A/N: Wow. It's been a while.

I feel I owe you poor reader's an explanation. So in short, I have been extremely busy with flying out to my college for a 3 day registration-orientation thing, dealing with AP and final exams, graduation, and to top it all off, going to physical therapy four times a week after a girl slammed into my car as I was driving home from school, completely screwing up my back and neck. Anyways, sorry for the delay, I feel like such a loser!

Lol, well enjoy, I hope the chapter is ok, I wrote it in about eight million pieces which I then strung together. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Still.

Olivia was quite surprised at how time had managed to slow itself down so much following Dom's departure. It had only been a week since her friend had left, and it felt like a year. She supposed it partially due to the trial- though that seemed a little odd as it had gone so well. Marshall Weather's had been convicted of murder and assault, as the rape was a little sketchy. He was, however, going to be in jail for a very long time.

And then there was the matter of Elliot. He was nice to her, of course, but never really engaged her much beyond the usual conversation. The last thing she wanted was to see him in the same state that she had met him in- professional, gentle, but very detached. And now he was slipping back into that.

She sighed as she stood to go to the window, laying a hand on her stomach. The baby was doing fine, so she wasn't quite sure why she was so concerned about it. Maybe it was the shock of finding out she was pregnant after just one lapse in judgment. One time.

A knock on the door made her turn. Olivia made her way over to the door, swinging it open to find Natalie gazing back at her. "Olivia! How are you?"

Olivia smiled and let her inside. "I'm not bad. Let me guess, Dom sent you over to check on me."

Natalie nodded and said, "He's worried about you. You weren't answering your phone."

"Well I'm okay. I can take care of myself."

"Sure you can. I was wondering if you would want to come with me. I am supposed to ride his horse and he said you liked riding her."

Olivia laughed and said, "I am probably not as good at it as you, plus my doctor says no jumping. But if you want me too, sure."

"Good! When we are there we can call Dom and he will be reassured that you are doing okay." Natalie replied.

When they arrived, Dom's mare, Kiara, looked over the stall door eagerly at them. She buried her nose in Olivias shoulder, expecting the usual scratching of her ears. Olivia grinned and obliged the sweet horse while Natalie went and grabbed her tack. Olivia went about brushing the horse while Natalie saddled her.

"So has what's his face…" Natalie began as she put on the mares splint boot. "Great, this has got a broken hook. Oh well, I am sure Dom's got an extra pair." She sighed and got up, walking into the tackroom. Digging around the saddle rack, Natalie noticed a grimy old tack trunk lying underneath it. She knelt down and brushed off the top layer of dust. Judging by the initials, it was Dom's mothers. Natalie eyed the lock and then quickly trotted back out to her truck to get the pair of bolt cutters she had there. "I really hope there are some extras in here." Natalie muttered as she adjusted the cutters on the lock.

After putting up a good fight, the lock finally broke. Natalie eagerly shoved it aside and yanked up the lid. But there weren't any splint boots. The trunk was overflowing with bottles upon bottles of prescription drugs- and judging by the dates on the labels, they were retrieved just a week before she had been killed. "Olivia!"

Olivia stood by the wall as she watched the cops finish up their report. A detective from narcotics walked over to her and said, "Well, they seem to be the real deal. They don't appear to be fake, but we won't know for sure until they get to the lab. It seems you have found the motive for murder in the old Liechtenstein case- we have been looking for these for a long time." Olivia nodded slowly. "You want me to notify Dominic? Standard procedure, you know, for us to check him out."

"No… I'll do it." Olivia replied, running a hand through her hair. With that she began the trek back to her car.

"Olivia, where are you going?" Natalie called, hurrying over to intercept her.

"I just have to talk to someone…" Olivia told her, and Natalie drew to a halt.

Darby looked only mildly surprised to see her. "Olivia. Looking beautiful as usual tonight. What can I do for you?"

Olivia glared at him and stepped inside. As she leaned back against the wall Darby clicked the dead bolt and turned back to face her. "You know why I'm here."

"The Liechtenstein case."

"That's right. Why didn't you tell me that it was dug related?"

Darby sighed and answered, "I didn't think it was important."

Olivia stepped forward and exclaimed, "You didn't think it was important that Michelle Liechtenstein was murdered two weeks after she intercepted a huge run of illegal prescription drugs? What the hell was going on?"

"How far are you going to push this, Olivia?" Darby asked, coming in so close that she could feel the heat of his breath on her face.

Olivia shifted somewhat uncomfortably as he walked behind her, brushing up against her back. "As far as it takes. Tell me what you know, Darby."

Darby hesitated and then began, "Michelle had called us saying she knew her husband was smuggling drugs. She offered to help us out. She got the drugs off his boat and was going to put them in a safe place so that while we were doing the 'paperwork' they wouldn't be shipped off. Narcotics never could find them after she got killed, so we never really thought it to be necessary to talk about them. I guess we should have checked her barn."

"So that's why she got killed." Olivia said, for the first time truly seeing the whole picture of the heinous crime.

Darby nodded. "Yep. Too bad. She was very beautiful, like you. And now its time for you to move on. This case is closed. We nailed the guy on murder even without proof of the drugs existence. He's never getting out."

"SVU is getting a case in the summer. You didn't want Dominic working it with us. This is why, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. We have never been able to quite infiltrate the community of boaters, and so since a series of rapes seem to be connected to the smuggling, SVU is catching. I, however, didn't want him involved. He's to close to it." Darby said, and Olivia could tell he was avoiding something.

"Darby, let's not play games. Tell me." Olivia demanded.

Darby smiled and reached out to take her face in his hands. Olivia winced but let him hold her there for a moment. "I truly am sorry that we could never have been anything more. But…" he murmured, stroking the side of her face and then moving down to her neck.

"Darby…" Olivia said urgently, her breath speeding up. As his hand slipped down the center of her chest she quickly shoved him away. "Lieutenant!"

"Sorry. Anyways, Mr. Liechtenstein is under investigation. In the time that he has been head of Coast Guard here, three times as many drugs are being smuggled in. I am worried that he and his father were in on this."

Olivia's jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "He would never do this."

"I told you I don't know for sure. But just watch your back, especially because the baby…"

"He is my best friend, Darby. And so help me, if you do anything to screw up his job I am going to tell everyone about your little secret." Olivia hissed, and Darby grinned.

"You wouldn't dare. You have guts, Olivia, that's why I like you. But sometimes you just don't use your head. Sticking up for your friends is great and all, but there comes a point when you have to accept if they are doing something wrong."

"He's not."

"You are so sure? Look at his father. Beat his one hundred pound wife until he fractured her spine and she couldn't get up to fight him, raped her, and then he hit her so hard that he gave her a cerebral hemorrhage. Not many crimes come close to that amount of depravity. Is it such a long shot that his son would have been raised on such violent tendencies?"

"Darby, he can't help what his father did."

"Has he ever hit you?" Darby asked, his tone confident.

"No!" Olivia yelled, furious at her old lieutenant.

"Okay. Well just a heads up. Now surely you are going to give me something for all that information. I can think of a few…" he said, his grin even wider.

"You gave that up on your own. And don't you dare touch me again."

"Oh Olivia, you are far too emotional for your own good. You liked it once."

"No, I didn't." Olivia replied, backing up as he approached her again.

"You are a liar." Darby answered.

Olivia had had about enough of this and said, "See you later." As she started to step away he seized her arms.

"You aren't going to leave."

"Yes I am." Olivia answered, becoming very aware of his body pressing against her. She immediately started to fight to get free when she felt exactly what he wanted. When she managed to pull her hand loose she hit him as hard as she could in the face. He fell backwards, looking at her in shock. Olivia just smiled and trotted out to the door.

As she walked out in the cold air her heart was still pounding. She would not let another guy violate her. It was a short drive from Darby's to her apartment. Olivia made her way up the steps, rubbing her belly lightly with her hand. When she reached her landing, she was surprised to see Elliot sitting with his back against her door. "Elliot? What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, her eyes wide.

"Oh. I just wanted to say that I am sorry." Elliot said, standing up quickly.

"That's alright. Believe me, you aren't the only one who thinks that Dom's the father. And those pictures don't help, do they?" Olivia said with a slight smile.

Elliot shook his head but found himself grinning stupidly as he looked at her. "I also heard about what happened with the drugs today. Does he know?"

"Nope, I figure I will call him later. After he settles into Florida." Olivia replied, swinging open her door. "You want to come in?"

Elliot hesitated briefly and then replied, "If you want me to."

"Of course." Olivia said with a grin.

When they were inside they both removed their jackets and went to sit on the couch. Olivia folded her knees to her chest, resting her head on them as Elliot looked at her in amusement. "Where were you tonight? It's probably not a great idea for you to be wandering the streets."

"I had to talk to Darby about the drugs. He worked the original case with SVU." Olivia replied, playing idly with a piece of hair.

"Well, be careful, alright?" Elliot said, a pleading note in his voice. Olivia looked over at him, the dim lights reflecting in her chocolate eyes. Her features were drawn into a subtly surprised expression.

"I will." Olivia replied softly, allowing her feet to come to rest on the floor. Elliot nodded and scooted a little closer.

"How are you doing, really?" he asked.

"Okay. The counseling helps a little. I guess it's lucky I don't remember most of it. Plus, it could have been worse." Olivia answered with a sigh. She glanced down at her belly, showing now just slightly. "I am just glad the baby's okay."

"Ya," Elliot said, "Me too." He looked at her in silence for a moment before settling a hand on her knee. Olivia glanced down as she felt his thumb tracing small circles on her leg. Elliot started to move his hand away, but Olivia placed hers over it. She then pulled it up to her thigh before releasing her grip and settling her hand on his jaw. He gazed back at her with deep blue eyes that clearly sent the message that this would go only as far as she wanted it too.

Olivia smiled at him and lightly kissed his cheek. Then she pulled back, slowly sliding her hand off his chest.

She then stood and questioned, "Do you want something to drink?" Without waiting for a reply she hurried off to the kitchen.

Elliot followed her and said, "Olivia, what is wrong?" When she didn't answer, Elliot very gently took her wrist. Olivia shook her head but didn't pull away. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." Olivia answered firmly, then trailed off as she carefully worded her next response, "I dated him for a while, right before I met Dom."

"Are you serious?" Elliot exclaimed, letting go of her wrist.

"Sadly, yes." Olivia replied with a slight smile.

"Why did you break up?"

"I caught him cheating on me." Olivia answered simply, and then quickly snatched up a beer and water from the refrigerator. She handed him the beer and then started to move off.

"You did great in court today." Elliot said suddenly, stepping a little closer.

Olivia just raised her chin and replied, "That bastard killed my partner. No way in hell was I going to let him get away with it because I had to shaky of testimony."

Elliot reached out and laid a hand on her cheek. "You are quite something, Olivia Benson."

"Is that a compliment?" Olivia asked, a beautiful smile gracing her features once more.

Elliot laughed and grinned, "Ya, it's a compliment."

The next morning Olivia showed up for work early as usual, setting straight to filling out paperwork. Elliot showed up shortly after, going through the morning ritual of dumping the majority of his papers on her desk, as he was heading into the field to speak to some witnesses. Munch walked in and gave Olivia an especially suspicious look. She looked back at him in confusion, causing him to come back over to her desk. "Wow Olivia, is it just me, or do you bear a striking resemblance to a certain fashion designer?"

Olivia laughed and replied, "You're right. That was one of my undercover assignments."

Elliot turned to look at her, and Munch grinned. "I was working another case that had run into one of homicides, and Olivia here happened to be at a convention, marketing her new line." At this Olivia turned bright red and put her face in her hands. "It was a black strapless dress that went to her knees and had a slit up one side that went practically to her hip. The back was a weird criss cross pattern that was cute about as low as possible. But the best part was by far the dresses material."

Olivia quickly lifted her head and said, "It wasn't real leather."

Elliot grinned and said, "Well Munch, lucky you for going to that convention."

"I know. I thanked my captain for weeks after that. Who knew monitoring some undercover op would be so rewarding? You did great though, Olivia. I was so impressed with your performance. You should have seen her Elliot- a completely seamless undercover performance, never stumbled once." Munch told them, and then gave Olivia a pat on the shoulder before heading back to his desk.

"Get back to work." Olivia said to Elliot, throwing a pen at him. He quickly jumped out of the way and sat back down in his chair.

After a while, Elliot left to go get something. When he returned he was gazing at a thick set of papers. "Olivia, you have to look at this." Olivia took the papers as he leaned over her shoulder, laying a hand to her lower back. "This is the bastard's phone records. Look who he called one hour before he attacked you."

"Rikers… oh my God… Hans Liechtenstein."

"Looks like Dom's dad hasn't quite finished with his contributions to society." Elliot muttered, and Olivia just stared at the paper.

The rest of the day, Olivia seemed quite distracted. As she packed up her stuff to go home late that night, Elliot ran over to her locker. "Olivia… are you-"

She turned, placing a hand to his mouth briefly. "Elliot… will you come with me?"

"Of course. Where too?"

Olivia didn't answer for a moment, only reached into her locker and snatched up a key. Then she gently took his hand, pulling him out of the near empty precinct. "The marina."

"I am not going to do that." Hans Liechtenstein replied, glaring at his visitor.

"Oh come on Hans! You murdered your wife for god's sake! And you can't do this?" the man exclaimed furiously.

"Yes, well I already did you one favor. They will pull the phone records back to me. You are still going to be able to ship your drugs in."

"It doesn't matter Hans."

"You are just pissed that your people screwed up. It's not my fault they killed him. He was no threat. The girl though… she's the one you have to watch out for."

"I know that. She's too close to your son."

"That she is. You had better hope your little plan works. But I am not going to help."

The man dragged his hand through his hair. "Come on. All you have to do is say that Dominic has been smuggling drugs in for years. That's it."

"No. As much as I hate my son, I am not going to risk a needle for being pegged with planning the murder of a cop."

The man sighed. "Well everything is already in place. I doubt we will need you to help. God damn it, this would be so much easier if he had just killed her like he was supposed to!"

Hans grinned. "Have fun getting out of this mess. I am sure my son will be depressed he can't see it up close."

The man turned back to look at him. "What?"

"You didn't know? Dominic is in Florida."

"Oh my God…"

"That's right. You had better hurry the hell up getting those drugs moved. After all, how could he be blamed for them when he isn't even here?"

A/N #2: Yikes, lots of big questions! But next chap should be up soon, I promise! R&R!