DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way shape or form, own the characters from Law & Order: SVU. They are created by Dick Wolf and I will forever love him for it. I am using these characters and the basis of this television show purely for entertainment and am not making any form of profit off of the writing of this piece. (AKA: It's not mine. Don't sue. Thanks.)
A/N: New idea. I know I never finished Fix You. I do intend to….eventually…but for right now, I need to step away from it. Once it flows again, I'll finish it, I swear. But this idea has been floating through my head for a while, because I really want to explore Elliot as a father. I don't know that this will be EO anytime soon, but eventually, perhaps? This is set when Kathleen is 17, so she's a senior in high school. I think I made El to lenient in his rulings of his child's whereabouts, but it works for this. Ok?
My Little Girl
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Chapter One: And So It Goes…
The detective haphazardly reached across her resting body and felt around on her coffee table until her fingers stumbled upon her shrill ringing cell phone. Pressing the small green 'send' button, she placed it to her ear as she began to sit up on her couch, "Benson."
"Liv," a small voice rang on the other side of the line.
It took a second for the voice to register, but as soon as Olivia recognized it, fear enveloped her body, "Kathleen? What's wrong?"
"I need your help," she whispered.
"What happened?"
The small voice was on the verge of tears as she spoke again, "Can you please just come get me?"
Olivia sighed softly, desperately trying to avoid thinking the worst, "Where are you?"
"Outside of the Film Forum," she whispered. "Do you know where that is?"
"I do," Olivia answered calmly, "Go inside and wait for me; I'll be there in a couple of minutes."
There was a period of silence before Kathleen's timid voice could be heard, "Please hurry?"
"I will, Sweetheart," Liv answered before politely saying her partings and hanging up her cell phone.
The detective pulled her weary body from the couch and slipped into a pair of blue jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt before pulling her reddish brown hair into a tight pony tail, grabbing her keys, badge, and gun. She locked the door before exiting her apartment and taking the stairs by two.
Silently and quickly, she drove through the streets to the Film Forum, a movie house that was known for showing independent films. Olivia found the first parking spot and quickly stopped her vehicle, stepping out and into the doors. Kathleen was sitting on a bench, her eyes darting from side to side, searching for signs of danger. Slowly, Benson moved to the seventeen year old daughter of her partner.
Kathleen's blue eyes rested on Olivia's features and a single tear slipped down her cheek. She stood up and took a step in Benson's direction; her hands were stuffed into the pocket of her yellow hoodie and dried blood splattered over her face. Liv's eyes shut as she took a deep breath. She opened them as soon as she felt the weight of someone leaning against her frame. An arm gently wrapped around the teenager as sobs wracked the girl's body. People stared at the two, but it didn't seem to matter
The younger woman cautiously pulled back and Olivia found it to be her first chance to speak, "Kath, what happened?"
"You can't tell Dad," she whispered urgently.
"I need you to tell me what happened," Liv pushed cautiously.
"Can we go to your place?"
Olivia shook her head, knowing that it was possible that whatever happened had taken place nearby and there was a crime scene needing to be secured. The detective looked over Kathleen's body once more and noticed how the once confident Stabler child appeared weak and tired. Again, she pushed for information, "Who hurt you?"
Fear crossed Kathleen's features as she stepped back from Benson. Liv took a step in the same direction, waiting for an answer. Eventually, the teenager spoke, "I didn't know him. I was supposed to meet a friend, here, to see a film. Laney called me and said she was sick, so I was going to hail a cab and just go home, I swear."
Silently, the detective nodded and waited for the story to continue, "When I stepped onto the street, though, somebody pulled me into an alley. He told me if I screamed he'd kill me. He had a gun, Liv. I was scared."
"What did he do," she questioned softly.
Kathleen's eyes closed as she said the words, "He raped me."
Olivia swallowed as a lump formed in her throat. Cautiously, she placed an arm around Kathleen's shoulders and held the blonde haired girl close, "Does your dad know you're here?"
She shrugged, "I was supposed to spend the night at Laney's. I never called him to say I was headed home. I didn't think it was a big deal. But I don't want him to know this happened, I can't worry him like that."
"I won't tell him. You're seventeen, old enough to tell me not to tell anyone and I can't. But Kathleen, why call me? I work with him, he might find out."
"I didn't know who else to call," she whispered. "Please, Liv, help me."
Olivia nodded, "Which alley so I can call in and have the scene secured?"
"Right on the side of the theatre," the blonde whispered.
Taking care of the necessary procedure, they waited until a uniform came to secure the scene and left. Olivia gave strict instructions not to call Detective Stabler and to give her all information that was recovered immediately. At that point she silently led Kathleen to her vehicle, got her settled into the passengers' seat, and drove to the nearest hospital, insisting to the uniform that emergency medical transportation was not necessary.
A silent ride to St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan ensued, and Olivia parked in the emergency lot. Kathleen slowly stepped from the car and the detective moved to the passengers' side to offer an arm as they walked into the emergency room. She pulled out her badge as they approached the front desk, "I'm Detective Benson, NYPD SVU. I have a rape victim with me who needs an exam."
The nurse looked up at the detective, "All right, Exam 2 is open, I'll take you there."
"Thanks," Benson smiled kindly. Her hold on Kathleen didn't loosen as they were led to an exam room. The nurse assured them that a sexual assault nurse would be with them soon and Olivia thanked her as she helped Kathleen to sit on the examination table.
"You'll stay with me, right?"
Benson nodded without hesitation when Kathleen asked, "If you want me in this room, I'll stay here the entire time."
Nothing more was said until a nurse in pink scrubs walked into the room. She smiled politely as she wrote something on a chart and walked over to Kathleen, "I'm Raleigh."
The blonde girl nodded in greeting, refusing to say a word as she rung her hands together impatiently in her lap. Olivia stood from the chair she'd gotten comfortable in and stood next to Kathleen in an attempt to be of some comfort, "I'm Detective Benson."
"Detective," the nurse nodded. "You must be Kathleen?"
The teenager made no attempt to respond to the woman's words. The nurse sifted through cabinets in the room until she stumbled upon a hospital gown. She stepped over to wear the teenager was sitting and unfolded a paper marked with the word 'EVIDENCE' on one side and spread it on the floor.
"Kathleen," Olivia spoke gently. "You're going to need to stand on that paper and take off your clothes, all of them, so they fall onto it. We'll fold it up and seal it so we can test it for any DNA that he may have left. Then you'll put on the hospital gown."
The teenager slid from the table, but didn't make an effort to remove her clothing. She stared aptly at the nurse, waiting for her to either turn around or leave the room. Raleigh, finally coming to the conclusion from the tense silence, turned and began adjusting her brown hair in its ponytail. Benson watched as Kathleen stripped from the hoodie and jeans she had been wearing and gasped softly as she saw the blood from scrapes and bruises that had already formed over the blonde girl's tiny form. She silently instructed the seventeen year old to remove her bra and underwear as well. It was done.
Quickly, Olivia slipped the hospital gown over the exposed form and tied the back so there wasn't as much skin showing. Kathleen jumped back up on the table and shivered, the paper thin gown doing nothing to shield her body from the cool climate. The detective slipped on latex gloves and proceeded to fold up the paper with the clothing inside, tape it shut, and label it appropriately. At the sound of rustling paper, the nurse turned herself back around and began to prepare for the remainder of the examination.
Kathleen looked at Liv with fear in her blue eyes. The detective stepped closer and reached out, grasping the hand of the younger woman. While the trepidation was still evident, the teenager's demeanor eased a bit and she looked away from Benson and focused on the sexual assault nurse's words.
Olivia's grip never eased and Kathleen made no attempt to pull away. The nurse performed a basic physical examination, took swabs for evidence, and cleaned the wounds. There were no signs of serious physical injuries, the bruising that covered Kathleen's body was severe and quite noticeable. Raleigh photographed every abrasion. Benson racked her brain, trying desperately to think of how Kathleen would ever hide the black and blue marks from her parents. The nurse took pictures and, eventually, the exam portion was completed.
"I'll be right back," Raleigh stated. "You just get comfortable, Darling. We'll take a blood draw and I'll bring you emergency contraception when I return."
The nurse left the room and a tense silence followed. Olivia, however, broke it cautiously, "When are you going to tell your father?"
"I'm not," Kathleen answered with certain finality.
Olivia sighed softly, "You've reported this, Kath, and the only way to prevent it from getting around the precinct is to recant now. I would have to tell my captain and ADA Novak, they could choose to press charges for filing a false report."
"Can you just not tell him," the teenager questioned meekly.
"I could try," Benson answered, her hand still supporting the Stabler child's, "but the chances are good that he would see your name on a file or something would slip. We don't spill anything outside of the precinct, but if I'm working a case, your father knows about it."
The teenager took a deep breath. In that moment, Kathleen desperately wished she had thought of the consequences before calling her father's partner. Resigning to her fate, she spoke hesitantly, "I'll tell him in the morning."
Benson squeezed the younger woman's hand, "Do you want me with you?"
Closing her blue eyes, the blonde nodded. Olivia smiled gently, "You can stay with me tonight. I'll take you home in the morning."
Another nod was the only response. They remained in solitude until Raleigh reentered, Olivia's hand remaining Kathleen's only lifeline. The nurse smiled sadly at the detective before taking her place on the opposite side of the examination table, "All right Ms. Stabler, I'm going to draw blood as a preliminary STD test. You'll need to be retested at the three and six month marks."
The blonde didn't answer, but held her arm out for the nurse in consent. Within a few seconds, the draw was complete. Raleigh placed the vial in a container on far counter and tossed the needle into a 'hazardous material' bin. She discarded her latex gloves and picked up the small medicine cup, containing two tiny white pills.
"What are those," Kathleen spoke fearfully.
Olivia answered before the nurse even had a chance, "Emergency contraception. You're not required to take them, but they'll reduce your risk of pregnancy."
The blonde bit her lower lip, thinking silently about the circumstances. She glanced up at Liv and spoke once more, "You're a product of rape, right?"
"That has no bearing on this," Olivia answered sharply. "This is about you doing what is best for yourself."
Wordlessly, Kathleen squeezed Benson's hand tightly and held out her other hand for the medicine. Raleigh filled a small glass with water and held it to the teenager's mouth as she sipped the water and swallowed the pills. Tears filled her blue eyes as she looked into Olivia's brown ones. The detective nodded encouragingly, supporting the decision that had been made.
In due time, Raleigh interrupted the moment by clearing her throat, "I'm willing to release you now. Detective, is she in your care?"
"Yes," Benson answered without a second thought.
After each signed the appropriate forms, Raleigh brought in a pair of green scrubs and generic undergarments for Kathleen to slip into. Olivia left the room as the teenager changed and smiled at her softly when she exited the exam room.
"Let's go," Kathleen requested exasperatedly.
Nodding slowly, Olivia began the walk from the emergency room. They moved slowly, Kathleen maintaining a close proximity to Benson. The car ride and walk up to Benson's apartment was noiseless aside from car horns and the occasional siren. She tucked Kathleen in on the couch and stepped into the kitchen. From there, she could still here if the teenager needed something, but could also successfully call CSU and Cragen without disturbing the teen.
After receiving a preliminary report on the crime scene and filling in her superior officer, Olivia returned to the living room to find a restless Kathleen watching television. She sat on a chair and spoke softly, hoping not to frighten the younger woman, "You should rest. We'll go to your house bright and early."
"Will he be mad?"
Olivia looked at the teenager for a moment, feeling an immense discomfort at the situation she was in, "Of course not. This wasn't your fault, and your father will know that."
Kathleen nodded, her stature proving that she was not convinced. Olivia sighed, "Just rest."
"Easy for you to say," the blonde muttered.
"Trust me," Olivia whispered softly. "I know."
Kathleen's attention returned to the infomercial for diet pills that was airing on the television. Olivia stood and went into her bedroom, changing into sweatpants and an old sweatshirt. She returned and sat on the chair the remainder of the night, just in case she was needed.
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A/N: I don't know that I like it…but I have been trying to toy around with this for a really long time. As always, please review. Reviews Me Writing. Me Writing More Updates. So…lemme know what you want and what I could improve on. And, most importantly, thanks for reading!
