Chapter 2

Amanda packed her things at the squad room before she left it wasn't much. She also packed up her apartment and it was even less, towels, sheets, but nothing major. She kicked herself for renting a furnished apartment. The only thing she had to her name was her car and she sold it to her elderly neighbor for 1000 dollars. "Sweetheart, a car for 1000 dollars, why?" Amanda smiled, "I can't take it with me and I know you need it." She also knew she wouldn't just take it. She was too proud. So Amanda put it in an envelope with a thank you note for being a good friend.

Amanda didn't need money, she had 20 million dollars sitting in her savings account. Hush money from her no good mother, not to destroy her perfect little family. Since her dad died, she didn't have any family. She was alone, but she didn't care. She wasn't going back to work since she turned in her badge, so she decided to look up apartments. She got online and immediately figured out that New York wasn't Atlanta.

Living would be expensive, but she had to find some place to go. She saw a decent place on Zillow and got on the phone immediately. "Hi, my name is Amanda Rollins and I'm moving there in 4 days. I see you have a few openings." The manager explained he had a studio, 1 one bedroom, 4 two bedrooms, and 2 three bedrooms. Amanda looked at the difference in prices, "So is the studio really a tight space?"

He gave her the rundown, "The one bedroom will go fast. It has all the major appliances and even a pull out couch in great condition. We can move it out if you would like. The last renter couldn't take it and it's a nice couch." Amanda knew this was her best chance and went for it even though she wasn't there to view it. She sent him her email for all the paperwork and documents. He explained all of the fees would be due the day of her arrival.

She thought it was perfect, if she didn't like the place she could turn it down. "Thank you so much." She decided not to worry about the other furniture since she had a couch. She needed to check the place first. She slid the envelope under her neighbor's door and headed to the airport. Amanda was on the plane looking out of the window. She never thought about leaving Atlanta, but she was glad to get away.

When Amanda landed she grabbed her carry on and went to baggage. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped, because she didn't know anyone in New York. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Amanda smiled when she realized it was Olivia. "Cragen sent me to get you." Amanda was confused, "How did he know when I was getting here?" Olivia smiled, "He did order the ticket."

They got some help and put her stuff in the car. When Amanda stepped outside she put her hoodie on, "New York gets way colder than Atlanta. It's October, but we need to get you a coat." Olivia looked, "Only 2 bags and a box?" Amanda shrugged, "That's it. My whole life." Olivia climbed in thinking about her next statement. She had a two bedroom, "So we can get you a hotel or…" Amanda stopped her, "No need, I have an apartment lined up already." Olivia looked, "Really? You shopped online? It can't have anything in it, where will you sleep?"

Amanda looked at her, "It has a pull out couch as far as I know, that will make it until I get a bed." Olivia asked for the address and Amanda passed her a piece of paper. Olivia thought Amanda knew nothing about city living, to pick a place without seeing it in New York. Olivia laughed out loud when she saw the address.

Amanda's attitude came out, "What's so fucking funny?" Olivia leaned over and got really close to her face, "Your attitude sucks, my belt can fix that though." Olivia stared into her blue eyes and her first thought was that she was cute, but the longer she stared into those eyes, it became that she was sexy. "Buckle up Rollins, now!" Amanda's eyes were wide at her statement. Olivia had her full attention. She buckled up and Olivia pulled off.

Olivia needed to get herself together, she had a boyfriend and even though they were having problems, they loved each other. Olivia's mind wandered though, she did go both ways. She thought about her wild college days when she figured out she liked guys and girls. Amanda looked at her smiling, "Don't you need to see the address again or use GPS?" Olivia shook her head, "Nope. I know the city really well. I was born and raised here."

Olivia drove for 25 minutes and watched Amanda hold on tight, "Traffic is bad. Sometimes I drive, walk, take a cab, or the subway. I'm not far from the precinct and you aren't either." Amanda watched the traffic and was glad she buckled up, "I'm not used to this driving. Will my partner drive until I learn." Olivia smiled, "I'm sure we can arrange that."

She pulled into the garage and typed in a code. Amanda was confused, "How do you know…" It was Olivia's turn to cut her off, "You live in my building, and very close. Did you get the one bedroom?" Amanda nodded, "My neighbor just moved and left that couch." She smiled, "It's like fate, now I get to see you all the time. Come on Rollins!"

They walked into the main lobby, Amanda couldn't believe she picked this apartment. Olivia waved, "I'll leave the business part to you, but I'm across the hall. The manager showed her the apartment. It was nice and empty. As promised it had all of the major appliances and a nice couch. Amanda signed the lease.

She was in her apartment looking at the view when she heard a knock. She opened the door and saw a tall guy with brown hair and blue eyes. He looked scruffy, but she got the feeling he was a cop. He just had that look. "Amanda right?" Amanda nodded and looked, he had her box and bags, "Liv sent me to grab your stuff. Can I bring it inside?" Amanda moved back, "I'm sorry, sure. So you call her Liv like the Captain?" He laughed and it was the first time Amanda relaxed, "So she didn't give you nickname privileges huh?"

Amanda was confused and Olivia walked in, "Thanks Bri!" He kissed her cheek, "No problem." With his hands he reached out to greet Amanda, "I'm Brian Cassidy, Liv's boyfriend. It's nice to meet you." Amanda smiled, but that sentence was a punch in the gut. The beautiful Olivia Benson had a boyfriend. Amanda smiled, "Well thank you." With that Brian waved, "See you around."

She was left standing in the empty apartment with the woman who clouded her mind, "I will get settled and Detective Benson, I'll see you Monday morning." Olivia was a little surprised by her calling her Detective Benson and brushing her off, "I thought maybe you could join me for dinner. I mean you have appliances, but no food. I actually started cooking." Olivia noticed Amanda had these moments. Sometimes she was happy and seemed ok, but sometimes things would trigger her. She had lots of red flags and Olivia wanted to protect her, but Amanda was guarded.

Amanda opened her box, "I don't want to interrupt you two." Olivia understood what triggered this. Amanda had given off signals, hell Olivia could see them being close friends, maybe more. This was about Brian. "You won't be interrupting anything. Brian is working, he's always working. I asked him to grab your stuff before he left." Olivia didn't know where she and Brian stood at all. They were trying, but their relationship was definitely on the rocks. "So what do you say, dinner?"

Amanda looked up. It wasn't fair to be mean to Olivia, when she was being so nice. She had a boyfriend and Amanda should have expected it. Even though she didn't have a boyfriend, she fucked guys all the time. She had no right to be jealous and plus she needed a friend. "Ok sure." She grabbed her keys and followed Olivia across the hall. Olivia rushed back to the kitchen.

Amanda looked around, "Wow it looks the same as mine." Olivia peeked her head under the kitchen cabinets. "Yeah, the only difference is I have 2 bedrooms and bathrooms. I was going to invite you to stay, but you have your own place." She brought food out to the table, "If you decide the couch isn't as nice as it seems, I have a real bed."

Amanda smiled and looked at the shelves with pictures. She saw a picture of her and Brian. Then she saw a picture of a group of people in NYPD jackets. The last was a picture of a younger Olivia standing next to a lady with blonde hair and blue eyes. They weren't hugging, just standing beside each other.

Amanda asked, "Who are these people? I mean this is you and Brian, but…" Olivia pointed, "This is the squad. Well it used to be the squad. This is Fin. You'll like him, but he doesn't have that ponytail anymore. This is Munch, he's our Sergeant and he's retiring in a month." Amanda remembered Olivia was up for promotion, "Are you taking his place?"

Olivia nodded, "You know the Captain. This is our ME Melinda Warner, she lives in this building, but she's dating Fin and spends more time at his place. No one knows about that though, first secret." Amanda giggled, "I won't tell, I promise." Olivia was careful with the next comment and wanted to see to her reaction. "The blonde with the dark rimmed glasses, is ADA Alexandra Cabot. We're good friends and kinda had a fling, but she's an ADA and that's off limits. Plus she ended up not being my type. Second secret, no one knows about that either."

Olivia liked the reaction, it made her smile. "Who's the guy with the buzz cut?" Olivia sighed, "My old partner, Elliot Stabler. He was my partner the entire time I've been at SVU. Five months ago we had a case, he ended up shooting a teenage girl who brought a gun in the squad room. He just didn't come back." Amanda saw her sadness, "I'm sorry."

Olivia gave a small smile, "Come on dinner is ready. It's baked ziti with lots of cheese." Amanda pointed to the last picture, "Who's the lady standing with you?" Olivia took a deep breath and Amanda regretted asking, "That's my mom." Amanda did what other people did and made a face, "I know, we don't look anything alike." Amanda laughed, "You must get that a lot. Do you look like your dad?" Amanda asked as she walked to the table. "I might, but I've never met him."

They sat down to eat and Olivia talked about how much she loved New York. She explained her mother was a professor at Hudson University and that's where she went to school. "I joined the academy right out of school. I knew I wanted to be a cop at 14 and especially work at SVU." Amanda shook her head, "A cop is one thing, but SVU, why?" Olivia looked up through sad brown eyes, "Help me clean the kitchen and I'll explain.

They started putting leftovers away and cleaning. "At 14, my drunken mother decided to tell me I was product of rape. That's why I've never met my father. I don't know who he is, but his actions ruined my childhood and destroyed my mother. I wanted to help victims, so I did."

Amanda knew her life wasn't pretty, but that was bad. "Where's your mom now? Does she still live here?" Olivia shook her head, "Right after I made detective, she went to a bar and fell down a flight stairs because she was drunk. She died."

Amanda looked so sad and Olivia asked, "How about your family, were they with you in Atlanta?" Amanda had to tell her, Olivia told her so much. "My dad was a drunk, gambler, and abuser who beat my mom. He's dead now and my mom is dead to me. She left us, which I don't blame her, but she didn't take me. I guess because my dad never hit me and only her, she hated me for it. 1st secret, she paid me to never tell anyone, anything. I don't exist. She's married to a professional baseball player for the Braves. She has a son, Kolton and daughter, Kim."

Olivia looked at her sad eyes. "She had me young, my dad was older. In our world we call it statutory rape." Olivia asked, "How old was she?" Amanda shrugged, "15, but she was pregnant at 14. Which is ironic, that's when she left on my 14th birthday. They weren't married, but she left me her own kid." Amanda never looked up, "She must have met Kyle before leaving us. I remembered seeing ESPN. He signed a huge contract that kept him with the Braves 2 years later. He introduced his wife Beth Anne. She was holding Kim who was like 2 and pregnant with Kolton."

Amanda sighed, "She must have realized something. A lawyer came to the house and asked for my dad." Olivia thought that was hard to see, "What did your dad say?" Amanda just laughed, "He was dead by the time that happened." Olivia was concerned, "Rollins, you were taking care of yourself?" Amanda nodded, "I always did. I told him he was dead and he left. He came back a week later and gave me an envelope. It was an agreement. He told me money would be put in my bank account by every month. The only thing is I couldn't say anything. I didn't care, but I took the money. When I turned 18 I was given the final amount."

Olivia saw Amanda's past was dark, but she also knew from the Atlanta situation, things didn't get easier just because she became a cop. "You have a brother and sister?" Amanda shrugged, "I'm sure they don't know me at all." Olivia wasn't dumb, Amanda was a victim, but she wouldn't push her, because pushing her without being her friend could break her.

Amanda thanked Olivia, "Thanks for inviting me." Olivia smiled, "You sure you don't want the bed?" Amanda would have loved the bed, but she was close enough, she couldn't stand to be in the next room, "I'm good. See you Monday." Amanda headed for the door, "Oh I have 2 keys, do mind keeping one, in case of an emergency? My other neighbor in Atlanta was older and we always kept a key for each other."

Olivia smiled, "Absolutely! And there is a day before Monday. How about we hit Central Park tomorrow? It's beautiful in the fall." Amanda smiled, "Sure." Olivia thought they made progress tonight, "10 AM breakfast on me." Amanda unlocked her door and turned back, "Something's bothering me." Olivia asked, "Ok, what?"

Amanda smirked, "What do I have to do to get your nickname privileges as Brian called it?" Olivia raised an eyebrow, "Promise to be my friend, no matter what." Amanda smiled, "You've got it Liv. Night." Amanda stopped again, "Oh and can you stop with the Rollins stuff?" Olivia smiled, "Yeah, I'm sorry." Olivia waited for her to close her door and then she closed hers on the other side, "Holy shit, she's hot."