elliot shaking her hand and blinks, a tear escaping as she flutters her eyes.

"I…I didn't fight him," she whispers. "I didn't move when he was on me… It didn't matter though… He was still angry with me. He was always angry."

"You did good," Elliot tells her. "You're the strongest person I know."

Olivia nods, but inside she feels weak. She feels anything but strong as she continues speaking.

"Twice," she continues. "He raped me twice… I don't understand why he didn't just kill me."

Her words worry Elliot as he stares into her terrified eyes.

Olivia stares off into space once more as she feels the shag carpet burning her back as Grant is in her, grinding her sensitive skin into the carpet with each thrust. She feels the pain in between her legs and slowly brings them together, closing them.

Elliot wants to embrace her, comfort her and tell her that everything will be okay, but he fears that Olivia may be too jumpy. He's careful as he touches her as to not scare her. He knows that Olivia needs time and he's willing to give her as much time as she needs.

"You're going to get better," he promises her while using his tender touch to tilt her chin up. "You're stronger than you think you are, Liv."

Elliot stands to his feet and offers Olivia his hand.

"You need some sleep. It's nearly 5 am," he tells her.

Elliot guides Olivia into her bedroom. As Olivia starts tugging at her scrubs to change, Elliot turns and begins approaching the door.

"I'll let you get changed," he says.

"No!" Olivia stops him, practically yelling as she speaks. "Elliot, stay."

Olivia doesn't want Grant having control over the intimate parts of her life. She remembers Grant threatening her, demanding that no other man shall see her naked again. Olivia isn't fully comfortable with showing Elliot her injuries, but she strives to gain back control as she stops Elliot from leaving.

"Elliot, don't go," she repeats.

Elliot stops and turns toward her.

"Are you sure?" he asks her.

Olivia nods her head before sitting on the bed. She slowly lifts her scrub shirt over her head, flinching a bit as the shirt rubbed up against her sides and arms. Elliot holds his breath as he stares at Olivia's body. A large, dark bruise covers her side, extending from her lower back to her abs.

She also has bruising on her right shoulder where she collided into the hard tile as Grant threw her to the floor. It takes everything in Elliot not to break down and cry. He walks over to her dresser, opening the middle drawer to pull out a t-shirt.

He walks over to the bed while Olivia is lifting herself to pull her scrub bottoms down her legs. He sits next to her, offering the t-shirt. Elliot looks down at her legs and sees the bruising along her thigh.

"Are you in a lot of pain? Do you need some more ice?" Elliot asks her.

Olivia shakes her head before taking the t-shirt and putting it on. She continues to move around cautiously and Elliot can tell that her body is aching.

"Can I get you a pain pill?" Elliot offers. "I don't want you hurting."

"Sure, Elliot… if it will keep you from worrying," Olivia responds.

Olivia pulls the covers back and lies down, facing the ceiling. Elliot helps her, pulling the covers over her before lightly kissing her forehead.

Olivia tenses as Elliot places his lips on her. Although Elliot is gentle, Olivia can't help but to think of Grant who was also gentle at times when he touched her. She closes her eyes and swallows, fighting back tears as Elliot strokes her cheek.

"You okay?" he asks, whispering.

"Mm-hm," Olivia lies while opening her eyes to stare at him. "I'm sorry…I'm fine."

"Don't apologize for anything, Liv. You've been through so much."

Elliot exits the room and heads to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. The few moments that Elliot is away from her Olivia's eyes dart around her room. Her breathing shallows as she waits for Grant to jump out from some hiding space. She looks over to her window, her imagination causing her to see Grant's reflection in the glass. She closes her eyes, sobbing and anxious for Elliot to return.

Elliot enters the room with a glass of water and a pill bottle.

"This should help," he says as he sets the water on her night stand and hands her a pill.

Elliot sees the nervous sweat on her forehead and can't help but think that he was causing it.

"Liv, do you want me to sleep out on the sofa?" Elliot asks her, his tone soft and gentle.

"No," Olivia answers quickly. "You can't."

Elliot places his hand on her arm and nods his head.

"Okay, okay…It's okay. I'm not going anywhere," he whispers, comforting her.

Elliot is happy that Olivia is comfortable around him, but it tears him up inside that she was terrified of sleeping alone in her own bed.

He removes his shoes before climbing into the bed with her.

"Can I hold you?" he asks, not wanting to frighten her.

"Yes… please," Olivia whispers before Elliot wraps his arms around her.

Olivia feels protected in his arms. She knows no other man can touch her and make her feel at ease the way that Elliot does. He has his arms around her waist similarly to how Grant did, but Olivia doesn't feel restrained or threatened. She relaxes a little, leaning her head back into his chest. However, she can't resist releasing a few tears as she realizes that their intimate life will never be the same.

"It'll take some time," Elliot whispers, reading her thoughts. "Give it time, Liv."

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