Wow...I'm getting pretty good with the whole updating thing. lol. Which just goes to show you how much time I actually have on my hands. lol.

This chapter is a bit shorter - sorry about that. But have no fear! I've got lots of ideas to come for this story!! Stay tuned!

This chapter...well, it's all about Mackenzie. You'll understand a little bit more about her.

I own nothing in regards to Dick Wolfe or SVU.

As always, ENJOY!

Chapter 8

Mackenzie's Apartment

"You little shit!!! Get your ass back over here!!!"

Running into the basement, the small child hid under a pile of old rags. Doing her best not to make a sound, Mackenzie hid her face in her hands and whispered for her angel.

"Please…where are you? You promised you'd help me," Mack fell silent when she heard her mother once more.

"YOU BETTER PRAY I DON'T FIND YOU!!! YOU'LL BE WISHING YOU WERE NEVER BORN IF I DO!" With that, Sara stormed back up the stairs and slammed the door shut. Mackenzie waited for a minute just to make sure her mother was really gone then quietly climbed out from her hiding spot.

In the darkened basement, Mackenzie, now 8 years old, began to slowly and quietly make her way to the other end of the room which had a small window. She had been in this room so many times before that she didn't need a flash light to help her navigate the basement. Finding a spot on the floor close enough to the window but far enough to hide her, she sat down. It had been months since the last time she heard her angel's voice. She was beginning to lose hope that she would ever hear her again. Wrapping her arms around her legs she buried her face and quietly wept.

"Where are you? Why did you leave me? Did I do something wrong?" She quietly asked. Hearing her angel's voice got her through her mother's thrashings but as the months passed, Mack wasn't so sure she would make it out alive this time.

"Please…please don't leave me. I'm so scared," she whispered. Just then, without warning, the basement door was ripped open.

"There you are. Thought you could be a little smart ass, eh?" Sara slowly descended down the stairs and stood unmoving. Normally Mack wasn't so afraid of her mother, but this time was different. It felt different. The look on her mother's face frightened her the most. It seemed to destroy anything in her line of sight. And at the moment, Mackenzie was directly in Sara's line of fire. Moving towards her daughter in slow measured steps, it became clear to Mack that she wasn't going to survive this last beating.

Swallowing hard, Mackenzie inched back slowly, as far as she could against the wall. Her breathing became shallow knowing what was to come. She tightly shut her eyes and began to mumble quietly,

"Please God help me…"

Then her mother replied, just as quietly, "He can't help you now…," and slowly raised her arm….

"NOOOO!!!" Screaming, Mack bolted up right in her bed, sweating profusely. Breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably, she realized that it was just a nightmare. Swinging her legs over the edge of her bed she hung her head in her hands and forced her breathing back to normal.

"Just a dream. That's all it was," she said to herself. This was just one, in a long line, of nightmares she had been having lately. Normally, they didn't occur often, but they recently began to invade her life and took control of it. Taking deep breaths to get her breathing back to normal, she got up and staggered to the kitchen. She made it as far as the couch. Running a hand through her short hair, she did her best to calm herself.

"What the hell? I haven't had that nightmare in years." Getting up once more, she made her way to the kitchen and reached for a bottle of water. Taking an enormous gulp of water she ambled back to the couch. Great. It's 2 am and I can't back to sleep. Brady is going to kill me if I'm late. Remembering the events from the previous day, Mackenzie smiled for the first time that night.

"Mack! What on earth has gotten into you?"

"How am I supposed to know? You're the shrink. Not me!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Mack regretted them. Opening her mouth to apologize, Bradana stopped her.

"Look, I don't know what's bothering you. And it's clear that you're not willing to talk to me about it. But I will not have you sulking around here and have you being rude to everyone that comes in contact with you. Understand? So I suggest you go home and get that attitude adjusted young lady. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," said a dejected Mack. Half way through the door, Dr. Joy stopped her once more,

"By the way, you'll be working with Olivia tomorrow." Turning around, Mack saw a small smile form on Bradana's lips. Looking up at the shocked expression on Mack's face, Dr. Joy just raised an eyebrow as if to dare Mack into saying anything. Shaking her head, Mack stomped out of the office.

Sighing, Mack turned on the T.V. and flipped through the channels but not really watching anything. After a few minutes and finding nothing of interest, Mack got up and wondered back into her room. She flipped on the light and headed for her desk. On top of it was a drawing she had done years ago. She picked it up and stared at it for a bit. It's you. But how is that possible? You're not supposed to be real…. Mack had so many question's for this Benson woman but not sure where to start. Well…you'll be working with her in a few hours. You better figure it out. Sighing once more, she dropped the picture on the desk and crawled back into bed. She left the lights on to keep the nightmares at bay…for now. Mack drifted back to sleep and this time, she dreamed a dreamless sleep.

As Mack drifted deeper into slumber, a slight gust of night wind blew the drawing onto the ground. It resembled a certain detective. And as the picture floated down, a small voice could be heard.

"I'm here little one."

At that very same moment, a certain detective stared out at the night sky from her apartment window and whispered, "I'm here little one"….