"Law and Order: SVU" is the property of Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.

Big time writers block and at least two other fics that need finishing, so I'm trying to get the creative juices flowing. This time, I'm trying my hand at one-shots.

I'm rewatching past seasons and updating as inspiration strikes. Each will be an episode rewrite or plot tweak to explore the possible lengths that Olivia Benson will reach to protect her partner.

AU of episode 10 x 22 ("Zebras"). Spoilers for dialogue.

It was a relief to hear that Liz Donnelly was going to be alright. Olivia stayed at the hospital until the judge was established in a room and then went back to the precinct.

"How's Judge Donelly?" Cragen asked when Olivia walked back into the squad room.

"Doctor said it was a close call," she told him. "She's ok right now. They sedated her but said the potassium chloride should clear her system with no problem."

Olivia noticed her partner's desk was unoccupied as she went to her own. Her brow furrowed.

"Elliot's not back from the lab yet?' she questioned.

Captain Cragen shrugged.

"Doesn't look like it," he replied. He went into his office.

Olivia sat down and reached for the phone. A strange feeling of apprehension formed in her gut as she dialed Elliot and she couldn't have explained it just then if she'd wanted to.

Something felt wrong and she didn't know why.

"Hello?"

The voice that answered her call was definitely not her partner's. Actually, it sounded a lot like-

"Stuckey?" she asked in confusion.

The young forensic technician replied cheerfully like he was excited to hear from her.

"Hi, Liv," he said.

"Dale?" Olivia said again. "Where's Elliot?"

Stuckey hesitated and almost instantly, the feeling inside became stronger. She could feel her pulse start to quicken in response.

"Oh," Dale said. "Uh-he and O'Halloran went out for a bite to eat. Left his phone on the desk." He chuckled in a way that made her want to cringe. "What a dummy, right?"

She didn't hear the insult because alarm bells were sounding in her mind full force.

Elliot was not the type to suggest going out for a bite to eat during the work day. His habit of bringing lunch from home stemmed from years of penny-pinching for a family of five (that had now become six). If Olivia didn't force him toward a drive-thru or takeout place out of her own starvation sometimes while they were on the street, he would be content eating the same sandwich from home that Kathy made him every day until he retired.

Barring that, if by some rare chance Elliot did agree to get lunch while working, Olivia couldn't see it being with Ryan O'Halloran, someone who he rarely spoke to other than a friendly "hello" whenever their paths crossed. There was also no instance in close to eleven years of working together that she had ever seen her partner carelessly leave his phone anywhere.

Dale Stuckey was lying to her.

"Weren't they waiting for the DNA?" she went on cautiously.

"Hasn't popped yet," Stuckey answered matter-of-factly. "But they won't be long. Just ducked out for sushi."

No, her mind screamed at her immediately. No, they didn't.

Elliot Stabler wouldn't go near a piece of sushi if he was starving on a deserted island. She didn't have to guess about that.

The feeling of uncertainty swirling in her gut solidified into into sickening dread. She no longer sensed that something was wrong.

Now she was certain of it.

"Want me to tell him you called?" he went on.

Olivia carefully kept herself under control as she thought about what to do.

"Yeah," she answered coolly. "Nothing urgent. Thanks, Dale."

"You bet," he said happily. "Bye, Liv."

She hung up the phone, her mind racing. She went into Cragen's office and briefly considered telling him about her uneasiness. Then she talked herself out of it, deciding to just tell him that she was heading to the lab to meet Elliot and heading to her car.

Deep down, she still hoped that she was wrong about her line of thinking and didn't want to overreact.

It was a decision that she would unfortunately come to regret.

When Olivia arrived at the Medical Examiner's office and walked into the morgue, she found the room empty and immeditely felt foolish for her earlier thoughts. Dale Stuckey was annoying and immature but that didn't make him a liar.

"Hey, Stuckey," she called out.

As soon as she came around the counter, she was startled to encounter two men laying on the floor that she hadn't been able to see.

She recognized Forensic Examiner Ryan O'Halloran on sight. He lay face up and unblinking and was obviously deceased. Her heart went into her throat when she realized that the second man was her partner.

"Elliot," she breathed in horror.

He was face down and not moving. His wrists were bound up behind his back with duct tape, with more of it wrapped around his legs and down at his ankles.

Her fingers shook as she crouched to check his pulse. She nearly cried out in relief when he twitched at her touch. He shook his head around, making muffled sounds, and she was horrified to realize that he had tape over his mouth, too.

"Oh, God," she said frantically, immediately reaching to work the tape off. "Hold on, I got you."

He was grunting urgently even as she was in the process of freeing him and she was so shaken from finding him in that state that she didn't stop to think about why. She realized too late that she hadn't secured the room when she saw a gun being pointed directly at Elliot's head.

"Don't move."

She froze in place as Elliot inhaled a breath sharply through his nose. She didn't have to look up to recognize the voice of Dale Stuckey.

"Get up. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Olivia looked at Elliot and saw him staring back at her with a look in his eyes that startled her. She had seen it before, years earlier, during the terrible standoff with Victor Gitano that would forever be seared in her memory. It was a resigned, remorseful, bittersweet look of acceptance.

He didn't think that he was going to make it out of this alive.

She swallowed the emotion it brought up and tore her gaze away from his face. Looking up at Stuckey made a fiery anger rise and she gladly welcomed it.

Thinking about this...this scum of a person putting that thought into Elliot's head was bad enough. But then something else caught her eye as she looked up that was even worse.

There were bullet holes in the floor.

She hadn't even noticed them in her rush to make sure Elliot was alive. They were scattered around her partner, including inches from his head.

She didn't want to think about it. But then Stuckey cocked the weapon and Elliot flinched hard enough for her to feel it under her fingers and she knew.

She had to resist clenching her fists in rage because she knew. There would only be one reason that a seasoned detective with years of firsthand experience with firearms would react that way.

Stuckey had been shooting at Elliot.

The piece of shit had tied her partner up, pushed him down onto the cold floor, and then shot at him in indiscriminate intervals, for no reason other than to torment him. Her brain unwittingly supplied her with the horrible picture of Elliot laying there helplessly, cringing away from each shot, his pulse racing fast enough to make him light-headed and dizzy as he braced himself to be struck.

It had been hours since they had gone their separate ways, as she went with Judge Donnelly in the ambulance and he went to meet O'Halloran. Had he been trapped down here the entire time?

Olivia had to force herself to push the thoughts away. She was going to have to get them both out of there somehow.

Alive.

Stuckey was clearly agitated as he stood aiming the weapon down at her partner. The gun, she realized suddenly, was Elliot's.

"You shouldn't be here, Olivia," he said. He looked impossibly young as he swallowed hard. "What are you doing here?"

Olivia eyed his gun hand. He appeared inexperienced in handling it, which combined with his obviously emotional state was definitely a dangerous combination at the moment.

"Dale," she said calmly. She held out her hand in a placating gesture from where she remained crouched next to Elliot. "How about we just talk, alright? Put the gun down and let's-"

The young man's face twisted angrily and her heart leapt into her mouth. She saw the gun aiming down at them and moved fast, throwing herself over her partner without a second thought as Stuckey fired.

She curled herself over Elliot's head, her hands clutching his back in her panic to shield him from the bullets zinging past them. Hearing the shots ricochet off of the cement beneath them made her instinctively squeeze him harder, probably crushing the breath out of him.

Her ears rang and the smell of gunpowder was overpowering in the sudden stillness once it stopped. Her breath came fast and she could hear Elliot struggling to gulp breaths of air beneath her hands, too.

"I SAID GET UP!"

She couldn't believe that roar could come from the same awkward young man who had seemed as threatening as a wet noodle for the months that they had worked with him. Stuckey was holding the gun in badly shaking hands and had a wild look on his face, like he didn't have a plan now that she had surprised him by showing up. Combining that with his spastic gun-welding and his nerves-

Her heart pounded in her ears as she glanced back down at her partner and ran her hand lightly over the side of his head, hoping to convey to Elliot that she wasn't going to leave him unprotected. Then she slowly rose to her feet.

Shit. We're in big trouble.

"What are you doing here, Olivia?" Stuckey demanded shrilly. His gun hand flailed and she froze again when he unintentionally sighted on them as he gesticulated. "I don't want to have to hurt you, too.

"Then, don't," she said evenly. "Just put down the gun and we can all calm down, Dale, okay?"

Stuckey shook his head.

"I can't," he said. "There's no way. You've seen too much." He gestured helplessly with his shoulder. " I'll go to jail for murder. Or you'll kill me, if it comes to that first. You're too good to hesitate."

He looked desperate. "I'm sorry, Olivia. I can't let you do that."

He sounded like he genuinely meant it. Her mind raced to figure out a way to hopefully talk him down.

"Hey, don't worry about that," she said soothingly. "You don't have to worry about that, Dale. You know I would never betray you." She faked a smile that she prayed would fool him. "I just don't want you to get hurt. You could cause serious damage to yourself if you don't know how to use that gun."

Stuckey's expression became furious.

"You think I'm stupid, too?" he screamed. "You both think I'm stupid?"

He came closer and aimed the gun down at Elliot again.

"I thought you got me, Liv." The casual way that he slid his finger onto the trigger as he held the gun on her partner made her skin crawl. "I know he thinks I'm an idiot...but I thought we were connected."

Her pulse raced.

He's unhinged. My God...how did we not notice this?

"We are," she said carefully, nodding. "I don't think you're stupid, Dale. I just don't want you hurt. I care for you." She put on a charming smile that made her feel ill. "Very deeply. I would never want to see you harmed."

Stuckey looked at her with a hesitant expression

"Really?" he asked

Olivia nodded. "Absolutely."

He seemed to consider his next move, looking around.

"Go sit over there," he decided. He pointed to a chair next to the embalming table. "You're not part of this, Olivia. Once I figure out what to do, you can leave."

Olivia hesitated. She hoped she wouldn't press her luck but she couldn't just ignore it.

"Let me take the tape off of his mouth," she implored, nodding toward her partner. "Please, Dale, he needs to breathe. Just let me do that first."

Stuckey scoffed like she was insane.

"Why?" he asked. "So you can secretly untie him and he can come kick my ass?" he said. His expression was becoming angry. "Just go over there."

She kept her eye on his gun as she reluctantly walked over. He followed her.

"I don't want to have to hurt you," he repeated.

He clumsily reached for her waist to take her gun. She briefly consider charging him, but didn't trust that he wouldn't shoot at Elliot again. Once he tucked it into his pants, he went behind her and prodded her over to the chair next to the counter.

He looked at her nervously.

"Did you kill O'Halloran?" she asked him.

"I didn't want to," he replied. "I told him to just get rid of the mosquito but he said he had to call the police and tell them it was me. He thinks I'm stupid. Everyone thinks I'm stupid!"

His face twisted.

"You were wrong," he went on angrily to her. "All of you were wrong. I've been a busy little 'zebra', haven't I? And no one knew because you all think I'm stupid."

He glared at her. Then he began walking back toward Elliot and her heart raced again because he still had the gun in his hand.

"Especially him," Dale spat out. He reared back and kicked Elliot in the side as hard as he could. Olivia winced at her partner's groan of pain and her fingers balled into fists. "He didn't have to be so mean to me!"

"Hey," she called out anxiously, stopping him just before he delivering a second kick. "I get it, Dale. Trust me." She thought fast. "I've been telling him the whole time not to be such an asshole to you. He doesn't see who you really are."

She paused a second. "He's jealous of you. He's jealous of everyone who is better than he is."

Thankfully, that got the young man's attention away from Elliot. Stuckey looked back over at her in surprise.

"Really?"

She jumped at the chance to use his insecurity to her advantage. But it was hard to hear her own words knowing that Elliot was listening to them, too.

"Why do you think he's been with me all of this time?" she said. "Elliot can't handle having another man put him in his place. I've been trying for years to get Cragen to give me a new partner, but he's such a prick that no one wants to work with him. It's awful."

Stuckey looked at her.

"Exactly," he agreed, nodding. "He's allowed to treat everyone like shit and never has to answer for it!" He was becoming more animated. "I'm smart. I have tons to offer. Guys like him think they're better than me, that they can just push me around-"

He kicked Elliot again before she could stop him. He looked furious as he looked at her.

"See, that-" he went on angrily. "That's some shit. How dare he treat you like that?"

He aimed the gun down again. He fired as she screamed at him to stop, his hand jerking upright as he emptied two rounds into the floor.

Elliot was sucking in frantic breaths from where he lay but he didn't appear to have been hit. Stuckey had apparently switched aim at the last second.

Olivia felt despair rising in her chest. If Stuckey didn't end up shooting him, he might just torment into Elliot into a heart attack instead.

"Let's get rid of him," he said. He nodded at her. "You deserve better, Olivia. I'll tell everyone that he exploded, went crazy when you confronted him about his attitude. He killed O'Halloran and then tried to kill you so I had to shoot him."

His tone was bitter as he aimed down at Elliot, finger moving to the trigger. Her eyes widened.

He had made up his mind. She only had one chance left and it was rapidly diminishing.

"Wait," she called out. "Dale, hold on. Think about what you're doing." The young man looked at her suspiciously and she hurried on, nodding at his gun. "The gun. It's his, right?"

Stuckey looked at her dumbfounded for a second. She held out her hand.

"Give it to me. You need to wipe your prints off of it or they'll never believe you." She smiled cunningly. "Use mine. I'll tell everyone that he overpowered me and you used my gun in self-defense. You'll be a hero."

Stuckey looked at her with such adoration that she wanted to puke. She gestured coyly for him and he made his way over.

As soon as he was within reach, Olivia wiped the smile from her face and glared at him hatefully. Then she surged forward and headbutted him in the face with all of her strength.

He howled, going to his knees and clamping his hands to his face. Blood poured through his fingers. Olivia's head ached but she moved fast, snatching Elliot's gun as he dropped it.

"Make a move, you son of a bitch," she swore at him angrily. "I dare you." Stuckey snorted nasally, moaning, and she hoped she'd broken his nose. "I'll shoot you down like a dog. See if I won't."

She jerked the gun toward him, indicating her weapon that he held.

"Drop it."

The young man tossed it in her general direction, barely able to see through tears of pain. Olivia took out her handcuffs and ordered him to sit in the chair she'd just vacated while she secured him to it. She made sure tue cuffs were tight enough to prevent escape.

"I'm coming," she said, breathless with adrenaline as she crossed the room. She skidded to her knees, kneeling beside her partner again and taking hold of his face. She gently turning his cheek out from against the floor. "Hang on, Elliot, hang on."

She tried to peel the tape away as gently as she could but it still made her wince to feel it yanking at his skin.

He let out a pained groan as Olivia looked around for something to use to cut his hands and feet loose. She spied a knife on one of the counters and quickly ran to grab it.

"Almost got it," she said desperately, struggling to get through the thick binds of tape around his wrists.

Olivia removed the rest and then came back next to his head. Her voice was frantic as she spoke into her radio, requesting assistance for an officer down. His limbs were numb from the tight bindings, making him feel like he was in an odd, floating state. His head was spinning.

"Are you alright?" Olivia asked him frantically, setting the radio aside. Her hands fluttered around him anxiously, checking his head, rubbing his back. "Are you ok?"

Elliot tried to speak and reassure her. She was clearly panicked. But his throat was too dry and he could only manage a croak.

Prickling shocks abruptly began traveling ruthlessly up and down his shoulders and knees. He couldn't stop his moan of pain.

"Easy," she said. She placed a hand lightly on his cheek. "Take it easy, Elliot. Help is coming, just relax."

Her words seemed to fell on deaf ears. He struggled feebly, trying to get up on his knees, and then she had to jump to take his weight when his shaky attempt to stand failed.

"Up," he managed to gasp out. His voice was rough and painful to hear. She looked at him in dismay, clearly thinking he was being stubborn, and he tried to grip her forearms with numb fingers. "Get me up."

She didn't understand his insistence but he was obviously going to try with or without her help. She braced herself and tried to get him to let her do all the lifting. It was easier than it should have been, which was not a good thing, and that's when Olivia saw the blood on the floor underneath of him.

She gasped, her heart stuttering, and quickly helped him over into a sitting position against the counter. He slumped forward, almost keeling over.

Olivia's breath stuck in her throat at the sight of his white button-down shirt, slashed in several places across his chest and stained dark crimson.

"Oh, God," she choked, her hands immediately pressing hard against the area. He groaned. "Oh, my God!"

Elliot pushed at her hands.

"I'm okay," he said roughly. "I'm okay, Liv."

He didn't actually know if that was true but she was worried enough. His head rolled back and he exhaled a breath of misery.

She looked him over, anger building with everything she took in. He was pale, shaky, and his mouth was irritated from being taped. His wrists were bruised and his fingers were still having color return.

On top of that, he had been stabbed and then used for target practice, all by Dale (i) godddamned Stuckey, the aloof forensic technician who had fooled everyone into thinking he was harmless.

She found herself glaring over at him, sitting cuffed across the room and staring at them.

Should've given you at least a flesh wound for that.

When she returned her attention back to her partner, she saw him staring at Ryan O'Halloran. His face was as white as a sheet.

Olivia pushed her emotion down. She hooked one arm securely around his back, steadying him, and placed her other hand on his arm to draw his focus back to her.

"Hey," she said urgently. "Take a deep breath. Don't pass out on me, Elliot."

He hadn't realized that he had been holding air in shock until her words compelled him to release it. She was right. It wouldn't help matters if he fainted on her. Or puked, which was what his stomach was trying to make him do.

He couldn't ignore the despair, though, and he didn't try. Ryan O'Halloran hadn't really been a friend but he was a fellow brother in blue to them and hadn't deserved the death he'd had.

II didn't see him," he murmured painfully to her. "Stuckey...knocked me down when I came in." He looked at her with an expression of regret that pierced her soul. "He was begging me for help and I couldn't get loose."

Olivia was horrified. It wouldn't help to try and give Elliot a platitude just then. Instead, she just leaned her head down against his.

It was the best thing she could offer him until backup arrived.

An hour later, Elliot was laying on a stretcher inside an ambulance while EMT's tended to his wounds. He was propped upright but didn't try to lift his head, feeling more abysmal than he wanted to admit. He had a hell of a bruise on his ribs from where Stuckey had kicked him along with the knife slashes in his chest and every breath ached with agony.

A particularly tender spot right near his left pectoral abruptly burned like fire when one of the medics probed it. He sucked in a breath through his teeth.

Still, he was sadistically thankful for the pain that distracted him. It was difficult to keep his mind from going over the events of the night again and again and highlighting everything that he didn't want to think about.

Like how humiliating it was for his partner of 10 years and countless fellow officers to see him helpless. Like what a goddamned idiot he was. Like how his inability to control the situation had cost a good man his-

"Hey."

He blinked away the fog of ruminating and saw his partner standing before him. Their captain was beside her. Olivia had been occupied with the multitude of tasks required of the situation and he hadn't seen her since they had gotten out of the building.

Elliot unconsciously tried to straighten, feeling even more vulnerable sitting bare-chested in front of both of them.

"How bad is it?" Cragen asked the closest paramedic.

"Mostly subcutaneous wounds," the woman replied. "But we're going to transport him to Bellevue to make sure there aren't any infections."

Elliot wasn't sure which thought made him shudder more- the thought of how many needles that might involve...or the thought of what could be potentially be coursing through his bloodstream from Stuckey's knife.

"I called Kathy," his captain told him. He winced again, this time imagining the reaction from his wife at hearing what had happened, and Cragen was quick to sense his concern. "I sent Munch and Fin to pick her up and meet you at the hospital."

"What about Eli?" he asked. "One of them is going to watch him?" His horrified look at the idea would normally make Olivia laugh out loud but she definitely wasn't in the mood then. "Call Maureen. She'll be the closest to the house and can come stay with him."

"I'll do it," Cragen offered. "I'll come see you after everything is through here."

He nodded. "Thanks, Cap'n."

Cragen walked away. Elliot could see the worry and stress on his partner's face as she watched the EMTs finishing up.

"I'm ok, Liv," he said weakly, trying to smile. He hated having her stare at him like that, as if she was afraid he might disappear in front of her eyes. "I prom-"

A sudden, sharp clang shattered the air when one of the paramedics accidentally dropped the tray of gauze and bandages that had just been handed over to him onto the metal floor.

Elliot's reaction was instinctual. He flinched and dove to the ground.

Olivia jumped forward impulsively as the portable IV attached to his arm ripped out and the stretcher he sat on almost tipped over.

"Whoa," she said quickly.

She held out a hand toward the medics to keep them from from moving toward him. Then she crouched down and slipped a hand on top his neck.

"I've got you," she said quietly. "You're ok, partner."

He was paralyzed, feeling like his heart would explode, his hands shaking as he covered his head. Intellectually, he knew where he was and what was happening, but his nerves were completely shot.

He got back on top of the stretcher and Olivia hopped up beside him. He stared at the ground while letting the medics reinsert the IV. He was embarrassed and exhausted all the way down to the bone.

"Want me to ride with you?" she murmured after a minute.

Elliot looked at her wearily. Her thoughts were easy to read on her face.

This was too close. I'm not ready for you to die.

He held her gaze for a long moment and hoped she understood what he couldn't say.

"Yeah," he replied quietly. "I do."

He leaned against her, butting her shoulder with his, and she felt her spirits lift a bit.

Then a female shriek pierced the air and the feeling disappeared. Olivia winced, seeing the officers bent down around a woman sitting in the open backseat of a cruiser.

"Who is that?" Elliot asked in alarm, looking at Olivia.

He could clearly tell that woman was heavily pregnant as she sobbed hard. His partner had an expression of sorrow on her face as she shook her head. She had seen the woman already when she was updating her boss on what had happened.

"O'Halloran's fiancee," she answered softly.

Elliot let out a breath like the air had just been punched from his chest.

"Alright, Detective." The EMT finished securing the IV tape to his arm. "You're ready for transport." He looked slightly apologetic as Olivia and Elliot both looked at him. "I'll need to strap you in."

He looked at the man with disdain but didn't voice any protest. That alone told Olivia how he was feeling. The medic raised an eyebrow at her.

"Can I ride along?' she asked.

He nodded. "Have to be up front, though."

She got out of the back and walked around the side of the ambulance. As she opened the passenger side door of the cab, Olivia took in the scene around her.

Dale Stuckey being led in handcuffs to a car.

Ryan O'Halloran being zipped into a body bag, being lifted into another ambulance, as his future wife wailed with her hands cradling the unborn child inside of her.

Elliot laying in the back of this one, lucky to be alive. She wasn't anywhere close to being able to process that yet and she guessed he wasn't, either.

She shook her head in slight disbelief of it all.

"What a way to end," she murmured, climbing up into the seat.