Sorry for the delay. I blame the state of Washington! Darn testing!! Oh, and to all of the people who wanted romance, what happens in here is probably the most that you'll get. I've gotten too many people saying no to it. But maybe I'll do another fic with more romance. Who knows? ;)

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The night sky was twinkling with bright stars and the moon was laying motionless amongst them when the detectives finished their questioning. The last few people were trickling out of the building. Munch sighed and stretched lazily as they exited the building, greeted by a blast of warm night air. "Guess we start piecing together everything we found," He muttered.

"Most all of what we found was basically stuff we already knew. Ruben was killed by his own gun. It was probably a suicide." Fin said as the four walked out to the cab they'd called. The four crammed themselves in the backseat, squished and uncomfortable.
"No, I don't think so," Elliot said. "Why else would these guys be coming after Olivia if it wasn't a murder?"

"Maybe we should go talk to the ME who did the autopsy," Munch replied. "We can call the uniforms when we get back to the hotel."

As soon as they arrived in their hotel rooms and called the Scottsdale Police, they were promptly out the door again. "That was fast," Olivia mumbled, yawning as the four cramped into the back of another cab. "Yeah, I think their precinct was waiting for our call. They had all the information right there as soon as we called," Munch informed them.

Minutes later, they arrived at the ME's office. Luckily for them, the ME who had performed the autopsy on Ruben Burke was still there. The four detectives flashed their badges to Dr. Anderson, who was sitting patiently at her desk. She nodded. "I got a call from the police saying to expect you. You want the files on Ruben Burke, correct?"

"Right. We need any information on him that you have," Fin said. Dr. Anderson nodded and slid in her swivel chair over to the filing cabinet behind her. She shuffled a bit until she found what she was looking for. "Burke, Ruben. Here we are." She handed Fin the file. Olivia read over his shoulder.

"Says it was a homicide," Fin announced, flipping through the file. "How did you determine that?"

"The bullet entry was through the back. There was no entry or exit wounds in the front, so he was obviously shot trying to run away."

"Yeah, must've been running away pretty frantically. I says here that he had scraped on his knees and palms," Olivia pointed to a line of text.

"So it was a definite homicide," Munch said. "Now we find out why."

"Was there anything on Mr. Burke, or any indication that there would be a reason for killing him?" Elliot asked. Dr. Anderson frowned and took the file back from Fin. She sifted through it for a moment, and then shook her head. "From what I recorded, all that was on him was his wallet. It contained five 100-dollar bills, and a few credit cards. There was no ID, and the only prints on it were his."

"Well, maybe he got mugged and the thief made him take his money," Elliot suggested. Dr. Anderson shook her head. "I don't think so. I remember wondering why the thief would only take his ID and leave five hundred dollars along with seven credit cards with unlimited accounts."

"Wow, sounds like Mr. Burke was living pretty good," Munch commented.

"How do you know that the perp took his ID?" Olivia asked.

"The police found the ID the next day in the same place where the body was found," Dr. Anderson said. "They scoured that place over and over the night before and they didn't find anything. Whoever stole the ID put it right back where they found it after they were done."

"Is that about it?" Munch asked. Dr. Anderson shook her head. "There was one more thing. The day after Ruben Burke was killed, I got an order from the police department to sign two fake death certificates. I didn't ask any questions, but they did tell me that the two people killed were related to Ruben Burke."

The four detectives exchanged glances. "Thanks for your time," Olivia muttered, her worst fears confirmed. It was all true. She really wasn't who she thought.

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The exhausted quartet managed to call a cab and stumble up to their respective hotel rooms before collapsing into a tired heap. Yet despite her fatigue, Olivia couldn't sleep. She lay awake, her pounding head resting against the soft pillow as she stared into the darkness. It was all beginning to make sense. All the times that her mother had lied to her, the way her past was so sketchy.

She flipped onto her back, not trying to stop the tears that began to stream down her pale cheeks. She was so confused. Nothing made sense anymore. She tried once again to close her eyes and block out all of the painful secrets that were being revealed, and as she was just about to fall asleep, there was a soft knocking on the door. Olivia's eyes opened, still damp from her tears. She sat up.

"Who is it?" She called out, her voice cracking. There was no answer. Groaning in annoyance, Olivia pulled back the covers and padded her way across the carpeted floor. She pressed her ear against the door and listened for any movement. She heard none. Her heart jumped into her throat.

"Who is it?" Her voice was raised an octave. Panic flooded her heart. This was too familiar. It was a mirror image to the time when she was stalked by Eric Plummer and ended up with a body on her doorstep.

Olivia threw open the door. Expecting not to see anyone, she jumped and screamed when she saw a figure in the door. She wished at that moment that she'd had enough sense to grab her gun. The darkness blinded her and she felt two hands cling her wrists tightly.

"No! No, let go!" Olivia tried to fight back, but her exhaustion weakened her force.

"Olivia! Olivia, it's me!"

Olivia stopped flailing and gasped, flustered. "Elliot?"

She could swear that she could feel Elliot's blue eyes burning into her worriedly, even through the darkness. Sobs wracked her body. She collapsed out of relief and pure fatigue into his arms. Her body was shaking so violently, that Elliot began to worry even more.

"Hey, hey Liv it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," He murmured, stroking her hair back from her damp forehead. Moments passed before Olivia finally pulled away. She sniffled and wiped away her tears. She managed a small wry laugh. "What were you trying to do, give me a heart attack or something?"

"No, I didn't hear you say anything. I figured that you were asleep," Elliot's arms refused to untangle from her body.

"I asked if anyone was there," She muttered, brushing away a tear.

"You must've said it quietly because I didn't hear you."

Another several minutes passed before the two made their way into Olivia's hotel room. Elliot flicked on the light switch and the two of them blinked rapidly as the intense light flooded their vision.

Olivia's breathing began to even out and she slowly made her way to the bed where she sank down. Elliot flowed her and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I'm so confused Elliot-"

That was all she needed to say for her to break down again. Elliot's arms tightened protectively around her and cradled her close. He glanced at the clock. The night was so long, and yet he didn't seem to mind at the moment.