Author's Note: This story is based around an original character, or, more honestly, a Mary Sue :o) It is an introductory story to the character so that readers will know a bit more about her and will hopefully be more comfortable with her symbiosis into the SVU Team. However, the background on a case given in this fanfic will be integral to a future fic or, possibly, fics.
Chapter One: The Walk
Monday, April 30th
The streets of New York City overflowed with life, with people, hurrying and scurrying to their destinations. People that had given in to the daily grind, the crunch of numbers, the ticking clock of Wall Street. Every day and every life like so many others, predictable down to the supposedly spontaneous momentous events. Lives on the streets of the city were blurred together, seeming worthless under the facade of self importance. Lives that weren't prepared to be affected by any single unexpected moment in their days, for the better or worse.
Ellandra Seymour took a sip of her rapidly cooling coffee, her mind automatically cutting off the sounds of construction behind her, and looked up at the pedestrian signal. A man brushed against and past her, almost splashing the beverage in her face, and walked out in front, impatient for the signal to change. She shook her head and sighed.
As the light changed and the crowd bustled forward, Elle walked with them, mostly shielded against the frigid chill by her leather jacket, her face cold to the touch and her knee sore from the low temperature.
The weather was odd for a New York April. Sure it could be cold, but not to this extreme. Elle and her mother had both caught colds and Benny, their neighbor's kid, had just recovered from a brief case of pneumonia.
The month, though, had been a bad one for reasons differing from the chilly temperatures and she was looking forward to more than just the warmer weather forecasted for May.
My old job would be nice.
As she reached the next sidewalk she shivered and thought grimly about her new post as Psychological Adviser to the Special Victims Unit of the NYPD.
First and foremost, she didn't want the job. Period. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it, and Ellandra had not minced words on the subject. She had made it perfectly clear to the commissioner and his committee how much she did not want the position. They had, in return, made it perfectly clear that that was too bad. She was getting the job.
Her partner, JP, had helped clear her mind of any real effort of resistance. "After all", he said, "the state is paying your way through the advanced studies and college courses. What happens if they just stop? You know the conditions."
Therefore she went where she was told. Conditions, indeed.
Like a little bitch, she thought shaking her head. Do what you're told, here's your cookie, now go play.
She looked at her watch and saw that it was 9:23. She'd get there in just a couple of minutes.
She stopped at a vender to buy orange juice, a bagel and Aspirin, crushing her empty coffee cup and tossing it into the can on the vender's cart.
Elle knew she'd be helpful at the SVU. Sure. She figured they'd have plenty there to keep her occupied. Likewise, she knew that she'd give her all to this new job just like she did with Homicide and Narcotics before that. Maybe someday she'd even become comfortable in the role given to her. Maybe.
However, she was more than highly aware of how much more she'd be able to do back at her post at Homicide. Being knocked down from a Homicide detective at 25 years old to Psychological Advisor on sex crimes was not only bad for her career, but also horrible on her ego. It was akin to being ripped from the deep end with the adults, shoved into the kiddy pool, and given a bird's eye view of where she had just come from.
Not for the first time, she wondered how her future colleagues were going to react to her. Happy to have another partner on board? Ready to accept and move on? Or agitated? Apprehensive at the intrusion?
With her experiences she'd bet the latter was more likely, though she'd never worked sex crimes before. She knew working with victims of sexual criminal acts had a harsh mental effect as well as being physically exhausting. So maybe a greenhorn to the SVU would be appreciated, especially one that had worked as a cop for four years and had schooling in the psych department.
About their reactions to her, she had no real idea, just foggy guesses. She had been to the SVU headquarters twice to drop off her personal effects and job related things, but had been met by the captain only the first time and nobody the second.
Reading what was available on each of the four detectives had given her a small glimpse at the personalities that she could expect and she knew their histories better than her own. One vice, two homicide, and one Narco. She had to eventually find her niche somewhere, even if it was between the cracks.
As she approached the station house, she stopped for a moment, just gazing at it, anxiously. She popped two Aspirin and washed them down with her juice, knowing herself well enough to realize the first few days plus tension equaled major headaches and heartburn.
Elle took a deep breath of the brisk April air and headed into the Special Victims Unit.