"I uh, I should go," said Olivia, flustered. "I'm sorry."
As much as she wanted to, she couldn't go through with it. Olivia cared way too much for Elliot to do this to him. She felt he needed more time to mourn for his family.
Elliot nodded. "You're right."
He knew in his heart that she was indeed right. It was too soon. He knew if he did, he may later regret it. He led her down the hall and to the door. He removed the latch, unlocked the door and opened it. Olivia started to leave, but paused a moment. She turned around and hugged Elliot.
"I'm still here for you if you need me," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "And I always will be. No matter what."
"I know," he smiled back, hugging her tightly.
"Goodbye, Elliot," she turned and walked away.
Location: SVU Squad Room. Several Days Later.
"Please tell me you got something," demanded Cragen. "Anything."
The squad had been working day and night, following every lead, searching for the person who murdered the Stabler family. All were exhausted, but none gave up hope. They were willing to search the ends of the earth if they had to.
"Fin and I re-canvassed the scene," Munch replied. "No one saw anyone suspicious or unusual vehicles on the days leading up to and including the day of the explosion. So we contacted CSU. And found on the ground by the fence where the fingerprints were, was a piece of torn blue and black flannel cloth, probably from a shirt, with blood on it. We're still waiting to hear from CSU if they were able to get DNA from it."
As if on cue, Melinda Warner entered the squad room with a file folder in her hands.
"Perfect timing," said Cragen. "Please tell me you have a match."
"Only a partial match," she answered.
"You came all this way for a partial match?" he asked, somehow already knowing there was another reason.
"It was urgent," Warner responded. "The match was to Lowell Harris."
The entire squad room came to a screeching halt. Just hearing his name made Olivia shudder. Flashbacks of Sealview entered her mind. Lowell pushing his body against hers, his hands groping her. The taste of his tongue in her mouth. Lowell cuffing her to the door, while Olivia begged him to let her go. He pulled down his pants, trying to orally sodomize her. At one point during the struggle she had punched him in the eye, then ran and hid behind a stack of crates. She closed eyes and prayed he wouldn't find her.
"You wanna play hide and seek?" he taunted her in a menacing tone. "Okay. But when I find you, you're it!"
He struck down some chairs and boxes with his nightstick, trying to scare Olivia out of hiding. But she wasn't there. He continued walking down a hallway searching through the dark basement. He knew there was no way she could escape. Olivia listened as his heavy footstep came closer. She held her breathe and shut her eyes tighter.
"The longer you make me wait," he taunted her again, beating his nightstick along a chain-linked wall, the noise which echoed throughout the basement. "The harder it will be."
Lowell walked further down the hall, stopped right in front the crates where she was hiding, raised his arm and knocked down the top of the stack. Olivia ducked as the boxes flew over her head and behind her. When she looked up, Lowell was standing above her with an evil look in his eyes.
"Guess whose ass is mine now?" he grinned a sick and twisted grin, as he raised he nightstick to strike her.
"Liv?"
"Huh?"
Fin, Munch, Cragen, and Melinda stood over Olivia as she came to her senses. Her heart was racing and her chest felt as if it was going to explode. Her face was flushed and sweaty. She felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her breathing was shallow and shaky. She felt as though she would pass out.
"Are you okay," asked Cragen.
"I'm fine," said Olivia, catching her breath. "I just... I-I'm okay, really."
"It's okay, Olivia." Melinda sat down next to her. "Just breathe, and put your feet on the ground. There's no need to worry. Harris is in jail and can't hurt you."
"But you...you said there was a match," said Olivia, worriedly.
"A partial match," said Melinda, reassuringly. "A male relative. Could be a sibling, a cousin, an uncle, or father."
"Which is why you're gonna have a protective detail," informed Cragen. "If he's seeking revenge for Lowell, you can bet he'll be after you next."
"Not if I have anything to do with it," said a voice in the back of the room.
The squad turned their heads to see Elliot walking toward them.
"Elliot!" said Fin surprised. "You shouldn't be here."
"I know," said Elliot. He stared at the ground. "I just... I needed to..."
"I know what you want," Cragen said. "We're doing our best. How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know you got a lead," Elliot answered. "It's the best news I've heard in a while."
"Well, he may still be after you too," Cragen told him. "You're gonna have a protective detail too." He turned to Munch, Fin, and Olivia. "Munch and Fin, I want you to shake the Harris family tree and see what you can find. Olivia, I'm taking you off this case. Go home. And that's an order."
"Elliot, my office, now." Cragen commanded.
Elliot followed Cragen into his office and shut the door behind him.
Olivia decided not to argue with him and just leave. She was feeling rather unnerved and just wanted to go home and lay down. But she also wanted to make sure Elliot was okay. She knew he had to just as rattled as she was. She cleared off her desk and shut off her computer. She put on her jacket, just as the door of Cragen's office opened and Elliot stepped out. He started walking towards the elevator.
"Hey!" Olivia called out, running to him. "Wait up,!"
"Hey," he said, pushing the down button for the elevator.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"It's getting there," he answered. "I'm coming back to work next week. That's what I was talking to Cragen about."
"Are you sure you're ready?" she asked, a little stunned.
"I can't stay home anymore," Elliot told her. "I need to work. I need something to do to keep me from going crazy. I need to get my life back."
"I felt the same way when my mom died," Olivia confessed.
"I remember," he said. "Do you miss her?"
The elevator doors opened and they both stepped inside.
"Yea," she sighed. "I do. Sometimes."
The elevator reached the main floor and the doors opened. Elliot and Olivia proceeded to exit the precinct.
"Do you want a ride home?" he offered.
"Sure," she accepted. "Thanks."
Back in the squad room.
"Munch!" Fin yelled from his desk. "Get your bony ass over here!"
Munch walked into the squad room with a newspaper under his arm.
"Find anything?" inquired Munch.
"Yea," responded Fin, showing Munch his findings. "According to Harris' files, he has no relatives. He's an only child whose parents died in a car crash ten years ago."
"No cousins or uncles?" asked Munch.
"None that I can find," Fin replied. "But I'll keep looking. Here's where it gets weird. His files only go back as far as the academy. There's nothing before."
"Maybe he's a spy," Munch suggested.
"Doubt it," Fin stopped him before he could go any further. He was in no mood to hear one of Munch's conspiracy theory. "He wouldn't be doing time if he was. I put my money on identity theft, or even witness protection."
"Is Warner still here?" Munch looked around the squad room.
"Yea," answered Fin. "She's talking to the captain."
Munch got up from his desk and knocked on Cragen's door.
"Come in," called Cragen.
Munch explained their findings to Warner and Cragen.
Cragen turned to Munch. "Identity theft would explain why we got no match to the fingerprints."
"True," agreed Warner. "I'll have the lab run the fingerprints and DNA through every database possible. If they match another alias, we may just have a lead. We have Harris' DNA from the Ashley Tyler case, but I'll have the lab run it too. I'll let you know what I find."
"Thanks," Cragen said. He turned to Munch. "I think its time you and Fin payed Lowell Harris a visit. I got a feeling he knows something."
Location: Streets of NYC
Elliot drove Olivia home in silence. He didn't exactly know what to say to her. Part of him kept thinking about the kiss from the other night. But more importantly, he saw how upset she became when she heard Harris' name. He wanted to be positively sure she was okay. Olivia, on the other hand, was staring out of the window. She watched the pedestrians, wondering if Harris' relative could be among them, watching her. And waiting for just the right moment to strike.
"Liv," he said calmly. "Are you okay?"
"No," she said, still gazing out the window. She knew what he was getting at, but she couldn't lie to him. "But I will be. Don't worry about it."
He turned her street and parked as close as he could to her apartment building. He turned off the ignition and faced Olivia. He could see the anxiety and tension in her eyes.
"Look at me," Elliot told her. "Liv, I need to know. What happened in Sealview?" Olivia looked down at her hands. She didn't realize until now how badly she was trembling. She had avoided this subject for so long. She put one hand on the door, but Elliot reached for her other hand, stopping her before she could escape.
"Liv, please," he begged. "You told me not to keep the pain inside, not to let it eat me up. As much as it hurt me to talk about it, I felt better in the end. Even though I still my Kathy and the kids like crazy. So now I'm asking you to follow your own advice. Talk to me. Please."
She looked into his pleading blue eyes, and knew he was right. She needed to tell him. Olivia sighed deeply, and began to tell him everything. She told him how Harris beat her and taunted her as he searched for her when she hid. How he groped her, touching every part of her body. How he tried to force his manhood into her mouth. How she cried and screamed for help, yet no one came to her rescue. How she begged and pleaded Harris to stop. But despite her efforts he continued to humiliate and torture her. How he threatened to kill her and blame her, claiming she was trying to escape. And she finally ended her story telling her how Fin came to save her just when she thought it was too late. Olivia sobbed as she finished her story. Elliot stared at her feeling so sorry, wishing he could have been there to save her. And at the same time he felt enraged and infuriated. If he ever saw Harris again, or if he ever came face to face with the perp who was after him and Liv. Elliot swore he would make their lives a living Hell to the day they die.
"You want me to walk you up?" he offered.
"Yes, please," she accepted, wiping her tears. "Thanks."
They both exited the car. Elliot over to her, noticed she was still sobbing and shaking, and put his arms around her.
"It's okay," he said, softly, cradling her. "I won't let him get you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save you then, but I'm here for you now."
"I know." Olivia closed her eyes and sighed in comfort as laid her head on Elliot's shoulder, her face pressed against his, feeling his warm against hers. She always felt truly safe and at ease whenever he was near.
Elliot gently stroked her soft hair, which smelled incredible. He could feel her body trembling less and less. His muscular arms held her close. He decided maybe it was time to get Olivia up to her apartment. Elliot's cop instincts kicked in and he surveyed their surroundings. There was a lady taking her dog for a walk. A teenage couple was out for a leisurely stroll. Nothing out of the ordinary. A dark colored SUV rounded the corner and drove toward them. As it got closer, the window rolled down and a gun quietly peeked out.
"GET DOWN!" Elliot screamed, pulling Olivia down behind the car as the SUV opened fire. Shots fired everywhere. Elliot covered Olivia as one round of bullets shattered the car windows. The ear-splitting sound of the bullets was loud Olivia had to cover her ears. Just when it seemed the firing would never cease, it suddenly became quiet. Olivia opened one eye and peeked under Elliot's car. She could see the bottom of the dark SUV. Elliot's body still covered hers, silent and unmoving. She took her cue from him and laid still. They wanted the shooters to think they were dead. Finally, she heard the car drive off. She opened one and once again peeked under the car. Once she was sure they were gone, she nudged Elliot.
"Hey," she said to him. "They're gone. You can get up now."
But Elliot did not move or speak.
"Elliot?" she nudged him again. "El?"
Her heart began to race. Why wasn't he moving? Why didn't he respond to her? She gently lifted his head. His eyes were closed. He was unconscious. The right side of his head felt moist. She removed her hands to find them covered in blood.
"Oh, God!," Olivia gasped, tears running down her face. "Oh no, no, no, NO!"
She slowly pulled herself out from under him.
"Elliot?" she cried trying to wake him. "Elliot, open your eyes. Look at me!"
His eyes remained closed and he remained silent.
"Elliot, please!" she sobbed, cradling his head in her arms. "Wake up!"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.
"Don't worry, El," she said weeping. "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine."
Olivia continued to cradle Elliot's head as she turned on her cell phone and started dialing.