AN: Okay I know this is two chapters up really quick, but I had a muse sitting by me today. Here's where things start to get pretty good I think. Enjoy!

Elliot lay in bed next to his wife. She was sleeping peacefully with her head on his chest, but Elliot just couldn't seem to be able to fall asleep. His mind was on Lexy. He had never been this close with a vic before, but he wanted to help her so badly and she wouldn't let him.

Every time he looked at her he saw the pain in her eyes. He knew she wanted help, but was too afraid to ask for it. Elliot somehow had to show her that if she just came forward she would be safe.

Elliot dwelled on these thoughts and found himself to be drifting off. Just before sleep overcame him, his cell phone rang. He jolted up, causing Kathy to wake with him. He clumsily grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand.

"Stabler."

Kathy was sitting up rubbing her eyes. She was accustomed to this sort of thing by now.

"Elliot?" A small voice asked.

"Lexy?" He looked over at his clock. The red lights glowed 2:30 a.m. "Is everything all right?"

Kathy was staring intently at him. Elliot had shared bits and pieces of the case with her, leaving out all the gory details. She just knew that Lexy was a teenager about Maureen's age and Elliot thought she had been raped.

"I need help," She whispered.

"Where are you?"

"A block away from my apartment."

"I'm on my way," Elliot told her.

"Hurry," She whispered and hung up.

Elliot got out of bed, and quickly began to get dressed.

"Is she all right?" Kathy asked.

"She sounded scared on the phone."

He finished pulling on his shirt. "I'll call you and let you know what's going on."

She nodded as he walked out.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fifteen minutes later Elliot saw Lexy standing in the street, hugging herself tightly. He pulled over and got out of the car. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. Flesh blood was dripping down her face from a cut over her left eye.

"Lexy?"

He started walking over to her, but before he could take two steps she ran into his harms. Surprised at this, he wrapped his arms gently around her.

"It's all right sweet heart; everything's going to be all right."

Lexy pulled away and looked up at him.

"What happened he asked?"

She shook her head. "Please just get me away from here. I'll tell you anything you want to know, just somewhere else."

"All right, come on."

He helped her into the car and drove back to his place. Driving the speed limit, it took them almost thirty minutes to get back to his house.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"My house."

They got out of the car and walked inside. Elliot brought her into the kitchen and sat her down. He went into the cabinet and pulled out a first aid kit. In the light he could see that there a few new bruises on her face as well.

"Did Cale do this to you?" He asked sitting across from her.

She nodded.

Elliot started cleaning the cut above her eye. "Is he the one who raped you?"

"OW!" She said pulling away from him.

"Men don't know how to do anything right," Kathy said walking into the kitchen.

"You think you can do better?" Elliot asked.

Kathy walked over and took the first aid kit from him. "Get up Doogie, let me have go." She smiled at Lexy and sat in the seat Elliot had just occupied.

"Who are you?" Lexy asked in a small voice.

"My name is Kathy. I'm Elliot's wife."

Lexy visibly relaxed.

"Who did you think she was?" Elliot questioned.

She shrugged. "I thought maybe you called social services on me."

"I want to help you, not scare you away."

"Just let me know if this hurts," Kathy told her as she took over where Elliot left off.

Lexy kept her eyes on Elliot's wife. She didn't look like her mother, sound like her, or smell like her, but somehow she reminded Lexy of her. Maybe she just longed for the nurturing touch of a mother, she didn't know, all she did know was that it felt good.

The look wasn't past Elliot of Kathy. Elliot saw the longing in her eyes, and Kathy felt it radiating off of her.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked.

"I don't want to be anymore trouble than I already have been." She whispered.

Kathy lifted Lexy's chin very gently. "You're not trouble. If you were Elliot wouldn't have brought you back to our home."

Lexy smiled shyly.

"I didn't think that was possible," Elliot said in mock surprise. "She can smile."

Kathy smiled back at Lexy. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Water please."

"That's better," Kathy said getting back to patching her up.

Elliot grabbed a glass from the cabinet and turned the water on. When it was full he turned off the water and handed it to Lexy.

"Just promise me one thing," Lexy said.

"What's that?" Kathy asked.

"No hospitals."

"Why would you need a hospital?"

Before Lexy could respond the glass fell from her hand and shattered on the floor. It was all Elliot or Kathy could do to keep her from falling onto the broken shards. Elliot lifted her into his arms and quickly brought her into the living room, laying her down on the couch.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Kathy asked from behind him.

"No, please," Lexy mumbled, her eyes fluttered. "No hospitals. They'll call Cale."

"Lexy you're hurt," Elliot told her. "You need medical attention."

"No, I'm just tired. It's been a long day if you remember."

Elliot was skeptical on the whole thing. She had been beaten for the second time in three days and she had admitted Cale was the one who did it.

"Listen," She said before he could say anything. "If I was really hurt I'd tell you."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"I would. I've been hurt a lot worse than this and not gone to the hospital." She started to sit herself up. Kathy was instantly there to help her.

"Thanks," Lexy whispered. "Listen I know this looks bad, but it's not as bad as it seems."

"I'll make a deal with you," Elliot told her. "If you tell me the truth about what happened, AND if I think you're okay enough to stay out of the hospital then we'll work something out, but anymore lies.."

"Let me ask you something first."

"Go ahead."

"What happens if I tell you Cale was the one who raped me?"

Elliot sighed and sat on the edge of the couch. "Then he's arrested, arraigned, and tried."

"Does he get out on bail?"

"It's possible."

"He'll kill me."

"We can protect you."

"Do you promise?"

Elliot nodded. "I promise."

"Cale didn't rape me," She began.

"Maybe I should go in the other room," Kathy said.

"No, please!" Lexy pleaded. "Don't go."

Kathy felt her heart breaking. She sat down next to the couch and took Lexy's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"Lexy I thought you were going to tell the truth."

"Let me finish," She told him. She took a deep breath and swallowed back the tears that were threatening to form. "This is really hard."

"Take your time," Elliot told her. "No pressure okay?"

She nodded. They waited a few minutes before she began again. "I wasn't exactly raped. What I told you was sort of true. I was with a guy, but."

"But what?" Elliot asked.

Lexy sighed. "Let me try this another way. Ever since my mom we've been short on cash. Cale got this idea and I didn't want to go along with it, but he made me."

"He made you do what?" Elliot asked.

"It was only to his friends at first, but then he started auctioning me off on the street!" Tears were falling freely down her face.

Kathy's jaw was agape and Elliot felt the anger rising in him.

"He pimped you out?" He asked.

She nodded. "I didn't want to I swear! If I refused he beat me up!"

"Is that where you were tonight? Cale sent you to another guy?"

Lexy wiped the tears from her cheeks. She cursed herself for crying. There was no reason to cry. "It was the same guy who hurt me when you found me the first time."

"He sent you back to someone who beat the hell out of you?"

"Why not? Cale does it himself." She sniffled. "When I told Cale I wouldn't go, he started hitting me again. I told him I would go, but as soon as I was out of the apartment I called you."

Elliot sighed.

Lexy jerked up and felt her stitched pop. She didn't care. "I didn't want to. I cried every time! He made me do it!"

"Shh," Elliot said embracing her. "It's not your fault."

He let Lexy cry into his shirt. He felt something wet on his hand and at first paid no attention to it. He went to brush Lexy's hair out of his face and saw blood on his hand. Sighing, he lifted the teenage girl off the couch and started for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Kathy asked.

"I'm taking her to the hospital."

Lexy didn't care. She had told someone. She finally told someone. Elliot would protect her. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Lexy was sure of it.

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