They were going to take things slow. He was actually dating Olivia Benson. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.
Captain Cragen was sitting in his office the next morning with his back to the door when he first heard the clack of Liz Donnelly's heels on the tile out in the bullpen. He mentally braced himself and turned around in his chair so he could properly greet her when she walked in, but instead of barging into his office, she bee-lined for Munch and Fin. Cragen stood and walked to the window, watching the three with interest. He separated the blinds for a better visual when the group turned and started to head towards his office. He returned to his chair just as they appeared in the doorway.
"Can I help you?" Cragen asked, eyeing Liz suspiciously. After a phone call last night that lasted well over three hours, he had expected to see her this morning but he most certainly had not expected her to drag Munch and Fin into an already messy situation.
"Don, we have a problem." Liz said, almost nervously, looking back and forth from him to the two men at her side. Munch looked at his Captain and shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets. Fin just stared at Liz, waiting for her to continue. Clearly, they had no better idea of what was going on than he did.
"What's up, Liz? I thought we settled everything last night." Cragen said, tersely.
"That was before I got this message." Liz said, slamming her phone down on the desk in front of Cragen. She put her voicemail on speaker phone and pressed play.
The voice that came through was hoarse and crying; pleading with someone who clearly didn't know that she had made a phone call. "Please! Please, just take me home. I won't tell my dad. I promise! Just take me home!" The call ended and Cragen sat staring furiously at Liz, the two of them clearly aware of something that Munch and Fin were not.
"What's going on, Cap?" Fin asked, after several moments of silence.
Cragen's heart had plummeted and was somewhere near the floor. He had no words. Lizzy Stabler in the hands of that man. There were no words, only fear.
"Was Dickie with her?" Cragen bore into Liz, trying to read her thoughts.
"Not that I could hear. That's all there was to the message." Liz was shaking now. She sat down in the chair in front of Don's desk and all the energy suddenly drained out of her. She put her elbows on the desk and her head in her hands.
"Dickie? As in Dickie Stabler? What the hell is going on, Captain?" Munch was clearly nervous now.
"Yeah. Lizzie's been abducted. Dickie may be with her and if I had to guess, I would say that Elliot knows nothing about it since he has yet to barrel in here like a bull in a china shop. Munch, get to Olivia's apartment and get Elliot. Fin, go to Kathy's and find out what the hell is going on. Munch, Olivia needs to stay put. She'll fight you, but she needs to stay where she is. Maybe I should go with you."
"No, Cap. I can handle Olivia. I'll get Elliot. You will fill us in on what the hell is going on once Elliot's here, right?"
"Yeah. We will." Cragen stared at Liz's phone as if he was trying to will it to give him answers. Liz stood and shut the door behind Munch and Fin.
"Don, if he has them…"
"I know, Liz. I know. It's not good."
Elliot and Olivia were still in bed when someone knocked on Olivia's front door. Grunting reluctantly, Elliot kissed Olivia on the temple and untangled himself from the sheets. She curled back into the pillow and fell back to sleep quickly.
Elliot pulled on a pair of jeans that he had been in the overnight bag Maureen had brought him last night and walked to the door. When he saw Munch through the peep hole, he about burst a gasket.
"Munch. It's 6 a.m." Elliot said gruffly as he swung open the door.
Munch's face remained stoic, unsure of how to tell Elliot what he needed to tell him. He simply walked to the couch and sat down, waiting for Elliot to follow suit. Elliot shut the door and put the chain locks back in place. He walked across the room and sat down stiffly, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Munch just stared straight ahead.
"What's up? You seem upset."
"Yeah, listen, Elliot. Where's Olivia?"
"In the bedroom. Why? Did something happen with the case? She did everything right, John. That guy almost killed her!"
"No, Elliot." Munch interrupted. "It's not the case but I need to talk to both of you. Right now."
"Let me get her." Elliot was scared now. John was never this reserved or serious. Something was very, very wrong.
He walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed next to a curled up and sleeping Olivia. "Liv, babe." He whispered, gently stroking her arm. "Liv, wake up sweetheart."
"Mmm? " She rolled onto her back, not opening her eyes.
"Liv, John is here and he needs to talk to us. I think something's wrong." Elliot's nervousness brought her out of her sleepy haze.
"What?" She questioned, her eyes popping open. "Elliot, it's 6 a.m. What is he doing here?" She asked, propping herself up on her elbow.
"I have no clue. But he wants to talk to both of us. C'mon. Here's a robe." Elliot crossed the room and brought her navy blue silk robe to the bedside. She stood up slowly and slipped into the silk. Elliot took the sash from her hands and gently tied it around her waist. He looked at her and kissed her softly. She smiled into the kiss before he could deepen it and he pulled away, equally as happy. They emerged from the bedroom a few moments later hand in hand.
"Hey, John!" Olivia said brightly. "Long time, no see!" Munch stood up and smiled when he saw how much better she looked compared to the last time he saw her. She had color and life back, not to mention, she was holding the hand of her partner. He knew what was going on immediately.
"Olivia. You look fantastic. How are you feeling?" Munch asked, moving around the pillows on the couch for her to sit.
"Pretty good. The pain is mostly gone. Just a lot of stiffness. It will take a while for me to get my full mobility back but I'm not complaining. It could have been a lot worse." Elliot helped her onto the couch and arranged the pillows behind her carefully.
"Very true. You were really lucky, Liv."
"Yeah." Olivia said, studying her hands intently. "So, what's up? Couldn't sleep? Did you come all this way for one of Elliot's famous omelets?" Olivia tried to lighten the mood but her attempt seemed to bounce right off of Munch's stoic exterior.
"Not quite, unfortunately. Elliot, it's about Lizzie." Elliot turned white and Olivia could immediately tell he was picturing the worse possible scenario.
"What? What happened?" Elliot's voice was shaky, unconfident, and hoarse. He looked John Munch dead in the eye, trying to discern the seriousness of the situation.
"She's been abducted, El. We don't know where she is but she's not safe right now. She left a panicked voicemail on Judge Donnelly's phone."
Olivia gasped and her hand shot to her mouth. She was frozen in place. Elliot looked like he was going to be sick. He ran to the bathroom and Munch and Olivia could hear him retching from the living room. After several minutes, Olivia found her legs again and stood shakily. She grasped Munch's arm and led him to the bathroom. They found Elliot curled up against the cabinets, head on his knees. He was silent and still. Olivia was terrified.
"El…" She began, kneeling beside him with some difficulty. "El, we'll find her. Don't give up on her. She's smart. You raised her to know what to do."
Elliot said nothing. He was so still that he didn't even appear to be breathing.
Munch knelt down beside him as well and put a hand on his shoulder. Elliot looked up, red eyed and pale. "Elliot, we need to go to the station. Cragen needs to fill you in on what we know."
Elliot stood up and stared blankly ahead. Olivia wasn't sure he was even aware of where he was anymore. She brought her hand up to his cheek and stroked his cheekbone with her thumb. Looking him straight in the eyes, she brought her other hand up and framed his face. "El, she's going to be okay." She kissed him gently on the lips. He didn't move. He just stood there, staring. Olivia's heart broke as she watched Munch lead him from the bathroom and back out into the living room.
"I'll meet you guys out there. Let me just throw some clothes on." She called to Munch.
Munch sat Elliot down on the couch and walked back towards Olivia. "Liv, I know this is going to be hard and you're probably going to hit me but please don't. The Captain wants you to stay here. He ordered it actually. I don't know why but I need you to do that for me, okay?"
Olivia was in shock. "I am absolutely not staying here! What the hell, Munch? My partner's kid was fucking kidnapped and you want me to fucking stay here?!" Her face became red with anger and even though she knew she shouldn't be taking it out on Munch, her emotions were too frazzled and she let them get the better of her. "I can't do that! I can't! I have to be with him, John."
"Olivia." Elliot was standing in the doorway of her bedroom now. Olivia rushed over to him and locked eyes with him. "Please. I know you want to help but just listen to Cragen right now. I'll come home tonight."
"Home?" Olivia's eyes were stinging and starting to water.
"Wherever you are, that's home for me."
"You're so cheesy." Olivia offered him a sad smile.
"Yep, but it's the truth." He brought his forehead down to meet hers. "I'll call you, okay?"
"Please do. I'll be here waiting for you."
Elliot sighed heavily and raised his head to look at John. "Let's go." He said quickly. John nodded and the pair walked across the room and out the door. Olivia stood, shell shocked in the doorway to her bedroom, staring at nothing. Her eyes caught a picture of the Stabler kids across her living room on her bookshelf and suddenly the weight of what had just happened hit her head on. She collapsed into a heap sobbing and alone.