Chapter 1: Fortune Tellers

"Why do bad things happen to good people?"

That was the central question of of Olivia Bensen's life. That was the question that drove her, that caused her to get out of bed in the morning. That was the question that made her damn good at her job.

For as long as she could remember, she had a front row seat to the worst of humanity. Rape, addiction, murder, you name it, she's seen it. But not once, did she let this discourage her. No, quite the opposite. Every morning she would go into work, and look these things dead in the eye. And every day, she was unafraid. Unwilling to yield. All the more determined to come in the next day, and do it all over again.

But it got harder every day. Even her partner of thirteen years, the great Elliot Stabler, couldn't take it anymore. It had been almost a year since he threw in the towel. She almost envied him. But, she didn't have the luxury to be able to quit. She kept going. She had to.

Olivia Bensen's Positive Traits
She is brave.
She is smart.
She takes everything to heart

She was the kind of person every mother dreamed their child would become. Granted, Olivia didn't have the best childhood. That's the thing about being an alcoholic, it had a tendency to ruin bonding moments between mother and child.

Olivia Bensen's Negative Traits
She is stubborn.
She overthinks everything.
She takes everything to heart.

Olivia's greatest strength was her greatest weakness. She had the gift to connect with everyone on an emotional level. Their triumphs are her triumphs. Their pain is her pain. And she saw people in pain every day. And she did everything to do to ease people's pain. She supported the victims of her case through thick and thin. But despite everything, it never seemed to be enough.

Maybe it was just a cycle she was doomed to repeat. She grew up around it, after all. She watched her mother live with that pain every day of her childhood. It takes a real toll on a kid watch someone suffer like that.

Not that it mattered now.

It was a cold, windy day in New York City, and Olivia had taken a lunch break. There was this new shop set up near the precinct, that specialized in tamales. The woman who ran it was the sweet, grandma type. She was the kind of person who remembered all of her customers name. She was also the kind of person that could temporarily make you forget the world sucks.

She made her way down to the shop, taking in her surroundings, when she noticed something new. A brightly colored purple tent, that seemed to clash with the buildings around it.

In fancy, gold letters, the word FORTUNE was sewn into the side. Olivia let out a little laugh.

A Fact about Olivia Bensen
She did not believe in the supernatural.

But despite her skepticism, Olivia found herself walking into the tent. She was drawn to it, by some mysterious force she did not believe in.

The lighting in the tent was dim, and her eyes had to adjust to the darkness. There was just enough light to make out a woman sitting in the back, behind a small desk.

Olivia noted that, despite being a psychic, she was dressed relatively normally. No flashy outfit, no headscarfs. She wore a simple blue sweater, with blond hair that lay slightly past her shoulders.

She also seemed preoccupied. That was good, Olivia thought. She could slip out just as easily as she slipped in.

"Welcome," the Fortune Teller said. Her voice was smooth and honey-like. There was a familiar timbre to it, and Olivia couldn't help but wonder: had she heard this voice before?

The Answer to the Question
She had.

"What can I help you with?" she continued. Her back was still turned to Olivia.

The detective remained silent. She honestly didn't know why she was in the tent. She was simply curious, that's all. Its not like it would be that hard to leave, anyway. She could simply explain that she didn't believe in psychics, and be on her merry way.

But that seemed rude.

"I…" she tried to find an answer. Something that would get her in and out very quickly.

"You don't know," The woman continued, "I have lots of services. I could tell you about your love life, or perhaps you're looking for a medium of some kind?"

Olivia had no interest in her love life, that was a fact. And she wasn't about to pay some crackpot to talk to her dead mother.

So again, she remained silent.

"Hmmm...maybe you'd be interested in a wish?"

Now that was an interesting offer. A ridicules one, but interesting none the less.

Who knows, it might even be entertaining?

"Sure, Olivia said.

"Wonderful," the woman stated, "Come on in, sit down. You'll need to follow my instructions perfectly."

Olivia walked in, and sat in a slightly smaller chair in front of the desk. It felt cramped. She looked at the back of the psychics head, she still wasn't turning around.

"First, I'll need you to close your eyes."

Olivia took a deep breath, and did so. She heard shuffling. Perhaps this woman had finally turned around.

"Secondly, hold your hands together, and weave your fingers between each other. Almost like you would for a prayer."

Olivia did so. She felt the woman grip on to her hands. Her skin was soft. Olivia was tempted to open her eyes, and peek at what this woman looked like.

"Now, a wish is a powerful thing. Make sure you wish for something good."

Olivia nodded.

"If you could wish for one thing, what would it be?"

"I wish…"

"Don't say it out loud. That ruins the power."

"Sorry."

Olivia was honestly thinking out loud. She had no idea what she would wish for. What would be a good thing to wish for. A bonus? A dog? A vacation?

Or the obvious. The thing that she wished for since she was a kid. The wish that her mother had never been raped.

That would be a good one to go with, she figure. It wasn't like this would do anything about that.

"What would you be willing to give up, in order for your wish to come true?" The psychic asked. And the answer was simple.

"Everything."

She heard a small laugh from the psychic.

"Is that so?"

The detective nodded.

"So let it be, Olivia."

Olivia felt a chill run through her body. She had never told the psychic her name.

Despite the fact that her eyes were closed, the room seemed to get a bit brighter. On top of that, her chair suddenly felt slightly less small.

She opened her eyes. She was no longer in the fortune teller's tent. She was now at a dinner table.

"What?"

She looked around. She didn't recognize any of these surroundings. She noticed two other people at the dinner table. Two men, one older, and one younger. They were obviously related.

"It's so nice to have the family back together," The older one stated, "It's been far too long."

Olivia couldn't help but notice that the man looked at her as he spoke. He was talking to her. That sentence was directed at her.

"What?" She said again. The older gentleman simply laughed.

"I'm just teasing, darling," The man said. Olivia could hear footsteps approaching. Elegant, sounding. Definitely belonging to a woman.

Olivia looked, and saw the last person she expected to see enter the room. Serena Bensen, her mother. But this Serena seemed different than the mother she knew. She was not aged by addiction. She was happy.

It was in that moment that Olivia realized she had been wrong. The supernatural existed.

Her wish had come true.

This is a rewrite of a story I tried to write five years ago. I wanted to try and tackle it again, so stay tuned. Thanks so much for reading this far. Next chapter coming at you next week!