I Do Not Own Law & Order/Law & Order: CI/Law & Order SVU

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Sixteenth Precinct

Manhattan, New York

July 15, 2003

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Bobby looked over everything, offering Alex her danish as she walked in. He was reading the forensics, finally, he knew Ben had run everything, and Judy had double checked everything. He noticed the initials next to everything. Alex sat beside him, pickup a different report.

"What did you say to Cragen?" he asked carefully. Bobby liked working with Alex.

"Me, and my pregnancy are not his business," she answered. "Also, in house gossip is not fact, and he should mind his own business."

Her voice was cold and clipped; he knew she wasn't as angry at him, but she was vexed. Bobby had never paid a lot of attention to in house gossip, though he kept tabs on a few things; one of those was speculation on his relationship with Alex as a whole. Alex never brought it up, so he left it be, however, he knew, he knew people speculated on their exact relationship. The ones that annoyed him the most was that she was sleeping her way to the top and got stuck with him so that would stop. Or they were secretly married and expecting their first child. Either way he didn't like hearing rumors presented as facts regarding himself and Alex. Bobby liked Alex, he liked her on a professional level and on a personal level; she was one of his best friends, he liked introducing her to his friends, like Lewis and Lewis' family. Bobby hadn't noticed himself trying to bring her into his world a little until Deakins had started pressing him to get a new partner.

He knew he was attached to Alex, it was hard not to be when he looked back on it, but the level of attachment was personal. Bobby hadn't been personally attached to anyone since the Army, and the revelation he had had him examining their partnership as a whole. Alex was his friend, partner but she was his friend.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Don't be," she dismissed. "Now, we should look into divvying up these interviews, I think we should handle friends and neighbors and work the angle of this being personal, but leave SVU to chase their own hunches."

"That's… good," he nodded. It would keep Stabler and Benson out of their hair, and also make it seem like they were cooperating with SVU; which they were, but Bobby didn't want to have to fight every step of the way with them. He could already see they didn't like him, and he doubted that their impression of him was going to change any time soon…

"Hey, we got assigned here," Bobby looked up when Fin and Munch appeared and Alex nodded as she munched on her danish, he hummed as he looked back at the report.

Alex started the debrief, while he was reading.

The forensics wasn't unhelpful, the fluids were clear; one male, the surprise though was the unidentified female… Bobby frowned as he thought that over. He would never underestimate a woman; especially after Nicole, women were… more dangerous. Their covert danger, it could… beguile anyone, women were… nurturing, perceived as gentle, kind, thoughtful. Women were also more manipulative, and devious, their ability to hide their predatory nature made them more dangerous in Bobby's experience. Everyone assumed men were predators, or more predatory, men were bigger, more overtly threatening, easily intimidating…

So the team was a man and a woman… He got up as he went to the board. His idea of a mentor and apprentice was not correct. At least he didn't think so. Men and women didn't team up usually with that dynamic, mainly because each partner obtained something else from the act of killing.

"Two sets of fluids, the blood under Lillian's nails was blood, from an unidentified woman, and we knew about the man," Bobby came over Alex who looked up. "Male-Female team ups are rarely mentor-apprentice in these acts. James and Susan Carson, Fred and Rose West, Carol M. Bundy and Doug Clark, the… dynamics, it's about something between the couple, the act of this violence… it's…it's a bond between them…" he said as he handed the file to Alex. She hummed a little as she read over the file, he waited for her to catch up.

She nodded slowly as she read this over. "DNA doesn't lie," she muttered.

"It also… might not be personal, or about Lillian, but… them…" he explained haltingly. "They have… a fantasy, trauma, it's about a woman and a baby, they care about the woman but not the baby," he muttered.

"That is very good guesses," Bobby looked up as an very put together Chinese man there. He looked down at Alex who sighed.

"Bobby, this is Dr. George Huang, he's a profiler with SVU," she filled in quietly.

"I've read your work," Bobby admitted. "The… rehabilitation of sex offenders. It's very good. But I don't think it's completely accurate."

Some illnesses meant removing people from society was for the safety of them and society; similar to his mother's residence at Carmel Ridge. Some people couldn't be rehabilitated. The belief was endearing, hopeful even, but Bobby didn't think everyone could be rehabilitated. If he left his mother to her own devices and she might be a danger to others, not because she wanted to harm anyone but because she wouldn't be in her right mind. Keeping her in Carmel Ridge was just as much for her own safety as everyone else; and there were other patients in similar facilities because of similar problems. Rapists and serial killers might be mentally ill, but they also were very dangerous.

"You don't?"

"No, I don't," he repeated. He turned back to the information he'd given to Alex.

"Do we have DNA on the surrogacy racket members? We could compare them," Alex said.

"Our labs are already on it with the link between cases," Munch said.

Bobby nodded as he continued reading over Alex's shoulder. Alex was quiet again, and he knew she was uneasy about this case. Figuring out the fantasy this pair had though would be important to stopping them. He wondered about that though.

Detective Eames was the one to divvy up tasks, which Fin was sort of surprised at; normally he'd expect Bobby to be taking charge; rather forcefully, from everyone. Bobby, in Fin's experience, ran over everyone, just steamrolled them with his intellect or his sheer size; which was always intimidating when he wanted to. Bobby though was rather calm and centered with his new partner, which Fin thought was good. The only reason Fin had lasted as long with Bobby was because of undercover assignments, they didn't have to be together, just watch the other's back. If Fin had to be stuck with Bobby how he was with Munch, that would have been a disaster. Bobby wasn't what Fin considered normal, the man was over stimulated; he could play an addict without any substance use, he was clever, manipulative, and fully aware of everything around him. Since working in SVU, and encountering a lot of different types of people, Fin wouldn't be surprised if Bobby was some form of gifted, but the man didn't hold still long enough to be tested. Eames seemed to be Bobby's opposite, she was quiet, tiny, and rather composed, she was… still, Fin was surprised because he knew her reputation.

Alexandra Eames was a legend in Vice, she had been fast to rise through the ranks, a legacy cop, she was nicknamed Ice Queen. He had expected Alexandra Eames to be more like… Oliva. He hadn't ever met her, but he'd met her reputation, she was feisty, and she was the youngest First Grade Detective in Major Case.

Olivia and Elliot finally walked into the conference room.

"Sorry we're late, we went to talk to Sara," Olivia said.

"And what did she have to say?" Munch asked.

"She's been good, she hasn't noticed anything unusual, no one from Guerra's law firm has reached out to her, the parents haven't contacted her, and she hasn't noticed anyone following her when she's been escorted to the doctors. Just in case, Briscoe and Green from the five-two are moving her," Elliot stated.

"There's two perps, man and a woman," Fin said. "Eames and Goren's theory of two perps was confirmed, didn't go the route they thought. Lab's testing the DNA of the attackers against everyone in the surrogacy racket."

"The detail on Lillian lost her sometime over the weekend," Munch said.

"And they didn't say anything?" Elliot growled.

"They weren't under the impression she'd been snatched, they'd been combing the hospitals thinking she had gone into labor," Munch stated.

"She was thirty-four weeks," Fin reminded Elliot. Elliot scowled.

"You guys know the players in the surrogacy racket, Bobby and I will take the families, see if we see anything there," Eames decided.

All heads snapped over to the petite blonde.

"Those families didn't do this…" Elliot started.

"Then they'll be easy interviews," she replied levelly.

"We… we should also check out Lillian's routines," Bobby muttered to Eames.

"We'll cover Lillian's life, see if we can find a connection there, you guys know the surrogacy racket well, so you should investigate that angle," Eames decided.

"I don't think…"

"This is my case, my decision," Eames cut off.

Fin was impressed by her demeanor, she was so calm even facing them down, and she had a hell of a poker face. Bobby was curled over Eames' shoulder too, he was sort of daring them to counter Eames' decision.

"Fine," Elliot grumbled. "What else are you deciding?"

"For you to can the attitude, we're all on the same team," Eames snapped. "I'll arrange the interviews with the families in the racket case, with Bobby, you can arrange your interviews with Guerra's people and the players involved."

Fin just smiled internally as he watched Eames thwart Elliot before he could become a raging bull in the china shop. Elliot could be rather aggressive and explosive, and Fin just didn't like Elliot, though he respected the guy. But he was difficult almost to a point where he was uncooperative whenever someone else but Olivia worked with him. Olivia didn't help matters, she was rather attached to Elliot, and they were a strong partnership, so she backed Elliot all the time, and vice-versa. Fin decided he liked Eames, he was seeing how Bobby and she operated. Bobby had finally met someone who could stand up to him and his steamrolling ways.

"I don't think you should be in the field," Elliot finally stated. "Given the nature of the case and your condition."

"Then it's a good thing my boss disagrees, and my partner has made no complaints, now, will you cease attempting to make problems, we are working together so either cooperate or I will talk to your Captain," Eames stated. She stood carefully and left, she popped back in as Bobby held up the danish and snatched it before she left. Bobby went back to reading.

"I like her," Fin decided.

Bobby nodded a little as he turned to look at the photos.

"So we'll call Guerra's people start setting up interviews, Eames said she and Goren will handle the families, and we'll debrief after the interviews," Olivia muttered.

George Huang joined Bobby in examining the photos, Fin was curious how the two might work together.

He looked back at the reports, reading them over, Lillian's child had been three different families, he wasn't even sure who's child it actually was. DNA showed the child was Lillian's, but there was no hits on the paternal DNA, and he wasn't seeing anything here. The Duttons, the Russos, and Pachis' were all promised Lillian's baby, with promises it was theirs. Fin didn't think they would be able to sift through this objectively. Bobby and Eames would be objective.

There was something they were missing, he didn't know if it had to do with the racket or if it was personal with Lillian, or something random they weren't seeing. Objectivity was lost for SVU, he knew that.

Alex answered the call from her sister as she walked out of the bullpen and into the quiet of the crib, which was set up crudely with coffee, snacks, and a table.

"Hey Liz," she greeted as she took a bite of her danish.

"So I called and confirmed the appointment, three days from now at noon," Liz started. Alex nodded as she chewed her danish. "Stan and I got in yesterday, and have you gotten to check out the registry?"

"I haven't," Alex admitted. She had been avoiding the registry, she had made peace with her role a the surrogate, but she was having a hard time with the reality of giving up the life growing within her. She knew she wasn't giving them up, but she was hormonal and the thought sent her into turmoil which would have her teary eyed for hours.

"You should, and I was thinking… when you get on maternity leave, we should do a spa day! It would be nice to spoil you as a thank you," Liz said eagerly.

"That would be lovely," Alex admitted.

"How's my baby?" Liz finally asked.

"Good, they've taken to playing football with my bladder and spleen, and my lungs," she chuckled.

"I'm so excited," Liz giggled.

"Mmm… I have to go Liz, I'll see you at the OB," Alex promised as she hung up. She sighed as she rubbed her neck, then scowled realizing the habit she was picking up from Bobby. Alex took another bite of her danish as she looked at her phone and sighed, she was a surrogate, hormones be damned. At the mention of her OB appointment though Alex perked up; a rather Bobby like thought hit her as she marched back down to the conference room. Pushing through the door she hurried around the table as she grabbed and opened up the list of Lillian's places to go, her eyes scanning over the list of NYPD approved OB's for the witness.

"Eames?" Bobby grumbled.

"I think I need to go to the doctor," she quipped and smiled at his confusion before his eyes widened and a sly smile pulled on his lips. "I've been feeling so faint, and I'm awfully pale…"

"Concerned husband?" he proposed.

"Surrogate…" she countered. "Come on baby daddy, I have an emergency appointment to make!" she pushed Bobby up out of the chair as she herded him through SVU.

"Surrogate?"

"Our vic was a surrogate mother, I'm the right age, height and look, and I'm pregnant," she pointed out.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, you're not going undercover," Stabler barked then.

"Come on…baby daddy, business to be had," Alex repeated as she herded him around Stabler.

"What are you thinking, Eames?" Bobby asked.

"I'm thinking at thirty-four weeks the only consistent point of contact to the outside world before her trial date would be the OB, Sara is safe, but Lillian was exposed, so… let's go fishing, see if anything bites."

"Okay… if you're a surrogate…" Bobby started.

"Right… need a baby mama…" Alex muttered. She turned around as she scanned over the crew, she looked Olivia Benson over carefully. Olivia was Bobby's normal type, aesthetically; curvy, leggy, brunette, also tall. Alex looked them over as she thought over her plan and smiled as she looked up at Bobby who was looking at her like she grew a second head.

"No."

"Benson, you're the baby mama," Alex decided with a sly smile.

"No, Eames!" Bobby protested.

"Trust me…" she ordered. Bobby glared at her but stopped protesting, and then he glared at Benson. "Good, I'll change, we'll go."

Olivia saw the way Goren's entire relaxed demeanor about whatever Eames was planning change the moment Eames had said she'd be the baby mama. From relaxed and comfortable, to uneasy and on edge. Eames had been fast to change, the tiny blonde had effortlessly placed herself between Olivia and Goren. Goren was leaning over Eames, whispering something, she responded softly before disappearing.

"Eames will… will be our surrogate," Goren stammered out. "I'll be Robert Benson, you can be Olivia Benson, um… Eames will be… Alex Goren…"

"You seem to do this a lot," Olivia stated.

Bobby shrugged, he walked around to where Alex reappeared in a massive t-shirt and running pants, she walked by them munching on skittles.

"You need real food Eames!"

"I'm fine, and I need to look as pale as possible," she countered. "We'll go to Lillian's OB, if we replicate Lillian, and go fishing we might be able to see if there's any takers, if the only sure thing about her routine is that she goes to the OB and the safe house, then we should look at those who have access."

"So you want to reconstruct her life?" Olivia deduced.

"Yeah," Eames nodded. "Lillian was exposed at some point, which attracted attention from this pair."

"Eames, it's a risk," Goren started.

"Yes," Eames answered levelly. "It's all a risk, and you have our back."

Goren now eyed Olivia like she was the unknown danger, as they followed Eames.

"We'll watch out for her," Olivia said when Eames was out of earshot. Goren said nothing as they walked to the elevators. Eames was on her phone dialing a number.

"Hello, this is… Alex Goren, I… I need some help… I'm feeling faint, really faint, and my baby… Lillian Albero… she's my neighbor, she gave me your number," Alex said. "Thank you…" she hung up. "We have an emergency appointment, you two should play concerned parents."

"What?"

"Lillian was a surrogate, you two are the parents for the next… however long this appointment is, I should drink water," Eames grumbled.

"What are you thinking?" Olivia asked.

"The only time Lillian's been consistently exposed has been her OB appointments, so, if we can find out the environment and her state of mind there, there's also a chance we can gain insight on Lillian without the cop presence imposing on them, if they think I'm like Lillian they might… open up, offer up information that we aren't thinking to collect," Eames shrugged. "It's a girl thing."

"Right… a girl thing," Gorn nodded slowly before a small smile tugged on his lips.

"Figure out why I'm the surrogate, they'll ask," Alex stated.