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Author's Chapter Notes:

Gotta love all these climatic chapters - lol. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The usual. Thank-you.

 

“We really need to get Ellie out of there,” Detective Benson insisted as she stared at the building with utmost concern. Detective Stabler had arrived back at the scene just seconds after he hung up with Sean and told everybody everything.


“Yeah but I’m not in too big of a hurry,” Detective Stabler replied causing all eyes to turn on him with several different expressions. Confusion, surprise, incredulous, and even concern as if they might be worried for his insanity. “Ellie being in there is a huge distraction, it’s throwing him off. He won’t hurt her don’t you get it? He is too concerned about protecting her. Ellie is his weakness.”


“I know that but even so Elliot, we can’t put off getting in there and rescuing everyone else any longer. While he won’t hurt Ellie he will definitely hurt everybody else if necessary – Ashley especially.”


“Not with Ellie there,” Detective Stabler pointed out. “Like I said he is too concerned about protecting her. His words exactly were that it was no place for a five year old. As long as she is in sight no harm will be inflicted on anyone.” Detective Benson turned her attention on Captain Craigen then and he and Detective Tutuola began looking at the building layout again causing Detective Benson and Detective Stabler to do the same.


“Jen says that is how Sean and Trevor got into the auditorium.”


“Do we dare try the playground entrance? What if those baddies are still there? They will probably be waiting for us.”


“I would like to know how Sean and Trevor got in.”


“There has to be another entrance that we don’t know about,” Detective Benson insisted. “They couldn’t have just walked through the front door without someone seeing them and I don’t think they would be bold enough to walk through the playground door either.”


“Well the only people who know the building inside and out better than anybody else would be Trevor, Brooke, and…” Detective Stabler paused for a moment and then reached for his phone in his pocket. “Dakota…” he finished while flipping it open and dialing Detective Munch’s number.


“Yeah Elliot?” He answered right when he picked up.


“Is Kota available to talk to me? I need to ask her a question.”


“Sure…” Detective Munch replied, and then a moment later a small familiar voice spoke on the other line.


“Hi Elliot….”


“Hi sweetheart,” Detective Stabler answered gently after frowning at how miserable she sounds. This only makes him that much more desperate to get her family back to her safe and sound. “I need your help with something…do you think you can be a big girl and answer some questions for me?”


“Will it help you saves my daddy an’ Ashee?”


“I’m hoping that it will help me save everybody,” Detective Stabler answered, choosing his words very carefully.


“I will do anything to helps.”


“Okay…great. I hear you know the building better than anybody – even more than Brooke is that true?”


“Uh-huh, better than anybody’s” Dakota answered and he heard the small smile in her voice and couldn’t help but grin a little himself.


“I bet you have lots of really neat hiding places don’t you?”


“Well, maybe a few…” Dakota answered casually.


“Will you tell me about them?” There was silence on the other end then. “I know they’re your secret hiding places and I have no doubt in my mind that they probably took four years to find and each one must be very special to you. But it’s important that I know as much about the Orphanage as possible honey. Especially if I want any chance of saving your daddy and Ashley at all.”


“You can’ts tell anybody else about them okay?” Dakota asked after another moment of silence.


“I won’t tell a soul. Your secrets are safe with me – and the other detectives involved with saving your family.” Kota was silent on the other end again but he suddenly heard a protective Aaron in the background speaking to her.


“Kota sweetie where are you going?”


“Just outside the door. Top Secret Detective Business with Elliot.”


“Don’t go anywhere else without telling me.”


“Who do you think I am…Ellie?” Dakota asked, and then disappeared outside the door. Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle slightly and he lay back against the pillows to the extra bed that a nurse had brought in for him with Bella lying comfortably against his chest. She has her little pinky in her mouth and she is staring quietly up at him. She had just finished throwing one of her I want my mommy or daddy tantrums which Dakota had tried desperately to take care of but when it wasn’t working Aaron took her and as soon as he did, she stopped. Angel who has been watching her brother with Bella ever since has a theory that it’s simply because he looks so much like Nick minus the brown eyes.


“Are we alone now Kota?” Detective Stabler asked slightly amused.


“Uh-huh,” Dakota answered after eyeing a couple of doctors nearby who were talking quietly amongst themselves about something that looks pretty important, and deciding they won’t know what she is talking about even if they’re paying attention.


“Okay, talk to me then” Detective Stabler replied after grabbing a red pen and turning to the building layout and he began marking off each place Dakota listed.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“I could take her out there and set her outside the playground door and then you can—“


“—No. No Trevor I am not letting you go back out there with Damien god knows where planning to do god knows what next!”


“Not letting me?” Trevor asked and Sean rolled his eyes.


Please don’t start that again, it’s getting old. And yes you are damn right I am not letting you because believe it or not you are much too important to me to risk!”


“If I were that important we wouldn’t be here right now. We would be off in Canada together like I wanted to do all along, Sean!” Sean groaned and opened his mouth to say something and Trevor interrupted. “If it weren’t for you and your stupid need for revenge I wouldn’t have even been attacked by Damien earlier you realize that right? We could’ve been far away from here right now we could’ve been free forever! But you had to go and fucking ruin it!”


“YES ONCE AGAIN I AM THE FUCKING SCREW UP AROUND HERE! THANK YOU!” Sean shouted angrily.


DON’T start with this pity shit on me again!” Trevor demanded suddenly moving so he was standing face to face with Sean and he pointed an angry finger in his face. “You are right you ARE the fucking screw up in this situation! You don’t even get to pin the blame on your father this time, I WON’T fucking let you! EVERYBODY has choices in their life and YOU chose revenge Sean! It’s nobody’s fault BUT your own this time! Your father abused you, he murdered your mother, he was an asshole and yes he deserves to fucking burn in hell for the way he treated you! But YOU didn’t have to follow in his footsteps Sean! YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO! It was your decision to make and you did it all on your own!”


Sean looked away from Trevor furiously then as if refusing to hear him anymore. “And you go on and on about how EVERYTHING in your life is broken when IT’S NOT TRUE! OPEN YOUR GODDAMN EYES AND LOOK AROUND SEAN!” He gently grabbed his face and forced him to look at him. “I’ve been RIGHT here all along and I am far from broken! Pretty fucked up yes, but not broken and I’ve loved you from the very beginning and you can be very sure that I am going to love you till the end! There is NOTHING you can do to make me stop!” He gently turned him to look at Ellie then. “And LOOK at all your DAUGHTER has done for you, even AFTER everything you've put her through! She wrote a letter to the fucking PRESIDENT to try and save YOU, Sean! WHO else would even fucking BOTHER to do THAT for you, huh?” When Sean didn’t respond he continued. “You have TWO people in this world who still think you are something special even AFTER all you’ve done and all you want to do is throw us away! If you ask me that makes you no different than Kori at this point!” He gently turned him so he was looking at the control room instantly causing Ashley, Marcus, and Q to go back to normal and for Ashley to stop communicating with Nick from across the room.


“And what about Ashley huh? The ONLY innocent person out of all of us who even has the right to complain about everything in her life being broken and yet SHE chooses not to!” Ashley arched her eyebrow upon hearing this. Is Trevor actually defending me right now? She wouldn’t say she’s never complained about her life being broken…she used to do that quite a bit actually until Nick came into her life and made it all better again…and she still does occasionally when depressed but she can see the point he is trying to make nonetheless. “She’s lost her parents, she’s lost her sister and everything that she held dear right before her very eyes, and yet she STILL goes on living and loving and smiling, and laughing – even after you’ve tried so hard to break her. She has three little girls who need her and adore her and appreciate her and not only that but an entire family,” he added while indicating to their hostages. “And you are just taking her away from them!”


“An’ for what daddy?” Ellie spoke up softly causing all eyes to suddenly go on her. “Cause your daddy was mean to you? So what’s? Mine is too…should I go around an’ take important people away from the ones who love them too?” Trevor gave Sean a pointed look as did Brian who was in Sean’s eye sight at the moment. “Should I become YOU just because you are mean to me? Even though, I KNOW you can be good, but won't be good, 'cause you likes to make bad decisions?”


“You are to NEVER be like me Ellie…do you hear me?” Sean demanded firmly, suddenly rounding on her and Trevor grinned slightly.


“Why not’s daddy? You turned out to be like your daddy how do you know I won’t be like you?”


“Because you are my better half Ellie, okay? I NEED you to understand that!” Sean insisted while kneeling down in front of her and gently taking her arms into his hands and making her look him in the eyes. He is still worried about her looking around and seeing the unpleasant things that he has done. “You have a whole life ahead of you to do great things. You are to become a police officer like we talked about do you hear me? I don’t want you to be me, I want you to catch those who are like me and put them where they belong because you can.”


“But how am I supposeds to do that when all you want to do is take everybody I loves away from me?” Ellie asked tearfully. “I love EVERYBODY in this room daddy, whether they are a Littrell or a Richardson or not! Especially my Dakota’s Ashee,” She added while indicating toward the control room. “She means lots to me Daddy…she has the biggest heart I knows an’ if you take her from me who else is going to be here to listen when the world seems scary an’ it seems like there is no place else to go?” Ashley looked at Marcus who was smiling at her some and she wiped tears from her eyes as he reached out and took her hand into his own before gently squeezing it.


“I never made any promises about Ashley,” Sean insisted trying to desperately to hold onto whatever control he has left.


“So makes a promise now daddy…”


“You are just too little to understand Ellie,” Sean insisted while shaking his head.


“She understands more than you think,” Trevor insisted.


“I understand that you are hurting someone so innocent an’ so specials to other people all because you are hurting – an’ daddy Kevy telled me that is not something that is okay to do. I get’s put in time out and get my sais taken away when I hurt people.”


“At least that is the message Kevin and I are trying to teach her but it doesn’t help us any when jackass fathers who have had five years of influence on her come in and ruin it all” Jerald said with a shrug of his shoulders. Sean narrowed his eyes.


“You know it’s that kind of cockiness that got your brother shot, you do remember that right?”


“I was just simply stating a fact and trying to make a point. If you want to set a good example for your daughter then you should turn yourself in and let Detective Stabler put you behind bars. That way she knows that when someone is bad they’re punished.”


“Yeah well that is not going to fucking happen” Sean insisted, thinking about what would happen to him as soon as he did that. He isn’t going to get to rot behind bars, he will get a much more final punishment then that and he is not willing to accept it. Shaking his head on that thought, he let go of Ellie, got to his feet and he stormed off toward the control room angrily. Jerald noticed the fear in his eyes just before he walked away so it wasn’t that hard to guess what made him suddenly become hostile again. Trevor sighed heavily and looked at Ellie who was looking up at him tearfully and Trevor gently squeezed her shoulder.


“Don’t give up Kid…you’ve gotten to him, it’s a start.” Jerald sat there and watched Ellie in silence for a few moments and then gently handed her over to Kristin before getting up and he started for the control room only to have Trevor reach out and grab his arm.


“Where do you think you are going? Just because you are Ellie’s Uncle it doesn’t give you free reign to do as you please.”


“To have a word with Sean.”


“You can wait until he decides to come back down here where I can see you.” Jerald rolled his eyes.


“I’m not going to hurt him. Did you forget who my niece is?”


“No but I am sure you would do just about anything to get yourself and everybody you care about out of this building wouldn’t you?”


“Like I said…I’m not going to hurt him. Believe it or not I might actually be going up there with Sean’s best interest at heart.” Trevor stared at him through narrowed eyes for a couple of moments, and then reached over and gently took Ellie from Kristin before handing her over to Jerald.


“If that’s the case then you should have no problem taking her with you.” Jerald rolled his eyes and then headed for the control room with Ellie rested on his hip and Trevor watched his every move though he stayed rooted where he is. When Jerald made it up to the control room he walked in causing Sean who was gazing at the cameras to turn and look at him and he narrowed his eyes.


“Who gave you permission to come up here?!”


“Trevor did so long as I had Ellie with me,” Jerald shrugged. He sat Ellie down then who instantly went to Ashley and threw her arms about her in a hug and Ashley hugged her back with her one free arm. While Ellie was doing this Jerald moved closer to Sean so he was standing next to him and he spoke in a quiet tone so that Ellie won’t over hear. He wanted to go up there and have a discussion without the fired up five year old.


“Turn yourself in Sean.”


“I already told you no. Take Ellie and get your ass back down there” Sean said in a low voice.


“If you love Ellie as much as I think you do, you will do what’s really best for her.”


“Nothing good can come from me turning myself in and you know that. Even she knows that and it will only devastate her. I lost my mother to death at her age and it destroyed me just seeing it happen. What do you think it’s going to do to her just knowing about it?”


“We’ve all promised her that as soon as you were arrested we would take her to the president himself and fight for your life…not that you really deserve it but it’s what she wants most and we love her so we’ll do it for her.”


“And do you really think its fair for you to make that promise to her when you know realistically there is nothing you can do to save me?”


“None of us made any promise to her that she would win we just said we would let her have her fight. It’s what she wants.” Sean looked away from him as unwanted tears threatened to form in his eyes. His daughter fighting to save his life after all he’s done to her is such a powerful love that he can’t even begin to comprehend. It makes him feel angry it makes him want to punch something – or someone more than anything.


“What good would it do for me to just turn myself in just so she can suffer more?”


“I don’t know…maybe we can figure something out. But the more she sees you do bad things the more influence it is having on her.”


“Maybe I don’t want to turn myself in just to die did you ever think of that?” Sean asked moodily.


“Not even for your daughter who has done nothing but love you even when she got nothing in return?” Sean continued to look away from him refusing to let him see the tears. Jerald stared at him for a long moment in silence. “Well you should’ve thought about this when you still had a chance to run away to Canada huh? Whether you do it willingly or not you are going to prison Sean. I just thought maybe you might want to do just one more good thing for your little girl, that’s all.”


“I fail to see how turning myself in to the death penalty will do any good for her.”


“Like I said before…we could’ve figured something out. Kevin and I have a pretty good relationship with Elliot.”


“Your relationship with the blasted Detective isn’t going to save me.”


“Maybe it will and maybe it won’t. But we can come up with a way to help Ellie deal with the situation nonetheless.”


“Just go away.”


“Come on just—“


“--GO AWAY. TAKE ELLIE AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, NOW! BEFORE I DO SOMETHING THAT I REGRET LATER! I AM DONE WITH ARGUING WITH YOU!” Jerald sighed heavily and opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of Ashley looking at him. He turned his attention on her and she gave him a pointed look down at Ellie and then motioned toward the auditorium, clearly telling him that she wants him to do as he is told. He arched his eyebrow at her suspiciously as he had not been part of the scheming that was going on behind the baddies’ back. Ashley gave him another look toward Ellie and then motioned toward the auditorium once more before giving him a trust me look. He looked at Marcus who gave him a short nod of his head and deciding that since security was in on whatever she is up to it must be something good. He went over and gently took Ellie from her and hugged her close.


“Come on sweetie,” He told her gently and he began carrying her out of the room. Sean remained standing at the cameras with his back turned looking like he were looking for something important – Damien maybe? Whoever it was, Ashley didn’t care. She looked at Marcus and quietly handed him the Tazer guns. He passed one to Q and while they both slipped them into their pockets she made eye contact with Nick who to Ashley’s bewilderment was looking paler by the minute. She needs to get him some help. And help she will get him even if it is the very last thing she does.


“I love you,” She mouthed and he gave her a weak smile.


“Love you too,” he mouthed back.


“I’m going to get you help.”


“Don’t worry about me baby, get yourself some help.” Ashley shook her head and gave him a firm look making it very clear that if he thinks she is going to do that he is out of his mind. She looked to Marcus then who was currently sneaking guns for himself and Q with Sean still oblivious and Ashley reached out and gently touched Marcus’s shoulder getting his attention.


“I want one,” She mouthed. Marcus raised his eyebrow and then leaned over and whispered very quietly into her ear so that only she would hear him.


“Do you even know how to shoot a gun?”


“What’s so hard about it? Just aim and pull the trigger.”


“It’s one thing to sit here and talk about it but it’s a whole different ball game when it actually comes to doing it.”


“The only thing I have my mind set on doing right now is getting Nick out of this building and the help that he needs. And I think I’ve proven that at this point I am capable of doing just about anything for Nick. I will blow the brains out of anyone who gets in my way.”


“Even Sean and Trevor?” Marcus whispered in her ear and he gave her a curious look.


“Sean and Trevor are off limits for Ellie’s sake. I will however, injure them greatly if I must – I spent years enduring the pain they inflicted on me, it’s only fair.”


“What about the kids?” Q whispered in Marcus’s ear after casting a glance toward Sean who currently had his face hidden in his hands and seemed to be suffering inner conflicts at the moment. “We need to remember that they are here we can’t cause any danger to them.”


“Too bad Kota isn’t still here…I’m sure she could’ve led them out of here no problem.”


“No,” Ashley whispered and she shook her head. “I am glad that Kota isn’t here. If she saw the state her father is in…”


“What if we get Jerald to talk Ellie into leading them out somehow?”


“I don’t see that happening…as soon as we stir up trouble for Sean she is going to want to stay here more than ever.”


“Well we need to get them somewhere safe nonetheless,” Ashley insisted quietly.


“Stacy,” Marcus said after a long moment of thinking about it. “Stacy, Leslie, and BJ. They are all small enough to fit in the air vents. They could lead the kids out.”


“And Riley,” Ashley added while turning her head and looking down at Riley who Brian was currently soothing. “Riley is going to have to get out of here somehow too because as soon as guns start firing…”


“I don’t understand why Brian didn’t send her and Jackie out of here when they had the chance.”


“Sean wouldn’t let them. At least Riley and Kristin’s family are all gone.”


“Why is Kristin still here? She and Kev aren’t even engaged.”


“She refused to leave Kevin.” Marcus raised his eyebrow and Ashley shrugged and couldn’t help but smile a little.


“Hey, look at it this way at least we know she loves him…if it were Summer she would’ve jumped at the opportunity to leave.”


“Well Kevin isn’t even here anymore and she is in danger. I think she should take Ellie and Riley and see if she can fit inside an air vent and go with the kids.”


“Riley isn’t going to be able to crawl through that air vent. Trust me, I’ve been up there…I know.” Marcus and Q made eye contact then and they silently sat there racking their brains. They were armed, they were ready, they had a strategy, and they just need to get as much people out of the way as possible – Riley and the children being their top priority.