Sorry for the delay in updating this. I think 'Rescue' will take priority as that seems to be more popular and I have more ideas for it, but this will still be updated I promise- just maybe less frequently. Enjoy!

Olivia turned on her heel to face the nurse that had reappeared behind her, a different one than she'd spoken to earlier. Though she usually considered herself a good judge of character, Olivia couldn't determine whether the expression on her face was a good sign or not.

Her heart sank to her stomach and stared intensely at the nurse, giving her an 'Olivia Benson' look.

'Is she ok? What's happening?'

The nurse smiled reassuringly. 'She's out of surgery. We repaired the break in her wrist, so she'll have a cast for a few weeks and then we'll bring her back in to see how that's healing. We think the reason she passed out was a combination of a concussion from a head injury and just adrenaline. We'll keep her in for a day or two for observation but there wasn't any internal bleeding or anything else that might explain why she collapsed.'

Olivia nodded, trying to focus on her words; she had to snap out of 'Olivia mode' and back into 'detective mode', for Alex's sake.

'Okay, thank you. Can we see her?'

The nurse glanced at Elliot. 'She'll still be out of it for a while, so it might be best that we don't crowd her.'

'I'll wait outside,' Elliot interrupted, without hesitation. He could see that Olivia, for all her pretending, was itching to see Alex and he didn't want her to be denied that on his part.

'Okay, then. If you follow me.'

They did so without hesitation and Elliot tried to remember the route they took: he had a feeling they would be spending much of the next two days there.

'You okay?' he murmured so no one but Olivia would hear, placing his hand in the small of her back. They didn't often do physical contact, but he could clearly see how much this was affecting her.

Not that he blamed her. He just couldn't reconcile the image of Alex Cabot, Assistant District Attorney, in his mind with hospitals, surgery, being hurt. She was strong, indestructible.

How on earth had this happened?

Finally after what felt like hours of wandering around various corners and corridors that all looked identical and smelled strongly of disinfectant, they reached a room tucked away from the others.

Olivia gave a small smile, knowing Alex would appreciate not being in the middle of everything. The last thing she would want would be for everyone to see her in a hospital bed.

'Thank you,' she said to the nurse but didn't look at her as she fixed her eyes on the blonde lying in the bed.

She looked smaller than Olivia remembered, or maybe it was just the oxygen mask they'd given her that seemed to cover half her face. Machines beeped steadily around them and there was an IV attached to her wrist.

'Oh, sweetie,' Olivia muttered, taking a seat on the chair next to her bed and gently taking her hand, running her thumb over it.

It bothered her more than she'd ever care to admit to see Alex in such a vulnerable position and she was overcome with an instinct to protect her, to sit by her side and not move ever again.

'I'm so sorry this happened to you.'

…

It was a sunny day in Central Park and, on a rare morning off, both Alex and Olivia were jogging together. They both liked to exercise, though Alex did it more to keep herself sane, as she put it, while Olivia tried to maintain a decent level of fitness for her job. However, it was uncommon that the two women were both free to run together and so, seeing what a beautiful day it was, they both seized the opportunity to spend some time together outside of work. The route they had chosen was lined with families with picnic blankets who had come out early to secure a good spot and take advantage of the sun, using it as an excuse to give their children some fresh air in the summer break.

'Race you?' Olivia smirked, taking off without warning down the path.

Alex laughed. 'Hey!'

'What's wrong? Can't keep up, Counsellor?'

Olivia looked back, inadvertently slowing her pace slightly.

The blonde saw her opportunity and sprinted to catch up, easily overtaking the detective who protested and tried to match her stride. Alex wasn't sure she had ever run quite so quickly with Olivia chasing her, but she was having fun and laughed a little as she ran.

'Come on, Liv, keep up!' she taunted, looking back to see the other woman.

'Liv?'

Alex frowned as she realised she was on her own. The picnicking families had disappeared around her and she realised the path was running out and became replaced with dark, cold concrete. She kept going down the street which was lined with tall buildings that blocked out the sun.

'Olivia?' she called, a pit opening in her stomach.

This wasn't good. She was completely on her own and had no clue where she was.

Eventually she stopped running and looked around at where she'd ended up. Her brow furrowed: she recognised this place, but from where? Behind her, she heard heavy footsteps and her heart sank as she realised where she recognised the street from.

'No,' she whispered.

She looked down to realise her running clothes had swapped into the blouse and trousers she'd been wearing, her bag containing the Peterson file over her right shoulder. Despite knowing what was coming, she clutched it tightly and tried to fight off the hands that reached for it.

'Give us the file,' a male voice ordered.

'I can't. You know I can't.'

She wasn't sure where she found the nerve to deny them what they wanted. Growing up in New York, everyone knew that if someone was mugging you, you gave them everything they wanted. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly diverging from this rule. The man pushed her to the ground and grabbed her bag, passing it off to one of his friends. Feebly, she reached out for it but knew she didn't have a chance of getting it back.

Whoever had taken the bag, whom she assumed was in charge, knelt down in front of her and she winced as she felt the cool blade of his knife against her cheek.

'I don't appreciate it when people tell me "no", Counsellor.'

He spoke with a mocking tone, one that was all too familiar to Alex. She cried out as he stood up again, taking a fistful of her hair and forcing her up to her feet, slamming her head against the brick wall as he held her against it with the weight of his body.

'Might have to teach this one a lesson. What do you say, boys?' he laughed.

The others around him jeered and it didn't take long for her to understand what he meant. With such ease that it frightened her, he tore open the top half of her blouse. She aimed a firm kick between his legs, hearing his satisfying groan of pain.

'Bitch, you'll pay for that,' he threatened.

The whole group of them drew closer to her and she realised there was nothing she could do to prevent whatever they wanted to do now. She pressed herself as close as she could into the wall behind her, thinking of Olivia and how much she wished she was there just now.

'Hey! What are you doing?'

A familiar female voice called from a few feet away.

'I'm calling the police!' she warned.

The men looked at each other hesitatingly.

'Boss,' one spoke out, 'maybe we should go. We got the file. They can't trace it back to us. Maybe we quit while we're ahead, yeah?'

The man who'd hurt her looked at Alex, eyes filled with hatred. She silently begged him to listen to reason, to leave her alone.

'Fine,' he grumbled after a few moments. 'I'll be back for you, bitch,' he promised her.

Alex nodded. That was fine. She'd be safe for now, and they'd get him before he could get to her again.

With that, they left and she let out a sob of relief. She hastily redid the buttons on her shirt and looked to where the voice of her saviour had come from, but nobody was there. She knew it wasn't her, knew that she would likely still be at the precinct, but she was certain.

It had been Liv's voice.

…

'Alex, honey?'

Alex opened her eyes, wincing as the bright lights above her blinded her. Turning her head to the side, she saw Olivia sat next to her holding her hand.

'Hey,' she smiled, looking at her worriedly. 'Had me scared for a second there, Counsellor.'

Alex laughed a little, still trying to puzzle out her dream. The details of what had actually happened were fuzzy in her mind, but she was fairly certain that Olivia had not, in fact, been there.

'I'm ok.'

Olivia smiled a little more sadly. 'We're gonna catch whoever did this to you, ok?' she promised, looking deeply into the eyes of the woman sat opposite her, the look communicating a thousand words more than she spoke. 'I'm really glad you're ok.'

The blonde smiled, holding eye contact with the detective and trying to ignore the slight flutter in her stomach. 'Me too.'

She grasped her hand a little tighter, giving it a gentle squeeze and settled back against the pillows.