Disclaimer: I don't own them, which sucks, because I would so resolve the sexual tension between El and Liv and save all us fans from an early death caused by too much stress.

A/N: sorry that this chapter is pretty dialogue heavy but I think the message of the story gets across pretty well. Please Review!

The Front of My Heart

Chapter 4

The body is pretty gruesome and I catch Olivia turning pale at the sight of all the blood. She handles it better than I would have at her stage in the game. I lost my lunch, breakfast and nerve after my first case. Our Medical Examiner starts to cover the body back up with the blue tarp but I notice that my partner stops her, Olivia crouches next to the girl and squeezes her eyes closed.

I wonder what she's thinking about, the victim is about the same height as Olivia with long dark hair and tan skin. It's hard to ignore the jagged lines that were diagonally cut into her chest, starting at her nipples and traveling down to scratch her hip bones. Deep gashes adorn her wrists and the back of her ankles and a slash tears across her throat. There are two deep scratches across her cheekbones and a white sarong is tied haphazardly around her waist, blood soaking through most of it.

"Victim's name is Estelle Milling. Time of death is about eight hours ago, at around two or two-thirty." The ME states, turning to give directions to several beat cops about being careful when loading the body into the morgue van. "Cause of Death was loss of blood from the multiple slashes on her body and there's definite trauma to the genitals. I'll let you know when I start her autopsy."

I thank her and force a smile, my eyes wandering over to where Olivia is still standing her gaze reaching into every nook and cranny in the alley way. I take a few steps towards her and call to her,

"Liv," she turns slightly, so that I am faced with her profile. "Our eyewitness is in Mercy Hospital, she fainted right after calling 911!"

She nods softly, "Munch called, she's awake and ready for questioning."

"We taking it?"

She nods again.

I grab my keys from my pocket and lead her back to my old brown sedan. I hold the door open while she silently slides her legs into the car before walking around the car to sit in the driver seat. I start the ignition but she puts her hand on mine before I can put the car into drive.

Right now I don't care if she bites my head off for asking, something is bothering her and I'm going to find out what. She is studying the denim in her pants, specifically the way the blue and white threads grab each other and form into the comfortable but somewhat tight fabric.

"What's wrong Olivia?"

She shrugs and shakes her head, her eyes never leaving her right thigh.

"Nothing!"

"Bull,"

She looks at me sharply before dropping her eyes again. Sighing I reach out my hand and tilt her chin up until she is staring me in the face. I find myself almost drowning in her dark orbs and I notice my breathing shallow and feel my lungs beg for more air.

She closes her eyes for a moment and lets her tongue wet her lips before her teeth sink into her full lower lip.

"I could have known her," Olivia pauses and shrugs again, "Hell, that girl couldn't have been someone I worked with or she could've been me. Thinking back, everyone in that line of work has faced the wrath of an angry customer, someone who gets outraged when your song ends and you put your shirt back on." I notice her stutter through several words but it doesn't sound like she's going to cry. "I was lucky I could protect myself, some girls couldn't. Bouncers don't always help; sometimes they are the ones who try to take advantage of performers. I want to nail this bastard's ass to the wall!"

OOO

"We're looking for an Ivy Jones," Olivia tells the nurse at the front desk.

The lady in scrubs purses her overly painted lips and flutters her fake eyelashes while her bright-red, claw-like nails clack dangerously fast over the keyboard.

"Room 214," she simpers, checking my partner out again before smiling sickeningly.

"Thank you," I mouth before rushing after Olivia down the hall.

Ivy is small, five foot two maybe and I would bet only 90 pounds. She has thick red curls and large green eyes that I'm sure I would find sexy as hell if I wasn't preoccupied with my female partner at the moment.

"Hey Ivy," she says, pulling up a small chair to sit next to the hospital bed. "I'm Detective Benson and this is my partner Detective Stabler, we'd like to ask you a couple questions!"

I notice that the red head checks me out from head to toe while Liv is talking and I move to stand beside my partner.

"Sure," the girl drawls out, her voice laden with a heavy Brooklyn accent. "Estelle was a new girl. Good with customers, a little too good if you get my drift. She was apparently an amateur and Jorge likes amateurs."

The girl is hard for me to follow but I think Liv understands her, at any rate she gets extra information than I would have been able to think of.

"Who's Jorge?"

Ivy smirks lustfully. "He's the owner of the Platinum night club, he finds and hires the dancers."

Olivia nods in agreement, "How does he 'find' his dancers?" she asks Ivy, blushing at the answer.

"They're either screwing him, or fucking around with someone who works for him."

"What about you?" I ask, finally getting into the conversation myself, Olivia is pretty flustered, she obviously didn't have to sleep with anyone to get her job.

"I was dicking around with one of the bouncers, Roy, but we broke up so I'm gonna have to heat up my act or get a new job; you know what I'm saying?"

Olivia nods while I shake my head. Both girls ignore me, kind of like when Maureen and Kathleen are conversing about boys and I interrupt them to ask how their day went.

"Did you see anyone taking a special interest in Ms. Milling?" I ask, once again worming my way into the interview.

Ivy shakes her head and heaves an enormously fake yawn. "Nope, sorry sugar, but I'm a little bit pooped out!"

"Okay," I reply, "we can talk later!" Olivia stands and she and I start to make our exit from the vixen in room 214, and Olivia breaks into hysterical laughter as soon as the door closes on our key witness. "What?" I growl at her.

"I believe that she asked who said anything about talking!" my young partner chokes out around her giggles.

Hospital clerks are starting to stare at us because her body is still shaken by chuckles. I laugh along with her for a moment before grabbing her shoulders in shock. Her eyes meet mine and she rolls her them quickly.

"What?"

"Did she say Platinum night club?"

"Yeah, so?"

"We had a case two months ago with a dead Platinum girl."

"Carved too?"

"Like a turkey!"

"Then what are going to do El?"

"Plant a decoy!"

tbc…