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!" she yelled, banging on the door when she reached it.

She turned the doorknob and was surprised to find it open. Bolting through, she was immediately encased in smoke…it engulfed the entire inside.

Her heart leaped into her throat. "Elliot!" she cried in panic.

She fumbled through the room, smoke choking her and making her eyes water. All of the sudden, a rush of flames shot up from the middle of the room. Startled, she took a quick step back and ended up falling to the floor.

She started to cough violently, the smoke searing her lungs. The crackling of flames was deafening, and she felt the heat of the fire next to her face. Frantically, she backpedaled and tried to feel her way towards the door again.

A sudden, loud cry made her freeze in her tracks. Her blood turned to ice, and she whipped around, her eyes darting around wildly.

"Elliot?" she yelled.

"OLIVIA!" He screamed out her name, and the terror in his voice was unmistakable.

All thoughts of getting out left her mind. Olivia began feeling her way back towards the middle of the room. The flames leapt up at her again, and she screamed as they almost touched her face.

He yelled out again, sounding close. When the flames fell away, she caught a glimpse of Elliot lying on the ground.

"I'm coming!" she yelled, diving to the floor. She began crawling towards him, trying to stay low enough to avoid being suffocated by the smoke. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally was close enough to reach out and touch him.

She looked up in time to see a flaming piece of the crumbling staircase flying towards him. She threw herself over his body and clutched him tight, trying desperately to shield him.

"OLIVIA!" he yelled in anguish. She watched in horror as flames suddenly shot up from the ground, encasing his body from the bottom up.

"NO!" she screamed. She scrambled over top of him desperately, trying with all her might to protect him. "No, Elliot!"

His screams echoed in the air, and she screamed in agony, sobbing. "No! No, Elliot!"

"No! NO!"

Olivia's own shrill scream woke her. She was draped over top of her pillow, clutching it so tightly that her knuckles were white. Gasping, she eased her grip and slowly came to her senses. Her body shook violently, and she sobbed in anguish as she realized where she was.

The pain of his face slipping down and hitting the pillow shocked Elliot out of an uncomfortable sleep for the third time in an hour. Growling, he sat up and pushed aside the offending object, sliding his feet to the floor.

Despite having both of his bedroom windows open and the ceiling fan going full blast, the air was still stifling as he padded over to the small bathroom and flicked on the light.

Touching his hand to his nose, his lips curled in disgust when he realized that it had started to bleed again. Yanking the bloody towel from where he had thrown it earlier in the night, he held it to his face and tilted his head back until it stopped.

When he was sure it was no longer bleeding, Elliot went over to the sink and washed his face gently. When he finished, he eyed his reflection in the mirror. His face was so swollen that he looked bloated; his right eye was blackened and a cut framed the corner of his mouth.

Huffing in anger, he turned off the bathroom light and crossed to his bed again. He looked at the clock as he lay on his back- 3 am. The thin sheets lying tangled beside him irritated him beyond reason, and he kicked at them until they fell from the bed. Lying flat again, he tried to relax, but couldn't concentrate past the heat. Huffing again, he let out a frustrated yell, taking selfish satisfaction at the sound echoing around the room.

He knew he was acting like a baby at the moment, but to be honest he could have cared less. It was hot, his face throbbed, and he was wide-awake when he wanted to be asleep. This night, in his opinion, sucked…and what did he have to look forward to in the morning? An ass-chewing….again.

Jesus….how many of those had he gotten since Sean showed up? Was he the only one who thought it ironic that he was getting in more trouble now?

He reviewed the events of the night in his head. The comments Sean had made as they were pulling into the precinct had crossed the line….and he knew that full well. He had wanted to piss him off.

He remembered the reactions he had gotten from his colleagues and boss….especially his boss. Wincing, he thought back to his previous statement: was he the only one who saw all of this as ironic?

Huffing, he flipped over carefully. Looks like it.

Olivia once again had to stop herself from calling Elliot…he wouldn't appreciate being woken up at that hour of the morning. She had talked to herself for almost an hour before finally drifting off to sleep, verbally assuring herself that he was perfectly fine and that she would see him in a few hours. Deep in her heart, she was clinging in terror to the hope that she was right.

It was weird coming in to an empty squad room. Elliot made sure to arrive a few minutes before seven to avoid any chance of pissing Cragen off more and headed straight for his office. He took a breath before knocking hesitantly, unnerved by how much it felt like he was in school being sent to the principal's office.

"Come in, Elliot," Cragen said from inside.

He didn't sound happy, but he didn't sound overly angry, either. Maybe there was a chance that he would come out of this with his head, after all. Sucking in another deep breath, Elliot opened the door and stepped inside.

Sean had not arrived. Cragen was busily writing something. "Take a seat," he commanded without lifting his head.

Swallowing nervously, Elliot silently did so. Cragen didn't speak, so he waited tensely. It was so quiet in the small office that he was afraid to even breathe loudly.

A sharp knock sounded at seven on the dot. Elliot kept his gaze to the wall in front of him, refusing to look at Sean as he entered and was told to sit in the chair next to him. As he sat, Elliot risked a quick glance at him, and smirked in satisfaction when he saw the huge bruise covering the left side of Sean's jaw.

Don got up and crossed over to where they sat. The two instantly sat straighter as he reached around to shut the blinds and walked back to his desk, sitting down again. He folded his hands firmly on his desk and looked at them with a stern gaze.

They were each looking in opposite directions, avoiding his eyes and each other. He bit back a disgusted sigh as he swept his eyes over each of them in turn. Sean had a colorful bruise on the side of his face and a busted lip. Elliot had a black eye and a bashed nose that was swollen to the point of disfiguration. They looked like two boys who had been in a schoolyard fight.

He shook his head and sighed out loud this time, sounding more tired than angry.

"So," he said, finally breaking the silence that hung. "Somebody going to tell me what that little performance last night was all about?"

Sean was looking angrily at the ground. Elliot was avoiding his eyes, picking listlessly at a thread on his shirt. Neither spoke. Cragen waited a minute, his eyebrows raised, but there was still nothing.

He shook his head, his jaw clenching. "Ok," he said, with carefully controlled anger. "So that's how you want to be…..that's fine." His tone was condescending and yet dangerous at the same time. He flicked his gaze between them again to see if he had gotten through to one of them yet, and had the same results. He decided it was time to play hard ball.

"I want all of your personal items cleaned out in the next twenty minutes. Turn in your badges and guns before you leave…Sean, I'll be sure that Chief Hammond gets yours."

That did the trick. Elliot jerked his head up and stared at him with panic in his eyes. Sean was trying to act like he wasn't effected, but Don could see the fear on his face as he fought to keep his eyes averted.

"Have I got your attention now?" he asked firmly, staring Elliot directly in the eyes. He moved to Sean after a minute and saw that he was now looking at him as well.

They both nodded silently.

"So, let me ask again," the captain continued stonily. He glared at the both of them, one at a time, and spoke with deliberate slowness. "Why were you fighting?"

He was speaking to both of them, but his eyes were fixed on his detective. "If I don't get an answer out of somebody in the next two seconds, both of you are going to be out of a job," he said threateningly.

Elliot shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to come off sounding like a tattletale, but he didn't want to lose his job over this, either.

Sean finally spoke up, and his words were such a shock to Elliot that he was rendered temporarily speechless. "It wasn't his fault," he said begrudgingly, refusing to look Don in the eye. "I started it."

The captain turned his attention to Sean then, who met his gaze briefly. "I said some things just because I knew it would piss him off," he continued.

Don looked at him for another minute before going back to Elliot. "Is that true?" he asked.

Elliot folded his arms defensively, glowering. "Yes, sir," he said evenly.

Cragen glanced at him briefly, and then turned a stern stare on Sean. "You requested this unit so that we could help you solve your case," he said evenly. "Now, I'm not sure what is going on between you two, but I won't tolerate anyone causing trouble on my team, do you understand me?"

Sean nodded. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

He quickly went back to the detective. "You know better," he snapped harshly, glaring at him. "If you have a problem, you act like an adult and take it up with me…I expect that kind of immature behavior from an academy candidate, not a veteran detective."

Elliot's face reddened under the scolding. "Yes, sir," he mumbled.

Don shook his head angrily before staring at them hard again. "I'm giving you one day," he said threateningly. "If I hear so much as a cuss word from either one of you, you'll both be out of here so fast your heads will spin." His eyebrows rose in anger. "You got me?"

They both nodded quickly.

"Good," he said. "Get out of here."

They leaped up quickly and left the office so fast that Cragen felt a rush of air. Once they were gone, he sighed tiredly. He really hated it when he had to pull rank on his detectives like that…it happened so rarely that it felt foreign to him. He felt incredibly blessed to have such a terrific team- the four of them were by far the most dedicated group he had ever worked with.

Once again, Olivia found herself trembling as she stood in the elevator, waiting to go to the 12th floor. She bit her lip hard and walked purposely toward the squad room. When she reached the corner, she paused involuntarily, for a fleeting moment too terrified of the thought of not seeing him inside.

Stop it! Scolding herself harshly, she stepped around the corner and saw Elliot at once. She shook her head as she walked through the doors. If she kept this up, she was going to need a vacation.

After what had happened the night before, she had to admit a certain level of surprise at seeing both he and Sean there. They were on opposite sides of the room, naturally, and didn't spare each other so much as a glance….but after how angry Cragen had been, Olivia had honestly been preparing to work solo after having Elliot suspended.

Her locker was empty that morning, which came as a surprise, but she noticed that all of Elliot's things were on his desk beside him. After putting her things away, she went to her desk and switched on the small lamp.

"You want to put your stuff in my locker?" she offered, looking at him.

Elliot looked up at her, his face registering surprise at her presence. He hadn't even noticed her walk in.

"Huh?" he said, blinking. He scrubbed a hand over his face wearily. "Oh, uh…no. No that's alright." His head tipped back down to his work again.

Olivia frowned as she scrutinized him more closely. His face was swollen painfully, and she had seen exhaustion in his eyes during her brief look into them. Getting up, she walked over to the refrigerator.

A thump next to his hand made Elliot jump, and he shot a startled glance at his partner. She was looking at him meaningfully. Looking down, he saw that she had placed an ice pack on his desk.

His answering grin was sheepish. He had been too proud to admit that his face was hurting so badly that he could hardly concentrate…leave it to Olivia to figure it out after one second of looking at him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, picking up the bag. The cold rush was a welcome relief to his sore nose.

She grinned fully at him, glad to see him accept her olive branch. "So….how did it go?" she asked hesitantly.

Her partner met her gaze and raised his eyebrows. "Well…I'm still here, aren't I?" he said wryly, grinning a little to show her that he didn't mind the question.

She relaxed visibly, having half-expected a smart remark. "Glad to hear it," she said.

His smile reached his eyes this time and she smiled back, pleased with herself. They settled into another day.

Elliot's desk phone rang at about 10:30, breaking his concentration. He looked up blearily, his eyes crossed from staring at the report in front of him for so long, and grabbed it.

"Special Victims Unit, Detective Stabler," he answered. His face relaxed at the familiar voice. "Hey! How-?"

His friendly greeting caught in his throat as he listened to his ex-captain's words, and he felt the blood rush from his face. "Oh, my god."

The tone of his voice caught Olivia's attention. She looked up and was startled at the horrified look on Elliot's face. Her eyes rounding worriedly, she dropped her pen and focused her attention on him as he was listening.

"Oh, Jesus," he murmured, sliding a hand up to his forehead. His stomach swirled violently, threatening to expel his breakfast right there on his desk. He had to swallow hard to keep it together. "Sweet Jesus…." His eyes slid closed. "Yes," he continued. "Yes, of course I will….yes. You got it….ok. I'm…alright. You, too. Bye."

Blindly, Elliot fumbled to replace the receiver. His vision exploded into spots before his eyes as the force of the words he had just heard impacted him.

"Elliot?" Olivia said, immediately concerned by the look on his face. She stood up quickly in alarm. He looked like he was going to pass out. "Elliot, who was that?"

Munch looked up curiously at her tone and immediately stood up as well when he saw her partner. Fin, startled by his actions, looked first at him and then over to the other desk. He was instantly on alert, seeing Elliot's white face.

Olivia quickly came around the desk, grabbing his arm firmly. "What happened?" she asked again, her voice scared now. His arm was quivering under her fingers.

Ignoring her, Elliot pushed himself shakily out of the chair and stumbled blindly toward the captain's office.

Don jumped about three feet when his door suddenly busted open, scattering his papers. "Geez!" he squawked, glaring at the intruder. "What in-"

The words died on lips when he got a good look at Elliot. "What's the matter?" he asked urgently, getting quickly to his feet.

"Captain," Elliot said weakly. He had to gulp in a breath to keep his stomach from rebelling again. "Captain…."

"What is it?" he asked again. "Elliot, what?"

Olivia appeared in his office a second later, and Don looked at her, panicked. "What happened?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she said. "Someone called and he flipped out."

Gulping in another breath, Elliot managed to choke out his words. "Tom-Tom Clancy called me," he said weakly. "From the 3-5 in Queens. The fire…twelve of his guys were killed in the fire yesterday."

Olivia's eyes widened. Elliot choked violently. "One of them was my ex-partner."

"Oh, God," Cragen murmured. He looked at Elliot in horror. "Elliot, I'm so sorry."

He shook his head wildly. "Look, I….he wants me to be a pallbearer," he stuttered. "There's going to be a service tomorrow night…I-"

"You're going to go," Cragen said firmly.

"But-the case…we have-" He was still shocked, and it showed.

"Don't worry about the case," Olivia jumped in, gripping his shoulder. "You need to be there for your friends. We'll handle it."

Cragen nodded when Elliot looked at him dumbly. "We'll handle it," he repeated. He looked at his detective squarely, knowing his thoughts. "Elliot, go down to the 3-5," he said. "Just go."

"Are you sure?" Elliot asked slowly.

"Go," he repeated firmly.

Nodding, Elliot went out the door without another word.

Olivia looked at the captain, dumbfounded. He sighed heavily. "I have a feeling this case just got too much for us to handle," he said grimly.

Sean poked his head in the door. "Captain, he said.

Cragen acknowledged him with raised eyebrows.

"I just got a call from Chief Hammond," he said. "He needs an emergency meeting right away….he says he wants you there this time."

The captain slid his eyes shut tiredly. "Is he on the phone?" he asked.

Sean nodded.

"Let me talk to him." He followed Sean over to the desk he was using and picked up the receiver.

Olivia went to her desk, still in a daze over what had happened.

"What the hell is going on?" Munch asked her, coming over with Fin. "What happened to Elliot?"

"You know that fire at Phil's Grill?" she asked.

They nodded.

She looked pained. "The police officers inside were killed. They were all from Elliot's old precinct in Queens, and one of them was his partner."

"Holy shit," Fin breathed, unable to help it.

Munch shook his head in astonishment.

"Great," Cragen growled bitterly, slamming the phone down. The three of them looked at him at once. He sighed angrily and stalked toward his office.

"What's up?" Munch called.

He looked at them. "Arthur Branch suggested to Chief Hammond at ATF that I go down there for an emergency meeting," he said. "Somehow, word got out about the cops killed and none of us knew about it. He insists that I get down there right now."

They looked at him in surprise, the news startling them as much as it had him. He shook his head. "I have no choice," he said. "Everyone go home….you can't work without a captain."

The detectives looked at him with raised eyebrows. "There's nothing I can do," he said, shrugging a shoulder helplessly. He looked around the room and spoke firmly. "I mean it. Everyone has to go."

The detectives all began heading for their desks and lockers silently.

Elliot walked straight into his old squad room at the 3-5, feeling like he had never left despite the many years since he had been gone.

"Stabler," one cop said in surprise when he noticed him.

He walked over to the man immediately. "Hey, Frank," he said somberly, holding out his hand to his old friend. "How is everyone holding up?" The sorrow in his eyes was evident in his voice.

Frank grimaced. "We're all shit crazy," he said hoarsely. "Everyone is still in shock…it's like we're walking around in a dream or something."

The pain in the man's voice struck a familiar chord with Elliot. Frank had lost his partner as well. He squeezed the man's shoulder, but couldn't think of anything to say at the moment. Finally, he just said, "Is Tom around?"

"Yeah," Frank answered, clearing his throat roughly. "He's in the office."

Clapping his shoulder, Elliot moved on toward the office of his old captain and knocked lightly. "Can I come in?" he asked softly, poking his head through the open door.

Tom Clancy looked up and hung up the phone he was holding. "Elliot," he said in surprise. "Of course, come on in."

He came and sat in the chair positioned in front of the big desk. "Tom," he said after a minute. He trailed off, trying to figure out what to say. "When did you find out?" he asked finally.

The captain shook his head. "I didn't suspect a thing," he said heavily. "The commissioner called me at three in the morning to tell me that the Medical Examiner had identified them as my guys."

Elliot felt tears bubbling up, but swallowed them. "I'm so sorry," he said, thickly. "God…this is a nightmare."

"Well, it's just become our nightmare," he said, his voice suddenly angry. "This son of a bitch picked the wrong squad to mess with….I'm recruiting them to help catch the bastard."

"Tom," Elliot said carefully. "Look, I know you're upset…but you've got to think of those 12 guys. They deserve a respectful service and burial. Concentrate on that for now, please." He realized he was pleading then. "Please….let us handle it. We're going to get him. I promise."

Clancy stared at him stonily for a long time and didn't speak. "I want you to catch him, Elliot," he finally said. "Do that for me…when the bastard finally gets caught, promise me you'll be the one to do it."

Elliot leaned forward and stared him straight in the eyes. "You have my word," he said with conviction. "If it takes the rest of my life, I'm going to get him."

"I've always trusted your word," Tom said quietly. "You've never let me down."

The quiet admission came as a surprise to Elliot, and he was speechless. He just nodded. "What can I do to help with the services?" he asked, switching focus.

Cragen arrived in New Jersey at 3 o'clock and drove forty more minutes to ATF headquarters. It took ten minutes for him to finally find his way to Hammond's office on the third floor. Stepping off of the elevator, he took a minute to compose himself before walking to the door and knocking.

"Come in," a man said from inside.

Don stepped inside. The man behind the desk looked at him in surprise, and Cragen was equally surprised to see the stranger instead of Chief Hammond.

"Can I help you?" he asked curiously.

"Um…I'm sorry," he said, confused. He stepped over to check the number on the door. "I thought this was Chief Hammond's office…sorry to bother you."

"You were right," the man said quickly, stopping Don from stepping out. "I'm Chief Hammond."

Confusion flooded the captain's senses. "Excuse me?" he asked in bewilderment. He had seen Jeff Hammond once or twice in his years as a cop, and he most certainly not this man.

"You're looking for Chief Hammond," the man said, looking at him quizzically. "Here I am."

Don was so confused that he couldn't speak for a minute. "Um…well, I'm looking for Jeffrey Hammond," he said slowly. "Is there another person by that name here?"

The man looked at him in exasperation. "I am Jeff Hammond," he said edgily. He produced his badge and flashed it in front of Don. "What seems to be the issue here, sir?"

Cragen looked in awe at the badge in front of him. There it was, clear as day: Chief Jeffrey Hammond, badge number A154. The man's picture was next to the words, confirming them.

"I'm Donald Cragen, from the Manhattan Special Victims Unit," Don said slowly.

It was the man's turn to be confused. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"What?" Cragen spat out in astonishment, unable to hold it in. This whole situation was too damn weird for him. "Look," he said, his patience wearing out. "The NYPD commissioner told me that you called an emergency meeting after speaking to Agent Stabler about the arson case...I'd really appreciate it if we could move things along. My squad is without a captain right now."

"Agent who?" the man asked.

Don threw his hands up in frustration. "Sean Stabler!" he cried. "The agent that you sent to New York so that we could help with your case!"

The man looked angry now. "Sir, I'm not sure what kind of game this is," he said. "But I'm getting ready to call security…you need to leave the premises right now."

"Wait!" Cragen cried. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I don't have an agent by that name, sir," the man said angrily. "Whoever's idea of a joke this is…"

"What do you mean he's not your agent?" Don asked in disbelief. He paused a minute, trying to make some sense out of this. "Did he get transferred?"

"We have never had an employee by that name here," the man said in frustration.

At the captain's perplexed look, he dug into a drawer and pulled out a stack of papers. "See for yourself if you don't believe me," he said, exasperated. He shook it in Cragen's direction. "Those are the names of every agent employed in the last five years."

Don scanned the alphabetical list of last names, his pulse quickening as he got near the end. The man hadn't been lying. There was no Stabler listed.

Hammond watched the man in front of him as he looked at him in panic. His face softened. "Look, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," he said. "I apologize for you having to come all the way out here, but-"

"No, you don't understand," Don cut in quickly. His mind was racing now as he looked to the man at the desk. His stomach dropped. "We've got a huge problem."