This is the final chapter of the story. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Trigger warning: This chapter contains discussions of sexual assault, so please be aware of that before you continue reading.

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He is never going to leave her alone.

Amanda hasn't been this sure of anything in her entire life as she continues to perch rigidly on the top step of the long flight of stairs, clutching onto the railing so hard that the metal bars are beginning to leave deep grooves in her sweating palms as a dull ache spreads through her fingers and into her hands. Her eyes remain firmly shut to block out the vision of the man who has put her through so much hell, but she knows he is still there; so overwhelmed by the dark presence she can sense hovering nearby that she barely takes notice of the furry face so close to her own, Frannie frantically licking the salty drops of tears from her cheeks.

Amanda knows that Olivia is still speaking to her, the older woman calmly but urgently trying to direct her away from the steps and out of the stuffy stairwell that has brought her so much agony, despite the fact that nothing traumatic has ever occurred in this particular space. Charles Patton has never been to this building, and the only trauma that is presently happening are the scenes playing out like a horror movie inside her head; the imagined scenario of what is about to take place so all-consuming that Amanda can't manage to see past it and recognize that she is safe.

"Help me, Liv, help me, Liv," she finds herself muttering over and over again, the desperately whispered pleas melding together in a jumble of nearly inaudible words as Amanda loses focus and doesn't even know what she is saying anymore.

"I'm trying to help you, Amanda." The brunette's voice finally cuts through her own terrified mumbling, the disturbing images in her head briefly grinding to a halt at Olivia's tone, which is louder and sharper than before. "I need you to listen to what I'm saying, alright? Just concentrate on my voice. I'm going to help you off the stairs and back to your apartment, so is it okay if I touch you? I'm just going to put my arms around you so you can stand up properly without falling. You're shaking really hard and I don't want you to injure yourself."

"Nooo," Amanda moans in anguish, pressing her face harder into the railing, as if she can somehow manage to fit through the tiny space between the slats and escape to the outdoors where she will finally be able to take a deep breath. "I don't want him to touch me. It's too much. He never stops. It hurts!"

"Amanda, Charles Patton is never going to touch you again, do you understand me?" Olivia replies sternly, the other woman's voice sounding closer now. "It's just me, it's Olivia Benson, and I want to know if I have your permission to help you stand up. Is that okay with you? Can I please help you?"

"Yeah...okay, Liv...you can help me." Amanda's answer is halting and unsure as she hears a heavy sigh of relief sound nearby, a part of her acknowledging that this is precisely what she wants, for Olivia to help her, but another part feeling uncertain and fearful at the prospect of someone else's hands on her body.

Tensing with anticipation, she listens to the footsteps walking slowly toward her and can't help the shriek of terror that bursts from her throat when a figure taller than herself sits down beside her on the step, the agonized noise that echoes throughout the stairwell sounding much louder than the continuous whimpers of anxiety from her pet. Amanda wraps her arms around her head and rocks forward in distress at the convoluted scenes that are running at warp speed through her brain; a mixture of past events and the humiliating and painful acts that she is sure are about to happen once Patton gets his hands on her again.

She feels her quivering form caught up in a strong embrace and her first instinct is to struggle like mad to get away, before remembering that it is just Olivia, her friend and lieutenant speaking soothingly into her ear and assuring Amanda that she is safe and no harm will come to her. Her body deflates bit by bit until she has melted with relief into Olivia's side, the older woman apologizing for engulfing her in such a tight bear hug while explaining the fear she has of her detective taking a tumble down the stairs and trying to prevent that from happening.

"He used to trap me in here," Amanda chokes out, more garbled confessions pouring from her trembling lips when she comes to the full realization that she is indeed safe with Olivia and Frannie, but still somewhat confused on Patton's exact whereabouts.

"No, not here...somewhere else..." Amanda frowns as she tries to collect her scattered thoughts and recall the events that had taken place in the past, reminding herself that they are not actually happening in the present. "At the precinct in Atlanta," she corrects decisively, giving a firm nod of her head. "He would push me into the corner of the stairwell, where we were out of sight if anyone came in. He would hold me against the wall and rub himself on me. He put his hands underneath my shirt and inside my pants, and he made me touch him too. I didn't want to, Liv, I swear."

The tears are pouring faster down her cheeks as she keeps her face resolutely turned away from Olivia, Frannie practically in her lap now as the dog seems to think it's her job to lick every last drop of anguish from her owner's skin. Amanda finally removes one of her hands from the death-grip she has on the railing and trails her fingers over the canine's spiky fur, the touch of both her pet and her boss helping to ground her in the current situation and begin to guide her away from the horrors of the past.

The three of them are squished into a jumble of bodies on the top step, Amanda tentatively detaching her other hand from the railing and grasping onto Olivia's wrist as the other woman assures her that she knows she didn't want to do those things with Patton. She feels Olivia's slender fingers entwine with her own and give a tender squeeze, Amanda returning the gesture as a broken sob emits from her mouth, not even sure why she is crying now but overcome with so many conflicting emotions that she doesn't know what to do with them all.

One emotion that seems to be rising above the rest and making itself known is a growing sense of guilt; the feeling only deepening and becoming stronger when Amanda thinks of how patient and kind Olivia has been with her, the older woman going above and beyond anything a boss should have to do for their subordinate. She knows that Noah is at home with Lucy, the little boy most likely eagerly awaiting his mother's return, and that Olivia should be spending Friday night with her son instead of crouched inside a smelly stairwell with her mentally unstable detective and a dog who has apparently decided that her owner is not the only one who needs her face licked.

"I think I'm okay now, Liv," she says quietly, turning her head and watching as the brunette winces and lets out a soft chuckle when Frannie swipes a wet tongue along her cheek, Amanda's heart clenching in her chest and the guilt exploding even further as she realizes why the canine is giving Olivia the same sort of affection.

A drop of liquid is trailing slowly down one side of her face, Olivia's beautiful olive complexion mottled red with her own emotions, and those big brown eyes swimming with more tears that look as if they are about to spill over at any moment. Amanda feels sick to stomach at the notion of not only taking Olivia away from her son for the evening, but exposing the older woman to a similar torment that she has already experienced with William Lewis and other men who have wreaked havoc in her life, Olivia forced to see these horrors all over again through the eyes of her detective.

"I'm fine now, Liv," Amanda murmurs determinedly as she disentangles their hands and pushes herself closer to the railing again in an effort to put some distance between herself and the lieutenant, as if this will lessen the emotional impact that her suffering is having on Olivia. "You should go home to Noah. You need to be with your son. I'm keeping you from him. You don't need this bullshit. I've put you through enough for one night."

"You've got to be kidding me, Amanda." Olivia's voice sounds stunned after several seconds of tense silence, as if the brunette has been trying to figure out what to say in response. "You are definitely not fine and I sure as hell am not leaving you like this. Noah loves spending time with Lucy and I'll see him soon. Let's just concentrate on you right now, okay?"

Amanda chooses not to answer and leans her head against the railing as her face contorts with another impending round of tears, closing her eyes against the onslaught and feeling them begin to leak out from beneath her lashes. She lets out a low sob as she twists away from Olivia's touch and slips down to the next step, embarrassment and shame and terror coiled into such a tight knot inside her chest that it is difficult to draw in a deep breath.

"Amanda, stop trying to get away from me," the older woman chastises quietly, a soft palm coming to rest on the back of her head as fingernails scratch gently against her scalp. "I know it's hard for you to be open and honest about these things and you don't like breaking down in front of someone else, but you don't need to hide from me, okay? You don't need to apologize for keeping me from my son or for trying to work through the trauma of your past. Noah is just fine but you're not, honey. You are very far from it, in fact. I'm not going to leave you alone until I'm certain that it's safe to do so. Maybe it would be best for me to spend the night to make sure you're going to be okay. I don't think I'm going to feel comfortable leaving you by yourself anytime soon."

Amanda's head is bowed down in misery as the tears continue to drip one by one off her chin to form a small puddle of grief between her feet, overwhelmed with another wave of both relief and regret at the thought of Olivia staying with her overnight. She doesn't speak as she sits there hunched over on the step, her body shuddering hard as ragged sobs continue to force themselves from her throat, neither thanking Olivia for her generosity or protesting against it.

She can feel the older woman's hands come to rest lightly on each shoulder, Olivia's fingertips kneading gently into the tight muscles and once again suggesting they get up and make their way back to the apartment, Amanda blowing out a breath and willing herself to relax. She raises her head and straightens her body with the intention of staggering to her feet and removing herself from this dank stairwell, when she suddenly locks gazes with the person responsible for the rapid descent into her previous trauma, Charles Patton loitering on the landing at the bottom of the staircase.

Amanda draws in a sharp, petrified breath, the hope that her tormenter has left her alone for the time being swiftly draining away as she watches the older man place a foot on the first step that will lead him up to her. She rears back against Olivia's chest in an effort to put some space between herself and her former deputy chief, her boots skidding on the stair below and her head knocking into the other woman's chin, clutching at Olivia's knees as she hears the surprised gasp from behind and panicking at the feeling of the brunette's hands sliding from her shoulders to her waist to lock her in place.

"No, let go of me!" Amanda yelps in alarm, scrabbling at Olivia's fingers and trying to scramble backwards again as Patton advances toward her.

"Amanda, stop! I'm just trying to keep you from falling." Olivia's voice sounds breathless and confused and slightly pained, Amanda realizing that she is digging her fingernails into the soft skin hard enough to draw blood.

"He's coming up the stairs!" she wails in horror, whirling around on the step and burying her face into Olivia's chest to avoid having to watch his assent toward her, Frannie dancing nervously beside them and letting out a loud bark.

She listens to Olivia gently shush her dog before feeling strong but shaking arms tighten around her body to draw her closer, Olivia's chin resting on the crown of her head and her hands rubbing briskly up and down her back. "Amanda, he's not here, sweetheart. We need to get you some help right now, okay?"

Amanda goes rigid in the older woman's embrace as she listens to the heavy footsteps come to a halt behind her and feels long fingers slowly lifting up the back of her jacket and shirt to expose her goosebumped skin to the stale air, her breath catching in her throat and her heart thudding wildly because she knows it's not Olivia who is doing this without her consent. She untucks her face from the folds of the lieutenant's coat and stares imploringly up at her, willing Olivia to see the man who is torturing her, but the brunette merely stares back down at her with large, dark eyes that are glimmering with tears and blatant alarm etched on her features.

Frannie has abandoned her nervous dance to slump onto the steps next to them, whining pitifully but not looking around or growling or showing any sign that she is aware of another presence in the stairwell with them, and Amanda bites as hard as she can onto the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming in frustration. She knows that Olivia is right; that she needs to get help as soon as possible and will have to deal with whatever the consequences may be, because she just can't live like this anymore.

She presses her face into Olivia's jacket again, muffling a horrified sob against the thick material as those probing fingers begin tracing up her spine, inching closer to the clasp on her bra. Her breath is emitting in short, harsh puffs, and she gags when the large hand on her back suddenly dips down toward the waistband of her dress pants, one finger hooking beneath the garment and brushing the top of her cotton underwear.

"Liv," she whimpers helplessly, frozen to the step while she clings to her boss and her dog hovers nearby, unable to put a stop to what is happening. "He's touching me."

"Oh, sweetheart, no. He's not touching you. It's just me; I'm the only one touching you right now."

Olivia's voice is full of empathy and concern, a hint of fear evident beneath, and Amanda lets herself be hauled to her feet, grateful to the taller woman for taking control of the situation and walking them both toward the door of the stairwell with careful, shaky steps, their arms still wrapped tightly around one another while Frannie trails eagerly behind them.

"I've got you, honey. He's not here. You're safe with me. We're going to get you some help and put a stop to all of this."

Amanda listens to Olivia's soothing voice as they make their way back to her apartment and she lets the brunette remove her coat and boots for her, relieved to feel only Olivia's touch now as the older woman guides her over to the couch and lowers her down onto the cushions. When Olivia runs a tender hand over her head and tells her that she's going to step into the kitchen to make some calls, Amanda instantly panics again; terrified of what comes next and unwilling to relinquish her hold on Olivia just yet, her fingers grasping frantically at the brunette's blouse.

"Don't leave me, Liv," Amanda pleads in a ragged tone, her desire for comfort and security outweighing any of the embarrassment and shame she feels at falling apart so thoroughly. "Just sit with me for a minute, okay?"

"I'm not leaving you," Olivia whispers fiercely, Amanda immediately enveloped into her embrace again as the lieutenant sits down on one side of her and Frannie hops up to perch on the other. "I'm right here, honey. I'm so sorry you're going through this. Do you still see him?"

Amanda shakes her head wordlessly, melting into the sturdy body of her friend and her eyelids fluttering closed as exhaustion takes over her body, suddenly feeling desperate for a long sleep now that Charles Patton isn't in the vicinity anymore.

"This will stop, Amanda." Olivia's voice is still ringing with a quiet ferocity, Amanda revelling in the feeling of those protective arms looped around her and wishing they could remain like this for the rest of the evening. "I know it doesn't seem like things are going to get better, but they will. I promise you that. It's just going to take some time."

"I'm afraid he's never going to leave me alone," Amanda acknowledges with a squeak of fear, images of Patton still playing on a loop inside her brain even though she can no longer see him standing in front of her or feel him touching her. "I can still his hear voice in my head, even when I can't see him. I can still hear the way he spoke to me; the awful, condescending things he said. When Kim got into trouble, he told me that he would only try to help her if I slept with him; that it was the next logical step, anyway, because our relationship was already heading in that direction and each of us could help the other out. He actually called what he was doing to me a 'relationship', like we were dating or something; like I actually enjoyed it and he wasn't doing anything by force."

"So you admit that it was done by force, than?" Olivia asks very gently, Amanda tilting her head in confusion at the question. "Earlier you told me that you let Patton do some of those things to you. You seem to be placing part of the blame on yourself, honey, when all of the blame should fall on him and only him."

"Sometimes I don't know exactly how I feel about everything that happened," Amanda confesses softly with a shrug. "My feelings go back and forth a lot. I would get so angry and frightened when he was doing those things to me, thinking how unfair it was for him to treat me that way and what a gross breach of trust it was, but then I would feel so guilty and furious with myself for going along with it. Was my job really so important that I couldn't tell someone what was going on; that I had to keep it a secret? I worried so much about my job back then and I still worry about it now...having it taken away from me for not doing what someone else wants or because I can't control whatever is happening in my brain right now...nightmares, flashbacks, hallucinations..."

"Amanda, Charles Patton had absolutely no right to threaten your job when you worked in Atlanta, and you are in no way responsible for the things that he said or did to you, do you understand me?" Olivia's voice is a combination of tender and stern once again, the older woman's fingers coming to rest beneath Amanda's chin and lifting her head up so they are looking each other in the eye. "I know how much your work means to you; I know you put your heart and soul into every single case that we get. You are one of the best detectives I have ever worked with, and your job will be waiting for you when you're ready to come back. But right now, you need to take some time away and focus on your recovery, okay? Nothing is more important than your health."

"I know," Amanda murmurs sorrowfully as it finally starts to sink in just how crucial it is to allow herself ample time to heal; to fully explore everything she has gone through in the past and attempt to put a halt to what is happening now. "I don't want to live like this. I want to feel better. I hate being so scared all the time."

"It's a terrible feeling, isn't it? I want you to feel better too, Amanda. It's very hard to see you like this." Olivia's voice is low and compassionate, and Amanda can see the tear stains on her cheeks, touched and sad that her boss feels so deeply for what she is going through and can relate so well to her pain.

"Thank you for being here with me, Liv," Amanda says in a hushed tone, determined not to start crying again as her own tears dry on her face, her thoughts and emotions still whirling like a tornado inside her mind as she contemplates how long it will take until her life returns to normal again.

"I'll always be here for you, Amanda. Thank you for trusting me enough to help you."

Amanda smiles softly at Olivia's heartfelt words, a trace of hope peeking through the agony and turmoil as she resolves to try as hard as she possibly can to fight her way through this darkness and conquer her demons. She is comforted by the knowledge that her boss and friend will be right by her side throughout the recovery process, snuggling closer to Olivia's taller form as Frannie lays her furry head on her lap, and she finally begins to feel a sense of safety and peace.