Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and Associates and the main storyline to 'Wire in the Blood' creators ITV.

Hey all! I thought I'd post this a little earlier than expected. I know, I'm that nice! Anyway, this story is very heavy on the psychological aspect BUT there's more E/O smut…so we call it even? Now, I understand that once an E/O relationship was made obvious to IAB, they'd be forced to separate; they're not. It's explained within the story, but in reality it wouldn't be allowed to happen….give me a little leeway and just enjoy them together! Lol!

Also, this story has been adapted from the TV Show 'Wire in the Blood', the episode called "Nothing but the Night". While it may sound as though taking the idea and most of the psych talk from the show is easy, it's not. It's extremely hard and laborious – especially when I had to change the crimes to be of a sexual nature and include the Detectives in it.

So, I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to read and review!

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Morris Commission

One Police Plaza, Manhattan

Monday, October 21

9:27am

"Captain Donald Cragen"

No matter how many times he found himself fronting the committee members, he always had the distinct feeling that he had done something wrong; even if he hadn't. Maybe it was the formal attire they were all forced to show up in. Or maybe it was the frown that seemed to constantly etch the faces of those that sat on the committee.

"Captain Donald Cragen, Manhattan Special Victim's Unit," the voice repeated with a little more force.

Probably the latter, Cragen mused to himself, as he rose from the rickety chair he was seated in at the back of the room. He edged his way through the row of other disgruntled Captains and Officers and strode purposefully to the wooden pulpit at the front of the room. The small lamp that sat upon its surface emanated a heat that exacerbated the one that sat beneath Cragen's dress uniform.

The Commissioner stared down at him from the stage, "Captain Cragen, there's only one reason why we're meeting with you today," he paused, whether for dramatic effect or not, Cragen couldn't decipher, "have you made any inroads into the initial disappearance and whereabouts of Graham Kenny?"

Cragen opened his file, shifting through his notes. Despite its obvious purpose, the small lamp hardly lit up a quarter of the pages he was sifting through. The Commissioner cleared his throat loudly in impatience; the sound intensified due to the stillness in the room.

"Graham Kenny was last seen two months ago by his parole officer as part of his regular parole requirements," Cragen began, "That was Friday, August 17th at approximately 7:30am before he was scheduled to start work. He never clocked in, and has been missing since," he paused, leaning in towards the microphone a little more, "Surveillance was put on his place of residence, his parent's residence, place of work and other known haunts. Airports and State lines have been on high alert with clear instructions to apprehend Kenny if he appears at any of these places."

The Commissioner frowned, "so, basically we have no idea where this child molester is hiding?"

Cragen shifted uncomfortably, "no sir. He's disappeared…for want of a better word," he trailed off lamely.

The Commissioner didn't look impressed, "how was this allowed to happen?"

It was Cragen's turn to frown, "with all due respect sir," he stood a little straighter, "we found him and the court's convicted him – he was no longer our problem. If anyone should be here being interrogated, it's the Parole Board Representatives." Cragen's heart began to thump faster at his outburst.

Surprisingly, the Commissioner's expression softened slightly, "we understand the pressure everyone is under – especially with the sudden increase in crime. However," Cragen swallowed, "the public is up in arms and it's our duty to protect them. We need this guy found before he touches another kid"

Cragen nodded ruefully, "yes sir. But there's only so much people-power we can expend on this guy. We have a number of open cases, and several pending"

The Commissioner gave Cragen an even look, "just keep Kenny somewhere near the top of your priority list"

Cragen sighed, "yes, sir"

"Good. Next; Captain William Goosen, Brooklyn Homicide"

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(Soon-to-be) Benson and Stabler Residence

West 51st St, Manhattan

Monday, October 21

4:15pm

The sun was beating down on their backs; hot and extremely strong. It would have been somewhat bearable if it wasn't for the humidity that was almost suffocating. Moving box after box from the hired truck into their new apartment wasn't helping either, and despite their extensive police training, their muscles were beginning to tire from all the heavy lifting.

"Is that the last box?" Olivia whined, placing her hands on her hips and leaning back to stretch out her sore muscles.

They gave a satisfying crack as she moved, and she let out a contented sigh.

Elliot looked at Olivia from over a box, smiling lightly, "Olivia, quit complaining. You had ten times more than I did"

Olivia folded her arms indignantly, "I am not complaining"

Elliot chuckled, handing her the last of her boxes, "Yes, you are"

Olivia pretended to collapse slightly from its weight, "Shut up Stabler, this better be the last one"

She turned just as he used his elbow to close the door of the car, his hands occupied with a container labelled 'random stuff'. The breeze of the air-conditioner in the foyer rushed into her face as the door opened, cooling the sweat that had beaded on her forehead and arms. She sighed contentedly again at the feeling.

Olivia readjusted the box in her arms to press the button for the elevator, almost dropping it in the process. She frowned at Elliot's smirk. They had given the elevator quite a work-out; Olivia didn't realise her tiny apartment had held so much. That was until it took her two late nights and a lot of help from Casey to pack it all away. Olivia had only compartmentalised her life into boxes once before; and in that case it had only been one, albeit large container. Now she had over ten sitting in the living room of their new apartment, filled to the top with all her personal affects she had acquired through her years at the academy and the force.

Their new apartment was roomy - two bedrooms - and was closer to the precinct than their previous residences. Cragen had, had to inform IAB of their relationship as soon as they had sat in his office late in the afternoon three and-a-half weeks ago, informing him of their desire to change their living arrangements.

However, they were surprised when IAB hadn't forced any significant changes. Cragen had said that while in theory, fraternisation with a colleague was disallowed; investigations, interviews and paperwork were processes that weren't affected by one's personal relationships to the extent that a change would have to be made. He had stressed however, that if they got into situations where personal feelings would interfere with their decision-making, then they would be required to swap partners. They were aided in the fact that the voluntary wait-list to become a Detective in SVU was empty.

Munch and Fin had begrudgingly agreed with the decision, and they had since operated as if no change had occurred. Elliot and Olivia had become quite adept at separating their work and personal lives. Although, a little bit of flirting here and there helped to lighten the mood in the squad-room; even if Munch swore they were going to give him a heart-attack.

Elliot pushed the door to their apartment open with his hip, allowing Olivia to pass before entering himself. She set her box on top of the stack of others labelled 'bathroom', before heading to the fridge for some source of re-hydration.

"Oh, thank god that's over," she sighed, taking a large gulp of water from the lone bottle she found.

Elliot laughed from where he was settling his own box in the corner of the room, "we still have to unpack"

"Don't remind me," Olivia said, offering the water to Elliot.

He took it gratefully, swigging the rest of the contents in one large swallow. Olivia crinkled her nose as she watched most of it spill down his chin. Elliot grinned at her, throwing the bottle over her head and into the sink with a resounding 'clunk'. He moved closer, placing his hands around her lower back, pulling her into him.

Olivia laughed, putting her arms over his shoulders, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, "you feeling me up?"

"Of course not," Elliot scoffed, moving his hand up and under her shirt, trailing his fingers along her spine; eliciting a shiver.

Olivia cocked her head the side, smiling, before pressing her lips to his neck, trailing her tongue along the water that had made its way down from his mouth. She got to his jaw, kissing her way along to his lips. Before they could connect, she bypassed them, and continued to the other side of his face, and back down.

Elliot groaned in frustration, "Liv"

Olivia smiled wider, pressing her lips lightly against his, "what?"

Instead of answering, he moved one of his hands up to the back of her head, fisting it in her hair to pull her mouth against his forcefully. Olivia let out a surprised gasp, and Elliot took the opportunity to move his tongue past her open lips. Olivia's hands moved from the back of his head to around his waist and up his back, pulling him closer. Elliot twisted them in an awkward pirouette, until Olivia's back was up against the counter-top, the bench pressing into her lower back.

Olivia ground her hips into Elliot; making him tear his lips away from her to release a groan. They were both considerably out of breath, and Olivia took advantage of his distracted state to move her hands to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and over his head.

She ran her hands lightly over the newly exposed skin until she reached his shoulders, using them as leverage to push herself up onto the counter behind her. Elliot grinned at her agility, moving between her legs, his hands resting on her short-clad thighs.

"Feel like christening the kitchen?" Olivia asked seductively, pulling in her bottom lip.

Elliot leant forward to press a kiss to her collarbone, "You have no idea"

Olivia shivered at how gravelly and deep his voice had gotten; but before she could respond in kind, the trilling of a cell-phone came from the other room.

Elliot groaned, leaning his head against her shoulder, "you have got to be kidding me," he said, his frustration evident.

Olivia looked down. Very evident.

He lifted his head, pressing a kiss to the tip of Olivia's nose, "we'll have to pick up on this later"

He left the room to answer the phone, Olivia hopping down from the bench, her legs wobbly from the state she was left in. She could only imagine what sort of pain Elliot was experiencing.

Elliot wandered back into the room with the phone against his ear, "ok, captain. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes," he snapped his phone shut.

Elliot nodded at Olivia's unspoken question and she headed for the bedroom where some of their work attire had already been unpacked, in preparation for calls like the one they'd just received. Elliot joined her and they dressed in comfortable silence, sighing at the interruption that would leave Elliot more than a little worse for wear.

Olivia gave him an apologetic look as they exited the apartment, "poor baby"

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Marshal Residence

Park Avenue

Monday, October 21

4:40pm

Elliot and Olivia pulled up alongside a number of squad and CSU cars, where a hive of activity was occurring in front of the police tape. The tape in question was cutting off access to one of the many Brownstones that sat along the stretch of road. They exited the car, pushing their way through the mob that had converged, providing their identification for one of the officers keeping the crowd back.

"Benson, Stabler: SVU," Olivia said mechanically, ducking under the tape with Elliot, as the officer nodded.

Melinda was waiting for them at the entrance of the house, trusty file on hand. She offered them both a pair of latex gloves, before leading them into the spacious foyer. Pulling the gloves on, they were taken through the living room and stopped when they saw the body of their victim sprawled on the floor just outside the kitchen. To the side, leaning against the wall, rested an ironing board; bloody footprints staining the fabric that covered its surface, marring its flowery pattern.

"Her name's Paula Marshal, thirty-seven years old. It's hard to say what the cause of death is at the moment. It seems that there is considerable trauma to her head and torso. We found a steam iron lying in the kitchen with blood on it, which CSU is dusting for prints, so that might be the murder weapon," Melinda moved forward, pointing at the board, "The ironing board was placed on top of her, the bloody footprints suggest that she was then jumped on repeatedly, so I'd assume that there's also significant internal injuries as well"

Olivia shook her head, pulling on her gloves as she crouched down to take a closer look at the damage caused, "pre or post-mortem?"

Melinda shrugged, "Well her hands are tied behind her back to stop her from moving, so I'd say pre-mortem. But I can't say for sure until I get her onto the table"

Elliot's brow furrowed, "was she raped?"

Melinda handed Elliot the folder, "there's trauma to her pubic region, but not from penetration. I'd say she was kicked repeatedly"

Elliot's eyebrows rose, "Time of death?"

Melinda pointed to a note on the file Elliot was holding, "I estimated time of death at 12pm. It's only a rough estimation, I can tell you a lot more after the autopsy"

Elliot jotted down the points pertinent to the investigation before handing the file back to Warner, "thanks"

Olivia rose from where she was crouching next to the body, "anything else?"

Warner nodded, pointing behind Olivia's shoulder to the kitchen, "the perp left behind a message"

Olivia's eyes widened at what was staring back at her. In bold scarlet letters, the phrase "screw you" was inscribed.

Olivia pulled her eyes away, turning to Melinda, "is that blood?"

Melinda nodded, "we've taken a swab. There's so much blood here in the living room that there's every possibility that it belongs to the victim, but I'll have to get the blood work done to make sure"

Elliot tore his gaze from within the kitchen, focusing instead on placing his note-pad back into his pocket. As he looked down he noticed an array of magnetic letters lying on the floor.

"Liv, look," Elliot called, pointing at the various words that had been spelt out on the carpet.

Olivia joined his side, frowning as she read the words aloud, "dog, cat, fish," she turned to Melinda, "was this done by the kids?"

Melinda shook her head, "they've been with their father this week, and according to her neighbour, Marshal was by herself the entire week. No guests, just her"

Olivia and Elliot exchanged a look, "Get CSU to take some photos of these, and a photo of the message our perp left behind"

Melinda nodded, passing on the instructions to O'Halloran who had just finished dusting the door-frame of the kitchen.

Melinda turned back to them, "Munch and Fin have been canvassing the neighbourhood, they might have some more information for you"

Olivia smiled gratefully, "thanks Melinda, we'll see you at the autopsy"

Melinda smiled, turning back to the body that lay before her. A group of CSU techs prepared to help her move the victim, the zipper of the body bad sounded louder than it usually did in the small space of the doorway. Exacerbated perhaps by the atrocious way in which this woman's life had been taken.

Elliot and Olivia re-traced their steps back to the entrance of the residence, just as Munch and Fin appeared from behind an ambulance.

"The love-birds," Fin said; it was the way in which he greeted the two of them when it was just the four of them.

Elliot gave a wry smile, "Warner said you had something for us?"

Munch nodded, flipping through his notes, "nothing life-altering. Only that there were three suspicious-looking cars parked in the area either last night or today," Munch ran his pen down the side, "the nosy neighbour that reported that, is apparently very into vehicles and their makes, so his descriptions are supposedly accurate"

Elliot snorted, "Sounds like you built a great rapport"

Fin looked at his partner from the corner of his eye, "the guy really stuck in John's craw," Munch rolled his eyes, "gave him a run for his money in the fashion stakes too"

Olivia chuckled lightly, "anything else?"

They shook their heads in unison, "nothing. Everyone that lives on this street have their heads so far up where the sun don't shine, that they wouldn't notice their house has been broken into unless their maid's maid told them so," Fin said sarcastically.

Elliot nodded, "well, Warner gave us plenty to work on. Cragen'll want to know what's happening"

The group watched silently as Paula Marshal's body was wheeled from her house slowly and deposited into the back of the ME's van, before making their way back to the precinct.

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16th Precinct, Manhattan

SVU Squadroom

Monday, October 21

5:30pm

"What brings you to these parts Doc?" Elliot asked brightly, as the psychiatrist looked up from the newspaper he was reading at Elliot's desk.

"Your captain had me brief another detective on an open case," Huang explained, "and I'm free until this evening. Thought I'd hang around and say hello"

Olivia smiled as she wheeled the incident board into the middle of the squad room, "well, now that you're here, maybe you can help us figure out what was going on through this perp's mind"

Huang rose an eyebrow in interest, "what makes him so psychotic?"

Olivia began to tape up the photos from the crime scene, placing a large-scale photo of the victim pre-mortem in the middle, "her name's Paula Marshal, thirty-seven years old. She's a divorced mother-of-two"

"Is the ex-husband a suspect?" Huang asked, taking in the photos from the crime-scene, "there's a purposeful choice of domestic implements; maybe a comment on her as a mother? Or a wife?" He stood silently in thought.

"Well they divorced because he had an affair with a much younger woman," Elliot said, taking the seat Huang vacated, "so if anyone had a right to be angry, it was Paula. Her medical reports indicate the on-set of fatal secondary cancer, so he would have gotten the kids quite soon; no motivation there. But he does have a previous conviction for assault from when he was a lot younger," Elliot finished, reading from the police database on his computer screen.

"Who did he assault?" Huang asked.

"He couldn't handle being dumped, so he beat his girlfriend," Fin said, twirling his pen in his finger, Elliot nodding in the affirmative.

"She was raped?" Huang asked Olivia, who shook her head. Huang's eyebrows rose, "that's interesting"

"Why? She was stomped on with an ironing board, I'd say she suffered enough" Olivia replied, slightly surprised.

Huang gestured his hand at the array of photos, "well, being raped would have explained the level of violence in the attack," he turned to the rest of the detectives, "the words on the fridge, the jumping up and down on her lifeless body with the ironing board. Was anything stolen?"

Munch pored over the report in front of him, "according to the ex-husband, nothing of importance. All electronic equipment was accounted for; her purse the only thing that was gone through, the house was just trashed"

Huang rubbed his chin with his left hand, and picked up the marker with his right, "so it was a blitz attack. Anger and defiance with low-level robbery," he wrote as he spoke, before back to the group, "I really don't think the ex-husband would have escalated to this sort of violence. Was there anything in the fridge out of the ordinary?"

Olivia shook her head, "just the usual stuff, frozen veggies and desserts"

"And these magnets were where?" Huang asked, pointing at the image of the magnetic letters lying on the carpet.

"In the living room, on the rug," Munch explained.

Cragen clicked his tongue, "do we have anyone else to suspect other than the ex-husband?"

Elliot cleared his throat, "her mother said that she was having issues with an electricity company. In particular an electrician she owed money to. So they're the only two leads we have"

Munch sat back in his chair, "I get the feeling that Marshal knew her attacker. There wasn't any forced entry and the initial attack took place in the foyer, so she had to have opened the door for our perp"

Huang nodded, "on the surface that's a very natural conclusion. But I don't think that's what we have here"

"Well, what do we have?" Olivia asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Huang shrugged, "I don't know yet"