Chapter 21: Olivia's POV

I was cold and rainy the day of Lily's funeral. We were the first people there. I walked up to the little girl's casket, carrying my baby in my arms. I thought about Lily's mother, who would beat her own daughter. Munch told me a few days earlier that she had been arrested. I then thought about the day at the precinct when Lily had asked me if my mother had hurt me. My mind flashed back to the beginning of the 6th grade.

My mother was particularly angry that morning. I just assumed that she spent another night getting drunk. I was putting my books in my bag, getting ready to leave. "Where are you going?" my mother asked, swaying into the kitchen.

"The bus comes in five minutes," I replied, keeping my eyes down.

"Don't smart-mouth me," she said, taking a large step towards me. "Look at me when I talk to you!" She was so close that I could smell her horrid breath: Vodka. When I didn't look at her right away, I felt a sharp sting on my cheek. "I told you to look at me!" she yelled.

Suddenly, she fell to the floor. I put down my book-bag, kneeling down next to my mother. I dragged her to the couch, pulling a blanket over her. I missed school again that day, I didn't have a ride. I spent the day cleaning the house, waiting for my mother to wake up.

I looked up, seeing Elliot and Jessie standing beside me. I felt tears streaming down my face. Elliot silently put his arm around my waist. I turned towards him, burying my face in his shoulder. I couldn't stop the tears from coming. This little girl didn't deserve to die. I felt my baby twisting towards her father. I took a step backward, letting Elliot hold her. I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

I turned around, seeing other people come into the funeral home. I took Jessie's hand, leading her and Elliot to the back row of seats. We sat down, watching people we didn't know walk in. there wasn't that many people there. A little while later, I saw Munch, Fin, and Cragen walk in. They sat next to us, not saying anything. We stayed through the whole funeral.

When we were outside, we started talking. "So what happens next?' I asked. "About the trial?"

"Well, Casey still needs Elliot on the stand, and the defense still needs to bring up their witnesses," Cragen said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"When is that?" Elliot asked.

"Tomorrow.

I felt Jessie tugging on my pant leg. "Can we go now?" she asked.

"Excuse us," I said to Cragen, Munch, and Fin. I led Jessie towards the cemetery. We came up to the gravestone which read: Mr. and Mrs. Reiss, beloved mother and father. Jessie sat down in front of the grave, picking at the grass. I knelt down beside her, wrapping my arms around her. "I miss then," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I know, honey," I said. "I know."

The next day

Olivia woke up to the sound of the doorbell ringing. She sighed, rolling over to the side with her eyes still closed. "Elliot, will you get that?" she mumbled. Olivia opened her eyes, seeing that her husband was gone.

She heard the door open then close and decided to let Elliot handle it. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. Before she could, however, she felt someone shaking her her eyes sprang open and she saw Elliot smiling. "Wake up," he said laughing.

Olivia sat up in her bed. "Who was at the door?" she asked.

Elliot sat down next to her. "Maureen. She's here to watch Jessie and Lily while we're at court."

Olivia sighed. "Oh yeah," she said, getting out of bed. Elliot stood up. "So whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting for you downstairs." Olivia smiled. "Ok."

A few minutes later, Olivia came downstairs. She saw Elliot and the kids watching TV; Lily on Elliot's lap and Maureen was braiding Jessie's hair. "You ready to go?" she asked. "Hey Maureen."

"Hi, Olivia!" Maureen replied.

"How's Kathy and your siblings?" Olivia asked, picking up Lily off of Elliot's lap.

"Great, Dickie and Elizabeth miss you a lot."

Olivia smiled, hugging Lily to her chest. "You all should come over sometime soon." Suddenly, Lily started to cry. "Oh honey, don't cry now," Olivia complained, checking her watch. "We have to leave now." But Lily continued to cry. Olivia rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of formula from the cupboard. It took her five minutes to feed her child them leave for court with Elliot.

Jessie's POV

I am sitting here, letting Maureen braid my hair, thinking about my mommy and daddy. Not Olivia and Elliot, but my real parents. Why did my dad have to hurt my mom? If he didn't that one day, that man wouldn't have taken me. And if that man didn't take me, they probably would still be here. I love my new mommy and daddy, but I miss my real parents a lot. "There," Maureen said, tying the last braid with a hairband.

"Thank you!" I exclaim, looking in the mirror. I really like Maureen, my babysitter and new step-sister. This is why I am glad that Olivia adopted me, if she hadn't been so nice, I probably wouldn't have a real family.

I sit down next to Lily, who is lying on the floor, playing with her toys. I take a rattle and hand it to her. Lily is my new sister. She is another reason I am glad that Olivia and Elliot are my new parents.

"What do you want to do now?" Maureen asked me. I shrugged my shoulders and watched as she placed Lily on her lap. I sat on the couch and decided to watch TV until my parents got home.

Elliot's POV

I was sitting on the witness stand, waiting for Casey to continue asking her questions. "Detective Stabler, when did you first notice that Detective Benson was missing?" she asked me.

"After I woke up that night in the hospital," I replied.

"Where did you find her?"

"In Jacob Newburn's old home," I replied, reliving the moment I realized my wife was missing.

"Did you go to this home?" Casey asked me.

"Yes."

"What happened next?"

"When I entered the home, I heard a scream. It was Olivia's. Detective Tutuola and I went upstairs and saw Jacob kicking her with his gun pointed at her."

"You saw Jacob abusing your partner?"

"Yes," I replied.

"What happened next?" Casey asked me.

"Well, Jacob had his gun pointed at Olivia. Right when he was about to pull the trigger, I shot him in the shoulder. He staggered backwards, but still was about to pull the trigger, so I shot him again and he fell to the floor."

"Now, let's switch gears here to Lily Rivers," Case said-more to the jury than to me. "You interviewed her, is that correct?"

"Yes," I replied. I saw, in my head, my little girl and how Olivia decided to name her after Lily.

"What happened when you talked to her?" Casey asked me.

"She was terrified; she finally opened up and told us that Jacob had hit Mariah on a regular basis. He even hit Lily once," I replied.

"Thank you," Casey said. "Not further questions." As she sat down, the defense attorney slowly stood up.

"Now remember what I told you about the last witness," the judge said. The attorney slightly nodded. I felt my pulse quicken and my muscles tighten.

"Detective Stabler, Lily Rivers was abused by her mother, is that correct?" the attorney asked me.

"Yes."

"And is it true that abuse victims usually long for attention?"

"Yes."

"So is it possible that Lily Rivers made this story up?" he asked coldly.

I looked over at Olivia, who was shaking her head in disgust. "Yes," I replied. "But-"

"Thank you, no further questions."

I stepped off of the witness stand, seeing Olivia stand up as well. We both simultaneously looked over at Jacob. He seemed too relaxed for a defendant in a murder trial. I saw him look at Olivia and wink. I felt my hands tighten into fists. When I took a step towards him, I felt Olivia grab my arm to stop me from doing something I'd regret. We walked out of the courthouse and went home.

Maureen heard the door open and quickly turned around as Jessie ran in from the hallway. "Mommy!" Jessie screamed and gave Olivia a huge hug.

"Hey Sweetheart," she said. As Jessie ran over to Elliot, he picked her up. "Hey Jessie," he said. "How was your day?"

"Great!" Jessie exclaimed. "Maureen braided my hair, see?" she said, showing them off.

"They're beautiful. I'm next!"

Maureen laughed and handed Lily over to Olivia. "She's all yours," she said, smiling. Olivia smiled taking her daughter. "Were you good today?' she cooed.

"See you later Olivia," Maureen said, grabbing her coat. "By Dad."

"Bye Sweetheart," Elliot said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "And get those grades up!"

Maureen rolled her eyes and walked out the door. "Yes, Dad."

"What was that about?" Olivia asked when Maureen left. "She's having trouble in a couple of her college classes," Elliot replied, putting Jessie down. He watched as she ran back to her room. Elliot sighed. "I feel old."

Olivia laughed, moving Lily on her other hip. "No, you're not," she said. Elliot laughed and took Lily from his wife.

"Hey!" Olivia exclaimed. All of the sudden, Elliot's jacket was covered in baby puke. "Aw man!" he said, groaning. Olivia laughed. "Ha! She takes after me!" Elliot shook his head and gave Lily back to Olivia.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Jessie whined as Elliot left the room.

"What do you want?" Olivia asked her as they walked into the kitchen.

"Chocolate!" Jessie exclaimed.

Olivia laughed, getting a wet towel. "How 'bout something else?" She wiped off Lily's mouth gently. "How about chicken tenders?" she asked Jessie.

"Ok," Jessie said, leaving as Elliot came in.

"Well that jacket's ruined," he said.

Olivia laughed, putting Lily in a highchair. "You'll live," she said smiling. She took a box out of the freezer and turned to the stove.

Elliot hugged her from behind. "You know I love you, right?" he said softly.

Olivia turned around. "One of those cases?" she asked.

"No," Elliot said, hugging her. "I was just thinking about well, Jacob." Olivia nodded and turned back to the oven.

Elliot's phone started to ring. "Hello?" he answered. "Really?" Olivia turned around, interested. "Thanks, bye." Elliot hung up the phone. "Well Jacob was found guilty on all charges except for abusing Lily." He sighed. "It's over."

Olivia smiled. "I know."