A/N: Must I say it again? They're not mine. There; happy now :P
A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone. Last week was horrible for me, and I just didn't feel up to writing. So here's the next chapter, late, but here nonetheless. Thanks to Peaky, onetreefan, KaydenceRei, SVU101, Abbey06, Kelly of the midnight dawn, MrsAbbyCarter, Unconscious-Regret, Cookie-ER, and CarbyLivesOn for being the lights on my dark horizon. You guys make me smile. Everyone, enjoy this next chapter, and don't forget to review!
Medical examiner Melinda Warner frowned at the body on the table in front of her. Her victim was a fairly young male who had died of a gunshot to the back of the head. She checked his chart again: still the same name, Eric Wyczenski. She frowned deeper, as she perused the chart some more. She sighed and closed it. It seemed like she was forgetting something she had added earlier…what was it? She shrugged, finally giving it up for the night.
The clock on the wall read just past 9:30. Warner was the only examiner in the morgue; the others had left much earlier. She packed her bags and was just about to leave when she was struck by a sudden inspiration. In eager pursuit, she grabbed Eric's chart again and read it.
There was something different about the chart; a note had been added to one of the pages in the corner. Warner looked at it carefully again, frowning grimly. The labs on the mysterious fingerprint had finally come back – and she had yet to look at them.
Warner had found the fingerprint on Eric's neck, as if the assailant had poked him hard in the neck. She had sent it to the lab over a week ago, but was only getting a response now. She had merely skimmed over their excuse for the results being so late (something about them being backed up and understaffed) and had jotted a note to herself to read the results later. Later had been much later than intended when case after case rolled in, and now Warner had only just remembered she still had to look at.
She quickly found the page the results were written on. She narrowed her eyes. The fingerprint had matched someone in their system – but not who Munch had said they had caught. She distinctly remembered Detective Munch telling her their guy was Richard Lockhart. Warner's stomach dropped.
The mysterious fingerprint did not belong to Richard Lockhart.
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The digital clock of the sedan read 8:52 when Elliot pulled it into the parking lot of the 1-6. He sighed and turned off the engine, plunging the interior of the car into silence. Olivia was looking out the window, but she turned to look at Elliot when he touched her arm.
"This is it, Liv," he said, yawning.
She chuckled. "You should have let me drive for a couple hours so you could get some sleep."
Elliot laughed. "Nah, I'm wired on coffee. Come on; let's see if they've missed us." He opened the door and emerged from the car, groaning as his legs adjusted to a new position after having been bent for the entire night. He locked the car, and took Olivia's hand as they entered the building together.
"What do you think they're going to say about us?" asked Olivia, slightly worried.
"You mean to us?" said Elliot, frowning. He shrugged. "Hello?"
"No," said Olivia, "I meant about us. About us."
"Oh," said Elliot, catching on. His frown deepened. "Oh…I don't know. They'll either love it, or hate it, I guess."
Olivia winced. "Please let it be the former."
"I guess we're about to find out," said Elliot softly. The doors to the unit were right in front of them. Through the glass, Olivia could see Munch and Fin staring at Munch's computer screen apparently working a case. ADA Casey Novak was standing in the Captain's doorway; Cragen was just inside of it. Taking a deep breath, Olivia and Elliot pushed open the doors and entered.
Fin looked up and around when he heard the doors close. He spotted them instantly. "Hey, Cap'! Guess who's back and…oh…dang," he added in response to seeing Olivia's hand was in Elliot's. He grinned and turned to Munch as Cragen came over, followed by Casey. Cragen smiled at his two detectives.
"Welcome home, you two," he said kindly. He looked down at their hands, and then nodded approvingly. "I'm not surprised."
Olivia and Elliot both laughed. "What?" they asked in unison.
Cragen shrugged and winked. "There's a reason I sent you two…as opposed to Munch and Fin."
Olivia's eyes widened. "Are you saying…you set us up?"
Cragen laughed and shook his head. "No, Casey did," he said gesturing toward Casey.
Casey looked at Olivia, chuckling. "No, I didn't…well, it was my idea…but Cragen made the final say."
Olivia and Elliot were laughing again at this point. "Looks like the ER gang wasn't the only group trying to set us up," said Olivia.
"It's a conspiracy!" added Munch gleefully.
Elliot snorted. "Well, now since we have that sorted out…How've things been in New York, Captain?"
Cragen shrugged. "Business as usual, I suppose. More victims, more convictions, a couple pleas and always bags of scum. But enough about that…let's hear about Chicago."
Elliot and Olivia recounted their experience in Chicago for their coworkers. As they got to the part about Richard, Cragen winced, and a frown appeared on his lined face. Once his two detectives had finished telling him every last detail about Abby and Carter's wedding, he cleared his throat and called them into his office. They exchanged a glance, slightly aware of the look he had given them as they talked about Richard. They therefore left their laughing coworkers and followed the Captain into his office.
"Shut the door, Olivia," he said softly to her. Olivia obeyed and then sat down next to Elliot, facing the Captain.
"Captain," began Elliot "…what is this about?"
Cragen sighed. "Have you two thought about seeing Huang when you got back here at all?"
Olivia nudged Elliot with her elbow. "I knew it," she whispered. Cragen didn't hear her.
"The scene you described with Richard is a horrific near-death experience. I want you both to get the help you need. Now, it's going to be your choice, but I just want you to know that if I feel it gets too much for you, your options will be narrowed down to seeing Huang or being taken off cases. Do you understand?"
Both detectives nodded. Cragen smiled. "Now that that's taken care of…this case came in this morning," he said, handing them the file. "Welcome back to New York."
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"Looks like you were right, Liv," said Elliot as he closed the door behind them and the two of them walked back to their desks. Casey had left during their absence, as had Munch and Fin.
"Are you going to take it?" she asked quietly, as she sat down in her chair and leaned back.
Elliot shrugged. "Are you?"
"I'm…not sure," answered Olivia honestly.
Elliot smiled sympathetically at her. "Take it if you need it, Olivia. There's nothing weak about asking for help." Elliot walked off towards the vending machines, presumably to stock up on caffeine.
Weak...Olivia cringed as the memory came flooding back to her again,
"I see how it is, Detective Benson," Richard purred. "You really are weak. You can't handle the pressure. Now that your partner is down, do you feel afraid, Detective? There's no one to have your back. Look, you can't even protect him!"
Olivia looked down at Elliot, who was clutching his arm in pain. Elliot looked at her. "Olivia," he said softly. "Liv, it's okay. I'm okay. Don't let him do this to you."
"You see, Detective?" cried Richard. "Are you strong without him? No. How can you be? You know you need a man to protect you in your life. Take this one here," he said, kicking Abby. "Her man couldn't save her either and look where that got her. You're worried about the same thing. That's what I hate about women. They're weak."
"No, Olivia," said Elliot frantically. "No. You're not weak, I know you're not. Don't listen to him. Please don't."
"You can't save everyone, Olivia," said Richard silkily. "But perhaps you already learned that. So...who are you going to sacrifice this time? Will you let my words drive you to shoot me and kill Abby? Will you be able to stand the guilt? What if he dies?" he asked, pointing to Elliot. "Would you survive with that guilt, then? Do you love him, Detective Benson?"
"Detective Benson…"
"Do you love him, Detective Benson?"
"Detective Benson…"
Olivia jerked her head toward the sound of the noise, wrenching herself away from the painful memories. A teenage boy stood by her desk holding a bouquet of red roses.
"Detective Benson," he said tentatively. "I…have a delivery for you."
Olivia smiled at the boy. "Thank you," she said. She took the flowers from him and frowned. Who would send me flowers…?
The boy left slowly, leaving Olivia, looking for the card. She found a plain white envelope tucked beneath the leaves. Frowning deeper, Olivia slit it open and pulled it out. She gasped when she saw it.
On the front of the card, in blood-red letters, someone had scrawled a message: Something to put on her grave…
With trembling hands, Olivia opened the card. There was more inside the card in the same handwriting, and the same blood-red letters.
Dear Detective Benson, the card read,
I know you, though you may not know me. Someone you know is in grave danger. Just when you think you've won…remember that you haven't. I'll be watching you, and I suggest you do the same.
There was no signature at the bottom. Olivia finished reading the card, feeling sick. All of a sudden, the phone on her desk rang, shattering the silence of the precinct room. Heart racing, Olivia picked it up.
"Benson."
"I told you I was watching…"
Olivia gasped and slammed the phone down, heart racing. She could hardly believe this was happening. Elliot came up from behind her and gently touched her arm. She jumped.
"Whoa, Liv," he said, "it's just me."
Olivia looked at him, a confused look in her eye. Elliot frowned at her.
"Are you all right?" he asked her concerned. "Olivia?"
The phone on her desk rang again. Olivia stared at it, frozen in horror. Elliot frowned at her, confused, and then picked it up.
"Stabler…yeah…are you sure?" Elliot furrowed his brow. "Okay, we'll be there." He hung up. "That was the crime lab. They got something they want us to see."
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Olivia and Elliot entered the lab, both of them wondering what the lab had found that was so interesting. They didn't have any new cases, as they had just finished the other one…no, thought Olivia worriedly, it couldn't be…
"Nice to see you again, Detectives," said the CSU technician.
Elliot nodded. "What's so exciting?"
"This," the technician answered. He pulled a file toward him and opened it. "On one of your vics – Eric Wyczenski – we found a mysterious fingerprint on the neck. We only just got the results back last night."
"Why'd it take so long?" asked Elliot annoyed.
"Lab was backed up," said the technician dismissively. "But they did find a match." He pulled out a picture. "Is this your guy?"
Olivia took the picture from him and looked at it. Her stomach dropped. She was not looking at a picture of Richard Lockhart.
"Who the hell is this!" exclaimed Elliot indignantly.
"Matthew Bloomberg," murmured Olivia, reading the name at the bottom of the picture. It was a mug shot taken some years back. His dark eyes smiled smugly back at her.
The CSU technician nodded and looked at the file again. "Went down for assault about ten years ago. Currently lives…" he flipped through, looking for the address. "…in Chicago," he finished, as he found it. "Are you sure this isn't the guy?"
"Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" snapped Elliot. "We caught the wrong guy!"
Olivia froze as the words from the note came flooding back to her.
Just when you think you've won…remember that you haven't.
A/N: Right, so there's your cliffhanger. Hope you liked it. I'm thinking Wednesday for the next chapter...
P.S. solciss1...Sorry for not answering your question last time (I forgot!). No, I don't live in Argentina. I live in the midwestern United States, but I am in love with your language and attend Spanish camp every year. :)