Title: Till Death Do Us Part (15/15)

Author: KatRose

Disclaimer: Simply put, Dick Wolf's, not mine.

Rating: PG

Spoilers: None that I can think of

Author's Notes: The dates for this story are all 2004. I also have to thank kukrae for all her help, wisdom, cheerleading and browbeating me into getting this story written.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHAPTER 15

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT

SQUAD ROOM

JUNE 3 – 3 PM

"Elliot?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have anything more on the Henderson molestation case? I can't find part of the file."

"What part's missing?"

"The interview."

"Hmm, lemme look. I don't think I have it, but …" he gestured to the piles of paperwork on his desk.

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking," she smirked.

A few minutes later Elliot emerged triumphant. "Aha! Got it."

"Thanks," she said with a laugh. "One of these days you're going to get literally buried under the papers on your desk."

"Maybe I'll bring the kids in to help sort it out," he replied.

"Didn't you know child labor's a crime, Elliot?" she asked.

"Only if you don't keep your mouth shut, Liv."

She laughed and put the interview into the appropriate file. They worked companionably on a number of open cases for the next several hours.

The phone rang and Olivia answer. She listened for a moment and said, "Yeah, we'll be right there." She hung up the phone and looked at her partner.

"What's up?" Elliot asked.

"Missing kid last seen in the area where that pedophile was hanging out."

"Let's go."

MILLSTONE RESIDENCE

12543 LEXON AVENUE

JUNE 3 – 4 PM

"Mrs. Millstone?" Elliot asked when the door opened. "I'm Detective Stabler and this is my partner Detective Benson. May we come in?"

"Please," she answered, holding a tissue to her nose. "I'm sorry I look a mess."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, you're worried about your son." Elliot sat with Olivia on his right. "What can you tell us about the last time you saw your son?"

"He was playing with the kids next door on the front stoop. I came back inside to get some iced tea and when I came out the kids were all gone. I assumed they went inside because it was getting awfully hot out. I called over there about about an hour ago to send Stephen home. Mrs. Wilson said he wasn't there. That's when I called you guys because I remembered the reports of the pedophile in the area and I got scared." Mrs. Millstone dabbed her eyes and sniffled at the last comment.

"How old is he and what was he wearing?" Olivia asked.

"He's nine. He was wearing a pair of dark blue shorts and a white t-shirt with a ketchup stain on the front. I kept trying to get him to change into a clean shirt, but he said he'd only get it dirty too so why bother." She gave a small smile. "He's like that, logical enough to make his stubbornness seem less annoying."

"Have you tried calling his friends and other neighbors?"

"I called everyone I know but no one's seen him. I didn't know what else to do."

"It's alright, we'll get this information out. Do you have a recent picture of him? We might be able to enlist the media in locating him."

"Sure," Mrs. Millstone said, standing up to get a photo off the fireplace mantle. "This was taken only a month ago." She took the photography out of the frame and handed it to Olivia. "Please find my son, he's my life."

"We understand. We'll keep you informed."

"Thank you."

Back in the car Elliot asked, "What do you think?"

"He's the right age, build and coloring. Let's get back to the precinct and get this picture out to everyone. We don't want this perp to get away again."

MORNINGSIDE PARK

JUNE 3 – 7:30 PM

Hours had passed since they had left Mrs. Millstone's home. They'd had every available cop looking for Stephen. They finally caught a break from one of the local news stations. Their news van happened upon a young boy that fit Stephen's description.

"There they are," Olivia said, pointing towards the park. "Pull in over there."

"Got it," Elliot replied. "I hope the boy's okay."

"Me too."

They walked over to the news crew, flashing their badges once they arrived.

"Where's the boy?" Elliot asked.

"In the van," the cameraman replied.

Elliot walked to the open door and peered in. "Hi," he said to the young boy sitting inside.

"Hi."

"I'm Elliot. Can I ask who you are?"

"I'm Stephen."

"Hi, Stephen," Olivia said leaning against the doorframe to block the child from the camera's eye. "Your mom's awfully worried about you."

"Is she mad at me?"

"Why would she be mad?"

"Because I left without telling her where I was going," he replied with his head tucked to his chest.

"Did you go with someone else?" Olivia asked.

"No, I just left. I was mad because my friends had to go inside and they wouldn't let me go with them." A tear started down his face and he angrily brushed it away.

"Oh."

"I didn't mean to get lost," he stated emphatically. "I just meant to go around the block, but a big truck was in the way and I had to go around it. Then a taxi cut around the corner too fast and I had to run the other way to avoid getting hit. Before I knew it I couldn't find my way home." By now the tears were falling fast and furiously.

Elliot stepped away from the van to call the precinct to let them know the boy was safe and sound and they could call off the search. He then called Mrs. Millstone.

Olivia sat with Stephen while Elliot made the calls. "We should probably get you home, kiddo," she said.

"Is she very mad?" he asked Elliot.

"She's relieved that you're safe," he answered. "But I wouldn't be surprised if she kept a closer eye on you for a while."

"Yeah, I'll probably be grounded for the summer," he sighed.

"Let's get you home."

The cameraman tried valiantly to get the boy and the detectives on tape before they left, but Elliot was insistent. "Don't you dare take footage of this child. He's been through enough already."

Reluctantly, the cameraman stepped out of the way and allowed them to pass.

In a relatively short time, they had arrived back at Mrs. Millstone's house. They hadn't even stopped the car before she was trying to open the back door to get her son out. Between the "I'm so glad you're okay" and the "You're soooo grounded" they finally managed to get mother and son inside.

"I'm so sorry that he put you all through so much trouble," Mrs. Millstone said. "I thought he knew better than to just run off like that." The look she shot Stephen spelled out trouble and he reacted by curling into himself on the couch.

"I'm sure it's not something he'll repeat any time in the foreseeable future," Olivia said softly. "He was pretty scared when the news crew found him."

"I know, but he scared the wits out of me and had a lot of police out looking for him. I'm sure they could have been used elsewhere, instead of out looking for disobedient boys," she stressed the last part by looking at her son. The words and tone were soothed some by the soft stroke of her hand through his hair, but she wasn't going to relent anytime soon on his impending punishment.

"Thank you again, Detectives. I'm sorry for all the trouble, but I'm glad he wasn't taken by that man."

"We are too," Elliot said. He turned to the boy and said, "Stephen, mind your mother and take it easy."

"Thank you, Elliot," Stephen responded. "I'm so sorry." Tears threatened to burst from his eyes and he buried his face in his mother's shirt. Elliot ruffled the boy's hair before walking with Olivia to the front door. "Take care, both of you."

"We will," Mrs. Millstone said.

Elliot's phone rang as they reached the front steps.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, it's Cragen. There's been an accident at Kathy's clinic." Cragen was using the controlled cop voice that never spelled good news for those he was talking to.

"What happened?" he nearly shouted.

"We're not exactly sure. Could have been a gas leak."

"We're on our way. Should be about a half hour."

"I'll meet you there."

Elliot disconnected the call with as much force as possible with something that small. "We're going to Kathy's clinic."

"What happened?"

Elliot didn't say a word as he slammed the car into gear and tore off down the street. Olivia struggled to get buckled in for the wild ride. He repeatedly tried Kathy's cell phone to no avail. She wisely didn't ask anythind during the ride, she merely rolled down the window and stuck the bubble light on the top of the car to help their hurried trip across town.

QUEENS

JUNE 3 - 8:30 PM

They arrived on the scene to find two fire trucks, the bomb squad and assorted police cars. They flashed their badges as they flew under the yellow tape marking off the secured area.

"Elliot!" Cragen's voice boomed from the left. "Over here."

Elliot scrambled through the cars and trucks to Cragen's side. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Bomb squad's still investigating. Could be a gas leak or anti-abortion rights activity."

"Do we know for certain Kathy was in there?" Elliot asked.

"We found a body in the back. The badge was melted, but readable. It was Kathy." Cragen put his hand on Elliot's arm in comfort.

Elliot shrugged it off violently. "This is all my fault."

"How so?"

"You said that Hatagov wanted revenge for Heather's death. Here's his revenge," he responded throwing his hand out to encompass the burning mess of the storefront clinic. "I killed his wife, he killed mine."

"You don't know that, Elliot."

"The hell I don't! Kathy's never had any threats against the clinic from anti-abortion protesters. She's never had more than cursory trouble with any of her patients. They all needed and wanted this clinic here, none of them would have done this!" He started past the fire truck and into the still smoldering building.

"Elliot," Olivia said, taking his arm. "You need to take a deep breath and allow these people to do their jobs."

"My wife's in there!" he shouted.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. But getting in their way won't change the outcome."

"Liv, she's dead."

"I know." She grasped his hand and just held on while they watched the frantic activity around them. They watched the firefighters put out the smoldering mess where the back of the building used to be. They watched wisps of smoke and steam rise up into the air. They watched as the coroner's office arrived waiting for their turn in the wreckage. They watched as men and women went about their jobs of protecting the city, all the while Elliot thought that he'd failed in his duty as a police officer and a husband.

Hours later Elliot heard, "Elliot?" It was Olivia. He ignored her. "Elliot?" Olivia said again. "You need to come with me."

"No."

"Elliot. It's not good for you to sit here watching this. Come on. Let me get you home. You need to be with your kids."

"My kids," he said expressionlessly. "How am I going to tell them I killed their mother?"

"Elliot, you didn't kill her. THEY did," she said.

"If you say so. But if I hadn't gone after them, they wouldn't have gone after her. She'd still be alive. So that's my fault."

Olivia prodded Elliot into an upright position and guided him to the sedan. He was lucid, but non-reactive.

STABLER RESIDENCE

QUEENS

JUNE 11

The days after Kathy's funeral flew by quickly. Elliot managed to stay sane in the time he took off, knowing that his kids needed him. But he chafed to get back on the job and to try and track down Hatagov or anything that would tie him to Kathy's murder. For that was what Elliot knew it to be. Cold-blooded murder. An eye for an eye.

Every time he thought about it he got madder. No one knew that Heather was back there. No one had heard her, she hadn't said a word or stayed put. Elliot didn't want to think that Heather's actions were the cause of her death, because he knew it was an accident and accidents do happen. But when it came to being rational about the death of his own wife, he wasn't doing so well. He'd prefer to blame Heather than to accept that he was part of the reason why Kathy was dead.

The phone rang interrupting his destructive thoughts. "Stabler."

"Hi, Elliot."

"Hi, Liv. How are things?"

"I was just going to ask you the same thing."

"We're going okay. The kids are getting back to their regular activities. It's going to take some time, but I think they're doing well."

"When are you coming back? Munch and Fin are driving me crazy. It's like having two older brothers that won't let me play in the clubhouse."

Elliot smiled at that thought, knowing that if Olivia had had older brothers, nothing would have stopped her from getting into the clubhouse if she really wanted to be there. "I should be back on Monday."

"Good. I miss you."

"You miss my fries," he teased.

"Well, yeah. Wanna make a case about it?"

"Nah, I'll let it slide." It felt good to joke around again. Olivia always made him feel like he could do anything. "Thanks, Liv."

"For what?"

"Just because. You've been a true friend through all of this."

"You'd do the same for me."

"You better believe it!"

"I'll see you Monday."

"Have a good weekend."

He hung up the phone slowly. If not for his partner, he didn't think he and the kids would have gotten as far in such a short period of time. He was lucky to have her around.

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT

SQUAD ROOM

JUNE 14

Elliot arrived back at the office itching to get back to work. He grabbed a cup of coffee before hitting the desk.

Olivia arrived a little while later. "Hi," she said.

"Hi."

"We've got a couple of cases to review today."

"Anything interesting?"

"Just the usual. Death, destruction and mayhem."

"Oh and here I was hoping for a beheading or at least a guy dressed like a fairy princess," he drolled.

"I'm not sure I can do anything about the former, but if it's the latter you want, just call Vice, I'm sure they can arrange something for you."

They fell back into the old patterns of teasing banter and quietness. Throughout the week they went out on calls and spent time at their desks working on paperwork and doing research. Fin and Munch continued to dig into White Nights business hoping to catch a break that would help get Hatagov off the street. So far nothing was moving in that direction.

The quiet of the office was broken when Cragen came out of his office looking like someone had shot his dog.

"Cap?" Fin asked.

"We're being officially reprimanded for interferring in an ongoing homicide investigation," he intoned.

"What?" Elliot asked. "Why?"

"Because someone found out Fin and Munch were working under the wire on Hatagov's business and told the brass. I just got my ass chewed off for allowing it."

"Captain, you should have told them you didn't know anything about it," Munch replied.

"No, I couldn't. I wasn't going to let you guys take the fall for something I allowed."

"So, what does that mean?" Olivia asked.

"I'm being suspended for the next two weeks and the rest of you are to stay away from Hatagov, his businesses and his employees. Period. They'll send someone in to take over in my absence."

"I'm sorry, Cap," Fin said.

"Don't be. I don't regret having you guys look into this. I just regret that we didn't find anything before they stopped us."

"You going to be okay?" Olivia asked.

"I'll be fine. I have that pool of mine to enjoy and some gardening to work on. This will give me the opportunity to do it."

Elliot leaned against his desk in a state of shock. These people had risked their jobs, their careers for him. He didn't know how to respond. "Cap'n?"

"Yeah, Elliot."

"Thanks." It wasn't much, but it was everything.

"You're welcome. I'll see you in two weeks. You guys do your jobs and stay out of trouble. I don't want to come back to find that any one else has been booted out, even if this is only temporary."

"You got it."

"See ya."

"Take care."

They watched as Cragen walked out the door, knowing their stalwart support was going with him. No matter who came in for the next two weeks, things wouldn't be fine until Cragen came back.

They all turned back to their work and tried to get their minds off the myriad troubles abounding their lives, both professionally and personally. One way or another they'd get through this and find a little contentment on the other side. They couldn't stay in the doldrums too long, it just wasn't in their nature. Paperwork was pulled out and phones were answered. The detectives got back to work protecting the city and their loved ones.

THE END