A/N: Hey all, so I'm trying my hand at an A/O fanfic. I've never written for SVU before, so please let me know what you think. I hope you all enjoy it. This is just a short first chapter, but there is still plenty more to come. Thank you to Beth for being my sounding board and helping me bring my idea to this point. And thank you all in advance for reading.
"Hey, what are you guys working on?" I heard. I turned to see my partner standing beside his desk, looking in my direction. He was clearly checking out the evidence board behind me.
"Oh, just a case. Everything can't just stop because you're not here, y'know?" I retorted, as I smiled at Elliot.
"Damn, really?!" he said, keeping up with the banter.
"Is everything OK at home now?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, thanks Liv. It feels like I've been gone a lot longer than a week!"
"Well, it's good to have you back." Alex piped up from beside me. She'd been helping me with a case for the past few days.
"You're not gonna steal my job are you?" Elliot joked.
"You're in no danger of that. I've only been working this case with Olivia for a few days and already I feel like I need a vacation. I don't know how you guys do it all the time."
"Someone's gotta do it. Right Liv?" Elliot asked.
"Right." I replied, as we all turned to take in the evidence board.
After a minute's silence, Elliot spoke again.
"So, what've you got?" he asked.
"Naomi Rimmer, she's fifteen. Lives with her mother and step father. Someone broke into the family home in the middle of the night and raped her. She claims that she never saw the attacker's face and the perp was smart enough to wear a condom, so he left no DNA behind. My money's on the step father though." Alex reeled off. I was impressed with how she'd handled herself on this case and I was now being impressed by how she was summing up the case for Elliot. I should have known that she'd be good at summing up though, after all she did it at the end of every trial.
"Liv?" I heard my name, and was instantly pulled out of my inner thoughts.
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Alex asked me.
"Uh, no. I think you got everything. And for what it's worth, I think it was the step father too. By the look of the girls mother, he's used to pushing women around." I added.
"I hate men that beat up women." Elliot said, the anger within him visibly rising.
"They're just weak." Alex replied.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Detective Benson." I heard a male voice behind me. I turned to see a man, just inside the doorway of the one-six, looking in my direction. He had big doe eyes, and seeing him standing there like that, he looked so vulnerable.
"I'm Detective Benson, how can I help you?" I asked, moving away from the evidence board, and towards the man.
"I'd like to report an assault." the man said, barely above a whisper.
"OK, would you like to follow me to an interview room, there's one just here." I said, leading him the few paces from the door to the nearest available interview room.
He sat down at the chair on the far side of the table, and I pulled my chair around so I was sitting closer to him. He seemed so fragile. I grabbed my notebook and a pen.
"Can you tell me your name?" I asked.
"Joseph, … my name is Joseph Daniels." he replied, shakily.
I scribbled down the name in my notepad, then looked back up at the broken man sitting in front of me.
"OK, Joseph. Who was it that was assaulted? Was it you?" I asked.
The man in front of me sat frozen for several seconds, then nodded gently. Just the once.
"I … I was, beaten up." he stuttered. He stopped then, but I felt that there was more he wanted to say, so I just sat silently waiting for him to carry on. After a minute or so, he began to speak again. "I was also, … raped." he muttered the last word, but I heard it.
"OK, Joseph, do you mind if I call you Joseph?" I asked then. He just shook his head, so I continued. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to need you to make a statement, OK? I need you to tell me everything that happened, as much as you can remember. Leave nothing out. Then we're going to go to the hospital, and you're going to have to be examined. Does that sound OK to you?" I asked, looking at this broken man in front of me. My heart went out to him, it really did.
"That's OK. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Good. Now, can we start at the beginning. When did this happen?" I asked.
"I'd just finished work, I left at seven, I always finish at seven. I'm not allowed to lock up, the last guy that locked up took half the stock with him. I left out the back because the front was locked up, the door closed behind me, it locks automatically, I don't have a car, I always ride my bike. I went to unchain my bike when a man came up to me, he asked me for the time, before I'd even pulled my sleeve up to see my watch he hit me over the back of the head. I remember feeling like I was falling, then it went dark. I woke up and felt... I felt him inside me. The pain was unbearable, I cried, I could hear him laughing at me but he didn't stop."
I watched as Joseph took a moment, I could hear the tears choking his throat. I let him know with a nod that I was listening and it was OK to continue. He sniffed back tears then started talking again.
"He made me turn over, he told me if I bite he'd blow my brains out."
"He had a gun?" I asked needing to know the make and model.
"I didn't see it. I was just so scared, so I did it."
"I understand, go on." I said softly, again letting him know to continue.
"He told me to look at him, that's how I saw his face. Then, it was over and he was gone. I was just left in the parking lot, alone."
"Do you think you could talk to a sketch artist?"
"Of course, I'll never forget that face." he replied to me, I could tell he was deeply hurt, scared even, yet utterly determined to end all of this.
Twenty minutes later, I was finished taking his statement. Looking at him now, it seemed like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, just by sharing his ordeal.
"What happens now? Do I go to the hospital?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, I'll escort you. If you just give me a minute. I'll be right back." I said, getting up from my seat and making my way to Elliot's desk.
I'd sat with this woman for the last half an hour, sharing intimate details about how I'd been assaulted and raped. It had been so hard for me to come to terms with, but this Detective made it seem so easy to open up. She was kind and she seemed to really care. I knew instantly that I liked her, admired her even. It must have been difficult, doing a job that had you dealing with victims every day. Not to mention the scum she must come across when trying to catch the perpetrators. I'd walked into this building half an hour ago, feeling like a broken down, feeble mess. Now, I felt like Detective Benson had given me back some of my self esteem, just by listening to me and wanting to help. I knew now that whatever happened next, I wanted to see her again. Now I had her attention, I would stop at nothing to keep it. Nothing and no-one could get in my way, I wouldn't allow it.
A/N 2: I know there wasn't a lot of A/O in this chapter, but there will be in chapters to come. I promise!