Another Reason

by Last.one.02

This story follows Elliot's and Olivia's life together from their first kiss to becoming a family. Even they will have some troubles along the way. I'll rely on the storylines, but I do like playing with them a little. Starts with season six after Elliot's separation. E/O all the way, but other characters are also involved.

16. 7,19 Fault

AN: I didn't mean 2 months, when I said I was going to take longer with this, but finally here it is, though it's twice as long as previous ones too. The hardest chapter yet, mostly because the episode is monumental to all E/O fans and SVU fans in general. I hope you don't hate me after the chapter. I try to get the next one up in less time, but for what it's worth, my GPA is 4,4 and now it's up.

So enjoy and if you like it, let me know, if you don't... then let me know so maybe I'm able to fix it :) .

L.
***SVU***

7.19 Fault

Olivia went off the track and stopped. She put her hands on her knees and panted. The earbud fell from her ear and she tried to catch her breath. Olivia ran her hand in her hair, pushing them away from her sweating face and spit on the ground.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up, her hand instantly flying to her hip to grab the gun, but she wasn't carrying one.

"God, I'm so glad you talked me into this," Casey said and Olivia remembered exactly who she was.

"Me too," Olivia agreed – she needed a moment to not think.

Casey started stretching herself, leaning heavily onto Olivia, who finally pressed stop button on her mp3 player. When Casey was done Olivia mimicked the ADA's actions and then let herself fall to the ground along with Casey.

They both stayed there, sprawled out on their backs, looking at the morning sky of Manhattan, their breathing finally evening out.

"You know running is supposed to make us feel better," Casey remarked.

"You feel better?" Olivia asked and turned her head.

"No, I still can't believe how Ryan could just leave me like that," Casey said, having broken up with her boyfriend just days before.

"Me neither," Olivia said in all honesty.

Casey watched as the sun was getting higher and tightened her scarf round her neck, "Still haven't told Elliot?" she asked.

"Nope," Olivia said and shook her head, "I don't know how to bring it up – hey honey, can you pass the salt, oh, and I took a pregnancy test a few days back," she said sarcastically.

"Just leave the test on counter and let him find it," Casey suggested.

Olivia gave her a stare.

"Okay, he'll find out eventually and you can't hide it forever," Casey said.

"I know. Guess I'm just waiting for the right moment. He's been in foul mood lately and I just didn't want to bring it out, when he's angry," Olivia said.

"Don't wait too long," Casey said.

Olivia gave her another look – of course she couldn't hide it for too long, because it will become obvious before.

"The ground is cold and wet," Olivia said, feeling her Siena sweater getting wet behind her back and her legs becoming colder from being in contact with the still halfway frozen and wet ground of March.

"Yeah," Casey replied.

"We have to get up," Olivia said.

"Yeah," Casey agreed, but neither of them made a move to get up.

Olivia's phone rang, breaking the silence she and Casey were enjoying, since only some birdwatchers and early runners were seen and heard around.

"Benson," she said in her usual manner.

"It's Fin. We have a lead on Johnson case, Cragen wants you and Stabler here as fast as possible," Fin said on the other side.

"I'm not at home, call Elliot and I'll come in as fast as I can," Olivia said.

"It's nearly 6 am, where are you?" Fin asked, slight concern in his voice.

"I went for a run with Casey, everything's okay. I'll come to work right away, but call Elliot up too," Olivia said.

"I will. Say hi to Casey for me," Fin said.

"See you," Olivia said her goodbye, she hang up before Fin could say anything else and groaned loudly. She stood to sit, Casey doing the same and both of them decided to get up and go on since murderer rarely thinks about the detective's or ADA's plans.

"Duty calls?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, Johnson rapist, we're calling him History Rapist now. And Fin says hi," Olivia said.

"Did Munch come up with the name?" Casey asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

Olivia laughed, "Nope, I did," she said easily, "He has raped 3 girls so far, who have studied history in university and now are career orientated single women."

"Didn't you study History too?" Casey asked, trying to remember if Olivia studied history or something else.

"I did," Olivia confirmed, and did the last stretches, "Look, I gotta go."

Casey nod and promised to drop by the precinct later and walked in opposite direction with Olivia.

Olivia got back to empty apartment, Elliot had already left, so she headed towards the shower and stepped under the cooling spray to soothe her muscles. Afterwards she got dressed and headed towards the precinct.

Munch, Fin and Elliot were in the middle of a debate, when Olivia arrived.

"Morning," she said politely and took a seat behind her desk, listening to the argument boys were having.

"Where were you this morning?" Elliot asked roughly, but his voice was quiet enough for only Olivia to hear it.

"Went for a jog with Casey," Olivia replied neutrally.

Elliot nod, but made a mental note to pursue this matter further, "TARU found him on security camera and we're hoping to get a match. Plus we got the number he used to call our last victim, but it's no longer in use," he briefed her.

"Okay," Olivia said and nod, her thoughts travelling to the one thing she wanted to tell him, but now is not the time.

Cragen arrived with coffee tray and gave each of his detectives a cup. While everybody enjoyed their warm cup of fresh coffee, Olivia placed hers on the table and refused to touch it again just yet.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"We have a photo of him and we're waiting for a match," Munch said.

"Plus we think he's hunting his victims at the Central Park, because it's one thing all three of them had in common – they all went running there. All had their degree in Siena, but their research topics were too different to be connected and only our last vic worked in university, others were in banking and politics," Fin added.

"But Martha was working at Hudson?" Olivia asked and went through some papers on her desk.

"She was at Siena, but was pursued to Hudson for doctorate position and she gladly took it," Elliot cleared.

"Hannah told me that there was a guy, who was always friendly, even too friendly at times and way too interested in her life at the coffee shop. He was a barista and his name was Carlo, but he quitted the job right after Hannah's rape and all the documents he gave were fake," Munch said.

"Wait, Martha had a childhood friend, Carl? It would be a pretty big coincidence if guy with similar name played some part in our victims lives," Olivia said.

"First victim Lucy had a mystery man named Carlos, but none of her co-workers actually saw him, some of them were convinced she made him up," Fin said.

"Well we don't think it. Find me that guy," Cragen ordered and left his detectives to work.

For hours they tried to find their mystery guy, but so far nothing worked. O'Halloran and Morales helped them with other open cases, but seemed like the guy they were looking for was a ghost. They were frustrated and tired, so the room was filled with occasional moments of silence and moments of senseless angry ramble coming from different detective every time, but two of them never talked at the same time.

Cragen stormed out of his cabinet to the squad.

"Benson, Stabler, we have couple murdered in their apartment, a teenager raped, go to the crime scene, Fin and Munch will deal with the History rapist," the Captain said.

Both Olivia and Elliot nod, grabbed their coats and left, in a way glad to get away, but they were having troubles communicating with each other and that kept the situation tense. Plus they hadn't been intimate over 2 weeks, which is rare for them.

"Something's wrong between our golden detectives," Munch commented.

"Don't start," Fin and Cragen said together.

"Look at them, they no longer come here with smiley faces which make me wanna shoot something and he's no longer glazing her in every 10 seconds and Stabler's anger management system hasn't been this bad since Kathy left him. And the most important thing – they rarely come in together like today Stabler was surprised not to see Olivia here and I bet he had no idea, where she was," Munch said, counting all that's wrong.

Fin made a face and walked over to Olivia's desk to get the first crime scene photos, when he came across Olivia's coffee cup, surprised to find it full.

"Man, Liv even didn't drink her coffee," he commented.

"I'm sure I got the order right… I've been bringing her the same thing for years," Cragen said, he had been bringing Olivia black coffee for years now, even the barista knows his order by heart now.

Munch smiled and leaned back on his door, "I told you something's up," he said victoriously.

"I bet their honeymoon phase is getting over and the job is talking its toll," Fin suggested.

Munch went on to explain his theory about a potential break-up, that no-one wanted to see and suggested some crazy things to avoid it, but neither Fin or Cragen were that interested in Munch's ideas.

"If you'd do your job with the same consideration you analyze Benson and Stabler, I bet the case and some other cases would be closed," Cragen said finally, "Eyes on the Carl or Carlos or whatever his name is, and I want some answers."

Both Fin and Munch fell quiet and focused on the job at hand, while Cragen went back to his office.

***SVU***

Olivia and Elliot arrived at the crime scene. CSU and Melinda were already there processing the scene, collecting evidence to help them solve the crime. Melinda met them at the door and walked with the detectives, explaining the crime, giving them scenario of what went down in the apartment, right to the point of 2 missing kids. And judging by the crime scene – those kids probably don't have much time.

And so the hell broke loose, Cragen being dragged to the crime scene and sending amber alert out, also closing down the Manhattan. And the case kept on getting better throughout the day, the plot thickened, but the same their leads got nowhere until they got a sketch from kids school about a guy, who was masturbating while the kids were playing outside, including Rebecca – one of the missing kids. And of course there was a pressure to get the History Rapist, so everything kept on getting better.

In the late night Elliot finally found a moment, when Fin and Munch were out and he was alone with Olivia, both buried behind their computer screens, focused only the case, so if a new war had started, neither of them would have had a clue.

"How are you doing?" Elliot asked.

Olivia looked up, blinked her eyes and tried to focus on Elliot, "I've been comparing the sketch to perps with similar MO, so far nothing has come up. You?" she said.

"Nothing," Elliot said.

Olivia nod and waited for Elliot to say something else, but he didn't, just kept on looking at her. Instead he got up, walked up to her desk, and gently wrapped his fingers around her hand just above the elbow, indicating she should stand up too.

She did that with raised eyebrows, silently asking about his intentions.

His face was unreadable, but he lead her to the crib, catching a glimpse of Fin and Munch returning to the squad, arguing about the lead, which had came out empty.

Once inside the crib, Elliot closed the door behind him and sat down on one of the beds.

"What's wrong?" she asked in curiosity.

"I should be asking you the same question," Elliot said seriously.

"I didn't pull you away from the job, when we have 2 kids to find. Spit it out, El," she said and sat down on the opposite bed.

"You've been acting weird lately – you've been distracted and distant, I feel like you're pulling away from me and I have no idea, what I did wrong," he said hurtfully, making Olivia instantly feel guilty for being secretive.

"It's the job. The History case and now these missing kids, everything is fine with me, I just hate those cases," she told a half-lie.

"I hate this too," he said and leaned over to place his hand on her knee. She covered his hand with hers, intertwining their fingers.

"But you'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" Elliot asked confirmation.

Olivia nod, "Of course," she said and made a face, because in fact she was lying to him constantly while she was hiding her biggest wish.

"Good, I just got this feeling like something bad is gonna happen and I don't know what that is," Elliot confessed, "I need you."

Olivia smiled and came over to him, sitting on his lap, which took him by complete surprise, but it was a pleasant surprise, so he allowed the thoughts of their missing children get lost for a moment and focus on his girlfriend. In a well perfected manner his hands ended up on her back protectively, trailing downwards to cup her bottom and back up again, his lips eagerly meeting hers – not a trace of their cases left in his mind – he forced their chests in contact by tightening his hold on her back, all of his senses filled with Olivia.

She cupped his cheeks with both of her hands, holding his face steady as if he'd pull away the moment she let go, but both of them knew that was not an option. He leaned heavily onto her, gripping her back, when he pushed her on the bed and covered her body with his, surprisingly obvious of his weight he avoided letting her bear, but it came as no surprise when she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him onto her just like she always does.

Finally he broke the kiss and buried his face in her hair by the pillow, his side coming to contact with the mattress, leaving him only halfway on top of her. She had released her grip on him, but her breathing was still labored by his ear, so he moved himself, ending up curled in her side, switching the roles as usually she ends up curled to his side with her head resting on his chest.

He started kissing her neck, making her bite her lips to suffocate the moans that kept on coming.

"El, darling," Olivia managed to say.

"Mmm, Liv," he mused.

"We're not doing it here," she said, trying to sound firm.

"Mmhm," was his reply, but he continued his actions.

Elliot let his one leg land on the other side of her, his hand holding onto her side – trapping her in his own way, but he didn't stop kissing the soft skin on her neck.

"I'm serious Elliot," she said, giving her best not to give in to him.

"Me too," he said and pulled away to look into her eyes, "I've missed you – holding you and kissing you and I just wanna take a moment to be with you."

"It's not the time or place," she said gently.

Elliot nod and met her lips in a slow kiss – he wanted her – needed her – but this is not the time or place, there are kids missing and serial rapist terrorizing the city. Now is not time to focus on Olivia, specially at the precinct, but in fact he couldn't stop himself.

His hand moved from her side to her breast, taking it in his hand and massaging it through her clothing, but he was stopped abruptly – Olivia hissed into the kiss and grabbed his hand, guiding it to her abdomen and keeping it there.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly, but calmed once he saw Olivia shake her head.

"No," she said to confirm her answer, "I'm just a little sore," she offered an explanation.

"Okay, okay," Elliot said easily and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, "I'm just gonna…" he said while he moved himself around her, his head ending up just below her chin, one hand under her neck and the other on her abdomen, where she had placed it before, and one leg still around hers.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Taking a break from work, enjoying your comfort… Do I really need to explain what I'm doing, when I'm with you?" he asked, slightly frustrated.

He felt her shaking her head, "I'm so tired," she said.

"I know, just close your eyes and relax. It feels so good," Elliot said, already slowly drifting towards the sweet unconsciousness.

"Yeah, a couple of hours of rest sounds like a good plan, so we'll be fresh in the morning with new leads, new ideas… We can think clearly after a couple of hours of sleep under our belts," Olivia agreed.

Both of them stayed quiet with their eyes closed, but with no real intention to fall asleep, not while they have 2 kids to find.

Except they did fall asleep, and were woken by Olivia's phone going off. She reached for her pocket, and answered it.

"Benson," she said.

"Liv, we have a lead on our guy. Me and Munch and heading to the Outdoor adventures, Cragen wants you and Stabler to come in and check with CSU," Fin said, and by the sound of the background she could say that he was driving.

"Yeah, we'll be right in," Olivia said and looked down at Elliot, who seemed to be still asleep, judging by his evened breathing and lack of movements.

"Good," Fin said and ended the call.

Olivia flipped her phone shut and looked down at Elliot. She felt his chest raising and falling against hers, she felt his heart beating so close to hers, his head resting just above her chest and his hand underneath hers on her abdomen. He seemed at ease for once, but she knew it will fade once they'll get up.

She nudged his shoulder with hers lightly and called out his name. Elliot's reaction was to move his head so it ended up on her shoulder, his nose buried in her hair; he also removed his hand from her abdomen and tangled it in her growing hair, his body coming to rest more over her.

"Elliot," she said more firmly.

He groaned and unwillingly lifted his head, his dull blue eyes meeting with her warm brown ones.

"Good morning," he said through sleep and pressed his lips to hers.

"Morning," she replied, when he pulled away.

His head fell back on her shoulder and he mumbled something into it, but Olivia didn't catch his words.

"Oh, no mister, we are getting up," she said, realizing that he had no intentions of staying awake.

"Mkm," he mumbled and shook his head.

"Oh yes, Fin and Munch already have a lead," she said, reminding him of the case and tried to push him off, but was unsuccessful.

"Can we just stay here? Here's no crime, no perp to catch, no victim to get justice for. Everything is so simple and relaxing here with you," he said and kissed her neck lazily.

"El, we need to catch this guy and get the kids," Olivia said and pushed herself up on her elbows. Elliot used that and wrapped his arms around her, making her lose the balance and fall back to the bunk bed.

She was defeated for a moment, stunned by his actions, but recovered quickly. She too wanted to stay in the bed and not get up, because there's no place where she'd rather be, but she also knew that she can't. So she kissed the top of his head, and violently pushed him, making him turn and fall off the bed, but she didn't think it through, because Elliot didn't release his hold on her and both of them fell to the ground.

"Ow, why'd you do that?" Elliot whined and rubbed his head.

"Because I like to be on top," she deadpanned, referring to their changed position with now her on top of him, "And also because you were acting like a little child and refused to get up," she added.

Elliot pouted, pretending to be hurt.

Olivia shook her head, smirked and kissed the side of his mouth, then rolled away from him and stood up.

"Come back," he whined.

"No, I'm going to take a shower and change, you can go ahead and start working," she announced and left before he had a chance to say anything else.

Like she said, Olivia headed to the lockers, took a quick shower and changed, hoping her hair will dry out before Munch and Fin get back, because she really wasn't in a mood to hear them tease her about staying in or anything about Elliot.

She was lucky, because the bullpen was moderately empty, when she got there, but Elliot was there sitting behind his desk and sipping his coffee. Olivia took a seat behind her desk and found a fresh mug of coffee on it.

"Made you coffee," Elliot said without looking up.

"Thanks," she said, but didn't drink it.

She turned on her computer and checked the messages she had been left while she was asleep, but nothing urgent came up.

"You changed your shirt and tie," Olivia said casually, noticing the dark green shirt and purple tie had been replaced with light blue shirt and red tie.

"I did," he said and looked up, "So did you. Some might think we agreed on the blue for today."

Olivia smiled, "Anything from the CSU?" she asked.

"Called them, but we've got nothing. Though someone recognized him from the sketch, but you already know that," Elliot said.

He stood and walked to the coffee machine to refill his cup, but was stopped when his desk phone rang.

"Stabler, Manhattan SVU," he said to the phone.

"We have an ID on the perp, he bought a hunting knife, but the store checks ID. His name is Victor Paul Gitano," Fin said.

"Thanks," Elliot said and ended the call, "Victor Paul Gitano," he said to Olivia and walked over to Olivia's desk, who was already typing in the name. He came to stand behind her, leaning over, while keeping his distance suitable for the work environment, but close enough to smell the lavender conditioner she used.

Right on cue Cragen joined them to check on the progress. He read out Gitano's record Olivia had pulled up, his face getting more serious by the minute, because the guy had impressive criminal record, making all of them want to act faster and get the kids back home safely.

Gitano's file gave them an address, so Olivia and Elliot rushed off, Cragen stayed behind and called for backup – no way in hell Olivia and Elliot were going in alone. He also called Munch and Fin to call them at the apartment and Huang for consult.

As expected Gitano was not at home, but that didn't stop the detectives from searching every inch of the apartment, while Huang read out loud his physiological profile and his report from the therapy sessions.

Huang gained access to some of Gitano's therapy session tapes and went over them with the Captain, when the call came in. Olivia had busied herself with going over Gitano's past crimes to figure out, where he might be, Munch was with CSU, Fin was on phone with TARU and Elliot went over his friends and family, and then his phone rang.

"Stabler," he barked on the phone, then stopped his movements completely, his eyes growing huge and a small hint of a smile appeared on his face, that went unnoticed to everybody except Olivia. She questioned him, but he gave no reply until he hang up the phone.

"Gitano was just spotted," he said and got up from his desk, heading towards Cragen's office, Fin hot on his heels.

Without knocking Elliot opened the door and barged in, "Gitano was just spotted at the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal," he said, both him and Fin looking at their CO intensely.

Cragen nod firmly and the detectives left, both grabbing their coats and met Olivia by the elevator.

"We have him," Fin said confidently and pressed the button for parking garage.

"Yeah, we do," Elliot agreed.

"I called in for backup," Olivia said, hoping they'll get the guy.

They reached the parking garage and agreed to take 2 cars, Olivia and Elliot taking one and Fin riding solo. Both Elliot and Fin ignored all the traffic laws as they drove, causing Olivia to clutch the door handle in order to stay still, she was coordinating the uniforms and giving them verbal orders on how to act once on the scene.

Came out Gitano was expecting transfer to his account and visited Money Order Express, and the kids were alive. Plus he was supposed to come back any minute now, all they had to do was get officers in silently and in plain clothes, also calm down the guy, who called them – the clerk.

So there they were – Elliot talking to the clerk, Olivia picked up a phone and pretended to talk, while her eyes scanned the room for Gitano and Fin walked around, seemingly interested in some toys they were selling in the hall.

And then he came, without kids apparently, so Fin went to look for them, but as soon as Elliot left the clerk alone, his terrified expression spooked Gitano. Olivia dropped the phone and slowly started making her way towards Gitano, when he started running.

"He's running," she said to the microphone on her sleeve and started running after Gitano, Elliot right by her side.

Gitano still had the upper hand and while running through busy Bus Terminal, so Olivia and Elliot lost him in the crowd. He came to stop in the middle of people, looking around for any sign of him, Olivia stopping a few meters behind him.

"You see him?" he asked coming to her.

"No," she replied quickly.

"Split up," he more like ordered than suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed.

Elliot headed away, but Olivia called Fin to let him know about being made, so Fin promised to get Gitano on top.

Elliot took the elevator down, while Olivia used the stairs on the other side of the terminal, running through waiting area. Fin went to the platform, where busses were departing. As Elliot reached the other wing on the terminal, he caught a glimpse of Olivia by the escalator and drawing her gun. People came running out from the direction Olivia headed and Elliot followed her through scared mass of people. And then he saw Brian.

"Ryan," he called, now heading towards the scared boy, "Ryan! Hey buddy. Come here," he called, but the boy didn't move.

His got distracted, when he heard a scream from his right and then he saw Olivia pointing her gun at Gitano and ordering him to freeze. Gitano was holding the girl with his left hand and had a knife in his right. Without hesitation he flashed the knife and wounding Olivia, who voiced her pain, but the little girl screamed. Her hand caught the fresh cut on her neck as she fell backwards to the ground.

Elliot had his gun out and he watched Gitano grab Ryan and took the escalator up, him being torn between going to help his girlfriend and going after the bad guy. Ryan looked at him with his bright eyes and then Elliot looked at Olivia, who was holding her neck with both hands and gasping for air. His mind was made up.

"Move!" he shouted at people and pushed them away, "Olivia" he said, trying to reach her. He made it to her and fell to his knees, "Oh my God! No! No!" he said, unwilling to accept that Olivia was there wounded, hit probably in the carotid artery and he had been a cop long enough to know how long it takes to bleed out.

His gun was back at the holster, when he placed his right hand underneath her head, and the left hand by her side. He was terrified to lose her like this, he was not ready to be forced to give her up. So he lowered himself down and pressed his lips to her forehead, then lifting his head again.

"It's okay. I'm okay," Olivia repeated, letting him know the injury was not as bad, "I'm okay. Where's Gitano?" she asked.

Elliot stayed silent.

"Go, Elliot, go. I'm fine," she urged, lifting her head from the ground, but he supported her and pushed him with his right hand, trying to loosen his hold on her, "Go! Go!" she ordered.

Elliot looked down at her, wanting to stay with her, wanting to stay and make sure she is not lying, but she'd keep on telling him to leave if he did, so he too took the escalator to the upper level, silently praying that Fin got him.

Olivia kept on holding her neck, feeling the blood run down on her fingers, despite her effort to hold her neck from bleeding.

When Elliot arrived at the departures, he was met with a scene of people standing around something and noticed Fin there.

"Fin," he called.

Fin turned around and walked towards Elliot and held his hand out to stop the fellow detective, "Don't" he said.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, already fearing the worst.

"He killed him Elliot. Cut his throat," Fin said, when they met and Elliot slowly put his gun away. Despite the warnings, he went to the body to see Ryan lying there in a pool of blood. He took the earpiece and let it hang loosely on his shoulder and kneeled down. He rubbed his face with his palm, instantly regretting his chose to tend to Olivia instead of the boy. She didn't need him, but the little boy is now dead because of him.

"The girl? What about the girl?" he heard Olivia ask and looked back to see her walking towards Fin, one hand on her neck, her fingers covered with blood.

Fin looked back to see Olivia and immediately noticed the blood coming from her neck. He quickly found his handkerchief and wordlessly pressed it against the cut. His other hand ended up on her upper back, to keep her steady.

"Gitano still had her in his arms and he just disappeared," Fin explained.

Numbly she accepted the gesture, but kept her attention on the dead boy and Elliot. Elliot looked at her and their eyes met for a brief second before Elliot turned back around and focused on Ryan.

"What happened to you?" Fin asked, even though the answer was quite obvious.

"I had him and instead of getting him, he killed Ryan and got away," Olivia said, obviously blaming herself for the events.

"Liv, it's not your fault," Fin said even though he knew it wouldn't change a thing.

Olivia didn't reply.

Silently Fin got closer to her, her shoulder coming in contact with his chest, and his hand moving from her back to her shoulder, holding her firmly against him in case she needed support. She didn't flinch away, instead leaned in the contact and controlled her breathing.

Elliot stood from his spot and walked towards his coworkers.

"You okay?" he asked Olivia, looking at her for a moment.

She nodded in response. Fin looked at him, wondering if Elliot wanted to take over and have a private moment with Olivia, but he looked down and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm gonna call captain," he announced.

"Tell him we also need an ambulance," Fin added, making it clear that Olivia was their priority too.

Elliot nod, "You keep yourself at bay, it's my girlfriend you're holding," he said warningly, pulled out his phone and walked away.

"El…" Olivia said weakly, but he ignored her call.

"Give him a moment, it's always hard, when it's kids," Fin said comfortingly to Olivia, but also thinking about the conversation he was going to have with Elliot later.

"He blames me," Olivia stated.

Fin opened his mouth to say something, but Olivia started talking again.

"He came to me. Gitano got me and when I went down, instead of going after him, Elliot came to me. If he had gone after Gitano, Ryan might still be alive and we might have him," Olivia explained, what happened prior to the unfortunate.

"I would have done the same thing," Fin said, "And he has more reasons than I do. It's always hard to choose. You didn't make the choice, he did. I don't think there was a right and wrong choice, it's more complicated than that."

"Yeah," Olivia said.

After a few moments, they heard sirens flaring and ambulance pulling up. Fin motioned to the paramedics and lead Olivia to them.

"Detective Benson, she was cut with knife," Fin explained, "It's not bleeding that much, but it still hasn't stopped and she might need some stitches," he said quickly. As an ex-Army, he knew how to assess the situation and he has received some medical training in Army and in NYPD.

"Sit down Detective, let's take a look at your neck," the paramedic said and pointed at bench.

Fin held her hand and Olivia took a seat in the ambulance. Fin removed the handkerchief and excused himself, saying he was going to look for security camera videos and then back to the precinct.

The paramedic looked at the cut, cleaned it and then plastered it up.

"Your lucky day, detective," she said, "A couple of more centimeters, you'd be buying a pine box."

Olivia vaguely heard, what the paramedic was saying, her attention drifted to Elliot, who was standing a few meters away, she watched Cragen join him.

She was given some forms to sign and then she was free to go with a promise to brush the cloth over the cut, since the bleeding hadn't quite stopped yet and take it easy, going home would be strongly suggested. Olivia of course had no intentions of doing that and instead joined Cragen and Elliot.

"All I had to do was grab him. Few steps and just grab him," Elliot said, thinking back.

"Now, look, let's not go down this road right now," Cragen tried.

Olivia placed her hand on his back and started walking with them.

"Elliot, it was chaos. There was nothing that you could…" Olivia started, but was cut off.

"Please don't try to help me out right now," Elliot said firmly, brushing her hand off.

Olivia stayed a few steps back, while Cragen and Elliot continued to discuss the case. She intentionally kept out, refusing to admit, but Elliot's actions hurt her more than it should, but she could not let these feelings get the best of her. Instead she pressed the cloth against her neck and held it there, focusing on anything else than Elliot.

She was pulled back, when an officer came to them.

"Captain, just got word of a carjacking two blocks away," the young officer said.

"Go," Cragen ordered.

Elliot left instantly, but Olivia stayed back, hesitating.

"Are you okay to work?" Cragen turned to the female detective.

Olivia nod.

"Go with him and get the son of a bitch," Cragen ordered.

Olivia left, just barely catching Elliot before he drove off. The ride was silent, Elliot once again ignoring the traffic law and drove like a maniac.

They got to the site and took the car owner's statement. Came out the girl was still alive and possibly unharmed, yet. Elliot walked away midway through taking statement and that worried Olivia, so she cut it short – they had all the useful information anyway, and followed Elliot.

"Hey, let's get back to the house," she suggested and went towards him.

"Wait," Elliot said.

"Look, this is the one street we know that he's not on," Olivia reasoned. She saw Elliot grabbing a crowbar from trash and looking ready to attack.

"Elliot," she called on him, but he ignored it and broke a car's window. Olivia put her arms up to protect her face from the impact and shattering glass.

"Elliot, what the hell are you doing?" she asked in disbelief.

He opened the car door, "Car has a flat tire," he explained.

"So what?" Olivia asked.

"Why here? Why did he come to this street," Elliot asked and got into the car.

"Because he knows the bus station is crawling with law enforcement," Olivia said the most logical explanation.

"You know he was coming back to get his car, but he couldn't drive it. So he took another," Elliot said confidently and looked through the glove apartment.

"How do you know that this is his car?" Olivia asked, hardly believing Elliot's reckless actions.

"Check out the tags, there are none. He stole it," he said and grabbed the notebook he found, while Olivia went around the car to look for plates – he was right, there was none.

"Now we know who was supposed to send him the money," he said coming around to her and giving her the notebook. She read the name out loud and called Fin to track down Eddie Lumis and have uniforms pick him up, but that was going to have to wait until tomorrow.

The ride back to the precinct was quiet, except for radio playing to ease the uncomfortable silence and palpable tension between two detectives.

When they got to the station, it was quiet, since it was getting late and people had started to leave for the night.

"Cragen ordered you two home for now, take the night off and clear your head. We are tracking down Eddie," Fin informed them.

Both Olivia and Elliot nod and looked at each other uncertainly, not really sure that going home together is a good idea.

"I just heard what happened, came as soon as I got my conviction," Casey said, almost running to the bullpen.

"Are you okay?" she asked, turning to Olivia, whose neck cut was visible.

"Fine," Olivia said.

Casey threw her arms around her and hugged her friend, Olivia responded and closed her eyes in relief.

Elliot used the moment to sneak out, he figured Olivia will spend some time with Casey and then comes home afterwards. His sneaking didn't go unnoticed by Fin, who followed Elliot and then pulled him into empty interrogation room.

"What's your problem?" Elliot asked, frustration plastered all over his features.

Fin moved around the table and sat on the edge with his side to Elliot, who had taken a seat on a chair he usually interrogates suspects.

"Remember the little chat we had not so long time ago, about Olivia," Fin said harshly.

Elliot jogged through his memory and thought back to the conversation they had in the elevator right after the relationship came out. Yeah, he still remembered the threats he was given.

"Man, what the hell is wrong with you?" Fin asked, and continued before Elliot could reply, "Liv got hurt today and you were pissed at her. You were pissed because you had to go and save her, which was your choice. You acted like you didn't care, while I know that you do. What the hell?"

"She had Gitano and instead of taking him down, she gets herself taken down," Elliot said simply.

"You think she wanted that?" Fin asked, irony obvious in his tone.

"She had him," Elliot repeated.

Fin moved around the desk and sat on the table by Elliot's side.

"She was surrounded by civilians, there was that little girl," Fin came up with probable explanations, "What you should be thinking is that the bastard hurt your girlfriend and instead of putting your anger towards Olivia, you should focus on getting Gitano and then using the rage to break him or something."

"She's fine, a little cut on the neck," Elliot brushed off the argument.

Fin crossed her hands on his chest, "A little deeper cut and you wouldn't have a girlfriend," Fin said, hoping to get through to Elliot, even if it meant using not so ethical methods.

"But she's fine. Let's not think about the possibilities, because there are many," Elliot said, not wanting to think about that.

Fin stood and walked to the door, shaking his head.

"Fix it with her or I will hurt you," he said seriously and left.

Elliot sat for a moment longer and then returned to the squadroom, where Fin and Munch were working, but Olivia was gone, so was Casey. He figured the girls are out, Olivia probably needs the support, so he decided to come home and wait for Olivia there. Fin's right – Olivia doesn't deserve his anger and he needs to undo the damage.

***SVU***

Casey handed Olivia a glass of orange juice and sat down next to her on the couch. They made a brief stop at Olivia's, so she could get some clothes and then drove to Casey's. They avoided any serious discussion, but made small talk over nothing the ease the silence, when it felt pressuring.

"So, you wanna talk about today?" Casey asked finally.

"Not particularly, but you'll find it out soon enough," Olivia said, knowing if the case went to trial, Casey would read the case reports.

"We don't have to…" Casey said, giving Olivia a way out, if she might need that.

"Elliot is just so infuriating. Last night I thought that we were okay, but I even don't know where I stand with him now. He is spinning out of control, his temper hasn't been this worse for quite a long time now," Olivia said, thinking back to the events of not just the past days, but past weeks.

"Has anything changed between the two of you?" Casey asked, wary of the waters she was about to explore.

Olivia shook her head – she couldn't bring out anything that has changed and could lead to his recent behavior.

"It's like we're not us anymore," Olivia said heavily.

"Maybe you should tell him, what if you have been pulling away and keeping your secret is breaking you apart," Casey suggested.

Olivia rolled her eyes at Casey's suggestion, but she knew she had a point – Olivia had to tell Elliot at some point, it's not like pregnancy is something you can hide forever. "I'll tell him, I just can't tell him right now," Olivia decided.

"Do you think there will be a better time?" the ADA asked and sipped her red wine.

"When the case is over, I'll tell him after we have Gitano," Olivia was firm and awfully confident, even though she just made up her mind moments before voicing it.

Casey stayed silent, tapping her fingers on her knee and focusing on the movement. Casey had a high respect for the SVU detectives, but sometimes even they acted like little kids and chose the most irrational action possible, punishing themselves during the process.

"Don't do it for me, do it for yourself and your baby," Casey said finally and offered a smile to Olivia.

"My baby, it feels weird to say that out," Olivia repeated, she placed the glass of juice on the coffee table and ran her hands over her abdomen, "You know I haven't even seen a doctor yet. I didn't want to go without Elliot."

"See, this is the perfect opportunity to tell him by giving the time and place of your doctor's appointment," Casey proposed.

"Sounds like a plan," Olivia agreed, surprised she hadn't thought of it.

"Guess my years at law school finally paid off," Casey said with a smile.

Olivia nod, eagerly drank the rest of her juice and let out a yawn.

"Yep, this is it – we're going to sleep. It's been a long day and I have a meeting with the DA before hours," Casey decided and got up, she took the glasses to the kitchen and placed them in the sink, washing them instantly.

Olivia had taken out her toothbrush and was brushing her teeth, when Casey finished with the glasses. She also brushed her teeth, changed into sleeping clothing and got under the blanket. Both women turned their back to each other and Casey turned off the lights after both of them set their alarms.

The sleepovers had been frequent between the two females before Olivia and Elliot started their relationship, but even then, they occasionally had a girls night, which resulted in sleepover at both of their apartments, though recently they had been staying at Casey's apartment, because Elliot had moved in with Olivia and in order for girls night to work, no men were allowed, but their relationships were the most common subject they discusses.

***SVU***

"Olivia!"

It was already dark outside and even the streets were awfully quiet, when Elliot bolted from his sleep, getting into a sitting position and looking around disorientated, his breathing rapid and cold sweat covering his body.

He took a moment to adjust to the darkness and remember just what had leaded him to such fear.

"Olivia," he said again, but this time more in whisper, than in scream.

And he remembered the dream – they were chasing Gitano. Olivia went down and he didn't choose her, instead he went after Gitano, catching him just above the elevator. He managed to get him, his cuffs strong on Gitano's wrists. Fin took Gitano to one of the squad cars and the kids were taken to the ambulance. So Elliot went back down, because Olivia had not come up. Elliot saw her lying there, in a pool of blood, her body limb, but her brown eyes were wide open. He checked her pulse, but couldn't find one.

That's what woke him up.

"Liv," he said and stretched his hand out to where Olivia usually slept, but to his great surprise the sheets were cold and no warm body was there.

He turned his head and saw her side of the bed untouched – she hadn't come home.

Elliot was alone.

He looked the alarm clock by the bed and bright red numbers shone back at him, indicating it's 4:30 am and it's still hours until he has to wake up. He relaxed for a moment and let his head fall back to the pillow, but his eyes stayed wide awake.

The image of Olivia's dead body was too strong to get it out of his head, there was no way of falling asleep now. He took his cell phone and stared at her number for some time, but decided not to call – she's probably asleep at the precinct or at Casey's.

Instead he rolled over to his stomach and buried his head in her pillow, breathing in her smell, the mix of her perfume, lavender conditioner and something that's just her, but it was no help.

So Elliot focused on the events leading up to Ryan's death, how she had him at gunpoint and then he got away. And Olivia was in the middle of the unfortunate event, if only she had made the right choice and taken the shot…

If only.

Yeah, Elliot was not falling asleep again now, so he got up and headed to the shower. This time he took his time while the hot water poured down at him. Then he made himself a cup of coffee, had eggs for breakfast and headed to work a little before 6 am.

Cragen was next to arrive, then came Fin and Munch, Olivia being the last to arrive.

"Morning," Elliot said to Olivia casually, "You didn't come home."

"I stayed with Casey," Olivia said, not looking at him.

"Why?" Elliot asked, his tone accusing, but dead serious.

Olivia didn't get a chance to reply, because an officer came in with their suspect, so Olivia and Elliot headed to the interrogation room.

The interrogation was interesting to say at least. Elliot was his usual raging detective and in a silent agreement Olivia was the good cop, but in this case every time Olivia started to ask questions, Elliot cut her off mid sentence, without any warning. He controlled the situation and seemingly ignored her at all, but that was not like Elliot at all – even in fights he always respected her as a fellow detective.

During the interrogation Olivia was seriously thinking how wrong it was. Maybe he and Elliot are not cut out to be partners at work and outside work… Well, this case was proving her more and more that something is wrong with them.

He left during the interrogation and seeing as now there was not a chance to get something out of the guy Olivia followed him.

"Hey," she shouted after him, "Hey!"

"He doesn't know anything," Elliot said and kept on walking, refusing to look at her.

"Have you got something you wanna say to me? Cause if you do, let's hear it?" she shouted after him, stopping. That got him to stop on his tracks, turn around and walk up to her.

"Why didn't you shoot Gitano?" he asked.

"He was using the child as a shield," Olivia replied, but she had a feeling he was going to interrogate her some more and she was not disappointed.

"How could you let him get so close to you?" He asked, his look sharp, almost penetrating.

"There were innocent civilians around. I couldn't get a shot," Olivia protected herself.

"Well he got close and now Ryan is dead," Elliot said, accusing her.

Olivia took a brief moment to recover.

"So this is my fault?" she asked, her eyes wide – almost not believing what he was saying.

"No, I can't do this anymore," Elliot said, his voice even louder than before, taking a step back and walking away from her, "I can't be looking over my shoulder making sure you're okay."

"You son of a bitch," Olivia said, her own voice stronger and louder as she followed him down the hall, "You know that's not true."

She was still a few steps behind him, when he turned around and came back towards her. People from the hallway were giving them looks, wary of what might happen with the history everybody knew so well.

"I need to know you can do your job and not wait for me to come to your rescue," Elliot shouted to her face, leaving Olivia shocked, but she wasn't given a chance to get back at him, because Cragen had heard the shouting and came out to stop it.

"All right, that's enough," Cragen said loudly, coming to stand beside Elliot, "Knock it off," he ordered.

Both Olivia and Elliot acknowledged his presence, but kept on staring at each other. Cragen shifted his look between the detectives, settling on Elliot finally – he knew Stabler had initiated the current public fight.

"Now, in case you've forgotten, there's still a little girl out there with psycho, if we're lucky and he hasn't already slit her throat," he said and focused on Olivia for a change, who stared back with a look that had made countless perps to confess, just to avoid the anger, but Cragen was not intimidated.

She looked away and focused on Elliot, whose eyes were glued to the floor.

"I have to say this again to you, you're both suspended," Cragen threatened.

His threat echoed in silence, when it sank in; neither Elliot nor Olivia protested against the action.

"Now get your asses down to the morgue, Warner's got something to show you," he said what he initially came to say.

Elliot and Olivia walked away, side by side, but the unfinished fight and unleashed anger still hot between them.

"We're done," she hissed at him.

"Yeah, we'd better be," he replied.

"I want your stuff out of my apartment by tonight," she ordered.

"Gladly," Elliot said in hiss.

Even though Cragen was not nearby, he heard the exchange clearly. He took a deep breath and turned around, descending back to his office – they have a missing kid, a sex offender to catch and multiple cases to solve, he doesn't have time for the personal dramas of his detectives.

***SVU***

The ride to the morgue was excruciating, even the radio didn't help to dissolve the tension in the car. It was somewhat a relief, when they made it to the morgue and met the M.E.

"How's the search?" Melinda asked, when she entered the room.

"Sucks," Elliot said, anger almost gone from his voice.

"Too bad," Melinda said, "When you find this monster, give him a special kick in the nuts for me, will you?"

"So what have we got?" Olivia asked, her voice soft as ever – she was tired of everything and for once she wanted to be done with the case, all the cases – to be done with SVU.

"These are the clothes the little girl was wearing," Melinda said and brought a jacket to the table, "This jacket is actually an adult size."

"It belonged to either Ryan's step father or Gitano's?" Olivia asked and came closer to the table, Elliot did the same, coming to stand on the other side of Melinda.

"I'm hoping it's Gitano's. I'll show you something," Melinda said eagerly, "Hit the lights," she ordered Elliot, who obliged silently.

"When I was taking autopsy photos, I noticed something strange. Watch this," she continued and took random photos of the jacket, flashing the room, "Flashing."

They all noticed something shining on the jacket, reacting to the flash.

"What's that?" Elliot asked.

"Something phosphorescent," Melinda replied with certainty, "It reacts top the light. The lab hopefully…" she started, but was cut off.

"Why haven't you already sent it?" Elliot accused.

"I sent it when I saw it, detective. I'm waiting for the results," Melinda said back.

"So why are we here, for a light show? God," Elliot said, "Next time use the phone," he added and walked away, leaving the morgue.

Melinda looked at Olivia for answers, but Olivia simply shook her head, some things are better left alone and she was not about to discuss Elliot's behavior with Melinda.

"Sometimes all that brooding intensity is just annoying," Melinda said and turned on the lights.

"Tell me about it," Olivia said to herself, earning a glance from Melinda.

"You should know that better than anyone else," Melinda commented and Olivia nod bitterly, "This cell phone was found with the boy as well," Melinda continued with the case and handed Olivia an cell phone in an evidence bag, "It's locked. You'll need a security code."

Olivia's face lit up, "All the family phones have been accounted for – this one must belong to Gitano," she said, this might be the break they have been waiting for.

"Go," Melinda said friendly, knowing Olivia wanted to run to TARU.

"Thanks," Olivia said and practically ran off.

As expected, Elliot had taken the sedan, so Olivia got a squad car to drop her back to the precinct. She dropped the phone off to Morales and went out for a lunch with Casey, but got called back halfway through her salad.

She got back to Morales as soon as she could.

"I'm here, what do you have?" Olivia asked.

"You are going to love me," Morales said confidently.

"The phone belongs to Gitano," Olivia stated, smile spreading all over her face.

"Better," Morales said and climbed under the table to his work place, "Belongs to his employer, KNV Trucking. They think his name is Victor Franklin," he explained.

"How's that better?" Olivia asked, smile gone from her face.

"Because like many companies, KNV doesn't entirely trust its employees, that's why they opted for a little technological reassurance – Backend tracking," Morales explained.

"Which is?" Olivia asked fast.

"All cell phones have GPS locators, but they only transmit, when 911 is dialed. This cellular company offers this service for an additional fee. You can track your employees or your 15-year old daughter," Morales continued, getting to the point of his excitement and grabbed papers from his desk.

"All the time?" Olivia asked hopefully.

"As long as the phone is on, and doesn't just give you the cell site," Morales said, walking around the desk towards Olivia, "Latitude, longitude, altitude and speed. Victor Paul Gitano's whereabouts of the past month," he said and handed Olivia the papers with named information, looking proud of himself.

"You're right. I do love you," Olivia said, smirk playing on her face, took the papers and left without saying goodbye – she now had something to chase.

Olivia made a quick stop at the bullpen, briefed Cragen and collected the files she had on Gitano along with his picture, she was on her way to the elevators, when she realized that she doesn't have a car. So she went back, both Fin and Munch were sitting behind their desks.

"Guys, can I borrow your squad car?" She asked a little hesitantly.

"What happened to yours?" Munch asked curiously.

"Um, Stabler is running down another lead," Olivia lied expertly.

Fin and Munch seemed to believe it, so Fin threw the keys to Olivia.

"You better not crash it," Munch warned.

Olivia shook her head and left the precinct, ready to run down every place the perp had been, determined to find him.

***SVU***

George Huang heard a knock on his door – he looked at the time and then went to the door, opening it and found Elliot there, though he was not that surprised.

"Come in," he said politely and Elliot did, Huang closed the door after him.

Both men stood in silence by the door for a moment, but then Huang broke it.

"I heard about yesterday at the bus terminal. It's terrible. I'm really sorry," Huang said slowly, starting the conversation as he so very often had to with his patients and co-workers.

Elliot crossed his hands.

"You know, in situations like this…" Huang continued.

"Don't tell me there's nothing I could've done. Thanks," Elliot interrupted and walked away from Huang, his back turned to the FBI agent.

"I was going to say, in situations like this, there's no good choice," Huang went on with his original thought, ignoring Elliot's comment, "Every choice becomes a sacrifice."

"Not true," Elliot argued.

"You had to choose between saving the little boy or saving Olivia," Huang said.

"Yeah, but she didn't need me," Elliot said quickly and turned around.

"You didn't know that," Huang reasoned.

Elliot took awhile to look for right words, finally finding them, "I wish I didn't…"

"Didn't what?" Huang asked as Elliot left the sentence hanging on air and finished it, "Didn't care so much?"

Elliot nod hesitantly, looking at Huang intensely.

"Elliot, that's what makes you a good partner," Huang said easily and came closer to Elliot, "You're Olivia's partner in every way and this is part of you she is attracted to. Caring about the loved ones is one of the most primal instincts and fighting them is not reasonable."

"She made me turn away," Elliot said, ignoring Huang's explanation.

"How?" Huang asked back, "How does she make you do anything?" he asked, hoping Elliot would get to the point.

Elliot took a long to think, nod in defeat, "She didn't. It was my choice. Nobody else is responsible for it but me," he said, realizing how it's not all her fault, "Thanks."

"Elliot," Huang said strongly, "What does it matter? Placing the blame on either her on yourself won't bring the little boy back, so what's the point of pointing fingers? If you want to look for the blame, blame Gitano, but not anyone else."

Elliot strolled over to the armchair and took a seat.

"I have a feeling this is more than about yesterday," Huang said, having observed Elliot too many times to know there is something else going on.

Elliot simply nod and swallowed hard.

"It's not about the dead little boy, it's about Olivia," Huang stated and he took Elliot's silence as confirmation, "You know there are not that many partners that work together as well as you and Olivia. You two are so very different in many aspects as upbringing, background, values and methods, but somehow you complete each other. Together you form a perfect combination of hatred towards the perps and compassion for the victims, changing the dominance in situations and that makes harmony."

"Maybe we are too different," Elliot said out.

Huang smiled, "No, I don't think so. I think your dynamics is something everybody should aspire for in professional and personal level, while you and Liv have mastered it in both levels. I can see how both of you are passionate about your job – getting justice for the victims, and while your other relationships suffered and you had not passion left and that eventually lead to broken relationships on both ends. You're both even more passionate about each other, and this time the job only makes the relationship stronger, not breaks it. You understand how the other works and you respect each other in that way. Elliot, that makes your relationship strong and partnership even stronger."

"I chose her and a boy lost his life, how's that fair?" Elliot asked in annoyance.

"You will always choose Olivia, even if you'd still be only partners at work. Your bond was strong long before your personal relationship started. That's the reason I suggested 1PP to keep you together – nothing changed in the way you worked. Take it from the single guy in the room, doing your job with a person beside you, who understands you, makes it much easier," Huang explained his observations.

"Thanks, doc, but she broke up with me, so I guess we don't have to worry about the relationship," Elliot said, stood and left the room before Huang could respond.

***SVU***

"Detective Stabler," he said as he picked up his desk phone, it was CSU.

"Yeah, what've you got?" he asked as he sat down and got a piece of paper and a pen, listening carefully as he was given the results on their findings, "Repeat that second one." he requested and wrote it down, then politely thanked the CSU team and hang up.

"Lab results on the glowing substance from Gitano's jacket," he announced in the bullpen.

"What is it?" Fin asked, his tone cold.

"Traces of copper and zinc cadmium sulphide. What the hell is that?" he asked standing up, hoping either Fin or Munch would be able to give him an answer.

"I know what that is," Munch answered instantly and went to put a file in a drawer, "In the '50s and the '60s the military secretly sprayed it all over the country, they were trying to determine how nuclear fall-out travels and zinc cadmium sulphide is of a similar weight."

He dropped the file in its place and started walking back to his desk.

"Of course it was later deemed carcinogenic and the military claimed they never knew that," he finished and sat down.

"Gitano used to be airforce. Now how the hell would he get on his jacket now?" Elliot asked, confused.

"He could've been on a military base where they stored the stuff," Fin proposed.

"An abandoned installation," Munch supported, "Maybe it was one of those EPA superfund sights. God knows they haven't cleaned those up. You should call Olivia."

Elliot stopped at the sound of Olivia's name – he had been preoccupied with Huang's advice and his own mind to notice that Olivia was not in sight.

"Where is she?" he asked, suddenly concerned for his partner.

"Tracking Gitano's cell phone, she has a list of everywhere he's been this month," Munch explained.

Elliot picked up his desk phone and dialed for Olivia.

"Benson," she answered.

"It's me, where are you?" Elliot asked.

"Oh, some rathole restaurant in Jersey, they don't remember seeing Gitano," Olivia replied.

"Okay, what's your next stop?" Elliot asked and leaned over the desk, already opening the map on his computer.

"I think it's Cannon road," Olivia replied, opening her notepad, "Yeah, Cannon road, near route 44, about 15 miles from here."

"Okay, I'm gonna meet you there," Elliot decided, "Do you have any military bases on your list?"

"I don't think so, why?" Olivia replied after a brief moment.

"Wait for me," Elliot almost ordered – no way was she going in alone.

"Okay, meet you there," Olivia agreed.

"Okay, I love you," he said, earning glances from Munch and Fin, because he was not usually so openly admitting his feelings.

"Love you too," Olivia replied and hang up.

Elliot studied the map, gathered his notepad, cellphone and gun, then looked at his co-workers, who both were grinning.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Munch said smartly.

"So you and Liv made up?" Fin asked.

"We're okay," Elliot said grumpily and left before they could interrogate him, because no they hadn't made up, but he'll make it up after this case is solved.

***SVU***

Elliot parked the car next to Olivia's and saw the woman waiting for him there.

"What is this place?" he asked after getting out.

"Metal plating facility, looks deserted," Olivia said.

"Good place as any to hide a kidnap victim," Elliot said and walked up to her.

"Yep," she agreed, "Plus I think it was once your military installation. Check this out," she continued and lifted a military sign from the pile by the side of a building, "Warning, restricted area, as per Secretary of Defense."

"I'm calling for back-up," Elliot decided, his phone already by the ear.

"Tell 'em we can't wait," Olivia added.

They walked to the gate, Elliot holding the metal chain up so Olivia could duck in before him. After giving the instructions, he put his phone away and walked to Olivia's side.

"Follow my lead there, Gitano is dangerous," he said.

Olivia rolled her eyes and nod.

"Look, he already tried to kill you once, let's not let him finish the job," he explained.

Olivia nod again and felt Elliot's hand ghosting over her back, barely touching.

They got to the door, both drawing their weapons and quietly made a decision to go in without back-up, they might still be able to save the girl, Elliot getting in first. They cleared the entrance, looking behind every corner and Elliot pointed straight ahead, so they ran to the next crates.

Oliva nod, smelling the cigarette smoke, "Cigarettes," she whispered and Elliot nod. He signed to Olivia to go right while he chose to go left – a chance to ambush Gitano.

She ran between the boxes and military equipment until she heard a loud noise and Elliot's muffled sounds – she ought to know them so well by now, except they were not the sound of pleasure she usually heard. So she ran to the end of the boxes, to give Gitano a surprise, but she got a surprise, when a shot was fired in her direction right as she got to the sight, but as a trained detective she jumped to the ground.

"Drop it," she shouted at Gitano after a quick recovery and pointed her gun towards Gitano, who was now holding Elliot at gunpoint, "Drop your weapon now."

The next moment all 3 of them were shouting, Gitano announcing how he was gonna kill Elliot, Elliot ordering Olivia to shoot Gitano and Olivia shouting Gitano to drop his gun. And then Gitano shouted for everybody to shut up and the detectives obeyed.

So there they were – Gitano standing behind Elliot holding a shotgun at him, Elliot kneeing before him and Olivia on the floor a few meters away, pointing her gun at them.

"Victor, there's no way out of this," Olivia started again, her voice soft, but determined.

"Stop talking," Gitano shouted.

"You know what's gonna happen if you don't put that gun down," Olivia continued and rose to sitting position, "Now enough people have died," she said and stood up, her gun pointed at Gitano.

"Olivia," Elliot interrupted, but she chose to ignore him.

"And I know you don't wanna die," she continued, "You could've pulled the trigger on detective Stabler and then I would've had to kill you, but you didn't do that. But you didn't do that because you were being smart."

"You only got one chance, you gotta take it," Elliot shouted her.

"Where is Rebecca, Victor? Is she alive?" Olivia asked, her voice still calm.

"I'm not gonna tell you dick until you drop the gun, bitch," Gitano shouted.

"Shoot him," Elliot shouted.

"Shut up, Elliot," Olivia shouted at her partner and took a step forward.

"Start moving or he's dead," Gitano shouted and pulled Elliot up to cover himself.

"And then what?" Olivia asked, "You really think you're gonna walk out of here? Because that's not gonna happen. Now this is your choice – dead or alive," Olivia talked, while Gitano started looking around nervously.

"I go, he goes," Gitano said firmly.

"Victor, tell us where Rebecca is and we can end this right now," Olivia pushed.

"Dead," Gitano said, smile playing on his lips, while Olivia shook her head, not believing it, "I used her up and bled her dry," Gitano elaborated, feeling like he was in control, "You wanna hear how she screamed? How she begged for her mommy?"

"Stop it," Olivia ordered, not wanting to hear the rest of it.

"She was a slut down. A real little whore," Gitano continued.

"And I'm looking at a dead man," Elliot said, turning his head towards Gitano, while Olivia sneaked a little closer, unfortunately Gitano saw it.

"Any closer and you're gonna be wearing his brains on your coat," Gitano screamed.

"Olivia there is no reason to keep this piece of crap alive. Pull the trigger right now," Elliot ordered Olivia, "Olivia, pull it" Shoot him!" his voice got louder, when Olivia still didn't take the shot. Both of them knew she had to go through him.

"You know…" Gitano started nervously, his breathing loud and rapid, thinking Olivia might shoot like Elliot ordered, "you know that little girl? It's possible she isn't dead. She could be locked up in this building somewhere, huh? Or someplace else 15 miles away, you don't really know, do you?"

"You're a liar," Olivia replied.

"Yeah, well that's the point," Gitano said.

"Tell us where she is, Victor," Olivia said calmly.

"She's here. She's not dead, otherwise he would've been long gone," Elliot interrupted, "Unless you like 'em dead. You sick like that, Gitano? You like to play with corpses?" he continued turning his head once again to look at his capturer.

"Yeah, I like that," Gitano confirmed, positively lying, "The deader, the better, they don't fight as much."

"Olivia, you think about me, Rebecca is dead," Elliot started again, glazing deep into her eyes, "Pull that trigger, shoot him. Olivia, shoot him."

"Yeah, do that," Gitano encouraged, "But you better make sure you take me out with one shot. One perfect, perfect shot. Of course my reflexes are pretty tight. I could pull the trigger before the bullet even hits me or maybe you miss me all together. Either way there's an 80% chance I'm gonna take this guy's head clean off. But you try it, definitely. You'll probably turn out great," he taunted her, while moving around behind Elliot.

"You can kill us both, Victor," Olivia replied, "You still never walk out of here."

"Right," Gitano said, looking around the building desperately, "Right… 'cause uh… Cause you've got some buddies comin', huh? When that's going down?"

"Any minute," Olivia replied.

"Great, great," Gitano repeated.

"Just tell us where you hid her," Olivia requested.

"You know, you could put the gun down. At least then you might find her, otherwise she's gonna be dead. She's gonna die, he's gonna die and it'll be all your fault," he taunted her, pressing the gun firmer on Elliot's neck, "Just like that little boy. How's your neck?"

Elliot's eyes drifted towards her neck, but he couldn't see the wound because it was hidden under the coat.

"It's not the same thing Olivia, you know that," Elliot tried.

"Yes it is, Olivia," Gitano argued, empathizing her name, "God, you two couple are screw-ups. How could you let that little boy go?" he started.

"Olivia look at me," Elliot requested.

"Maybe you're just incompetent," Gitano finished, taunting her.

"You can do the right thing, I didn't. I made that choice with Ryan and it was wrong," Elliot said, catching her attention.

"Elliot," Olivia begged him to stop… He was just saying that choosing her was the wrong choice?

"It's my fault, don't do it," Elliot continued.

"Shut up," Gitano ordered.

"Don't make that mistake," Elliot said.

"Stop talking," Gitano ordered again.

"I would've done the same thing," Olivia said to Elliot, Gitano was not there for her at the moment.

"I said shut up," Gitano said, but he was ignored again.

"Don't make my mistake," Elliot begged.

They heard a noise – their back-up is here, but that made Gitano even more unstable.

"Drop it, drop the gun, drop it now!" Gitano shouted at Olivia, who took a step back, but her gun stayed firm in her right hand, "Put the gun down now! You cops don't come in here or everybody dies!"

"Hey! Hey!" he tried to win Olivia's attention, but she kept on looking at Elliot instead, "I'll tell you where she is."

"Where?" Olivia asked coldly.

"She's in a van parked in a garage in Newark. She might still be alive," Gitano said and looked around, but didn't see anyone.

"He's lying," Olivia said shaking her head.

"I know," Elliot replied.

"He's never gonna tell us," she decided.

"You're right," Elliot said, nodding.

"We can all walk out of here alive, if you just put the gun down," Gitano bargained.

"It's all right," Elliot mouthed to Olivia, knowing she'll take the shot and he was ready.

"I'm sorry," Olivia said back, her hand starting to shake, while she looked deep into his blue eyes, knowing she might have to take the shot, but she was nowhere near ready for it. She couldn't shoot the man she loves, she couldn't be the one, who leaves 4 kids fatherless. She just couldn't, even if it is what he was asking for.

Elliot was ready, he and been ready for while, he just closed his eyes, not hoping it would be easier for her that way.

But then there was a noise and a shot – Gitano fell to the floor, they heard shouts about suspect being down and okay to move in, while Olivia and Elliot both stayed frozen in their places, except Olivia had her gun down.

The police squad were talking in the background when they heard a little girl's voice. Elliot ordered everybody to be quiet. Olivia and Elliot were followed by the officers until they found Rebecca and Elliot took her in his arms.

They rode to the hospital, Olivia went in while Rebecca was examined, while Elliot chose to stay outside. She exited the room to see Elliot sitting on the benches.

"The good news is, they spent too much time on the run, he didn't have long enough to inflict serious physical injury on her," she announced, knowing Elliot would want to hear it.

"How is she doing, mentally?" Elliot asked.

"She says she doesn't remember most of it, so…" Olivia replied, she shrugged her shoulders and looked into the room through the window, "We'll see about that."

"I called the father, he's coming down," Elliot said as Olivia took a seat next to him, she ran her hand over her face and hair, exhaling loudly. It had been a hard day for both of them. She scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder lightly. He welcomed her in and wrapped his arm around her.

"If that sniper hadn't beaten you to it," he started, changing the subject, "I know you would have taken the shot, Olivia."

She flinched away from him as she was burnt suddenly.

"No I wouldn't have," she said firmly – otherwise she would have taken it, "Did you really expect me to? Did you really expect me to cause your death? What about your kids?" she asked in disbelief, for a guy who supposedly knows her the best, he doesn't know much…

"I don't know," Elliot said, "Just couldn't get that boy out of my head."

"What about me?" Olivia asked, refusing to look at Elliot.

Elliot had no answer for that.

"I don't know. I just…" he started, "Look, we both chose each other over the job. I'll never let that happen again, otherwise… we can't be partners," he finished, shocking her further.

She turned towards him, but refused to look at him.

"I can't believe you're saying that," she said on the verge of crying.

"You and this job are the only things I've got anymore. I don't wanna wreck that," he said heavily, looking at her for a moment, "Couldn't take it." she added and stood up, leaving Olivia alone on the bench.

She watched him stoll away, tears falling down her face now. Elliot basically told her, they couldn't be partners anymore, because she knew she'd always choose him, but he wouldn't do the same. She can't trust him to have her back any longer, so it has to end.

Standing up, she felt the pain on her abdomen just like she had been for the past day, only this time it was much stronger and it was all she remembered before everything went black in front of her eyes.

***SVU***

The next thing she remembered was waking up with bright lights shining down on her. She blinked her eyes open and saw that she was in a hospital bed, but she had no idea, how she got there, all she remembers is pain and then waking up in here.

A nurse entered the room.

"Good, you're awake, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

"You don't remember? You collapsed and we had to perform an emergency surgery on you, but I'll go get the doctor in here now, so you can talk over the details," the nurse said, "Oh, is there anyone we can call, family, friends, father perhaps?" she asked on the way out.

Olivia shook her head – no way Elliot will find out like that.

A moment later the doctor was back with the nurse.

"Good to see you awake detective," the doctor greeted, "I'm doctor Amelia Wilson and I operated on you."

"What was wrong?" Olivia asked and tried to sit further up, but failed.

The nurse helped her into sitting position and took her blood pressure, a sample of blood, temperature and pulse.

"Don't move, you might feel some pain in doing so," Amelia said and offered a smile, "You had ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg had attached itself in your fallopian tube, but it ruptured, causing bleeding. We had to perform laparotomy to repair the damage. We did everything we could, but we couldn't save the tube. If you feel any pain, page the nurse and she'll get you something, but for now rest and I'd really suggest to call someone to help you," the doctor explained.

Olivia nod, "When can I get home?" she asked.

"I'd like to keep you here for at least 3 days, depending on your healing. You had a major open surgery, so take it easy. Maybe you could call a friend?" the doctor suggested again, "Your emergency contact is Elliot Stabler, perhaps we should get him?"

"No, not Elliot," Olivia said fast, "Where's my phone?" she asked looking around.

The nurse handed her the phone, it was placed on the counter along with her gun, badge and wallet.

"I'll call Casey," she decided.

The doctor and nurse nodded and left the room.

Olivia put her phone on her ear and waited until Casey picked up.

"Liv, thank god. I've been trying to reach you. Fin told me Elliot came in and requested a week off, while you're nowhere to be found. Where are you? What happened?" Casey talked in one breath, relieved at last.

"Casey, I'm at the Bellevue. Could you come?" Olivia requested.

"I'm on my way," Casey said and dropped the phone, presumably on her way.

Olivia dropped the phone and felt tears coming to her eyes and this time she chose not to fight them – she just lost her baby, she might have lost her boyfriend… it was all just too much.

***SVU***

It was her fourth day in the hospital and she was promised to get home. She had a small fever yesterday, but hopefully it was okay now. She had already packed her things and she had walked around the room last night, when Casey came. But today she felt much better already and was hopeful to get home.

The doctor came in, her eyes were tired, but she was smiling.

"How are you feeling this morning, Olivia?" she asked.

"Good, I wanna go home," Olivia said honestly.

"Let's see," Amelia said and handed Olivia thermometer.

After a few minutes Olivia gave it back, Amelia wrote something on her chart, read it and then closed the chart.

"Seems like you are ready to go home, although we need to schedule a check-up for a few weeks and also you'll get a not then for work. I'll go get the discharge papers, but I'll only let you go if someone comes to take you home," Amelia explained.

Olivia nod – they had been through that before.

Amelia then left the room and Olivia took out her phone, dialed for Casey and then waited. She tried 3 times, but Casey didn't pick up, but then she remembered that Casey was supposed to be in court the whole day.

Olivia looked through her contact list for a person to call. Normally she'd just call Elliot, but now she couldn't, sleeping with her partner was not a good idea, Olivia decided. Heavily she pressed the dial button for Fin – he'd be discreet and trustworthy.

"Tutuola," Fin said on the phone.

"Fin, it's me," Olivia said.

"Liv, so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?" He asked.

"Okay. Are you busy? I kind of need a favor," she said slowly.

"Nothing urgent, just some paperwork. What do you need?" Fin asked.

"Could you come and pick me up?" Olivia asked.

"Sure, just tell me where you are," Fin requested.

"At the Bellevue, room 2008," Olivia said.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Fin said and hang up.

Olivia felt heavy, but the same she felt relieved – she was going home. Casey had picked up some clothes the day before and then there had been no sign of Elliot and Olivia was glad.

Fin got there 20 minutes later, the doctor came in just after him. She signed the papers, instructed Olivia to sign too and announced that she's ready to go.

"Liv, what happened to you?" Fin asked in concern.

"Ectopic pregnancy," Olivia said finally, deciding against lying to Fin.

"Oh, my baby girl," he said and hugged her carefully.

"Does Elliot know?" Fin asked and Olivia shook her head, "And I won't tell him either," Fin said firmly.

"Thanks," Olivia said.

"Come on, let's get you out of here. Can you walk?" Fin asked.

"Yeah," Olivia said and got up.

Wordlessly Fin took Olivia's bag, placed her badge, gun and wallet in his pocket and wrapped his arm around her shoulders

"Let's go," he said and supported her on her way out.

They got into the car and Fin out of habit asked: "Where will I take you?"

Olivia thought for a moment, "To the precinct."

Fin looked at her seriously, but decided not to ask.

"To talk to Cragen, I won't be work for at least a month," Olivia said and that relaxed Fin.

They got to the precinct and to their floor. Olivia refused to let Fin help her, but he stayed close just in case. He decided to wait at his desk, Olivia went ahead and knocked on Cragen's door, then stepped in.

"Olivia, what's up?" Cragen asked.

"I want a new partner," Olivia said firmly.

"Where is that coming from?" Cragen was surprised, sure they had a fight, but still…

"Me and Elliot, we don't work anymore and we can't be partners. We were wrong to believe, that we could be in the first place," Olivia explained.

"I'll get the paperwork started," Cragen said, respecting the decision.

"Take your time, I won't be in for maybe a month," Olivia said, "Fin just picked me up from the hospital."

"I know, they called me after the surgery – Elliot was not picking up and they had to notify me, procedure," Cragen explained, "Take all the time you need and I will find another fit for you."

Olivia nod.

"Thank you," she said and left.

Fin followed her to the elevator and then drove her home. He helped her in the apartment and took her to bed.

"Sleep, baby girl, I'll get you something to eat and then I'll go to work. If you need anything just call me and I'll come running. If you need someone to beat the shit out of Stabler, call me," Fin said.

"Thanks, but I'll be okay," Olivia said.

"And I believe you," Fin said.

He tucked her in and softly kissed her temple before he left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Olivia knew she wouldn't fall asleep. She felt the scent of Elliot on the pillows, but she couldn't throw them off the bed. Instead she inhaled the scent in again and cried quietly.

She couldn't believe it, but she thought that she and Elliot are really over.