A/N: I will throw in a TW for this because it gets a little violent in this chapter. Also, I hope you guys enjoy it. The pacing seems off to me, but I really wanted to get this posted before bed while the words were still fresh in my mind. Enjoy...or you know...try to.


Everything was moving in slow motion.

Like something out of an action movie, noise exploding all around them in muffled chaos. Boots stomping against the floor, the loud sounds of gunfire and shouting sounding deeper and resonating in her chest with every shock of commotion bursting forth into the room.

Liv smelled the smoke before she saw it.

A flashbang.

SWAT was in here and they were racing past them, clearing the house. They were inside, crawling up the stairs and kicking open doors, guns raised in defense for anything more that could potentially harm them.

Smoked curled along the floor, wafting over their bodies that lie side by side on the hardwood floor. Liv could feel the blood sliding over her nose, hitting the floor in thick splats. She could feel it sliding through her hair, just like her hand sliding across the floor. Her fingers laced with Rafael's shaking hand.

Brown eyes locked with green and she choked on a breath as she saw the sweat beading on his brow. He struggled for breath, a sliver of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as his chest heaved in shallow movements. His eyes were growing dull with every slow passing second, and she could see the blood seeping into the cotton shirt he wore, spreading across his chest and abdomen where the bullet holes leaked his life source.

The noise bursting around them like firecrackers drowned down into nothingness, the only sounds encompassing the space around their prone forms was her heavy gasps for breath. The pain grew exponentially in her bruised and battered body and face as she watched his eyes slipped close and his hand grow limp in her grip.

She dipped into unconsciousness only a second later, joining him as the world went black.


30 Minutes Earlier…

Liv slid into the back of the ambulance, running her fingers through Noah's messy hair and rousing him from a fitful nap. His sleepy voice and narrowed eyes warmed her heart, fighting with the anxiety and terror and worry that existed there.

"Mommy?"

Liv leaned forward and pressed a cluster of kisses to his forehead, pushing him gently to lie down again. Amanda stood outside of the ambulance, ready to take over and watch over the boy as soon as Liv left. Her request for the blonde to watch over her child was met with no hesitation.

"Aunt Mandy is going to watch you for a little bit, ok? Abueli is on her way and you're going to go sleep at her house for the night."

"Why?"

Liv pulled the blanket up under his chin and adjusted the small pillow his head rested on, "Mommy has to take care of some things."

"What about daddy," he said, eyebrows knit together and searching her brown eyes with his own. She could see the worry in those mesmerizing orbs, seeking a comforting answer she couldn't give him. Liv felt uncomfortable being confident in her abilities. Even if she knew the outcome was going to positive, there was always that streak of doubt that left her wondering 'What If?'

But, Noah was young and he didn't understand that. All he knew was that something was wrong and his daddy wasn't there and his mommy was going somewhere. He looked confused a bit afraid, the remnants of the terror he felt earlier in the night still lingering under the surface, even if it wasn't immediately recognizable.

The thought that he was going to carry that feeling around for a while pissed her off, reigniting the anger she felt before. She was ready to go in there and fight. This was going to end, whether Trevor Washington and his friends liked it or not.

"Don't worry, baby," she whispered, stroking his forehead as his eyes grew heavy again, "Daddy's going to be just fine."

Liv was there for another few moments before she deemed it safe enough for her to leave without him waking up and calling for her again. She stepped down onto the street and clapped Amanda on the shoulder, nodding as she wished her luck before the blonde detective took a seat on the step, having a clear view of the front door.

A path cleared for her, Trite and Fin and waiting at the police barricade for her to pass through. She came to a stop, Carisi trailing behind her as she met with the men, eyes determined and back straight.

"You sure you want to do this? We can wait for an opening and have our sniper take them out instead. It's safer."

Liv waved of Trite's suggestion for what felt like the tenth time, "That could take hours. We don't have that much time. Trevor wants something from me…that's why he's waving my husband's life in my face."

"Liv," Fin stepped forward, "You know what he wants."

He didn't have to say it because she already knew what it was. In their line of work, working with men like this, it wasn't hard to grasp the concept. Amanda had been this close just thirty minutes earlier while removing her son from the situation. Trevor thrived on women like them and there was no doubt he was using this situation to his advantage.

"He won't get the chance, Fin."

She said the words with no room for argument and her long-time friend and partner kept his lips shut, wisely. There was no way anyone was talking her out of it and really, no one seemed like they were going to try. She could have easily been thrown locked up and thrown in the back of a police cruiser, forcibly removed from the scene had that been the case.

"Alright," Trite interrupted and nodded down the street, where a cherry picker was raised towards an electric pole, a man in a hazard yellow vest waiting on standby near the transformer that powered the street, "Power will temporarily be disconnected shortly after you get in there. Get into position as soon as possible and as soon as you give us the go ahead on the earpiece, SWAT will be knocking down your door…and I hope to God this plan of yours works."

Liv nodded, smirking just a bit at Trite's annoyed eye roll. She knew he was just worried. Despite not knowing each other like old friends, something passed between the two of them when she called him out in the back of the negotiators truck a little bit ago. An understanding that only they could understand.

"Just have faith," she quipped, tapping the nude earpiece and rolled up her sleeves. Her hair was already pulled back and her ring was missing from her finger, safely tucked away in Carisi's pocket along with her cell phone.

Trite scoffed and waved his hand, giving the signal as Liv stepped through the barricade and made the slow walk to her front door. The crowd behind her went still, like everyone was holding their breaths along with her, tensed and giving her silent support

It only took a couple of steps across the sidewalk and up the stone steps that made up her small porch. She didn't spare a glance back, not needing to see the looks of strength and hope and worry her squad was giving her. She took a calming breath, saying a quick prayer to herself and for her husband as she knocked on the door, three times.


"Speak of the devil," Trevor smiled over at Rafael, who was nursing the small cut across his abdomen that hurt like no other. Rafael pleaded in his head, begged to whoever was listening to him to send his wife the other way. The last thing he wanted was for her to put herself in intentional danger just for him. But, that was a stupid request, because even if someone had forced her, there was no way Liv wasn't coming in.

He didn't know whether to love her or hate her for that.

Tony stood strong and still next to him, a reminder that he'd better shut up and stay quiet, as Trevor cracked the door open, making sure to keep his full body covered with the thick wood. Liv slipped through a second later and immediately, they locked eyes.

She took a shaky breath, almost like a sigh of relief leaving her body that he was ok. There was a small amount of blood, but he was fine and he was up and breathing normally. She would take that and it was all she needed to try and play this as smooth as possible.

"Good evening, Lieutenant. Looking lovely," Trevor waggled his eyebrows and ran his tongue over his stained teeth, "Doesn't she Ton?"

"Mhm," was all the reply he received. Liv didn't spare the large man a glance, but she did take in the dead body lying directly across from her husband, a large puddle of blood having seeped it's way over to Rafael and soaked through his socks and the edges of his pajama pants.

"I paid you a compliment. I deserve a thank you."

Liv swung her gaze to the man in front of her. She scoffed and walked past him, giving him her back in a dangerous gamble. It was an opening she wanted him to take and she was sure he would, but she needed to make sure she said all the right things.

Luckily, she'd studied rapist fucks like him for so long, it was damn near second nature to know their personality types and what made them tick.

"You don't deserve shit," she hissed.

She wound up pressed against the wall next to the window, arm twisted painfully behind her back and Trevor's body pressed against hers. She reached back with her other hand, almost as if she was reaching for her side arm that was no longer resting at her side, but he gripped her wrist and pressed it against the wall by her head.

"Hey!"

She winced as she heard Rafael's gruff protest, cut off by a loud thump and a grunt following. Liv did her best to glance back, seeing Tony had thrown him on his stomach (or he attempted to get up) and sat on his back, arm under his chin and pulling almost painfully.

"If he says another word I'll screw her right in front of him," Trevor called behind him, his tongue peeking out of his mouth to trace the shell of her ear. Liv tried to twist away from him, knowing this was what needed to happen in order to give her the best advantage over him. But that didn't mean the churning of disgust and loathing in her gut was alleviated in any way.

C'mon Trite, c'mon Trite…

"As long as I get a turn after you're through, I'll make sure he doesn't say another word."

Trevor chuckled against her ear, grinding his arousal against her backside. Liv breathed through her nose, eyes closed as she stopped fighting against him. The chanting of the voice in her head drowned out everything he was whispering to her.

She could practically hear Rafael struggling not to scream and fight his way out of the choke hold the large man had him in. Liv just kept chanting, eyes closed and lip trembling, feeling the need to fight back but not allowing herself to do so. Just as tears began to gather in her eyes, her chanting had finally been answered by the power company set up just down the street from their location.

A sudden soft click plunged them into silence and Liv took the opportunity to break out of the hold and spun on her heel, knocking Trevor away from her and swinging her right fist. She connected with what felt like his eye, but all could see was him stumbling back into the light where the translucent blinds seeped red and blue.

Liv launched herself at the man, fists pounding away at him as she unleashed all her anger on him, taking advantage of him being caught off guard. He heard the gasping for air and heavy, thumping footsteps coming towards her before a heavy body collided with her and knocked her to the ground where the glass from the broken coffee table lie, the air escaping her lungs.

"Fucking bitch," Trevor spit out, and growled. There was a minute of her trying to fight off the man grabbing at her, trying and failing to land a punch and just as a heavy fist busted her lip, a bright light flooded down upon them.

"You've got some balls," Trevor laughed, watching as Tony grabbed her arms and pinned them down. Liv squinted up at the light, kicking her feet and trying to somehow throw off the large man on top of her. Trevor tipped his head back, wiping the blood from his nose. Liv took some small satisfaction in that.

"Bigger than yours," she ground out, struggling against Tony's grip. He heard the large man chuckle a bit at that but his grip remained solid. Trevor cracked a smile, licking his lips as he continued to watch her struggle. Liv groaned and settled, breathing heavily as the strength began to leave her body.

"No, sweetie, I don't think so. I'd be glad to show you."

Liv bit back a smart reply, feeling like Trevor was getting more cocky with every second she was held against the floor. That's right where she wanted him when SWAT burst through the doors and turned the power back on. She wanted him to think he was going to get what he wanted, but there was no way he would. She was confident in that.

But, this situation was feeling eerily similar to one she'd been in before and her thoughts were bringing up old shit she'd rather not think of. Being bound with a cocky rapist circling above her…

Memories she thought brought up to the surface and dealt with were threatening to derail this entire process, but she was trying her best to focus on the task at hand.

"You came in here knowing damn well what was going to happen…," Trevor shifted on his feet and bent down, bringing the flash light from his phone closer to her face, blinding her and forcing to avert her gaze away. She locked eyes with Tony, who smiled down at her with a sick sort of fascinated look on his face.

"It makes me think you kinda want it, Lieutenant?"

Tony and Trevor looked at each other, "I think she wants it, Trev. Look, she won't stop moving. It's like she's begging for it."

Trevor nodded, humming as his eyes traveled down to the neckline of her shirt, which had dipped lower because of her struggling underneath Tony. He brought one of his blood-dried hands down and traced the line of the shirt, dragging along on her skin.

"Yeah…she wants it- "

Trevor's sentence was cut off as a fourth body joined the fray, knocking him to the ground, making him yelp in surprise. Tony jolted, taken aback and Liv took advantage yet again, able to lean forward as his grip loosened and she knocked him with her forehead, hard enough to make her see stars.

Tony fell off her, hands holding his nose as Liv scrambled to get up and help Rafael, who was quickly losing control of his position on top of Trevor. Liv reached them just Trevor reversed their positions and landed a few good punches to Rafael's face. She grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him off, kicking him for good measure.

"Raf," she breathed, leaning down to help him up. He struggled, groaning in pain as he got to his feet, gripping her arms. She held him, supporting his weight the best she could as she reached up to the earpiece and gave them the signal.


"What's taking so long?"

Carisi ran a hand through his hair, pacing along the side of the street. SWAT was lined up along the brownstones, their weapons at the ready and waiting for the signal that was supposed to have already come in through Liv's earpiece.

The plan was so simple.

Cut the power, throw them off their game and call for SWAT. Taking away their sight was the best possible distraction they could provide. It offered Liv the chance to safely get to Barba without risking their lives even more in the process.

It was a simple plan and yet, Liv's voice hadn't called for them yet. Which meant something had gone wrong, or she was still smooth talking the hell out of them inside. Either way, it was putting everyone outside, waiting to hear her voice, on edge.

"Give her some time. She'll call," Fin reassured, wiping away the sweat gathering on his palm and making the handle of his side arm slippery. He couldn't have that when clearing the house. He glanced back towards the ambulance, seeing Amanda ready to join them, strapping her vest tight for the second time that night.

"Noah gone?"

"Yeah," she nodded and gestured back behind her, "Lucia just left. It took a good five minutes to calm her down before Noah saw her, but she's taking him back to her place now."

"Good. Poor guy's been through enough."

"Any word from Liv yet?"

Carisi shook his head, still pacing along the street. Amanda sighed, pushing her bangs behind her ear and bit her lip. She prayed to God what they were all thinking was going to happen actually wouldn't happen. It was hard to keep their thoughts from straying in that direction, though. She'd come so damn close to having it happened to her earlier.

"She'll pull through guys, she always does. Liv's tough."

Just as the words left Fin's mouth, Liv's breathless, panicked voice came crackling through their radio's inciting everyone into action. SWAT took their positions and did a quick countdown, making sure everyone was together.

They silently marched up the sidewalk, quick and tight. The squad was somewhere in the middle of the line, being a reasonable distance away from the front. They weren't even allowed to be in the line-up, but Dodds arrived ten minutes earlier, hastily dressed and agreed to their plea to be one of the first inside. It wasn't an odd request, seeing as how Liv was their Lieutenant and this was her family.

"Go, go, go," was chanted softly to them as they lined up in a perfect line outside of the door. They all jumped at the sudden loud sound of the battering ram shattering the wooden door and the pop of the flashbang.


The time in between her calling for SWAT and Trevor standing up moved so quickly, it could make your head spin. Rafael had finally stood up straight, whispering her name when the lights suddenly turned back on, flooding the house and blinding them all for a moment. It distracted them, just long enough for Trevor to take the open window they unknowingly gave him.

Trevor had managed to find his footing, swinging the gun from the waist band of his pants and aiming it directly at her. Liv's breath caught in her throat, frozen in place as the first snap of the gun struck the air.

She closed her eyes, hands coming up to try and stop it. But the only thing she felt was her body being pushed harshly into the wall as four round of bullets were let loose. With horror, she realized that Rafael had hit the ground in a harsh thud, choking the scream that wanted to let loose out of her throat.

Trevor let out a primal scream and ran at her, pitching the gun in favor for the knife he'd been carrying the entire time. Liv didn't have time to duck as the knife came sailing towards her, narrowly missing her eye as she was able to jerk her head. The blade sliced across her forehead, blood immediately pouring down her face in rivulets as one of his hands wrapped around her throat.

She choked and flailed her arms, grabbing for the set of blinds that covered one of the windows and tore it away, the plastic flying about their feet. Trevor's grip tightened, cutting off her airflow completely.

"I'll see you in hell."

The words had barely left his mouth as the familiar, resounding blast of a sniper rifle shattered the window, sending Trevor flying into the glass mess and coffee table frame that loitered the rug in front of the couches.

Liv dropped to the floor, body weak from the lack of oxygen and pure terror still coursing through her body. Tony looked on in horror at Trevor's limp body, eyes wide open and staring at him. Realization dawned on Tony as he stood, but she paid him no mind.

"Liv," he choked out, voice shaky like his entire body. She watched as blood bled into the fabric of his shirt, the pale blue color turning into a shocking shade of dark red the more time slowed down.

Two bloody bullet holes in his torso and he looked so scared and vulnerable, lying on the floor of their home with two dead bodies and a fearful criminal cowering just feet away from their prone bodies.

"It'll be ok," she muttered weakly, tears seeping out of her eyes and mixing with the blood still pouring from the cut on her forehead. Rafael didn't say anything, his green eyes losing the spark and warmth they always held.

It isn't too soon after her whispered reassurance that they're both passed out on the floor, bloody and holding hands.


"Oh God," Amanda raced over to their bodies, jumping over Trevor's body to reach Liv and Barba, both unconscious. Liv didn't seem to have any bodily injuries, other than a large cut across one side of her forehead and the bruises and split lip on her face.

However, Barba was shot, twice and she was calling for an EMT at the same time Carisi was. Fin stood off to the side, helping two officers in attempting to hold down the large, squirming accomplice so they could slap cuffs on them.

"Shit," Carisi breaths, moving over so could reach down and check Barba's pulse. He was bleeding heavily and it was taking her a while to process that this bloody figure was Rafael Barba. The sharp dressed ADA who they worked with daily. She couldn't ever remember a time seeing him with any sort of injury, let alone near death.

"Got a pulse. Where the fuck are those medics, huh?"

Carisi stood up and stomped past her, stepping into the threshold of the door and yelling for medics into the heavily crowded street. He was cursing and yelling and he looked so worried, like they all did, but it did the trick. Not a minute later did a set of EMT's come flying into the home with stretchers and medical equipment encumbered on their forms.

Amanda gladly moved out of the way, keeping a close eye on them as they diligently worked, but she couldn't help her eyes from straying towards Trevor's limp and lifeless body on the floor, a hole in the back of his skull and his eyes open but dulled.

That man had been so cocky and so sure of himself. He'd taken the lives of innocent bystanders, almost adding two more to that list (because there was no way either of them were leaving the team anytime soon), after raping and ruining the lives of countless women. Amanda scoffed and nearly spit on his dead body as she trailed behind the loaded stretchers, already intent on riding to the hospital with Liv as Carisi raced after Barba's.

She kept it to herself and instead, hurled a word at him that was just as effective.

"Asshole."