A/N: And the latest update. My muse has finally been inspired again.
"So, what you're asking is for me to take that off the table, and to offer life instead."

Silence. Neither detective answered. Amanda leaned forward on her desk, and pinched the bridge of her nose as she went on.

"What makes you think it's going to work?" she asked. Ed glanced over at Nina. She looked back at him, before sighing resignedly. It was, after all, her little theory that had gotten them there in the first place.

"We think that the only reason Galinet's not cooperating with us is because she knows that we could stick a needle in her arm for the last murder," she said. "That's why we think that it's more likely that we'll get her to cooperate if we take the death penalty off the table."

"I take it the department knows that you're pitching this little theory to the District Attorney," said Amanda, but Ed shook his head.

"No," he said. "They don't know. The only other person outside this room who knows is our lieutenant."

"So, take the death penalty off the table, offer life instead, and you think she'll cooperate," said Amanda, and sighed. "I can't promise you that it'll work, Detectives. I don't know if Branch will go for this."

"Even if he doesn't, it's at least worth mentioning," said Nina, and Amanda nodded.

"Yeah, it is," she said. "I can promise you that I'll put it in front of Branch for considering, but I can't promise you anything else. If it doesn't work then you'll just have to go about what you've been doing all along."

"We get it," said Ed. "Thanks for at least hearing us out." He rose to his feet and Nina followed suit as he went on. "You'll keep us posted?"

"You know it," said Amanda.

And then both detectives were gone, closing the door behind them. A few minutes later, the door opened again, and there was Connie.

"We might have a problem," she said, and Amanda looked up, sharply, frowning.

"What's that problem?" she asked, slowly, not really wanting to know, but knowing at the same time that she needed to in order to work the case. Connie stepped into the office and closed the door behind her, leaning against it.

"Novak is saying that minus Galinet's accomplice, she can't take anything to trial, because there's no physical evidence that anything happened, and even if there was, it's long gone by now."

"So in other words, if we don't find this guy, he's going to walk," said Amanda. "What else?"

"Well, Casey also told me that if you thought it would work, we could come up with some way to charge Galinet as an accessory to rape because she's the one who facilitated it in the first place, even if she didn't do it."

"And this is a problem, how?"
"Because without Rebecca's testimony, there's nothing to say that any rape occurred. She led us to where she was, and the police interviewed everyone within that block and the next one over, but no one heard anything, no one saw anything."

Amanda bit back the sudden desire to swear. This definitely complicated things. The trial was fast approaching and it seemed as if every problem in the book was being thrown at them, just because it could be. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and spoke.

"Well, if it's hardball that's coming into play, then it's what we're going to do," she said. "Tell Novak we're going to need a meeting at least two days before the trial starts, so we can talk to Judge Donnelly, because she's probably not going to like this any more than any of us."

"Anything else you want me to do?" Connie asked, and Amanda nodded.
"If you would, get a hold of Anna for me," she said. "Tell her that something's come up, and I have an idea I'm going to put before Branch but that I'd like her to call me as soon as it's convenient for her, so I can give her the rundown."


She stared at the white-colored stick in her hands and wanted to cry, though whether it was because of elation or misery, she wasn't sure. The blue lines had appeared, clear as day. There was no doubting anymore exactly whether or not that this was exactly what was wrong with her, if one could have called it 'wrong' at all…which she certainly didn't.

The problem, however, wasn't her. Anna ran a hand over her face and stared back down at the stick she still held. The lines were still there, no changes. Her cell phone was sitting on the bathroom sink. Now it started to ring, and she reached for it, flipping it open with a free, shaking hand.

"Hello?"

"Anna? It's Connie. You have a minute, or is this not a good time?"

She hesitated, and then answered. "Yeah, I have a minute. What's up?"

On the other side of the line, Connie bit her lip before going on. "Amanda wanted me to call you," she said. "Apparently, she's now got an idea that she wants to put in front of Branch but something else came up, and she'd like you to call her when it's convenient for you."

"What kind of idea?" Anna asked, warily, discarding the stick in the bathroom's trash can and rising slowly to her feet from where she'd been on the ground.

"Something involving what we're pushing at Galinet," said Connie, reluctantly. "Don't worry, it'll involve prison for the rest of her life, but it's just something to get her to cooperate and give up her accomplice."

"Has anyone bothered to say anything to Jack about this?" Anna asked, reaching for a rubber band on the sink and tying her hair back.

"No," said Connie, "Figured I'd give him a call, too, but he wasn't answering his apartment phone or his cell phone. D'you have any idea where he is?"

The sad part about this, Anna thought, was that she really didn't. Rebecca, she knew, was asleep upstairs in the room that had been designated as hers, but she hadn't seen much of Jack over the past couple of days. It was almost like he was avoiding her.

"Actually, I don't," she said. "I'll try and call him, see if I can't relay the message, is that all right?"

"Yeah, that's fine," said Connie, "I'll let Amanda know that you're going to talk to him. Is there anything you need while I'm still here on the line or are you guys all right for now?"

"We're…" Anna paused for a moment and then went on, not altogether sure that she was giving the right answer. "We're fine for now, but thanks anyways. I'll talk to you later, then?"

"Sure thing," said Connie. "Call me if you think of anything."

And then she hung up. Anna flipped the phone shut and ran another hand over her face, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, now, and at the same time, extremely happy. A few minutes passed, and she walked out of the bathroom, flipping the phone open again and hitting what had become the second number on speed dial.

Trevor answered on the second ring. "What's up?" he asked. Anna gave a faint smile, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"If I were to say the words 'blue lines' to you," she said, "What would you think I was talking about?"
"The police," said Trevor. "Did you pick up another case involving them, or are you not talking about them at all?"

"Not talking about them at all," Anna said, lightly. "Any other guesses or is that it?"
"Shirts, ties, shoelaces…" Trevor trailed off and shook his head. "Anna, come on. What's going on?"

"Blue's not really a boy's color anymore, now, is it?" Anna asked, and heard a clattering sound on the other ending of the line. A few seconds later, Trevor's voice came back.

"You're joking," he said. Anna shook her head, quickly, and then remembered again that he couldn't see her.

"Nope," she said, "I'm not. I've taken three of them and the results have come back the same every time. Haven't been to a doctor yet to find out how far along, though."

"Anna…" Trevor cut himself off for a split second and then went on. "Well, this is wonderful news for you. I take it that's why you haven't been feeling well lately?"

"Most likely," Anna said, cheerfully. "I can still come in if I need to, though."

"We'll play it by ear," said Trevor. "Does Jack know yet?"

Silence. Anna fiddled with the watch she was wearing. "No," she said, slowly. "He doesn't. I…haven't really had a chance to talk to him, and in any case, I just found out myself."

"You need to tell him, Anna," said Trevor, "It'll only make it worse if you don't say anything and he has to find out the hard way."

"You're the only other one who knows," said Anna. "If you say anything, I'll be forced to make you disappear."

"I wouldn't do that to you. But I wouldn't say anything to Danielle just yet. I hate to think she'd say anything, but she and Jack are about as close as you and I are, so to speak."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry." Anna trailed off and then went on. "I will tell him, I swear."

"Well, I would hope so," said Trevor. There was silence for what seemed like forever and then he went on. "Just...if he walks…"
"I'll call you," said Anna, "You know I will."

And then she hung up.


They had pulled the Special Victims Unit, which was why, far from being asleep on Staten Island like Anna thought she was, Rebecca was sitting in the 16th precinct, in an interview room, waiting. She knew the only reason the so-called sex crimes unit had been pulled was because she'd been…violated, but she didn't want to talk about it.

When the interview room door opened, she jumped. She didn't know why she'd agreed to talk to these two detectives, other than the fact that the ones at the two-seven had their hands full with murder cases and the upcoming trial and really had no time to go chasing after someone that rightfully belonged to SVU, anyway. The faces were unfamiliar but friendly enough, and for some reason, Rebecca found herself at ease.

"Hope we haven't kept you waiting long," said the woman, who'd been the first to walk in. "I'm Detective Benson; that's my partner, Detective Stabler. You feeling all right?"

Rebecca nodded, even though she really didn't. Reliving this all over again was the last thing that she wanted to do, but if it meant they'd find this guy…She swallowed, nervously, and stared at the surface of the table.

"I know this isn't going to be easy for you, but anything you can tell us at this point will help," said Benson's voice, but Rebecca didn't look up.

"Don't remember much," she said, and really didn't. "I…it was just…" She trailed off. "Everyone still thinks I made it up."

This time, the other detective's voice. "Who?"
"The press. When I got back…it was like they were trying to set me up, making it look like I'd only pulled some kind of stunt because of all the crap that was going on with my dad, but why would I do something like that?"

"You wouldn't," said Benson's voice, again. "We know that. They ought to know better, too, but we can't always control what they say."

"It did happen," said Rebecca, insistently, defiantly. "I wouldn't lie about being tied to a damn bed and violated at some twisted bastard's pleasure, whenever the hell he wanted me."

The bitter, angry note was unexpected. Had she really spent so long pretending that it didn't happen since speaking to Detective Cassady at the two-seven that she was really starting to think that it wasn't? The room started to swim. She closed her eyes. Why had she waited so long to do this?

"Let's start from the beginning," said the second detective's voice again, the man that Benson had referred to as Detective Stabler. "Did it start when you were taken, or after?"

"After. She…the person who took me…Don't know her name…she said if I pulled anything stupid, she'd have to punish me, like if I tried to get away, but I did, and…that was what happened."

"She had an accomplice, then," said Benson, and Rebecca nodded, her eyes still closed.

"She never did anything herself, she always made him do it," she replied. "I already identified her at the other precinct."

"You told them that you never saw his face," Stabler remarked, from the other side of the room, or so Rebecca thought, she couldn't see him. "Was he wearing some kind of mask?"

And here it was. If she lied here, like she had at the two-seven, and to the ADA's when they had asked, there was no chance they'd ever close this.

"No," she said, finally, and opened her eyes to stare at the palms over hands, which had suddenly started to hurt.

She had been clenching her fists so tightly that she had finally drawn blood.