Disclaimer: see chapter 1
And as always, humble thanks to those reading/reviewing/adding this story to their alerts, you're all very kind :)
Friday March 28th 2008
09.15
St Joseph's School, Brooklyn/Manhattan SVU
Sam waited nervously as the phone rang in her ear, willing the call to be answered.
"Benson," came the curt response, the voice a little husky and subdued as though the woman had been sleeping.
"Detective Benson, I'm sorry to call you… it's Samia Camanetti, Eddie O'Keefe's teacher, we met the other day when you came to the school to speak with him." The young woman was aware that she was probably babbling.
"I remember, what can I do for you? Is Eddie ok?" The concern was immediately evident reassuring Sam that she had been correct to call, despite it being so early in the school day.
"Well that's why I'm calling actually. He hasn't arrived at school today – he's never late and if he's not coming in, his mother rings and tells us. I've tried calling both parents but I can't reach them which is fairly typical during the day. No one is answering the home phone either so…" The young blonde trailed off, suddenly unsure if she was worrying too much over nothing.
"I'll be right over and I'll send my partner to Eddie's house to see if anyone's home." Olivia was already out of the tiny cot she had been catching forty winks in and tearing down the stairs into the squad room. She and Elliot had both been working their new case until well into the small hours of the morning. Elliot had slept first while Olivia went over mountains of paperwork looking for any kind of break. Olivia had finally crawled into the crib around 7am, unable to keep going any longer on caffeine and adrenaline.
"I'm probably worrying about nothing but Eddie's such a healthy child, I think he's been off sick a dozen days his entire school career and he is always here by 8am. Like I say, the only occasions he hasn't attended, his mother has always called to let us know. I just worry about him with all that's happened recently…" Sam supplied, grateful that the detective was taking her concerns seriously but embarrassed in case it turned out to be nothing.
"You did the right thing calling me. We'll find him. I'll be with you in around 15 minutes." The women ended their call, each lost to their own concerns. "Elliot, I need you to get over to the O'Keefe's place, Eddie hasn't turned in for school today." The two detectives needed no further conversation, both of their minds turning to the fact Eddie's abuser was out on bail pending the start of his trial.
"I'll call the other victim's schools, make sure they all turned in," Fin called to the retreating backs as they disappeared. Captain Cragen appeared in the doorway, wondering what had his two sleuths in such a tearing hurry they could not pause to fill him in.
"Edward O'Keefe may be missing," Munch informed their boss, helpfully. Cragen retreated into his office without a word, a bad feeling gnawing at his gut.
Friday March 28th 2008
09.38
St Joseph's School, Brooklyn
"Detective Benson, I'm here to see Ms Camanetti." Olivia strode into the office the young teacher had escorted them to on their previous visit.
"She's in the principal's office, I'll let them know you're here." The secretary picked up the phone and pressed an extension, briefly relaying her message before indicating Olivia should enter the room.
"Thank you for coming so quickly Detective. Ms Camanetti has filled me in on her conversation with you. I'm sure young Edward is fine but you can never be too careful these days." Mr Jackson rose as Olivia entered the room, shaking her hand formally. Samia stood also, hanging back slightly, fidgeting nervously with her hands.
"Given the nature of the case, we take any unusual absence very seriously Mr Jackson." Olivia did not appreciate his glib attitude nor his condescending tone. It was clear he did not share his employee's concern regarding the whereabouts of the young boy. Focusing her attention on Eddie's teacher, the brunette approached and guided her back onto the couch against the far wall of the principal's office. "How has Eddie seemed since we were here last?"
"Better actually, brighter, more like his old self. It's been like a light bulb has been turned back on inside him and he's allowing himself to live again rather than simply existing," Sam relayed, still keeping her gaze firmly on her constantly wringing hands. Olivia observed the nervous gesture and placed one of her own atop them, stilling the motion.
"But..?" Liv prompted.
"Yesterday, I taught Eddie for English after last break. He was really quiet and tense, I could tell something was bothering him again. I asked him what was the matter. He told me he thought he'd seen Mr Pathitis by the school yard. I told him he couldn't hurt him anymore, that he wasn't allowed to come near him but I don't think he believed me. What if he was right not to believe me?"
"Did you report it to the police?" Olivia asked the question gently, careful to keep her tone neutral and free from anything which could be perceived as accusatory.
"Ms Camanetti spoke to me regarding Edward's allegation. I chose not to waste police time chasing a ghost. Chances are the boy saw someone who bore a fleeting resemblance to the man accused of abusing him and panicked and even if it was the man himself, he was unlikely to stay at the school once he was seen and wait for you to pick him up." Mr Jackson perched himself on the edge of his desk and Olivia had to restrain her urge to knock him on his pompous ass.
"Mr Jackson, there is an injunction in place which states Mr Pathitis is not allowed within 150 meters of the boys who have accused him of abusing them. His presence outside the school would, at the least, be a violation of that court ruling. It could also be construed as an attempt to intimidate a witness. I hope, for your sake, that Mr Pathitis is in no way involved in Eddie's absence today or, so help me, I will see to it that you regret your decision not to 'waste police time' as you put it." Olivia's face was a mask of stone but the hand still resting on the young teacher's clenched fists remained gentle, almost tender.
"I should have called you then, I shouldn't have waited." Sam berated herself for failing to follow her instincts. "What if he has Eddie? You have to find him. You have to find Eddie."
"We are doing everything we can. Detective Stabler is at Eddie's home right now, we have other officers visiting the parents at work. If Eddie is not at home, if his parents don't know where he is, an Amber Alert will be issued immediately. And I'm sure my boss has already arranged for detectives to pay Mr Pathitis a visit." Olivia assured the distraught teacher, her guilt palpable in the enclosed office.
"I should have called you," Sam insisted, tearing her hands out from beneath the detectives own before standing and striding across to the window.
"You called me as soon as you had definite cause to warrant concern, Sam." Olivia recalled the young blonde's insistence at their previous meeting as to how to address her.
"What if it wasn't soon enough? How do I live with myself if he's hurting Eddie again? How do I persuade Eddie to trust me again when I've let him down so badly?" The teacher spoke to the glass as she gazed through watery eyes out at the cruel world beyond.
Drawing on her own personal experience, Olivia replied, "there are times when bad things happen to people we care about that are beyond our control. You couldn't have done any more than you did to protect him and Eddie will understand that it was not you who let him down. But let's not get ahead of ourselves ok? We don't know for sure that Eddie isn't simply at home, tucked up in bed feeling under the weather. There could be any number of reasons his mother didn't call." The brunette detective's cellphone chose that moment to ring. She snatched it out of the clip on her belt and moved towards the door into the outer office, stepping through it before answering the call.
"Liv, it's me. I'm at the O'Keefe's, nobody's home. I spoke to a neighbour who saw Eddie leave the apartment as normal this morning. The neighbour was out walking his dog, Eddie stops to say hello and make a fuss of the pup every day. He watched Eddie head to the end of the block while the dog did what dog's do. Apparently, Eddie looked across the road and then took off running towards the school. The neighbour couldn't see who or what had spooked him but I'd be willing to bet we know who it was. You heard from Munch or Fin yet?" Elliot filled his partner in on what he had found out, walking the route the neighbour had told him Eddie took each day from his apartment to the school. He kept his eyes peeled for anything that might be suggestive of a struggle but fairly heavy foot traffic made that highly unlikely.
"Nothing yet. Sounds like Pathitis was at the school yesterday afternoon. The principal decided it wasn't worth letting us know that small detail," Olivia commented sourly as their fears seemed to be confirmed.
"Sounds like Pathitis is doing a bit of housekeeping doesn't it?" Elliot sighed, mentally strangling Judge Coniston.
"Let's hope not, El. Let's hope it's a misunderstanding and Eddie just wanted some time to himself." There was little optimism in Liv's tone belying her words.
"I'm gonna talk to some of the businesses around here, see if any of them saw Eddie this morning. A kid can't just vanish into thin air, someone must have seen something." Elliot signed off the call as he wandered into a local bodega.
Olivia re-entered the principal's office, interrupting a terse conversation between Jackson and Sam.
"…will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to that boy." Sam muttered, determined to finish her vehement statement despite the detective's return.
"That was my partner. Eddie's not at home and a neighbour reported him leaving for school as normal. We're now treating this as a possible abduction. I'm going to head back to the precinct and get the ball rolling with the Amber Alert and see what information the other officers have collected."
Tuesday February 3rd 2009
15.26
Mercy General Hospital
Olivia was wheeled back into her room having been poked, prodded, scanned, quizzed, palpitated and having had yet more blood drawn. Samia's parents were waiting for her having vowed not to leave until they knew the woman would be alright. As much as it pained them to see her, as hard as it reminded them of how much they had lost, Olivia still held a very special place in both their hearts. The brunette was touched by their concern but was unsure how sociable she could be. The medication she had been given mixed with the toll from her injuries had sapped her energy reserves and run them to an all time low. Her eyelids drooped wearily, her head lolling back against the pillows.
"Don't fight it, Olivia. If you need to sleep, you go right ahead." Gina soothed a hand across the flawless brow of their daughter's partner, watching as the soulful brown eyes fluttered shut. The Camanetti matriarch bowed her head and offered up a silent prayer to the deity she worshipped to watch over her only daughter's soul and also the wellbeing of the woman lying in the hospital bed. She crossed the room to where her husband was standing silently, observing the scene before him.
"She's a fighter, a strong spirit. She'll get through this better than Samia would have done had the tables been reversed." Fausto's voice was strained, the pain of losing his beloved girl blatant.
"We will help each other to learn to live without Samia's light. Olivia will need us every bit as much as we are going to need her. I only hope she will let us remain close to her." Gina's concern which had been eating at her since Olivia was taken for her tests finally voiced itself.
"We can't know how Olivia will react, we can only keep our hearts and minds open to her and hope she will not forsake us. The family would all miss her." It was the closest Fausto could bring himself to admit that he himself would desperately miss Olivia should she choose to not remain in contact with them now that they no longer had the connection of their daughter. He feared that being around them, the reminder that it served might prove to be too painful for the older woman to bear, at least in the immediate future. It was a pain he understood all too well as he battled his own inner war with that soul-deep hurt. Seeing Olivia alive cut him like a knife to the very quick but also soothed him in ways he could neither define nor explain. Grief truly was a conundrum.
Friday March 28th 2008
10.23
Manhattan SVU Squad Room
"Detective Benson, this is Mr and Mrs O'Keefe, Edward's parents." Detective Cragen made the introductions as Olivia stalked back into the bullpen. They had not been necessary for Olivia to know that she was looking at the frightened parents of a missing child. The deep-set frowns worrying identically at furrowed brows coupled with the heartbreaking mix of emotions swirling in the two sets of eyes fixed on her was plenty evidence to identify them.
"Is there any news? Have you found my boy?" Mr O'Keefe stepped forward, invading Olivia's personal space a little too much for her liking.
"I've spoken to the school, there's no sign of him there I'm afraid," Olivia informed them, stepping back a little and taking a position beside her captain. It did not evade her attention that the husband referred to Eddie as 'his' boy, not 'their' son, as though his wife's input was unimportant. "Has Eddie mentioned anyone hanging around? Anyone following him?"
"You know who has him, that paedophile bastard that was abusing him. If you had done your job right, my son would be at school and that sick son of a bitch would be rotting in a jail cell." It was clear that in his fear, Mr O'Keefe was not prepared to be rational. In truth, Olivia couldn't help but feel some sympathy towards him, knowing that the system had let Eddie down.
"Mr O'Keefe, whilst we can speculate that Mr Pathitis has Eddie, we currently have no evidence to support that theory. Until we do, our hands are tied legally. We are doing everything we can to find your son." Captain Cragen attempted to placate the father. "Now, if you and your wife will go with this officer, he will make sure you have everything you need. I need to speak with my detective and get the next stage mobilised on your son's case."
"Just make sure you bring my son back to me safe." Mr O'Keefe fired a pointed look in Olivia's direction as he ushered his wife after the uniformed officer.
"What did the school say?" Cragen fired the question at the brunette as soon as he was convinced the parents were out of earshot.
"Eddie thought he saw Pathitis outside the school yesterday afternoon, he must have headed there straight after he made bail if it was him. The teacher he reported it to spoke with the principal who made a seriously flawed judgement call when he decided not to report that suspected sighting. Mr Jackson does not seem overly sympathetic to Eddie's case – I'd like to do some digging into his background just to make sure there's no chance he might be involved." Olivia filled her captain in on her conversation with the teacher and the principal, making sure she left nothing out.
"Be discrete but take a look at them both, cover our bases and make sure we're not going to get blind-sided by some smart-ass defence lawyer or by the press. As soon as the Amber Alert hits the media, it won't take long for the finger pointing to begin. Let's make sure they don't point in this direction." With a nod, Olivia slid into her seat and began accessing all the records she could for Samia Camanetti and Craig Jackson. Her gut told her the female teacher would never put a child in harm's way but Cragen was right, they needed to prove it and to prove they had looked into every angle of this case.
Liv had no idea how long she had been searching through various systems looking for anything that might cause concern about either of the school employees she had dealt with but as she looked up to see her partner walk back into the room, her back groaned in protest signalling it had been some time since she had stirred.
"Find anything useful?"
"Nothing so far, how about you?" Liv fired back, standing and crossing to the coffee pot, not caring how old the brew was but simply needing a stimulant to keep her going.
"Majority saw nothing, know nothing, want to know even less but there was one guy in a mom and pop store who thinks he saw Eddie getting into a dark SUV. He thought nothing of it at the time 'cause the kid looked like he was going voluntarily but now he thinks the man who got in behind him might have been a little too hands on. Olivia sat back down at her desk, coffee set aside as she pulled up a screen to search DMV records for their suspect.
"There's no SUV registered to Milo Pathitis but there is a black Tahoe registered to a Jason Pathitis at an address in Midtown." While Liv scribbled down the full address, Elliot pulled up a screen of his own.
"Jason Pathitis has a rap sheet a mile long; assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, abduction of a minor. What the hell is this guy doing out on the street? From his last arrest, his only living relative is a Mr Milo Pathitis. This can't be coincidence, can it?"
"Contact Sandy, see if it's enough to get a warrant. I'll go talk to the captain." Olivia rose from her seat striding with vigour towards her boss' office. She rapidly filled him in on what they had discovered, finishing as Elliot leant around the doorjamb.
"Sandy's going to get a judge to sign a warrant to search Jason Pathitis' place, said she'd meet us there with it." The two detectives grabbed their jackets on their way past their desks as they headed for the elevator, not stopping as Munch and Fin marched back into the bullpen.
"Any other victims missing?" Olivia called desperately as she walked out.
"Not yet but they're all pretty shook up and planning on staying anywhere except home tonight," Fin informed her. "Where you off to?"
"Cap'll fill you in," Olivia told him as the elevator doors closed.
Tuesday February 3rd 2009
18.49
Mercy General Hospital
"Hey you, I hear you've been causing trouble today," Alex teased as she sauntered into Olivia's room, sinking gratefully into the chair beside the bed.
"False alarm, my appendix is fine, it's just more bruising coming out." Olivia was relieved she would not require more surgery. Sitting around with time on her hands did not sit well with her at the best of times but in the current circumstances it was tantamount to torture.
"Apart from that, how are you feeling?" Alex was genuinely interested to hear the answer, wondering how Olivia had coped with a visit from Sam's parents.
"Weary, guilty, still like I shouldn't be here but at the same time thankful that I am, does that make sense?" Olivia's face was set in a frown as she attempted to pin down elusive feelings and explain them vocally.
"Yeah, it makes perfect sense to me." Alex recalled feeling something similar during her first months in the program, when survivor guilt gnawed away at her daily constantly reminding her of Agent Donovan's untimely death and making her question why she had been chosen to survive in this state of limbo. "I hear Sam's parents came to see you today."
"They did. I knew it would be hard but Al, the look on their faces damn near killed me. I could see exactly how much it hurt them to see me alive, how much I drove home to them that their daughter is no longer here. And then the pain hit and I had to go for the tests and they looked so worried, I wanted to reassure them, to tell them I was going to be ok but all I could do when I got back was sleep. When I woke up, they were gone." Olivia looked distraught and disappointed in her the realisation that she did not possess superhuman powers of recovery or limitless energy.
"And I've no doubt they will be back to check on you and to make sure you're being well cared for. From everything you and Sam told me of how they accepted you, you are just as much family as a true blood relation." Alex was keen to assure Olivia that the parents would understand.
"It all just seems a bit... surreal I suppose. I mean, I've never had a family, not really, so I don't understand some of the finer nuances." Liv's brown eyes were downcast as she admitted her limited frame of reference for 'normal' family life.
"Liv, sweetie, every family is different and so long as you trust your heart, you will know exactly what is the right thing to do and when to do it."
"Do you think they'll still want me around now that…" Olivia choked on the words, the reality of her girlfriend's death still sinking in.
"Do I think that they will still love you like a daughter? Yes I do. Will they want to spend time with you? I would think that in time they will want you to still feel like part of their family. Perhaps in the short term things might be a little difficult; you fear that you are hurting them by being around them, perhaps they fear they are doing the same to you. Talk to them, be honest with them, tell them how you feel about them and listen to what they tell you. If they want some time, some space, you'll have to respect that but honestly, I think you all can help each other heal. You all share that bond of having loved Sam truly, deeply and unconditionally." Alex held Olivia's hand gently, stroking a thumb across the prominent knuckles. The action seemed so natural, so unconscious and neither woman made a move to break the contact. A few moments comfortable, reflective silence passed between them.
"Alex, if it's ok with the Camanetti's, would you come with me to whatever kind of service they have for Sam? I don't think I can do it on my own." Hearing the ordinarily ferociously independent detective admit that she needed a friend to lean on took Alex's breath away. Making a silent vow to herself to move heaven and earth if needs be to fulfil the promise she was about to make, Alex nodded.
"So long as it's ok with Sam's family, I'd be honoured to go with you and support you in any small way that I can."
"You already do Al, you help me so much. I couldn't have got through the last 24 hours without your support." Tears pricked at the blonde attorney's eyes as she considered the alternative.
"Well just so you know, I don't intend to stop any time soon so I suggest you get used to it." Olivia favoured her friend with a shy smile which just about reached her eyes, the first since Sam's death. "I guess now would be a good time to confess something." Alex's eyes flickered to Liv's own before settling back on the swarthy-skinned hand trapped beneath her alabaster limb. "When I stopped by your apartment to collect your things for the hospital, I packed up some more clothes and bits. I thought it might be best if you stayed with someone for a few weeks when you get out of here so I took the liberty of bringing your things to my apartment." Alex worried at her bottom lip with her teeth, a sure sign she was nervous.
She heard a sigh and feared the brunette was psyching herself up for a fight but was floored completely when she heard Liv's response. "That's so sweet. I umm… I was actually going to ask if you'd mind me staying for a few days at least. I don't think I can face going back home without Sam just yet." Alex nodded in understanding. She had found it hard enough driving by her mother's house after she had come back to the city following her release from witness protection knowing that her mother no longer resided there. To walk into a home you had made with someone, that had been so vibrantly alive with another person's spirit, knowing that never again would they cross the threshold, well Alex couldn't even begin to imagine what an ordeal that would be.
"You're more than welcome to stay at my apartment for as long as you feel you want to. It's plenty big enough for the both of us." Alex smiled warmly at her friend, glad that Liv was willing to accept her help across the board, for now at least.
"I tried to go it alone after Sealview, it didn't work out so well and it could have cost me my badge. I'm no longer too proud to admit when I need a little assistance. Having Sami, what we shared… it taught me a lot about not always being self reliant." Olivia seemed to read Alex's thoughts, the detective in her as perceptive as ever.
"It's good to grow as a person," Alex's response was fairly neutral. While she was glad Olivia found it easier to accept support than when they had previously been friends, it also drove home how much of that growing period Alex had missed, first due to Zapata and then because of her own fears and insecurities. In truth, Alex was a little jealous too. She felt her own personal growth had ceased for the entirety of her incarceration in the program, she had withdrawn into herself and cut herself off from getting involved in the lives of others. There had been a few occasions when her head had been turned by someone and she had sought companionship but after being wrenched from one relationship that had meant something to her, Alex had opted to stay predominantly single until she had moved back to New York and met Robert. Thinking back to how that relationship had ended, she wondered if she hadn't deliberately sabotaged that relationship too, using Jim in the process. Maybe she truly had become the Ice Princess she had been accused of being when she first joined the special victims unit.
"Hey, where did you just wander off to?" Liv's soft voice broke into Alex's reverie. The blonde responded with a resigned shake of her head, not wanting to burden the older woman at a time when she needed someone to be strong for her. "Al, please, just talk to me like you would if we were sharing drinks or takeout in your office. You looked so sad just then, what were you thinking about?"
"How much of your growing I missed. How much of life I've missed. Years I can't ever get back. How much that has changed me and unlike you, my changes are not ones of growth." Alex tried to explain the thoughts that had been running through her mind.
"We can't change the past just like we can't change the scars we're left with from the events that touch our lives but we can steer the course of our future if we accept our limitations and our potential. Nothing is set in stone. Al, you might feel like you were suffocated while you were in the program and I can't even begin to imagine how it must have been for you to go through that but you're here now. You've survived it, maybe not unscathed but you have the whole of the rest of your life ahead of you, that's plenty of chances to make up for lost time and room for growth. Never stop believing in yourself. Alex, you are a good person and a truly selfless friend – who else would do what you have done and are continuing to do for me? You perhaps haven't changed in so many negative ways as you have convinced yourself you have."
"See this, this is what I missed most when I was away. You have a way of cutting through the bull," Alex admitted quietly.
"Aw and I thought it would have been the arguments you missed most, we had enough of them," Olivia quipped, hoping to lighten the tension that was settling in the room.
"Oh I missed those too. You have no idea how many times I argued with my own shadow – it wasn't nearly as satisfying!" That earned a genuine laugh from the detective, the sound music to Alex's ears.
"Sam never challenged me the way you did, she never would go toe to toe with me. Most of the time we agreed, we had very similar views, especially when it came to how children should be treated. But when we didn't see eye to eye, she'd usually end up agreeing with me and backing down for the sake of a peaceful life. I used to curse every deity I could think of for you not being around when I needed to exercise those muscles." Olivia met Alex's gaze, a moment of something undefined passing between them before both of them collapsed into a fit of laughter.
"What a pair we are!" Alex gasped when she recovered her breath. She saw Olivia wince a little as she too caught her breath. "Liv, are you ok? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you laugh when you're recovering from surgery."
"Alex, it's ok. I needed that and trust me when I say that Sam would approve. She told me, yesterday before… in the diner when we were alone, she told me she'd come back and haunt me if I didn't honour her by living my life to the full. I don't expect it to be as easy as that but I do intend to do my best to do as she asked." Liv squeezed her friend's hand tightly. "What say we help each other move forward and continue growing?" The brunette hoped she could encourage Alex to see her potential, her strengths and her achievements which in turn would bring some of the fire and intensity back to the attorney's spirit.
"I'd say that sounds like a pretty fair deal, I'll take it." Alex's stomach flipped a little, despite her rational mind knowing Olivia was interested purely in her friendship.
