A/N - Hey guys...sorry to leave you hanging but I do so love cliff hangers! I'll post two chapters up for you today as payment for waiting!

As always...

Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Thirty-Two – Don't You Forget About Me

The impact of the bullet took Olivia off her feet and she landed hard on her back. Despite the bulletproof vest, she felt every vibration of the pain. It rattled through her body, causing her bones to shake. She played dead, keeping her eyes closed, breathing as little as possible. He didn't know about the vest. She heard his slow steps as he moved closer to her. She waited until he was leaning over her, breathing heavily. And when he cocked the gun again, she pushed out her leg, sweeping it across the floor, taking him off his feet. The gun went skittering across the floor as Cullen fell and Olivia got to her feet, pulling the gun from her ankle. She stood over Cullen, the gun securely trained on his head.

"Where is Fiona?"

Cullen shook his head.

"You will have to kill me."

"Olivia?"

For a moment, the tiny weak voice caught Olivia's attention. She turned slightly, finding a slightly more conscious A.J looking at her with a frown. Cullen took advantage of her distraction, pulling himself off the floor and tackling her. She lost her grip on the gun as she fell. Cullen wrapped his hands around her throat, pushing hard.

"You are going to die here."

Olivia struggled against him, clawing at his shoulders, hitting his face but he was heavier than she was and the crushing weight on her neck made it hard to breathe. Her vision was starting to blur, the edges taking on a dark hue.

"And then I'm killing your husband and daughter."

That was enough to give Olivia a second wind. The concept of her daughter or Peter suffering pain at the demented hands of Cullen filled her with anger. Then she thought of her step-father and the connection between him and Cullen. He couldn't win. Her step-father had. She wouldn't let Cullen do the same. Olivia took her thumbs and shoved them deep into Cullen's eyeballs, using all of her strength, making him scream and loosen his grip. She slithered out from beneath him, kicking him back hard. She felt her boot connect with his face as she searched for the gun. It glinted just out of reach. She crawled over and grabbed it, rolling over quickly. Cullen stopped short.

"Kill me."

"No."

"Why?'

"You'll go to prison. And be known as the man who was trying to kill A.J. Alfonso went down for it and you will too."

She nodded towards A.J.

"Unlock her. Now."

Cullen glared at her as he pulled a key from his pocket. He unlocked her and she collapsed further into the chair, her head almost hitting the desk. A.J whimpered slightly, barely raising her head. Cullen smiled.

"She's dying."

Olivia ignored his words, wondering what move to make next. Her ears where sharp to the noises outside and she heard nothing to indicate that help was coming.

"I'll never stop. You know that right?"

"I'll make sure you get sent to the same prison as Alfonso. You'll be dead before you have a chance to launch an appeal."

"You want to kill me."

Olivia shook her head, but Cullen examined her with narrow eyes.

"You want to kill me. I can see it. So kill me."

Olivia's finger brushed the trigger, moving into position. It took her a second to see that Cullen was right. She did want to kill him. The feeling was a horrible one. With any other suspect, she would want justice. She would want them to sit in a dark cell, alone and cold with nothing but their memories to keep them company. But she didn't want that for Cullen. She wanted him dead. She wanted a bullet to tear through his flesh and take his life away. She frowned as a movement caught her eyes behind Cullen.

"Kill me."

"You need to pay for what you did."

"Kill me."

Her decision was never made. There was a large crack as a pole slammed into the back of Cullen's head. He groaned, swaying a moment on his feet before collapsing. Olivia looked up from the still form of Cullen, smiling slightly.

"You are sneaky woman, Fiona."

The pole dropped from Fiona's hands and onto the floor. Fiona smiled, wincing. Her split lip made the action a little more difficult. Cullen had hit her. More than once but she was still alive.

"He broke into my home and hurt Charles. He's lucky all I could find was a damn pole."

Olivia turned her back on Cullen, moving towards A.J. She checked for her pulse again. Still there but weaker than it was before. Olivia checked her over. There were cuts where she had been secured to the desk and Olivia guessed that she would seriously dehydrated and malnourished. But she was alive.

"We need to get her outside."

Fiona shook her head.

"She won't make it out there. She's too weak."

Olivia pushed the hair from her face.

"I can't leave you here alone. You need to get out of here and start my truck, radio our location."

Fiona nodded and with light footsteps that defied her age, she disappeared from the attic. Olivia only started to relax when she heard the soft hum of her truck engine. They will be here soon.

"You are going to die here."

Cullen struggled to stand, blood pouring from the head wound that Fiona had given him earlier. He moved closer to Olivia, his voice hard.

"I'm going to kill you. And then I will kill your husband and your daughter."

That was it. She was sick of the threats and sick of Cullen. She was done. Olivia pulled back her arm and swung her fist, connecting with Cullen's jaw. She ignored the pain in her hand and watched Cullen crumble, howling in pain. He clutched at his jaw.

"Bitch."

Olivia enjoyed the small rush of satisfaction. He pulled himself back to his feet and stood in front of her again, swaying slightly. She almost didn't hear the sound of the gun. All she saw was the bullet as it tore through Cullen's chest, spraying blood and flesh. She looked behind her, where A.J sat, the gun in her hand. Still weak, the gun slipped from A.J's grip, landing hard on the floor.

"He….needed….to….die."

Saying that one sentence seemed to take the fight from her completely and Olivia watched as A.J's eyes rolled slightly and she lost consciousness again. Olivia moved over to Cullen, checking his pulse. He was dead. Olivia stepped back to A.J, sliding down onto the flood beside her, taking her limp, pale hand in her own. It was over.

Peter was fussing. She hadn't even needed to visit the hospital but as far as he was concerned, she might as well have been in a full body cast. He watched her carefully as she moved, wincing when she moved too fast for her bruised ribs. Bruised ribs, a soft red mark around her neck and a black eye were all that she had in regards to evidence of her encounter with Mike Cullen. Not that it mattered. The paperwork could wait, her meeting with Broyles a few more hours down the track. She was like a kid at Christmas as they waited and Rachel barely said hello before Olivia had taken Etta from her arms.

"Momma! Hi!"

Olivia kissed her chubby cheeks, holding her tight, feeling everything become right with the world again. Etta, reaching the end of her patience with Olivia's cuddles extended her arms to Peter.

"Dada! Hi!"

Olivia handed her off before pulling Rachel into a hug.

"I'm so sorry about all of this."

Rachel shrugged.

"We were fine. And Reece was brilliant. He should be arriving soon."

"I told him it was safe."

Rachel shook her head.

"Didn't matter. He insisted on following us here. Speaking of which."

Olivia glanced over Rachel's shoulder, watching as Reece pulled into the driveway. He strode up the drive as if he owned the place, offering them all wide smiles.

"Hello all."

Olivia moved around Rachel and pulled Reece into a hug.

"Thank you for watching over everyone."

Reece shrugged off the thanks.

"No problem."

"Do you want a coffee or anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I have to catch up with Heather."

Peter shook Reece's hand.

"We owe you one. You ever need a favour, let us know."

"The only thing I can think of is ensuring you make it to the wedding. Heather will kill me if you guys aren't there."

Peter grinned.

"We'll be there."

Olivia settled Etta down for a nap before pulling out her phone. She had already called the hospital to check up on A.J, who was still in critical condition. Her organs were starting to shut down. If they hadn't found her when they did, she would have another day or so before she died, just like Cullen wanted. She dialled the number, sat back into the sofa and waited.

"Jeremy residence."

"Hi Mrs Jeremy. It's Agent Olivia Dunham."

"Oh hello Agent Dunham. I am so glad you called. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Rayne's not home. She's gone out with some old friends of hers from high school."

"Really?"

Mrs Jeremy's voice shook when she spoke again.

"Since she had her meeting with you, something's different. She came home and called her best friend, the one that was around before all of this happened. She's gone out for the first time in years. She's smiling again. You-"

Olivia waited for Mrs Jeremy to control the shaking in her voice before finishing her sentence.

"You gave me my little girl back."

"I'm so glad she's doing better."

"Oh she is. She's eating and painting slightly less dark things. I know that I can't fix what has happened but it was all worth it just for the smile. Everything. God sent you to give me back my daughter."

"It was a privilege to help her. She's a strong girl."

Mrs Jeremy's voice filled with pride.

"Yes she is. I'm sorry, is everything ok? I mean clearly I am glad you called but there must be a reason behind it."

"We caught Jeremiah Brookes and Alfonso Cutler is dead. Rayne doesn't need to feel unsafe anymore."

"Oh my."

"I just wanted you to hear it from me rather than the papers."

"Thank you for that. Please make sure you visit Rayne. She has a gift for you."

"She didn't have to do that."

"I know. But she knows what you have done for her. We will forever be in your debt."

"It's been a pleasure, Mrs Rayne."

"The pleasure has been all mine, Agent Dunham. Thank you for changing our lives."

Olivia smiled as she bid Mrs Jeremy farewell and put her phone on the coffee table. She loved this feeling. After the case was done, after all the bad guys were where they were meant to be, there was an odd bubble of peace and pleasure. The warm after glow from a job well done was enough to make her feel like she could fly.