A/N… Thanks for the reviews! I owe you a bunch of chapters. I spent a lot of time editing and fixing chapter 8, but I finished chapter 9 quickly, so here it is. Chapter 10 is already underway.

Yes, I had a little fun with this opening dialog. :)

x x x

Around noon, Olivia stops by.

"Hey Alex." She sees the nurse attending to her. To give them room, she approaches on the other side of the bed.

"Hi Olivia," she greets back.

Nurse Lori finishes replacing gauze pads and gives Alex her medication. "We'll try you on some soft foods for lunch, okay hon?"

She gives a polite nod back.

Lori gathers the gauze wrappers and discards them along with her safety gloves. She peers back at Alex. "Your husband is such a sweet one. Where did you find him?"

Alex looks back at her quizzically. "I'm not married."

"That man who was here… Sorry, I don't know his name. Tall, black suit, gray hair. Very handsome. Someone said he works for the FBI. The night crew assumed he was your husband."

"Ah…no."

"Well…your boyfriend, then. He spent the night in your room. I saw him as he was signing out and leaving. It was just after nine this morning and I was starting my shift," she explains.

Olivia lifts a brow and peers over at Alex. "Spent the night?"

"Yep," Lori answers. "One of our custodial staff was making the morning rounds, collecting trash from the rooms and she saw the two of them sound asleep in the bed. She says she tried not to wake you. Anyway, just to let you know, the hospital administrator sometimes gets her back up about family members, spouses, or significant others who stay after visiting hours. Most of us believe that a good support system can make all the difference in the healing process. The hospital administrator can be a real hard-ass. She works various shifts."

"Thanks for the warning. We'll let 'her boyfriend' know too," Olivia teases. Her eyes drift back to Alex, who looks a little flushed.

"He bought one of the overnight nurses a cup of coffee. Poor girl got stuck working a double. It's like her third this week," Lori comments. "I heard he kept the night staff company too. He's quite a charmer."

"Yeah, he's a flirt alright," Alex responds. She suspects that he turned on his usual charm to get information. Or maybe he was just entertaining some of the ladies on staff.

"He was really worried about you. He checked on your status constantly. Very eager to see you."

"Eager?"

"That's what I heard. Hang on to that one," she adds with a wink.

"Umm… He's not my boyfriend," Alex relays. "Just a good friend. We used to work together."

"Whatever you say," Lori grins. "I'll be back with lunch."

She gathers her charts and leaves the room. Alex and Olivia are alone.

"What was that about?" Alex muses, shaking her head.

"Your 'boyfriend' Bobby Goren spending the night. Care to explain?" she teases.

"He slept in the chair, Liv."

"Nope. Custodial staff caught him in your bed. And you know they make damn good witnesses."

Alex smirks. "He must have dozed off. I kept telling him I was fine and to go home. He insisted on staying. It looked like he hadn't slept in days."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Olivia remarks.

"So, how was he at SVU?"

"Great. We were at a dead end. Bobby saw the connection to the cold cases. He helped us find you. I think our Captain wouldn't mind borrowing him from time to time. That is…if he can keep IAB off our backs."

"I hate to ask, but what happened?"

"He used your log-in to access the criminal database."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, who cares?"

"That's what we said too. But you know how they feel about Bobby."

"Yes, unfortunately."

"He really was worried about you," she remarks, echoing Lori's comment. "As soon as he heard you were missing, I think it would have taken an army to keep him away from this case."

She smiles. "He's a great partner."

"He feels the same way about you too. So how are you doing today?" Olivia inquires.

"About the same. I can't wait to get out of this place."

"Can't blame you there. Thanks for the sketches. I think we should have plenty to work with."

Elliot brought the sketch artist by shortly after her family visited that morning. Elliot was there to ask a couple of follow-up questions based on the rape kit results.

"I wish I could give you more on Malik," she frowns.

"You did great, Alex. It's a lot more than we would have otherwise. When we get some hits, we'll let you know."

"Did you get anything out of Drakes?"

"Nothing more than what you told us." Olivia answers. "Umm… Part of the reason I stopped by is to talk to you about Cole."

"What about him?"

"The murder case is still with the Bronx, but the medical examiner discovered something on the autopsy and they kicked it over to SVU."

"What…? Why?"

"They suspect rape."

"Cole was raped? He never said anything about it."

"Looks like multiple attacks within the last couple of weeks. So the perp may be Malik or one of his men. Any idea who could have done this?"

She shakes her head. Sadness and confusion show in her eyes. "You know I wanted to protect Cole and get us both out of there. Still tried to be the cop."

"I know you did the best you could," she offers. "Did Cole show more fear or anger toward any one in particular?"

"Not really. He hated them as much as I did. They were ordered to punish us for breaking Malik's 'rules.' They picked fights with him and assaulted me just for the hell of it," Alex groans.

"Are there any that you could rule out?"

"Well I doubt it was Malik or Hawk." She ponders the thought a minute longer, then adds, "Out of all of them, the ones that stand out for me would be Rodden, Mac, Snake and Dougsen."

"Why them?"

"Most of Malik's creeps don't care what they're asked to do for money. These four got off on it," she says disgustedly. "I can't prove it was one of them, but that would be where I'd start."

Olivia nods and jots each name down in a notepad. "So tell me more about Cole."

"He was a nice guy. He kind of hated the city, but the job was here. He'd rather be upstate somewhere or in Vermont. His daughter was his life. He talked about her a lot. He grew up in foster homes. I think the foster moms were very good to him."

"You get along pretty well?"

"No, not at first. When we met, I thought he was the one who abducted me. He's the first one I saw. Malik wanted Cole to tend to my needs and prevent me from leaving. Cole would offer me food, water or treat my injuries, and I'd hit him and try to escape. It took us a couple days to trust each other. After that, we talked a lot. He kept me company. I also think he hung close by to keep the wolves from showing up."

"Let me ask you this. Did Cole ever make any advances or…try anything?"

"No. Why?"

"Drakes said some things in interrogation."

"Drakes is full of it."

"Yeah, I gathered. But you know we have to ask."

She nods. "Cole was very attentive. A little too overprotective sometimes. You might even say he was chivalrous. I don't think he's known many women cops. I'd risk it for the chance of getting out of there. Cole did whatever he could to stop me, thinking he could prevent another attack. We were together for long stretches of time. Cole had to help me with…personal needs or…whatever Malik wanted," she groans. "I suppose you could say Cole had ample opportunity. But nothing happened."

"You know that the rape kit came back with no DNA," Olivia remarks.

"Yeah, Elliot told me. He also said Cole's was all over the crime scene. Half the time he was in the room with me."

Olivia notices her expression change. "What is it, Alex?"

"Just between us?"

"Sure."

"There were times when I thought that he might be…I don't know…getting a little 'too attached.'"

"Why is that?"

"There were hints dropped. And he asked me to go to Vermont with him when this mess was over."

"And what did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it."

"Were you considering going?"

She shrugs. "I hadn't made up my mind. He planned to bring his daughter too. At the time, any place sounded better."

"But you suspected that he might be looking for more than a friendship. Wouldn't that suggest that you were too?"

"My gut feeling was that he wouldn't press the matter. I'm not sure we had that much in common. But he was nice, funny and someone I could talk to. I think he could have ended up being a really good friend."

Olivia touches her arm supportively and then glances up as Lori enters the room with Alex's lunch. "I should let you go."

"Thanks for coming by, Liv."

"Sure. We should have lunch sometime."

"When I'm eating solid foods again... Yes, absolutely."

Olivia leans down to give Alex a hug.

"Say hi to the guys for me."

"I will. Take care, Alex."

"Bye."

x x x

By early evening, she still doesn't know when the hospital plans to release her.

She's keeping soft foods down. All levels are within normal range. They don't have the lab results on her tox screen yet and there's no word on when that'll happen.

Her family has been by a couple times. After she leaves the hospital, she'll stay with her brother Patrick and his wife until she's a little stronger. She'd much rather be at home, but they insisted.

Her bird, Petey is staying with them too. She misses the little guy. Fortunately, when the pet sitter noticed that Alex hadn't been home, she kept an eye on Petey until the family could come by to get him.

She looks toward the hallway.

It's been thirty minutes since she told someone that she had to use the bathroom. She really needs to go now.

Twice today they've helped her get into a wheelchair and then wheeled her to the one-stall handicapped bathroom down the hallway. She's still too wobbly for crutches.

She waits another five minutes, then says screw it and begins to climb from the bed to the wheelchair on her own.

It's awkward with her knee in a cast and there's still quite a bit of pain. Especially when she shifts the leg with the cast over the side of the bed.

They're not giving her the strongest dosage of painkillers. The trade off is that she's less groggy, but the aches are worse when she moves.

Once she's seated in the chair, she wheels herself out into the hallway. No one seems to notice her, although it is a little busy. Lots of traffic near the main desk in the middle of the hallway. The bathroom is just a little further.

She reaches the door to the bathroom, confirms that it's empty and enters. The motion sensor lights turn on as soon as she's inside. After closing the door, she wheels herself closer and prepares to move from the wheelchair to the toilet. She pivots over quickly and sits down.

They said that any pain or discomfort would be temporary.

She sure as hell hopes so.

She grips the bars and endures it, while tears dampen her eyes. With the pain comes the emotional reminders, the anger.

She's been told by the doctor and a couple of medical staff here that there's a long road ahead before things are back to normal. She wanted to tell them to stick their advice somewhere else.

She'd give anything to have her old life back.

The thought conjures up a memory of her and Bobby working late on some case. A pizza box sits open between them. They're searching through pictures of license plates at the Holland Tunnel at eight o'clock at night, because Bobby has a hunch about their suspect.

If nothing had changed for her and Bobby, she'd be back there again as soon as she could walk. She hates riding desk, but she'd do it.

The job is the only thing that would take her mind off this.

It worked after the Jo Gage incident.

"I'm not getting any better on my own," she remembers telling Bobby that day.

The department insisted that she take time off. Go to therapy. Nothing to do but sit around and think about the hell she's been through.

x

She finishes and prepares to move back into the chair from the toilet.

She got here by pivoting from one to the other very quickly. The chair isn't quite close enough for her to reach and when she touches it, it rolls backward.

Forgot to lock the wheels... Shit.

Well, she was sort of in a hurry.

While holding onto the bar with one hand and trying to scoot the chair closer, she slips and falls. She hits the chair, the front of the toilet and the floor, and groans out a few descriptive words.

For the next minute or so, she can do nothing but ride out the pain and try not to scream.

She's already in a lot of pain. She didn't need this.

When she is able to move, she scoots a little closer and retrieves the chair. She drags it up to the wall and locks the wheels. Then she uses the support bar beside the toilet to try and pull herself up.

But getting up off the floor with the cast on is easier said than done.

After three attempts, she has to stop and catch her breath.

Then suddenly, the bathroom lights go out.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" she groans.

Just waving her arms doesn't turn them on again. Damn motion lights.

There's only a sliver of light under the door which doesn't help, but everything she needs is within reach. She resumes trying to get into the chair.

She knows where she is and she's safe, but the darkness and her inability to get up and go seems a little too familiar.

She starts rushing without realizing she's doing it.

Her heart is pounding, her stomach is in knots and a layer of perspiration covers her skin.

Get me the hell out of here!

x x x

Bobby finishes work for the day and decides to visit Eames at the hospital. He stops at a flower shop along the way. The hospital gift shop doesn't offer much variety so he'd rather go somewhere else. This one happens to be walking distance to the hospital.

He looks through the flower arrangements they have available. Usually he has a pretty good idea of what he wants to get for someone. He's got some thoughts about Eames but so far, nothing here is her.

They have a selection of baskets or vases which they'll deliver to hospitals, but he doesn't like those arrangements at all. Family, spouses, in-laws. They even have a few designated for friends and coworkers. The sweetheart arrangements are mostly roses. He'd like some roses, but maybe more of a blend.

The clerk watches him poke around for a bit. She offers to make some recommendations for him and he politely refuses.

She suspects that he's shopping for a significant other. No wedding ring. A new girlfriend maybe? He's eyeing everything so carefully.

"None of these are Eames," Bobby mutters under his breath after a second pass through.

"You can make the arrangement yourself too," the clerk suggests. "I think you probably have an idea of what you want." She points to the refrigerated case of flowers and some empty vases sitting on the counter.

"I think that would be a good idea. Thanks."

"Sure. Let me know if I can help."

He selects a vase and the flowers, and arranges them. He likes the result. He selects a card and pays for it all.

"I love the arrangement. Beautiful choices. I'm going to write those flowers down and make a couple more arrangements for the store. What's her name?" she asks Bobby.

"Alex."

"Girlfriend?"

"She's umm... A close friend."

"I'll name it, 'Alex's Natural Beauty'."

He smiles. "Nice."

A few minutes later, he enters the hospital lobby with the flowers in hand and heads for the elevator.

x x x

After a little struggle, she's back in the wheelchair. She rolls the chair less than one foot forward and the bathroom lights come back on.

Finally, she grumbles.

At this point, she almost doesn't care about washing her hands, but she does it anyway.

She happens to glance up by accident and sees her reflection in the mirror.

It's too much. Scratches, swollen spots. Puffiness around her eyes. Bruises. Gauze covers the worst cuts.

She almost doesn't recognize herself.

Malik left too many reminders.

She's not going to cry.

Alex finishes and leaves the bathroom quickly. She nearly runs into another patient before she realizes how fast she's wheeling herself back to the room.

"Sorry," she mumbles and continues on, hoping the man hears her.

Once inside her room, she directs the chair toward the right side of the bed and locks the wheels.

She needs to lie down again. The aches and pains that are reduced with the medications seem to be returning.

She stares at the bed. Maybe if I lean over far enough, I can just fall on it and climb the rest of the way in.

As she's bracing herself to stand, she hears a voice behind her.

"Eames…hey."

She settles back in the chair and turns around to see Bobby enter her room with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

Looks like he shaved, showered and changed his suit since she last saw him.

He is handsome. Lori was right about that.

And he brought her flowers.

She doesn't feeling like smiling, but it's hard not to.

"Hi Bobby." She glances toward the bed she's planning to get into, and then back at him. "This sucks."

"I bet it does," he agrees.

"I've been unable to do anything on my own for over two weeks," she sighs.

"For what it's worth, you're handling it better than I could."

"Not exactly."

"You were…intending to get into the bed…right?" he prompts. He sets the flowers down on the physician's desk and takes a few steps closer.

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Well…umm… If you want to use me as a leaning post, something to grab ahold of while you get in, you're welcome to." It's an offer and there's no pressure.

Her family and the hospital staff try to do everything for her. The hospital doesn't know her like Bobby and her family does. In her family's defense, they're all pretty shaken up.

"Sure."

He moves the chair back to give her room to stand and locks the wheels. Next, he offers his arm for her hold so she can pull herself up.

After she's out of the chair, she feels a little unsteady. She doesn't mean to fall toward him, but it's unavoidable.

"Sorry."

"You're fine. How's your knee?"

She intended to take his shoulders, but she ends up grabbing his jacket lapels in order to keep herself standing.

"It's okay, I've got you." He has both hands on her arms, but he's prepared to catch her if needed.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Shhh… Don't worry."

She's almost ready to continue, until this blinding pain hits. It's mostly her knee and back, but there are these painful spasms hitting her in different spots.

Her body is sending her a big fat 'screw you' message for the fall in the bathroom and the attempts to get herself back into the wheelchair.

She's wincing and gasping at this point and there's no question how much pain she's in from Bobby's point of view. He scoops her up into his arms and sets her down in the bed carefully.

Even when she's on the bed, she continues to gasp, groan and cry out. There is no good position for her to lie comfortably. It all causes pain.

Bobby touches her forearm.

She's very warm. It could be anything. He'd better find a nurse.

Just as he starts toward the hallway, Lori arrives to check on her.

Good timing.

She enters the room and immediately sees Alex in distress. "Oh, hon…what happened?"

"Had to go… Fell." It's the best she can do, but it's enough. She doesn't have to go into all the gory details.

"You should have called for someone."

"I DID! No one fucking showed up!" she groans.

"Really? I'll make sure that doesn't happen again," she answers, failing to hide the frustration in her tone.

Lori glances over at Bobby, who continues to look on with concern.

"She's going to be fine. But I'm going to need to check her over. Could you give us a few minutes?"

"Sure. I-I'll be in the waiting room." There's one last look at Alex just before he leaves.

"I'll come find you when we're done," Lori tells him.

When the door closes, Lori's eyes drift toward the new bouquet of flowers in the room and then to Alex. "You're pulling my leg… That man is more than just a friend."

Alex is still squirming too much to respond.

"Sorry to tease, I'll get you something for the pain. You're going to be just fine, sweetie. I'll check you over and we'll get the doctor in here if necessary."

x

About forty minutes later, Bobby re-enters the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Drugs are working. Sorry about before."

The doctor found no further injuries. Just some muscle spasms. She gave Alex a stronger dose and told her to rest. She thinks she should be able to use crutches by tomorrow.

"Sorry for what?" Bobby asks.

"Falling on you. Screaming… I'm sure there's more."

Bobby grins. "There's nothing to apologize for." He picks up the flowers he had set down by the physician's desk earlier and brings them over to her. "Here. These are for you."

"Thanks. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome. Is it okay if I hang out a little longer?"

She smiles. "I'd like that."

She reads the card, then sets the flowers and card on the table beside her bed.

To the strongest woman I know.

Hope you're out of here and feeling better soon.

Always,

Bobby

x

Alex lies awake in the bed. According to the clock in the hallway, it's 11:00pm.

She had a nightmare earlier, woke up in a panic and then threw up. So light sleeping is about all she can handle. Just killing time until morning, which is when they said they'd discharge her. She can't wait.

Earlier tonight, her brother Jim came by to see her. Jim can always make her laugh, so that was a good visit.

Elliot Stabler stopped by a little later. He let her know that a couple of the officers caught Woods, one of Malik's men, who was trying to break into a car. Woods wasn't one of the creeps who sexually assaulted her when Malik wasn't around, but he was an asshole.

The most they can charge Drakes with is resisting arrest and false imprisonment. He'll probably get eighteen months.

She never saw Drakes hit Cole, even though she believes that it happened. Since they have no witnesses, they can't charge Drakes with assault.

The others remain at large.

She looks at the flowers Bobby brought for her.

She misses him. The time flies by with him here.

Even listening to him talk about work or random things that interest him is never boring.

As much as she loves seeing her family, they're so hurt by what happened to her. She worries about upsetting them.

Thoughts stir in her mind for a little while until she begins to drift to sleep.

x

She awakens about a half hour later. Her eyes drift over toward the chair in her room and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

Someone is sitting there.

The chair has been moved a little further back from the foot of the bed and is set at an angle so he can watch her.

He's not saying a word, just staring.

No mask this time. His arm is propped on the armrest and he rests his face in his palm. It's dark in the room. It's hard for her to see him, much less describe any features.

It's him. No doubt in her mind.

But they both know she'll never be able to prove that he's the same man who raped her.

If she can get him to talk, she can ID the voice. It's unlikely he'll fall for that.

"What the hell are you doing here?" There's a lump in her throat and she's trying not to show how much he's getting to her by showing up. Her heart is pounding out of control.

Without a word, he stands up.

She quickly sees that he's wearing scrubs. She thinks she sees an ID tag too.

That's how he got in. Sonofabitch. Who did he impersonate?

What the hell is he planning to do?

"There are security cops on every floor! You could kill me, you're still not getting out of here alive, asshole!"

He sprays something toward her face before she can react to shield herself.

Pepper spray.

While she's doubled over and trying to breathe, she hears him leave the room.

x x x

TBC…

Next, Chapter 10 - Prisoner