"So," Elliot continued, as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Now might be a good time to explain. The last time I saw you, you were sleeping in the tent, so how the hell you have a murderer after you now?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The further Olivia had managed to explain what had happened to her, the tighter Elliot's had clenched his fists. And when she had finished, her partner had been silent for so long that she wasn't sure if he was going to say anything.

But then he finally opened his mouth, and his voice was only a low, strangled growl:

"And I just let that bastard walk away," rage was oozing through his voice, and Olivia didn't say anything, not because he would have been right, but because she knew from years of experience that in that state of mind it was useless to try to convince her partner otherwise.

For a moment they continued walking in silence, but then he suddenly slowed down, sat down on a rock beside them, and pressed his elbows into his thighs as he leaned forward. Frowning worriedly, Olivia turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

"I just… I can't help but think about what almost happened and I…" His voice broke, and he buried his face in his hands. Olivia glanced around quickly and uncertainly, but then took a step closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, but we don't have time to think about it now. Is it a long way to the parking lot?"

The dusk of the evening had already begun to descend on the surroundings, thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, and suddenly a very uncomfortable thought began to creep into her mind.

"Um… You said that the others were going to continue searching after the thunder had passed. So, why haven't we seen or heard them yet?"

Her question made Elliot lift his face from his hands and frown. Then he stood up and began to look around.

"Don't you dare to say that we're lost," Olivia said quietly as the glint of uncertainty began to intensify in his eyes.

"No, no, I'm sure I walked almost straight from the campsite to where I found you. We left to the right, and shortly after that we turned right again, so we should be heading for the campsite a-…" But then he fell quiet suddenly, and a breath of anxiety made her stomach twist into knot.

"What?"

"Except I didn't get there the direct way," he groaned, anxiously rubbed his face and spun around. "The terrain was difficult, and I had to go around a couple of steeper slopes, and..."

"So, you don't know which way we're going right now?" She asked directly, and for a moment he was just silent, looking around, before answering:

"No."

And then they fell silent again. In a normal situation, Olivia would have given her partner a piece of her mind, but now the situation was so serious that she had no energy to waste. And the better the reality dawned on her, the harder it was for her to breathe.

They were lost. They had a serial killer/rapist/nutcase after them. The sun was setting, they were soaking wet, Elliot had left his backpack where they had encountered the man chasing her, so they had no shelter, no dry clothes, no food, no light, no phone. She was terribly hungry and believed her partner was too, she was cold, tired, scared and there was only endless nature around them.

"We are screwed."

And Elliot didn't say anything. And while they were physically lost as well, the look on his face revealed that he was perhaps even more lost internally.

And Olivia knew why.

Her partner was a protector. It was his instinct; it was who he was. Growing up in the shadows of his unstable mother and abusive father, Elliot had wanted to be an architect, but instead he had become a cop because it was a stable job. He had taken responsibility for his actions and begun to protect his wife and their soon-to-be-born daughter by providing them with a home and financial security. He was a good father who would have given his life for his kids.

And a financially stable job wasn't the only reason he had become a cop. He wanted to help people, protect the weaker ones, and make the world a little bit better place for victims of crime. SVU wasn't the easiest unit, far from it, but even the most gruesome, most brutal cases hadn't made him give up.

And he had protected Olivia from day one. They were partners, and that was what they were supposed to do, but over the many years they had worked together, her trust in her partner had grown so strong that at times the thought almost scared her. He knew more about her than anyone else, even things she had tried to hide from herself as well, and even though it bothered and annoyed her at times, at the end of the day, she wouldn't have given it away for anything. His need to protect her was always there, even the times she didn't want it to be, strong, unwavering, and even though it almost drove her crazy at times, it was something she could always, always count on. He protected her in ways no one had ever been able to in her life.

And so now, lost in the darkening forest, at the mercy of a serial killer, his need, his instinct to protect her was more than distressed.

"Come on," he said quietly without looking at her. "Let's walk before it gets dark."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And so they did. It wasn't until it became difficult to see the terrain, and they started tripping over tree roots and small rocks, that they gave up, stopped, and Elliot sat down on the ground. Fortunately, the rain had already stopped, and the starry sky was twinkling above them, but it didn't cause Olivia the same reaction as two days ago.

In the dim light, she could see Elliot resting his forehead on his arms as he pressed his elbows against his bent knees, and she could almost hear him swallow and sigh deeply. She herself was so hungry that her hands were shaking, and the ax in her hand seemed to weigh at least a thousand pounds. Chills shook her body, and a slight breeze made her teeth chatter.

"Are you cold?"

And Olivia didn't answer anything, because she knew her partner could see right through her.

"Come here."

She didn't have any energy to resist, and she sat down next to her partner, who wrapped his arms around her. Although Elliot was certainly cold himself, a little warmth was still radiating from him, and it was enough to ease her chill a bit.

"I'm sure they'll find us soon," he muttered, trying to sound encouraging, and Olivia rested her head on his shoulder. "We can't be very far from the campsite or the parking lot, and there are certainly plenty of searchers."

"Hmm," she answered quietly. Her partner's embrace and warmth felt comforting, and involuntarily her eyes began to close.

"And besides, the murderer can't see us in the dark without a flashlight, so he can't surprise us."

The thought of the serial killer looking for them in the dark made her wrap her arms around his arm, and then they just sat and listened to the sounds of the night nature waking up. Olivia's thoughts wandered to their colleagues searching for them. She wondered if they had informed their captain of their disappearance, and then she thought about how much she missed a hot shower and wanted to lay in her own bed under the warm blankets.

And then her thoughts turned to Tim. He must be scared as hell, she swallowed, and wondered if anyone had informed him. Fin possibly. She couldn't be sure, but she guessed her boyfriend was going to join the search, and something about the thought warmed her, but also made a vague, uncomfortable feeling swirl in her stomach.

If they made it out of here alive, they would go home, Tim and her. Or well, probably via the hospital and police interviews, but eventually they'd go home, close the door behind them, and then there'd be just them. Elliot was breathing calmly against her, his cheek against her head, and suddenly the thought of leaving her partner felt really bad. And realizing that scared her.

How could she leave him now? How could she just leave after all this?

And then what would happen? They would go to work, carry on as partners, and pretend nothing had happened? That they hadn't swum in the moonlight under the starry sky, slept in a tent in each other's arms, that Elliot hadn't risked his life looking for her, that they hadn't run from the serial killer...

She had kissed him, for heaven's sake.

Her thoughts wandered back to the kiss, and how it had happened on a whim, but on the other hand, she felt that it hadn't been rash at all. Deep down, she knew that she had been wanting to do it for as long as she could remember, but this whole situation had broken down the last wall that had been holding her back.

She thought of Tim, thought of the kiss, and the worst part was when she realized that she didn't regret the kiss at all. When she had felt her partner's lips against hers and his hand on the back of her neck, it had been as if every cell in her had come alive.

But then Elliot shivered, and tears began to burn in the corners of her eyes.

Everything was so fucked up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered barely audible, and felt him turn his head.

"For what?"

"That you got into this situation because of me. If I hadn't…" She started, but then Elliot moved and raised his hand to her cheek.

"Liv, look at me."

And Olivia opened her eyes, even though in the darkness she could barely see anything but the outline of her partner's face. A tear rolled down her cheek, and Elliot gently wiped it away with his thumb.

"This is not your fault. If it wasn't for that bastard, we wouldn't be here now, we would have found you already in the morning. I know you well enough to know what you're thinking, but don't. Don't even start."

A sob started to grip her throat, and she couldn't answer. But Elliot pressed his forehead lightly against hers, and she closed her eyes before he continued quietly:

"We'll get out of here. And then we'll catch that killer and help his victims get justice, I promise. We can do this, you and me, together, okay?"

And Olivia couldn't help but nod against his forehead, tears streaming down her face as she raised her hand over her partner's hand on her cheek.

They could do this.

Olivia and Elliot.

Benson and Stabler.

Together.