Ch.8:
When Elliot and Olivia got to the source of the scream, they were dismayed. A young woman was lying on the ground, all beaten up. An older man ran away as Elliot started to chase him. Olivia stayed with the woman, trying to comfort her.
"This is Detective Olivia Benson, I need an ambulance to Central Park now!" she said into her walkie talkie. Munch and Fin ran up to Olivia and the woman. Fin took off his jacket and wrapped it around the woman's shoulders. Olivia heard sirens as she saw Elliot run back.
"He got away," he said, breathing heavily. The ambulance came and Elliot, Munch, and Fin helped the woman into the ambulance. Olivia turned to Elliot. "I'll ride with her." She gave him a kiss and climbed into the ambulance.
Elliot sighed and stepped back as the ambulance drove away. "So much for a walk in the park," Fin said.
"Oh my goodness, what happened?" Casey asked running up to them.
"Another victim," Elliot replied. "Where are the kids?"
"They're with Maureen," Casey replied. They walked back to the bench and got the kids. "What happened dad?" Maureen asked.
"Nothing, honey, I'll tell you-"
"See? That's what got you and mom divorced!" Kathleen shouted. Elliot stood there in shock as did Casey, who was trying to get the 3 younger kids settled down. "You never told us or mom about anything," Kathleen continued.
"Kathleen, I didn't want you guys to have to worry about the stuff that goes on at work. Maureen has already been through that," Elliot explained. Maureen came over. "Trust me, just seeing that body gave me nightmares for weeks," she said.
"Come on, I'll take you guys home," Elliot said, leading them to the car. He turned to Casey. "Thank you for setting all of this up," he told her.
"You're welcome, I love helping my best friends," she smiled. "I'll keep Jessie with me until you get done dropping your kids off."
"Thank you," Elliot said, again.
During the drive to Kathy's house, everyone was silent. After about 10 minutes of this silence, Dickie and Elizabeth started fighting and hitting each other.
"Hey, settle down," Elliot said, looking in the mirror to see them. Elizabeth stook her tongue to Dickie and turned around. When they got to the house, the four kids jumped out of the car, saying their goodbyes. Elliot watched as his kids walked into the house. Kathleen was last and looked back at Elliot before she went inside.
If Kathleen doesn't want me to marry Olivia, that's her problem, Elliot told himself as he started the car and backed out of the driveway.
When Elliot got to the hospital, he saw Olivia sitting in the waiting room. She had her head in her hands; Elliot could clearly see that she was exhausted. He sat down in the chair next to her and ran his hand up and down her back comfortingly.
Olivia looked up, not seeing him sit down. "Hey, how's our vic?" Elliot asked.
"Her name is Jennifer Watson and has no family," Olivia replied. She sighed. "Where's Jessie?"
"She's with Casey." Olivia nodded and stood up. Elliot looked up at her. "Any news about Jessica?" he asked.
"No, not yet."
Elliot shook his head. "How's Jennifer?"
"Not as bad as Jessica. She's sleeping now. I was just waiting fro her to wake up."
"You're done waiting," the doctor said. "She woke up."
Olivia started to leave when Elliot grabbed her hand and stood up. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" he told her. "I'll ask Jennifer questions and pick up Jessie when I'm done here. Come by the precinct in a couple of hours."
"Ok," Olivia said. "Thanks." Elliot hugged her and kissed her forehead. He left and walked into Jennifer's room.
"Hi Jennifer, I'm Detective Elliot Stabler. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions."
"Where's Olivia?" she asked.
"She left a little while ago to take care of something. Now, what exactly happened at the park?"
"I was walking along the jogging trail when this man runs up and drags me off the trail…" she paused. "Then he…tried to rape me but when I screamed he started punching me. The next thing I know, I'm here."
"Do you remember exactly what he looked like?" Elliot asked. When he was chasing the perp, he just got a look at the back of his head.
"He had, uh, dark hair, brown eyes, and this awful scar on his face…I tried not to look at it."
"Do you, by any chance, know a Jessica Rossen?"
"Yes, she's one of the nurses I work with, why?" Jennifer sat up in her bed.
"She was attacked also. But she was raped and is in a coma."
"Oh no, she was – she is a very nice person. She's a great friend."
"Thank you for your help," Elliot said. He drove to Casey's office to pick up Jessie. When he got there, Jessie was playing on the computer while Casey was working on one of her cases.
When Elliot walked through the door, Jessie ran toward him. "Daddy!" she said, hugging his leg.
Casey looked up from her files. "Hey Elliot. I'm working on Vince's trial. I plan to fry the scumball."
Elliot shook his head. "I swear if he so much as looks at Olivia at his trial, I'll kill him myself," he said.
"So when's the big date?" Casey asked, putting away her files.
"I don't know, I'll have to talk to Olivia about it," Elliot replied.
Casey smiled. "Who's gonna be your best man?"
"I was thinking either Munch or Fin."
Casey laughed. "I can hear the argument now."
Elliot smiled. "Thank you for keeping Jessie here."
"You're welcome…Where's Olivia?" Casey asked.
"I told her to go home, she looked exhausted." Elliot looked down at Jessie who was tugging on his pant leg. "Can I stay here?" she asked him.
"No, Casey needs to finish her work. Come on; let's go see Uncle Munch and Fin." Elliot grabbed Jessie's hand. "Thanks again," he said to Casey and left.
When they got to the precinct, everyone looked incredibly busy. Cragen hurriedly walked past him. "Captain, what's going on?" Elliot asked, still holding Jessie's hand.
"Our suspect was sighted at a subway. Munch and Fin are there now," Cragen replied.
"Jennifer described the same man that the park director did. She's a nurse too," Elliot explained. Cragen nodded and walked away. Elliot walked to his desk and saw Olivia at hers.
"Olivia? I thought you were going home," he said.
"I did, but Munch called and I came here." Jessie ran to her mom. "Hi mommy!" she said. "Hey honey," Olivia replied, lifting the little girl onto her lap. "Did you talk to Jennifer?" Olivia asked Elliot.
"Yeah, she wasn't raped but badly beaten she described him as a man with black hair, brown eyes, and a scar on his face. She's a nurse as well."
"Our perp has a fetish for nurses," Olivia said.
"What's a fet-ish?" Jessie asked. At that moment, Munch and Fin walked in with their suspect. "Lookie what we caught," Munch said. They pushed him into an empty interrogation room.
"Where were you this morning?" Munch asked the suspect.
"At home."
"You weren't at the zoo?" Fin asked.
"No, I was at home."
"Any alibi?"
"No, I live alone."
"Do you know any of these women?" Munch asked, showing him pictures of Jessica and Jennifer.
"Yeah, she was my nurse," he said, pointing to Jessica's picture.
"Before we get ahead of ourselves, what's your name?" Fin asked.
"Brian Logan."
Cragen knocked on the outside window. Munch and Fin walked out the door. "We're gonna have him stand in a line up tomorrow morning. Go home and get some sleep," Cragen told them. He said the same to Elliot and Olivia.
"I guess I'll se you in the morning," Elliot said, standing up out of his chair. Olivia took Jessie's hand and stood up as well. "Come on Jessie."
"I'm…tired," Jessie said yawning. "Good, so am I," Olivia said smiling. When she and Jessie got home, the phone rang. "Hello?" Olivia answered.
"Hey Liv," she heard Casey say. "I just wanted to let you know that Vince's trial starts in a couple of days."
"Will I have to testify?"
"Yes, if we want him put away longer for kidnapping, stalking, and harassment along with the rape and murder charges."
"Will Jessie have to?"
"I don't think it's necessary."
Olivia sighed. "Good, I don't think she can handle another defense attorney."
"I'm sorry about that Liv, I would've dumped Jake sooner if I knew he was Chad's defense attorney."
"It's not your fault Casey, you didn't know."
"Did you and Elliot talk about when the big day's gonna be?"
"No, I just got home and Jessie's getting ready for bed. I want you to be one of my bridesmaids."
"Really? Oh my gosh, that would be awesome!" Casey squealed.
"I was planning on you, Melinda, and Maureen being my bridesmaids and Jessie being the flower girl." Olivia said. "What's a flower girl?" Jessie asked, coming out of her room in her PJ's.
"That means you get to throw flowers on the floor," Olivia told her.
"Yay!" Jessie said. Casey laughed over the phone. "I'll see you tomorrow. I hear there are many witnesses to do a line up."
"Bye Casey." Olivia hung up the phone.
"When do I get to throw flowers on the floor?" Jessie asked. Olivia laughed.
"Come on, let's get you to bed."
"Can't I stay up?"
"I thought you were tired," Olivia said, picking up Jessie.
"I'm not anymore." Olivia carried Jessie to her room and dropped her on the bed.
"Well, mommy is," she said, putting the covers over Jessie. Olivia yawned. "Besides, you need to get used to going to bed early, school for you starts Monday."
"School? Does that mean we can't do things together?"
"No honey, we can do lots of things together, just after you get home from school," Olivia stroked Jessie's hair. "So what do you think about Elliot being your new daddy?"
"I'm happy," she said smiling. Olivia smiled and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight," she said, turning off the light.
"Goodnight," Jessie said silently as she fell asleep.
At the SVU squad room the next morning…
Elliot and Olivia led Jacob into the room in which the line up was taking place. Casey was already in there, along with Brian's attorney. "I need you to point out the man who attacked your mother," Casey told Jacob.
"Number 4," the little boy said. Meanwhile, Olivia was outside the room talking to Nathan. "How's Jessica?" she asked.
"She's getting worse," Nathan replied.
"Mr. Rossen, I'm so sorry." Jacob came out of the room, led by Casey. Olivia looked at her as if to say 'Did he pick Brian?'. Casey nodded and said, "Bring in Jennifer."
Jennifer was sitting with Elliot when Olivia walked over to them. "You ready?" she asked Jennifer. Jennifer nodded and stood up. She walked up to the window and looked carefully at all of the men. "Number 4," she finally said.
Olivia walked in as Jennifer left. "Do you need the park director to come in?" she asked Casey.
"No, his ID would be circumstantial. He just saw him stare at Jessica." Olivia nodded and left, Casey following. She walked up to Elliot.
"El, where's Jessie?"
"She went with Munch and Fin to drop off Brian's fingerprints and DNA to Warner," he replied. "They promised not to argue about their theories in front of her." Olivia laughed.
Casey walked up to the couple. "Hey, Vince's trial starts tomorrow," she told them. "Are you ready to testify?"
Olivia nodded. "What time?"
"8:30 tomorrow morning."
"We'll be there," Elliot said. Casey smiled and walked away. "So how did the line up go?" Elliot asked.
"Both Jacob and Jennifer IDed Brian as the rapist," Olivia replied.
Elliot nodded. "Did you think about a day for the wedding yet?" he asked Olivia.
"Yes," Olivia smiled. "I've been thinking about that a lot." Olivia grabbed Elliot's hands. "Let's make it soon," she said.
Elliot smiled. "You're excited, aren't you?"
"And you aren't?"
"I'm very excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with a very beautiful woman." Olivia blushed.
"How about next weekend?" she asked.
"That sounds good, who are we inviting?"
"I was thinking about Munch, Fin, Casey, Warner, Cragen, your family…that's about it. At a little church…not many people can know or you, me, and Cragen will loose our jobs."
Elliot smiled. "Ok, is Jessie gonna be the flower girl?"
"Yeah, she's real excited. What about best man?"
"Munch and/or Fin."
"We're gonna be hearing it from them all week," Olivia said smiling.
Meanwhile, John and Fin were dropping off the DNA with Jessie. Warner was doing an autopsy of a dead suspect. Fin quickly covered Jessie's eyes and led her out of the room.
"Since when did you get a kid?" Warner asked Munch.
Munch laughed. "She's not mine, she's Olivia's."
"What? How come nobody ever tells me these things?"
"We've been real busy down at the station. Here's our suspect's DNA and fingerprints."
"I'll match it to the DNA found in Jessica, just wait a second."
"I bring you more good news," Munch said. "Our Elliot and Olivia are getting married."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious."
"That's awesome!"
"Is it safe to come in now?" they heard Fin say.
"Yes, come in," Warner said. Fin walked in with Jessie. "I was just analyzing the DNA," Warner explained to Fin.
Jessie looked up at Fin. "That means she's matching it to the other DNA we found," Fin told her. Munch and Warner looked at him. "What? She told me she wants to be a detective like her mom; mine as well learn something while she's here."
John laughed. "Was it a match?"
"Brian Logan is our perp," Warner replied.
"Thanks," Munch said as they walked out the door. "Thank you," Jessie said. Warner, Munch, and Fin all started laughing.
"You're getting more and more like your mother every day," John said. "Maybe she'll be the next on our team of detectives."
When they got back to the squad room, they saw Elliot and Olivia talking to each other. "Meet your Jr. Detective," Munch said, pushing Jessie lightly toward Olivia.
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
"Fin taught her about analyzing DNA," Munch replied. Olivia rolled her eyes.
"I wanna be a detective like you mommy," Jessie said.
"No you don't," Elliot and Olivia said together.
"Why not?" Olivia looked at Munch and Fin and gave them a stern look. "Honey, what we see every day, I hope you never see."
She walked over to Munch and Fin. Elliot took Jessie to his desk. "I don't want Jessie to be involved with what we do. It's ok that you told her about DNA stuff, but I don't want her to be exposed to the stuff outside of our squad room," she told them. John and Fin nodded.
Olivia smiled. "Thanks for taking her though; she hasn't seen anything besides the squad room for a while." Munch smiled. Elliot walked up to the three detectives.
"Anyways, is Brian our guy?" Olivia asked.
"Yep, he's toast," Fin said. "So Elliot, you figure out who's gonna be your best man?" he asked.
"Um, to tell you the truth I was going to choose either you or Munch," Elliot replied. Olivia looked at him in concern; this was gonna be one heck of an argument.
Olivia and Elliot walked away with Jessie before Munch and Fin started arguing. They went into Cragen's office.
"Hey captain," Olivia said. "I was wondering, since I don't exactly have a father, um…" she paused as Cragen stared at her. "…I was wondering if you'd walk me down the isle." She let out a deep breath.
"I would be honored to Olivia," he said smiling. "You're like a daughter to me." Olivia smiled and hugged him.
"So when's the big day?" Cragen asked.
"Next weekend," Elliot said. Olivia looked at him and smiled.
"I'm assuming Jessie's going to be the flower girl?" Cragen said.
"Yeah," Jessie replied, beaming. Olivia smiled.
"Well I've known him longer!" they heard Munch say. Olivia and Elliot turned around. They ran out of Cragen's office.
"You guys! Stop arguing! Not here, we don't want to get fired," Olivia said.
"Guys, calm down. You guys have been good partners for a long time, don't let this come between you two," Elliot said. Olivia nodded in agreement.
"Sorry guys," Fin said. "Sorry Munch."
"Same here man," Munch said as they shook hands. Olivia smiled as she and Elliot walked away.
"Why don't you have both of them be your best man?" she said.
"Can I do that?"
"Yeah, why not? I get three bridesmaids. By the way, we need to go talk to your family."
Elliot sighed. "I don't know how well Kathy's gonna take this."
"She divorced you, it's not her problem any more." Olivia hugged him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're right," he said. "Besides Kathleen already has a problem."
Olivia looked up at him. "What? She has a problem with us getting married?"
"I don't know for sure, it's just her attitude. And her saying stuff about me and Kathy getting divorced."
Olivia put her head back on Elliot's shoulder. "Do you want me to talk to her?" she asked.
"No, she'll get over it." They heard footsteps running toward them in the empty hallway. They pulled away from each other. Olivia turned around and saw Jessie running towards them.
"Mommy!" she said. "Casey's looking for you."
"Where is she honey?" Olivia asked.
"At your desk."
Elliot and Olivia each grabbed one of Jessie's hands and walked with her to the squad room.
"Hey Casey," Olivia said. "What's up?"
"The sky." Jessie laughed. Olivia smiled at the laughing child. "I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat."
Olivia looked at Cragen. "Go ahead and go," he said.
"Thanks," Olivia said, grabbing her files.
"Good luck at court tomorrow."
"Thank you."
"See you in the morning," Elliot said. He kissed her and watched her leave with Casey and Jessie.
"Man, you're pathetic," Munch said smiling.
Elliot smiled as well. "John, Fin, I want both of you to be my best men," he said.
"Really? Thanks." Fin said. "Thanks," Munch repeated. "Who's gonna be Olivia's bridesmaids?"
"She wanted Casey, Melinda, and Maureen to be her bridesmaids and I wanted Dickie to be the ring bearer," Elliot replied.
Munch smiled. "I told Olivia this, I'm really happy for you two."
"Thanks John," he said.
While at the diner, Casey and Olivia talked to each other. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Casey asked her.
"Yeah, I think so. Anything to nail him." Casey smiled. Olivia looked over at Jessie. The little girl ordered spaghetti and was having a hard time keeping it on her fork.
"Honey, you have sauce all over your face," Olivia said, laughing. She wiped Jessie's face with her napkin. "Do you need help with that?"
"No…" Jessie said, trying to keep her noodles on her fork.
"Come on, give it here." Olivia took her bowl and cut the noodles in smaller pieces. "Here," she said. "Try that."
"I could've done it myself," Jessie replied. Casey and Olivia started laughing.
"I've never seen you this happy," Casey said smiling.
"Elliot and Jessie are the best things that happened to me," Olivia said. "the only thing I hate is having to keep it a secret."
"Isn't getting different partners enough?" Casey asked.
"According to the commission, it's different units. You can't blame them though." Olivia sighed. "I was thinking about going back into computer crimes."
"Are you sure? You love your job at SVU."
"I know, but this is dragging you, Cragen, Munch, and Fin into this. If the commission found out and knew that you guys knew, you could be fired. I don't want to risk that."
Casey sighed. "You should keep thinking about it." she said. Olivia nodded and looked over at Jessie. She was dozing off. Olivia smiled.
"Thank you for dinner," she told Casey. "I better get Jessie home before she falls asleep in her spaghetti." Olivia and Casey started laughing. Olivia stood up and picked Jessie up out of her chair. "See you in the morning," she said. She left the diner, carrying Jessie to the car.
On the way home, Olivia kept thinking about everything she was going to say in court the next morning. She was getting nervous, she had testified many times before but this was totally different. She was about to tell the court everything that happened the last few weeks. Once Olivia got Jessie to bed when they got home, she went to sleep waiting for the next day.
