A/N: Merry Christmas! Here is a new chapter for ya! Keep on reading and reviewing, it gives me inspiration to write more! I hope you enjoy this chapter, however I personally like the next one much better! Also, there will be a lot of big questions at the end of this chapter, but they will all be answered in the next.
Disclaimer: I do not own them in any way, shape, or form. I do not own SVU either- a fact which I would be totally comfortable with if only Olivia and Elliot would finally get together on the show! O well…
Olivia laid her head against the plane's window, finding great comfort in the view. The plane jetted through thick clouds at first, and then the sky had opened up and the black night was sprinkled with stars. But even as she soaked in the quiet beauty of the darkness outside, her stomach was twisting up in knots. She missed Elliot deeply. In her last undercover mission she had been paired up with him as a rich executive and his girlfriend. That assignment had been an intense one, ending in a deadly shoot out. She and Elliot had escaped with nothing but bruises, and Olivia knew they had been lucky. And now she was alone.
"Excuse me, miss. Would you like anything to drink?" questioned the stewardess kindly, gently tapping Olivia on her shoulder.
"Yes, could I just get a water?" Olivia answered, sitting up. The stewardess smiled and handed her a glass. Olivia yanked out her bag and pulled out her pill bottles. Hunt, of course, watched with interest. When she had gotten out all of the ones she needed, she dropped the containers back into her bag. Hunt reached down and grabbed one.
"Anti-depressant?" he questioned, reading the label and looking at her with curiosity. Olivia snatched it back from him, flushing slightly. "Sorry." Hunt apologized quickly, "I just thought it was a little odd amongst all the antibiotics in there."
"Yes, well, my shrink prescribed it. Can't argue with her." Olivia muttered, rolling her eyes, "I guess in the hospital I had some sort of episode once I woke up from anesthesia, and was asking for my gun. They seriously thought I wanted it too shoot myself. Honestly."
"Well, did you?" Hunt asked shrewdly, raising an eyebrow.
"No! Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore. I lost my husband our child, alright? But I am perfectly emotionally stable now." Olivia snapped, gulping down her medication afterwards.
"Liv, I didn't want to make you upset. I am sorry."
"It's Olivia. No one is allowed to call me Liv except for my husband." exclaimed Olivia angrily, glaring over at him.
Hunt was beginning to lose his patience with this one. He had been informed she was feisty, stubborn, strong-willed, and occasionally a straight up bitch, but he hadn't quite been prepared for this attitude. "You do realize Mrs. Stabler that you are going to have to be my wife as soon as we step foot into Denver International Airport? It's the only way we will get your daughter back."
"Yes, I realize that, Mr. Hunt. But let me give you fair warning. Don't try to kiss me or get your hand down my pants. My real husband gets that job, not my fake one." Olivia said exasperatedly.
"Of course not. You aren't very trusting are you?" Hunt asked, trying to resist the urge to slap her.
"Not really. Look, I appreciate you trying to help me find my daughter, I really do." Olivia said, almost apologizing, but Hunt could tell she still had that defiant look in her eye and wasn't sorry in the slightest. He reluctantly patted her knee and then went back to dozing off. He couldn't believe this woman.
Elliot looked quite murderous as Cragen explained the situation to him. "You mean to tell me, you let her go undercover when she is still sick? For Christ's sake, by the end of the day, she is lucky to be able to walk with all the pain she's in. I carry her up the stairs to our apartment every night because the first time she tried to go up them herself she fell and split open some of her stitches. Now you tell me, does that sound like someone ready to go undercover?"
"Elliot, I didn't want too. But this was something she felt she had to do." Cragen sighed, looking very upset. Elliot didn't answer, and just sat fuming. "She is trying to save your daughter, Elliot. Don't forget, she is still a cop. And a damned good one at that. If you try to save her now, it will blow the undercover."
Alexandra Cabot lay on her back on the couch, deep in thought. Her husband Henry ambled over to her, just in from work. He smiled very sweetly and climbed over on top of her. Alex grinned and kissed him. "How are you?" she questioned, and he kissed her again in response.
"How are you?" he questioned her, noticing her somewhat distant expression.
"I don't know. I just… I am worried about Olivia. She's gone undercover to find her daughter. Some Denver cop came and said they found her in Colorado." Alex said, and Henry immediately became quite serious.
"What?"
"Cragen told me that this… Nicholas Hunt guy showed up and said the DPD had seen Riley in Colorado. They said she had to go undercover as a Denver elitist to get her back." Alex began, and Henry immediately leapt off the couch.
"Oh my God."
"What is it?" Alex exclaimed, standing up beside him. Henry didn't answer, and was merely strapping his gun back around his waist. "Henry! What's going on?"
"The Denver Police Department never sends out officers for undercover missions. They always have the person they want to go undercover report immediately for briefing from the commissioner. Olivia is in very great danger. Nicholas Hunt is dead. He died in a shoot out six years ago."
Alex's eyes widened and she stared at him. "You're sure?"
"Positive. I was there." Henry answered, throwing on his jacket and racing out the door.
Elliot was still at work around twelve that evening. He and Cragen were the only ones left in the precinct and it was strangely silent. Suddenly the door swung open and Elliot looked up to see Alex's husband walking in, looking extraordinarily upset. "Henry! What brings you to special victims at this ungodly hour? The mounted police not keeping you busy enough?" Cragen asked, just walking out of his office.
Henry didn't smile at the joke and merely said, "Olivia is in a lot of danger. You were fooled. The Denver Police do not send officers out to recruit people for undercover, the DPD contacts the people via telephone and then has them flown out to meet immediately with the commissioner."
Elliot leapt to his feet, seizing Henry's shoulder and turning him around to face him. "She's been gone three days. I haven't been able to get a single trace on her."
Cragen slammed his fist against the wall. "That son of a bitch! Elliot, get PI's sent out to Colorado as soon as possible. I am going to go public with this."
"It also means that Riley is probably still in New York." Elliot said, his eyes widening. "All those tips we were getting! We thought they were phony because she was in Colorado!"
Olivia was lying wide awake in a hotel bed in Denver, Colorado. Hunt lay next to her. Well, sort of. He was undercover the covers and she was on top of them in a sleeping bag she had gotten from the hotel. She had been in Colorado nearly a full week. Olivia was still very uncomfortable around him, and was having trouble slipping into the role of his snooty, rich wife from New York City. Nicholas was having no trouble adjusting, saying that he had gone undercover numerous times with a variety of women. However, despite all of her insecurities, they had managed to easily infiltrate into the upper class citizens of Denver. Olivia had become an instant man magnet and was constantly hit on every time they went out to one of their social gatherings. Glancing over at the clock Olivia saw that it was four in the morning. She sighed and got up out of her sleeping bag. She walked into the bathroom and glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. It had changed a great deal. She ran her hands through her bleach blonde hair complete with special highlights so that she looked like a natural. Her dark eyes were now navy blue, thanks to her new non-prescription contacts. Olivia quickly changed into her outfit for the day, a royal blue dress that was strapless and rather short. It was very tight and from fitting until it passed her hips, where it flared out into a movement accentuating ruffle. She then zipped up the leather boots that come up just below her knees and had a good six inch heel on them. She then sat down on the toilet seat and looked at her hand. Hunt had let her keep her wedding ring on, something she was very appreciative for. She ran her fingers over its beautiful white gold band and the diamonds and sapphires embedded in it, thinking of Elliot.
Olivia sat there for a long while. At seven Nicholas awoke and changed into his fancy tux- right in front of her, as usual. "Morning, dearest." He said as he pulled on his pants. Olivia was looking away and waved her hand in acknowledgment. After she was sure he was done she ambled out of the bathroom, feeling exhausted. Suddenly Nicholas grabbed her arms and pushed her up against the wall. He leaned in close and whispered, "You must begin to act like you are my wife. So far you have jeopardized the whole operation. Do you want to get your daughter back or not?" Olivia stared back at him, surprised by his anger. She nodded slowly and he smiled. "Good. First test of your new resolve." With that he leaned forward and kissed her neck, stepping forward and pressing her harder against the wall. Olivia squirmed uneasily, trying to fight her way out, but he had put his whole body weight into pinning her. Her breathing became heavy from panic and he finally pulled away. Hunt looked extremely irritated and then leaned back down, kissing the top of her collarbone and progressing lower. When his hands released her arms to try slip down the top of her dress Olivia immediately kneed him as hard as she could in the groin and shoved him off, finishing by slapping him with all her strength across his face.
"Don't ever try that again!" she yelled, shaking with fury.
"You are such a bitch!" Hunt shrieked, caressing his stinging cheek and scowling at her.
"Yes well, you can think what you want. I don't care. But I am starting to think that no matter how much it would endanger this mission I should call the DPD Commissioner." Olivia snapped, and Hunt immediately approached her.
"Don't you dare!" he hissed, grabbing her arms painfully hard, "I am tired of your crap." He slipped out his 9 millimeter and pressed it against her temple, clicking the safety off as he did so. Olivia froze, taking a deep breath. "Here's the deal. I was hired to get you out of New York, your daughter isn't here."
Olivia's eyes widened and she asked, "Where is she?"
"Still in New York. Totally unharmed as of now. However, if I call my people and tell them you are being a wench that may change. Your husband is as we speak following leads to get her. He should succeed. We are not interested in Riley, only you."
"We?" questioned Olivia, still very aware of the loaded gun pressed against the side of her head.
"The others involved. You have already met the one who kidnapped that girl a while back that had the picture of you. The others are myself, the man who struck your car, the one who kidnapped your daughter, and of course, the one in charge." Nicholas said, and Olivia felt her heart begin to slow as she heard him click the safety back on and take his finger off the trigger. "Don't look so relieved." He hissed, taking the gun and striking the side of her face with it. She fell to the ground, completely disoriented and her head reeled painfully. Hunt gave her a whack across the back with the gun and then kicked her very hard in the stomach. Olivia's eyes welled up with tears as the impact of the kick made her only partially healed abdominal muscles scream in pain. Fortunately, she had blocked with her hands and they helped absorb the blow. "Now, Detective Stabler, you will sleep with me. If you do, I will try my best to get you back to New York."
Olivia didn't answer. She could feel her mind begin to shut down as unconsciousness threatened to take her over. She swallowed back the taste of blood in her mouth and fought the urge to slip into dark sleep. She knew full well what Hunt would do to her if she did. Struggling to her feet she gazed at Hunt. "I will. Tonight. But we have promised a lot of people we would go to this party and they will be worried if we don't come."
"Good girl. See, it just takes a few smacks to get a woman in line. Surely your husband has figured that out with you, seeing as you are especially disobedient."
"He has never hit me." Olivia snapped, glaring up at him. Hunt responded by giving her a few good hits with his fists and whacking her again with the gun, this time in the collarbone.
"Well, I guess that means I must supply your discipline." he said with a sickening smirk, "Go on and change, we can't have you looking less than crisp."
Olivia could see the blue bruises forming on her sides and face and changed into her most concealing dress. But as Hunt had selected her outfits, none of them really were that covering. This one was scarlet red with a halter top and crisscrossed straps down the back, and flared out below her hips just like the blue dress had. She reapplied her make up quite heavily, but the gash on her face and the bruise surrounding it from the gun was unable to be hidden fully. When she walked out Hunt stroked the side her face as if to apologize. She looked away and he took her arm and they walked out, slipping undercover once again.
Samson Weatherby had been a private investigator for thirty years, but this was the most interesting case he had had so far. A cop abducted while thinking she was going undercover. He sighed and glanced around the streets of Denver from the warm comfort of his car. It was a frigid day and snow covered the ground, falling lightly from the dark sky. Just as he was about to pull out he noticed something odd. He snatched up his camera and zoomed in. There was a beautiful blonde haired woman walking down the street- wearing a rather skimpy red dress. This was astoundingly unusual to see in Colorado's winter; even the wealthy wore a good amount of clothing despite how unstylish they found it. As a gust of wind blew it ruffled the woman's dress above her knees, revealing a blemish on one. Samson zoomed in and saw a scar running across her right kneecap. His heart caught in his chest. That was one of the distinguishing marks on Olivia Stabler. He rapidly clicked some photos of it and then focused on her hand. She wore a ring identical to the one he had a picture of Olivia wearing. He snapped a few of that and then zoomed in on her face. Blonde hair and blue eyes, but quite the same face structure. Samson shifted over his seat, and began clicking more. Suddenly she stopped and looked right over at his car. Samson was startled by her awareness. She looked at him in a mixture of surprise and fear. Olivia was about to say something when a man came bolting out of the door of a building, grabbing her arms. Samson continued taking pictures, feeling his stomach knot as he now knew what all those bruises on her were from.
Elliot gulped his fourth glass of coffee down. He had slept maybe four hours total in the past few days. Cragen had gone public with Olivia's disappearance, and her picture was being circulated all over Colorado. But from the looks of things, she had fallen off the face of the earth. Elliot had never felt more torn. He could stay in New York to find Riley, or go to Colorado to find Olivia. Cragen had forbidden him to go to Colorado, saying that Riley was in far more danger than Olivia, as she was only a little girl. Elliot's frustrations were extremely evident, and everyone stayed out of his way for the most part so that they didn't become an easy target of his wrath. Elliot flipped through the most recent information coming back from the PI's searching for Olivia. Nothing much had surfaced, except for a few airport security tapes showing her leaving DIA. Cragen suddenly walked out of his office after taking a call and hurried to Elliot. "Turn on your computer!" he exclaimed, and Elliot did so, looking at him with confusion. "I just got a call from a PI. He is e-mailing us pictures right now."
Elliot and Cragen stared as the pictures began to pop up as they signed onto the internet. "Who is that?" questioned Cragen, looking intently at the woman with light blonde hair walking down a Denver street. Elliot shook his head, clicking open the next one. This was another shot of her, only it was focused on her hand. You couldn't tell much except she had a ring. Then Elliot skipped to the next one, a very close up zoom on the ring. Elliot took in a deep breath and then clicked to the next picture. A scar traced across the woman's knee.
"Oh my God. It's Olivia."
Olivia was shaking with cold as she was escorted into the club by Hunt. He immediately got her a drink, which she reluctantly took. Alcohol was the last thing she wanted at the moment for it made her feel queasy as she had eaten very little over the past week. Hunt went about greeting their new friends and Olivia glanced around, trying to figure out a way she could leave without being stopped. Several of her male admirers ran up to her, offering her drinks and using any excuse to touch her on the arms. Olivia flirted harmlessly with them, as she had done the past week, until Hunt came back and pulled her up into his arms, kissing her very forcefully on the lips. Olivia tried her best to shove him off as he attempted to open her mouth with his tongue. He pulled away, playfully placing a hand on her chest while glaring at her.
Devon Masters watched the beautiful blonde as she tried to inconspicuously shove her husband off her. He could tell from the look the man gave to her that he was going to hit her again, as soon as they weren't in public. She had tried to hide her pain all morning, but Devon could sense it. He had been watching her for a week. And it was only this morning that he had made the connection. Devon narrowed his green eyes and then stood up, walking over to them. "Excuse me, mind if I dance with her?"
Olivia whipped away from Hunt, turning to find herself looking into the bright green eyes of a man she had seen around the parties. He had been rather quiet, never saying anything too loudly and drinking very minimally. Gossip said he was a rancher in his late forties, rich off of the oil company he owned. But Olivia had noticed the limp in his walk and the stiffness to his right side, and she had a gut feeling he was far more than that.
"Sure." Hunt said, shoving her into his arms.
Olivia wrapped her arms around the man's neck and he placed one hand on her lower back, pushing her right up against him. They backed up into the mass of dancers- if you could call it dancing. Mostly it was the teenage children of the wealthy feeling each other up to music. They soon were lost in the shuffle and Olivia couldn't see Hunt at all. The man who was dancing with Olivia pulled her close to him, his hands beginning to rove around her body. However, it wasn't the touching that she had been struggling to avoid this past week; it was a rather gentle, tender touch- searching for injuries. The man pressed his cheek against hers, his left hand finding her aching ribs. She inhaled sharply when he pressed and he immediately moved his hands. He slowly moved them over her back and then down to her belly. Olivia couldn't help it and gasped in pain, pulling away slightly. The man gently pushed her back against him and felt up her sides and to her face. She winced when he touched the place where the gun had struck her.
The man ran a hand through her hair in a would-be passionate way and then whispered, "You do not need to take this."
"Its nothing." murmured Olivia, pressing her hand against his shoulder.
The man took her face in his hands. Olivia met his eyes and he said softly, "Let me help you, Detective Stabler."