My first day at my new job. Special Victim's Unit would certainly be a change, but since Elliot Stabler quit, there was an opening, and I jumped at the chance. I had only met Olivia Benson once or twice before, when we'd happen to be working the same case, and now she was going to be my new partner. I didn't know how she was going to react to my being there, since I was essentially taking the place of her last partner and friend, but since Elliot left on good terms, and of his own accord, I hoped she would be open to me.
I couldn't believe how anxious I was as I walked down the hallway toward the squad room. I'm usually never nervous…keeping my cool in the face of armed perps...but right now, I could throw up a little. I paused outside the glass door, took a deep breath, and suppressed my fear as I walked with purpose into the squad room. Many heads turned toward me as I looked around for Olivia, but she was nowhere in sight. Just then, I spotted Captain Cragen walking toward me with a big smile on his face.
"Kate!" he exclaimed, a little more animated than I expected. "So good to see you. I have to admit that we were more than a little overjoyed to hear that you would be joining our squad. Your name certainly precedes you…my detectives have been talking about you all week."
"I'm flattered, but certainly don't deserve all the fanfare." I humbly replied.
He continued to gush like a schoolboy.
"Please! You've helped put away more perps than I'd even like to remember were out there! You were the best, and not to mention youngest, detective in your unit. You've accomplished more before 40 than most detectives do in their whole career, and I've yet to find a person who doesn't absolutely love you. We're extremely lucky to have you."
I could feel my face starting to get a little red from embarrassment when Munch and Fin knocked on Cragen's door.
"Hey Peanut, long time no see, I trust you've gotten over our last match" Munch joked in his usual manner, looking over his sunglasses.
John and I go way back, he sort of took me under his wing when I was a rookie, and despite his cynical views and inappropriate, sarcastic jokes, there was no one I respected more. I'd never let him know that of course, and judging by the surprised looks on Cragen and Fin's faces, I don't think that they were used to hearing Munch use affectionate pet names.
"You play tennis!" Asked Fin whom I had only saw briefly when he was working narcotics, but never formally met.
"Chess." I replied. "Munchie here taught me how to play at the academy, but stopped playing with me when I started beating him regularly." I looked at John smugly, showing him two could play at that game, and he scoffed and smiled. I could see some things never change. "You must be Detective Tutuola, I'm Kate Maguire."
"Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you." Fin replied. "Welcome aboard, hope you got more good stories about this one." He gestured toward Munch.
"We'll talk." I retorted. "Is Detective Benson around, and should I be armed when I find her?" I asked half jokingly.
The three men looked at each other and laughed. It was Cragen who spoke.
"She and Elliot were partners for 7 years, it'll take some getting used to."
"Ooh, girl fight." said Munch in his droll manner.
"Come on Munchie, we have work to do." Countered Fin patronizingly.
"Hey, only one person in this world can call me that and get away with it." Replied Munch.
"Ya, cuz you know I can take you now." I replied
He winked at me, and Fin and Cragen laughed.
"I'd pay good money to see that." Joked Cragen.
"Ditto." Countered Fin.
When they left I shut the door to Cragen's office and started to ask about Olivia again.
"So tell me straight out Captain, how is she?"
"Benson?"
"Yes, I mean is she totally against a new partner, am I going to get the cold shoulder, does she have a hit out on me? I'd just like to be fair warned."
Cragen began to laugh.
"She's ok. She and Elliot were very close, so she's going to be a little icy to whomever we bring in for his replacement. Those are big shoes to fill, but on the plus side, she requested you when she found out Elliot was leaving."
"She what?" I was confused. "How did she even know I was thinking about transferring here?"
"She didn't, none of us did at that point. You see, Elliot left around the time of our annual psychological evaluations, and when the psychiatrist asked her if she could see herself with another partner, she said no, unless Kate Maguire were to relocate to Special Victims. So you see, she holds you in highest esteem, it'll just take some getting used to"
I was shocked. I didn't know what to say and I just stared at the Captain for several seconds. The few times I'd met Detective Benson, it was always for a case I was called in on and we were both in full cop mode…no nonsense, all seriousness. I didn't know her well, but have heard a lot about her from various sources. She was more than a few years older than me, so by the time I entered the academy she was already out. I liked what I knew about her…empathetic, passionate, dedicated…qualities I admire and try to bring to my own cases. I wonder why she wanted me though.
"Oh." Was all I could choke out.
The Captain half laughed. "See, I told you your reputation precedes you."
"Well…" I said as I stood up. "Is she around? I guess now's as good a time as any to let her know I'm here."
"Interrogation room…going through some files." He responded.
"Thanks." I replied as I left the office.
I looked through the window in the door to the interrogation room, and saw Olivia sitting at the table in the middle of the room with her back to me. I watched her work for several seconds before going in. She looked tired and frustrated and she was so engrossed in the many files that were in front of her that she jumped up when I opened the door.
"Don't shoot!" Was my response, as I held up my hands.
She smiled and couldn't help but laugh, as much as she didn't want to.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to disturb you Detective Benson, I just wanted to come say hello and properly introduce myself…" I started.
"Detective Maguire." She cut me off. "I'm well aware of who you are."
It wasn't animosity in her voice, but rather, respect. She wasn't exactly being warm toward me, but our initial encounter was certainly better than I expected. I walked toward her to shake her hand and realized how tall she was. She must be about 5'7 or 8, and that seemed to tower over my 5'1 frame.
"I've heard only good things about you, Detective Benson, and I look forward to working with you." I responded.
She half smiled, more out of politeness than an actual smile, as she sat down and continued looking through the files on the table. She then looked back up at me and held my gaze for a moment.
"So what are you working on." I asked.
She snapped out of it and returned to the files on the table. A little distracted, she rummaged through the files before handing one to me.
"Sixteen-year-old, white, female. Raped and killed last night…her body was found at 225 West 44th Street in the alley." She began giving me the logistics.
"The Shubert Theatre?" I asked
She looked at me quizzically.
"Yes…"
"Theatre nut." I defended my random knowledge of theatre addresses.
She let out a small giggle.
"Me too." She admitted.
We both smiled. I thought the tension had been broken, but when I sat down next to her, she seemed to get flustered and fumbled around with the case files, trying to explain the rest of the case to me.
"Well Detective Maguire…"
"Call me Kate." I smiled and cut her off.
She looked down when she said Kate, unable to look me in the eyes. It was like a student calling their teacher by their first name or something, even though she was the elder one. Could the great Detective Benson actually be in awe?
We sat in the interrogation room going through files for what seemed like years. We were now on fairly good terms professionally, working very much in sync with each other. I think we were both surprised to discover that our work techniques are very similar. As much as she might not have wanted me there, she had to see that we worked well together. When I looked up at the clock I saw that it was nearly 6pm. We'd been working nonstop for many hours, and we were both exhausted. I closed my eyes, leaned back in my chair to stretch, and let out a sigh. When I opened my eyes I realized Olivia was looking at me, and she quickly looked away when she saw me open my eyes.
"I think we got a lot done." She half stammered.
"Ya, we need to cast a wider net though, and interview her boss and the boyfriend, we want to catch this bastard before he gets to anyone else."
"Glad to see you're a workaholic too." She replied.
"Ah, yes, well as long as that bastard is still out there, it's all that's on my mind, I don't sleep when I'm on a case. Comes with the territory I guess."
Olivia smiled.
"Do you want to grab something to eat and continue working?" I casually asked, hoping we'd broken the awkwardness of my taking her former partner's place and she wouldn't flat out shut me down.
She seemed relieved that I'd asked first.
"Sure, there's a place around the corner we usually go to."
"Sounds great, lead the way."
We walked down the street together, still talking about the case. Our relationship hasn't extended past the case yet. Minutes later we entered a pub-like restaurant.
"Do you want to just eat here? It'll get us out of the interrogation room for a while anyway." She asked.
"Good idea." I replied.
We were seated and sat in silence for a while, while we perused out menus. I decided to try and break the silence, and maybe get to know a little more about Detective Benson. I started off with information about myself, something unobtrusive so she wouldn't shut me out, to maybe open up the gates of communication.
"Ya know, I've lived in the city for about 15 years now and had no idea this place even existed."
Ya, it's a great little secret" She smiled. "Mostly cops. You've only lived here 15 years?" She sounded surprised. "Where are you from?"
"Boston." I replied.
"I've always wanted to go there. I was born here and don't get to travel to often with the job and all."
"I know what you mean." I concurred as our waitress came over.
"I'll have a cheese burger with fries and a beer." Olivia ordered first.
"Ah, girl after my own heart. I'll have the same thing, but make mine a veggie burger."
The waitress took our orders and left, assuring us she'd bring our drinks out right away.
"How can you eat that rabbit food?" Olivia asked in reference to by veggie burger.
"It's better than that artery clogging slop you ordered." I laughed.
"So you're good friends with Munch, huh." She joked. "Was he the same jem back then as he is now?"
"Ya, he's something else, some things never change." We both laughed.
The change of scenery certainly did a world of good for the both of us. We were both less business and more relaxed, and Olivia was starting to warm up to me. We ate and talked and drank more, until suddenly it was after 9pm.
"Wow, it's 9:15." I commented as I looked at my watch.
"Geez, I didn't realize it was that late."
"Time flies when you're having fun." I said and waited for her reaction because I knew she was having a good time, even if she didn't want to admit it.
She looked at me smugly, catching my jab and said, "ya, I guess so."
As I walked into the squad room the next day, I could hear Munch and Olivia talking with Cragen in his office.
"So diner with the enemy last night, huh." Said the ever-nosey Munch.
"We worked later than expected and just grabbed something to eat." Replied Olivia almost defensively.
"Just admit that you like her, as much as you didn't want to, you can't help it. She has this annoying way of causing everyone around her to want to be her friend." Joked Munch. "She's so damn likeable."
"She's an amazing detective, I'm not denying that."
"And…" Asked Munch smugly.
"And she's not as bad I wanted her to be." Olivia replied, still not giving Munch what he wanted to hear.
Cragen and Munch looked at each other.
"She likes her." Cragen stated.
"Oh ya." Munch concurred. "She'll just never admit it to Katie. She wants her to think she doesn't like her because she replaced Elliot. You'll end up being friends though, mark my words, everyone does."
"Alright Munch." She replied in an I've had enough manner.
I heard Olivia and Munch get up to leave so I quickly moved toward my new desk and pretended to be looking at something so they wouldn't think I was eavesdropping.
"Speak of the devil!" Munch declared.
Olivia shot him a glance that said don't you dare.
"What?" I played dumb.
"Nothing." Olivia quickly replied. "Any new developments?"
Over the next few weeks, Olivia and I got closer, putting many perps in their place. We are both stubborn and passionate and always had the victim's best interest in mind, but this caused us to but heads a lot because we were so much alike. We occasionally argued over the best methods to use, and our interrogation tactics.
I walked back into the interrogation room fuming after showing out the boyfriend of our latest rape victim. I shut the door, walked over to Olivia, and got right in her face.
"What the hell were you thinking in there!" I barked at Olivia with no intention of soft-peddling my anger.
"Me!" She shouted back. "Are we even working the same case here?"
"I'll be damn surprised if that boy ever comes to talk to us again, we may have lost this one because of what you were saying."
"I did what I thought I had to do." She retaliated.
"By cussing him out?" I angrily inquired. "Olivia, we had no reason to suspect that he had anything to do with the death of his girlfriend, no evidence what so ever!"
"We can't rule him out at this point either, Kate." She yelled, no longer embarrassed to call me Kate.
"You were basically accusing him of killing her with absolutely no grounds, and the poor thing was terrified. Do you really think he's going to be very forthcoming with any more information he might have after that!"
"Why are you so damn sure it wasn't him…" She started.
"Where's the friggin evidence Olivia?" I interrupted. "What's the goddamn motive, huh? Why are you so bent on him being a suspect?"
"All I'm saying is we shouldn't rule anyone out."
"What you're saying is guilty until proven innocent." I retorted. "What happened to your ethics, cuz they seem to be misplaced here."
"How dare you question my ethics?" She roared and moved closer to me. "I'm looking out for the girl who was raped and killed and I think we owe it to her to check out every angle until we find the bastard who did this."
"I agree, but at what cost? Cursing out innocent people, whom we have no reason to believe should be a suspect? Scaring the hell out of people who could potentially be instrumental in solving this case, thus hurting the case? Is that helping the victim Olivia? Please tell me how that helps our case." I countered.
"I don't appreciate your insinuations." She continued to get aggressive.
"I'm merely being honest Olivia. We need…"
Suddenly she pushed me against the wall in the interrogation room and kissed me. My arms flailed slightly at my sides, not really knowing what to do. We broke away and just stared at each other, both of us a little shocked about what just happened.
"I'm sorry…" Olivia stuttered. "I…I don't…"
This time I grabbed Olivia and kissed her. We were both overcome with emotion and passion, as out fight dissipated into desire. She backed me into the cold wall again, her hands around my waist, mine above my head on the wall trying to keep my balance. I could feel her body press up against mine as her tongue took over my mouth. Before long I was completely caught up in the moment and my body ached for her. I ran my fingers through her hair and down to the small of her back and slightly touched her exposed skin, giving her a chill and making her shiver. She broke the kiss and let out a barely audible moan into my mouth, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She gave me a smirk and leaned in and began kissing my neck. I trembled, taking a deep breath and leaning my head back against the wall, my body quivering all over. My hands traveled under Olivia's shirt and up her back, unhooking her bra. We both began hungrily tearing each other's clothes off, all the while our tongues barely breaking contact. Taking the lead, Olivia pushed me onto the table in the middle of the interrogation room.
"Detective Benson." I teased.
"Don't make me cuff you." She countered.
I coyly raised an eyebrow and she climbed on top of me and kissed me passionately, our naked bodies pressed tightly against each other. I was enjoying not being in control for once, losing myself in Olivia's kisses and strong body. Her delicate fingers traveled from my neck to my chest, massaging my nipples with such expertise that made me suspect she's done this before. Her mouth soon followed the same path, kissing her way down my torso, capturing my nipples with her tongue. I dragged my nails up and down her back and let out a sigh as my body shuddered under her touch. I moved my knee in between her legs and slightly dragged it against her middle. She groaned and then glanced up at me, and with a mischievous look in her eye continued her trail of kisses down my stomach, to my hips, to my inner thigh. I was breathing heavy now, barely able to contain myself. Getting off from on top of me, she pulled me to the edge of the table, positioning my legs on top of her shoulders, as she squatted down. The next thing I knew, I could feel her skillful fingers caress my clit ever so slightly, sending a serge through my entire body, causing me to lift myself upward. Seeing my reaction to this contact, Olivia inserted her fingers into me. I moaned and followed her rhythm with my body, pushing her fingers further into me. Just when I though I was going to scream, I felt her warm tongue on my clit. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I gasped, breathing heavier now. Her tongue twisted, twirled, and circled, and her fingers seemed to go further and further until my orgasm exploded and a tingling sensation overcame my entire body.
"Oh my God Liv!" I screamed, running my hands through my hair, unable to contain myself, my body still quivering.
I lay on the table, unable to move, barely able to think or breathe. Olivia climbed back on top of me and kissed me.
"I've been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you." She whispered.
"What took you so long?" I smirked as I began to return the favor.