This story is a labour of love that I started writing 8 years go. I had no idea that I would still be writing this all of these years later and I am SO sorry that I have kept you wonderful people waiting so long between updates. I know how frustrating that is.

Thank you so much for your comments and patience. Newbies, welcome, I would love to read what you think.

Here we go.

Elliot stopped first, doubling over in pain, reaching for support from the nearest tree.

"Keep going," he demanded as Olivia stopped, running back to him. "Keep going!" he pushed her away from him, hoping she would do as he asked. He watched as she looked for any signs of Rogers, on high alert.

"No, no, what is it?" She asked struggling to catch her breath, her eyes scanning his body to check that he hadn't been hit by a bullet. She encouraged him to turn around and did her very best to unlock the handcuffs shackling his wrists.

As soon as he was free he did the same for her, his heart sank as he watched her reach for the zip and button of her pants, fixing them with shaking hands. There was so much he wanted to say but he couldn't, they didn't have the time.

"Go," he begged, knowing that he couldn't go any further. Something wasn't right, his chest was tight and every breath hurt. He couldn't go with her without slowing her down, he couldn't run quickly like she could and that was what she needed to do.

His hands still shook with rage, he didn't remember waking up, he just remembered hearing a small sound from her and he knew, he knew that something was wrong. He'd slowly turned to find Kieran on top of her, touching her and everything else was a blur.

"I'm not leaving you," Olivia whispered, anger and disbelief radiating. "Just tell me what it is-"

"I can't…" He shook his head. "I'm going to slow you down, you need to get yourself away from here."

"No," Olivia stepped towards him. "No way, Elliot." She was panicking, she couldn't leave him, she wouldn't leave him. A sense of panic and urgency buzzed through every nerve in her body.

"He's coming Olivia, I can't out run him but you can!" He leant against the tree that was holding him up, his legs feeling less and less stable with every second that passed.

"I am not leaving you here, look at me." She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye. "If you're staying here then I'm staying here too. I'm not leaving you here to die."

"I can't run, I don't even know if I can walk." He felt as though he was a dead man walking, he was damned if he was going to hold her back.

"I'll help you,"

"He's gonna catch us if we-"

"I don't care. I don't care, I'm not going anywhere without you. Elliot, please…" Tears filled her eyes, she wouldn't take another step without him. She slowly reached for him, pressing herself against his side and encouraging him to lean on her. "You can do this, come on," she promised as she helped him to take a step, he was heavy even when he was trying not to put his full weight on her. "Come on," she held onto him tightly, wrapping her arm around him as he struggled. If they were getting out of this they were getting out of it together, for her there was no other option.

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

An hour later, with no sign of Rogers, Olivia couldn't walk any further. She gently sat Elliot down against a large tree and sat herself next to him. She knew that he was struggling, she also knew he'd pushed himself too hard, even with her supporting him. She hoped that she had found a place secluded enough that they could rest just for a little while and then they would carry on, they'd find help and get themselves out of here.

Elliot took his time to try to catch his breath, he was exhausted and he was in more pain than he had ever felt before. He knew that it was a bad idea to stop but he also knew that she couldn't carry them both, he desperately wanted her to run, to leave him there and come back for him but he knew that she wouldn't, just as he wouldn't if the tables were turned.

"You okay?" she asked, quietly just in case. He nodded and she began to assess his injuries. She was concerned about the head wound and the dry blood that had once ran from the back of his ear all the way down to his neck. He looked awful, she couldn't tell for sure but it looked as though his cheekbone and nose were broken, his lip was split and dark brises were forming on his neck and chest where he had been repeatedly kicked.

She frowned as Elliot closed and opened his eyes slowly. He needed medical help. She took a second to look around, to listen for any hint of cars or human life and she couldn't hear a thing. She allowed herself a second to try to calm herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Liv," Elliot whispered, his concern evident. She felt his hand over hers an took another deep breath. She couldn't lose it, not now, not here. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and her fingers tightened around his.

"Did I kill him?" he asked, ignoring her question. He watched as she froze before slowly nodding.

"Yeah, you killed him."

"Good." He felt the rage beginning to build and it overtook the pain that was coursing through his body. He started to speak again but stopped as she turned to him.

"Elliot," she inhaled a shaky breath, "I can't talk about this right now. Please…" she shut her eyes, struggling to regain her composure. "He didn't…" she couldn't complete her sentence, she didn't want to say the words or even think about them. She knew that for the second time, she had been seconds away from being raped only for Elliot to save her.

He knew that Kieran hadn't raped her but he didn't know just how far the assault had gone. He wanted to know, to ask her but he didn't, instead he allowed her to change the subject and told her exactly where he was hurting.

"I have to get you out of here," she mumbled to herself as he grimaced in pain. "You could have internal bleeding, you've definitely got a concussion and-"

"I'm okay," he reached for her hand and pulled her closed to him until she too was resting against the large base of the tree. "You just need to sit for a second, take a breath." He didn't let go of her hand, they sat hand in hand for a few minutes before she moved again, slowly standing.

"You need to go and find help-" he told her.

"No-"

"Olivia-"
"No. No, I'm not going without you. We do this together."

"Liv, please, please go find help."

"What if I walk right into Rogers?"

"We lost him-" He grunted as he pushed his battered body up off the floor.

"We think we lost him, we keep thinking that we've lost him." She sighed, she wanted to grab Elliot and shake him. What would it take for her to realise that she would not leave him behind? How many times could they have this conversation? From the second their undercover mission went pear shaped she had refused to leave him as he had refused to leave her. Why would he think that anything would change? "It's different now Elliot, it's just him against the two of us. We need to stick together on this, we can take him."

"Liv-" He rasped, his chest feeling tighter with every word.

"Elliot, I am done discussing this with you. I'm not leaving you," she snapped, stunned when he simply nodded and stepped into her again, allowing her to support him.

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

Olivia didn't know how long they'd been walking in silence, but she prayed that they found somewhere safe soon. Elliot was wheezing next to her, leaning more and more into her as she supported his steps.

"Come on El, we have to be close-"

"I have to…stop."

In seconds she lowered him to the floor, wincing as he grunted in pain. "We'll rest for a little while and then we have to carry on, okay?" She knew that he was struggling, she wasn't sure how much longer he could go on for and that thought terrified her.

She watched as he coughed and cried out in pain, in seconds her concern turned to panic as he wiped the blood from his mouth. She slipped closer to him, her hand cupping the back of his neck, stroking slowly. She wanted to cry, she wanted to sit and hold him and cry because she was terrified that he wasn't going to make it.

She tried to calm her fears and pushed the panic to the back of her mind knowing that she was his only chance to get out of this damn forest. They had survived so much already, they would survive this too.

She shuddered as she thought about how they had escaped, about the rage that she had seen in Elliot's face as he ended the life of the man who had been so desperate to hurt her. He had saved her with just seconds to spare last time, and he'd been injured then as well. History was repeating itself and she only hoped that it would continue to do so as they tried to escape.

"It hurts," he barely whispered. Olivia wasn't sure that she had ever heard him sound so weak.

"I know, we're going to find help." She brought her fingers to his cheek, gently swiping her thumb across it, it was the only comfort she could offer. "You just have to hold on El, okay?" She watched as he nodded slowly. He was clearly in a huge amount of pain and struggling to breathe. She knew that she had a limited amount of time to get him to safety.

His eyes snapped open and they both froze as they heard a branch snapping close by. She raised her finger to mouth, encouraging him to be quiet. He moved to push himself up off the ground, but she placed her hands on his shoulders and kept him in place, she knew that he could barely stand, hiding was his best chance.

Her heart raced as she pushed herself up as quietly as she could until she was standing. She forced herself to stay as calm as she could, to regulate her breathing. Elliot indicated weakly that she should hide and leave her but she shook her head, he reached for her hand, forcing her to look at him, to really look at him.

"Hide," he mouthed. He knew that he couldn't move, that she wouldn't be able to get him up without making noise and making their position clear. He felt a sense of relief as she slowly nodded and slowly moved until she was hidden behind another tree. He knew she wouldn't leave, that she would try to ambush Rogers instead but at least that gave them a fighting chance.

Elliot wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to fight the pull of unconsciousness but if he could just help her take Rogers down then it would be worth it.

"Well, well, well…"

Olivia's heart stopped as she heard his voice. She dared to look and found him stood with his back to her, learning above Elliot, gun in hand.

"You're not looking too good there Stabler," he taunted. "Where is she?"

Olivia quickly tucked herself behind the tree as Rogers looked around. She clenched her fists as she thought about everything the bastard had put them through. She wanted to kill him, she had never felt an urge so strong in her life.

"Gone."

"Gone? You expect me to believe that's he left you? She just left you here to die huh?" he crouched until he was at face height with Elliot. "Bullshit. She wouldn't leave you even if you begged her, did you beg her Stabler?"

"Fuck you," Elliot spat, struggling to move as the pain in his chest intensified.

"You killed my friend," Rogers pressed the gun to the side of Elliot's head. "I wanted Olivia to watch as took your last breath, you remember last time? We keep going around in circles Stabler. We did this months ago, remember? Benson, she lost it. What kind of hold do you both have on each other?" he asked, watching as Elliot frowned.

Elliot struggled to keep up with Rogers rambling. He had been so composed until this moment, what had changed? The cracks had started to show with Kieran but it had been nothing like this.

"No one is coming to save you this time."

"I know," Elliot choked, watching as Olivia slowly moved from her hiding place with a large rock in her hand. His eyes were getting heavier and heavier. "I'm glad I killed him, I'm…" he gasped, "only sad it was so quick." He would do anything to distract Rogers while Olivia prepared to make her move.

"I'm going to find her Stabler, you think that you saved her by staying behind? I'm going to find her and I'm going to hurt her. Do you know what you took from me?" Rogers jabbed the gun against his forehead. "Everything. My men ran, the buyers saw the headlines and pulled out. No one wants anything to do with the kids because of you! As soon as it hit the news it was over and I owe millions, fucking million to people much worse than me. How am I supposed to pay them with no kids? I'll tell you," his eyes were wide, like the eyes of a mad man, "you and Benson, you're my get out of jail free card. If I bring you to them, if I give her to them then they might spare me. You won't make it, you're a dead man walking but her, if I get her to them they'll let me live."

"No, no they won't."

"You don't know them. She could make them some money, imagine how many guys would pay to have her? Huh? Knowing she's a cop? Knowing how she fights?" He taunts, unable to hide the desperation in his voice. He's been running from these men ever since their operation collapsed. They'll stop at nothing to find him and all he can do it try to have something for them when they do.

Kieran had almost ruined it, ruined her. Rogers had warned him not to touch her, he should have known the bastard wouldn't have listened. He wanted to hand her over in pristine shape, that's why he'd beaten the hell out of Stabler and not her. He needed to prove that he could make up the lost money, and Olivia was the only way that he could do that.

"That's," Elliot sucked in a shallow breath. "That's your plan?"

"What else can I do? You ruined everything. You fucking ruined everything."

"You'll never get to her Rogers, she's long gone and they're never going to take her eyes off of her again."

"She's really gone?" Rogers couldn't tell if Stabler was lying or not. "Jesus, I'm dead. I guess that makes two if us?" He shrugged, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"The kids…" Elliot rasped, desperate to distract Rogers. "You can tell me, I'm a dead man walking."

"Would that bring you some comfort? Huh? Knowing if they're safe?" Rogers laughed. "They're dead Stabler, I killed them all. Had to hide the evidence?" Again, he jabbed the gun against Elliot's head as he began to slip into unconsciousness.

Rogers took joy in lying about the kids who, as of three days ago, had been found in their hiding place by the police in Europe. They were all gone, every single one of them. That was what had prompted him to go for Benson and Stabler one last time, not just to punish them but to offer them in return for his life.

"You don't want to hear all the details Stabler? You don't want to hear about their last moments as you take your last breath?"

Elliot flew back into consciousness as he heard a loud thud and the sound of a struggle. Olivia had hit Rogers with the rock, he had a large gash on his head, blood seeping across his face. "I knew you couldn't leave him!" Rogers lashed out and in seconds Olivia was on her back, Rogers fought on top of her as they both grappled for the gun.

"Liv…" Elliot mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open. He crashed onto his side, desperately grasping at the mud and branches trying to pull himself closer to her.

Two shots were fired, and the struggle stopped. Everything was still, silent. Elliot clambered towards Olivia and Rogers, fighting his body's urge to shut down and give in to the inevitable darkness.

"Liv," he let out a relieved sigh as she saw her moving underneath Rogers. She managed to push his lifeless body off hers, she was covered in blood. Elliot glanced at Rogers, he too was covered in blood and like Kieran his eyes were wide with shock. She had shot him in the chest.

"It's over," he rasped.

"El," she gasped, slowly crawling over to him with shaking limbs.

"Liv," he frowned, something wasn't right. Her face was pale, her eyes wide and her movements pained. "Olivia?" It was then that he realised that there was only evidence of one gunshot wound on Rogers body.

"No," he pushed himself one last time, grasping her hand as she collapsed, her arms no longer able to carry her own weight. He desperately tried to move towards her fighting the need to give in to the pain, the light slowly draining from his vision as he struggled to catch his breath.

Her fingers wrapped around his as her left hand pressed against the bleeding wound on her stomach. She had never felt a pain like it before. Rogers had got the first shot but she had caught him by surprise and turned the gun on him in seconds.

"Elliot," she whimpered, pain enveloped her entire body. She briefly wondered who would find them? Who would discover them hand in hand, in the middle of nowhere? Perhaps no one. She tightened her grip on his hand and bit back a sob when she felt no response, he wasn't moving, she couldn't hear his laboured breathing anymore. She rested her cheek against the mud and dirt as she could no longer lift her head.

"El…" He was her last thought as the darkness enveloped her.

Thank you so much for reading. I would love to hear what you think (I think).

One more chapter to go. Xx