Hey guys!

Thank you for your constant encouragement and sweet words on this story. And thank you for always being so patient. With the way the world is going, it was been a little difficult to see clearly and actually write. But again, thank you for being patient. Here is a little filler chapter to keep you going, and I can only hope it makes sense lol. Also, thank you to the lovely readers for your encouragement and storyline ideas. Gave me some inspiration for future updates.

Okay so here we go, chapter TWENTY of Better Circumstances. I have no idea how we went from a one shot to 20 chapters, but thank you so very much.

Enjoy xo

Better Circumstances

Twenty

The weekend passed in a blur and by Monday, Olivia was already over the day due to knowing that she and Fin would have to be at their perp's initial arraignment this morning. Though they still had some investigating to do, the arraignment still needed to be done and they would simply go from there. After dropping Noah off at school, Olivia went by the precinct to gather up Fin, then they headed downtown to the courthouse.

From the moment the hearing began, both of them knew it was bound to be some crap. Olivia was just annoyed, especially as she saw Heather looking at her every now and then as they waited. When the judge called for their perp to approach with his lawyer and the charges were read off, both Olivia and Fin had to roll their eyes when the perp decided to plead not guilty. Of course, Heather argued with Carisi in regard to the bail amount, but the judge settled on a lower bond amount due to lack of criminal record. He did mention that they would go to trial, but what blew both Olivia and Fin's mind when Heather blurted out with;

"Your Honor, I want to request that Manhattan SVU turn this case to the jurisdiction of Brooklyn where my client lives."

Fin and Olivia exchanged a glance, both of them now wondering what in the hell Heather was playing at. However, when the judge asked on what grounds, Heather simply explained;

"Manhattan SVU clearly has a vendetta against my client, especially Captain Benson who has been sending her detectives to harass my client. I would like for this case to be heard by non-biased parties."

"Your Honor, I'd like to point out that Miss McKnight is doing anything she can to try and get her client off the book including bringing Captain Benson's name into this when she's done nothing but handle this case with upmost professionalism, as she does with all cases." Carisi chimed in.

"Couselor please…" the judge simply stopped Carisi, before turning to address Heather; "The crime happened in Manhattan which gave authority to Manhattan SVU, so the case will not be moved…" he then shrugged then banged the gavel against his desk; "Dismissed, defendant is remanded until bond is posted or until trial. Next case."

Olivia and Fin simply shook their heads in despair before walking out together. Olivia didn't miss the way Heather once again shot them both a glance, and apparently neither did Fin. As soon as they were standing to the side to wait for Carisi to come out with their victim whom had also come to the arraignment, Fin blurted out his question;

"Yo does that lawyer chick have beef with you or something? I know she kept looking at you that day in interrogation and we brushed it off but that shit just now, that shit was weird. And the way she called you out like that? What is her fucking deal?"

Olivia sighed. She knew she couldn't leave Fin out of this one, especially not after what just happened in there. They were far enough out of ear shot of anyone, so she quickly explained;

"Okay so…that lawyer is Edgar's ex, and she doesn't like me very much."

"How does she even know-"

"Don't ask, unless she figured it out that day I showed up at his office and she was trying to plead her case with him." Olivia replied. She was trying to brush this off, but Heather was pushing her buttons now and it was extremely irritating, especially what had just happened in there.

"She better not be tryna fuck up our case because she mad…" Fin remarked as he shook her head; "You good though, for real? Edgar know about her being on this case?"

"He does and he told me to be careful, whatever that means," Olivia replied with a shrug of the shoulders; "I don't think the bitch is dangerous and if she tries me, I'll empty my clip in her ass. But yeah, she needs to chill out. Other than that, I'm good."

"I'll bust some ass for you, you already know what's up…" he tugged at her arm as he saw Heather coming out of the court room; "Come on, let's roll; head back to the precinct before the next wild ass case rolls in."

"Please don't; I can't handle anything else right now." Olivia replied. She and Fin made their way to the elevator to head out. While she was trying to show that she wasn't affected by what just happened in court, but she really was bothered, and she wondered what Heather's issues were. She had a feeling that the woman wouldn't make things easy for them especially with this upcoming trial, but she was determined not to let this get into her head and get her off her game. She was Olivia Benson, after all, and nobody could intimidate her.

Later in the day, the squad were all busy doing their own bits and bobs; working on paperwork and tying up loose ends of other cases. Olivia had just hung up the phone after talking to Garland when Fin suddenly poked his head into her office. She raised an eyebrow, and he immediately explained; "Heather McKnight is here to see you."

"You can't be serious…" Olivia replied with a roll of her eyes. She stood up and looked past Fin, only to see Heather standing in the squad room, looking around. Fin glanced back at her then looked at Olivia again; "You want me to tell her to go away?"

"Nah, send her in; she's clearly got balls."

Fin chuckled; "Alright, but you know I'll be right outside."

"Thanks Fin." Olivia told him with a nod of her head. Fin nodded back, then gestured for Heather to come in. The smartly dressed woman stepped into the office, though she seemed a lot less cocky now versus when she was in court earlier as she avoided looking everywhere but at Olivia's face. Olivia gave a nod to Fin, who nodded back before slipping back out of the office and closing the door behind him. Olivia folded her arms across her chest as she came around and perched herself on the edge of the desk;

"What can I do for you?"

There was silence for a minute, then Heather spoke up; "I came to apologize for my antics earlier."

"Oh you mean for calling me out like I did something wrong when you know I did nothing but do my job?" Olivia scoffed; "You know, you really got a set of balls on you."

"I'm trying to apologize."

"And I want you out of my office…" Olivia retorted in an instance, her gaze narrowing at her; "I don't even know you, so what exactly is your problem with me?"

"I just don't think the way you handled this case was exactly fair and it bordered on harassment with the way your detectives kept popping up, but I should have handled that better in court…" Heather remarked with a shrug of her shoulders; "Typical though; you've already stole one thing and now you're stealing my client's freedom."

Olivia stared at her as if she had lost her mind. She should have known that this apology was a sham and that Heather would be on her bullshit in an instant. She took a deep breath to try and calm down, then she spoke.

"First of all, your client stole the innocence of so many women – women that he was meant to mentor and help create art, so don't even," she stepped a little closer, and she didn't miss how Heather took a step back; "And second of all, again I don't even know you, so I don't know what else you're talking about."

"I'm talking about Edgar…" Heather glared at her, and held a hand up when Olivia opened her mouth to speak; "I saw you with him at the bar."

Olivia had, had an idea that this is what Heather's issue was, but she just needed the woman to say it. One thing about Olivia though, is that she was not backing down from this. She wouldn't be petty, but she wouldn't let Heather intimidate her either because as many knew, Olivia Benson was never one to let someone intimidate her.

"Let me tell you something Heather, whatever happened with you and Edgar was all you, and you know it," she replied, keeping her voice eerily calm as she stared Heather in the eye; "Don't blame me because you fucked up."

"He just needs a reminder of what we had, then he'll be back…" Heather smirked at her, then raised an eyebrow; "I wonder what the bosses at One Police Plaza would do if they knew the CO of this unit was rendezvousing with a criminal defense attorney? Isn't that a conflict of interest, Captain?"

"You're here about a client; nothing to do with what goes on in mine or anyone else's personal life."

"I'm telling you Captain, stay away from him…" Heather's eyes narrowed, and the shades of blue stared straight into Olivia's brown eyes; "You don't want to have to deal with me."

"Oh wow, you really do have balls…" Olivia had to let out a laugh. She stepped a little closer, her arms folded across her chest as she stood toe to toe with Heather; "You threatening an NYPD cop? One that happens to be a CO? How very brave of you."

"You don't want to deal with me, Olivia."

"And you don't want to deal with me, Heather…" Olivia remarked, her voice still eerily calm as it dropped an octave; the voice she used countless times with a ruthless perp; "Now get the hell out of my office."

Heather let out a breath, clearly shaken up by the calm demeanour of Olivia. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the door to Olivia's office opened. Both women looked up, only to see Fin poking his head in. He looked between them both, then spoke to Olivia;

"Garland's on the line again; says he has something to ask you."

"Thanks Fin…" Olivia gave him a nod; "Um, could you please escort Miss McKnight out of my precinct? We're done talking."

"Sure thing." Fin replied. He looked at Heather, who simply shot Olivia another look before allowing Fin to lead her out of the office. Olivia watched them go, then closed her office door and sat down at her desk. She took a deep breath to try and rid her mind of what had just happened, then she finally picked up the phone to talk to Chief Garland;

"This is Captain Benson."

The encounters with Heather had done nothing to lift Olivia's mood and by the time she was home for the evening, she still had a complete attitude. She had managed to put on a brave face for Noah, but by the time he was down for the evening around eight, her attitude was still crappy. She was annoyed by everything that involved Heather McKnight right now, and she wished the woman would just disappear because she was tired of her already.

Edgar had called just after she put Noah down, and she ended up venting to him about the whole thing. That led to him telling her that he would be over shortly, and by the time she had showered and changed into some pajama bottoms and a tank, he was at her apartment door. They relaxed for a little bit with a glass of wine, then they laid down together on the sofa while halfway watching television. Though really, he was laying between her and the back of the sofa, and he had both arms around her as she was turned to face him.

"Do you feel better now that you've vented and drank some wine?" He quietly asked, gently rubbing her back as he gazed at her; "You just sounded so fed up earlier."

"I am fed up, seriously…" Olivia whined, rolling her eyes as she did so; "She's just…a pain. I think she really thought I would be intimidated by her."

"I'm sorry she's being ridiculous, babe, I really am…" Edgar let out a sigh; "Do you want me to maybe talk to her? Tell her to leave you alone?"

"No it's okay; I'm good…nobody intimidates me…" she snuggled into him some more, and simply closed her eyes while breathing in his scent; "Thank you for coming over to talk to me at this hour on a Monday night."

Edgar had to laugh as he squeezed her a little tighter. He would have never hesitated on coming over no matter the day nor the hour; if she needed him, he would be there, and she had to know that. He was concerned about Heather and her antics, and he hoped that the woman wouldn't start tormenting Olivia or anything of that nature. However, he also knew that Olivia could hold her own and would be okay. Still, he was right there with her, and would do anything to protect her.

"You know I'll always be here for you; no matter what day or what time. Anything you need, I got you, Liv."

Olivia gazed into his eyes as he spoke. Her heart swelled and she tried not to let the tears well into her eyes. Maybe it was because she could see it on his face that he meant every word he had just spoken. Maybe it was because finally, after so many years of having to have her own back, she had somebody in her personal life that was holding her down as well. All she could do was tilt her head up to kiss him, and he smiled a little before reciprocating the kiss as he held her as tight as possible. They didn't know how things would turn out dealing with Heather, but they would conquer this together because neither of them wanted to let anything stand in the way.

It was a short while later that the two were just relaxing and half watching a film when a shuffling sound was heard from the hallway. Olivia sat up and looked, only to see Noah slowly wandering over while rubbing his eyes. He blinked a couple times then made his way further over, though he was still clearly tired as he mumbled a sleepy "Hey Edgar" then shuffled into Olivia's arms. Olivia tried not to laugh and simply kissed his head while Edgar reached over and ruffled his curls; "Hey bud; you good?"

"What are you doing up, honey?" Olivia added.

"I had a weird dream and couldn't go back to sleep, so I came to find you." Noah explained. He then let out a yawn and snuggled against Olivia some more, his head resting against her shoulder as he closed his eyes again. Olivia chuckled and squeezed him a little tighter; "Well can we go back to bed? It's late, and you have school tomorrow, and me and Edgar have work."

"Damn, it is getting late…" Edgar remarked as he looked at his watch with wide eyes; "I guess we better all go to bed."

"I guess so, because six-thirty seems to come around pretty quick." Olivia grumbled.

"Tell me about it…" Edgar nodded in agreement, then looked over at Noah who was half asleep on Olivia's shoulder; "Little man is knocking right back out."

"Yeah, it's time to go back to bed for real…" She nudged Noah, who opened his eyes and looked at her; "Come on, baby; it's time for bed again."

Noah nodded, then stood up along with Olivia. The two started towards the bedrooms, until Noah suddenly stopped. Olivia was confused, but then her heart melted as she watched Noah make his way back over to Edgar for a hug. Edgar returned the hug and told him goodnight, to which Noah waved before making his way over to Olivia. Olivia stuck her bottom lip out at the cute moment as she and Noah made their way back to his room so he could go back to bed.

Some moments later, Olivia had made her way back out into the living room just as Edgar had stood up and grabbed his keys. She walked him to the door, and as usual, she fell into his arms for a hug. He leaned down and kissed her head while swaying slightly with her; "I'll call you when I get home."

"You better." she teased. She stood up on her toes while wrapping her arms around his neck, and she pressed her lips against his for the most loving kiss. He picked her up just a little as he reciprocated the kiss, and she squeezed him while giggling against his lips. All of her frustration from the events of the day had melted away and she felt a lot calmer now, and it was all thanks to him and his love.

"Maybe I'll bring lunch to the precinct tomorrow for you." He smirked. Olivia let out a hearty laugh as she nodded her head. She would indulge, especially since she would probably be busy soon with trial prep. So she figured she best take the lunch date tomorrow and enjoy it before she was swamped.

"Sounds like a plan." She whispered. They shared another hug and kiss, whispered the sweetest I love you, then Edgar headed out. Olivia watched him until he reached the elevator, then she simply sighed to herself as she pushed the door shut. She felt a lot better now, and while she still had some concerns, she was confident that things would be okay.

As they always said; whatever came their way, they would conquer it together.

Well...? I'm sorry if it wasn't my best. Thank you guys for being on this ride with me so far. 20 chapters is an accomplishment, especially when this whole plot was eventually a one shot. Anyway, I will be back asap with a new update. Stay safe xo