Hola peeps. Someone had asked me if the story was starting to wind down and the answer is yes. I'm going to miss this story, I've had so much fun! But I do already have an idea for my next one.

I have a confirmed five chapters left, maybe one or two more depending on if I can make this ending believable. I may have to add in more to the story line to get it to flow. Thanks for all the reviews, they are always much appreciated.

Lyrics from "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy-
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
A little high ,little low,
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me,
To me

Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now he's dead,
Mama ,life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didn't mean to make you cry-
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on, carry on ,as if nothing really matters-

Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Body's aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-I've got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I don't want to die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all-

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,

Olivia glanced at Elliot as they sat outside the diner waiting for their fellow detectives. His face was a stone mask. She really hadn't believed his suggestion to murder Munch back at her apartment. She refused to believe that this man could ever go through with killing an innocent person.

At least that's what she hoped.

It wasn't hard to find Munch. After checking into the hotel, the only one in town, Elliot had simply asked the desk clerk if his colleague, a John Munch, had checked in and what kind of rental car he was driving. The information was happily handed over by the desk clerk, an overweight young woman with pasty white skin and shocking purple and yellow hair. It was then that they received yet another shock.

"Yeah, he's with that other co-worker of yours…the black woman? She came a day yesterday."

Olivia's heart stopped cold. One quick look at Elliot confirmed his reaction. "…Monique Jeffries?"

The woman looked down at her guest sheet. "Um…yeah…that's her."

Elliot smiled tightly and stalked out of the lobby, Olivia following quickly behind. He was silent as they slipped into the vehicle. He reached to put the key in the ignition when suddenly he started pounding the steering wheel with both hands, causing Olivia to jump in her seat.

"Goddammit, what are the fucking chances!" he said in anger in disbelief. "What are the fucking chances! Jeffries is here too? What the fuck is going on? I gave them nothing. Nothing, Olivia."

Olivia watched as he slumped in his seat, breathing heavily. Tentatively, she reached over and put a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes, not moving away. It was the first time she had touched him intimately since they had become partners.

"We still don't know how much they know," she said quietly, but even she saw the likelihood of them arriving in time to stop the flow of damaging information was slim. This was a small town. Gossip spread like wildfire and everyone was eager to talk to everyone. Much like it was after they had killed Byron.

"It was…overwhelming with just Munch," he said, his eyes still closed. "But Jeffries is involved now too? Liv…what are we going to do?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, she again noticed that he had used his old pet name for her. "Find them," she said simply. "We'll tell them that we found out they were snooping and that they should respect our, I mean your, feelings and drop it. Your father's death was very painful for you and you don't wish to dredge up old memories."

He finally looked at her. "You really think that's going to work?" he asked sardonically. "That simple, huh?"

Olivia withdrew her hand helplessly. "It's worth a shot. What else are we going to do?"

He threw her a knowing look. Olivia's eyes widened.

"Elliot…I know you're upset…but that's not the answer. We can't kill them both."

And they had driven off from that spot, Elliot not answering Olivia's protest. After fifteen minutes of driving they had found Jeffries' and Munch's car outside of Willie's. But what a long and painful fifteen minutes it turned out to be for Olivia. This was the first time in more than 15 years that she had stepped foot in this town. They passed the library, post office, grocery and tackle store, Mulligans…each unassuming landmark assaulted Olivia with painful memories and regrets. She nearly breathed an audible sigh of relief when they spotted their colleagues' rental car.

Elliot jammed the car into park. Staring over at him, she took note of the hard set of his jaw and jerky movements. He was losing control.

"Remember Elliot, you're not like your father," Olivia said desperately.

"That's funny, because my father never tortured and killed anyone," Elliot said grimly, before getting out of the car and slamming the door.

"No, he never killed anyone," Olivia corrected to the empty car. Sighing, she got out as well.

During the last decade and a half, Olivia Benson had made a certain peace with herself. Her kind of peace. It was a long and arduous journey, but she had made it to what she had perceived to be the end. She had made peace with her mother as well, who also resided in New York City, about ten blocks from Olivia's own apartment. Olivia knew that she couldn't change the events of the past, she could only navigate the future. And that future meant forgiving her mother for her parental neglect.

It also meant facing up to the consequences in the death of Byron Stabler.

While Olivia had no intention of turning herself in for something she still believed she was justified in doing in order to protect herself and her mother, should the time come if or when she was caught, she was ready to face the music and take the punishment the law handed out to her.

It was blaringly apparent to her that Elliot didn't share this same newfound peace and belief. And this in itself was chaos to her rock-solid peace. Because if it came down to Elliot choosing to kill to keep his secret, Olivia would be hard pressed not to help him.

She owed it to him.

So was just going have to do her damnedest to fix this situation some other way.

Not wanting to cause a scene inside the diner, or run into any old friends and acquaintances, Elliot and Olivia waited outside for Munch and Jeffries in complete silence. About twenty minutes later, the two emerged and immediately headed towards the car.

"Apparently, they aren't too surprised to see us," Elliot said in a low voice.

Olivia glanced at him. "Well, we're not exactly being very subtle if that's what you mean."

The four detectives squared off like opponents on a football field, no one daring to speak first. Munch took the time to study Stabler and Benson and was met with a moment of clarity. The same intuition that brought him to this sleepy town was the same intuition that burned in his stomach, vying for his attention. Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson were somehow involved in Byron's Stabler's death. He didn't know how, and still hadn't pieced together the why, but he knew they were in it up to their eyeballs. The thought sickened and saddened him.

But he would prove it. No matter what the cost.

"Welcome to Lewiston," Elliot said sarcastically. "I see you've had a chance to sample the town's fare."

"I could say the same for you, but apparently you've done more than your share of 'sampling' since you spent a good part of your life here," Munch shot back. "Or maybe you forgot that little tidbit of information while you were traveling around Boston."

Elliot crossed his powerful arms across his chest. "What are you doing here Munch?" he snapped. When his query wasn't immediately answered, he turned to Jeffries. "What did he tell you? Why are you here with him?"

Jeffries looked nervously at Munch. "John…we…are looking into your father's murder," she said finally. "John found some information that might be helpful to bringing your father's killer to justice."

Elliot felt his chest tightening. "This is a bit out of your jurisdiction, don't you think John? I certainly hope you are getting some overtime for your trouble."

"A little bit," John answered nonchalantly.

"Well, I think it's time for you to go back home. Now," Elliot said angrily. "This so-called 'investigation' of yours stops now. And trust me on this John, you don't want to fuck around with me. Not on this."

"Don't you want to find out who killed your father? I find it a little odd that a son wouldn't want to know the answer to that, especially a son who is a police officer and has resources to do the job!" Munch was baiting him, throwing out insinuations, hoping Elliot would bite and give him something to go on.

Elliot wasn't that stupid. "That's funny, because if you were really interested in my involvement in finding the killer wouldn't you have told me about this little trip? Maybe asked me to come along instead of going behind my back and dragging Jeffries in the middle of it? This is bullshit. Get a fucking life. You and Jeffries are leaving. I'll kindly escort you back to the hotel so you can get your shit."

"I'm not going anywhere Elliot, I came to do a job. So I just suggest you pack up and leave and stay out of my way."

"How did you even know that Elliot's father had been murdered?" Olivia asked quietly.

"Well…oh…she speaks," Munch stuttered, but he was caught off guard. Jeffries was feeling bad to worse as the two went back and forth. They were wrong to be doing this. She knew it. Regardless of who killed Elliot's father, they had betrayed their fellow cops and friends.

"Why were you snooping into my past Munch?" Elliot asked harshly.

"Because you lied about where you were from…it went from there," Munch answered for the first time apologetically. "It went from a simple background check to a mountain of information and mystery about your father, you…and Olivia."

Olivia didn't doubt that they had stumbled on her time in Lewiston, but the revelation still hurt. She didn't want anyone to know about that time if they didn't have to. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Munch's arm. "I…I'm not sure what you have found, but I…I must tell you that my time here wasn't an altogether pleasant one. As you undoubtedly know now that some of that history is intertwined with Elliot's. There are painful memories here that I would like to forget and that I never thought that I would have to discuss with people in my present life."

The pain in Olivia's voice was enough for Jeffries. Before Munch could respond, she stepped in. "We're going home Olivia," Jeffries said, looking into her friend's eyes. "We had no right to impeded on yours or Elliot's privacy. Please accept my, our, apologies. We thought we were doing something good, but I can see now that we have unearthed issues that we need not know about. If you'll excuse us, we'll get in the car now."

"Did you know that the police at the time thought a woman was involved," Munch threw in to no one in particular.

Elliot faked impatience. "So…what?"

Munch shrugged. "A woman called the precinct that night pretending to be your mother. I don't know, maybe you can think of any woman that would hold that much of a grudge against him to want him dead."

Elliot did his own shrug. "My father had a lot of enemies," he said in a bored voice, "wouldn't surprise me."

Jeffries threw Munch a silencing look. "Get in the car John. We're done here."

Munch silently walked around the car while Monique slid into the driver's seat. Before opening his door, he paused and looked directly at Elliot.

"Did you kill your father Elliot?" he asked, suddenly.

"No, I didn't," he answered with steady voice and eyes.

Munch pursed his lips and slid into the car. Olivia and Elliot watched as the blue Ford Taurus drove away. Olivia expelled the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Maybe you can think of any woman that would hold that much of a grudge against him to want him dead. Olivia felt faint.

"He doesn't believe you, Elliot."

"I know."

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