Chapter 3: Trust

When they reached Elliot's house, Olivia took Hope from him so he could find his keys. Hope had fallen asleep on the way, so Olivia looked down to make sure the transfer hadn't woken her. She snuggled closer to her, a sign of her faith, but she never opened her eyes,

"Oh, darn!" Elliot whispered harshly.

"What's up?" Olivia whispered back.

"I can't find my keys," Elliot answered.

Olivia laughed softly. He was always losing his keys. "Check your pocket, El," she suggested.

He nodded as if to tell her that that made sense to him. Then, he dug into his pocket. As Olivia had expected, his hand reappeared almost instantly, holding the "lost" keys.

"How'd you know?" he asked, forgetting how well she knew him.

Olivia laughed again. "How long have we been working together?" she asked playfully.

Elliot smiled, understanding the meaning of her question as he turned his key in the lock. He stepped back to let Olivia precede him with Hope, then followed them inside.

Olivia laid Hope down on the couch gently before turning to Elliot. "What should we do, El?" she asked, her eyes filling with confusion.

"I don't know, Liv," he admitted honestly. "I mean, we can't send her home, and if we call CPS, her dad's likely to make things worse on her and her mom."

"I'm afraid for her mom, too, but she was too scared to give me an address when I found her, so I have no idea how to find her mom," she confessed.

"Well, if things are as bad as you say, maybe her mom had the sense to get out when she saw that Hope did," he mused.

Olivia sighed. "I hope you're right, El," she told him. "I really do."

Elliot was about to offer her some reassurance when he saw Hope ease her eyes open,

"Elliot? Olivia?" she asked sleepily.

"We're right here, Hope." they said in unison as they sat down beside her on the couch.

"I had a bad dream," she told them simply.

"What was it about?" Olivia asked gently, knowing what she'd tell her even as she asked.

"My daddy," she answered, shivering a little.

Olivia opened her arms to the little girl as Elliot gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You're safe here," he told her gently.

"El's right, Honey," Olivia said with a nod. "Your daddy can't hurt you anymore. We'll protect you."

"What about my mommy?" Hope asked. "Will you protect her, too?"

"That's what we were hoping you could help us do." Elliot told her.
"How?" she asked, glancing first at Elliot, then at Olivia.

"Can you show us where you live so we can go get your mommy?" Olivia asked cautiously.

"I can't go back there," she replied with frightened eyes.

"Don't worry, we won't leave you for a second," Olivia assured her as she gave her a hug.

Hope looked pensive for a moment, then nodded. "Okay," she said finally. "I'll show you." Olivia smiled.

"Good girl," she praised.

With that, the trio headed out to Elliot's car, and they were all more than a little afraid of what awaited them.