Your Star

A/n: Okay, just a quick note. In a review someone implied something about Alexis and Alexandra. They ARE sisters, nothing more, nothing less. And by sisters, I mean the dictionary definition: two females who have the same parents. There is no greater significance to the names than that they have weird parents. I swear.

Olivia stared at the solid wooden doors, waiting for someone to come out and tell her something. Kaitlyn had been called in almost an hour earlier, and Olivia hadn't seen her since. She was beginning to get worried… it shouldn't take that long, unless there were details Kaitlyn hadn't told her. It wasn't very long before Kaitlyn came out of the court room, followed soon after by Alexis.

"How bad is it?" Olivia asked. Alexis smiled.

"Two jurors were crying. It looks like they'll convict. The judge called a ten minute recess so the ladies of the jury could pull themselves together," she replied. Olivia just nodded. She was beginning to get anxious, wanting it to all be over.

"Mom, relax," Kaitlyn said. She hugged her mother. "It's okay."

"I just want this over with, so we can all move on. I'm sick of having to think about what he might do if he isn't convicted," Olivia told her.

"We have several police officers who saw him shoot you, plus the evidence of abuse and trafficking. He's going to spend the rest of his life in prison," Alexis said. She glanced at her watch. "I'd better get back. It's not going to be much longer, Liv. I promise."

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Olivia waited for Alexis to begin questioning her. "Miss Benson, how long were you married to Nicolai Castigari?"

"Three years before the divorce was finalized," Olivia replied. She and Alexis had agreed that it was best to not use the title Detective.

"Did he ever hurt you? Hit you?" Olivia felt like she couldn't breathe. She wasn't ready to face him. After a moment, Alexis began to worry. "Olivia?"

"Yes. Not… not at first, but after a couple of months it started."

"Why did he hit you?"

"He wanted children. I wanted to wait. I was still in college, and I didn't want to try and raise a child between classes. He refused to accept that," Olivia replied. She took a deep breath and waited for Alexis to continue.

"Why didn't you leave him?" Alexis asked.

"I was afraid. He told me that no one would believe me. He never left any bruises."

"How long had you been married when you became pregnant?"

"A little over a year."

"Did he hit you while you were pregnant?" Olivia glanced at Nico. He was smiling at her.

"No. But after she was born, it started again. He wasn't as careful as he had been before," Olivia told her.

"He left bruises?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you report the abuse then, take your daughter away?" Alexis asked. This was the question Olivia dreaded more than any other. She hadn't told them the whole story before, but she was under oath, and she felt she had to.

"For the same reason I never told anyone that my mother beat me. I was afraid. I thought I loved him," she said. Alexis's eyebrows raised. That wasn't the answer Olivia had given her before, but it fit in with the line of questioning. Before she could ask another question, Olivia continued. "I was planning to take Kaitlyn and run, but he left with her before I had the chance."

"Nothing further, your honor," Alexis said, sitting down. In reality, she had more questions. But Olivia's last answer had said it all.

"Miss Benson? Odd, I thought it was Detective," Robert Sedaris, the defense attorney said, standing up.

"Only when I'm on duty. Since I don't have my gun or badge on me, it's still Miss," Olivia said. She didn't even know him, but the fact that he was representing such scum made her dislike him.

"You said something about a divorce… Did my client ever sign those papers?" he asked.

"No. A judge ended our marriage without his signature. He'd disappeared; no one could find him or Kaitlyn anywhere," Olivia explained.

"So my client had no say in this divorce?"

"He had his say the day he took Kaitlyn and didn't come back."

"Did you even try to look for them?"

"Of course I did. I filed missing persons reports and did everything else I could think of," Olivia told him. He was beginning to make her angry.

"But you said you didn't want any children. Why would you look for a child you didn't want?" he asked. Olivia closed her eyes, trying to compose herself before she spoke.

"I never said I didn't want children. I said I wanted to wait. Kaitlyn was six months old when Nico left, and I loved her. I've never stopped loving my daughter, Mr. Sedaris." Olivia was fuming. How dare this man accuse her of not loving her own child?

"Then why did you give up?"

"What was I supposed to do? It had been four years. Even if I had found her she wouldn't have known who the hell I was!"

"Then how did she finally find you?"

"I don't know, Mr. Sedaris. Maybe you should have asked her that question when she was on the stand." Olivia was ready to punch this man's light's out. Normally she could keep her cool, but he was pissing her off more than anyone ever had, with the possible exception of Nick Ganzner.

"Nothing further."

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Olivia walked out of the court room and straight into Elliot's arms. Kaitlyn had called him not long after she'd finished testifying, knowing her mother would need him. "He tried to make me look like a horrible mother, El," she said. She leaned her head on his shoulder and began to sob.

"You're a great mother, Liv. Anyone with half a brain can see that," he whispered. He gently kissed her cheek as she continued to sob. He gently led her to a bench and sat down, still holding her in his arms. "Just look at Kaitlyn. Look at my kids. You're more of a mother to them than you could ever know. They all love you, and so do I."

"I stopped looking, El. I gave up," she said.

"What were you supposed to do, Liv? It had been a long time. You had to get on with your life. You know the statistics about kidnapped children; it's a miracle Kaitlyn was alive. You couldn't have known," he said.

"I should have known. I should have realized that she was still alive. I'm her mother!"

"Liv, there's no way you could have known."

"I shouldn't have let it happen in the first place."