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.

Elliot was alerted by her yelling his name. He heard her slam the door shut and quickly flip the locks in place. Concerned, he struggled up and to his feet. "What's the matter?"

He rushed into the foyer and stopped dead in his tracks. The blood rushed from his face as he stared in shock at the man standing in front of him. He blinked rapidly in desperation. Wake up, Elliot, he thought in a panic. Now would be a good time to wake up!

The man watched in glee as Elliot started to shake. The blue eyes brightened, sending a wild smile to his face. "Hello, Elliot," he rasped. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Fin pulled up into the parking lot and got out of his car. He knew that Olivia wanted him to call first, but he couldn't wait. He didn't mind waiting if they weren't home yet.

He strolled toward the entrance. "Fin!"

Turning around, he was surprised to see Cragen running toward him with his gun drawn. "Come on, come on," Don said breathlessly, gripping his arm and steering him inside.

"What's going on?" he asked, pulling his own gun.

Before he could respond, a loud bang startled them both. Olivia came flying toward them from the stairwell. Her face was tearstained and she was breathing hard. "He's inside!" she cried, half-sobbing hysterically. "He inside my apartment….Elliot's in there!"

She and Fin took off back toward the stairs. Cragen whirled around and yelled, "All units, upstairs! Fourth floor NOW!" before dashing after them.

The fear had him paralyzed. Elliot could only stare at the face that haunted his dreams every night. Where was Olivia? The man was licking his lips.

"What do you want from me?" Elliot asked, his voice choked.

He didn't respond. A creepy grin curled his lips, and Elliot's eyes were drawn to the hand reaching behind his back. His pulse quickened and his throat closed as the light gleamed on the blade of his knife. Dear God…I didn't mean it! I don't want to die!

He had come face to face with death so many times in his career that it didn't even faze him anymore. But he had always had a gun and arms that worked in his favor. He was scared to death, but was going to go down fighting. Turning around, Elliot ran for his life toward Olivia's bedroom.

The three of them skidded to a stop at Olivia's door. Cragen jerked the knob and jammed his shoulder into the door, producing nothing. Twenty police officers swarmed them almost instantly. "Go, go…come on!" Olivia yelled.

Elliot dashed into the bedroom frantically and attempted to shut it with his foot. What was he doing? There was no way he could fight this guy off with two paralyzed arms! The door was opening in a second, and he vainly tried to block it with his body. A strong shove from the other side sent his crashing to the ground.

The man was on him before he could react. Elliot's eyes were glued to the knife in the man's hand, twisting to avoid it. "Keep still," the man growled, pressing his knee into Elliot's stomach. "I told you….those blue beauties are mine."

When he felt the tip of the knife against his left eyelid, Elliot's intuition kicked in. Sliding his legs out from the man, he wrapped them around his attacker's neck and threw his weight sideways. The man was knocked to the side, and Elliot rolled over, struggling to stand.

The man was on him again in a second. He flipped Elliot over, one arm going around his throat. He gurgled in pain, eyes bulging. "Olivia!" he cried, desperately trying to draw air into his lungs.

Keeping his suffocating hold, the man grabbed his knife again and brought it down to his face. Trapped, Elliot squeezed his eyes shut. Please don't let me feel it… he prayed.

As soon as they burst inside, Olivia scanned frantically for Elliot. The room was empty. She heard him scream her name from the back of the apartment. Cragen was running down the hall in a second, and she was on his heels.

She screamed out at the sight of the man on top of Elliot, and made him jump. That was all the hesitation she needed. Surging forward, she wrapped her arms around the man's neck and hurled him away. The others were swarming him in a second, but she hardly noticed.

"Elliot," she choked.

She threw herself down beside him and began frantically checking for wounds. A large gash was on his left temple, and his neck was bruised. He was lying rigid, stunned. She ran her hands over his face. "Elliot," she said desperately. "Honey…can you hear me?"

Reality suddenly set in. Olivia watched his eyes widen and he started to tremble wildly, gasping. "Olivia," he croaked. His eyes filled with tears and he broke down into sobs.

Olivia wrapped her arms around his shaking frame and pulled him to a sitting position, squeezing tightly. "It's alright now, baby," she sobbed, breaking down herself. She pressed her forehead to his. "It's over now. I promise you. It's over."

"It's not over," the man spat out from where he stood handcuffed between two officers. "Don't listen to her, Elliot. I'll be in your head until the day you die!" His voice rose with glee. "Until the day you die!"

Cragen was ready to eject a bullet into the man's temple right then. He started toward him, but stopped when he saw Olivia. She had a look on her face that he had never seen before. He stood still, the other officers in the room following his cue, and waited.

Elliot had his face once again hidden in her shoulder, and was shaking like crazy, trying to turn himself as far away from the man as possible. Olivia gently pushed him back, her eyes never leaving the man's face, and loosened her hold. He cried out and tried to burrow against her. She shifted her gaze back to him and her eyes softened as she bent down and whispered something in his ear, running a tender hand over his face.

After a minute, he raised his head shakily and allowed her to move. She lowered him to the floor and turned her back to them, pressing her hand to his cheek for a minute. He backed against the wall, never taking his eyes off of the man. Olivia caressed his face lovingly one more time before getting to her feet.

When she turned back toward them, she had a look of hatred on her face that almost made her unrecognizable. Her fists clenched as she slowly walked up to where the man stood.

She got up to within inches of his face and stopped, her teeth clenched. Fire seemed to radiate from her eyes and body as she glared at him. A million thoughts were swirling in her head, but the one that stood out the most was that the man had the nerve to use Elliot's name….like he knew him. It made her so angry that she shook.

Without batting an eye, she spit on him roughly. The man flinched, but quickly recovered. His eyes gleamed as he stared unwavering at the woman shooting daggers at him with her glare. His lips curled into a sick smile and he leaned in close to her. "You know that present I left in your locker at the precinct?" he rasped quietly. Amusement danced in his eyes. "I saved some of it for myself."

His eyes flickered downward. Olivia slowly followed his gaze, and saw that he had a discolored chunk of Elliot's Marine tattoo embedded in his right shoulder. Cragen saw it as well, and spots danced before his eyes.

She jerked her eyes back to meet his, the brown orbs flashing. Without warning, she drove her fist deep into the man's stomach and didn't let go. He gasped and sagged, and she bent down, forcing him to still be level with her. "That was for Elliot," she hissed.

A second later, she jerked the man's head down and slammed her knee into his face as hard as she could. The sickening sound of breaking bone echoed in the room, and Fin found himself cringing. Olivia didn't even blink. She kept an intense gaze fixed on the man as he slumped, forcing the officers holding him to keep him upright.

Once again, she bent down so that she was level with the man. Don flinched when she shot her hand out and grasped his broken nose roughly. Another crack sounded and the man howled in pain as she jerked him forward by the nose. "And that was for me," she spat out.

She kept her hold for a minute more before releasing him with disgust. The others could see her shaking now, her hands bloody. Silence echoed loudly in the room as they stood still, watching her. She stood still, her chest heaving with anger. After a minute, she turned around. They watched as she went back to Elliot. He looked up at her warily, and she crouched down, bringing herself to a sitting position.

In a matter of milliseconds, the fury was gone from her face. She pulled him to her and wrapped him protectively in her arms. He responded eagerly, melting against her and hiding his face from view again. Her hand smoothed through his hair rhythmically and she began gently rocking him, whispering words that only the two of them could hear.

The others in the room looked at each other awkwardly, not wanting to break the spell of the moment with words. A lump swelled in the captain's throat and he tore his eyes away from his two detectives.

"Come on, you guys," he said to the officers gruffly. "Get this piece of shit out of here."

Oh…..keep hanging, keep hanging! There's still another stop to make before this journey is over!