Last Defense (Sequel to Drastic Measures)

Epilogue

"So how's the job hunt going?" Sonny asked, his wide smile shown on the small rectangular  screen of Eliza's iPhone. Three months have passed since she arrived back at Chicago and her long-distance relationship with Sonny had surprisingly been going well.

"That's actually why I called," Eliza was gleaming with excitement. "I have good news!"

"What is it?" He asked.

"I talked to Benson and she did some talking around...." She paused for suspense, then blurted out, "And I got my job back at SVU!"

"Are you serious?" Sonny's eyes widened with joy. "This is amazing! When do you start?"

"In about a month. Sadly, I'm going to be demoted back to junior detective though, but I guess I'll take what I can get.

"That's great. I'm so happy for you Liz," Sonny flashed a smile. Eliza shifted her focus to the scenery behind him, noticing it looked like he was in the backseat of a car.

"Where are you headed?" She asked. "Looks like you're in a cab."

"Heading back to the station to go file some paperwork," Sonny quickly answered. A little too quickly.

"Right," Eliza nodded, though not convinced. She grabbed her purse and closed the door to her apartment behind her.

"Going out?" He asked with a slight grin.

"Yeah, not sure where though. Erin just told me to meet her outside my building. She says she has some surprise for me," Eliza explained, walking into an elevator as she spoke. "Whatever that means."

"Maybe she's taking you out to eat or something," Sonny suggested. He had a suspicious expression on his face, like he was hiding something. The connection was lost for a moment, till the elevator reached the lobby.

"Maybe. But from the looks of it, I don't think I'll be eating anywhere cause she's nowhere to be found," Eliza sighed as she looked around outside. There was no sign of Erin anywhere. Her eyes moved away from her screen as she was more focused on her outside surroundings. "She said she would meet me right out front."

"She'll be there," he assured.

To her luck, a black cab pulled in right out front. Erin stepped out the car with a wide grin plastered on her face. Eliza furrowed her eyebrows. "What took you so-"

She was at a loss for words when suddenly Sonny stepped out along side Erin. "Hey Chapman," he flashed a smile.

"Sonny!" Eliza ran up into his arms, engulfing him in a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he clung onto her, feeling like he never wanted to let go.

"Long time no see," he chuckled.

Eliza pulled away slightly, glancing back and forth between Erin and Sonny. "You two planned this?"

"Yeah, Erin got me a plane ticket and we got a cab here so I could come and surprise you," Sonny explained.

"Thank you so much Erin," Eliza told her.

"Don't worry about it. You deserve it," Erin waved off. "Well I should probably head back to the station. Have fun you two!"

"Oh we will," Eliza laughed, turning back to look at Sonny. "I know the perfect place to go. And I'm paying, by the way."

"Wait-where are we headed?" He asked.

"You'll see," she had a mischievous grin as she took his hand.
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"A pizza shop?" Sonny raised a brow at the sight, "We've got a million of those back in New York, Liz."

"This isn't just any pizza shop," Eliza shook her head, "No, this is Giodarno's. Best known for their famous stuffed deep dish pizza."

The two walked into the restaurant and luckily it wasn't too packed. The hostess led them to a table further back and more private. "Here are your menus and I'll be right back with water."

Eliza couldn't keep her eyes off Sonny. It had been so long since she last saw him. And soon she would be back to working with him like the old days. Everything just seemed to be falling into place.

"Something wrong?" Sonny's five faltered in concern. Eliza forgot she was still staring.

"Oh no, sorry," she shook her head, "It's just so good to see you again. And not just in a small phone screen."

"Yeah," Sonny smiled, taking her hand in his from across the table. "It's nice to finally touch you again too."

"Yeah I definitely miss this," she chuckled. Her smile faded as she saw two guys walk into the restaurant dressed in all black. They looked behind every few seconds, as if they were watching out for something.

One raised a pistol up and shot at the ceiling, causing people to shriek. "Everybody get down on the ground!" The other guy yelled.

Eliza and Sonny both crouched under their table, trying to formulate a plan. "Seriously? A pizza shop?" Sonny raised a brow.

"Money is money," Eliza shrugged, reaching for her gun. "You stay down."

"What? I'm a cop too."

"Not in the Chicago department," she told him before hopping out of the table.  With one hand. she raised her badge and with the other, shot her gun in the direction of the thieves. "Chicago PD! Put your weapons down and your hands in the air!"

The thieves were unfazed and started shooting back as they hid behind the counter for cover. All the civilians at the restaurant were crouched under tables and booths. While the two guys shot back relentlessly, Eliza tried limiting her shots in order to prevent any civilian casualties. Bullets zoomed back and forth while Sonny tried his best to safely lead civilians out through the back.

"Cease your fire! The police are already on their way!" Eliza yelled from across the restaurant, keeping her gun propped up as she waited for an opening. The room was quiet for a moment and the gunshots finally stopped. Slowly, the detective stood up from her cover and began to approach the counter. "Now I'm gonna need you to step out from the counter with your hands up."

Her gun was aimed low and her finger lingered over the trigger. There was no response, so she tried again. "Did you hear me? Step out of the counter!"

One of the guys stood up, holding money he took from the cashier. He tried slipping away and busting into a sprint, but was stopped short when she aimed at his leg and pulled the trigger. The bullet zipped through his ankle, causing him to trip over himself. 

"Liz, watch out!" she heard Sonny shout.

"Huh..." she whipped around to see the commotion and saw the other thief standing with his gun aimed toward her. Before she could even raise up her gun to shoot back, he pulled the trigger and suddenly, Sonny jumped in the way, just in time before the bullet hit her.

The loud sound of sirens could be heard approaching the street and the second thief ran off before Eliza could chase after him. Sonny fell onto the ground after taking the hit, gasping for air. There was a large red stain growing right in the region where his heart was located. Eliza fell onto her knees, taking Sonny in her arms. "Why'd you do that?" she sobbed as she started to apply pressure onto his wound.

"He was...he was going to shoot you," he struggled saying the words, coughing up spurts of blood as he spoke.

"Shh... it's going to be okay, Sonny," she pressed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"If I don't make it," he gulped nervously, clinging onto her hand. "I want you to know, I love you."

"Don't say that, you're going to make it.  You always do," she cried.

"I'm serious, Eliza."

"And I'm serious too," Eliza insisted. The ambulance arrived just in time and paramedics came rushing in to help. "You're not dying on me, Dominick."