Olivia was shuttled down to Earth with the others on a trio of X-302s. Jack, Teal'c, and Sam piloted while Olivia and Daniel sat in the second seats. It was far different than flying in a commercial airplane, and Olivia gripped her seat with white knuckles all the way to the ground.

When the landing crew helped her out of the ship, she tried to hide her trembling limbs.

"Have fun?" Sam asked playfully.

Her stomach had tied itself into knots on the short flight. "Sure."

By the time they had driven the distance from the airfield to Cheyenne Mountain, her shaking had ceased. She eyed the concrete facility with fascination as they descended into its bowels. Olivia didn't like the idea that they were inside a mountain, going ever deeper. So deep they had to switch elevators to keep going down. Just what would it take to have the whole complex crushed under all that weight? She had never considered herself claustrophobic, but it was hard not to feel a little nervous.

The walls were gray, and each room they passed looked like the room before it, with only slightly different equipment to distinguish. Colored lines ran along the floor, but Olivia doubted they would have been enough to keep her from getting lost. The others paid no attention, walking down corridors they had traversed thousands of times before.

When they reached the infirmary, she found it to be as uncomfortable as any hospital she had entered. It boasted the same sterile smell, and the same ubiquitous white sheets on the beds. A nurse led her to one of the beds and curtained it off for the illusion of privacy.

The nurse smiled warmly, and proceeded to take her blood pressure and other various vitals. She left and was replaced by a short woman with fiery red hair.

"I'm Doctor Janet Fraiser."

"Olivia Benson." She offered the woman a small smile. She seemed friendly enough.

"How are you doing with all this? Must be a lot to sink in." Janet felt around Olivia's neck through latex gloves. She didn't even bother to speculate what the doctor was looking for.

"Yeah, I guess it is. I'm ok." And because Janet actually sounded interested, she felt her anxiety easing.

"That's good to hear. We do have psychiatrists with top clearance, if you ever decide you might want some counseling."

Olivia nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Janet's smirk told Olivia that she knew there was no intention on her part to follow through. She began to prepare some needles to draw blood. "Sam told me that you took a sustained session with a ribbon device."

"I'm guessing that's that hand thing?" At Janet's nod, she frowned. That was definitely something she'd like to forget. "Yeah."

"Any lingering side-effects? Headaches, dizziness?"

The needle went into her arm with practiced skill, and Olivia shook her head as the vial was attached and filled. "No, nothing."

"Ok. We'll get you an MRI then you'll be all set."

She smiled a thanks at the doctor. Soon she'd have to go in front of the general and give her account of what had happened. Something else she wasn't really looking forward to.

*

Elliot slept in the cribs, facing the wall. If he went home it would just mean an argument with Kathy. She would be worried about his wellbeing, and he wouldn't be in the mood to reassure her. Kathy knew about Olivia being missing, so she had largely left him alone. Cragen had ordered him to go bunk after giving a disapproving frown to the grime on his shirt and the bags under his eyes.

An entire week had passed with absolutely no word, so he thought it wasn't that damn surprising if he wasn't exactly in peak form.

It was getting difficult to push back the certainty that she was dead. There was nothing but his own hopes and knowledge of her tenacity to suggest otherwise. But being stubborn could only get a person so far. She was capable, but no superhero.

When the door creaked open, he paid no attention. Elliot expected it was just some overworked detective looking to bed down for a few while waiting for some piece of evidence to process. The mattress opposite to him creaked, and he was irritated that in an entire room of beds that this person would edge in on his privacy.

"Cragen was right, you do look like shit."

He blinked at the voice, not sure what to make of it. Elliot turned around, wondering if he was finally losing it. And when Olivia smiled at him from the opposite bunk, he couldn't be certain he wasn't. "Liv?"

"Forget me so soon?" She feigned hurt.

He sat up and grabbed her shoulders, finding them solid. In the same motion he stood, pulling her up into a tight hug. He tried to remember how to form words. "You're here? You're ok?"

"Not for long if you don't let up," Olivia grunted against his shoulder.

They weren't much for physical contact in their relationship, it just wasn't how they worked.

Elliot pulled back, but he didn't let go of her. "This isn't funny."

"I know. I'm ok, El."

She looked ok. Clean clothes, no obvious signs of injury. In all his imaginings of actually finding her alive, unscathed had never been a likely scenario. "What happened?"

"Got jumped down there, knocked out. We were held in a warehouse until they found us. I've been stuck giving reports and getting checked out until now." Her face showed that only the last part was truth. They worked together long enough for him to recognize that crease between her eyes that told him she was saying something she didn't feel comfortable saying. Just as she recognized his look of disbelief. "It's the best I can tell you."

He frowned. A lot had happened, he could tell by her face. He didn't want to let it go, but he would for now. "Ok."

Olivia smiled in appreciation. She sighed the way she would after a long shift. "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."

"I'll go see if Munch and Fin want to join us."

They both smiled as they walked out of the bullpen.

A/N: I'm writing up a little epilogue for this, a lot of fluff. It just doesn't feel like it would fit in tacked onto the story itself. As I said, would love to hear what you thought.