Hanging by a Thread
Pairings: Cabenson; Donnelly/Petrovsky; Elliot/Kathy
Disclaimer: I don't own Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. If I did, you'd know it by the copious amounts of Cabenson. Sole rights go to Dick Wolf and NBC.
Spoilers: None for now
A/N: As promised, I'm back with another multi-chapter! xD Now this story is gonna be set in Season 13 with 2 major differences. First, no Amaro. While I have accepted that Stabler may never return to the show, I don't like Amaro. So I keep Stabler in my story. Sorry if you wanted to see Amaro. Second, I'm not putting Barba in this story. I've mentioned before that I don't like him, and if you're confused by that statement, go read my one-shot "Transfer;" it'll explain it. In this, Alex will be first chair and Casey will be second chair. This is a separate story, not related to "Dinner Theatre," "Under Covers," or any of my one-shots, though I very much enjoyed the thought of a diner being across the street from the 1-6, so I kept that.
A/N 2: I am once again in college (2nd year,) so updates will happen as soon as I get time to get them written. Please be patient with me.
A/N 3: The events in Season 5, episode 4 "Loss" never occurred.
Summary: A heinous crime turns personal and leaves one of their own clinging to life.
Prologue
The smell of gunpowder assaulted her nose, but it did nothing to block out the blinding pain that ripped through her body as the first of the shots hit. She should've ducked for cover, and had it not been for the quick succession that the shots were fired, she would've. She wasn't expecting the suspect to have accomplices. I was too careless. She stumbled backwards, her vision blurry, and raised her gun towards the assailants, firing twice. Against their four, it wasn't much. She slumped against the wooden pallets, gasping for breath. One of the shots had to have hit her lungs. I should've worn a vest. She tasted blood in her mouth and spat it out. Her eyes closed, her head falling back, her mind starting to go black. I'm gonna die.
She should've been having a flashback of her life, her accomplishments, her failures, I mean, wasn't that supposed to happen when you were dying, but all she saw was blonde hair, warm blue eyes. They'd fought this morning. Angry. Accusing. Spiteful. She'd stormed out without making up, without a kiss. Without saying the same thing she said every morning before leaving for work…I love you. They hadn't seen each other all day. This case took precedent. Tears threatened to fall. I'll never get the chance to make it right.
She heard footsteps; the pounding of shoes on concrete. Someone was running towards her.
"Liv!"
Olivia Benson, Senior Detective of Manhattan's Special Victims Unit, raised her head; her longtime partner, Elliot Stabler, was frantically running towards her, already calling in a 10-13. She smiled despite the pain, succumbing to the darkness that awaited her. I love you, Alex.
"It's better to die for something than live for nothing."
Anderson Silva
Chapter 1: 72 Hours
Three Days Earlier
Saturday: 4 a.m.
The shrill ringing of a cellphone jarred Olivia from sleep. Blindly reaching her arm out for the device, she felt Alex move behind her before her lover's pale hand took her phone from the nightstand, answering it.
"Cabot." She noticed her girlfriend's glare and looked away slightly. This was supposed to be her weekend off. Which explained why the blonde answered her phone. Alex ran a tired hand over her face, "Hold on." The attorney handed her the phone, "Rollins."
She took the phone, cradling it between her shoulder and ear as she found a pair of jeans and a shirt, grabbing her undergarments off the carpeted floor, "Benson."
"Liv, sorry to call you out on your day off, but there's a case. Captain wants us all there. Upper East Side," the blonde detective gave her the address, "Elliot's gonna pick you up at your place in about 10 minutes."
Olivia glanced out the window of Alex's Upper East Side townhouse, "He doesn't need to. I can be there in five."
Amanda was slightly hesitant as she spoke again, "Oh. Okay. I'll let him know."
"See you soon." The brunette said in acknowledgement, before quickly hanging up. Turning back to the attorney, she spoke, "I'll try to be back soon. This case is high priority."
Alex frowned softly, "Just go catch the bad guys, Liv. Call me later."
Olivia nodded, her eyes holding a wave of sadness; she finished getting dressed, grabbing her gun and badge, before she walked back over to the bed, where Alex was reclining, the sheet leaving little to the imagination. She bent down, pressing a kiss to her lips, "I love you."
Alex smiled softly, tiredly, "I love you too."
The attorney listened as Olivia slipped out of their bedroom before the sound of the front door closing reached her ears.
Arriving on the scene, Olivia caught sight of Rollins and Captain Cragen standing beside M.E. Warner, who was kneeling on the ground, bent over a figure. All it took was common knowledge for her to know who the figure was: The victim.
Heading their way, she spoke, "What have we got?"
Captain Donald Cragen took in his approaching detective's blue T-shirt and dark blue jeans; her hair pulled back in a dark scrunchy, leather jacket resting on her shoulders, Olivia could've been out for a walk when she'd gotten the call, and had it not been for Rollins' confusion as to why Cabot was answering the brunette's phone, (as well as her badge clipped to her belt, which rested close to her holstered gun) he might have believed she was. But, then again, even in the dim streetlight, the light hickeys on her neck were visible. Holding back a smile as he took in her wardrobe again, he headed towards her. In addition to the love-bites, he hoped that no one else noticed that she was wearing Alex's clothes.
"Sorry for calling you on your day off," he said with a frown on his lips.
Benson shook her head, "Don't worry about it. What do we have?"
He gestured over to Elliot, who was standing at the front of an alley, two young men standing in front of him, "Those two found the body. Munch and Fin are canvasing the area for other witnesses."
Olivia nodded, and they headed towards Warner, "What do you know so far, Melinda?"
Warner looked up, her face grim, "This girl was tortured."
Saturday: 7 a.m.
SVU Squad room
Warner's report was lengthy. Their victim was between 18 and 25, blonde hair, brown eyes, 5'6''; her fingers had been burned post mortem, which meant the I.D. would take longer than normal to determine. She'd also been stabbed repeatedly (Warner's report showed 21 stab wounds) with a 1-inch serrated knife. Bruising on her hips and vaginal tearing, as well as signs of spermicide from a condom, a torn hymen and blood indicated rape. Olivia ran a hand over her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. This case was getting more twisted every minute.
She needed to call Alex. She looked around the squad room, which was empty save for the odd detective or two. Elliot had run off to the bathroom; Fin and Rollins were checking the area where the body was found, checking neighbors who may recognize the deceased girl's picture, while Munch updated the Captain. And even though she'd rather be someplace more private, she couldn't risk missing a lead. Still, she didn't know how long the phone call would take. With a sigh, she pulled out her cell phone, hitting 3 on her speed dial. Two rings went by. Then three. On the fourth, Alex's voice came over the device, her tone warm.
"Cabot."
"Hey," Olivia's voice grew soft as she leaned a little further back in her chair and propped her legs on her desk, "Do you have time to chat?" On any other day, she knew Alex would be busy, but Saturday was the attorney's day to relax. Normally, she went on a jog around 6 and then either spent her day reading or, if there was a trial Monday, going over her notes. Lucky, it was one of the former days (though for how long, she wasn't sure).
The sound of cars and wind came over the phone, Alex's voice mingling with New York in autumn, "Yeah; all the time in the world," the smile was evident in the blonde's voice, and Liv smiled softly, "but you knew that." Less than 30 seconds later, she spoke again, "How bad is it?"
The detective sighed softly, her smile disappearing, "This girl can't be any older than 25. She was raped and then stabbed to death. Her fingers were burned, so we have to rely on dental X-rays."
"Is George being called in?"
"He should be here in few hours; he was in a conference in Ohio." She ran her hand over her face again, trying to work out the tiredness she felt, "I wish I could drink some decent coffee while I wait for the X-ray and Huang."
"Is it gonna be one of those nights again?" Olivia frowned softly at the slight teasing quality in Alex's tone.
"Normally you're pissed about me staying all night. And you weren't too happy this morning. What gives?"
She could practically hear the attorney smile, "How about you look towards the doors?"
Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, she swiveled in her chair and nearly dropped her phone in surprise. Alex was standing at the 1-6 entrance dressed in tennis shoes, worn blue jeans, one of her old NYPD shirts and a grey overcoat, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, a smile adorning her face; a small bag from the coffee shop across the street and a large Styrofoam coffee cup were clutched in her grasp, her phone tucked between her shoulder and ear, held up slightly by the attorney's empty hand. With signature Cabot grace, she walked over to the stunned detective and gently placed her purchases on her desk, grabbed her phone and ended the call.
"Close your mouth before you start drooling, Liv." Alex said with a grin as the brunette ended the call and snapped her phone shut, before reaching into the bag and removing the large glazed donut that she'd bought.
"Not that I'm not glad to see you, Alex, because I am, but did you seriously leave the comfort of your apartment to get here? On a Saturday?"
The attorney pouted lightly, moving to sit on the corner of Olivia's desk, which between the two of them was eternally her spot, "Can't I come visit my girl and bring her breakfast when she doesn't get to stay for Saturday brunch?"
Saturday brunch was a very rare occasion, as the detective barely got weekends off, and in the last eight years that they'd been together, they'd had Saturday brunch a few times. Still, Olivia couldn't resist throwing back her head and laughing, tears starting to well up in her eyes; it shouldn't have been that funny, but she found the answer hysterical. Wiping her eyes, she spoke, her voice full of amusement, "That's not answering my question, Cabot, but I appreciate the thought. Thank you for this," she gestured to the coffee and donut that was on her desk, before she sat up, pulling Alex onto her lap, leaning in for a kiss, "I really appreciate it, Counselor."
Alex smirked gently, placing her hands on Olivia's shoulders as she began to get lost in warm brown eyes. Normally, she'd be opposed to this, but it was Saturday, and there was no one to care. Olivia's fingers tangled in her hair, pulling just enough to…Fuck. Alex gently bit down on the detective's lip, drawing a low moan from Olivia. A sweep of the brunette's tongue in retaliation caused Alex to move closer, and they lost themselves in the kiss, lost sight of their surroundings. Okay, so maybe she did have an ulterior motive for kissing the detective, she mused, having not had the chance to wake the brunette this morning the way she had wanted to; Alex pulled away from the kiss to trail light kisses down the warm expanse of Olivia's neck. Before the detective could retaliate, the clearing of a throat snapped them out of their haze and brought them back to reality; the two looked up to see Cragen standing in the doorway to his office; had it not been for the fact that Cragen had known about their relationship, they might have been worried. Elliot (the tattle-tail, Olivia thought) and Munch standing with their backs to the Captain, obviously giving them privacy but still trying to eavesdrop.
"Liv, Warner has the dental X-rays; go get them. And let's tone down the PDA." Alex had to bite the inside of her lip to stop from laughing when Olivia pouted as she moved off of her lap to sit on the desk; Cragen looked at her, his tone serious, "I hope you brought enough coffee and donuts for the rest of the detectives."
"Sorry, Captain," she said with her signature Cabot smirk, "I'm only sleeping with one of them."
He barely hid his amusement, "Go with Liv down to see Warner. It'll save her the trouble of briefing you both separately."
Liv smiled gently, "Be back soon, Cap." She pulled on her leather jacket, grabbed her coffee and then gently squeezed Alex's hand before releasing it as she and the attorney exited through the precinct doors.
Cragen shook his head as he headed over to Liv's desk. One of these days, she was going to have to remember not to leave donuts on her desk. He stopped short of picking up the delicacy at the sight of the note underneath it: Property of Detective Benson. He grinned. Well, damn.
Saturday: 7:15 a.m.
Office of the Medical Examiner
"Your victim's name was Katherine Mills," M.E. Melinda Warner spoke as she spotted the detective and A.D.A. enter the sterile room, "dental records confirm that she's 20. She lives in Queens. Her parents filed a missing persons report yesterday."
"How long has she been missing?" Olivia asked, as Melinda handed her the file, already trying to prepare herself for the notification.
"About two days."
Alex looked over at the young woman, at the white sheet covering her body, as Olivia spoke, "Thanks, Melinda. Anything else?"
The M.E. sighed, "I found an interesting tattoo on the back of her right thigh," She flipped the file in the detective's hand open and then found the picture she was looking for. A red pentagram was etched into the skin, with a motto underneath it. Prodita pares mortem.
"Betrayal equals death," Alex translated softly, turning to look at Olivia.
Olivia's frown deepened, meeting Alex's gaze before changing her stance so that she was looking at both women, "We're dealing with a cult."
Saturday: 10 a.m.
SVU Squad room
Dr. George Huang sat in Cragen's office, going over the autopsy report and the crime scene photos.
"Anything so far?" Cragen's voice came from the man's desk, startling him out of his thoughts and brought him back to his surroundings.
Elliot and Fin were leaning against the wall at opposite ends of the office; Munch and Rollins were sitting in two of the 4 chairs, Casey and Alex taking up the other two, while Olivia stood behind Alex, barely touching the attorney's shoulder. He would've smiled had the situation not been so grim. He let out a small sigh, rubbing his temples to try to relief the headache; he'd arrived a little over an hour ago, and this case had already started to grate on his nerves, "We're dealing with one sick bastard," he took a breath and remembered the training that the FBI had given him, the skills that he needed to be a proficient forensic psychiatrist/criminal profiler: stay calm. "Your perp is displaying a lot of rage. The number of stab wounds is sufficient to him or her. Ultimately, the murder and assault were personal."
"This girl lived in Queens," Elliot commented, "So what was she doing on the Upper East Side?"
"Only the richest of the rich live on the Upper East Side, and most of them wouldn't lift a finger to help out someone like her," Rollins added, and Olivia felt Alex stiffen in her seat, something that didn't go unnoticed by Cragen.
"Do you have an age range for the perp?" Cragen asked, turning to look at Huang.
"I'd say late teens to early 20s, no older than 25."
"Okay, people, let's go out canvasing again. Munch, Stabler, you take Queens. Fin, Rollins, take the Upper East," He fixed Olivia with a small glare, "Benson, you go home. We'll call you if we need you,"
"Captain," she started to protest. Yes, it was her weekend off, but she'd been dragged out of bed for this case. She didn't need to go home. She didn't want to go home. Alex's hand squeezing hers brought her gaze down to the blonde's, and their eyes met. God, her priorities had changed. Maybe she did want to go home. She tore her eyes from Alex to meet Cragen's gaze, "Fine, but if you need me or Alex…"
"We'll have Casey to defer to."
As everyone began to leave the room, Cragen spoke again, "Rollins, a word," the older man waited until the others had exited the room and the door was closed before he spoke, "Not all people from the Upper East Side are as uptight as you think. In case you've forgotten, Alex is from the Upper East Side."
"I'll go apologize, Captain. I didn't mean to offend her."
"No need. Just keep that in mind."
"One more thing, Captain," Rollins looked out the window into the squad room, where the other detectives were gathering their pieces and badges, while Casey and Alex collected their belongings. Her gaze fell on Alex and Olivia, "Isn't that a conflict of interest?"
"It's taken care of, Rollins," he smiled gently, "trust me."
A/N: Okay, so here's the long-awaited first chapter! My apologizes for the long wait. Please don't forget to review. Also, like my page on Facebook. There's a link on my page. Thanks so much for reading!
Hime no Kowai Shumi