Elliot said he would buy the coffee and donuts himself. He regretted the decision as he stepped out the front door of the station into the gusting snow. He practically had to wade through a snow bank that had formed on the front steps. Most of the cars parked out front had been reduced to oddly shaped white lumps. Trying not to think about how they reminded him of the snow forts he could be building with the twins, he readjusted the collar of his coat and walked down the street. It took nearly all of his concentration to maintain his balance in the soft, deep powder and driving wind.

Once inside the bakery, relieved of the cold and effort of walking through the snow, he was able to think about the reason he'd really volunteered to leave the warm station house. Olivia had still been asleep when he'd left the crib and he'd yet to phrase the question he wanted to ask her. He needed more time to figure out exactly how to ask her about her history with Eckerson. He had lain awake for hours, puzzling over the conversation they'd had in the bathroom. She had said that the reason for her breakup with Eckerson was too painful to discuss. After some careful consideration, he had come to the obvious conclusion – Eckerson had cheated on her and she didn't want to tell him, Elliot, because she thought it would affect their work environment.

As easy as that answer seemed, there were some pieces that didn't fit. If Eckerson had betrayed Olivia like that, it was unlikely she would have renewed the relationship as she'd done four years ago. And she certainly wouldn't behave the way she was now. He thought back to the previous night. Though there had been several cots available, including one beside himself, she had chosen the one next to Eckerson. Elliot had been feigning sleep, so he doubted she'd done it to spite him, even if she'd still been mad about the note at that point.

He grimaced as he thought back to that little incident. He knew he shouldn't have tried to hide Paige's note from her, but he really had had her best interest in mind. The look on her face as she'd read the note had made him wonder if he'd made the right choice. She'd collected herself before looking up at him defiantly, but didn't say a word. Her eyes had flashed with a mix of anger, hurt and frustration. She'd ignored him for the rest of the night, making him feel like crap until he'd finally slinked off to the crib to try getting some sleep. He'd spent most of the night wondering about her and Eckerson.

While he respected the distance she at which maintained her emotions, Elliot found that it was one of the things that bothered him most about his partner. If she could just babble on and on about her feelings like a normal woman, he wouldn't have to worry about her so much. Of course, then she wouldn't be as easy to spend time with...

"Can I help you, sir?" He snapped out of his reverie as the clerk at the counter addressed him. He found a blank stare was all he could muster for a moment. "What can I get for you, sir?"

"Uh, sorry. Guess my brain hasn't quite thawed yet." She gave him an understanding smile as he quickly scanned the pastry case. "I'll take a half-dozen bagels, a dozen muffins and a dozen donuts, with at least four chocolate frosted. Oh, and six coffees. Large ones."

"With an order like that, you must be a cop." He smiled and waited for her to put his order together. As she piled the three boxes and two trays of coffee cups on the counter, he realized it was going to be a challenge to get it all back. He took out his wallet, but the clerk said, "No charge. I'm just glad to see New York's finest don't take the day off for a little snow."

"Thanks." He picked up his boxes and trays and turned back into the snow.

Five minutes and six nearly-spilled coffees later, he arrived in the squad room. Fin and Munch were at their desks, Olivia and Eckerson were standing at the window watching the snow fall.

"Finally, Elliot! What took you so long? It's almost like you had to slog through a blizzard or something."

"John, just because I brought breakfast doesn't mean you're gonna get breakfast."

Their barbs caught Olivia and Eckerson's attention, bringing them away from the window, toward the coffee and pastry. Before Olivia could take her cup, Elliot grabbed her arm, pulling her aside. "I'm sorry about last night. I was being stupid. Are we okay?"

She seemed surprised, as if unable to remember why he should be apologizing to her. He wondered what she could have been talking about with Eckerson to make her forget that they'd clashed. He didn't have long to think about it as rekindled anger flickered in her eyes. She stared at him for a moment, as if making sure he was being sincere before accepting his apology. "Yeah. Just don't ever do that to me again."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "I won't." They stood for a moment, silently measuring each other up. Elliot realized, and not for the first time, that he could pinpoint the exact moment when her anger had completely dissipated and it was safe to crack a joke. "Liv, I brought you donuts. If that doesn't say I'm sorry, I don't know what does."

She didn't miss a beat. "You're only forgiven if a couple of them are chocolate frosted."

As the detectives and Marshal settled down to breakfast, Cragen emerged from his office, rubbing his eyes. "Glad to see you're all up already." He picked up the last coffee and turned to the board, gazing at the pictures of the three missing girls. Elliot could feel his disappointment. With the snow so bad, they were going to be seriously delayed in their investigation. Cragen remarked, "I don't suppose anyone has a snowplow parked outside?"

"Andy, your Suburban's got four-wheel drive, right?" She continued before he could reply. "Well, we were going to Fordham to talk to Marina Vasquez's roommate, and Melissa Carpenter's mother lives on 71st and Columbus. That's just a few blocks, so four of us could go and take care of that."

Fin, Elliot and Eckerson all looked at Cragen, whose face had suddenly gotten a little brighter. "You heard the lady. Get going."

"So you're gonna make us earn our overtime this week, Cap?" Elliot complained half-heartedly.

"Don't whine. If the Mayor declares a state of emergency you get double overtime."

It took almost half an hour to clear the snow off of Eckerson's Suburban. The drive uptown took another half hour, more than twice as long as it would normally. By the time Eckerson pulled up to Melissa Carpenter's address, it was nearly 9. Olivia turned as Elliot got out of the truck. "We'll pick you up here around 11. I'll call if we're gonna be late."

"Right. " He trudged into the apartment building behind Fin.

Arriving at the correct apartment, Fin knocked on the door, which was opened by a smiling, somewhat disheveled woman. "Are you Lois Carpenter?"

"Yes." She glanced at their badges. "But I didn't call you."

"I'm Det. Tutuola, this is Det. Stabler and we're here to talk to you about your daughter, Melissa."

Her response was oddly cheerful. "Oh, right, have you found her then?"

"No, but we're trying and we just wanna ask you a few questions."

"Oh, come right in." She led them into a spacious apartment. Elliot noted a half-empty bottle of Grey Goose on the kitchen counter. She indicated the couch, asking, "Can I get you boys anything to drink?"

"No, I think we're all set," Elliot answered for both Fin and himself. They exchanged a look as Lois Carpenter flopped into the chair across from them. Taking out his notebook, Elliot asked, "Could you tell us when you last saw your daughter, Mrs. Carpenter?"

"Please, call me Lois." She made a sweeping gesture with her arm that she might have intended to be graceful. Elliot found himself leaning forward slightly, preparing to catch her should she fall out of her chair. "She went out on Friday night, said she was going on a date. When she didn't come home that night I just assumed she'd gotten lucky."

"You last saw your daughter on Friday, but you didn't file a Missing Persons report until Monday?" Elliot tried to keep the incredulity out of his tone. He sure as hell would let one of his daughters disappear for the weekend without a damn good explanation.

Lois didn't seem to share his concern. "What can I say, she likes to party. She stays with friends fairly often on weekends. I got a little worried when she didn't call, but I didn't see a problem until she still hadn't come home or called on Monday."

Before Elliot could point out some of the things wrong with Lois's statement, Fin took up the questioning. "You said she had a date on Friday night. You got a name for this boyfriend?"

"I've never met him, but she talks about him incessantly. His name is Les. I don't know his last name, but I know he has a few classes with Melissa."

"Do you have the names of any of Melissa's friends that may have seen her over the weekend?"

"She doesn't tell me that kind of stuff. All I know is that she sometimes stays with friends on campus when she's been out all night. She doesn't bring them back here. I don't think college students think it's cool to hang out with mom."

Elliot stopped himself from making a rude remark about why Melissa didn't want to 'hang out with mom' as Fin asked, "What about Melissa's father? Does he live here?"

"No, she hasn't talked to him unless she's been playing with a Ouija board. Her father's been dead since she was 8. The stupid drunk drove himself into a tree in Connecticut on his way home from golfing. I always told him that he'd die on the links, but it turns out I was only half-right, since he really died of the drinks." She laughed uproariously, once again coming dangerously close to tipping out of her chair.

Fin and Elliot chose the same moment to stand. "Could we have a look at Melissa's room, see if she has an address book or something with her friends numbers on it?"

"Of course." She pointed down the hall. "Second door on the left. Or the right. It's the door that's not the bathroom."

The search was fruitless. Elliot was particularly unnerved by the lack of any personal photos, notes, anything. "It's almost like she doesn't even live here."

"Maybe she just doesn't like bein' around mom too much."

Elliot smiled as they walked back to the living room. He noted that the bottle of vodka had moved to the coffee table, along with a tube of frozen, concentrated orange juice. Seeing his look, Lois said smilingly, "It works better than ice!"

He handed her a business card, saying, "If you remember anything else, please let us know."

She trailed after them, hanging on the door as she leaned into the hallway, watching them leave. "Glad you could stop by. Good luck finding Melissa!"

In the elevator, Fin was the first to speak. "She didn't seem too worried that her daughter's missin', did she?"

"We didn't tell he where we think her daughter is. Anyway, I don't think that lady would be too worried if she fell and cracked her skull right now."

Fin laughed as they exited the building. "That didn't take too long. It's only 9:30. What time are we supposed to be meetin' Olivia and Eckerson?"

"Not til 11." He looked for somewhere they could wait. "There's a Starbucks across the street."

"Shit, I'll stand in a dumpster if it gets me outta this snow."

They made their way across the deserted street into the nearly deserted coffee shop. While Fin ordered, Elliot called home. The answering machine picked up. He sighed as the message played, then after the beep said, "Hi, it's me. I guess you guys are all out playing in the snow. Have a cup of cocoa for me. Love you all, bye." He hung up feeling unfulfilled. He'd learned not to end his messages with 'see you soon' anymore. It just created a lot of false hope. He considered Lois Carpenter for a moment. He could hardly pass judgment on her parenting skills when he conducted half the conversations he had with his own kids over the phone.

Dialing again, he waited for Munch to pick up. He wasn't disappointed. "Munch. What?"

"John, it's Elliot. I need you to see if you can track down someone named Les who goes to NYU. Probably a junior since he's in Carpenter's classes."

"Does Les have a last name?"

"Probably. I'll let you track it down." Elliot grinned as he thought of Munch's reaction.

"Gee, thanks. Anything else?"

"Yeah, why are you in such a rotten mood?"

"My lovely US Marshal partner is not coming in today due to the inclement weather. You're probably thinking that this would make me happy, and it will as soon as I get over the indignity of the chewing out she gave me for waking her."

"Hey, Healey needs all the beauty sleep she can get."

"Healey needs a frontal lobotomy. Or maybe just a procedure to remove the speech center of her brain. I'll try to find Les for you. Have fun playing in the snow."

"Yeah, John. Thanks." He hung up as Fin walked over with two cups. "Munch is looking for Les for us."

"I'm sure he appreciates that needle in a haystack. At least it'll keep him busy."

They sat quietly drinking their coffee and discussing the case until they saw Eckerson's Suburban pull up just before 11. "Hope they had better luck than we did. Think we should get coffee for them?"

"Nah. I think they're coming in. I'm not paying for Eckerson's anyway."

Fin looked at him critically. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"I don't know." Elliot watched as Eckerson crossed the street with Olivia. "I just...do."