A/N: Hey guys, here is the next chapter. I know it's not that long but job has me super busy lately. I'll try to update as often as I can though. Thanks for reading and remember to let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: Law & Order SVU and characters belong to NBC and Dick Wolf.

Chapter 10

"Have we made any headway with the Chambers family?" Olivia asked as she began the morning briefing.

She glanced around at her exhausted detectives. They had all worked through the night processing the scene and getting statements from the security guards who discovered the body. They looked like a tired, sad little bunch.

"Rollins and Carisi went to the family residence first thing this morning to do a notification. They agreed to come down for an interview later today when Mrs. Chambers is more alert. Rollins said she was so distraught a doctor had to sedate her." Fin said pulling a few recent photos of Annabeth Chambers up on the screen.

Olivia looked at the girl. She looked like a typical college student. Olivia shook her head sadly. "The ME puts time of death between the hours of six and ten last night. The parents have an alibi for that time?"

Amaro nodded. "They have a dinner with their friends at the country club once a month. The club manager verified that they were there for dinner and drinks. He says the Chambers didn't leave until well after ten."

"What about a boyfriend? Did she have one?" Olivia asked.

"Don't know yet. We're tracking down some of her friends to see if they know anything."

"Good." She turned to Amaro. "Were you able to find anything from cold cases connected to the mutilation on the body?"

"Nothing's popped up yet. They'll still looking into it."

Olivia nodded. "Okay. It's a start. Let me know when the Chambers get here for their interview."

"Will do."

Olivia watched from the other side of the glass in her office as Rollins and Carisi questioned the parents of their victim. The father looked as if he was trying to remain stoic while the mother simply looked dazed. In all the years of doing this job, Olivia didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing that kind of devastation.

"When was the last time you spoke with your daughter?" Carisi asked softly.

Mr. Chambers cleared his throat. "It was two days ago. She called to apologize for missing our weekly dinner."

"You have a weekly dinner? I thought she lived with you." Rollins asked trying to keep him talking.

"She does… did. When Annabeth started college, she moved into the mother-in-law suite of our home. That way she could have her own place and privacy and her mother and I could still have her nearby. She would live there with no interference from us as long as she attended family dinner once a week. That was our deal… and it worked." He smiled fondly. "She rarely missed dinner. If she did, she would always call."

"Did your daughter say why she was missing dinner? Was she meeting someone, a date maybe?" Carisi asked.

Mr. Chambers shook his head. "No. She said she was going to a study group at the library."

Rollins perked up. "Do you know any of the other students from the study group?"

"I only know one. Her best friend Julie VanAdams. I remember Annabeth said Julie would be there."

"Okay." Rollins said writing down the name. "I hate to have to ask this, but do you have any idea who would want to hurt your daughter?"

Mrs. Chambers, who had been silent the entire time, finally let out a soft sob. Mr. Chambers quickly pulled the shaking woman into his arms. He looked at Rollins with red laced eyes. "No. My Annabeth was a kind soul. She was a good girl. I don't know why anyone would do this."

Rollins and Carisi looked at the grieving parents with sympathetic eyes. Rollins glanced up at the mirror knowing Olivia would be watching from the other side. She subtly shook her head. Olivia switched the speaker off and closed the blinds, cutting herself off from the grieving parents behind the glass.

Olivia dropped her head and pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily trying to stave off a headache.

"Looks like you could use one of these."

Olivia jumped slightly and turned towards the door. She saw Alex standing there holding a bag and coffee. She was dressed for court, obviously on her way into work herself.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Well when you texted me about catching a new case last night, I figured you and the guys would work through the night and be exhausted by now. I left their breakfasts and coffees on their desks." Alex said approaching.

"That's very sweet of you. I know they'll appreciate it." Olivia stepped forward and placed a soft kiss on Alex's cheek. "Thank you." She said accepting the coffee.

Moving over to the sofa, they sat down. Alex began taking out breakfast which turned out to be warm bagels and fruit.

"I really appreciate you doing this, but I'm really not that hungry." Olivia said tiredly. "I think this case is going to spoil my appetite for a while to come."

Alex ignored her and passed her a container of fruit and a plastic fork. Olivia just smirked and began to eat.

"So I take the scene was a bad one?" Alex asked after a few moments of silence.

Olivia finished the fruit and put the container aside. "Just when I think I've seen everything the sick and perverted in this city can do, they prove me wrong."

Alex looked at Olivia with caring eyes. She reached out and intertwined their fingers together. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? You didn't kill and mutilate that girl."

"I just hate seeing you so stressed."

"Well, it turns out I've found something that is very good at reducing my stress." Olivia said lifting Alex's hand to her lips.

"Is that so? And what would this new stress reducer be?" Alex said leaning in.

Olivia followed with a smile. "You." She said meeting Alex halfway bringing their lips together in a soft kiss.

The kiss was just as passionate as the kiss they'd shared the night before. A soft moan escaped Olivia's lips as she brought her hand up cupping the back of Olivia's head bringing her even closer.

A soft cough from across the room made them pull apart. They both turned to see a blushing Nick Amaro poking his head around the corner.

"Uh… sorry to… ah… interrupt… but…" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I was just letting you know that Fin and I tracked down a few of Annabeth's friends. We're heading over to the campus to question a few of them."

Olivia nodded. "Good. Let me know what you find out."

Alex who had been hiding her own blushing face finally looked up and over at Nick. "Good morning Detective."

"Good morning, Alex. Thank you for the coffee and bagels." He said trying to hide a smirk.

"You're welcome." Alex said before turning back to Olivia. She tilted her head with a slight grin. "I need to get to the office and you obviously have a lot to do. So I'm going to go."

Olivia nodded and helped Alex to her feet. "I'll walk you out."

The squad room was virtually silent as a dozen or more set of eyes watched their sergeant walk their former ADA to the elevator.

"I'm sorry about that. We haven't really talked about if you wanted people to know but I'm sure Nick will be discrete."

Alex cleared her throat and stepped into Olivia's personal space. She was quite aware of the eyes still on her. "Olivia, if I was worried about people knowing, I wouldn't have come down here… and I certainly wouldn't do this."

Olivia didn't have time to react to what happened next. The only thing she could feel was Alex's soft lips against her own for a brief but sensual kiss. She could see the devious twinkle in Alex's blue eyes as she stepped away and into the elevator.

"Have a good day, Sergeant."

"You too, Counselor."

When Olivia turned around, she was met with several smirks and playful eyes. She also could have sworn she saw money being passed between Rollins and Carisi. She rolled her eyes. "Alright. The show's over. We've got work to do."

TBC

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