Wow, I am so bad about updating this story. I'm so sorry! I've sort of moved away from SVU fanfiction, so I lost some inspiration in writing this. And I sort of forgot where I was taking the story for a while. But my earlier promise still stands: I am going to finish this. So don't worry if it seems like too long between updates, because I'm not abandoning it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize

A loud crashing sound caused Olivia to jump slightly and hug the wall. She swiveled her head, looking for the cause of the noise. The sound of footsteps and loud voices reached her ears, though it sounded like it was at least a floor away.

She let out the breath she had been holding, and continued forward cautiously. Every door she passed, she was expecting to open, and see her captors coming back. But the hallway remained eerily silent. Outside of the small room she had been held in, she could tell the building had probably been a warehouse of some sort, once upon a time. Now, it was rundown and dirty. She glimpsed broken and boarded up windows, padlocks and chains on some doors, and at least an inch of dirt on the ground.

She tried to step as lightly as possible, afraid to stir up the rubble she was walking on, for fear that someone would be able to track her movements.

Another crash sounded, and she glanced back over her shoulder. A shout of surprise and anger wound its way through the halls, and she knew, instinctively, that the game was up. Someone had discovered the empty room, and they would bee looking for her now.

Olivia knew she couldn't wait any longer; under the sound of more running footsteps, she turned back and made her way quickly towards the exit. Or, what she thought was the exit. She really had no idea what the layout of the dilapidated building was.

Suddenly, she stopped. She heard more footsteps, but they were coming towards her this time. Glancing all around, she refused to let the bubble of panic that was lodged in her stomach rise any further. The door on her right was partially open. She quickly headed towards it and just barely managed to get herself inside and close the door again, before three men came running by.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, she turned to the room, and looked around. It was much like the one she had been held in, though there were a few key differences. Namely, this room had a window. A window at street level. Olivia moved quickly towards it, studying. The wood looked slightly rotted, and the glass was cracked in some places and warped in others. She reached out to test it, and found, much to her chagrin, that it wouldn't open. She might be able to change that, but it would take time, and she couldn't guarantee that no one would hear.

It was her only option, though, so she pulled out her small knife once more, and began to work it around the sill, trying to get out years of grime and who knows what that had caused the window to become permanently closed.

A thump outside in the hallway caused Olivia to pause, glancing over at the door. She took a deep breath, and turned back to the task at hand. She was running out of time.

She tried the window once more, and felt a small bit of joy as it gave slightly. She looked back over her shoulder, and then continued to push the window up, a centimeter at a time.

It worked, but it was much louder than she would have liked. Pausing frequently, she carefully maneuvered the window, opening it wide enough for her to squeeze through.

Putting her hands on the sill, she pulled herself up and through the open window. So close.

She was almost all the way through, when she heard the sound she'd been dreading: the door being forcefully slammed open.

Doing her best not to panic, Olivia moved faster. She hauled her legs out, and quickly pulled herself up on her knees. Pushing off the ground, she immediately began moving away from the building. Behind her, she heard the angry shouts as her captors filled the room she had just vacated.

Olivia stumbled, going down on one knee briefly, before pushing herself back up and continuing to run.

An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back, and she shrieked, fighting the unwelcome grasp as a second hand clamped over her mouth.

Kicking and screaming, she was hauled bodily back inside, down the stairs, and into the same room she had just escaped from.

XXX

"Detective!"

Elliot turned away from yet another couple that hadn't seen anything, and looked towards the uniformed officer who was trying to get his attention.

He quickly walked over to join the young man and the woman who was standing with him.

"Officer Thompson," he addressed the uniform tersely.

The officer in question nodded once, and then turned back to his witness. "This woman might have something." He cut down any pleasantries, getting right to the point. They didn't have any time to waste.

Elliot nodded and turned to the woman. "Ma'am?" he asked, holding up the picture of Olivia. "Have you seen her?"

The woman hugged herself closer, eyes drawn to the photo. Looking back up at the man holding it, she was almost overwhelmed by the worry and fear in his eyes. Clearly, this missing person was important to him. Slowly, she shook her head. "I'm not sure if it was her," she began, feeling strangely guilty for not being able to give a positive answer. "It was about half an hour ago, I heard someone scream, and then I saw a couple of men dragging a woman into a warehouse."

"What did this woman look like?" Elliot asked, keeping a careful lock on his emotions. He couldn't afford to lose it, not now.

The witness shrugged. "White, brunette, medium height. I didn't get a very good look."

Elliot nodded. "Where was this?" he prompted.

The woman jerked her head up in the direction behind the detective. "It's an abandoned warehouse, corner of Grand and Baxter."

Turning around to face the direction she indicated, Elliot was off and running. Pulling out his walkie talkie, he radioed for Fin, Munch, and Cragen to meet him at the warehouse.

XXX

Olivia groaned and opened her eyes slightly. She could feel the concrete beneath her, and, looking around, recognized the same room that she had so recently escaped from.

Mentally, she took stock of herself, and was both concerned and relieved by what she found. Her head was pounding, and she could feel something wet and tacky on the side of her face, but that was the extent of her injuries. She would bet she had a concussion, but she didn't think it was that bad. As long as she didn't move too much.

The sound of the door opening focused her attention. She wasn't facing the entrance, so she couldn't see who it was, but then again, she didn't really need to.

"That wasn't smart, Detective," the cold voice said snidely.

Olivia didn't respond, and after a moment, she felt rough hands forcefully turning her so that she was lying on her back. If she had had the energy, she would have put up more of a fight. As it was, she simply swallowed, and repressed a moan.

Blinking rapidly, trying to ignore the pounding headache, she glanced over at her captor, and felt her heart rate speed up. There was no mask. She knew what that meant. Criminals generally showed their faces to their captives only when they knew it wouldn't matter in the end.

Green eyes sparkled, and the man's lips lifted into a sinister smile. "It's a good thing you're hot, detective, or I'd just have to-"

He cut off abruptly, and both of them looked towards the door, as a very distinct crash could be heard, followed by several bangs that could only be gunshots.

Olivia's captor glanced back down at her, and then turned and headed out the door without another word.

Olivia waited, heart beating much faster than normal. All she could do was wait. She had no idea what was going on, though the optimistic part of her brain prayed that Elliot had found her.

Everything seemed suspended in time. All she could hear were disembodied sounds, reaching her ears as low and distorted thumps and bangs. A few indistinct shouts could be heard, but she had no idea who was doing the shouting, or what they were saying. The pounding in her head increased, and she closed her eyes, desperately trying to push the pain to the back of her mind, and focus on the situation at hand. It wasn't working too well.

The bangs were getting closer, but Olivia couldn't bring herself to do anything. She just lay there, unable to move. The door opened loudly, and she flinched instinctively, but didn't open her eyes. She heard more yelling, but couldn't make out anything specific over the buzzing in her ears.

There were hands touching her, moving her, though they were much gentler than the last pair to shove her around so forcefully.

Then she felt the zip tie loosen around her wrists. She opened her eyes, and blinked at the harsh light. It felt a hundred times brighter than before, though she suspected the possible concussion might have something to do with that.

"Liv?"

The query was soft, hesitant, and full of apprehension. Olivia knew that voice. She would recognize it anywhere. She turned her head, and was able to make out a very blurry form leaning over her. She blinked again, and the image resolved a little bit. It didn't matter though. She knew who it was.

"El?" She could hear the slurred tone of voice, and she winced internally. Screw the 'possibly'. She knew she had a concussion.

Elliot smiled, and felt himself relax slightly. The blood on her face, and that tone, definitely worried him, but she knew who he was, and that was definitely something. "Yeah, it's me."

Olivia smiled, and sighed. "Hey," she whispered, closing her eyes once more.

Elliot felt his heart speed up. "Come on, Liv, stay awake for me." Olivia moaned, but made no other movement. "Please," Elliot begged, "Olivia, please, you've got to stay awake."

To his joy, Olivia opened her eyes again. "I'm fine," she replied groggily. "Just a headache."

Elliot almost snorted. His girlfriend really had understatements down to an art. "Can you sit up?" he asked, wondering if that was the right thing to ask. He knew that she really shouldn't move until cleared by paramedics, but he also knew that she would not want to stay in this room any longer. She had already been here too long.

Olivia started to nod, and then stopped as the pounding in her skull increased. "Yeah," she replied instead, but made no move to actually carry out the act.

Elliot gripped her arm with one hand, and positioned the other behind her back. Gently, he helped her sit up, trying not to wince as he saw the pain wrack through her body.

Once sitting, Olivia had to close her eyes against the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her. Swallowing harshly, she willed herself not to throw up. It seemed to work, for the moment. Nodding once, she indicated that she was ready to continue.

Elliot understood, and stood up, pulling her with him. Once standing, he felt her tremble, and gripped her arm tighter. As soon as she seemed semi-stable, he let go briefly, to remove his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. That task complete, he set one arm around her waist, and, making sure that she was securely tucked against him, led her outside.

Ahhhh, that took way too long! So sorry for the delay, and thank you to all of you who have stuck with me for so long. I think I'm winding this story down, I have a general end that I'm heading towards. One or two more chapters, maybe. My original goal was to finish the story within a year, and I think that's a definite possibility, despite all my procrastination.

As always, please REVIEW!