A/N: Did Manuel really leave them in the middle of the ocean? How will they get home? What does Andy want? Kathy's verdict and sentencing, and will Donnelly tell Olivia everything? Forgive the short chapter. I have a lot of work to do before Monday. (1st day of school)
DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters still belong to Dick Wolf. If you'd like him to hand them over to me, then please, by all means, write to Wolf Films, but I won't hold my breath. The rest of this story, in its entirety, belongs to TStabler©
"You look like a pair of the drowned rat," Manuel said with his thick accent, laughing.
Elliot glared at the man as he pulled himself onto the dock. "We had to swim God knows how far to get back here!" he yelled. "Why the hell did you leave us in the middle of the ocean like that?"
Manuel looked around, then knelt down and looked Elliot in the eyes. "I do not like police," he said. "You arrested my cousin," he said with a glare. "For nothing," he added. He got back up and said, "You got what you deserved, since I can not hurt you. At least I didn't take you out too far." He rose and walked away.
Elliot shook his head in disbelief, then turned to look at an out of breath Olivia. "We do kinda look like a couple of drowned rats," he said with a chuckle.
"How did he know we were cops?" Olivia asked, ignoring his comment. "And how did he know we arrested his cousin?" she questioned.
Elliot dried off, then pulled on his shirt. "I don't know," he said. "But I'm gonna find out."
"What exactly are you doing here?" Munch asked Andy, looking at him over his glasses. "You are aware that no one here likes you, right?" he asked.
Andy laughed. "I'm just here to help out. I heard Stabler's coming back. I'd like to see him. It's been a while."
"I'm sure he still hates you, too," Munch said. "It's been, what, five years since you took off? He's had a pretty bad series of partners since then."
"I heard," Andy said with a nod. "But, uh, this one. She seems to be sticking around."
"For good," Munch said. "He married her," he said with a laugh.
Andy stole a glance at the photo on Elliot's desk. "I see that," he said. "Do they know they have to be split up?" he asked.
"I think so," Much said. "But she's having a baby, so I don't think she'd be working for too much longer anyway."
"Wait, what?" Andy spat. "He knocked her up?" he asked, stunned.
Munch tilted his head. "Why does it matter so much to you? You don't even know her."
Andy sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Yeah," he whispered. "I do."
"I'm sorry, it was the best I could do," Trevor Langan said to his client. "You know it's hard defending an innocent person, but even harder defending someone as guilty as sin."
"You blew the case on purpose," Kathy shouted from behind the bars. "Fifteen years? For nothing! She's fine! She's fucking fine, Trevor!"
Trevor shook his head. "You don't grasp the severity of what you did, do you?" he asked. "You tried to kill a cop, and her unborn child, because you were jealous and angry. You are damn lucky the paramedics got there in..."
"Shut up," Kathy spat. "Just go away," she yelled. "I will find another lawyer, and I will file an appeal."
Trevor laughed. "No lawyer in this city is gonna take a chance like that. No judge will even entertain the notion of filing an appeal for you. You admitted it! You said you did it!"
"But fifteen years? Trevor, I will never see my kids grow up," Kathy said, her eyes starting to well up. "I will never...I will be close to fifty when I get out of here! Elliot won't want me then! You have to do something!"
"Kathy," Trevor said, shaking his head, "He doesn't want you now. Not accepting that is why you're here." He sighed again and said, "You're up for parole in seven years. Don't do anything stupid, and maybe they'll let you out for good behavior." He gave her a sad look, turned, and walked away.
Kathy watched him leave, knowing no one would come visit her after he was out the door. Now she was alone, and she knew it was her own fault.
"What did he say to you?" Olivia asked, trying to keep up with a pissed off and huffing Elliot as they walked back toward their hotel. "El, talk to me!" she yelled.
"If I talk, I'm gonna yell, and I don't wanna yell at you," Elliot said, gritting his teeth and walking fast.
"I don't care if you yell," Olivia called to him, walking in time with him now. "Tell me what he said to you!" she demanded.
Elliot turned and said, "Alvarez! His cousin is Armando Alvarez! We arrested him for trying to sell little girls. That prick in there just told me that he wasn't selling them, he was buying them, to save them. If I get back to that station tonight, and find any evidence that tells me we arrested and convicted a fucking hero..."
"Okay, baby, calm down," Olivia said, stopping him and resting her hands on his shoulders. "We don't know what Alvarez told Manuel. He could have been lying to him. We had DNA evidence, El. DNA doesn't lie. Hair and fluids, on several of those girls, how was that saving them?" she asked, reminding him of the case.
Elliot squeezed his eyes shut. "I just...if anyone had Lizzie and someone was trying to buy their freedom..."
"That's not what was happening here and you know it," Olivia interrupted. "Breathe, El. Breathe. Let's go back, finish packing, and go home."
"Home," Elliot whispered. "Yeah, Liv." He looked up at her, brushed her hair back, and kissed her. "As much as I have loved this trip, I can't wait to go home." He took her hand and walked with her into the hotel, tugging lightly on her arm as they climbed the stairs. "We, uh, we aren't in any kind of rush. I want to take a shower, take a nap, and take our time," he told her as they stepped into their room. He kissed her, slowly, making his intention of taking his time very clear.
It was close to two in the morning when they finally arrived home. They crept in slowly, seeing Frank passed out on the couch. They laughed quietly, then made their way up the stairs to check on the children they hadn't seen in a week. They both gently kissed each child, then walked back downstairs.
"Frank," Elliot said, shaking his brother. "Frank, man, get the hell out of my house," he said, shoving him.
Frank groaned. "You are very welcome, Elliot. Oh, wait, that's right. You didn't thank me for staying here and watching the kids, yet," he mumbled. He yawned and sat up. "How was Mexico?" he asked.
"Beautiful," Olivia said with a smile.
"You have fun?" Frank asked, wagging his eyebrows.
Elliot chuckled. "Yeah, we had a lot of fun. How were the kids?" he asked, sifting through the mail.
"Little monsters," Frank spat. "But angelic, little monsters," he said, smiling.
"That's an oxymoron," Olivia laughed, wrapping her arms around Elliot.
Elliot laughed and kissed her forehead. "It's true, though," he said with a chuckle.
Frank stopped laughing, sighed and said, "Kathy's sentencing was today."
"Yeah," Elliot said. "I know. What happened with that?" he asked.
Frank ran a hand down his face. "Well, uh, Donnelly gave her the max," he said. "Fifteen to twenty, and she lost her nursing license. I don't think her lawyer was really trying, though. I think he felt more shame then pride in defending her."
"Well," Elliot said with a small shrug, "Trevor's kind of a friend. He probably felt guilty."
"Oh," Frank said, yawning as he grabbed his keys, "Donnelly called for you Olivia. She said to call her back when you got home. It didn't matter what time. And Cragen wants you to call him, let him know you're here and what time you'll be in tomorrow. He's pissed you didn't make it back there tonight," he said.
Elliot smirked. "We, uh, we were having too much fun," he said, narrowing his eyes. "We had to take a later flight."
Frank shuddered. "You know, I don't need to hear about your sexual escapades," he said.
"I wasn't gonna give you details," Elliot laughed.
"Thank God for small favors. I am getting out of here, and back inot my own bed. Good night, guys," Frank said, laughing. "See you soon," he said, walking out the door.
Elliot turned and kissed Olivia. "We're home, baby," he whispered.
"Yeah," Olivia sighed. "We are," she said with a small, relieved smile. "I missed our babies, El."
"Me, too, kitten," Elliot said to her. He kissed her again and said, "We can unpack tomorrow. I'm exhausted. I'm gonna call Cragen and go to bed."
Olivia nodded and yawned. "I'm right behind you," she said. "I'll call Donnelly, though I don't know what she could possibly want." She watched Elliot climb the stairs as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. She did the same, looking through the contact list for Judge Donnelly's cell phone number. She hit the 'send' button and was stunned when the judge picked up on the second ring. "Hello, Your Honor," Olivia said. "It's Detective Benson. I'm sorry it's so late, we just got in from...yes, it was lovely, thank you. Oh, uh, I feel great. Everything is perfect. The little girl is happy and healthy in there," she said, laughing, as she ran a hand over her belly. "Am I sitting down? Uh, why, do I need to be sitting down?" she asked, slowly dropping to the couch. "I'm listening," she said. "Okay. Yeah, they said it was...oh...oh, my God." She felt the tears forming, but she refused to cry. "No, I just, uh, I don't know what to do with this. Your Hon...okay, Liz...you saved my life. I don't know how to thank you for that, and...yeah, sure. Okay. Tomorrow morning, then. Bye," she said.
She hung up the phone, shocked at what she had just been told. She shook her head quickly, then got off the couch. She finally knew who the anonymous benefactor was that had paid for more than half of her education. She'd always known that her scholarships were never enough, and though she wanted to, she never believed her mother paid for anything. She'd thought about it for years, but it never occurred to her that it would be Judge Donnelly. She smiled as she walked into the bedroom and started to change for bed. As she crawled into the bed next to an already peacefully sleeping Elliot, she sighed. Her life was what it was because of this amazing woman, and the amazing man next to her, and she was so thankful for both of them. She, too, drifted off to sleep, unaware that someone was waiting to change her life, and not for the better.
A/N: Is it Andy? And what happens when they get a phone call from someone from their past? Find out, next! If you want it!