A/N… First, there are varying degrees of injury and responsiveness, so I'm using a little creative guesswork on Olivia's condition. Second… Warning, shippy tones! Throughout and especially near the end. Trying to keep it real, but guys it's happening!

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Binghamton, NY

"Hurricane Lilith continues its destructive track through the heart of New York City. Sustained winds near the eye wall were last reported at 90 mph.

Although the hurricane is starting to weaken, with the nor'easter moving in from the north, a second major strike to the city from both storms is now imminent.

Stay tuned to WEBO, 1330 on your AM dial, for further updates…"

Mike exhaled deeply as he gazed at the road ahead of him. He was probably the only person in the world who was wanting desperately to get back into the city.

x x x

The Liberty Hotel, Lower Manhattan, NY

Elliot rested against the headboard of the king-sized bed. His partner's unresponsive, bundled form lay in front of him as he kept watch on her vitals, waiting for her to regain consciousness.

Because what in the hell was he going to do if she couldn't?

x x x

Earlier…

Outside of the garage, strong winds persisted despite the clear conditions. His mostly useless, injured arm aside, it was even more difficult to move himself and Olivia from one side of the street to the other than he had initially anticipated.

The remnants of destroyed buildings formed road blocks and other hazards, making it difficult to get around without causing injury to both of them.

The flooded streets created a flowing current about as treacherous as the stairwells he had struggled with in the garage. All he could do at times was just to grab ahold of something and hang on.

He had initially tried to get them to the eleventh precinct where he promised Sergeant Marksen they would go after he found Olivia. But there was too much blocking his path.

Fortunately, they now had something in the way of a shelter. Four walls and nothing to wade through or climb over, anyway.

The Liberty was diagonally across the street from the garage exit. Elliot was a little relieved when he realized he could reach the entrance of the hotel because he knew the owner, Jim Shelton. Jim was once a detective in narcotics before he retired and then acquired The Liberty. He was also a friend. Jim would have insisted that they stay and Elliot would have offered anything in exchange for allowing himself and Olivia to have a temporary shelter, but he would never accept it.

Elliot managed to get into the hotel through a side door. Flood water rushed inside when he opened the door, but it couldn't be avoided. He secured the entrance the best he could before he moved on.

The Liberty was a rather fancy hotel, often used for business meetings, conferences, etc. The place was typically full to capacity. There were five conference rooms, a restaurant, and a bar and grill on the main floor. The guest rooms began on the second floor. The hotel itself had eight floors above ground. The fitness center and game room were below ground and accessible from elevators in the back.

All in all, the hotel seemed to be holding up fairly well in the storm. There were spots where rain water had started to pool on the floors and carpet, and it was hard to say where exactly the water was coming from. The glass from two of the large lobby windows had shattered somehow, but so far none of glass had actually fallen in. That was all he could tell of the damages inside the lobby anyway. Given flooded-out picture of the rest of lower Manhattan, downstairs might be a different story.

The biggest problem they faced, besides Olivia's condition, was that no one else knew where they were.

x x x

First thing he noticed when they got to the hotel was Olivia's body temperature. Her skin felt entirely too cold and looked pale, which was definitely cause for alarm.

Although they had both been submersed in that water, he was continually moving about to stay warm. He didn't know how long Olivia had been in that spot when he had found her. The water was cold enough to send anyone into hypothermia, so he had to prepare for the fact that it could be happening to her.

He immediately located Jim's office, which was on the second floor and also the closest room to the top of the stairs, and then quickly worked on the key slot until he got it open. He turned the lock with the door still open, to keep it from closing completely so he could get in and out.

Jim's office was really just another hotel suite that was off the track from the rest of the floor. Like the other suites, it had a king-sized bed, TV, microwave, small refrigerator, table and chairs, desk and dresser. Jim used the space to get work done or whenever he just needed to be away from the bustle of the main floor.

Elliot brought Olivia into the room and set her down on the bed to check her vitals once more. Her breathing and pulse were slow but steady. Her clothing was soaked through and had clung to her. He cautiously removed her NYPD jacket and hung that up to dry on the back of the desk chair. Underneath that, she had on a navy hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Elliot went down the hall and located the laundry facilities. In two trips, he grabbed a stack of towels and blankets and brought them back to the room.

He returned his attention to Olivia. From this point on it was either her health or her privacy, and her health was the greater concern at the moment. As partners, she had to trust him with her life and with that also came her health and well-being.

Standard treatment for hypothermia was to try and get the victim's body temperature up as quickly as possible. Layers of blankets helped, but not very well if she was still wrapped in clothes that were soaked and nearly freezing.

She's worth it and she'll understand, he thought, as he considered what he had to do.

Elliot removed her boots, hooded sweatshirt, t-shirt and jeans. Taking a few of the towels, he dried her off the best he could. Next, he opened up all of the blankets, layered them on the bed and wrapped those around her snugly.

He didn't have a coil blanket, sleeping bag or anything else to radiate the warmth, which left him with plan B. His clothes were soaked too, so he removed his jacket and sweatshirt, and kept on a t-shirt and his jeans. He towel-dried some of the excess water on his clothing the best he could. Not perfect, it would have to do.

Elliot pulled the blankets on the bed back on one side and then got under them. He threw some more towels on top of him to act as somewhat of a drier barrier. Next, he reached over and carefully pulled her bundled form toward him until she was under the covers as well. Finally, he wrapped his right arm and then his left arm around her and pulled her snug against his chest, using his own body heat to try and get her temperature back up. This was the best he could come up with given the circumstances.

He laughed as one thought occurred to him. How the hell he was going to explain this to her once she regained consciousness?

All he cared about at that moment was Liv and making sure she was okay. Whatever that took, he'd oblige. He had gotten them this far, so he wasn't about to let her die of hypothermia.

A few thoughts dominated his mind at that moment.

First, that was grateful to have her back. Too many highs and lows where she was concerned, however. He went from believing earnestly that he may never see her again, to finding her alive, to worrying about losing her once again.

Next, he was at a loss as to how to get them what they needed and had no idea what to do if she suddenly took a turn for the worse and he was unprepared to help her.

But aside from finding her, if there was any bright spot in this day that he would remember for years to come, it was this very moment. As scared as he was for her safety, he admittedly enjoyed taking care of her.

He was also counting on her to have complete trust him at this point, without her knowledge or consent. So any other thoughts that surfaced, he shoved to the back of his mind.

It was only about her.

Elliot leaned closer, resting his chin against the top of her head. "Stay with me, Liv," he urged.

He had always believed there was a reason for everything. So he had little doubt that finding her alive was somehow consequential in its own way.

"I need you, partner."

x x x

Elliot had dozed off for a while, but awoke when he noticed Olivia starting to stir.

He lay on his back with his head and upper back propped against the headboard. It was also more comfortable for his injured arm to lay this way, but it did nothing for his neck. He was also entirely too warm from all of the blankets and Olivia's bundled form resting over him, but he kept his head propped up so he could get air. Olivia had rolled over onto her side when she first began to stir, but she remained mostly on top of him.

She soon became very restless, almost like she was having a nightmare. "Wha-? Wha-? What th-?" Were her first words. Her slurred tone sounded more like that of someone who was heavily drugged or else had tossed back a few too many drinks the night before.

"Liv! Liv, you're okay," he said, sitting up slightly and trying to keep her from shifting too far and rolling off of the bed. In between her movements, he gently touched her forehead and cheek with the back of his hand and was relieved that her skin temperature felt closer to normal.

She continued to be restless, however. "You're okay," he said again and again. He hoped she'd simply hear his voice and start to relax, but he also prepared himself in case she accidentally head-butted him out of confusion. He wouldn't take it personally, it was dark in the room, understandably she was disoriented and she was practically pinned down with all the blankets.

Olivia finally stopped flinching and tried to catch her breath. She finally heard his voice. "El? El? What's goin-?" She began to cough in that instant, almost struggling for air.

"Yeah, I'm here. You're okay, Liv. I'll explain in a second. First, just catch your breath." Elliot lay back down to give her some room.

The coughing finally eased up after a while. Olivia struggled in trying to sit up on her own, mostly due to the bundle of blankets she was in. Felt like a cocoon. She finally gave up out of exhaustion and instead she just laid back down, resting on Elliot again, still trying to make sense of her surroundings. Elliot was there, so she stopped worrying about it too much.

The limited light in the room came from the windows, but it was lighter outside than inside. She could see dark shapes and patterns and realized they were in some sort of room. Still couldn't figure out where.

For a long time, neither one of them moved.

He gently rubbed her shoulder. "Liv?

"Where- Are we?" She inquired, still sounding as though she was drugged. "My… head…"

"Your head hurts?"

"Yeah. Why are-? What's…going on?" Her words came slowly but started to sound a bit clearer. She tried once again to get up.

He recognized her dilemma and loosened some of the blankets to free her arms. He began to shift over in the bed to give her more room. "Liv, you remember what happened, right? The storm?" he began slowly. He sat up and then assisted her until she was sitting up comfortably.

She thought for a moment. "Yeah."

"Good. First of all, we're at The Liberty. I found you, got us out of the garage and this was the only place I could get to."

She took that all in. "Okay. But why are we-"

"You know the treatment for hypothermia, right?"

"Yes."

"Well…"

"Oh…" Images of the garage soon came back to her. As she became more aware of her physical state, she realized what he had done and why.

Elliot was relieved when he saw the understanding in her eyes. He didn't even have to explain it and he loved that about their partnership as well as their overall relationship.

"Where are my-?"

"Your clothes… Right. I left them to dry in the bathroom." He went to retrieve them and soon returned carrying her clothes. "They're not quite dry," he remarked, placing them beside her on the bed.

"It's okay."

They locked gazes for a second. "How do you feel, Liv? Are you okay?"

She slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Exhausted and my head hurts, everything else is numb. Okay, I suppose."

"Good. Anyway, I'll… I'll let you… I'll be outside the door."

"Hey El?" she called to him just before he left.

"Yeah?"

Her eyes went from herself to the bed, and then to Elliot. "I would have done the same thing," she admitted.

Elliot smiled warmly and then left the room.

Olivia began removing the layers of blankets and then dropped her feet over the side of the bed. As her right foot met the floor she cursed loudly. It was loud enough to draw Elliot back into the room.

"Liv?" The first thing he noticed was her hunched over form. She didn't respond, so he continued to approach her slowly. "Liv, what is it?"

"My foot…" she winced. A sharp pain shot through her foot, went up her leg and it seemed to travel through all the nerves in her body from there.

"What happened?" he asked, crouching down on the floor in front of her.

"Must have… Done it in the garage? I don't know. I- I don't remember." Her voice did little to mask the amount of pain she was in.

Very gently, he touched her foot along the back of the heel until he could tell where the swelling began. He didn't notice anything earlier, of course he wasn't thinking about other possible injuries right then. Given the poorly-lit room, he would have missed any signs of bruising. Now that he felt it, it was unmistakable. "I don't know. Could be broken," he guessed.

She sighed disapprovingly because she knew it was a good possibility. Not much else caused that kind of pain. She hated being immobile more than anything.

"Don't feel bad, you're not the only one with injuries."

"Why? What happened?"

"My left arm," he replied. "Caught a post the hard way."

"Well, aren't we a pair." she joked.

He stood up. "You go ahead and get dressed, I'll be out there."

She took her time getting dressed while on the bed, cautious of her injury. Putting on her jeans was difficult and took the longest, but she suffered through it.

"El, I'm set," she called out to him moments later. "So how is it… out there?" she asked when he walked back in. When he didn't respond, she pressed further. "Worse than before?"

He swallowed and lowered his head. "You don't want to know."

"I do want to know, or I wouldn't have asked," she remarked with a glare. She swung her legs over onto the floor and started to get up.

"You really shouldn't be getting up." He watched her, concerned.

She swallowed once, sucked in a breath and then tried again.

"It's not worth it. Besides, we can't really go anywhere."

"What? Why not?"

Elliot just shook his head. "It's not safe yet. Liv, please just wait. You're going to make that worse," he stated.

"Can you help me?" she requested, ignoring his pleas.

"Liv…" But there was no convincing her. He got on her right side to offer support. It was a struggle for both of them because he could only use his right arm to assist her. She realized this and then wrapped both arms around his waist, holding on tight as he slowly guided her over to the window.

She gasped when she first caught a glimpse of the area.

Elliot watched her with concern. He had seen the destruction in stages at least, but it was probably more unsettling from this angle, which had a much broader view of the area.

As far as they could see, nearly everything was under water. At the seaport docks, you couldn't even tell where the land ended and sea began. Closer to her, the No Parking signs were sticking up above the water surface with just the sign and a bit of the post visible. Buildings were destroyed and several distinct landmarks were gone.

Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of it all. She continued scanning for something else she could identify. After a minute, she turned to look at him. "Munch? Cragen? Fin?" She asked, distressed.

"I don't know," he replied solemnly. He watched her shift uncomfortably. "Come on, you really shouldn't be up on that foot." She allowed him to guide her back over to the bed. "I'm going to see if I can find us some food," he said, and then left.

It had gotten to him too, she read in his eyes as she watched him leave.

She brought her right foot up on the bed and tried to make it comfortable. Ignoring the pain for the time being, she lay down as her mind stirred continually with thoughts of the 1-6, and the destruction she had just seen. About fifteen minutes later, she saw a light coming from somewhere out in the hallway. The light got brighter and brighter until finally Elliot emerged with a lantern in the crook of his left arm and a brown paper bag in his right arm.

"We're in luck. Maybe for a couple of days at least. I think Jim planned ahead for the storm or he hadn't planned on evacuating."

She started to sit up. "I'll write him a check for this."

"You know Jim," he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "He won't take it."

"I also found some promotional t-shirts and running shorts. Jim probably went on another one of those cruises again. Can't pawn them off on the staff, I suppose. I grabbed us a couple. At least we'll have something to put on later that doesn't smell like the East River."

Elliot pulled a few more items out of the bag and set them down on the desk. With the lantern, there was just enough light for her to see what he was doing. Instead of watching him, Olivia took in her surroundings a bit more.

It was all starting to look familiar and even a little less blurry. The reason she knew immediately that they were in Jim's office was because of all of the different maps on the wall. Jim really liked maps. Some were framed, a few were for decoration, others served a specific purpose.

Elliot finished and brought two paper plates over to the table. He pulled some plastic forks out of the bag and placed them on the table and then went to assist Olivia.

She huffed in protest. "I'm fine."

He chuckled. "Sure you are, gimpy."

She gave him a good jab with her elbow for the remark, but still allowed him to guide her.

He made sure she was situated before he sat down. "Eat," he scolded her playfully.

"What is this?"

"Tuna fish, three-bean salad and canned peaches."

"Not exactly your choice of dinner, El," she commented.

"Yeah, well the chef took the night off," Elliot joked. He stood up, grabbed a couple of paper towels from the bag and the lantern, and brought them over to the table.

"Thanks," she replied, when she could see her plate.

"Isn't this romantic?" he teased. The lantern's light did have that sort of effect in the room. The room was too big for one lantern, but it was more light than they had before.

"Speaking of which, how are we on matches and candles?"

"We're good," he replied. He picked up a fork and started on the three-bean salad.

As she ate, the events from earlier started to resurface in her mind. She stopped eating for a moment. "Alina?"

He nodded and then swallowed his bite. "We found her."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She was in staircase. Actually a few floors up from where I found you."

"The staircase!" she exclaimed, as more thoughts came rushing back.

"What?"

"My jacket!"

"You need it?"

She nodded.

Without questioning why, he got up and pulled the jacket off of the back of the office chair and handed it to her. She found the inside of the jacket, reached into the inner pocket and pulled out an evidence bag. She mainly wanted to make sure that it hadn't fallen out somewhere.

He couldn't really see what was in her hand. "What is it?"

"A note. Perp left it on the dashboard of one of the parked cars." She sighed. "If he left a finger print, we've got it."

It was incidental at this point and they both knew it. But Elliot was curious. "Do you happen to remember what it said?"

"It said…" Olivia thought for a second as she slipped the evidence bag back into her pocket. She made sure it was secure before she removed her hand. "Well it did say she was in the staircase….but that she might not be alive?"

Elliot took the jacket, hung it back on the desk chair and prompted her to continue. "So you went looking for her there, and then…"

"I got into the stairwell and then all of this water came rushing in. I remember it sounded like a dam had burst open. I couldn't walk up the stairs because the water was coming too fast. I must have slipped then."

After they had finished eating, Elliot removed the plates and then brought over the bag. He removed several of pieces of cloth, a small plastic bag that contained mostly first aid items and several large foam and plastic pieces that she couldn't identify. He set those on the table and put the bag on the floor.

"Now what?" she inquired.

He snickered. "Wanna play doctor?"

Olivia arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"I think we need to do something about your foot and my arm. At least something temporary while we're out here." He was more concerned for her, knowing that she wouldn't stay stationary for too long, but knew she'd object if he only tended to her foot and not his arm.

"Well..." Olivia mulled.

"C'mon, Liv. Don't make me have to sound like Cragen and scold you about dodging medical treatment," he taunted. He squatted down on the floor by her foot.

Olivia smirked, and then reached down and assisted Elliot with rolling up the leg of her jeans so he could check her foot. He tested several materials to try and find something that would fit snug so that he could make a splint to support her ankle. They both started to think back to helping the injured evacuees earlier.

"So you didn't really tell me what happened to you out there," she prompted, trying to get her mind off of some of the pain she felt as he worked on her foot.

Elliot told her about searching for Alina, finding Darnell, the storm and then Vincent.

She shook her head. "You risked a lot to keep looking for me, El."

He kept quiet for a while, focusing mostly on wrapping her ankle with cloths and the stretch gauze. Finally he looked up at her. "It was worth it."

She cocked her head to the side. "You can risk your life for a civilian, but I'm a cop."

Elliot tried to shrug it off.

"El, your kids need you."

"And I need you," he stated without any hesitancy. He fixed the end of the gauze in place with a safety pin.

The comment had thrown her off. Unable to come up with a response, she let it go. An uncomfortable silence settled, clouding the air with more unanswered questions. "Come on, your turn," Olivia offered.

Elliot nodded and sat down in the other chair. He scooted himself and everything else close enough so she wouldn't have to stand up to assist him. He focused on her while she looked the arm over. "Yes, I'd say you caught a post the hard way. What the hell were you doing?"

"Trying to get to Vincent at the time," he replied.

She molded a few pieces of foam and fitted them to his forearm. Without looking up at him, she could read his thoughts. "You did the best you could, El. We were both a bit out of our league. How often does New York get hit with a hurricane anyway?"

She finished wrapping his arm with the remaining gauze roll and he lifted it up to study her work. "Nice work, Doc," he told her, appreciatively. He extended his arm slightly forward. "Sign my gauze?"

Olivia laughed. "I think I'm going to try and take a shower."

"After all my handy work?" Elliot huffed, feigning disapproval.

"I promise to set it back just as I found it. I just think a shower would help a lot."

Elliot nodded that he understood. "You need any help?" he offered. The smirk and reddened face came after he realized how it had sounded. "I mean…"

She rolled her eyes and laughed at his suggestive remark. "I'm okay. A little groggy, but I'll manage."

"Okay, well. I guess I'll leave you to do that. Oh, I put your gun and badge on the night stand."

Olivia carefully got up, Elliot picked up the lantern and carried it into the bathroom for her. She followed slowly and once in there, she set her things on the counter, pushing the lantern to the back. After splashing her face with cold water, she began to feel a little better.

Fortunately, this was one of those hotels with soap and shampoo provided. She removed the cast Elliot had made, stripped down and then got into the shower. Even showering in the lukewarm water was a luxury compared to the water in the lowest level of the garage.

It was difficult at times and she nearly slipped while getting out, but she managed. She wrapped herself up in two large white bath towels and then sat down on the toilet seat to put the wrap back on her foot. Next, she put on the shorts and t-shirt. It was much easier with the shorts versus trying to get into the jeans again. She washed a few articles of clothing in the sink and left everything else to dry.

She stepped out of the bathroom with one thing on her mind. She needed something to drink. Something strong, preferably. Probably not be a good idea for either one of them, but right then she didn't care. Elliot was busy being the overprotective partner and would probably stop her before she went beyond her limit, anyway.

And it didn't seem out of the realm of possibilities that Jim might even have left something in his room.

Olivia went into the hallway to look for Elliot, figuring he'd at least have some idea of where to look. She limped out of the suite and found Elliot sitting on the floor in the hallway. The door to the suite across the hall from Jim's office sat propped open with a trash can.

"You okay?"

"Needed a drink," he replied, holding up two bottles of Sam Adams and offering the unopened bottle to her. "You?"

"Read my mind." Olivia grinned and hobbled over, sitting down to the right of Elliot. They were at one end of the hallway near a large, floor-to-ceiling window. The main staircase was also at that end of the hallway, to the right and diagonally across from where they sat.

She took the bottle from him, twisted off the cap and downed about half of it. "Oh, and it's cold," she remarked. "Tell me there's more where this came from?"

He nodded. "Found it while you were in the shower. I doubt it'll last, but it shouldn't go to waste," he replied.

"I'll drink to that." She tapped her beer bottle to his. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

"Oh, I forgot the lantern."

"I got it," he told her as stood up to go retrieve it.

He brought it over and sat it down just inside the doorway to Jim's office, using the trashcan to prop that door open as well, and then returned to his spot. They were quiet for several minutes.

He realized she had picked up on his concerns when she started to give his arm a sympathetic rub. He took a long pull from his beer before he replied. "Sorry, I'm still reliving the day," he answered softly, his eyes were fixed somewhere on the velvet oriental carpet near his feet. He finished his beer and set the bottle down beside him. She finished hers a second later and he took the empty bottle from her, sitting it beside his.

"It's over and we're safe," Olivia replied. "Thanks mostly to you," she added a little later.

"Thanks Liv," he answered. He halted her movements when he suddenly extended his right arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Glad you're okay."

She smiled. Elliot had seen more of the storm than she had, she realized. His approach in this case, when there was nothing to fix or take out his frustrations on, was to channel his energy into taking care of her. Normally her independent side didn't tolerate anyone trying to take care of her. But Elliot was different. He respected her independence and she knew that without question. And it was probably easier to let him deal with it his own way.

Moments later, she was close to falling asleep against his shoulder when Elliot spoke up in somewhat of a hushed tone. "If I hadn't found you when I did, I'd still be out there looking. I wouldn't have given up."

She wasn't sure what made him say it, but she immediately lifted her head from his shoulder, preparing to argue. Sure, he could take care of her or fetch things for her while she walked with a limp, but it didn't stop her from being a bit concerned about what he did for her earlier in the garage. "Elliot… I appreciate that, but you know what I said still applies. I'm a cop, not a civilian. You-"

"Works both ways, Liv," he said dryly, cutting her off.

"Damn, you're stubborn," she told him, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"And you're stuck with me," he teased.

"How reassuring," she quipped. "Seriously, though…"

"Seriously, though," he started, repeating her words and tone, "I'm not leaving you out here. Period. We're partners. We're in this together. You go, I go. You stay, then I stay."

"You've got kids, El!" Damn him, she thought. She was starting to sound like a broken record.

He turned his head toward her again. This time he seemed a little upset. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"Liv, you are family. Close enough, as far as I'm concerned."

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed. "What am I? A long lost sister? Distant cousin? How in the hell did I wind up a Stabler?" she mocked.

Elliot laughed. "No! Not like that! A sister? Oh thank God, no!"

"What?" She almost sounded offended.

Elliot shook his head, his laughter subsided a bit. "I don't think of you that way."

"So what then?" She knew she was putting him on the spot. She turned toward him and waited for his reply. "Come on, you started this."

"So you wouldn't be looking for me?"

Damn, he had her there. "It's different."

"No, it isn't."

Well she had to try. "Fine, it's a draw," she told him, letting him off the hook. It surprised her when she saw him continuing to sift through his thoughts for an answer to give her.

"I can't explain it," he began. A long pause followed before the appropriate response finally dawned on him. He turned his head to the side and met her gaze. His expression warmed as he looked at her knowingly. "It's… too complicated." He didn't look away until he was sure she understood.

Olivia was the first to break their gaze. She fixed her eyes on the wall and remained quiet. It's too complicated? What the hell? Those were her words! But hell it summed up their partnership to a tee. It was Elliot's way of reminding her of the same thing she tried to get across to him a few years back. Sort of a cop-out, no pun intended, but she definitely got the message.

"Liv?"

She stirred out of her thoughts. "Yeah?"

He spoke softly but firmly. "I know you understand what I'm talking about. I promise I'll give you a better answer soon as I figure out where my life is going. But please stop thinking of yourself as just my partner, okay?"

"Okay," she answered simply. What else could she say?

Moments later, while in that same spot, they had both fallen asleep.

Elliot stirred awake when he sensed something was wrong. "Liv!"

She awoke with a jolt and quickly followed his gaze to the large window, a couple of feet from where they sat. "What in the hell?"

The hurricane had reawaken with a vengeance.

"You said it was over!"

"I thought it was!"

They took notice of the driving rain beating against the window pane, the darker sky and a lamp swinging freely from the lamp post in the wind. It had been battered long enough. Finally giving way, it came crashing down into the window with a thunderous force.

"Shit!" They both exclaimed.

They were suddenly showered by about a million fragments of glass from both the window and the lamp.

In nearly one fluid motion, Elliot rolled over her, grabbed her by the waist and then rolled them both in through the open door.

Next chapter: EYE WALL