A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews you guys. Here is the next chapter in this story, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10: So Close

Elliot and Olivia waited for CSU to arrive and assess the scene while Munch and Fin went back to the station to see if they could find any more information that could help lead them to these men. As Olivia and Elliot were waiting for CSU to finish their sweep through the house, they began to look through the kitchen where they found the refrigerator full of food, that looked to be newly bought by looking at the expiration dates on some of the food.

A couple minutes later they were called by CSU to the master bedroom, where one of the officers showed Elliot and Olivia some fingerprints that were on the doorhandle of the closet.

"There was definitely more than just one person in this house recently. There are two sets of prints on this doorhandle and on the doorframe. As far as any other evidence we haven't found any signs of blood anywhere" one CSU detective told them

"Alright, well get those prints to the lab ASAP" Elliot told the detective

The detective nodded before heading out of the room. Then Elliot turned to Olivia and saw her standing inside the closet looking around. He stepped closer to the doorway of the closet before saying,

"Liv what are you doing?"

"Just looking. There's got to be some other evidence in here. If the kids were locked in here Oliver would have tried to find some way of leaving me a clue. But it might be something that I would only be able to understand" she told Elliot as she squatted down and pushed some of the clothes out of the way. As she did, something caught her eye. She leaned closer to the wall and found something written on the wall very lightly in pencil. She strained her eye to try and read the word but it didn't make sense to her.

"Elliot look" she said motioning for him to kneel down next to her

So Elliot squatted down next to her and leaned in to look at what was written on the wall.

"It doesn't look like anything Liv. It's probably been here for awhile. Besides it doesn't make any sense that's not even a word" he told her as he stood back up

"Elliot it means something. That's definitely Oliver's handwriting. R-E-V-I-R. What could that mean" she said out loud as she began to think

"Maybe it's code for something else" Elliot said as he stood behind Olivia

"That's it" she said as she jumped up, nearly knocking Elliot over

"What?" he questioned

"It's the word river spelled backwards" she said as she practically ran out of the closet

"Liv wait" he said running after her

He finally caught up with her as she ran out the front door of the house.

"Liv" he yelled one last time

She stopped and turned around to face him, "They're at the river Elliot"

"Which river Liv?"

Olivia looked at him and knew they had no way of knowing for sure which river they would be at.

"Dammit" she cursed

"Liv"

"I think they are going to be at the Hudson River. I think we should go there and check it out. But we should send some other units to the other rivers" she said

"Olivia there are a lot of rivers, but we aren't in jurisdiction of all of them" he told her

"Elliot this is my son we are talking about. I'm going to the Hudson River to check it out" she said as she walked towards the car

"Wait for me" he said as he ran to the car to meet her, "I'll call Munch and Fin and have them grab some uniforms and check out the other rivers"

As Elliot and Olivia were driving to the Hudson River Elliot looked over at Olivia and asked,

"What makes you think they are going to be at the Hudson River"

"A feeling"

"Great, that makes sense" he said sarcastically

Olivia rolled her eyes as she sped up to try and get to the river as fast as she could.

"There are lots of abandon buildings around the Hudson" she said when they were getting closer

"Olivia there are abandoned buildings around other rivers also"

"Yeah but these are well hidden. There are more than just one abandoned building. They probably know that place like the back of their hand"

"Okay but still, why the Hudson?" Elliot asked her again

"At the hospital Callie said something about not wanting to go to Hudson's. I think she meant the Hudson River. But I think that she thought it was another person, someone who might hurt her"

"When did she say that?"

"The night she told me about the group home. She told me that her mother told her that if she didn't behave she would take her to Hudson's"

"And you think she meant the river?"

"I guess we're going to find out" Olivia said as they continued their drive

Once they had finally gotten to the Hudson River they parked the car and got out, walking very cautiously towards the nearest abandoned building. Once they got outside the first warehouse they opened the door, as quietly as they could. Elliot went in first, followed by Olivia.They made their way around some old wooden crates when they heard a noise that seemed to come from above them. They both looked out and saw a man running down the walkway above them.

"Freeze, police" Olivia yelled, but the man continued to run

Elliot then shot at him but the man kept running. Elliot and Olivia started running after him, even though they were on a completely different level. As they rounded a corner of wooden boxes they were met with more gunfire. This time coming from their level. Elliot immediately knocked Olivia to the ground with him behind a couple of other wooden crates. They began a war of gunfire but Olivia and Elliot both knew that they were outnumbered and that they should have called for backup before entering the warehouse. They didn't have any extra bullets and there were only the two of them. Whereas there were at least four or five men shooting at them and they probably had plenty of ammunition.

"Liv we have to get out of here" Elliot told her

"Not without Oliver" she told him before they both sat up and fired another round at the men

"He might not even be here" Elliot told her

"He has to be"

Elliot thought the same thing, so he carefully looked around the corner of the crate and he saw John Master's near a doorway with both Callie and Oliver.

"He's got them Liv" Elliot said as he turned back to his partner

"What?"

"John Master's has got Oliver and Callie next to the exit door"

"Are they okay?"

"It looks like it. Their hands are tied up with rope and Master's has got a gun pointed at them"

"We have to get to them"

Elliot just nodded as he and Olivia decided to try and make a run for it in the direction that they had come from. Olivia made the run first, with Elliot covering her. But just before she made it safely behind a box of crates she felt something burn her arm and she heard Elliot yell.

Elliot saw Olivia get hit when he had turned to look at her. It took everything in him not to run over to her, but she seemed okay. Then he turned his attention back to the men he was shooting at and he saw them exiting the building and he noticed that Master's and the kids had disappeared. Elliot took the chance and ran over to Olivia.

"Liv, you okay?" he asked as he knelt down next to where she was now sitting

"Yeah" she said holding her arm

"Let me see" he told her as he reached for her arm

"The kids Elliot. We have to get them. I'm fine" she said as she started to get up

Elliot took hold of her and helped her up. But right before they were about to round the corner two grenades came rolling towards them. Elliot and Olivia looked at each other with wide eyes before turning and running as fast as they could to the door that they had come in through. Just as they got outside the building, it blew up, throwing Elliot and Olivia through the air. When they hit the ground Elliot immediately rolled on top of Olivia as debris came flying through the air.

Once Elliot was sure that the debris had stopped flying around he rolled off of Olivia.

"Liv" he said as he rolled her onto her back

"Ow" she said out loud

"You okay Olivia?" he asked as he knelt beside her

She nodded while she was still laying on her back before she opened her eyes to find Elliot looking down at her.

"The kids" she yelled as she sat up

"Olivia they're gone. They already got out of here" he told her

"But they were right there" she said to him

"I know"

They sat there for a few minutes before Elliot looked at Olivia and saw the small cuts on her face and hands from the flying glass.

"Let me see your arm" he told her

"It's fine Elliot. It just nicked me"

Just as he was about to look at her arm they heard sirens. They both turned around to see police cars and an ambulance drive up. They saw Munch and Fin jump out of their car and come running towards them.

"You guys okay?" asked Fin

"Yeah, nothing like getting thrown through the air or being in a war of gunfire with no extra ammo" Elliot said

"Olivia you're bleeding" Munch commented when he saw her arm

"It's nothing really" she said

"We need a paramedic over here" Fin yelled towards the ambulance

A paramedic came running over to them and began tending to Olivia. Once he was finished wrapping her arm he told the others that she was going to need to go to the hospital and get some stitches.

"I have to get back to the precinct and get some answers about the case we are working on" she told the paramedic

"Olivia you are going to the hospital" Elliot told her

"Elliot"

"No buts. I'll follow you in the sedan, okay" he told her

Munch and Fin stayed at the scene to see if there was any evidence they could gather that would help them find out where these guys were heading next.

Unfortunately the only evidence left was tire marks from a large vehicle. So CSU took the molds of the tires and sent them to the lab to find out what kind of tires they were to try and match them to a vehicle.

Meanwhile Elliot waited outside the exam room where Olivia was getting stitched up. He knew this case was getting more dangerous the closer they got. And he knew Olivia would do whatever it took to get her son back. And he knew he would do anything for her, no matter what it took. He vowed that he was going to get both of those kids back safely and make sure that nothing happened to Olivia in the process.

A few minutes later Olivia came out of the exam room with her arm stitched up and the Doctor following her.

"Detective Benson you should probably pick up the pain medicine that I prescribed for you"

"I'll be fine without it. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't handle pain" she said slightly annoyed as she kept walking towards Elliot

"Don't worry Doctor she'll be fine" Elliot said, holding back a smile

"Come back in a week to get those stitches out"

"Yeah yeah, thanks" she said waving her hand as she walked towards the exit, with Elliot in tow.

Elliot and Olivia made it back to the precinct only to find Munch and Fin already there.

"Guys what'd you find?" Elliot asked as he and Olivia walked over to their desks

"We're waiting on the lab results to tell us what kind of tires were at the scene and to see if they match a particular car" said Munch

"Hey guys. Are you two alright?" Cragen asked Elliot and Olivia as he came out of his office

"Yeah fine. We just need to find these guys" stated Olivia

"I know that. But please try finding them without getting yourselves killed, okay"Cragen told them

Before Olivia could respond Elliot's phone rang and it was the lab with the results of the tire marks.

"That was the lab. The tires match the type of tire for all 2005 Chevy Suburban's" Elliot told everyone

"That's what the men were driving" stated Olivia

"Yeah but we can't put an APB out on all 2005 Chevy Suburban's" said Fin

Olivia looked from Elliot to their Captain begging for their help with this.

"The hell we can't" Cragen said as he turned to walk back into his office, "I'm putting an APB out on all black 2005 Chevy Suburban's"

Olivia turned back to Elliot and gave him a half smile, while Elliot just smiled and shook his head at the effect Olivia had on everyone in the precinct, especially their Captain.

While the APB was being put out over the entire New York State area, Elliot and Olivia did more digging. Calling people who might have some connection to any of the men involved, but they kept coming up with dead ends.

Meanwhile Fin and Munch were going through all four of the men's past records and any information they could get on them. That's when Munch found that John Master's mother was still alive, but in a nursing home.

"Guys I think we may be able to locate John Master's" Munch said aloud

"How" Olivia asked as she got up from her chair and walked over to Munch's desk

"His mother is in a nursing home in Queens" John told them as he handed the file to Olivia who began to scan the page about his mother

"She was placed in the nursing home two years ago" Olivia said out loud

"Let's go ask her some questions" said Elliot as he grabbed both of their coats

They made it to the nursing home just before visiting hours were over. But when they got to Margaret Master's room she was hooked up to a bunch of machines.

Elliot went back out into the hall and called a nurse over.

"What's wrong with this woman?" he asked

"She's had trouble breathing ever since she had a stroke last year. We keep her monitored to make sure she's stable at all times"

"Can we ask her some questions?"

"I don't think so Detective. She hasn't spoken a word since her stroke" the nurse told him

"Does she ever have any visitors?" Elliot asked her

"I don't know. I'm knew here, just started last month" she said with a smile

"Is there someone here I could talk to about that"

"Most people are gone for the day. Now it's just the night shift and since there aren't visitors allowed after nine I doubt anybody could tell you. You would need to talk to someone on the day shift" she told him

"Well could you give my card to the head nurse tomorrow and have her call me as soon as she can. It's very important. It involves the lives of two small children" he told her as he handed her the card

She took it and walked away, while Elliot turned back around to see Olivia still standing in the doorway of the older woman's room.

"C'mon Liv, one of the nurses is supposed to call in the morning. Let's go home and get some sleep" he said as he walked up behind her

"Liv" he said as he placed his left hand on her left shoulder

She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that wanted to fall for her son and Callie.

"We were so close Elliot" she whispered, "What if we don't-"

"We're going to find them. I promise" he told her as he squeezed her shoulder slightly, "Comeon lets go"

She followed him out to the Sedan and got in leaning her head up against the passenger window. Elliot looked at her and felt so helpless. He didn't know what to do to make her feel better.

"I'm going to take you home, okay" he said as he started to drive away from the nursing home

"No. I want to go back to the precinct" she said as she turned to look at him

"Olivia there's nothing more we can do tonight"

"Elliot take me to the precinct" she said sternly

Elliot paused for a minute before giving in, "Fine"

They got back to the precinct around 10:30 PM to find Munch and Fin had gone to check on black suburban that had been abandoned.

"You two should go home and get some rest. There's nothing more we can do tonight" Cragen told them

Elliot nodded while Olivia just sat at her desk. About twenty minutes later Munch and Fin got back to the precinct.

"It was a false alarm. The guy who owned the suburban was just out of town on vacation this week" Fin said as they sat down at their desks

"You two should go home and get some rest" Cragen told the two of them as he came out of his office again when he saw his other two detectives had gotten back.

"Yeah he's right. There's nothing more we can do until morning anyways." Olivia said as she got up and walked out of the room.

"Seriously guys go get some rest" Elliot told him as he turned to follow Olivia, guessing that she was heading up to the roof

He got up to the roof only a couple of minutes after she did, and he spotted her looking out over the city. So he walked up beside her and looked around at the city with her. They stood there for awhile in silence each knowing that the other was there for them no matter what. Sometime later Olivia, still looking out at the city lights, broke the silence.

"You should go home and get some rest"

"Only if you are" he replied

She turned to look at him and he could see the tears in her eyes. He did something he rarely did for anyone, except maybe his kids, and which he never did with Olivia. He turned and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He noticed Olivia shiver a little before she gave in and wrapped her arms around his back.

"I'm always here for you Olivia" he said, just loud enough for her to hear him

"I know" she whispered back as she buried her face in his chest

"I promise you we will find them"

She just nodded her head, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"But promise me that you won't do anything stupid Liv. Because I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you" he told her

She froze when he said that. She didn't know what he meant by that. She knew she shouldn't read into it much, he probably just meant because they were friends. But that's not the way she thought of it when he said it.

"Elliot" she said as she leaned back and tried to push away from him, "I can't do this Elliot. Not now, I don't have the strength" she told him

But he just held onto her tighter as she tried to pull away, "Olivia I just want you to know how I feel about you because I can't do this anymore" he told her as he motioned between the two of them

"Elliot"

"Olivia I know I can be a pain in the ass, but that's because I don't want people to know everything that's going on with me. I don't like to let people in...just like you" he told her, "But over this last year there's a lot that I have confessed to you that I would never tell anybody else. Don't you get it"

"Don't do this Elliot" she said trying even harder to push him away and get out of his hold

"Why? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that it just might work out because you feel the same way about me as I feel about you?"

"No I don't"

"Fine. If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel for me more than a friend, then I'll walk away, pretend we never had this conversation" he told her

"Elliot...I-"

"You can't can you" he said

Olivia dropped her eyes to the ground as more tears started to stream down her cheeks.

"I can't Elliot. Especially right now"

"Olivia I care about you so much. More than I ever thought I would. But over the last few years I've started caring more...more than a partner should" he told her quietly

Olivia didn't say anything she just continued to look at the ground.

"Do you think this is easy for me Liv. Confessing my true feelings to you. Because it's not. You know I try and guard my feelings as much as possible. But I can't do that anymore, especially when I know you are going to be putting yourself in dangerous situations in order to get your son back" he told her as he let go of one of her arms and moved his hand to her face. He slowly lifted her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes.

"Elliot I don't want to do this right now-" she began, but she was cut off by Elliot's lips on hers. His lips met hers gently and she gave in, thinking about how long she had waited for this moment to happen.

When he pulled away he looked back into her eyes and he swore that there was a little more life to those eyes since this whole ordeal had begun.

"Are you still going to tell me that you didn't feel anything?" he asked

But before she could answer they heard the door to the roof and they quickly pulled away from each other.

"Hey guys we just got a call about a black suburban running from the cops when they tried to pull them over. The chase is going on right now" Fin told the two of them before turning and going back inside the building.

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other before turning and following Fin back inside the building. They ran down the stairs back to their floor, where they grabbed the keys to the sedan and then all four detectives took off to follow the chase.

A/N: Well there's the next chapter. I am going to be going on vacation pretty soon so I will try and get as many chapters up as I can before I leave. Please review and let me know what you think! It would be greatly appreciated!