A/N: I don't have an upload schedule for this so chapters might be slow coming out. I hope you enjoy. This is the first svu fic I've written in about ten years. I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies about living life in Montana, police work/policies, etc etc.

I own nothing.

Chapter 1

"It takes the shape of a place out west

But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed"

Wide Open Spaces by Dixie Chicks

Montana was vast and beautiful. The wildlife, the mountains, the forests, the fields, the clear streams and lakes, and the clean air all made up the state. It was the complete opposite of New York City in every way possible.

Which meant it was devoid of people and filled with loneliness.

Olivia had been there a whole year, cut off almost completely from everyone back in New York. The only person she communicated with that had any ties to the NYPD was her case agent, and Olivia guessed if the FBI agent had it his way, there wouldn't be any communication. But she demanded to be kept in the loop.

Thirteen months ago she was back in NYC worrying how they were going to nail the latest rapist terrorizing homeless women in Manhattan. Thirteen months ago Lowell Harris escaped from prison. Twelve months ago the FBI discovered a credible threat Harris made against her. Twelve months ago there was an attempt made on her life and she was whisked away by the FBI and the US Marshals and placed into witness protection. Twelve months ago she was still Detective Olivia Benson of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit.

Now, she was Maggie Lynn Holt, a divorcee, small farm owner, and horse boarder in the Middle of Nowhere, Montana.

She didn't know the first thing about being a farmer and thought this cover was someone's idea of a joke. Olivia never lived outside of New York City before. The only experience she had with growing crops was growing a small tomato plant in the window of her kitchen, and the plant died before it could produce a single tomato. She spent her whole first month in the small one level ranch house researching how to run a farm, how to raise animals, plant crops and harvest them. She spent the entire cold Montana winter in front of the fireplace with a number of library books from the small public library in town litter across the floor.

She had adapted and assimilated.

Now, in the tail end of summer, she looked over the farm and felt pride swell in her. She had a small field of corn, green beans, carrots, potatoes, blackberries, and raspberries growing on one side of the property. On the other side was the barn which housed five horses she boarded for some local townspeople. A number of chickens roamed around the house, pecking at the ground as they slowly migrated back to their coop. Somehow she, a city girl, made all this happen.

She patted the black mare that stood next to her. "If only the squad could see me now," she muttered to the horse. The horse snorted and shook her head in response. Unlike the other horses in her care, Olivia, or rather Maggie, owned this one. Luna was the first horse that came under her care. When her owners decided to retire and move down south, they put Luna up for sale. Olivia had taken a liking to the horse and decided to buy her.

Luna made traversing the vast property a breeze. The horse had become her best friend. She could tell Luna all her secrets, fears, desires. She could be Olivia and not Maggie. She told the horse about SVU and how she missed her friends, how she missed her partner.

Leaving Elliot had been one of the hardest parts of this witness protection ordeal. She only had five minutes to explain she was leaving and say goodbye to him. The look on his face when she told him she was leaving would be forever etched into her memory. It filled her with pain and guilt. She knew she would see him again, but she missed him a lot more than she ever thought she would.

As she stepped up in the saddle and swung her other leg over Luna's back, she wondered what Elliot was up to. He must have received a new partner by now. She flashed back to Dani Beck and grimaced. The thought of Elliot being partnered with another female detective didn't sit well with her. Olivia pressed the heels of her boots into Luna's sides and began the ride down the hill towards the barn.

She didn't consider herself the jealous type before, but when it came to Elliot, she was. She knew she shouldn't be though. Elliot was her partner, her best friend, and nothing more. He was married with five children. She couldn't acknowledge her feelings for him. They were purely selfish and only present because she was stuck in the middle of Montana all by herself. At least, that's what she tried to convince herself.

When Olivia reached the small barn, she dismounted Luna and led the horse to her stall. She whispered good praises to the horse as she took off each piece of tack and filled her trough with fresh water. She checked on the other horses before closing the barn up for the night. On her way back to the house, she made sure all the chickens were back in the coop and secured the door. She then finished her walk and stepped up on the porch of the house and overlooked the property once more as the summer sun began to sink behind the mountains in the far off distance.

Elliot would be amazed if he could see her now.

Once inside, she unholstered the revolver from her belt and put it in a box next to the door before checking the rifle that stood propped against the wall by the door. The weapons were weren't for protection from humans. It was the grizzly bears, the wolves, the cougars, the coyotes, and even the moose that roamed the land around her.

She heard stories in town of people going missing and their bodies turning up days later torn to pieces by one of the predators that roamed the land. She heard stories about grizzly bears attacking people while they were hiking or cougars stalking them at a distance before attacking. Even the moose were known to run people down. Montana held a danger that New York City didn't have.

She saw first hand how the cycle of nature worked out there when she had her first flock of chickens. It was the first day of spring when she woke up to find feathers and blood all over the yard. She found small tracks in the dirt and fur caught in the fence. She never figured out if it was a coyote or a fox, but from that moment on, she took every precaution to make sure her animals were safe.

Agent Brody, her case agent, didn't agree on the firearms at first, but once Olivia was able to convince him it would ultimately help with her alais and keep her safe if Harris did happen to find her, he drew up the necessary documents to prove Maggie Holt owned the weapons. The only time either gun was ever fired was when Olivia first acquired them and tested them on a target.

She walked through the house and into the kitchen. She switched the radio on and as the music began to play she washed some vegetables and began to cook dinner. As some meat and vegetables sizzled in the pan on the stove, her mind returned to her life in New York. Despite missing it, she didn't know if she wanted to go back.

For the first time in her life, she felt completely free.

She laughed at the idea. She was living someone else's life and had a number of rules to follow. That wasn't freedom, but there was something about living in the open plains with mountains and forests surrounding her that made her feel like she could do anything or be anything she wanted. She was happy. She knew the day would come when she would have to return to the city, and she dreaded it.

Once dinner was cooked, she poured herself a glass of wine and read through the newspaper as she ate. There was nothing interesting happening in the town besides a number of farmers markets and some teens getting caught partying and spray painting someone's barn. Crime seemed to be at an all time low and nothing like the city had. Life was definitely different there.

When dinner was finished and the dishes washed, she turned the radio off and decided to end her night with a movie she rented from the Redbox in town. As she turned the tv and dvd player on, she heard the crunching of gravel and a flash of light streak through the window and across the wall. As she creeped towards the rifle by the door, the sound of a car door slamming could be heard and more crunching gravel. She knew it wasn't Brody. He always called or texted before paying her a visit. It was too late to be a client checking in on their horse.

Olivia grabbed the rifle and pointed it at the door as a knock echoed through the room.

"Liv, open up! It's me."

Olivia nearly dropped the gun as she hurried towards the door and threw it open. She had been separated from her life for the last year, but she could never forget that voice.

Intense blue eyes stared back at her. They widened slightly as he caught sight of the gun in Olivia's hands. He took a step back and raised his hands. "Woah, it's just me," he said.

Olivia blinked, trying to make sure she wasn't imagining the person in front of her. She set the rifle back down in its place by the door and stared at him for a moment before finding her voice. "Elliot? What are you doing here?"