p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"Chapter 2 is up! Tell me what you think so far please! :)/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;".../strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:00 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; tab-stops: 153.0pt;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"HOSPITALspan style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"Rollins stood by Harper as she lay on a hospital bed. Her expression was blank but Rollins knew better./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;""You alright?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"She didn't look at Amanda, instead choosing to count the lines on the ceiling. "I can't believe he would do this to me just to make a point."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Has he always been like this?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No. It started when our baby died." She whimpered a little and bit her lip. "He'd just drink and drink and then one day he started taking it out on me… I thought moving from Hoboken would give us a fresh start."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her face. "It didn't. And then I found out I could never get pregnant again. It all went downhill from there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Before Amanda could attempt to comfort her, a doctor came in. "Hello Harper, are you ready?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah..."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'll just be outside, okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She left too early to see the tears rolling down Harper's cheeks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:15 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya watched as Olivia stood over Carisi and the latest person she had met: Fin Tutuola. He was an unconventional cop but he seemed to have a good heart. They were checking Ren's records./p
p class="MsoNormal""His only prior is public intoxication," Carisi murmured in a tone that sounded like disappointment./p
p class="MsoNormal""He gets drunk, he rapes her," Olivia said. "We've seen this before, it's not that out there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya frowned. How did they talk about such awful things so casually?/p
p class="MsoNormal""What are you guys up to?" Rollins had come back./p
p class="MsoNormal""Ren only has one prior. Public intoxication." Fin said./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's just for New York, right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""What do you mean?" Carisi asked, interested./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, she told me they used to live in Hoboken. Maybe public intoxication is his only em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"New York/em prior. Check his New Jersey records."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia nodded. "Okay, that's a good start. Rollins, you and Fin try to find whatever you can about New Jersey. Rhya and Carisi, go talk to Ren Takahashi."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Wait…m-me? Wouldn't you rather I stay here and search his priors?" Rhya was shocked Olivia trusted her enough to send her out on her first day on the job. She couldn't help but compare it to the Little Rock PD. They never sent her on anything./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nope, Carisi will help you out. You need experience."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded. "I won't let you down, Lieutenant."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia smiled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:34 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"TAKAHASHI RESIDENCE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya began to twiddle her thumbs as they approached the Takahashi's apartment. She imagined him as an ugly, fat old loser. She heard Carisi chuckle./p
p class="MsoNormal""What?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You look irritated." He knocked on the door./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, I am."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The door opened and Ren appeared. He had jet black hair and brown eyes settled in a permanently cocky gaze./p
p class="MsoNormal"She blinked when she realized he wasn't ugly at all. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"That's not fair/em. It was easier to imagine him as an ugly, monster. She pretended he had a wart just above his lip./p
p class="MsoNormal""Good morning Mr. Takahashi. NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He shrugged and opened the door wider. "Sure, go ahead."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Cocky idiot./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"When they were settled in the living room, Carisi began immediately. "Where were you March 23suprd/sup at 9PM?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He blinked. "What, you mean yesterday?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi and Rhya looked at each other./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, okay. Whatever happened then, it wasn't me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Give us an alibi." Rhya demanded. She was a little shocked by her boldness but made sure to keep it concealed. Investigations always brought out her daring, fearless side./p
p class="MsoNormal""I was hanging out at a friend's house. From 8 to 10 PM."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Does this friend have a name? Or an address?" Carisi asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Julia Beaumont. And she lives on 31supst/sup street. Apartment B. Room 28."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"This friend is a woman?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"After reading their expressions, he rolled his eyes and snickered./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:53 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"JULIA BEAUMONT RESIDENCE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""I was at a friend's house." Rhya mocked Ren, making sure to put "friend" in quotation marks. "Yeah, friends with benefits."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're all worked up," Carisi was grinning at her./p
p class="MsoNormal""What?!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Reminds me of me when I first started, is all."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya knocked on Julia's door before Carisi could. She smirked at his amused expression./p
p class="MsoNormal"A woman with her hair pulled into a ponytail opened the door. "Hi, can I help you two?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi nodded at her to take the lead. "Are you Julia Beaumont?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yep."/p
p class="MsoNormal""NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm kind of busy, I'm playing with my children."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Send your kids to their room. This is serious."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her nose. "Fine. Give me a moment." She closed the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"They waited a few beats before she opened again. They entered, careful not to step on the assortment of children's toys littered across the floor./p
p class="MsoNormal""So, what is your relationship with Ren Takahashi?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She squinted at them. "He's my best friend."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Was he at your house last night?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, from 8 to 10 PM."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What were you two doing for two hours?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"We were hanging out," After she saw their disbelieving faces, she continued. "Listen we aren't having an affair, okay? We kissed em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"once/em and it didn't feel right. We're just friends. We played cards, talked, watched TV."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're best friends with a wife-beater?" Carisi asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"She growled. "He's not a bad person. No one is perfect, he's trying his best. And anyway that bitch doesn't appreciate him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Yeah...Harper's the bitch./em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Is there anyone who can corroborate your story?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well…my kids I guess…?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"After a couple more questions, they left. Rhya was utterly disgusted. "No wonder they're friends, she enables him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:16 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey, what'd you guys find?" Olivia asked as Rhya and Carisi entered./p
p class="MsoNormal""Ren's a cocky ass—sorry, I mean he's not a nice guy." In her peripheral vision she could see Carisi cracking up. She ignored him. "His alibi is that he was at a friend's house."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Who is this friend?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi raised a hand. "Julia Beaumont. She's kind of an enabler. She might be covering for him but we don't know for sure."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, so we called the Hoboken PD." Fin said./p
p class="MsoNormal""They're going to get us the information as soon as they can," Rollins added./p
p class="MsoNormal""Good work guys. I think we've got a case. Rhya, come with me, we're going to talk to Barba."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Who's Barba?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""He's the D.A."/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"[A/N: AAHHHHH! SQUEAL!]/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:25 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"D.A.'S OFFICE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""We're going to get him to take the case." Olivia said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded in response as the Lieutenant opened the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"A man sat in a chair. He was hunched over some papers, writing furiously. When he heard them enter, he turned./p
p class="MsoNormal"He was wearing black suspenders. She found this oddly attractive./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hi Barba, we have something for you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Go ahead," He eyed Rhya./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"He has such intelligent eyes…/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""This is Rhya Mace, she's new to the team."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Ah…" He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. His scrutinous gaze pierced through her skin and into her soul. She felt as transparent as a glass of water. Obviously he knew. He knew she thought he was cute./p
p class="MsoNormal"She looked away, settling on his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"D.A./em plaque. Avoiding his all-seeing eyes as Olivia explained the details of the case./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's not enough," he said. "I need those New Jersey priors so I can cite a pattern."/p
p class="MsoNormal""He abuses her and drinks constantly." Olivia said./p
p class="MsoNormal""She never filed charges so legally it never happened. Public intoxication is bad but not a clear indicator of abuse and rape. Get me more and we can start looking at a case."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She watched him in complete awe. He was so em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"smart/em. She blushed when she noticed he was gazing at her. Knowing exactly what she was thinking. Fortunately, her dark skin covered up the blood flowing to her cheeks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia countered him a little more but she knew he was right./p
p class="MsoNormal""He's a little intense, eh?" Rhya asked as they left the courthouse./p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Olivia sighed. "He's just Barba."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A small smile formed on Rhya's lips./p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"strongAND FIN.../strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;".../strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:00 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; tab-stops: 153.0pt;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"HOSPITALspan style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"Rollins stood by Harper as she lay on a hospital bed. Her expression was blank but Rollins knew better./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;""You alright?"/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 153.0pt;"She didn't look at Amanda, instead choosing to count the lines on the ceiling. "I can't believe he would do this to me just to make a point."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Has he always been like this?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No. It started when our baby died." She whimpered a little and bit her lip. "He'd just drink and drink and then one day he started taking it out on me… I thought moving from Hoboken would give us a fresh start."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her face. "It didn't. And then I found out I could never get pregnant again. It all went downhill from there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Before Amanda could attempt to comfort her, a doctor came in. "Hello Harper, are you ready?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah..."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'll just be outside, okay?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She left too early to see the tears rolling down Harper's cheeks./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:15 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya watched as Olivia stood over Carisi and the latest person she had met: Fin Tutuola. He was an unconventional cop but he seemed to have a good heart. They were checking Ren's records./p
p class="MsoNormal""His only prior is public intoxication," Carisi murmured in a tone that sounded like disappointment./p
p class="MsoNormal""He gets drunk, he rapes her," Olivia said. "We've seen this before, it's not that out there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya frowned. How did they talk about such awful things so casually?/p
p class="MsoNormal""What are you guys up to?" Rollins had come back./p
p class="MsoNormal""Ren only has one prior. Public intoxication." Fin said./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's just for New York, right?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""What do you mean?" Carisi asked, interested./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, she told me they used to live in Hoboken. Maybe public intoxication is his only em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"New York/em prior. Check his New Jersey records."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia nodded. "Okay, that's a good start. Rollins, you and Fin try to find whatever you can about New Jersey. Rhya and Carisi, go talk to Ren Takahashi."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Wait…m-me? Wouldn't you rather I stay here and search his priors?" Rhya was shocked Olivia trusted her enough to send her out on her first day on the job. She couldn't help but compare it to the Little Rock PD. They never sent her on anything./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nope, Carisi will help you out. You need experience."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded. "I won't let you down, Lieutenant."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia smiled./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:34 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"TAKAHASHI RESIDENCE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya began to twiddle her thumbs as they approached the Takahashi's apartment. She imagined him as an ugly, fat old loser. She heard Carisi chuckle./p
p class="MsoNormal""What?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""You look irritated." He knocked on the door./p
p class="MsoNormal""Well, I am."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The door opened and Ren appeared. He had jet black hair and brown eyes settled in a permanently cocky gaze./p
p class="MsoNormal"She blinked when she realized he wasn't ugly at all. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"That's not fair/em. It was easier to imagine him as an ugly, monster. She pretended he had a wart just above his lip./p
p class="MsoNormal""Good morning Mr. Takahashi. NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He shrugged and opened the door wider. "Sure, go ahead."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Cocky idiot./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"When they were settled in the living room, Carisi began immediately. "Where were you March 23suprd/sup at 9PM?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"He blinked. "What, you mean yesterday?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi and Rhya looked at each other./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, okay. Whatever happened then, it wasn't me."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Give us an alibi." Rhya demanded. She was a little shocked by her boldness but made sure to keep it concealed. Investigations always brought out her daring, fearless side./p
p class="MsoNormal""I was hanging out at a friend's house. From 8 to 10 PM."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Does this friend have a name? Or an address?" Carisi asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Julia Beaumont. And she lives on 31supst/sup street. Apartment B. Room 28."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"This friend is a woman?/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"After reading their expressions, he rolled his eyes and snickered./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 7:53 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"JULIA BEAUMONT RESIDENCE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""I was at a friend's house." Rhya mocked Ren, making sure to put "friend" in quotation marks. "Yeah, friends with benefits."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're all worked up," Carisi was grinning at her./p
p class="MsoNormal""What?!"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Reminds me of me when I first started, is all."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya knocked on Julia's door before Carisi could. She smirked at his amused expression./p
p class="MsoNormal"A woman with her hair pulled into a ponytail opened the door. "Hi, can I help you two?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi nodded at her to take the lead. "Are you Julia Beaumont?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yep."/p
p class="MsoNormal""NYPD. Can we ask you some questions?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm kind of busy, I'm playing with my children."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Send your kids to their room. This is serious."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She wrinkled her nose. "Fine. Give me a moment." She closed the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"They waited a few beats before she opened again. They entered, careful not to step on the assortment of children's toys littered across the floor./p
p class="MsoNormal""So, what is your relationship with Ren Takahashi?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She squinted at them. "He's my best friend."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Was he at your house last night?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Yes, from 8 to 10 PM."/p
p class="MsoNormal""What were you two doing for two hours?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"We were hanging out," After she saw their disbelieving faces, she continued. "Listen we aren't having an affair, okay? We kissed em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"once/em and it didn't feel right. We're just friends. We played cards, talked, watched TV."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You're best friends with a wife-beater?" Carisi asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"She growled. "He's not a bad person. No one is perfect, he's trying his best. And anyway that bitch doesn't appreciate him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Yeah...Harper's the bitch./em/p
p class="MsoNormal""Is there anyone who can corroborate your story?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Well…my kids I guess…?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"After a couple more questions, they left. Rhya was utterly disgusted. "No wonder they're friends, she enables him."/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:16 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"SVU STATION/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""Hey, what'd you guys find?" Olivia asked as Rhya and Carisi entered./p
p class="MsoNormal""Ren's a cocky ass—sorry, I mean he's not a nice guy." In her peripheral vision she could see Carisi cracking up. She ignored him. "His alibi is that he was at a friend's house."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Who is this friend?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Carisi raised a hand. "Julia Beaumont. She's kind of an enabler. She might be covering for him but we don't know for sure."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay, so we called the Hoboken PD." Fin said./p
p class="MsoNormal""They're going to get us the information as soon as they can," Rollins added./p
p class="MsoNormal""Good work guys. I think we've got a case. Rhya, come with me, we're going to talk to Barba."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Who's Barba?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""He's the D.A."/p
p class="MsoNormal"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"[A/N: AAHHHHH! SQUEAL!]/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"MARCH 24TH 8:25 AM/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"D.A.'S OFFICE/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal""We're going to get him to take the case." Olivia said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Rhya nodded in response as the Lieutenant opened the door./p
p class="MsoNormal"A man sat in a chair. He was hunched over some papers, writing furiously. When he heard them enter, he turned./p
p class="MsoNormal"He was wearing black suspenders. She found this oddly attractive./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hi Barba, we have something for you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Go ahead," He eyed Rhya./p
p class="MsoNormal"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"He has such intelligent eyes…/em/p
p class="MsoNormal""This is Rhya Mace, she's new to the team."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Ah…" He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. His scrutinous gaze pierced through her skin and into her soul. She felt as transparent as a glass of water. Obviously he knew. He knew she thought he was cute./p
p class="MsoNormal"She looked away, settling on his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"D.A./em plaque. Avoiding his all-seeing eyes as Olivia explained the details of the case./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's not enough," he said. "I need those New Jersey priors so I can cite a pattern."/p
p class="MsoNormal""He abuses her and drinks constantly." Olivia said./p
p class="MsoNormal""She never filed charges so legally it never happened. Public intoxication is bad but not a clear indicator of abuse and rape. Get me more and we can start looking at a case."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She watched him in complete awe. He was so em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"smart/em. She blushed when she noticed he was gazing at her. Knowing exactly what she was thinking. Fortunately, her dark skin covered up the blood flowing to her cheeks./p
p class="MsoNormal"Olivia countered him a little more but she knew he was right./p
p class="MsoNormal""He's a little intense, eh?" Rhya asked as they left the courthouse./p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Olivia sighed. "He's just Barba."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A small smile formed on Rhya's lips./p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"strongAND FIN.../strong/p