Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU. It belongs to a genius named Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.

Author's Note: This chapter mainly focuses on Olivia and Elliot, again not E/O. If you have access, I strongly recommend listening to the song "Ever the Same" by Rob Thomas before or as you read. It is an intensely sad and beautiful song, in my opinion, and the perfect backdrop to the relationship I am portraying between them, specifically Olivia's feelings.

"Alright, Miss Benson." The young blonde nurse smiled at Olivia and took the clipboard from her. "He's all set, whenever you're ready."

"Thank you," Olivia said. She turned around and walked back toward Elliot's room. "Ok, Elliot," she said, opening the door. "Are you-?"

Cragen shot up from the chair he was sitting in. "Shh," he warned quickly.

Surprised, she stopped talking. The captain pointed to the bed. Elliot was zonked out again. "The sedatives are still kicking," he whispered. She nodded as Dr. Adams and a nurse appeared at the door with a wheelchair.

Olivia went over to the bed and gently took his hand in hers. "Elliot," she said softly. "Wake up." She shook him softly.

"Hmm…." He mumbled and lolled his head to the other side of the pillow, facing her.

"Come on, Elliot," she continued. She began stroking his face. "You've got to wake up, sweetheart."

He growled sleepily as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her. She couldn't suppress a laugh at the sour look on his face. "Come on, sleepyhead," she teased. "You can take a nap in the car."

Dr. Adams came around to the other side of the bed. "Alright, Elliot," he said. "I'm going to raise the bed, and then we're going to lift you up." He looked over to Cragen. "Can you give me a hand?"

In a flash, Don was at his side. The doctor raised the bed, and Elliot braced himself, feeling completely useless. The two men each wrapped an arm around his back and supported his weight as they lifted him to a sitting position. He slowly put his feet to the floor and Olivia clutched his middle as he took the few shaky steps to the wheelchair.

"How…what-?" Fin couldn't even speak as he surveyed the damage to Elliot's desk. Munch had been trying to reach Cragen for ten minutes and was having no success.

A thought sprung to his mind, and Fin whirled around to face his partner. "Did you call the hospital?" he asked, preparing to pick up his phone. "Are you sure Elliot is-?" The look on John's face told him that he hadn't considered the thought. Fin got ready to dial and the phone in his hand suddenly rang.

"Hello?" he asked anxiously.

"Fin," Cragen said. "I got John's message. What's going on?"

Don watched Olivia's car drive out of the parking lot of the hospital and headed for his own car as he listened to Fin describe the recent events.

Olivia signaled for a left hand turn and pulled onto the highway. She glanced over at Elliot and saw him slumped against the side of the door, asleep. It concerned her to see how quickly and deeply he had gone to sleep, but she knew his body was trying to make up for the time it had lost while he was gone. She switched the radio off so as not to disturb him.

Elliot didn't know if he was awake or dreaming when Olivia pulled him gently from her car, but he remembered going up the steps to her apartment. The next thing he knew, he was on her couch and wonderful warmth was spreading over him as he drifted away to oblivion.

She tucked the blanket softly around his body and pulled it up to his neck, watching him fade into sleep. Dr. Adams had said that the medication would wear off later in the afternoon. Olivia sat beside him and couldn't resist bending down to kiss his cheek. After a minute, she got up and walked into the kitchen to fix herself something to eat.

Captain Cragen was more furious than the squad had ever seen him. He was standing rigid in front of the damaged desk with his hands balled into fists. Fin swore that if he listened hard enough he could hear a low growl.

Don had to force himself to bring air into his lungs as spots if red exploded in front of his lungs. He was so angry that he was shaking. How dare this asshole…He had kidnapped his best detective, traumatized him so severely that he was unrecognizable, and now had the nerve to come back to fuck with their heads.

Now that Elliot was safe, the gloves were coming off. He didn't care how it got done or what the consequences would be….he was going to catch the bastard or die trying. Taking a deep breath through his nose, the captain looked at Munch with such intensity in his eyes that John flinched.

"When the others get here, put them back into teams," he said, his voice slow and deadly quiet. "One is going to camp out at the house in Buffalo…permanently. If he's dumb enough to come back home, we're going to nail his ass."

Slowly digging his nails from his palms, Don continued, "Another team is going to be barricading every possible exit route from the city. He isn't leaving New York alive."

If Cragen's emotions hadn't been so high charged, Munch might have pointed out to him that they couldn't do that without the mayor's permission. But he wasn't dumb enough to poke a stick in the hornet's nest, so he remained silent with his thoughts.

When he didn't speak again, Fin broke in. "You want each of us leading a team?"

The captain turned his eyes on him, the dark pupils seeming to burn a hole through him. "No," he said. He paused, and his eyes suddenly softened a little as he realized he was glaring. "No," he repeated, quieter. "You two are with me. We're going back to that sewer."

He spoke with such intense conviction that neither of them spoke a word in protest.

Olivia spent the day quietly cleaning up her apartment, needing something to occupy herself. She felt like a caged animal with all of her pent-up emotions. After organizing her closet, she checked the wall clock and saw it was 4:30. She debated cleaning the bathroom, but decided against it. She wasn't that hard up for something to do.

She crossed through the living room and into the kitchen as quietly as she could. She filled a pot with water from the sink and set it on the stove, reaching for the tea bags that were in a jar on the counter. Turning around, she went opened a cabinet and reached up for a mug. Her fingers grazed the top of one and it slipped off of the shelf.

She dove to catch it, but wasn't quick enough. She winced at the loud crash as it bounced off of the counter top and smashed on the floor. Damn it! Olivia held her breath, praying she hadn't woken Elliot up. A minute of silence passed and she started to relax.

"Olivia?" There was a note of panic in his voice as he called her name hesitantly.

So much for that. Abandoning the mess, she strode out into the living room. He was struggling to sit up, but couldn't get enough support without his arms for balance.

"Here; hold on, Elliot," she said, coming over to him. She put her arms around his middle and gently tugged him upright so that his back rested against the arm of the couch. He relaxed and sighed tiredly.

She smiled and tenderly smoothed a hand over his cheek. "Welcome back," she said, with a teasing note in her voice. "I was beginning to think you were going to sleep until next year."

"How long was I out?" he asked. She had to lean in to hear him because his voice was so soft.

"Pretty much all day," she answered. "It's about quarter to five in the evening."

The shrill whistle of the tea kettle startled them both, but she didn't expect him to jump as violently as he did. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "I had some soup earlier; I can make some more if you want."

The thought of putting anything in his mouth sent his heart racing and his stomach turning as he remembered the choking feeling of having his mouth taped shut. He couldn't stop the gag from escaping, and Olivia started with surprise, reflexively moving back thinking he would heave.

"You alright?" she asked with concern.

"I can't," he said weakly. He forced himself to take a deep breath to abort the feeling of wanting to puke. "I don't want to eat anything."

"Okay," she said, not able to mask her surprise at his reaction. Olivia placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently. "Elliot, you don't have to. How about just some tea?"

He shook his head no quickly, and she had to bite back a sigh. The doctor had stressed to her the importance of getting him to eat normally as quickly as possible, but now was not the time to debate the matter.

The whistling got shriller and more annoying. Olivia jumped up and ran to turn it off, bringing the mug back with her into the living room. It was dark outside now, and only served to heighten the tension in the room. She took a seat in the armchair across the room and curled her legs up underneath her as she racked her brain, thinking of something to do or say.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" she asked finally, thinking of something that would preoccupy them both. Elliot looked at her silently, and she nearly broke down at the lost look on his face. Come on, Elliot, she begged silently. Come back to me. He finally nodded. She set the mug down and went over to the entertainment system, flicking the power switch.

"What would you like?" she asked as the TV came on. She opened the cupboard door under the stereo and sat down cross-legged in front of it, turning around to face him. He didn't speak for a minute. "I don't care," he finally said, in the same unusual soft tone.

Olivia bit her lip and turned around. She was starting to think maybe this wouldn't work….a sudden flash of insight made her brighten. Leaning forward, she dug through the piles of DVD's and cassette tapes. I know it's in here… She grinned triumphantly when she found what she was looking for and pulled it out.

Scooting back around, she held up the DVD toward him. The small smile he was unable to suppress made her warm inside. She grinned happily and popped open the box containing The Sandlot and opened the DVD player.

When Olivia had first become a detective, she wasn't given a choice when it came to her partner. The captain only had one available spot, and it was with a solid veteran who had just recently lost a partner. When she heard the word veteran, she couldn't stop her mind from picturing some middle-aged guy who wore boring suits and talked like Mr. Rodgers.

Cragen had opened the door and called him over, and she was shocked when she saw the man stride across the room. He looked about her age, and she immediately noticed his piercing blue eyes, which were gazing intently at her. Her female brain didn't miss the fact that he was also extremely good-looking and muscular. Her eyes traveled back to his face, and she blushed when she saw that he had caught her staring.

Elliot was nothing like what she was expecting. She found out during their first case that he had a friendly personality and was surprisingly easy to talk to. He also had a very goofy side to him that wasn't displayed in the squad room, and had her cracking up as they rode to their first scene.

Olivia didn't remember what the case was, but she did remember that she made a careless error on the report. When she gave it to him, he had looked it over and then looked back at her. "You're killin' me, Smalls!" he had said jokingly, taking the pen and correcting her mistake.

She had given him an amused look at the movie quote and quoted back, "You are an L-7 weenie!"

His shocked look had made her laugh out loud. "Wow," he said, laughing. "Here I thought I was the only person over 12 who liked The Sandlot."

She had thought he was kidding until they had gotten their first night off. She had been on her way out of the squad room and he had stopped her.

"My wife took the kids to see her sister this weekend," Elliot said, pulling his coat on. "Let's go do something; want to?"

"Well…" She didn't have any spare cash at the moment; her rent was sucking her dry. "I really can't afford…."

He forestalled her with one hand and reached into his back pocket. He drew out two tickets and handed them to her. When she saw what they were, she burst out laughing.

"7:30 showing of The Sandlot down at the King's Theater," he declared, giving her a goofy smile. "Come on….you know you want to."

He gave her his most dazzling smile, and she found she couldn't resist. "Well…ok," she said, smiling. "Tell ya what…I'll buy you dinner."

He looked surprised. She grinned at him. "Original or Extra Crispy?" she asked, and he had burst out laughing.

The movie began, and she settled back in the chair. "Olivia?"

She turned to face him. "Yeah?" she answered.

Elliot was looking at her almost shyly. "Um…" he stammered, clearing his throat. "I…um…."

"What is it, Elliot?" she asked, becoming concerned. She sat up.

"Will you…" He looked at her timidly and tried again. "Would you mind…sitting here with me?"

She looked at him, surprised that he sounded so timid, and answered quickly. "Of course I will," she said, getting up. She went over to the couch and sat down next to him. "Do you want me to turn the lights off?"

The minute the words left her mouth, she felt her stomach drop. His blue eyes had turned panicked. She immediately leaned forward and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Elliot, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'm sorry. I won't turn them off."

He let out a deep breath and she felt him move close to her. She leaned back and let him rest his side against hers as they focused on the movie.

Halfway through, he fell asleep again. She felt him go limp and was shocked. After all the sleep he had gotten, she found it insane that he was still tired. What the hell did the doctor give him! She gently lowered him down and covered him with the blanket, running a loving hand through his hair.

When the movie ended, she switched off the TV and the lights. Despite the early hour, Olivia was exhausted. She got up and Elliot unconsciously stretched out. "Good night, Elliot," she whispered softly, more to herself than him.

The lights went out in the small apartment, and the man ducked as the woman walked past the window. When she was out of sight, he straddled the fire escape again and picked up his field glasses.

His poncho flapped around him in the wind as he turned them on. Aiming them inside the room, his breath caught when he spied his prey. Elliot was sprawled on the couch in a deep sleep. The man licked his lips.

Olivia jumped out of her sleep with a gasp and bolted upright. Heart hammering, she looked around, her breath still coming rapidly. Nothing was out of place in the quiet room. She was unsure what had awakened her, and began to relax as she settled back against her pillow.

A second piercing scream erupted through the apartment, and she jumped again. Whipping around, she grabbed her Glock from the nightstand and leapt out of the bed. Her heart pounded as she flung open her bedroom door and ran through the hall, weapon in hand.