Saint Vincent's Hospital

West 82nd & 12th

Manhattan

1 am


Olivia and Melinda ended up sitting together in one of the hospital waiting rooms. Both wanted to see Hanakatoba. But her care was out of their hands. The only thing for it was to just wait.


"Anything?" Olivia asked the ME when returned from an inquiry about Hanakatoba.

Melinda shook her head. "Not that they would say. Recovery from that kind of seizure can take a long time. Casey's parents are sitting with her now, and they told me that Hana's are on the way."

"Good. That's good..."

Olivia just let out a puff of air and cradled her lower middle. There was nothing of a baby bump yet, but she was hyper-aware of her little one, safe inside. What Olivia didn't like was the little flips her stomach was doing. She just prayed she wouldn't vomit.

"What is it?" Melinda asked her.

Olivia was glad she already knew her friend could be trusted to keep a secret. "I'm sure you've learned by now that Alex and I are upgrading Noah to 'big brother' status?"

"Yep." Melinda nodded. "Alex is pregnant now."

"Mhm. So am I."

Melinda was taken aback. She would have never expected to hear this kind of news from Olivia Benson. It was definitely a teensy bit startling to hear so late in the night. But she was very happy for her.

"That's really wonderful." Melinda hugged her friend. "How are you?"

Olivia smiled at her. "I'm doing pretty great. Alex and my doctor know. Amanda is on the verge of putting all the pieces together. Now it's our hope that Noah doesn't flip out when we do tell him."

They were then interrupted by the arrival of two couples. First were the Novaks. Daisy and Birk. Olivia supposed that the other two were Hanakatoba's mother and father. It also hit her that the Novaks hadn't heard the news about Casey. Not yet. An interesting chat was ahead.

Daisy spoke directly to her. "Hana's parents, Ichiro and Akira have just arrived from Chelsea."

Olivia nodded and then turned to the Kanos, introducing herself. "I'm Sergeant Olivia Benson, from the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. My squad is pursuing all avenues of investigation."

"Thank you for all you're doing to bring everyone home." Akira Kano told her. "My daughter is out of the woods now, but the doctors told us to tell you it would be best for non-family visitors to come by in the afternoon. Hana is extremely exhausted."

"We understand." Olivia beckoned for Melinda to join her. "My colleague, Doctor Warner, joined me at the Novak place when I went to talk with your daughter about what's happened tonight. She took care of her when she began seizing. I called 911. Perhaps she can help you with any further concerns."

The Kanos flocked Melinda besetting her both with many rounds of thanks, and a few more questions about their daughter.

Olivia moved out to the hallway with Birch and Daisy.

Both seemed adept at reading body language because Birk pounced immediately. "My wife told me after her call with you that she had the impressing you've been holding something back. Is Daisy correct?"

"Mhm." Olivia said. "I took over that call from Casey because hearing what happened to Azalea and Violet accidentally jolted her into labor."

"What?!" the Novaks yelped together.

"It's true. This is the hospital that Casey would have come to, but I haven't heard anything since I left my station house."

Daisy spoke very calmly. "Thank you for telling us. We appreciate it."

Birk nodded. "We'll keep you in the loop."

Olivia thanked the Novaks in turn, and then exchanged numbers with both of Casey's parents. For good measure.

There was nothing else that could be gleaned from this hospital visit.

So she and Melinda took their leave.


Central Park

1:45 am


Nick found himself in command of a small platoon of the precinct's uniformed officers. This was new. But each were obedient and followed his orders.

In remembering that Odis Lee Rollins liked to be near water, they immediately converged on the shores of the reservoir closest to the boathouse.


Maggie Blue and Violet had long since fallen asleep by now. They were exhausted. And they trusted the adults to take care of them. So all was well. In their book.

But…

Amanda, Kim, and Azalea were beginning to really worry now. They had been left alone in the boathouse for too long. None of them had any idea where Odis Lee had gone after he'd left. And he'd been gone for awhile. To call it unnerving was an understatement.

Azalea spoke into to the silence. "Amanda, is your squad good at finding people who have gone missing?"

The detective nodded. "Yes. It's actually something we're pretty good at."

"Good. Am I bad person for just wanting to be with my family again, and not focusing on how to get out of here?"

"Not in the least. Wanting something like that makes you human, Azalea. I know exactly how you feel."

"Yeah?" Azalea said curiously. "Who's waiting for you and your babies?"

Amanda grinned. "My fiancé, my mother and my brother, my squad, the rest of my kids…"

This last part grabbed Azalea's interest. "How many more kids do you have?"

"Three." Amanda said fondly. "My heart explodes with love every time I look at them."

"How sw—"

Azalea's words were cut off by loud sounds.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Somewhere, very nearby, guns were being fired.


Odis Lee Rollins was more than he appeared to be. This man was cold. Calculating. Brutal. And he was well aware.

Did it mean anything to him? Not at all.

He had already realized that the rest of his plan was too time-consuming. Taking Lionel, Maya, Henry, or Sarah would have been fun, but... there was no way his luck could could hold out this long. It was bound to run out. Soon. And the Grangers were probably somewhere that made them untouchable.

His daughters would have to be enough.

And the other two people in their company? Added bonuses.

Now it was time to wait out Bedelia. Surely she wouldn't be able to ignore this.

Yet... Somewhere nearby, the trees and very dense foliage rustled.

Odis Lee gripped his gun tighter. Accentuating his current paranoid state were the drugs now coursing through his body. It made him unsure of anything on the whole. Minus the part where he wasn't alone. But at least he had his poor man's version of a bunker to hide in. Just in case.

"Who's there?" Odis Lee called out.

"NYPD!" called Nick from somewhere behind him. "Drop your weapon—you're surrounded!"

This was true. Nick and the others had spotted the man. Easily. He was alongside the boathouse, under a park lamplight. Not too clever. But the more Odis Lee focused on his immediate surroundings, more he noticed the flashlights in the bushes nearby.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

Nick emerged from around the corner of the building, his gun pointed at Odis Lee for the second time that night. "Drop your weapon and step forward. Now."

"Hell, no. Bedelia needs to be here. She's the only one I'm waiting for."

"This is the part where I say that she has no interest in you anymore. None. I know because she's my friend, and I've been working hard to keep her safe since you attacked her." Nick moved closer to this man who would be king. "Let me ask you: what possessed you to take so many people in a single night?"

Odis Lee shrugged as he moved half a pace away. "Challenges are fun. And I'm so taking it to the grave, how I got Kim out of a secure facility. I'm sure she'll tell you. If she isn't too freaked out. She likes me, but my death my cause her to become even more unglued than she already is."

"You don't have to die tonight, Odis Lee. It really doesn't have to be this way."

"No?" Odis Lee moved further back. "I just want to take my wife back to Georgia with our boy. So we can do things right. Have at least one more son. Daughters are useless."

Nick said, "Separating Bedelia and Leon from Maggie is to rip them out of her life. Why would you do that? I don't understand."

Odis Lee was annoyingly nonchalant. "Then why even try? Maggie will still have Amanda."

"Yes, but kids need their moms. Do you even realize what today is?"

The older man finally faltered. "What are you talking about?"

Nick didn't miss a beat. "Today is Maggie's birthday."

"What? No!" Odis Lee sputtered. "You're lying!"

Odis Lee finally bolted away at top speed. He even fired his gun as he went. Nick gave chase. As did everyone else.

This had now turned into an actual manhunt.

But in total, the whole thing lasted ten minutes. Running after a crazy man in the dark wasn't fun.

Everything came to a head after Odis Lee double-backed to the area where he had been spotted first. The man paused for a breather. He thought himself safe.

One of the uniformed officers called out to Nick, "Sir! I have him!"

Odis Lee jumped in surprise, but still managed to take the safety off his weapon. Here they were. This was it. Endgame.

"Think again!" Odis Lee fired his gun and took off—if he could get to his truck, he could actually get away.

But Nick and the other officer trapped him alongside the building. They were fast than him. All the other officers fanned back out into the surrounding foliage again. It went without saying where every weapon was pointed. Odis Lee had no way out.

The same uniformed officer spoke a second time. "Throw the gun here."

Odis Lee stood his ground. "No! The only way that I will ever stop is if my wife leaves with me to Georgia!"

Nick wanted to know, "And what about Leon?"

"Changed my mind—he and Maggie can stay with Amanda. I don't care. Bedelia is the only one who matters."

"What makes you think that you're getting anywhere near her now?"

Odis Lee stomped one foot. "We are still married to each other, so she has to do as I say!"

Nick arched an eyebrow. "I don't know where you get your ideas, but that isn't how society works. Not in this modern age."

"If you do haul my ass in, I have absolutely nothing left." Odis Lee aimed his weapon at Nick now. "My firstborn is a cop, and bringing harm to a member of society like her is an automatic top offense. Am I wrong?"

"No."

"Good. Now I can do this!"

He fired at random into the brush. Nick heard his people crying out in surprise as they dived for cover.

"See?" Odis Lee turned back to Nick. "That was fun!"

He turned to the other officer.

"You! What's your name?"

The young man didn't back down. "Gonzalez."

"Any last words?" Odis Lee aimed his gun at Gonzalez's head.

"Good-bye."

BANG!

He had fired his gun. The bullet found its mark. Square in Odis Lee's chest.

The man sank down with a sunned expression on his face. He hadn't been expecting such swift defeat.

But he was dead before he even hit the ground.

It really was over now.

Finally.