Liv decided to try again and called out Eric's name. At first nothing was heard from inside the apartment but as she called out a third time an angry voice was heard in the next room
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up," the voice probably belonging to Spencer rang out and was followed by multiple gunshots. More than one gun was used and the door was getting blown to pieces. This worked to their advantage though and as one gun cocked and the other soon followed a sniper from the SWAT team by the back wall took a risk by peaking through one of the big pieces missing on the door. A single shot rang out from his gun and they heard a body fall to the ground soon thereafter. The SWAT guy on the opposite side of the door from Liv peaked inside.
"One down," he whispered as he went back behind the doorframe. He nodded at his man that had taken the shooter out as to let him know he did a good job.

They heard a voice from the inside that seemed to repeat the word 'fuck' over and over again.
"Eric? Dale?" Liv called out.
"Don't shoot okay?" a third voice.
"We won't. Just put your guns down and come out with your hands over your head okay?"
"No. No. Not okay. I've seen it on TV. You'll shoot anyway."
"No we won't do that Dale. This isn't TV. Trust me Dale." Nothing was heard from the inside for a minute or two.
"Dale? Talk to me," Liv called out.
"We don't trust you. He hurt a cop. He didn't mean to but now you'll kill us."
"No we won't Dale."
"You're just saying that." Liv had been in this situation before. It wasn't always she managed to convince the suspect to come out willingly.
"What if I come in? Will you put down your gun then?" They had to wait for the answer.
"I will," he finally shouted.
"And Eric?"
"I didn't mean to hurt her," came Eric's panicked voice.
"I know. I'm coming in okay?" she got no answer but nodded to the SWAT guy and he carefully turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. It kept on the hinges thankfully. They didn't need any loud noises right now.

"I'm coming with you," Fin whispered. Liv knew she couldn't, or shouldn't, go in alone and in any other case she would be happy to have Fin have her back but in this particular case it did worry her. Not for her own safety though. She could see how he held on to his gun. It was Eric's she feared for.
"We're taking him in alive okay?" she fixed her eyes on him and got a nod.
"Alive," she repeated and he raised his eyebrows as in 'I heard you the first time'. Liv took a deep breath and turned back to the door.
"I'm coming in with my partner. We don't want any harm to come to any one of you." She moved quickly inside and put her back to the wall. Fin came in and took the other flank. They scanned the room quickly. It looked like any other drug pad. They carefully made their way inside the room. Liv kicked Spencer's gun away while Fin hunched down to make sure he was dead. He gave Liv a quick nod as he rose back up. They made their way to the back door as two SWAT members came in behind them and dragged Spencer's body to the wall so the obstacle would be removed if they needed to charge in.
"Dale?" Liv called out.
"Yeah?"
"Have you put your gun to the floor?" No answer came.

"Hold on okay?"
"Why Dale?" They heard Dale search for words but he seemed unsure how to answer her. Liv peeked inside. It was a fairly large room. Dale stood closest and had his eyes on Eric who where holding his arms on his head. Gun in hand.
"What's going on Dale?" she met Dale's eyes briefly but it looked like Eric posed as the more threat as he waved the gun at her as he saw her. Liv hid behind the door again.
"It's okay Eric. We're not here to hurt you. Put the gun down okay?"
"He's just scared okay?" Dale answered. "He knows she got hurt but he didn't mean to okay?"
"We know that," Liv tried. "Dale if you just put your gun down first we'll talk to Eric okay?" She wanted him out of there.
"Okay okay." She peeked inside. Eric stood still while Dale put his gun to the floor.
"Kick it away from you," she told him and he did. "Put your hands on your head and slowly walk towards me."
"But what about Eric?"
"I'll take care of him don't you worry." Dale looked at his friend.
"Don't do anything stupid pal. She's not worth it. Neither of them," he said and Fin squeezed his gun hard.

"Just back up towards me Dale. Common." Liv didn't want him to get any funny ideas into Eric's head right now. She saw Dale slowly back up towards them. She looked back and saw some of the SWAT team waiting in the doorway ready to take him. Dale came to the door and Liv put her hand against his back as she guided him into the other room. Two SWAT team members rushed forward and got him out of there within seconds. Liv saw Nick enter the apartment. When she turned back though she saw Fin move inside the room. She managed to stop herself from calling out his name.
"Who are you?" she heard Eric scream and she stepped after Fin quickly. Eric was waving his gun around.
"It's okay Eric. I'm Olivia and this is Fin," she had her gun still pointed at him but tried to look as unthreatening as possibly. Eric immediately put his gun to his own head.
"Wow. Just relax Eric," she pointed her gun elsewhere. Fin still had him cornered though.
"Everyone just relax," Liv said as calmly as she could.

So here he was Fin thought to himself. The big man. Eric Salinger. The drug addict. The con artist. The murderer. The child molester. The rapist. The low life. The lowest of the low. He felt like pulling the trigger right away but at the same time wanted to look him over. Make him scared shitless. Make him suffer like he'd made her had for so many years now. He looked as she had described him. His eyes and cheeks were sunken in. His hair long and greasy and bundled up. He was tall. He must have looked terrifying for a fourteen year old. His eyes were dark and looked both haunted and scared right now. He looked at his arm, his hand holding on to the gun. He had big hands. Dirty hands. Fin saw his lips move but couldn't hear him at first. He pulled himself back to the present.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," he heard him say and he clinched his teeth even harder.
"She was fourteen. You knew you were hurting her," he hissed and Eric got a distraught look on his face. He was taken off guard, he didn't think they knew about that. He shook his head.
"No. I loved her. I only wanted to love her," he said as tears started to run down his face. Fin felt his hand shiver squeezing the gun so hard.

"Fin. Don't." Liv whispered. Eric looked from Fin to Liv and then back to Fin again. His jaw quacked.
"I loved her," he said quietly.
"That's not love," Fin hissed. He thought about where he should put his bullet. It wasn't uncommon to put a bullet in a suspects arm or leg if they threaten their own life. He could do that and then say he went for his gun again and put one in-between his eyes. He wanted him to suffer before he died. He slowly moved further in to the room. He didn't want Olivia to get caught in a cross fire.
"Eric put your gun down and we'll talk about it," Liv tried but Eric was focused on Fin. He knew where the real threat lied.
"I never wanted to hurt her. Jade loved her. I wanted that too. I just wanted us to love each other. That's all." He looked like he actually meant it. Neither Fin nor Liv doubted he could be so delusional, even though he was thought of as having a brain. They'd met plenty of smart psychopaths during their time in SVU.

"We know Eric. We're here to help you." Liv looked at Eric but let her eyes sweep over to Fin every now and then. She was worried, she had no idea what he was up to but she had a feeling even before they entered that he was not planning to let Eric walk upright out of there.
"You can't help me." Eric met Liv's eyes briefly.
"Why do you say that Eric? I told you we already know it was an accident when she hit her head."
"But I did other things." Eric was looking at Fin again. Fin had stopped once he reached the wall.
"Yes you did Eric. You hurt my partner." Fin took deep breaths. He felt calm as he starred back at Eric.
"Yes, he did Fin but we're here to help Eric now," Liv said. "Eric, listen to me. We can sort it all out if you just put down your gun."
"No, it's too late," Eric sobbed.
"No it's not Eric. I can see you're upset, you didn't want to hurt Amanda right?" Eric looked over at Liv again and he shook his head. The gun in his hand moved with his head.

"Then why didn't you stop Eric? Why wasn't it enough to destroy an innocent fourteen year old? Why did you have to keep tormenting her?" Fin felt his trigger finger itching.
"I told you. I just wanted her to love me like Jade did. If she'd just been more like her sister we could have been happy together."
"So you think raping her would make her love you, you sick bastard?"
"That's enough Fin," Liv said with a stern voice. She felt just the same way he did but she feared he would get himself into trouble if she didn't help him out right now.
"Eric listen to me, you're sorry about what you did right?" Eric nodded, his eyes still on Fin though.
"Okay, that's a good start. Do you want to tell Amanda that?" Eric looked over at Liv.
"You'll let me talk to her?"
"Yes, let's get out of here and you can tell her that yourself. You can tell Amanda you're sorry." Eric's eyes wandered around the room as he seemed to contemplate Liv's offer.

"She was so pretty you know? So innocent. So young." He suddenly said.
"I loved Jade. I still love her. She was like the family I never had. And Amanda..." Eric seemed to drift off into his own thoughts. Fin hated hearing him say her name. He felt he didn't have the right to say her name or even to think of her.
"The way Amanda looked at Jade. I wanted that too. I just wanted her to love me."
"I understand that Eric. It's okay," Liv said but it didn't look like Eric heard her. He was lost in his own thoughts or it could be the drugs talking.
"Her eyes were just always sparkling. Her skin. Her lips. Her mouth. So inviting. Without knowing it. Still. Just so oblivious to her own beauty." Liv looked over at Fin. She didn't like what she heard so she feared Fin wouldn't either. And he was the one with his finger still on the trigger.
"So innocent. I wanted to protect that. I wanted to keep her safe. Jade was safe with me, Amanda could too. I just had to show her. But she wouldn't let me," he suddenly focused his eyes back at Liv and then went over to Fin.
"I didn't mean to but I hurt her. I know it was wrong but I couldn't stop myself. She was just so… loveable."

The eerie silence lowered itself in the room as Eric stopped talking. Liv met Eric's eyes again briefly before he looked back at Fin. He had a ghastly clearance in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"I hurt her," he said with the clarity seen in his eyes.
"Tell her I'm sorry," he held Fin's eyes for a long second and then the shot rang off.
"No." Liv heard herself scream as she ran forward. Fin beat her to him though even though he'd seen the life disappear from his eyes before he hit the floor. Fin pushed his hand to the gun hole in Eric's head as blood kept pumping out. Liv came up on the other side of Eric. Fin searched his neck for a pulse.
"Fuck," he screamed as he knew there was no way they could bring him back so he himself could kill him. He removed his hand from Eric's head and looked up at Liv. Nick had entered the room and now walked up by Eric's feet.
"Fuck." Fin repeated and slammed his fist on to Eric's lifeless torso.

They all knew this may have been the best outcome. Eric killed by his own gun meant no trial for Amanda. No questioning of what happen in the past and what might be missing from the whole picture. The statement given by the parent's would be in there but Cragen would rule it unnecessary to act on and it would be buried deep in the file. No questions about crimes committed to her over the years that Amanda failed to report, a crime itself. No further interrogation of the frail sister was needed. They could pack the case in and just move on. But even if it was the best outcome it didn't feel like a win to anyone of them. Eric didn't get to suffer. Didn't get to make amends for what he did. Relatives to the robbery victim back in 1997 wouldn't get any answers to how or why. And again Amanda could stay silent. No one would know her story. No one would give her the justice she so rightfully deserved. Fin didn't feel good at all as he looked down on Eric's lifeless body. He felt like he hadn't delivered on his promise to her.

Once everything on the crime scene was taken care of Fin and Liv drove to the hospital. They wanted to let the Rollins family, especially Amanda, know that Eric was no longer alive. Liv thanked the guard by the elevator and then the one by the door for their services and told them the threat was gone. Liv then knocked carefully on the door before they entered. They found the entire family in there. The dad in his chair in the corner, quiet as usual. The sister up on the bed by the footboard and the mom in the chair by the bed. Amanda under the covers with her legs pulled up to her chest. To an outsider it looked like an ordinary family perhaps just visiting a daughter who had just taken out her appendix or something even less trivial. It didn't look like a family that had been carrying around such big secrets for so many years.

It felt like there had been talk and perhaps laughter in the room but it subsided as the somber detectives entered. Amanda only had to look at Fin to know and she held her breath fearing he'd done something that would cost him later on. Liv tried a smile and nodded as she open her mouth:
"Eric is gone. He's dead." The sister let out something that sounded like a sad moan and the mother rose from her chair.
"He killed himself." Liv continued and Amanda could finally take a breath. Justine started crying and the mother stepped to her and wrapped her arms around her in something reminding of a hug. The father turned his head to the window and seemed to drift off as so many times before.

The whole time Fin had his eyes on Amanda. He'd met her eyes as they first entered and he could tell she knew immediately. She'd looked scared once she saw him. Her eyes had grown as Liv told the room about Eric. Then the information how it happen came, she met his eyes again and he'd seen her take a deep breath. A breath much needed. He saw the mother put her arms around Justine but no arms were there for Amanda as her eyes teared up. He felt like she needed arms around her but he felt inept to be those arms right now. All he did was watch as she pulled herself together even more on the bed and her eyes faded away. He heard the mother ask Liv to confirm Eric was truly gone for good and Liv did so. That made the mother start crying too, more so in relief than sadness. Justine's tears sounded more like sadness while Amanda's just silently left her body without any feelings expressed on her face what so ever.

Liv had delivered hard messages to families so many times but she never got used to it. She was thankful she didn't though. She never wanted to get so jaded a message that had great impact to a family didn't get to her. Every case was different. Rarely had she déjà vu moments. Every face was different, every emotion varied and never was there a right way or a wrong way to react. Some messages received stayed with her for a long time. She had a feeling this one, this whole case really, would stay with her for a very long time. She knew this message meant she would be able to wrap things up. She had statements to write, some strings to roll up but then the technical side would be over for her since there would be no trial. Emotionally though it had only begun. The same went for Amanda. It was quite obvious now as she saw her bundled up in her sickbed looking like the loneliest and lost girl in the world. This family wasn't strong in crisis. Liv could only hope Amanda would let them, her squad, be the family she needed now that it was time to heal.