Hi all!! I am back with the third and next to last chapter of this story. There will be a new one that follows with a completely different storyline after posting the final chapter! I've been on break, and I honestly took a break from EVERYTHING and worked on myself for the most part. I got some much needed sleep, started working out again, and started saving money and rolling my change. It's been a treat so far.

His voice is a whisper, soft like velvet. But it holds malice, and his eyes are full of fury, taunting Olivia silently. But when he opens his mouth to continue his verbal attack, they both hear the sound of the elevator, and Olivia's heart drops to her stomach. Elliot is here and he doesn't need to be because this man wants his blood. And hers. Wants Elliot to suffer long and hard. She can hear the faint echo of footsteps, and she starts bargaining immediately.

"Look, I don't know you, but please, don't hurt him."

Her voice tremors slightly, and she wants to curse at herself. She doesn't want to show fear, but knowing how long it took them to get to where they are, she cannot afford to lose Elliot. Noah cannot afford to lose Elliot.

"That's bold of you to assume I want to physically hurt him. That's not the case at all, Olivia. I want to cause him pain. Great pain. And it seems his weakest link is you."

Olivia gulps and stares this man down. She had prepared herself to lose Elliot in this moment, but losing her life was not in the plans. She can't die today. She has her son waiting at home. A son who is so excited that his mom is finally dating someone who loves them both unconditionally, without strings. A son who knows only her as family. She feels a surge of grief wash over her at the thought of her son without her. And right at the moment, Olivia has her mind made up. She's not dying today, but this lousy son of a bitch in front of her will sure wish he was when she's finished with him.

"I don't care who you are. And I don't care to know. But I do know this: when I make it out of these cuffs, you're going to wish you never set one foot in this building."

The anger rolls off Olivia and seeps into the pores of Murphy. He likes them feisty. It makes winning much more satisfying. Makes breaking the spirit of all he comes across much more enjoyable.

"You think you are getting out of here? Captain Benson, I'm afraid that your time is coming to an end. And wait until that partner of yours rounds that corner there and witnesses the love of his life losing hers."

He spits out the word partner like it's rotten. Olivia's heart is pounding against her rib cage, but she refuses to let it show. Refuses to let this sick man in front of her win whatever games he had roped her into playing.

"This place is surrounded. It's swarming with cops. Do you think you're getting out of here alive? There's no chance in hell. The entire city of Manhattan, the entire state of New York will hunt you down. And that's only if you manage to escape, which you won't."

Olivia speaks lowly towards the end of her sentence, noting that Elliot hasn't graced the lobby of the 1-6 yet. Thank God. She's meticulously planning her escape, and while she's trying to find the best course of action, she's slowly pulling one hand out of her cuffs.

"I don't care! What I've come here to accomplish will leave the two of us dead, and poor, precious Detective Stabler living in turmoil, knowing that he caused your death. I'll personally see to it that the NYPD doesn't get the satisfaction of having me in their clutches. Captain, why do you think that you are Detective Stabler's weakest link? Hm?"

She wants to spit in his face and scream every expletive she can think of right at this moment. She wants the fucking cuffs off so she can execute her plan without anyone else. She doesn't need Elliot's help nor anyone else that could provide it. She's survived far worse than this, and now that she knows that certain people know, it makes Olivia's drive to snap this cunning piece shit's neck much more vicious. She feels the cuff give way to her wrist, and she catches it with her other hand before the cuff can dangle and alert Murphy of her plan.

"Olivia, Liv, as your precious Elliot calls you, you are his weakest link because you matter to him. You are one person that matters most. And you know what happens when someone matters so dearly to Detective Stabler? He'd do anything to protect them, even if it kills him. You'd do the same for him, no?"

She decides to play his game with a little twist of her own, and she prays that it graces Elliot's ears because she knows the anger and grief will help her plan. She knows he's armed because she knows he wouldn't rush in this building, into danger, without it. She knows he won't hesitate to blow Murphy's brains out.

"He didn't protect me when I needed it most. You think he would die doing it now? This just shows how little I matter to him. He left me for ten years, and in those ten years, I crawled my way out of immortal hell. I came face to face with the worst monster, and I had no one... absolutely no one... to protect me. And I wanted Elliot, I did. But he never came for me, just like he's not coming for me now. If I mattered to him, Murphy, he'd already be here, and you'd be dead."

The look on Murphy's face is enough to satisfy Olivia as she wrestles with the cuff on the other hand. It's not giving as quickly as Olivia had hoped, but it's slipping. Out of her peripheral vision, she sees movement, and she knows that shape from anywhere. She could describe it in her sleep. That shape haunted her for ten years, loomed in every corner, and hid in every crevice of her mind.

"Then why have you forgiven him, Captain? You were on your way out for a date with him. He must hold some care towards you. After all, he looked to you after his bombshell of a wife- oops. I forgot. That's how she lost her life, yes?"

She sees the smirk on his face and sees the blood rush to Elliot's face. He knows. Murphy fucking knows and this plan just went south. There's absolutely no way out, and she doesn't know how anyone is going to-

But in the middle of her catastrophic thinking, she feels the cuffs give to the other wrist. She watches as Murphy goes after Elliot and prays silently for Elliot's safety. She hears the gunshots ringing through the 1-6 as she runs and grabs her gun and the backup gun from her desk drawers. She holds her issued gun in her hands and secures the backup behind her coat, and she follows the sounds of hailing bullets. She was so sure Murphy was putting a bullet in her before, but now he's running down the hall and she can't lose Elliot right now. He has to know that while she did want him in those months and antagonizing years and sleepless nights where William Lewis had stalked her and her mind, she didn't blame him. She never blamed him and she cannot bear the thought of Elliot being killed while he was feeling guilty. She knows, deep down she knows, it wasn't easy for him to hear what had happened to her, but he knows, and she is grateful that he does.

While she's been thinking, she's been following the sound trail of bullets bouncing off walls and the shouts of both Elliot and Murphy. Her gun is trained in front of her, and she dares the white headed son of a bitch to poke his head around a corner. She'll shoot him where he stands. But, as she rounds a corner, she notices that the noises have stopped. No bullets are ricocheting. No shouts are heard. She hears silence and that's never good because-

Her thinking is cut short by the sound of a struggle and a gun hitting the floor. She eases her way in but stays out of sight because she has no idea what's happening, but she's done this dance 1,001 times and knows not to rush head first.

"... and when she rounds that corner, you're going to watch as the life leaves her eyes. You'll know then, detective, what it's like to really lose the one you love most. I thought I had her handcuffed, but she's a smart one. I see why you love her. She's resilient. If I weren't so set on making you suffer, I'd keep her alive. But she's your weakest link, and I told myself I'd have my day to make you pay."

She stops, pondering what her next move should be. She doesn't want to race out and risk being killed, but she can't lose Elliot to this bastard, not when they've just gotten their timing right. She stays where she is and reacts as calmly as she can.

"Murphy, you shoot me, and you have no chance of making it out alive. You shoot him, I'll shoot you myself."

Just saying it makes her heart clinch. She cannot lose him. She'll be grieving him all over again and she barely made it through the first time.

"Captain, I will make it out of here regardless. Detective Stabler must suffer. That's the only way to even the score."

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. She's not sure how she's going to save both Elliot and herself. But she prays that somehow they make it out. Flashbacks of Gitano are at the forefront of her mind, and if they can make it through Gitano, they can make it through Murphy.

"Detective Stabler has lost his wife. That isn't enough for you? Detective Stabler has heard about what he missed in ten years while he's been away from New York. You don't think the guilt is eating at him?"

She tries to play into Murphy's head, but she doesn't know how he ticks. He was never a suspect she had to study. Sure, there may have been similar criminals, but she knows that this is personal. So it needs to put on a personal level.

"I'm sure it is, Captain. Why don't you see for yourself? I won't shoot. I want to do something different. And I want you to see it as well. This plays into my plan perfectly."

"Liv, please. Don't do it. Do not move from where you are!"

She hears the fear in Elliot's voice and she can feel the terror coursing through her veins. It's pulsating through her ears and she can barely hear herself breathing.

"Shut up, Elliot."

She has to be cold and calculating towards him. She needs him to trust her because when he didn't trust her with Gitano, it was a shit show, and this cannot go the same way it went with Gitano.

"Olivia, he's crazy and he is smart, and..."

"Detective Stabler, I won't hurt her..."

"Liv, please! Listen to me..."

"She's gonna come out and..."

Olivia hears as they talk over each other, but she takes the gun from behind her and tucks it into her pants. Hidden, but she knows it's there. Only she knows it's there. And she hopes that Elliot realizes it too.

"Alright, shut up! I'm coming out. Elliot, not another word."

She emerges from her spot, her gun pointed at Murphy. And it's Victor Gitano all over again because Murphy is using Elliot as a shield and has a gun to his head. She can feel panic coursing through every fiber of her body and feels the hair on her arms sticking up. She swallows down whatever food is trying to come up, and she braces herself for another fight. Her hands are shaking and she prays to God that this ends soon. She sees the color draining from Elliot's face, and she knows he's just as scared. Reminders of a lifetime ago.

"Hello, Captain Benson. Liv, as Elliot calls you. I want you to watch Elliot's face as we tell him all about the ten years he missed out. But let's skip over ADA Haden and such. Why don't we start with William Lewis?"

Elliot watches as Olivia, stoic, brave Olivia, loses all color from her face, and watches it contort into one of misery and pain. He knows what he's heard over the radio. But surely Murphy won't make her hash out everything.

"He already knows what happened."

"He knows what we told him. He needs the details, Liv."

Elliot turns in Murphy's arms.

"It's Captain Benson to you."

Elliot feels as the butt of the gun hits him, and he crumples to the floor. He feels the gun pointed at his face.

"One wrong move, Detective," Elliot watches as Murphy's expression turns into a sinister one as he looks at Olivia, "lights out."

Elliot looks at Olivia and notices the look of what he's seen on thousands of victims... victims meaning Liv is a victim and what he heard was true. He sees the remembering of whatever Murphy just said. Her hands are shaking, and she finds Elliot's eyes with hers and mouths a simple "I'm sorry."

He returns it with equal heartbreak. "It's okay."

"Captain Benson, tell Detective Stabler what he missed. Hurt him how it hurt you. Tell him how it changed you. Make him grovel in pain. Tell Detective Stabler how he might have broken your heart but tell him how William Lewis broke Olivia Benson."

Elliot's mind is racing. Surely, surely Murphy is twisting something up. Maybe it isn't as bad as he is thinking, but when he focuses back on Liv, realization punches him. It's true, but it's so much worse than he could have ever imagined.

Olivia can't believe that the sick son of a bitch in front of her wants her to tell Elliot of all the horrors of what she had to endure in 4 days. The hell she begged God to bring her out of and give Elliot back to her. She got out, but no Elliot. She got out, burned bruised and bloody. But she got out, and she's here, and Elliot is here, and to her, God must've listened. She has Elliot and she made it out.

"No."

Olivia hears herself. As much as she wanted Elliot to suffer in those 10 years after leaving her, she wouldn't hurt him now. She couldn't. Not when they've just taken a step in their relationship. She's only kissed him once. She doesn't want it to be the only one.

"Captain, I have the gun on your partner. Tell him!"

Murphy is shouting at her, waving the gun back and forth between her and Elliot. She stands firm where she is, eyes on Elliot and Murphy and the gun in her hand pointed at the latter.

"I will decide when to tell Detective Stabler my story, and when I do tell him, it won't be to hurt him. It will be when he's ready, and when I am ready."

Her voice is strong, but inside, her emotions are running high. She cannot allow Murphy to see that because if he's anything like Lewis, he can read people. And she can't afford for Murphy to read her.

"If you don't, I will. And I know more than you think, Olivia."

She hears him loud and clear, but she doesn't budge. She won't tell her story. Not today. Murphy can only know what's in the files and her court cases. He doesn't know everything. No one knows everything, not even Fin. Not even Barba.

"Tell what Elliot can find in those cases and in my files. You don't know the whole story. You never will because no one knows anything about what hell I went through in those four days and in the hours that man had me. And no one ever will."

Her plan is unfolding nicely, and she can see the rage splintering across Murphy, his neck and face a deeper shade of red. An angry shade of red. He trains the gun on her and steps away from Elliot.

"How about the unexplained bruising they found? You denied a rape kit, but he had you four days. Are you saying that in those four days he had you, he never touched you?"

She smiled menacingly. Here goes nothing. She looks to Elliot quickly, finding his eyes already trained on hers. His gaze is maddening, like he wants to hold her but also take out Murphy. Ditto she thinks.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Men like him and men like you love power. You love the control." Olivia pauses to give Murphy time to interrupt, but all he does is step forward. She continues, staring down the barrel of her gun and into another. "And when you can't get it, you lose your momentum. He couldn't handle me, just like you can't now. You're out of control, and I have it. Me. A woman. And you don't, you cowardly man."

She sees the steam coming from Murphy's ears. At that moment, Elliot takes his chances and tackles Murphy from behind, knocking the gun from his hands, but not before a shot rings out. He hears a thud and looks up to find Olivia down. He cuffs Murphy to the nearest solid thing he can find and rushes to Olivia.

"Liv!"

Ahhh I'm so sorry. I'm just a sucker for a good cliffhanger. That, and I'm tired of writing this without a clean slate! I am so sorry for the wait, but please let me know what you think in a review!