Several more weeks pass. Olivia, and Fin are sitting at their desks, when Cragen comes out of his office.
"Benson, Tutola, my office, now," he calls for them.
Olivia looks at Fin. He looks at her. "What'd we do now?" he whispers as they make their way to his office. She simply shrugs. They make it to his office. Fin closes the door.
"What's going on, Captain?"
"It's been kind of a slow week, here. I have an assignment for the two of you."
"Undercover?" Fin hopes.
"No. I am going to loan you to Bedford PD. There has been a string of rapes, up there. They have asked me if I had any bodies I could loan, so I chose the two of you. It will just be for a couple of days. I know it's afternoon, already, but go home, and get some clothes packed. Then head up there. You should start soon, though, because we're supposed to get a nasty storm."
"Ok," they nod, in agreement.
An hour later, they leave the city. On the way out of town, Fin looks over at her.
"Are you sure that you're up to this?"
"I'm fine," she insists.
"When is that supposed to drop?"
"A week ago."
"Liv! You should have told the Captain that someone else should go."
"I'll be fine."
"Really? How do you know? A gut feeling?"
"To get technical, my cervix has shown no change for weeks."
"We don't need to go there."
"I've been at two, for three weeks. I don't think anything is going to happen, anytime soon."
"And if it does?"
"It won't," she argues.
"If it doesn't?"
"I'll be scheduled for induction in a week."
"If anything happens..."
"We will turn around," she promises.
Traffic is slow, it's rush hour traffic. Two hours later, the storm hits. They pull off the road. They pull into the parking lot, of a motel, to wait it out. They sit there, for twenty minutes, listening to the radio.
"He sent us out in a hurricane," Fin comments.
"What time is it?"
"A quarter until eight," looking at his watch.
"Let's just go."
"We can try, if you want," he offers.
Olivia's phone rings. She grabs it, and puts it to her ear.
"Benson," she answers.
"Olivia, it's Captain Cragen."
"What's going on, Captain?"
"Where are you guys, right now?"
"Some motel parking lot, trying to wait out the storm."
"Just get a room, for the night. The storm isn't going anywhere fast."
"You sent us out in a hurricane," Olivia points out.
"Just get a room," he hangs up.
She looks at Fin.
"What did he say?"
"To get a room, for the night."
"Ok," she nods, in agreement.
They check into a room, with two double beds, a mini fridge, and a microwave. He takes a seat on the bed. She flips on the TV. Within ten minutes the electric goes out.
"Well, now what?" she sighs.
"I'll go back out to the car. I have candles, flashlights, and a first aid kit in the trunk."
"Ok."
He returns a few minutes later, with a handful of items. He strategically places the candles around the room.
"Do you have a lighter?" she questions.
"I don't need one."
"So we're just going to pretend the candles work?"
He tips the candle upside down, and turns it on. He turns all of them on.
"They're safer than candles that have fire."
"Why do you have all of that stuff in your car?"
"For times like these."
"I never pictured you as a boy scout."
"Yeah, well after that storm, last year, I decided it was better to be safe, than left in the dark for a week."
"What else is in your goody bag?"
"First aid supplies. Some dehydrated food."
"Yum," she scoffs.
He digs into the side pocket. "And a deck of cards."
"Deal 'em up," she challenges him.
She takes a seat on one end of the bed. He takes a seat on the other. There is no table in the room, only a pair of night stands. He deals the cards between them. Two hours later he's down forty six dollars, and his knife. She yawns.
"You ready to call it a night?" he questions.
"I took all of your money, so yeah."
"That isn't all of my money," he argues.
"You might need some," she smiles.
"My mother warned me about girls like you."
"Girls like me?"
"The ones who would sucker me."
"I didn't sucker you. You chose the game. You lost, fair, and square."
"Not forty six hands in a row."
"There is a first time for everything."
"I still think you cheated."
She rolls her eyes, and gets off the bed. She grabs her bag, and heads to the bathroom. She changes into her pajama's, and brushes her teeth. She washes her face, and puts her moisturizing cream on.