A/N: To Heart Story; firstly, you are correct this couple have very strong restraint but they show each other the affection they want, in the way they do and I love how subtly they do it, you don't have to kiss to be affectionate. Secondly, I hope this chapter lives up to your standards with the interrogation of Olivia.
To the Guest Reviewer who said she can't stand Dani; Neither can I and I must admit your review had me laughing cause you summed it up perfectly. She is just causing so much trouble which is undeserved. I hope this chapter is to your liking too! :)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)

47. You Get What You Deserve

Olivia walked into the court room and felt like she just wanted to run out again and hide. She really wasn't comfortable with so many people watching and focused directly on her right now. She didn't know what they had already heard or what anyone else had tried to make a claim for but she hoped this would all be over soon. She found Elliot, her father and Alex in the gallery and focused her attention on Elliot, just like he'd told her to if she needed to. He gave her an encouraging smile and she knew that from that smile, she could do this. It'll be Tony, then Dani's lawyer then I'll be done Olivia thought as she was worn into the court room.
"Miss Benson, Olivia how are you doing today?" Tony asked as he walked up to Olivia in the witness stand.
"Alright thank you, just ready to have this whole situation over with" Olivia replied, trying to keep her nerves out of her tone of voice.
"I can imagine. Now, can you take us through the events that happened leading up to your attack by Miss Beck in the lobby of Paradise Suite Hotel?" Tony asked as Olivia took a deep breath.
"I had just returned to the hotel with Elizabeth and Richard stabler, due to Elliot being out of town on business and not having a nanny available at that time, I'd volunteered to look after his children for him. We walked into the lobby heading for the elevator and Richard spotted Dani, the defendant standing in the lobby. He ran straight over to her and gave her a hug. I knew Richard and Dani were close and gave her a polite greeting whilst trying to comfort Elizabeth who was uncomfortable and stayed with me. But when I refused to leave the twins with Dani, that's when things took a turn for the worst" Olivia explained.

"What do you mean by 'turn for the worst?" Tony asked, prompting Olivia to continue.
"Well, I saw her start to hold Richard a little tighter and taunt me with her remarks. She told me to leave and when I wouldn't leave her or the kids, she started to get worked up and agitated which made the children present, more upset. One of the hotel staff, Parker, came over and I instructed him to call Mr Stabler as I knew that he would know there was something wrong if we were calling like that. I also thought it might be possible, if Elliot showed up, to talk Dani down as she'd been so desperate to see him. Unfortunately, he didn't get there as quick as I'd hoped he would but I was able to get Parker to take Elizabeth and eventually Richard, after he was freed, upstairs before Dani attacked me" Olivia explained and she could see Elliot was watching her closely, feeling guilty over not getting there sooner but she didn't blame him.
"When you say, she was taunting you, what was she taunting you with?"
"Dani kept talking about my past and how I seemingly only used men for an advantage or because I'd never known real love. She screamed that I only get anywhere in life because I, and I quote 'open my legs and let men have it" Olivia had to pause for a moment and take a breath. She drew her eyes back to Elliot she could tell he was hurt by hearing the details of everything she had been through. He was giving her strength though and she knew she had to keep going.
"She continued by shouting to everyone who was in the lobby at the time, that I needed a new man to make me feel whole and that despite the fact I may have wanted Elliot to be that man, there wasn't a man in the world who could love and again I quote 'a slut like you'. She was adamant that I was going to end up alone" Olivia finished explaining. The words that had been said today, hurt just as much as they had hurt back then.

"And what were you doing whilst she was screaming all these horrible things?"
"I was focused on the twins as they were still in the lobby when she was screaming. Elizabeth was quite upset at the time as Dani had screamed at her directly and was currently holding her brother hostage. I was trying to coax her to go to Parker, from where she was standing with me, so I could get Richard free. It was when Richard made it free from Dani and over to Parker and Dani tried to lunge at him to get him again, that she attacked me as I stood in the way to protect the kids" Olivia concluded.

Questioning from Tony went on a little longer, making sure that Olivia had the chance to get all the proper details of her attack out, before he sat down, and it was time for the defense to question her.
"Miss Benson, when did you come to know my client?" Mr Carlson asked as he approached Olivia.
"At the beginning of the new school year, as Elliot's daughter is in my class and I was trying to get information about her sent home" Olivia answered.
"And what was that first meeting like?" The lawyer continued.
"Objection! Relevance?" Tony interrupted before Olivia could answer.
"I'm trying to portray any previous biases Miss Benson had towards my client before the day of the attack" Mr Carlson explained. I don't have any biases Olivia thought to herself.
"I'll allow it, but tread carefully Mr Carlson" the judge warned as Olivia paused to think about the best way to answer the question.
"It was...professional, I introduced myself and had a brief discussion with Dani in regards to the information I was required to give in regard to Elizabeth" Olivia explained.
"So it was at school? Did you ever contact my client outside of school?"
"No"
"Did you ever portray any kind of negative feelings towards my client, to Mr Stabler?" Mr Carlson asked.
"Not until after the attack, but that was warranted given what happened" Olivia replied.

"How long have you and Mr Stabler been in a relationship?" Mr Carlson changed his line of questioning and Olivia felt attacked. What did her relationship with Elliot have to do with anything and why was it important right now, as it had nothing to do with Dani.
"Objection! Relevance to case?" Tony interrupted again, he was really fighting for Olivia and she was grateful for that.
"I'm trying to give the jury an understanding of when the relationship between the witness and Mr Stabler occurred, as it could have played a role in the attack and my clients termination of employment" Mr Carlson argued to the judge and Olivia used self-control not to yell out that it had nothing to do with Dani. She would control herself, it was important more than ever she did right now.
"Final warning Mr Carlson, the witness may answer but I warn you to watch your line of questioning" the judge warned and Olivia knew she had to answer right now.
"At the time of the attack, Mr Stabler and I were not in any kind of romantic relationship. I was simply trying to be of assistance to him as Dani was no longer his nanny and Mr Stabler had business matters to attend to on short notice and needed some assistance with his children...Our relationship did not commence for a little while after that and it definitely did not play any role in the termination of employment for Dani" Olivia explained as she looked the lawyer in the eye.
"So, you weren't jealous?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You weren't jealous that my client had the interest of the man whose daughter you were currently teaching, and had the interest in pursuing a romantic interest with?" Mr Carlson asked and Olivia just rolled her eyes, she could not believe this line of questioning had even been allowed right now and she could see that Elliot was ready to kill the man from his spot in the gallery.
"No, I was not jealous of your client. I was concerned with the things that Mr Stabler's children were telling me about your client but I remained the upmost professional around her. Not to mention, my relationship is really none of your business and it's not the reason your client attacked me" Olivia replied, to put everyone in their place right now.

Mr Carlson continued to question Olivia for a little while longer before finally allowing her to step down again. The questions had continued to be largely around Dani's employment and the fact that she had seen Olivia was a threat to her employment and romantic interests. Mr Carlson was really going down the method that if Olivia hadn't intervened, then Dani would be involved with Elliot and she brought the attack on herself. But Olivia knew this was different to the truth, she knew that Elliot never had any kind of romantic feelings towards Dani and especially not the way that he felt for Olivia. Olivia had made it clear to the court that the only first connection she had to Elliot and Dani was through trying to get in contact with Elliot about Elizabeth's difficulties in school. She had never tried to turn him off Dani, he simply wasn't interested in having Dani around his children, when she'd made Elizabeth so visibly upset and been so discriminatory to the little girl. Once the questioning was over, the court was adjurned for a lunch break, but after lunch there would be a closer look at evidence in this case, especially the security camera recording video of the attack. Olivia stepped down from the witness stand and moved over to where Elliot was standing waiting for her. She slipped her hand into his and lead the group out of the court room.

After the group left the courtroom, they assembled together in the lobby of the courthouse. The interrogations for both Elliot and Olivia had been a hard start to the case but they both, especially Olivia, handled it all very well and neither lost their cool the entire time, just like Tony encouraged. Olivia broke her hand from Elliots so she could hug both her father and Alex before moving right back to his side, where he pressed a kiss on the side of her head. Tony explained that they had an hour for lunch before they were due back for the next part of the court case, especially the view at the evidence in the case and the video from the attack. Tony explained that he understood if Olivia didn't want to be in the court room for that and she wasn't expected to be there, he just wanted to make it clear what would happen next if she did come back with everyone after lunch. Tony also suspected with 2 other witnesses and Dani's interrogation and questioning in the witness stand, it's possible the case would finish either late tonight or tomorrow. However, he was feeling confident in the case now after Olivia's questioning and how well she answered the questions. Tony excused himself after explaining how everything was going to go and Elliot offered to take everyone out to lunch at a great little restaurant, he knew of not far from the court house. They would be able to go and enjoy a good meal and make it back in time for court to go back in.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, they found a table for 4 with Elliot and Olivia sitting on one side and Don sat with Alex on the other. Olivia hadn't spoken much since they left the courtroom but everyone knew she was likely processing everything that had happened. Elliot just kept his hand in hers to comfort her whilst holding conversation with the others. He honestly couldn't believe some of the things that were said to Olivia and how horrible that whole occasion had been but he was glad he had gone first in the end, so he was able to be in the courtroom to go through that and he would protect Olivia now however he needed to.
"I can't believe I ever hired someone as wicked as that" Elliot remarked which drew Olivia out of her thoughts, this wasn't Elliots fault and he couldn't blame himself.
"You weren't to know" Olivia replied, joining the conversation at the table and defending Elliot against his own thoughts. She knew he had a feeling of guilt about what happened but it wasn't necessary.
"Not at the time no, but thankfully you opened my eyes to it all. I doubt I would have seen how much harm that woman was causing my children otherwise" Elliot smiled at Olivia, this was just one of the many things he was grateful for with her.
"You were just busy with work, and I wouldn't have known if Elizabeth hadn't felt comfortable enough with me to tell me about it" Olivia explained
"And if you hadn't been so insistent on meeting with me about her reading" Elliot replied to which Olivia had to smile, she was definitely very stubborn at getting her way when it came to helping children and she wasn't going to let him continue as "mystery dad". Now she's always grateful that she had been so stubborn.
"You did really well up there honey, it couldn't have been easy. That woman's lawyer seems to be trying to paint such an ugly picture of everyone else but his client and she's the wicked one here" Don interrupted the conversation between the two.
"Unfortunately, that's what she's paying him to do and he's doing it well. But thank you to all of you for being here" Olivia explained, she really was grateful that the ones who mean the most to her were here today.
"Wouldn't have been anywhere else" Don replied as the waitress walked over to take their orders. Olivia wasn't feeling that hungry so she went with a salad, whilst Elliot ordered a burger which Olivia had already decided she would steal chips from. Alex also ordered a salad and Don went with chicken schnitzel.

"So they've got the video for us after lunch, are you going to be ok watching it again?" Don asked his daughter, knowing she'd already seen it multiple times when it first happened and she lived through it.
"I…was actually going to miss it. I've already lived through it once and seen it multiple times after the attack, I don't want to see it again. I also think I need some air, so I was going to take a walk before coming back" Olivia explained.
"Would you like some company?" Elliot asked, he personally didn't want to see the video again either, he didn't want to watch Olivia be attacked by that woman and know he hadn't been there in time to stop it. He wasn't really sure he could cope either, so he was hoping she would accept his offer of company on the walk.
"Thank you but I think I'll be ok on my own. I'm just going to take some time to clear my head before I come back. You should all go back though" Olivia rejected, she knew Elliot wanted to try and fight her on this, fight to come with her but she really did just want to be alone right now and process everything that happened on that witness stand.
"I promise, I won't go far" Olivia said as she leant in close to Elliot so only he could hear. She knew he was simply worried for her but the promise not to go far, was her way of saying to him that she'd come back to the courtroom and that she really was ok.
"Well, the car is around the back, if you want to get distance just call for it and the driver will collect you" Elliot replied as Olivia nodded. She honestly wasn't planning to go too far for a walk, she just didn't want to re-watch that video of her attack that she had seen hundreds of times and had been circling the internet for ages when it happened. She'd rather be outside, clearing her head and processing her time in the witness stand, so that was what she was going to do.

When lunch was finished, the group walked back to the courtroom once more and Olivia bid them farewell for a little while. Don and Alex both went on ahead to give Elliot and Olivia a moment alone. Don stood and watched out of precaution, a little up the steps from where Olivia and Elliot were, just like any protective father would.
"Are you sure that you're really ok? I don't need to go in there again, I can come with you if you like?" Elliot suggested and Olivia placed her hand on his arm, appreciating the concern even though it was unnecessary.
"El, I'm honestly fine. I just, I know that if I see that video of the attack again, I'm going to go back to reliving it and the nightmares are going to come back, which I don't want. But, I need you to go in there so you can tell me anything else that happens whilst I'm not in there, and make sure that Tony is doing his job correctly, still fighting for us. I'll be back in a little while" Olivia attempted to comfort Elliot.
"Alright, as long as you're ok. If you need me, just call ok? I'll have my phone on vibrate, so I'll feel it if you call" Elliot explained before giving Olivia a quick kiss. He knew that her father was likely watching them right now and Olivia didn't like to display affection around her father, but right now he really didn't care.
"Will do. Now you better go or they'll start without you and we won't know what happens next. I love you" Olivia said as they pulled apart from the kiss and she knew Elliot really had to go.
"I love you more" Elliot stated as he gave her one more quick kiss and started to head up the steps. Olivia watched him walk up the steps, meet with her father and the pair headed inside before she turned to head for a walk down the street.

The whole courtroom was shocked into silence as they watched the security video of the attack. Different people had flinched at different points with the way that Dani had been so worked up and screaming at Olivia whilst holding a terrified looking little boy. Elliot, Don and Alex were all incredibly impressed and proud of the way that Olivia remained so calm during the whole time. Although it didn't go unnoticed to Don the way that Olivia's spare hand was flinching a little, next to her. He wasn't sure if Elliot had seen this before, but Olivia had this tell tale sign when she was uncomfortable or anxious, she started fiddling with her fingers or clenching and opening her hands. As the video played, Don could see Olivia's hand clenching into a fist and opening again. She was obviously stressed and feeling very uncomfortable in this situation, which was to be expected. He noticed the way that Olivia was seemingly focused on the little boy in Dani's clutch in the video and seemed to be working out how to get him free and safe. Both Don and Elliot had to look away at the moment that Dani absolutely lost it and lunged at Olvia, taking her down and Richard ran from the woman. Elliot couldn't handle seeing Olivia get hurt like that, and he wouldn't watch it now.

As he looked away, his thoughts drifted to Olivia, wondering where she had got to and hoping she would be back soon. He also hoped that this whole court case would be over soon. He wondered if Olivia would come back in time for Dani's testimony or if she was hoping to avoid that too. Elliot finished listening to the explanation of the video and evidence as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket so he took it out to see who was calling or texting him.
O: Is the video over? Heading back in now Olivia messaged, clearly she'd been wanting to know where they were up to as to determine if she could come in again or not.
E: Video and explanation has just finished, think they are bringing doctor on as next witness – you're safe to come in Elliot quickly replied before slipping his phone back in his pocket. When he looked up, Olivia was just sitting back down next to him. He smiled and took her hand in his as they sat and listened to the doctor try and defend Dani's actions. Elliot was glad Olivia was back again now and he hoped that the walk had given her the chance to clear her head like she wanted.

The rest of the afternoon in court, was a long but successful one. The court heard a testimony from a doctor about how Dani's mental state would have impacted her behaviour and the thoughts she was having about Elliot were misunderstood when they became reality. The defense was really going for a 'mental illness' kind of defense with the attack and the fact that Dani and become unemployed with no warning. Tony wasn't going to play by those rules though and made sure that the jury on the case saw both sides of the story, he was doing a great job with it too.
Following on from the doctor, it was Dani's turn in the witness stand and to give her testimony. She tried to portray how she hadn't been thinking when she was taunting Olivia and how she had been given guidance from an outside source as to everything in Olivia's background. She wouldn't confess who that source was though. Dani tried to portray to the jury that she was just misguided by Elliot. She wanted them to believe she was led on by him to believe that there was something there between them when there really wasn't, thus she was the victim, not Olivia. But Tony had shut that down really quickly with his questioning as well. The closing statements were managed to be heard by late afternoon/early evening and it didn't even take that long for the jury to convict Dani after that.

Dani was charged with assault in the 2nd degree, public defamation and intent to cause serious harm to minors. She would serve 3 years jail time and wouldn't have the option of parole for 18 months. Then when she did manage to get out, there would be an order of protection on the Stabler twins, Elliot, Olivi and Chloe. Even though Chloe hadn't been affected, they weren't going to take any chances in Dani seeing an opportunity for further harassment. Dani had also been ordered to pay a fee back to Olivia, in regards to making amends for her actions and the trauma she had caused. Normally there would be a time between the conviction and sentencing but this court judge didn't want to waste any more time or allow any more possible trauma to Olivia, so he'd sentenced her then and there. It was after dinnertime when the court was finally dismissed. But the case had been such a success and everyone was glad to hear they would never have to hear from Dani again.

Following the successful day in court, Elliot arranged for everyone to head back to his penthouse for a meal and celebration. Tony and his team had turned Elliot down but they wished everyone a good night and Olivia made sure to thank the man numerous times for his fantastic work today.
All the children were excited to see the adults when they made it back to the penthouse and the twins took up the majority of the time filling everyone in on their days as well as asking if they'd ever have to see Dani again. Olivia took time when they made it back to the penthouse, to spend with Chloe, listening as she babbled on about her day too, so she had just as much attention as the twins. But she did spend time listening to the twins tell her all about the day, including how much Elizabeth didn't like the substitute teacher they had in class today. Don and Alex couldn't help but admire in this situation, how much of a natural family unit Olivia and Elliot made the group look like. They took attention to every child and made sure that no one felt left out, making sure to take time to listen to every story that was told.

The remainder of the evening had been spent simply relaxing and enjoying the fact that the case was done and they could move on now. Elliot expressed his wish to take Olivia away for a couple of days and the couple had planned for it to be a long weekend type of thing the following weekend. They wanted to take a couple of days away from everyone but be back in time to organise everything for Christmas. Alex had informed everyone that Micah would be joining them in town on the 22nd which was exciting, Olivia could tell that her best friend had really been missing her partner. Don had volunteered to look after Chloe whilst Olivia and Elliot were away, whilst Elliot extended the offer that he could either stay here or come and spend time with the twins as often as he liked as well. The invitation was made as he knew how much Chloe loved spending time with Dickie and Lizzie, but they also found Don really cool and enjoyed spending time with him. The evening was a very family focused evening but filled with lots of fun and laughter, the perfect end to a very stressful day.

Elliot walked down the stairs of the penthouse, to find Olivia sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine in her hand and just admiring the view out of his large windows. He'd just finished checking that the twins were in bed and wishing them goodnight. Don and Chloe had gone back to Olivia's apartment shortly after dinner was finished, Don wanted to give Elliot and Olivia some space after their stressful day and he knew that Chloe was more than ready for bed so he would look after her. Olivia was very appreciative to her father for this and it demonstrated approval for the relationship from her father.
"What a day" Elliot sighed as he took a seat next to Olivia and grabbed his glass of wine from the coffee table, taking a sip as Oliva adjusted herself in the spot next to him, shifting a little closer and leaning into him, whilst placing a hand on his leg. Elliot extended an arm around the back of the couch and Olivia's shoulders, whilst holding his wine in the other hand.
"It was quite the experience, though if I never have to go to court again, it'll be too soon" Olivia stated.
"Amen to that. You don't have any more skeletons hiding in your closet that we need to worry about do you?" Elliot asked, teasing a little.
"Not that I'm aware of, what about you?" Olivia looked up at him with a smirk on her face and one eyebrow raised.
"I'm an open book baby" Elliot replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as silence engulfed them. This was the special thing in their relationship, they didn't have to talk all the time to enjoy time together, they were quite happy sitting in silence like this, as long as they were together.

"Are you really doing ok though? Dani's lawyer really tried a number on you and I was concerned when you wanted to go for a walk after lunch but didn't want me to come?" Elliot asked, interrupting the silence a few moments later.
"I'm doing much better now that it's all over and I know she's going away for a while. But yeah, the witness stand today was hard and I just couldn't watch that video of the attack again. I haven't had a flashback or nightmare of it in a while and I know that video would have brought them back. So, I needed to clear my head but knowing that I had you, waiting for me and to sit next to when I walked back into that room, helped a lot" Olivia explained as she looked up at Elliot again. It was times like this, when they were just spending time together and alone, that she felt she could be the most open and honest.
"There was nowhere I ever prefer to be than next to you"
"Just preferrably not in court?"
"Well it would have been better if we weren't in court but such is life"
"Hopefully, we won't have to go there again anytime soon" Olivia remarked as she reached over and placed her now empty wine glass back on the table. She had enjoyed the wine after today but she didn't need anymore.
"I hope not. I think I'd rather go on holiday with you than go to court" Elliot remarked as he repeated Olivia's actions.
"I guess it's a good thing we're going next week then" Olivia teased.
"And I can hardly wait" Elliot said softly as he leant in and gave Olivia a soft kiss to emphasise his point. He honestly couldn't wait to go away with Olivia for a couple of days next week. He was more than ready to have a few days where it was just them, to focus on their relationship and finally being finished with Dani. Olivia was just as excited for this upcoming holiday. Whilst part of her felt guilty for leaving Chloe like she had to, this was something that they deserved to do. They deserved to take a couple of days just for them, after everything they had been through.

TBC

A/N: Well Dani is finally out of their lives and she got what she deserved. To be completely honest, I could of made this whole court situation over several chapters but I didn't want to make it too long. Mr Carlson really put Olivia through the ringer but Elliot never doubted her for a second. Elliot and Olivia can finally move on with their lives, starting with a holiday and time away from the city. Next chapter; Olivia meets more of Elliot's family and they spend a few days away from the kids, New York and completely focused on them.
I have officially finished writing this story now, and hopefully will be able to get some serious editing time in to publish more than this one chapter this week but we shall see. I also want to say, I'm ready for a couple of just fluffy chapters with our favourite characters, how about you?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave me a review if you did and let me know anything you want to tell me. I love reading each and every one of them and seeing your thoughts on each chapter.
Until Next Time ;)