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.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Even the longest night ends somewhere, and after many hours of sitting in the dark, the lights had snapped on again and the morning had "dawned". Soon after, Elliot had been taken to the doctor for one more wound check, and Olivia had been left sitting in the room, her stomach rumbling with hunger.

It wasn't until she was sitting alone that she had allowed her mind to wander back to the feeling that Elliot's lips on hers had caused in her. It still felt completely unbelievable, like a dream, that her partner had actually kissed her, at a moment when she had felt more vulnerable and insecure than ever before.

And he had said he loved her.

Even though the thought of it made her heart swell with warmth, her years-old ability to suppress her own feelings that surfaced time and time again did not allow her to fully believe it. Even though Elliot had seemed honest, his words had sounded genuine, that same familiar voice in the back of her head was still trying to protect her and remind her that they weren't under normal circumstances now. Far from it.

Maybe he was just trying to make you feel better.

Maybe the situation makes him confused about his own feelings.

But whatever the reason, however strong the voice in the back of her head, the memory of his kiss and whisper in her ear kept the warmth from evaporating inside her. Butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, placing her hands lightly on her belly.

"Hey there, sweetie. Is it comfy in there?"

And suddenly the realization hit her like an electric shock, and tears welled up in her eyes. She was talking to her own baby. To the child she had wanted so much for so long.

She wasn't alone in the room, and she didn't want to speak out loud, but just talking silently made her heart fill with warmth.

"I'm your mommy. Your daddy and I are looking forward to meeting you very much."

Your daddy and I.

She and Elliot.

The thought felt so strange it was almost dizzying. It was something that she never, never in her life, would have imagined happening.

But there it was, under her hand, their child.

And the intensity of the emotional storm the thought caused made her almost stand up, demand the guards to get her straight to Father's office, and force the answer of paternity out of his mouth. She had to know, despite the fact that her partner's words had caused the uncertainty to ease slightly.

Because she didn't want to get her hopes up too high until she was sure, absolutely sure, that Elliot really was the baby's father.

But almost at the same moment the door to the room opened, and without looking Olivia knew that her partner was being pushed inside. It wasn't until the heavy thump that followed caused her to open her eyes, and her heart immediately skipped a beat when she saw him lying on the floor.

"El?"

No answer.

Before she could start moving towards her partner, the people closest to him stood up, started to wake him up, and to Olivia's relief, he moved, grunted, and opened his eyes.

But then it started happening.

Elliot got up to his feet, and Olivia immediately noticed that something wasn't right. He was swaying on his feet, looking around with a blank, confused look on his face, and she took a step closer, slowly, cautiously.

"El?"

"Are you okay man?"

Elliot staggered, shoved the man standing next to him, who pushed him back in annoyance and let out an irritated exclaim.

"Watch out!"

And that's when Elliot grabbed his gown, roared and pushed him hard against the wall. The man yelped in surprise and pain, and suddenly the others were on their feet and pulling him further away. However, Elliot seemed to be like possessed, he turned around and attacked the woman closest to him, knocking her to the ground and punching the man who came to help. Blood splattered from his nose, and next Elliot was hit in the face as well. That didn't stop him though, Olivia was watching the scene in front of her in confusion, scared, terrified every second that the guards would rush in and shoot her partner in that spot.

"Elliot!"

Olivia wasn't sure if it was her words or the blows aimed at him, but Elliot stopped in place as if someone had pressed pause, and for a moment she took a careful breath. But then he turned his head, his gaze boring into her, and, face contorted with rage, he took a step toward her.

No. No no no no no…

"El?" Her voice cautionary, she took a step back, but as he started to walk towards her, her heart rate began to pick up. "Elliot? What's wrong?"

It was as if time in the room had stopped, everyone was frozen to stare at them, and as she watched her partner who was staggering and approaching her, she realized that his disordered behavior was probably due to some drug he had been given.

And also, she realized that this was the first time in her entire life that she was afraid of him.

"Elliot?" She tried, but he had clenched his fists and didn't seem to respond to her voice. "What are you doing? It's me!"

But without hearing her, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall. In his grip, Olivia felt his whole body tremble, he was breathing shallowly, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"El, please! You're hurting me! It's me! Olivia! Please, wake up!"

Even as Elliot's hands were gripping her shoulders painfully, and fear tried to stop her body from obeying, she forced herself to raise her hand and place it on her partner's cheek. Then she closed her eyes, wiped his cheek with her thumb, and whispered, bracing herself for the blow:

"Please, El…"

It was as if Elliot had woken up from some kind of enchantment. His whole body flinched violently, his grip loosened, and when Olivia opened her eyes, she saw him take staggering steps away, look at his hands, look at her, and fall to his knees against the wall.

And then he doubled over and threw up, Olivia tried to take a deep breath, wrapped her arms tightly around herself and after a moment's hesitation took a cautious step towards her partner.

"El?"

"Don't… Come closer…"

"Elliot…"

"Please!"

Olivia couldn't help but stand still and watch Elliot, who curled up to the corner, shaking violently. And even though the fear hadn't completely left her veins yet, she could tell that her previous fear was nothing compared to what her partner was experiencing right now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours had already passed since the incident, they had been served water and food, but after sleeping for a while Elliot had sat motionless in the farthest corner of the room, completely lost in his own world. Olivia had let him be, she knew he needed time alone, but she wanted to hear her partner's version of what happened, so finally she stood up and slowly walked over to him.

"Hey."

Her words made him flinch, and he quickly turned his head towards her, backing away further. His eyes were red, and his entire being seemed like a frightened, lost little child, which caused a tightening feeling in her chest.

Young Elliot Stabler, whose father had just beaten him.

"Can I sit?"

"Don't come closer."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be."

"No, I shouldn't."

When Elliot didn't answer anything, Olivia sat down, sighed quietly, and without looking at him asked:

"What did they give to you?"

"I don't know," her partner's voice was barely audible. "They said that they will take some tests from me, soon my memories become cloudy."

Olivia nodded. "Do you remember what happened when you came back?"

Elliot shook his head. "Not properly. I only remember blind rage, I wanted to destroy everything, it was only black everywhere, hot, burning..." His voice broke. "I heard your voice, but I didn't… I almost… What if…"

Olivia glanced at him, and his eyes were glittering with tears as he stared at his hands.

"But you didn't."

"But I almost did! This is exactly what I was afraid of, there's that kind of darkness inside of me that I can't control, and I'm scared, I'm so scared Liv, that one day it'll break free, and I'll hurt everyone I love, and then…"

But Olivia took his hand, and despite his flinching she held it firmly as she looked him straight in the eyes and said:

"But you didn't, El. You heard my voice, and you stopped. That's all that matters. I am not afraid of you."

"But…"

Despite the prohibitions, she moved closer, wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close and resting her head on his shoulder. His whole body was shaking in her grip, and he wiped away the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks, and Olivia tightened her grip.

"You are not alone, El."

"But…"

"No. We are partners, for better or worse, remember?"

And finally, Elliot's body began to relax a little, and he nodded quietly before whispering:

"Yeah."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elliot had fallen asleep again, this time against Olivia's shoulder, and she was sitting there in thought, her arms still around him. She went through what happened, thought about her partner's words, and the longer she thought about it, the more certain she became.

She had to find a phone as soon as possible.

But since the door to the room was probably guarded closely, escaping the room was not an option. The only option was to get out of the room, and for that she had two options:

An outdoor hour or the doctor's office.

She glanced at Elliot, glanced at her belly, glanced around, weighed her options, and made her decision.

No matter what her partner said, the next time they went out, she would ask to see the doctor.

And then it would be showtime.