The descending silence could have been cut with a knife, and for a moment Elliot thought the call had been dropped, but then there was a stifled:

"D-Dad?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sheriff was supposed to arrive at the house with three officers an hour later, after it was confirmed that no people or buildings had been damaged by the tornado. During that time, Olivia and Elliot had made sure that no one arrived at the crime scene to destroy evidence. They had been sitting on a tree trunk in front of the half-collapsed house, in silence. Someone else might have found silence oppressive in the situation they were in now, but they didn't need words.

They had been able to communicate with each other non-verbally for years. It was as if they had some secret, silent language that others did not understand. They could read each other's thoughts from their faces, from their body language and their eyes, and this was exactly the moment when words weren't needed. The mere presence of the other felt comforting.

Always so in sync.

Soon, the whining rattle of the car began to be heard from the field road, and then the sheriff leaped to the house, followed by three muddy police officers. Elliot and Olivia raised their eyebrows in surprise, and the sheriff shrugged after glancing at his colleagues first.

"Yeah, well... Our car is not an off-road vehicle. And…" A mischievous grin spread across his face. "...What else are subordinates for but dirty work?"

Olivia and Elliot smirked almost at the same time, and then Sheriff Gold crossed his arms and looked at the house, shaking his head.

"You are damn lucky, it wouldn't have needed much for the whole house to have collapsed like a house of cards." Then he let out a deep sigh before continuing: "To ensure safety, no one is allowed to enter the house until the fire department has made sure it won't collapse. My men will guard the house before that, but Emily…" He motioned for Olivia to follow him. "Would you please tell me again how you got to the house and what you found?"

"Sure," she glanced at Elliot, and walked a few meters behind Gold. Then he turned to look at her, and said in a low voice:

"I tried to find out the owner of the house at the station, but he died more than 10 years ago. Since then, the house has stood here rotting. The locals might know more about whether the house has been used, but I'm afraid that this won't give us direct answers, although of course it will help our investigation enormously. Have there been any sightings of the missing boy?"

"No," Olivia shook her head. "We're going to look for him now that you're here. However, this reinforces the idea that there is no wild animal behind the kills, and that the killer lives nearby, because not many outsiders hardly know of the house's existence."

"You're right," the sheriff scratched his head and suddenly looked embarrassed. "I can't believe we forgot the house existed. It's so old that it's not on the latest maps, and it's so isolated that we didn't even think about it."

"But now we know, and we also know that the killer must now find a new base. He may start to panic and reveal himself."

"Hope so." When Olivia turned on her heels to ask Elliot to leave with her, she heard the sheriff's voice behind her: "You have no idea how lucky you are."

Olivia glanced at Elliot, who was standing further away and smiled lightly at her, and she answered with a warm feeling in her heart:

"Oh, I know."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elliot's car had creaked and rattled in agony all the way back to the farm, and at times they had thought it wouldn't make it the whole way. Miraculously, after what had felt like an endless journey, it crawled into the farmyard, and when Elliot turned it off, it wheezed painfully and, for added drama, released a cloud of steam from under the engine bonnet. They got out of the car, and Elliot looked at his Jeep with a grimace.

"I don't want to even think about how expensive renovation this will need."

"But it saved our lives, and I'll never forget it," Olivia bent down and pressed a kiss to its engine bonnet. "Thank you."

"Yeah, you're right," Elliot grinned as he looked at Olivia. "It did more than most cars do in their lifetime. So, what next?"

They turned to look at the farmyard, which was oddly quiet. They didn't see anyone, and Olivia frowned.

"Where is Hannah? I thought everyone would still be looking for Mike."

"Maybe the tornado warning scared them?

"Maybe... I'm going to ask now the owners of the farm if they know if someone is using the house," Olivia announced and started heading towards the white house. Elliot nodded and jogged after her, hoping they would get answers to the countless questions that had arisen since their visit to the basement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson looked like they had seen a ghost when they opened the door.

"Y-you… How are you alive?" Mr. Jackson stammered, and that's when Olivia realized that none of the people at the farm knew if they were alive. All they knew was that they had driven in the exact direction the tornado had traveled, and they probably thought they had had no chance.

And they hadn't had.

Until a miracle intervened.

"All it took was incredible luck and one forgotten abandoned house," Elliot answered. "We have a few questions about that house, do you have a map?"

The owners still looked so bemused that with their eyes wide they nodded and beckoned them to come inside. The house was as beautiful inside as it was outside, and it was clear that the owners were making good money. The house was beautifully decorated, and it was modern, quite different from Elliot's cottage. Mr. Jackson brought the map to the kitchen table and opened it.

"The tornado… Did you see it?" They still seemed stunned, and Elliot grimaced as he glanced at Olivia.

"A little too close. We were here…" He pointed to the map after looking at it for a moment. "The tornado came from here," he dragged his finger along the map. "And we got shelter in this house," he poked a small spot on the map with his finger, which could have easily been interpreted as a dirt spot. "Do you remember this house?"

The owners frowned thoughtfully, and Mr. Jackson scratched his chin. For a moment he looked like he didn't know what Elliot was talking about, but finally recognition flashed in his eyes.

"Yes, that one! I haven't been to see it in years, is it still standing?"

"Well, it was, not so much anymore. Do you know if anyone uses it, or who owns it?"

Mr. Jackson sat down on the chair, and Olivia read his expression and body language carefully. At this point in the investigation, they had to be suspicious of everyone, but the owners looked honestly surprised to remember the house existed. However, that didn't mean they couldn't be guilty, and that's why they had to be careful not to reveal too much.

"The house was owned decades ago by Mr. Davis. After his death, the house has not been used, it has stood there forgotten."

"But has anyone used it lately?" Olivia asked, and Mr. Jackson looked at her in wonder.

"Who would use it? It's a pile of junk, it's a miracle it was still standing. Why are you so interested in it?"

"We… Uh…" The words got stuck in Olivia's throat for a moment, but luckily Elliot had clearly already thought about the answer.

"We just wanted to know if anyone owns or uses it, because if someone does, now it can't be used anymore," he shrugged, and after narrowing their eyes for a moment, the owners seemed to accept the answer.

"No one will miss it. Good thing you still had a use for it though," he referred to the tornado, and Elliot and Olivia nodded their thanks. Then they turned on their heels, stepped out the door back into the daylight, and started walking towards the farm. A visit to the owners had been fruitless, but they had no time to waste. Mike was still missing and would need all the help he could get.

But suddenly the thought hit Olivia out of nowhere. How hadn't she thought of it right away? Maybe it's the weather, you can't even think in this heat. She stopped, dug the phone out of her pocket, and when Elliot turned to look at her questioningly, she dialed a number and stated:

"I have to make a phone call first, I'll explain to you later."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was already late when Olivia and Elliot stumbled through the door of Elliot's apartment. They were dead tired, but they had been looking for Mike all day anyway. The day had been incredibly long and exhausting in every way, and the mere thought of having to take a shower made Olivia's eyes close. She kicked off her shoes and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said briefly, and Elliot nodded.

"I'll cook in the meantime," he announced, and Olivia realized that they had eaten almost nothing. The announcement made her stomach growl, but she didn't know how she would still have enough energy left to eat. She walked slowly into the bathroom, locked the door and took off her sweaty and dirty clothes. The water in the shower felt heavenly, and she could have just sat there for hours. However, she forced herself to wash herself, picked up the clothes from the floor after the shower, and walked into the bedroom wearing a towel. She pulled on her pajamas and dragged herself with the last of her strength into the kitchen, where Elliot was making an omelette. Despite her tiredness, the delicious aroma wafting through the apartment made her mouth water, and for a moment she stopped just to look at the sight.

Elliot cooking for them.

Elliot, who remembered himself again.

Elliot, whom she had gotten back.

"Do you like the view?" Elliot asked without lifting his gaze from the frying pan, and Olivia felt herself blush. She should have remembered that Elliot, this Elliot, could read her mind without even looking at her.

"Don't flatter yourself," she smiled lightly, and unable to resist the temptation, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his from behind. She rested her cheek against his back and sighed deeply. For a moment they just stood there, but then Elliot asked quietly:

"How is this possible?"

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, still leaning on his back.

"How can I remember? How… Why now, why not earlier?"

It was a question Olivia didn't have an answer to, though she wished she knew why. The fact that Elliot remembered again felt like a miracle, almost as miraculous as the fact that they had escaped the clutches of the merciless tornado.

A terrible day that contained more miracles than should be possible in one day.

"I don't know," she answered, removed her arms from around him and moved next to him. "But El…" She turned his head with her hand so that he was looking into her eyes. The color of his blue eyes was so deep, his gaze so familiar, that butterflies began to flutter in her stomach, and her legs suddenly felt like jelly. And then she could no longer stop herself, and she kissed him, and said quietly:

"I'm really glad you're back."

"You have no idea," was the answer as their lips merged, and for a moment they were one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Olivia wasn't sure how long they had been asleep when the phone's demanding beeping intruded on her sleep and pulled her involuntarily from its soft embrace. She groaned, felt Elliot's arm around her, and instantly a warm feeling spread to her heart.

A week ago, Elliot had been "dead".

Now she was sleeping in his arms.

Despite her exhaustion, she smiled and felt Elliot's arm tighten around her waist as she moved to grab the phone from the nightstand.

"Elliot, I have to reach for the phone", she whispered, lifted his arm and grabbed the phone. It had stopped ringing, but it did announce a new message, and she opened it as she lay back down. Elliot immediately wrapped his arm around her again, buried his face in her neck and sighed sleepily. This made Olivia almost forget the world around her for a moment, but then Sheriff Gold's voice brought her back to reality.

"Hi, this is Gold. I apologize for calling so late, but you asked me to check if Mr. Murdoch is with his brother in Dallas. It took us late to get to the station, as our reinforcements were late, but I called his brother as soon as we got there."

Olivia yawned and closed her eyes, feeling the soothing warmth radiating from Elliot, but then the sheriff's words hit her, and her eyes snapped open.

"Gilbert Murdoch hasn't visited his brother in a year."