Chapter 3: Shattered
A/N: In this chapter, I included flashbacks of season 9's Undercover episode. If you think they might trigger your own flashbacks, PLEASE skip over the indented italics (formatting wouldn't let me indent, so they're now bolded). However, this will probably be a longer chapter, concluding with a confession… or something like it. I could break up the chapters more, but I have to finish a thought when I start writing! Also, I'm challenging myself this story in that I want you to be able to "hear" all of my chapter titles, and hopefully they correlate with the plot line. So, as the physical objects in this story shatter into pieces, so our detective gets help picking up the shards of her own "Shattered" life. Enjoy!
Olivia took in a deep breath and entered the Sealview Correctional Facility. The door clanged shut behind her, making her heart skip a beat; but she didn't falter as she walked directly to where she needed to go.
"Can I see your ID please?" A large, lady officer sat on a round stool behind the check in counter.
Olivia showed her detectives badge to the officer and signed in at the desk. "I'm Detective Olivia Benson. I called earlier this morning to set up an interview."
The officer's voice remained monotone from years of sitting at the front desk, logging in visitors, detectives, and prisoners. She waved to another officer standing nearby. "Please hand over all weapons, pens, badges, hell-hand over everything, and this officer will escort you."
The next officer was tall, and well built. His head donned a short crop cut, and you could see his muscles bulging from underneath his long sleeved shirt. The guard buzzed the gate and it groaned as he opened it.
Now without her weapons, Olivia proceeded through the gate. Her nerves were already on edge. Thank god this officer was black, or he would have reminded her of Harris.
He led her down the narrow corridor toward an interview room. The key pad on the door beeped as he input the code and then opened the door for her once again. "I'll be waiting outside this door. Another officer will be bringing the inmate by shortly."
She walked into the room and closed her eyes. She jumped as the door seemingly slammed shut behind her.
She was on that mattress again. "Get off me. HELP!"
He was kneeling behind her. "Keep screaming, no one can hear you."
Olivia shook her head and took another deep breath. She rubbed her hands over her face, trying to clear the memory.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
"Damn it!" Cragen yelled as he slammed phone down. Don burst through his office door and walked directly to where Elliot was sitting at his desk talking with Alex.
"How long has Olivia been gone?" Cragen asked Elliot.
El shrugged and looked down at his watch. "A little over an hour and a half."
Cragen shifted his weight and put his hands on his hips. "Did she tell you where she was going?"
At that, Elliot and Alex got worried. Elliot stood up to face the captain, and Alex followed.
"She told me she was going to do an interview for a case she worked a while ago." Elliot furrowed his eyebrows, and crossed his arms over his chest, wondering what she was actually up to.
"I just got a call from homicide. They were trying to get a hold of Olivia to find out if she got any new information from a prisoner at Sealview."
Elliot turned around and kicked his desk, hard. His foot clashed with the metal. The sound reverberated through the squad room. "Why would she do that?"
"I don't know." Cragen pointed his finger at Elliot, "But you better get there, fast."
Elliot threw on his coat and rushed out of the squad room.
"Wait!" Alex's heels clicked, only paces behind him.
Elliot paused and spun around. They were at the entrance to the elevators.
"I want to go with you." Alex said.
Elliot shook his head, "She wouldn't want you to see her like this."
Alex stood her ground, "I don't care what she thinks she wants. I love her." The words just came out. Elliot wasn't meant to be the first one to hear the confession. Hell, she hadn't even heard herself say those words until now. But one thing was for certain. She had to see Olivia. "So," Alex continued, "I'm coming with you."
Elliot stood there, shocked, no words could form. When the elevator door sounded, he ushered Alex inside.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Olivia drummed her fingers on the table as she waited for Yvonne. What the hell is taking them so long?
To her left, a one way mirror covered most of the wall. She looked over at herself, but saw an entirely different picture.
Her back was up against the wall. He had her jaw clutched in his hand.
"I'm gonna take my time with you."
She saw herself crying, begging, "Don't. Please don't. Please. . ."
His mouth engulfed her own in a sordid kiss.
Olivia stood up from her chair and ran her fingers through her hair. She shouldn't be reliving this. It had been years since the assault, but being back here, it all came rushing back like a flood threatening to consume her.
The images stopped when she heard the beeping of the door.
Yvonne was escorted into the room and sat down at the table.
Olivia watched the officer leave and then went and sat down across from Yvonne.
"I told you, I didn't want to press charges. What are you doing here?" Yvonne asked.
Olivia sighed and leaned forward in her chair. "I have some bad news about your sister."
Yvonne leaned back in her chair. "O god! Did they get to her?"
Olivia tilted her head to the side, trying to read anything in Yvonne's reactions. "She was shot . . . death was instantaneous."
"NO!" She screamed and then hunched over her knees, clinging to them. Her curly black hair fell over her face.
Olivia got up from her chair and knelt down. "Did who get to her?"
Yvonne's tear stained eyes looked up at Olivia. "I know who you are. I know what happened to you here."
"Please don't, please don't."
She was being thrown face down on the dirty mattress, hands cuffed behind her back.
She heard his belt fall to the ground.
She shook her head at Yvonne, "That has nothing to do with what happened to your sister."
Yvonne's eyes pierced right through her own when she gritted through her teeth, "It has everything to do with it."
Yvonne stood and started banging on the door. "Guards! Guards! Get me out of here."
Both guards marched in and shoved her against the wall. They handcuffed her again and led her out of the interview room.
He was picking her up off the mattress. He pushed her face against the wall.
"Shut up!"
She screamed. She could feel him pressed against her, all of him.
He undid one handcuff and she took a swing at him.
The door opened again, the same officer that brought her in, held the door open for her.
She walked through and headed directly to the front gate. She was buzzed through.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Elliot started up the squad car and Alex slid into the seat beside him. He took off in the direction of Sealview.
"So . . .you and Liv?" Elliot asked.
Alex shifted in her seat, "Well, not exactly. I mean, I think we could really have something, but I just have to muster up the courage to actually ask her out." Alex looked over to Elliot, "What do you think?"
A smile danced across Elliot's face, but he tried to conceal it. "You two have been friends for a very long time. But, I think there's a reason she visits you every chance she gets." Elliot glanced over at Alex who was looking extremely vulnerable at that moment. "I don't care who she's with, as long as she's happy. But I swear, if you break her heart . . ."
Alex reached over and placed a reassuring touch on Elliot's arm and looked out of the window on her side. "If any heart would break, it'd be mine." She let her hand fall back into her own lap and continued to stare out of her window.
Elliot nodded in understanding. "She'd be dumb not to say yes to you."
Alex looked back at Elliot. "You think she will?"
Elliot shrugged, "With that woman, I can never tell." Elliot laughed, "Just look where we're headed!"
Alex smiled as the tension broke.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Olivia grabbed her things quickly and rushed out of the door and slid into her squad car. She started the car and began heading back to her apartment.
She was running.
"There's no way out."
She hears the riot stick clattering against a chain link fence. He's looking for her.
"You wanna play games? Good, cause I know them all."
He's kicking over the chairs. A crate is smashed.
She's hiding in the corner.
Digging out her cell, she sees seven missed calls. One was from the homicide department, one from Cragen, and five from Elliot.
Deciding that it would be easier to text than to try to explain herself over the phone without breaking down into tears, she started writing.
The text read: "I'm fine, but I'm taking the rest of the evening off, don't bother coming by. I didn't get any information. I'm turning off my cell now. I'll be home in twenty."
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Elliot felt his pocket vibrate and dug out his cell. It was a text from Olivia. "Damn it." He hit the steering wheel of his car with the palm of his hand.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
He began to turn his car around, and looked down at his watch. Thirty minutes is how long it would take them to get to her apartment. "Olivia is already heading back to her apartment."
Alex looked concerned, "She's taking the rest of the day off?"
"Yeah . . . It's unlike her." Elliot said.
Alex clenched her jaw, now angry. "Seeing the prison must have affected her more than she thought it would."
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Olivia was driving, but she wasn't paying close attention to the road. She knew the roads of New York City, so it was only by second nature that she made her way back to her apartment.
She could see the light from the flashlight making its way toward her.
"Wanna play hide and seek? When I find you, you're it!"
The light fell on her. She looked up to see his face. He was bleeding from where she hit him.
"Guess who's ass is mine now."
She threw her hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok . . . you win."
She blinked to keep her eyes from tearing up. She parked her car in the garage and took a deep breath as she climbed out of the car. The hallways were quiet as she made her way to her door. 4D. She stuck the key in the door and opened it and walked into her apartment, her sanctuary.
"That's more like it." He let her stand up. "Come here."
She kept her hands up as she eased toward him. "Easy, easy."
"Don't worry." He lied.
He struck her in the gut with his riot stick. She's bent over, clutching her stomach. Then she feels another strike, one on her back, and she falls to the floor.
"That's to show you who's in charge."
She could feel the pain now. She closed and locked the door behind her. She tried to walk into her living room, but didn't make it. Her legs began to give way under her, but she refused to accept it. She leaned against the wall near her kitchen, trying to catch her breath.
She was on her knees.
He was coming for her.
It was her last chance; she elbowed him in the crotch and ran to the door.
He was bent over in pain.
The door was locked. "HELP! HELP ME!" She began banging on the door.
He slapped her across the face. The sting begins to throb. He cuffs her to the door.
"No. NO! No . . ." She cries.
Olivia was crying now, the tears falling freely. Her anger was rising. She grabbed the first thing she saw, - a white dinner plate. She threw it against the floor in her kitchen.
The plate shattered into tiny pieces.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Elliot and Alex pulled up to Olivia's apartment.
Alex got out quickly, but Elliot stayed in the car.
When Alex realized Elliot wasn't getting out of the car, she bent down and opened the door again. "Aren't you coming?"
Elliot looked down and dug in his pocket. When he looked back up at Alex, he held out a key. "She won't want to see me right now."
Alex took the key in understanding.
"Take care of her?" Elliot asked.
Alex nodded, "Of course."
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Olivia grabbed another plate and threw it.
"Let go of me." She was looking at her cuffs, then at the man who had her trapped.
He was unzipping his pants, "If you bite me . . . you're dead."
Liv screamed out in anger and threw another plate.
She can't move. He has her head in his hands. He's moving closer.
She closes her mouth and turns away, but he pulls her back.
She cries out one more time. "No. Please! No."
*-*/*-*/*-*/
Alex nears Olivia's apartment and hears a loud crash. She fumbles with the key in the door. "Liv?" She cries as she tries to unlock the door.
Then she hears another crash.
Alex gets the door unlocked and rushes inside. She sees the floor of her kitchen is littered with shards of what were once dinner plates. Olivia was leaning against the wall and slowly sliding to the floor.
Alex rushed to her side. She bent down and placed her hands on Olivia's shoulders.
Olivia fights her. She hits her hands away. "No, don't touch me! Get off me!"
Alex falls back, stunned.
Olivia is crying, she's got her knees up to her chest and she's hugging them tightly.
"Olivia?" Alex crawls closer, "Olivia, it's me, Alex."
He's so close. She can see him.
"Let her go now!" It was Fin.
Alex inched closer. "Olivia. It's ok, just let it all go."
Olivia looked up and realized in was Alex that was sitting in front of her. She flung her arms around Alex's neck.
Alex was startled at the sudden movement, but let Olivia sink into her chest. She wrapped one arm around her back, and one around her head. "It's ok, let it all go."
He was staring at her, blood was dripping from his face. "You're a cop?"
Olivia's tears and trembling began to subside. "Who's the bitch now?" She whispered into Alex's neck at the image of Harris.
Alex ran her fingers through Olivia's hair. "Shh, it's all over, it's all over . . ."
