Chapter 6: Initiated
It had been three weeks since the last break in the case. Rodriguez had been put behind bars until her trial in the next few days. Even though they had found four children, they still had no more leads. They had learned all they could about the way the ring operated. There was the head boss, then there were the middle managers, the coyotes, the runners, and the madams.
However dismal the situation seemed, that day would be a good day.
Olivia took Esmeralda by the hand and knelt down to look her in the eyes. In Spanish, she told the girl what all was about to happen.
Esmeralda bounced on her tip toes in anticipation.
Olivia smiled and stood once again as she led the girl down the hallway and then knocked on the door to Alex's office.
Alex opened the door with a warm smile across her face. "Come on in, they aren't here yet."
Esmeralda took a seat in one of the chairs as Liv and Alex talked in whispers behind her.
Then Olivia took a seat next to Esmeralda, and Alex took a seat behind her desk as they waited.
Five minutes later, there was a timid knock on the door. The three occupants in the room all stood. Liv went and opened the door.
An older gentleman, tanned from the sun, and bent from hard labor walked in first. His wife followed closely behind him holding onto his arm for support. She had a tissue in her hands as she had been crying the whole walk there.
When they came through the room, Esmeralda sprung toward them. "Mommy, Papi!" She shouted, and ran into their arms.
The woman cradled her in her embrace with tears streaming down her face. Tears fell over the man's face too as he laughed in sheer delight of the moment.
Alex had walked around to stand next to Olivia and grabbed her hand inconspicuously at the joyous scene in front of them. A single tear had escaped her eyes.
Olivia turned toward Alex and brushed it off with her thumb, giving her a grin as she did.
"Hormones." Alex quietly chuckled and rolled her eyes upwards as she placed a hand on her round belly. Then she grabbed some of the paperwork off her desk and walked toward Esmeralda's parents.
She led them each to a chair and Esmeralda sat in her father's lap as Alex placed the paperwork in front of them. They had been informed that not only would they be reunited with their daughter, but that Alex put in for them to gain asylum, and it had already been granted. They were now citizens of the United States. Her father could find a real, good paying, job and her mother could be reunited with her family. The only catch was that they needed to stay in New York for the duration of the trial so that they could use Esmeralda's testimony. Having no problem with the arrangements, they signed the papers eagerly.
After all the paperwork had been signed, the three of them walked out of Alex's office hand in hand, initiated into their new life.
Alex stood leaning her head on Olivia's shoulder as they watched them leave. "If only all these cases had such good endings as this."
Olivia kissed the top of Alex's head. "Come on, let's go get lunch."
The two of them walked into a deli on one of the side streets. They each picked up a wrap and a water bottle and Alex went off to find a seat as Olivia paid.
Alex took a bite of her wrap and waited for Liv to sit down. "I heard back from the Scandinavian Counselor."
Olivia took a bite of her wrap as well, as she nodded her head and wiped some dressing off the side of her lips. "Did they find the girls' parents?"
"Well, it seems that their father died while they were away, but they did manage to find their mother."
"That's terrible news to come home to." Olivia took a drink from her water bottle. "Can you imagine it, being gone for three years, enduring unimaginable physical and emotional pain, and when you finally make it home, life is not what you would have imagined it to be."
Alex shook her head and looked off in contemplation.
Liv noticed Alex's dilemma, and decided to broach the subject. "Are you afraid your baby will miss out on something, not having a father around?"
Alex was brought back into reality and picked up her wrap to take another bite, as it also gave her time to think. "Lots of women raise kids all on their own. Besides, Pierce wasn't really. . . the fatherly type."
"And you're not exactly on your own are you?" Olivia smirked at the rhetorical question.
Alex smiled. "No, I suppose I'm not." She said looking into Liv's eyes.
Olivia broke eye contact as she reached again for another sip of water. "But I do have to say, there's a special club for us girls that grow up without fathers."
Alex took a sip as well. "Then let's hope it's a boy." She laughed.
Olivia gulped down her water and pointed at Alex's stomach. "I don't care what it is as long as it's healthy." Olivia's eyes grew wider as she spoke and the smile grew across her lips.
Alex looked down at her stomach and put a hand over it and rubbed it. "I don't care either. A healthy baby is all I need. You hear that? Enjoy that wrap I just ate, and grow into a healthy baby boy or girl."
A few days later, Olivia escorted Javier and Faruq into the waiting area for Dr. Huang. Both were in foster care at the moment, although they were actively looking for adoptive parents for Javier.
When they took DNA from Javier, they found a match to a young homeless girl that had been murdered a few days before they found him. He had been held at the stash house for two days, thankfully never having had the chance to enter into one of the brothels.
Faruq on the other hand, had been born into the brothels. His mother was 14 when she had him, and he stayed at that house most of his life. His situation slightly differed from the others that were held in the houses. He took on a role of errand boy, as well as servant and slave. He also frequently entertained the guests before being "rented out". He also had a private tutor that home schooled him. His mother, having survived five years in the home before he was born, and had moved up in rank. She too had become a servant and entertainer. Of course, the sole purpose for allowing the two to survive the way they had, was to train them up to become a madam and a middle manager or runner.
Dr. Huang talked with Faruq first. He was having trouble adjusting to his new life. Not to mention, there was the stress of the upcoming trial for them to deal with. They talked about how he had ended up in the stash house. As it turned out, he had tried to run away while out on one of his errands; as punishment, he too had been locked up for two days. The supposed plan was to move him to another house for "employment", where he would be away from his mother, and away from the temptation of wanting to run.
Maura and Marina had been brought to the stash house with three other girls. They had all lived in the shack that had exploded on Olivia. They moved them there when the threat had surfaced that Rodriguez's home had been compromised. They had moved the three girls to new brothels, but didn't have a new home for the sisters yet.
After the meeting with Huang, Olivia took Javier and Faruq back to their foster parents. Looking down at her watch, she gave Elliot a call. "Hey, I just dropped the boys off with their foster parents. I have an appointment I have to catch."
"Ok, I'll give you a call if anything comes up." Elliot said from the other end of the phone.
"Thanks, bye." Olivia hung up her phone and jumped into the squad car.
Olivia arrived at the doctor's office ten minutes late. Alex had already been called back. She checked in with the nurse at the front counter and then made her way back to one of the examination rooms. She knocked on the door.
"Come in." Alex answered.
Olivia cracked open the door before going inside.
Alex was sitting up on the examination table. "I was worried you wouldn't make it."
Olivia walked over to her girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Faruq took longer with Huang than expected. At least I didn't miss anything."
At that, the doctor knocked and then let herself in. "Good afternoon my dear. How is everything?"
Alex shook the doctor's hand. "Everything is great." Alex unabashedly took Olivia's hand in her own. "We can't wait to find out what the sex is."
Olivia was surprise at the motion. The relationship was still new for both of them, and their jobs didn't allow for obvious affection in front of others. This, however, was pleasantly refreshing.
"Alrighty dear, lay back and we'll have a look-sie." The doctor lifted Alex's shirt and placed a warm jelly across Alex's stomach. She was twenty weeks along. Again, the doctor went through the actions of measuring and accounting for limbs and heart beats. "Are you ready to find out?" The doctor teased once more.
Alex's grip on Olivia's hand got tighter.
The screen filled with the baby's legs, and then. . .
"Congratulations ladies." The doctor said as she pushed the print button on the ultrasound machine. "You're having a boy!"
The doctor wiped the jelly off of Alex's stomach and then handed her the pictures and flipped the lights back on as she walked out the door.
Alex sat up looking over the pictures in her hands.
Olivia wiped her eyes to keep from showing that they had started to water.
"Can you believe it?" Alex said still staring at the pictures. "I'm having a son."
Olivia pushed a hair back behind Alex's ear and looked longingly into Alex's eyes. Alex looked up at the gesture, "A beautiful, healthy baby boy." Said Olivia.
Olivia drove Alex home and walked her up to her apartment. They had bought Chinese take out on their way there for dinner. Alex held the food while Olivia unlocked and opened the door.
They took a seat on her couch and began to eat while discussing names.
"Jack, I love Jack." Said Olivia. "It's strong, timeless, and not to mention, cute."
Alex contemplated. "We can add that one to the list. What about Riley?"
"Mmm," Liv said with her mouth full. "Adorable. What about Tobias?"
Alex laughed and raised her eyebrows, "Seriously? Do you want the kid to get teased?"
"Jacob?"
Alex wove her chopstick in the air. "Overused, plus, I don't want him linked forever with a ware wolf."
Olivia shook her head yes in agreement, "Ethan?"
"I like. . . Parker?" Asked Alex.
"Yes!" Liv answered.
Alex took another bite. "You're a little too good at this Liv."
Olivia rolled her eyes and then got up to throw hers and Alex's trash away. When she came back into the living room, she said. "It's getting late. I'll see you in the morning. Ok?"
Alex got up and walked Olivia to the door. "See you then." Alex held the door open while Olivia slipped on her coat.
Before she walked out the door, Olivia slipped a hand behind Alex's neck and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
Alex returned the kiss, and then Olivia walked out the door, turning only once to offer a slight wave goodbye with a smile across her face.
The next day, Olivia met Alex outside her office. She handed Alex over a tea she had bought her and took a sip of her coffee.
Alex thanked her and the two took off for her office.
"Oh, Alex, there's someone here to see you. She's waiting in your office." The secretary said as Alex passed by.
"That's odd. I don't have any clients today." Alex said to Olivia.
Alex opened her door to find a woman standing near her desk gazing out her window. She turned when Alex and Olivia entered the room. She had deep brown, almost black hair that hung low between her shoulder blades, and startling blue eyes. She wore a tailored black pant suit with a turquoise undershirt. She had on black heels and sauntered toward Alex.
"Katie." Alex said in surprise. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Katie ignored Olivia's presence as she walked right up to Alex, staring into her eyes. "I came for you darling." Then Katie lowered her gaze to Alex's abdomen. "It seems you have been quite busy while I was away."
Alex shifted her weight. "Katie, you can't just walk right back into my life and expect things to be the way they used to be. Can't you see? Things have changed."
Katie took her eyes off Alex and looked between Olivia and the baby growing inside Alex. "Obviously not for the better." Katie took a few steps toward Olivia. "Who might you be?"
Olivia gave the girl a once over. Never one afraid of confrontation, she said, "I'm Detective Olivia Benson. I'm her girlfriend."
"Hmm, I see." Said Katie. She moved around the office with ease, looking at everything, "You and I have a lot of catching up to do Alex."
Alex stood there slightly dumbfounded.
Olivia walked over to Alex and put a hand on her arm and talked in a hushed tone. "I'll leave you two to catch up." Then she turned and walked out of the office.
"Wait Liv" Alex called after her, but she didn't acknowledge Alex as she kept up her pace, walking out of the building.
A/N: Hmm, the evil ex shows up! Anyways, so I need help naming the baby. What shall it be: Jack, Riley, Ethan, or Parker? The one with the most votes wins! Pm me or put it in a review… As always, thanks for reading!