4:00 Saturday AM – Olivia's apartment

It was warm and sunny on the beach where Olivia was laying. The sun soaking into her skin, and the Flirtini in her hand was helping her forget the pain of her everyday life. Suddenly the peace was interrupted. An annoying sound shattered the peaceful cawing of the gulls and crashing of the waves.

The phone was ringing and Olivia shook the haze of sleep away, answering her cell with a mumbled "Benson."

The voice on the other end was panicked. She could hear the fear radiating in his voice.

"Olivia, Lizzie's gone."

4:10 Saturday AM – Location unknown

She was shivering when she awoke. The soft sound of her name being whispered woke her. She opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Lying beside her was her best friend Lizzie Stabler. She didn't know where she was, and she knew something was terribly wrong.

"Steph, wake up? Steph? Are you okay?" Lizzie squirmed to be closer to her and took her hand. As Steph opened her mouth to speak, Lizzie shushed her. "Don't. They think you're asleep." The petite girl's lips started quivering.

"Who? Who thinks I'm asleep? Where are we?" Steph had tears running down her cheeks, she was terrified. The last thing that Steph remembered was going to sleep at her friend Laura's house in the back yard.

Suddenly, the van stopped, and the people in the front got out. Lizzie and Steph grabbed one another's hands and closed their eyes.

4:24 AM – The SVU Squadroom

Olivia was shaking as she joined her co-workers in the squadroom, not because of the early morning chill, but out of fear. Lizzie had begged for weeks to sleep over Laura's house. Olivia had argued with Elliot of Lizzie's behalf. She felt incredibly guilty, and looked away each time Elliot tried to catch her eye. Her thoughts were disrupted when Cragen entered the room.

"What do we know?" Cragen asked with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

"Lizzie, Elizabeth Stabler – 13, and Steph, Stephanie Grant also 13. They were last seen sleeping at their friend Laura Sanders' house. Dan and Jeanne Sanders, Laura's parents went to bed at One AM. The girls – there were 8 of them, were sound asleep when the parents went to bed. The other girls Ashley Blake, Danielle Johnson, Marianne Bower, Catie Owen-Huth and Rachael Martin are okay – a bit shaken up as you can imagine, they are coming in with their parents at 6:00 to see if they can shed any light on the situation." Munch supplied.

"There were 3 tents in the back yard; CSU is there now, two three-person tents and one two person tent" Fin added hanging up a diagram of the backyard "The two person tent is here, further away from the house than the other two tents, about 15 yards away from the woods. There was obvious trampling and broken branches near the tent. That's all we have right now. We'll know more when CSU is done."

The silence in the squadroom was overbearing, crushing even. The only sound that could be heard is was the perking of the coffee maker. When the noise ceased, there was a stampede of detectives towards the welcome distraction.

Olivia felt nauseous as Elliot stepped beside her and put his hand on her arm. He turned her to face him, but she still could not meet his eye.

"Olivia, Liv, I don't blame you. I know what's going on in your head… and no, it is not your fault. I let Lizzie go, it was my decision. Kathy's gonna have my head when she and the kids get back from New Hampshire, but what can I do?" His voice was choked with emotion, and he gripped Olivia's arm, perhaps a little too tightly.

"El, we're gonna find Lizzie. I promise. I will not rest until she comes home." Olivia squeezed Elliot's hand.

"Liv, what if…" horrible thoughts were flashing through Elliot's mind.