And so the angst begins. Or continues. Well, new angst is beginning. This is a short chapter, but I think there's enough to chew on for a couple of days (:This chapter starts right where the last one left off. Kudos to anyone who can recognize an L&O:SVU scene.

Oh also, I wanted to be clear. The using songs for chapter titles thing, totally not my idea. I've seen lots of other writers do it, but I think it's great! This song is by Jessica Riddle.

Disclaimer: Several letters, angry and slightly depressed, have been written to CBS, Meredith Steihm, Jerry Bruckheimer, but nothing. Well, in my mind they have anyway. :)

Chapter 10: Even Angels Fall

Lieutenant Stillman looked around the room at his group of detectives. Lilly and Kat were having a conversation, and the three others were also making amicable chatter. He so rarely saw them all this happy and relaxed that he almost didn't want to make them revisit the case they'd been working, but as Wayne Simms was brought up from lockup, he knew it was time to get back to work.

"Let me go in there, boss," Lilly asked as she observed Wayne Simms, head down on the table in the interrogation room.

"Lil… that ain't a good idea." Scotty said, the concern woven into his voice. Even back when Lilly was only his partner, he wouldn't have felt comfortable letting her go in there with someone so aggressive, but before he had no reason and no way to stop her.

"I can take care of myself, Scotty," Lilly replied predictably. The hard glare she sent Scotty spoke of pure annoyance. She could take care of herself, damn it, like she'd been doing all her life. She looked toward her boss to override Scotty's complaints.

"He has a history of violence towards women," Stillman reasoned. Just like always, he was protective over Lilly, more so than the others. She knew it, everyone knew it. She resented it, sometimes Stillman thought the others resented it too, but damn it there was nothing he could do about it.

"All the more reason to send me in there, it'll throw him off." When the rest of her team continued to look worried, Lilly said. "Come on, I can do this."

"I dunno Rush, you're pretty tiny," Vera said, clearly amused.

As a response, Lilly crossed the room in a step and stopped right in front of her colleague. In a deathly whisper, she said, "You wanna say that again, Vera?"

Crap. He didn't, not when she was looking at him like she was about to hit him. Having never been on the receiving end of Lilly's punches, but a frequent recipient of Kat's, Vera knew that was something he'd rather not experience, "No." He replied honestly.

"Didn't think so," Lilly replied smugly.

In order to stop the arguing, Stillman stepped in, "Fine, but you hear us knock on the window, you get yourself out of there. I don't care if he's about to confess. If any of us think you're in danger, we're pulling you out."

"Yeah, yeah…" Lilly said absentmindedly, taking no notice of her bosses words after he'd allowed her to go in there.

"Rush." Her boss's voice was stern, quiet, worried. "I'm not kiddin' here. Being careful is not an option."

"I hear you boss." Lilly acquiesced, then without another word, she left the observation room. Scotty followed her immediately, while the rest of their colleagues stayed behind.

"Lil." He caught her arm before she could confront their suspect.

"What Scotty?" She snapped, but when Lilly turned around, the look in his eyes took her breath away. He wasn't thinking that she wasn't capable, he was just worried, like any boyfriend would be. Her voice softening she said, "I'll be okay. You know, believe it or not I have done this before."

"I know…" Scotty said.

"So what's the problem?" Lilly asked gently.

Lilly let Scotty draw her close to him, the most intimate they'd been at work since that fateful day less than a week ago, "Just be safe." He whispered in her ear.

"Always am." She replied.

Lilly walked into the interrogation room, feeling the eager butterflies in her stomach that always came from working solo. She knew her entire team was behind that glass watching her. Lilly approached the table where their suspect was sleeping and dropped a stack of folders in front of his face. The loud slapping noise woke him up just as Lilly locked the door with an ominous sounding click.

When Lilly locked the door, Scotty felt a moment of panic, knowing she wouldn't be able to get out as fast if need be, but he pushed his panic aside knowing it was just a scare tactic. She can do this, Valens. He reminded himself again. And you're right out here. That glass can't be too thick, you can probably break it if necessary. When Lilly began her interview, Scotty directed his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Wake up." Lilly said harshly.

Wayne Simms rubbed his eyes, raising his head and looking Lilly up and down. "Hey there, sweet thing." He slurred. From across the glass, Scotty clenched his fists.

"Holly Wilder, December 2002. Start talking." Lilly demanded, in her best interrogation voice that made most doers fold.

"I got a better idea, baby. Why don't me and you high tail it outta here and get a room?" He licked his lips, continuing to survey her eagerly. The way he was looking at her was sinister, almost dehumanizing, but Lilly was used to it. As a female homicide cop, Lilly had experienced more than her fair share of rude, disrespectful, and often offensive comments.

Lilly ignored him, placing a photo of Holly that they'd gotten from the hospital in front of him, "You give her those bruises?"

"Hey, watch what you're implying detective. I loved her."

Lilly rolled her eyes, "Always the guys who love too hard, that end up smacking their girls around." She leaned forward, "What's the matter, not tough enough to take on someone your own size?"

Wayne slammed a hand on the table and stood up, making Lilly crane her neck upward, "You shut up!" He yelled.

From the other side of the glass, Scotty banged, indicating Lilly should get out. Stillman quieted him with a look that clearly said he thought Lilly had this, as she continued, "See that ain't gonna work on me, Wayne. I'm not Holly or any other girls you dated. You can't try and charm me and when that doesn't work talk down to me, and when that doesn't work get aggressive. Now take a seat. "

His eyes shot daggers at her, but Lilly held her ground, not flinching. "She say something she shouldn't have? Get you angry? Tell me. When was the first time you laid a hand on her?" Lilly put a hand on his shoulder as she spoke, pushing him back down into the uncomfortable chair.

"Bitch deserved it," he spat, "but I didn't kill her."

"Not what I asked," Lilly retorted.

Wayne sighed in defeat and began to answer her question "The first time was… once after we made love, she…" He trailed off, embarrassment tainting his voice for the first time.

Lilly laughed. A laugh that she often used in the interrogation room, but was so unlike her usual enchanting laugh , a cruel, meaningless laugh that could make doers' blood boil. And that's exactly what it did. "What?" Their suspect asked angrily.

"Oh Wayne," she said. "One of these days, you'll learn a woman can say anything she wants about your performance in the bedroom, and you aren't actually allowed to kill her."

Wayne stood, and Lilly knew that the disrespectful flirting of a few minutes ago was gone. His body was tense and shaking with anger. What he did next took her by such surprise that she had no time to put up a defense.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip vice like, and Lilly reached for her gun before realizing that she'd had to leave it in her locker when she came in this morning. His fist collided with her jaw and Lilly fell back against the table, blinking away the stars in front of her face, and gasping with both pain and shock.

Detective instinct finally kicked in and as Simms approached her again, Lilly balled her hand into a fist and landed a solid punch on his eye. He howled with pain and Lilly saw her opportunity to get out the door, she could hear her colleagues pounding on both the door and the window, if she could only unlock it…

Recovering from her punch, Simms grabbed her by the wrist and twisted it behind her, hard enough to elicit a cry of pain. He threw her to the ground and Lilly felt the edge of her vision starting to blur out. Desperately, she threw her hands in front of her face to block her attacker's blows.

Lilly could hear her team trying to get in, and wondered why they handed gotten in yet. Then she remembered again that she'd locked the door. Lilly could hear someone yelling for a key, another person running repeatedly into the door, but when Wayne delivered a swift kick to her head, the world turned black. "Help me…"

Scotty slammed his shoulder into the door one more time. They were too slow, Jeffries had gone off to find a key, and Miller was talking, trying to calm their suspect over the loudspeaker. None of them were doing a damn bit of good and Scotty did the only thing he could think of. He felt the door starting to splinter just as he heard another cry of pain from the other side. Swearing mightily, barely seeing straight, and frantic with anger, Scotty redoubled his efforts.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably less than 10 seconds, the door burst open and Scotty grabbed the man. "You son of a bitch," he roared. Soon, Scotty had their suspect pinned to the wall, his grip on his collar choking him. "I'm gonna fucking kill you."

He punched him, bloodying Wayne nose and feeling his own injured knuckles protest. He didn't care. It didn't matter in the least if he broke his hand. All that mattered was pummeling every inch of the idiot who'd hurt Lilly that he could reach. Hitting him again, Scotty knew Wayne was starting to lose consciousness, but he didn't stop.

"Valens." Scotty heard Stillman call. "Scotty. Come on now." Putting aside the fact that he wanted to be in Scotty's place, and feel like he was doing something useful, the lieutenant continued to try and diffuse the situation. But it was damn hard, when he completely condoned what Scotty was doing.

Before Scotty felt satisfied with the amount he'd hit the other man, he felt strong hands pulling him off of him. It was Jeffries, back too late with a key. If Scotty's hand wasn't in so much pain, and if he wasn't already winded from his recent efforts, he would've done all he could fight off the larger detective. But his hand was hurting, and he was panting, and he silently cursed the untimely onset of these feelings.

Wayne rubbed the blood off his face, "I hope your little whore of a girlfriend is dead." He spat angrily.

The anger once again reaching a boiling point, Scotty lunged at their suspect and it took the combined efforts of Vera and Jeffries to hold him back. As they restrained Scotty from killing the bleeding man in front of them, Stillman instructed Kat to call an ambulance, handcuffed Wayne Simms, and handed him off to a uniformed officer, "Throw him in the tombs."

With Simms out of the room, Scotty slumped, the fight dying out of him. He looked at Lilly, who lay on the floor, barely stirring and he suddenly wanted to beat himself up for not paying attention to her first. Just like the last time. "Let me go to Lil." He said to his colleagues. "I won't do anything stupid."

Stillman nodded and the moment they let go, Scotty was on his knees by Lilly's side. "Lilly?" He brushed her hair out of her face, gasping when he saw the cut on her face.

Lilly attempted to sit up, then gave up with a small whimper of pain. "Scotty…" She breathed, her eyes still closed and her skin a pale, ghostly white in stark contrast with the blood starting to trickle down her cheek. She knew instinctively that it was Scotty who was next to her, and she felt an odd sense of relief.

"Shh. Don't try and stand up, it's okay. I'm right here." He whispered. Lilly closed her eyes, and Scotty repressed the urge to shake her, knowing he would probably do more damage than good. "I'm here." He settled with saying. "Stay with me."

Okay, I promise, this was not random. It wasn't just there to torture our favorite characters a little. I'm going somewhere, there's a point. Seriously. This chapter was as uncomfortable to write as it probably was to read, but please leave me a review anyway.