Chapter 17

Two hours later they finally had a plan and Liv thought it was a good one.

Sure, there was always the possibility of something going wrong but she felt safe enough with it.

Everyone started to prepare and Liv went to the changing room, she was supposed to go home because they were pretty sure he would attack her when she was alone and not on duty. There was a knock on the door.

"Come on in." she said. It was Elliot and he looked really worried.

"El, stop looking at me like I am about to die. That doesn't really help me feel confident about our plan." she said smiling. He came closer and hugged her.

"Liv, you really don't have to do this."

"Elliot, I do have to do it and it's okay. You and Ferguson back me up, I will be fine. Believe me." She kissed him gently. "Don't worry so much."

"I wish it was that easy."

She caressed his cheek lovingly.

"We have to get ready." she said calmly.

"I know. Promise me to be careful, okay?"

"I promise." she said smiling.

Liv should leave the department around 6 or 7 o'clock so he won't get suspicious. Ferguson and a few officers left earlier. They were supposed to hide in and around her apartment, they assumed that Miller wouldn't wait for her there, he needed the control, so he probably wants to follow her all the way from the precinct to her apartment, where she would be alone.

Elliot was supposed to follow her with an undercover car too, so he could step in if Miller tried to attack her on the way home.

At 6.30pm Liv got in her car and started to drive home. She tried not to look around too much, so Miller wouldn't realize that she was looking for him.

She turned on the music like she always did. She knew it would be helpful to hear her surroundings but he has watched her for a while now and it could make him suspicious if she changed her behaviour even the slightest bit.

She could see a dark blue van a few cars behind her and she was pretty sure that it was Miller but he hid pretty well. He was never too close to her car.

She was almost home now.

Her nerves were on the edge, although she knew she wasn't alone but it was still a dangerous situation. She turned into her street. It was empty.

Suddenly she felt a hard crash. The dark blue van had crashed into her car. She was a little bit dazed and her head hurt from hitting the steering wheel.

Miller opened her door and dragged her out of the car. He started to kick and beat her like a crazy man. She tried to draw her weapon but he knew what she was about to do and pulled her up, so she was pressed against his chest with her back.

"Police! Miller, let go of her." Elliot shouted. Miller put a stranglehold on Olivia and held a knife to her throat.

"I'll kill her! Let me go, or I will kill her." Miller screamed.

"Police, put your weapon down!" Ferguson and other officers screamed in unity.

Miller turned around nervously. He dragged Olivia with him until he stood with his back against Liv's car.

"I will kill her. Don't get any closer!"

"Miller, you know that there is no chance for you to get out of here. You are fucked. So let me go and survive." Olivia said while gasping for air.

"Shut the fuck up you fucking cunt. It's all your fault. I have lost everything because of your false accusations. You destroyed my life!"

"You did it all yourself, Oscar. I was just the one who was cleverer than you."

She really had problems with speaking or even breathing because he squeezed her neck so fucking hard.

"Don't call me that! You don't have the right to call me that!" he shouted furiously.

"A woman is cleverer than you, Oscar. Must be hard to accept."

He started to breathe heavily.

"Stop calling me that! I hate this name! And you are a piece of shit. No woman is cleverer than me!"

"I am." Liv said while hitting him hard in his ribs with her elbow. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife.

Liv kicked it away as far as she could because he still held her close and she had trouble breathing and the lack of oxygen made her dizzy.

He got the control back and hit her hard in the face but this was the last thing he did because Elliot hit him in the face and dragged him away from Liv. Ferguson handcuffed him and Elliot rushed over to Olivia.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am fine. Only a few bruises, nothing serious." she said huskily while taking deep slow breaths.

"You need to go to the hospital. I want you to get checked out."

"El, I am fine. Really."

"No back talking! I am with Elliot. You need to see a doctor. That's an order!" the captain said sternly.

"Alright, relax." Liv said with raised hands, which made them laugh.

An hour and a half later she was free to go home. The doctor said she had a light brain concussion, bruises on her face, a few bruised ribs and a contusion around her neck, but nothing too serious. She needed to rest but that was all.

Elliot insisted on driving her home and staying with her tonight. She agreed because she knew there was no use in trying to talk him out of it.

She called the captain to let him know that she was fine. He wanted her to stay home for at least the rest of the week.

At home she took a long bath. The warm water felt good on her bruised body.

About 30 minutes later she came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. She could smell food, which made her smile. She was starving because she wasn't able to eat lunch or dinner today.

"This smells so good. Did you order something?" she asked Elliot on her way to the kitchen.

"Yes, because your fridge is empty. I mean there is really nothing in there but mustard and water!" he said indignantly.

"Well, I have a job that doesn't really allow me to do much in my freetime, plus I have a boyfriend with an apartment about 30 minutes away. I commute between my home, work and his apartment. So excuse my empty fridge!" she said playfully annoyed. He started to laugh.

"Slow down. I didn't want to hear your life story. All I wanted to say was that I had to order in, but it's fine, so calm down." he said laughing.

She threw the wet towel at him, she had wrapped around her hair.

"Hey, stop! If you have to throw a wet towel at me, could you at least throw the one wrapped around your body."

She just shook her head smiling while walking out of the room.

A few minutes later Liv reentered the kitchen fully dressed. She sat down at the table and they started to eat but didn't talk much because they were both really hungry and exhausted.

When they were finished they sat down on the sofa. El turned to look at her and said in a serious tone, "I am sorry, Liv. I was your backup and should have kept you safe but I was there too late."

She looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Elliot, you couldn't have done anything differently. We all didn't expect him to attack me like this. And I am okay. It looks worse than it is, believe me. The bruises will heal. We got him, that's all that matters. And this time he will be put behind bars." she said happily.

"You shouldn't even have bruises that need to heal. What did he do to you before I arrived?" Liv took a deep breath.

"El, stop it. Don't do this. I am fine and you did what you could to protect me. You pulled him off of me in the end."

"What did he do?" he said, even more determined.

She shook her head slightly but stopped immediately because it hurt.

"He crashed into my car. I didn't expect him to do that, so my head crashed into the steering wheel and I was in a bit of a daze. He dragged me out of the car and kic.." she stopped, she knew Elliot would feel even more guilty if he heard this.

"He KICKED you?" Elliot shouted furiously. Liv tried to calm him down a bit by putting her hand on his arm but he wanted an answer.

"Liv, did he kick you?"

"Yes, but it wasn't that bad. He didn't really have time to do much because you arrived so quickly."

El got up and she could see how he clenched his fists.

"El, can you please calm down. I can handle it, it isn't that big of a deal. It isn't even the first time I got kicked." She tried to make eye contact but he didn't even look in her direction.

"Elliot! Look at me!" she said determined. He turned around and looked her in the eyes.

"I. AM. FINE. Okay?" she said while nodding her head to intensify her statement. He didn't react.

"We arrested him and I am okay. Stop worrying and hug me."

Finally there was a reaction, he came closer and sat down next to her.

"Nothing is fine. You shouldn't be hurt at all. But I do get your point. Me getting angry now, won't help anyone. I need to be there for you and get over my emotions."

He caressed her cheek gently and pulled her in a careful hug.

"El, you won't break me. Just hug me like a normal person." she said smiling.

"I am afraid to hurt you." he whispered in her ear.

"Don't be. I can withstand more than you think and I will tell you if it hurts, okay?" she said while crawling in his lap.

"Fine." he said smiling while squeezing her a bit more. She smiled too.

"That's better."

They sat like this for a while until Liv almost fell asleep in his arms with her head on his shoulder.

"I think I have to go to bed, I am so tired." she said sleepily.

"I am pretty exhausted too. Bed sounds amazing." he said, yawning.

Liv checked her phone before she went to bed and there were 2 missed calls and a few texts from Sarah.

"Shit!" El came out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong?"

"Sarah called and texted me. She seems to be pretty worried."

"Relax. She is used to this. I am the same. We can't always answer our phones."

"No, that's not good. I don't wanna be like this. I don't want her to worry about me. And now it's too late to call her." she said upset.

"Liv, calm down. It's fine. She knows I would've called if something serious had happened. Text her and she will read it in the morning. Don't worry that much."

But Liv didn't really listen to him anymore. She was already writing a text message to Sarah.

'Hey sweety. I am so sorry for not answering. I am fine and we got the guy. I know it's a bad excuse and you probably heard it way too often but I didn't have the time to even check my phone and I don't know, I am just really sorry. I'll try not to let it happen again. I promise, I'll try my best.

Hope you had a nice day with your friends, especially Lauren. ;)

I'll call you tomorrow.

Have a good night and sleep well.

xx Liv'

She put the phone on her nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked worriedly. She turned around and smiled lightly.

"I am. Today was just really eventful."

"It really was. But now you can lay down and sleep. You don't even have to get up early tomorrow. So, lay down and enjoy your comfortable bed."

He tapped the mattress.

"Yes, you're right. All I have to do now is lay down and sleep."

Just as she was about to lie down her phone beeped. It was a text from Sarah.

'I am glad that you are fine. And don't worry, I get it. Thank you for texting me back now. I bet you are exhausted so let's talk tomorrow.

Have to tell you something :)

Good night. And to dad as well.

xx'

Liv smiled and put the phone back down.

"Good night from Sarah." He looked at her surprised.

"Did you tell her, I am with you?"

"Of course not. Like I would talk about us with her but she's a clever girl."

"She is. Way too clever sometimes."

He kissed Liv's cheek and turned off the light.

"And you still haven't told me why you had lunch with her and her friends today and why she was at your place yesterday."

"Well, I was kinda busy." Liv said laughing.

"That's why I didn't mention it earlier." he said grinning.

"So nice of you, thanks." she said while punching him lightly.

"You have an aggression problem. You know that, right?"

Liv just laughed and cuddled up against his chest like she always does. He kissed her head and put his arm around her gently.

"Good night." he whispered softly.

"Good night."