Hello, hello, hello! I'm alive! I'm so sorry for practically abandoning this story. Basically, college got in the way and now that I am on summer break, I can focus more on sharing this story with you.

So this story is going in so many different directions (since I've started writing again) and I'm excited to see where it will go. For now, here is Chapter 3 of Nightmare! Read, REVIEW, and Enjoy! :D

-J

Chapter 3:

The precinct was as busy as ever. Every detective was knee deep in work, still trying to find new evidence for the Hannah Strong case. What the detectives thought were leads were coming up dry. There haven't been any more people to interview and every re-interview simply had the same information as before. All of the detectives haven't gone home in days, dedicating every waking moment to this case. Olivia was taking this the hardest, not stopping for even a minute. She wanted to solve this case more than anything and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her otherwise. In her mind though, she hated that she wasn't home for Rosalie. She didn't like when she left her alone for multiple days, but she wanted this case solved so her daughter could be safe. She was also making sure that Rosalie came to the precinct after school so that she knows that she is okay. Once this case is solved, everything should go back to normal again. She kept telling herself that as it gave her the strength to keep going.

It was a hot and sticky Friday afternoon at the precinct. The air conditioner was acting out of whack, leaving every detective feeling hot and bothered.

"When will this air conditioner get fixed?!" Amanda complained, fanning herself with a case folder.

"Captain said he was going to try and get someone to come in by Monday," Fin answered, wiping at his brow.

"I don't think I can wait until then!" Amanda moaned.

Olivia was feeling the heat as well. Sweat beaded on her forehead and trickled down her neck, her long brown hair sticking to it uncomfortably. She found it really hard to focus on any case on her desk. All she wanted a nice cool breeze and a tall bottle of ice cold beer. She sighed and dropped her pen on her desk.

"This is ridiculous," she stated. "How are we supposed to get any work done?"

"We all need a break," Nick spoke up. Everyone paused and thought about it, but then laughed and shook their heads. A break? Yeah right! They tried to get back to work, but the heat continued to annoy them. They nearly ran out the door to their air-conditioned cars when Captain Cragen gave them orders that allowed them to leave the precinct. Cragen himself didn't blame them. He too felt the same humid heat in his closed-off office. As soon as the detectives were gone, that was when Rosalie entered the precinct. She was finally finished with all of her final exams and she was officially done with her freshman year of high school. She had a smile on her face, but it faltered when she saw that her mother wasn't there and when she felt the humid air in the precinct. She looked around and sighed in relief when she saw John Munch at his desk. He smiled and waved her over. As she went over and pulled up a chair next to his desk, John picked up his coffee mug to see that it was empty, but he placed it right back down on his desk with a sigh.

"This might be the first time that I don't want any more coffee," John stated. Rosalie mocked a gasp.

"You, the John Munch not wanting coffee?! Impossible!" Rosalie said dramatically and John chuckled.

"You know what I could really go for right now?" John asked and Rosalie's smile grew twice its size.

"A fig milkshake from Shmendrick's?" Rosalie inquired, producing a brown paper bag from her bag which indeed had the milkshake inside. She knew they were John's favorite milkshakes in all of New York as he had introduced and got her hooked to them when she was very young. He lightened up when he saw the familiar paper bag.

"You're kidding!" John took the bag and pulled out the milkshake from inside. "How did you know?!"

"Oh, I read minds…and I was in the mood for their strawberry shake," Rosalie revealed her own cold drink and John shook his head, a big smile on his face.

"What would I do without you?"

"You'd be milkshake-less…and all alone in the precinct," Rosalie joked and the two of them laughed as they took sips from their shakes, the creamy and icy treat cooling them down in the hot precinct.

"Thank you Munchkin, you really made my day so much better," John thanked, genuinely grateful for the milkshake at that very moment. Rosalie blushed and took another long sip of her shake.

"Where's my mom this time?" Rosalie finally asked.

"Out with Nick scouting. Fin and Amanda are doing more interviews, and I am here. Alone with paperwork," John responded.

"Well, that's no fun,"

"Yeah well, that's what happens when you work for the NYPD, you have no fun," John said simply. "Now it is to my knowledge that you are officially done with school for the year?"

Rosalie smiled and nodded happily.

"Well, congratulations little scholar! One year down, three more to go. You think you did well with all of your final exams?"

"I think so. I basically spent all my time studying so now we wait and see," Rosalie explained. She was glad her exams were finally over with. Freshman year was tough, but sophomore year was going to be even tougher so she was going to make sure she was ahead of schedule.

"Well now you have summer break, a luxury we adults don't get to see often. Enjoy it, my dear, while you are still young,"

Rosalie stopped and internally sighed. What John said reminded her of what Lolah had said at the coffee shop a couple of days ago and it reminded her of the party which was tomorrow night. She was not super excited for it like Lolah was. She fretted over it, a billion questions spinning in her head. She couldn't discuss them with Lolah, and her mom wasn't around to talk with. She needed someone to talk to, someone that would give her advice. She thought about asking her "Uncle Munch" for advice, but if she told him, he would figure it out and then everything would go wrong. She felt this underlying sense of dread about this party, a feeling of anxiety that refused to go away. She hated feeling this way, but she didn't know what to do to make it stop. Should she go to the party or not? It should be an easy decision, but why can't she figure it out?

"Earth to Rosalie? You okay in there?" Rosalie snapped back into reality and saw that John was waving his hand over her face.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm okay," Rosalie quickly responded, trying to look as if nothing happened, but John could read her like a book.

"Are you sure?" John pushed. Rosalie darted her eyes to the ground and tried to think of something to say, but nothing came.

"Did something happen at school? Is everything okay at home?"

Rosalie shook her head as John asked her questions. He eventually brought his chair closer to her and said,

"Rosalie, what is the one thing that we here at the precinct have always told you?"

"If something was wrong with me, I can and should always go to you, my mom, or any detective here," Rosalie finally sighed.

"That's right. All we want is for you to be safe Rosalie and we will do everything we can to help you. Please tell me what's going on?" John asked sincerely and Rosalie for a moment wanted to tell him about this party on Friday with Lolah…but quickly she decided against it. She was being ridiculous and immature. She needed to suck it up. She took a deep breath, sat up a little straighter, and tried to put on a brave face.

"Nothing's the matter, Uncle Munch. I think I'm still stressed about all the finals I took this week. All that has been in my head were formulas and fractions and all I hope is that I did well. I just need to take a break and cool down is all,"

John didn't believe that for a minute, but he let Rosalie continue speaking.

"I think once I get some sleep and some chill time, I'll be fine. Right now I'm just feeling stressed. Sorry that I had bugged you, Uncle Munch. I think I'm going to head home now. Enjoy the milkshake!" Rosalie quickly finished, stood up, and tried her best to walk out of the precinct with an aura of confidence. Once she was outside, she bolted down the street, quickly hurrying home. She was going to text Lolah, confirming 100% for that party. She needed to be at this party where she can grow up and be a different Rosalie, not the same old boring girl. She wasn't a baby anymore, filled with such childish anxiety. This will work, it just had to!

John watched as Rosalie exited the precinct. There was something going on, he knew that deep down, but she wasn't going to tell him. As soon as Olivia returns to the precinct and the two can get some time to themselves, he was going to let her know what happened. His ultimate goal was to possibly get Olivia to take this time off to be with her daughter. Olivia certainly needed it and Rosalie really needed that mother figure. He finished his milkshake and got back to his paperwork, pushing the matter aside until later.

It was around 10:00 at night when Olivia Benson had a moment away from the Hannah Strong case. She sat on the roof of the precinct, feeling the night's cool breeze against her face. This case was eating at her and she just couldn't figure out who was causing these murders. She was not going to stop until she got to the bottom of this case, but at this very moment, she felt as though she was at a dead end. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She was physically and mentally exhausted. She didn't remember the last time she had a good night sleep, a warm shower, or even a proper meal, but the idea of stopping just wasn't an option for her. As her thoughts ran a mile a minute about the case, she didn't even hear John entering or see him sitting down next to her.

"No leads on the case?" John spoke up and Olivia sighed.

"I can't stop thinking about it. All I see are those girls that deserve justice. I just don't know what is missing,"

John nodded, understanding, but at the same time, he was worried about her. He has known Olivia for a long time and he knew that this case was eating at her. If she continued like this, she was going to go off the deep end.

"Liv, you need to take a break. I mean it. Go home, get some sleep, spend some time with your daughter,"

Olivia felt a pang of guilt at the mention of her daughter. She felt guilty that she hasn't been able to be at home with Rosalie, but this case was important. She wanted it to be solved so that once it was, she could continue to keep Rosalie safe.

"Rosalie really needs you Liv. She keeps coming to the precinct, hoping to be able to spend some time with you. She wants to talk to you about things that she isn't comfortable talking to me about. She came in today and seemed conflicted about something, but she left before I could get to the bottom of it. She needs you Liv. She needs a mother,"

The last sentence brought tears to Olivia's eyes. She felt as though she was neglecting her daughter when she had no intention of doing so. It reminded her of how her own mother spent a lot of time away from home, whether it be at work or in a bar, but nonetheless, leaving Olivia alone to fend for herself. She vowed when her daughter was born that she would never follow in her mother's footsteps, but now she feels as though she is.

"Liv, what's really going on? Is there something I don't know?" John pushed, hoping that he could get some answers. Olivia sighed, biting back tears and finally said,

"All those girls John. They are all between the ages of 14 and 15 years old. Eloisa Beckett, 14, Georgie Lively, 15, Allison Winters, 14, Hannah Strong, 15. Do see the pattern? Rosalie is 14 and call it a mother's instinct, but I just have this fear that Rosalie could be next and if I can just find the right clues, just solve this damn case, I could put this murderer behind bars and know that Rosalie is safe,"

John grasped Liv's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I feel so bad John. You're right, Rosalie needs me, and I haven't been there. God, I hope she doesn't hate me,"

"She doesn't hate you Liv. She loves you, and she's a smart girl. She knows her way around and she knows what to do if someone tries to go after her. She knows that she can come to you or anyone here, but again, go home Liv. Take a break. Spend some time with Rosalie. You both need it,"

"John…" Olivia started, but John knew she was going to argue so he quickly cut her off.

"Or I could go to Cragen and get an order from him…"

"Okay, John! I'll go home…but if anything comes in about the case, you have to call me!"

"Yes Liv," John said, feeling relieved. Hopefully now, the two Benson ladies can have a weekend together. It was going to be good for both of them. Soon both detectives stood up and went back inside the precinct. Olivia packed up, let Cragen know about her weekend off which he supported, and soon she was on her way home. When she got into the apartment that she and Rosalie lived in, it was dark and quiet. 'Rosalie must be asleep' Olivia thought. She quietly made her way to Rosalie's room and slowly pushed her door open. Just as she thought, Rosalie was sound asleep in her bed. Olivia smiled as she walked over to her sleeping daughter and planted a soft kiss on her head.

"I love you, darling," Olivia whispered. "Let's have a good weekend together,"