ok so I know it has been a really long time since I have updated the story. I have been super busy with some family issues, a nasty cold, and mid-terms are coming up this week but I have a break coming up so I am going to try and get a couple of chapters up for you guys. To fix any confusion, Detective Shepherd is the one who is being tortured by an unknown assailant in the basement chapters. Anyway here is the chapter.

-Three Months Earlier-

It had been a month since the squad caught the Smith case and nothing had stemmed out of the theory that Karen Smith was being abused by her husband. It was super draining for me because I was being haunted by my own childhood experiences. All I thought about was how I had to save that poor kid so that he gets to grow up around someone who cares about him instead of ending up in the foster system. I spent most of my time trying to find something that could prove the theory that I had. I even went back to try and talk to Karen to see if she would change her mind but I still got nothing. I was frustrated and upset that I couldn't get this guy.

I was sitting in Casey's apartment eating dinner with her and I knew she was saying something but I was zoned out thinking about the case. Casey and I had been together for a few weeks and I was really enjoying being with her. I felt bad that my thoughts always seemed to drift to the Smith case. I was thinking about it when I heard her say something that gripped my attention.

"Earth to Matt, are you still with me bud?"

She sounded like she was frustrated and a little annoyed. I couldn't blame her for it either.

"Yeah, yeah, Just distracted by a case that's all."

"Is it the Smith case?"

I didn't respond. Instead I just gave a weak smile and placed my hand on hers. She moved her hand from under mine and got up and picked up the dishes from the table. She then made her way over to the kitchen. I waited a little bit before getting up and walking into the kitchen behind her. I walked up and put my hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her head. She let out a sigh before breaking the silence.

"I know you are affected by the case and I know you are just trying to help Karen Smith but you are letting this case consume you."

I let out a sigh. How could I expect her to understand why I felt the way I did about the case when I hadn't even told her about my own past yet. I wasn't ready to tell her about it just yet. I didn't feel a need to just completely open up to her yet. I knew I liked her but I wasn't ready to tell her about my past just yet. I wasn't ready to let my guard down. So I just tried to get through the conversation without it turning into an argument.

"It's nothing Casey. I'm just trying to do my job. I'm not letting the case consume me. I'm just trying to figure out how to get justice for her and her son."

She squirmed out of my grasp and walked to the other side of the kitchen. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter.

"That's BS and you know it. Matt…. I don't want to push but something about this case is bothering you. It bothers me too that she is being abused but there is nothing we can do unless she cooperates with us and right now that isn't happening. Look what ever is making this case consume you is your business; I just don't want it to consume you to the point where it will take you away from me."

I could hear her voice soften. I walked over to her and just wrapped her in my arms. I just stood there and held her. I could feel her arms go around my waist. I kissed the top of her head.

"Case, you aren't going to lose me. Nothing will take me away from you but for some reason I just need to make sure I can save her and her son before that monster kills them."

She pulled away and cupped my face with her hands. She held my gaze for a little while.

"You're hiding something but I will respect your privacy. Just don't stress yourself out over this case. I want you to be able to enjoy our time we have together."

I gave a small smile as she held my gaze. She was right, my secret was causing this case to consume me and I was thinking about it way more than I was allowing myself to enjoy my time with Casey.

"I do enjoy our time together. I enjoy you."

I leaned in and kissed her. I scooped her up in my arms and I carried her off to the bedroom. I meant what I said, I did enjoy my time with her and that night I showed her that I did enjoy my time with her.

Later that night I woke up to my phone buzzing. Casey was lying next to me and I reached over her to get my phone. I saw that it was Olivia calling.

"Shepherd."

"It's Olivia. We have a problem with the Karen Smith Case. She has been attacked again. Carisi and Rollins are on their way to the hospital to get a statement but there is one problem."

"What is it?"

"This time Karen Smith wasn't the only one who was attacked. The son, Sam, He was attacked as well. Marcus Smith is nowhere to be found. Sam says he only wants to talk with you. I need you to get down to the hospital as quickly as you can."

"I'm on my way."

With that I hung up the phone and carefully moved Casey off of my arm. I threw on some clothes and left a quick note for Casey and then headed out of her apartment.

When I arrived at the hospital I immediately found Rollins and walked over to her. She was speaking with one of the doctors and I waited until they were done before getting her attention.

"Hey, Rollins, where is Sam?"

"He is in an examination room with some nurses but refuses to speak to anyone but you."

"And how is Karen doing?"

"He really did a number on her. She is in surgery now."

She walked me over to the examination room where Sam Smith was. I knocked on the door and then I walked in. I saw him sitting on the bed and I looked over to the nurse who was making her way over to me. I flashed my badge at her.

"I'm Detective Matt Shepherd with SVU."

She just nodded and walked out of the room. I walked over to Sam and smiled at him.

"Hey Sam."

I felt so bad for him because I knew exactly what he was going through. He looked up at me and

smiled.

"Hi Matt."

"Sam, can you tell me how old you are?"

He looked at me and continued to smile.

"I'm 7."

I just continued to smile as my heart broke for this kid and I realized in that moment that this case was going to a lot harder on me then I originally thought.

"Sam, I know this might be hard but can you tell me what happened tonight?"

He looked away from me but then looked back and all I could see was the pain in his eyes. This kid was hurting on the inside. His tone dropped to a very somber tone.

"My mom and Dad got into a fight. They always fight. I walked over to the kitchen and hid behind a wall where they couldn't see me. He hit her but my dad usually does but this time he was hitting her harder and harder. I went over and stood in front of her to see if he would stop but her didn't. He shoved me out of the way and then my mom told him to leave me alone. He looked at me and smiled before he hit me. I tried to fight him off and he just hit me and so I stopped fighting back so he would leave me alone because it hurt so much. He just kept hitting my mom. He wasn't paying attention to me so I made my way over to the phone and called 911. When I heard things were quiet, I made my way over to my mom and I was scared he was going to come back bit he was gone."

"Do you know where your dad might be?"

he didn't say anything. He just shook his head. I knew it was a long shot to ask him this question. I said goodbye and then walked out of the room. All I really needed right now was some fresh air. As I was making my way out of the hospital Rollins came up and grabbed my shoulder.

"Matt, we have a problem with Marcus Smith."

"What do you mean? I know he is missing but other than that what kind of problem could there be?"

"He is using an alias."

"Ok well what is it?"

"Let me be more specific. Up until about seven years ago there is no record of a Marcus Smith. Marcus Smith is his alias. He is hiding something and I think that Karen Smith might know something about it."

"Well let's wait until she is up and able to talk to us to see if she knows anything. Until then make sure to let Benson know about this and let's see if we can find him before he's gone for good."

Sorry for such a slow and bad chapter. My cold really blocking me up and I am super focused on midterms. Once all of this stuff passes in about a week I should be able to crank out a good chapter for you guys. Don't hate me over this one chapter. I am open to suggestions and I really appreciate your reviews.