Chapter 1
Today was the day. It was the first day of the rest of her life. Detective Giovanna Rosa had just transferred from Miami-Dade county Narcotics Unit and had now been assigned to Manhattan's Special Victims Unit. The thirty-year-old beauty had had a good run at Narcotics but unforeseen circumstances had led her to where she is now. Of course she loved the thrill of the Narcotics Unit but now, she couldn't think of just herself, she had other responsibilities. Oh, she never planned this certain circumstance but now, she couldn't have been happier.
She rose from her slumber at six sharp and hauled her body to the shower. She was careful not to wake the sleeping form that lay next to her or else she would never hear the end of it. She had her outfit of the day already out and ready to avoid rummaging through the drawers and turning on lights that need not be turned on. She showered and straightened her long raven locks. She moisturized her body and applied a generous amount of make-up and made it out of the bathroom by fifteen to seven. Her body was clad with skinny black trousers, a white striped button-down, and a burgundy blazer and her trusty pair of heeled boots. She exited her room and made it quickly to the room next to her own.
Upon entering she saw the most beautiful sight, the same one she had been seeing for the past four months, the sight that had taken her breath away, and had changed her life for the better. Her daughter Beau Jolie lay peacefully in her crib, her breathing deep and even, and her little body clad with the cutest footy pajamas.
"Hey there sweet girl," she cooed to the infant who was still asleep, "Let's get you to abuela's house, yea?"
She leaned forward and grabbed the sleeping form, carrying it to the changing table to change her diaper and add her heavy coat. She grabbed the bag with the belongings of her daughter and placed the baby over her shoulder, making her way to one of the kitchen drawers that her father had most graciously adjusted to need a key. It was where she kept her gun and shield. She holstered her side arm and shield on her belt, grabbed her keys, and made it out of her apartment by seven. Downstairs the air was crisp, nipping at her face. It was going to get some getting used to, to this northeast weather even though her parents had moved here after her eighteenth birthday, leaving her in Miami with her older brother and sister. They had visited their parents for Thanksgiving or Christmas every year but usually they were only in town for a couple of days, now she had to learn how to live and work in these conditions. Oh, and let us not forget—drive.
She knocked on her parent's apartment door a little after seven. Her mother opened the door with a cup of coffee in her hands and a huge smile on her face, "Buenos días, mami," Giovanna said chipper.
"Buenos días mi vida, come inside, you must be freezing," her mother said, ushering her inside.
"And, how are my two favorite girls?" Gilberto or Gil for short asked as he entered the living room.
"Papi," Giovanna said, not amused at all by her father's biased opinion, "we're only your favorite because we're here," she finished, chuckling.
"Bueno, that might true," he said, kissing his daughter's forehead, "You ready for your first day, Gia?"
"Yea, I am," she said, sitting down with her now fussing infant, "I've been ready to go back to work since I gave birth but it's this face that makes me want to stay and never leave," Giovanna uttered, stroking the cheek of her child; her beautiful hazel eyes gleaming at her.
"Mhmm," her mother mumbled, "you better feed her too before she wakes up the entire building, Gia. Breakfast will be ready soon."
Gia rolled her eyes and smiled, fetching a burp cloth and throwing it over her chest in order to nurse her hungry child. Their conversation and banter continued effortlessly over breakfast and twenty minutes before eight she bid goodbye to her parents and daughter and made the ten-minute walk from her parents to the precinct. The hustle and bustle of the precinct put a smile on her face. She couldn't describe it; it was something out of her control.
She loved being a cop; it was all she wanted to be since she could remember. And, even though her parents had made sure she had gone to and graduated college with her degree, they let her pursue what she wanted to. She was smart, she graduated top of her class from the University of Miami with a degree in Criminology. Her father, though slightly upset that she hadn't pursued a career in law, was equally if not more happy that her daughter had busted multiple drug rings in her short four years in the Narcotics unit in Miami.
"Good morning, may I help you?" a sweet, southern blonde caught her attention.
"Oh, uh," she ran her fingers through her long mane, adjusting the box of her belongings on her hip, "I am looking for Lieutenant Benson."
"Oh," the blonde raised her eyebrows, "is there something I can help you with?"
Gia smiled, "Well, I'm Detective Rosa, the transfer from Miami," she waited until everything registered for the blonde.
"Oh, Detective Amanda Rollins," Amanda said, extending her arm.
Gia took it and shook her hand, "Giovanna but everybody calls me Gia."
At that moment a tall, voluptuous woman entered the bullpen. Gia found her stunningly beautiful. She reminded her of Sam, her girlfriend. You know, the sleeping lover that lay on her bed and would have a conniption if she were woken up after working various shifts at the numerous bars of the New York scene, "Amanda, who's your friend?" said the tall brunette.
Amanda chuckled and Gia smiled, "Actually, we've just met," Amanda begun.
"Detective Giovanna Rosa, new transfer from Miami," Gia said, extending her arm.
"Oh wow," said the brunette, shaking her hand, "I wasn't expecting you until next week."
Gia shrugged, "I know, some things got expedited and I am happy and ready to start today if that's ok with the Lieutenant," Gia said, motioning around to see if she could find said person.
The brunette smiled, "I don't think the Lieutenant would have a problem with it," she smiled, "Lieutenant Olivia Benson, welcome to SVU."
Gia widened her heterochromatic eyes, "It's a pleasure, Lieutenant."
Olivia tittered, "Same here, you come highly recommended," Gia nodded, "Well, this is your desk," she motioned to an empty desk behind a fully stocked one, "and, before you get accommodated, I would like a word with you in private."
"Oh," Gia said placing the box atop her new desk and following Olivia to her office.
"Please have a seat," Olivia motioned to the chairs in front of her desk and shutting the door before making her way around her desk, "I've given you your official welcome. Now, I want to hear from you."
Gia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This would be the moment that she had to come clean to her new commanding officer. She needed to, again, she was her commanding officer and if anyone could understand it was Olivia. And, even if she said nothing, everything was in her jacket, "Uh, Lieutenant," she bit her lip, "I worked Narcotics in Miami. My second year there I was drafted to go undercover and within three weeks, we had brought down the drug ring. I kept being drafted and I was barely on the field after that, I was mostly doing busts whilst undercover," she wrung out her hands, "Last year I went undercover to bust a ring that was using young girls as mules to carry back and forth to Colombia. Once I infiltrated the ring, I did a drop and then I got moved on to recruiting."
"I remember reading about that one, a couple of the TSA guys were part of the ring and would just look the other way when the girls would come by," Olivia added, leaning back on her chair.
Gia nodded and grimaced, "One night, the big boss was impressed with the quality of girls I was bringing in—which were more cops, girls from the academy—and he invited me to stay after their party. Thinking I could get some intel, I stayed back. Uh," Gia swallowed hard and fought back the tears, "h—he raped me."
"Oh Giovanna," Olivia said, standing and walking to sit next to her, "I am so sorry," she said, placing her hand on Gia's knee, "Where the hell was your handler?" Olivia's voice raised an octave.
Gia smiled and placed her hand atop Olivia's, "Thank you Lieutenant," she sniffled and wiped the stray tear that had escaped her eyes, "I called him the very next day once I made it to the hospital. They took the rape kit and pictures of the trauma. It took them two weeks to pull me out safely and a month later the ring was busted. I ended up being pregnant as a result of the rape." Gia searched the eyes of her Lieutenant.
"Jesus," Olivia said, running her hands over her mouth, "may I ask what happened to the baby?"
Gia smiled brightly and reached her coat pocket, "Meet Beau Jolie Rosa," she said proudly, showing Olivia the beautiful tan skinned, hazel eyed, and raven-haired infant.
"Oh, she's beautiful," Olivia exclaimed, reaching her desk for a picture of her wife and kids, "This is Noah," she said, pointing at the curly haired boy, "this is Caroline," she pointed at a blue eyed brunette, "this is Ethan," she pointed at a blonde toddler, "and this is my wife, Alexandra."
"You have a beautiful family, Lieutenant," they doted on their family pictures for a while.
"Listen Giovanna," Olivia begun.
"Gia, Lieutenant; call me Gia."
"Gia," she said with a nod, "we're all a family here and whatever you need do not hesitate to tell me or let me or one of your coworkers know. You're one of us now."
Gia nodded, "Thanks."
"Now come on, I think it's time to meet your partner," with that the Lieutenant stood and exited her office accompanied by the newest member of the squad.
Out on the bullpen Amanda talked to two men, "Fin, Carisi; meet Giovanna Rosa our new Detective," Olivia motioned to the men in front of her, "Gia, this is Sergeant Odafin Tutuola."
"Call me Fin, welcome to SVU. What'd you do in Miami?"
"Gia—I was Narcotics UC for four years," she said matter-of-factly.
Fin whistled, "That's impressive youngin'. I was Narcotics too," he said with a wry smile that Gia returned wholeheartedly.
"And, this is Detective Dominic Carisi, your new partner," she said motioning to a good-looking blue eyed guy.
"Call me Sonny, welcome to SVU. I'll teach you everything there is to know, don't worry."
"All right then, every one to work," Olivia said, raising her hands up as she turned to head back into her office.
The rest of the morning happened slowly. Gia unpacked and accommodated her belongings in her new desk. She set up her laptop the way she preferred it and she did all the correct paperwork for her transfer as well as helping out her new partner with some of his five forms. Once noon rolled around, she was too excited to go out to lunch and see her daughter. She saw the team was hesitant of her, which was to be expected. Until she could prove herself, they were bound to react that way.
She slid her card over to Carisi and turned it upside down and revealed her cellphone number, "I'll be back in an hour, please call me if anything happens. Would you like something whilst I'm out?"
He shook his head and she continued upon her way.
She made it to her parent's apartment building in ten minutes again and knocked on the door. Knowing it was she, her father yelled out for her to come in. He was about to feed Beau a bottle of her breast milk and Gia was glad she had been just in time to nurse Beau; the pressure it was creating was becoming uncomfortable.
Forty minutes after, Gia was laying her daughter on her bassinet when her phone began to chirp, "Rosa," she mumbled into the receiver.
"Hey partner," came the chipper voice of Sonny on the other end, "It's our turn to catch, we are needed in Chelsea, do you want me to pick you up?"
"Actually," she looked at her surroundings, "I am literally around the corner from the precinct, I'll be waiting outside."
"On my way!"
She pressed the end button on her screen, sent him the address, and gathered her coat. She thanked her mother for the delicious food as always and ran outside. By the time she exited the building, she recognized one of the unmarked cars of the precinct and waved him down. She entered the vehicle and began their way to where they were needed, "What do we have?" she asked.
"DV victim, battered and beaten," Carisi said, never taking his eyes off the road to which she was grateful for.
Gia physically tensed at the mention of a domestic violence victim, "D—Does it ever get easy, S—Sonny?" she asked, her words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
He chanced a glance at her and smiled, "Honestly, no but you learn to cope with it. You learn that each time you put away one of these bastards, you'll smile a little brighter."
Gia nodded and smiled, "Thank you."
The rest of the ride went smoothly. They made small talk; they got to know each other better. They never once dabbled into their personal lives and partly were because; Carisi had made that mistake before. It was best for the opposite party to open up when they were ready, not by forcing them.
At the scene, Sonny spoke to the male counterpart and Gia took Christa's—the victim—statement. She was consistent and persistent on pressing charges, stating that it had happened one too many times and that it was enough. Gia escorted her to one of the uniforms of the local precinct that had responded to the dispute call and told him to take her back to the precinct. Sonny arrested Joshua—the victim's boyfriend—and told the uniform the same thing.
On their way back, Gia didn't speak. She looked out the window at the passing cars, buildings, and people. She thought about her own relationship, how she had been in it on and off for nearly ten years. When she met Samantha for the first time she thought she was a player. Of course that had nothing to do with the fact that Sam was team captain of the girls basketball team but a real player. They had dated and at first it was all pink and white, she was attentive, she listened, she cared but catch Sam after a drunken night or do something Sam didn't like and it was like a whole other person lived in the vessel that once was occupied by the sweet, tall woman.
Carisi noticed, "Hey, Gia," he gently shook her shoulder.
Gia, startled, recoiled from his touch, "Sorry, sorry, I got lost in my thoughts there," she chuckled.
Carisi furrowed his brow at her behavior but didn't say anything, "We're back, let's go grill this guy."
A/N: Please review and let me know what you think, please!