"Lizzie," Elliot said softly. She had broken down in tears for what seemed like hours, unable to finish whatever she had been saying. Morgan sniffled, and wiped her face with her sleeve, never letting of his daughter's hand.

When Elliot looked at her quizically, she half-smiled and said, "I have a strict policy no one cries alone in my presence."

"Steel Magnolias," Elizabeth whispered. She drew her legs up against her body and rested her chin on her knees.

Elliot leaned towards her. "What, sweetie?"

"Steel Magnolias. That's where that line is from. Dolly Parton."

Morgan smiled. "My kinda girl." She hugged Liz around the shoulders, and Elliot did the same. Morgan stood up after a moment and looked around for a box of Kleenex, offering it to Elizabeth after using one herself.

Suddenly, a knock on the door startled all of them. Elliot opened it to see Olivia who he immediatly smiled at.

"How're you guys holding up?" she asked, giving him a quick hug without even thinking about it.

Elliot sighed. "Could be better..."

"Olivia!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Olivia held up a package and Elizabeth crawled across the couch and reached for it, tearing the gold foil bag open.

"Chocolate strawberries! From Godiva? SCORE!" Morgan yelled. Olivia jumped- she hadn't seen the younger women. "I mean, uh. Enjoy," she told Elizabeth with a smile.

"Don't worry, I don't think even I could eat all twelve..." Elizabeth joked. Morgan noticied the pained smile on Olivia's face, and felt very oddly out of place.

"I think you need a girl's night," Olivia said. "I have everything but the movies. Even crappy nail polish."

"Popcorn?" Elizabeth asked. "Dad hates popcorn."

"You don't like popcorn?" Morgan asked incredously. "What kind of freak are you?" She was glad the mood had lightened- not for Elizabeth's sake, who had been about to let down her guard, but her own.

She felt distinctly over her head here. Never before had she worked with parents who had such a good grasp of what to do, who kept trying to do her job for her. She normally would have sequestered the girl off, stuffed her full of chocolate, and waited for the story to come out. She was a big believer in the healing powers of chocolate. But with Olivia and Elliot around... well, she hadn't felt this insecure since her first clincal rotation. Her instincts, which she usually trusted without exception, seemed subject to constant second-guessing and inspection. Mostly from herself too. Worst kind, really. At least when it was other people, you could write them off as idiots. Hard to do that when the person criticizing you was your own head.

"It's nasty," Elliot's voice jarred her from her circular logic, pretending to be offended. "I-"

"You are so weird," Morgan and Elizabeth said at the same time.

"Well, Miss Elizabeth," Morgan said, "I think some Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts are in order. To go with your lovely strawberries of course." She would try again to get her alone in the car; she knew from experience how hard telling your story in front of an audience was. "Up for a car ride?"

"I'll go with you," Olivia said, almost too quickly, but not quite. "I'm sure you need directions anyway."

Morgan quickly covered her frustration. Plan B. "Sure, thanks! I have no idea where anything is. This city is worse than San Antonio." She grabbed her jacket, and picked up her purse. Like she didn't know where the bloody video store was. Please.

Elliot blinked when he saw her purse inside, then put two and two together. Morgan had sent him out to the car. Elizabeth had stopped talking as soon as he came in the room. Morgan had tried to get Elizabeth alone again just now, by offering a ride. For whatever reason... his daughter didn't trust him. And apparently, neither did this woman. What did they think he would do? He was an SVU Detective for Chrissakes. He was the last person who would tell her she had asked for it, or that she must have done something to bring it on herself, or any of the other crap he heard every day from parents who didn't have a clue. He could almost get pissed about it, if he thought it over long enough.

"You don't know tangled streets until you've been here," Olivia told her, jerking Elliot out of his train of thought.

"I thought people paving over old cattle trails was bad," Morgan trailed off. "Anything else y'all want? Movie, popcorn..."

"I think that'll cover it," Elliot said, looking at Elizabeth, who also nodded. Morgan rummaged around in her purse for her keys when Olivia said cheerfully, "I'll drive."

Morgan grimaced inwardly. She would have to be deaf to miss the venom in the older woman's tone.

The second they were in the car, Morgan realized she was indeed about to be on the business end of Olivia's very formidable verbal fangs.

"I don't know what you think you're all about, sauntering in like you're the answer to his prayers, but he's been hurt enough, and by God, I swear, if you think you can just-"

"Uh. Before you continue, could I know what in the Sam hell you're talking about?"

"Oh, give up the sourthen bell crap."

"I'm about to get pissed, lady," Morgan spat, unsheathing some claws of her own. "Just what is your problem?"

"You JUST MET Elliot, and already you-"

"You're jealous," Morgan said flatly. "Of me." This time, her tone had a definite tone of disbelief. If it wasn't so absurd, she would have laughed.

Olivia stopped ranting for a moment. "I most certainly am not."

"Oh," Morgan replied, not beliving it for a minute. "Well, just in case you are and don't feel like sharing that with the class, you have absolutely no reason to be. Elliot's good looking and all, but he certainly isn't worth my job."

Olivia stared dead center down her car, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. She WAS jealous, and it sucked. She hadn't felt this ridiculous since high school. Scratch that- she had never felt this ridiculous.

"My job is to help Elizabeth. That's it," Morgan told her, trying to make peace. "Besides, he won't be interested in me anyways."

"Don't be stupid," Olivia snapped, jerking the car into a parking space. She opened her door and hit the automatic locks, before Morgan even had a chance to undo her seatbelt. Morgan debated sitting in the car and sulking, then decided thatcome off asa little childish. She got out of the car, and ran to catch up with Olivia.

"Sweetheart?" Morgan drawled, sounding just like the movie they were coming to pick up. "I'm Mormon, and I'm married." She walked into Olivia's back as the other woman stopped dead.

"So you got nothing to worry about."

"You're married?" Olivia asked incredously once they were on the way back. Before she could ask the question Morgan always heard, she pulled a ring on a gold chain out from under her shirt.

"I'm always paranoid it'll fall off when I'm out, so I only wear it at home."

"But you- you're only-"

"Twenty-six."

"I hate you," Olivia said jokingly. Morgan noticied she had lightened up considerably once hearing about her marital status.

"Yeah, well. Just happened that way."

"How'd you meet him?" Olivia asked, checking her rearview mirror, or pretending to so she could glance at Morgan again.

"Through my work. Not too many Mormons out to save the world's used and abused, so we started going out. He was twenty-six when I met him; I was eighteen."

"Bit of an age difference."

"Yeah, well, you know. I'm sure you remember what guys are like in that age bracket." Morgan took a deep breath before continuing. "Elizabeth told me you were there when the rape kit was done?"

Olivia had been wondering when she'd get to this. "Yeah. I was."

"What was she like? Her emotional state, I mean. Shocked, afraid..."

"By that point... she was just numb. She didn't have any reserves left, not enough energy to be afraid anymore."

"And she came to the precinct? Any idea how?"

Olivia took a deep breath of her own. "I don't know. She wouldn't tell anyone."

"She said she told you."

Well. That was thoughtful of her, Olivia said to herself bitterly. Between a rock and a hard place now.

"She should be the one to tell you."

Morgan nodded. "All right."

Silence descended again until they were back at Elliot's. Morgan snatched the plastic sack and headed to the door.

"What's the hold up?" Olivia called as she peeled her coat off, walking up the steps behind Morgan, who for some reason hadn't opened the door.

"Olivia..." Morgan said quietly, her already pale face gone white as a sheet.

"What?"

"Look..." Morgan started to tremble as Olivia gasped, her hand flying to her face.