A/N: Please keep on reading and reviewing! Next chapter should be up soon!

That evening Olivia ambled slowly around Riley's apartment, gazing at various pictures of her and Elliot after she had gone into witness protection. The fresh stabs of pain in her gut made her almost nauseous and she felt a little bit dizzy. "Mom?" Riley questioned gently, walking up behind her. "You okay? You probably should eat something."

Olivia shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Mom, you haven't eaten anything since you've been here." Riley said, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Riley honey I'm alright. I don't eat that much anymore. I'll have something tomorrow." Olivia replied, laying a reassuring hand on Riley's arm.

"You know, when dad died in that car wreck, I wasn't really surprised. He died that night with you. I mean, I thought that maybe in time he'd be okay, but something told me he wouldn't." Riley murmured, glancing at her mother.

Olivia nodded slowly and went to sit on the couch, putting her face in her hands. Riley walked up behind her and rubbed her back lightly, noticing with worry that her mother was definitely far skinnier than she should be. "Mom, you said you found out the person in charge of the drug ring."

Olivia looked at her and answered, "Yes."

"Well we should get started on it, don't you think?" Riley said, and Olivia shook her head.

"Not quite yet. So how long have you been seeing Winter?"

Riley laughed slightly and replied, "Like a day. Honestly when you guys caught us was the first time."

"How old is he?"

"Twenty nine. I know you don't think I should see someone that old, but he's really nice." Riley began, already anticipating the argument from her mother.

"Riley, an eleven year age gap isn't anything little. And I know that he isn't the type to use you, but still… you never know."

"Come on mom, you and dad were six years apart. Devon and Reagan are ten. Plus Winter's totally an old school gentleman, he never so much as touched me when I was younger than eighteen. And he came over loads after you left, mostly to bring dad home after he got smashed."

"Oh. Well, why don't you call him over. I need his help." Olivia said.

Winter arrived at just after ten, looking quite ready to work on the case. "Here, Mrs. Stabler." He said, handing over her old legal pad and file. Olivia smiled at the gutsy young detective and glanced through the legal pad. "What do you need help with?"

"So I received a fax down in Florida from Doctor Swanson just before he died as a result of being shot by a member of the drug ring. They were medical records from a visit Elliot had with a Doctor John Regal. However, there wasn't anything medical about Elliot's visit. The files said nothing about any ailment he complained of, and Doctor Swanson scribbled a couple notes on it. He didn't have much time to write anything, he only said, 'drugs.'" Olivia said, "So it is quite evident to me that the good Doctor Regal is the one in charge of this drug smuggling ring. I need you to help me pull the hospital security tapes around the time that Doctor Swanson died- last time you guys weren't looking for another Doctor."

Winter nodded and then asked, "How did Doctor Swanson know that you were alive?"

"He was the one that gave me the surgery in New York. Can you pull the tapes?"

"Of course. Let's go." Winter replied, striding out to the door.

"No… if you do it first thing in the morning it will be fine." Olivia told him, and he looked at her in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Is this how you won all those awards?" Olivia asked with a grin.

"Your husband asked me the very same question." Winter answered with a laugh, "You'd be surprised how brave you can be when you have nothing to lose."

"No, I wouldn't be." Olivia murmured so quietly that he couldn't hear, and then she looked back up at him, "And I think you do have something to lose. A lot to lose."

Winter turned as Riley came trotting into the room and grinned at her. Olivia smiled at them and waved, "Well I am going to go to sleep, but Winter, pull the tapes in the morning, first thing. Promise me that you'll do that, no matter what."

He nodded slowly, feeling a slight unease at the way she phrased the request. "I promise."

Later that night, at close to midnight, Olivia got up out of bed and yanked on some clothes. She clipped her gun to her belt and placed her handcuff's close to it. Stepping out into the hall she caught sight of Riley, sound asleep with her head on Winter's lap. Winter was leaning back in the couch, obviously asleep as well. Olivia smiled at them and then quickly went out the door.

She hurried out in the biting cold air and walked over to her old suburban. Patting the side of it she said, "It's been a long time." Then she climbed up into the driver's seat, the cold leather not helping her already freezing body. Turning on the truck its lights illuminated the interior, and Olivia caught sight of a picture wedged into the glass over the steering display. She pulled it out, gazing at the picture of her and Elliot. Then she slipped it inside her coat pocket and stepped on the accelerator.

When she pulled up into the large houses driveway, Olivia was sure that she saw a light go on inside it. She slowly made her way up the sidewalk and knocked heavily on the door. When it opened, she put a large smile on her face and said, "Doctor Regal. I'm Olivia Stabler, surely you remember me?"

The Doctor seemed quite surprised for a moment, and then smiled back at her. "Of course I remember you, Mrs. Stabler. As I recall, you died two years ago."

"That's right, one of your people shot me." Olivia replied, a gust of wind tossing her hair about her face.

"Yes, I am truly sorry about that. You weren't supposed to die- just your husband." Regal responded, and then he swung his door open wider. "It's cold. Why don't you come inside?"

Olivia didn't hesitate in stepping into the warm house. As Regal shut the door with a soft thud she turned and asked, "Why did you get into the drug smuggling business?"

"Money, of course." He replied, grinning even wider as he stepped around her and sat down at a chair by the kitchen table.

Nodding slowly Olivia glanced around, noticing several photographs of horses on the walls. "Do you show horses, Doctor Regal?"

"I don't ride them, I pay other people to compete for me. I provide them with the best horses and they win for me." Regal said, taking a sip of wine from the glass he had nearby.

"So that's how you smuggle drugs. Every major stop is a horse competition."

"Bingo. You are a sharp one, Detective. If I had known you were this smart before, I wouldn't have been so disappointed you died. I thought your husband was the one who was getting wise to us- that's why I wanted him killed."

"But I got in the way."

"Correct. We were going to finish him off later on, but aren't car accidents handy?" Doctor Regal said with a slight yawn, "And then your daughter started to catch on. We didn't want to move to fast on her though, not with Devon Masters guarding her like a hawk. So we waited until we knew he'd be gone for work, then went in after her. But her special Detective friend showed up before we could find the documents. I was really hoping he'd get himself killed before we went after Riley; after all, he does enough brave, stupid things that it wouldn't be hard. You know, I feel bad I had to kill Doctor Swanson. But he figured it out to. He told me once that you were his favorite patient. He was absolutely devastated after he performed your surgery. Of course it was all a show, as he must have known all along that you were alive. Well there's the story for you."

"I am so glad you told me all of that. You realize I'm going to have to arrest you." Olivia replied, turning to face him.

"Come on now, beautiful, you don't want to stick around? I don't see your arrest warrant." He answered easily, "Why did you come here, all alone?"

"I wanted to get you myself." Olivia said simply.

"I get it. Because I'm the one who ruined your life, right?"

"My life isn't ruined."

"Is it not?" the Doctor asked, a broad grin on his face as he stood and walked over to her.

"No, it's not." Olivia answered, taking a step back.

"You're lying. You lost your husband, wasn't he your life?" the Doctor replied, and Olivia didn't answer. The Doctor grinned even wider as he looked over his shoulder. "Winston, it's about time you got here. Your faulty work has come back to haunt us." Olivia looked behind her and saw a man that she'd never forget.

He looked absolutely stunned and took a step back, staring at her. "Jesus Christ!"

"Now Winston, it's time for you to finish what you started two years ago." Regal said, "Shoot her. And this time, make sure she dies."

Winston slipped his gun out and held it out as his hand shook. Olivia took a step backwards, unsure whether to draw her own weapon.

"Kill her Winston! Do it now!" Regal shrieked, and Olivia heard Winston's gun click. She turned to face him and instantly felt a sharp pain in her back as Regal slammed his fist against her spine. He gave her an extra hard shove so that she went to her knees. Winston stared down at her and felt his finger slip to the trigger.

Winter woke with a start that night, and as he glanced around, he wasn't sure why. It was a little after midnight. Almost immediately his cell phone started to ring. As he glanced at the number that appeared he bit back a look of surprise and flipped it open. "O'Connor… oh hi dad, I suppose you heard about my car then… no… you're what… well she didn't hear it from me, I kept my mouth shut I swear… oh… well that should be fine… just call me when your plane gets in… see you." Winter slowly closed his phone and clipped it to his belt, quite stunned. Riley yawned and stretched, looking up at him.

"What's up?"

"That was my father… he said he's coming to the States for business in a couple days. He wants to see me. Apparently his wife just found out about me and is royally angry that he hasn't kept in contact with me. I haven't seen him since I was like two!" Winter exclaimed, looking quite lost as to what to do.

"It will be fine, Winter." Riley told him with a slight smile. In no less than five minutes she was asleep again. But for some reason Winter couldn't go back to sleep himself, so he stood and got up to get a drink of water. A quiet creaking caught his attention and he turned to see Olivia's door slightly ajar. Winter looked curiously at it and stepped across the room, poking his head inside. Sure enough, her bed was empty. Winter sighed in frustration and mumbled, "And you tell me to be more careful, Olivia Stabler." With that he sprinted to the door, jerking his coat off the hook.

Meanwhile Devon Masters was sitting on his couch, mulling over the letter he had received. The FBI was requesting that he be tested for his health again, and Devon had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to pass again. Intense medication and therapy had gotten him back on his feet for the past year, but already he was starting to feel pain again. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. Then his cell phone rang. It was that young detective, Winter O'Connor. Devon shook his head and then picked it up, unable to comprehend what he would need at this hour of the night. After all, Olivia was supposed to be sound asleep recovering from the plane ride. But even as that thought crossed his mind, he was struck by a fear that she wasn't.

Winter impatiently bent over the desk at the hospital, waiting to talk to someone about the security tapes. Finally a middle aged woman walked out, looking to be in a quite a bad mood. "What do you want?"

"I need the security tapes for last month, on the 27th from about eight o clock to midnight." Winter said in what he hoped was an authoritative tone.

"You people already looked at those. And as I recall, you had a subpoena for them." The woman snapped, glaring at him.

Winter smiled broadly at her and replied, "I know. It's just that my ex girlfriend is the attorney we have to go through to get that. And I just don't want to talk to her, you know?"

The woman looked back at him in slight surprise and said, "Well you're going to have to."

"Please, I'm sure someone as pretty as you could get those tapes easily. I mean I'm sure you hear this all the time but you have really beautiful eyes." Winter replied in a beautifully flattering voice complete with perfect accent.

The woman turned bright red and said, "No I don't hear that all the time. And especially not from cops."

"I'm astonished. What's wrong with the people you work with? But I'll tell you what, I understand that you don't want to get the tapes. I'll just have to go and see Mary. She's a good lawyer, even if she did cheat on me." Winter said, turning to walk out.

"Wait! Give me ten minutes and I'll have them for you." The woman said suddenly, and Winter looked back in mock surprise. She grinned at him then waltzed off. Winter grinned back and then rolled his eyes after she was out of sight. He glanced at his watch and hoped that Devon had managed to round up some agents to go find Olivia. She'd been gone nearly an hour.

Winston drew back, his face contorted with indecision. Finally he shrieked, "I can't shoot her again, Mr. Regal! I just can't!" And with that he dropped his gun and stumbled backwards, tripping all over himself in his rush for the door.

Olivia lunged forward to snatch it and Regal leapt after her, landing heavily on her back. Her fingers seized the grip of the gun and she wriggled around, whacking him as hard as she could on the hands. He recoiled enough so that she managed to jerk partway out from under him. Olivia cringed as his hands reached up her shirt, his fingernails digging into her sides as he attempted to bring her back under his control. She gave a mighty pull but couldn't get free. Regal seized the back of her neck in his hand and squeezed. Olivia wrenched over onto her back and struggled to get a good grip on the gun. But Regal hand already tightened his hand over her neck, so that she could still breathe but the pressure caused pain. "And here we are at last, Detective Stabler. Your husband can't save you, your daughter can't save you, and even your FBI friend can't save you. You are going to die alone." Regal muttered into her ear, pulling the gun from her hand. Olivia looked back up at him and smiled slightly. Regal's eyes widened as he glanced down at her left arm, which was pinned between their bodies. In it she gripped her nine millimeter. Regal leapt backwards as fast as he could, he not fast enough. With a deafening crack, the bullet ripped through the air.

The Doctor fell to his knees as he gripped the wound on his shoulder. Olivia quickly clipped her handcuffs onto him and rolled him onto his stomach. Just as she did so, the door burst open and Devon came running in with a couple agents in tow. He looked down at her and exclaimed, "Olivia Stabler! I did not bring you back so you could get yourself killed!" With that he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to her feet, allowing the other agents to take Regal into custody. Olivia smiled apologetically at him and he grinned back. "Guess who we caught trying to escape? That guy who shot you."

"Good." Olivia said with relief.

Devon immediately went back into scolding mode after he took in her bruises. "I can't believe you did this, Olivia. You could have waited for us to help you. Seriously, this case isn't as important as your life."

"I know Devon. But Regal never would have talked if we had simply taken him into custody. With no direct evidence he would have managed to get off, and probably flee the country. But I got his confession." Olivia explained, and when Devon raised an eyebrow she added, "Plus I wanted to catch the bastard myself."

Devon laughed and then said, "Come on. Let's get you to the hospital." With that he picked her up, much to her displeasure.

"Devon, I can walk!"

"Sure you can. But save your energy." Devon told her with a smile as they stepped outside. Olivia glanced behind them, a sense of shock coming over her. The case that had taken so much from so many people was at last solved.

A/N#2: Okay, next chap will wrap up all the loose ends of everything as far as the case goes, so be patient if you still have questions! Next chap is definitely my personal favorite, and you will soon see why.