Title: The Transfer
Rated: PG
Author: Megan Faye
Note: This is for my town; Redmond. Its a great town with bored cops. We got pulled over for going the wrong way on a one way street, and the cop ended up giving us directions, and no ticket. Another time, we were pulled over at 3:00am for driving with expired tabs. He told us to drive carefully; the roads were icey, and get the new tabs ASAP.
The town is beautiful, and I can see Olivia and Elliot trying to be New York cops here, and totally over-kill everything. In Redmond, you can get a 2 bed/ 2 bath apartment with washer and dryer, porch/balcony, in a complex with unlimited indoor heated pool access, work-out room, theater room, hot tub, sauna, and a pond with ducks for $850/month.
Apparently you can't get that in New York...
Elliot sighed heavily as he lugged the carry-on through the small isle of the plane. When he and Olivia decided to start fresh, this wasn't what they'd had in mind, but Washington needed good cops, who knew Special Victims and could train the officers in King County, where the new unit was starting. Until now, they hadn't needed one, but as the cities surrounding Seattle grew, the need for SVU grew. The captain pulled a few strings and wanted the two highest decorated SVU officers in New York to come lead the unit.
It would be temporary; 12 months.
It would be 12 months where he was away from New York, his ex-wife, and, until summer, his children. Twelve months where she would be away from the only home she'd ever known. Olivia almost turned it down, but when Elliot mentioned she could easily drive to Oregon to look up Hope and T-Bone, she caved. And now, she scrambled with her duffle to get off the plane with her partner. It had been a long and bumpy flight. Not that Elliot minded the flight. He'd slept. He slept through every single bump of turbulance, every cloud, every flash of lightning, and every time the woman next to him jumped and grabbed his hand for dear life. Olivia wasn't going to let him forget that he slept through the most frightening experience of her life.
She hated flying.
"You okay, Liv?"
"Screw you. Screw you and your sleeping pills," she muttered pushing past him to get off the plane before he had a chance to question her.
Elliot jogged up to her as she rushed through the terminal.
"Hey, Liv," he called. "What the hell's the matter with you?" he asked when he caught up.
"I hate flying."
"You were scared? Of That?"
"I didn't say I was scared. I said I hated it. Big difference, Stabler." Elliot smirked and attempted to take the large duffle from his partner. "What th-"
"I can put in on my roller thingy."
"Fine, take it."
"You need coffee?"
"I would love a tea," she sighed.
"Still on that herbal kick?" Olivia shot him a dirty look as they stepped onto the escalator down to baggage claim. She rubbed at her shoulder mindlessly. "Move," he groaned, shooing her hand. He rubbed her shoulder roughly as the stairs descended. She leaned into his touch, moaning lightly at the massage. "Better?"
"Much," Olivia said, stepping onto the polished floor of SeaTac Airport. She glanced around a moment until she found their baggage claim and walked over as quickly as she could. It almost felt like she was distancing herself from her partner.
"Can you grab my bag? I'm going to pick up the rental car. I'll meet you outside here."
"Okay. Get something with a CD player." He nodded and took off with the carry-on bags.
A good 20 minutes later, Olivia stood on the curb outside of the air port, with two very large bags. Either Elliot had forgotten how big and heavy his suitcase was, or how short Olivia's patience really was wearing. She was very tempted to 'lose' his bag somewhere. But, her suitcase hadn't been big enough, and her favorite pair of boots had ended up hitching a ride in his bag. Elliot was a very lucky man for that little favor he'd done.
A dark blue car pulled up to a stop in-front of Olivia. Elliot stepped out, big smile on his face.
"Oh, look at what they had for rent! Four-door, automatic, HEATED seats, CD Player, as requested, and sun roof."
"Nice."
"Nice?"
"Very nice?"
"Jesus Christ, Liv, you are hard to please."
"Maybe you just aren't trying hard enough." Elliot froze, not expecting her to respond quite like that. "Are you going to load the bags, or do I have to hurt you?"
"Loading, Ma'am," he teased. Liv narrowed her eyes for a second before giving in and smiling at her partner. "Notice anything?"
"What?" she asked, looking around.
"Its the middle of winter, and there's no snow. Its gotta be 45 out here!" Liv raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"I think I like Seattle."
"Detectives," the young captain called. "Come in, have a seat." Elliot and Olivia walked through the little squadroom. Each desk had a computer similar to the nice one Olivia had in Computer crimes. The computers they had in 1-6 SVU were old; refurbished from Computer crimes.
"I'm Detective Stabler, this is my partner, Detective Benson."
"Pleasure," he said, shaking hands. "Captain Migel Torres. Welcome to Redmond. We're going to keep today short and sweet. We officially open this unit 3 days from now at 9:30am. Monday is going to be a busy day for you two. Brass decided to make it voluntery, and we have plenty of officers, but no one, not even me, is trained for this job full time."
"No one is. When you are 'trained,' its time to get out of the unit," Elliot said, eyes cold.
"Anyway," Torres said, feeling a little intimidated. "Redmond/Sammamish sees very little crime. The problem is more in Seattle. "
"Then why are we here?"
"The problem is moving." Torres bent behind his desk and lifted a box up. "This is full of files in our area that Seattle dumped in our laps because they are too busy in the big city to clean up Microsoft." Elliot and Olivia passed glances at each other. "The MS employees aren't a problem. They drive fast, but they're well insured. But for Microsoft to function, they need places to eat, dry cleaners, coffee shops, daycares, grocery stores. For every job at MS, 5 more minimum wage jobs open up in the area; bringing in mostly good hard workers, but-"
"Also attracts the scum of the City?"
"Yeah."
"So what will we be doing here exactly?"
"You, Detective Stabler, will be acting captain. I'll be your right hand man-"
"Hell no."
"Excuse me?"
"You want me to train you, put me in the field. I'll help you more by training one of your detectives. Pair me with someone, Liv with someone else, and we'll have your starters trained in 3 months." Torres considered the offer. "I'm not a captain; I'm a detective." The three stepped out into the squadroom and looked around. It was void of anything personal, and none of the desks were spoken for.
"Fine. You know more about this than I do. Pick a desk." Elliot and Olivia picked desks across from eachother, in similar positions to their desks in New York. "How long have you two been partners?"
"Eight years," they answered at once.
"Why do I have the feeling I'm in over my head with you two?" Olivia smirked. "Let me show you how-" Olivia had already started setting up her computer. "Ever thought about computer crimes?"
"Been there. Done that," she said, not taking her eyes off the screen.
"Your squad room needs a lot of work, Torres. Here's what I see: Table in that corner with coffee pot, room for donuts-"
"El?"
"What?"
"This isn't the 1-6." Elliot chuckled. "He's trying to set up our old squadroom here." Torres smiled.
"We can put the coffee pot there if it makes him feel all warm and fuzzy. Anything else?" Olivia looked up.
"Where's the lock-up, and an interrogation room?" Torres pointed through a pair of swinging. Liv nodded. "We need a white board, and a large computer screen for the whole room to be able to read from."
"All of that was on the list your captain faxed over. It'll be here tonight, and ready to go tomorrow."
"Good. I want to get started at 8:00." Torres gagged on his coffee.
"Nothing here really starts until 9:30. Microsoft is a laid back company, so all the area businesses keep those hours."
"Exactly," Olivia said. "Get an early start before the cases start coming to us. Now, we can't live in a hotel." Torres wondered to himself what she'd have said if their hours were 8:00am. he shuddred at the thought.
"You'll be on our pay-roll. Its decent. There are a few nice apartment complexes down 148th." Torres pulled out a few apartment ads from his desk and brought them to Elliot and Olivia "This one over here pretty much sucks; its filthy, but close," he said, pointing to the first one. "This one is good, and I know the manager. He's willing to cut you a deal. You'll be given a car to use, so you can return your rental."
"Damn. I like the rental." Elliot sighed. "Where is 148th?"
"Take a right out of here, right at the light, and right on Redmond Way. Keep going until you hit 148th, go left." Torres typed into a map finder, and printed out directions, and a letter of reference. "Hand them this, and you'll be accepted. You'll be able to move in tonight, probably."
After setting up Elliot's computer, Liv hit a coffee shop across from the police station. The tea was exactly what she needed. It also gave her a chance to look at the area around work. There was a movie theater, fast food place, Sushi place, a strip mall of little shops and video game arcades. There was a grocery store and three coffee shops.
She grabbed a coffee for her partner, and headed back so they could find a place to live. He was just getting into the car when she stepped up.
"Oh, that smells like coffee," he said, oogling the cup his partner held. He took the cup from her gently, and inhaled deeply. He took a ginger sip, careful not to burn himself. "This is the best coffee I've ever had, Olivia."
"My tea was all right-"
"Seattle, Liv. Seattle. Its the coffee capitol of the country. You have to try it, just a sip."
"I don't drink coffee any more, Stabler," she said, her tone warning him to back off.
"A sip won't kill you-"
"FINE!" she hissed. She took his coffee took a sip. "There." She sipped again. "Happy?" Another sip. "I drank-" sip. "Coffee." Sip.
"Liv?"
"What?"
"Can I have it back?"
"Get your own." Elliot laughed and buckled his seatbelt. The rental car would be returned the next day, so they had one day with their nice little car. Olivia looked at the list and the directions. "Looks like they're all within 10 minutes."
"Redmond isn't that big. We could live in another city all together and still be 10 minutes out-" Liv chuckled. "What?"
"The apartments are in Bellevue." Elliot smiled and pulled out of the parking lot. They drove in mostly silence until they reached the first place. There were buildings scattered about, with covered parking, tennis courts, and azalea bushes everywhere. "No way we can afford to live here, El," she muttered.
"We'll rent together. You look like you're in-love." Olivia blushed and looked back at the map. Elliot pulled into the parking spot and turned the car off. "With our full 6-months payment given in advanced, we can haggle it down to $2,000 a month and be able to scrape through if you like the place. We'll have to dip into our own savings for food and anyting extra, but we can live here."
"There is no way this cost less than $3,000 a month, there's a pool." They walked into the leasing center. "Hi, I'm Detective Benson, this is my partner, Detective Stabler. We're on temporary assignment from NYPD to-"
"Migel sent you here!" the leasing agent said, grinning. "Let me show you what we have. Right now we only have 2 bedroom units available; middle of remodelling." Olivia's stomach dropped. "Our pool is heated, open until 10 on weeknights, 24 hours on Friday and Saturday. The hot tub and work out room close at 11:00 nightly, and the theater is free to use when no one else is using it. Let me show you the available units. Top floor is not going to be ready for another 2 days, but our bottom floor is ready now." The three walked through the complex to an apartment with a view of a pond with a fountain and willow trees on the opposite side. "Here we go," he said, opening the door. Liv looked around. The apartment was huge. It was as big as Elliot's house in Queens.
"How much?" Elliot asked. Olivia sighed, lookin around.
"It usually runs for $1,400, but for a friend of Migel, and for two cops, I'll drop it to $885/month." Olivia whipped around.
"Where do I sign?" she called over her shoulder. Elliot chuckled.
"Can we at least look at the whole place first?"
"Two bedrooms, Two bathrooms, washer and dryer in the unit-"
"Okay, I'm convinced," Elliot said.
By midnight, the two had signed a lease, found a 24-hour grocery store, and set up their lap-tops and sleeping bags in the living room. Olivia, being the smarter of the two, bought an inflateble matress while Elliot mulled over coffee pots. He grumbled a bit as he lay on the floor, tossing in the sleeping bag.
"Couldn't have gotten two?" he moaned.
"You forgot tea, sugar for your coffee, milk for the 8 boxes of cereal you bought, and all you care about is a mattress?" Liv asked. She chuckled softly in the dark. Elliot could hear shuffling around on the matress. "Come on, its a double sized. We can both fit for tonight," she called into the darkness. Within seconds, she felt her body bounce off the matress and onto the floor. "Ow!"
"Sorry, its dark in here. You okay?"
"My ass hurts," she laughed. Elliot tried not to laugh at his partner, but failed at the task. He felt her lay her sleeping bag on the matress, and slide in carefully. As she got comfortable, Elliot turned, and fell off. "Smooth," she offered.
"We're not going to fit with the sleeping bags between us," he sighed. "Come on, we'll lay on yours and under mine."
"S'cuse me?"
"You bag is softer inside and mine is heavier. Unzip it." Olivia obeyed and paid her sleeping bag flat. "Its just one night, loosen up."
"How'd you know I was tensing up? Its pitch black in here."
"I know you." Elliot threw his bag over her and climbed in. Their backs were to each other. "Christ, come here," he moaned, turning to face her. She stiffened as his arm draped around her. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm going to rest my arm here so we can get a little sleep. Okay?"
"Sure," she whispered. In all honesty, she loved the feel on his strong arms around her. It was then that she settled back into his chest a bit and sighed. A hand pushed her hair gently down. "Sorry."
"Its fine. Just didn't want it up my nose," Elliot murmured sleepily. "So day one is complete."
"364 to go," she answered. Olivia wiggled in his arms lightly in an effort to get a little more comfortable. Elliot lifted his arm until she was still, then rested it around her again.
Liv's eyes shot open. The dream she had was vivid, and very intense. She felt herself blushing from thinking about what Elliot had done in her dreams the night before. She glanced at her cell phone. 6:38am.
"Damn," she hissed, scrambling out of the sleping bag.
"Mmm?"
"Its nearly 7. We overslept-"
"Liv, its not even a quarter to 5," he whined. "You're on New York time." Olivia froze for a moment, and her shoulders slumped. She slowly got back into the bed and snuggled into his arms.
"You sure you're okay with this, El?"
"I always slept better with a beautiful woman in my arms," he said, sleepily. "B'sides, I trust you. We're friends, partners, and there's no way we can both fit here without getting a little close. We'll live. Promise." Olivia relaxed further into his embrace.
"I trust you, too," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "El?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you think the captain sent us?" Elliot mumbled something. "What?"
"We pissed him off when it came to Simon," he said a little louder. Olivia stiffened up again. "Not just you, both of us. I didn't have to lie to him, or defend you, but I did," he said gently.
"Why?"
"B'cause...you're my partner."
Olivia had more confidence in her walk than most women. It was something Elliot admired. Even though she was unsure of herself outside of SVU, she would never show it. Liv put a box on her desk and began unpacking things; a picture of her mother, a picture of Simon, and a new one Elliot hadn't seen. It was a shiney silver frame and had Liv and Simon. She looked so happy. Elliot smiled at the sight of her so relaxed. Olivia nudged him out of the way and handed him a few framed pictures of his kids.
"Thought you might like a few of your pictures that you forgot to pack."
"Thanks."
"Welcome." As they finished unpacking their supplies, young detectives filed into the squadroom, looking at the changes Elliot and Olivia had made in the 2 hours they'd been there. "Gentlemen," she called, getting their attention. "I'm Detective Olivia Benson, this is my partner, Detective Stabler."
"Morning," Elliot said.
"Its Saturday and training begins Monday. We need this mess sorted before then. I've read everyone's files, and I've assigned you each a partner and a desk. Garver, Daniels, you two are here and will be working with me. Miller, Porter, you two are there, and will be working with Detective Stabler. For now, Stabler and I will be going on the runs, questioning, working with the victims. Every thing we do, you watch, learn-"
"I've been a detective for 4 years. I know my job," Porter said.
"And I've been an SVU detective for 13 years. Trust me when I tell you this work is different," Stabler said, pegging the man as the trouble maker of the group. "Many people wanted to join the unit; you were chosen based on your jacket. Every one of you is a great detective, dedicated to your job."
"Here's how the next twelve months look for us here in Redmond. You have two months to train before we let you go on your own. When you are off working in 2 months, we'll bring in two more people to train for two months, and then two more. Then for the next 6 months, we'll be a regular part of the unit, keeping things running smoothly, and getting the squad going. In one year, we'll assess you. We will determine official ranks then, or if the unit needs to be completely wiped," Olivia said bluntly.
"Its up to you guys if you keep the jobs, raises, and the unit."
"If we start on Monday, why are we here? My kids have a game today."
"Does this squadroom look ready to you?"
"Yeah...?"
"Then you're an idiot. You need to set up your computers, order new business cards, we need to set up the cribs-" The men gave him questioning looks. "When you got an open case, some psychopath on the loose, pulling kids into a minivan, and dumping their bodies three days later, you don't leave the job," Elliot said, rage filling him. "There will be cases that have you puking into Puget Sound, but you will have to comtinue to work them."
"You are going to see things that will probably give you nightmares, hear kids tell you things you never wanted to hear, and hopefully you'll rise to the occasion and put some scum behind bars. Everyone has a computer at their desk, start setting it up. Stabler and I are going to map this sparkling new building, and find a place for sleeping quarters."
Elliot grabbed his coffee and the two set off down the hall. They passed the holding cell, the first two interrogation rooms, and found a dead end with one last room, where a victim could look at a line up. They made their way through the squad room to the captain's office.
"Cap?"
"Hmm?" Torres said, looking up from his computer.
"Locker rooms, showers, work out room, and dorm?"
"Um, we have all but the dorm." Elliot scoffed.
"You gotta be kiding me." Torres rolled his eyes. "It there a room where you can put 6 military style bunk beds?"
"I have two offices I was going to leave open for the teams-"
"Please tell me you don't want to split the squad. This isn't a normal unit. These people need to be in the squad room together. Puting them in an office, isolated from everyone else'll drive 'em crazy. In this line of work, they will need each other more than you'll even understand as a Captain."
"I read your jacket; Its just you and Benson that are too close. Psych evaluation and everything. According to Captain Cragen, the minute you get to New York, one of you is out of the unit, the other is out of the NYPD all together if you screw this up. But you're split up either way. I'll keep the squad together, but don't even think about crossing me. You got that?" Elliot stood nose to nose with the man.
"I got it."
"Good. Go make your dorm."
Well, How did ya like Chapter 1?