The week had gone by fairly quickly as Olivia tied things up at work, picked up stuff for the party on Saturday, and helped Elise pack up her things. The weekend went by in a flash. Elise's friends came on Saturday afternoon, and she had invited Casey, Cragen, Fin, Munch and Elliot's kids to come to the house as well. Then on Sunday, Elliot had hired a truck and lined up Dick and some of his friends to help with the move. She had a cleaning crew that came early Monday morning, since Elliot insisted she wasn't going to do the job herself. She met her new tenants in the early afternoon, got the paperwork done, and handed over the keys. She'd had a few tears in her eyes as she stood in the driveway next to Elliot. He had wrapped an arm around her while he held Elise in the other, and hugged her close, knowing that emotions were coursing through her at ending this chapter of her life.
But now she was officially a New Yorker again. She planned on spending a week getting a few necessities unpacked. Most of it was going to stay in boxes. She was committed to finding a new apartment this week. She had to get that squared away so she could find a school nearby for Elise. She didn't want to move her again once she get settled. Then she would find a job.
She had talked Elliot into calling Elizabeth and having her spend the week with them, with the caveat that she would watch Elise while Olivia went apartment hunting. He explained that it wasn't that he didn't love his daughter and want her to spend time with them, but it was their first full week together in a long time and teenagers put a crimp in your love life. Once she explained that they needed to find a new apartment or they would never have sex again…he called Elizabeth.
"OK." Said Olivia to Liz. "I have five appointments lined up for this afternoon. Are you OK with making lunch for the two of you?" Olivia looked at her watch and saw it was already 1130. "I have to get going or I'm going to miss my noon appointment."
"Yeah, it's fine Olivia." Elizabeth said, sitting on the floor and coloring with Elise. "We'll be fine." She gave Olivia a big smile.
"Thank you." Olivia said, grabbing her purse off the table. "I'll be home in time for dinner." She looked at Elise, who was absorbed in what she was doing. "El. Want to give me a hug and kiss?" Elise didn't even look up at her.
"Bye Mommy." She said.
Olivia shook her head as she headed out. She was glad Elise liked her new siblings, but it was still taking some adjustment to not being the center of her young daughter's world. She supposed she should be grateful; it might make it easier for her to adjust to having a new baby in their life.
She and Elliot had talked to Elizabeth about the baby last night when she had arrived, and found that she was OK with everything. They really hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone personally except Kathleen, so it was good to get confirmation in person.
They were still waiting to tell Elise.
Olivia sprinted out of the apartment and looked for a cab. She had to walk two blocks before she was able to snag one. She arrived at her first appointment fifteen minutes late, and caught the leasing agent walking out of the building.
"I'm sorry I'm late." She said, rushing up to him. "Traffic."
The agent looked up and she could see he was annoyed. The look of annoyance quickly disappeared and she watched as his eyes gave her a quick appraisal. She normally would be irritated by this type of behavior; but decided this was one time she was going to use it to her advantage. She flashed him a smile. "I'm really sorry." She apologized again.
"Well, normally I don't have time to wait around but I'm not too busy today. I can make an exception."
"I really appreciate it." She said. She could tell the type of man he was; confident bordering on arrogance. She would like to rip his ego to shreds, but now was not the time. She flashed another smile.
She dropped the act once they got into the apartment, but the agent kept following her around. It had some of the prerequisites they were looking for, but she didn't really like the layout. The kids' bedrooms were too far away from the master. And while that might be good when they were teenagers, it wouldn't work now. As soon as she decided it wasn't going to work, she started to excuse herself.
"Wait, let me show you some unique features in the kitchen." The agent started.
Olivia couldn't resist having a little fun at his expense. "It's just not really going to work. My husband was very specific about what he wanted and with the five kids and the baby on the way…"
He looked surprised and started to stumble over his words. "Well, OK then…"
"I'll see myself out." She said with a smile. He let her go, just like she thought he would. She laughed to herself on the way out, wondering what he was thinking right now. Did he really think she needed such a large apartment just for herself? Men.
She looked at her watch and thought she could make it to her next appointment on time. It was only three blocks away. She walked quickly and arrived a few minutes early. She rang the buzzer for the apartment. The leasing agent buzzed her in, and she took the elevator up to the fourth floor.
The agent was standing in the doorway when she arrived, and he held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Dan Gooden." He said.
Olivia introduced herself as he stepped out of the way to let her in the apartment. Olivia liked what she saw right away. It was one large, open room, with a living room on the left complete with stone fireplace. The kitchen was on the right, and it had a counter that separated it from the living room, with four barstools along it. Right past that, in the back corner, she could see a table and chairs for six, with an opening between the kitchen and the eating area that must lead to the bedrooms.
She walked in and looked around while Gooden rattled off different features in the apartment.
"Can I see the bedrooms?" Olivia asked. She didn't need to hear about the double oven and the icemaker in the refrigerator.
"Um, sure." He said, pointing towards the hallway like she thought. She followed him down, and saw a small bathroom on the left and a two small bedrooms across the hall from that.
"The master is at the end of the hall, and it has its own bathroom." He said. "And there is a walk-in closet." He must have seen the puzzled look on her face. "I know. This apartment has been completely renovated. They're used to be one larger master and three small bedrooms, but they made the master a little smaller and used some space from one of the other bedrooms to make a walk-in. They resized the other two bedrooms and then made the smallest room an office."
Olivia walked into the office, and realized it would be perfect for a nursery. It was right next to the master. It was small, but how much room did a baby need? She walked back down the hall and looked in at the other bedrooms again. Neither one was huge, but Elise didn't need a lot of space, and the other room would just be used by Elliot's kids when they came to visit. They were both the same size as the extra bedroom in his apartment now.
Olivia spun around as Gooden walked up behind her. "So what do you think?" he asked.
"I really like it." She said, a broad smile on her face. "A lot."
His face brightened. "That's great." He said. "So you're going to take it?"
Olivia pressed her lips together. She knew she probably shouldn't agree until Elliot had a chance to look at the place. Even though he had told her that as long as she was happy, he was happy, it still seemed like a big decision. "I'm afraid I have to have my…" she hated this part, never knowing how to refer to Elliot. "partner look at it before I can say yes for sure." She saw the look of disappointment on his face. "But I'm sure that's just a formality."
He nodded. "I'm happy to hear that." He looked at his watch. "How quickly do you think you can make that happen?"
Olivia knew it couldn't be much past 2:30, and the chances of getting Elliot down here at this time of day was low. "Do you have other people that are interested?" she asked, hoping that maybe he didn't have an other appointments lined up.
"I don't have anyone else at this time." He said. "But you never know."
Olivia wanted to roll her eyes. Of course he was going to say something like that. "OK, well, I'll make a call and let you know how quickly we can get back here." She took his card as he offered it, and rushed out of the apartment. She tried calling Elliot right away, hoping to herself that he could sneak away. Apartments did go quickly in this city, and this was close to perfect. The call wouldn't connect when she was in the elevator, so the minute she got out of the building, she stepped out of the way of people passing by and hit redial. Elliot's phone went to voicemail and she looked around the neighborhood as she waited for his greeting to end so she could leave a message. She saw a few small restaurants but it was mostly residential and she liked that.
She heard Elliot's phone beep. "Hey El. It's me. I just found the perfect…" Her voice trailed off as she spotted a familiar face. A face that didn't belong here. She stared for a few moments, frozen in place. She jumped when her phone rang in her hand; she hadn't even realized the call had disconnected. She didn't even look at the caller ID, her eyes fixated ahead of her.
"Benson." She rasped into the phone as she answered it.
"Liv. I'm sorry I missed your call. I was on the other line." She didn't answer him. He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked to see if the all was disconnected. "Liv?"
"El…"
Elliot could hear a waver in her voice. "What's wrong?" he said, panic in his voice.
"It's…" she swallowed hard. "El…" She couldn't seem to get a breath.
"Liv, for Christ's sake. Tell me what's wrong."
"It's Manning. He's here." She said, her voice shaking as she was finally able to get the words out. She looked around; her mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. She looked across and made eye contact with him again. He hadn't moved from his spot on the sidewalk; she just stood and stared at her. She broke eye contact and looked around again. There were people everywhere. Surely he wouldn't try anything here. She could hear Elliot talking but she didn't hear a word he was saying. She wished she had a car so she could drive away… get as far away from here as possible.
She wished she had her gun. She would feel better if she had her gun on her hip.
"Olivia!" She heard Elliot yelling at her over the phone. "Tell me where you are!"
She didn't answer him as she saw Manning smile and wave at her, like they were old friends. He started across the street and still, she stood rooted to the spot. Part of her couldn't actually believe he was moving towards her.
"He's coming over here." She whispered into the phone.
"Olivia! I know you can hear me. Tell me where you are!" His voice was frantic now and he didn't know why she wasn't answering him. He was running out to his car with Fin in tow. He wanted to call a squad car; he knew they could get to her faster. But he had no idea where the hell she was.
He handed the phone to Fin. "See if you can get her to answer you."
"Hey Liv!" Fin yelled into the phone.
Fin's voice jerked her out of her reverie. "He's coming over here." She rasped.
"Tell us where you are." He said.
Olivia rattled off the address, finally able to speak. To move. She turned back towards the apartment building, intent on going back inside. She was just about to reach for the buzzer when she saw Dan Gooden coming out. He pushed open the door and she rushed inside.
"Did you change your mind?" he said. "You ready to sign now?" he asked.
The door clicked behind her and she turned to see Manning standing on the sidewalk outside. He looked at her for a moment and smiled. It was only for a few seconds, but it unnerved her. It was like he knew some secret…
She watched as he turned and started walking down the sidewalk. Olivia leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths, trying to quell the panic in her system.
"Are you OK?" Gooden asked, moving a little closer to her.
She looked up at him sharply. "What?" She was taking deep breaths, trying to quell the adrenaline coursing through her body.
"I asked if you were OK."
She held out an arm, as if to keep him from getting any closer. "I'm fine."
She could see the look of confusion on his face and she knew she really couldn't blame him. "Really. I am. I just…" She didn't know quite what to tell him. "A friend is coming to pick me up. I just wanted to wait inside."
He looked doubtfully at her and then looked at his watch. "I have another appointment, and I can't really leave you here in the lobby."
"It's OK. I'm a cop. Well, I used to be a cop." The word was barely out of her mouth when a squad car raced up with its lights and siren on. She let out a sigh of relief, even though she was in no immediate danger. She saw two uniforms get out of the car and she pushed out of the door as they came towards her. She held up her hands. "I'm Olivia Benson." She said, as they approached, looking warily from side to side. When Dan Gooden came out behind her, one of the uniformed officers put his hand on his chest and pushed him back against the brick wall of the building.
"No. It's OK. He's OK." She said. "That's not him."
He looked at her wildly. "What is going on?"
Before she could even answer him, an unmarked sedan came screeching up and Elliot came flying out of the car with Fin close on his heels. He rushed up and grabbed her forearms.
"Are you OK?" he asked, looking her up and down as if looking for injuries. "Did he touch you?"
Olivia shook her head vehemently. "No."
"What did he do? What did he say to you?" he asked, looking around wildly. "How long ago did he leave?"
"I don't know." Olivia said, trying to recall how long it had been. She tried to focus. "It's just been a few minutes." She pointed in the direction she had seen him disappear. "He went that way."
By that time, two more squad cars had pulled up and Fin started firing off instructions, giving them a description and information on what direction he had headed. Olivia saw the uniforms scatter in pursuit and she looked back at Elliot. He still had his hands on her arms.
"He didn't do anything." She really didn't know what the hell they were going to do if they caught up with him and now she felt a little foolish. "I should have just left. I was just…frozen. When I saw him I couldn't move. I couldn't understand what he was doing here."
"It's OK." He said. He wanted to hear what happened but she was rambling, obviously shaken. He was a little surprised; she normally had a cool head. "Are you sure he didn't say something to you? Or touch you?" Something seemed to be throwing her behavior off.
Olivia shook her head. "He…No. I went back inside before he got across the street. He just…" She closed her eyes briefly, picturing him standing outside the glass door. "He just smiled at me and then left." She opened her eyes and looked back at Elliot as another thought struck her. "How did he know where I was?"
That was the exact thing that was bothering him right now. There was no way he could have known. Which meant he must have followed her from the apartment.
He was furious with himself right now. Olivia had convinced him that she was fine; that she could take care of herself. They hadn't seen any signs of Manning for weeks and so he had stupidly agreed. He should have known better.
"I don't know." He said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.
"I'm so stupid." She said. She had always thought of herself as invincible. She was a cop. She knew self-defense. But what had she done? She'd frozen at the first sign of potential trouble.
She thought Elliot had been overreacting; that there was no way that Manning would come after her. That Elliot was being overly protective as usual. She'd been wrong.
Elliot had been right.
"Was he following me?" she asked. "He must have followed me from the apartment." Her hand went to her mouth. "Elise. Liz. Have you called them? I have to call them and make sure they are all right."
Elliot let her go and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He hit the speed dial number for Elizabeth's phone. She answered on the second ring.
"Checking up on me? I think I know how to take care of a four-year-old." She teased.
Elliot let out a sigh of relief. If she was teasing him, then everything must be OK. "Yeah, you busted me." He said. "Just wanted to see how things were going."
"It's fine Dad."
Elliot didn't want to scare her, but he was worried about Manning circling back to the apartment. "Liz, listen to me." He said. "I just want to remind you not to let anyone in the building, OK? I'm not expecting any deliveries or anything, so if someone buzzes the apartment, you just let it go. OK?"
"I know Dad." She said, a sound of exasperation in her voice. "Do we have to have this discussion every time I stay here?" she whined.
"Yes." He said, glad that she wasn't reading anything into what he was telling her. "I'll be home early."
"OK Dad. See you then." She hung up before he could say anything else.
Elliot shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked back at Olivia. "They're fine." He said. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
She started to push past him. "I want to get home."
"That's a good idea." Elliot said. "I'll have a squad car take you."
Olivia shook her head. "I want you to come with me."
"I'm going after Manning." He said.
She knew it was futile; there was no way he was going to go with her.
"I'll be home soon." He said. "I'm going to have a uniform outside the door and another one downstairs."
She wanted to object, but she was questioning her judgment now. After she panicked today, she wondered if she would act any differently if he showed up again.
He leaned in close to her ear. "You know where my Glock is, right?" He was referring to an extra gun he had at the house, locked up securely and hidden in the closet.
Olivia nodded.
"I know you'll use it if you have to." He whispered.
He had confidence in her, even though she had messed up today, and that made her feel a little better. Despite that, she knew she'd spend the evening dissecting everything that had happened…and why all of her training hadn't kicked in.
At that moment, Fin came rushing up. "Someone thinks the spotted him. Let's roll." He headed towards the unmarked sedan. Elliot gave Olivia a quick kiss and then he was gone.