AN: Hello all! I just want to thank everyone for their support. I have never reached 50 reviews before and I honestly teared up when it hit 50. Thank you so much! Your feedback means the world to me. This chapter is a little short, but I wanted to focus on one thing in it. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order SVU.

Elliot was in the middle of a creepy swamp. It was dark and eerie. Something was watching him. He could feel it. The problem was that he had no clue where or what it was. A huge crocodile dragged itself out of the water. Elliot backed himself away from it until his back was pressed against a tree. His heart was pounding. The crocodile opened its mouth, showing off its teeth. He had to get out of there.

"Daddy!" A familiar voice yelled. It was Eli.

Elliot frantically searched for his son. Eli, along with Elizabeth, Dickie, Kathleen, and Maureen, stood on the over side of the water. They were surrounded by three much larger, hungry looking crocodiles. His kids needed him. The only way to get across the water was to swim through. He ran past the crocodile in front of him as fast as his legs would carry him and dove into the water. At first, the water only went up to his chest, but it rose with each passing moment. Before he knew it, the water was right under his nose and he was only half way there. He wasn't going to be able to breathe soon.

"Elliot!"

Olivia. That was Olivia's voice. He looked up at the shore and there his kids were. And Olivia. She was tied to a tree, wearing the same clothes that he found her in when she called him. The bruises and cuts on her skin looked fresh. She was on the verge of tears.

"Elliot please" she begged. "He's coming to!" She nodded towards an unconscious William Lewis on the ground. He was still holding her gun. Elliot saw him stirring. There wasn't much time.

Elliot took a deep breath and swam as hard as he could. Then he heard something. A gun shot. The water was a little too high for him, but he managed to tread water long enough to see what happened. William Lewis stood next to Olivia with the gun in his hand and a sadistic smile on his face. Elliot couldn't get himself to look at Olivia.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDD! HELP US!" Kathleen screamed. He swam as fast as he could. The water was only getting higher and harder to get through. All of them were screaming and crying. He couldn't get there fast enough. By the team he reached the shore, he knew that he was too late.

Red. There was red everywhere. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't the blood of his loved ones. The lifeless bodies weren't his kids. They couldn't be. He looked over at Olivia. She was still tied to the tree, but this time her head hung low as blood poured out the side of it. She was gone too. He let them down. It was all his fault. He crumbled to the ground, sobbing. He was useless. Everyone he loved was gone.

"Such a shame, Stabler".

William Lewis stood before him with a familiar object in his hand. The noose. He swung in back and forth, practically hypnotizing Elliot,

"They're gone. Everyone you love is gone". Lewis chuckled when Elliot whimpered.

"You have this now, why don't you use it?" Lewis dropped the noose and Elliot caught it.

"There's no way that your life can get any worse, don't you think that you're at the end?"

Elliot nodded. He couldn't get lower. Life couldn't worse. It was time to end it.

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"El, Elliot! It's time to get up" Olivia whispered sweetly as she shook his shoulder. His face showed the distress that he was experiencing in his dream world. She shook a little harder. He surprised her by sitting up fast and nearly knocking her off the bed. She heard him gasp and start to pant. He wrapped his arms around her tighter than he had ever before. He started to sob into her shoulder and she simply let him get it out. She had no clue what happened to him, but he was a wreck. She didn't speak until he had loosened his grip on her body.

"Elliot, what happened?"

"I-I...Oh God".

She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eyes. "Tell me what's going on".

"I-I let you all die. You and my kids needed me...I couldn't get there. So much blood. Lewis and red. He had the noose".

As little sense as he made, she completely understood him. He had failed them and because of that, they all died. Lewis must have made a cameo in his dream too.

"El, what brought this on?"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to calm down.

"Remember how someone knocked on the door last night?"

"Barely, but yes".

"It was Maureen's husband".

Olivia's eyes widened. "What did he want?"

*Flashback*

"I'm so sorry to bother you so late , but this is pretty important" the young man explained as he made his way to the couch.

"That's alright Jake, is everything okay?"

Elliot had only met his daughter's husband twice, but he had very memorable features. Surprisingly, Elliot was sober the second time he met the young man so he actually remembered the encounter. He had short reddish brown hair with the brightest green eyes that Elliot had ever seen. His arms were muscular, but not bulging. As soon as Elliot opened the door, he recognized his son-in-law.

"I'm really not sure. That's why I came here. Maureen told me that the detective that was kidnapped a while ago was an old friend of yours and that she was worried that you wouldn't take it well. She said that mom-I mean Kathy called you once but she couldn't tell how you were doing. Kathy also said she told you about her new guy and what Eli calls him... So, here I am. How are you holding up sir?"

"Did Maureen tell you about my history with Olivia?" was his only response.

Jake slowly nodded. Maureen had told him about their closeness and how Kathy was convinced that Elliot had slept with Olivia. They would spend long hours together, but they were usually at work. Occasionally they would go out for a drink or watch a movie. She knew that her father was in love with his partner. It was complicated...

"She's here. She's been staying with me…"

"How's that going?" Jake prodded. He knew that he had to tread lightly with Elliot.

Jake had known about Elliot's drinking since it started. Jake had only been dating Maureen for three months when Kathy kicked Elliot out of the house. It had taken quite a toll on Maureen, but Jake had been there for her. The fact that Olivia was staying with Elliot surprised him.

"I've been sober for almost two months now. We've been going to therapy once a week, sometimes more if we feel that we need it. I told Kathy that I want to stay sober and earn my kids back...they're my everything".

Jake offered him a small smile. This was going to go better than he had anticipated. As much as he cared about how Elliot was doing, he came for a bigger reason. He had to tell him some good news.

"Well sir-"

"Elliot. You can call me Elliot".

"Well Elliot, speaking of your kids, I have some big news to tell you. Maureen and I are expecting".

Elliot's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. They were pregnant. He was going to be a grandfather. Why didn't Maureen tell him? How come his oldest didn't want to tell her own father such wonderful news?

"Why didn't Maureen tell me herself, or at least come with you?"

Elliot saw the hesitation on Jake's face. There was something that he didn't want to tell him.

"She had work". It was a lie. They both knew it.

"Alright, now tell me the truth".

Jake sighed and shook his head. This was a bad idea.

"She didn't want to risk you being drunk when she got here. That and...she told me not to tell you".

"What?"

"She doesn't want you in the baby's life unless you're 100% sober. She doesn't want the baby to grow up with an alcoholic in its life".

Elliot nodded. He felt like he had been shot. His daughter didn't want him in his grandchild's life. The worst part is that he agreed with her decision.

"Then why are you here? Why did you bother telling me?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance".

Elliot locked stares with his son-in-law. Jake was a fool, but he had a kind heart.

"Not everyone…"

"You have helped so many people, sir. You aren't a bad person. You've just been struggling. Maureen wants you back in her life. All of the kids want you back. Kathleen has had the hardest time with all of this. I want to help. You say that you've been sober for almost two months and I believe you. I know that Kathy didn't really listen, but I want to help. My wife and my baby need you in their lives. I'm going to give you my card which has my cell phone number on it. Call me whenever you think that you're ready to sit down and talk with Maureen. She's going to be the easiest to get in contact with since the others still live with Kathy".

Jake set his card down on the coffee table and headed towards the door.

"Jake" Elliot called as the younger man opened the door.

"I'm doing my best. I need my kids. I can't go on without them".

"I know...just call me when you're ready".

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"Oh El, this is good news!" Olivia reassured. She didn't understand why he had a nightmare when he was given such a wonderful opportunity. Jake was trying to get Elliot and Maureen to talk. She would see how hard Elliot has been trying to make things better. Everything would get better.

"Yeah, I guess it is".

Elliot had a lot to think about. He was so uncertain that it felt like he didn't know anything anymore. That's not totally true. He knew that Olivia was going to go back to work soon and then he would be alone all day. He knew that it was necessary to find a new place to live since he couldn't afford to stay here. He knew that the trial would start eventually and Olivia would need him to be there for her. He knew that he had to get his stuff together and he only had eight months to do it.

Shit.

AN: I know it's short, but this marks a major change to come for Elliot. Next chapter focuses more on Olivia!