A/N Very Loooooong chapter, but necessary to set up Olivia and Elliot's crime.

Lyrics from "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige

I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you

Chemistry was crazy from the get-go
Neither one of us knew why
We didn't build nothing overnight
Cuz a love like this takes some time
People swore it off as a phase
Said we can't see that
Now from top to bottom
They see that we did that (yes)
It's so true that (yes)
We've been through it (yes)
We got real shit (yes)
See baby we been...

Too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby)
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby)
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby

See this is real talk
I'm always stay (no matter what)
Good or bad (thick and thin)
Right or wrong (all day everyday)
Now if you're down on love or don't believe
This ain't for you (no, this ain't for you)
And if you got it deep in your heart
And deep down you know that it's true (come on, come on, come on)Too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby)
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby)
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby

He was kissing her passionately next to the water fountain. She threw her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. She hadn't listened. She refused to listen. It wasn't as if she was trying to purposely disobey Byron. But she just couldn't be without him. She knew she had to tell her mom about Byron, but she couldn't quite come up with the nerve.

"Stabler! Benson!"

Startled, the couple broke apart. Mrs. Dotson, Algebra teacher and self-appointed PDA cop, was shaking her finger at them sternly.

"No more of that or you'll both find your fast tails parked in the principals office," she snapped.

"Jealous are we?" Elliot mumbled under his breath.

"What was that young man?"

"Oh nothing, Mrs. Dotson," he said sweetly, giving her his most charming smile. Olivia giggled, when Mrs. Dotson cocked her eyebrow and headed down the hall, already spotting a new set of defenders.

"So…you wanna go to a movie tonight?" Elliot asked her, ruffling her hair playfully. "We could go see Return of the Jedi."

"Awesome," she said, swatting away his hands. "What time do you want me to meet you?"

Elliot studied her. It had been like this for the past two months. She refused to come to his house and would not allow him to come to hers, not even to pick her up. She insisted they meet in neutral places. It was obvious she was hiding a big secret from him, much of it evident from the bruises that popped up every once in awhile on her body. He wished he knew a way to get her to open up to him. But he loved her, he was sure of it, so seeing her at all was good enough for him. He didn't know what he would do if he wasn't with her, if he couldn't touch her.

And touch her he did. They had made love for the first time a couple of weeks ago in an abandoned shack they had discovered out in the woods on one of their many walks. He loved their walks. It was a time where they could talk about life, their dreams, what they wanted to be when they grew up, school, anything they could think of.

It was the day that they found the shack that Elliot told Olivia about his father. The man had an Irish temper that he frequently demonstrated to his wife and children, when he was home that is. He used to beat Elliot all the time until he grew almost as big as his him. Now, Elliot worried about his younger brother and sister when he wasn't around to protect them. But policing took up much of his father's time, which was a blessing.

Olivia had cried silently through Elliot's story. When he finished, she looked at him with a look that struck him. Understanding.

"Want to go right after school? We'll take my car, drive over."

"For sure," she said, her head cocking to the sound of the bell. "I gotta go get dressed for gym before Hannigan has a cow."

"Later, Liv." They shared a quick kiss before heading in opposite directions. The hallway was almost cleared out at this point, so Olivia put a move on it. Flying into the locker room she threw her backpack down and changed into her gym clothes in record time. Turning around, she ran right smack into Mindy McCready, who was flanked by her ever-present shadows, Brandy Powers and Jessica Wright.

"In a hurry Miss Olivia?" she asked, sugary sweet. "I was wondering if you could pencil me in, say, right about now."

Olivia scowled. "I really don't have time for the 'Airhead Brigade' right now. Whatever you want will have to wait until later."

But the trio would not budge. "Let me ask you Olivia, do you normally make it a habit of stealing other girls' boyfriends?" The anger radiating from Mindy's body was almost tangible.

Olivia narrowed her eyes, but remained silent.

"Yeah, do you know what we do to skanks like you, Miss Olivia?" Jessica piped in, snapping her gum.

"I didn't steal your boyfriend, Mindy," Olivia said. "If I recall correctly, he broke up with you first, then hooked up with me. That wouldn't technically qualify as stealing."

"Well, if you didn't steal her boyfriend, I'm sure you stole someone else's," Brandy shot back.

"Woooow," Olivia drawled, feigning awe. "With that kind of logic, you must be a genius. You're a freaking genius."

"Well at least I can do math bitch, because there's one of you and three of us."

With that Mindy gave Olivia a shove, which she promptly returned with her own push. In a matter of seconds Olivia was fighting off the three girls' attacks, trying the best she could to deflect arms and legs coming from every direction.

A shrill whistle blew, freezing the four girls' movements. "That's enough! McCready, Benson, Wright, Powers give me ten laps and 100 push ups now!" Miss Hannigan, their gym teacher, screamed, red in the face.

"This isn't over bitch," Mindy whispered to Olivia as they got up from the ground. Olivia answered her with a glob of spit that hit the pretty blonde square in the face. Screaming in disgust, Mindy blindly started swinging as she and Olivia went down in another heap.

Miss Hannigan rushed over and pulled Olivia off of Mindy. Olivia gave the girl a swift kick to the side of her head before she was completely separated. Miss Hannigan held Olivia with her left hand while she pulled Mindy up with her right, then dragged the squirming duo out of the locker room.

XXXXXXXX

"Right, right," Serena Benson said, glancing at a sulking Olivia. "I really don't know where she gets it from. But don't you think a week's suspension might be a little harsh? I mean, I'm sure the other girl started it."

Mr. Coleman eyed Olivia's mother. "Olivia, would you mind waiting in the outer office? I need to speak with your mother."

Olivia was so pissed she could care less. "Whatever," she snapped, bolting out of the room. Mindy was sitting on a chair, weeping silently, waiting for her mother to pick her up. She was holding a compact, trying to assess the damage to her face.

"Look at this," she squealed, pointing to her face. She had a rather large and nasty bruise that covered her left temple and ran just past her eye. "Look what you did to me. Look what you did! How am I supposed to cheer at the basketball game this Friday?"

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Dumb ass," she said by way of greeting, "you can't cheer in the game this Friday if you're suspended."

"GRGGRRHHHH!" Mindy growled in frustration. "Eat shit and die."

"Bring it on bitch," Olivia snapped back, jumping up.

"Ladies! Sit down and shut up," one of the secretaries called out to them. Reluctantly, the two obeyed.

Back in the principal's office, Mr. Coleman motioned for Serena take another seat. "Ms. Benson, how is Olivia's home life?"

Serena blinked. "It's fine," she said defensively. "Why do you ask?"

Mr. Coleman chose his words carefully. "She's a very bright student, but some of her teachers have reported they've noticed bruising on her face and body. That and she has a tendency to miss quite a bit of school."

Serena opened her mouth and promptly shut it. She was at a loss for words. Of course, she knew where the bruises came from, Byron had a temper. But it wasn't her fault. He always did it while she was out. She would come home and Olivia would have a cut lip or swollen cheek. What was she supposed to do? And it wasn't like she didn't get her share of it. She unconsciously rubbed her right arm where Byron had grabbed it painfully.

"I can recommend some counseling for the two of you that might help," Mr. Coleman said gently. "Sometimes…sometimes we can't help but hurt the people we love."

Serena shook her head, confused. "Do you…you think I'm the one hurting Olivia?" she asked in disbelief. Her lip trembled. "I would never hurt her…she's my baby. I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well…" Mr. Coleman wasn't sure if he should believe her. If she wasn't abusing her, then who was? "I have to tell you, if the problem persists I'll have to contact social services."

Serena nodded dumbly. She stood up and left the office. Motioning silently to Olivia, the two left the building. Serena was quiet until they were in the car, then she broke down. Olivia watched her mother silently, not sure what to do. This was by far not the first time Olivia had seen her mother cry, but she wasn't quite sure what had prompted it.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry Olivia," she sniveled. "I just…I'm so old…who would love me?"

Olivia's eyes widened. "What…what are you talking about? What happened?"

Serena told Olivia what the principal had said. The implication of it all slowly sunk in for Olivia. Now was the time.

"Mom…about Byron…"

"Can't you just not make him angry?" she pleaded. "Don't make him angry and he won't hit you…I can't live without him Olivia."

Olivia fought back the tears as she listened to her mother. The fact that she was more concerned about a man than her safety made something snap inside of her.

"He beats me because he thinks I'm his girlfriend." There. It was out there in the open.

Serena stilled. "What?"

Olivia swallowed. "He…he does more than hit me…he…he has sex with me mom."

Tears streamed down Serena's face. "You're sleeping with my boyfriend?" she asked, her voice full of disbelief and hurt.

"No, yes, no…Mom!" Olivia pulled at her hair and let out a strangled cry as all control left her. "Mom! He rapes me! What the hell is the matter with you! What the fuck do you think I'm trying to tell you!"

Serena's own temper flared. "I don't believe you," she screamed back. "He wouldn't rape anyone! You must have seduced him. You slut! You seduced him! Admit it!"

"JUST THE FIRST TIME!" Olivia shouted. The intensity of her confession rendered them both silent. Olivia clasped her hands tightly and cried silently. "About a year ago…when you first started seeing him…I was so mad at you one night, when you said I couldn't see Allen because he was your student…I just…I went into your room and climbed into bed with him. I just wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me."

Olivia shook her head as Serena watched her daughter buckle from the pressure. "Now, it's out of control…he controls me. He won't let me go. He said he'll kill us both if I try to leave him or tell on him."

Serena reached over and grabbed Olivia as they both cried, the gravity of their situation weighing on both their shoulders.