Hello everyone! If you are a constant reader of mine, I hope you enjoy this new story and if you are a new reader, stumbling across my story, stay and enjoy.

A/N: All SVU characters are not of my making. I only claim the rights to the Coenen family and any non-canon perps.

Chapter One

"Your credentials precede you; you must be Sergeant Coenen," Lieutenant Olivia Benson said to Deborah, shaking her hand warmly. "You certainly seem too young for the experience you come with."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm glad to be here," Deborah said with a soft, polite smile. "I'm sorry I got here so late; it took longer to unpack than I thought it would."

"Don't worry about it. I sent my detectives home after we finished our last case, so the squad room will be empty while you do your paperwork," Lieutenant Benson replied, smiling back.

Deborah chuckled softly. "Maybe that means I'll get to finish in one go," she said, shaking her head. "You go on home, I'll lock up when I leave."

Lieutenant Benson nodded, picking up her purse before leaving the squad room, glancing back only once to see Deborah sitting at her new desk and beginning to fill out form after form almost without thinking about it. Olivia chuckled to herself before leaving the building and going back to her apartment.

Meanwhile, Deborah was filling out forms she had seen more than she would have thought, her mind wandering aimlessly through the never ending checklist of things she would need to do before she went back to her condo. She would, of course, have to buy groceries on her way back, and Beks had asked for a new journal which meant Pan and JJ would want new ones as well even though they never used them. As she had been thinking about her to-do list, Deborah had gotten to the form that required her emergency contacts and family members that would need to be notified should anything happen to her.

This form always caused her pause; did she really want her younger sister to be the first person contacted if something happened to her? She honestly didn't, but there really wasn't anyone else to be called. Beks, Pan and JJ were the only family she had, the only family she needed anymore. She scrawled Beks' full name and phone number, then filled out the remaining forms, putting the pile on her lieutenant's desk before walking out of the squad room, locking it up and walking back to the entrance.

She walked briskly down the street to where she had parked her car. Just beyond her car, she saw a bar, stopping next to her car, a hand on the roof as she stared at the bar, chewing on her lip. Finally, the warm glow of the bar enticed her into its embrace. The scent of stale beer and body odor was strong, but living with a thirteen year old boy had made her impervious to even the worst smells. She sighed and sat at a bar, ordering a vodka tonic.

"What's a pretty girl like you need a vodka anything for?" a light haired man asked her, smiling.

"Personal preference," Deborah replied, smiling up at him.

"Strange preference for someone so young," he said, tilting his head. "Dominick Carisi, but you can call me Sonny."

"Deborah Coenen, you can call me Debbie," she murmured, shaking his offered hand. "And I'm not so young that I wouldn't like vodka."

Sonny laughed, shaking his head. "I suppose I've just never seen anyone order a vodka tonic here; too high class," he said in a teasing way.

Deborah smiled, sipping her drink as she and Sonny talked well into the night. They didn't talk about what their jobs were, they talked about they wanted in life, their craziest dreams. It was the most scintillating conversation she had ever had with a man in a bar. Without ever revealing more about themselves than necessary, they became quite close.

"It's getting late, I should go home," Deborah murmured, standing.

"Can you drive home?" Sonny asked, tilting his head.

"Only had two drinks; I should be the one asking you that," Deborah said, shaking her head teasingly.

"I'm not driving, I'm walking."

"Then I hope you get there safe and unharmed," she murmured, smiling as she walked backward away from him.

By the time she got back to her home, it was beginning to get light outside, so instead of trying to eke out a few minutes of sleep, Deborah decided to take a shower and get ready for her first day in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. She heard her siblings starting to move around at about seven thirty; JJ went to the kitchen to make himself cereal, Pan went to the living room, likely with a pop tart in hand, and flipped on a tv, and Beks soon came to her sister's bathroom, settling herself on the countertop closest to Deborah, watching her curl her hair and put on her make up.

"You got in late last night," Beks observed after a few moments of silence.

"I had to fill out forms at the precinct," Deborah replied automatically.

Beks watched her sister for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "Were you drinking?"

"It's legal for me to do so."

"Debbie."

"I had two drinks," Deborah said defensively.

"Did you even sleep?" Beks asked, biting her lip. Deborah stayed silent, earning an exasperated sigh from Beks. "That isn't good for you, Deb."

"I know. I promise I'll get lots of sleep tonight," Deborah said, turning to Beks and kissing her cheek. "I'll see you after work. Keep your brother and sister from killing each other. Take them to see a movie later if you want; taser's in my bedside drawer."

"Yes, ma'am!" Beks said, sarcastically saluting her sister.

Deborah shook her head, kissing Beks' cheek before walking down to the kitchen to pick up an apple and kiss JJ's forehead, then to the living room to kiss Pan goodbye. She stood outside the door of her home, taking a few deep breaths before walking down to where she had parked her car and drove to the precinct, mentally preparing for getting to know a whole new squad and beginning her work in a new place. Walking into the squad room, she had no idea that there was at least one person in the squad room who wouldn't need that much introduction.

"And here she is," Lieutenant Benson said, smiling as she turned to Deborah. "Sergeant Coenen."

Deborah looked up, smiling until her eyes rested on a very familiar face. She turned to Benson with a rather forced smile. "Glad to be here, Lieutenant," she said, ducking her head slightly.

"Sergeant, this is Detective Rollins, Detective Tutuola, and Detective Carisi. I was just filling them in on an outcry we got last night," Benson said, turning back to the rest of the squad. "Twelve year old girl has accused her piano teacher of sexually assaulting her."

Deborah nodded. "Is she still at the hospital?"

"Yes and I vetted her last night, so now we're looking for the piano teacher, but he isn't at his home right now. We have unis waiting for him, but we aren't going to sit around doing nothing. Rollins, you man the phone. Fin, you're with me canvassing the rest of the neighborhood. Sergeant Coenen and Carisi, you go to his mother's house; we received a tip that he might be there, but we don't want to cause a scene."

"Yes, Lieutenant," Deborah said, nodding. She turned to Carisi, feeling her stomach start to sink. As if the first day at a new job wasn't awkward enough.

Well, here's the beginning of the real story. I hope you all enjoyed it.