A/N: We're approaching the end of this story, maybe just one or two more chapters after this one, and it's been really challenging to wrap everything up; hopefully, it will be worthwhile. As usual, I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks a lot for reading!


11 - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

"All right, Matthew, we have a pretty good idea of what happened," Olivia said, standing up across from where the kid was sitting. Elliot stayed behind, near the door, with his arms crossed. It had been a good fifteen minutes since they had started interrogating the kid, with Olivia asking the questions while Elliot watched, and they had yet to find out what the boy's voice sounded like. She had asked about the car, his whereabouts on the night of the rape and several other questions without him giving any indication that he was even hearing her.

"You found out your dad was having an affair and you got mad," Olivia continued, taking a step closer, and she noticed a slight movement as Matthew seemed to tense up. Maybe he was prepared to ignore questions, but not to hear the story told to him. "You couldn't just watch it happening."

She walked around Mathew until she was standing behind him. She looked at Elliot, whose eyes were focused on the boy, and he exchanged a brief look with her to indicate he had noticed the small reaction.

"You wanted to get back at them," she continued, approaching Matthew's chair from behind and noticing that he moved his body as further away from her in his chair as possible, seeming bothered by her closeness. "You wanted to avenge your mother."

"Leave her out of this," Matthew said, still looking down, his voice very low.

Olivia looked at Elliot, a half-smile at her success in getting something out from the suspect. Elliot took a step in the table's direction.

"Why?" he asked, exploring the imposing, stern tone of his voice.

Matthew looked up at him, but didn't reply.

"Leave her out of this because she has nothing to do with it or because this was all for her, because you were trying to protect her, avenge her?" Olivia asked, resuming her walk around the table.

Matthew looked down again and didn't speak or move.

"They were finally happy again, they even had a new baby," Olivia continued, now standing next to him, and she saw that his eyes moved slightly in her direction. She started walking again, feeling his eyes moving along with her, and stopped when she was standing on her initial position again, in front of him. "Your mother didn't deserve to be treated that way. At home, taking care of your sister, while he was screwing around."

Elliot watched Matthew carefully. He was now staring at Olivia with a hint of anger in his dead, expressionless eyes. His reactions showed she was moving in the right direction, but Elliot sensed that wasn't all; it wasn't only about avenging his mother or getting back at his father, there was something more personal there as well.

"And that little slut, how dare she come between them?" Olivia said, with an outraged smile.

"She's not a slut," Matthew said between clenched teeth, looking up at her, his eyes now completely taken by anger.

Olivia and Elliot exchanged a look. There it was.

"Oh," she exclaimed, showing her surprise. "You liked her. But she didn't want anything to do with you."

Matthew looked away. Elliot took another step in his direction. "She dismissed you," he said. "She didn't want anything to do with a boy, she wanted a man, the real deal. She turned you down for your dad. She thought you weren't man enough."

"So you decided to show her just how much of a man you could be," Olivia took a step closer too. "By being a coward, tying her up and forcing yourself on her."

"It didn't have to be like that," Matthew said under his breath, looking away and shaking his head.

"If only she had done the right thing and chosen you instead of your father," Olivia whispered.

Matthew looked at her for a moment, as if he were deciding if she really meant that. "He takes everything," he said tentatively.

"So you took her from him," Elliot put his hands on the table, staring deep into the boy's eyes, which avoided his. He continued to stare, trying really hard to understand this boy. "Were you in love with her?" he whispered.

Matthew finally looked back at Elliot, and he could swear that, for a minute, he saw tears starting to form in the boy's eyes.

Olivia approached, took the picture of Jessica's wounds from the open folder on the table and tossed it closer to Matthew. "Did you enjoy yourself? She sure didn't. The men in your family have a funny way of showing love."

Matthew turned his head to look away from the picture and pushed it back towards the file.

"What the hell happened to you?" Elliot asked, his eyes squinting, that sad expression back on his face. "What made you this way?" Matthew sat back and looked away from Elliot, seeming to shut down again. "Did she make you do it? Your mom? Help me understand, Matthew."

Elliot was pleading, but Olivia didn't think that he was getting through to the boy, she didn't know if anybody would be able to. He was back to his initial demeanor, calm, distant, expressionless, as if he had flipped a switch and no longer had any contact with the outside world. That's when Olivia heard two urgent-sounding knocks on the two-way mirror from the hallway, but neither Elliot or Matthew moved an inch. She approached Elliot; he was looking at that boy like he was his own child.

"Come on," she said, touching his arm lightly. "Let's give him some time to think."

Elliot hesitated at first, then he grabbed Jessica's picture and silently followed Olivia out into the hallway.

"What?" Olivia asked when she saw Amanda.

"The mom is here," she replied.

Olivia turned to Elliot and smiled. "Look at that, a family reunion."


"I want to see my son," Laura Walters said, standing up from her seat at the table as soon as Olivia and Elliot walked into the interview room.

"First we need to have a little chat," Elliot said, anger dripping from his voice. He and Olivia approached the table, and Laura seemed intimidated.

"I don't have to say anything to you without my lawyer," she defended herself. "And neither does my son."

"He was read his rights, Mrs. Walters," Olivia said camly. "He didn't ask for a lawyer. Actually, he didn't say much."

"As for you, you're not under arrest," Elliot clarified. "But it's in your best interest to help us understand why your nineteen-year-old son has brutally attacked Jessica Smithson since he won't speak for himself."

"My son would never do something like that," Laura said automatically, but she didn't seem that sure.

"Why don't you just have a seat?" Olivia said softly, but firmly.

Without a word, Laura Walters sat down. Olivia exchanged a brief look with Elliot and sat down as well, across from her. He didn't move from where he was standing.

"There is no doubt that he did it," Olivia stated simply. "We have his car at the scene and a familial match from his father's DNA. His own DNA is at the lab right now and we have no doubt it will be a match to the DNA found under Jessica's fingernails."

Laura swallowed hard. "Maybe they had sex and that slut is now crying rape so my husband doesn't find out she cheated on him."

Elliot slammed the picture of Jessica in the hospital on the table, making Laura Walters jump in her seat. "Does this look consensual to you?" he said, clenching his teeth but keeping his voice down.

Laura didn't answer. She looked away from the picture.

"You lied to me, by the way" Olivia said, making Laura look at her again. "You knew about the affair."

"Of course I knew," Laura's eyes were full of hatred and resentment. "I knew what that slut was the first time I laid eyes on her."

Elliot leaned on the table, approaching his face from Laura Walters', who flinched slightly. "Did you put him up to it? Did you tell your son to hurt Jessica?"

Laura looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't know my son was involved with her too, but well, like father like son, right?"

"If you knew about the affair, why didn't you confront your husband?" Olivia asked, leaning forward with her fingers interlocked. "You'd just had his baby girl and he was chasing tail. How could you just go on like nothing was happening?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Laura retorted, glancing at Olivia's hands. "I can see you're not married."

"You're right," Olivia smiled and exchanged a brief look with Elliot. "I've never been married, but trust me, I've been doing this job a long time and I've seen more than you can imagine. Everything should have been fine, but he had to go and screw it all up again, didn't he? And with his employee who's more than a decade younger than you, no less. You felt humiliated."

"Of course I felt humiliated," she agreed hesitantly. "I gave up everything in my life for this marriage."

"And your son knew how you felt. The pain, the humiliation, the betrayal. No son would bear to see his mother hurt like that."

"What are you getting at, lieutenant Benson?"

"He's your only son, Laura," Olivia smiled. "I know, I have a boy too. He'll do anything to defend you. He wouldn't let anybody get away with hurting you. You're his queen. Especially if his crappy father lets you down, he'll be the one to step up and defend you. He'll do anything in his power to end your suffering and make whoever hurt you pay."

Laura looked down. "He wouldn't do this." Olivia wondered if she was trying to convince herself.

"How come he wouldn't?" Elliot asked. "You drag him into this and expect him not to take your side?"

"His sad excuse for a father dragged him into this," Laura raised her voice and her head to look at Elliot, outraged. "He saw them together and confronted him. I heard them fighting, that's how I found out."

"Wow." Olivia shook her head with an outraged smile. "That can't have been be easy for him. He's just a kid. For him to have to take sides like that. He took your side obviously."

"Of course he did, did you expect him to side with his cheating father? I raised my son better than that."

"I know, Laura." Olivia's smile widened. "I know you did."

"Did you ask him to hurt Jessica?" Elliot raised his voice, he was growing impatient. "Did you make your son throw his life away to avenge your pride?"

Laura flinched again at Elliot's aggressiveness, and Olivia saw that brand new tears glistened from her eyes.

"I… I'm not sure," she blurted out.

"Not sure?" Elliot yelled. "It's a simple yes or no question. Did you or did you not ask him to attack your husband's mistress?"

"I didn't ask him!" she protested.

"But you said something," Olivia stated firmly. "Or a lot of things."

"He saw that I was hurting, he saw how hard I was trying to keep our family together," Laura started sobbing between her words.

"You made sure he knew," Elliot probed. "You made sure he knew Jessica was the one to blame for all your problems. You made sure he knew she was the only thing keeping you from being happy with your husband again."

"You're blaming me?" Laura said indignantly among tears. "I'm not the one who had an affair!"

"And Jessica wasn't to blame for your husband's actions," Olivia added.

"She knew he was married," Laura retorted.

"So did he," Olivia grinned. "But who got hurt? Certainly not him."

"She could have ignored his advances..." Laura said, her confidence crumbling.

"Do you really believe that?" Olivia whispered, squinting at the woman. "Do you really believe it's that simple?"

Laura didn't reply. She looked away, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Your son did," Elliot said. "He punished Jessica for your suffering and now he's the one who's gonna pay. He'll be in prison for a long time."

Laura cried some more, but quickly recomposed herself and stood up. "I demand to see my son. Neither he or I will answer any more questions without our attorney present."

"Yeah," Elliot scoffed. "A little too late to protect him now, but have it your way."


Night had fallen a while earlier, but Elliot had barely noticed that it was already dark outside. They had been alone in Olivia's office for a few minutes after Carisi had taken Matthew Walters to arraignment and his parents had left, together. He couldn't stop thinking about that boy and what would happen to him because of those two idiots whose only job was to protect him.

When Olivia hung up the phone, the day was officially over. She had been updating Peter Stone on the case so he could prepare for Matthew's bail hearing, and during the conversation she had been watching Elliot leaning against the wall with a lost stare, seeing how affected he was after that day's developments, the latest of which had been the official confirmation of the DNA match. Maybe he really wasn't cut out for this job anymore. She stood up from behind her desk and approached him.

"How are you holding up?" she asked softly, touching his arm.

That seemed to remove him from his trance. He looked down at her, swallowing, blinking slowly. There was something so comforting and familiar in the way she was looking back at him, her concern for his well being on top of a stone wall of confidence and stability, and with that light-feathered touch on his arm, how all of that security started to bleed into him and bring him back from the sadness that had been coloring his every thought. He had been so spoiled, so used to it, and now that she was doing it again, he realized how much he had missed it, her overall effect on him and his life, the power she had of keeping him grounded, sane, through all of the darkness he'd had to deal with every day, through all of the darkness that already inhabited inside him to begin with.

"I will be," he promised simply, with a smile that surprised her, then lightly wrapped his palm around her upper arm, a sudden need for more contact. "Will you come home with me?" he asked urgently.

The invitation took Olivia by surprise, and Elliot felt her arm tensing up as her eyes widened, all that confidence and security gone. She stuttered a little before speaking. "I-I have to relieve my sitter…"

"Right, of course," he said, shaking his head and shutting his eyes tight, as though reality had slapped him in the face. She had a kid, she couldn't just drop everything for him. He was such a selfish son of a bitch. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay." She wanted him to know that his request wasn't as ridiculous as his expression seemed to show he thought. The truth was that, after their long conversation in the morning and his quick promise that he could stay in her life in the afternoon, she didn't want them to go their separate ways that night either. That thought seemed to make things simpler. "We can… You could come home with me instead."

Elliot's eyes lit up. "You sure?"

She didn't seem sure; actually, she never looked so fragile. Elliot was mesmerized at the quickness with which she had changed from that unwavering fortress to such an utter portrait of vulnerability. He wondered how many times she had felt that way but kept it under wraps for his benefit, and he felt the urge to be for her what she had always been for him. Could he? He took his other hand to her face, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It will be all right," he whispered, taking a step towards her and staring into her eyes, changing focus from one to the other, looking for evidence that it was working, that he was able to ground her, to make her feel safe like she made him. After a few moments, she nodded, a slight, almost imperceptible movement, but he knew it was a big deal for her. He smiled.

The air was tense during the ride home, they were driving into completely uncharted territory. Nothing had been said, but the implications of going home together were quite obvious. They didn't speak much; Elliot commented lightly on the fact that she had moved from her previous apartment, Olivia mentioned some things about Noah's routine and how he would probably already be in bed by now. Apart from that, there was only silence, but surprisingly, it wasn't awkward.

Olivia was also surprised at how calm she was, but when the time came to turn her key on the door and open up that whole new world of possibilities, she felt her hand shake and her stomach flutter like a schoolgirl's. Elliot picked up on that small hitch and, with a hand to her shoulder, helped her steady her hand enough to open the door. Lucy was instantly visible in the living room, sitting on the couch with a magazine.

"Hey, Liv," she said, not very loudly, standing up and waving in the direction of Noah's room. "I put him to bed, but he's waiting for you to tuck him in."

"Thank you so much." Olivia noticed Lucy's look in Elliot's overall direction. "Lucy, this is my friend, Elliot."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," she said shyly.

"Nice to meet you too," Elliot said with a light smile.

He was a bit thrown off by the presence of a stranger. Or maybe it was just a break that reminded him of how big a step he was taking in his relationship with Olivia and what it all meant. He had been so focused on helping her feel confident that he had forgotten to be anxious for himself.

"I'll go tuck Noah in," Olivia said, as soon as Lucy had left them alone, maybe a bit too soon even. "I'll be right back."

"Sure," Elliot replied, with a smile.

"Make yourself comfortable," Olivia said to him as if she were saying it to an acquaintance visiting for the first time; she had to keep reminding herself, this was Elliot. This was really happening. "I think there's an open bottle of white wine in the fridge."

"Okay, thank you," he replied, trying to convey it was okay. It was okay to walk away from him to tuck her son in, it was okay to be nervous, it was all okay. He was okay and they would be okay too. All okay. He took a deep breath; she was already gone and he wondered who he was trying to reassure now.