Summary: Amanda Rollins suggested that Olivia get a hotel room with Elliot to "get it out of her system." There are a few ways that could go. Here's one take on it…

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everything; I just take the characters out and play with them once in a while.

Chapter 6B - Ed

"Mama…" Toddler sized fingers curled over the edge of Olivia's side of the bed, and a mop of dark hair was just visible. Olivia curled farther into Ed's chest and groaned, still exhausted from the night before.

"It's ok, Love…I've got it," Ed whispered to her softly. He slid out of bed and scooped Noah up.

"He needs breakfast," Olivia said, eyes still closed.

"I know…Cheerios, sliced bananas, and milk in a sippy cup, right?" He said as Noah grinned in his arms.

"The plain ones, not the multi-grain," she mumbled, relaxing into the pillow again.

When she woke an hour later, she showered and dressed, and was happy to see Ed on the floor playing with Noah.

"Look who's up, Noah…" Ed said.

"Hi, Little Man!" she said, joining them on the floor, smiling. "Looks like Ed found your blocks." Ed kissed the side of her head, and headed to shower and get dressed himself. Olivia kept Noah occupied, but her mind was still on what had happened in the middle of the night.

When Ed finished, Noah was down for his morning nap, and Olivia was finally enjoying a cup of coffee, she sat across the table from him, fiddling with the cup.

"Ed…about last night…" she began.

"It's between the two of us. The case is closed, and there's no need to reopen it," he assured. her.

"That's not it. I mean…I appreciate it, but that's not what I was worried about," she said.

"Then what?" he asked.

"I…need to remember," she said, locking her eyes with his. He processed the gravity of what she was saying.

"Are you sure you want to go down that road?" he asked.

"If I don't, it's going to pop up at random times, and I can't…that can't happen. I need to know what he did to me, but…I need help," she said. It killed her to admit that she couldn't handle this on her own, but he, on the other hand, understood the level of trust it took for her to make that request. She would only ever reach out to someone she trusted implicitly. "You know how to help a…victim…recover memories as well as I do." She hated using that word to describe herself. She worked with victims; she wasn't one herself.

Her request hung in the air as he pondered it. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her, but this was going to drag her through hell and back. She knew it, and so did he.

"Ok," he said. "Let's call Lucy. This isn't the sort of thing Noah should tag along for."

That afternoon, they stopped by his apartment for a copy of her file. She never asked why he still had it, and strangely enough, she didn't think of it as a violation of her privacy. If anyone else had kept it around, she would have been upset, but it seemed…different with Ed. The plan was to retrace her steps through those four days, in the hopes that something about the locations would trigger her memory. Ed swore to her that if it was too much, or if she changed her mind, they were done, no questions asked.

"You still want to do this?" he asked, fiddling with his car key. She nodded and pulled her seatbelt across her chest.

"Ok. So, according to your statement, he held you at your apartment for over a day." She nodded.

"Yeah, uh…Brian called and left a voicemail. Lewis…held the phone up to my ear so that I could hear it. They had him working a double at the last minute, and he promised to make it up to me." Her voice was hollow, and he could tell she was letting her mind go back into the places she normally avoided.

"Tell me what you remember," he said.

"He forced another round of pills and vodka down my throat. It was more than before…a lot more. I remember the sheets going over my eyes, and then…when I came to, it was dark."

"It was night, or you were in a place that was dark?" he asked.

"I was in a dark place. I couldn't move. It was like…a coffin. I tried to move, and I felt something sharp cut my hand. It was metal…or plastic…something. I used it to cut the tape on my hands. I tried to cut the tape on my feet, but I couldn't reach them. I took my necklace off and shoved it behind something, just in case…" she trailed off.

"The Lincoln. They found your necklace hidden behind the spare tire. He had you in the trunk," Ed said, consulting the file.

"Ok. Let's start there," he turned the car on and started to drive. "Anything that pops into your mind, just say it. We'll try to make sense of it together," he said.

"Exhaust," she said.

"What?"

"I could smell exhaust. It made me sick to my stomach. Between that and the movement, I was afraid of throwing up," she said. "I heard voices…"

"What kind of voices?" he asked.

"I don't know…one was Lewis'. The other…I don't know," she said.

"What were they saying?" he asked.

"I can't remember…nothing important. I don't….I can't…" she took a sharp breath in.

"Ok, ok, Love. Take a breath," he said, glancing over at her. "Just take a breath." He saw her close her eyes and take deep, measured breaths. He pulled the car into the driveway of the Mayers' house and shut the engine off. He opened the door and stepped out of the car, and waited for her to follow his lead.

"This is where he took you. According to Vanessa Mayer, he spent the day with her, and they had dinner here. Her mother stated that Lewis came back after dropping her off at the train station, and he had a woman with her," Tucker explained.

"Me," Liv said softly. Tucker nodded. "When he opened the trunk, I tried to break free. I attacked him with the tool I used to break free, but he overpowered me, and told me I'd pay for that."

"Do you know what he meant by that?" he asked. She nodded.

"While he was torturing Mrs. Mayer, he would…demonstrate…his technique on me first," she said.

"The scars on your body. This is where they happened?" he asked. She nodded again.

"Some of them. The worst ones. Some of them happened in my apartment. He burned me with keys, wire hangers, anything metal he could find. He got turned on by me screaming when he did it. I tried not to give it, but…I couldn't help it," she said. He nodded. He knew - as did any cop - burns were just about the most painful injury someone could bear.

"You wanna go in?" he asked. She shook her head.

"The drugs and alcohol had almost worn off. He shot Mr. Mayer, point blank, right in front of me. And then, he tied me to a chair, and told me every single thing he was going to do to Mrs. Mayer. He forced more pills and alcohol down my throat and tortured her in front of me. Every time I looked away, he burned her with a cigarette until I looked back. Eventually…I passed out again," she said.

"That fits with Mrs. Mayer's statement. After you passed out, he hung her in the closet, snatched you, and ran," Tucker said.

"The SUV," she said. "He put me in the back of an SUV and cuffed one of my hands to the door." She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. "A hardware store? Does that mean anything?"

"He stopped at a hardware store, and he bought rope, a tarp, and a handheld blow torch," Tucker said, checking the file again. "He used Mrs. Mayer's credit card."

"And water. He bought a bottle of water to taunt me with," she said, climbing back into the car. Tucker climbed into the driver's seat and started driving again. "And he said…we would find someplace special soon. And I knew…"

"What?" he asked.

"That's where I was going to die," she said. Her breath hitched again.

"You're safe, Love, ok? It's over now," he said. They drove in silence as he went to the final address in the file - the beach house. She stepped out of the car, and took a minute to take in her surroundings. Tucker went towards the door.

"No…no, no, no…" she said, realizing where they were and pulling back. He rushed to her side and held her up.

"It's ok…it's ok, I've got you. You're ok," he assured her. He braced her against the car. "Just breathe, Love. Just breathe. We can leave, if you want." He waited for her to calm herself before he continued. "This is where you said your memories were foggy, but we don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"I'm ok," she said. "Let's keep going."

"Wait here," he said. He went to the door and knocked on it, explained to the owner who he was and why he was there, and came back to her. "Ok, come on. They said it was ok, and they'll give us some privacy."

She stepped over the threshold, looked around, and pointed to the left.

"There," she said, pointing to the bedroom. "He took me there." Tucker followed her into the bedroom. Olivia looked around. The bed had been replaced, but everything else was the same as it had been.

"There was an iron frame bed in here. He made a big deal out of it, and…" She closed her eyes. "Oh, my God…" she whispered.

"What? What did you remember?" he asked.

"I didn't…Ed, he…I didn't remember…." she rambled.

"It's ok, Love. You didn't remember when you gave your statement. What happened in here?" he asked. She seemed almost in a trance as she approached the bed and touched the footboard.

"He said…he was going to rape me, and that I would die before it was over." Her knees seemed to give out, and he rushed to her side. He held her close while she sobbed.

"And that's why you beat him with the metal bar," Ed filled in. She nodded.

"It doesn't matter. He tortured you, raped you, and was going to kill you, and thank God he didn't." He gently took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Olivia Benson. All of you, even the parts you don't like."

"Let's go home," she said. He was more than happy to honor her request. It was late when they got home, and Noah was already asleep. She stood in to doorway to his room watching him sleep for the longest time, while Ed made tea for the two of them. He handed her a mug when it was finished and stood next to her.

"He's the reason I survived. He needed me to be his mom," she said.

"He's a lucky kid," Ed agreed.

"And you," she turned to face him, leaning up against the doorway, "Ed Tucker, are an amazing man. You could have turned me over to IAB anytime you wanted." It hurt to hear her say that. It never even occurred to him to open an investigation based on what she told him in confidence.

"I wouldn't do that to the woman I love," he said.

"I know. And I want you to know…I love you too." His heart skipped a beat.

And he knew, if he ever wanted to have a happily ever after with her, the first thing he needed to do was get the hell out of IAB.

Well, that was heavy…but it needed to be told. More fun chapters to come!