Sadly, I own no one. If I did, I'd quit my job and indulge these characters in their fantasies day in and day out. Dick Wolf owns all; I just take them out for a spin.
A/U…how to explain this…set 5 years after "Undercover." In this version, Olivia and Fin developed a relationship in the aftermath of Olivia's assault. I don't want to give too much away, as the back story will be told. Suffice it to say, cannon up until Undercover, then I take over. Oh, and in my world, Elliot never left SVU.
Original story by Bellatrix wannabe 89; rewritten solely at her request. Enjoy!
Warning: This story has a racial theme, so racist language may be used. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE OFFENSIVE, merely to make the characters believable. As always, don't like, don't read…that's what the "Back" button is for.
Rating: M
Chapter 7
His eyes were glued to the screen as he watched the argument ensue between Fin and Olivia. Were they splitting up for good? At any rate, the most important piece of information he had gathered was that Olivia was pregnant.
"Hey, man, I think we might have a slight hitch," he called to his partner.
"Oh? What's going on?" the partner responded as he peered at the screen.
"She's pregnant," he said.
"With the nigger's kid? Call the doctor. Tell her we're going to require her services after all," the partner said.
XxXxX
Olivia stared at the closed front door, willing it to open. Her heart was in her stomach, and she thought that as long as she stood in that spot, he might come back. After half an hour, that seemed less likely, so she lowered herself back to the sofa, exhausted. She couldn't remember when the tears had started to fall, but they just wouldn't stop. Every time she though she was finished, another round overwhelmed her. She knew she should go to bed. It was getting late, and she had to be at the precinct early tomorrow, but the thought of walking the few feet to her bedroom overwhelmed her. Eventually, out of pure physical need than anything else, she fell asleep right where she was, curled up on the sofa.
Her body snapped in response to the alarm blaring from the bedroom. She quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes and ran into the room, hoping that Fin had come home again last night. What she saw was the crisply made bed and the small clock next to her side of the bed flashing. She silenced the device and sat on the bed, not entirely sure what to do. Well, she had to get Tina to school. And she had to get herself to work. And somehow, she was going to have to get through this day.
She forced herself to wake Tina, shower, and dress herself. Tina presented herself dressed in a delightful ensemble of a dark purple sweater and yellow shorts. Normally, Olivia would have enjoyed the moment, but this morning, she was just irritated. Fin would have thought Tina was adorable.
"Mommy, where's Daddy?" Tina asked, looking up at Olivia with her big, sad brown eyes.
"Daddy's working," Olivia lied. She hated lying to her daughter, but she didn't want to scare her, and she certainly didn't want to say anything until she and Fin had figured out what they were going to do.
"Is he picking me up from school?" Tina asked.
"We'll see. Now, eat your breakfast." Olivia replied, setting a bowl of Cheerios in front of her daughter.
"No," Tina replied defiantly. Olivia rubbed her eyes. This really wasn't the morning for three-year-old antics, and yet, her three-year-old was filled with them.
"I'm not arguing today. Now, eat your breakfast, or you'll be hungry in an hour," Olivia told her.
"No," Tina said again, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yes. I'm not going to tell you again. Either you eat your cereal, or the Cinderella DVD goes in my room for a few days," Olivia said. Tina's eyes went wide.
"No fairy godmother?" she asked.
"Nope, and no prince and no singing or dancing," Olivia said. Tina appeared to be considering Olivia's words carefully. Reluctantly, she picked up her spoon and starting eating small bites. Olivia didn't feel much like eating either, but in order to set a good example for her daughter, she managed some fruit and weak cheese. Her eyes were dry and scratchy from the hours she spent crying through the night, and she was tired. She tried to push the pain of her breaking heart aside and replace it with numbness. Methodically, she coerced Tina into weather appropriate clothing, did her daughter's hair, dropped her off at school, and headed to work.
As she strode into the squadroom, Fin looked up at her, and they briefly shared eye contact. Quickly, before she could say anything, he dropped his eyes back to the report on his desk. He missed her. He missed her melodious laughter, the sparkle in her eyes, the richness of her voice, and the warmness of her body. The night hadn't been easy for him either, and his back was still sore from sleeping on the precinct cots.
"Hey, Liv," El said as he approached her from behind, breaking her from her trance.
"Hey…" she replied. "Anything break on the John and Jane Doe case?"
"We IDed the victims yesterday. The parents were Kwame and Anne Owusu, and the daughter was Sophia. According to Warner, the parents both died of multiple stab wounds early in the day," he said, handing her the file containing Warner's report.
"What? That doesn't make sense. Wouldn't Sophia have been at school?" Olivia asked.
"She was. The school confirms that she was there the entire day," Elliot told her.
"So the perps killed mom and dad and then intentionally hung around, risking getting caught in order to kill the daughter? That's a stretch," Olivia said. Elliot shrugged.
"And, if your theory is true, and if this is the same guy that's responsible for the Akintola murders, why is Jenna still alive?" Olivia asked.
"That's the question everyone's been asking," Elliot said. "There's more, though. Turns out Anne Owusu was pregnant," he said.
"How far along?" Olivia asked.
"Thirteen weeks," Elliot answered. Thirteen weeks. Almost exactly the same as Olivia. Fin couldn't help overhearing their conversation; the squadroom was small and voices tended to carry. He felt a tear prick at his eyes, but he wasn't going to cry. The last time anyone had even seen him crying was when Olivia had her second miscarriage, and only she had seen it. Only her. She was the only one he could ever really drop his guard around, and even then, it had been a lone tear that lazily fell down his cheek. He shoved the desk a bit more forcefully than he should have and barreled through the corridors of the precinct.
Elliot saw his move and turned his eyes toward his partner. Her quiet resolve that she was working so hard was cracking.
"Liv? Everything ok?" he asked.
"I'm fine, El," she replied, twisting her gaze downward and sliding into her desk char. She immediately tried to focus on the material in front of her, but she hadn't been able to hide the way her voice was cracking. I'm fine, El. The same thing she had said to him when he asked her about Sealview, and it had haunted him for the past five years. He scanned the room. Traffic was starting to pick up with other officers showing up for work, citizens coming in to file reports or check on the status of their cases.
"Detective, can I have a word with you in the interview room?" he asked. Wordlessly, she stood and followed him into the darkened room.
"What happened?" he asked, his tone shifting from professional to concerned.
"He knows about the baby," she said quietly. Elliot was confused. That fact was revealed at the hospital yesterday, and yet for some reason, she felt it was necessary to state it again. Even so, every other time Olivia had told Fin she was pregnant, he was ecstatic. No, ecstatic didn't describe it. He was a completely different man.
"And he knows I told you first," Olivia added quietly. Aha. That was it. As much as Fin loved Olivia, he had a macho streak that could be his worst enemy at times. The alpha male side of his personality would have been threatened because Olivia broke the news to another man first.
"You explained it to him, right? You told him I figured it out on my own?" Elliot asked. She had her back to him and was staring through the barred window. "Olivia?" She swallowed the lump in her throat. Why couldn't he just shut up? "Liv?" Elliot said, stepping closer and placing his hands gently on her arms. She wasn't sure whether to slap him or let him hug her.
"He left me," she said quickly, her voice barely a whisper. Elliot's hands froze.
"What?" he asked, thinking his ears had failed him.
"He stormed out last night after I told him. I didn't have a chance to explain. He just got up and left." She allowed her mind to slip into the part of her brain that protected itself, the part that channeled anger instead of tears. She broke away from Elliot and began circling the room, trying to vent some of her pent up frustration. "What am I supposed to tell Tina? And where in the hell does he get off just walking away from her like that? He can be as pissed as he wants to be at me, but she shouldn't have to pay for it," she spat. Her jaw set itself in the steely expression she used in interrogations when she meant business. That stare, caught head on, could send chills through anyone.
"Liv, maybe you should take a day…just spend some time apart," Elliot suggested.
"Forget it, I just need to do my job," she replied, the composure returned. Only those closest to her could see that she was hurting. To everyone else, she appeared to be perfectly in control. She wrenched the knob on the door and stormed back to the bullpen. She had a case to solve. Elliot followed her, but instead of returning to his desk, he exited the squadroom and followed Fin's path down to the gym. When he got there, Fin was wailing pretty hard on a punching bag.
"Hey!" Elliot called to him. Fin glanced over and immediately turned his attention back to the bag.
"Get outta here, Stabler. It don't concern you," he said.
"I think it does," Elliot replied. "Where in the hell do you get off, walking out on her like that?"
"I told you, it's none of your business. I will take care of my family the way I see fit, got it?" Fin said, turning towards Elliot, preparing to fight him, if necessary.
"Walking out your wife isn't exactly taking care of her," Elliot challenged.
"Says the man who walked out on his own wife, or have you forgotten about that?" Fin challenged.
"First of all, Kathy asked me to leave. And secondly, we're not talking about me. Olivia didn't tell me about the baby," Elliot said.
"Then how in the hell did you know to take her to a hospital for a stomachache?" Fin asked, taking a step towards Elliot. He was looking for a fight, and Elliot didn't particularly want to give him one.
"It was the salad," Elliot answered.
"What salad?" Fin shouted back.
"We went out to lunch. Olivia ordered a salad with no dressing, and the only time she ever eats that is when she's pregnant," Elliot answered calmly. "I guessed, and she confirmed it. It's my fault. I back her into a corner, so if you want to be mad at someone, then be mad at me, but don't be upset with her." Salad with no dressing…his birthday…how did he not see that? How was it that Elliot knew his wife better than he did? He clenched his jaw and his fist, his anger building almost uncontrollably towards the man standing in front of him.
"Do you know why she didn't tell you?" Elliot asked. Fin just glared at him. "She didn't want to get your hopes up. She wanted to make sure she could carry the baby to term before she told you. Maybe it was a bad idea, but she…well, I don't have to tell you how stubborn she can be. But the fact is, she wanted to protect you."
"How in the hell do you know so much about my wife?" Fin spat.
"She's like my sister, man. I've worked with her side by side for years. You know this." Elliot paused for a moment. "How does Munch take his coffee?" Elliot asked.
"Black," Fin said immediately.
"And Olivia takes hers with cream and extra sugar. If we order sandwiches, what does Munch always get?" Elliot asked.
"Liverwurst with extra onions," Fin answered again.
"And Olivia always gets turkey and Swiss on wheat with light mayo. You just know these things. But Fin, there are things about her that you know that I never will," Elliot said.
"If that's supposed to be some crack about wanting to sleep with my wife…" Fin started confrontationally.
"I'm talking about Sealview," Elliot interrupted. And like someone had flipped a switch inside him, all of the anger drained from Fin's body. "She never told me, and I don't think she ever will." Elliot started to leave, but turned back.
"Just remember, all it takes is a lunatic perp with a gun and good aim, and she's gone." With that, Elliot left Fin alone in the gym with his thoughts. The last sentence cut through Fin like a knife. He was always conscientious of the fact that Liv could be taken away from him every day. That's why he always, always told her he loved her before they headed in separate directions. He wanted to make sure, just in case, that the last words from him she ever heard were "I love you."
XxXxX
Olivia leafed through the stack of files on her desk. Wedged between two of the manila folders, she found a plain white envelope with her name typed on the front. She ripped it open and found a single white card with a swastika embossed on the front. Inside, a single typed word sat in the center of the page:
Traitor.
This fic is flying, so expect another update soon. I'm out of witty comments at the moment, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Follow us on Twitter SVUEncyclopedia (BensonFan711) and OneSixMHChick89 (Bellatrix Wannabe 89)
