Chapter 14: Zero Hour

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: I may be taking a short break after this chapter. Only a couple of days. This chapter moves pretty quickly. Oh, and just in case anyone doesn't know what zero hour is it's the time when something happens. For example, if a bomb is set to go off in 20 minutes, then zero hour is in twenty minutes. Or if you have a math test in two days, zero hour is in two days. Now that that's settled…Enjoy much!!

P.S. Does anybody know what the next episode is and when it's going to air? Some sources say that "Sin" will be airing March 27 and "Responsible" will be airing sometime in April. Others say that "Responsible" is airing March 27 and "Sin" sometime in April. And still others say that "Responsible" will be airing March 20 and "Sin" will be airing March 27. I'm very frustrated.

The only thing I know for sure is that the entire month of May will be new episodes. The last episode, "Screwed", will air May 22.

Here we go!

12 hours have passed since they found out about the bomb. That's 12 hours of waiting, of worrying, and of praying. Olivia had been tough when Elliot had told her about their predicament, but inside he could see her fear. He could always see her fear, her happiness, and her anger. He only wished that, instead of identifying them, he could fix them. He wanted to make her fear go away.

"Has anyone seen Daxi?" Olivia asked. They'd left the hospital about 12 hours ago, but she'd only seen Daxi once since then.

"She's up on the roof. I told her to catch some sleep in the crib, but she's wired. Like a Tasmanian Devil on 6 cups of coffee…only less destructive." Munch answered.

"Should she really be alone right now?" Olivia asked looking at Elliot. "I mean, if these creeps are after us shouldn't we all stick together?" Elliot looked down. They really should stick together, but Daxi was a free spirit. She'd do what she wanted when she wanted.

"I'll get her if you want me too." Munch offered.

"No, that's okay. Maybe she just needs sometime alone." Olivia rubbed her arms. Elliot came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It'll all turn out okay, Olivia." He said as they gently swayed side to side.

"Can you promise me?" Olivia already knew the answer.

"No. But I'll do my damndest to make it that way."

"I know." Olivia smiled and wrapped her arms around Elliot's arms.

Exaggerated retching noises brought them back to reality. Munch and Fin were both leaning over in their chairs holding their stomachs, making gagging noises.

"Shut up." Olivia said, but she smiled nonetheless. She was with Elliot and nothing else mattered. Not even Munch and Fin's childish antics.

Munch and Fin sat up laughing. "Aww, so cute!" Fin said sarcastically.

"Your insults hurt me." Munch said dramatically putting his hand over his heart. Elliot and Olivia only smiled.

"I think I will go check on Daxi." Olivia said disentangling herself from Elliot.

Elliot watched her go then sat down at his desk and rubbed his hands over his face. They were running out of time. The bomb went off in exactly 35 hours and 30 minutes. The time for games of hide and seek were over; this was war. And in war there were casualties and Elliot wasn't ready to deal with that yet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Hey, you okay?" Olivia asked softly walking up behind Daxi. She was leaning over the rail and looking out over the city. She quickly wiped her eyes and turned away from Olivia.

"Fine." She responded.

"What's wrong?"

"Try everything." Daxi said tiredly. "You know, I always wanted to come to New York. I'm only fifteen, but I knew by the time I was 7 that I wanted to come to New York. But, now that I'm here…I don't know. It's different, I guess."

"New York's tough. Trust me-," Olivia started, but Daxi cut her off.

"No, no. New York's great. I just thought that the circumstances for my being here would be different." Daxi opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but she closed it and shook her head. "Forget it. I'm being stupid."

Olivia looked at her. She shouldn't be here; she shouldn't have to deal with this. But, Olivia knew better than to question her further.

"Do you want to come back outside?" she asked.

"No, I think I'm just going to hang out here awhile."

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24 hours until Zero Hour

"I'm hungry." Daxi said stretching and walking down the stairs. She jumped the last few steps and walked over to Elliot's desk. "What do we have to eat?"

"Uh, Olivia and Munch left a few minutes ago to grab bagels and donuts. Any preference?"

"No, whatever's fine. So…you let Olivia leave?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked leaning back in his chair and lacing his hands behind his head.

"Nothing, I just thought-," Daxi began and smile on her lips.

"We're back!" Munch announced. "Did you miss us?" Elliot and Fin shook their heads. Olivia put the bags on her desk and stood back as the other detectives and Daxi dug in.

"You want anything?" Elliot asked wiping his mouth. Olivia put her hand to her stomach.

"Nah, I've actually been a little nauseous lately." Elliot shrugged.

"You're okay, though, right?" he asked looking at her closely. She nodded.

"Captain!" Munch said as Cragen walked into the precinct. Though his four best detectives, Casey, and Daxi had stayed in the precinct all night Cragen had gone home. "Any luck?" Nobody asked Munch what he meant. They all knew what he was talking about.

Cragen shook his head. "No news on the bomb. And in this case, no news is bad news."

The atmosphere in the room changed abruptly. It had been a tensed sort of relaxed before, but now there was no hiding it. They were all scared. It was their duty to protect the people of New York… and they were failing.

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18 hours until Zero Hour

Six hours had gone by since the captain's latest update. And, so far, nothing had changed.

Elliot and Olivia were sitting in the crib discussing the situation in hushed voices.

"We're running out of time, Elliot. We're running out of options." Olivia said wringing her hands.

"All nonessential members of each squad in every burrow are out looking. Narcotics has started sending teams also. IAB is even getting involved. They're doing everything they can." Elliot replied.

"What if it's not enough?" Olivia looked at Elliot. "What if our best efforts aren't good enough? What if, this time, we really can't beat them?"

"No more 'what-if's' You'll drive yourself crazy. The most important thing is that we try our best. And if that isn't enough…well, we die knowing we did everything we could."

"I won't give up. Never." Olivia said the familiar fire burning in her eyes.

"I won't either." Elliot said pulling Olivia to her feet. He crushed her against him and buried his face in her hair. "I love you, Olivia. It's important that you know that."

"I do. And I love you too."

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5 hours until Zero Hour

13 hours had gone by in a haze. They talked, they sighed, they fell into worried silences. They laughed odd, nervous laughs, and felt like strangers in each other's company. It's a strange thing, preparing for one's possible death. The worst part was the hope. The hope that they might survive. The hope that they'll come out on top one more time. And the crushing, breathless hope that they really were ready. Ready to face this…this monster.

In slow motion they watched they captain come out of his office. In slow motion they watched him come to a stop in front of them. Everything was dull and Cragen looked blurred around the edges.

"We've found it." They heard Cragen say it, but they didn't dare believe it. No one could comprehend the severity of what Cragen had just said. The implications…the terror…the hope. Everything came crashing down on them at once.

They launched themselves out of their chairs as one and asked the same question.

"Where?"

TBC

A/N: So what did ya think? I really love hearing from you guys, so please R&R!!