This is long, but worth it ;)
Sophia wasn't sure why, but the closer she and Serena, and Olivia and Casey drew to wherever it was that that they were going, the more nervous she became.
On the other hand, Serena was very relaxed and safely secured into a special wagon that made it very easy to transport her and the various medical equipment she was hooked up to. Olivia pulled the wagon, while Casey led the way, and Sophia brought up the rear, spotting the equipment and chattering with Serena so she didn't start to worry. They moved at a slow pace, but they made it eventually.
When they entered what turned out to be a patient room, she registered that someone was in the bed, but instinct—or was it fate?—made her stop when she saw the woman sitting in the rocking chair a little ways from the bed.
Olivia gave her daughter a gentle nudge forward as she spoke to Dana, whom they had brought to see Harper first.
"Dana," Olivia said. "This is my firstborn, Sophia Rose. She came back into my life recently, and is even engaged to Casey. She was looking after Serena for a little while just now."
Dana smiled at Sophia. "Thank you, very much, Sophia. I appreciate it."
Sophia turned bashful; she knew that this was her new sister's biological mother and suddenly understood the funny feeling that she'd just been experiencing. "Serena is a love bug, and she liked being curled up on my chest while I was holding her."
"Your new sister loves being held, and she loves getting kisses, too."
"Do you want to hold her?"
Dana nodded, almost ready to cry. "I would love to."
Hearing this, Olivia scooped Serena out of the wagon and deposited her into Sophia's arms, as she was closest. The baby smiled up at Sophia in adoration—they were becoming very close already because not only did she recognize the sound of Sophia's voice, but she was also coming to recognize Sophia's perpetual flower and earthy smell. She already knew the sound of her voice very well. Serena would never know a time without Sophia.
It took some effort, but Sophia broke herself out of Serena's gaze and gave her a kiss on the forehead before giving her to Dana to hold. Sophia backed away, towards Casey to give them their space, while Olivia situated all of the machines the baby was hooked up to, around the chair. She made sure everyone was comfortable before backing away, too, but she noticed that something was off about Dana.
She was quieter, and physically slower, too. So was the speech pattern of her voice; that, by itself made Olivia confused because Dana's trademark was her very fast speech. It was how she tripped people up and collared the perps. Even when she was having a one-on-one conversation with someone, she was still fast.
Olivia didn't know what to make of what was happening with Dana, so she occupied herself with something else. Once more steering Sophia by the shoulders, she guided her over to the bed, where Harper was watching them.
Sophia's first reaction was to be taken aback, and rightly so: true, though she bore a striking resemblance to her mother, this other person looked even more like Olivia. It was… uncanny.
Olivia's voice cut through her thoughts.
"I promise you aren't seeing double, sweetheart." she told her. "This is my sister, Harper Atticus Bailey. I just didn't know about her until this whole thing with Bella started."
Sophia looked from Olivia to Harper, and back again. She hadn't had a long day at work, but all of the emotion from the previous twenty-four hours was hitting her at once.
"She's your—"
Olivia nodded. "Yep."
"And you didn't know?"
"I swear up and down that I had no idea at all."
Sophia felt dazed. "Our genes, though…"
Again, Olivia nodded. "I know."
Sophia sat down hard in a chair beside Harper's bed. "Huh…"
Olivia laughed. "Don't be shy, Soph. Your auntie is very nice and she doesn't bite. Plus, she's in the family way, too."
But Sophia seemed stuck in another lane altogether because she just nodded. So Harper pointed to the letters on the beside table.
"Read those, please," she told her sister. "Before you do anything else."
Olivia arched an eyebrow. "Even yours?"
Harper nodded. "It would be good if you did."
"Alright." Olivia scooped the letters up. "I'll just be out in the hall."
Harper was fine with this arrangement, and turned her attention to Sophia.
Dana didn't notice her go, either.
But Casey did.
She found her on a bench, down the hallway, conveniently out of sight and earshot of Harper's room.
"You okay, Liv?" she asked, sitting down beside her.
"I don't even know, Casey, but I'm glad that we recused everyone and that we saved everybody who needed saving."
"Definitely a perk—and the ending of this case is a reminder, even to me, about why we do what we do."
Olivia realized Casey was right. "This case ended with Bella, Harper, Aria, Serena, and even Dana being amongst the rescued, getting justice for Nikita, Dana being able to hold Serena again, me learning about Harper, and Alex and I getting a new daughter."
"I heard my name!"
True enough, Alex had just gotten off the elevators, and was walking towards them. Olivia and Casey immediately made room for her on the bench.
"Olivia was just telling me all of the good things that have come out of the ending of this case." Casey explained when she had settled. "Most of it has to do with our family expanding."
Olivia sat between the attorneys, with Alex on the left and Casey on the right.
Alex gave her fiancée a back rub and then looked around. "Which room is Harper's? I want to meet her."
"It's over there." Olivia pointed. "When I stepped out, she was getting acquainted with Sophia."
"Wait—how did Sophia become part of this?"
"She got off work early and came to visit Serena." Casey supplied quickly.
"Understood." Alex pointed to the things Olivia was holding. "What's that?"
Olivia sighed. "Old letters from my mother, to Harper and I. Harper has a safe deposit box that was left to her, and Casey and I went with her to open it."
"Those letters were in the box?"
"Amongst money a few different forms of money and an inheritance, a table of contents, and an official letter, explaining what everything was and that it was being passed on." Olivia elaborated. "I left my own letter with Harper for safekeeping before I went to Brooklyn, and I'm only just getting to it."
Alex digested everything she was being told, and then said, "So there's no question that Harper started life out as a Benson?"
Casey nodded. "Correct—I showed Liv the results of a DNA test that she and Harper did. You know what they say…"
"DNA doesn't lie." Alex finished.
"Bingo. Serena Benson was Harper's mother, but Harper is a Bailey now because she got married."
This caught Alex's attention. "Where's her husband?"
"He died recently; it was cancer. They were married for seven years, and Harper is going to name the baby after him—Xander Jude Bailey the second."
Alex just sighed, and then arched her back as she felt the baby that she was carrying turn over as she tried to do the splits. When the little one was relaxed again, she motioned towards the letters again.
"Would you like us to go, Olivia?"
"No." the lieutenant decided. "I want you both to hear."
"Then we are all ears."
Olivia withdrew her reading glasses from her jacket pocket and put them on before unfurling Harper's letter and reading it aloud.
Dear Harper,
This is your mother, and if you're reading this, then something has happened to me, and I'm so sorry. I do love you, more than you could possibly know. I'm also sorry that I couldn't raise you. If I'd kept you, I could have hurt you, and you didn't deserve that. But I visited you as often as I did because I wanted you to know me, and I wanted to know you.
Since the deposit box was only instructed to be opened after something happened to me, and when you were of age, I think it's time I told you some things about us Bensons.
First of all, you have a big sister, by the name of Olivia Margaret Benson, and as I write these words, she's a member of the Special Victims Unit in the Upper West Side. By the time you get this letter, though, she could have moved, retired, or even left New York. I just hope that you two find each other one day and become friends.
But you wouldn't have to worry about Olivia rejecting you. I may have done and said many unkind things to her over the years, but Olivia still grew up to be the kindest, strongest, bravest, sweetest, most compassionate woman I've ever known. She would love you as much as I do.
This other secret you need to know about your father. His name was Joseph Holister.
You see… you and Olivia both came to be because Joseph raped me twice. The first time, I was on my way home from work, and he followed me and attacked me. The second time, he realized that I figured out who he was, and he came after me again. I haven't seen him since, and I don't care to, but I put his name on your birth certificate, just in case you have a reason to want to find him.
I want you to know, because I learned the hard way with raising your sister—violence is never the answer for anything, my sweet girl. It will only bring you to the wrong places, and the wrong roads. All I want is for you have peace in your life.
And no matter what happens in your life, I am so proud of you. Don't ever give up on your dreams.
If you ever wonder where you got your name, Harper is for Harper Lee, the author of my most favorite book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus is for my favorite character, Atticus Finch. He defended the downtrodden, and saw to it that things were set right. Maybe you'll even become a lawyer, like him. I also named you Atticus Harper because it goes with Olivia, and Olivia means peace. Even Serena means tranquil and serene.
Harper, I hope you have the best life possible, and I hope that if or when it comes to it, that you find the right person and live a very happy life with him or her, and maybe even have a child or two. But if you fly solo, that's quite alright, too. Please do what makes you happy.
Love,
Mother
Olivia put the letter down and pushed her glasses back into her hair. A lot of emotions were coursing through her heart, and through her body. At a loss for words for a few moments, all she could do was wipe her eyes as Casey rubbed her back while Alex gave her a kiss on the temple to reassure her that she was still there.
Finally, Olivia was with it again. "When is that dated?"
Alex examined the head of the paper. "This is from a month before she died."
"What? But the way she wrote it, it sounded like she knew she was going to die."
"Maybe Serena had a premonition about it." Casey suggested.
Olivia stared.
"Both of my grandmothers had premonitions about their own deaths." Casey backpedaled quickly. "It was the first thing I thought of."
Olivia sighed and patted the younger woman's knee. "And it's what I'm going to stick with because we reconciled our differences when I first joined SVU. I want to keep those good memories of her. She was looking out for her daughters, in her own special way."
"Do you want to read the letter she left for you," Alex wanted to know. "Or do you want to read it at home?"
"I'll read it now; I promised Harper I would read them both."
As Casey folded Harper's letter up, Olivia opened hers, unfurled the paper, put her glasses on, and began to read.
Dear Olivia,
If you're reading this, then something's happened to me, and I died, somehow. It also means that you found Harper, or she found you. She is your full sister, and that's because I found your father. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to go off on one of your crusades, like you do. In not so many words, he told me never to come around again because he has a wife, and a son. For good measure, he raped me again and I fell pregnant with Harper.
I put Harper into foster care because I was having the same thought process and problems that I did when I was pregnant with you, and throughout your childhood. I didn't want to inflict that on her, so I stopped the problem before it even had a chance to get off the ground. But I visited as often as I could. Ask her.
Perhaps I didn't tell you about her you were also struggling with Sophia… I just hope that you can forgive me one day. I know you are open-minded, but you must be a tad ruffled. Harper is very bright, and loves to learn, although by the time you read this, she'll be in her mid-twenties. Those things may have changed.
My greatest hope is that the two of you become friends, and stay in each other's lives.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again—I'm incredibly proud of the woman you've grown up to be, and I'm just as proud that you help those less fortunate than yourself. As long as it makes you happy, don't ever stop.
Speaking of things to repeat, just so you know—I'm also incredibly sorry for every last thing I did or said to you over the years.
I hope you have the best life possible, and that you get the happy ending that you've always dreamt of, and that it's with your soulmate. I also hope that you find Sophia Rose again, or she finds you. I hope for her future, and for Harper's, too, that they also have their happy endings with their soulmates. Our family deserves any kind of peace we can get.
Take care of yourself, Olivia Margaret, and if you find Harper Atticus and Sophia Rose again, please take care of them, too.
I love you.
—Mother
All over again, Olivia was an emotional mess, but Alex and Casey were very patient, and they helped her through it until she was calm again.
"I miss my mother every day and all the time," she said at length. "But now it feels like I have good and proper closure. Things were opened up a little bit after Sophia showed up, and even with all this about my sister, but these words from my mother have put things to bed. Now I really be at peace with my life."
"I'm glad you feel that way." Alex told her.
"Me, too." Casey chimed in.
Out of the corner of her eye, Casey saw Dana approaching, so she turned to Alex.
"Come on." she said to her friend. "I'll bring you to meet Harper. I'm also pretty sure that I saw half of the Carisis, and Amanda, headed in that direction while Olivia was reading."
Also seeing Dana, Alex rose and followed Casey away, asking about baby Serena as they went.
"Room for one more?" Dana asked when she drew level with Olivia.
Olivia nodded, and her companion sat down beside her. Once again, she noticed that something was different about Dana, but she still couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was because she hadn't seen her in a few years.
Probably.
"Your family is beautiful." Dana told Olivia. "Serena is already fitting in really well—she was giggling like nothing else when Sophia was playing with her and giving her kisses just now."
Olivia grinned. "Sophia has a little girl of her own, and is carrying two more. Identical twins."
"Wow."
"Mhm. She's also engaged to Casey, and she is carrying a baby boy."
"That's wonderful, and it's no wonder that Sophia's got Serena turning to putty."
Olivia nodded, and showed her a picture on her phone.
"Who are these little darlings?" Dana cooed.
"On the left is my eldest grandchild, Melissa, and beside her is my boy, Noah. I adopted him awhile back after finding him and fostering him."
"Hey, good for you."
Olivia grinned. "Thanks."
She put her phone away and watched Dana lean against the wall behind them. She seemed to be lost in thought.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"I know you had to arrest me for the things I did—which I deserved—but even still," Dana said. "You've come a long way since Oregon, and I've gotta say: I'm really proud."
Olivia beamed. "Meeting you was fate in more ways than one, Dana, but it was our adventure in Oregon, and everything related to it that gave me a lot of much-needed perspective… as well as kick in the butt that I didn't know I needed until then. I also never got to say thank you, so… thank you."
"You are most certainly welcome, Olivia Benson."
A new thought struck Olivia. "My mom died seventeen years ago, and you know what her name was?"
"Oh, do tell."
"Serena Benson."
At this, Dana smiled more. "Then it's definitely fate, and the baby will really fit in."
"She will, and I don't know if anyone's told you, but I'm engaged."
"Sophia mentioned it, yeah. You're engaged to Alex, right? The blond, from earlier?"
"Correct. Alex has been the absolute love of my life since 2000." Olivia showed Dana her engagement ring. "Alex is pregnant with a baby girl—Serena is going to have a playmate."
Suddenly, Dana was feeling warm and fuzzy. "So many kids and babies."
Olivia shrugged. "This is everything I've ever wanted, and I couldn't ask for more, even if it is all happening at once. Better late than never."
"I'm happy if you're happy." Dana said sincerely. "What's your baby girl's name? The one on the way?"
"Diana. She doesn't have a middle name yet, but we're calling her Anna for short because that was Alex's mother's name. The main reason we decided on Diana, though, is because Alex and I have been Wonder Woman fans ever since we were kids."
"And her actual name is Diana."
"Bingo."
Dana gave Olivia's leg a pat. "That little girl is going to have a lot to live up to, but I'm confident that she and Serena are going to best friends. Have Melissa and Noah met her yet?"
"Melissa hasn't yet, but she's a very cheerful person—one of her favorite hobbies is doting on Noah. As for my boy, he's met Serena, and he's totally smitten with her. He even told us that he loves her."
"That's really good. Thank you for telling me that."
Still against the wall, Dana blew out a few breaths and massaged a spot over her heart. It didn't take a trained eye (or ear) to see that she wasn't up to par.
"What's the matter?"
Dana looked at her, this time full of sorrow and she spoke with a tone of resignation. "The night that Serena was made, I was raped, and the trauma that came from that caused a severe panic attack. I almost died, and Fenton thought it was funny. He wouldn't even let me go the infirmary."
"Oh, my God. I'm sorry."
"And today, he poisoned me. The only good thing is that it isn't contagious."
Dana sounded so defeated, that if Olivia hadn't known her the way that she did, she would have thought she was kidding. She had quite a turn when she realized that Dana was very serious.
"What? Dana, when?"
"Sometime this morning—he put something in my food because he didn't want anyone else to have me."
"But he didn't count on his own death, or you…"
Olivia couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence because it sounded so cruel.
Dana picked up, right on cue. "I think you mean that he didn't count on me sticking around."
"Yeah. Let me go get a doctor."
Dana held a hand down on Olivia's knee, keeping her in place. "It won't matter—I had another severe panic attack this morning."
"Why?"
"I thought Fenton was going to shoot Harper."
Dana coughed, and even then, Olivia saw it was violent. She tried not to let her emotion show through like it was threatening to. Dana was truly slipping away in front of her.
"I thought Fenton was going to shoot Harper." she said again, sounding weaker than before. "I didn't want someone else to get hurt. The only reason he didn't was because I got sick."
"And you're sure you don't want a doctor?"
"Yes. Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted the last time I held Serena to be happy. Same for meeting your precious family."
Olivia pulled Dana into a hug, and guided her to rest her head on her shoulder. Now that they were closer, it was very easy to hear how shallow Dana's breathing was.
"What can I do? Just tell me."
Dana looked at Olivia again, and wiped her tears for her.
"Don't let go of me, Olivia." she said softly. "Please."
"Okay, Dana." she whispered, offering her a feeble smile. "You're always going to have a piece of my heart."
"You've always had a piece of mine. Promise you'll tell Serena about me?"
"I promise."
"Make sure her brother and sister meet her."
Olivia kissed the top of Dana's head and pressed a cheek to it. "She'll know them, and she'll know everything about her mommy."
"You promise?"
"I do. You changed my life, Dana, and I'm so glad we met."
"I'm glad, too, Olivia. Thank you."
With one last breath, Dana Lewis died.
And Olivia wept.
I know, I know, not a fun ending for that chapter, but don't shoot the messenger—it took a WEEK to get all that done because I've been under the weather. I've also never seen someone actually die, so I had to take a stab at it. The next chapter be about Casey and Sophia ;)
