A/n: please bare with the CSU report at the end. Winged it the best I could, it is sorta long but it has a purpose. I hope it makes sense and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

"Hey sweetheart did it go okay?" Elliot asked softly once he was sitting down beside her on the bed.

Olivia nodded slightly "y-yeah no more flashbacks, touching the ring helped."

Elliot nodded and smiled slightly "good I'm glad honey, Maureen and Carl just left a few minutes ago they're gonna pick up the truck for us. Munch gave me a couple minutes to come in here and make sure you don't need anything before they question me."

Olivia nodded "I could use my evening dose of morphine but that's all I really need right now."

Elliot nodded "alright sweetheart I'll get that for you can you take it yourself?"

Olivia nodded "yeah the tremors have slacked off a lot my ribs just hurt right now, my wrist too."

He nodded a bit "I'm sorry they're hurting sweetheart, god I wish there was more I could do," he said softly as he uncapped the water then handed her the bottle along with the pill.

Olivia took them when they were handed to her and took the pill "El your already doing so much you have no idea how much I appreciate you."

He smiled slightly "I'm just being a good husband honey that's all you don't have to thank me for that."

She nodded slightly "I hear you but I still appreciate you regardless," she said as she gave him a one armed hug.

Elliot hugged her back gently and smiled some "honey I'm, I'm sorry I volunteered you to go to the crime lab tomorrow I just didn't want them to make you go tonight when you weren't feeling well."

She shook her head slightly "it's okay El really I know I have to go at some point and I'd much rather it be tomorrow."

He smiled slightly, relieved she wasn't upset with him "honey how much did they ask you about your rescue?"

She sighed "they just wanted to know how I broke free and how he got his injuries, as long as you tell them we subdued him together and that you pulled the blow torch off him as soon as you realized it was there like we said in the car it should be fine."

Elliot nodded and gently intertwined their fingers "I will sweetheart I promise, you wanna watch anything while I'm out there? I shouldn't take to long but I don't want you to be bored."

She shook her head "I'd rather just catch up my Slotomania points if that's okay."

Elliot chuckled and smiled "of course love here," he said as he handed her phone to her.

"Thanks El," olivia said with a slight smile as Munch then stepped in "Cragen's home and me and Carisi are ready for you Elliot."

Elliot nodded "alright Jon I'm coming," he said as he kissed Olivia gently on the forehead "good luck on your game Liv, I'll be back shortly."

She smiled and nodded "thanks, hey pick a number between 1 and 30, I need it for a bonus."

Elliot smiled "6 for our 5 amazing kids and my beautiful wife," he said as he watched her punch it in then left the room.

"What's she doing?" Munch asked.

Elliot smiled "she's catching up her Slotomania points, she found the game while she was on maternity leave, got herself up to over a hundred million points."

"Wow," Munch said shocked "I didn't take her as someone who liked videogames."

Elliot chuckled "it's not a videogame it's just a mobile app, she doesn't play it that often anymore just when she's bored I'm just glad she has something to distract her right now."

Munch nodded "yeah me too, shall we sit down and get started?"

Elliot nodded "sure, I think I'll eat while we talk if that's okay."

Munch nodded "sure Elliot," he said as Carisi looked to him "Mr. Stabler when did you hear about William Lewis?"

Elliot sighed "when my wife told me about him, she had been overly stressed , I asked about the cause and I learned about his crimes and him threatening her during the interview," he said while microwaving his food.

Carisi nodded "I see, did you ever have any interactions with Mr. Lewis before the kidnapping?"

He sighed "I did unknowingly once, he approached me and my daughter in the grocery store, used a fake name, acted friendly, told Izzabella he knew Liv."

Carisi nodded "how do you know it was him?"

He sighed "I can ID him because I know what he looks like now that I saw him with Liv. That night I knew it was him because when I described to her what he looked like she identified him."

He nodded his head "okay, did you ever see him stalking you or your wife?"

Elliot shook his head while taking his food out of the microwave "I didn't no but I know he was."

"How do you know that sir?" Carisi asked.

Elliot sighed "I know it because I found a note from him stating that he had saw her cheating on me taped to our door and I never gave him our address."

Carisi nodded "do you still have that note? If so we'll need it."

Elliot shook his head "I don't when I found it I balled it up and threw it in the trash, I-I didn't want Olivia to see it."

Carisi nodded his head and sighed "how do you know it was from him?"

Elliot sighed "I know because the phone number which was written on the paper is the same one that they called me from while he was holding her captive."

He sighed "alright do we have permission to search your garbage for the note? Your word isn't enough to prove it came from him we're gonna need prints or to see the number with our own eyes."

Elliot nodded "be my guest, I want the bastard charged for every single thing we can get him on, I-I want him to fry for what he's done but I know that's not gonna happen," he said as he tried to eat a few bites of food.

Carisi nodded "your right sadly it wont because Nu York state no longer carries out the death penalty."

Elliot just nodded "no we don't but if anyone deserves it it's that fucking bastard."

Carisi's eyes furrowed at the obvious rage he was seeing in Elliot as Munch nodded and quickly moved the conversation on "Elliot can you tell us about the phone call between yourself, Olivia and Lewis?"

Elliot sighed "hasn't Liv told you about it already?"

Munch nodded "she has but we want your perspective as well."

Elliot sighed and nodded "okay well when I answered she was scared, really scared, turns out she was scared because Lewis was coercing her, probably with the barrel of his gun to tell me she'd gone with him willingly. S-She wouldn't say it, I was scared she was gonna get killed right there."

Munch nodded "what happened next?"

Elliot sighed "from what I could tell over the phone Lewis got more and more impatient, he ended up telling me he was gonna go make popcorn but not long after he said that Olivia told me that he had taken the semper fi metal I gave her and gone to h-heat it."

Munch nodded "what happened then?"

Elliot sighed "I tried to keep her calm the best I could, I told her we had recovered her ring, she told me about Mrs. Mayer and her husband and eventually we decided that we needed to play his game when he came back into the room so he wouldn't hurt her any worse. H-He did though anyway, before she even had the chance to speak he burned her with the metal, h-he caught her by surprise I-I heard her scream."

Munch nodded slightly as Elliot tossed the rest of his food into the garbage "I-I can't eat anymore."

Munch and Carisi were both sympathetic watching him "do you need a moment Mr. Stabler?" Carisi asked.

Elliot shook his head while scrubbing his hand over his face "n-no I'm fine the quicker we get this over with the quicker I can go back to Olivia."

Carisi nodded slightly "okay then what happened next? And take your time."

He sighed slightly "s-she said what she had to say, I feigned being broken hearted for Lewis's benefit, he bragged at and mocked my distress t-then ended the call."

Carisi nodded "how did you know that Olivia was in a beach house or where to find her?"

"She remembered the 3 of us walking near there once a while back so that helped me narrow it down to a neighborhood."

Carisi nodded "the 3 of you meaning you, Olivia and your daughter?"

"Yes," Elliot said with a nod of his head.

Carisi nodded slightly "what happened once you found her inside the beach house?"

Elliot sighed "I snuck into the room, Olivia appeared to have the situation handled, Lewis was restrained, lying on the floor and cuffed to the bed. My instinct was to go to Olivia make sure she was okay so that's what I did, next thing I knew Lewis was lunging out , we were both swinging, trying to subdue him with out hitting each other in the process. I guess at some point during the struggle the blow torch was knocked off the bed and landed on his crotch, as soon as I figured out that that was the reason for his screams I pulled it off him but by then the damage had already been done so I focused all my energy back on Olivia and got her out of the beach house as quickly as I could, as soon as she was safely away from him medical help was dispatched to him."

Carisi nodded slightly "you said he was screaming, why did it take you so long to realize that the blow torch was burning him down there?"

Elliot sighed "like I said we were both trying to subdue him when he lunged forward and we were using physical force to do that so I just figured he was screaming from the pain of those blows."

Carisi nodded slightly "okay Mr. Stabler, thank you that's all for now. If we have any more questions we'll find you," he said as the recorder was turned off and Cragen came in from talking to a neighbor "should I step back outside? I will if your not through here."

"Ahh we just finished," Munch said with a small smile "did you and Rollins get anything at all out of Lory Tayler?"

He shook his head "we didn't but the case is closed."

"How come?" Munch asked confused.

Cragen sighed heavily "because D'angelo was never outside her apartment window, I'm not sure if maybe she just thought she saw him or if she wanted attention from Olivia but either way it's not an SVU case anymore."

He nodded "did you guys refer her to a psychologist?"

Cragen nodded "I gave her doctor Olivette's card but she got extremely defensive, said she didn't need it."

Elliot sighed "hmmm," he said as Cragen then looked to him "I talked to Jack my retired next door neighbor when I got here, he said he almost called the cops because he saw an angry man in the woods behind my house beating on an oak tree was that you?"

Elliot sighed "yeah it was, not my finest moment I'm sorry captain."

He shook his head some "I'd much rather it be a tree than the walls, is all okay in paradise?"

Elliot nodded "yeah yeah that wasn't why I did it, I-I'll explain more later."

Cragen nodded "okay," he said as Munch slightly smiled "we're gonna head out but I'll see you both bright and early at the crime lab tomorrow."

Elliot sighed slightly "we'll be there what time?"

"9:30," Munch said.

Elliot sighed and nodded "okay we'll be there, you guys have a good night, it was nice to meet you detective Carisi."

"You as well Mr. Stabler," he said as with that Munch and Carisi left.

Cragen slightly smiled "so now that they're gone fess up, what had you so angry that you pummeled an oak tree?"

Elliot sighed "I... I was treating 1 of her burns, the burn from the semper fi metal and I just lost it, I-I was so angry I couldn't help it it was either hit a tree or something else so I went with the tree."

Cragen nodded "I get it, why don't we see if Olivia would like to come out and eat dinner at the table? Being cooped up in there can't be great for her mental health."

Elliot nodded "I'll go in and ask her."

Cragen smiled "great," he said as he threw a Stofers lasagna into the oven.

Elliot sighed "that lasagna might be to hard on her stomach tonight she's thrown up quite a bit today, I got her some egg drop soup earlier that she might wanna eat."

Cragen nodded "she can have whatever she wants, you too but I'm eating Stofers lasagna with garlic bread."

Elliot nodded fair enough," he said as he headed into the guest room to see Olivia scrolling on her phone "you win any points?" he asked softly with a smile.

Olivia smiled "yeah I'm up to 215,600,000."

Elliot smiled "wow that's great, cap wants to know if you wanna come out for dinner. You don't have to if your not up to it but I told him I'd ask."

Olivia nodded slightly "I can try, I'm not super hungry but I can probably drink some egg drop soup at the table."

He nodded and smiled "sounds good honey," he said as when he went to help her up she slightly shook her head "not yet how did your statement go?"

Elliot sat on the edge of the bed "it seemed to go okay, I don't really think they buy our story Carisi asked quite a few questions. He's new and that's his job but still. Munch didn't let him venture to far though so I think he has our back."

She smiled slightly "that's good to know and yeah I agree that he for sure knows we're lying. He told me off the record in private that we gave Lewis what he deserves."

Elliot nodded slightly "he deserves a hell of a lot more than what he got. I hope once he's in Rikers that he has to sleep with 1 eye open, that he never sees it coming. I might make a few calls I still know some people."

Olivia sighed slightly "Elliot be careful, please be careful if you can do it with out it being traced to you fine b-but I can't lose you, I can't handle you going to prison and neither can Izzabella."

He nodded slightly and pulled her into his arms "baby being here for you and our daughter is my number one priority and it always will be. Getting revenge for you is priority number two and I promise you it'll stay that way."

She nodded slightly "I-I trust you Elliot," she said as she held onto him tightly.

"Good," he said softly as he gently guided her head to his chest and ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion.

Olivia smiled and let herself enjoy the sinsation for a few minutes as she then raised her head through a yawn "as much as I love that El if I keep letting you do it I wont make it to the dinner table," she said with a smile.

Elliot smiled and chuckled "I don't know how that makes you so sleepy," he said as he moved his hand from her hair and rested it on her back.

She smiled "I guess you just have the magic touch, I'm ready when you are."

He nodded "I'm ready too, you need me to help you up?"

She shook her head "I've got it El thank you though," she said softly, touched by his thoughtfulness as she carefully pulled herself out of his grasp and started making her way to the kitchen.

"You look a lot better Liv," Cragen said with a slight smile seeing them walk in.

Olivia smiled slightly "I feel a little better, am a bit tired but I figure that's normal."

Cragen nodded "it is, I made lasagna with garlic bread and Elliot said you have some leftovers in the fridge. I can fix you a plate of whatever you like."

Olivia smiled slightly "I think I'll have my egg drop soup and a piece of plain toast if that's okay."

Cragen nodded "of course do you want the bread toasted with a little butter or just handed to you straight from the loaf?"

"Toasted please? If it's not to much trouble?"

Cragen smiled "of course it's not Liv, just have a seat where ever you like and I'll bring it to you in a moment," he said as the doorbell rang "I've got it!" Elliot called as he went to answer it.

"Thank you Elliot!" Cragen called as Olivia admired the beauty of Cragen's home while waiting on her food.

After a couple minutes Elliot quickly fixed himself a small plate then went over to the table to sit with Liv "truck is here and in the drive way," he said with a smile.

Olivia smiled slightly "that's great El."

Elliot smiled and nodded agreeing "I hope that we'll be able to prove that the bastard is the one that tampered with it."

She nodded "maybe so," she said as after a couple more minutes of small talk Cragen came over with his and Liv's food and drinks "do you guys say grace or anything before dinner? I want you to both feel comfortable keeping up any traditions you have here."

Elliot slightly smiled "thank you for your thoughtfulness Captain, no we don't though, we say it at holiday gatherings but usually not when it's just us."

He nodded "I see," he said with a small smile as he started eating and they did as well.

Pretty soon dinner was done "why don't I whip us up some dessert and wash the dishes?" Elliot suggested.

Cragen smiled "I appreciate it really but I don't have a lot of stuff for desserts besides your guests and guests shouldn't be in charge of cleaning up."

Elliot smiled "you cooked so I should clean and let me check your cabinets, I guarantee you've got something I can use."

He nodded a bit "o-okay if you insist..."

Elliot smiled slightly and nodded "I do," he said as he kissed Olivia's head then took their plates into the kitchen and loaded the dish washer.

"He's not gonna find anything Olivia I only have some granny-smith apples and a little caramel from when Eileen was staying here and would put it on her ice cream."

Olivia smiled knowingly "that'll be all he needs."

"Oh? W-What could he make with those 2 ingredients? And when did he get into baking?"

Olivia smiled "I'll let him surprise you, and to answer your second question it was right after he retired, you'll be shocked when you taste his cooking I guarantee that."

Cragen smiled "I look forward to trying whatever he makes."

She smiled "my stomach is yelling no and my brain is yelling yes, honestly captain he's to modest I'm not sure where he picked up his baking skills but I want him to teach me."

Cragen smiled "you'll have to tell him that Liv you'll have a lot of free time these next couple months."

She nodded with a slight smile "I might just do that, hey is Lory Taylor okay? I feel bad that I wasn't there for her."

He nodded "she's fine it turns out D'angelo Smith was never outside her window."

Olivia frowned "but she sounded so scared when she was on with Elliot."

Cragen sighed "we haven't figured out if she was having a flashback or if she just made it up to try and get your attention but either way he wasn't there the security footage at her apartment confirms."

Olivia sighed "wow... Look captain for what it's worth PTSD could be a real possibility with her every time I see someone holding a key or handcuffs I-I flash right back and it feels like he's towering over me. E-Even thinking about it right now has my brain trying to spiral."

Cragen nodded slightly "don't think about it, think happy thoughts, Elliot's in there making some dessert that you really like, your sitting at my dining room table, your safe."

Olivia nodded slightly, letting Cragen's words echo in her head I'm safe, I'm safe she thought to herself as she smiled up at him after a minute "thank you for helping get me out of that captain."

He smiled "no problem Liv, listen I just want you to know that so many more people than Elliot care. I know he's gonna be the main 1 helping you heal but we're all here for you too, me, Fin, Munch, your partner... We're all here for you in whatever way you'll have us."

Olivia smiled slightly "I know captain and it truly means a lot, thank you," she said as Elliot walked into the room with 3 paper plates "caramel dipped apples," he said passing out the plates as Cragen's plate had a whole one on it and Elliot and Liv's plates each had half.

"That looks amazing Elliot," Cragen said with a smile as he took a bite "where did you learn how to make these?"

Elliot smiled "I watched quite a bit of stuff on the cooking channel before we upgraded our cable package plus online recipe site's helped."

Cragen smiled "well these are truly amazing, your gonna have to consider baking some candy's and bringing them down to the station, the sweets would definitely boost morale."

Elliot smiled "I'll think about it captain," he said as Olivia looked to him "these taste amazing El."

Elliot smiled "thanks honey I'm glad you like it."

She smiled "I always do," she said as she finished the last of it and her stomach growled in anger "sounds like your stomach feels differently," Cragen chimed in.

Olivia sighed "my stomach just needs to get back to normal my brain wants to eat good food again."

Elliot rubbed her back gently "just give it a little time honey you've been through a hell of a lot, I shouldn't have fixed them I was just trying to give you some semblance of normal, of our routine."

She nodded and gave him a small smile "I get it El and I'm glad you did it."

He smiled slightly and nodded "you want a Zofran? That should keep your nausea at bay."

She nodded "please," she said as he nodded and handed her one "I think I'm gonna go take a quick shower will you be alright?"

She took the pill and slightly smiled "yeah I'll be okay El take your time."

He nodded with a small smile and stepped away and over to Cragen "if she needs me..."

"Come and get you I know the drill."

Elliot smiled and nodded "alright," he said as he headed off to shower and Olivia and Cragen headed to the living room and decided to play a game of chess.

When Elliot came into the living room a half hour later he smiled seeing Olivia and her captain/father figure playing their game of chess as he sat down on the love seat out of sight and watched, deciding he wanted them to finish their game and not stop on his account as he pulled out his phone and sent a text.

Elliot: How are things going over at mama's? Liv's doing good atm, playing a chess game with captain Cragen.

Kathleen: Things are fine over here dad, Carl's been here for a little while now Maureen's on her way.

Elliot: That's great, is Izzabella alright? I still feel horrible for raising my voice at her earlier.

Kathleen: Yeah she's fine dad, she was over it with in 2 minutes. I'm sure whatever you said was nothing compared to how you were with us when we were kids.

Elliot sighed quietly to himself at the message and thought of a proper response Elliot: Katie I wish I could take my angry and strict parenting style I had back then back but I can't and I'm sorry.

Kathleen: I know you are dad. I wasn't trying to upset you I was just trying to ease your mind in my own way.

Elliot: I know honey, I love you all very much and I'll probably see you all tomorrow.

Kathleen: sounds great dad, we all love you too.

Elliot smiled and put his phone down to watch the end of the chess game as he smiled when Olivia won "good game guys," he said.

"Thanks El how long have you been back?"

Elliot smiled some "not to awful long you guys were really in to your game and I wanted you to be able to finish besides it gave me a chance to message Kathleen."

"Ahh how are they?" Olivia asked.

"They're fine, the house is awful crowded but you know how that goes."

Olivia smiled "yes I do," she said as Cragen put the chess board away and Elliot moved to sit beside Olivia on the couch. "Do you guys like pawn stars? The new episode comes on at 8," Cragen said realizing it was 7:58.

"I'm fine with it," Elliot said as Liv nodded as well as Cragen turned it on then settled into his recliner and they started to watch.

A few minutes into watching it Olivia curled into Elliot, her head laying on his shoulder and her arm wrapped around him in a loose grasp.

Elliot responded in kind, pulling her gently into his side as they stayed that way and by 9 o'clock she was sleeping deeply on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna carry her to bed cap we have a long day tomorrow," Elliot whispered softly not wanting to wake her up.

Cragen nodded "okay Elliot, good night I hope you both sleep well."

Elliot smiled "you to cap," he said as he gently lifted her into his arms and stood up as Olivia jumped slightly and startled awake "shhh it's okay baby shhh I'm just carrying you to bed."

Olivia slightly nodded her head and nuzzled further into him as she let herself drift back off knowing she was safe in his arms as he slightly smiled glad she trusted him but was also equally heartbroken that she had been traumatized like she had and was this jumpy as a result as soon he eased into the bed and laid down stretching out as he let her keep her head where it was.

As his leg stretched out he felt it kick the bag from CSU as he pulled it closer to him, intending to just grab it and toss it aside but once he got a hold of it he saw a paper dangling out I'll just see what this paper is then go through the rest of every thing in here with her later, he decided to himself as he quietly pulled the paper out, unfolded it then began to read.

CSU evidence report: scarf, DNA from tears found: match: Olivia Benson. Fingerprints found: match: Elliot Stabler. No other DNA or fingerprints found.

Wedding ring: no DNA found: fingerprints found: match: Elliot Stabler: no other fingerprints found. (Note, ring had been cleaned by pawnshop owner before it was processed by us leaving the evidence contaminated.

Handcuffs: DNA from blood and skin cells found: match: Olivia Benson: fingerprints found: match: Olivia Benson: no other DNA or fingerprints found.

Pillow case: DNA from saliva found: unknown female with a familial match to Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler: Olivia Benson: bight marks found: unknown: fingerprints found: Elliot Stabler: no other DNA, marks or fingerprints found.

Rag: DNA from sweat and saliva found: sweat: match: William Lewis: saliva: match: Olivia Benson: fingerprints found: match: Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler: no other DNA or fingerprints found.

Diary: DNA from saliva and tears found: Saliva: match: William Lewis: page 119: tears: match: Elliot Stabler: page 119: fingerprints found: match: Elliot Stabler: front and back covers, various pages: no other DNA or fingerprints found.

Key: DNA from blood and skin cells found: match: Olivia Benson: fingerprints found: match: Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson: no other DNA or fingerprints found.

iPhone 4s: DNA of all sorts found: match to all of it: Olivia Benson: fingerprints found: Olivia Benson: no other DNA or fingerprints found.

Metal clothes hanger: DNA from blood and vaginal fluid found: match: Olivia Benson: fingerprints found: as that was where the report stopped as CSU hadn't finished processing it yet as silent tears streamed down Elliot's face and he pulled Olivia even closer to him.

that's why she was scrubbing herself down there last night... S-She was trying to clean the burn... he realized in his head with a devastated sigh as he folded the paper back neatly, knowing somehow this paper had ended up in the bag when it wasn't supposed to then laid it on the table as he then just gently wrapped both arms around Olivia and sobbed silently while staring at the ceiling.