A/N: Olivia exceeds expectations, passes her test with flying colors, and Maureen does something surprising!
DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Story belongs to TStabler© Read it? Love it? Review it!
"Okay," Fin said, looking at Olivia, "One more time, what happened? And will you put the damn gun down?"
Olivia, smirking, cocked the trigger. "I woke up. Elliot was gone. There was blood on the floor in the bathroom. One set of muddy footprints led to the door, there were drag marks in the dirt. You're the only one I know who could carry him like that. So I came here, dragged your ass outta bed, and if you don't tell me where he is, I'm pulling this trigger."
Fin's eyes widened. "What makes you think I know where he is?"
Olivia laughed, her gun still aimed. "You do. He's my partner, he wouldn't leave without me. And I'm not an idiot, Fin. You tried this shit with him. How far would we go, how much is too much, well am I answering your question?"
"You'd really kill me?" Fin asked.
"Yes," Olivia said. "But only if I thought he was in real danger. I'd shoot you. Joints, starting with the ankles, until you fucking told me. Then I'd leave to go get him, call you a bus, and you'd have to pray they got to you in time." She narrowed her eyes. "Where is he?"
Fin smirked. "You really are a detective," he said, shaking his head. "He's at the station. Zonked out. Chloroform will do that."
"The blood?" Olivia asked, tilting her head.
"He was shaving when I grabbed him. Cut his chin," Fin explained. "You followed the clues and figured this out in fifteen minutes?"
Olivia relaxed her grip on her gun, holstered it, and said, "Ten. I've been standing here interrogating you for five." She blinked once then turned running across the academy grounds, on her way to get Elliot.
Olivia bolted into the squdroom, fuming. "Cragen!" she yelled.
Munch stood up. "He's not here, Benson. Stabler's upst..."
She didn't let him finish. She ran up the stairs and threw open the door. She saw him, sleeping on the first bottom bunk, walked over, and rested a hand on his cheek. Her thumb brushed the scabbed over shaving cut, making him squirm and flinch, and his eyes blinked open.
"Hey," he whispered. "Why are you all the way up there?"
Olivia chuckled and knelt beside him, leaning into him. "Better?"
"Yes," Elliot said, brushing her hair back. He looked around and furrowed his brow. "Why am I here exactly? I don't remem..." Olivia shut him up by dipping her head and kissing him. "What happened, baby?" Elliot asked when he pulled away.
Olivia just shook her head and wrapped her arms around him again, kissing him slowly.
Cragen chuckled as he turned around and headed back down the stairs. "Munch," he said. "Call down to the desk. Tell them we need two staplers, two desk blotters, and order them each a desk set. I just got off the phone with Fin, we're moving their graduation up a bit."
"What?" Munch asked, his eyes widening. "Cap, is that really..."
"Just do it, Munch," Cragen said, before glaring at Fin who had walked in, breathless. "You still think she's just a little girl?"
Fin shook his head. "No," he said. "I think she's a force to be reckoned with, and I don't wanna ever do the reckoning."
"I can't believe they did this, again," Elliot griped, throwing his jacket down on the couch back at their academy bunkroom.
Olivia shrugged. "They tested you twice, El. Guess this was their way of seeing if I'd go to the same lengths."
"You threatened to kill Fin," Elliot chuckled.
"You threatened to kill Tucker," Olivia countered.
Elliot smirked. Then he wrapped his arms around Olivia, caressing her. "Yeah, I did. But now that we're home, safe and sound, I wanna..."
"Elliot," Bernie's voice rang out from the other side of the room. "Not in front of your daughter."
Elliot turned, wide-eyed. "Mom, what are you doing here?"
"Helping you pack," she said. "A man named John called me, told me that you two were moving into city owned housing and needed my help. You have to be off these grounds by Friday."
Olivia looked confused. "I don't know what you're talking about Misses Stabler."
Bernie put Maureen down and handed Elliot her phone. "Listen to the voicemail, Elliot," she said.
Elliot took the phone and dialed, as he saw Maureen run to Olivia. He smiled when Olivia scooped her up, smiling, and nuzzled noses with her. He listened to the voicemail and grunted, hanging up. "Great," he spat.
"What?" Olivia said, sounding happy and chipper as she played with the two-year-old.
"Munch," Elliot said, "He told my Mother that we will be graduating the academy on Thursday and they're moving us into an apartment on Friday. Ten blocks from the precinct. He wanted my mother here to help just in case we get called to a..."
Olivia's phone rang before the words even left Elliot's mouth. Maureen giggled, poked Olivia's nose, and said, "Owifuh call!"
Olivia laughed, and said, "Yeah, honey. Olivia got a call." She answered it, saying her last name like she'd been trained to do, and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we can. We'll be right there." She hung up the phone and looked at Elliot, who nodded.
"Mom, can you watch her?" Elliot asked, reaching for his jacket and rolling his eyes.
"Sure, you two have to go," Bernie said, nodding.
Maureen kissed Olivia's nose and said, "Momma no byes." Elliot and Olivia looked shocked. Bernie gasped. Maureen simply hugged Olivia and said, "Wuffu."
Elliot walked over, sensing that Olivia was about to drop Maureen, and took his daughter into his arms. "Daddy and, uh, Mommy, we have to go sweetie," he told his little girl. "You'll be here when we get back, won't you, Ma?"
"Yes," Bernie almost whispered. Then she turned. "You're not her mother," she said, coolly, to Olivia.
"I'm aware of that Misses Stabler," Olivia said, the warmth that had filled her heart moments ago suddenly replaced with a cold emptiness.
"Mom," Elliot said, "Clearly, Maureen thinks she is, and I'm glad for that. She's been more involved...God, Maureen's spent more time with Olivia than she ever did with Kathy. You know that."
"She's not her mother, Elliot," Bernie repeated sternly. She took the little girl from Elliot's arms and said, "She should have been, and one day she might be, but right now...don't confuse your girls."
Elliot gave his mother an odd look, trying to decide if she liked Olivia or not, as he said, "I don't think they're confused. I think Maureen knows exactly what she said, and Olivia knows exactly what she heard."
"We have to go, Elliot," Olivia said, softly, turning around to head out the doors.
Elliot sighed, shaking his head as he followed her.
"Body dump," Cragen shouted, trying to be heard over the thunder. "Witness saw her being thrown out of the back of a white van. No plates."
Olivia, kneeling down next to the body, shouted back, "She's just a kid!"
"You're Special Victims," Cragen yelled as the lightning flashed and thunder roared over his head. "Sex crimes, the elderly, and children. That was clear in your contract. Which you still haven't really read, I take it."
Olivia was thankful it was raining. The tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked at the lifeless body of the barely nine year old girl were masked by the raindrops. The brown hair, wet and sticking to her face, was sticky with blood. The bruises, cuts, and healed-over scabs and scars littering her underwear clad body were a sign of ongoing abuse, Olivia thought some of them looked just like some of hers. She squeezed her eyes shut, shook her head, and made a promise, to herself and her partner, that she would never look at the vic and see herself again. "What do we have here, Doc," she asked, her voice sounding oddly professional.
"Ligature marks around the neck, she was strangled," the medical examiner said. "And I've got fluids on her stomach and thigh. I'll know more when I get her back to the..."
"Yeah," Olivia interrupted, rising to her feet. "Thanks." She glanced at Elliot, jerked her head toward the street, and walked toward the two panic-stricken witnesses.
"While we're out here, in the rain, can you answer a question for me, Captain?" Elliot asked, turning to Cragen.
Cragen nodded. "Ask me anything, Elliot."
Elliot furrowed his brow, still yelling to be heard over the storm. "This morning, why didn't you just tell me you were gonna..."
"Because you would have fought," Cragen interrupted. "You knew Olivia would flip, and you would have done anything to prevent that. Right?"
"Right," Elliot said, narrowing his eyes. "Are you done testing us now? You satisfied that we're willing to do anything to protect each other?"
Cragen nodded. "No more tests," Cragen said, smirking. "You're done. You start, in the station, on Monday, Stabler. And one more thing."
"What?" Elliot asked over his shoulder as he walked toward Olivia.
"Your partner comes first," Cragen said, "But comes second to a vic. Elliot, if you ever have to choose..."
Elliot broke him off. "I'm gonna choose her, Cap. That's reality. But we're never gonna be in that position, because if we watch each other's back the way we're supposed to, then..."
"Good answer, Stabler," Cragen said, nodding. "Your partner's waiting," he said, pointing to Olivia and the witnesses. As he watched Elliot run toward Olivia, Cragen smiled. "Best team I'm ever gonna have."
"How can you tell that already?" Fin asked, folding his arms as he stepped behind Cragen.
"Fin," Cragen said, raising an eyebrow toward him as another crash of thunder sounded, "I knew from the moment their parents signed them up for the program. They're perfect together."
A/N: Sorry my updates have been short and splotchy. I'm dealing with a very sudden and shocking death in my family, so these last few updates have been written on my phone, where I can't see page or word counts. Writing is taking my mind off of things, and I need the distraction. Leave a review if you'd like. The next chapter will be posted faster that way. Follow me on Twitter, too, if you want. TMG212