Chapter 4: On the Run
Amanda woke up early the next morning so she could go by the coffee shop on her way in to work. She was hoping she would see AJ but she wasn't on the morning shift that day. Her co-worker told her to come back later. Amanda headed in to the precinct with coffee for everyone. They took their coffees and thanked her then sat at their desks and got to work. They'd been working quietly for twenty minutes when Fin spoke.
"Oh, I almost forgot" he said looking over at his partner, "Did you get a chance to talk to…." He paused realizing he didn't know the woman's name.
"AJ" Amanda said.
"AJ" he repeated. "Did you ask her?"
"I tried" she said. "I asked her when she'd let me know where she lived".
"And?"
"And she got really nervous. She couldn't get off the phone with me fast enough" she explained. "I went to her job this morning but she wasn't in yet. I probably scared her off".
"Why don't you just look into her yourself?" Nick asked. Amanda looked confused. "I mean you can run background checks; ask around about her. I mean, I know you said she's only been in the states a couple years but that's gotta be a long enough time for somebody to know who she's running from".
"I want to date her like a normal person" she said, "not investigate her like a perp".
"Well are you gonna try again to talk to her?" Fin asked. Amanda nodded her head.
"Yes" she said confidently. "I'm not giving up that easily". Olivia's office door opened and she walked out into the squad room.
"Good" he said, "Maybe if she knows you can help her she'll open up easier".
"We get a new complaint?" she asked over hearing their conversation.
"Nah" Fin said, "We were just talking about the girl Rollins is seeing". Amanda didn't really want everyone in her business. It was enough that Amaro was privy to every conversation she had with Fin about AJ. Now Benson was being brought into the mix.
"She in some kind of trouble?"
"No" Amanda said quickly. Fin looked at her sideways. "I mean, maybe. I don't know. I'm still getting to know her".
"She's running from an abusive ex" Amaro said as if he were positive of it.
"N….I don't know that" Amanda said. "I really don't need y'all to be involved in this. I can handle it on my own".
"What if she is running from an abusive ex?" Amaro asked. "It could be a dangerous situation".
"Then I'll handle it" she said again. "It's personal and I don't need or want your help" she said firmly. Olivia nodded her head and went on her way. Amanda got back to the file she was working on before Fin started their conversation. Nick looked over at Fin who just shrugged his shoulders and got back to work. Nick had no choice but to get back to work of his own. Amanda finished her day at the precinct then headed home. She called AJ on her way but she didn't answer. She took Frannie out for a walk and when she got back she called AJ again. It rang twice before going to voicemail. Amanda knew she'd screwed up by asking AJ about her apartment so soon. She should have just let her warm up to her and get comfortable enough to share her past with her. She got Frannie back on her leash and left her apartment again. She went over to AJ's friend apartment. She pushed the buzzer and Lily answered but she wouldn't buzz Amanda into the building. Amanda just hit other buzzers until someone let her in. She went up to Lily and Dan's apartment and knocked on the door. Dan answered.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily.
"I'm looking for AJ" she said.
"She's not here". He tried to close the door but Amanda stopped it with her hand.
"Well do you know where she is?" she asked. "I've been calling. She isn't answering her phone".
"Maybe that's because she doesn't want to talk to you".
"Well I want her to tell me that".
"I'm telling you" he said firmly. "Leave her alone or we'll report you to the police for harassment". Lily came to the door and saw Amanda there with her dog.
"AJ doesn't want to see you anymore" she said echoing her boyfriend's statements. "He thinks he's so smart sending a detective around here to make friends with her; get close to her so he can find her and they can swindle their way back into her life".
"Wha…I don't know what you're talking about" Amanda said interrupting her.
"Yeah right" Lily said not believing her. "You just tell him that it's not gonna work. He's never getting near her again". She tried to close the door but Amanda stopped it again.
"Who is he?" she asked. "Who's after her?"
"Drop the act" Dan said angrily. "Stay away from AJ". He pushed the door shut on Amanda and she heard the lock turn. Her suspicions were confirmed. AJ was running from someone and now she thought she was helping this man to find her. She didn't know what to do to convince AJ that she didn't know this man and that she wanted to help her. She took her phone from her pocket and dialed AJ's number. It started to ring and she could hear it inside Lily and Dan's apartment. She hung up the phone and knocked on the door again.
"AJ" she yelled through the door. "AJ please talk to me". She waited a moment but got no answer. She knocked again. "AJ please". The door swung open and a pissed off Dan was standing there.
"What part of "she doesn't want to see you" don't you understand?" he asked taking a forceful step towards Amanda. Frannie growled and then barked at him. Amanda pulled on her leash and told her to stop it.
"I just want to talk to her" she said calmly. "Look, I don't know who "he" is but whoever he is I can protect her. I can help her" she said loudly hoping that AJ could hear her. "I asked her last night about her apartment. I didn't mean to scare but I swear I'm not working for him, whoever he is" she assured him. She saw AJ walk up behind Dan. He turned around to see what she was looking at and saw AJ there.
"It's ok Dan" she said softly.
"Are you sure?" he asked concerned. She silently nodded her head. He walked away and left her alone to talk with Amanda. She walked over to the door and leaned against the door frame.
"I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable and that I scared you" Amanda said apologizing.
"Ok" AJ said softly.
"Will you let me help you?" she asked. AJ shook her.
"No" she said simply. Amanda opened her mouth to argue but AJ didn't let her. "I don't want any help. I don't want to talk about it or to explain in detail. There's nothing you can do. There's nothing to be done; no laws have been broken" she explained. "I just….I ran away from something and I don't want to... how do you say, obsess….dwell. I want to move on".
"But if someone is threatening you…."Amanda said trying to explain her options.
"No one is threatening me" she interrupted. "I know you think I'm strange…."
"I didn't mean that in a bad way" Amanda said quickly. AJ shrugged her shoulders.
"You're right" she said. "A lot of people, American people, think that I'm strange; that my customs are strange. But I don't know how to be any other way. I'm sorry but I don't think that now is a good time for us to continue….getting to know one another".
"AJ….."
"Good night Amanda". She shut and locked the door then went back to the living room with Lily and Dan. She'd known from the start that this was a bad idea. It was too soon for her to be seeing Amanda especially knowing she wanted to be more than friends. She was lost in thought when Lily reached over and touched her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked. AJ looked at her and gave a soft smile.
"Yeah" she said softly.
"Do you think she was telling the truth about not knowing Haleel?" she asked. AJ silently nodded her head. "Well you can stay here as long as you need. And we'll help you look for a new apartment". AJ shook her head.
"No, I'm not moving again" she said quickly.
"But if she does know Haleel then she'll tell him where you are" Dan said.
"She doesn't know him" she said surely. "I'm not moving" she said shaking her head, "not again".
"Okay" Lily said. She got up from the couch and gestured for Dan to come with her to bed. "You can stay here tonight. I'll get you a pillow and blanket". She went to the bedroom and Dan followed. She came back a minute later with a pillow and a blanket for her to sleep on the couch. AJ went to the bathroom to change then came back and got comfortable on the couch to go to sleep. Meanwhile, Amanda was getting comfortable in her bed. She laid there thinking of AJ and who it was and what it was that she was running away from. She wanted so much to help her but she couldn't do anything if she wouldn't tell her what was wrong. She wasn't going to adopt any of Amaro's methods and "look into her" as he'd suggested. She held on to what AJ said tonight; that now wasn't the time for them to continue in their relationship. She hoped that meant that there would be a time for them in the future. She just hoped it wasn't too far in the future.
The next day at work, Fin asked Amanda if she'd gotten another chance to talk to AJ. Amaro was sitting at his desk and she really didn't want him involved in the discussion. He had a way of going off the rails with information, always thinking he knew the best way to handle things. She didn't want him taking it upon himself to conduct a side investigation into AJ's past. She said she had but she didn't want to talk about right then. She glanced in Amaro's direction and Fin got the message. He knew she didn't like everyone being in her business. He let it drop for the moment until they had some privacy.
They ended up picking up a case of a missing toddler which meant they were all working overtime. Fin and Amanda didn't get to have their conversation about AJ that day but he hadn't forgotten about it. It took them three days but they found the missing boy and got him back to his parents and arrested the kidnapper. He was a registered sex offender with a preference for little boys but thankfully hadn't molested the boy. He'd spent so much time running that he hadn't had time with his victim. The case was over and they were all tired but they still had paperwork to get done before they could head out. Nick finished up first. He was glad they'd gotten done just in time for the weekend and he wouldn't have to cancel his trip to DC to visit Zara. He said his goodbyes and headed out. Fin and Amanda finished within minutes of one another, handed their reports in to Benson then headed out. Fin asked Amanda if she wanted to get a drink and they could talk about AJ. She was reluctant to say yes. She really wanted to get home and get Frannie from her neighbor but she did want Fin's advice on what to do next about AJ. She agreed to go for a drink so they hit the bar and found a booth to sit in near the back.
"So what's the deal?" Fin asked once they'd gotten their drinks. "How'd it go?"
"I was right" she said taking a drink from her glass.
"She's running from someone". Amanda nodded her head. "Who?" he asked.
"I don't know" she said with a shrug. "She didn't really want to talk to me. She wasn't taking my calls so I went over to her friend's, the ones I told you about". Fin nodded so she knew he was following her. "They didn't even want to let me in the building. When I got in and got up to their apartment, they pretended she wasn't there. Her friend, Lily, she basically said that they think I'm working for whoever it is that AJ is running from. They think these people sent me to find her".
"Whoa wait a minute" Fin said stopping her. "These people" he said noticing her choice of words. "It's more than one person?"
"I think so" Amanda said with a nod. "She started out saying "he"; "he" thinks he smart sending a detective around. Then she said "they"; "they" want to get back into her life. Then she went back to "he"; saying "he" isn't getting near her again. And they seriously think this guy sent me. I mean, they threatened to report me for harassment" she explained.
"You said they tried to pretend that she wasn't there?" he asked. Amanda nodded. "But she was there?" She nodded again.
"They shut the door on me and I tried to call her again" she said continuing to explain the other night's events, "and I heard her phone ringing inside their apartment. So I knocked again. I asked her to come talk to me. Lily's boyfriend, Dan, came back to the door; basically told me to get lost. I told him I didn't know who this guy was; that I'm not working for him. I don't think he believed me but AJ must've heard what I said because she came to the door".
"And?"
"And she said that, yes, she's running from something or someone, but, no, she doesn't want to talk about it and she doesn't want my help. Then she said now isn't a good time for us to see each other and she closed the door in my face". She swallowed down the rest of her drink then asked waiter for another. "What do I do?" she asked. "Do I give her some space and let her decide when she's ready to talk to me again? Or do I keep trying to talk to her no matter what she says and hope that doesn't strengthen her suspicions that I'm working for this mystery guy?" She looked at Fin and waited for him to answer. They'd been partners and friends for three years now and he'd never let her down in the advice department, even when she was stubborn and didn't listen to him. He always had her back.
"It seems like there's a lot going on with this girl" he said. Amanda nodded her head. "I know you wanna help her but you gotta ask yourself if you're really in a position to do that right that now". Amanda looked down at the table then brought her glass to her lips for a drink. It'd been a few months since the whole Nate and Lena fiasco and he could tell she was off since then. She'd been coming to work late, hung over sometimes; butting heads with Amaro and Barba. The Sergeant wasn't happy with her attitude lately, Amaro and his gut were noticing something was off, and it didn't take much for him to see that a lot of things were weighing on her. He didn't know if she was gambling again but if she wasn't, he didn't want this to be the thing that pushed her over the edge. "Look, if this were as simple as getting a restraining order against this guy to make him stay away, I'd say do it" he continued. "But it sounds like it's a lot more complicated than that. I just want you taking care of yourself just as much as you take care of everyone else. Maybe this time she's asking for is just what you need. I say take it" he advised her. "Use it to get yourself back on track that way you can be fully available to AJ to help her with whatever or whoever her problem is". Amanda took in what he said and nodded her head so that he knew she was listening. They had one more drink then called it a night and headed home. Amanda was going to take Fin's advice and let AJ have the time she was asking for. That was the easy part. Using that time to get herself together would be the more difficult part of the equation.
