Title: One of Their Own

Author: SVUFanatic611

Rating: PG-13

A/N: I added the part about the scene in which they find the body, but then I skipped a two day period to keep the flow of the story.

Disclaimer: SVU and its associated characters are not mine.

---
Alley by the Wallace Residence
December 5, 2003
-6:34pm-

Olivia and John shared a glance before grabbing their coats. Before leaving, Olivia took the photo of Kathleen out of the frame on Elliot's desk and stuck the photo in her jacket.

"Shit! We were supposed to have her before this happened!" yelled Olivia, getting into the car with Munch.

"Look, Olivia, we don't know if it's her or not, so just calm down, alright…please?"

"Easy for you to say, John. You're not the one who has to call Elliot and tell him that his daughter was murdered because his colleagues couldn't get to her in time!" Her voice rose with every word, and the comment hit John like a ton of bricks.

"You're right, Olivia. I don't, but don't think that this is easy on me. You're treating me like I don't care; like this doesn't affect me in any way. Elliot may not be my partner, but he is a respected colleague of mine and I want to bring Kathleen back just as much as you do."

Olivia stared at John, surprised by his words, and then reviewed what she had said. "I…I'm sorry, John. I'm wound a little tight right now, I guess. I…I really am sorry."

"It's okay, but don't think you're the only one who is wound tight."

She nodded. "Let's just go check out this body."

They drove in silence, just like the other times during this case until they arrived at an alley outside a quaint house. It was covered by vice and CSU units.

"Well, what have we got?" Munch asked the M.E. on scene.

"Teen girl, beaten. She was found naked, but she wasn't raped," she answered.

"I'm surprised this place isn't crawling with the press," said Olivia, almost to herself.

"Well, you can thank the patrol officers who found her for that. They kept this under wraps until you arrived," came a voice of a vice officer from behind them.

Olivia and John turned and nodded. "So, where's the body?" she asked.

"Right over here," he said, leading them to a figure that was covered by a blue sheet. "These are the guys that found her," he said, introducing the two officers in uniform.

"Hi," they both replied in unison.

Olivia didn't feel as if she was ready to lift the sheet, so she questioned the officers.

"So, when did you find her?"

"About a couple minutes before I called your captain. We saw the news today and we thought it looked like her, but we weren't sure. We called you guys as soon as we found her."

"Alright, thank you."

Olivia knelt down in front of the body and took a deep breath before removing the sheet. She carefully shed the blue cover and examined the body with a careful eye. At face value, it did look like Kathleen. It looked a lot like Kathleen. Same slender build, same light brown hair, but Olivia took in another factor that no one else thought of. Her eyes.

She carefully lifted an eyelid on the girl's face and looked intently at the color of the eyes. They were a vivid green.

Kathleen had bright blue eyes.

Olivia had remembered Kathleen's entire visit that day she came to the precinct. Incidentally, the day before she was kidnapped. But, the one thing that rang in Olivia's mind was the color of Kathleen's eyes and how much they looked like Elliot's.

She examined the body closer, just to make sure. She took out the photo from her pocket and compared key points. This girl's nose was a little bit bigger and her face a little longer. The two looked remarkably alike, but it wasn't Kathleen.

She lifted herself from her position and Munch was right beside her. "It's not her, John," she said simply, but still sadly. It wasn't Kathleen, but that did mean that she was either lying dead somewhere else or still alive, being terrorized.

"I'll call Cragen," he said in reply, dismissing himself.

Olivia turned her attention to the M.E. "She wasn't raped and she's not our vic. Her case is going to Homicide."

"Already on it," came the voice of Detective Lennie Briscoe.

Olivia turned to face him and his partner and walked toward them. "Good luck with this one, guys," she said, beginning to leave.

"Benson," said Briscoe, stopping her. "Tell Elliot all of us have been thinking of him and our best wishes are with him. I know what it's like to lose a daughter."

She gave a small, weak smile and nodded. "Will do, Briscoe."

He nodded in return and went back to the scene. Olivia found John and they both slipped into the car.

Two Days Later
December 7, 2003
SVU Squadroom
-7:08pm-

"Why are we so sure the boyfriend is innocent?" asked Cragen.

"Because the mom confirmed his alibi," answered Benson.

"Moms lie all the time for their children. What makes this one different?"

"Because we went and checked him out again yesterday. When we talked to her, she wasn't too pleased with her son in general. I don't think she would've lied for him."

"Okay, so what's the deal with this teacher?"

"Well, his dirty little secret incidentally was revealed in the process of questioning her. She was pretty pissed when she found out he was cheating. She wouldn't cover for him. Not after finding out what he truly was."

"Well, what do we do now?"

"You know, Captain, I've been thinking," started Munch.

"This is one of the only times I'm ever going to say this. What's on your mind, John?"

"Wonder if this isn't a kidnapping?"

Olivia scoffed. "Where the hell did that idea come from?"

"Just my incredible detective skills."

"Well, if she wasn't kidnapped, where is she? What happened to her?"

"She might've run away."

"That's crap and you know it," snapped Olivia, getting argumentative.

"Is it, Olivia? I hate to admit it, but we've seen it too many times before."

"Come on, Munch. What was she running away from? You were there when we talked to her friends. She had the perfect life."

"Maybe perfection was too much of a strain. Maybe she didn't want to face Phillip or that teacher. Maybe it's a stupid teenager hormone thing."

"I don't think so, Munch. She didn't run away."

"How can you be so sure, Olivia?"

"Because when I saw her that day…I don't know…ever hear of a hunch? My gut tells me she didn't run away. I mean, she's Elliot's daughter for Christ's sake."

"Exactly! We've been thinking that, because she is Elliot's daughter, she couldn't possibly have run away. How do her genetics have anything to do with it? And plus, we received a note when she first went missing. But, we have yet to receive another one…after the clock was up."

"Why bother with a note if he already killed her?" she retorted through gritted teeth. "But, let's just say she did run away. Everyone we talked to mentioned that Kathleen was sincere and a good person. Even the ex. So, why would she run away and leave a note that would devastate her entire family?"

"To let them know how she went." After receiving confused looks, he elaborated. "Look, she could've left that note, and when she didn't return, Elliot, Kathy, and the rest of her family would've at least known how she 'died'. They wouldn't be left wondering the rest of their lives what happened to her. Maybe she thought of it as a sort of closure."

Then Olivia thought back to the day Kathleen visited the precinct. She played the conversation over and over, dissecting each and every word. Then a sentence that Kathleen had said rang over and over in her head. "It's like sometimes I just want to run away from it all."

But this can't be true, Olivia thought. She couldn't have run away. Maybe I'm just taking this completely out of context.

"Earth to Olivia," said Cragen, waving a hand in front of her face. "What's on your mind?"

"It's something Kathleen said…when she was at the precinct," she replied blankly.

"Care to share with the class?"

"She said…uh…she said, 'It's like sometimes I just want to run away from it all.' Maybe Munch is right."

Cragen stared at Munch and then at Olivia. "I don't know, guys. This entire thing is pretty far-fetched. What other possibilities can we explore?"

It took a minute, but inspiration hit Olivia like a ton of bricks. "Cap!" she said, jumping out of her thoughts and surprising everyone around her.

"Got an idea?"

"Yeah. Look, this entire time we've been thinking this was done by someone who had a personal stake in Kathleen."

"Continue…we're listening."

"Wonder if this has nothing to do with her. Wonder is this is someone with a grudge against Elliot. I'm sure he's pissed off a lot of people through the years. What if they're getting back at him through hurting his daughter? We've seen this too many times before, too," she ended, looking at Munch.

The three took glances at each other. Shit, should've thought of this earlier, they all thought.

"Well, check the case files in which Elliot was lead detective or where he was publicly threatened. If it gets to be too much, call him. Find out the one's that really stuck to him."

Olivia and Munch nodded in unison and got ready to check files when the phone rang.

One hour earlier
Narcotics Unit
-6:06pm-

Fin Tutuola's POV

"Listen, if we're going to do this bust right, y'all need to listen up. Listen up, remember your assignments, what jobs and posts you've been assigned. We don't have room to screw up and I don't have time to babysit ch'all's rookie asses. So…let's go over it again…"

I had been repeating this plan over and over, but somehow, I don't think these little stuck-up weasels knew what the hell they were doin'. I always have to be placed with the difficult people. First Munch, now these punks.

When Cragen offered the temporary position to me, I didn't know what to think. I wasn't too inclined because I would be dealin' with rookies and I wasn't too keen to return to Narcotics. Plus, I wouldn't be assisting in the effort to find Kathleen. But, if I didn't, a rape victim wouldn't sleep any easier and another case wouldn't have been closed. It all rested upon my decision. Wonderful.

I finally finished repeating the plan of how we were going to bust Sanchez and his guys. Julio Sanchez was one of the worst I had ever encountered – whether it was in Narcotics or Special Victims. Not only was he a rapist, he was a dirty drug lord. We had been watching him for days and, after sending in numerous undercover units, we finally knew when his big deal was coming in. We packed up our stuff and headed to our post, where I was in the van, ready to bust his sorry ass.

The next hour was spent putting on wires to the people going in, setting sound, and other numerous, little tasks. When it reached seven, we were finally ready. We saw the second party of the deal go in and I knew we had him cornered. I waited for the guy inside's signal and moved in.

"NYPD, Don't move!" I yelled, but they weren't that stupid to actually listen. I chased Sanchez and a couple of his guys until I saw another that was next to me pull out a gun. I stopped chasing them, leaving it up to the four people that were hopefully posted in the back and pulled out my gun on his ass.

I really don't remember the rest. It was such a big blur. Gunshots were fired, but I wasn't hurt. And I do remember Sanchez and his guys getting away. The punks that were stationed in the back "got confused and couldn't remember where they were supposed to go". But one thing came out of this "bust". Well, two things really, but only one good thing. Well, maybe you could consider it a good thing.

I checked the house, as was procedure. I went into every single room, checking it as if I had a microscope, but the last one that was in my inspection held something precious – like a treasure we all wanted to find.

I checked the main aspects of the room, walking around the bed and checking underneath it. But then I heard a voice. It was muffled and very weak and small. It sounded as if it was coming from the closet. I whisked over to it, ransacking it. The voice seemed to get closer, but I couldn't pin-point it. I threw the clothes into the air, letting them land wherever they did, when finally I found the top of a head.

I removed the rest of the clothes surrounding the body and set my eyes upon a teenage girl, half naked, only in her bra and underwear, tied up at the hands and feet and with tape over her mouth. I picked her up and laid her on the neatly-made bed. She was half awake and her body was covered in fresh bruises and cuts. I removed the tape from her mouth, her wrists, and her ankles and checked her breathing. It was staggered, but it wasn't too bad. She was shivering and her body became covered in goosebumps. I took my jacket and wrapped it around her, trying to keep her warm.

She was muttering something I couldn't make out, but I was relieved to know she could at least talk. She knew and recognized my presence, keeping her half-opened eyes glued on me. I looked intently into her vivid blue eyes that were vaguely familiar and I could tell that they were yearning for help. "I'm going to get you some help, alright? Don't worry." I was about to yell for someone to get a bus, but someone came in.

"Fin…Fin…" he began, out of breath. "Leo…Leo…he…he got shot. You gotta come. "

I shared glances between Mark and the girl. "Listen, I'm going to call for help and check out this guy. I will be back in just one minute. I promise," I said sincerely. When I moved, she grabbed my wrist.

"N…no…yo…you ca…can't l…leave. So…some…someone's…gotta…c…call…my…d…dad," she said, shivering and her teeth chattering.

I looked at her. "Who's your dad?" I asked gently.

"F…Fin…it…it's m…me…K…Ka…Kath…leen – Ell…Elli…Elliot's…d…daugh…"

She didn't have to complete her thought. "Okay, okay. I'll call him and Olivia right now. I'll be right back."

"Pl…please…d…don't…l…le…leave…me."

"Officer Roberts, stay with her while I go check Leo and make a phone call. Keep her warm, keep her talking. And use the radio to call for a bus. Tell them we've got a gunshot victim and a possible rape victim."

"Yes, sir," he answered, his eyes wide and hands shaking. He still wasn't used to the shock of finding naked or half-naked victims.

I left the room to phone Cragen and everyone else. I looked over to the gunshot victim and he was already being taken care of and it seemed under control. I took my cell phone out from my pocket and Olivia answered after two rings.

"Benson."

"Olivia, it's Fin…Listen, we found her."

"Who's 'her'?"

"Kathleen. We found Kathleen."

"Are you sure it's her?" she replied in shock.

"She asked for Elliot. I would say it's her."

"Look, not to doubt you or anything, but we've come across at least two other people who were called in as Kathleen. Let me just ask. What's the color of her eyes?"

I didn't know exactly why she was asking it. Maybe it was a holdback question or something. "Blue. They're a bright blue."

I heard her go into shock. "Where are you guys? Is she alive?"

"Yeah, she's alive and breathing. Just get down here and can you call Elliot? I got a gunshot victim I've got to watch over." I gave her the address, she told me she'd be over in as soon as possible, and I hung up.

"Fin, get over here. I'm losing his pulse," said Ken, somewhat of a seasoned cop, as he hung over Leo's body.

Oh God. I had hoped that the bus would arrive soon.

---
SVU Squadroom

"Come on, Olivia. Take this pile and start looking through it," said Munch, pushing a mountain-high pile of folders toward her.

Olivia remained silent and in shock.

"Olivia, if this is going to get done, you've got to focus. Come on, I'll take this pile. You take that one," said Munch, persuading her out of her trance.

"No…don't bother," she managed to get out.

"Why? What are talking about, Olivia? What was that phone call about?"

"They found her," she replied, finally making eye contact with Munch.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Fin. Fin found her. They found Kathleen."

Munch stared at her in disbelief. "Are they sure it's her?"

"Positive. She asked for Elliot and her eyes…they were bright blue."

"Let's get down there."

"Tell the captain and I'll call Elliot on the way."

---
a/n – This was getting pretty long, so it's continued over to the next chapter…enjoy! –Jessica