Olivia's Apartment
Later That Night
Olivia unlocked the door to her apartment, and closed it silently. She sighed as she hung her coat and purse up in the closet. She walked over to the couch and lay down, throwing her arm over her eyes. She was tired.
"Hey babe, where ya been?" Her boyfriend Clay walked in from the kitchen with no shirt on and a beer in his hand.
"Elliot and I were at the hospital on a case," Olivia told him tiredly.
Clay snorted. "Yeah right…out on a case having sex in the back of the car. You think I'm stupid…but I'm not…I know what's going on," Clay said as he walked over to the couch and stood over Olivia.
Olivia sat up and glared at Clay. "How many times do I have to tell you that Elliot is just a friend, nothing more. I've never cheated on you Clay. God…calm down," she said as she stood up and walked past him towards the bedroom.
Clay grabbed her arm and twisted it around. "Look at me," he shouted at her, "Look at me you bitch!"
Olivia winced in pain and looked up at him, scared. "Please Clay don't hurt me," she pleaded.
Clay pulled her close to him. "Don't you ever tell me what to do…" he spat at her before throwing her down on the ground. He walked back into the kitchen and sat at the table nursing another bottle of beer.
Olivia picked herself off the floor and ran into the bedroom. She locked herself in the bathroom and turned on the shower. She shed her clothes and looked at her body in the mirror. She was covered in bruises. Big, ugly, brown, green, purple, and blue splotches covered her arms, neck, thighs, and abdomen. She had big red welts, and her shoulder was swollen. She drew her arms around her stomach, and winced in pain. Last night he had thrown her against the wall during and argument, and then he threw her against the coffee table. She thought she had broken some ribs, but she didn't want to go the hospital.
She got into the scalding shower, and washed away her tears. She picked up her honey vanilla showergel and gently washed her body off, careful not to hurt herself. Once she was done, she put on her oldest, most comfortable sweats, and got into bed, preparing herself for a sleepless night.
Elliot's ApartmentSame time
Elliot lie in bed, unable to sleep. He had been thinking about Olivia, and the bruises that he had seen earlier in the day. They couldn't have been accidental, and they most definitely couldn't have been 'nothing' as she had claimed. Someone had hurt her. But who? She had looked tired for the past few weeks, almost miserable. She had been cranky, and certainly not happy. She had offered to work extra shifts, and she stayed late almost every night. Elliot stayed with her when his kids weren't home, and it seemed like she was avoiding going home. But every time he asked her about it, she shrugged it off, and refused to talk about it. A thought popped into Elliot's head and he sat up in bed. "Could it be Clay?" Elliot wondered. No, he decided. Even if he didn't like the man, Olivia wouldn't put up with someone who hurt her. He lay back down in bed and sighed. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't figure out how to. Little did he know that he was very wrong.
Next Morning
SVU Precinct 1-6
Elliot looked at his watch. It was already 9 o'clock. Olivia should have been at the precinct a hour and a half ago. She had been late the past few days, but she always made it in by 7:30. Elliot called her cell phone again, but it just rang and rang. Elliot frowned. He tried calling her home number, but it had been disconnected. Elliot was worried now. He stood up and walked into the captain's office.
"Hey Cap," he said.
Cragen looked up and smiled at Elliot.
"Can I talk to you in private for a second?" Elliot asked.
Cragen nodded. Elliot closed the door and sat down in front of Cragen's desk. "What's going on?" Cragen asked.
Elliot frowned. "Well I'm worried about Liv," he said.
"Why?" Cragen asked.
"Well she's been miserable for the past few weeks. She's come in late, looking tired, like she's had no sleep. She's always cranky, and always stays after, like she's avoiding going home. Yesterday, when we were at the hospital, Liv hugged the little girl. The next of her turtleneck got pushed down, and Liv had huge ugly bruises all over her neck. I tried to ask her about them, but she refused to talk about it, pleaded with me to forget I ever saw it. And now she hasn't shown up yet – she's an hour and a half late. I tried calling herself phone, but it just rang. So I called her home number. It's been disconnected," Elliot said, very concerned.
Cragen looked at Elliot for a second before speaking. "You think Clay's been hurting her?" He asked.
Elliot nodded. "I think it's a very strong possibility. She never talks about him, and when I ask, she still doesn't say a word. She's always avoiding going home…" Elliot said, realizing that it seemed more than just a strong hunch.
Cragen nodded. "Well…if he's abusing her…then it's our case. You go over there…make sure she's not just sleeping late or something. You've got a key, right?" He said as he picked up the phone.
"Yeah. I can get in…who are you calling?" Elliot asked, looking at the phone.
"I'm gonna call Casey…see what she thinks about this…I want to make sure this bastard doesn't get away with anything. Call me when you get there, okay?" Cragen said as Elliot walked out of his office.
"Sure thing…I'm gonna go now," Elliot said as he walked out of the precinct.
Olivia's Apartment
15 minutes later
Olivia was lying in bed, unable to move from the intense pain that was vibrating through her body. She could hear Clay rummaging around in the kitchen, but she didn't want to see him. She closed her eyes and try to fall asleep, but it wasn't working. Her eyes popped open when the doorbell rang. She heard Clay open the door.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She heard Clay growl.
When she heard the other person's voice, her heart sank. "Where's Olivia?" She heard Elliot ask.
"That's none of your business," Clay told Elliot as he tried to push Elliot into the hallway.
Elliot pushed back. "I'm not leaving until I see her," Elliot shouted at Clay.
"Sorry buddy, get out of here," Clay said as he slammed the door in Elliot's face and locked the door chain and the deadbolt.
A tear ran down Olivia's cheek. She knew that Elliot had found out about Clay abusing her. She knew that Clay would be angry with her for Elliot coming over, and that she would be his punching bag.
SVU Precinct 1-6
Elliot walked back into the precinct with a grim look on his face. He sat down in his chair, leaned forward and lay his head in his hands.
Casey Novak walked out of Cragen's office, with Cragen right behind her. "Did you talk to her?" Casey asked as she perched on the edge of Elliot's desk.
Elliot raised his head from his hands, and shook his head.
Cragen sighed. "Did you get into the apartment?" He questioned Elliot.
"No. Clay opened the door. He said it was none of my business where Liv was. He pushed my out of the door, and then locked it. I tried to use my key to get back in, but they must have changed the locks," he said disappointedly.
"Well we can't arrest him unless we have proof that he was the one that hurt her," Casey said sadly.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Elliot asked.
Casey sighed. "We could try for a search warrant…it's a stretch, but if we can get it, you might find proof in the apartment that there has been foul play," Casey said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well it's the best we can do," Cragen said. "How soon can we get it?"
Casey looked at her watch. "It's 1 now…which means I can have it filled by 5, when the office closes. But you won't be able to do anything about it until tomorrow," she said. "Sorry guys…I'll do the best I can to put a rush on it," she told them as she picked up her briefcase and left the precinct.
Elliot put his head back in his hands, and tried to keep his composure. Cragen put his hand on Elliot's shoulder, trying to console him. "She'll be okay Elliot…we'll get there as soon as Casey gives us the word," Cragen told him.
"Why didn't I notice it before?" Elliot asked. "I should have known something was going on," he said, blaming himself.
"How could you?" Cragen asked. "She didn't want anyone to know…" he said.
Elliot sighed. "Maybe…" he said as his cell phone rang.
He opened his cell phone and brought it to his ear. "Stabler," he said tiredly.
"Hello Detective Stabler, I'm Nurse Riggs from Bellevue. One of our patients here, Isabella Kilpatrick, has asked that you and Detective Benson come down here. She would like to talk to you, and her file says that you are investigating her case," the nurse said.
Elliot nodded to himself. "Alright, I'll be right there. Tell her I'll be there in about 30 minutes. Is there anything she needs?" He asked nicely.
"She says that she wants her dolly…she didn't have one with her when she was brought here. Maybe it was taken as evidence, but it'd be great if you could find it," the nurse told him.
"I'll see what I can do," Elliot said as he hung up.
"Was that about Olivia?" Cragen asked, watching Elliot.
Elliot shook his head. "The victim, the four year old, Ella. She wants us to come talk to her. I'm gonna go and visit her in the hospital. Do you know if a doll was taken as evidence in her case?" Elliot asked.
"I can find out," Cragen said as he went into his office and made a phone call. Two minutes later, Cragen walked back out to Elliot. "Evidence said they took one, but they don't need it anymore. You can go pick it up from them if you'd like," Cragen said.
Elliot nodded. "Okay, I'll do that. I'm going go to the hospital after I pick it up. I'll probably head home after that. Call it a night," Elliot said tiredly.
Cragen nodded. "Okay. I'll call you if I hear anything, okay?"
Elliot smiled weakly. "Thank Cap…" he said as he walked out of the door. He took the elevator down to evidence, picked up the doll, and went to the hospital.
Same Time
Olivia's Apartment
Olivia lay in bead, curled up into a ball. She heard Clay's footsteps coming toward the bedroom door, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the bedroom door being flung open and hit the wall. Large, loud footsteps walked towards the bed. Olivia felt Clay standing over her, watching her.
Clay leaned down and slapped her hard against the face. "Don't play dead with me," he said gruffly.
Olivia opened her eyes and raised her hand to her cheek in pain. "What do you want?" She asked, not looking at Clay.
Clay leaned over her and whispered something in her ear.
Olivia's eyes grew wide in fear, and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Please…please, don't hurt me!" She begged Clay.
Clay laughed evilly, and proceeded to pin Olivia against the bed. "NO!" She shouted as he began to rape her.
Meanwhile
At The Hospital
Elliot had been talking to Ella, who had been very happy to see him and her dolly, who she now called Livvy. They had been talking about random things, and suddenly Elliot grabbed his chest in pain. His face contorted in pain.
"Are you okay?" Ella asked, frightened.
Elliot breathed deeply, and shook his head as the pain lessened. "Yeah, I'm fine," he told her.
"You didn't look fine," Ella said, looking suspiciously at him…well as suspiciously as a four year old could look.
Elliot nodded. "I'm just tired," he told her. "I think I'm going to go home now," he told her as he stood up.
"Okay," Ella said. "But if you talk to 'Tective 'Livia, tell her I miss her," Ella said.
Elliot nodded and gave Ella a hug. "I sure will," he said as he walked out of the door.
