Thanks for the feedback. You guy are awesome :)
Andrew Jameson was hand delivered to the 16th precinct's interrogation room 2. Elliot watched as Fin and Munch tore a confession right out of him. The case was a win, hands down. The two detectives met the captain and Elliot as they left the room.
"He's a class A idiot." Munch commented, looking back in through the window.
"He didn't even ask for a lawyer." Fin shook his head.
"Well, let's get him down to Central Booking. He's not our problem anymore."
"Or anyone else's." Elliot nodded as they left the area.
Fin turned back to cuff Jameson and take him downstairs.
"When's Olivia coming back?" Her partner questioned quietly.
Cragen stopped near Elliot's desk and turned to address him.
"She told me she was taking the rest of this week off. And the next week." He replied.
"She said that she wanted two weeks off? Captain, I just talked to her yesterday morning. She couldn't wait to be back here."
The captain shifted on his feet, looked down at the floor, and then returned his eyes to Elliot's.
"I don't want her to come back too early. I told her she should take this next week off too." He said.
"All due respect - she's got a lot on her plate, captain. But Olivia knows what she wants better than any of us do. She'll know when she's ready to be back, whenever that might be."
Elliot pulled at his chair.
"Elliot, you now her better than anyone here. You know she'd break her neck to do something for someone she doesn't even know. She always puts others before herself. I just don't want her to rush into this. I know she wants to be back at work, but she'll be right back, looking at situations a lot like what she had to experience."
Captain Cragen spoke honestly. Elliot understood where he was coming from. He nodded apprehensively.
"I'll watch her closely, whenever she comes back."
Cragen knew he would, and nodded.
"I know. Just make sure she takes it easy."
The captain left his detective's desk for his office. Elliot felt selfish wanting her back at work so soon, but he missed working alongside her. He knew it would be harder than she thought it was going to be. It wouldn't just go back to being the same it was before.
Olivia stayed at her brother's house until late that night. The family watched a movie together, then put the kids to bed, and the adults sat around, just reveling in the silence.
"You want a beer?" Tracey looked over at Olivia as she stood.
Liv nodded after a short moment of hesitation. She was allowed to drink, and she could use a bit of alcohol.
"Yes, I would."
"Make that two." Simon said as his wife stood up and headed to the fridge.
"We were so glad to hear you were ok."
Simon felt like he was talking to himself. He looked at the TV as he spoke.
"Your captain called to let us know you were on your way home. I was scared -"
he stopped, not wanting to upset her.
"We were scared we'd never see you again."
Olivia sighed as she leaned back in the arm chair.
"I wouldn't have let that happen." She replied quietly.
Tracey returned with three beers in hand. She handed Olivia hers first and then sat down next to Simon. They sipped the liquid slowly, savoring every drink.
"It's great to see you guys again." Olivia said with a shake of her head and a small smile.
"You too." Tracey breathed deeply.
"We have to get together more often. I don't want to regret not seeing you more if anything happens to any one of us." She said.
"How about every Sunday for dinner?" Simon suggested.
Olivia felt a calm inside her.
"Absolutely."
She left after they finished their drinks and said goodbye to each other. She drove back through the night into Manhattan. She answered her phone as she crossed the Queensborough bridge.
"Hey, El." She answered after reading his name on the screen.
"Hey. I just wanted to check and see if you had anyone staying with you tonight."
His voice came over the phone clearly. She cleared her throat.
"Uh - no. I think I'm going to try it alone tonight. Thanks for checking though." She answered.
"Ok. If you change your mind, my phone is on."
She smiled. "Thank you, Elliot."
"Goodnight, Liv."
"Goodnight."
She reached her apartment building at 12:45, the darkness still sticky with the wet air. A storm was brewing, she could tell by the dampness of the pressing atmosphere. Fog distorted the lights of the high rises towering above the larger-than-life city, its sounds muffled, lost in the soft pillow of moisture lying atop its lights.
She stepped into the darkness of her apartment as she let her lungs expand to their full capacity. Her hand reached for the lights, illuminating the space after she flipped the switches on the wall. Her keys landed on the counter when she tossed them and walked slowly to the large window looking out over the city.
Lower Manhattan was fighting to penetrate the low-lying clouds with its lights as the island was consumed. She got herself ready for bed and laid down in her bed, in her apartment, alone. Olivia looked around cautiously, not yet willing to relax. The sounds of the street gave her a strange comfort. She switched her light off and hunkered down. She knew the nightmares would come. She just had to wait.
:::
She sat on the hard marble floor, staring out the window. Her mind was frozen, incapable of carrying a great capacity of thought. She'd been in that hell hole only one and a half days and she'd already been beaten, raped, and starved. The pain she felt was like none she'd ever experienced. She never knew what it was like to be a victim, but now she did.
The air settled its comforting hand on her face, stroking it gently with its whispy fingers. Her eyes were unblinking as they stared at the dirt road out in the scorching heat. She hoped they forgot she was there. She'd rather die than have them do what they had to her again. The heat in the room did not fend off her chills as she thought about her home. She regretted so much.
There were things she'd put off, believing the false illusion that told her she had all the time in the world to do. Now she might leave the planet without being able to hold her niece again, ruffle her nephew's hair, hug her brother, have a cold beer with her colleagues. She'd never take in the beautiful skyline of that great city, her city, or have a conversation with her best friends over lunch. The streets of New York City would never be under her feet again.
She was frozen. Frozen in time.
:::
Her nightmare didn't shake her awake. It only caused her to slowly open her eyelids, letting her eyes look upon the ceiling in the darkness of her room. Lightning thew shadows onto her walls as thunder rolled in a constant cadence. The sound of rain on her windows was a relief to hear. Olivia had always loved the sound of rain. It helped her to relax, even now.
She lay calmly, realizing how her nightmares were less startling than they were. Now it was like they were reflections, and she embraced them. She didn't remember how much she had thought about everything those hot humid days in Mexico. Now she did; she was privileged enough to know how lucky she was to be able to do the things she wished she had done more often.
She had held her niece. She'd had a lovely night with her friends and seen the skyline of her beautiful city again. Sleep came easily, and Olivia found herself resting peacefully through the night. The storm rolled on, but it had moved outside her soul.
Wednesday
After a long morning walk in the beautiful serenity of Central Park, Olivia sat across from her therapist again, light pouring in the large windows above the city. She was proud of herself for surviving the night alone, and felt she had taken another leap toward her new normal.
"I just want to get back to work." She said, folding her hands in front of her.
The woman paused, "You've shown great progress, just in the past three sessions. But, Olivia. You need to open up more."
Olivia sighed, knowing the woman was right. She didn't say anything.
"Yesterday, I told everything that happened to a former colleague of mine, Dr. Huang of the FBI."
She paused again.
"I told him what they did to me, but I kept my feelings out. That won't help the jury see what monsters they were, so I didn't tell him."
"And you haven't told me. Olivia, you're going to explode if you keep all of those feelings inside you."
Right again. She sat back.
"I had a nightmare last night."
It was the only way she knew how to begin.
"I was sitting next to the window in my room. I felt -"
She stopped. What had she felt?
"I gave up. I thought I would rather die than have them come back into my room that night again."
She took a shuddering breath.
"I regretted everything I hadn't done more of, or hadn't done at all."
Julie nodded, "Like what?"
"Holding my niece, seeing my family, spending time with my friends."
She stopped again before going on.
"I felt like I'd never be able to do some things that didn't seem all that important to me when I was back home."
The woman nodded again for her to continue.
"Seeing the skyline every night from my apartment window, walking on the streets I knew so well."
She was unwilling to go on, feeling drained already.
"Now that's the Olivia Benson I want to hear from. Thank you."
"I'll see you Friday."
Olivia was in desperate need - of coffee.
Each of the four detectives were drowning in additional paperwork the DA had dropped on their desks. The day was wasting away. Elliot glanced at his watch to find it was already 4:00. He put his nose back in the file he was trying to fill out. The worst part of being a cop was when he had to go knocking on a parent's door and tell them their child was dead. But the second worst part was the paperwork. Fin summoned him shortly after he'd returned to his work. Elliot stood and walked over to his colleague's desk.
"What?"
He sat down backwards on one of the chairs next to Munch's desk.
"Liv just called. She wants to know who's in on drinks after work."
Elliot shrugged, "Sure. I'll go. You guys up for it?"
Munch chuffed, "After a day like this? Absolutely. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks about stacks of paper coming to kill me."
Fin smiled at his partner. "No that's your dehumidifier, Munch."
Munch chuckled, "Oh right. If I don't show up for work tomorrow, I'm lying on my apartment floor, dehumidified to death."
Elliot shook his head at the two hilarious men. No matter how awful any situation was, the two would always be cracking jokes easily. It was second nature to them. The zombie apocalypse couldn't keep Munch from making him laugh.
He only wanted to be laughing alongside his best friend, his partner for life. That's all he asked for. That's all he'd ever wanted. Olivia. Her smile, her laugh, her beauty - he wanted it all as his own. How would he begin to tell her that?
"Elliot. You still with us?" Munch questioned, obviously having spotted his distant expression.
"Yeah. Couldn't leave if I wanted to."
If anything comes to your mind at this very moment, let me know! Make my day :) Challenge accepted?
