Thirty Five: Olivia

"ALEX! ALEX, I'M COMIN' BABY! I'M COMIN'!"

Who is that? Who took her? Who has her? Why? Why is this happening to us…to her? Where is he taking her? Is it Dominic? Son of a bitch… Is it Dominic?

My bare feet are slapping the frozen asphalt over and over. The sound is bouncing off of the neighboring houses. I'm running so fast. What's that license? What's that number? I'm not letting her go. I won't let him hurt her. I won't let him get away.

"Olivia! Come back!" Elliot's voice seems to be getting fainter and fainter. He's trying to chase me but he can't keep up with me. I'm like a machine; power housing through the streets. It hurts like a bitch though. My legs are burning with pain. My skin and feet are on fire. It feels like a thousand knives are stabbing me all at once but my mind won't let my body stop. I run and run. I'm running as fast as my dying legs will allow. The car is still in sight. I can't loose it.

"145SMDH! 145SMDH. 145SMDH. 145S…M…DH." My lungs are closing in the blistering cold. I'm loosing air fast. I feel myself start to tumble. I'm wobbling but I'm still going, "145...SM...DH. 1…4…"

"Olivia!" Elliot's catching up now, after taking a breather. I'm slowing almost to a stop. My legs are heavy and my lungs are in so much pain. I try, but I can't take another step.

"145S…MDH." Every intake of air is burning and ripping through my throat. Finally, I trip and fall to my knees, cutting them on the black ice on the street. Before I fall flat on my face, I hear Elliot charge up behind me. I feel his strong arm encircle my waist and pull me backwards.

"Liv! Liv, are you alright?" Elliot tries to help me up but every bone feels like lead to me. I can't see straight and I feel like I'm going to pass out. "SERENA! CALL A BUS!"

"No…" I say, trying weakly to pull myself from his grip. I need to keep going. "No… 145SMDH…"

"Liv, no. You can't catch that car on foot," he said, trying to cover my frozen skin with his arms.

"Get… the car." I say, gasping endlessly for air. God, it's so hard to breathe.

"No Liv, we gotta go back to the house." Elliot takes my arm and tries to lift me but I fight him, pulling away. Kathy's jogged the half mile hike down the street with a blanket slung over her arm.

"Elliot, let me," she says throwing the blanket around my exposed shoulders. She pushes slippers onto my aching feet. "Olivia, will you please try and stand and come back inside?"

"I got to… get the car." I see Kathy look to Elliot through my blurred vision.

"What's wrong with her?" Kathy looks panicked.

"Stress and shock, I think," he answers. "We see it in our victims all the time."

I hear the bus in the distance, the wailing sirens growing progressively louder. The red and white lights demand attention as they round the corner and flash over the neighborhood.

"I'm not… going." I say to Kathy. I'm shaking my head. Kathy and Elliot get on either side of me and force me off the ground. I'm standing completely with their support.

"Let them help you Liv. You can't even breathe!" Kathy exclaims.

"LET THEM HELP ALEX!" I scream. I feel Kathy flinch against me. Elliot shakes his head at her as if to say, 'it's not you.'

"LET SOMEONE FUCKING HELP ALEX FOR ONCE!" I scream so loud I over power the siren and my voice is the only thing that can be hear for that moment. "Because I… couldn't". The last of my energy is drained. I feel the medic move me to a stretcher and I can't fight it because everything is going black.

Man, it is bright in here. I open my eyes and I'm in the worst place imaginable… the hospital. What the hell am I doing here?

"Hey," I look over and Captain Cregan is sitting by the window with his arms folded over his chest. He looks like he's been there a while. "How ya feelin'?

"Umm…" I'm slightly confused as to what happened.

"Do you remember what happened tonight?"

"Oh my God, Alex!" It hits me like a brick to the head. I go to sit up but I hurt everywhere.

"Woah, slow down soldier." He rises from his chair and moves to sit on the edge of my bed. "You split your knees and they had to stitch them up. They're going to be sore so no fast movements, okay?"

"Where's Alex? I've got to go find her."

He shakes his head, "I've got Elliot on it right now. He took the license you gave him. The car was hot; reported missing a month ago. We got everyone looking for it. If you hadn't gotten that plate, we wouldn't even have a place to start looking."

"Do you think it's Dominic?" I ask, tears forming at the thought of his grubby hands on my beautiful Alex.

"I don't know for sure but I'd put my money on it," he answers honestly.

A nurse enters and smiles at me, "Ah, Ms. Benson, glad to see you're awake."

"I need to get out of here immediately. Where's the doctor?" I ask. I go to push myself up but as I push my hands into the bed, a sharp pain shoots through my arm. "Ow," I look at them and my finger tips are raw. My right palm is cut, but not as bad as my knees.

"The doctor will in, in about five minutes, don't worry." She comes to the bed side and checks some of the machinery surrounding me. She turns off the oxygen tubes and pulls circle stickers from my chest.

"So why are you down here?" I ask Cregan.

"Elliot wouldn't have it any other way. He would've stayed but he knew you'd kill him for not being actively looking for Alex," he says as though it were obvious. I guess it sort of was.

"He was right."

An hour later, I'm dressed in the clothes Elliot brought me from my apartment and I'm walking slowly down the hall, leaning on the Captains arm. These pain killers are taking forever to kick in. The soles of my feet are absolutely killing me.

"I'm going to drop you off, then go into the station. We got everyone in there working," Cregan says, starting the car.

"No way, I'm going in too."

"Olivia you need to take care of yourself or you'll be of no use to me," he says. I just look at him.

"Don't make me pay for a cab to get all the way back down there. It's a waste of time and money. We both know I will not be resting until she's found." Cregan says nothing but nods slightly as we pull out of the parking lot. He knows me well enough to know, the entire S.W.A.T. team couldn't keep me from the station house.

Twenty minutes later we're pulling into the 1-6. We've said nothing and I stiffly get out of the car. The painkillers have taken some of the edge off but I'm more afraid of popping the stitches out. The Captain holds his arm out but I'm too proud.

"I'm okay, I got it." We make our way up the steps and into the precinct.

"Olivia!" Elliot spots me and rushes over; Serena a step behind him. "How are you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say distracted. "Have you got anything?" I ask, redirecting his attention off of me.

"You're just in time. We just got a hit. They are still on the move and were spotted in Goshen."

"Jesus, what's in Goshen?" I ask. "At least she's still in the car. They can't hurt her if she's still in the car." I reassure myself.

"Well, he stopped in Goshen… to pick up his partner. Two men were seen in the vehicle." My mouth goes dry as Elliot goes on, "they stopped and got gas. Both men were seen in the front seat, but no woman. She could've been in the back laying down. They probably haven't touched her Liv. I bet he didn't expect you to catch up with the car like that. So they are probably just concerned with getting out of the area. Hopefully they'll stay in this car, but if they realize you got the plate, they may switch."

"It's Dominic. He's pissed that the partner attacked Alex and then he got collared for it. He's taken what he thinks is his." I look at the captain and he says nothing. "We're going to Goshen." I state.

"I'll get the keys," Elliot says automatically.

"Olivia," Serena steps forward, "it's going to be okay." I just look at her. I don't have time for false reassurances. I'm numb to all emotions but determination. She hugs me but I don't hug her back. I can't even feel her arms around me.

"I'm going to kill him," I say quietly. Serena takes a step back and looks around to see if anyone else has heard. They haven't. Elliot rounds the corner as if on cue, pulling his arms through the sleeves of his coat. Serena just looks at me. I can't possibly read her expression. I'm going to guess that she believes me and it scares her. I turn from her and follow Elliot to the door.

-Ring!Ring!Ring!-

I stop dead. Everyone stops and turns to me. My heart races and a cold sweat comes over me as I grab from my cell phone.

"Benson."