"I'm just sayin', Rollins, ya can't get good cannoli outside of Staten Island," Carisi said, stabbing the air with his hand to drive home his point.
Rollins followed him off the elevator, shaking her head. "Little Italy exists for a reason, Carisi. That's practically the birthplace of cannoli."
Carisi made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat and glared at Rollins, "Ya kiddin' me? That's nothing but a cheap knockoff of the real deal."
He dropped into his chair and kicked his feet up, "You'll see, I'm gonna bring authentic cannoli back when I visit my ma this weekend."
Rollins rolled her eyes and looked over at Fin. "Hey, Fin," she asked, leaning forward, "where's the best place to get cannoli?"
Fin was saved from answering when his phone rang. He grinned and held up a finger, "Detective Tutuola."
He spoke quietly for a few minutes before hanging up. "Carisi, with me. We got a reported rape at the hospital." He stood up and swung his jacket on before heading into Olivia's office to tell her that they were on the way out.
Carisi headed for the elevator, asking, "What's the deal?" when Fin caught up with him.
"No idea," Fin said as the doors slid shut. "All I know, super found the woman in the hallway outside of her apartment. Arms and legs were all cut up and bruised. Doc said it looked like it could be rape."
"Sick bastard," Carisi muttered under his breath, unable to contain his emotions when it came to victims.
Carisi knocked on the door to the victim's hospital room while Fin talked to her doctor.
"Hi, Julianna Bishop? I'm Detective Carisi, SVU," he said, voice soft as he stood in the doorway.
He gave her a cursory look. She was pretty, even with the bruising and stitching across her face. There was dried blood in her matted hair, dark rust colored against the strawberry blonde. The doctor had said she was 28, but she looked younger, drowning in the hospital gown and curled in on herself.
The woman looked up from her hands, eyes wide. "Oh," she whispered, voice shaky even on that one syllable. "Hello."
"Mind if I come in?" he asked, notepad already in hand.
"No, um, I mean, you have to..." she trailed off.
Carisi smiled carefully, trying to set her at ease, "Yeah, I'm gonna ask a few questions. We can go as slow as you want."
He stepped into the room and took a seat in the chair against the wall, leaning his elbows on his knees; he poised his pen over the notepad.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" he said, giving her a wide berth to start taking.
Julianna blinked owlishly and chewed at her lower lip. "Um, it...I was coming home from my friend's birthday party. We...a couple friends were walking with me, but I turned down 2nd instead of...I live in a different area."
Carisi nodded, listening intently.
"I was almost inside," her voice cracked. "He, um, he grabbed me. My arm," she shifted, showing Carisi her left arm and the purple, finger-shaped bruises around her bicep.
He winced, "Looks painful."
Julianna shrugged, "I don't feel them really. It's everything else that hurts more."
"Sorry," Carisi looked sheepish, "stupid comment."
"No, it's fine," Julianna said, shrugging a bit. "It all feels a little surreal, to be honest. I don't think it's sunk in? It happened so fast. After he grabbed me."
Carisi leaned back in the chair, "It's okay if ya wanna stop. We can come back."
She shook her head, "No, I know how this works. It's...you're more likely to catch him when you get the details, right?"
"That's true," he said, "but if you're uncomfortable, we can pause. Let you catch your breath."
Carisi waited while Julianna looked down at her hands. He noticed that her fingernails were stained with blood. Her arms were wrapped with gauze and he wondered how deep the knife wounds were.
"He made me beg," she said suddenly, snapping Carisi from his thoughts. He focused on her intensely. "For him to...to...he wanted me to beg. Every time I said 'please', he cut a little hole in my arm. Then my legs. After...after a while, I don't know, it felt like forever, he shoved me against the wall and...and that's when. When he...raped me." She shuddered, gaze fixing on the wall behind Carisi and eyes going glassy.
Tears rolled steadily down her cheeks and Carisi pulled the handkerchief from his breast pocket. "Ms. Bishop?" he said her name to get her attention and offered her the piece of fabric.
"Thanks," she whispered, taking it and wiping her eyes. "You've seen me cry, you might as well call me Julianna. But, I don't...I know I was drunk and I shouldn't have...I know he wouldn't…"
"Don't do that," Carisi cut her off firmly, but gently. "This is not your fault."
Julianna nodded shakily. "I just can't help but think..."
"Don't do that to yourself," Carisi said again. "Rabbit hole ain't a good place to find yourself."
Tears rolled faster down Julianna's cheeks. She swiped at them as best as she could, but before she knew it, she was sobbing in earnest.
"Hey, whoa!" Carisi jumped up from the seat and moved closer to the bed. "It's gonna be okay."
Julianna sobbed. "Oh my god, oh my god!" Her breathing shallowed and her heart monitor blared. Carisi winced at the telltale signs of a panic attack. A nurse ran in and administered a sedative. Fin hung back in the doorway, watching.
Carisi didn't move from the side of the bed until Julianna was peacefully knocked out. He frowned, watching her breathe until Fin called his name.
"Yeah?" Carisi turned, closing his notebook and shoving in his inside jacket pocket.
"Anything useful?" Fin asked, tilting his head in a motion that Carisi understood to mean they should head back to the precinct.
"Nothing really. Came home from a friend's birthday, guy got her outside her apartment. Blames herself," Carisi sighed, giving Fin the outline of Julianna's story. "What'd the doc say?"
"Cuts are mostly superficial, except for a few deeper ones. She's got a mild concussion, bruising, and a fractured rib," Fin scowled. "Nothing under her nails except a few fibers and no semen. Bastard wore a condom."
"It sorta seemed like she knew him," Carisi said, thinking out loud. "I can come back later and question her again."
He looked back as they headed for the elevator. His gaze was drawn to Julianna and he scrunched his eyebrows together.
A few hours later, after getting a call that Julianna was awake and calm, Carisi left Rollins and Fin to scour the street cameras from the area around her apartment and went back to the hospital.
"Knock, knock," he said, smiling a little bit. Julianna looked up and gave him a little smile back.
"Hi," she said quietly, her voice horse. "Sorry about earlier."
"Don't worry about it," Carisi waved her off. "I've seen worse. I brought ya a snack," he held up a white paper bag and shook it a bit. "Figured you might be hungry."
Julianna's eyes lit up, "Seriously? You're a saint. I'm hung-over on top of..." she paused, frowned, and gestured in a vague hand wave, "everything else."
Carisi shrugged, "I'm no saint, just a guy who can recognize the look of a hangover from 3 miles away."
That got a smile from Julianna and Carisi felt a strange sense of accomplishment. He sat down in the chair he had vacated earlier and scooted it a little closer, handing over the pastry bag.
"Cannoli?" Julianna peered inside the bag and looked back up at Carisi. "That a hangover cure I wasn't aware of?"
Carisi laughed a little, "Nah, figured you could use somethin' sweet. They're second rate Little Italy cannoli, not like the authentic thing from Staten Island. But good enough."
"Well, thank you," she said, delicately pulling one from the bag. "I appreciate the concern."
Carisi let her bite down and chew before he asked, "You think you're up for some talkin'?"
"Yeah," Julianna brushed powdered sugar off of her lips. "It's sunk in a bit. I'm calmer."
"Good, I'm glad," Carisi smiled. "Now, think you could give me a description of your attacker?"
Julianna blinked slowly and Carisi watched as she drew in on herself. She put the half-eaten cannoli back in the bag and crossed her arms over her chest. She spoke slowly, "No...n-no. I don't think I can."
Carisi frowned. "Didja see his face?"
"No," Julianna said, but she couldn't meet Carisi's eye.
"Look, Ms. Bishop," Carisi scrubbed a hand over his face, "We can't help ya if you don't help us."
"I...I didn't see. He was wearing a mask," she protested firmly.
"Okay," Carisi said, an eyebrow raised. He knew she was lying, but about what, he wasn't sure. "Can ya give me a build? Height, weight?"
"Big, over 6 feet," she said slowly. She chewed at her lower lip, breaking open the cut that was there. She winced at the taste of blood.
"Here," Carisi handed over a tissue plucked from the box on the side table. Julianna accepted it with a small nod and dabbed at the cut.
"You know, if you're protectin' someone..." he let the sentence trail off.
"I'm...you don't understand," she sighed, voice taking on a pleading note. "I didn't see his face, so I don't know!"
"Okay, but," Carisi stood up and pulled his card from his jacket pocket, "if you remember anything or if you need anything, just give me a call." He scribbled his cell number on the back.
He handed Julianna the card instead of putting it on the side table. She fiddled with the edge of the card and didn't look him in the eye as she said, "thanks."
He gave her a tight-lipped smile and gestured vaguely, "Eat the cannoli. They're pretty good."
Julianna watched as he walked out, her whole body in pain. As soon as she couldn't see Carisi any more, she let out a little sob and wiped at her eyes with the damp tissue clutched in her fingers.
"She's not gonna talk," Carisi grumbled, storming back into the precinct. "I know she knows somethin', but she's not gonna talk."
He threw his jacket down on his chair and kicked at the side of his desk.
"Whoa, whoa," Rollins held her hands up. "Carisi, calm down. We've had vics not want to talk before."
Carisi glared at her, "When the vic knows who did it that means it could happen to them again. I want her to...she should get justice."
Rollins looked at him carefully, considering. She frowned, "be careful, Carisi."
"Careful of what?" he grumbled, tapping away at his computer. "We get any video of the assault?"
"No," Rollins said. "Camera angles are all wrong. We've got Julianna entering her building, but that's it. Camera near her apartment didn't get the alcove."
"Dammit," Carisi growled.
"Friends say nothing was unusual about Julianna that night," Fin said, coming into the squad room with Olivia. "Looks like we've got nothing unless she can give us a description."
"Then we've got nothing," Carisi said. "She's not talking."
Olivia crossed her arms, forehead creasing in concern. "We'll keep on this, but it's not top priority anymore. We have nothing to go on, so focus on other cases for the time being. Anything comes up with Julianna's case, we pursue it then."
"Got it, Lieu," Rollins said. Fin and Carisi quickly voiced their assent too.
"Gotcha!" Carisi shouted playfully, grabbing Noah around the waist and sending him flying through the air like an airplane. Noah shrieked wildly and flailed around, nearly kicking Carisi in the head.
"More Uncle Sonny!" he giggled when Carisi put him back on the floor.
"Nah, come on kid, we gotta get some food in ya before your mom kills me," Carisi grinned, shepherding Noah into the kitchen of Olivia's apartment.
"No veg'batles, Uncle Sonny!" Noah announced, climbing up onto the stool. He rested his chin in his hand as Carisi went about gathering a box of macaroni and two different types of cheese.
Carisi grinned and nodded. "Sure, kid. No vegetables. It'll be our little secret?"
"Yeah!" Noah pumped his fist in the air. "I'm gonna play."
He slipped off the stool and ran into the living room. Soon enough, Carisi could hear the kindergartener making play lightsaber noises. While Noah was distracted, Carisi grabbed a head of cauliflower out of the fridge and chopped it up quickly and finely so he could hide it in the mac and cheese. He'd learned the trick after both Olivia and Amanda had yelled at him for abandoning vegetables in favor of being the 'favorite uncle'.
Carisi hummed a song as he melted cream and cheese together. "Hey! Noah, you want extra cheesy?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Noah cheered. "And I want sauce!"
Carisi winced. The kid had taken a liking to his ma's tomato sauce and liked putting it on everything. He poked his head into the fridge and couldn't find any.
"Sorry, kid. No sauce. But I'll have my ma make some and send it over, okay?" he shouted, but Noah didn't answer. Carisi looked over the counter and saw Noah deep in focus on building something with his Legos.
"Okay," Carisi muttered to himself. "Movin' on from the sauce."
He was nearly done when his phone rang. Shifting the wooden spoon to his other hand, he fished his cell from the pocket of his jeans.
Unfamiliar number.
"Huh," Carisi shrugged and slid to answer. "Carisi."
"He did it again. I'm so sorry to call oh god," the female voice on the other end of the line was familiar, but Carisi couldn't place it.
"I'm sorry, who is this?" he asked, curious and slightly on edge.
"I shouldn't have called. I shouldn't. He's going to know. Oh god. I'm sorry. Forget about it," the woman babbled on and a light bulb went off.
"Julianna?" Carisi raised his eyebrows. "What happened? It's fine. It's okay to call. Let me help."
"No, no. It's fine. It's fine. Just... just forget it. Please," her voice cracked on the last word and the line went dead. Carisi looked at his phone dumbly.
He made his decision quickly.
"Noah?" he called slowly. "Get your shoes. I'm gonna leave ya with Mrs. Lockhart. I gotta run and get more food."
"Aw, I don't wanna," Noah grumbled. "She smells funny."
"Don't be rude," Carisi corrected automatically, gathering his jacket and badge. "Come on. I'll be back before you can even count to a hundred."
He hoisted Noah onto his hip and pulled Olivia's door shut behind him. He deposited the boy with Olivia's neighbor, promising to be back as soon as possible.
He texted Olivia before he sped to Julianna's address, flipping lights and sirens on as he drove.
He took the steps two at a time, worried the elevator would be too slow. There was nothing strange in the hallway, but Carisi wished he had his gun. He knocked on the door.
The door opened a crack and one green eye peered out. It went wide upon seeing Carisi and the door pulled open a little bit more, just enough for Carisi to see the right side of Julianna's face.
"I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have come," Julianna said softly, immediately looking past Carisi and scanning the hallway.
"You called, I came," Carisi said simply. "Everything okay?"
"Fine, it's totally fine," Julianna gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Look," Carisi said, leaning in a little. "I don't know what's happenin' here, but ya called for a reason. I want to help you."
Julianna's eyes blazed angrily. "Yeah, you don't know what happening. I made a mistake calling you. Just...just back off, okay?"
Carisi held his hands up in surrender. "I don't wanna make trouble for you. I'll go. Take care of yourself."
Julianna shut the door firmly in his face. Carisi scowled at the cheap wood. He shook his head. He took the steps back the lobby; he had to get back to Noah before Olivia's conference ended.
He bumped into a man on the steps a floor below Julianna's. "'Scuse me," he muttered. The other man's shoulder hit Carisi's hard and he stomped up the stairs without acknowledging Carisi.
Carisi scoffed and rolled his eyes. He got back in his car, consumed with thoughts of Julianna Bishop.
"I hate it when they actually make contact," Carisi grumbled, holding a handful of gauze up to his nose. Rollins laughed and handed him fresh gauze.
"It's your own fault, Carisi." She shook her head, "you provoked him."
"I didn't provoke him!" the detective protested. "I was tryin' to build a rapport."
"And you pushed too far," Rollins sighed.
"Aw, quit it. Just check on the doc, will ya? I wanna get outta here," Carisi grumbled good-naturedly.
"I'm going, I'm going," Rollins held up her hands and walked away, leaving Carisi sitting on a gurney in the ER. He pulled the gauze away to inspect it and a spatter of blood landed on his suit pants.
"Damn," he cursed, fighting the impulse to wipe at it and smear it deeper into the fabric. He pressed the gauze to his face again and winced at the pressure against his broken nose. He thunked his head against the wall behind him, trying to staunch the blood flow.
A sudden flurry of activity caught his attention. He looked up and saw a handful of doctors run by, pushing a gurney and shouting incomprehensibly. He watched as they pushed the gurney into a corner and dragged a curtain around the bed. Carisi craned his neck a little, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Rollins appeared a few moments later, physician's assistant in tow.
"Here's your doctor, Carisi," Rollins rolled her eyes. He smirked at her.
The PA looked at Carisi's nose, gently prodding it much to Carisi's displeasure. "Well, it's definitely broken, Detective. The bones seem slightly out of position, so I'll set them, put a cast and then you can get out of here."
"Sounds good to me, doc," Carisi shrugged. "I just wanna get out of here and back to work."
"You want me to hold your hand, Carisi?" Rollins teased, leaning against the wall.
"Bite me, Rollins," he ground out as the PA set his nose. "Fuck!"
"Sorry," the PA said briskly, "it hurts more when you know it's coming. I'm going to put the cast on and that should probably stop the bleeding. I'll send you home with some gauze anyway."
"Thanks," Carisi winced, feeling tired all of a sudden. The adrenaline was wearing off and his whole face was throbbing. He waited for a few minutes while the PA bandaged up his face and when he got the go-ahead, he hopped off the gurney.
"Good to go, Rollins. Let's get back to work," he grinned, swaying a little on his feet. Rollins caught him under the arm.
"Nope, you're going home, Carisi," she said. "The world won't fall apart if you decide to take a nap for a few hours."
A headache was forming behind Carisi's right eye. Maybe Rollins was right.
"Alright, I guess a nap couldn't hurt," he conceded.
"No physical activity for at least two weeks, running and the like," the PA called out as she walked away.
"Aw. Lieu's gonna put me on the desk," Carisi groaned. He pushed his hand through his hair and stumbled over his feet a little.
"Maybe that's a good thing," Rollins said, walking them towards the exit.
"Eh," Carisi shrugged. There was activity by the curtained off gurney and it drew his attention. "Wonder what happened there?"
"If it's for us, we'll hear about it," she said simply. "Let me grab your discharge papers and you can sign."
Carisi waved in the air, rubbing at his temples with his free hand. There was way too much stimulation going on right now. His head felt like it was going to explode.
There was a loud cry of pain from behind the curtain and Carisi's head snapped to the side. He pushed off from the wall and poked his head around the curtain. Two nurses were working to clean up the blood from the woman's face and body. Carisi instantly recognized the strawberry blonde hair.
"Julianna?" he stepped further behind the curtain.
"Sir, you can't be here," one of the nurses stepped forward and tried to push him away. He showed off his badge, "NYPD. It's fine."
She frowned, but stepped back.
"Ms. Bishop?" he stepped forward. "It's Detective Carisi, what happened?"
She looked, frankly, like shit. Her whole face was bruised and bloody, her lip split. There was blood matted in her hair and bruises all up and down her bare arms. That didn't account for the injuries he couldn't see. Carisi's stomach clenched in anger.
"What are you doing here?" she moaned, looking at him through one eye that was halfway swollen shut.
"Can't stay away from you, apparently," he joked. "Who did this to you?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks, making tracks in the blood. "My...my ex," she whispered, the words coming out almost against her will. "But he didn't mean it. He didn't mean it. It was an accident!"
She broke off into hysterical sobs, her whole body shaking. The nurses, one young and one old, both rushed forward to comfort her. Carisi closed his eyes; he knew something had been wrong from the first incident.
"I'm gonna take care of this," he said to Julianna or maybe just to the air and walked back out into the busy ER. He walked right into Rollins.
"Where'd you go?" she asked, holding a stack of papers. "I thought you wanted to get out of here?"
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Julianna Bishop. Rape vic who didn't wanna talk, from a couple months ago? Her bastard of an ex-boyfriend put her in here. Stay with her. I'm going to find him."
He stormed out of the hospital before Rollins could stop him. She shouted his name at his retreating back.
"How's that nose, Carisi?" Olivia asked as Sonny blew past her. "Wow, where's the fire?"
"Did we ever find a next of kin for Julianna Bishop?" he asked, in lieu of answering.
"Carisi?" Olivia came over and leaned on the edge of his desk. She watched as he furiously searched his desk for the right file.
"Julianna Bishop, the rape vic who wouldn't talk. Where's her file and did we ever find a boyfriend?" he snapped.
"Hey!" Olivia snapped back, getting Carisi's attention. Once he was looking up at her, she said, "what's going on? Did you find a lead?"
"Yeah," Carisi grumbled. "Julianna herself. She's in the ER with her face basically bashed in and god knows what else."
Olivia's face softened. "Sonny. Rollins mentioned..."
"Rollins doesn't know shit," Carisi said, snatching the Bishop folder from his bottom desk drawer and riffling through it.
"Carisi, you'd better be careful about this. You can't go running into something half-cocked. You have to think rationally," Olivia's tone was firm, but soft. She used a variation of it on Noah when he was being stubborn.
"Damn!" he cursed, slamming the folder down. "No next of kin, no mention of a boyfriend. Maybe one of the friends knows."
He turned to rush out of the precinct, folder in hand, but Olivia's hand shot out and grabbed his arm, jerking him back in place.
"Lieu!" he complained.
"I don't know what's going on between you and this woman," Olivia started. Carisi protested, "Nothing!" but she continued, "Whatever is going on between you and this woman, you can't let it get you in trouble. If you have to go, take Fin at least."
Carisi thought for a moment, "Fine. Just...fine."
Olivia held her hand out to keep Carisi in his place before shouting for her second in command. "Fin, go with Carisi. He has a lead on an old case."
Fin grabbed his jacket, "What kind of lead?"
"The kind where Carisi needs to be kept in check," Olivia said meaningfully. Fin nodded, "got it."
Carisi huffed impatiently, "Can we get goin'? I wanna catch the bastard before he gets to Julianna."
He stormed off to the elevator. Fin mouthed 'Julianna?' at Olivia as he passed her. She shook her head.
"David Collins! NYPD!" Carisi pounded on the apartment door with the side of his balled up fist. Fin hung back a step, watching the younger detective.
"NYPD! Open the goddamn door!" Carisi shouted again, hitting the door harder.
"What the hell do you want?" David Collins yanked the door open, shirtless and glaring at the two detectives. Carisi reacted immediately, shoving Collins against the wall in the hallway, forearm pressed against his throat.
"You David Collins?" Carisi growled.
"The fuck do you want?" Collins choked out.
"David? David! What the hell's happening?" a young woman came running out of the bedroom, wearing only her bra and panties.
Carisi's face went red with anger. "You beat your ex's face in and came home to fuck your new girl? You're a real piece of shit, Collins, ya know that?"
"Fuck you," Collins spit in Carisi's face. "I didn't do anything to Julianna!"
Fin piped up, "Yeah, and how'd you crack the skin on your knuckles?"
Carisi wiped the spit from his face and snarled, "David Collins you're under arrest for the assault of Julianna Bishop. You have the right to remain silent," he finished reciting the Miranda Rights as he cuffed Collins. He hauled Collins out to the car, leaving Fin to deal with the girlfriend.
"You're a real sick son of a bitch, Collins," Carisi said, shoving Collins down the sidewalk. "You raped Julianna, why? She broke up with you? Then couple months later you beat her up? Any reason for this one?"
"Fuck you," Collins spat the words out, struggling as Carisi shoved him into the backseat of the car.
"Rot in hell," Carisi smirked.
"Hey, Julianna," Carisi poked his head into her hospital room, feeling a strange sense of deja vu.
"How could you?" she snapped, fury clearly evident in her voice, despite the hoarseness.
"Huh?" Carisi stepped back, surprised at the vitriol in her voice. He'd thought she'd be happy to have her scumbag ex out of her life.
"I was handling it!" she said. "I...David was out of my life! I didn't need some stupid cop with a dumb accent to come in and save me."
"Seriously? My accent's not dumb," Carisi shot back. "And all due respect, you weren't handling shit. Or didn't you notice that he smashed your face in?"
"Oh really? My face is messed up? You're right, I didn't notice," she adopted a mock-shocked tone, her eyebrows going as high as they could with the swelling and bruising. "Newsflash! I'm fully aware of where I am!"
"Then why the hell are you pissed at me for arresting him?" Carisi grumbled.
"Because I don't know you and you don't know me!" Juliana sighed, some of the anger leaving her body. "I know how to handle David."
"He beat you bad enough to put you in the hospital," Carisi held up his fingers as he ticked off Julianna's ex-boyfriend's offences. "He's the one who raped you the first time. I'll bet money that he's the reason you called me a couple weeks back. Who knows how many other incidents I don't know about."
"You don't know me!" she sighed. "Why do you care so much?"
Carisi scrubbed his hand over his face. Why did he care so much?
He shrugged, "it's part of my job to care."
"Look," Julianna sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her hospital bed, "You're sweet, Detective Carisi. You're good at your job. But I don't need your help. I'm fine."
"We found Collins at his place with a girl," Carisi said, simply, not trying to hurt her. Just trying to give her a reason to change her mind.
Julianna shrugged. "I figured. That's how he...this is the pattern we fell into."
"He beats you up and then moves onto another girl?" Carisi asked, jaw falling open in disbelief.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," Julianna said sharply, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, okay," Carisi held his hands up in surrender. "You don't owe me anythin', but maybe ya owe it to yourself? I know, I know, I don't know you, but you deserve better."
He didn't let Julianna respond, "I'm gonna go. Collins'll get arraigned on Monday; you should be outta here by then. It's all up to you."
He left the room and she called after him, "I never pressed charges or made a statement."
"Didn't have to," Carisi called back. "The son of a bitch confessed. To beating you and to the rape."
Carisi didn't mention that he had basically threatened the confession out of David Collins. But Barba had said the confession would hold, so he didn't feel too bad about his use of force. He was a little confused about why he felt so strongly about this woman and getting justice for her, but those were thoughts for a different day.
"You sure you don't want to come out with us, Carisi?" Rollins asked, standing with Fin and Olivia by the younger man's desk.
"Nah," he waved his team off, "I'm just gonna finish this paperwork and head home. Gina and Bella are both droppin' their kids off with me tomorrow. Gotta be sober to live up to my Uncle Sonny potential." He laughed.
"Good luck, Carisi," Fin laughed, patting him on the shoulder. Carisi grinned. Olivia and Amanda both wished him luck and the trip headed out to the bar to meet Barba and celebrate the ADA's latest win.
"Have fun, guys!" he called to their retreating backs, gaze still locked on his computer. He typed away quietly, enjoying the fact that the squad room was empty. He always got more done when it was quiet.
"Detective Carisi?"
He turned in his seat at the sound of his name. His raised his eyebrows when he saw who had come into the squad room.
"Ms. Bishop," he stood up from his chair, less smoothly than he had hoped.
She smiled a little at him. "I think you can call me Julianna, after everything."
Carisi shrugged, "then you should call me Sonny, everyone else does."
Julianna nodded and then startled, remembering that she was carrying something. She held up the white paper bag. "I brought you some apology cannoli. They're from this bakery near me. Not proper Staten Island cannoli."
Sonny laughed, "Thanks. I'm sure they're still good."
It had been a month since Carisi'd arrested her ex and her face was healing up. She still had patchy bruises all over her face and chest, but the stitches were gone. Hell, Carisi though, his own nose was still broken and he had two black eyes that had faded to a greenish yellow.
What a pair they must've made.
"I just..." she paused, gathering her thoughts. "I wanted to apologize for the way I yelled at you. You didn't deserve that."
"Aw, don't worry about it. I might've stepped outta line," Carisi admitted.
"No, no, you were right. I let David get away with too much for too long. He's really out of my life this time. For good. I started seeing a therapist to help me deal with everything," she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
"What? Therapy got an apology step like AA?" he joked, stepping forward a little.
"No," she giggled. "But mine does have bad coffee and stale muffins in her waiting room."
"Well, I'm glad you came by," Carisi said. And he was; he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her.
"I am too," Julianna said quietly.
"Hey," Sonny said quickly, before he could lose his nerve. "Would you wanna get coffee or dinner or something sometime?"
Julianna nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that very much."
"Cool, cool," Sonny grinned, feeling very much like a teenager that had just asked his crush out. "I'll call you?"
"Don't wait too long," she laughed, waving a little before saying, "Bye, Sonny," and headed back for the elevator.
"Bye," he lifted his hand in a wave. He watched her walk away, grinning to himself. What a damn wild few months. He laughed when he realized she had never left the cannoli; instead she had taken them with her.
He sat back down at his desk and reached for his phone. Scrolling through his call log, he found the unfamiliar number that had called him so long ago. He opened a new message and began typing.
*you took the cannoli with you*
Her response was immediate: oops! How about we get some together? :)
A/N: I feel like this totally got away from me at some point, but oh well. I had fun writing it. Carisi's my absolute favorite character on SVU and he needs some love. So, in comes Julianna Bishop. I already have a few ideas for stories that I want to write with them, but I'm thinking I might treat this as a sort of "reader insert" fic too, like if you have prompts you want to see, I'll write them with Julianna and Sonny and put them in one collection, separate from the main trajectory I envisioned for them. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see!
Also, drop me a review, letting me know what you thought about this one. It's my first time really writing Carisi and the others (minus Olivia since I have written two fics with her and Elliott, but that's different lol)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! :)