I do not own any of the characters from Law and Order:SVU.

Episode I: Butcher

Chapter 1

Olivia's Request

"Hey, Olivia," Capain Don Cragen greeted as Detective Olivia Benson closed the door to his office. "What's up?"

Her brown eyes seemed to gleam with determination. "I want a new partner," she said.

He was beyond surprised; she and Elliot had been partners for years. Guess this case did them in, Cragen thought. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Olivia answered, sitting down across from him.

"Well, what made you change your mind?" Cragen questioned, looking concerned.

"I almost had to kill my own partner," she replied, sighing and folding her slender arms. "I care about him too much, Cap, I'm not gonna have his death on my conscience if we get in a situation like that again."

He nodded in understanding. "You could switch off with John. You and Fin could-"

"No," Olivia said, staring at him. "I want a totally new partner. Someone I don't know."

"That makes it all the harder to get along with that person, though, Liv," Cragen pointed out. "Working with someone you know is easier."

Olivia remained silent, seeming to think on this. "Have you heard of a detective by the name of Adrianne Mallory?"

"Works Homicide. Best cop there," he nodded. "What about her? Is she who you want?"

"We went to college together," Olivia explained. "She was a girl in my sorority. Someone I trusted with my life but didn't know very well."

Cragen looked at her in an absurd manner. She didn't know her but she trusted her? Okay... "Why?"

Olivia sighed, heavily, chocolate eyes becoming dreamy as she recalled the past. "I was out at a party one night, feeling kind of tipsy and not really paying attention to anything around me. Some guy I knew from a frat house, came up behind me, dragged me into an alley. I told him to stop and to leave me alone but...He didn't listen. Since when does a drunk, horny college boy stop when you tell him to, right? He had his hands up my skirt and suddenly, I found myself thinking that I was going to end up like my mother. I started crying and yelled to stop but he still didn't listen. I thought no one was gonna come for me but just as he was undoing his pants...Adrianne, a sort of quiet yet clever chick I knew from the sorority, threw him off and beat the living hell out of him. Right in front of me."

"What happened to the guy?" asked Cragen.

Olivia smiled and shook her head. "After she finished, the guy was knocked out cold. She turned to me and came over to me, I threw my arms around her and started to cry, thanking her over and over. She whispered, softly, in my ear in that fancy British accent of hers. 'Don't worry, darling, it's all over now. He'll never come near you again'. We just left him there, knocked out cold and bloody. Then she took me home, cleaned me up, got me some coffee. I asked if she would stay with me and she did. She held me, all night. I felt like a little girl...In the morning, she was gone. I'd missed half my classes and decided I wasn't going in for the day, though I caught hell from my mother, who came and kicked me out of bed. She demanded to know why I wasn't in her English class like I was supposed to be and I explained what happened."

Cragen listened intently. "What did your mother do after that?"

"Though Adrianne had been expelled from the sorority for attacking an ally frat house boy, my mother ran up to her on the street and wrapped her arms around her," Olivia answered, smiling wih tears dazzling in her eyes. "She thanked her and Adrianne had whispered something in my ear...Something I can't forget."

He smiled. "And what was that?"

"'I know where you're going, pet, and even though everyone will tell you to leave, just follow what feels right. Trust your intuition and follow your heart. That's the best thing about women. One day we'll rule the world'," Olivia laughed.

Cragen laughed too, finding the way she imitated Adrianne quite amusing. Adrianne was a charming British woman with gorgeous looks and a great sense of philosphy. She was a muse, to put it plainly, and though Cragen had only met her once, he knew that she was a hellcat and that she'd not only keep Olivia's morale up but she could put Elliot back in line if he needed it.

"I'll see what I can do," he smiled.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," said Olivia, looking concerned. "I mean, if you don't think that she and I should be partners-"

"Liv, go get your homework done and I'll call in a favor," said Cragen. "Tell Elliot to come in here, won't you?"

She nodded and stood, leaving the room. Cragen picked up the phone and started dialing the numbers to the Homicide Captain. "Hey, Mark? Yeah, this is Don Cragen from Special Victims Unit. How's it going? Look, I need a favor..."