-1Walking down the long hall to the geek lab Elliot went over the facts in his head again. Young mother, pregnant with second child, walking across the street after picking her five year old up from half day kindergarten, hit head on by a surviving car. Not normally an SVU case, but three months ago there'd been another hit in run just like it in Brooklyn, seven months ago same thing in Jersey. Drunk hit and run involving young mother's with small children.
"So you think these tech guys can find something?" Danni ask as they approached the frosted double doors.
"Hope so, other wise all we got is an ID on the car, and there's just to damn many Ford Focuses in New York." Elliot replied as he pushed the doors open. Scanning the room he caught the top of a head behind a cluster of screens. As he approached he called out, "SVU, we're looking for information on a hit and…"
"Elliot?" Olivia asked as she looked up from the search she was doing. When the call came in for street surveillance and traffic cam images it hadn't even dawned on her it could be an SVU case. She'd just seen that it was a mother and her little girl who'd been killed and snatched it before anyone else could even read the file.
Elliot blinked. He hadn't seen Olivia in weeks. "Liv?"
Danni just stood there looking between the two. So this was Olivia Benson, huh? Where was the halo and saint wings?
After a few more strained seconds Olivia finally asked, "You pulled the hit and run?"
Elliot nodded. "We think it could be a serial, got matching cases in at least two other places."
"Mothers with small kids?" Olivia asked, her mind as always working from the victim's side.
"Yeah, young mothers with small kids." He replied. Then when he heard Danni beside him he added, "Uh, Olivia Benson, Danni Beck."
Danni looked Olivia over again. "Nice to meet'cha."
Olivia smiled polity, while thinking this one looked to soft, she didn't have that look in her eyes, the spark that let people last more then a week in SVU. Elliot had it, Munch and Fin, the Captain, she'd even seen it in herself, but not this one. This one reminded her of Jefferies and Cassidy. And here Elliot was worried about having to watch her back? No, this one wouldn't last. "Hi, nice to meet you. Hope the boys are playing nice. I know it can be rough being the only girl around."
"Yeah," Danni replied with a shrug. "They've been real sweet."
Olivia had to bite back a nasty retort. Was this woman slamming her boys? Or was she just being the jealous little sister? Turning back to her set up she started pulling what she had found so far. "I managed to get a couple images from a traffic cam near the intersection. I was just going through the time frames. You got a definite time?"
"Between two-thirty and three-fifteen." Elliot replied. "Blue Ford Focus, a couple of years old."
"Ok," Olivia said as she skimmed the pictures on her screen. She stopped when she spotted the young mother standing at the corner holding her daughter's hand. The sight tugged at something deep inside, a sympatric tug at her heart. The girl was only a few years younger then Allie. Chocolate brown eyes darted to the framed picture of Allie in her school uniform sitting on Alex's lap in front of their building, before returning to the computer screen. "Looks like we caught the whole thing."
Elliot watched as Olivia zoomed in on the plate, the driver, and opened a search window. She was doing everything he'd need without him asking for it. He couldn't hide his smile.
"Looks like your perp's a woman." Olivia said as she printed off copies of the driver. "Dark blond hair, lidded eyes so I can't get a clear picture of the eye color." She stopped when something beeped at her. "Car's listed as being a company car. Hanson Used Cars over on 134th."
"Thanks, Liv." Elliot said as he took the information from her. "If you come across anything else…"
"I'll let you know." She cut in. "Let me know what you come up with?"
Elliot nodded. "I will."
As they headed back down the hall Danni shoved her hands in her pocket. "So that's Olivia."
"Yeap," Elliot replied in a tone that said he wasn't talking about her.
Danni just nodded then said, "I thought she'd be taller."
"So was it weird?" Alex asked as she took a pasta sauce covered plate from Olivia.
Olivia looked up and then shrugged. "You mean meeting his new partner? Yeah, I guess it was."
"What did you think of her?" The blond asked as she turned to lean against the sink. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited to see what Olivia would say.
Again Olivia shrugged. "Don't know, they were only there for like ten minutes."
Alex rolled her eyes, her arms unfolding only so she could put her hands on her hips. "Don't give me that. You can scope a perp in three minutes flat and peg a good victim's cop in less."
Olivia stopped clearing the dinner table as she sighed. Alex was right of course, she'd had Beck pegged as soon as she'd laid eyes on her. Finally giving in she replied, "That world's gonna chew her up and spit her out."
"Did you say anything to Elliot?" Alex asked as she moved closer to Olivia.
"Like what? Your new partner's going to crumble in a matter of weeks?" She sighed as she wrapped her arms around Alex's waist. "He'd take it the wrong way. He'd think I was jealous or something. Elliot knows who can handle the job and who can't, he knows she can't and he's over looking it. He was so damned worried about having to look over his shoulder to watch me and now that's exactly what's he's gotten himself into with her."
Alex wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck and then raked her nails through her lover's dark hair. She could feel Olivia relax almost instantly. "You meet with the shrink from OnePP tomorrow, you could always go in and show her how it's really done."
Olivia smiled just a little before kissing Alex softly. "Not yet, it's just not time yet."
"Not time for what?" Allie asked as she came back into the kitchen with a pasta sauce free face.
Deciding to side step the question Olivia asked one of her own, "Homework finished?"
Allie nodded. "Yeap."
"What about for Hebrew school?" She asked as she scooped the little girl up into her arms. She couldn't help but smile when Allie wrapped her arms around her neck, especially since Alex's hand just been there a second before. The face the girl made, made Olivia laugh. "Tell ya what, Allie-Cat. Since it's Momma's night to do the dishes, why don't we work on your letters worksheet while she does that, and then when we're all done we'll go rent a movie."
Bright blue eyes lit up. "Do I get a box of hot tamales?"
"Don't you always get a box of hot tamales?" Alex laughed.
"Yeah, but I have to check anyway." Allie replied as she wiggled to get down from her mother's arms. "In case you forget."
Alex laughed harder as the girl ran off to get her worksheet. "In case we forget? Do you think that was an age jab?"
"She's eight, everything's an age jab." Olivia laughed.