Title: One of Their Own
Author: SVUFanatic611
Rating: PG
A/n: Chapter 2 up! Enjoy! From now on, I'm going to be switching on and off from POVs. I might use first or third person, but I will make sure to let you guys know which one. If you think it becomes a little too confusing, just drop me a line in a review or IM. My email is temporarily down.
Disclaimer: SVU and its associated characters are not mine.
---
Stabler Residence
Same Day (Dec. 4, 2003)
-9:13pm-
Olivia Benson's POV
I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it was happening to Elliot and his family.
Cragen didn't tell us which daughter it was by name, but we all knew it was Kathleen. She was the only sixteen year old Stabler girl. I couldn't believe it was her. I mean, I had just seen her a day earlier and she looked fine. But then again, you can't predict something like that.
Munch, Fin, and I drove to Elliot's house in silence. I think we all wanted to say something, but we just didn't know what. How do you respond to something like this? I mean, we had all had our share of kidnapped children cases, but this one…this one was a fellow officer's kid. This one was Elliot's kid. This one was one of our own.
We arrived at their house in Queens. Munch, Fin, and I walked to the front door, but before ringing the doorbell, I mentioned something to them.
"Guys, listen, when we get inside, let me talk to Elliot, okay?"
They both nodded their heads in agreement. I knew, and they knew, that I was equipped with dealing with him. I had been his partner for almost seven years and I knew exactly what to say.
We rang the doorbell and Kathy answered. She looked so tired and exhausted. I couldn't blame her. Her daughter's life was in the hands of a psycho.
"Hey, guys. Come on in," she answered a little absent-mindedly. "Elliot! They're here."
And that's exactly when I saw it. I had never seen Elliot torn down or intimidated. But, when I walked into his house and saw his face as he turned the corner, I saw his life destroyed. And the only thing I knew that would make him feel better, was to have his daughter in his arms. And I knew that that was my job.
"Hey, Olivia, Munch, Fin," he answered as he acknowledged each of us. We all muttered what were supposed to be 'hellos' and then Munch's cell phone rang.
Elliot spoke up to avoid uncomfortable silence. "How about we go into the kitchen so we can talk?" Fin and I nodded and followed, leaving Munch to his phone call.
Kathy, Elliot, Fin, and I sat down at the dining room table, and I could tell it had been the first time in hours that they had sat. I wanted to begin my questioning, but Munch came in, interrupting.
"That was Cragen. He wants me and Fin down at the station," he said, poking his head in.
Fin got up from his seat and followed Munch out of the house.
"Listen, guys, I know this has got to be hard. I cannot even begin to understand the pain each of you are going through, but I need to ask you questions," I said, taking a deep breath. I was off to a good start. When we arrived, I didn't even know how to start a conversation.
Kathy nodded and Elliot remained silent to show no disagreements were going to be offered.
"Okay, now, when was the last time you saw or heard from Kathleen?"
Elliot took command of the question. "I dropped her off at school at 7am. She had arranged to go the library with a friend…Greg. Greg was his name. She called me around 5pm and that's when I told her that she need to get home," he answered shakily. I quickly jotted down some notes and continued.
"Okay, what's Greg's last name?"
Kathy interjected when Elliot didn't speak up. "Dean, Greg Dean. He's Kathleen's friend. He's in the same class and goes to Jean's with her."
"Who's Jean?" I asked, writing down the boy's last name.
"No, it's Jean's Performing Arts Academy. He and Kathleen take a couple classes there afterschool on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. They take voice, ballet, and piano."
"Okay. Now, do you have Greg's address?"
Kathy kept the answers coming as Elliot remained silent, staring into space. I could tell that scenarios of what was happening to Kathleen were running through his head. When I had gotten the news, my thoughts were exactly the same.
"No, I don't. I've only met him a couple times, but he seems like a nice boy. But, he's kind of secretive. I always felt like he was hiding something when I met him. But, he was always respectful around Kathleen," she said. Tears overwhelmed her as she mentioned her daughter's name, and tears threatened to fall from my own eyes, but I quickly found my composure.
I patiently waited as she found hers. This had to be hard. I understood that. She wiped her tears and apologized. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. It's just…"
"Don't worry about it. I understand," I said, as she sniffed away her tears. She looked at me, waiting for me to continue. "Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Kathleen?"
Elliot shook his head. "No, as far I as know, she gets along with everyone."
I nodded, taking it as an answer I didn't like, but I could tell that Kathy was holding something back. "Kathy, do you know of anyone who'd want to hurt her?" I asked in a gentle tone.
She looked up at me with red, irritated eyes. "Her ex-boyfriend, Phillip O' Brian."
I jotted down the name and I saw Elliot's eyes turn sharp at the word 'boyfriend'. He obviously had no clue. I ignored it and continued.
"Why would he want to hurt her, Kathy?"
"She…she broke up with him yesterday. She talked to me about him and said that he was turning out to be a real jerk and controlling. I knew he'd get physical if she didn't break it off. Kathleen realized it, too and told me that she was going to tell him that it was over. When she came home yesterday, she said that he didn't take it too well," Kathy said in about two breaths. "She said that he punched a locker when they were done talking."
"Do you know any more about Phillip?"
"He's a senior. I don't know his address or anything, if that's what your asking."
I nodded. "Elliot, Cragen mentioned a note, is that true?"
He came out of his trance. "Yeah, here it is," he said, getting it out of his back pocket. I guessed that he put it there so it wasn't left floating around for anyone else's wondering eyes.
I took the note with the picture attached into my hand and turned cold as a stared at it. No wonder why Elliot looked the way he did. I made a promise to myself that, no matter what it took, I would make sure this case got solved.
I closed my notebook after I finished questioning. "Okay, thank you so much. Would you mind if I took a look inside Kathleen's room?" I knew it was a stretch asking. If I had a daughter, I would feel uncomfortable with people messing with her stuff, but they knew why I had to ask.
Before either of them had a chance to answer, Liz came running in, hopping onto my partner's lap.
"Daddy, when is Kathleen going to come home? She promised that she'd help me with my math homework," she said, leaning into Elliot's grasp. I could tell that both Kathy and Elliot were trying to hold back their emotions.
"Sweetie, we're going to talk about that in the morning. But, it is way past your bedtime. Now, give me and your mother a kiss goodnight and then take Olivia up the stairs and show her where Kat's room is, okay? Then, hop in bed," Elliot said.
I felt like he was making a mistake waiting until morning to tell the twins what was going on, that he was just postponing the inevitable. But what did I know? I didn't have kids. I couldn't possibly understand what thoughts were going through their minds.
After the mention of my name, Liz turned around and acknowledged me. "Oh, hi Olivia!" she cheerily.
I waved to try to show her that her family's world wasn't going to come crashing down. "Hi, Liz." She kissed Elliot and Kathy and then she approached me and took my hand in hers. "Come on, let me show you where Kat's room is." I let her lead me up the stairs and to outside Kathleen's door. "Well, here it is. You can go in, just make sure not to break anything. Last time, I broke her hair straightener, and she got mad. And you really don't want Kathleen to be mad."
I laughed a little. "Alright, I promise I won't break anything."
"Goodnight, Olivia."
"Goodnight, Liz."
I watched Liz make her way to the door of her room as I placed my hand on the doorknob. Before I entered, Liz's voice stopped me. "Olivia, is Kathleen okay?"
Oh God. What was I going to say? "Actually, Liz, your mom and dad are going to talk to you about that, okay? I'm really not the right person to ask." I knew I was being just a little too formal with the eleven year old, but I didn't know how else to respond. She looked a little disappointed that I didn't answer her question directly, but when she replied, "Okay," I knew she understood.
I entered Kathleen's room and it was like walking into a princess's room. It was purple and pink and filled with posters and photographs. I started to look at some of the pictures in frames when I came across a scrapbook on her desk. I flipped through the pages and found a couple of pictures of the entire Stabler family. I found some of just the kids, her and Elliot, and I found one of her ballet dancing and then another one of her on stage singing. I tried to hold back my emotions.
Then I came across photos of her and her friends. 'Me and Greg,' read one of the captions at the bottom of a photo and another one read, 'Love Birds'. I could tell that it was that kid, Phillip. He even looked like a scum-bag in the picture.
I put the scrapbook back on the desk, realizing I probably wasn't going to get anywhere with it. I began to search through her desk drawers when I found an address book. 'Bingo,' I said aloud to myself. I flipped through it and found addresses and phone numbers for Greg and Philip.
After looking around some more and realizing that there was nothing new, I made sure that everything was where I found it, walked out of the room, and closed the door behind me. As I made my way down the stairs, I could hear crying. I knew it was a woman, but I couldn't make out who. I heard Kathy's voice trying to be assuring, so I knew it wasn't her. Maureen came to mind.
I walked out, trying not to make a big entrance. I found Kathy with Maureen in her arms who was letting every emotion run free. Elliot approached me.
"Did you find anything, 'Liv?"
"Yeah, I found her address book. You don't mind if I bring it down to the precinct, do you?"
"No, of course not." Elliot looked over his shoulder at his crying family. "How about I walk you out?"
I nodded, although I felt that he should've stayed in his house. We walked out the door and I started to walk to the car when I realized that Munch and Fin had taken it when they went back to the station house. Elliot noticed this as well.
"I'll give you a ride."
"Don't worry about it, Elliot. I'll get a cab," I said. I didn't want him leaving his family.
"No, I'll drive you. I knew you'd forget that Munch and Fin took the car. I already told Kathy. She says that I need time to think right now, anyway."
"No, you need time with your family. Don't worry about me, Elliot."
"I'm worrying about it, Olivia. So, get in the car," he said with finality. We walked to the car and slipped in. He began to drive and we remained silent until we reached the precinct.
He stopped right outside the building's door.
"Goodnight, 'Liv. Thanks for coming down," he said, his voice dripping with tiredness and worry.
"It's no problem, Elliot. Goodnight," I said as I got out of the car. I turned around before I closed the door. "Listen, Elliot, I know that it's against policy, but I'll keep you updated in every aspect of the case as much as I can. I promise that we're going to catch this guy. I promise."
He shook his head imperceptibly. "Thanks, Olivia."
I closed the door and walked up the building's steps. I knew that I had two people to interview tonight. I knew it was late, but I didn't care. Elliot's family obviously wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, why should other people have that luxury? We had a ticking clock and I didn't care how many people I had to wake up to beat it.
I also knew that I wasn't going to get any sleep, either.
---
a/n – What do you think so far? It's going to get better, but just give it time. My next chapter I'm thinking about putting into Munch's POV. Tell me how I'm doing and leave me a review. Please? adios, Jessica.