"My god," Munch breathed, as the squad looked over the pictures taken of Joshua Emerson. "No wonder he's terrified of everyone."
Elliot watched carefully as Olivia's eyes roamed over the pictures.
"What's that?" Fin asked, pointing to something glinting in Josh's hand.
"My badge," Olivia replied. "He wanted to keep holding it."
George Huang wandered out into the room.
"How's Josh?" Olivia asked quickly.
"I'm not sure. He won't talk to me. I think it's because either you're not there, or you're not the one talking to him."
"Would it go better if Olivia was in there?" Elliot suggested.
George nodded. "More than likely. He's a very scared young boy, and it seems the only person he really trusts at the moment is Olivia. I think he's so upset he won't speak."
"Then let's see what else we can get out of him," Cragen said.
Josh's eyes lit up as Olivia walked into the room. She sat down on the chair and Josh crawled up beside her.
"Hey, little guy. Dr Huang said you didn't want to talk to him."
Josh was silent, instead deciding to play with Olivia's badge.
"You know, Dr Huang is a friend of mine too. Just like Elliot."
Josh looked up at her. Then he turned and looked outside to where George was standing, watching the two interact. He turned back to Olivia and placed his hand in hers, as if asking her to stay with him.
Olivia nodded. "Of course I will." She motioned for George to come inside.
When he entered, Josh gripped Olivia a little tighter, but stayed put.
"Hi, Josh," George said, sitting down across from them. "Thanks for letting me come talk to you."
Josh stared.
"Is it okay for me to ask you some questions?"
Josh just stared again.
"Okay, how about we start with the basics. How old are you?"
There was no reply. George looked at Olivia for help.
"Josh? Want to tell Dr Huang how old you are?" she asked. "Just like you told me, buddy."
Joshua hesitated for a moment, before holding up four fingers.
"Four," George smiled. "That's a great age. Did you have a birthday party?"
Josh shook his head.
"Okay. Want to tell me about your mommy?"
Josh shook his head again.
Olivia looked at George who nodded to her.
"Hey, Josh, was your Mommy pretty?"
Josh poked Olivia in the chest.
"Did she look like Olivia?" George asked. When he saw no response coming, he grabbed some crayons and some paper. "Would you like to draw a picture of her?"
Olivia watched the little boy's hesitation. She took another piece of paper. "Hey, Josh, how about I draw with you? We can both draw a picture of our mommies?"
That seemed to appease the boy a little bit, and he carefully chose a crayon and started drawing. Olivia also began to draw her mother on the piece of paper.
"I'll be right back," George said, getting up.
Olivia nodded. Joshua made no movement at all.
"Opinion?" Elliot asked him.
"He's traumatized, and not just from his father being killed. At the moment, I think the only one he's going to respond to is Olivia."
"What about somewhere to stay?" Munch asked. "We can't keep him here."
"I have a suggestion, but the answer would have to come from Olivia," George mused.
"You think Liv should keep him," Elliot said, without needing George to voice it.
George nodded. "Yes, I do."
"She's a single woman, a cop who's working on his case," Cragen interjected. "Social services will never go for it."
"I may be able to pull some strings," George murmured. "But at the end of the day, it's Olivia's choice."
"Do you think he might come out with anything while he's with her at home?" Fin asked.
George nodded. "If he thinks he's in a safe environment, he might. He might even gradually come out of the traumatic state."
"Let's talk to Olivia then," Cragen said.
OLIVIA BENSON'S APARTMENT
"This is where I live," Olivia said to the little boy, as they came to her apartment. "Smaller than your house though. But it's nice."
Josh held firmly onto her hand. Elliot was coming behind them with some extra things.
Olivia unlocked the door and the little boy went in with her, his hand never leaving hers.
"Home sweet home," Olivia said, shutting the door behind them.
Joshua's eyes scanned the apartment, looking at all the different and new things.
"You want to take a look around?" Olivia asked him, noting his curiosity.
Josh left her side and stood in the room, looking around. He poked his head inside her bedroom but quickly came out again.
"Maybe he's nervous in bedrooms," Elliot suggested.
"Maybe he's just nervous, period," Olivia replied. "I'm going to make up the sofa bed."
Elliot gave her a hand as she pulled out the bed and began making it up. Josh stood to one side, watching the whole process curiously.
"I bought some old pajamas of Dickie's over. I didn't think we'd be able to get at any of the stuff from the house," Elliot said.
Olivia smiled gratefully. "Thanks." She glanced over at the little boy while she tucked in the sheets. "I'm not going to make him take a bath. He's been through enough already."
"What about you?"
Olivia arched an eyebrow as she turned around to face Elliot.
Elliot stuttered for a moment. "I meant, what is he going to do while you have a shower?"
She smiled. "Um, I was hoping maybe you'd stay with him. If he'll let you."
Elliot nodded. "No problem."
"Josh?" Olivia said, turning to the little boy. "I'm going to go have a shower. Is it alright if Elliot stays here with you?"
Josh looked nervous, as if he was unsure what he should do.
"It's up to you," Olivia told him.
Taking a deep breath, Josh sat on the couch.
"I'll be as quick as possible," Olivia assured him. She turned to Elliot. "Just call me if you need me, okay?"
"We'll be okay, Liv." Elliot sat down on the other end of the couch so as not to make Josh uncomfortable. "Promise."
Olivia returned to the living room, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. She smiled at Elliot, who was flicking the TV around to different channels.
"Hey," he smiled.
"Hi." Olivia looked down at the little boy whose big brown eyes watched every move she made. "Hi, Josh."
His hand rose up in a small wave, before quickly disappearing into his lap again.
"We were just discovering that there is nothing on late night TV," Elliot explained.
"Sounds like fun," Olivia teased. Keeping a close eye on Joshua's reaction, she sat down on the couch-bed between Elliot and Josh.
"I better let the two of you get some sleep," Elliot murmured, noticing the drooping eyes on Josh.
Olivia got up. "I'll be right back," she promised Josh.
Elliot waved. "Bye Josh. See you tomorrow."
Josh waved quickly, his hand disappearing as quickly as it had earlier.
Olivia walked Elliot out to the door.
"Thanks, for everything," she murmured.
"No problem," Elliot assured her. "Are you two going to be okay tonight?"
Olivia smiled. "I think so, yeah."
Elliot nodded. "Okay. If you need anything…either of you…give me a call, okay?"
"I will. Thanks, Elliot."
Olivia shut the door behind her partner and returned to the living room, finding Josh pressing the remote control for different channels.
"Find anything good?" she asked.
There was total silence as Josh let the control slip from his hands and he burrowed himself into the corner of the fold-out bed, his wide eyes staring up at her.
"It's okay, Josh." Olivia sat down on the other side of the bed. "You can use the remote control. It's okay." She picked up the control and handed it to him. "Here you go. Want to find us something to watch for a few minutes?"
Gingerly, Josh accepted the control and pressed around the buttons until he found some cartoons. He looked over at Olivia, waiting for her acceptance before he set the control down.
"Great choice," Olivia smiled at him.
Josh settled in to watch the cartoons, and Olivia watched with him, every so often checking both him and the clock.
Half an hour later, she decided it was bedtime.
"Josh?"
The little boy turned around to look at her.
"I think it's bedtime now, okay?"
He just nodded at her.
"Okay." Olivia stood up and pulled back the covers. "Want to hop under?"
Josh crawled under the covers, letting Olivia cover him. She took the remote control, turned off the TV and then sat on the side of the bed.
"I'll leave this lamp on here, okay? And the one in the bathroom."
Josh nodded.
Olivia pointed to her room. "I'll just be in there. If you need me, you just call or come get me, alright?"
Josh nodded again.
She took his hand and squeezed it, knowing he was too jittery for anything more. "Sleep well, Joshua."
TBC