Women In Blue
Chapter 1
"How do I look, Jessie? Uh, how does mama look?" Amanda Rollins stared back at herself through the whole figure mirror. Black jeans, a nice dark purple shirt and black pumps with a slight heel to make her appear taller. Her blonde hair was gently curled and hung loosely across her shoulders and her makeup was done nicely, not too much. She was going for the proffesional, not prude, look. "Do I look okay, baby girl?"
She wasn't really expecting an answer considering she was talking to an eight months old baby. All she got was a happy squeal followed by a strange gurgling sound and chubby little arms flaring in the air. "I'll take that as a yes, my precious." she walked over to toddler and placed a kiss on the top of her head and wiped her mouth after getting more than half her breakfast on her face and hands than in her hungry little belly. "You are one messy baby, do you know that pumpkin? But you are my messy baby."
Another squeal filled the room and Amanda couldn't help but to smile at her daughter's happy features. "Are you gonna wish mama good luck on her first day at work? I could really use some of your cheerfully contagious mood."
Her head turned towards the front door as she heard three loud knocks. "That must be your sitter, baby girl. Wanna open the door with mama and welcome her inside?"
She lifted the child from the baby chair and headed for the door. "Hi, Elena. Come on in, you're right on time. Did you find the place alright? I know you were here once before for the interview but that was almost a month ago."
"I find alright. No problem, miss Rollins." Elena replied in her strong russian accent.
"Oh please call me Amanda. I have a feeling that my apartment will be some sort of a second home for you. Being a detective, the hours you work are unfortunately not exactly mother friendly."
The Russian woman smiled. "I can only imagine. You have very important job. You put bad people in prison. Make street safer."
"I try." Amanda chuckled and handed the baby over to her new baby sitter. "I want you to make yourself at home. Take anything you like from the fridge, there's a key for you on the kitchen counter so you can come and go as you please. There's formula and baby food in the cupboard next to the cooker. I have no idea what time I'll be back from work but I'll ring or text you to keep you posted. My number is on the fridge and the number to the precinct as wel. Although, I'd prefer if you didn't use that number. Only in emergencies, in case I don't answer my cell. Any questions or concerns?"
Elena was already happily tickling Jessie's belly and got rewarded by a loud shriek. "We will be fine, Amanda. Enjoy your first day. I hope you have good partner."
The blonde looked a bit sceptical. "Yeah, me too." she gave Jessie one last kiss on a chubby cheek before she grabbed her coat and headed out the door.
It was a cold February morning. The air was crisp and the wind made it appear colder than what it actually was. Taking a cab to work would probably be easier since it was a twenty minute walk to the precinct, but since it was her first day at the special victims unit she needed the walk to clear her mind and try to focus on the day ahead. She was nervous and fidgety and she never did well in situations like these. The craving for a cigarette became to much and she had to stop to get a packet and a lighter. She wasn't a regular smoker. She just liked the feel of it in her hand and the taste and the smell. She had never been addicted to the stuff and only liked smoking on occasion. She couldn't remember the last time she bought a packet.
She inhaled, held her breath and let it out slowly. The smoke mixed with the cold air almost made it look like a huge cloud that had fallen from the sky. She could instantly feel herself calming down and she took a few more puffs before tossing it in the bin. Luckily she always carried chewing gum and popped two into her mouth to camouflage her smoky breath. She didn't want to be stinking on her first day and leave a bad first impression.
Suddenly she found herself standing outside the door that led up to the one six precinct. "Well, here it goes." she muttered to herself and pushed the heavy door open and stepped. She took the elevator to the third floor as Captain Craigen had instructed when they spoke on the phone only a few days prior. Her palms began to sweat and she brushed them against her jeans clad thighs as the lift came to a stop. The doors opened and the buzzing sound of people chatting, phones ringing, fax machines beeping and perps shouting rang through the corridor and reached her ears. Not waisting any time she grabbed a uniform gently by the arm.
"Excuse me, where can I find Captain Craigen's office?"
"Rollins? You made it. Welcome to New York, the city that never sleeps." she recognized that voice. It was Craigen himself. She thanked the man she had suddenly grabbed onto and held her hand out for the Captain to shake.
"Thank you, sir. It's good to finally be here." his hand was soft but firm and his eyes kind and full of knowledge.
"Come on, I'll show you to your desk and introduce you to the others and your new partner. I think you will work very well together." he guided her into the bullpen where things seemed to be rather hectic with people swarming in and out of various doors, sipping coffee, going through paperwork and people cursing on the phone for being placed on hold.
"You picked a hell of a first day. Things are unusually manic this morning." he showed her her new desk, the interrogation rooms, the vending machine, her locker and where the coffee was being held. The place was quite small but still manageable. Back home in Georgia Atlanta the bullpen had been bigger but with a lot of dead space. She shivered at the thought of her old precinct, her old boss and what had happened there that had caused her to be transfered all the way to New York City. Those rough hands groping, the awful smell of sweat and alcohol and his slurred speech telling her that he won't take no for an answer. The images that popped into her mind were still clear as day and all she wanted was for them to blur, fade and eventually disappear.
"Fin, Munch, Nick! This is our new detective Amanda Rollins transfered all the way from Georgia. She use to work SUV there so I'm sure she'll pick up things rather quickly." Craigen looked around in confusion. "Where's Liv?"
"Here!" a breathless voice appeared from behind. "Sorry I'm late, that damn car is causing me trouble." the brunette dropped her purse and coat on her chair before turning to her captain. That's when she spotted the blonde standing next to him.
"No worries,"the captain stated, "I want you to meet your new partner Amanda Rollins. Amanda this is your partner in crime Olivia Benson."
Liv's eyes widened slightly at this sudden change but she wasn't against it. "Nice to meet you, Amanda. I hope we'll make a great duo." she shook the blonde's hand firmly, never letting her eyes wander from the blue ones staring back at her.
"Likewise detective Benson." Amanda croaked out, feeling a strange sense of warmth and calm from holding the woman's hand in hers. She tried to make the touch last longer by lingering a couple of seconds extra, not ready to let go just yet. After lowering her hand she immediately missed the physical contact.
"Detective Benson will show you the ropes and don't hesitate to ask questions. You're here to learn the NY style." the captain added.
"Yeah, the bad ass style." Fin said with attitude causing everyone to laugh.
"Liv, why don't you get her up to speed with the Johnston case that you're working on. I'm sure things will get easier with the two of you working together. Keep me in the loop."
Craigen disappeared into his office, Munch and Fin paired up and Nick acted as a floater between cases, filling in where he was needed or working cases on his own. Amanda sat down at her new desk that was facing Olivia's and the brunette handed her the case file. "Teenage girl named Nikki Johnston. Raped two days ago in the girls locker room during after school soccer practice. She said a towel was wrapped around her head and face so she couldn't see who it was. No witnesses, no cameras in the changing rooms and no description and there's no boyfriend in the picture."
Amanda raised her eyebrows in confusion. "No one saw what happened? Where were the other girls? Why was she on her own?"
Liv sighed and folded her hands in front of her. "Apparently practice finished about fifteen minutes early than usual and Nikki's dad, Frank, was running late to pick her up."
"Suspects?" Amanda asked, her eyes narrowing.
Again Liv sighed, leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, at first I suspected that the coach had something to do with it but it turns out that he has an alibi. He had to cut practice short because his son broke his arm and he had to rush to the hospital. His story matches so he's in the clear. The senior boy's team had soccer practice at the same time on another field nearby. I checked with their coach, asked him a few questions, he claims he was there the whole time, didn't leave the field and didn't see or hear anything."
Amanda pursed her lips. "What about her dad, Frank was it? Did he have anything to do with his daughter getting raped?"
"That's what I thought as well but he was at a conference, running late, I checked the security footage." Liv said resigned.
"Hmm." Amanda hummed, not convinced about the other coach.
"What are you thinking?" Liv asked, her eyes narrowing and the corner of her mouth turned upwards in a small smile.
Amanda chuckled. "The boy's coach. I wouldn't take his word for it. Can anyone vouch for him, that he never left during practice?"
"I'm still working on that one. For now he's still a suspect until we can prove otherwise. I'd like to talk to the boys, one by one, ask them if they ever saw their coach, Mark Wesley, leave during practice or if anything happened that was out of the ordinary. Perhaps someone saw something but didn't think anything of it at the time."
The blonde nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's probably our best shot." she stood up. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she was eager to get started, to get her hands dirty and her mind buzzed. She loved her job.
"That's the spirit!" Olivia laughed and grabbed her coat.
Amanda zipped her coat up all the way to her chin before gesturing with her hand for Olivia to go ahead. "I presume you're driving, right?" she asked wearily.
Liv raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Unless you want to?" Liv questioned and held out the keys, dangling in the air for Amanda to take.
"No, I'm good. You hold onto those." being new in the city she felt unsure about driving since she didn't know NY very well.
The traffic was awful. So awful that Olivia thought about using the portable siren to make way but quickly changed her mind. She didn't want to use her authority for her own benefit. There was an odd, uncomfortable and awkward silence in the car. Amanda had always hated small talk. She wasn't good at it at all and usually ended up making a fool out of herself by saying something stupid or appear strange to people who didn't know her. All she wanted now was to get to their destination as quick as possible to avoid any misunderstandings, awkward silences and prodding questions.
"So," Liv's voice almost caused her to jump in her seat, "You have family here or are they back in Georgia?"
Great, she muttered to herself, while thinking about what to tell her new partner. "Um... No. Just me." it was partially true. Being a cop, nonetheless a detective, she was embarrassed to say that her little sister Kim was doing time for drugs and stealing. Once that was out, the questions would never stop coming. She had learnt that the hard way back in Georgia. Her former fellow detectives always found a reason to bring it back up over and over again. Her mother never paid her much attention growing up. Things were always awkward and tense between them, which was the complete opposite in the relationship between her youngest, and she seemed to care more about her own needs and Kim's than her oldest daugher. Her father wasn't in the picture and hadn't been since Amanda was only six. It was just her and Jessie now but decided not to tell Olivia about her baby girl.
"What about you? Any family?" she threw the question back at the brunette who was struggling to keep her calm about the traffic jam.
"No," Liv sighed, "just me, myself and I. My mom passed away fourteen years ago and I never knew my father. It's... complicated." she finally stated at the end.
Amanda snorted then chuckled discretely hoping that Liv didn't notice. However the brunette did see and hear the resigned huff but also somthing else. Anger, sadness, hopelessness? The blue eyes, now looking out the car window, held many emotions that Liv couldn't separate and pinpoint exactly what they were.
"Why New York? Do you have friends here?" Liv continued, her curiosity got the better of her. Always a detective.
Amanda shifted uncomfortably in the seat, wishing that her new partner would change the subject all together. "Um, no friends," she mumbled, "I just... needed a fresh start I guess."
"Also complicated, huh?" Olivia gave her a quick side glance and saw how the blonde squirmed where she was sitting. Now, she felt bad for asking so many questions. They had only known each other for all about ninety minutes. What was she expecting? For Amanda to tell her whole life story?
Finally the blonde just shrugged. "Something like that."
Olivia decided not to push.