Disclaimer: If you've seen them on the show, they belong to Dick Wolf, not me. Such is life.

This is a three part story based on Wrath. What if Elliot was Eric Plummer's fifth victim?

Please allow me a bit of poetic license when it comes to the actual events of the episode. I tried.

"You need a protective detail, Olivia," said Elliot. "You're my partner and partners watch each other's backs. This son of a bitch is attacking those you've helped and he's going to come after you next."

Olivia shook her head stubbornly. "He's going after people I care about. Going after me would wreck his whole plan. The point is to have me stewing, not dead."

"How do you know?"

Olivia sighed. "Because it's working."

* * *

Olivia got home for the evening and decided the one thing she wanted right now was a long, hot shower. She checked to make sure her apartment door was locked and both bolts were locked in place, just in case, then shook her head at what she was doing. As a cop, she was always vigilant, but this was ridiculous. Now she was just acting paranoid. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she tried to push away the thought. That was what Eric Plummer wanted. He wanted her to be afraid.

It was the most frustrating thing in the world. She knew who the guy was, but there was nothing she could do about it. Alex said they couldn't hold him on the evidence they had, so all they had to do was wait. Wait for him to make another move.

Still unable to shake away the thought, she turned on all the lights in her apartment and flipped on the TV. Even though it wasn't logical, and Olivia had learned as a detective to only play but logic, she couldn't help it. Brightening up her apartment and turning on the television made her feel safer.

She ran herself a shower and let the hot water cascade over her skin, relaxing her tense muscles and washing away some of her anxiety. Being under the warm water always soothed her and helped her to clear her head.

* * *

When she got out of the shower and wrapped a clean towel around herself, she padded to her bedroom to find a tank top and sweatpants, her general sleepwear. She noticed her cell phone flashing and flipped it open. Noticing that she had three missed calls, she rolled her eyes. "Let me guess," she muttered to herself. "Elliot, Elliot, and, oh, how surprising. Elliot." She pressed 1 for voicemail and typed her password. There were three additional messages from Elliot.

The first one said, "Hey, Liv, it's me. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Call me when you get this message."

The second one, left four minutes later, sounded slightly tenser. "Liv, it's me again. Call me."

The final one, left three minutes ago, sounded even more panicked. "Liv, I know I'm being paranoid and you're going to want to kick my ass for it, but I'm your partner and I'm worried about you. Please give me a call right away."

Sighing, Olivia deleted the messages and dialled Elliot's phone number. He picked up immediately. "Stabler."

"Hey, El, it's me." Hearing his audible sigh of relief, Olivia suppressed a smirk. "You must really miss me. It's only been an hour since I last saw you."

"No," said Elliot, feeling slightly silly. "I was just worried, that's all. We're partners and partners look out for each other. Keep your cell with you, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed. "You know, I appreciate your concern, El. I really do. But I'm fine. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"I know," he replied simply. "But you shouldn't have to."

* * *

The next morning, Olivia strode into the precinct carrying two cups of coffee, one for herself and one for Elliot. She set hers down on her desk and the other on his, but surprisingly, her partner wasn't there. That unsettled her for a moment. Elliot was never late for work. Maybe there had been an emergency with one of his children or Kathy. She tried to push the worry from her mind, then smirked when she realized she was doing for Elliot what he did for her, worrying without just cause. That made her feel slightly better and she wasn't upset with him for being protective of her. She would have done the same for him.

Fin walked into the squad room a moment later. He glanced at Elliot's vacant desk, then turned to Olivia. "Where's your partner?"

Olivia shrugged. "He probably just got held up in traffic, coming here from Queens. Or maybe something happened with one of his kids."

"Did you try calling him?" asked John from his desk, twirling a pencil in his hands.

"Good idea," she said in relief, wondering why she hadn't thought of it herself.

Pulling out her cell phone, she dialled Elliot's number. It rang six times before going into voicemail, so she hung up and tried again. But no, the same thing happened again.

What was going on? Elliot always had his cell phone on and with him. Why wasn't he answering?

She looked up at her colleagues' expectant faces and shook her head. "He's not answering his phone." Trying to calm her nerves, she tried to rationalize. "He must have forgotten it at home. Or maybe it's on low battery. Or something."

Just then, Captain Cragen stepped out of his office. "Liv, we have a situation."

Her pulse quickened and her blood ran cold. Olivia knew what he was going to say even before he said it, but still she asked, "What?"

"Kathy just called, hysterical. Elliot's missing."

Review if you want part two!