1A/N: Okay here we go, the next chapter. We are getting down to the wire here people so please remember to review once you finish reading, it helps me to write the next chapter much faster.

Chapter 12: Caught in the Act

Olivia and Elliot made it to William McKinney's house in no time. They had called Munch and Fin and told them to meet them at that address and to bring some uniformed officers for backup. But once they had arrived at the house Elliot and Olivia both didn't feel like waiting, they just wanted to know if Oliver and Callie were inside. So they both drew their weapons and walked up the front porch, but right as they stepped up to the front door gunshots began ringing out and Olivia knocked Elliot off the porch and to the ground as fast as she could.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot" Elliot said to her as the crouched below the porch

"Yeah, let's just hope that the kids are here also though" replied Olivia

Elliot nodded before pointing in the direction of the fence. Olivia knew he meant for them to go around to the back of the house to try and get in that way. So she nodded and followed Elliot carefully around the corner of the house. They made their way to the back door and Elliot peeked through the glass on the door to make sure there wasn't anybody guarding it. He nodded to Olivia meaning that it was clear, then he turned the doorknob carefully and found it unlocked. Olivia went through the door first, followed by Elliot. They went down a short hallway before they could see the kitchen and living room area. They could also see two men who were shooting through the front window out into the street where Munch and Fin had finally arrived, even though they had to stop a couple houses down because of the shooting. Elliot and Olivia looked at each other trying to decide if they should go ahead and take these two guys down. They were both worried that there might be more people upstairs, but it was hard for them to tell through all of the noise of gunfire.

Then the two men stopped firing almost simultaneously so that they could reload on ammo. That's when Olivia and Elliot both heard the scream from upstairs. It was the scream of little girl which Elliot and Olivia both recognized to be Callie's and that's when they decided to go for it while the odds were with them. They both ran out from the hallway and into the living room and got to the two men before they could do any real damage. Although one of the men tried to pull his weapon on Elliot, but Elliot shot him before he had the chance. Then Elliot knocked both men unconscious before they had a real chance to warn whoever was upstairs. When Elliot handcuffed both men, he recognized them as .

Then shooting started upstairs and bullets started ripping through the ceiling at Olivia and Elliot, causing them to run the opposite direction of the stairs. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. And that's when they heard Oliver yell for help. Elliot tried to stop her but Olivia was too quick for him. As soon as she had heard his voice she had taken off across the room and rounded the corner of the staircase before taking the steps two at a time. Elliot took off after her but he was afraid he was going to be too late.

By the time Elliot made it up the stairs there was more gunfire, but this time it was coming from one of the upstairs bedrooms. Once he got to the top of the staircase he rounded the corner very cautiously before seeing Olivia pointing her gun at two men. One of the men Elliot recognized as Thomas Staton, the child molester, and he was holding tightly to Callie who looked scared to death. While the other man was John Masters and he had hold of Oliver. Elliot looked around for a third man before spotting him on the floor with a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. He recognized that man as Andrew McKay.

"Look Masters, just let Oliver and Callie go and we can talk about this" Olivia said, trying to entice them to the let the children go

"I don't think so Detective Benson. We aren't that stupid" John Masters answered her as he tightened his grip around Oliver's neck

"Please, just let them go and I'll do whatever you want" she told them

Masters looked over at Thomas Staton before turning back to Olivia, "How do we know you aren't trying to trick us"

"Look I swear to you. As long as you let the kids go I will stay here with you and you can use me as a hostage. They'll do more for you if you're holding a cop than they would for a couple of kids" Olivia told them

Elliot cursed under his breath as he watched and listened to the conversation that was going on in the bedroom. 'What the hell was she thinking' he thought to himself. Although he knew that if it were his kids in that position he would do the exact same thing.

Elliot watched as Masters pondered the thought and then shook his head, "Tell you what. You get to pick which kid goes, but one of them is staying" he told Olivia

Olivia locked eyes with her son and she could tell that he wanted Callie to get out of there. And as much as Olivia wanted it to be Oliver, she knew that Callie needed to get out of that situation as soon as she could.

"Look Masters I swear it's not a trick, just let both of them go" Olivia begged again

"No way. But have it your way I'll pick who stays and who goes" he told her as he loosened his grip on Oliver before shoving him out in front of him and aiming his gun at Oliver

"Noo" Olivia screamed when she saw the gun pointed at her son

"Get out of here kid, you've been nothing but trouble" Masters said to Oliver

Oliver looked at his mom and she nodded for him to leave the room, so slowly he turned and walked towards the bedroom door. He stopped one more time and turned around to look at his mom.

"Get out of here Oliver. NOW" Olivia practically yelled at him

So he turned and left the room and when he got to the staircase he felt someone grab him and he immediately started to kick.

"Oliver, shhh, it's Elliot, calm down" Elliot whispered in his ear as he loosened his hold on the boy

Oliver turned around and looked up at Elliot before throwing his arms around Elliot's waist, "Elliot they've got my mom"

"I know" Elliot told him softly as he hugged the boy, "Listen to me. I want you to go out the front door with your hands in the air and one of the people I work with will come get you"

"But my mom-"

"I'm gonna get her and Callie, okay. Trust me"

"But-"

"Oliver you're mom will kill me if she finds out I let you stay in this house. Now do what I say and I promise everything will turn out okay" Elliot told the boy

Oliver looked up at Elliot and knew he was telling the truth, "Okay"

Elliot nodded as he turned and watched Oliver descend the stairs and open the front door. Then he turned his attention back to the bedroom, where he watched Masters approach Olivia and take her gun away from her.

"Did you really think I was gonna let you go?" Masters smiled at Olivia, "There's no way you will be getting out of this alive"

"We'll see about that" she stated

"Are you the only one who came into the house?" Masters asked her

"Yes"

"You better not be lying to me" he told her as he walked over to the window and looked out into the mass amount of police cars that had gathered

Elliot was still watching the whole thing, trying to decide what the best thing to do would be. He didn't know if he should barge in there or if he should just camp out and wait until one of the men decided to leave the room. He finally decided he should just camp out and wait.

Meanwhile Elliot had no idea that Oliver had not actually gone out the front door. He had actually stayed in the house and had gone out the back door. He was in the backyard going through the shed that was up against the house, looking for something to distract the men with. But he didn't really find anything useful except some yard tools. So he decided to just throw some rocks through the windows, thinking that maybe it would distract at least one of the guys and Elliot could get hold of him.

So Oliver picked up some large size rocks and began to launch them towards the upstairs windows, breaking three of them before running and hiding in the shed in case the men looked out the windows.

"What the hell was that?" Staton asked slightly frightened as he heard windows begin to break

"That better not be any of your friends from the outside, or they'll find more dead bodies than they bargained for" Masters said to Olivia before turning back to Staton, "Why don't you go check it out"

"Me?"

"Yeah Staton you, now go" Masters yelled at him

Staton threw Callie towards Masters and Olivia, and Olivia caught her before she fell down. The girl immediately wrapped her arms around Olivia's waist and began to cry.

"Hey shut up kid" Masters yelled at her

"Hey, she's just a kid and she's scared. Don't yell at her" Olivia yelled back at the man

"Then keep her quiet" he told Olivia

As soon as Staton had left the bedroom and began to head down the stairs, Elliot surprised him at the bottom and knocked him out from behind. Then Elliot headed back up the stairs and peeked around the corner into the bedroom where he saw Olivia now sitting on the bed with Callie in her lap and Masters pointing his gun at the two of them. Then he looked over on the floor where McKay was laying and saw that he was starting to wake up.

"John" McKay said hoarsely

"What" Masters shouted as he turned towards McKay

"I need a hospital man"

"That was your fault for getting shot"Masters yelled at him

"Where's Thomas?"

"He went to check out some noises" Masters said as he turned back towards the doorway

"THOMAS" he shouted before stepping into the doorway and yelling the name again

"Damn it" Masters yelled as he turned back into the bedroom, "Something's wrong"

Masters then went towards Olivia and Callie and grabbed Olivia by the arm, yanking her up and off the bed, "We are going to do some bargaining"

"McKay watch the kid" Masters said as he pushed Olivia out the door and around the corner to go down the stairs

While Masters had had his back turned from the doorway, Elliot had snuck off of the stairs and was hiding in another bedroom. So when Masters and Olivia had gone down the stairs Elliot snuck towards the bedroom where Callie was and made a noise to distract McKay. This caused McKay to walk towards the doorway of the bedroom and Elliot grabbed hold of him and began to fight with him before McKay lost his balance and pulled Elliot down the stairs with him. They both landed at the foot of John Masters and Olivia. But while Masters was distracted with what had happened Olivia took the chance to elbow him in the chest and nose before using her body weight against his as she pushed him against the front door.

As she and Elliot were both searching for their guns, Staton woke up and Olivia saw that he had something in his hand. She realized it was a gun as he began to fire at her and Elliot and they dove towards the stairs before running up them as fast as they could go. When they got up the stairs they ran into the bedroom where they had left Callie and found in her in the corner of the room.

"Callie" Olivia said when she saw her huddled in the corner. She bent down to get her and Callie immediately reached her arms out to Olivia

"Comeon let's go to a back bedroom" Elliot said as he motioned for Olivia to follow him into a different bedroom and shut the door behind them. Then he began to move all of the furniture in front of the bedroom door so that nobody could get through.

"Liv are you okay?" Elliot asked her once they had secured the door

"Yeah, where's Oliver? Did he get out?"

"Yeah I sent him out to the squad cars"

"Okay"

"I think we can get out of the window here" Elliot said as he walked over to the bedroom window and opened it

"Can you climb out it?" he asked as he turned to look at Olivia

"Of course" she answered

"Okay you and Callie go first and I'll follow" he told her

Right before Olivia was about to climb out the window gunshots started tearing through the bedroom door and ripping by them. Elliot immediately shoved Olivia to the floor, throwing himself on top of both of them. Once the gunshots stopped for a minute the men started yelling at them and Elliot saw that as a chance.

"Comeon we gotta go, now" he whispered to Olivia as he helped her up off the ground

"You go through first, then I'll hand Callie to you" he told Olivia

Olivia nodded as she climbed out the window onto the roof. Then Elliot passed Callie through the window to Olivia right before gunshots began to rip through the bedroom again. Olivia covered Callie with her body out on the roof while Elliot dropped to the floor inside the bedroom. Once there was a break in the shots again Elliot jumped through the window and landed on the roof to fast and ended up rolling off and landing on the ground.

"Elliot" Olivia shouted loud enough for Elliot to hear

Elliot laid in the grass on his back trying to catch his breath.

"I'm...okay" he managed to get out as he sat up slowly and took in a deep breath

Then he stood up and reached up as Olivia carefully lowered Callie to him. Once Elliot sat Callie carefully on the ground he turned to help Olivia get off the roof. Just as Elliot lowered her to the ground Masters stuck his head out the bedroom window and saw the three of them on the ground. He quickly aimed his gun at Elliot and Olivia and began to fire it at them. Elliot grabbed Callie and pushed Olivia in front of him as they began to run around the side of the house. They made it around to the front yard and began running towards their sedan which was still parked right in front of the house. Once they were all sitting behind the car Elliot turned to Olivia and Callie, who was now sitting between them.

"You guys okay?" he asked

"Yeah" Olivia answered as she turned to look at Callie, "You okay sweetie?"

Callie nodded her head as she scooted closer to Olivia.

A few minutes later some uniformed officers, along with Munch and Fin came to join them behind their car.

"Guys you got to smoke them out of there. And get some officers into the backyard or they might escape" Elliot told them

"We sent some officers around back when we saw you guys run out here" Munch replied

"Where's Oliver?" Olivia asked as she strained her neck to look towards the police cars

"We thought he was with you" said Fin

"I sent him out here to you" Elliot said looking at Munch and Fin

"Well he's not here" Munch told them

"Where the hell is he then" Olivia questioned

Just then they heard windows breaking as tear gas was thrown into all of the windows. They all turned and looked over the car towards the house. One by one all three of the men came out coughing and holding their eyes. Then two officers went inside and got the two men that Olivia and Elliot had tied up when they had first entered the house.

"What if Oliver was in there?" said Olivia

"I don't think he was Liv" Elliot said to her

"Then where is he?"

"The house is clear. Let's go look, maybe he's hiding somewhere" Elliot suggested

Olivia nodded as they both got up and began to walk to around the car. But Callie immediately jumped up and ran to Olivia.

"Don't leave me Livvy" she cried as she grabbed Olivia's arm

"Sweetie I'm just going to look for Ollie. You can stay here with John" Olivia said as she pointed to the funny looking older man with the glasses

"No" she cried as she shook her head

Olivia nodded as she took the girl's hand, "Okay you can walk with me and Elliot, okay"

The girl nodded as she held on to Olivia's hand tightly. As they walked around to the sidewalk she and Elliot began yelling Oliver's name as loud as they could. Then they heard some noise on the side of the house before they saw Oliver come running around the side of the house.

"Mom" he yelled as he ran towards her

"Ollie"Olivia yelled back as she let go of Callie's hand just as Oliver reached her and jumped up into her arms wrapping his legs around her waist and his arms around her neck as tight as he could. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she held him tightly.

"I love you sweetheart. Are you okay?" Olivia asked as she pulled her son back enough to look at his face to see a bruise and a couple of cuts.

"I'm okay mom" he said as he wrapped his arms back around her neck

Elliot stood next to Callie smiling, glad that Oliver and Olivia were both okay. A couple minutes later Olivia finally set Oliver down on the ground and both were smiling as wide as they possibly could.

"You okay sport?" Elliot asked Oliver

"Yeah I'm good" Oliver answered

Then Oliver bent down in front of Callie, "You okay Cal?"

"Uh-huh" she answered

"See I told you my mom and Elliot would find us" Oliver told her

Callie smiled as she threw her arms around Oliver's neck, "I'm glad you're okay Ollie" she said to him

"Me too" he told her as he returned the hug

Then they all began to walk back towards the squad cars and Olivia looked down at Oliver, "There are a couple people I want you to meet"

"Okay" he nodded

Olivia put her arm around his shoulders and walked with him, Elliot, and Callie over to where Munch and Fin were standing.

"Munch, Fin, this is my son Oliver. Ollie this is Munch" she said pointing to the tall man, "And this is Fin" she said pointing at the other man

"Hi" Oliver said as he shook both men's hands

"Nice to meet you Oliver" Munch said as he shook the boys hand

"Captain wants us all back at the station, including the kids" Fin said to Elliot and Olivia

"Okay" Elliot nodded, "We'll meet you at the station"

They all walked back over to the sedan and Elliot opened the door for the two kids to get in the back before he and Olivia got in the front.

They finally arrived back at the station house. All four of them, Elliot, Olivia, and the two kids were cold, tired, and bruised. All they wanted was to go home, but they had to wrap up a few loose ends, including proving to Cragen that they were all okay. They walked into the precinct and Olivia felt the stares from all of the officers, by now everyone knowing that the boy walking in beside her was her son. A boy that she had kept secret for the past eight years. They got into the elevator and got off on the floor assigned to SVU and walked through the doors and towards their desks.

By that time Cragen had come out of his office and was heading towards them. He stopped at Elliot's desk and turned to look at each person, including the two kids.

"Everyone alright?" he asked his two detectives

Elliot and Olivia both nodded before Elliot answered, "I think everybody would be a lot better if they could get some food and a hot shower"

Cragen nodded before turning to Olivia, "Can I just have a word with you and your son"

Olivia nodded and motioned for Oliver to follow her into his office. Once they were inside Cragen's office he turned and shut the door behind Olivia and Oliver. Then he turned towards them.

"So I hear your name is Oliver"

"Yes sir" Oliver answered

"Nice to meet you Oliver. I'm Captain Cragen" he said, extending his hand to the ten year old boy

"Hi" Oliver replied shaking the older man's hand

"Well now that everyone here knows about you, don't be a stranger, okay"

"Yes sir"

"And you don't have to sir me, either"

"Yes sir-I mean...okay" Oliver smiled

Olivia smiled at her son and then to her Captain, "Well if you don't mind Captain we are all tired and hungry, especially the kids"

"There's one more thing I need to talk to you about" Cragen told her as he nodded towards Callie, who was sitting at her desk drawing a picture

"Okay. Hey Ollie why don't you go wait out there with Elliot and Callie" she told her son

"Mom don't let them take Callie away" Oliver said as his mother opened the door so that he could go out

"I'll take care of it sweetie, just go wait out there" she said as she shut the door behind her son

She turned back around to look at Cragen and she knew by the look on his face that something was up.

"Olivia the girl has to go to social services. As far as we know there are no other relatives other than her mother. And you know the law, we have to turn her over so they can find a foster home to put her in"

"Captain let me take her with me tonight. Please. I mean she's been through so much the last couple of days, hell she's been through a lot these past couple of weeks. She knows me and trusts me and Oliver, she knows she safe with us. Let her go with me and I'll bring her back on Monday"

"Olivia"

"Captain" Olivia begged

"Okay but you have to bring her in Monday morning" he told her sternly

Olivia smiled, "Thank you Captain, I will"

Olivia turned to leave and walked towards her and Elliot's desks, stopping at Elliot's. He looked up at her from his chair to question what Cragen had wanted. Olivia looked down at him and smiled before looking across to her desk where Oliver was now sitting in her chair with Callie on his lap with her eyes closed.

"What do you say we go get some food and a hot shower" Olivia said

"Awesome" Oliver answered as he lifted Callie up and off of his lap

Olivia walked around to her desk and took Callie's hand and the three of them began to walk out towards the elevator. But Olivia stopped and turned back around to find Elliot still sitting at his desk.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked him with a smile

Elliot smiled as he jumped up and walked over to them, "Just wanted to make sure I was invited"

"Oh please, when has that ever stopped you" Olivia laughed as they all stepped into the elevator

By the time they picked up some food and got to Olivia's apartment Callie was fast asleep in the back seat and Oliver was getting to that point. So Olivia picked Callie up from the back seat and carried her up to her apartment while Elliot carried the food and steered Oliver in the right directions.

Once they got inside Olivia laid Callie down on the couch and Oliver plopped down next to her. Elliot and Olivia got out some dishes to eat, but when she walked back over to the couch Oliver was now also passed out.

"Well I don't think those two will be eating with us. They must be exhausted" Olivia said as she turned and walked back into the kitchen.

"Will you help me get them to bed?" she asked Elliot

He nodded as he followed Olivia to the couch. She bent down and picked up Callie, carrying her into her bedroom as Elliot picked up Oliver and took him into his bedroom. After Olivia had laid Callie on her bed she went into Oliver's room to find Elliot just laying her son down.

"Hey let me wake him up so he can change" she said as she walked towards him

"I think he's okay Liv, just take his sweatshirt off and let him sleep" Elliot told her

She nodded as Elliot sat Oliver up and Olivia got his sweatshirt off. Then Elliot laid him back down and stood up, walking over to the doorway before turning around to look at Olivia and Oliver. He watched as Olivia pulled Oliver's covers up over him and ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed his forehead. Then he heard her tell him that she loved him before standing up and turning to see Elliot still standing in the doorway. She smiled at him as she turned off Oliver's desk lamp and followed Elliot out the door, remembering to shut the door behind her.

"I'll be right back" she told him as she went back into her own bedroom to check on Callie. She got the little girls jacket and shoes off before she pulled the covers back and laid the little girl on the sheets, and pulling the covers up over her and kissing her forehead goodnight.

Once she was through Olivia went back into the living room to find Elliot sitting on the couch with a plate of food in his lap, watching some TV. She smiled as she sat down next to him and took a plate he had made for her. As they were eating and watching TV they also began to talk.

"You okay with everything Liv?" Elliot asked as they were eating

"Yeah I think so"

"With Callie and everything?"

There was a slight pause from Olivia before she stopped eating and while she was looking straight at the television she asked,

"Do you think that everything happens for a reason?"

"I don't know. I think some things do happen for a reason, but I don't know about everything" he responded

Olivia nodded before turning to look at him, "I've been thinking a lot lately about why things happen. And I think I've come to the conclusion that they happen for a particular reason"

"Like what?"

"It depends. Like Callie for instance, she lost her mother and has been through a terrible ordeal, but in the end I think it happened for a reason" she said as she turned to look back at Elliot again, "I think maybe she was meant to become part of my family. That in some strange way we are supposed to save each other from our pasts" she said as she leaned back against the couch and laid her head back, "What do you think?"

Elliot was still leaning forward and had to take a deep breath from what Olivia had just said, "Well if that's true, and everything does happen for a reason then being partnered with you was something that happened for a reason, and staying partners for the last eight years...even my divorce...happened for a reason..."Elliot smiled, "I guess I do believe then, that everything happens for a reason. Because if you think about it we could not even know each other...Wow that says a lot...I don't think I want to think about not knowing you...I think we should maybe talk about everything happening for a reason...between us" Elliot said as he turned to the side to look at Olivia, only to find that she was sound asleep and he couldn't help but smile.

He leaned across her and took the blanket off the arm of the couch and covered her with it before kissing her forehead and turning off the TV. Then he leaned back and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him before closing his eyes and falling fast asleep.

A/N: Well there are only a couple of chapters left so please don't hesitate to review. It really helps me write more when I know ya'll like it!