Olivia ran to Elliot and threw her arms around him. She pressed her face against his, brushing against his bandaged wound.
"I'm sorry," she said, pulling her head back. She reached up to touch it. "Does it hurt?
"Not really," he answered, his piercing blue eyes staring deeply into her beautiful brown eyes.
"You saved my life." Olivia returned his gaze. "How can I ever thank you?"
"You saved mine," he replied. "Consider us even."
"It doesn't even compare," she said. "All they did was stick a needle in my arm. But you-" She paused, stifling a few tears. "You risked your life for me. You could have died."
"I couldn't lose you too," Elliot cupped her face in his hands, still gazing into her eyes.
Olivia sweetly kissed his warm, soft lips. "I couldn't lose you either."
It felt so wonderful, so right. All the tension they suppressed over the years, building up inside of them burned so strong and white hot. They could no longer deny it. Elliot wrapped his arms around Olivia, pressing his lips to hers as they both leaned against the wall.
"Oh, Liv," Elliot said, kissing her and unzipping her gray hoodie. "I need you. I want you."
"Hold me, El," Olivia kissed him back, unbuckling his belt and removing his jeans. "And kiss me. And don't ever let me go."
He helped her out of her jeans as she pulled off his underwear. He pulled her blouse over her head as she unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his chest. He continued to kiss her as he unfastened her bra and slid off her panties.
"Oh, God," he said, admiring her tan, naked flesh. "Liv, you are so beautiful!"
Olivia closed her eyes and moaned softly as Elliot kissed her neck. His strong muscular arms around her, holding her so close she could feel his heart beat against her. She could feel body melt with his warm, gentle touch. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down and climbed in beside her.
"Oh, God," Olivia moaned as Elliot showered her body with kisses. "Oh, El!"
He softly kissed her neck and moved lower, to her breasts caressing each breast with his lips. He continued lower still, parting her legs and massaging her with his tongue. Olivia quivered and moaned loudly as Elliot filled her body with intense pleasure. He then rose above her, as she lay whimpering, her breathing shallow. His lips embraced hers in a most passionate kiss. She climbed on top of him, straddling his lower body between her legs. His erect manhood pressed against her entrance. She let out a soft moan as Elliot entered her and began to thrust gently back and forth inside her. Olivia's hair fell around him as he pulled her closer, thrusting deeper inside her body. The scent of her hair was intoxicatingly wonderful. She moved with him, meeting his every thrust. The passion they withheld for so long finally unfolding between.
"El...El!" Olivia moaned even louder, unable to finish his name.
Elliot moaned deeply as he scooped her up and laid her down, positioning himself on top of her. She wrapped her legs around him and grabbed his muscular ass, urging him deeper inside of her. He brought his forehead to hers as he ran his fingers through her hair. Every touch was sensational, making their bodies tingle. Every kiss was more electrifying than the last. They were and moved as one, moaning louder and longer as waves of intense pleasure crashed over them, growing increasingly stronger. The headboard banged loudly against the wall, and the bed shook violently beneath them as Elliot's thrusts became more powerful. Olivia clung desperately to his body, letting go of his ass and digging her nails into his muscular shoulders. She threw her head back, she and Elliot moaning fiercely as pure ecstasy consumed them both.
Elliot cradled Olivia while she caught her breath. Both their bodies trembling and glistening with sweat, and breathless. She gazed into his crystal blue eyes and kissed him passionately. Elliot rolled over and fell to her side. Olivia rolled over next to him and rested her head on his chest, listening to his strong steady heartbeat, as he gently stroked her hair. They held each other for, what seemed to them, an eternity of bliss. His hands intertwined with hers. Olivia drifted off to sleep listening to Elliot's heartbeat. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, drifting off into a sound sleep.
The Next Day.
Olivia awoke with Elliot's muscular arm around her, holding her close. His warm body against hers. Last night was the best night she had in a long time, perhaps the best night of her life. She had been lonely and miserable for way too long. She smiled as she watched him sleep. He looked more peaceful than he had in weeks. She was glad to see him finally living his life again. She wanted more than anything to be there for him, and ease his pain. It was at the moment Olivia realized she was falling in love with Elliot. But she was almost afraid to admit it because she felt he needed more time to heal.
Elliot opened his eyes to see Olivia staring back at him. He wrapped both his arms around her in a warm embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder. He stroked her sweet smelling hair.
"Good morning," she greeted him.
"Morning," he yawned. "What time is it?"
"Seven-thirty," she replied.
"Shit!" he sat up. "My relief is gonna be here soon."
Olivia looked down in disappointment.
"I'll be back tonight," he lifted her face to his and kissed her. "I promise."
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
"You'd better be," she smiled at him.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It was nice to see Olivia really smile, and not force one just to please people so they would leave her alone. He closed his eyes, remembering last night. And not just the sex, but afterward, holding Olivia in his arms and becoming lost in her eyes. She looked truly happy. He wanted more than anything to make her happy, to hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. It was then he realized he too was falling in love with Olivia. But was he truly ready to move on with his life? After all, he was only just beginning to accept the loss of his family.
Location: SVU Squad Room. One week later.
Elliot paced back and forth around his desk, going through every piece of evidence in his head. Everything from the explosion to the shooting. Why did he feel like something was missing? He closed his eyes and thought back to the day of the explosion. He remembered driving down his street, the neighborhood kids playing, a cop car patrolling down his street. A neighbor's car rode past him. Nothing unusual there. He fast forwarded to the night of the shooting. He remembered holding Olivia, the lady walking her dog, the teenage couple, a cop car patrolling down Olivia's block. Elliot's eyes snapped open.
"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed.
Could it have been the same cop car? He closed his eyes again, this time concentrating on the cop car. He thought back to the day of the explosion. It looked like an ordinary squad car. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember a plate or squad car number. At the time, there was no reason to even look. He focused on the driver. He was a uniformed officer with brown hair. He wore large dark sunglasses, so Elliot couldn't see his face very well. He remembered seeing someone cuffed in the back seat. He was wearing a baseball cap and had his head down. Elliot couldn't see his face either. He fast forwarded to the night of the shooting. Again he couldn't remember a plate or car number. This time it was too dark to see the driver or if there were any other passengers. He changed his focus to the SUV. The driver wore a mask, so he couldn't see his face. It was dark blue or black. Maybe a Ford or a Chevy? Elliot could see the first three letters of the license plate clear as day. He opened his eyes and reached for a pad and pencil. He wrote down the letters while they were still fresh in his mind.
"You got something?" Fin noticed Elliot's sudden movements.
"Maybe," Elliot replied, entering the partial plate number into the database. "I think our perp maybe a cop."
"What makes you say that?" Cragen asked.
He and Munch had just walked into the squad room in time to overhear their conversation. Elliot told them what he remembered about the cop car being at both crime scenes, about the partial plate number on the SUV.
"It makes sense," Cragen stated. "No one would think twice about a random squad car patrolling the area."
"Not mention he has an accomplice," Munch added. "My guess is, on the night of the shooting, the driver of the squad car made it look as if he was patrolling Liv's street to make sure she was there. Then he signaled the driver of the SUV."
"I'll buy that," said Cragen. "But where was his accomplice on the day of the explosion?"
That was a good question. They paused a moment to think. Elliot looked up as the thought occurred to him, like a light bulb turning on in his head.
"He was the perp," Elliot said. "He was cuffed in the back seat of the squad car. He wore a hat and kept his head down so no one would see his face. He must've hopped in the squad car after he planted the bomb."
"This is all good," Cragen commented. "But how do we find out which squad car or even which cop it is?"
"I have an idea," Elliot suggested. "There's a traffic light with a camera at the end of Liv's street and another on my street. If we could bring up the footage we may just be able to get a plate and/or car number. And even find out if it was the same car at both crime scenes."
"That's good," Cragen said. "Call TARU and have Morales get on that ASAP. Also, see if he can get footage of the SUV. Unfortunately, this won't get us a search warrant for either car. What else have we got?
"CSU just called," said Fin, hanging up the phone. "We got a hit on Harris' DNA in the Canadian database. Munch is pulling up the file now."
All four of them gathered around the giant plasma screen as Munch opened the files.
"Harris' real name is Carl Grady," said Munch. "According to his file, he's been arrested eight times for sexual assault and battery. And that's just as an adult. He has a juvenile record that sealed."
"What about his family history?" Fin asked. "Any siblings?"
"His parents are deceased," Munch stated. "Car accident fifteen years ago. Dad was drunk and drove them into a ditch. But he has a younger brother, Alan, who also has a sealed juvenile record."
"Alan has to be our perp," declared Elliot. "Was his DNA and prints a match?"
"Sorry," Munch shook his head. "It must be another male relative. Cousin, maybe. I'll send for their juvenile records. Maybe something in there will tell us who he is."
"Great," griped Elliot sarcastically. "Another dead end. Just what we needed."
"Maybe not," Cragen said. "Is there a photo of Alan?"
Munch pulled up Alan's photo.
"Do you recognize him?" Cragen asked Elliot.
Elliot took a good look at the photo. Alan looked a lot like his brother. They had the same dark hair and eyes, but Alan was not as muscularly built as Harris, or Carl in this case.
"It could be him," Elliot answered. "But like I said before, he was wearing shades. I couldn't really see his face."
"It was worth a shot," said Cragen. "Elliot, add that photo to Morales' to-do list. Have him use the facial recognition software and run it through every database he can think of. Munch and Fin, go light a fire under CSU's ass. We need a match on the DNA and prints ASAP."
"Hey, Captain," Fin suddenly thought of something. "When Munch and I interrogated Harris, he said Liv was 'gonna get what's coming to her.' Whoever is watching Liv, must be keeping him informed."
"Good point," commented Cragen. "Add that to your to-do list. Call Rikers and get a copy of Harris' visitor log."
"We're on it," said Fin, as he, Munch, and Elliot went on to carry out their orders.
"And one more thing," Cragen added. "If they knew where Liv was on the night of the shooting, then they must've been watching her and possibly still are. It's too late now, but we have to move Liv first thing in the morning."
Location: Motel Room.
That night Elliot stayed with Olivia. He explained to her the new breakthrough in the case, telling her of all the new evidence they had recently gathered. Then the following morning Fin and Elliot helped Olivia pack her bags, then moved her to another motel. This time they made sure they were not followed. Then Fin went back to the precinct, while Elliot stayed with Olivia, who was looking rather worried.
"Liv, what's wrong?" he asked her.
"Are you sure we weren't followed?" she asked.
"Positive," Elliot assured her. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Don't you worry. I won't let him get you."
"I know," she said putting her head on his shoulder. "It's just...how long is this gonna go on? I can't stay cooped up in a motel room for the rest of my life. I just can't. I'll lose my mind."
"I know how you feel," he sympathized. "I've been asking myself that same question. I want this investigation to be over already. I want to get justice for my family and feel some closure at last. So I can finally move on. I know I'm gonna miss them always and I'm gonna hurt from time to time, but I also know they'd want me to be happy."
Elliot told her about seeing his family in the tunnel during his unconsciousness.
Olivia smiled. "It sounds to me like you received a little bit of closure. You do seem more at ease lately."
"I guess you're right, in a way," he smiled back. He hadn't thought of it that way before now.
Elliot's stomach began to growl. They had been so focused on moving Olivia that neither of them had eaten breakfast yet.
"You hungry?" he asked her.
"Famished," Olivia replied.
"How about I order us some take out?" he suggested.
"Sounds good," she agreed. "I'm gonna hop in the shower while we're waiting for the food to get here."
She went into the bathroom and started the shower. Elliot picked up the phone to order, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. It was odd because they weren't expecting anyone. Elliot pulled his gun out of it's holster.
"Identify yourself!" he demanded, holding his gun out.
"It's Lt. Tucker," said a voice behind the door.
Elliot peered through the peek hole. Sure enough, there was Tucker holding up his badge. Elliot opened the door to let him. He then secure the area and locked the door again.
"What brings you back?" Elliot inquired. "I thought IAB was done investigating us."
"We are," Tucker responded. "I heard about Detective Benson's predicament, and I have a few questions I need to ask her."
"How did you hear?" questioned Elliot. "Only four people, including myself, know about the case."
"Your captain," he answered. "He notified IAB that you had reason to suspect a cop was your perp."
"Well, Olivia is in the shower," Elliot told him. "I was just about to order us some breakfast."
Elliot knocked on the bathroom door just as the shower was turned off.
"Liv?" he called. "Tucker's here!"
"Ugh!" she groaned. "I thought I smelled a rat. What does he want?"
"He's got some questions for you," Elliot answered.
"I'll be out in a few minutes," Olivia said.
"I'm gonna go get some breakfast," Elliot told her. "Will you be alright? I won't be long."
"I'll be okay," she assured him. "Bring me some coffee."
"Okay, bye," he turned to Tucker. "You want me to bring you some cheese?"
"Very funny," quipped Tucker, watching Elliot leave before securing the room and locking the door again.
In the bathroom, Olivia was wrapped in a towel and fixing her hair in the mirror. She paused a moment when she heard her cell phone beep. She opened it to find a new text message from Elliot.
Text me if anything goes wrong. It said I know he can be a total jackass. -Elliot
She went to text him back when the phone slipped out of her hand and hit the ground. She bent over to pick it up, then stood back up. She was startled to see in the mirror's reflection that Tucker was standing behind her. He put a hand over her mouth before she could scream.
"Hello, Detective," he taunted, putting a gun to her head. "Scream and you're dead!"