Walking by A Dream

by Demelza

Set after the 2nd episode of season 3, Olivia and Elliot's working relationship takes a turn for the worse. (pt 3 of 3 uploaded) TW x-over

2. Part Two

Title: Walking by A Dream (2/3)
Author: Demelza
Email: demelza81@yahoo.co.nz
Disclaimer: Special Victims Unit and Third Watch belong to NBC and their other owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. All original characters are the author's creation, and may be freely used.
Category: Olivia/Elliot, Bosco/Faith...shipperness, angst, shipperness, angst..etc,.
Rating: R
Warnings: Deals with child abuse and rape. Violence and some language.
Author's Notes: This is my first ever SVU FanFic! Set directly after the second episode of the Third Season of the show.
Author's Notes #2: This story is actually a crossover with Special Victims Unit AND Third Watch, I decided to write it after above mentioned Season Three episode of SVU. This story is set a few days after the events of that episode (and its tearjerker ending). Working as best I can with the Third Watch side of things, this story is set just after the episode 'Childhood Memories' (this isn't quite accurate, I know, but that's what I've decided to write it after). Spoilers up to and including these episodes. ALL events AFTER these episodes never happened in this fic. =)
Dedication: My thanks go out to everyone for all their wonderful feedback and support for this story!

"You were pretty cool in there," Bosco commented, glancing sideways at Faith where she was standing a few feet away, staring back at him. He couldn't figure out the expression on her face, but knew it was a mixture of anger and shock.

There was a moment's silence.

"I just...I can't believe he did this...you know?" she said back, shaking her head. She really couldn't believe what she'd been told in there by the Detective. Firstly the affair, the rape charges, and then his running over the woman that had investigated that very rape case.

"He's a drunk," Bosco coolly told her, stating the truth.

Faith looked at him, longer this time. "Was a drunk, Boz. He quit."

He stared at her, "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll believe it," he said, hooking his right thumb through the loop on his belt, "Cos, you'd have to be blind to not smell the alcohol that was on his breath and clothing, right?"

"Blind?" she questioned, completely ignoring the other parts of his statement.

Bosco shrugged slightly, "Is there a word for someone who can't smell?"

Silence again.

"Who cares," Faith said, shaking her head as she tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"You brought it up."

Not able to hold back, Faith rolled her eyes. "We need to go hassle someone," she muttered, glancing back over at her partner. He wore a mile wide childlike grin on his face and her eyes narrowed slightly, "Just get in the damn squad, Bosco," she ordered, marching round to the driver's side of the squad car before climbing in.

"We just had to have a bad start to our shift," Bosco mumbled to himself, before pushing himself away from the hood of the car and walking round to the passenger door. After he climbed in, he closed the door and glanced over at Faith. She had her hand on the ignition, about to start the squad when she let out a sigh, instantly sitting back in her seat and resting her face in her hand as she propped her elbow up on the door for support. He wanted to say something, hell he had half a dozen really good smart assed remarks to make about Fred, but he didn't want to piss her off. If there was one thing she needed right now, it was a friend. Someone to talk to. And as much as he hated to hear about what Fred had done, this time was different, this time Fred had done the dirty and Faith would need help to pick up the pieces. And why not him? They were friends, weren't they?

"You want to talk about it?" he found himself quietly asking, surprised when she met his gaze and smiled faintly, before slowly shaking her head. "Well, if you need to..."

"I know, thanks..." Faith replied, smiling a little bit more. "I'm going to sort this one out, don't you worry," she said, her voice fading as she turned her attention to the ignition and turned it over.

* * * * * *

After leaving the sixteenth precinct, Elliot quickly made his way to Angel of Mercy on the fastest route he knew. He made it to the E.R on record time, using the perks of being a New York City Police Officer to get through all the red lights on his way. His first stop was the main registration desk of the hospital.

"Detective Stabler," he told the nurse behind the desk, puffing as he tried to catch his breath from the run across the parking lot. "Olivia Benson, she was brought in here a short time ago..." he said, and the nurse gave him a weird look. "She's my partner," he explained, "Can I see her?"

The nursed slowly nodded, "Sure hon, cubicle four. Second on your left," she said, motioning to the corridors leading down the left side of the emergency room.

"Thank you," Elliot quickly said, rushing down the corridor until he reached the room where Olivia was. He stopped before entering the room, mentally preparing himself, or at least as best he could before taking those steps inside. He stood there in the doorway, his heart suddenly started racing fast in his chest, not in fear, but relief. Olivia was resting soundly in the hospital bed, only two tubes connected to her, one was for the drip in the back of her right hand, while the other went to her nose. The oxygen line. There were two machines, one on either side of her, and in that moment as he looked inside he didn't care what they were for, just glad they were beeping soundly. He felt sad even more though, when he took in the sight of her right arm, set in a white cast at her side, there were several cuts on her face, especially down the left side, along with a lot of swelling and bruising.

He slowly took a few small steps into the room and quietly pulled the chair at his right over to the bed so he was sitting right beside her now. He swallowed hard as he reached over and took her hand in his, "I'm so sorry Olivia..." he whispered, hating himself, knowing that if he hadn't requested that damn detail none of this would have been happening now. He instantly held his breath as he watched her eyelids flutter open and she turned her head to look at him. His eyes focusing on hers, a beautiful rich brown. "Hey..." he said, gently caressing her hand with his thumb.

"Elliot..." Olivia began, her voice scratchy.

"Shhhh...it's okay..."

She wet her lips, shaking her head, "It's not...your, fault."

"Yes, yes it is..." he told her, his voice shaking as he looked at her.

"I was angry..." she whispered back, eyes closing for a moment as she wet her lips again. She looked at him once more, about to say something when he shook his head, gently touching the side of her face.

"It's my fault you were angry, I should have trusted you..."

She smiled faintly, "You said that...in your note..."

Elliot smiled back, "You got it?" he asked, she nodded. "Good."

There was a small pause of silence.

"We arrested the guy who ran you down. Fred Yokas."

She looked at him, "Why do I know that name?" she quietly asked.

"Rape case, six years back. Charges were dropped," he replied.

Olivia let out a short laugh, before moving her right shoulder just slightly and letting out a soft moan, glad she'd gotten out of the uncomfortable position she'd been lying in. "Doesn't seem to be my month," she then said, her voice soft, "Guys I've arrested coming back for revenge."

Another pause of silence.

"No, it doesn't." Elliot replied, "I'm sorry partner."

She looked at him, could see pain in his eyes, even well after he was giving her his damned best attempt to hide it from her. But they were partners, friends. Best friends. She knew him better than anyone else, and even in her state, she knew something other than their rough patch this past week, and today's accident, was on his mind. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her, confused. "Nothing."

"You've got that...look..."

His brow creased, "What look?"

"You had another fight?" she asked, but he just stared at her, as if wondering what she was on about. "You and Kathy."

Silence again.

"Yeah...last night..." he finally confessed.

Olivia tilted her head to her left, leaning against the pillow more, "What about?"

Elliot's gaze dropped to where he had his hand over hers, he was about to tell her how they'd been fighting over his working too many hours, not spending time with the kids. Hell he wanted to tell her how Kathy was accusing him of cheating on her, but his finally telling her was thwarted when Olivia's Doctor came into the room and he instantly looked up at the young, bearded, Doctor Thomas.

"Hi," Doctor Thomas said, his voice casual as he walked round to the other side of the bed, yellow folder in his hands as he looked down at Olivia, "How are you feeling?"

Olivia smiled faintly, "Like a truck hit me."

Doctor Thomas smiled, glancing over at Elliot, before turning his attention back to her. "Well, you were...a FedEx delivery truck. You've got a concussion, three fractured ribs, a fractured wrist and you also received a multitude of mild cuts and contusions, most of which are down your left side. All-in-all, I'd say you're pretty lucky to walk away with only minor injuries. Considering."

Her eyebrows rose, and she looked at him as if confused, not quite believing what he'd just told her. "It doesn't hurt that bad..." she told him.

He shrugged with his right shoulder, "Well, we've pumped you full of morphine, you probably won't start to feel anything for another couple of hours. When you do, just ask the nurse and she can give you another shot."

Olivia let out a sigh, "When can I go home?"

"We'd like to keep you in for the night, keep an eye on your concussion, make sure nothing else pops up."

"I can't go home tonight?"

Doctor Thomas let out a breath, "If you want to, you can. But we'd really prefer you stay in for the night."

She nodded, "Okay."

He smiled, "Do you have any questions?" She shook her head. "Okay, well, I'll be back to see you when you're up in the ward."

"Thank you," Elliot called after him as he left the room, the young doctor didn't reply as he went to the room across the hall. He turned back to Olivia, she had that really worried look on her face. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

A tear streamed down her cheek and she instantly swallowed, "Can you...stay with me?"

He nodded, "Of course...I'll be by your side, the entire time. I promise."

She smiled faintly, but it only made more tears come and she started to cry.

"Hey..." Elliot quickly said, sitting right on the edge of his chair as he touched Olivia's face, "It's okay...it's okay, 'livia," he whispered, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise..."

* * * * * *

The radio crackled and beeped as the call came in from dispatch. "55-Charlie, respond to a domestic dispute at 113 on 23rd."

"10-4, 113 on 23rd." Came Officer John Sullivan's voice on the other end, and Bosco turned to look at his partner, she had that stern look on her face whenever she was seriously pissed. Her hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel, and she looked like she was about to explode in a rage at any given moment.

He wished things were different for her, wished that Fred hadn't been such a jackass and did what he had. But, like they said, everything always happened for a reason. His mind was almost all trapped in thought, when suddenly, he caught glimpse of a guy about five foot seven in a green hunter's jacket standing up against a wire fence dealing to two young boys, they both couldn't have been any older than fourteen. "Faith!" he exclaimed, slapping her in the arm to get her attention, he then pointed over at the guy. "Stop..." he ordered, and she did. He opened his door and jumped out, slamming it shut behind him, and started his walk across the road. The guy must have seen him, and he started running in the opposite direction.

Bosco picked up his pace and started racing after the guy, he couldn't have been more than ten feet behind him, when he hear the sirens from the squad as Faith went ahead to stop the guy. Too bad for the moron they were chasing, when Faith pulled the car up on the footpath and the guy went running into it, flying head first over the hood, though he somehow twisted his body around and landed on his feet at the other side, continuing his run.

Faith slammed the car in reverse, and Bosco had gained at least five feet distance on the guy at this point. The chase went on until they reached the end of the block and Faith had the squad already parked there, her gun drawn on the guy. He stopped suddenly, raising his hands in the air.

Bosco slowed his pace down the moment he was up behind the guy, and slammed him forward, up against the squad. "Jagoff!" he shouted, making the guy part his legs as he started searching his pockets.

Faith holstered her weapon, and was up behind the guy as he tried moving away from Bosco, screaming that he'd done nothing wrong. "Just shut up!" she shouted, pushing him face forward into the hood of the car and held her hands on his shoulder blades to stop him from moving. She glanced over at her partner, and a grin quickly came on his face.

"Jackpot!" he shouted, grabbing the guy by the back of his collar and pulling backward enough so he could hold the four bags of dope up in front of him. "Your sorry ass is under arrest!"

"It's not mine!" the guy shouted back.

Faith shoved him down again, removing her handcuffs from her belt while Bosco pulled the guy's arms up behind his back. She fastened a cuff on each of the guy's wrists, before grabbing him by his pony tail and pulled him away from the squad.

There was a shocked exclamation exchanged between the two officers, and Bosco smacked him upside the back of his head. "You put blood on my squad!" he growled, shoving him into Faith so she could lead him to the rear door on this side of the squad.

She opened the door and shoved the guy inside, not even bothering to make him duck his head as he went in. She slammed the door shut and turned to Bosco, a stupid grin on his face. "That was fun," he said, raising his eyebrows at her as he walked past, headed for the other side of the squad to get in the passenger side.

Faith shook her head, though she was admitting to herself it had been fun, it was a good break from thinking about what that husband of hers had done. Feeling suddenly pissed off all over again she opened the drivers door and climbed in.

* * * * * *

Special Victims Unit
16th Precinct

Munch, his dark sunglasses on, stood next to his partner, Fin, while they talked with one of the homicide detectives about a case they'd worked the week prior. The homicide detective walked away, and Munch was about ready to say something to his partner when a guy dressed in a fancy royal blue suit walked up to them, his tie loosened, his sandy hair brushed back in that business like manner. He looked at Munch directly, an unmistakable fear in his brown eyes. "Can I help you?" Munch asked, the guy nodded, taking a photograph out of his inside jacket pocket. The detective took the photo from the man, looked at it, before showing it to his partner. It was of Bethany Tibbits. A thirteen year old girl that had been missing for three months. Munch turned to the man again, "Where did you get this picture?" he asked.

The guy opened his mouth, then shook his head as he shrugged. "I...she's in my car," he said, his voice rough as he spoke. He cleared his throat, but didn't say anything else.

Both detectives exchanged a look, before turning back to the guy.

* * * * * *

District Attorney Alex Cabot looked at Munch and Fin from where she sat on the edge of Captain Cragen's desk while he sat in his chair, also looking at them. "He just came in?" Alex asked after a silent moment.

"Yeah. Said the girl was in his car," Fin replied.

Alex looked at them, a sigh coming from her.

"She was murdered," Captain Cragen stated, a certain willingness, or want, to believe that it wasn't true came across in his voice. "The coroner's examining the body now, but, from what she said, Bethany was sexually molested and raped repeatedly, and killed within the last twenty-four hours."

"Bastard," Alex muttered to herself, getting a look from each of the three men. She apologized, clearing her throat just slightly. "See if you can find out what he was doing with her in his car."

Munch and Fin both nodded, before heading out of the office.

She turned to Cragen, who wore a sympathetic look on his face. "She was only fourteen," she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"I know," he replied, looking at her.

* * * * * *

The ride back to the station house was a silent one, the guy in the back was rocking back and forth where he sat on the seat, his eyes were closed, and their was a distinct moaning coming from him. If that guy doesn't shut the hell up... Faith thought, frustrated. She glanced in the rear view mirror, the guy had partially opened his eyes at this point and was looking out the side window. "I'm...I'm gonna puke..." he moaned.

"Oh no you won't!" Faith warned, still looking at him in the rear view mirror.

Too late.

A groan of pain, and the sudden noise of slosh falling onto the carpet in the back of the squad filled both officers' ears and Faith pulled the car to a screaming halt. The guy went flying forward, his face slamming up against the railing dividing the front from the back. The disgusting vile smell of his breath filled the front of the squad and he puked again.

Faith didn't even take a moment to think before she hurriedly opened her door and climbed out of the squad car. She removed her jacket, feeling the weight of the vomit against her back and threw it to the ground as she tried herself not to be sick. "That son of a...!" she exclaimed, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around suddenly to see Bosco standing there. "Faith, just...calm down, before you do something drastic..." he pleaded with her.

Faith shook her head at him, "Something drastic!?" she exclaimed, taking in a breath as she stared at him, shaking her head once more. "He puked all over me!" she screamed, pointing angrily at the squad.

"Which means, now we've gotta get him to the hospital."

She let out an angered breath, looking past him and at the guy who looked like he could, at any moment, be sick everywhere all over again. "Great!" she said, throwing her hands in the air.

* * * * * *

A few hours later

Munch sat with his back against the double sided mirror in the interview room. Barry Lancaster sat in the seat opposite him picking at the thumbnail of his right hand with his index finger, not saying anything to neither him or his partner, Fin. He let out an exasperated sigh, leaning forward on his chair. "Are you going to tell us how Bethany got in your car?" he asked, Barry looked at him for a brief moment before starting to pick at his thumbnail again, eyes cast downward. "She was molested, raped and murdered...why don't you tell us how this happened?"

There was another long silence. Only this time, Barry looked up at him with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Oh, I'll tell you..." he begun, his voice deep and dark. "When hell freezes over!"

Munch cleared his throat, "Mr Lancaster..."

Barry laughed, shaking his head at the detective. He planted his hands out in front of him, palms facing down as he glared at him. "Who the fuck said you could talk to me, dipshit!"

"Why don't you watch your mouth," Fin told him, but Barry shot him a sinister glare.

"Awww...." Barry laughed, "Boyfriend gotta stick up for you, huh?" he asked Munch, shaking his head. He reclined in his seat before running both hands through his hair. "Aw shit..." he exclaimed, exceedingly pissed off. "That whiney little ass brought me here, didn't he? Fuck, I knew he couldn't keep a god-damned secret!"

"What secret?" Munch asked, feeling frustrated.

Barry stared at him, rolling his eyes. "It's like talking to a fucking parrot..." he mumbled. "Shut up!" he shouted, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm not telling either of you a fucking thing...I want to talk to my lawyer."

Munch and Fin exchanged a look, before both rose to their feet and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. They were instantly met by Captain Cragen and Alex, both wore a confused expression on their faces that matched that of the two detectives. "This guy's insane," Fin commented, shaking his head. He glanced sideways at Munch, who was looking at the Captain.

"He's got definite split personality," Psychologist, George Huang said from the far side of the room. All four of them turned to him and watched as he casually walked over, his left hand in his pocket.

"His lawyer will probably go for an insanity plea," Fin said, while looking back at, George.

Alex looked at them both, "We don't even know what his connection is with the little girl. Or for that matter, if he was the one that killed her."

Cragen looked at her, "When he came in, he agreed to a DNA test...I'll get a rush on those results."

She nodded, "Good."

* * * * * *

Bosco stood leaning up against the hood of the squad car, finishing the last mouthful of his burrito, while he watched Faith walk back over from the dumpster where she'd thrown in both their burrito wrappers, and empty coffee cups.

Pushing himself away from the car, Bosco cleared his throat, "You feeling any better now?" he asked, running his tongue round inside his mouth to get rid of the food stuck to the roof of his mouth.

Faith looked back at him, "After riding around with that smell in the back of the squad?" she asked, "You've got to be kidding," she stated, stepping over so there was only a few feet distance between them now.

He shrugged slightly, "Not that."

She looked at him again, eyes focused on his, "Oh, you mean with Fred?" He shrugged slightly again, before nodding. "He can go drop dead for all I cared."

"You don't really mean that," Bosco said, faint smile on his face, to which quickly changed when she stared at him with a frozen glare. "Okay, you do..."

"You're damn right," Faith said, her voice firm.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

She stared at him again, before her eyes narrowed just slightly as she thought, "I don't know...yet."

* * * * * *

Watching as Olivia took in slow, even breaths, and let them back out, Elliot was glad that after the orderly wheeled her up to her ward she had finally fallen back asleep. She needs her rest to regain her strength, he told himself, when his cellular phone begun ringing in his coat pocket. He quickly rose to his feet and went out of the room, pulling the phone out of his pocket and turned it on. He placed it to his ear, "Stabler..." he said into it, though quickly letting out a sigh as he heard his wife's voice on the other end, demanding to know where he was, and why he wasn't down at the station when she'd called in to see him. "I'm down at the hospital...because Olivia was...would you stop this already!?" he demanded, sighing angrily as he turned back around, watching Olivia stir in her bed, her face contorting as she grimaced in pain. "Kathy, would you listen to yourself!?" he demanded again, this time keeping his voice much lower, not wanting to wake his partner up, not after she'd just gotten asleep. "No, I will not answer that...because you're being ridiculous. Oh for crying out loud...Kathy...Kathy..." he warned, but there was a loud beep on the other end and he pressed the off button. He let out a long, exasperated sigh, before casting a glance down at the ground.

As he stared at the patterned tiles, his mind trailed off, away from the sound of his wife screaming at him, to vivid pictures of Fred Yokas that day he and Olivia had questioned him. Then came the sounds, his partners voice, the same assertive tone she used when interviewing guys like him. The same general questions they always asked, where were you at the time of the rape, do you have an alibi, and so on. But then things suddenly changed.

"You have no business being a cop!" Fred Yokas screamed at Olivia from where he sat in the chair opposite Elliot. He was glaring at her where she stood at the left side of the table.

Olivia, her shoulder length hair tied back in a ponytail, stared back at him. "You know what I think your problem is?" she asked, keeping her voice cool, though with that assertive tone. "You're afraid...that's why you think women shouldn't be cops...because you're wife's one!" she told him back, shaking her head. "And it just ticks you off because she's the one bringing home the paycheque...oh, and not to mention the fact you're a bald, lazy, fat, unemployed, scumbag rapist." she added, getting a chuckle from her partner. She leant over the table, her hands firmly set on the surface as she stared at Fred. "The type of lowlife your wife locks up every day...and, it's funny...why she's not here to defend you...maybe you'd like Elliot or me to ring her up, get her to come pick you up, hmm?"

"You stupid cow!" Fred shouted, lunging after her, but Elliot was quick to stop him and soon had the bastard face forward on the ground, gripping the guy's hands tightly behind his back.

The memory fading from his mind, Elliot slid the phone back into his coat pocket and went back into the room where Olivia was. He paused, watching as she moved her head from side to side as she slept. Her face was scrunched up, and she was calling his name. He quickly went over to her, sitting down on the chair as he took her hand in his. "It's okay...I'm here..." he gently tried to soothe her. She quickly relaxed at his voice, and he sighed relief, glad her nightmare was over. But then a rush of thoughts came over him, her nightmare wasn't over. Not the one she was living in. "I'm sorry, 'livia..." he whispered, reaching over and gently touched her face, just below where the graze was on her cheekbone. "This is all my fault...it happened because of me...I'm so sorry."