AN: Thanks for your patience! I'm posting this now, and trying to get another update out tomorrow! Trying…

Thanks for reading and please leave a review!

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia knew she was asking a lot…that her request probably shocked the hell out of Elliot. She always prided herself on her independence, but tonight she needed comfort…human contact. She hadn't realized how much until he pulled her against him outside. The feel of his arms around her…just the warmth of his body…provided immeasurable relief. She needed to feel that again. To feel like she wasn't alone and to quiet the thoughts running through her mind.

She watched as Elliot came around the end of the bed, until he stopped on the other side. He stood there awkwardly, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Maybe it was too much…maybe he felt uncomfortable. "If you don't…"

Elliot looked up at her sharply. "Shhh." He said. He had paused only because he wasn't certain if he should lay on top of the blankets, or if she was expecting him to slide between the sheets or…

"El. I just need to sleep." Olivia pulled the blankets back. "Just take off your jeans so you're comfortable." She turned her head away, as if to give him some privacy. She could scarcely believe she'd told him to strip down so casually, but she didn't have any lascivious ideas about her partner right now. She literally just needed to feel his presence…to steal the comfort he provided.

Olivia heard the buckle of his belt, and then the sound of his jeans hitting the ground. Then she felt the bed bow with his weight as he climbed into bed.

Elliot saw her turn her head towards him as he pulled the covers up to his chest. He held out his left arm, making a spot for her. "Come here." He was somewhat surprised when she moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. He could tell she was careful not to press herself too closely against him, but he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her body closer. He kissed the top of her head. "Get some rest."

He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the fact that he was holding her in his arms…that he was in her bed. He tried not to focus on her body pressed against his. He knew it was good that he was absolutely exhausted, or he wouldn't get a wink of sleep.

It was less than a minute later when he felt her breathing slow, and her body relaxed against his. He leaned his head towards hers, breathing in the smell of her shampoo, and closed his eyes. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep, and his last thoughts were that if he could fall asleep like this every night, he'd be a happy man.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up to bright sunlight streaming in through a slim opening in the blinds. It took a few seconds for everything to come rushing back from the day before, and to realize she had her body intertwined with her partners. He had his left arm still wrapped firmly around her, and he hand rested at her waist. She realized she had her left leg tangled with his and her hips were pressed against his left hip. His right arm was pinning her left arm against his chest. Olivia could hear his heartbeat in her ear, and his breathing was slow and steady.

He was still sound asleep.

Olivia closed her eyes again. She knew that she should wake him…that they should get up…get an update from Cragen. But she just wanted a few more minutes. A few more minutes where she could pretend everything was fine…where Amy was sleeping safely in her hotel room. A few more minutes when she could pretend that lying here with Elliot was real…that it meant something.

She felt Elliot stir beneath her, and she tried to disentangle herself from him, but he tightened his grip around her waist and kept her close.

"S'okay." Elliot whispered. "Go back to sleep."

Olivia settled back against him…just for a minute more. She felt Elliot's breathing slow again. She wished she could stay here forever.

It was just a few minutes later when Olivia heard a cell phone ringing. She lifted her head and listened; it was coming from the living room. She tried to pull away again, but her movement woke Elliot again. He grunted as he came to, and then seemed to realize it was his phone that was ringing. Olivia rolled her body away from him as Elliot sat up and slid out of bed. She watched him walk out of the room, and then got up and walked into the bathroom.

Olivia looked at her eye, and saw the swollen had gone down considerably, but was still a horrible shade of purple, as was the angry looking bruise on her cheekbone. She reached up and touched her head wound lightly, still tucked beneath a white bandage. She tugged gently and removed the bandage, wincing as she pulled out some hair with it. She spent the next few minutes washing her face carefully, brushing her teeth and pulling her hair into a clip.

She considered a shower, but was anxious to hear the update from Cragen. She pulled open the bathroom door and snagged a sweatshirt, pulling it on a she walked into the living room. Elliot was still on the phone, nodding as he listened. He turned to look at her as she walked into the room, and held up a finger, as if he knew she was going to start peppering him with questions.

Olivia listened for a minute or so, but she wasn't getting much from this one-sided conversation. Her headache had subsided but was still there, so she walked into the kitchen and took some more pain reliever. Then she decided caffeine was in order, and she dug for some coffee so she could get it started.

It was several minutes before Elliot hung up and she returned to the living room with two mugs of coffee. As she handed one to Elliot, she saw the grim look on his face.

"What?"

"They found Jason."

Olivia heard the grim tone of his voice. "Amy's dead, isn't she." Olivia said. It wasn't a question.

Elliot shook his head as he took a step closer to her. "No." He put his free hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "I mean…we don't know where she was. Amy wasn't with him."

Olivia furrowed her brows. "Where did they find him? Did they search…"

Elliot interrupted her, giving her an update. The team had scoured all the video at the hotel from the previous 48 hours…from the time Amy came to town until she had left for the club with Olivia, and there was no sign of Jason being there. They had tracked his credit cards and there was no activity in the city; he must have paid in cash since he'd been here. There were no bridges between here and Boston, so they didn't have any idea how long he's been in Manhattan. But they had put an APB out on his car, and state police spotted his car just south of New Haven.

"Fin and Munch are going up to get him now." Elliot was upset that he wasn't the one going up to pick up Jason. He wanted to have a shot at him, and he knew once Jason was at the 16th, he probably wouldn't get a chance.

He saw the distraught look on Olivia's face, and he knew that he'd made the right choice staying with her. Hopefully he'd have another chance at Jason.

"They don't have any idea where she is?" Olivia asked.

Elliot shook his head. "He's not talking." He looked at his watch. "The guys should be there soon."

Olivia sank down into the chair closest to her and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her coffee mug on the top of her knees and stared at it. "I can't stand not knowing…and I was just sleeping while she could be…"

Elliot sat down on the coffee table in front of her and reached for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Don't think like that."

Olivia looked down at their hands…wondering, subconsciously, when it had become ok for them to just touch each other like this; she assumed it was when she had invited him into her bed. She looked back up at Elliot. "I want to go to the precinct. I want to question him."

Elliot shook his head. "You know that's not going to happen. Cragen's not going to allow it."

Olivia clenched her jaw. She knew Elliot was right, but she needed to get to the precinct. She changed tactics, playing on his sympathy. "You're right, but I want to see him." She touched her cheek gently. "He did this to me. I need to ID him."

Elliot understood what she was up to, and he wasn't biting. "You're supposed to be resting."

"I feel fine."

"Is that why you were popping pain relievers?" Elliot asked. He had been able to see her in the kitchen as he talked to Cragen.

"I'm the only witness to Amy's kidnapping. Until I ID him, we don't know for sure that it was him."

"I can have them take a photo and send it here."

Olivia pulled her hand from Elliot's. "You don't want to get your hands on him?" She was counting on his protective nature; she knew he probably wanted payback. She saw his jaw clench, and knew she'd hit the mark.

"Of course I do…"

"Then you understand why I want to see him." Olivia said, cutting him off.

Elliot sat and stared at her. His emotions and common sense were at war.

Olivia leaned forward. "I feel better. We won't stay long. I just…I just have to see him."

Elliot knew Cragen would probably have their asses but he wanted to confront him as much as Olivia did. "OK."

Olivia pushed herself out of her chair, forcing Elliot to lean back slightly. "I'm going to take a quick shower." She wanted to get going before he had a chance to change his mind. She paused momentarily and then looked back at him. She saw he was still looking at her, a grim expression on his face. "Thanks."

EOEOEOEO

Elliot had convinced Olivia to let him stop at his apartment to take a quick shower and get some fresh clothes. He had been in and out in ten minutes, and they were on the way to the precinct. Elliot had considered giving Cragen a heads up that they were on their way, but decided against it. He looked at his watch quickly, and figured Fin and Munch were probably going to beat them there.

Elliot had a hard time keeping up with Olivia as she rushed to the elevator in the precinct, and then into the squad room. Cragen was standing in the middle of the room, talking to Munch.

"Where is he?" Olivia asked as she reached them. "Did he say anything? Does he say anything about Amy?"

"They're just getting settled in interrogation." Cragen said.

"He didn't say anything in the car?"

"He insisted he didn't hurt Amy." Munch said. "That he didn't know why we were arresting him."

"I want to talk to him." Olivia said, looking at Cragen.

"No."

"Cap'n."

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm going to let you watch. I should send you home." Cragen said, pointing a finger at her.

Olivia wanted to argue, but she knew he wasn't messing around. He would force her to leave if she pushed the point. So she nodded and followed he and Munch to Interrogation 2. Elliot was close behind her, and she was surprised that he hadn't said a word to this point. She assumed he was fighting his own desire to talk to Jason.

Olivia looked through the window and saw Jason sitting there with his face buried in his arms on the table. Fin was leaning against the wall, and it appeared no one was talking. When Munch walked into the room, Jason lifted his head and Olivia put a hand to her mouth. She saw that Jason had a gash and an ugly purple bruise on his left cheek, the coloring matching the bruise on her own cheek.

She turned to Cragen. "Did Fin or Munch do that?" She knew the guys would do anything to defend her, but she hoped they hadn't roughed him up. That would only weaken their case against him.

"No."

"Then what…"

"I don't know Olivia." Said Cragen. "But hopefully we're about to find out."

They turned their attention back to the interrogation room as Munch and Fin sat down across from Jason.

"So tell us how you know Amy." Munch said.

"She's an ex-girlfriend."

"Ex?" Munch prodded.

"Yes."

Olivia watched his body language, but Jason wasn't acting nervous at ll. There we no "tells"…no tremor in his voice or shifting eyes as Munch and Fin kept questioning him, trying to trip him up. Jason admitted he hadn't wanted to break up with Amy and that some of his attempts to get back together with her had been overzealous. He acknowledged the court case but pointed out that the judge had refused to issue the restraining order.

"So why did you follow Amy to the city?" Fin asked.

"I didn't follow her." Jason said, looking back in between the two of them.

"So, you deny seeing her here in the city?"

"I didn't say that." Jason replied.

Olivia was getting impatient with their questioning and she turned to Cragen and Elliot. "This is taking too long."

"He's made it clear that he's not going to just blurt it out. They're trying to find holes in his story." Cragen said. "Be patient."

Olivia bit down on the inside of her cheek. It was taking all her self-control not to rush into the room and shake the snot out of Jason. Elliot started to pace behind her and she could feel the tension coming off him in waves.

"What happened to your face?" Fin asked Jason, changing direction in hopes of throwing him off.

Elliot stopped pacing when he heard Fin's question, and he came and stood next to Olivia. They both watched as Jason touched the bruise gingerly with his fingers.

"Do you think Amy hit him?" Olivia whispered. She wondered if she had been fighting him as he dragged her away...or if he was trying to hurt her.

"I don't know." Elliot said as he wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulders. He felt her tense beneath him and he looked over at Cragen, dropping his arm quickly as he saw the Captain watching them.

"Did Amy hit you?" Munch asked, repeating Olivia's question to Elliot. Olivia leaned in towards the window, knowing he probably wouldn't admit anything but hoping he would.

"No." Jason said. "It was someone else."

Fin stood up and pushed the chair back suddenly, bracing his arms against the table and leaning in towards Jason. "Listen. I'm tired of havin' to ask you all these questions. We know you followed Amy into town, and we know you followed her out of that club and talked to her on the street. We have an eyewitness that puts you there…with Amy. We know what happened. So now what we need to know is what the hell you did with her!"

Jason pushed his chair back, away from Fin and Munch. Elliot could see the anger on Jason's face. "I would never hurt Amy!" He yelled. "I love her!" He slammed his hands down on the table. "I was only trying to help! She was drunk. She shouldn't be drunk and wandering around the streets of New York! It's dangerous."

"She was with someone else." Fin said. "She wasn't in danger."

"Yes, she was!" Jason stood up and started pacing back and forth. "I saw her and her friends in the bar." He spat out. "She and her friends were dressed like whores. They were dancing with different men. They were drinking. Asking for it." He was breathing deeply now. "And then it was just her and that other woman. All by themselves, walking down the street. They were drunk! It was only a matter of time…just a matter of time. Something bad was going to happen."

"They were both drunk?"

"Yes. They couldn't walk straight and they were alone." Jason kept pacing and was getting more agitated.

"So, you were trying to help." Munch said.

"Yes. I was trying to help."

"Because they were in imminent danger?" Munch asked.

"I stopped them. I offered to help them get to their hotel." Jason said. "I wanted to make sure they were safe."

"OK." Said Munch. "What happened next?

"Amy's friend went crazy. She attacked me." Jason stopped pacing and turned back towards Fin and Munch. He touched his face. "She's the one that did this to me."