Happy New Year to all of the SVU Fans out there! Sorry for the long period between updates, but I kind of lost my inspiration for awhile. Reading other people's updates, plus a few new reviews, plus a few SVU marathons over the holidays inspired me to get going again. Reviews are always welcome and well, motivating! It helps to get feedback and know that people ARE reading.

Reversal

By the time Olivia returned from the hospital with a stitched and bandaged John Horning, Elliot had already taken Alicia's statement and was more than eager to interrogate her boss.

"The hospital cleared him?" He asked Olivia after she'd placed him in a room. He'd called to tell her that Alicia was finally ready to talk and had named Horning. She'd placed him under arrest on the spot, despite his protests that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes. No sign of a concussion, he just needed two stitches." Said Olivia, looking at him through the window. He looked worse for the wear and decidedly nervous. There was blood on the collar of his chambray shirt and his hair stuck up in the back around the bandage. "The ER doc looked at the scratches on his face and hands and confirmed that they were from human fingernails."

"Let's let him stew for a few minutes. I'll fill you in on what Alicia told me." said Elliot.

"Where's Mr. Barnes?"

"He's being arraigned on assault charges, but the ADA is going to recommend ROR. She'll consider dropping the charges altogether depending on what we get out of this turd. Alicia went to court to be with her father."

"How's she doing?" asked Olivia as she headed for the coffee pot. She looked tired. Elliot handed her the other half of the sandwich he'd picked up at the deli. She tore into it without even checking to see what it was. "Ugh. Elliot. Why do you always get mayo AND mustard? That's just gross. Pick one or the other."

Elliot laughed at the expression on her face but became serious as he answered her first question. "Alicia's doing okay. I think she was glad to finally get it all off her chest. She feels terrible about what her father ended up doing because she didn't tell him the truth right away. They were both more concerned about protecting each other than taking care of themselves. I think they could both use some counseling when this is all over."

"So, what happened between her and Horning?"

When Elliot had finished filling Olivia in, she was ready to go rip into Horning herself. "What a bastard!" she muttered when she heard all of the details. "Barnes should have knocked him a little harder with that pistol." They agreed that Elliot would go in first, and Olivia would join him later, depending on how the interview was going.

Elliot walked in to the interrogation room and pulled out the chair opposite Horning. He sat down, placed a pen and pad on the table in front of them and lined them neatly up before looking at Horning. Elliot folded his hands in front him.

"So, Mr. Horning—or John—can I call you John?" Horning shrugged, looking nervous. His complexion was pale save for two bright spots on his cheeks. There were beads of sweat around his hairline. "Ok, John—this is your chance to come clean voluntarily. The DA tends to be more lenient when suspects are cooperative."

"DA?" asked Horning. "Am I being charged with something? "

Elliot looked at him evenly. "John—Roger Barnes didn't come into that store and threaten you for no good reason."

"He's got the wrong idea," Horning stammered. "He's mistaken. He thinks I hurt his daughter, but I would never…."

"John," Elliot sighed. He picked up his pen and tapped it against the pad of paper impatiently. "How did you get those scratches on your hands and face?"

Horning looked down at his hands as if he'd never seen the scratches before. "I…was scratched…by a friend's cat…"

"Really?" Elliot put the pen down and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "Must have been a pretty big cat to leave scratches that deep and wide."

Horning stared at his hands, but said nothing.

"John," sighed Elliot again. He leaned forward again and stared at Horning until the man raised his face and looked him in the eyes. "I'm telling you, this is your opportunity to make it right. Tell me the truth about what happened and I'll let the DA know how cooperative you were."

Horning's glance flickered away. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said defensively. "Nothing happened."

Elliot stared at him for a few minutes, then picked up his pen and jotted a few notes on his pad. "Okay, John, this is what we've got. We've got a young woman, a former employee of yours, who says you attacked and raped her. She's got bruises and cuts on her face, neck and arms. You've got scratches on your hands and face and the ER doctor has already confirmed that they're from human fingernails. That's going to give us enough probably cause to get a warrant for a DNA test. Which is going to match any evidence taken from Alicia Barnes the night of the attack." Which would be true If she had only reported it and agreed to a rape kit…thought Elliot.

Horning's eyes widened, obviously surprised to hear that Alicia had reported the attack. "But, I thought, Alicia said she didn't…."

"Didn't what, John?" Asked Elliot, snapping forward in his seat. "Didn't report the attack? Why do you think her father came to your store?"

Olivia stood outside the interrogation room, watching through the mirror with Cragen as Horning turned into a blubbering idiot and sobbed out his version of events to Elliot.

"Guess he didn't need me after all," mused Olivia, watching her partner with admiration.

"Just like you two didn't feel the need to keep me in the loop?" asked Cragen in his I-am-not-at-all-pleased-with-you-right-now tone.

"Captain," sighed Olivia as she turned to face him. "We found out about the rape through the father. He said Alicia wouldn't report it, and since she's an adult, we couldn't do anything about it."

"And so you took matters into your own hands?" asked Cragen, folding his arms. "You can't force a victim to make a complaint, Olivia. You know that as well as I do."

"I know, Captain, I know. " She turned back to the exam room. "I talked Eliot into going with me to talk to the girl. She wanted nothing to do with us so we backed off and let it go. But her father—he couldn't let go. He figured out who attacked his daughter and went after him today. When the officers responded to the call, he asked for me, because I was the one he talked to originally."

They stood in silence, watching as Elliot hammered out details with Horning. The manger's version of events was much more benign than what Alicia had shared with Elliot. According to Alicia, he had asked her to go to dinner with him to discuss a possible promotion at the bookstore, which turned out to be a ruse to get her alone and make advances. When those advance were spurned, he'd become aggressive, accusing her of leading him on and "owing him" if she wanted to keep her job. Horning's version was that they'd mutually agreed to go out to dinner, that he'd misread Alicia's signals and thought she was interested in him and that he'd backed off when he realized she wasn't. It didn't take Elliot long to persuade him to revise his story to be consistent with Alicia's. To top off the deal, he persuaded him that pressing charges against Alicia's father would only make matters worse.

"He's good," Cragen said, and turned to Olivia. "You two lucked out this time, Benson. " He left her standing at the window and walked back to his office.

Olivia waited until Elliot had charged Horning and read him his rights, then went in the room to bring an attorney waiver and help take the official statement. Horning looked embarrassed when he saw Olivia, but she was matter of fact and professional in her interactions with him. "I'm glad you did the right thing, Mr. Horning," she said coolly when they were finished. "You can't undo what you've done to Alicia, but at least you're not putting her thought he trauma of a trial."

By the time Horning had been paired with a public defender, arraigned and release on bail, it was late afternoon. The ADA had agreed to drop charges against Roger Barnes and he and Alicia had gone home with a list of counseling services provided by Olivia.

"Do you have time for a quick drink?" asked Olivia as they exited the courthouse. Elliot glanced at his watch. He was tired, and wanted to go home and be with his wife and kids, but he needed to wind down first.

"Yeah," he said. "I think we've earned one."

Again, feedback welcome and needed! Next, Elliot and Kathy will get away for their romantic (steamy?) anniversary weekend-but not without a rocky beginning.