Thank you all for the reviews, they really keep me going : ) and EllieJayde, no, I'm not on twitter, I doubt it has the power to bring back Rollaro anyway, SVU writers don't know what's best.
I really hated the way Nick left, so in this fic he's life in LA is pretty good, not rainbows and unicorns kind of good, but as you'll find out in this chapter (and the next ones) he's doing alright.
Hope you'll like this chapter, let me know.
I'll be in LA for work today, u have time to meet up?
Nick stared at his phone, it was early and the sound of the incoming text woke him up. He was surprised to see Amanda's name appear on his phone. They were keeping in touch, talking once in a while but the few times he had visited New York they kept on missing each other.
I'll be in LA for work today, u have time to meet up?
It was just a short line but he read it over and over, as if it would reveal another layer, like the letters would dance and turn into something else.
He was about to reply with a simple 'yes' or 'I'd love to' but instead he dialed her number.
"Hey" she replied after a couple of rings, sounding somewhat surprised by this call.
"You're flying over here?" he asked knowing it was a silly question, she just texted him that.
"I'm at the gate, we're boarding soon" she let him know.
"I'd love to see you, how about dinner?" he offered, sitting up in his bed.
"I don't think I'm gonna have time for dinner, but maybe a quick lunch? I have to get to the station and after that to interview an inmate, then I'm flying back here"
"Busy schedule" he smiled to himself, he remembered the long hours, always hurrying somewhere.
"Yeah, things are crazy with…" she almost said that things were hard without him, they were a man down and it's not like there was any less work to do. But Amanda kept that part to herself, he didn't need to know it.
"I understand, I'll do my best to meet you when you get the chance, it would be great… call me when you're free?"
"Yeah, I'll let you know what's going on" Amanda's heard something about her flight and realized she had to say goodbye "my flight's boarding so I better go, I'll call you"
"I can't wait to see you" he said before she hung up, not sure if she heard him. Nick rested his head on the pillow and smiled, it was true, he really wanted to see her.
Nick stared at the ceiling, thinking about Amanda and the conversation they just had, it was a little awkward, they didn't say much to each other but she was on her way to California and he would finally get to see her. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her beautiful face, it's been so long since he's laid his eyes on her and even though it could never happen, sometimes he felt like he was forgetting the way she looked, the spark in her bright eyes, they way she rolled them, her sassy remarks, they way her skin felt under his fingers, under his tongue… Nick sat upright, what was he thinking about? He had to control himself so he decided to get out of bed and take a shower, a cold one.
Nick gently rubbed his knee before he got up, the physiotherapy has helped and he was strong enough, didn't need a cane or anything to help him walk. But it wasn't the same, he couldn't run for a long time and sometimes it hurt with no apparent reason, his doctor said he was lucky, it could have been a lot worse.
Nick didn't feel so lucky, after all, he would have felt better if he hadn't been shot, if his career wasn't screwed up. This was not his plan, to start over at this point in his life. He was supposed to be a family man, live with his wife and children, get ahead at work.
Instead he found himself moving to a new state after retiring due to his injury. The money would be enough if it was just him but Nick had to pay child support for his two kids and he couldn't get by on just three quarters of his old salary, even if it was tax free. He had to find a job, something that would be easy on his knee and would allow him time with his kids. Nick remembered the conversation, or argument, he had with Maria when she told him about her move to LA, she said he'd have options there while he though he'd get just a crappy security job, he was capable of more. So he was a little upset when he was offered work in that field, turning down some of them. He was getting frustrated and the only thing that made him feel better was spending time with Zara and Gil.
But his luck was about to change.
He was sent to an interview for yet another security job, it was a part time gig which meant a lot of free time, something that Nick wanted. He had some trouble hiding his lack of enthusiasm, he wanted to do more than just sit and watch a monitor. He was about to get his wish, almost.
"Nick Amaro? Come on in" the man opened the door for Nick "I'm Michael Kaplan" he shook Nick's hand and gestured at an armchair in his office.
Michael was the owner of a small startup company, truth be told, Nick wasn't sure what their program was doing, but from the looks of the place they were successful. They owned the entire building, it was only two stories high but looked good, much better than the building SVU was located at, and every room was an improvement from the squad room, specially the kitchen.
To his surprise Nick actually liked Michael, he expected him to be this arrogant guy, he's met enough of people like that. But instead of a boring interview he was accustomed to, they had a long chat, talked about New York, California, the NYPD, family. Michael was married and had a child on the way so the mention of children excited him and he asked Nick for parenting advice.
So he got the job, it was more than advertised, Michael offered Nick to be head of security, it still meant watching the monitors, but he'd be in charge of a few guys, handle any security britches (Nick was promised there wouldn't by any) the hours were good and the money wasn't bad. He even got a nice office.
Finally things were getting better.
Nick stepped out of the shower and got dressed. The water didn't wash away Amanda's image from his brain. Damn, he wanted to see her. He hated the fact she only had a few hours in LA, she had to spend most of it working so they would probably have the chance to grab lunch, nothing more, not enough. Did he even have a right to ask for more? And what was this 'more' exactly?
Nick made himself breakfast, having more time on his hands he developed hobbies, a bit of cooking, a few home improvement projects. His life did not revolve around his job anymore and now that the pros exceeded the cons he welcomed the change.
Still, he couldn't help feeling bad about the way he left some things in New York, like he could have done a better job tying up the loose threads. One thread in particular, his relationship with Amanda.
Amanda slept through most of the flight. Nick's call caught her off guard and she didn't want to dwell on it and sleeping was a better way to pass the time. She wanted to see him, more than she was willing to admit, but she was nervous about it with all those months that had passed, what if it would be weird? Awkward? Like it had been after their fight, when they couldn't find the words to say to each other. But it was a completely different situation, she hurt him that night, mostly his ego probably, but still, she was the one to blame. It has been so long and Amanda hated thinking about it now. It would be ok, they will talk, catch up, hang out for a short time. They were friends, why was she overthinking about this?
When Amanda opened her eyes she was happy to see the 'fasten your seat belts' sign on, the plane was going to land shortly and she couldn't wait to be there.
"Detective Reynolds?" Amanda walked to a young man who had a small sign with her name on it, she was told he'd meet her at the airport.
"Yes" he gave her a wide smile "detective Rollins?"
"Yeah" she nodded "nice to meet you"
"It's a pleasure" he shook her hand "how was the flight?"
"It was fine" she followed him to the exit.
"You're hungry? We can stop and grab something to eat on the way to the station" he offered.
"It's alright, I'm on a tight schedule so the sooner I get to talk to her the better"
"No worries" he glanced at her and smiled again "you need help with your bag or anything?"
"I think I can manage" Amanda chuckled, she wasn't staying long but she still packed a change of clothes, not that it was heavy "but thanks"
Detective Reynolds seemed to be in his mid twenties and Amanda had to wonder how he'd gotten to homicide so fast, detectives usually started in other departments. But it wasn't her business, she was there to interview someone, not to wonder about the LAPD internal affairs.
"So what's the deal with your investigation?" he asked as he drove away.
"We're looking into a rape, we're trying to gather everything we can, even if the charges were dropped" she told him "what can you tell me about her arrest?"
"Nothing other than what's in the file, my partner was the one who made it, we've been working together for about a year but I wasn't there that day"
They drove in silence for a couple of minutes before detective Reynolds spoke again "must be a big case if you flew all the way here just to talk to her"
"It is, I don't know how much this is going to help but…" she shrugged.
"That's the nature of the job I guess, a lot of buts" he glanced at her "and asses"
Amanda laughed "you've been a detective long enough to find that out?"
"I think a week is enough, but to answer your question I've been a detective for about a year, and to answer your next question, yes, I started at homicide, I have some connections, my father works in city hall so why not use him"
"Ok" she was surprised by his honesty, people in law enforcement weren't usually keen on sharing the use of connections to get ahead. Maybe he didn't bother hiding it from anyone, maybe it was her being an outsider, either way, it wasn't her business.
"You've ever been in LA before?" he asked.
"First time, but I'm not going to have time for sightseeing, unless the prison is something special"
"Ha!" he chuckled "we're almost there"
Reynolds led her into the station and she followed him to the captain's office.
"Detective Rollins, I presume" the man who's been sitting at the desk got up "I'm captain Charles, it's very nice to meet you"
"You too captain" she shook his hand with a smile.
"And this is detective Moore" he gestured at the other man who nodded "he's the man you need to refer all your questions to"
"I'm happy to help" Moore stood up slowly "I'll drive you to the prison whenever you're ready"
"How about now? Wouldn't want to take up too much of your time" Amanda replied "just show me where I can leave my stuff"
Detective Moore was an older man, and Amanda guessed he's been in homicide for a very long time resulting in what could be a pretty interesting partnership between him and Reynolds. He smiled as they walked to his car but Amanda could guess he wasn't thrilled about her being there, he probably preferred working on open investigation than taking her to visit an inmate, but the captain insisted on it.
"So what happened?" she asked him.
"You read the file" he kept his eyes on the road "I was looking for a suspect and heard a commotion, the girl was shouting and hitting another girl, I tried to stop them but she got furious and picked a of wood from the ground and hit me with it…I arrested her and filed charges, the girl she hit complained to and the DA ended up offering her a deal, she got five years, c'est tout"
"She wasn't talking about the fight?" there was nothing about that in the file.
"Offered no explanation, not that it would help, you can't assault an officer like that" he finally glanced at Amanda "the other girl said she was attacked out of the blue…I don't know what was going on there"
Kate Caron, that was her name. She was a college student who wasn't going to finish her degree anytime soon. Amanda couldn't find much about her, her record was squeaky clean, until she assaulted that woman and the detective. But it seemed to Amanda that it all started after she dropped those sexual assault charges. There were some changes in her financial status, she was spending more money, even though none came in. Something felt wrong about this whole thing.
Moore wasn't interested in talking after that and they'd been driving in silence until his phone rang. He accepted the call and put it on speaker.
"Yeah captain" Moore said.
"Detectives" Amanda heard his voice "I hope you haven't gotten too far away yet because I just got a call from the prison, Ms. Caron was stabbed half an hour ago"
"Stabbed?" Amanda frowned at the detective.
"Yes, he assured me she'd be fine, she's being treated at the infirmary but you won't be able to talk to her today"
"For god's sake! We're half way there" Moore sounded pissed "if she's not at the hospital I'm sure we can talk to her today"
"I'm afraid that's not happening, I'm sorry detective Rollins, you can talk to her tomorrow morning"
"You know what happened? Why was she stabbed?" Amanda asked.
"I'm afraid not, it's a low security prison, something like this hasn't happened there for a long time, they are even more shocked than detective Moore. I'll see you when you get back to the station"
"Crap!" Moore cursed and turned the car around "don't take this personally, but this has been a waste of time"
"Waste of time or not, I'm more concerned about her being hurt"
"I guess being hit in the back by that girl made me a little indifferent towards her" he snorted.
Amanda's suspicion only grew stronger now, was this a coincidence? She had to let her squad know but decided to wait until she'd be alone.
When they arrived to the station Amanda excused herself and found a quiet spot to make that call.
"Stabbed?" Fin asked.
"Aha, the captain said we could talk to her tomorrow, apparently it's not that serious" she leaned on the wall, would they want her to stay in LA or give up and get back to New York. Amanda wanted to stay, she had to put the suspicions to rest.
"Wait a sec" Fin said and she could hear muffled sounds, he was probably walking to Benson's office "you're on speaker" he said after a few minutes "Kate Caron was stabbed" she heard him say to Olivia.
"I can talk to her tomorrow" she repeated "the captain doesn't know what happened, it seems strange"
"You're right and we don't have a choice" Olivia said "postpone your flight and get a hotel room, drive over there first thing tomorrow"
"Ok, I'll call you in the morning with an update" she said and hung up.
Not even five seconds later she received a message from Fin 'say hi to Amaro for me' Amanda chuckled and placed the phone in her back pocket.
"Looks like I'm gonna be making that trip tomorrow" she let the detectives and the captain know "but I'm just gonna rent a car and drive over there by myself"
"If you need anything we'd be happy to assist" the captain smiled.
"Thank you for your help" she said.
"If you need a hotel" Moore scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to her "this is not a bad place"
"Thanks" she looked at it and went to grab her bag from the locker she was given.
"Rollins" Amanda heard her name and turned around to see detective Reynolds "looks like you're gonna have time for sightseeing now"
"Yeah, but honestly, I'm too tired, with flying and driving around…"
"I understand, just thought you could use your time here for some fun, our job doesn't allow us too much of that"
"You're right" she nodded "but I'm gonna pass, thanks anyway"
"No problem" he left and Amanda said goodbye to the others, promising to update them after her talk with Kate.
She placed her bag on the floor in the hotel room and lay down on the bed. She was tired, it wasn't even that late but it has been a long day for her.
Amanda grabbed her phone and found Nick's name in her contacts list. She stared at his name for a moment, her lips curved into a smile just thinking about seeing him. But an uneasy feeling crept into her mind, it has been so long, how would it feel like seeing him? What would they talk about, his life in LA and hers in New York, the miles between them? There was something she could tell him but maybe he wouldn't want to know…
Amanda dialed and she could hear his smile through the phone.
"I was worried you wouldn't call" he said "it's a little late, you'll have time before your flight?"
"Things are a little messy" she didn't want to get into details "so I'm staying here until tomorrow"
"Oh" Nick tried to stop smiling, a complication in the investigation wasn't a good thing "so you want to grab dinner? I'll pick you up"
"I'd love that" she gave him the name of the hotel "I'm gonna take a shower, call me when you're here, I'll meet you outside"
"Ok, I'll see you soon then"
"See you soon"
Amanda showered quickly and got dressed, good thing she brought a change of clothes. She tried to calm down, realizing her heart was beating a tad faster. Why was she so excited? She was just meeting a friend. That's all…the phone buzzed, it was Nick. Amanda wasn't a fourteen years old girl, but she felt like a boy was picking her up for the first date ever, all that's missing was a tough father to threaten the boy. Amanda let out a bitter laugh, her dad never cared enough.
Nick was leaning on his car, knowing she's never seen the vehicle before. He'd been waiting for her call for a long time, he wasn't going to interrupt by calling, she had to focus on work, but he needed to hear her voice. He'd been distracted at work, thinking about her, Amanda said she wouldn't have a lot of free time so he tried to think of something she'd really like.
He couldn't control his grin when he saw her walking out of the door, she was gorgeous as always, she was looking down when she stepped into the street but raised her head and the moment she saw him her grin matched his.
"Hey" she said when she stood in front of him.
"Hi"
The instant Amanda laid her eyes on Nick all the previous doubts, questions, all the uncertainties were gone. She was so close to him and it almost felt unreal, after all these months apart he was there, she was there.
"Hey" she said again and Nick's grin widened.
"Hi" he repeated as well "hope you're hungry" he opened the door for her and she nodded.
Nick wanted them to be alone so he parked the car close to a park he often took Zara to, there was a great food truck nearby and Nick knew she'd like that.
"Hope you're hungry" he said while they were standing in line.
"Starving, I only had a doughnut in the airport so this better be good"
"Trust me" he took a step forward "it is"
He ordered them the food but refused to give her the sandwich until they'd get to a certain stop at the park.
"Hunger is stronger than trust you know" she rolled her eyes at him, she wasn't kidding about the starving part.
"It's close, don't worry" Nick liked the hint of desperation in her voice, not because he wanted her to suffer but because it meant she wasn't trying to act differently, she was being herself, not trying to put up a show.
"Here it is" he pointed on a big rock and they walked towards it.
Amanda smiled at him, there was a small grass plot surrounded by trees and rocks, it was quiet and completely secluded, a place you wouldn't have guessed existed.
"It's beautiful" she said "but now give me my food"
They sat down and leaned their backs on the biggest rock. Nick handed her one of the sandwiches and after taking a bite she gave him an approving nod.
"How'd you find this place?" she asked before taking another.
"We were playing baseball not too far and the ball flew in this direction, Gil ran after it and called Zara and me to see this so it became our secret hiding place in a way"
"And you shared it with me? I'm flattered" she only had two bites of her food and was still very hungry, but sitting like that with Nick distracted her from that "so you get to spend a lot of time with Zara and Gil?"
"Yeah" Nick nodded and his eyes lit up a little "they are getting closer, now that they are living in the same state. I drive to San Diego once a week and he usually spends every other weekend here so he gets to see his sister a lot, they care about each other"
"That's great" she touched his shoulder and her fingers lingered.
"We were here a few weeks ago and Zara tripped" he looked at Amanda "Gil rushed to her, helped her up, made sure she was ok"
"He's a good big brother" she wanted to add 'just like his father' but she wasn't sure what's been going on between Nick and his younger sister "they are each other's family and I'm sure they love having you near…they are great kids"
"Thank you"
Amanda took another bite "this is so good, I might take yours if you're not going to eat it"
"We can go get more if you want" he offered.
"Actually" she said "I don't really feel like moving" their eyes met and he contemplated kissing her, he wanted to taste her lips, feel her closer.
But he decided not to, they were having a good time, why complicate things? "I'd love to share my sandwich with you" he purposely took a big bite of it and Amanda frowned at him.
"That's mine" she pulled it from his hands and took a bite "yours is better!" she said with a full mouth and tried not to laugh so she wouldn't choke.
"Here" she gave him back his food and they finished eating quietly.
"You want to have a drink?" he asked "unless you're too tired"
"No" she shook her head a little overly excited "I'd love to…another secret place you know?"
It was a small bar but they weren't the only people there, which wasn't a surprise, but disappointed Amanda a little bit.
He ordered them drinks, and gestured at a small stage "they have a great singer here, I think you'd like the music"
"You come here a lot?" she asked, wondering if he ever brought anyone else with him, she felt a tinge of jealousy at the thought of Nick sitting on this stool looking at another woman with those warm eyes of his.
"Not a lot, but once in a while, I have a lot of free time on my hands so it's nice to spend it out of the house"
"Free time?" she frowned "what's that?"
Nick chuckled "I don't think you're familiar with the concept"
"So what else do you do, besides bar hopping?"
"Things at the house…renovations, you could say"
"You use power tools?" her eyes widened a little and Nick laughed.
They heard clapping and a woman made her way to the stage, she greeted the crowd and started singing. Her voice was smoky and soothing, changing the atmosphere in the room. She was singing about love, but Amanda couldn't really make out the words. The dim light, the music, Nick so close to her…
Amanda's glass was empty and she noticed Nick's was too. She touched his cheek and he looked at her, deep into her eyes. She leaned in, moving slowly, almost to the rhythm of the music, all thoughts were gone, all the reasons, pros and cons, they all disappeared. She closed her eyes, letting her heart take control of her body. Her lips touched his and she couldn't pull away, Nick's hand gently touched her chin and then his lips left hers, moving to her ear.
"Let's get out of here" he whispered.
