Chapter 6

Elliot headed down the street towards the alley the waitress had told them about. Cragen followed closely, ready to cover Elliot, both with their guns held in their hands. As they turned down the alley they continued to scan ahead, ready for any surprises. About halfway down the alley, Elliot saw a man lying on the ground, either unconscious or dead. He knelt down to check for a pulse while Cragen searched the alley further down. "He's dead," Elliot called, standing up again. Cragen walked back to where Elliot was standing and they both took one last look around.

"We need Warner and CSU out here," Cragen said, already making the call.

Warner made the man's autopsy high priority and by the time CSU was finished processing the scene she was well on her way to finding the COD and documenting his many injuries. Elliot went back to the station and tried to call Olivia, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Worry was driving him insane, but he couldn't let that distract him from his work. Now they had a hot kidnapping case and a missing detective. SVU would be somewhat involved in the investigation, but they had to keep investigating the kidnapping case because there was still time to find the girl alive.

Elliot was a lead detective on the case, but worrying about Olivia had distracted him and he could barely focus. "Elliot, maybe you should just go home," Cragen finally said.

"We can't let this little girl suffer because of what happened to Liv." Elliot's voice was calm, drained of emotion, but Cragen could see the muscles in his jaw clenching.

"Go home, Elliot. Or catch some sleep in the crib. You'll be the first to know when anything comes up."

Elliot stood up, considered arguing, then thought better of it. He shut down his computer and headed to the crib. When news of Olivia did come he would hear about it sooner at the station, and he really didn't want to go home anyway. Hearing about Olivia's disappearance might keep Kathy quiet, but she would still be blaming him silently, and it would only create more tension between them. He didn't make a conscious decision at that time, and he wasn't even aware he had made a decision until later, but that was the moment he decided things had to end with Kathy, no matter how painful it might be for everyone. It was for the best, even if it was difficult to see.

Somehow, probably because of his many sleepless nights, Elliot fell asleep in the crib. He slept for nearly six hours before he felt someone shaking him awake. It was almost pitch black and all he could see was a figure leaning over him. He could see the shadow above him move and noticed whoever it was had long hair, or at least too long to be any of the male detectives. Assuming it was Casey, he sat up while she walked back towards the door. When the light flicked on, he thought he must still be dreaming.

Olivia was standing in the doorway. He could still make out a shadow of a bruise on her cheek, the one from Madden that hadn't quite healed yet. On top of that, though, she had a black eye, a split lip, and there was a bandage wrapped around her right forearm and another wrapped around her left hand. She was wearing a plain t-shirt and loose jeans, and he suspected the clothes she had been wearing before were torn and dirty. "Liv, what happened?!"

She sighed and sat down on the cot next to him, the two of them facing each other. "I was attacked in the Alley near the bistro. I knocked one of them down. Cragen said…"

"Yeah, I saw," Elliot said so she wouldn't have to.

"There were two other men, though, and one of them ran off while I was struggling and brought back some sort of torch." She held up her bandaged hand. "They threw me in the back of their van and shoved some pills down my throat. They didn't get the dosage right, though, or maybe they dropped one because they just made me sort of hazy. I managed to grab a baseball bat and got away while they were arguing about something. I got a cab and came back to the station."

"Did Cragen find them?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah. One of them's on his way to Mercy, and the other guy's on his way in."

"You give your statement already?" Olivia nodded. They were silent for a minute, and then Elliot said, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, me too. You should go home, El, I'm fine now."

"What makes you think I was waiting around for you?" Olivia raised an eyebrow and Elliot shrugged. "Of course I was. Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

Olivia sighed and stood up, still feeling a little light-headed from the whole ordeal. Elliot led the way out to his car. As usual, they rode in comfortable silence, Olivia staring out the window while Elliot drove. He couldn't believe any of what had just happened. Not long ago he was worrying he would never see her again, and she had just walked right into the station on her own. He wished he could wrap his arms around her and make sure she was really there, really okay, but that could never happen. He had only hugged her once in their partnership, and that was after she had saved Kathy and Eli.

Elliot found it strange that Olivia seemed so calm about what had happened. She didn't even seem eager to toss around theories and that was unusual for her. Had something happened she wasn't telling him about? Was she just more shaken up than she was letting on? He couldn't help worrying about her. She was alone in her apartment, with no one around to really rely on, and the thought brought back memories of her concussion. He couldn't stay with her, he knew that, but he wished she didn't have to be alone. He would have to keep his thoughts to himself, though, because Olivia was too stubborn to accept his help unless she really needed it, and right now she needed company more than actual help.

"Thanks for the ride," Olivia said, opening the door to get out.

"If you need anything, just call me."

Olivia nodded. "I know." She closed the door and headed up the steps to her apartment building. Elliot watched her go, noticing that she was favouring her right leg slightly, barely noticeable. His feelings towards Olivia had always been a little blurry, but he always felt somehow responsible when she was hurt on the job, no matter how it happened. He cared about her, had worked with her for too long not to, and seeing her rub her right thigh slowly as if the muscle was sore made him want to rush to her aid. Instead he pulled away from her building and headed home.

"Where've you been, I've been trying to call you for hours!" Kathy looked more angry than worried, though Elliot had to admit she at least had a valid reason this time. He was pretty sure his cell phone wasn't on, and he'd forgotten to call.

"I'm sorry, Kath, I forgot to call…"

"Yeah, I noticed. I'm sorry, El, I know it's your job and I know you get busy, but you can't just expect me to sit around for hours wondering if you're lying dead somewhere!"

"Olivia went missing."

Kathy was silent for a minute, not sure what to say, until finally she said, "I'm so sorry. Did…is she…"

"She's fine. It's a long story and I don't think she told me everything. I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed." Kathy nodded and Elliot went into their bedroom. He fell asleep on top of the covers with his clothes still on, even his confused thoughts about Kathy and Olivia unable to keep him awake.