Chapter 14

"You bitch! You bitch, they're taking my son away because of you! Your name isn't on that report but I know it was you!" Two security guards were now struggling to drag Alicia away from Olivia, who had just entered the SVU squadroom.

"Lovely woman," Olivia said as she approached Elliot.

He smiled. "I've got good news." Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Got the restraining order lifted – temporarily, at least. One IAB cleared you it was a piece of cake. Etienne's on his way over."

Olivia was so happy she threw her arms around Elliot. She had been worrying for days that IAB wouldn't give her her job back, but they had ruled in her favour in the end. Olivia wasn't entirely sure why, but she wasn't about to question her good fortune. All her energy needed to go into securing Etienne's future; she intended to keep her promise to him and to Eva. It would be impossible though unless she could get Etienne to open up to her. But she couldn't think about that, and she couldn't let Etienne know that. She had never been so nervous about an interview with a victim.

When Etienne walked through the door, accompanied by two police officers, he broke free of them and raced towards Olivia. She scooped him up and kissed him on the cheek, not caring about her coworkers. "Olivia! I missed you. Why didn't you come see me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I wanted to see you. I was out of the city and it took me a while to get back. But I'm here now and we're going to figure this all out together, okay?" Etienne nodded. She set him down and took his hand to lead him to an empty interview room where they could talk in private. She lifted him up to sit on the table and then sat down in a chair so he was looking down at her.

"Did someone explain what happened to you?"

"They told me I was asleep for a long time, cause I hit my head really hard. I feel fine now, though." He was swinging his feet casually and talking cheerfully; Olivia hoped she could keep it that way.

"I'm glad you're better. I was worried about you." Etienne smiled. "Have you talked to your mom since you woke up?"

His feet stopped swinging. "Yeah. She was really worried about me, too."

"What did she say to you?" Olivia rested her hand comfortingly on Etienne's. He shrugged, looking away from Olivia. "Etienne, I know you're scared. I know you don't want to hurt your mom, but I need you to talk to me. You trust me, right?"

Etienne turned his gaze slowly back to Olivia. "I guess so."

"And you know I only want to protect you, right?" Etienne nodded. "This isn't an easy thing to hear, Etienne, but your mom hasn't been a very good mom to you. You don't want to hurt her and I understand that, but trust me: nothing she does is your fault. You're a great kid and you don't deserve to be hurt. If she hurt you, Etienne, I need you to tell me. As soon as you tell me what happened I will make sure she never hurts you again."

Etienne was looking down at his hands rather than at Olivia. Tears were sliding slowly down his cheeks, but he was so still and silent that Olivia didn't even realize until a tear fell onto Etienne's pant leg. "She said no one will believe me. She said you're only pretending to believe me because you're a police officer and it's your job, but there isn't any evidence so you can't arrest her."

"She was lying, Etienne. She knows the only person who can stop this abuse is you, so she made you believe you couldn't do it. I promise you, Etienne, all you have to do is tell me what happened, tell me how she treats you, and I can help you." Olivia reached up and wiped away his tears gently.

Etienne met Olivia's gaze. "If I tell you what happened I won't live with my mommy anymore, right?"

"That's right." Olivia expected him to ask where he would be living instead and wondered how she would answer. She didn't really know the answer to that yet.

"Does that mean you can be my mommy?" The question floored Olivia; she hadn't been expecting anything like that.

"Etienne...I can't. But I promise I'll find you a great home with a mom and dad who will give you all the love and attention you deserve."

"But why can't I live with you? I thought you loved me!"

"It's not about what I want, Etienne. I'm not allowed to adopt you."

"But you're a police officer, you can adopt me if you want! My mommy was right, you don't care about me at all!" Etienne jumped off the table and tried to run but Olivia grabbed him easily around the waist and scooped him into her lap as he started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Etienne, I'm so sorry. I do care about you, but even a police officer has to follow the rules. I'll visit you every chance I get and-"

"No! No, you said you cared but you lied! You don't care about me! You just want to put my mommy in jail!" Olivia couldn't believe it had gone so wrong so fast.

Unable to hold the squirming child any longer without hurting him, Olivia released her grip on Etienne and he raced for the door. He wrenched it open and ran outside, immediately crashing into Elliot. "Hey buddy, where are you off to in such a hurry?" He smiled but Etienne just stared up at him, terrified. Olivia knew Etienne's English was better than he was letting on, but right now he was too upset to comprehend Elliot's words.

"Etienne, please - come back inside and we can talk about this." Olivia glanced up at Elliot with a look that told him just how badly things were going.

Etienne looked at Olivia, then back at Elliot, who was blocking his path. He knew to some degree he had a choice, but he couldn't see any easy way out. Instead of trying to run again, he sniffed, wiped his tears on the back of his sleeve and went back into the interview room. Olivia closed the door and sat down again, letting Etienne wander wherever he wanted. "Why don't we make a deal?"

Etienne looked up at her but didn't look hopeful. "If I promise to find you a nice family, not too far from where I live, will you tell me what happened?" Etienne was silent. "Etienne, if you don't talk to me I can't help you anymore. You'll have to go back to your mom and I won't be able to see you anymore."

Etienne looked at her in shock, his eyes filling with tears again. "Why not?"

"You mom has a special piece of paper that says I'm not allowed anywhere you or her. Right now the police think your mom might be lying about your accident, so they're letting me talk to you despite that piece of paper. But if you tell me it's not a lie, and it really was just an accident, the police will have no more reason to think your mom is lying. I won't be able to talk to you anymore."

"But it's just a piece of paper. It can't hurt you, right?"

"The paper says that if I go near you or talk to you, I can get in a lot of trouble."

"Like what?"

"I'll lose my job, and I'll probably be arrested and put in jail." Etienne looked horrified. Olivia hadn't wanted to tell him about the restraining order, but she didn't see any other choice now. "Etienne," she leaned forward in her chair, "what happened the day you fell down the stairs?"