AU. Elliot and Kathy are married with no kids because she never wanted to have any even though Elliot is dying to have one. Liv and Elliot have been partners for 7 years and are each other's best friends. So who will he go to when he discovers he has a teenage daughter that needs his help?
As he walked into the station that morning he looked pissed as he whipped his jacket down on his chair.
"Another fight with Kathy?" she asked trying to get him to talk about it before he ruined their whole day pouting and keeping it to himself. Secretly she kind of loved it when they fought because he would always look to her to talk about it and most the time when it got really bad they would just get his mind off of her by watching movies at Liv's and eating bad Chinese take-out.
"I don't know why I put up with it sometimes. I think when it's all said and done, we just want different things. I mean how many times have we had this fight?" Elliot vented.
Liv responded with and a smirk, "To many times for me to count."
That smirk, if only she knew what it did to him. If only she knew that he had been wishing for the last two years that she would ask him to just get over it and divorce Kathy, but he knew Oliva was just too good for that. She would never want to intentionally break up a marriage because as all she ever wanted was a mom and a dad, ones that loved each other and loved her.
She continued, " But I guess I have no room to talk you know I want kids, all I'm missing is the husband." She'd spent too many hours day dreaming of a life with her partner and kids of their own. She thought they could have a happy family if only he had felt the same way about her they she felt for him.
"yeah well I've got the wife and it's not doing me any good. Actually since we're talking about it can I ask you something?"
"yeah El, anything!"
He went over and sat on her desk with her in front of him sitting in her chair. He decided to just go for it. "This might not be appropriate here, but I think it is time I asked Kathy for a divorce. We don't connect anymore, we want different things and I kind have feeling for someone else. So what do you think?
Liv's mind was racing. Was she finally getting what she always wanted? A single Elliot who she could finally make a move on? But who was she kidding she would never be the one to make the first move it could wreck there entire friendship and right now that meant the entire world to her. He was the only one who was always there for her that knew everything about her and never judge her for where she came from.
Elliot stood there in front of her waving his hand. "Hello, Helloooo, earth to Liv" she snapped out of her day dream. He continued, "I asked what you thought about that?
Before she could answer a girl she thought to be about 15 walked in slowly with her hood dangling half way over her head.
Oliva got suspicious of the way she walked in so quietly that got up and walked over to her, "Hi, I'm Detective Benson can I help you?" no sooner was Elliot right by her side
In a soft voice looking at the ground, "is this the special victims unit?
Olivia heard the girl's insecurities in her voice. Olivia immediately changed to her victim voice that Elliot loved, it was just so compassionate, "yes, honey. I'm Detective Benson and this is my partner detective Stabler. Do you have something you need to report?
The girl slowly looked up and when they saw her bruised eye and busted lip they knew something was wrong. Trying not to worry her Liv calmly asked her to come into one of the interview rooms and sit down.
Elliot knew that he should probably just let Olivia take this one on her own and that a teenage girl would probably feel more comfortable without a male present in the room but there was just something about this little girl. He felt so bad for her and just felt like he needed to help her for some reason.
As they all sat down Olivia looked at Elliot questioningly as in why he would think that she would feel comfortable with a male in the room if she was here to report a rape. But he sat sown anyway so she continued, "so can you tell me your name and what happened?"
"My name's Cassie," she said, "but do you both really have to be here?"
"No, Sorry" Elliot got up "you girls talk, but first do you want something to drink" he felt stupid for trying to stay in the interview room so he thought he would be polite and ask to get her some water.
She nodded her head so he sat down the cup and walked out of the room. He didn't know what it was but he just felt some sort of connection to this girl. Then he walked to the one sided mirror so he could listen in on the interview.
Once Elliot left Liv started "so Cassie, can you tell me why you're here."
She took a drink and started slowly, quietly in that same voice she came in with. "He comes into my room sometimes while I'm sleeping, sometimes it's just with his hands but most of the time it's more. I just need to get out of there! Please, I need your help. Just please get me out of there." She stops as tears are running down her face.
"Out of where, honey? Who's doing this to you? You're Dad? Olivia responds
"No, I don't have a real Dad. He's my foster dad. He just…he thinks he owns me" She looks Olivia straight in the eye and it sends a chill down Olivia's spine. She continues "when I try to fight him off or say that I'm gonna tell someone this is what he does to me." As she points to her face.
Elliot watches the girl through the glass. First he wants to throw up hearing what a grown man is doing to this girl and then he gets a sudden rage to beat the crap out of this guy when they find him.
Olivia looks at the girl her heart breaking a little. "We're gonna get you out of there sweetheart we just need his name so we can press charges"
Cassie suddenly freaks out "What! Press Charges! No! I don't wanna press charges I just want to be put in a different house. He'd kill me if I pressed charges!" the tears start again as she paces the room
Olivia is stunned at her freak out she thought that that was why she was there. "honey, we have to arrests him what he is doing is wrong, against the law and you don't deserve that" she is cut off by a cell phone ringing.
Cassie takes out her cell phone, "oh no! it's Him! What if he knows I here, he's gonna kill me. I've gotta go" she goes to walk out the door.
"Wait" Olivia says "take my card, I want to help you! If you change your mind or just need some help, here's my number call me. And with that Cassie was out the door.
Elliot walked into the interview room and it was written all over both of their faces. It was hitting them hard and they knew that needed to help this girl.
Elliot broke the silence, "We need to help this girl, we can't let her go home to that. we just need to figure out who she is."
Olivia agreed. "yeah, well at least we have her DNA" she held up the Styrofoam cup Cassie was drinking from.
They took the cup to Warner and started looking through all of the foster kids files they could get their hands on but there were just to many and no way to narrow down the search.
They looked all day and found nothing. Cragen walked out of his office to send them home for the night. Both of them get up got their things, put on their jackets and walked to the elevator.
Elliot broke the silence as they got in the elevator. "Liv, I don't wanna go home." He looked down like he was a little ashamed "Our conversation we were having this morning, I was telling the truth. I don't love her anymore. I want a divorce."
Olivia countered, "Well El, you know my spare room is always open and I always have some left over Chinese in the fridge." Olivia smiled thinking of her and Elliot sharing an apartment
Elliot smiled back "thanks, Liv. You know you mean the world to me" he let it slip… maybe it would be okay he thought. Maybe, just maybe she felt the same but before she could respond he continued. "I think I'm gonna take you up on your offer but first I'm gonna go break the news to Kathy."
"Good Luck" she said with a smile as he walked away but all she could think about was that he just told her that she meant the world to him. She felt like maybe something in this world would finally work out in her favor.