She stood at the edge of the bed, feeling her heart break. She wanted to wake him. She wanted him to come with her. She wanted this entire thing to go away. But life didn't work that way. At least not for her. Happiness was never permanent and always came at a cost. Right now, the cost was a 12 year old girl, and that was too steep a price to pay.
She desperately wanted to lean over, and kiss him one more time, but she couldn't risk waking him. Tears gathered in her eyes, when she realized if things went badly she might never see him again. She pulled in a shuddered breath and tried to keep her emotions in check. She hoped he would forgive her. Hopefully he could understand why she had to do this, and with a whispered, "I love you." She snuck out the door.
-000-
Elliot rolled over lazily and reached his arm across the bed for Olivia. When he didn't feel her warm body within reach, he pried open his eyes. He sat up quickly when he didn't see her next to him. His eyes frantically assessed the room around him. She wasn't there. "Liv?" He called out, but no response. The panic began to rise in his chest. He couldn't checked the bathroom. The door was unlocked, but he knocked anyway. "Liv?" He called again, but no answer. He opened the bathroom door fully, and found nothing. His heart started to pound erratically and anxiety wrapped its cruel fingers around his throat. She was gone.
He rushed out the door, looking for her 24 hour detail, but they were gone tried to breathe. Maybe it was fine. Maybe she left with her detail and didn't want to wake him. Maybe. But something felt off. His cop instincts screamed something's wrong! He rushed back into the room and dug a shirt out of his bag. As he reached for his phone he noticed a small piece of paper laying next to it on the oak nightstand.
I had to go. He's going to kill her if I don't meet him. I love you. -Liv
The room spun around him and he felt sick. He sat on the bed, and stared at the paper in his hand. It crumbled as his fist curled around it. He prayed to God her security detail had actually done their job. He dropped the paper onto the bed, but as it fluttered towards the comforter he noticed more writing on the back. He scooped the paper up and realized she had written an address there. He nearly cried in relief.
He silently thanked God, before grabbing his coat and keys and hurrying out of the room. She needed to show up alone, but she didn't want to be alone. He took some semblance of hope from that.
-000-
Escaping her idiot detail was easier than she thought it would be. The two were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice her sneaking out of the bathroom. Truthfully, she thought all of this would be more difficult, but she was grateful she was able to slip away quickly.
Her stomach turned as she drove to the address he provided. Her nausea peaked and she had to pull over to throw up. She wondered if the nausea was from anxiety or her ulcer. Probably both.
Her stomach felt painfully empty while she drove the remaining distance. She held back the tears that so obviously wanted to escape her eyes. No weakness. If there was one thing she knew about Lewis, it was his ability to sense her weaknesses and prey on them mercilessly. She breathed through the erupting emotion, shoving it down into a tight little box far away from the light of day. She could visit it another time when her life didn't depend on keeping herself emotionless.
Her mind drifted to Elliot and she wondered if he'd woken up yet. She breathed through another wave of panic. Hopefully he would keep a clear head, and not immediately default into his fear triggered anger. Anger wouldn't get him very far with Murphy, and she wanted Elliot to be with those coming for her. She wanted to see him first, and not after hours of interviews at the precinct. She begged the universe to allow him some level headedness so he wouldn't lose his shit on everyone within earshot.
She let out a slow breath. He would be right behind her, and she knew he wouldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of finding her. He was her partner and he would always come for her. She had very little faith in anything or anyone else, but she had faith in Elliot. He would come for her.
-000-
Elliot didn't bother calling anyone until he was well on his way to the address she had scrawled on the back of the paper. He wanted to be too close for anyone to tell him to stand down. God knew he wouldn't stand down.
After he felt he had an adequate head start he called Amanda.
"Rollins." She answered.
"It's me. Liv's gone."
"What? No. No." Her voice sounded as panicked as he felt.
"What the hell happened?" Before he could answer she shushed him. "Hold on a sec." He heard her talking to Fin and Murphy. Her voice was suddenly back on the line, "Her security detail just informed us they lost her. What the hell happened Elliot?"
"We fell asleep, or at least I did." He hated himself right now. "I'm not sure what happened from there. She left a note though. I'm sending you the address on the back. I'm pretty sure she is meeting him there."
He heard her talking to Murphy before hopping back on the line, "Murphy says to come back to the precinct and we will send a team to the address."
This was exactly why he waited to call. There was no way in hell he would go back to the precinct. "I'm more than halfway there Amanda. I'm not turning around."
He heard her sigh. "How long did you want to call us Elliot?"
"I think it's better for everyone if I don't answer that question." He could almost feel her tension through the phone.
"Elliot!" He could feel the fury in her voice. "This isn't a game, and you are NOT the only person who cares about her."
He could almost see her exasperated face and clenched teeth. "Wait for backup."
"I can't do that." He knew, she knew, there was no way he would wait.
There was a little scuffle and then Lieutenant Murphy's voice came through the speaker. "Stand down detective. Wait for a team. Do not go in alone." The lieutenant's voice dropped, "I'm serious. You are far too close to this, and you are not going in alone. Understood?"
Elliot had no problem lying his ass off. "Fine," he kept his voice purposely angry, knowing that if he quietly complied they would know something was off. He hung up the phone aggressively and tossed it into the passenger seat.
The surroundings became more and more isolated, and it became obvious why Lewis would bring her here. He pulled into the parking area of the address. Next to Liv's car. His stomach clenched, and he reminded himself to relax. He would be useless if he barrelled in, and got one or both of them killed.
Silence filled the air, and he felt strangely unnerved. He kept his steps quiet and slow, but his heart sank. Her gun and vest were tossed carelessly aside, but there was no sign of anyone. He glanced around at the ground. Fresh tire impressions. He took her somewhere. Somewhere that wasn't here. He yelled and slammed his fists onto the hood of his car. He was too confident. He wasn't careful, and now she was gone and he had no idea where she was or how to find her.
-000-
She tried to hide the panic when he threw her in the back seat of the car. Shit. He was changing locations. How the hell was Elliot going to find her? She curbed the rising panic attack. She couldn't fall apart. That was not an option. She was so nauseated she thought she would throw up on his back seat. She kept her eyes closed for a while, trying to breathe through the panic and stomach pain.
They would find her. If not Elliot, then her team. She just needed to bide her time, and wait for help. She allowed her mind to wander to a happier place as Lewis dragged her through the dilapidated building where Amelia was stashed. She was somewhere else. She was in the showers with Elliot. She focused on him. His touch. His voice. She lived there, in that place. Whatever Lewis planned to do would be drowned out by the memories of Elliot's lips on hers, and his hands sliding all over her wet body. William Lewis didn't exist.
The sight of Amelia hanging by her wrists effectively yanked Olivia from her perfect daydream. Her focus suddenly adjusted from survival to finding a way to get this child out of here. The girl looked okay enough, just scared. Olivia couldn't blame her. As much as she hated to admit it, she was terrified too.
-000-
"They aren't here," Elliot barked into the phone.
"What?" Amanda asked in disbelief.
"He took her to another location. I found her vest and gun, but no one is here." He tried to keep his voice calm, but he knew he sounded anything but calm.
"Damn it." Amanda muttered. "Just a second."
He heard her talking to Murphy. It sounded like they were already enroute, and they had to turn back. After a lot of swearing in the background Amanda jumped back on the line. "We are headed back, but Amaro got a tip. A sighting of the car Lewis stole. We are confirming its location before we reroute.
He wasn't going back to the precinct. No way. "Where did the tip come in from?"
Amanda fell silent, and he knew she wasn't supposed to tell him. "Elliot," she sighed, but after a moment she quietly repeated the address for him and hurried off the phone.
He didn't think twice when he jammed his car into drive. Visions of the crime scene photos from the trial paraded across his mind. Stomach bile rose into his throat, but he swallowed it back. He tried not to think about what was happening to her right now.
He felt some stray tears fall down his cheeks. God. This wasn't fair. He wished that for once in her life she could experience good instead of persistent evil. He wished she could see herself as a beautiful gift to the world instead of a cosmic accident. Part of him feared she planned to sacrifice herself to satiate the demands of the universe, as if she could right the cosmic imbalance caused by her life.
His stomach churned when he realized that was exactly what she was doing. She could have woken him up. She could have called the precinct. They could have made a plan together, but she slipped away before anyone knew the wiser.
He realized that she had always intended to end this alone. He was getting close to the pin dropped location. He needed to find her. Now.
