I haven't forgotten you or this story! It's just been... Life, and I just haven't had enough time for it all. But I finally found time to write.

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"We're going to save our baby."

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Fin was sure he hadn't been asleep more than 10 minutes when the insistent ringing of his phone woke him up again. Groaning in agony, he turned onto his side, and with his eyes still squeezed shut, he fumbled for the phone on the nightstand, the loud ringtone of which seemed to drill into his brain. Finally, his hand hit the phone, but too hard, causing it to fall to the floor.

"Shit!"

Finally, he was forced to open his eyes, and his gaze landed on the phone screen flashing brightly in the dark room. He picked it up from the floor, dropped his head back onto the pillow and raised the phone to his ear.

"Tutuola."

"What the hell took so long?" Munch's voice scolded, and Fin rubbed his face with one hand.

"Do you think that I will immediately answer your calls at this time of day?" He grunted, turning to look at the clock at the same time.

3:22 am.

"You should," Munch's voice answered, and even though Fin couldn't see his partner, he could tell he was shaking his head. "I have news."

"What news?"

"They found Stabler's car."

In a split second, the sleep left Fin's body, and he sat up, taking a sharp breath.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not," Munch answered, but his voice wasn't as excited as one might have expected, and Fin's heart dropped a little.

"Tell me."

"The car was found, but it is very likely that it will not offer us anything new. It was in the Hudson River."

No.

When his partner's words reached Fin's consciousness, a sudden burst of anger made him almost throw his phone at the wall. The hope that had raised its head for a moment was extinguished as if something had poured a bucket of water, the Hudson River water, on him, and to keep his voice steady, he had to raise his hand and press the corners of his eyes with his fingers.

"You're not serious."

"I wish I wasn't."

"Does Cragen know?"

"Yeah. He already called me. Luckily, Benson and Stabler weren't in the car."

This couldn't be true. They had been frantically looking for the car for almost three weeks, spent a lot of energy, time and resources to find it, but in vain. The river water had probably washed away the few leads that the car could have offered them.

"What about Tucker? Has he changed his line of inquiry?"

Please, please, please…

"I don't know," Munch answered after hesitating a moment. "The car was quite far from the busiest traffic, but probably the next step is to examine all the surveillance cameras in the area. Which I really hope will reveal something new."

Fin snorted. "Yeah. But I'm afraid Tucker's imagination doesn't stop there. The next thing he'll probably figure out is that Stabler has hidden Liv somewhere near where the car was found, and we get to check every apartment like we have nothing better to do."

Munch didn't answer, but through the phone Fin heard an indistinct, frustrated sound.

"Two?!" Fin groaned. "When are we supposed to sleep?!"

"You don't need sleep when you have coffee," Munch said, but the tiredness could be heard in his voice as well.

"And I'm spending my time talking with you. Thanks a lot, man," Fin snorted before hanging up the phone, throwing it on the bed and burying his face in his pillow.

Those two idiots owe me a year's worth of paperwork.

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They hadn't slept a wink all night.

Instead, Olivia had finally been able to talk and lighten her heart to her partner, who had been listening quietly, intently, occasionally clenching his fists. She had told him what Father had told her, she had told him what had happened that night, and she had told him about little Connor and the promise she had made to Caitlyn.

And despite the exhaustion, they had begun to formulate a plan that included both getting out and helping Caitlyn. It was clear that Connor had been sold shortly after he was born, but where he had ended up could probably only be found in Father's files.

Which he had hopefully saved.

They didn't know how well the files were protected, but what they did know was that if they wanted to find the sold children, they had to carry out their plan from the inside. It meant that the police had to find them by surprise, so that no one had time to flee the scene or destroy important files.

After pondering and weighing their options in the dark for what seemed like hours, they decided the only option was to find a phone that they could use to call Cragen directly. Of all the options they considered, it was also the least risky, if the situation could be called that. Reckless escape was no longer an option, not if they wanted to ensure the baby's safety.

And when they'd made up their minds, they'd been lying quietly in the dark, Olivia leaning against Elliot's chest, his arms around her. And despite the circumstances, she hadn't felt as intense a fear as she had several nights before. She was no longer alone, she had her partner, the only one she trusted completely, often more than herself.

The heave of Elliot's chest under her cheek was calm, but sleep was too far away for Olivia to catch it. Even though the fear had eased a little, thoughts were racing through her mind, and finally she couldn't stay quiet anymore and whispered, despite assuming her partner was asleep:

"El?"

"Mhm?" The answer was surprising, and Olivia bit her lip.

"You know… I…" She stammered. "The doctor reminded me that I am quite old to be a mother, and anything is possible. The pregnancy is at the very beginning, and it is very likely that... It..." Suddenly, a lump seemed to rise in her throat, and she was surprised how strong emotions the thought of losing the baby already evoked in her.

"Liv…"

"So, what I'm saying... Don't get your hopes up too high. We have to prepare for everything."

Then she fell silent, pursed her lips and closed her eyes. Elliot didn't say anything for a moment, but then he let out a deep sigh before whispering:

"You can't think like that."

Olivia's eyes snapped open. "But it's true! You can't…"

"Yes, I can!" Elliot's voice was suddenly sharp, and it made her lift her head from his chest. "Because that baby gives me hope. That baby keeps me going even when everything seems hopeless. That baby gives meaning to our escape plan."

"I..." Suddenly, tears began to burn in the corners of her eyes, and she had to blink. And then the words, words from deep inside her, shaped by uncertainty and guilt, escaped her lips before she could stop them:

"Even if the baby is not wanted?"

She couldn't see her partner's face in the darkness, but the sudden silence that descended told her enough.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She sat up and instinctively put her hand on her belly. "This is not your and your wife's baby. This baby is more like me: result of crime. They didn't ask you, you just… You ended up being the father."

Or at least I hope you are the father.

"Liv…"

"I am the result of rape, so this is not... This runs in the family, you know?" Anger from exhaustion and the day's emotional upheavals began to bubble up inside her, and her mouth was forming sentences before she could even realize them. "Of course my child is born this way. But you… This wasn't supposed to happen to you! You were supposed to live in your beautiful house with your beautiful wife and beautiful kids, you weren't…"

But then her voice broke, and Elliot took the opportunity.

"So, you're saying that my whole life has gone as it should, huh?" His voice was almost irritated. "You are telling me that I was supposed to become a father and a husband as a teenager, that Eli was supposed to be born when we were finally getting a divorce? No, Olivia, my life hasn't really turned out the way I imagined. And you know it."

"But…"

"But that doesn't mean I don't love my children. No, I've made bad choices in my life, but I've never blamed my kids for them. They are innocent, they are the most precious thing I have, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. And the same goes for this baby."

Olivia wiped her eyes, and her voice was a barely audible whisper as she replied:

"But your other kids are Kathy's."

"I know. "

"And this…"

"This is ours."

Olivia blinked, confused, and she couldn't get a word out of her mouth, but her partner seemed to be reading her thoughts.

"So, you think that I can't love this baby because it's not Kathy's?"

Olivia didn't answer, her heart felt like it was weighing a ton, and she heard Elliot swallow.

"The fact that you are the baby's mother? It makes me love the baby even more."

It was as if someone had pulled the rug from under her feet as she slowly turned her head towards her partner and tried to regain her ability to speak.

"But… Why?"

And then a hand landed gently on her cheek, her heart skipped a beat, and when Elliot's lips touched hers, she felt like her entire body stopped and restarted. The kiss was tentative, soft, but it sent chills down her spine, and she returned the kiss just as carefully, her heart pounding wildly. And when their lips parted, he pressed his forehead against hers, hand still on her cheek, and whispered:

"Because it's you, Liv. My partner, my best friend, not the one I married out of responsibility, but the one I've loved for as long as I can remember."

And Olivia couldn't say a word, so she just wrapped her hands around her partner's neck and pressed her face in the crook of his neck.