Disclaimer: SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. I own nothing
Elliot Stabler watched as his partner slid out from her seat at the booth in the diner where they had been eating breakfast. She reached into her pocket and tossed a few bills on the table before walking out without another word to him. He wasn't sure how it could have gone so wrong, so fast. Less than an hour ago, they had been sitting on the steps of his apartment building. She had brought him coffee, and they had been discussing the aftermath of their most recent case. Valerie Sennett was dead, and had never been raped by her ex-husband, despite her claims to the contrary. Miles, however, would be going to prison for dousing her in gasoline and lighting her on fire.
He and Olivia had been at odds from the very beginning of the case. She had believed Valerie's claims of rape, and worked tirelessly to advocate for her. He on the other hand, had been skeptical, considering the fact that the divorce between the couple had been extremely acrimonious. Not to mention the fact that they were currently locked in a custody battle over their daughter.
As the case had progressed, so had the tension between him and Olivia. He remembered how he had accused her of not understanding what goes on in a marriage, and even gone so far as to attack her own personal history with relationships. It had been something said in the heat of the moment, but once it was spoken, there was no way for him to take it back.
Not long ago, while they had been sitting together on his steps, she had repeated the words back to him. It had been after his confession that he needed space to disagree with her without the fear that it would cost him their partnership. It had taken a lot of courage for him to say that, because it was the closest he'd come to admitting just how much her recent absences had affected him.
"Like you said, you're the longest relationship I've ever had with a man. Who else would put up with me?"
Her words rang in his ears as he watched her retreating form head out the door. It was quickly followed by the memory of what he had said that had made her leave.
They had been enjoying their meal in a companionable silence when she'd made the comment about work starting in a few hours, and having been up all night. She followed it up by joking she just might not show.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've gone into work to found out that you've ditched me. In fact, that's gotten to be a habit of yours."
Things had been going so well between them, then he had to go and stick his foot in his mouth. Now he would give anything to erase the image in his mind of the pained look that had crossed her face before anger had set in, and she'd left him sitting here alone. It would serve him right if he did show up for work to find her gone. He was an asshole, and he didn't deserve her. She'd come to him this morning extending an olive branch, and he'd gone and fucked things up again.
Deciding there was no point in staying at the diner, Elliot paid for their meals. Pocketing the money Olivia had left on the table, he hoped for the chance to return it to her later today if she would let him. Despite all their joking banter earlier that morning about who would pay, it had been his intention all along to treat her to breakfast.
Back at his apartment, he saw no point in going back to bed. It wasn't as if he'd be able to sleep anyway. Instead, he shed the clothes he was wearing and stepped into the shower. The hot water could do nothing to wash away the emotions that were troubling him, but he needed to get ready for the day. He tried to assure himself that Olivia would be at work when he got there. That even if she wasn't on friendly terms with him, she would at least be civil and professional, because that's just the kind of person that she was. He could always ask for her forgiveness later.
By the time he arrived at the precinct, bearing an extra cup of coffee to give to Olivia as a peace offering, he found a very angry Captain Cragen waiting for him. The one person he did not see was Olivia. Anxiety began to coil in the pit of his stomach. Despite everything they'd said to one another, she couldn't have left him for a third time, could she? He wasn't given any time to reflect on those thoughts, because as soon as Cragen realized he was there, the man called him over.
"Stabler, glad you could join us. Don't bother sitting down."
Now Elliot was even more confused. Yes, he was a few minutes late this morning, but nothing that would warrant disciplinary action. Before he could ask any questions, the Captain continued.
"We've been called out to assist on an ongoing hostage situation at a daycare. A man has entered the building and is holding the children and the workers captive with a gun."
That explained what was going on, but not why their squad was involved. As Elliot deposited the items in his hands on his desk and started to follow Cragen out the door, he asked the questions that were on his mind.
"What about Olivia? Do we need to wait for her?"
"I already got in touch with her, she's going to meet us at the scene. You can ride with me."
Momentarily satisfied that Olivia would be coming to work, Elliot focused all his energy on the situation at hand. As they drove to the the scene, he asked the Captain to brief him on everything he knew about what they were about to walk into.
Elliot spotted Olivia as soon as he and Cragen arrived on scene, easily picking her out among the dozens of SWAT and hostage task force already on site. Much like when he'd seen her earlier that morning, her hair was swept back out of her face in a ponytail. As he walked in her direction, he tried in vain to make eye contact with her, trying to check in the only way he was able, but she avoided his gaze.
"Liv -"
"Not now, Elliot."
He had barely even been able to get her name out before she was giving him the brush-off. Granted, he wasn't expecting to get into an in depth conversation here, now, of all places. All he wanted to know was how they were going to work this. More likely than not, one of them would be asked to try and talk with the man who was holding the people inside hostage. While he had more experience when it came to hostage situations, Olivia was better when it came to connecting with people, and if their suspect also ended up being a victim, she would be able to reach them.
Before she could walk away from him, he took a chance and grabbed her by the elbow. Her head snapped in his direction, eyes flashing. He immediately released her, trying not to think about the fact that his touch was unwelcome yet again.
"Liv, stop. All I want to know is how we're going to play this. I know we aren't in charge here, but the time may come when we will be. Did you want to run point, or should I?"
Finally, her eyes lifted to his as she carefully considered his words. She'd already heard from the head negotiator what the driving force was behind this situation, and had made her decision long before any of her fellow squad members set foot on scene. Granted, she knew she would need her Captain's permission to proceed, but it wouldn't stop her from volunteering herself if the moment became necessary.
"I'll do it."
As an afterthought, Olivia passed him the bulletproof vest she held in her hands, noticing that he had yet to get one. It was required that all on scene were to wear one. While she still had to clear her forming idea with both Cragen and the hostage task force commander, it wouldn't do her any good to have a vest be visible. She just hated that she couldn't let Elliot in on her plan. While she was still angry with him for his words to her earlier that morning, she hoped he would forgive her for her deception.
"Here, El. Take this, and go check in. I'll go back to the van and grab myself another. Plus, it looks like Cap wants to talk to you."
"But Liv, that's your vest."
"Just take it, Elliot."
To emphasize her words, she shoved the item against his chest and let go, causing him to grab at it to prevent it from falling to the ground. Then she spun on her heel and walked away in the opposite direction. She had to act quickly, because if her watch was correct, there was only ten minutes to go before they would try and make contact and open the lines of communication.
It didn't take Olivia long to put her plan in order, as much as she hated keeping Elliot in the dark. Though Cragen was hesitant, once he fully understood the situation, he had to agree she was the best person to recommend should it come to sending someone inside the building to negotiate. He refused to elaborate on the details, respectful of Olivia's privacy. All he would say was that her experience working in Special Victims qualified her, which was why his squad had been called to the scene in the first place.
Finally, the time had come. Sergeant Brian Dillon, head of the task force, and commander of the scene, called for attention. As the officers waiting in the cordoned off street began to gather around him, he began to relay orders.
"I'll be attempting to make contact in under five minutes. We don't know exactly what his mental state will be."
He began to relay what they knew so far about the situation, which wasn't much. Just that other parents had arrived to drop off their children, only to find the doors to the daycare locked. Attempts to knock and find someone inside had gone unanswered. When looking in a window while walking back to their car, they saw a group of children and workers sitting in a circle on the floor, a man standing over them holding a gun. They had immediately phoned the police.
From what their lookouts across the street could see from their views inside the window, no one inside the building had moved since their arrival on scene. Also, it appeared that no one was injured. That was a good thing. The main goal here was to get everyone out – including the offender – unharmed. The snipers would only be engaged if absolutely necessary.
After his explanation, Sergeant Dillon concluded by welcoming the additional members on scene.
"In addition to the patrol officers and our hostage task force, we also have with us today Captain Donald Cragen and two Detectives from the Special Victims Unit. While we all know what to do in situations like this, today we will be deferring to their expertise."
Several of the officers exchanged puzzled glances. Was the man in question a pedophile? Were the children at more risk than they already feared? What exactly was going on here? They didn't have to wait long before their commanding officer was finishing up the briefing. It was almost time to make the call.
"Yesterday, Andrew Parker found out some news from the woman who he learned was his biological mother. The information broke him psychologically. Unable to cope, he left his home last night."
Holding up a photograph of a man who looked to be no more than thirty years old, if that, the Sergeant continued.
"Witnesses have confirmed that this is the same man who they saw inside the building. His wife dropped off their son here this morning. Going by his mental state, we believe he came here not to harm the child, but to see him one last time before disappearing again to commit suicide."
This made the situation all the more dangerous. While they didn't believe he would harm any of the children, it put the officers in question at risk. A person who was suicidal truly believed they had nothing to lose, and if their own plan had fallen apart, might turn to suicide by cop as their new method of choice. They could be extremely volatile and unpredictable. On the other hand, they might also be very emotional and give in easily. There was no way of knowing which way the pendulum would swing.
After hearing the briefing, Elliot didn't need to know why he and his partner had been called to the scene. He was able to easily fill in the blanks. Andrew Parker was a child of rape, making him not only the perp in this situation, but a special victim as well. It also explained why Olivia had said she wanted to run point on this. She must have already known before he arrived. He didn't know how he could possibly put his partner through something like that, but at the same time he didn't know how he could deny her, either. Olivia was so empathetic, and if this situation was to have a peaceful outcome, she was the best chance of that happening.
Turning to her now, fully surprised that she had come to stand beside him again, he tried to talk to her. For some reason, he was so focused on her mental state, that he failed to notice that she seemingly had forgotten to get herself another vest after giving him the one she'd had in her hands before. It would ultimately be an error in judgment he would kick himself for many times over later on.
"Liv? Are you sure about this? We can always send someone else in, you know. We don't even know if he'll agree to let one of us into the building."
While he hadn't intended to upset her, and had only wanted to express his concern for her state of mind and personal well being, it ended up having the opposite effect. Her eyes flashed again with anger, reminiscent of that morning. She stepped back harshly, breaking her shoulders free of the gentle hold he'd had on her body.
"Questioning my ability again, Elliot? I'm just fine. What matters most is that we get those kids out of there, not me. I can assure you, I know how to do my damn job."
With that said, she turned around so her back was too him, focusing her attention once more on the Sergeant in charge. Elliot noticed Cragen watching them with a reproachful look in his eye. Damn it. The last thing he needed was more negative attention. The Captain had on more than one occasion threatened to split them up if they couldn't get along. He'd thought they'd made progress this morning on his steps, then he'd gone and put his foot in his mouth so many times after that fact.
All he needed to do was get through this day and let the adrenaline from this situation melt away. Then he could offer to take Olivia out and buy her a drink, or maybe even dinner. Despite what he'd said this morning about needing freedom to disagree with her, that didn't give him free reign to behave like an absolute ass. He owed her an apology. He was confident they could get back on solid ground.
None of that mattered right now. There were lives on the line, and that was what had to come first. Elliot pushed his feelings deep down inside, and knew that Olivia would be doing the same. If asked to, they would be able to work together in tandem on this. A silence fell over the crowd of assembled officers as Sergeant Dillon picked up the phone and placed the call. It was time to attempt contact.