She cleaned up her mess in a flash. The gun was handed off to a prearranged buyer. Her clothes were dumped at a homeless camp. The car was returned to the parking lot in the same spot. She slipped back in the gym through the back entrance. The keys were placed back in the woman's pants. She smiled as she slipped into the pool with the woman and talked about her workout, sweat still dripping down her forehead. She changed back into the clothes she went to the gym in and tossed her towel casually over her shoulder as she left the gym, carefully turning her head so that the camera could see her. She tossed her gym bag in the back of her car again and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. It was finally over.

She pulled the car into the parking garage and headed upstairs to her apartment. She smiled at the doorman and waved at the security guard at the desk. It was normal for her. Everything was going to go back to normal again. She entered her apartment and tossed her gym bag onto the floor before collapsing to her knees.

Normal.

She dragged herself off of the floor and headed into the bathroom. The hot water pounded down on her, the sound masking her sobs. It was almost over. Alex was finally going to be safe. She had to do it. She had no choice. She was Alex's safeguard.

Twenty minutes later, she exited the shower and ran a towel lazily over her wet hair. She glanced down at her phone before unlocking it. Still no call. It would be coming soon. She needed to be prepared. She tossed her phone onto her bed and slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She glanced back at her phone before crawling onto her bed and laying down on her back so that she could stare up at the white ceiling.

Alex was finally safe. Dylan Whiteman was finally dead. Part of her wanted to make him suffer for what he did to Alex. She could only imagine how much torture Alex went through before Olivia managed to track her down, a week after her initial kidnapping.

The bed vibrated and Olivia jerked up right as she felt around for her phone. Captain. She took a deep breath before sliding the unlock button and holding the phone up to her ear. "Benson."

"Olivia, I need you to come down to Mercy immediately."

Olivia felt her heart rate pick up. She took another deep breath before responding. "Cap, I don't think I'm quite ready to go back to work. I haven't recovered from…Whiteman," Olivia replied, trying her best to sound sullen.

"They found her, Olivia. Alex. She's alive," Cragen told her.

"What?" Olivia gasped into the phone. "She's at Mercy? How is she? Is she going to live? How'd you find her?" Olivia rambled out all at once, making sure he could hear the shock in her voice.

"I think she's going to be okay, Olivia. I figured you'd want to know immediately. I was called a few minutes ago and I just arrived at Mercy to confirm that it was Alex. There was a 911 call this morning from an abandoned warehouse about thirty minutes out of the city and they found her there."

"I'm on my way," Olivia replied as she snapped the phone shut and grabbed her car keys, racing out of the building.

"Cap," Olivia panted slightly as she held a hand to her chest. "I got here as soon as I could."

Cragen wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her down the hallway. "Alex is being checked for internal bleeding right now and then she'll be getting a head scan. She's severely bruised and beaten, Olivia, but the doctors think she'll make a full recovery. She has a couple of fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and she needed around thirty stitches, some for her face, the rest for her stomach and her hand."

"Her stomach and hand?" Olivia asked as she looked up at her captain.

"He cut her up pretty badly across her torso and it looks as if he stabbed a knife through her hand. She might not be able to use her hand quite like she used to."

"And Whiteman?" Olivia asked, even though she knew the answer.

"He was found with her, a gunshot wound to the torso. He's in surgery right now."

Olivia's head jerked up to face his. "He's alive?" She asked as her eyes widened and her heartrate quickened.

"For now he's alive. The responding officers have no clue as to what happened," Cragen explained as he looked up as Elliot walked over to the two. "I already briefed Elliot on the situation but the officers responded to a 911 call that was placed by Alex. They could hardly hear her begging for help so they sent out a unit. They found her and Dylan in one of the warehouses. As I said, Dylan suffered from a gunshot to the chest which is unexplained as of right now. CSU found a broken window where the bullet could've came through and are searching for any evidence."

Elliot glanced over at Olivia, catching her gaze her she dropped it to the ground. Elliot couldn't be involved in this; she knew she had to protect him which is why she refused to tell him anything more once he gave her an address to get a gun from. "Once Alex is healthy enough, we're going to get her statement," Cragen finished as he looked between his two detectives; instantly recognizing the tension.

"Oh Alex," Olivia whispered as she walked into the hospital room where the blonde was laying. She was fast asleep on the bed with a handful of wires surrounding her, and dozens of bandages around her face and arms. It seemed as if there wasn't a single inch of skin that was left unmarked by cuts or bruises. Olivia walked over to the side of Alex's bed and gently picked up the blonde's limp hand. She ran her thumb gingerly over the bruised flesh. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you."

Olivia looked up when she heard the door creak slightly. She looked at Elliot for a moment before dropping her gaze back down to the bruised body beneath her. "Was it worth it, Liv?"

She glanced back up at Elliot and nodded. "She's alive and safe now, isn't she?"

"You could lose everything," Elliot stated as he walked over to the opposite side of the bed as Olivia and looked down at Alex.

"She's worth it," Olivia simply replied as she used her free hand to gently brush back a small segment of blonde hair. She couldn't help it as her eyes fluttered closed ever so slightly as her fingertips brushed the soft skin that she had missed so much.

"An eye for an eye, Liv," Elliot said as he looked up at Olivia. "You know how the saying goes."

"He got what he deserved, El. I figured you of all people would understand."

"I understand the urge but I've never acted on it like this. Are you ready for the consequences?"

Olivia paused mid-stroke across Alex's forehead. She leaned down and pressed a whisper of a kiss on Alex's forehead before pulling back and staring down Elliot. "I have no idea what you're talking about Elliot. I was at the gym all afternoon."