"pressuring a victim into a rape kit? Since when is that a good idea?"
Olivia Benson shook her head. The blond detective walking next to her might be promising at her job but sometimes she made a risky call and this had been one of those.
They had just spoken to Gia Eskas who was a patient in the LaGuardia psych ward. A fellow patient claimed he had seen her get raped and they had been ordered them to investigate the allegation. The alleged victim however, had told them no such thing had happened and had refused to take a rape kit. Benson agreed with the other detective, Amanda Rollins, that a rape kit should be done but this wasn't really the way.
When Gia had refused to talk Rollins had said that they would leave her alone once she took a rape kit and Gia had given in, clearly wanting to get rid of them.
Olivia wasn't going to tell Rollins this but even though she didn't agree on the risky method, it was a good thing what she had done. Gia may not have wanted to talk, but agreeing to the rape kit might be her way of pleading them to ask more questions, she might be hoping they would find something.
They rode back together in silence, neither wanting to really talk to the other and both thinking about the difficult task that was ahead of them. Rollins however was thinking of a different task; convincing detective Benson that she was capable of doing her job.
From the moment she had started working the SVU unit in New York the brunette had disliked her and she could not figure out why. She wasn't great at her job but she tried her best and she was definitely kind to everybody, not just her victims. She had tried to form a bond with the older detective but it had proved impossible.
Her other colleagues, Fin Tutuola, John Munch and Nick Amaro had soon accepted her presence and especially Fin, who was usually her partner, seemed to actually like her.
But Amanda was terribly afraid to let people in, she had done that at her previous job and what had happened had made her flee to New York. She wouldn't let that happen again, it was bad enough that they knew about her gambling problem, the rest she would keep to herself. She could take care of herself.
After they came back to the station they went over Gia's medical records. The poor girl had been in and out of LaGuardia ever since she was fourteen. She had attempted suicide multiple times and suffered from several mental problems.
The case progressed slowly, if even at all. They talked to Gia's mother about her former accusations of rape. They talked to another patient who had been in a fight with Gia. The patient told them about a guard that had sex with Gia but the guard claimed he was doing his job by letting her give him a bj because she was asking for a gun in return and it was his so-called duty to find out why she wanted it.
After this Benson and Rollins went back to talk to Gia.
"We know you're angry and afraid but getting a gun isn't the answer"
"says the woman who carries one on her hip"
Olivia sighed and looked down at her holster. "yeah, and bad things have happened to me. I've been stabbed. I've been assaulted, and my gun didn't save me"
Amanda Rollins her heart started racing. Her partner had been assaulted. That explained a few things. It also made her cringe. She barely kept in her emotions as she and Benson finished the interview and walked from the room. She needed to go home, she needed to go home right now.
"I'm gonna go home for a bit to get some lunch. Can you tell the captain I'll be back around two?"
Without waiting for a reply the blond detective stormed out of the hospital leaving the brunette behind, stunned. What was that all about she thought. But she didn't give it any more thought than that. She was certain the younger detective could take care of herself and in the meantime Olivia had a perp to prosecute.
While Benson did some research into the vic's uncle, George, Rollins rode home thinking about what she had just learned. Her colleague had been in the same trouble as her, and yet she had come out stronger. Amanda was going home to take control again. To do something she hadn't done in a long time but what was the only thing that could calm her.
As she walked into her apartment. She looked in the mirror hanging opposite the front door and cringed at the sight of herself. Where the woman she was working with had feminine curves and a beautiful body she herself had no shape, only fat, and something needed to be done.
She made her way to her bathroom and found what she needed; a razorblade. She carefully took it apart and looked at the gleaming blade. Slowly she pulled up her sleeve and revealed her scars to the light. There were dozens of them, all entirely healed. Without further thinking she put the blade to her skin and drew a fresh cross over her arm. Crimson blood poured out immediately. She had missed this, the sting of the blade taking her mind of the never ending pain.
She could do this to keep her sane while she worked this case. She could quit after, if she wanted to, after all she had quit before. But this wasn't the only thing she needed to do, she needed to lose weight and that meant eating little, if eating at all. But that as well she could do. She would earn the respect of her colleagues. And as she thought that she put on her tracksuit. Running always took her mind of eating and so she ran, instead of listening to the growl of her stomach.