Thank you all for the review and likes. I do read them. I re-wrote this chapter so many times and I am still not convinced with it. Please let me know what you think. I didn't want to get rid of Lewis since I have plans for him and Barba later on. As for Elliot, he will be making appearances soon. But I want to give our favorite couple a bit more happiness. This is still a Barson story.

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Time jump:

By the time Barba arrived at Olivia's apartment, it was swarmed by cops and crime techs. A group of civilians formed behind the barrier made of cops and cautious tape. His eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of her. Any indication that they had gotten there in time. Pushing past the bodies in his way, he made his way towards the apartment. Every fiber in his body numbed with every step he took closer.

Fin was the first to spot Barba, intercepting him from getting any closer. "Whoa, you can't go in there."

"Liv?" Seeing the detective shake his head he staggered a few steps back. "Is she?" Not getting an answer, he pushed past Fin.

Dodging and shoving anyone trying to grab ahold of him, he ran into the unit. The moment he entered the apartment, he froze. The place was a nightmare. The living room had been rampaged through. His eyes landed on the blood splattered on the floor. His mind was working double time, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. 'That's not enough blood to be fatal. She's still alive. She's still alive.' That became his mantra in his moment of need. Before he could turn into her bedroom, he was pulled back out into the hallway. "Let me go!"

"You can't go in there." Fin held him against the wall, his forearm pinning him down. "You don't need to see that."

"I do." Barba groaned through his teeth. "Fin, let me go."

"I can't do that man." Fin didn't know what hit him as pain shot up his back. One moment he was holding Barba back, the next he was on the ground. "Cheap shot man."

Barba stumbled into the bedroom. The more he looked around, the more his anger boiled. The remains of duct tape were left on the headboard. He spotted cigarette buds on the nightstand, along with burned keys and wires. "Son of bitch branded her."

"Barba?"

"He branded her." His voice was foreign to his ears. It came out shaky and nearly a whisper. "James, he-he took her."

"We need to get you out of here." Grabbing his arm, he dragged the motionless man. James walked past Fin and the others, ignoring their confused looks. "I am taking him to his apartment. I don't know how long I will be able to hold him there."

Amanda nodded understanding what he meant. "We are going to find her."

Barba was numb. He was aware of his body moving. Getting into the car, arriving at his loft, and even checking his phone. But it felt as if he wasn't the one controlling his body. He was locked in an endlessly dark room, and someone else had taken control.

"Rafael?" James was starting to worry about his prodigy. "Rafa?" Getting no response, he sat across from the man. "You need to snap out of whatever this is. Do you hear me? Rafael?!"

"I failed her." Barba whispered. "I swore I would protect her from any harm. I failed her and I fail Noah."

"You had no way of knowing this would happen." James attempted to reassure him, but at last, he used the wrong words.

"I had a feeling!" Barba jumped from his spot on the couch. "I told you. I told you something wasn't right, and-and you-I brushed it aside. Had I listened to my gut, I would have been here in time. I-" He bent down with a frustrated groan. "I should have listened to myself."

"We will find her." James had never seen him in such a state. "Rafael, do you hear me?"

"I need to find her." Making a break for the door, he was once more pushed against a wall. "I need to find her."

"Her team is on it." James said. "You can't get involved. I should have pulled you out when I saw it."

"This has nothing to do with us." Barba snapped. "This isn't someone getting revenge because of me. This is about a fucker obsessed with Olivia!"

"You need to calm down." He flinched at the look he was given. Wrong use of words.

"Ca-do you have any idea what he could be doing to her!" Shoving him off, he nearly caused the man to tip over. "You don't know what he does to his v-" He stopped himself. He couldn't think of her like that. He wouldn't. "You don't know what he does to them. Lewis is a sicker version of me. I inflict pain because it's my job. He does it for joy. The longer she is with him the-"

"I get it, alright. I get it." James held a hand out as if he was trying to calm some caged animal. In a way he was. "But you get involved and your cover will be known. That happens and you will be pulled away from here." He quickly stopped the man from boiling over. "Carmen and others are working on finding her. When we find her, you will be the first to know."

"Find her." He was practically begging by now.

James pulled him into a hug. "We will."

Barba stared at the city in front of him. His reflection stared back at him with an emotionless expression. After James left he was left alone with his thoughts. He had been forced to learn control of his emotions at an early stage. Anger, fear, sadness, and even remorse. Masking fear was a survival essential where he was from. So much so that he didn't feel fear as others did. It had been long since he felt any of his hidden emotions. Ever since he met Olivia they had become uncontrollable. No longer able to keep them hidden.

But right now it was fear alone, that ate at him from the inside.

This fear was his challenge and his demon to slay, for it will come until he did, unannounced and gnarly. The only way out is to refocus on his training. Order his brain to function, to demand a solution instead of this crazy-making circling anxiety. So though it feels as if his bones have no more strength and his muscles are all out of power, he still had the option to remain still, to be quiet enough to choose his next movement. Closing his eyes for a moment, he refocused that fear into anger. The moment he reopened his eyes, he locked them with his reflection.

Only one thing in mind.

Find Olivia.

Kill Lewis.

It took James and the team all but two hours to find Lewis and Olivia. James debated for a while in calling Barba. He knew the man was going to be pissed, but he couldn't risk this turning into something more. So instead he contacts the NYPD first.

"What are you doing?" Carmen walked towards him catching the last of his conversation. "We need to call Barba. Not the cops."

"We send in Rafael now and this will turn into bloodshed."

"It already is!" Carmen snapped. "That bastard took her from her home. Has done who knows what to her. I say let him bleed."

"Barba is not in a stable mind right now. We cannot control him." James replied. "Letting him go, is the same as letting loose a starved wolf with a flock is sheep."

Carmen scoffed, sending a text to Rafael and the address they found. "Rafael will get his hands on Lewis one way or another. There is no stopping that."

Barba was out the door and in his vehicle by the time he saw the text. The adrenaline pumped through his body, as he stepped on the accelerator. Imagines of what he planned to do to Lewis fueling him even more. But most of getting to Liv. Seeing her alive and in his arms. He needed to feel her again. Needed to know she was still with them. That he hadn't failed.

Coming to a skidding stop, he jumped out of the car and was approached by Carmen. "Where?" Grabbing the beretta from underneath his seat, he turned his eyes back at Carmen. "Where?!"

Carmen stumbled back at seeing his eyes burning like the pits of hell. "Second house to the left." She grabbed his arm before he could bolt. "I must warn you, James called NYPD. You don't have much time."

"Don't need it." He spoke through clenched teeth. Jogging across the street Barba cursed at being intercepted again. "What?!"

"Don't kill him." James ordered.

Barba was sure he heard wrong. "You want me to leave him alive?"

"Make is seen as if Olivia was the one to subdue him. You can not be placed in that cabin. Is that understood?" He knew he sounded like a jerk at the moment, but he was only looking out for Rafael. The organization was sure to put a bullet in him, should he be the one to reveal them. "Rafael?"

Brushing past him without another word, he paused at the side of the house. Taking a step towards the porch, he froze at hearing Olivia scream. His hands flew to his gun ready to burst in, to hell everything.

'Are you sad?'

He stopped once more hearing Lewis speak.

'Thinking about someone you're never gonna see again? Mom, Dad, boyfriend? No, huh? Someone else, someone who you would give anything to see just one more time. Well, I'll just try to put him out of your mind, okay? 'Cause, you're never getting out of here alive.'

Another muffled scream rang through his ear, breaking him from his trance. Grabbing a hat off the porch and shoving his gun into the back, he knocked on the door. He made sure to keep his face down. The movement was heard from inside, followed by a low 'shut up' before the door was creaked open.

"Yes?"

Barba kept quiet knowing that the moment he spoke, he would lose it.

"Can I help you?"

"You ever felt the cold barrel of a gun in your mouth?"

Lewis was confused. "What?"

Slamming his shoulder against the door, he connected with Lewis's face. Lewis fell with a loud groan. His nose bleeding into his hands. Walking into the house, he moved quickly. Grabbing a hand full of his head, he slammed his knee up to his face knocking him out cold. In that moment of rage, he whipped his gun out aiming it at Lewis. A fog of vengeance clouded his mind. He wanted nothing more to inflict as much pain as he could on him. Make him hurt as he had hurt her. Make him scream, cry and beg for his life. What he did to Olivia…Olivia.

He took a gasp of breath at remembering the real reason he was here for. Lowering the gun down, Barba ran into the bedroom. The wind knocked out of him as if someone had slammed into his chest.

Olivia laid on the bed tied by her hands and feet. A pillowcase over her head. He spotted the blowtorch and wires on the side of the bed, causing his stomach to twist in a knot. Pushing himself to walk towards her, he laid a hand on her cheek. Olivia's yell was muffled by something. Her body moved in an attempt to fight him off.

"Liv!" Barba pushed her shoulders down into the bed in a weak attempt to stop her. "Liv, stop it's me!" Ripping the pillowcase off her head, he grabbed her face in his hands. "Stop, it's me. It's me."

Olivia's eyes widen at seeing Barba hover over her. 'It's a cruel mind trick. That's all this is.' But his touch was so real. His warmth. His scent. It was all there.

Barba grabbed the keys from the stand, un-cuffing her. Then proceeded to cut the tape off her legs. Carefully he pulls the tape off her mouth. "It's me."

Olivia didn't care if it truly was a dream. She wrapped her arms around him shuddering a breath. He was real. He came for her. "Rafa."

"I'm here Liv." Barba whispered. "I got you."

"Rafa." She whispered his name. Afraid that if she stopped, he would disappear. "Rafa."

Pulling back to look at her face, he pushed her hair away. "Ca-can you move? Walk?" She nodded numbly. "I need you to stay here."

Feeling him start to pull back, she panics latching onto him. "No! No! Please don't leave me."

"Li-" He sat back down on the bed, holding her back. 'What has he done to you?' She was trembling in his arms. Her silent sobs haunted his ears. "I am not going to leave you." He whispered in her hair. "I need to secure Lewis first. Your squad is on their way, I can't be seen here." Lifting her head to see her eyes, he flinched. She was scared. "Trust me." Getting a weak nod, he pressed his lips against her forehead. "Stay here."

Walking back into the living room, he contemplated just killing him and getting it over with. But James was right. He couldn't risk being placed here. Dragging him into the room he dropped him at the foot of the bed. Using the pair of handcuffs he had held Olivia with, he cuffed him to the leg of the bed.

"Liv?" Looking up he found Olivia towering over Lewis. "Hey." Moving to block her view of him, he cupped her jaw. "Listen to me. I can't be found in here with you." The sound of sirens altered him he was out of time.

"W-what?"

"Lewis went to the door after someone knocked. You broke free."

"Wh-what are you-" She was confused by it all. "What are you saying?"

"Liv, you broke free." Looking around the room he grabbed a bat from the corner of the room. "You used this to subdue him when he came back in. Then you cuffed him to the bed and waited for help. Do you understand?" Not getting a response, he grabbed her from the back of the neck and forced her attention to him. "Olivia!"

"Y-yes. I understand." She took the bat from him. "I understand."

"I was never here." He whispered.

She glanced up at him with a stern look. "You were never here."

Opening the bedroom window, he slipped out. The sirens getting closer as he ran towards James and Carmen.

"What happened?" Carmen asked.

"He's still alive if that's what you're asking." He stood to watch as the calvary arrived. Barba was starting to worry at not seeing Olivia walkout. "Something isn't right. She should have walked out by now."

"Give it a moment." Carmen wouldn't admit it, but she was starting to worry as well. "She'll come out."

"No, something happened." As he was about to make a run for the house, he was stopped at seeing the door open. Olivia stood at the porch of the house, barely able to stand. Still, a wave of relief came over him.

Fin helped her down walking her through the crowd of blue. Handing her over to the paramedics, he followed the rest back into the house. They found Lewis cuffed to the foot of the bed, beaten to a pulp. Fin chuckled down at the near-dead man. "That's not even close to what you deserved."

Olivia scanned the crowd in front of her. Looking for that one face. The one she thought she would never see again. A feeling of fear and sadness came over her at realizing he had left.

"I taught you said you left him alive." James growled.

"I may have ruffed him up." If Barba was stunned, he didn't show it. 'What did you do liv?' Walking to his car he popped the truck. Taking the bloodstain shirt off he retrieved a clean one out of the trunk. "I need to get down there with Liv."

"He's still alive."

Her head snapped up at seeing them wheel Lewis into an ambulance. "Son of a bitch survived."

"Barely." Fin added.

"I don't know how could he." She had lost control once Barba left. All her anger and anguish pushed away her control and commonsense. One goal on her mind was to kill him.

Fin crouched down beside her, placing a gentle hand on her knee. "He murmured a name."

She picked at the dried blood in her nails. "Who's?"

"Barba."

Olivia refrains from reacting. "Why would he call for Barba?"

Fin studied her for a moment. "I don't know." He had seen someone slip out from behind the houses when he pulled up. That person wore the same jacket Barba had earlier that day. He didn't think much of it, since their priority was Olivia. Besides what would ADA Barba be doing here? "Probably looking to hire him as his defense attorney."

Olivia chuckled, groaning at the pain shooting up her side. "Wouldn't that be something." She took his hand in hers, squeezing it. "Noah?"

"With Lucy. I will pick him up later and bring him to the hospital." He could see the emotions swimming behind her guarded eyes. Olivia was putting the front of a strong woman, which she was. There was no doubt in that, but he also knew she needed to break down. Let those emotions out. But for now, he would do what he best knew. Stand by her side and offer a shoulder. "Speaking of Barba, the man is a mess."

"What do you mean?" He sure didn't seem that way.

"His secretary, Carmen was the one that called us. Told us to get to your place." He shrugged. "Barba showed up a later. Sucker punch me when I refused to let him into your apartment. Some old dude took him away after that."

Olivia was shocked, to say the least. "He sucker punch you?" A small grin appeared on her lips. "Barba got the best of you?"

Normally he would correct that assumption, but seeing her get a kick out it was worth it. A little distraction, for now, didn't hurt. Especially knowing IAB would be all over her in a moment. "He owes me."

"Thank you, Fin." She whispered.

Seeing IAB making their way towards them, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Not now."

Tucker sighed. "While it's still fresh."

Fin shook his head. "It can wait."

"The sooner the-"

"Captain Benson will not be speaking to you until tomorrow." All eyes turned to the approaching figure of Barba. Stepping between Tucker and Olivia, he made sure to block Tucker's view of Olivia. "Captain Benson still needs to get checked by a doctor and after these events, I am sure a night without interruptions is in order."

Tucker glanced at Olivia opening his mouth and closing it. "Very well. Tomorrow."

Staring after the retreating man, he scoffed. "Vultures." Turning on his heels he took a shaky breath. Olivia stared up at him with watery brown eyes. They reminded him so much of a doe. "Detective, give us a moment?"

Fin narrowed his eyes at him, but seeing the look he got from Olivia nodded. "I'll be close by Liv."

Barba shoved his hands into his pocket, not sure what to say or do. Well, he knew what he wanted to do, just not what to say. "Liv, I-"

"Just hold me please." Her voice cracked at the end.

Barba lunged forward, pulling her into a hug. Holding her tightly against him, mindful of her injuries he buried his face into the crook of her neck. Regardless of everything, her scent was still there. The same scent he had come to rely on. "I got you."

Olivia curled herself into his arms. Her hands were tucked between them. Right there in his arms, she felt safe. Nothing could ever harm her again, not while he was there. Tears began to fall no matter how hard she attempted to hold them back. Grabbing his shirt in her fist she pulled him closer, seeking his warmth desperately.

"I'm here Liv." His eyes were drawn to her squad and Tucker.

Tucker leaned down to ask Amanda if she knew what was going on between the counselor and detective, only to get a shrug. Looking back at them he was met with glaring eyes. A warning flashed within them. He knew that look all too well. Stabler used to give it to him anytime he spoke with Benson. Only these held a level of danger to them he had never seen. The bright green eyes reminded him of cold emerald. He understood the message clearly. And he knew he must tread carefully around Benson this time.