A/N: Short chapter, I'm afraid. I'll try to update sometime today. Even though the song is about infidelity, I just love the title, I think it portrays Olivia and Elliot's dilemma in this chapter, maybe even Munch's.

Also, I gotta give props to Maggie for being the first one to figure out Byron's identity, but keeping it to herself so no one else would have the surprised ruined. Thanks girl.

Lyrics from "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy

We're going down down in an earlier round
And sugar we're goin down swingin
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded gun complex
Cock it and pull it

And sugar we're goin down swingin
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded gun complex
Cock it and pull it

Olivia was startled awake by the sound of loud banging at her front door. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was nine in the morning. She had slept later than normal which surprised her. She'd normally be up by now.

The insistent banging on her door interrupted her thoughts. Grabbing her robe, she padded barefoot to the door.

"All right, all right, don't knock down my-" she was surprised when she saw Elliot on the other side. He looked and angry. And scared.

"I need to talk to you. Now."

Numbly, she stepped aside so he could barge into her apartment. Instead of taking a seat, he paced back and forth, his muscles tight, his face a permanent scowl.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," she said, only half-joking.

He studied her, his face a mix of emotions. He had tried his damnedest to make her life completely miserable so that she would have no choice but to just go away. But once it was clear to him that he had failed miserably in this, he had backed off considerably. Sure, they were cordial to each other, nothing more and nothing less, but they co-existed in the same environment, which was more than he would have ever thought possible.

One thing was sure, he had come to find out that the scared teenager he knew 15 years ago was very different than the self-assured woman he now saw before him. Yes, she had her moments, but Olivia had grown into a remarkable, sexy woman and an excellent police officer. In those rare moments when he could set aside his personal resentment and feelings towards her, he grudgingly had to admit he was lucky to have such a competent and smart partner have his back.

And now he needed her to be his partner in crime once again.

"Munch is in Lewiston."

Olivia blinked. "Come again?" she said, craning her head forward as if she hadn't heard correctly. "He's where?"

"Munch is in Lewiston," Elliot said slowly. "I got a call from Danny Neyo…you remember him?"

Olivia looked up. "Ummm, vaguely, yeah…wasn't he one of those debate team or math team geeks?"

Elliot smiled, despite of himself. "Yeah, that's him. He carried my ass through economics, which I will be forever grateful and is probably why we still stay in touch. Anyway, his wife is a clerk at the police station…"

Olivia's face whitened in disbelief as Elliot filled her in about Munch's "investigation." Afraid her knees were going to buckle from under her, she sat on the couch and braced herself.

"…What rang warning bells for Sheila is that, number one, I didn't come myself, and number two, Munch told the Sheriff that I was a teacher, which she knew to be false," he said, finishing his story. "She immediately phoned Danny, who in turn got in touch with me. I told him to tell Sheila to keep a lid on it until I found out what my 'friend' was up to."

Olivia looked up at him. "How…how much does he know? What did he find out?"

"Who the fuck knows," Elliot said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I don't even know how…I just don't understand why he would be investigating me in the first place…Munch is a damn good cop. He's going to find out about you and he's going to find out about…Byron. It's not an 'if' at this point, it's a 'when'"

Elliot looked at Olivia. "We have to do something Liv," he said, using his old pet name for her. "Before he ruins both of our lives. We're looking at the death penalty here."

Olivia scratched her neck. She stood up and headed into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

What the hell was the matter with her? "No, I want to know what the fuck we are gonna do about this Olivia. Did you hear a word I just said? It's over for us unless we do something."

Olivia poured herself a glass of juice from the refrigerator. After taking a couple of sips, she turned to face Elliot. "Are you suggesting that we kill John Munch?"

Elliot had indeed been thinking along those lines, but to hear the suggestion spoken aloud in Olivia's calm voice shocked him. He started to pace again.

"…We…we couldn't do it ourselves…too risky…we'd have to get someone else to do it," Elliot said, almost to himself, as he mapped out the plan. "Yeah, yeah, we'll hire a pro…someone who will leave no trace, make it look like an accident, and I mean we're cops…we can find someone…we'll make sure it's painless for him."

Elliot looked at Olivia, who was staring at him, her face unreadable. "You don't like that idea? No? Well, Olivia, the only other thing we can do is to confess to Munch and hope that he understands the situation we were both in at the time. Maybe he'll pat us on the back with an 'Atta Kids' and look the other way. Sure, we could try that, but something tells me there's not a rat chance in hell that it will ever work.."

He was shouting now. Olivia took another sip of her juice and looked up again, thinking. "You know, there is another option you haven't considered…" she said slowly.

He lifted his arms in a "What?" gesture and let them fall back to his sides.

"Yes, we could kill him, or we could confess in hopes of garnering his sympathy and understanding," she said, echoing his suggestions. She took a deep breath. "Or we could confess to him and take our punishment, be what it may."

Elliot laughed. "You can't be serious," he said in disbelief.

Olivia set her glass down on the counter. "The good guys always win, Elliot, you know that," she said quietly.

"Why did you become a cop Olivia?"

She was wondering when he was going to get around to asking her. "Because I know what it's like to be a victim. And if I can save someone from going through that, then I have given a little back to this world, to make amends for my own sins."

"Byron was the reason," Elliot said simply, with a faraway look in his eye. "That was my burden." Olivia studied his handsome profile as she could visually see him struggle with the past.

He snapped himself back to reality. "I can't go to prison. I won't go to prison."

"We were juveniles at the time Elliot," Olivia said, trying to reason with him, "we might not get the death penalty, we could be tried-"

"Easy for you to talk this shit," Elliot snapped. "I have a family. I can't desert them. I told you to stay away Olivia. I told you to go."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly makes you think that my presence here is what tipped Munch off?"

Elliot opened his mouth with a retort, then promptly shut it. She was right. There was no way of knowing, short of asking Munch.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring at each other, no words spoken, but so much said.

"Let's go," Olivia said, breaking the silence. "Let's get to the airport, we might be able to get a flight out."

Elliot shook his head. "What the hell for?"

"Let's see what we're up against," she said, grabbing her coat and purse. "If I'm going to be plotting an innocent man's murder, I would like to at least see what he knows."

XXXXXX