Through It All

Chapter 1: Change

Disclaimer: I own Annie and Ellis because they are characters of my own imagination. None of the SVU characters are mine.

A/N: I took a break from "Finding Olivia" to write this. To the fans of that story I say have no fear because I will return to it soon.

"Dasvedanya," a shot rang out and then there was nothing but silence. The man placed the gun back into its holster and turned back to the forest path. He pulled his jacket tight to keep out the cold Moscow night. In the distance he could already hear the wolves and other predators coming closer, drawn to the scene by the scent of blood. They would scatter the evidence and most likely burry it. He felt assured that suspicion would not come to fall on him.

As he approached his car he almost felt sorry for the family of the man that he had left in the woods. He knew the family personally; they were good people, too good. The squeaky clean reputation of the man was exactly the reason that he had to die. He almost felt sorry for the family but he was able to ignore it easily.

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It was a dark rainy November evening, just the kind of night when Olivia Benson didn't want to be pulled from her slumber at 3:00am. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for a clean pair of jeans as she spoke into her cell phone "I'll be there as soon as I can. Just try and stay calm. It's gonna be all right." She never thought that she would have to provide reassurance to the man on the other end of the phone. He had always been her rock but now, he was crumbling to pieces "I'm on my way right now. See you in fifteen Elliot."

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"I've eliminated him," the man spoke into the pay phone at the side of the road.

"Do you think his remaining family will pose any threat?" the voice on the other end asked.

"I can insure their silence," the man promised "One way or another."

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He fingered the photograph in his hand. He stared vacantly into space as he sat on the bench beneath the dim street light. He couldn't move, in spite of the rain and the cold, his body refused to budge from that spot. He was still in shock.

A car pulled up and parked in front of him and a familiar brunette got out. She made her way effortlessly to his side and sat down beside him, not caring about the dampness of the bench and how it seeped through the seat of her pants "Elliot," she spoke softly as she reached a hand out to him "Come on before you catch pneumonia." He held the photo out to her without saying a word. She took it and stared at the happy family picture. It was Elliot's family but another man stood in Elliot's place "Oh El," she whispered sympathetically.

"She's moved on," Elliot told her "I'm happy for her. I just didn't think it would sting so much."

Olivia wrapped her arms around him "I know," she whispered "I know."

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Casey Novak stared at the object in her hand and tried to process the information that it was attempting to convey to her. How was this possible? Could this really be happening? "Stupid ineffective condoms," she moaned. She should be happy about this, shouldn't she? She had always wanted a baby but she had been hoping that she would be married before that happened. She didn't want her baby's father to be some one night stand who she knew she would never see again.

With a sigh, Casey disposed of the home pregnancy test and went to make an appointment with her doctor. She had to make absolutely sure of this. She couldn't even remember the name of the man she had slept with. He hadn't been that important or maybe she had just been really drunk.

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A teenaged girl with long dark hair stepped off a bus in a remote upstate New York town. She pulled her thin red jacket tight against her as if that was enough to protect her from the harsh chill. She walked a few blocks in the relative darkness until she found a bench. She sat on it and shivered. It was too cold to be a runaway with nowhere to run to. She opened her backpack and pulled out the information that she had been able to get about her cousin. She read the name out loud in the stillness of the cold evening. She spoke it softly as if it were a prayer and perhaps it was, a prayer that this person would take her in and not turn her away like every other family member she had tried to contact, not that there were many to choose from. She scoffed at the dwindling remains of what had apparently once been a proud bloodline yet not one of them that she had found thus far had possessed any moral fiber whatsoever. She repeated the name over and over again "Olivia Benson."

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Olivia ushered Elliot inside her apartment "Let's get you some dry clothes," she smiled as she went to the hall closet and returned with one of many spare sets of clothing that Elliot kept at her place.

"Thanks," Elliot smiled at her as he went into the bathroom to change.

Olivia went into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. She was in the mood for something hot and she didn't want to bother with the caffeine when it was so early in the morning and she still had a good chance of getting some sleep. She glanced at the iridescent green numbers on her microwave and groaned. It was 4:00am. Good thing it was a Saturday and she could sleep late.

Elliot reappeared in the kitchen door "Hot chocolate," he smiled as he stepped towards Olivia "Thanks for being there for me tonight," he told her.

"Anytime," she returned his smile as she held out a mug of the nearly scalding hot beverage.

Elliot accepted the mug and took a long satisfying swig. He lowered the mug and extended his free arm to envelop Olivia in a one armed hug "I think," he said half to himself "That maybe its time that I start moving on too."

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"Hey kid," she was roughly shaken awake by a tall man "Get your ass up," he hissed before tossing her off the bench.

She landed and skidded a few inches very painfully on her knees. She looked up at the man "What the hell is your problem?" she asked, infuriated.

The man picked her up and through her over his shoulder "You're coming with me," he told her.

"Put me down!" she screamed as she pummeled his back with her fists.

"Shut your mouth," the man hissed as he through her into the back of his truck.

She felt her heart racing as she felt him binding her wrists and ankles with rope "Let me go," she pleaded.

"Not a chance," he told her "I need you."

She froze and tried to hold back her tears "Let me go!" she screamed again.

The man backhanded her and was about to strike a second time when he disappeared from her field of vision to be replaced by another man "Are you okay?" the newcomer asked as he pulled her from the truck.

She nodded weakly and allowed the man to help her. She saw that the first man was lying on the ground, unconscious. She looked up at her savior "Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem," the man answered as he whipped out his cell phone "I'm gonna call the local police to pick him up," he informed the girl who stood close to him.

The girl nodded then she noticed the badge that was clipped to the man's belt "Aren't you the police?" she asked.

"Yes but I'm not from around here," he answered. He unclipped the badge so that the girl could see it more clearly "NYPD Detective Odafin Tutuola at your service," he smiled. There was just something about this girl that Fin liked, something familiar about her "My partner and I came up here to help the local cops on a case," he looked to the ground at the unconscious man "And I think we just solved it."

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"What do you mean move on?" Olivia asked, pulling away from Elliot just slightly. She had a good idea that she knew what he meant but she didn't want to jinx it.

"Liv," he said softly "I've been such an idiot, pushing you away and you keep coming back to help me when I need it. I think I finally realized tonight that I have to let you know what I feel or one of these days I'll push you away and you won't come back."

"I'm listening," she told him as she led him to the couch.

"Olivia," he whispered as he pulled her as close as possible "I'm madly in love with you."

She pulled back, that hadn't been what she had expected. The admission had been so sudden. She loved him but she was pretty sure that this was just overcompensation for the shock of seeing someone else standing beside his ex-wife in a family photo "Elliot," she faced him "Maybe it's too soon for you to be saying things like this. Maybe you should think about what you're saying and the implications that it has," she hated how cold she sounded.

"I have thought about it," he told her. He framed her face with his hands "I've been thinking about it for such a long time and I've come too close to losing you too many times to not tell you. I can't believe I've waited this long. I love you."

She saw it in his eyes and believed him. Somehow looking into his eyes she felt compelled to reveal the secret truth that she had carried with her for years now "I love you too."

Slowly as if drawn by some unseen force, their lips came together in a tentative kiss which quickly deepened. The kiss quickly turned into a tangled, frenzied, passionate trip to second base then third and finally rounding home plate with shouts of ecstasy from both.

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She shoved a handful of French fries into her mouth. They weren't the best that she'd ever had but she was starving and didn't care. She sat across from her new detective friend and his partner. The two detectives had gone in search of an all night diner just for her. She smiled as she took a bite of her burger.

Munch and Fin watched her carefully. This girl shoved food away like she hadn't eaten in days and looking at her it wasn't an unreasonable assumption. She was practically skin and bones. Neither knew how long she had been on the run but from what they could tell, she had been on the run for a while.

Munch was the first to speak "So what's your name?" he asked.

The girl finished chewing the food in her mouth before answering "Annie."

"Do you have a last name Annie?" Fin asked. He didn't know what it was about this girl but she seemed so familiar and yet he knew that he had never met her before.

Annie shook her head "Just Annie," she said firmly although she looked down at the table.

"How old are you Annie?" Munch asked. He too felt that there was something familiar about this girl.

"I'm fourteen," Annie answered with a small smile.

Munch sighed, wishing that Elliot and Olivia were there. Elliot and Olivia were really great at talking to kids. He smiled in return "Fourteen's a great age," was all he said.

"Where's your family?" Fin asked Annie.

Annie looked down again "My mom and dad died four years ago," she said, her eyes firmly focused on her plate "I went to go stay with my great aunt but she died a couple months later. I just packed up and started running," she reached into her bag "My great aunt had a family tree and I took it. I've been looking up relatives but," she sniffled just a little bit before continuing "None of them wants me so far."

Both men were silent for a long time. This girl had been on her own since she was ten years old. She'd been rejected by family member after family member. Munch spoke "Why didn't you just go to social services?"

"It's not an option," Annie shook her head and focused on her folded hands "I have one family member left before I have to give up. I don't even know if I'll even find her in Manhattan," she hung her head.

"We'll help you," Fin offered "Do you know her name?"

"Yeah," Annie said, cheering up momentarily "She's my fifth cousin twice removed. Her name is Olivia Benson."

The side of the booth opposite from Annie became engulfed in stunned silence. Munch and Fin both realized what was so familiar about her. She didn't really look like Olivia but she seemed to possess the same good nature. Even though there was no physical resemblance, it was clear that this girl was related.

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Casey lay in her bed, unable to sleep. Her appointment was in the morning and then she would find out for sure if she was or wasn't pregnant. She tried to remember back to the night that she had met the man she had slept with. It had been a long day and she had decided to go bar hopping. She generally went alone after the really tough days. She remembered that she had already had a few drinks in her when he had sat down beside her.

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He sat down beside her and smiled a dazzling smile. She glanced over and appraised him. He had dark hair, dark eyes and of course there was that smile. She returned his smile "Hi," she said seductively.

"Hi," his smile grew bigger. He flagged down the bartender and ordered a beer. He turned back to Casey "So what's your name?" he asked.

"Casey," she answered. She could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks simply from the power of his smile and of course the inhibition lowering effects of the alcohol "What's yours?" she asked.

He hesitated for a moment but answered "I'm Ellis," his voice was just to die for and Casey felt herself falling hard.

"How come I haven't seen you around here before?" she asked with a sly smile as she nursed yet another drink.

"I'm not from around here," he began to explain. He had no idea why he was telling all of this to a complete stranger "I've only come to the city a couple of times before. I have… some business to attend to."

"What kind of business?" Casey asked, leaning in interested.

"Family business," Ellis answered simply.

"Vague much?" Casey grinned.

Ellis ordered another drink before continuing "I just have to find someone. I haven't had any luck and I have to leave tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Casey asked. If this hansom man was about to walk out of her life forever, she wanted to know where he was going.

"Moscow," he answered her question and managed to create a plethora of new questions in her mind.

She decided to ignore the questions and instead she took his hand in hers and pulled him from his barstool and into a very passionate kiss "Let's go back to my place," she offered.

"You work fast," Ellis said breathlessly as he pulled away. She was beautiful but she was drunk. He would have to turn her down. Just as he was about to protest, Casey paid the bartender and pulled Ellis out of the bar.

When they reached her apartment, they made love in practically every room. It was something that Casey would feel bad about in the morning, especially when she discovered that Ellis had left before she woke up.

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Ellis had never even given her a last name. Casey groaned. Maybe this baby would be a good thing for her. It would keep her from going out and bar hopping late at night and picking up strange men. But Ellis had seemed so nice. Casey felt like smacking herself, just because he was nice didn't mean that she had to sleep with him the second she met him, even though she probably would never get the chance to see him again.

She rolled over in bed and tried to get her mistake out of her head. She had to get to sleep if she was going to be alert for her doctor's appointment which was… she looked at the clock and groaned again. Her doctor's appointment was in a little over six hours.

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"Wow," Olivia gasped as she and Elliot lay naked on her bed "That was… wow," she wasn't exactly sure when they had moved from the couch into the bedroom but she knew that it had been good. Yes, very, very good.

"I love you," Elliot whispered as he held her tight.

"I love you too," she whispered back. Tonight was not a night for discussing the ramifications of those words. Tonight was just about the two of them. They were the only thing that mattered in the other's mind and that was how it was supposed to be.

They would have been able to revel in each other's presence for a bit longer if Olivia's cell phone hadn't begun ringing. She groaned and reluctantly separated herself from Elliot "Please let it be a wrong number," she prayed out loud as she flipped it open "Benson."

Elliot propped himself up on one elbow and listened intently to Olivia's side of the conversation. He hoped that it wasn't work. He didn't want to deal with the scum of the earth when he had just been so happy. Reality crashes down hard on people when it wants to.

"John," Olivia grumbled "Last time I checked, you were still in the same time zone as us… What was that? …That's… she said that… Oh my God… When are you coming back? …Tomorrow noon at the station… got it… Tell her I say hi… Tell her I can't wait to meet her… Okay, thanks John," she hung up the phone and turned to Elliot. She was smiling broadly "I have a cousin."

TBC

A/N: Well this was chapter one. I want to know if ya'll think I should continue. I'll take the good and the bad reviews and the ones that are full of theories. I love to hear theories. I'm sorry if the EO seems rushed but I have a lot going on here and I was afraid that if I tried to make it too subtle, it wouldn't get through. I promise that there will be some nice EO angst later on if you guys want me to continue this story. So please review and tell me what you think. I'll stop rambling now.