Olivia wrapped her arms around Elliot with tears in her eyes. "Don't provoke him," she begged in a whisper. "I won't let you die."
Elliot sighed and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm afraid I'm already a dead man anyway."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The fire crackled quietly in the fireplace as they waited for the morning to dawn. Brown had added firewood to the fireplace, so the cottage was brighter than before, and they were able to look around. Munch and Cassidy leaned against the wall of the cottage, Fin had moved to sit next to the fireplace and Olivia and Elliot sat side by side on the bed. Brown still sat on his stool and knocked on his knee with the gun as he stared at them. The silence and the warmth of the cottage made Olivia extremely tired despite the situation. Her eyes closed involuntarily, and Elliot nudged her gently.
"I'm sorry but you can't sleep," he whispered and glanced at Brown, who was staring at them threateningly. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. After a moment of silence, she bit her lip and turned her gaze to her hands.
"I wonder if Cragen has told your family you're dead?" She asked quietly. Elliot pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and leaned his head on the wall behind them.
"I don't know, but soon it doesn't matter anyway," his whisper was barely audible.
"Don't say that."
Elliot glanced at his partner but said nothing. Olivia's thoughts wandered to Cragen, and her eyes filled with tears.
"I don't even want to think about how Cragen feels right now," she whispered. "He must be blaming himself for sending us on this trip… What if he starts drinking again? And what happens to SVU if he puts his papers in too? This is all so absurd that I feel like my alarm will go off soon and I will wake up from my own bed in New York." Then she looked at the others and closed her eyes and swallowed. "I don't know what …I… If they kill you and then Brown will…" The words got stuck in her throat and her voice turned into a mere murmur as she struggled against crying. Elliot wrapped his other hand around her and she leaned tightly against him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The long hours of the night inevitably dwindled and eventually the morning began to dawn inside the cottage. The more the cottage brightened, the more Olivia felt her heart squeeze. She and Elliot had sat silently, listening to each other's breath, and she had lightly drawn patterns on Elliot's hardel with her index finger. The silence in the cottage had continued for so long that when there was a sudden voice from Brown's radiophone, everyone, including Brown, startled.
"Hello?" There was a voice. Brown dug the radiophone out of the inside pocket of his jacket and lifted it in front of his mouth.
"Hello, it's Brown. Over."
"What color is a flying lion?" The voice asked.
"A blue lion flies to China. Over," he replied.
"The security code," Elliot muttered, and Olivia nodded lightly. Then the voice on the radiophone continued:
"Our helicopter is just on its way there; it takes about an hour. The cottage was not shown on the maps, so you should arrive to the scene of the accident, where the helicopter will pick you up. Over."
"Roger. Over."
When there was no voice from the radio anymore, Brown got up from his stool and pointed them at his gun. "I'm sure you heard what will happen now, so hurry up!" His voice was commanding, but when no one moved, he roared: "GET UP" Those who are going to protest will get a bullet in their skulls right away, we don't need all of you to get the information we need."
This gave them momentum, and they got up to their feet. Sitting all night hadn't particularly pampered their limbs. Then Cassidy glanced hesitantly at Brown.
"My leg… I'm not sure if I can walk all the way to the scene of the accident."
"It's your own problem," Brown said coldly. "Either you walk, or you'll become the wolves' lunch. I'm sure they will be delighted when they see your carcass."
Cassidy gulped and fell silent, and then Brown swung his gun towards the door. "This way, ladies and gentlemen."
Fin and Munch set off to walk ahead and Cassidy limped behind them but after taking a few steps, he glanced at them begging.
"Hey guys, could you help me a little?"
Fin turned to look at him coldly. "You should have thought twice before you started harassing Liv," he snorted and turned his gaze back. Cassidy clenched his fists and pressed his gaze to his feet but said nothing more. Then they turned to look at the cottage, and Munch's voice was almost sad as he opened his mouth:
"A paradise in the middle of the wilderness. In the spring, the hunters will come back again, and no one knows that the cottage saved our lives. The hunters will probably only be pissed off when they notice that all the jars of dry meat they have brought there have been eaten."
As if by a common accord, everyone stopped and looked touched at the cottage, which was standing behind the trees. Despite the situation, the atmosphere was almost ceremonial, and Olivia heard Fin swallow behind her. Then Brown, however, waved his weapon towards them, urging them to continue walking, so they set off to walk slowly towards the scene of the accident as Brown herded them after them. When he noticed Elliot glancing around him, he stated: "It's useless to even think about to escaping. In the deep snow you will not get far, and your traces will reveal you."
Brown sounded almost pleased, and Elliot clenched his fists. Olivia glanced at him and took his hand in her own.
"Don't do anything stupid," she muttered and Brown grinned behind them.
"Listen to her," there was an unctuous tone in his voice. "She's so obedient, she'll become a wonderful wife to my cottage."
Olivia turned to look at him angrily, and then his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Look at that face, she will give me beautiful children…"
She just had time to grab Elliot, so he didn't attack Brown immediately. "El!" She exclaimed in a stifled voice. Brown pressed his gun against Elliot's chest towards his heart.
"Just one wrong move and my patience runs out," he snarled. Every muscle in Elliot's body was extremely tensed and Olivia squeezed him like her life depended on it.
"Please El", her whisper was barely audible and finally she felt her partner take a step back. Elliot and Brown stared at each other for a moment, but then Brown turned his gaze to the others who had stopped and watched the situation in fright.
"What are you staring at, now move!" He exclaimed and Fin and Munch started hesitantly to continue walking. Only the snow crunched under their feet as they walked through the winter forest, and Olivia's heart continued to pound wildly. She glanced at her partner, who stared closely in front of him, and she felt like she wanted to hide him from anyone who wanted to hurt him. She sighed deeply and pressed her gaze to the ground. They were literally on their way to death, and Brown threatened to take her captive, but she feared the most that Brown would shoot Elliot in her arms. She closed her eyes and imagined holding her partner from which life flowed with every heartbeat, and in her mind she saw his blue eyes, from which the spark of life slowly faded…
She had to swallow a sob and grabbed Elliot's arm. He turned to look at her questioningly, and she leaned closer to his ear.
"You have to stay alive, because that's the only way I'll stay too," she whispered. That was true, because Elliot was the only reason, she still had the will to fight. When he had been missing, Olivia had felt as if she had lost a part of herself, and nothing mattered anymore. It had been scary to realize it, and as long as her partner was alive, she had a reason to fight, but if he'd die… She pressed her face against his shoulder and breathed deeply in his scent.
Then Elliot pressed a kiss on the top of her head, and some kind of primitive instinct for survival ignited inside Olivia. She was still alive, Elliot was still alive, and as long as the situation remained that way, nothing else mattered.
It was as if he had read her mind, because he took her hand in his own, and looked at her determinedly with his blue eyes.
It wasn't time to give up yet.
