title: Next of Kin
author: SVUFanatic611
rating: PG
a/n: HR Puffnstuff, your right, I didnt make that sentence clear. What I meant was that Corrine's mother and father were only children, meaning they had no brothers or sisters, meaning Corrine has no aunts or uncles who could take her in.
disclaimer: they ain't mine
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Olivia opened the door to her apartment and walked in. Closing the door behind her, she noticed the message light on her answering machine blinking.
"Great…now what?" She muttered to herself groggily. She had had a terrible week: two rape/homicides and a teenage rape victim on the verge of suicide. Olivia had to spend four hours outside the girl's door, dissuading her. Thank God the Captain gave her the next two days off.
She pressed the button and walked to her room to change, half listening to the recordings.
"Hello, you have reached Olivia Benson. I'm not here right now. You know what to do after the beep. Thanks."
"Um…Detective Benson, you most likely don't remember me, but I'm Walter Johnson's daughter, Corrine and a couple days ago, my father was murdered and my lawyer and I are going over the will now and it seems he wanted you to be my next guardian. Look, I know this is big…huge, really, but I may have a way to work this out and if you could give me a call, that would be great. My number is 909-923-4027. Umm…thanks."
Olivia, not really paying attention to the message, first had no reaction to it. But, after a moment of it sinking in, Olivia finally absorbed it all.
"WHAT?! Waaaaait a minute!" Olivia yelled as she jumped over her bed to back to the living room. It was by the time she got there, that the machine automatically shut itself off.
Olivia sat there in disbelief. "Walter Johnson, Walter Johnson…Where have I heard that name before? Corrine…Corrine…God, only if I could remember these people!" she said, talking to herself. "Well, I could call her." she contemplated. "Wait, 909; that's a California zip code. It's 2 am here; God only knows what it is over there. I guess I'll have to wait until morning."
Olivia made her way to her room, but not before she took two shots of tequila. She was in complete shock. She still didn't know who Walter or Corrine Johnson was.
She laid in her bed, trying to get to sleep, but knowing she wouldn't until she figured out who these people were. She racked her mind all night. Then, by some miracle, she remembered. Memories came flowing back.
"Walter Johnson…I remember now!" she told herself as she sprang from her position in the bed. "He was that handsome man I dated while in the Academy. God, that sex was incredible! Yeah, it's all coming back. He's murdered?"
Olivia still hadn't decided what she wanted to do. Questions filled her mind. Should she take this girl in? Would they get along? Would this girl want to live with her? Would she understand that she couldn't be home a lot because of her long hours? And if she complied with all this, how long would it be for? Was she ready to care for another human being, let alone a kid?
She finally drifted off to sleep, none of her questions answered.
---
Corrine woke to the sound of her phone ringing. She reached her hand out to the receiver.
"'ello…?" she asked, sounding as tired as she felt.
"Is this Corrine? This is Olivia."
"Detective Benson…"
"No, really call me Olivia. Your dad and I were good friends. I hate friends calling me Detective."
"Okay…Olivia. Look, I'm really sorry I sprung that on you last night, especially over the phone, but I didn't know how else to do it.:"
"It's okay, really. But, I really don't know how we are going to work this out."
"Well, I really want to do this in person. Do you mind if I come to New York for a couple of days, to work this out? I really need to get out of here for awhile."
"Not at all. When do you want to come?"
"As soon as possible."
And as Corrine got Olivia's home address, Olivia thought, "This girl seems nice. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad for her to come live with me. But would she want to live with me? I hope we can really clear some of this stuff up."