Chapter Seven: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

310 Central Park West

A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot's Residence

Monday August 17th, 21:38

Jess had drawn herself a bath very soon after arriving at Alex's condo. The A.D.A. had some work to do so she did not question the shorter blonde's tactic to immediately separate herself from the taller blonde. Jess had been soaking in the tub for thirty minutes. Even the incredibly tanned parts of her body had a redish hue in the deep brown from the heat of the water. She had a lot to think about.

When the pair had gone to Olivia's to pack up some clothing for Jess, one of the things the teen wanted was a hoodie of the detective's. Upon looking in Olivia's dresser for the college hoodie, Jess noticed that half the drawers in the dresser where empty…Alex's half. It was the same story with the closet. That's when it hit Jess…Alex had moved out. When had that happened? Jess looked down at her phone on the floor of her bathroom, no messages from Livie. The tiny blonde started to cry again.

Alex looked up from her paperwork and over at the clock on the table to the left of her desk. She realized she had not heard a single word from Jess in over forty-five minutes. Normally the kid would be begging the A.D.A. for a case file to read. Alex stood up and walked out of the den. When she came to the door of Jess's room it was open. She walked through it. "Jess, where are you?"

Jess froze in the water. She cleared her throat as quietly as possible and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I'm in the tub. What's up Ally?"

The tall blonde padded barefoot across the hardwood floor to just outside the 'Jack and Jill' bathroom. "Can I come in?"

The teenager pulled the shower curtain on the outside of the tub across the rod so that Alex would not see her. "Yeah, sure."

She walked in and sat on the lid of the toilet. Alex saw Jess's cell phone on the tiled floor of the bathroom next to the tub. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Not much"

"Thought I'd come in here and make sure you hadn't drowned."

Jess smiled through the new tears that had welled up in her eyes. "I'm fine"

Alex knew she wasn't. "Jessie…sweetheart look at me."

The kid drew the shower curtain back enough that she and Alex could see each other's faces. "Jessie, baby, talk to me. What's the matter?"

Jess looked down at the phone on the tiles. She spoke just above a whisper. "I miss Livie."

The A.D.A. looked down lovingly at the young woman. "I know you do. Once her detail is over she'll be back. You know that, right?" The teen nodded to her. It broke Alex's heart to lie to Jess, but the alternative was much worse.

If Alex was not going to fess up to moving out, then Jess would force her hand. "Ally, if I get out of the tub now will you take out my braid?" She was quite capable of taking it out herself but she wanted the taller blonde's undivided attention.

Alex smiled at Jess. "Absolutely. I'll wait in your room." She padded out of the bathroom, closed the door and sat on Jess's bed.

Once Jess was done in the bathroom she opened the door and walked out into her bedroom. She walked around the bed and took Alex's hand in hers. She pulled the A.D.A. to the side of the bed and then off completely. She let go of her hand and stood in front of her, with her back to the taller woman. Alex slowly pulled the hair tie from the bottom of the braid and stretched it over her hand and onto her slender wrist. The sun had gone down and the city was lit now by artificial light. Jess stared out the floor to ceiling windows that made up one side of her bedroom. With the bedside light on it was hard to see out the windows, everything in the room was reflecting against the glass. She could see herself and Alex perfectly in the windows. "Can I ask you something, Ally?"

As she ran her fingers through Jess's braid it started to unravel. "Yes, of course."

Jess looked at the taller blondes' refection in the window in order to see her face. "When were you going to tell me you moved out of Livie's place?"

"I uh…I mean we were uhh…", Alex stuttered as she tried to collect her thoughts. She continued to run her fingers through the braid. Alex felt herself become unraveled. She sighed. "Jess, Olivia and I were going to tell you tonight at dinner. With Liv on her detail and Dick and Casey at dinner I didn't think it was a good idea to tell you tonight."

"When did you move out?" Jess asked as she continued to stare at their reflections in the window, willing Alex to meet her gaze.

She continued to run her hands through the last bit of the braid on top of the shorter blonde's head. Alex looked over Jess's head and at the window. She realized she and Jess could see each other. "This morning. I packed last night and I left this morning." She saw the first tear roll down Jess's cheek.

Jess couldn't help the tears she was shedding. Even though she knew Olivia and Alex were breaking up it hurt to see the older blonde's things missing from the place she called home. "So it's really over between you two?" Jess chocked.

Alex ran her fingers over the freed ringlets, shaking them loose and making Jess's hair look the way it normally did. "Yes it is. I'm so sorry, Jess."

The child turned around and hugged Alex tightly. The A.D.A. rubbed Jess's back and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I moved out. I'm sorry all this is happening. Please believe me when I say Olivia and I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I do believe you. It's just…hard." Jess cried.

"I know, sweetheart, I know." Alex held the young woman tighter in her arms. She started to sway slightly too, completely unconsciously. Jess's crying subsided but Alex continued to rub her back. "Why don't you un-pack your bag and come to my bedroom. I'll bring my case files in there and you can start from the beginning of my new case."

A half smiled played across Jess's face. "Sounds good to me." She let go of Alex and looked up at her. "I love you."

Alex smiled back at her. "I love you, too. Meet me in my room."

Jess unpacked and Alex grabbed her files from the den. The pair met in the taller blonde's bedroom. The A.D.A. had not noticed earlier but she and the young woman standing in front of her were clad in almost identical outfits; cotton sleep pants and spaghetti strapped tank tops. Jess had a college hoodie of Olivia's and her cell phone in her left hand and a pen and stack of Post-It notes in her right hand as she entered the bedroom and stood beside Alex in her bed. "Can I lay with you?"

Alex looked at Jess over her glasses and smiled. "That's what I was thinking."

The teenager climbed up on the king-sized bed, over Alex and files that were scattered over the comforter and crawled to the other side of the bed. She pulled the duvet open, leaving it folded between her and Alex as she laid on her stomach. Jess looked over at Alex. "What's the new case about?"

The older blonde continued to smile. "Here, read for yourself." and she handed Jess a file. She took it and set it aside. The young woman balled up Olivia's hoodie and rested her chin on it. She grabbed the file; put it, the Post-It notes and her phone in front of her as she held the pen in her right hand.

As Jess settled in, Alex smiled sweetly down at the teen. That had been the only good part of her day. The A.D.A. went back to re-writing her opening arguments for the case she would be trying tomorrow: The People v.s. Ronald Blaze.

After an hour of reading, the words were starting to blur together on the page in front of Jess. She checked her phone one last time. There was no message from Olivia. The young woman sent one last text that day. "Goodnight Livie. You know no matter where you are or what you are doing I love you." She sent the message and put the phone down. Jess continued to read until she fell asleep.

Alex was not sure how long Jess had been asleep but when she looked down at her she was fast asleep. The taller blonde closed the file she had been reading and set it on the nightstand beside her. She carefully slipped the file out from under Olivia's hoodie and set it on top of the file beside her. Alex pulled the duvet over the young woman and smiled. Jess had fallen asleep on Olivia's hoodie. She turned and reached for the light beside her when her eyes fell on the nightstand. The A.D.A. had turned Olivia's cell phone off and placed it in the drawer when she had come home. Alex opened the drawer, picked up the phone and turned it on. There was one new text message. Alex read Jess's text and started to cry. Where had Markus Pharaoh taken Olivia and what was he doing to her?

The tall blonde shut the phone off and put it back in the drawer. She shut the light off and turned on her side to face Jess. Alex continued to cry as she stoked the curls on Jess's head gently. She prayed she would never have to tell their little girl that Olivia was missing.

Tuesday August 18th, 07:03

When Alex woke up she had not remembered falling asleep. She was warm and felt someone touching her. She looked down expecting Olivia and actually sucked in a breath when she saw Jess. The A.D.A. shook her head to clear her thoughts. What had transpired the day before washed over her. It had not been a nightmare. She had moved out of Olivia's apartment, Jess was at her condo and Olivia had been abducted. Alex looked down at the child she loved so much. Jess was lying on her side with her left arm draped across the taller blonde's stomach. The sight tugged at Alex's heartstrings, the young woman had only ever fallen asleep and clutched Olivia before. It was the first time Alex felt Jess was hers. She stared at the tiny arm that lay across her stomach. She touched it gently and rubbed it softly with fingers on her left hand. Jess nuzzled Alex's right arm as she slowly woke up. This brought a grin to the A.D.A.'s face.

Once Jess fully woke and was aware of her surroundings she took Alex's right hand and put it on her back. The tall blonde started to rub the shorter one's back. Jess had moved her head onto Alex's stomach and she gripped the far side of the A.D.A.'s body in her left hand. "Can I come to court today?"

The older woman's breath caught in her chest and Jess felt the sharp intake of air as Alex stomach rose but did not fall. The A.D.A. collected her thoughts. "Jess, you have to go to work. I'm sure Morales has things he needs you to do. I should be done in court around six. Meet me outside the courtroom. I'll text you today with the number."

"Why can't I watch you in court?"

Alex sighed. "Jess, you know why. The case I am starting today is Ronald Blaze's. You will be called in the case by me but will also be cross-examined by the defense. I don't want you hearing any parts of the trial; you already know too much information about the case."

Jess inhaled Alex's scent as she lay on her stomach. The young woman felt just as safe with Alex as she did with Olivia. "I don't understand why it matters how much information I know about the case. I was heavily involved in the investigation until Livie kicked me off. What bearing does how much I know about the case have on my testimony?"

"How much you know about the case is relevant because it may change how you answer a question. If the defense senses you know more about something they will ask you leading questions, forcing you to answer a certain way. Eventually they may get you to be able to admit or answer something that is not directly related to your involvement in decoding Blaze's files and I may not be able to stop them." Alex rubbed Jess's back as she spoke. She knew the young woman only wanted to be in court that day in order to be close to her, but it still was not a good idea.

"I know, you're right," Jess said in a defeated tone. "I just…I don't know…"

Alex smiled. "You wanted to be near me."

The teen's eyebrows shot up her forehead. She lifted her head and looked back at Alex, who was smiling. "How did you know?"

"I know you, kid. I know you miss Livie. I know you are scared and sad and feel guilty about what you said to her when you saw her last." Alex said in a soft tone. "You shouldn't be scared, Jessie, nor should you feel guilty about what you said. Liv knows you didn't mean it. She loves you, sweetheart."

Jess laid her head down but continued to look at Alex. "I know. I just wish she would text me back. This is the longest she's ever not said something to me." Jess nuzzled Alex's stomach. "I love you, Ally."

Alex stroked the top of Jess's head with her right hand. "I love you, too."

Jury selection had gone well. They were done by eleven thirty and were in recess until the next day at nine AM, at which time opening arguments would be heard. Alex texted Jess and told the teen to meet her at her office at six and that she loved her. The A.D.A. ate her lunch at her desk and turned on Olivia's cell phone. She was not sure why she continued to do it. There was one new text message. "I love u. I know Ally moved out. I'm sorry for my part in that. Please talk to me. I miss u." It was from Jess and it broke Alex's heart. She had set up a meeting for twelve-thirty with Ronald Blaze and his attorney at the courthouse. She and Elliot were going to make one last plea and a possible deal for Blaze's co-operation in taking down Markus Pharaoh and his website.

146 Banker Street

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Tuesday August 18th, 09:47

The deadbolt and chains slid across the metal door for the second time that morning and Markus Pharaoh appeared from behind the door. He had hand shackles in his right hand. "Detective Benson, I have a job for you. Come with me and bring the cart with you."

He had come to the door an hour earlier with a cart full of trays with breakfast on them. Olivia grabbed the cart and wheeled it to the door. "Keep your hands on the cart." The detective did as she was told and Pharaoh cuffed her wrists into the shackles. He moved out of the way and she pushed the cart out into the hall. She looked around as Pharaoh locked the door; it was the first time she had seen outside the room.

Pharaoh made her push the cart into a kitchen that was down a hall and to the right of the room she had been confined in. Once inside the kitchen Markus threw the detective a pair of cotton sleep pants and a baby doll t-shift. "Change out of your cloths and put those on."

Olivia did as she was told with the pants as Pharaoh watched. Because of her wrist shackles she could not do anything about her shirt. Once she was done with her pants Markus walked over to her and drew a gun out from the back of the waistband of his jeans. He held the gun in his left hand while he unlocked the shackles with the key in his right hand. "Now the shirt detective…and do it slowly."

It took all of her strength not to shoot Pharaoh a right hook, but Olivia's thoughts were mostly of the six little boys back in the room. She did not want to leave them or do anything to make the predator standing before her angry. She begrudgingly rid herself of the shirt she was wearing and put on the one Markus had thrown her as he held the gun towards her head. Pharaoh locked the shackles back onto Olivia's wrists, put the gun to her back and commanded her to walk. He directed her through a series of hallways until he walked her into a room with windows on the far side. Markus sat her down at a desk with two monitors, two computer towers, a keyboard and mouse. He clipped the shackles to the desk and locked similar shackles to each of the brunette's ankles. Pharaoh looked down at Olivia. "Now Detective Benson, keep my website up and running. Do not let the NYPD shut it down. Otherwise those little boys that you have become so attached to will pay with their lives. Do you understand the gravity of your job here, Olivia?"

The detective nodded and looked at the monitors. She had spent some time with TARU in Computer Crimes. "Markus, I will do the best that I can but I'm not an expert on writing java."

"You had better become an expert then, Detective Benson, and fast. Remember those little boys are counting on you." With that Pharaoh turned and left the room, closing the door behind himself. Olivia looked around. It was a room with cement walls on three sides, windows behind her and a door to the right of her. Given her small tour she gathered that she was in some type of warehouse. It appeared her captor had converted most of it into a dwelling. The room she had come from was huge, there were six single beds and a king sized bed. The kitchen had been nice, large with stainless steel appliances. The room she was in now may have always existed, the windows were older and probably the originals. She stared at the monitors to see where she should begin. With her abduction, Computer Crimes might try to shut down the website all together in order to smoke Markus Pharaoh out and start a dialog with him. Olivia knew if that were to happen there were only two people that would be handling the shutdown: Morales or Jess. There was absolutely no way the brunette could keep up with either of them. If they tried to shut down the site the six victims were as good as dead.

Manhattan SVU Squad Room

Tuesday August 18th, 14:22

Captain Cragen stormed into the squad room from the elevators beside the staircase. "Conference room…NOW!"

The detectives followed their Captain into the conference room and Munch shut the door. They stood in front of the media center, Cragen stood just to the left of it. The seven pictures of the individuals that had been abducted by Markus Pharaoh haunted them as they stood there forced to look at them. The Captain looked at his detectives faces; he was unsure how much longer they could keep going. "Tell me we have something on Markus Pharaoh."

Without looking at each other Fin started. "There is very little warehouse space between Chelsea and the Village. We cast a net as far north as the railway tracks north of West 31st street to as far south as West Houston, from as far west as 10th Avenue and as far east as Broadway. Considering how many city blocks that covers there is hardly any warehouse space."

Cragan looked at his squad. "Good, then it shouldn't be hard to track down the addresses and visit each site."

Munch didn't look at the Captain, only at the pictures. "We already did, Captain. There were a total of fifteen warehouses we found last night. This morning we split up the list between the three of us and we each checked out our five."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…you three split up? What the hell is going on here? You each went to these locations with no back-up? What were you thinking?!" the Captain yelled.

Stabler stepped forward and pointed at the picture of his partner up on the screen. "Liv! We were thinkin' about Liv!" He turned to Donald Cragen. "You said you wanted us to live and breathe this case. You said no one leaves because you were thinkin' about Olivia too! We had to split up, Cap. How else were we going to check out fifteen warehouses today?"

Cragen put his hand on Stabler's right shoulder. "We all want Olivia back. We all want to bring the other six victims back but we can't do it at the expense of each other." He turned to the other two detectives. "I mean it. No more cowboy stunts. You go out to check a possible location where Pharaoh might be, you take back up. What did the investigations into the warehouses yield?"

Fin looked from the picture of Olivia to his Captain. "Nothing. Most of the warehouses are being used and legitimate businesses are being run out of them. There were four that were empty but there was no sign of Pharaoh."

The Captain sighed. "Elliot did you meet Alex at the courthouse for the meeting with Blaze."

Stabler put his hands on his hips. "Uh yeah I did. He's not talking. Cabot even offered him a deal from Jack McCoy himself…he didn't take it. He maintains he knows nothing about Markus Pharaoh, the website or where the boys are being held."

"Alright look, this leaves us in a bad place. Where do you guys want to go from here?" Cragen asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Munch looked at the Captain. "I still maintain Markus Pharaoh is in Brooklyn. Why else would he have taken the bridge? He could have gone anywhere to lose us but he chose the bridge. I think we should continue to run down warehouses in Brooklyn."

"No offence, John, but Brooklyn is a pretty big place. How are we going to narrow down the search?" Cragen asked.

"There are still some pretty destitute areas of Brooklyn. I suggest we start with those ones. Concentrate on the areas where there are blocks of no habitation with easy access from highways. Pharaoh is going to need privacy for what he is doing. He would have picked a building that he knew no one would check in on and no one would notice activity."

Cragen looked from Munch to the other detectives. "Okay, I want all of you checking out John's hunch. Compile a list and we will run down every address. Munch and Fin ride together, Stabler you ride with me. No one goes alone. Has anyone checked in with Morales?" The detective shook their heads. "Stabler, I want you to go down to Computer Crimes and get an update from Morales on the website. See if he is any closer to possibly nailing down where it is streaming from and if there are any new posts."

"Uh, Cap, I think Munch and Fin should go."

The Captain narrowed his eyes at Stabler. "Okkkkay…why?"

Stabler sighed. "Alex told me today before the meeting with Blaze that she told Jess Liv was on a detail. If Olivia is on a detail that would mean I would be with her."

"Why did Alex tell Jess that?" Cragan asked slowly.

Elliot shrugged. "She had to tell Jess something. I mean what else could she say? It makes sense. Jess knew we were going to meet Pharaoh. It would be completely logical for the kid to think that we sent someone in undercover and now Liv and I are handling the person on the inside. Jess is smart; she knows how this squad works. Plus, the kid has been texting Olivia's cell non-stop since yesterday afternoon."

Fin looked at Stabler. "How long does Alex think Jess will last? That kid is going to fall apart without any communication from Liv."

"I'm not sure, Alex didn't say. She showed me the texts…Jess is slipping. We gotta find Liv."

"Alright, Fin and Munch talk to Morales but get your asses back here and start running down those warehouses. Stabler, I want a word with you in private then you will start the search in Brooklyn. No one talks to the press camped outside and no one talks to Jess. We play along with the story Cabot told her. Tell Morales to meet you outside One P.P. somewhere; don't go up to the office. I'm going to call Huang and ask him to start a profile on Markus Pharaoh."

Munch and Fin nodded and left the conference room. Cragen turned to Stabler with his hands on his hips. "Elliot, what do you think we should do about Jess?"

Stabler ran his right hand over his face. "I don't know. There is only so much time we have until we have to contact DCFS. Alex may have been Olivia's partner but she has no legal right to Jess."

"May have been", Cragen narrowed his eyes at Stabler. "What does that mean?"

Elliot's brow shot up, he hadn't meant to word it that way. "They broke up. Alex moved out yesterday."

Cragen sighed.

Stabler sucked in his right cheek slightly as he thought. "Look, Fin was right about Jess she needs something from Liv. I read the text messages, that kid is guilt ridden about what she said in your office yesterday to Liv. Alex told me she told Jess Olivia knew she didn't mean what she said, but she thinks the kid doesn't believe her."

"Do you think Alex should text Jess from Olivia's phone pretending to be her?" Cragen asked.

"Alex asked me the same thing. I told her no. When we get Liv back she will lose her mind if she finds out we lied to Jess."

The Captain shrugged. "We're already lying to Jess, what difference would the text message be? It will make the kid feel better."

Elliot nodded. "I know it will help Jess", he squinted his eyes, "but I just have a bad feeling about pretending to be Liv. Jess is smart, she'll somehow know it isn't Olivia…I know it." Stabler smiled slightly at the idiocy of his next statement. "Cap, I don't know much, but Olivia and Jess…them I know. It would be a mistake to text Jess from Liv's phone."

That was enough for Cragen. "I believe you. If you think it's a bad idea I won't suggest it to Alex. What was your read in the meeting with Blaze?"

"Oh he knows where Pharaoh has stashed our victims and I know damn well he build that website from scratch." Stabler shook his head. "He won't give it up. That deal Alex offered him was a gift. If he didn't take that he won't be taking any deal. Opening arguments are slated to start in the morning, the trail is on."

146 Banker Street

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Tuesday August 18th, 16:51

It had not taken much to keep Markus Pharaoh's website going, no one had screwed with it all day. Olivia could only imagine what her squad and Computer Crimes were doing. How were they ever going to find her and the little boys? She knew they had nothing on Pharaoh, and Ronald Blaze's trial was to start that day. She may not have known what her co-workers were doing but Olivia had a feeling she knew what her little girl was doing; going out of her mind. No matter what the detective had been doing over the last three months she had never gone more than twelve hours without texting Jess. Olivia felt horrible about what she had done, said, and how she had acted towards the child the day before. More than anything Olivia regretted not going after Jess immediately following their argument. The brunette was shocked out of her thoughts. "Detective Benson…I have a video for you to post."

Pharaoh produced an unmarked DVD and handed it to Olivia. She took it form him and slid it into the DVD drive of the tower to her left. She did her best to remember the steps in order to link the video directly on to the website.

"Make it look pretty, Olivia. Like all the other videos. I want the faces of the boys in the video to be the icon people will click on to view it." Pharaoh said calmly.

Olivia was having trouble remembering some of the steps to post the video. She had never taken video nor made an icon. Her stint in Computer Crimes had been short and she had never build pieces of a website. It was taking her awhile to get her bearings and do what Pharaoh was asking.

"Tick, tick, Detective. What is taking so long?"

Olivia had not said very much to Markus Pharaoh all day. He had come by several times through out the day, letting her stretch and use the bathroom. He had even brought her lunch. The detective was losing her patience. This was not her area of expertise. "You think I can just run my hands over this keyboard and magic happens?" Olivia said through somewhat clenched teeth.

Her captor grabbed her hair and pulled it back, snapping her head back with it. "No Olivia, I think you run your hands over that keyboard, do as you're told and those little boys live to see daylight. You fuck this up, Olivia, and I'll have you shoot each one of them in the head yourself. Now smarten up you little bitch and post my Goddamn video." Pharaoh had spoken in an eerily calm tone. He let go of the detective's hair and she continued to work on getting the video up on the website.

Less than five minutes later the video was posted. Pharaoh looked at the screen. "Play it."

"You know what the video is; we don't need to play it." Olivia said trying to remain calm.

Pharaoh put his gun to Olivia's right temple. "I said play it, Detective. It's not for my benefit…this is all for you."

The brunette swallowed hard as she clicked on the video and it started. It was ofQuentin Stevenson and Kyle Ryan. Olivia sat shackled to the desk as she watched in horror as an unidentifiable man molested the two boys on a bed. She closed her eyes to try and block out the images. Pharaoh cocked the gun still touching the detective's temple. "I said this was for you, Olivia, open your eyes."

She did what she was told. Her eyes fluttered open and the repulsive behavior continued. The man in the video not only did repugnant things to the boys, he had them do things to him. Olivia held back as best she could but tears fell down her cheeks. Once the video was over Pharaoh pulled the gun away from the brunette's head. "Good girl, Olivia. Now everyone can see my video." He unclipped her shackles from the desk and walked her back to the room with the six tiny victims in it. He unlocked the door and Olivia's shackles and pushed her inside the room. He locked the door and left.

Olivia looked around the room. Quentin Stevenson and Kyle Ryan where curled up in the fetal position on their beds. The other four boys where huddled together talking quietly. The detective went over to each boy on their beds and spoke with them. She tried to comfort them and convince them that what happened was not their fault.

Eventually dinner came and went. The room grew dark and the boys pushed two of the single beds up against the kind sized bed. All of the boys ended up on the king sized bed or single beds beside it with Olivia. She told them stories she remembered her mother telling her when she was a child. One by one the children fell asleep. Olivia made sure each one of them was deep into sleep before she let her own thoughts get the better of her. She could not let Pharaoh continue to molest these little boys. The detective started to cry.

310 Central Park West

Residence of A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot

Tuesday August 18th, 21:28

After dinner Jess IM'ed with Dick while Alex went over her opening arguments in the den. Dick confirmed that he had not seen his father since Monday morning before he went to work. He also said that his mother had spoken with his father and that he was in fact on a detail with Olivia. Eventually Dick and Jess said goodnight and the young woman closed her laptop. She padded barefoot out of her room and down the hall, across the hardwood floor, to the den. Jess stood in the doorway watching Alex for a few minutes before she spoke. The much taller blonde had baby doll NYPD shirt on. Jess thought it was an odd choice given she and Olivia had broken up.

The A.D.A. sensed she was being watched but was not sure what to say to Jess. Her testimony would be heard at some point that week, probably Thursday. Alex knew Jess was unstable. She missed Olivia and was having a very difficult time not being able to communicate with her. Elliot had told her not to text Jess from Olivia's phone, but Alex wasn't sure how much longer Jess was going to be able to last. "What's up, little one?"

A half-smile appeared on Jess's face as she stepped into the den and up to the large oak desk. "How long did you know I was there?"

Alex looked up from her paperwork and took off her glasses as she addressed the younger blonde. "From the moment you stepped into the doorway."

Jess picked up one of the three picture frames that were sitting on the desk. She smiled but her eyes became glassy. The picture was of Jess, Alex and Olivia sitting on the back of an ambulance. She continued to stare at the picture as she spoke. "Why didn't you say something if you knew I was there?"

The older blonde smiled sympathetically at Jess. "Honestly, I didn't know what to say."

The teenager put the picture back in its place on the desk. "Where is she, Ally?"

"I told you, Olivia is on a detail." The smile on Alex's face disappeared.

"She hates me doesn't she? Livie's going to give me up isn't she?"

Alex's mouth dropped slightly as she furrowed her brow. "No Jessie, no she doesn't. Olivia loves you very much. Nothing would ever cause her to give you up. What on earth would make you think she feels that way?"

The bottom lip of the younger woman started to quiver as the tears in her eyes fell. "She won't talk to me!" Jess pulled her iPhone out of the pocket of the hoodie of Olivia's she was wearing and tossed it on the desk in front of Alex. "She won't text me back. Ally, she ALWAYS texts me back."

"I know sweetheart, I know she does. You have to understand that she would if she could but she can't. Olivia and Elliot are deep into this case and…"

Before she could finish her sentence Jess cut her off. "Ally, Elliot called Kathy today! If Elliot can pick up the phone then why can't Livie?" The teen shoved her hands into the front pocket of the hoodie. "She can pick up a phone, she just doesn't want to. She hates me, Ally." Jess wailed.

Alex got up out of her chair and came around the front of her desk. She pulled Jess into her and held her. "That's not true Jessie, its not. You have to believe me. Listen to me." Alex pushed the child off of her and held her out in front of herself. She looked down into the now deep green eyes of the kid. "Listen to me, Livie loves you, she does. Jessie, she does not want to give you up. You need to hold on, okay? I mean it. You need to hold on for Olivia. She needs you to be strong while she is working. Can you do that?"

Jess choked back more sobs and swallowed hard. She nodded. "Yes, okay."

The A.D.A. wiped the tears off of Jess's cheeks with her thumbs and held her tightly again. Jess slid her hands out of the front pocket of the hoodie and threw them around Alex. "I know you can do this, Jess. I believe in you. We will get through this together okay?"

"K"

"I'm going to call you as an expert, probably on Thursday. Do you want to go over your testimony? I can prep you right here."

"Yeah…okay sure." Jess knew it would take her mind off of her cell phone and hopefully off of Olivia.

The pair went over Jess's testimony for almost an hour. Alex asked her the same questions she would in court and cross-examined her the way the A.D.A. thought Blaze's attorney would. The teenager did well. The older blonde noticed that the younger one was focused and calm. Alex felt better about Jess's ability to testify later in the week.

Once they were done in the den she asked Jess if she wanted her to read to her in bed. Jess said yes and insisted they lay in Alex's bed. The taller blonde knew Olivia read to Jess to calm her down and get her to sleep. The teenager asked if the A.D.A. would read the book she was reading out loud. Alex thought it was odd that Jess didn't want to have her own book read, but she didn't push the kid. The shorter blonde brushed her teeth and went to Alex's bedroom. While the A.D.A. brushed her teeth Jess laid in bed and sent Olivia a text message. "I miss u. Ally is taking good care of me. Prep'd me for my testimony 2nite. I love you, forever and always, yur daughter." Writing it had brought tears to the teen's eyes. Once Alex climbed into bed and under the duvet Jess snuggled up to her. The teenager stretched her left arm over the taller woman's stomach and held her tightly. "Jessie, I will never let you go. You know that right?"

The kid took the A.D.A.'s right hand in her left. "I know. It's just that…" and set them both down the older woman' stomach. She ran her fingers over Alex's hand.

Alex stroked the blonde curls on Jess's head with her left hand. "It's just what?"

"You don't have any legal rights to me." Jess felt Alex inhale and hold her breath.

She finally exhaled. "I know I don't." Alex said slowly. The statement had taken her by surprise but she had been thinking about that fact for the last two days.

"I want you to. I want you and Livie to adopt me, together." Jess turned her head and propped herself up on her elbows. "Do you want to adopt me?"

The truth was Alex hadn't ever thought about it. She had always thought of Jess as Olivia's. That if anyone was going to adopt the teenager it would be Olivia. Alex loved Jess and wanted to help raise her. She would do anything for the kid, but adoption was something Alex had never considered. Through her shock, the A.D.A. smiled. "I would love to have legal rights to you, Jess. I would love to adopt you but that is something that you and Olivia need to discus. She is your legal guardian." Alex cupped the child's tiny chin in her left hand. "I don't think Liv and I can adopt you if we aren't a couple. I'm sorry, baby. I love you so much, more than you will ever know." The older woman felt the child's chin quiver. "I love you, Ally." Jess put her head back down on her stomach and Alex opened the book to the page that was dog-eared and started to read.

Jess had a tight grip on Alex's t-shirt when she had started to read. After about thirty minutes Alex stopped and realized the young woman's grip had loosened and her head had become heavy. When the taller blonde hadn't read anything for a minute it was obvious to her that Jess had fallen asleep. She set the book down on the bedside table, opened the drawer and took out Olivia's cell phone. She turned it on and read Jess's text message. Alex went against Elliot's advice and texted the teenager back. "I miss you too. Love you with all my heart. I forgive you." It was short and sweet and the A.D.A. prayed to God it would pacify the child clinging to her. It crossed Alex's mind then that Olivia might not come back. That Pharaoh might have been ruthless with her detective. The tragic thought plagued Alex. She put the phone back in the draw as she cried. The older woman put her hand on Jess's back and decided that if something had happened to Olivia she would fight for custody of their daughter.

Wednesday August 19th, 05:46

Jess woke slowly. She was not sure what had brought her out of deep sleep but she could feel Alex under her head breathing deeply. The teenager lifted her head gently off of the A.D.A.'s stomach and turned slightly to find her cell phone. She reached above her head, to the right and found it. Jess slid her thumb across the screen, unlocking it and stared down at it in disbelief. There was one new text message and it was from Livie. The child clicked it and the message appeared. "I miss you too. Love you with all my heart. I forgive you." A wide smile found its way across Jess's face and tears of joy welled up in her eyes. Even through her teary eyes Jess typed a message back. "I love you. Come home soon." The teenager hit send and was about to wake the taller blonde sleeping beside her when she heard a noise. Something in the drawer of the nightstand buzzed twice.

The young woman cautiously made her way off the bed altogether and walked slowly around the foot of the bed. She silently pulled the drawer open and reached inside for a cell phone. Jess recognized the phone as she picked it up and flipped it open. There was one new message from 'Jessie'. The teenager thumbed around to the 'sent' messages. The most recent one had been sent the night before, it was to Jess and it read: "I miss you too. Love you with all my heart. I forgive you." Either Olivia had been there in Alex's condo or it had been the A.D.A. herself who sent the message. The young woman looked in every bedroom of the condo but the detective was nowhere to be found. Not only had Alex sent the message, but if she had Olivia's cell phone in her hand it meant the detective didn't have it at all.

Sheer panic shot through every nerve ending in Jess's body. Her first thought had been to wake Alex and demand to know what was really going on with Olivia. As she dressed in her own room the teenager thought of a much more direct way of finding out. Alex had been lying to her for a while, how long exactly was still a mystery to Jess. She was only going to get straight answers from one source: Manhattan's SVU squad room.

Once dressed, the teenager packed up her laptop, slung it over her shoulder, put on her DC shoes, closed the door silently behind herself, locked it and headed for the subway.