AN: Hey everyone! So, I've started working on something new. I'm taking from Olivia's promotion and the last episode where they were short handed but other than that nothing is really coming from the show other than the characters. This story happens as if Capt. Cragen didn't decide to retire but that might change as the story goes on. Please review and tell me what you think. Your reviews will determine whether I continue with this story or let it fall by wayside. Thanks in advance for your feedback. They're always appreciated.
This will be my one and only disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU or any of its characters. They are the work product of Dick Wolf and NBC. I do claim ownership of all original characters.
Chapter 1: The New Girl
The blaring of the alarm clock on her bedside table woke her promptly at seven in the morning. She fought the urge to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep for ten more minutes. Instead, she gathered the will to get out of bed and head to the bathroom to prepare for work. It was her first day at a new precinct and she didn't want to be late. She wasn't worried about fitting in or proving anything or impressing anyone. She just wanted to do her job and go home safe every night, same as any other cop. She took a quick shower before washing her face and brushing her teeth. She dressed in cargo pants and a blue shirt that showed just a sliver of her midriff with black combat style boots. Her pants were too big so she put on a black belt, setting the buckle slightly off center in her signature style, then clipped on her badge and gun. She pulled her long jet black hair back into a ponytail and headed down to the kitchen to put her coffee on. After a couple of minutes of looking around the house she found what she was searching for. She grabbed her bag and made sure everything she needed was in it and sat it by the door before running back up the stairs to make sure her brother and sister were awake and getting ready for work and school. She went into her mother's room and set out her medication for when she woke up and then went back downstairs to the kitchen. She made her coffee, went over and grabbed her bag and then headed out the door.
She arrived at the 16th precinct at eight fifteen. She went up on the elevator and walked down the hall to the squad room doors. As she walked down the hall, she took in her surroundings; the walls, the cops, the criminals, everything. This was going to be her new home for an undetermined amount of time and she was ready to start getting used to it. She finally reached the squad room and took it in the same as she'd done the hallway. Amanda noticed her when she entered, looking around like she might be lost or wasn't sure she wanted to be there. She got up from her desk and approached her.
"Hi, can I help you?" she asked in a sweet southern tone while glancing over her appearance. It was then that she saw the badge that rested on her hip. "There's no way she's a cop. She looks like a kid", Amanda thought to herself. Her staring didn't go unnoticed by the mystery woman standing in front of her.
"Yeah, I'm here to see Captain Cragen" she said hoping for some direction.
"He's in his office" Amanda said pointing to the Captain's door. She got a quick smile and a quiet thanks before the woman walked away in the direction of Cragen's door. She gave a light knock and waited. She heard a man yell for her to come in so she went inside and shut the door behind her. Amanda walked back over to her desk and sat down.
"Who's that?" Fin asked having watched the exchange between his partner and the woman. "I don't know. She didn't say. She just asked for the Captain" she said back, glancing towards Cragen's office. Olivia also looked in the direction of Cragen's office and Nick followed her gaze, looking over his shoulder. Moments later, Captain Cragen's door opened and they all tried to pretend as if they hadn't just been staring through the open blinds of his office window. He walked over and stood in front of their desks.
"You four listen up" he said getting their attention, "as you're all aware with Olivia's promotion we're down a detective on the squad. Even though we know she'll still be on the streets, one pp thinks we need the extra body because officially Liv is supposed to be taking more of a supervisory role. Meet Detective Christina Reyes. Introduce yourselves, show her the ropes, make her feel welcome" he said. He left them to do the introductions on their own and returned to his office.
"I'm Nick...Amaro" he said getting up from his desk to shake her hand. "That's Olivia Benson, Amanda Rollins, and Fin Tutuola" he said introducing everyone else. "It's nice to meet all of you" she said with a small wave. They looked her up and down, taking in her attire, "I've already been told that my style of dress is inappropriate. I'll do better tomorrow" she said noticing their stares.
"Uh, you can take this desk right over here" Olivia said pointing to the desk behind her. Christina walked over and put her bag on the desk and sat down. She wasn't sure what to do next. She hadn't brought anything to decorate. Decorating wasn't really her thing. She was about to turn around and ask if their was any work for her to do when Olivia walked over and plopped some files down on her desk.
"You know the standard paperwork right?" she asked. Reyes nodded and got right to work. Everyone that walked through the squad room would glance at her, trying to figure out who she was. A couple of officers were standing over by the stairs leading up to the crib, whispering about her. Liv, Nick, Amanda and Fin could tell that she doing her best to ignore them and focus on her work. After about ten minutes, she'd had enough.
"Don't you two have anything else to do besides stand there and talk about me?" They looked like deer in headlights, surprised that she'd said anything to confront them. "Go protect and serve or something" she said shooing them away. They walked away embarrassed that they'd been called out in front of everyone. Lunch came quickly and everyone left but Christina. Amanda and Fin had invited her to come with them but she declined stating that she wasn't hungry. After they came back from lunch she'd gone through all the files Olivia had given her and was sitting quietly at her desk waiting for something interesting to happen. She didn't want to hope they'd get a case because that meant somebody was hurt but she was bored out of her mind. After sitting there with nothing to do for about twenty minutes she turned to Olivia and asked if she had anything else for her to do. Olivia handed her another stack of files and she happily took them and got to work. At six o'clock they started to pack up to head out. They'd talked over lunch about wanting to get to know their new teammate better so they decided to ask her to join them for dinner and some drinks.
"Hey, Christina" Amaro said getting her attention. She swiveled around in her chair, "Chris...just Chris is fine" she said. "Ok, Chris. We're gonna go get some dinner, maybe have a few drinks. You wanna join us?" he asked. She didn't want to be rude but she really needed to get home. Then again she had to work with these people and trust them with her life and her with theirs. "Uhh, yeah. Sounds good" she said after some thought. She stood up from her chair and grabbed her jacket and bag and followed them out of the building. They went to a burger joint nearby and were seated almost immediately. Nick, Fin, Amanda and Liv all ordered right away, having been there enough times to not need the menu. After glancing over it for a minute Chris ordered a beer and cheese fries.
"That's all you're gonna eat? Cheese fries?" Fin asked. He knew she'd skipped lunch and thought she had to be starving by now. "Yeah. I, uh, I don't eat meat so that's all they've got that I can eat here" she explained.
"Well, we can go somewhere else" Olivia suggested receiving nods from the rest of the group. "Oh, no. It's fine. I'm good" Chris said objecting to the change in venue. "If you're sure" she said. "I am" she said back.
"So Reyes, what are you like twelve" Amaro said teasing her. She laughed and took a drink from the beer that the waiter had just brought to the table. "Fourteen actually" she shoot back. They all laughed, "Quick on your feet. I like it" he said. "So where you from?"
"California. San Bernardino" she said. "And I thought I was a long way from home" Amanda said. "Why? Where are you from?" Chris asked. "Atlanta, Georgia" she said. "That one's from Miami and these two are the genuine articles. New Yorkers, born and raised". The waitress brought out their food and they all began to eat and ordered more beers for the table.
"So what'd you work in Cali?" Fin asked.
"I was in homicide for all of about fifteen days" she said. They all paused and waited for her to say that she was joking but after a moment of silence they knew she wasn't. "Fif...fifteen days, that's it? Nick asked. She nodded, "Yep, that's it. They didn't really like me there. They said I was...too insentitive. So they transferred me to narcotics and I was there for three years, two of which were undercover and now I'm here" she explained. They all looked around the table at each other. If she was transferred from homicide for being too insensitive then special victims was definitely not the place for her. "Don't worry" she said noticing their nervous glances at each other, "I've had a lot of sensitivity training" she said taking another drink from her beer. She finished her fries and sat quietly, waiting for them to ask her more questions. "So wh..." Olivia started to ask her a question when a guy came up to the table and interrupted their conversation.
"Excuse me" he said looking at Chris, "I just noticed you from across the room and I wanted to know...". Chris decided to stop him before he put too much effort into her, "No" she said. He looked confused, "But I didn't ask you anything yet" he said laughing nervously. "Ok" she said taking another sip of her beer, "What did you want to ask me?". He smiled, "Just wanted to know if I could buy you a drink" he said. She took another drink from her beer and pretended to think about it, "No" she said again. "Come on, one drink? Maybe your name, your number?". They all watched as the guy continued to embarrass himself. She'd already said no to a drink and he thought she'd give him her name and number. "Poor guy. Doesn't stand a chance" Amanda thought to herself. "Ummm, no, no, and no" she said. At this point she just wanted the guy to go away. "What am I not your type or something?" he asked. She finished the rest of her beer and turned to look the guy over. He wasn't bad looking, blonde hair and blue eyes, maybe late twenties, a scar just before his hair line, and from the jeans and plaid shirt she guessed he was a blue collar worker. "No" she repeated. He wasn't sure if she was saying no, he wasn't her type, or no, that's not the problem. She ran her hand through her hair, brushing back a few strands that had fallen loose, and he saw the shine of a ring on her third finger. "Oh, alright. I got it. You're taken" he said backing away, "Y'all enjoy the rest of your night". He turned and went back to his seat at the bar. Chris rolled her eyes and held her glass up to the waitress, indicating she'd like another round. She asked if anyone else wanted one, only Amanda joined her for another.
"So, you married?" Nick asked pointing to her ring. "Oh, god no" she said. She thanked the waitress who'd just brought her and Amanda their third beer. It didn't go unnoticed by any of them that waitress was trying to flirt with Christina but she seemed to uninterested. "But you wear a ring?". She took a large gulp from her glass. She really hated doing the whole "get to know you" routine but it was unavoidable. She needed to get along with these people. "It's my mother's" she said. He nodded his understanding, "She pass away or?". He trailed off leaving her to fill in the blank. She shook her head, "No, she's...still alive". Everyone at the table looked confused as to why she'd be wearing her mother's ring if she was alive. "Your parent's divorced?" Fin asked. "No. They're still happily married" she said. The more questions they asked and answers they got from her, the more confused they became. "It's just a...family tradition to pass down rings to your oldest. So when someone wants to marry me, they have to get permission from my mother. She's the only one who can take it off. It's pretty stupid, I know" she said with a little laugh. "Naw, it's not stupid. Not stupid at all" Amaro said. He couldn't put his finger on it but he had a feeling that something was off about this girl. If she was gonna be working on the squad, he wanted to figure out what it was.
"So, you're the oldest" Amanda asked. Rae shook her head, "No. I'm in the middle but I'm the oldest girl. I have an older brother and a younger sister" he explained. "Me too" Amanda said with a hint of sadness. "I mean, I have a younger sister. No brother" she clarified. "Well, you can have mine if you want him" she said joking. They both finished their beers and Amanda decided that she wanted to have a real conversation with this girl. Not a question and answer session, but a real conversation.
"So, why here?" Olivia asked, getting out the question she was trying to ask earlier. Chris raised her eyebrows to convey her confusion over the question. "Why send you here to New York? Are there not special victims units in San Bernardino?" she clarified. "Uh, yeah. Of course there are. I just made a personal move, with my family. This is just where I landed" she said.
"So you didn't request special victims? You had no say in this?" Amaro asked. She shook her head, "No. I told my Captain I was moving here and asked for him to put in a word for me on a transfer. I didn't ask for any specific assignment so I guess he just put me where he could" she said explaining. The mood of the conversation had definitely changed. She could see that the four of them, especially Olivia, didn't like her nonchalant attitude about being in the unit. Her phone started to ring and she excused herself from the table to take the call.
"Are they serious with this girl?" Amaro said as soon as she was out of earshot. "I mean do they really think she'll make it here? Who gets kicked out of homicide for being insensitive?" he asked. Fin just shrugged his shoulders. "She doesn't seem like she wants to or even cares about being in this unit. You can't have that kind of attitude when dealing with victims" Olivia said taking a sip from her beer.
"Well now, hold up. Maybe we should just, you know, give her a chance. I mean, Fin you said you didn't know anything about sex crimes when you first joined the unit. And Nick you'd never worked special victims either" Amanda said coming to the newbie's defense. "Yeah but I at least wanted to be here. I wanted to learn" he said.
"I never heard her say she didn't want to be here. She said she didn't ask to be here. Hell neither did I and I've been here fourteen years now. I'm with Amanda on this. We gotta give her a chance to prove herself". Just then, Chris walked back over to the table, "Ummm, I have to go. I have a...family...thing" she said trying to find the words to explain her leaving. She went into her bag and took out her wallet to leave money on the table. "Don't worry about it. It's on us tonight" Fin said stopping her from leaving any money.
"Oh, you don't have to that" she said quickly. "I know" he said simply. She sighed and put the money back in her wallet and returned it to her bag. "Ok, well, ummmm, thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow". They said goodbye and she turned towards the door. She stopped to talk to the waitress that had served them, wrote something on her notepad and walked out of the restaurant to head home. "Well, I guess he really wasn't her type" Nick said. They stayed for a little while longer, all agreeing that they'd give the new girl some time to adjust and show them what she could do before writing her off. After another hour, they settled the bill and left, heading their separate ways.