"What have we got?" Olivia Benson asked, passing below a crime scene tape. She walked up to her partner, Elliot Stabler, who was crouching and peering under a white sheet. For a moment the man was silent, his breath coming out in white puffs.
"You know, I hate my job sometimes," Elliot said with an emotionless voice and stood up.
"How young is she?" Olivia asked, a wave of anger washing over her.
"Can't be older than six or seven. Warner said it looks like a homicide, but she's going to do a rape kit anyway."
"No identification yet?" Olivia stuffed her hands deep in her pockets to keep them warm.
"No. Munch's going through missing persons reports as we speak." Elliot glanced back at the little girl on the ground. "I want to catch this bastard," he said quietly and walked further down the alley to meet Melinda Warner, their ME. Olivia sighed and followed.
"She's been dead for only a few hours. There's clear bruising around the neck which indicates strangulation. That's all I can say for sure right now. I know more after the autopsy." Warned looked at the two detectives with sad eyes. "You never get used to children," she continued after a while and started after the men carrying a bodybag. After a few steps she turned back around. "Oh, I almost forgot. I found this in her pocket." She handed Olivia a small plastic bag.
The brunette scrutinized the small object through the transparent material. It was a small golden medallion with the initials 'S.M.' engraved on it.
"Well, it's not much but it's something," Olivia said shrugging and glanced at Elliot.
"I'll call Munch and ask him to compare the initials with matching reports." Elliot nodded, walking to the side and leaving his partner alone. Olivia shook her head and decided to have a closer look at alley where the body had been found. She had a bad feeling about the case, but she brushed it off and got to work.
- - - -
Two hours later Olivia was sitting at her desk, flipping through the notes she'd jotted down while interviewing people around the crime scene. Nobody had seen or heard anything. Just perfect. The detective closed her eyes and sighed in frustration.
"Tough case?" A gentle voice said from behind her. Olivia glanced over her shoulder and flashed a brief smile to their ADA who was standing in the doorway.
"The worst," Olivia said, strangely grateful for the distraction.
"Anything I can do yet?" Alex asked. She walked to Olivia and peered down at the notes in front of the other woman.
"No, not really. We basically talked to everybody, on the street as well as in the nearby buildings, but they all claim they didn't see anything," Olivia said, absent-mindedly chewing her lower lip.
"Has the victim been identified yet?" Alex asked, her eyes still on the detective's papers.
"No, but Munch and Fin are working on it." Olivia informed her and stood up. "You want some coffee?" she asked the blonde, making her way to the coffee machine.
"Please," Alex smiled, dropping her briefcase next to the brunette's desk. Olivia crossed the room with two cups of steaming hot coffee in her hands and offered one to the blonde. "Thank you," Alex said smiling. She wrapped her fingers around the cup, enjoying the warmth radiating from it.
"I don't think there's much to do before we have an ID and Warner's finished with the autopsy," Olivia said casually, suddenly painfully aware of the ADA leaning against her desk. She could see the smooth skin of Alex's thigh as the blonde's skirt inched upwards a little. Dozens of inappropriate thoughts filled her head as she traced the lines of Alex's legs with her eyes. She felt weird inside; as if something burned in the pit of her stomach. She assured herself that it was probably just the coffee.
"We've got an ID!" Munch exclaimed victoriously as he entered the squad room with Fin.
"No I didn't!" Olivia quickly broke out of the spell she'd been under. She blinked a few times, realizing that everybody was looking at her as if she'd suddenly grown a third arm. "Ahem, sorry, I-, I heard wrong," she tried desperately to talk herself out of the embarrassing situation, hoping that the ground would swallow her up right there and then. Munch looked like he was going to make some witty remark, but apparently he finally decided against it because he turned and snatched a photo from Fin's hand instead.
"The victim's Sarah Montgomery, seven years old. Parents just identified her. She left for school this morning, but according to the headmaster, she never made it there. Warner said she was killed between seven and nine a.m., so it fits the timeline." Munch attached a picture of a smiling little girl to the evidence board. He looked at it, shaking his head slightly. "What a waste."
"Did the autopsy reveal anything new?" Olivia asked, trying hard to forget the previous incident.
"Warner found some skin cells under the victim's fingernails. Apparently the little thing fought back. There was also a hair found on the victim's body. The rape kit came back negative, but Warner promised to let us know when the results of the other tests are ready," Munch said, settling behind his own desk.
"Right, I'm heading to my office, thanks for the coffee." Alex smiled down at Olivia again and picked up her briefcase. "Let me know when there's something I can do," she added, walking towards the doors. Olivia couldn't help herself and her eyes made a beeline for Alex's backside. A very fine backside.
"Ahem." Olivia quickly glanced at Munch who was looking at her, clearly amused. Olivia turned back to the pile of papers on her desk, blushing furiously.
- - - -
Interviewing parents was often the hardest part of the investigation for Olivia; she couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to lose a child. The couple in front of her looked absolutely devastated as she sat on a couch with Elliot, asking questions she knew to be extremely difficult and painful.
"Did your daughter have any friends or acquaintances that might've seen her after she left for school yesterday morning?" Olivia asked gently, deep down getting rather frustrated for getting nowhere with the case.
"No, none that I can think of," Mrs. Montgomery said, tears running down her face. "How could anyone do something like this? And to a little girl! She's only seven. Oh, God," she sobbed and buried her head in her hands. Her husband laid his hand on her back, not knowing what else to do.
"How about you Mr. Montgomery?" Elliot asked, eyeing the man sitting across from him.
"She was always such a quiet girl, she didn't really have any friends. We figured it would've changed over time, but..." He shrugged, unable to finish. He wrapped his arms tighter around his wife and held her close. The detectives decided to leave at that point; the parents had been through enough already. They expressed their condolences once more and walked quietly out of the room.
"She talks to this guy everyday," a voice suddenly said from behind them. A pale teenage boy leaned slightly against the wall and Olivia recognized him as the victim's brother. She'd talked with him just a few hours before, but at the time he'd been absolutely clueless.
"You didn't mention that earlier," Olivia noted, already fishing a notebook from her pocket.
"I didn't think of it until now. She likes the creep for some reason," the boy snorted.
"Who is he?" Elliot frowned, taking a few steps towards him.
"A guy who lives in this building. Some foreigner, doesn't speak English, but Sarah always manages to communicate with him somehow."
"Do you know his name?" Olivia asked, scribbling something down on her notebook.
"Can't remember, it's a weird name. He lives on the second floor, I think," he said, eyeing the detectives curiously. Finally he turned his eyes away and disappeared into the next room. Elliot turned around to face his partner.
"Let's go and find out who this creep is," he said almost cheerily. Olivia nodded and followed him out; they'd just found the first solid lead.
- - - -
It hadn't taken long for the two detectives to track down Mr. Jokinen, a Finnish immigrant who, indeed, lived on the second floor. Although the language barrier had seemed nearly impossible to get over, Olivia had somehow managed to explain the man that they needed to go down to the precinct and talk. Getting an interpreter had proved to be rather difficult, but they'd finally found a woman suitable for the job.
The suspect denied everything, which was pretty much expected, and got more and more irritated by the minute.
"You've been identified as the person who talked to the victim on a regular basis. When was the last time you saw her?" Elliot asked, clearly getting impatient himself. The interpreter quietly translated the question to the suspect who shook his head and snorted.
"Jumalauta, millasta porukkaa!" The man slammed his hands to the table, making everybody in the room start at the sound. He shouted at the two detectives in his weird language and the interpreter didn't even bother to translate the outburst.
"I take he's denying that too," Elliot rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Olivia repeated the question from the other side of the room where she was leaning against the wall. Her eyes were calm and determined as she stared at the suspect. The interpreter translated the question again and Olivia watched as the man finally seemed to calm down a little and actually answer seriously. The strange language sounded fascinating and the detective tried to pick up familiar words from the long litany of familiar and unfamiliar sounds.
"He says he saw the girl in the morning the day before yesterday. She had her school bag with her and she walked past him on the sidewalk," the interpreter finally said.
"The day before yesterday?"
"Yes, she said 'hi' to him, like always, nothing more," the woman said, turning back to Mr. Jokinen. Olivia sighed, pushing herself off the wall. The detectives walked out of the interrogation room and found Alex standing on the other side of the one-way mirror.
"Well, that was a dead end." The blonde huffed a small sigh, crossing her arms.
"We need a search warrant for his apartment," Olivia stated, observing the foreigner through the glass.
"You're kidding me, right?" Alex exclaimed incredulously.
"No, I'm not. He's the only one who fits, Alex! The victim's brother has seen this man, nobody else, with his sister. It's obvious that he had something to do with the murder," Olivia said, a little too poignantly.
"Olivia, you know damn well that I need more. No judge in their right mind is going to sign a warrant based on your hunch!"
"We need to search that apartment!" Even Olivia herself didn't know why she was getting so upset. The whole case had simply bugged her from the beginning.
"And you can, as soon as you get me something to support your theory," Alex said. The annoyance in her voice didn't go unnoticed.
"What's your problem Alex? He's the only damn lead we have! And he's as guilty as it comes," Olivia nearly shouted. "I thought you were supposed to help the unit, not prevent us from doing our jobs!"
"Well, in that case I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass." Alex was clearly taken aback by Olivia's sudden outburst. She turned on her heels and was out of the room within seconds. Olivia could only watch helplessly as the blonde disappeared around the corner. She'd been completely out of line, she knew that the moment the spiteful words had come out of her mouth.
"Jesus, Liv." Elliot frowned and stared at his partner. Olivia quickly excused herself, leaving him to deal with the suspect alone.
- - - -
It was getting cold, but Olivia didn't notice. She was sitting on a bench, trying hard to sort out the thoughts in her head; she felt so incredibly bad about snapping at Alex, especially since the other woman hadn't done anything wrong. The look of pure hurt on Alex's face haunted Olivia; it bothered her more than it probably should have.
And at that very moment, Olivia Benson truly hated herself.
Sure Alexandra Cabot occasionally appeared to be the ice queen of the unit, but Olivia had never questioned the ADA's ability to do her job or care about the victims. The scene she'd caused earlier had been completely unjustified.
Olivia sighed, finally realizing the nagging coldness around her. She hugged herself for warmth, clueless of what to do about Alex. Apology was definitely in order, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be enough; there was probably some serious begging to do. She groaned.
Ringing of a cellphone distracted her from her musings.
"Benson," she said to the phone, although the caller ID had already told her it was Elliot.
"Olivia, where the hell are you?" Elliot's voice carried a hint of irritation. "I just thought to let you know that our Finnish chap is off the hook."
"What? Why?" Olivia snapped back to reality, now concentrating fully on the voice on the other end.
"He has an alibi. Fin just called. Some bar owner identified our suspect as one of his customers who spent the whole morning drinking beer and playing pool." Olivia could hear her partner was just as disappointed as she was.
"So, I was yelling at Alex for no good reason? Great." She stood up and kicked a small rock out of her way.
"Liv, I think you yelled at her for no good reason, no matter what," Elliot said. He was right and for some reason Olivia found it extremely annoying.
"What now?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Back to square one. Though Warner still has some tests to run. We'll probably know more tomorrow."
"Right." This was quickly becoming a really, really bad day for Olivia.
"Olivia, go home. Get some sleep and we'll continue from here tomorrow. I'm heading home too," Elliot said and Olivia could hear him stepping outside as noises of traffic appeared on the background. "Oh, and you probably owe someone an apology."
"Yeah," Olivia sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "See you tomorrow."
- - - -
Outside of Alex's office Olivia hesitated; knowing what a pissed off Alex could be like, was rather unsettling. But, at the same time she knew she had to talk to her sooner or later. Preferably sooner. Hoping the counsellor hadn't left yet, she knocked. Her hands were actually shaking.
"Christ, Benson. Get a grip," she muttered to herself and opened the door. Alex was sitting behind her desk and looked up from her papers as Olivia peered in. The tension between the women was almost visible once the ADA realized who the visitor was. Olivia closed the door behind her and walked nervously towards the large mahogany desk.
"Hi, Alex. I...Well, you probably know why I'm here, actually." She smiled awkwardly, avoiding eye-contact with the blonde. The situation made her feel like a five-year-old. Alex leaned back in her chair, her eyes studying Olivia closely.
"To tell me how to do my job?" Alex's voice was pure ice and Olivia winced.
"Okay, I suppose I deserved that," Olivia said, finally looking at the blonde. Yep, Alex was definitely pissed.
"Yeah, you did." There wasn't even a hint of humor in the ADA's voice.
"Alex, I was out of line, I know that. It's just this case, it was nothing personal," Olivia defended herself.
"Right, nothing personal. And when next case comes along, are you going to shout at me everytime things don't go your way?" Alex's eyes never left the detective's.
"What are you on about Alex? Of course I won't!" This was going so much worse than Olivia had anticipated.
"Oh, really? Thinking about today, I wouldn't be so certain," Alex retorted. "I don't particularly enjoy being insulted by people I trust and think as friends. And I really thought you were a friend."
"Alex this is insane." Olivia shook her head incredulously.
"Is it?"
"I've had the worst day and I really don't need this from you, not today." The detective's voice was calm, but there was a certain tension in her posture indicating the raising anger she was trying to hide.
"Well, that makes it all okay, doesn't it?" Alex said mockingly, removing her glasses and throwing them on the table with one smooth motion. In other circumstances Olivia might've noted how damn sexy it was, but now she was just staring at Alex in disbelief.
"Fuck you, Alex!" It was out before she could stop it. For a while they just stared at each other, both shocked by the ridiculous insult. Finally Olivia tore her eyes away from the blonde's, turned on her heels and fled.
Behind her the door closed with a click.
- - - -
Olivia couldn't sleep. She'd lain in bed for a few hours, but had finally given up. Being unable to sleep was very familiar to her, but usually the reason was her work, not her personal life. She'd gone through the argument with Alex over and over in her head, feeling both, anger and shame.
Olivia was curled up on the couch, flickering images on TV lighting up the room around her in strange colors. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, but she didn't have a clue what was on; her mind was somewhere else.
She wondered what Alex was doing. If she couldn't sleep either and was also watching TV - well, pretending to watch. She wondered if Alex felt as bad as she did. Olivia didn't swear that often, and that last remark had surprised the detective herself as much as it probably had surprised Alex. It was so unlike her.
She had often fought with the blonde, but it had never got out of hand like this. A serious talk with Alex was definitely in order, but it would have to wait. With a sigh Olivia switched off the TV and slowly went back to bed. It was time to give sleeping another go.
- - - -
"Son of a bitch!" Elliot exclaimed, his eyebrows climbing high on his forehead. He was studying a file Warner had dropped on his desk only minutes earlier, not believing what he saw. He snapped his head up, looking up at Warner whose smile could only be described as smug.
"You are amazing," Elliot grinned at her.
"I know," Warner wiggled her eyebrows and made her way out of the squad room, leaving the detective gaping at the file. A few minutes later very tired-looking Olivia rushed through the doors, panting slightly.
"I bumped into Warner, she said you have something interesting to show me," she said, peeling off her jacket on her way to Elliot.
"Oh, we hit a jackpot." Elliot said, waving the file in the air. "The tests on the hair and fingernail scrapings came back."
"And?" Olivia looked at her partner impatiently.
"You're never going to believe this. The hair and the skin cells under the victim's nails belong to a male family member."
"What!" Olivia's mouth hang open. Elliot handed the file to her and she eyed the DNA tables with great curiosity.
"The son has an alibi," Olivia said suddenly, glancing up from the file. Elliot nodded. "So, what are we waiting for?" Olivia asked, throwing the file on the table and grabbing the jacket she'd just taken off. She headed for the doors, Elliot following suit.
"Remember when we interviewed the family?" Olivia asked as they were walking towards their squad car.
"Yeah."
"Mr. Montgomery was the only one who used past tense when he talked about Sarah." They shared a knowing look before hopping in the car.
- - - -
Olivia could've slapped the man sitting in front of him. Mr. Montgomery made her almost physically sick; he didn't seem to regret a thing as he sat behind the table, a smug smile on his face. She couldn't believe they had missed his involvement earlier; he'd been right under their noses the whole time. Lucky for them he'd been surprisingly sloppy.
When Mr. Montgomery finally decided to lawyer up, they already had a confession and a clear picture of how it all had happened. Olivia followed Elliot out of the interrogation room and slammed the door shut.
"What an asshat," she snorted, grinding her teeth. The brunette froze when she noticed that Alex was standing on the other side of the room. Their eyes met and it felt like time stood still.
"What do you think Alex?" Elliot asked, giving Olivia a good excuse to turn her attention away from the blonde.
"He confessed and wasn't even that upset about it. Jury will find him guilty in a heartbeat." Alex's faint smile was somewhat malicious. "Mr. Montgomery's story screams premeditation. I'm certain he's going to sit in jail for the rest of his life." Both detectives let out a sigh of relief.
"Perfect. And it seems like I get to go home early today." Elliot flashed a smile and walked out of the room, leaving the two women alone. Olivia was about to start apologizing again, but before she could say anything, Alex turned quickly on her heels and followed her partner.
"Dammit," Olivia sighed heavily.
- - - -
After a few days of complete lack of communication with Alex, Olivia decided she'd had enough. On a whim she hopped in her car and drove to Alex's apartment; she'd tell the ADA exactly how she felt about the recent silent treatment. Alex didn't have a clue what their friendship meant to Olivia; what Alex meant to Olivia.
It wasn't long before she was standing outside of Alex's apartment. She ran her hand through her short hair and knocked, nervously biting her lower lip. Finally Alex, dressed casually in jeans and a college shirt, opened the door.
"We need to talk," Olivia stated and brushed past the other woman. The blonde turned to her, annoyance already evident in her eyes.
"No, we certainly don't," Alex said, still holding the door open. "Could you please get out of my apartment."
"I won't move an inch before we sort this out Alex." Olivia's said in a tone that allowed no room for objections. Alex blinked rapidly and finally gave in, reluctantly closing the door.
"So?" Alex demanded, turning around and crossing her arms.
"What's going on with you Alex? I apologized for being a complete ass with that warrant thing, so why can't you let it go? Or at least talk to me again?" Olivia spread her arms. She was starting to get rather frustrated.
"It's always about you, isn't it?" Alex snorted mockingly, taking a few challenging steps towards Olivia.
"Excuse me?" Olivia arched her eyebrows.
"Oh, forget it."
"Alex, stop that."
"Stop what Olivia? Can't you just go and leave me alone?" Alex retorted, closing her eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Olivia demanded to know, angry at Alex's ridiculous behavior.
"Has it ever occurred to you that it might be easier for me this way!" Alex shouted, looking straight at the woman in front of her. Olivia could only stare back, not knowing what to say. "Just go, please," Alex continued, turning away from the detective.
"No," Olivia finally said, feeling her anger dissolve.
"I'm serious Olivia. Just get out." Alex sighed. "I'm busy, and besides, CSI's on tonight," she added a moment later.
"For God's sakes, Alex!" Olivia grabbed at the blonde's shoulder, forcing her to turn around.
She was only supposed to shake some sense into the ADA, but somehow Alex's lips were just too perfect to resist. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned forward, her lips capturing Alex's in a sweet kiss.
At first Alex froze, but just when Olivia thought she'd made the biggest mistake of her life, the blonde kissed her back. Hard. The brunette wrapped her arms around Alex's waist, pressing their bodies as close together as possible. A small moan escaped Alex's lips, making Olivia's knees go weak. Holding the ADA even tighter, she stumbled backwards into the living room, never breaking the passionate kiss.
The couch was the intended target, but Olivia soon found herself on top of the blonde in front of a fireplace, most of their clothes scattered randomly around the room. For a second Olivia thought that it'd be nice to actually have a fire in the fireplace, but that thought didn't last for long because Alex's hands had found their way into her hair, the sensation driving her crazy.
Their lovemaking was tender but intense at the same time; Olivia had never quite experienced anything like it. Their bodies fitted together perfectly, every touch from Alex sending shivers down Olivia's spine. She wondered why on earth she'd waited this long to make her move. Being with Alex didn't feel forced; it felt real and genuine.
It felt so incredibly right.
- - - -
"That was so much better than fighting," Alex said, panting heavily. They lay naked, side by side, on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Olivia chuckled.
"How's that for an apology?" Olivia grinned, her pulse still racing.
"Well, you definitely know how to do that," Alex joked, glancing sideways at the detective.
"I've had practice through the years. Lots of ADAs I've pissed off," Olivia said with a straight face and Alex poked her to the ribs. "Ouch!"
"Smartass." Alex snorted. She rolled on her side, her face growing more serious. "I'm sorry, Olivia."
"For what?" Olivia frowned.
"For being such a bitch earlier. I was just so frustrated, and handled the whole thing rather poorly," Alex confessed, lowering her eyes.
"Yeah, you kinda did," Olivia said. "But, luckily for you, I know this excellent apologizing method." She grinned and Alex arched her eyebrow.
"Huh."
"Yeah. And the best part? It works every time."
Within seconds Olivia found herself pinned down on the floor, ready to forgive Alex anything.
- - - -
"On the second degree murder of Sarah Montgomery, how does the jury find?" Judge Cohen asked in his typically over-dramatic way.
"We find the defendant guilty, your honor." Judge Cohen rapped the table with his gavel and Alex released a breath she'd been holding. Even when the case was practically a slam dunk, there was always, to some extent, an uncertainty present. She stood up, stuffing files and papers into her briefcase and watched as Mr.Montgomery was escorted out of the courtroom.
Alex pushed through the heavy doors into the crowded hallway; It was one of those rare days when she could go straight home from court, and she wasn't going to spend any more time in there than she absolutely had to.
Suddenly someone took her by the arm, steering her towards the elevators. Olivia smiled widely at her, that one look telling Alex more than words ever could.
"I thought you were working late today," Alex said, positively surprised to see the detective.
"I took the rest of the day off," Olivia said, leading them into an elevator. They made the ride in silence.
"Well, I'm glad that you did." Alex smiled warmly as they made their way down the thick stone steps of the courthouse. Her heart skipped a beat when Olivia casually took the blonde's hand in hers as they walked down the street.
"So, we both have the rest of the day off. What do you have in mind?" Alex asked playfully, squeezing the brunette's hand slightly. Olivia grinned, her eyes sparkling mysteriously.
"Feel like fighting?"