Disclaimer: The whole SVU gang belongs to Dick Wolf.

Warning for mature subject matter. Proceed at your own discretion.

Olivia flung the cellar door open and gasped at the sight that awaited her. The room itself looked something like a medieval torture chamber, but that wasn't the most important thing right now. Her priority was Alex, her true love, as it always had been.

Alex had been missing for three weeks now, and the squad had been working tirelessly to find her ever since. Olivia hadn't slept since Alex had went missing, channelling every iota of energy into bringing her Alex home. This was their first solid lead, phoned in by an anonymous caller, informing SVU of a human trafficking ring operating a few miles out of the city. They'd made the bust, called in EMS for the few women they'd found, arrested the men, but there had been no sign of Alex. This was her last hope.

Her eyes swept the dank room. It was dark, and she shined her flashlight around for a few moments, but she couldn't see anything of value to Alex's case. It was all she could do not to fall to her knees in hopeless agony. If Alex wasn't still here, she could be halfway across the world right now, and they might never know.

Olivia froze when she heard a quiet whimper. It seemed to be coming from the other end of the room. She filed through her mind, trying to discern what it was. An animal maybe? But when the sound came again, it was definitely human, and she held her breath, shining her flashlight in the general direction of the sound. She held her gun up in her other hand and followed the noise, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Alex.

"Elliot, I got her!" she called out to her partner, and she could hear his and Fin's footsteps clambering down the stairs.

Olivia could see the welts and bruises in various stages of healing that littered Alex's skin, but her gaze didn't linger on them. That would come later, when her love was safe and sound at home, in her arms.

Alex was chained to the wall and trembling, a metal collar buckled around her neck. Her arms were tied behind her back, a sensory deprivation earmuffs fitted around her head, and she was blindfolded and gagged. Her cheeks were wet with tears and Olivia's heart went out to her poor Alex. She'd been through so much, and Olivia hadn't been there for her as she'd promised she always would be.

Alex tensed when Olivia started to untie her hands. She began to cry, but stayed perfectly still, and Olivia had to fight her own tears. "Shh, Alex, it's just me. It's Olivia. You're safe." Then she realized Alex couldn't hear her.

She made quick work of the earmuffs, the gag, the collar, and untied Alex's hands. She unchained her, and then as Alex's shuddering increased, she remembered the blindfold.

"Sweetheart, it's me," she whispered as she gently removed Alex's blindfold. "It's Olivia. I'm here. You're okay."

Alex's frightened blue eyes flickered up to meet Olivia's as soon as the blindfold was off, and she started to cry even harder when she realized that it was really Olivia, that she was really going to be free of the pain she'd lived with for what seemed like forever. She tried to smile, and she opened her mouth to say Olivia's name, but no sound came out.

Olivia took off her jacket and wrapped it around Alex, then folded her girlfriend into her arms, relaxing at the familiar weight. Alex fit so perfectly against her, and she was happy to hold Alex forever and never let go, to shelter her from whatever pain could befall her outside of Olivia's warm embrace.

She stroked Alex's hair, murmuring soothing words as Elliot and Fin ran in with their guns drawn. Alex immediately tensed again, and Olivia kissed the crown of her head, hugging Alex tighter. "It's okay, princess. It's just Elliot and Fin. You're safe now. I've got you. No one's ever going to hurt you again." She could feel the raised welts covering Alex's skin as she held her girlfriend to her, but she chose not to focus on them right now. Alex was safe now, and that was all that mattered.

Fin was securing the area, making sure Olivia hadn't missed anything, but Elliot walked over to the two women and knelt down beside them. "Hi, Alex," he said quietly, but she began to shake even more and clung tighter to Olivia, burying her face in her girlfriend's neck.

Elliot glanced at Olivia. "EMS is outside. Should I have them come in?"

Olivia shook her head, easily lifting Alex and cradling her like she was a baby. "It's okay. I've got her." She kissed Alex's forehead as she carried her up the stairs and out to the ambulance, murmuring, "It's okay, Alex. I'm here. You're safe. You were so, so brave, baby."

Alex screamed as an EMT tried to lift her onto a stretcher, covering her face with her hands as her body convulsed.

Olivia glared at the EMT, who was really just a kid and didn't know better. Even though it was protocol, she knew what was best for her Alex, and she didn't want anyone else touching her overwhelmed girlfriend right now. No one knew how much she'd been hurt, and Olivia didn't want anyone to traumatize her further by touching her when she didn't want to be touched. "Sweetie, I'm going to ride with you in the ambulance, okay? We need to go to the hospital and get you looked at."

Alex nodded, but her grip on Olivia tightened, and the detective carried Alex into the ambulance and sat her on her lap. It wasn't the way things were supposed to be done, but Olivia figured they could fire her later. Right now, her only thought was for Alex, and minimizing the potential trauma that would come out of this experience.

She brushed Alex's hair back from her forehead and gave her a gentle kiss. "I love you," she said quietly; each word a precious diamond, something Alex could hold on to even through this pain.

Alex looked up at Olivia, and this time she really did smile, finally, at her girlfriend. "Olivia," she whispered, the words hoarse and weak.

Olivia hugged Alex, wanting to keep her as close as possible, wanting to never let her go. "Yeah, baby?"

"I love you, too."

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