AN: I usually try to stick with the story line of the show when writing my fics. This time, however, I am trying something different. Later in this fic, the story will deviate a lot from what actually happens in the show. Still, I hope you enjoy reading. Your reviews will help determine whether I continue with story or not so please be honest but please respectful.

Chapter 1: Beautiful Stranger

It was five fifteen in the morning and much too early for her to be awake for how late she'd stayed up the night before. Amanda Rollins was well into her third year as a Manhattan Special Victims Unit detective. It was a plum job when she first arrived. It was a step up from the job she was doing in Atlanta. She couldn't have been more excited to start working with such a great squad, known for the difference they made in the lives of victims and survivors. The fresh start the move to New York gave her was an added bonus.

It'd only been three years but it felt like a short lifetime. She'd been through a lot in her new home. She thought she'd left all the drama back home in Georgia but it seemed to follow her wherever she went. From her hometown in Loganville to Atlanta and finally to Manhattan, drama followed her. For some of it, she had herself to blame. The drama of her own making is why she'd stopped at a coffee shop on her way to meet Olivia Benson, the newly promoted Sergeant and acting commander of SVU, at the hospital for a new case. Even though it wasn't fully daylight, she was wearing her sunglasses because of the massive headache resulting from her late night out. She'd popped a few Tylenol before she left her apartment and she wasn't taking her glasses off until it kicked in. She was grateful to have found a coffee shop that was open this early in the morning. She was in desperate need of caffeine.

The barista called her order and she stepped up to take her coffee. She looked at her watch and saw it was now five thirty. She had to get a move on. Olivia was waiting for her at the hospital so they could interview the victim and get started on their new case. She quickly turned around and opened the door to leave. When she stepped out, she ran into a woman trying to enter the coffee shop. Some of the coffee splashed out of the cup through the hole in the lid and burned her hand. She quickly wiped her hand off on her pants to get rid of the hot liquid.

"I'm so sorry" she said to the woman she'd just run into.

"It's ok" the woman said back. Her voice was soft and sweet and it got Amanda's attention. "Is your hand ok?" she asked. Amanda looked at the woman and saw a face that was just as sweet as her voice.

"Yeah….it's good" she said distracted by the woman's beauty. "Oh good lord, I ruined your shirt" Amanda said noticing that her coffee had splashed on her.

"It's just a shirt. Your hand is more important" she said sweetly. "I assume you have somewhere important to be". She stepped aside so Amanda could continue on to where she was hurrying off to. Amanda stepped past her and the woman stepped into the coffee shop. She turned and caught the door before it could close.

"Uh, wait. What about your shirt?" she called after her. The woman turned around with a smile on her face. Amanda didn't understand how she could be so cheery after just having hot coffee spilled on her.

"It's ok" she said again. "I have another one in the back". Amanda furrowed her brow. "I work here" she explained. "Have a nice day" she said nicely before turning and heading to the back of the coffee shop. Amanda watched until she disappeared through a door behind the counter marked employees only. She cursed herself when she turned and almost ran into someone else. She made her way to her truck and headed to the hospital. When she stepped off the elevator, it was obvious that Sgt. Benson was annoyed with her being late. She made up an excuse about her dog being sick. She gave sarcastic "Copy that, Sergeant" when Olivia came down on her about being late then quickly moved on to talking about the case. "Another great week at SVU begins" she said, sarcasm still evident in her tone. She walked in front of Olivia even though she didn't know where the victim was and Olivia followed behind her letting her sarcastic remark slide.

The case the squad was working on took Amanda to Atlantic City, the last place she needed to be. She went to the casino and gambled away more money that she didn't have. She was late meeting Barba the next morning to talk to the judge about getting their victim released from a juvenile center. She continued to bump heads with him throughout the case and to make matters worse someone from Jersey PD had seen her at the casino and was a real ass about it. She hoped he wouldn't become a problem for her. The case came together over the next couple of days. They arrested all the guilty parties and got their victim into a group home that would help get her back on the right track. Amanda felt good about the end results.

The next day was her day off so she went back to the coffee shop she'd visited almost two weeks earlier to find the mystery woman she'd spilled her coffee on. It turned out she didn't work that day but being a detective had its perks. She showed her badge to the cashier who directed her towards the manager. She assured her that her employee wasn't in any trouble and that she just wanted to talk to her. She described the woman that she was looking for and was able to get her name and address. When she went to the address the manager had given her, she found out that she no longer lived there and left no forwarding address. She called Fin and asked him to run her name but she wasn't in the system. She figured she'd just keep going back to the coffee shop until she found her. She went home, got Frannie, and took her out with her for a jog. She ended up at a dog park a few miles from her apartment and let Frannie off her leash to run around and play with the other dogs. She looked across the park and saw just the woman she'd been looking for, sitting in the grass. What are the odds they'd be at the same dog park on the same day at the same time? Whatever they were, Amanda didn't care. She was just glad they were in her favor. She walked over to her and said her name aloud for the first time.

"Dollah" she said hoping she was saying her name right. She looked up and shielded her eyes, giving them shade from the sun so she could see who'd just said her name. She recognized the blonde from their encounter at the coffee shop.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"I went back to your job and talked to your manager. She told me" Amanda explained. "Do you mind if I sit?" she asked, hoping that the woman didn't think she was a creep or a stalker.

"It's a free country" she said dropping her hands from shielding her eyes. "Most of the time" she added. Amanda chuckled and sat down next to her in the grass. "So you went into my job and asked my manager for my name?" Amanda nodded. "Libby wouldn't just tell you, a stranger, my name" she said not believing her.

"I'm a detective. I showed her my badge and told her I needed to talk to you" she admitted. "Don't worry. I told her you weren't in any trouble" she said when she saw a nervous look come over her.

"I'm not worried" she said turning her attention back to the pets playing in the park. Amanda found herself staring at the beautiful woman sitting next to her. She was fair skinned with shoulder length honey blonde hair and mesmerizing grey eyes. She didn't want to be presumptuous but she guessed from her features that she was of Asian descent. "Which one is yours?" she asked, breaking Amanda from her trance.

"Um, she's the golden brown mutt over there" she said pointing out her dog. "Her name is Frannie Mae".

"Frannie Mae?" Dollah asked with a smile.

"Yes. Frannie Mae". Dollah laughed and nodded her head.

"I like that" she said still smiling. "Frannie Mae" she said again softly to herself.

"Which one is yours?" Amanda asked.

"I have the Golden Retriever there and the German Shepard over there but they're not mine" she said. "A couple of my neighbors, they travel a lot for work. They pay me to keep their dogs for them" she explained. "So do you make it a habit to track down people over soiled shirts?" she asked.

"No, just you". Dollah looked over to see Amanda staring at her again. She couldn't help but think that she had such beautiful eyes. She looked away and focused on the dogs she was supposed to be taking care of.

"Well, you didn't have to. I told you, it's just a shirt".

"I didn't want to find you because of the shirt" Amanda said honestly. Dollah swallowed hard and avoided making eye contact with her companion. She looked at her watch and saw it was time for her to leave. She stood up and brushed off her clothes then picked up the leashes that were sitting on the ground next to her.

"I have to go" she said softly. She gave a nice smile then walked in the direction of her dogs. She got them on their leashes and started to leave the park but something made her go back to the beautiful woman she'd been talking to. "You never told me your name" she said sweetly.

"Amanda".

"Well, it was nice talking to you Amanda. Maybe you'll call me sometime" she said before turning to leave the park.

"But I don't have your number" she called after her. Dollah smiled and turned around again.

"You didn't have my name either" she pointed out. Amanda laughed and nodded her head. She had a valid point. "Bye". She turned and left the dog park and went on about her day. Amanda watched her until she disappeared. She let Frannie play in the park for a while longer before putting her back on her leash and making the jog back to her apartment. She showered and changed her clothes then left her apartment again with Frannie in tow. Her first stop was to the coffee shop to get Dollah's full name from her application. There was a phone number but when she called it was disconnected. Even though it was her day off she went into the precinct to run her name through the computer. She found her in the DMV database but the address on her license was the same address she'd already visited. Dollah didn't live there anymore. Olivia saw her sitting at her desk through her office window. She got up from her desk and walked out to the squad room.

"Rollins, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm just, ummm" she paused trying to figure out how to explain what she was doing. Benson waited for a minute before walking over and looking at her screen.

"Dollah Rasyid" she said reading the name of the woman whose picture was on Amanda's screen. "Something happen to her?"

"No" Amanda said quickly. "I'm just trying to find a current address or phone number for her".

"Why?"

"It's personal" she said letting her know that she didn't want her poking around in her business.

"Anything I need to know about?" she asked. Rollins shook her head.

"No. I'm all good Sergeant" she said. The entire squad knew about her gambling problems but they didn't know that she'd started gambling again. She was working hard to keep it under wraps so they wouldn't find out. She assured her that it was nothing that had to do with or would affect her job. Olivia went back to her office and left Rollins to her own devices. Fin walked into the squad and saw his partner sitting at her desk with her dog at her feet.

"I thought it was your day off" he said taking a seat at his desk.

"Yeah, it is" she said not looking away from her computer screen.

"You find the woman you were looking for?" he asked. She nodded her head and continued to click through anything she could find about Dollah online. "Soo…what you doing here?"

"I just need her current address or a phone number" she said repeating the same thing she'd said to Benson.

"I thought you said you found her. Why didn't you just ask her?" he asked. Amanda was too busy looking for Dollah on social media to pay attention to her partner and answer his question. "Hello" he said reaching his hand forward to wave in her face. When she continued to ignore him, he got up from his desk and walked around to see what she was staring at on her computer. He saw her clicking through pictures presumably trying to find the woman she'd called him about earlier. It was surprising to Amanda that she couldn't find her anywhere on social media. She went to Google images, typed her name into the search engine and mentally crossed her fingers. She smiled when she saw one picture of the woman she was looking for come up on the screen. She clicked on the picture and saw it was an image that was uploaded to someone else's facebook page. "That's who you're looking for?" Fin asked. Amanda nodded her head and went back to the DMV database to search for the woman who'd posted Dollah's picture. "Oh whoa. Wait a minute. I was looking at that" Fin said when he saw the picture disappear.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were" Amanda said giving him a sly glance over her shoulder. She found the woman's information and wrote down her address before closing out of the window and shutting down her computer. She got up from her desk, grabbed Frannie's leash and started to head out of the precinct.

"So, what happened? Why you trying to find her?" he asked nosily. Amanda just stopped and stared. "What?"

"Why do you wanna know, Fin?" she asked curiously.

"You're my partner. I just wanna make sure everything's all good. Maybe give you some backup" he lied.

"Backup, huh?"

"Yeah, backup" he said again.

"Backup for what" Nick asked. He'd just come in from his lunch break and walked into the middle of their conversation.

"Rollins is looking for some girl" Fin said bringing him into it.

"She reported missing?" he asked, not bothering to get settled at his desk in case they had a new case to go out on.

"No" Amanda said simply. Benson came out of her office and saw them standing there. It looked to her like they might be discussing something serious.

"What's going on?" she asked. "We get a new complaint?"

"Nah. Rollins is looking for some girl. We were thinking we could help her out" Fin said bringing yet another person into Amanda's business.

"N…I don't need any help. I'm good" she said objecting to their involvement.

"Well, you came in on your day off to look for her" Nick said. "It must be serious. Let us help".

"It's not serious. I'm just trying to find someone who can give me her phone number". She really wanted them to stay out of it. She was sure that if she asked, Fin and Liv would have no problem letting her be. Nick, on the other hand, wasn't so good at minding his own business. "I really don't need any help". She didn't wait for them to say anything else. She turned and walked out of the squad room with Frannie to go to the address she'd gotten for Dollah's friend.

"We really gonna let her track this down on her own?" Nick asked. "What if it turns out something did happen to the girl. She could be walking into something dangerous with no backup".

"She says it's personal" Benson said, "and it has nothing to do with a case".

"If she wants backup, she'll ask for it" Fin said sitting back down at his desk. Olivia went back to her office again and Nick just stood there, thinking about what to do next. "Whatever you're thinking, don't" Fin said seeing the wheels in his mind turning. "Just let it go". Nick reluctantly sat down at his desk and got started on his paperwork.

Amanda went to the address she'd gotten from the DMV database and hoped that someone was home. She hit buzzer after buzzer until someone answered the intercom. She said that she was a detective and she needed to talk to the woman who stayed in 3B. It was a little old lady who answered the intercom and she insisted on coming downstairs to see her badge before she'd open the door for her. Five minutes later, she was on her way up to apartment 3B with Frannie in tow. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. A man, Amanda guessed in his mid to late twenties, answered the door.

"Hi. I'm looking for Lily Raymond" she said politely.

"That's my girlfriend" he said. "Who are you?" Amanda held up her badge and asked again to speak to Lily. "One second. I'll get her". He left the door open just a crack while he went into the apartment to get his girlfriend. A minute later, a woman, around the same age as the man, came to the door.

"Yes" she said nervously.

"Hi. I'm Detective Rollins" she said showing her badge again, "Do you know Dollah Rasyid?" she asked. She nodded her head.

"None of her friends call her that. She goes by AJ". She was fidgeting with her clothes, obviously nervous to have a detective at her door. Her boyfriend came back over to the door when he heard his girlfriend mention their friend. He put his arm around her shoulder and she crossed her arms over her chest, almost as if to protect herself.

"What's going on?" he asked concerned. "Did something happen to AJ?" Amanda could tell that both of them were incredibly anxious to find out why she was there.

"No" she said hoping to calm them down. "I just need to speak with her. The address registered with the DMV isn't current".

"She moved….almost two months ago" Lily said still sounding a bit nervous.

"Yeah, and she doesn't drive so she didn't bother to get her license renewed. I don't think she gave anyone her new address" he said, hinting that he didn't want to give it to her either.

"Dan and I only know it because we helped her move" Lily chimed in. "Is this one of the dogs she's supposed to be taking care of?"

"No" Amanda said quickly. "This one's mine. I need to speak with Dol…AJ" she said trying to get what she came for so she could go. "Do you have a phone number or email so I can get in contact with her?" The man nodded and went to get a pen and paper.

"You're sure nothing's happened to her?" Lily asked worriedly. Dan came back to the door and handed her a piece of paper with a phone number and an email address written on it.

"Yes, I'm sure" Amanda said with a soft smile. The woman took a deep breath and let out a relieved sigh. Amanda thanked them for their help and then left the apartment. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the number on the paper. It rang five times and went to voicemail. "Hi, you've reached AJ. I'm otherwise occupied, so please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience". Amanda hung up before the beep. She didn't know what to say on her voicemail. She decided she'd just call back later and hoped by then she'd figure out what to say.