Stef looked up from her computer. Mike and a Hispanic-looking man were standing in front of her. The Hispanic man was dressed in a suit, and she noticed a detective's badge glistening on his hip.

"Who's your friend, Mike?" she asked.

"This is Detective Nick Amaro," said Mike. "He's from the Special Victims Unit."

"SVU? Is there a sex crime you need help with, detective? Mike and I would be glad to help."

"Actually, it's not a case you can really help with, Mrs. Foster," Amaro said. "I'm here about your son's case against Dani Collins."

Stef's facial expression changed. She had a dark look upon her.

"That woman deserves to be put away for life," Stef seethed. "She's lucky I don't kill her."

"Easy, Stef," warned Mike.

"I get it, Mrs. Foster," Amaro interjected, sensing the tension between the two. "I have a son and daughter. I would do anything to protect them. I'm sure you want the same for your children."

"Of course I would," Stef whispered.

"And that's why you won't have any problem in bringing your son to my squadroom. I wouldn't ask, but Collins is about to be indicted for not only what she did to your son, but also to two other boys. We need him to testify in order to make sure she stays in jail until her trial."

Stef sighed before she nodded. "I'll bring him in tomorrow, Detective. I assume you know what you're doing?"

"Ma'am, I came from Manhattan SVU in New York. I've seen a lot of things, and I've worked with countless survivors. I will do whatever I can to help your son."


As Brandon was putting away the dishes, Stef and Lena walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Love, can we talk for a minute?" asked Stef in a gentle tone.

Brandon shut the water off. "What'd I do this time?"

Stef grinned sadly. She looked at Lena for assurance. Lena patted her on the arm. She sighed before turning back to Brandon.

"The DA's office is going to be indicting Dani soon for what she did to you."

Brandon's face sank. "Dani?" he asked. "She's getting out?"

"No, no, that's not it at all, Brandon," Stef said, grabbing onto Brandon's hand. "The DA is going to be indicting, which will make sure that she will stay in jail until her trial."

"And then what? She just gets to walk around free?"

"No. She will be in jail the whole time. The thing is, the DA needs you to testify."

"Me? Why?"

"You're a witness, Love. It's the only way that will make sure she stays in jail until she is put on trial for what she did to you."

Brandon shook his head, a few tears streaming down his face. "I don't know if I can do this," he said in a shaky voice.

Stef moved forward and pulled him into her arms. "I know how hard it is, Brandon. But, Mama and I will be here with you, the whole way. Your Dad's going to be there, too. And the whole family. We'll be there to support you."

Brandon broke of the hug, nodding as he wiped tears from his face. "What do I have to do?"

"Tomorrow, your Dad and I are taking you to the Special Victims Unit squadroom," said Stef. "They handle sex crimes. There's a detective there who needs to speak to you about what happened. Once that's done, we'll just wait until the indictment. One step at a time."

Brandon nodded again. "Uh….do you mind if I go take a shower? I'm feeling really tired."

"Of course," said Lena. "I'll finish up the dishes. Brandon turned and left the room while she walked over to the sink. "I don't like this," she said.

"I know. It's not going to be easy for any of us, especially Brandon."

"Not helping."

Stef grinned. "Have faith, my love," she said wrapping her arms around Lena and kissing her on the cheek. "The detective interviewing him tomorrow came from Manhattan's SVU. I've heard some incredible stories about them. We'll be in good hands."


Nick knocked on his Captain's door. She was on the phone, but motioned for him to come in. He shut the door behind him before sitting down in front of her desk.

Suddenly, she laughed loudly. "Well, tell 'em that old Cindy Reid will knock him out if he pulls that one off," she said heartily. She laughed again. "Sounds good. Listen, I've gotta go, OK? Gotta get back to work. Talk to you soon."

She hung up the phone. "Nick, how did your interview with Brandon Foster go?"

"Difficult," said Amaro. "He's clearly suffering from PTSD. He's got all the classic signs of a survivor. He keeps wanting to blame himself for what Collins did to him. And he's nervous about testifying."

"Sounds like quite a package," she said. "Need any help?"

"You know, I might. But, I think I've got someone in mind who'd be willing to help us out. An old friend."

Reid nodded. "Give your friend a call. And take tomorrow off, Nick. You've earned it."


"Daddy, can we call Olivia now?" asked Zara.

Nick glanced at his watch. "It's almost lunchtime back in New York. She might not answer."

"Please Daddy!"

Nick sighed. "All right, let's give it a try." He grabbed his iPad and sat on the couch with Zara, waiting for someone to answer.

Suddenly, the face of one of his former workers, Fin Tutuola, appeared on the screen.

"Sup, man?" asked Fin, grinning.

"Hey, where's Liv?"

"She'll be right back, she's running downstairs to go grab Noah. Hey, look who's video chatting us instead of working!" Fin called behind him. Carisi and Rollins walked over to Fin, smiling at the camera.

"Working hard, eh?" asked Rollins.

"Captain gave me the day off."

"You already piss her off? Damn, man, that's cold," said Fin.

Nick grinned. "I've been working a lot of overtime past couple of weeks. Captain said to take off for a day. So, what's up with Noah coming to work? I thought Liv wanted him to stay away from the office."

"Sitter is having surgery done this afternoon, so the Lieutenant is going to have him here for the afternoon," said Carisi. "We were just about to have lunch."

"Who you all talking to?" came a familiar voice from behind the other detectives. They moved out of the way, showing Olivia Benson, holding her baby son, Noah.

"Well, hey there, stranger!" Liv exclaimed.

"Hey, Liv," Nick said, smiling.

"Hi Olivia, hi Noah!" said Zara excitedly. "I miss you!"

"We miss you, too, sweetie," said Olivia. She pointed at the computer screen for Noah. "Noah, can you say 'hi' to Nick and Zara?"

Noah glanced at them, looking confused. Then, he smiled. "Hi!" he said brightly.

"Hey, buddy, I miss you!" said Nick. "Glad to hear you talking now."

"He doesn't say much, but he's pretty good at the words he does say," said Liv cheerfully. "So, how's San Diego?"

"It's good. Captain is a good woman. She reminds me of you."

Liv smiled. "Glad you're working with someone good."

"Yeah," said Nick, hesitating.

"What is it?"

"I need some advice, Liv. You mind if I ask in private?"

"Sure," said Olivia. She handed Noah to Fin, and picked up the laptop, carrying it into her office.

"Zara, can you give me a minute to talk to Liv? I'll let you say goodbye when we're done."

"OK, daddy," said Zara cheerfully. She walked into the kitchen.

"What's up, Nick?" Olivia asked when she had sat down.

"There's a case I'm working. A woman who raped three teenage boys while they were drunk is going to be indicted soon. Two of the victims are good to go. But, I'm having trouble with the third one."

"What happened?"

"The woman met his Dad in AA meetings. They were dating."

Olivia sighed. "That can't be easy to process," she said. "How is he holding up?"

"About as good as you'd think. He's shaky when he talks about what happened. He keeps trying to blame himself because he was drunk. It seems like no matter how many times I told him that he did nothing wrong, he just ignored it and said he shouldn't have been drinking."

"Do you need some help?"

Nick nodded. "It'd be good. I don't really know anybody down here who would be good to help out with a case like this."

"What if you had some help from some friends?"

"I thought about it," Nick said grinning.

"You're gone a few months from us, and you're already asking us for help," Olivia said, laughing. "I'll talk to Dodds. Rollins and I have logged quite of bit of OT lately. We could use the break from the city."

"What about the squad? Who's gonna take command?"

Olivia looked at him awkwardly. It seemed like she was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Liv, just tell me."

"Fin will take care of things. He took the Sergeant's Exam about a month after you left. One PP almost demanded that he take it. He passed with flying colors."

"Sergeant Fin, huh? That has a nice ring to it." Nick said.

"Nick — "

"It's OK, Liv. You needed a solid number two."


The phone on the desk rang, and Alexandra Cabot barely looked up from the paperwork she was working on to answer.

"DA's Integrity Unit, Alex Cabot speaking," she said.

"Hey, Alex."

"Liv! Hey! What's up?"

"Uh, I hate to do this, but I gotta cancel our dinner meeting with Barba tonight. I'm headed out to California."

"Glad you decided to call me now and not while I was driving. Anything for an old friend, huh? What's up in Cali? Taking a little vacation?"

"Actually, I'm going there to help Nick on a case."

"How's he doing?"

"He seems to be adjusting well," said Olivia. "He's been assigned to a case that seems pretty hard."

"What's the case?" Alex asked, her attention fully grabbed as she looked up from the paperwork on her desk."

"It's a rape case involving a woman raping three teenage boys. Two of them are good to go, but the third is having a tough time coming to terms with what happened to him."

"Any specific reason why he's having trouble?"

"His dad used to date the woman who attacked him. And, he was drunk at the time, so he keeps blaming himself for what happened."

"Oh my god," said Alex. "Those cases are never easy, with all the stigma surrounding male victims. You got any backup?"

"Amanda's gonna come with me. I just called Dodds and got time-off approval from him for as long as we need."

"When are you flying out?"

"In about three hours. Why?"

"Well, I am licensed to practice law in California. Back when I worked for the International Crime Court, they had me prosecute a handful of cases there. My license doesn't expire for another two years. Care to have another set of eyes on this case?"

"It can't hurt."

"I'll talk to Novak, see what I can do. Text me your flight information, and I'll do my best to make sure I get on the same one."

"See you soon," said Olivia hanging up the phone. Alex hung up her phone, before picking it up again quickly and dialing a new number.

"Executive Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak speaking," said an all-too familiar voice.

"Hey, you," said Alex.

"What's going on, Chief Alex?"

Alex chuckled. "Some of the usual stuff. Which is actually why I'm calling you. I need a favor."

"What's up?" asked Casey.

"There's a case out in California that Amaro picked up. He's asked Benson and Rollins if they can come out to help him with it."

"So, what's the favor?"

"I'm wanting to go with them. I do have a license to try cases in California. I know the DA likes me in my position, but I gotta tell you, Casey, I miss the old days of helping survivors."

"I miss those, too," she said. "Felt like we really made a difference."

"And I want to do that with the case in San Diego. Is there any way I can be granted at least a temporary leave-of-absence to go and help?"

"Sure. I'll let the DA know as soon as he gets back from vacation. I'll clear you for temporary reassignment immediately. Good luck out there, Alex."

"Thanks, Casey. I owe you one."