Never Let You Go

Chapter Ten

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope that author's notes aren't frowned upon on this site; pretty much everyone uses them on fanfiction.net, so I just assumed they were acceptable. This will just take a minute, and then on with the show!

I am so, so sorry that it took me so long to upload this chapter. Those of you who are reading this have been so supportive and kind, and I really hope that my lateness hasn't driven you all away. I just kept forgetting, and when I did finally remember, I lost the file it was written on... All in all, I'm a bit of a mess. :) Thank you to all of those who are bearing with me!

Oh, also, there are some spoilers about Olivia's past in this chapter. The information came from the episode "Intoxicated", which I recommend watching if you haven't seen it -- it's one of my favorites.

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Captain Cragen slowly got out from under his desk, his ears still ringing from the explosion. Once he got over the shock of what had just happened, he quickly left his office to see the damage that had been done. He was rooted to the spot by the image that greeted him.

Almost everyone was on the ground, though, luckily, not many of them seemed to be injured. Everything within a few feet of Olivia's desk had been blown away. Wait. Olivia's desk? A rush of panic swept through the Captain as he stumbled towards the epicenter of the rubble.

"Olivia!" he called, searching frantically for the detective.

"Over here, Captain."

Cragen turned immediately toward the voice, and he felt relief coursing through his veins. He saw Elliot crouched next to the splintered remains of a few desks, and felt like an idiot. Of course she was with Stabler. If you wanted to find one, you just had to find the other.

"Liv, are you hurt?" he asked, approaching the demolished desks. He saw Olivia's hand clutching Stabler's and realized that she was in fact trapped beneath them.

"No, I'm okay," her voice replied. "I just can't get out yet. If Elliot tries to lift the desks, they could collapse."

"Where's Dominic?" he asked, concerned for the safety of the boy who had captured his detective's heart.

"I'm here," a tiny voice called. The timid boy now had reason to be frightened, but Olivia's presence seemed to bring him some comfort at least. "I'm with 'Livia."

"Captain, how bad is it?" Olivia asked. "I know Munch is okay, but he's the only one El talked to. Are there any injuries?"

She didn't dare ask the alternative. The blast had been small, and she refused to consider the idea of fatalities.

"I'll tell you as soon as I find out myself," Cragen promised. With that, he walked away to check on the rest of his detectives.

"'Livia?" Dominic said meekly. "I'm scared."

"It's okay, Sweetie. We'll get out of here soon," she replied. She did her best to hug the boy in the limited space they had. He sniffed and cuddled into her as she stroked his brown curls reassuringly.

"I have mostly good news," Cragen announced, heading back to his two detectives. "Nobody was killed. In fact, the bomb must not have been very powerful at all. It caused very little damage, and any small fires it may have started have been put out already. Most of the officers were able to get out of the room in time, and those that didn't were far enough away that they received only bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, Fin landed heavily on his arm. Melinda says it's broken."

"My arm is fine!" Fin exclaimed, quickly approaching them. "You okay, Liv?"

"Yes, I'm fine. You, on the other hand, need to go get your arm fixed right now."