Pretty Poison

(Chapter Nineteen: Salvation)

Olivia sat in a chair in the living room of the old farm house as the man paced the floor and asked her questions about the baby. She created a story and just kept going with it as she played along with the charade. Surely by now they had gotten a trace on the call and knew her location. Someone should be here shortly.

"I don't understand," she said looking at him. "I know why you drugged the men, but why drug the women? Why did you drug me?"

"No, I didn't drug them. The man drugged them. So he could do bad things to them. I tried to help them."

"You said that you…."

"I get confused. Mix things up. But I swear to you Jess I didn't do it. It was him. You believe me don't you?"

Olivia stared at him for a minute. "Of course I do. What happened in that hotel room the night Jessie….I was shot? I can't remember anything. Help me remember."

He took a deep breath and looked at her.

"We were supposed to meet for dinner. You had just found out you were pregnant, with Joey and we wanted to celebrate. But you got there before me and the restaurant was full so you waited at the bar for me. As I came in I saw you walking off with him. You were stumbling and acting strange."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall with dark hair and eyes. Handsome. I don't remember much about him. They said his name was in court they said his name was David something. You took him up to our hotel room and by the time I got up there and inside the room, he had you half naked and pinned to the bed. He was raping you Jessie. You were asking him to stop and crying, but he just kept going. He had a gun and it was laying beside him on the night stand. I grabbed it and pulled it on him. I made him get out of bed and I was going to shoot him. But he came after me and we fought. Somehow in the struggle the gun went off and shot you. I went over and tried to wake you up. I held you and cried and begged you to wake up, but you didn't. I thought you were dead. I turned around and shot him. They arrested me and made me go to prison for killing you. I was in there for a long time. Shortly after I got out I saw in the paper about a rape that happened at that hotel. I knew it was the same man, but the police wouldn't listen. So I want and I followed him. I tried to stop him from doing to those women what he did to you. But each time I was too late. He was already hurting them before I could get into the room. Then one day I saw him with you. I watched the man watch you sit at the bar with you and have a few drinks with another guy. I saw him follow you up to your room and I knew what he was about to do. When I walked in he was sitting in a chair, touching himself while he watched you in bed with the other guy. A guy you probably never would have slept with if he hadn't drugged you. He got angry and I hit him. We had a scuffle and he left. When I went back inside the room you were kissing the man. Then I knew that you wanted to be with him. So I left too. I came back the next day to talk to you, but you had already left the hotel. Then a couple of weeks ago I saw you in the store with Joey. I followed you home to make sure you were safe, both of you. And I saw him there watching you. He was going to hurt you. I knew I had to get you out of there. I am sorry if I hurt you, but I had to get out of there. He would have found you and raped you if I had left you behind. I watched him. He had already been in your building, he was planning the attack. I tried to explain it, but you fought me and I had to drug you to get you to come with me. You have to believe me Jessie, I would never hurt you."

Olivia caught a flash of something outside the widow out the corner of her eye. She looked again to see a man move behind a tree in the yard. She knew by the way they were acting they were getting into position to enter through the back of the house. "I know you wouldn't hurt me." she said standing in front of him so he had his back to the window. "I was thinking," she said, "we should go pick Joey up now. You and me, together. That way you can see him."

"Now?"

"Well, it is time for me to pick him up. Don't you want to see him?"

"I do. I want to meet my son. You're right. Let's go." He stood up and took her hand in his. "Where is he?"

"My friends apartment, in the city."

The man nodded his head and lead her through the kitchen. As they walked through he picked up a large knife from the counter.

"What do you need that for?"

"Incase that David guy finds us. I have to be able to protect you and Joey."

Olivia looked worried, but knew that she wouldn't be able to talk him out of taking it. They walked through the house and out into the yard. David pulled a key ring from his pocket and pressed the alarm button to deactivate it from a few feet away.

"Hey," someone shouted from behind them and they both turned to see the officers surrounding them.

"Stay with me Jessie," he said pulling her against his chest and continuing to move toward the car. "I wont let them hurt you."

"No, put down the knife."

"I have to save you from them. I wont let them get you."

"Please, put down the knife," she said. "They think you are trying to hurt me."

"I wouldn't hurt you."

"But they don't know that." Olivia looked up at the large group of people circling in on them. "Don't shoot!" She yelled.

He held his arm tight around her upper chest and waved the knife around in front of him as they moved slowly toward the car.

"They are not going to hurt me. Just put down the knife and I know we will both get out of here safe. Please."

Olivia was scared of how this situation could possibly turn out and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"We just have to get to the car, then we can get away," he replied.

As he turned to open the car door for her someone from the SWAT team fired a shot that hit him in the ribs.

"No!" Olivia screamed as her tears began to fall.

The man dropped the knife and fell to the ground beside her. Olivia knelt beside him and tried to slow the bleeding by applying pressure, but there was blood everywhere. He stared up into her eyes as he muttered sweet nothings to Jessie.

"I love you Jess, I always will. Give Joey a kiss for me and tell him daddy loves him."

"I will," Olivia whispered through her tears. "I need a bus!" She yelled over her shoulder looking at the team as they began to move in. "Just hang on, okay. Help is coming. We'll get you to a hospital and everything will be alright." By now her tears were two steady streams as they poured down her face.

"Are you alright ma'am?" One of the men from the team asked as he approached the scene.

"I'm fine," she said through tears. "He needs help."

"We have an ambulance on it's way."

Olivia watched as the man coughed and blood came out of his mouth.

"Lung shot," the SWAT guy said. "He's bleeding out."

Olivia looked up at the injured man on the ground as he gasped his last breath.

"You sons of bitches! You didn't have to shoot him! I was talking him down. He thought you were trying to hurt me! He was trying to protect me, not harm me! God!" Olivia pulled her hands away from the mans body and stared down at him as she cried.

"Liv?" She heard Elliot's voice behind her.

"El," she said as the tears streamed from her eyes.

Elliot dropped to the ground beside her and held her. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she whispered. "They didn't have to shoot him. I had it under control."

"Baby they did what they thought they had to do to save you."

"Elliot, he was sick. This wasn't his fault. He thought he was protecting me, Jessie from a man who raped her."

"Liv, who is Jessie?"

"She was his girlfriend. You don't understand."

"Olivia, I am going to take you over to the ambulance and have you checked out then we will go back to the station and talk about it. You can tell me everything then honey, but right now we need to get you checked out."

"El, Noah?"

"Noah is fine. He'll be really glad to see you though. Come on baby, lets go."

Olivia sat inside the back of the ambulance and watched as they loaded the body of her captor onto a gurney to wheel him away, as she did she couldn't help but cry. She felt guilty that in all of this she had lead the man to his death. In thinking the stand off would go down easier if they were outside she lead this obviously mentally disturbed man out the door and into the open. When the SWAT team had moved in to try and help Olivia, he thought they were trying to harm her and waved the knife around until he was shot.

Elliot walked her slowly back trough the bull pen and into the locker room. "I found some clothes in your locker. We need these, just in case. I thought you could go back and take a shower. I'm sure you'll feel better. Then I can order some food and we can talk. Tell me what exactly happened back there."

Olivia said nothing, she just nodded. She watched as he closed the locker room door locking it behind them.

"Can you stay in here with me?" She said softly as he turned on the water in the shower adjusting it for her.

"Sure. If that is what you want," he said raising the blood stained shirt over her head and dropping it into a plastic bag.

Elliot undressed her and bagged her clothing. He watched for a little while as she just stood under the heat of the water. She was in shock.

He stood up and undressed tossing his clothed onto the bench beside hers and grabbing another towel. He walked into the shower and looked into her eyes. Elliot brushed his thumb over the side of her cheek. "It's gonna be okay now," he said as she stared blankly at him.

He put some body wash on a wash cloth and smoothed it over her body. Olivia stared down at the drain watching as the stranger's blood was washed off of her and down the drain. He poured a dab of shampoo into his palm and soaped up her hair, massaging his fingers over her scalp.

Elliot backed Olivia under the hot water and rinsed away the soap suds from her body and hair then stood under the water with her and gazed into her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," she whispered softly as she began to cry once more.

Elliot gently kissed her lips and pulled her into his arms. He held her there under the water in his arms. "Tell me what he did to you," Elliot said.

"Nothing really. We struggled back at the apartment. But he didn't hurt me after that. I'll be okay."

Elliot kissed her gently. He pulled back and she leaned forward kissing him passionately.

"I missed you so much," she mumbled against his lips.

"I missed you too, angel."

She smoothed her hands over his chest as she kissed over the muscles she found there.

"Liv, baby we're at work."

"I just need to feel you," she whispered as she kissed the side of his neck and dragged her fingers up and down his spine sending chills through his body.

Elliot cupped the side of her face. He kissed her passionately as he backed her under the water and raised one of her knees against his hip allowing him entry. Olivia clawed her fingers up and down his back and moaned at he made love to her slowly and passionately, right there under the steamy shower in the locker room.

"I love you," Elliot said wrapping a towel around her and hugging her tight. He handed her another towel and watched as she used it to dry her hair.

"I love you too," she said as she smiled softly.

Elliot patted himself dry with a towel and pulled his boxers and pants back on. "I was so scared when I saw your apartment and realized he had taken you. I haven't slept since you were taken. And poor little Noah, he just doesn't understand it. I have been trying to get him to take formula and that has been a mess. He almost gone through all of the milk you had frozen for him. Kathy and the girls have been taking care of him while I was at work trying to find some kind of lead to bring you home."

"I have missed him so much," She said as she tied the string on her work out pants and pulled on a clean tee shirt."

Elliot kissed her again then picked up the plastic bags in the floor with her bloody clothes in them. "I'll see if Munch can take these to the lab. Then I'll order us some dinner and get us into an interrogation room. Well actually, Fin or someone will probably have to take your statement. When this is all finished up for the night, we'll go back to my place and get some rest."

"Sounds good," she said with a smile.

Elliot ordered them some Chinese food and after dinner Olivia sat in a room with Fin and Cragen and told them the details of her abduction. Se walked out of the room to see Maureen walking in with Noah's car seat in her hands.

Olivia smiled as Maureen sat the car seat on her desk. "Hi Olivia. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, honey. I'm fine. Just a little tired." She scooped her son up in her arms. Baby, mommy missed you so much." She kissed her son and held him tight against her as she rocked him in her arms.

Noah looked up at his mother and cooed and grunted his greeting to her.

"My little man," she said hugging him and kissing his forehead. "Mommy loves you. Yes, I do." She raised Noah up to look at him as he cooed and smiled and drooled. "I know what you need," she said with a smile.

"Well, I have to get going. I have a big test to study for. I just wanted to stop by and see Liv and bring this little guy back to his mommy. By buddy," Maureen said kissing Noah's forehead as she tugged on his little foot. "Bye Liv, I'm really glad that you're alright," Maureen said leaning in to hug Olivia.

"Thank you sweetheart. And thank you for taking such good care of Noah for me while I was gone."

"He's my brother. We Stabler kids look out for one another."

"He's lucky to have such great big brothers and sisters."

"We're lucky to have him. Bye daddy, I will see you guys Sunday for church, right?"

"Sure baby. See you Sunday." Elliot waved to his oldest daughter as she stepped into the elevator.

"Can you cover me for a few minutes?" Olivia asked. "I'm gonna try to feed your son."

"Yeah, I can handle things in here for a little while. You go bond with your baby."

"Thanks, El."

She turned to walk toward the cribs with Noah.

"Liv?"

"Yeah?" She asked looking over her shoulder.

"I love you."

She smiled and winked at him. "I love you, too."