Chapter 12: Little Scare

SVU Squad Room (16th Precinct) – Thursday, October 6th – 11:30am

"Benson. McDowell. My office!" announced Cragen from the doorway of his office.

Olivia and Faith looked at each other and walked toward Cragen's office. When they went in there, both women tried to stifle a yawn, but Cragen caught it.

"Are you two going to be alright working together today?" he asked.

Faith raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"Both of you are sleep-deprived and I do not want to risk one of you ladies falling asleep behind the wheel during your field assignments."

"We'll both be fine, Cap," interjected Olivia.

Don decided to give them the news before they started to complain. With Olivia and Faith both having little ones, they were sleep deprived by being up with them at night, much less having a job that required long hours while trying to juggle motherhood at the same time.

"Liv, I'm putting you with Fin. Faith, you're with Munch," he answered immediately. Before the two women could protest, Cragen held his hand out in front of them. "This will only be for today."

Both women nodded and went out on their assignment with Munch and Fin. They grabbed their jackets and walking out to the parking lot where the sedans were parked.

"See you out there, partner," Olivia called out to Faith as she got in the car with Fin.

"Same here," Faith called back, stepping in the passenger side with Munch.

Manhattan – 72nd St. -- Daniel Burton's Apt. #5B –12:15pm

Olivia and Fin searched for evidence in the apartment of their victim, Daniel Burton, a paroled rapist. They were looking for any kind of clue that would give them a motive or who may have killed him. Cragen had given Faith and Munch the job of interviewing his acquaintances and finding out whether there was anyone that had a grudge against him that may have wanted him dead.

Olivia went in the bedroom and looked in dresser drawers and the nightstand. She was about to leave when something sticking out from underneath the bed caught her eye. She crouched down and pulled out a pen from her pocket and picked up the gun with the pen.

She walked out of the bedroom waving the gun and called out, "Fin, I've got the murder weapon!"

Fin looked up from searching through some papers and went over to look at the gun with his glove-covered hand. He pulled out a bag and placed the gun in there.

He held out the bag in front of him, "It looks like a 9mm."

"Whoever killed this guy had a good motive for using that type of weapon," said Olivia, pointing towards the bag with the last word. Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket.

"Benson," she said into the phone. "What? Is she OK?" She looked at her watch and then at Fin, who was puzzled at what was going on. "Alright, I'll go back to the precinct and let my boss know. I'll be there to pick her up in about 30 minutes. Thank you, Rosa."

"Is everything okay?" Fin asked Olivia after she hung up the phone.

Olivia shook her head and gave Fin a worried look, "That was Rosa. She said that Kaitlyn is throwing up and needs me to come get her. I'm going to go back to the station and let Cragen know that I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off so I can take Kaitlyn to the doctor."

"Go ahead and go on back. I'll call Munch and catch a ride back to the house with him and Faith."

"Thanks Fin."

SVU Squad Room 16th Precinct – 1:00pm

Cragen walked outside with Olivia as she went out to her car. She had told him that Kaitlyn was sick and would be taking the rest of the afternoon off.

"I already called Elliot and he knows I'm leaving," said Olivia.

"Take all of the time that you need, Liv," said Cragen. "Hope the baby feels better soon."

"Thanks Cap. Me too." Olivia said good-bye to Cragen and drove off from the station house.

Stabler Residence – 2:30pm

Kaitlyn was crawling on the floor in the living room as she reached for her toys. Olivia sat on the couch and watched her daughter as she played contentedly. She was relieved when she took Kaitlyn to the pediatrician that she wasn't running a fever and that her sick spell was a sign of her teething. Now there was nothing that bothered the baby as she seemed to be a happy, smiling little girl.

Kaitlyn crawled over towards Olivia's feet and played with her light purple toenails, but not before Olivia grabbed her up and pretended to gobble her up, making Kaitlyn giggle very loud.

"I love you," said Olivia, grinning widely at Kaitlyn.

"Mama, mama, mama," babbled Kaitlyn. Olivia's heart began to melt as she heard her daughter say that special word. Mama. It meant so much to her to hear that. Even though she was almost eight months old, she was starting to say Mama and Dada. 'She could be a genius child,' thought Olivia.

"That's right, baby. I'm your mama."

The baby responded by resting her head on Olivia's chest. Olivia breathed in her daughter's sweet baby scent and took in this moment with her. She got a scare with her today and wanted to be there for everything no matter how busy the job was or the way life can be. She wanted to be there for her shots, when she started preschool, and graduated from high school.

Olivia made a promise to herself that she would be the best mother and always be there for Kaitlyn when she needed her.

TBC