AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it has been a long time since I have updated and EVEN LONGER since I have updated this story, but I have had a lot going on in my personal life that just demanded my attention. I wrote so many chapters on this story then kind of lost track of where I was going with it. I have done some brainstorming and I think I have figured out exactly where I want to take it….so here we go! Thank you all for being so patient!

~ Detective Olivia Stabler ~

Pretty Poison

(Chapter Twenty Four: Fear)

Olivia shot upright in the darkness and gasped to catch her breath.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Elliot asked sitting up beside her and turning on the lamp next to the bed.

She was crying and soaked in a cold sweat. He cupped his hands against the sides of her face and stared deep into her eyes as she trembled in fear.

"Liv, baby?"

She shifted her eyes and blinked a couple of times before registering that he was even speaking to her.

"I saw him," she gulped suddenly feeling as if she were going to be sick.

"Saw who, sweetheart? It was just a dream. It was all just a bad dream. But you are awake now and you are safe. No one can hurt you anymore."

She smoothed her hands over her face as she caught her breath. Elliot leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. It was just so real," she whispered as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Why don't I get you some water?"

She shifted her sad eyes to look into his as she began to nod.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I'll be right back," he replied kissing her tenderly and pulling the blankets up around her.

Olivia watched as he climbed from the bed and disappeared from the room. She shivered as her eyes scanned the room for anything that seem out of place. Rubbing her tired eyes she scrunched her toes in the carpet making her way to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, then splashed her face with water.

"Here we go," Elliot replied returning to find the bedroom empty. "Liv?" he asked checking the bathroom before moving back out into the hall. "Are you sleep walking now?" he mumbled in confusion as he heard a muffled sound coming from the baby monitor.

He sat the glass of water on the night stand under the lamp and cautiously, slid his off duty weapon from the gun safe they had put there to prevent the kids from getting a hold of the gun.

"Daddy's coming buddy," he whispered hearing the baby whine and stir a bit over the monitor.

Elliot wasn't quite sure what was going on, but when it came to his wife and children he didn't take chances. He felt his heart pounding as he crept quietly down the hall and slipped into the nursery.

Still half asleep, Noah fussed a little and pushed himself up to look at Elliot.

"Liv?" Elliot whispered in the darkness, but she was nowhere to be found.

Noah reached out a little finger and pointed at Elliot as he whined. Elliot secured the room, then returned to the crib.

"I know, buddy. It's okay," Elliot whispered leaning over the side of the crib to hand the baby his pacifier.

Noah put it in his mouth and Elliot kissed his son. He shifted his attention to the hallway as he heard a clanking noise in the kitchen.

"You wait right here and be really quiet. Daddy will be right back. I have to go find mommy."

Noah blinked his big eyes and watched his father move back to the door. Elliot locked the handle on the nursery door, then pulled it shut behind him. If the bad feelings Olivia had been having lately had any truth to them, be was going to do everything in his power to keep his son from danger.

Just as he was about to reach the kitchen Olivia stepped around the corner in the dark and they both screamed.

"What the hell are you doing? Trying to shoot me?" she asked as she placed her hand against her chest to feel her heart pounding.

"You were gone. There was a noise. I thought someone was in the house."

"I live in the house, Elliot," she exclaimed reaching to pick up the bottle she had dropped in the floor. "Noah was awake. I came in here to make him a bottle," she said as Elliot turned on the kitchen light.

"In the dark?"

"I have done it a thousand times before and you never pulled a gun on me."

Elliot exhaled and smiled as he laid the gun on the counter.

"I don't know how I didn't pass you in the hall. I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said pulling her into his arms and holding her there for a moment. "I would never shoot you, you know that."

"Yea, I know that," she mocked as he kissed her.

"You have just had these bad feelings lately. And the nightmares. I came back into the bedroom and you were gone. I wasn't taking any chances. You weren't in the nursery, then I heard a commotion in here….what were you doing anyway."

"Someone left the cabinet door open again," she replied furrowing her brow at him in her best angry face. "I walked into it in the dark….again."

"Baby, I'm sorry," he replied kissing a red mark on her forehead. "I got chips out of there while I was watching the game. I pushed it shut, the latch must be messed up again and it isn't catching. I'll get it fixed, I promise."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," he agreed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just want to give the baby his bottle and get back to bed."

Elliot stepped back letting her pass him as he turned out the kitchen light.

"El, the door is stuck," she replied pushing against it as she turned the knob once more. "Maybe you should fix this, too."

"It's not stuck. I locked it."

"You lock your nine month old child in his room? I know he is into pretty much everything since he started walking, Elliot, but this is a little overboard. Don't you think?"

"I thought someone was in the house. I checked the nursery and it was clear. I figured this would at least slow down an intruder long enough for me to put a bullet in them."

"We don't have a key…." she barely got out as he returned from the kitchen with a piece of wire from the junk drawer.

Olivia watched as he slid the wire into the door handle and fidgeted around with it, then the door came right open.

"You have done this before?" she asked.

"The same kind of locks are on the doors at Kathy's. In the many years I owned that house, more than one of my children have locked themselves in a room and I had to do this to get them out."

Olivia smiled.

"Here baby," she said softly scooping up her son who was now standing at the side of his crib reaching out to them.

Changed his diaper, then kissed and cradled him in her arms for a moment before lowering him back into his bed.

"Good night, sweet boy," she whispered as she handed him his bottle and watched as his heavy eyes fell shut once more.

"So do you want to tell me about these dreams?" Elliot asked as they settled back into bed.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said as he slipped his arm around her waist.

"Baby, not talking about it has not made them go away. Maybe if I knew what had you so scared I could help you through this."

"Just, flashbacks, mostly. To that night in the apartment. The night that Carl Madigan took me."

"Liv, Carl Madigan is dead. He can never hurt you or Noah…or anyone for that matter….ever again."

"I know," she said in a hoarse whisper.

"You saw him…."

"What?" she asked staring into his eyes.

"That's what you said when you woke up. You said that you saw him. Liv, who did you see?"

He watched as tears rose in her eyes.

"The man….The man from the hotel room. The man who was there with Carl that night."

"Liv, Carl was crazy and we were drugged. They searched the room and there was no sign of another person in that room. Honey, for all we know there was no other man. Carl was probably just suffering from some kind of break."

"There was another man, Elliot. I saw him. And I saw him again tonight. I know he is real. I know he was there. I know, Elliot, because I had sex with him," she gasped as tears streamed down her face.

"Wha….you remember more about that night?"

"Only that I saw him then. His face. I remember seeing his face."

"I thought you said you were certain that he didn't rape you that night?"

"Everything was blurry and I only saw him clearly for a moment, Elliot, but I know he was the same man who was in the room that night."

"That night? Wait….Olivia, you saw him again? Where? When?"

He watched as she sobbed uncontrollably as if the dam holding back all of her emotions had finally broke and everything came flooding in at once.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I am so sorry, that I didn't tell you."

"Oh God," Elliot mumbled suddenly realizing what she was trying to tell him. "He came back for you, didn't he?"

She couldn't speak. Instead she just broke down and cried in his arms. Elliot held her tight and rocked her. He whispered tender and loving words to her as he began to cry himself.