Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.

They watched Cragen leave in stunned silence, the memories of cases long buried under heaps and piles in the backs of their minds climbing to the surface. Elliot let out a hard sigh and turned to Olivia. "What the fuck?"

She did little more than shake her head as she plopped back down onto the couch. She pulled her knees up and bit her lip. "What else is going to come back and bite us in the ass?" she asked absentmindedly. "How many more people whose lives we fucked up by doing our jobs are out there, right now, plotting their revenge?"

"Baby," he mumbled as he sat next to her. "Don't go there. No one, okay? This one kid...he was dealt a rotten hand from the moment he was born, his mom was bat-shit crazy, okay? This doesn't have anything to do with us. Not really."

She looked at him. "He went on the hunt for his mother, found out we're the reason she's locked up...how do we not have anything to with it?"

He kissed her forehead and settled his body around hers. He picked up the remote control and found some cheesy sit-com on the television before answering her. "He needs someone to blame. He can't blame his mother because she's in jail. He can't blame his father because he doesn't know who that is. He tried to blame the judge, but then found a closer link, and we're the easiest target." He kissed her lips softly. "No one else is out there trying to..."

"Richard White," she interrupted.

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "He will never see the outside of his jail cell, and if he ever does, he's not getting anywhere near you, do you understand me?"

She raised one eyebrow in question. "El?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of hell bent on protecting you." He kissed her again. "For the rest of my life. I swear, no one is going to hurt you." He pressed his lips to hers. "I...I will never hurt you. I swear on my life. No way in hell."

She tilted her head and swiped her lips across his neck. "I know," she whispered, dropping a kiss over his pulse. She felt it beat against her lips and said, "I remember."

"Remember what?" he said on a whisper, closing his eyes. He moaned as he felt her teeth scrape along his skin.

"Rook," she said, nipping at his neck. "You wouldn't...he wanted you to push that button." She kissed a line up from his neck to his ear and licked right behind his lobe. "You wouldn't. You thought you'd hurt me if you did, and no matter what he said, or did, no matter how much he threatened and yelled...you wouldn't."

He shook his head fast, swallowing hard, trying to keep some sense of self control. "I promised, a long time ago, that I would never be the reason you hurt. No matter what it cost me, I wouldn't be the one that hurts you."

"Well, that's good," she said, a small smile on her face, "Because I made that same exact promise, to you."

He nodded, grinning. "I know. Uh, Gitano." He lightly cupped her chin and pulled her back up to meet his eyes. "I remember. So, I guess, since we will always be there to save each other, we're good."

"Then, we're always going to be good, huh?" She ran her tongue lightly over the seam of his lips, teasing him.

He smirked as he nodded and bent his head, kissing her once more, this time letting it linger. His hands smoothed up her arms, around her neck, pulling her close to him, and as he breathed her in he thought back to the first moment he laid eyes on her. He knew then that she would be the death of him, one way or another. He knew she'd drive him crazy in every way possible, and be the only thing that would keep his sane at the same time. He knew, by the end of their first day together, that part of him was lost to her, and the rest of him would follow. "I love you," he whispered, his lips moving against hers.

"I love you, too," she said, her voice soft. She pulled away from him, put her hands on his chest, and took a deep breath. "Those papers you signed," she pulled her lip into her mouth, biting down.

"Yeah," he breathed, "What about them?"

She looked up, into his eyes, trying to ask him without words what she needed to know. When he didn't say anything, but kissed her again, she hummed against his mouth and pushed him away again. "You sure that's what you wanted?" she asked, blinking once.

He smiled, nodded, and said, "Absolutely." He stared at her for a long moment before reclaiming her lips. His fingers tangled in her hair and every exhalation brought with it a relieved and satisfied moan.

She smiled, giving into the comfort and safety she found with him, kissing him back eagerly. He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her up, hoping to move her into the bedroom. They were almost to the door, when a thunderous crash and loud explosion from outside shook the house. Elliot ran to the front door, his eyes wide and his heart pounding, praying his instincts were wrong.

Olivia ran up behind him, but was stopped by his held out hand. "What?"

"Go into the bedroom, grab the bags, we gotta go. out the back, now!" He turned and pushed her, running with her toward the bedroom. He grabbed one large duffle bag and tossed one to her, and then made sure his gun was at his hip where it belonged. He grabbed her by the wrist and ran, yanking her along with him.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, running with him. She didn't even turn around as they blew through the back door, leaving it open.

"I don't think they led Haven in the wrong direction," he said to her, running harder, praying for his legs to move him faster. He pulled her with him across the road, past a gas station, and into a dark alley. "Call Cragen," he whispered, pulling her further into the shadows.

She squinted as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "Will you tell me what the fuck..."

"The car...Montgomery and Darcy..." he panted, taking the phone from her and dialing.

"Oh, my God," she gasped. "That's what blew up?"

He nodded as he heard Cragen answer his phone. "You need...to come get us. Now. Turn around, then, I'm serious!" He looked at Olivia and pulled her into him, kissed the crown of her head and said, "He found us."

Peace and Love

Jo

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