Chapter 52 is finally here! I'm sorry it took a few more days than I planned to get this chapter written but studying for my exam yesterday took up most of the beginning of my week. Good news, though, I think I did pretty good! So here's the update!

Again major spoilers for Post-Mortem Blues!

Enjoy!

Nick pulled up to the hospital and the two men took her inside to an examination room. "Barba…you gotta wait outside." Nick said quietly, and Rafael looked at him with the worst glare he had ever seen.

"Not a snowball's chance in hell, Detective." Rafael said icily, and Nick shook his head.

"No, you can't. They need to document her injuries and everything for the case. We are not going to let Lewis get away with this again. You need to wait out here."

The two men stared at each other for a long moment and finally Rafael nodded. "Fine," he turned to Olivia who was staring into space and said quietly, "I'll be right outside, okay? Right here if you need me."

She just nodded and Nick led her into the room. After dozens and dozens of pictures being taken of her face and everywhere else, Nick finally spoke up. "All right, isn't that enough? If you're done with the probing can we get someone in here to take care of her face?" He knew that Lewis's blood still on her face was affecting her.

"We'll get the doctor in here in a moment. In the meantime, can I call anyone for you?" The nurse asked kindly, and Olivia shook her head, saying,

"No, he's already outside, thank you."

"How're you holding up?" Nick wanted to know, and Olivia just looked at him and asked,

"How's the girl?"

"Her father and sister are with her, physically she's unharmed." Nick informed her, and Olivia's shoulders lowered a little in relief.

"He didn't…"

Nick looked at her, knowing what she meant and replied, "No, he didn't."

Olivia sighed and said, "From me, he got what he wanted, and it wasn't her."

Nick had a pained look on his face and then Olivia jerked her head up. "My ring…Nick…Lewis took my ring…did you…"

"Calm down, Liv," Nick urged, noticing her heart rate had jumped when she remembered her ring was gone. "I'll make sure CSU finds it, okay? I'll find it." Nick promised her, and Olivia nodded, her breathing slowly back down.

Munch, Fin, Amanda and Murphy got to the hospital a little while after Nick, Rafael and Olivia did, since they weren't allowed to work the crime scene.

And that's when Tucker showed up.

"Tucker's in the house, that mother…" Fin started to say angrily, heading towards Tucker but Murphy stopped him, saying,

"Easy Fin. I'll handle it."

"What he can't wait for the blood to be off her face?" Amanda asked in anger, and Murphy held his hands up.

"Stand down, both of you. I'll take care of it."

Murphy went to confront Tucker and Rafael walked up to Fin, Amanda and Munch. "I would've let you punch him." Rafael said in an attempt to joke, and Fin nodded in understanding.

"How is she?"

"I don't know. Nick said it'd be better if I wasn't in the examination room." Rafael said bitterly, and Munch put his hand on his shoulder.

"You'll see her soon."

Meanwhile, Murphy intercepted Tucker who demanded to see Sergeant Benson. "She's not receiving visitors." Murphy said staunchly, and Tucker raised his eyebrows.

"Your sergeant slipped protective custody and possibly executed a man that she's accused of beating and you think I won't go talk to her?"

"Sergeant Benson did what she had to, to save a 12 year old girl."

"And you witnessed that."

"Heard some of it on the radio. We were on the scene in the immediate aftermath."

"Well I need to hear Sergeant Benson say that." Tucker made to slip past Murphy, but Murphy was having none of it.

"When she's out of shock, and her doctor clears her for visitors."

Murphy stared Tucker down who eventually left, after telling Murphy that he'd be seeing him and the rest of the squad at IAB for questioning soon.

Nick came down the hallway and Rafael immediately stood up straighter. "How is she?" Rafael questioned, and Nick replied,

"The doctor's with her now, I told him to come get you when he's done."

"Thank you." Rafael said quietly, and Nick nodded as he saw the crowd by the front doors.

"IAB show up yet?"

"Yeah, and Lieutenant Murphy got them to back off, for now." Amanda replied, and Nick added,

"Well that doesn't matter, it's open and shut."

"It will be, as long as we all agree now that we got there in time to see Lewis shoot himself." Fin said quietly, and they all fell silent for a long moment.

"Lie under oath? No it's gotta be the absolute truth, the girl wasn't looking but she heard us come in, any detail we shade or omit will come back to bite us. If your impulse is to help Benson on the margins, restrain yourself. Less is more." Murphy stated, and Nick replied,

"Whoa, you don't know Liv, we do. She's telling the truth."

"I'm not arguing Detective, all I'm saying is you sound defensive and IAB will smell that. Keep it simple, let Benson tell her story. Don't tell it for her."

As Murphy walked away, the rest of the group looked at each other. "I agree with Murphy. Liv's been beating herself up over her supposed lie on the stand ever since the trial, she doesn't want any more lies and she doesn't want that guilt for you guys either." Rafael said quietly, and then the doctor came up to them.

"You're here for Sergeant Benson?" He asked, and Rafael quickly nodded. "She's asking to see Rafael, is he here?"

"Yes, that's me, I'm her fiancé."

"Follow me." The doctor said with a nod, and Rafael hurried off to her room where she was sitting on a bed.

"Liv," he sighed, gently taking her hands.

"Don't, please don't be scared to hold me, please." Olivia whispered, and Rafael wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Liv, I'm so sorry. I should've…"

"No, you shouldn't have. You should just hold me, okay? Don't even say anything." Olivia pleaded, burying her clean face into his shoulder. Rafael climbed on the bed with her and pulled her into his lap, holding her safe and vowing one last thing before they both fell silent,

"I will keep you safe, Liv, always."

It only took a few more hours for the doctor to clear Olivia to head home, and it was already getting dark. Rafael had given Amanda the keys to the condo and she went and got some clothes for Olivia, so Rafael went outside to tell the others that he was taking her home while she got dressed.

"I'm taking Liv home, she needs rest." Rafael told the group that was waiting in the hallway, and Nick offered,

"I'll drive you guys."

"I'll come with." Fin added, and Rafael nodded. Even though Lewis was dead and gone, he couldn't shake the fear that something else would happen to Olivia before this whole ordeal was finally over.

"I'm ready." Olivia said quietly, coming out of the room and flashing a forced half-smile at everyone. She slipped her hand into Rafael's and squeezed gently and he smiled at her before squeezing back.

"Call us if you need anything, okay?" Amanda implored, and Olivia looked at her and nodded.

"Thank you. All of you." Olivia said gently, looking at all of her squad, her friends that surrounded her.

"Let's go home." Rafael suggested, and Olivia sighed.

"That sounds perfect."

Rafael and Olivia started walking out of the hospital through the back way so as to avoid all the press, and Nick and Fin walked with them. Nick drove, Fin sat in the passenger seat and Olivia sat in the back with Rafael.

"Home sweet home." Nick announced as he pulled up to the condo, and the corners of Olivia's mouth quirked up a little, which had been his goal.

Once inside Rafael headed upstairs to draw Olivia a warm bath, and Nick offered, "I can stay, Liv, sleep in the guest bedroom or the couch or something."

"We can both stay." Fin offered as well, and Olivia shook her head.

"No, guys, it's okay."

"I'll get you some water, you should drink something." Nick said, heading in the kitchen.

"Want us to order in? Or I can go get something?" Fin questioned, and Olivia held her hands up.

"Really, I'm fine. I think I just need some sleep." Olivia said softly as Nick brought her a glass of water.

"Okay, if you're sure." Fin said hesitantly, and Olivia nodded emphatically.

"I am," she walked with them to the door and leaned against it, saying quietly, "You know what Lewis said to me? He said I want this to be the last thing you see before you die."

"Screw him." Fin said forcefully, and Nick sighed.

"Get some rest," he told her, and then he and Fin headed down the walkway to the car. Olivia watched them drive off and then shut the door, locking it and leaning her forehead against it.

"Liv? You okay?" Rafael called from the stairs, not wanting to startle her by approaching her quietly.

"Yeah, I'm coming up," she replied, turning around and heading upstairs. She took a long, relaxing bath and then pulled some sweats on before crawling into bed where Rafael was waiting. She settled into his arms and he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Rafael murmured, and Olivia paused for a minute.

"Rafael, I…"

He cut her off, saying, "It's okay, Liv, there'll be plenty of time to talk later. I just, I just don't ever want to let you go."

"I don't want you to let me go ever." Olivia said, grateful that he didn't pressure her to talk about Lewis, not that she thought he would.

Her phone beeped just then and she rolled over to check it. Her groan made Rafael look over and raise his eyebrows, asking, "What is it?"

"I have to be at IAB first thing tomorrow morning," she sighed, and rolled back over to bury her face in Rafael's chest.

"I'll go with you." Rafael said firmly, leaving no room for argument, and Olivia was too tired to argue.

"Okay."

"I love you, Liv," he murmured, closing his eyes and Olivia smiled and whispered back,

"I love you too."

They drifted off to sleep, and although Olivia tossed and turned throughout the night, she stayed asleep. In the morning she and Rafael got ready to head to IAB, and that's when Olivia's right hand went to grip her left and she looked at Rafael.

"What? What is it?"

"I…he took my ring, Rafael, I'm sorry…I forgot to mention it." Olivia said bleakly, and Rafael came over to her and took both of her hands and put his forehead on hers.

"That doesn't matter to me, okay? He didn't take your life. They'll find the ring, and it's not like I'm gonna let you get away with pretending not to be engaged to me just because you're not wearing your ring." Rafael teased, and Olivia half-smiled.

"Okay."

They headed to IAB, and were greeted with Lieutenant Tucker who led them both into the interview room. A few cursory questions were asked first, and then Olivia stopped speaking, staring off into space for a long moment.

"Sergeant…Sergeant." Tucker said, trying to get her attention. Rafael nudged her under the table and she jerked back to reality. "Do you need a moment?" Tucker questioned, and Olivia shook her head.

"No, I'm…I'm sorry, what was the question?"

"Did you at any time notify your commanding officer of your location or your intent?" Tucker's partner repeated the question, and Olivia responded promptly,

"I did not. From the texts that Lewis sent me, I knew that if he got the hint of any backup, Amelia's life would be in danger."

"And when you arrived at his location?"

"Lewis met me, Glock in hand, pointing it at my head. He then took my weapon and threw it, along with my vest and my cell phone."

"Then what happened?" Tucker questioned, and Olivia replied,

"He forced me into the back of the car, handcuffed me to the door and drove me to the Granary. From there he led me, at gunpoint, to where Amelia was tied up. He then gave me a choice, he said he could rape me first and then Amelia, or rape Amelia and make me watch, and then rape me."

"And you responded…?"

Olivia raised her eyes to meet Tucker's and she said unwaveringly, "I told him to rape me."

Tucker's partner asked, "Did he rape you, Sergeant?"

"He did not." Olivia said, and Rafael almost visibly relaxed to the left of her.

"Why not?"

"Because I decided not to offer any resistance. Lewis gets off on the struggle, so as soon as I decided to give up, he got bored."

Just then the door opened, and an older woman walked in. "Uh Rita, counselor, we're in the middle of an interview." Tucker said, standing up, and Rita replied,

"Nice to see you too Ed. I've been retained to represent Sergeant Benson," Olivia looked up at her in shock and then looked at Rafael. "And gentlemen, this interview is over."

"She already consented." Tucker's partner argued, and Rita countered with,

"She and I need time to consult. And she has 48 hours to make her statement to IAB. Assuming I get the transcript of whatever was said here today we will see you in 24 hours." Rita grabbed Olivia and Rafael's coats and the three of them headed out of the building.

They walked along the street and Olivia argued with Rita. "This isn't an issue. Lewis shot himself, the ME will confirm it."

"It is an issue, 10 hours ago you confessed to assaulting Lewis and lying about it at his trial. Now we can argue that your televised confession was for his benefit only…"

"There's something I should tell you." Olivia said quietly but Rita plowed ahead, saying,

"And that it was coerced but given the nature…"

"Rita…" Olivia said, stopping and facing her lawyer. "I did say that I lied under oath but…"

"Stop talking," Rita ordered, adding, "If this goes to trial…"

"Trial?" Olivia and Rafael said in unison, and Rita looked exasperated.

"Yes, trial. Hypothetically if you were to tell me you did lie about beating Lewis on the stand and about how you 'wanted' it, then ethically I couldn't let you lie about that on the stand."

"Hypothetically if I did confess on the stand…"

"Then you would leave yourself open to charges of assault, perjury, the list goes on. You'd risk losing your job, your pension, everything. So let's agree to not talk about that."

Rita kept walking, and Olivia and Rafael exchanged glances and then kept walking with her. "I was in there with her, Rita." Rafael argued under his breath and Rita chuckled.

"You were letting her give the interview without consulting a defense attorney. Honestly, for her best chances, we both need to be on this. You'll give the prosecuting viewpoint, and I'll be prepared to tear it apart."

"Is this really going to go to trial?" Olivia wanted to know, and Rita glanced at her.

"I don't know. There's a lot of variables that will depend on the next few days."

Olivia sighed and Rafael wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay," he said quietly, and she just nodded.

"That's right, I hear congratulations is in order." Rita said warmly, and the pair smiled.

"Thanks." Olivia replied, and they went to hail a cab and say goodbye to Rita.

"When did you make your appointment with Dr. Lindstrom?" Rafael questioned once they were in their car.

"After lunch, I figured it would take a while at IAB." Olivia replied, and Rafael nodded.

"Perfect. We'll go home, I'll make lunch and then we'll go to Dr. Lindstrom? I'll wait in the waiting room for you."

Olivia fell silent for the rest of the ride home and didn't say much during lunch. On the way to Dr. Lindstrom's office, she kept quiet until they pulled into the parking garage. "Are you sure you don't mind waiting in the waiting room?" Olivia queried, and Rafael looked at her.

"Of course I don't mind. Being here at all is sort of being selfish on my part, I don't like being too far away from you at the moment." Rafael assured her, and Olivia nodded and took his head as they headed up to Dr. Lindstrom's office.

"Thank you for understanding." Olivia whispered, and Rafael smiled and kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome."

Olivia went into the office and Rafael sat in one of the chairs, picking up a magazine but not really reading it.

"Olivia, I'm very glad you're okay," Dr. Lindstrom said as he let Olivia into the office. "I heard about Lewis escaping on the news and I was very worried."

Olivia nodded and went to sit down, but found she couldn't. She started pacing, and Dr. Lindstrom sat back and let her talk out what was bothering her. And at the moment, it was the lies that surrounded Lewis and herself.

End of another chapter! We'll be diving into Olivia's therapy session with Dr. Lindstrom next, and then go from there! I honestly can't wait to write a few scenes between Rafael and Strauss, oh man Rafael is gonna tear him apart! It's gonna be great, I promise you. I mean I absolutely despise Strauss, so I'm probably going to be painting him in a super bad light, probably more so than they did on the show but that's okay, I'm sure most of you hate him too haha! And if you do like him, I apologize in advance.

Thank you so much for reading! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter written this weekend during all of my homework and pep band stuff so you'll probably get it Sunday afternoon/evening. I hope you enjoyed this latest update!