Through It All
Chapter 2: Family
Elliot broke out into a grin as wide as Olivia's "A cousin?" he asked. While he was happy for her, he still maintained a healthy skepticism. Still he couldn't deny that he rarely saw Olivia smile like that.
"Yeah," she answered, scooting into his embrace once more "Her name is Annie and she's fourteen."
"How come you never heard about her before?" Elliot asked.
"She's from the other side of the country," Olivia answered after a brief pause. She pressed a gentle kiss to Elliot's lips "I can't wait to meet her," she told him "I didn't even get a chance to talk to her on the phone. Munch said that as soon as they got her some food she practically passed out like she'd been awake for weeks or something," she paused again "Elliot, my cousin has been on the run since she was ten."
Elliot gasped audibly "So young," he murmured. He felt for the poor kid. He would have felt for her even if she hadn't been Olivia's cousin but just that extra personal connection fairly ripped his heart in two.
"Munch said that they're bringing her to the station tomorrow," Olivia paused again "You know that case they went upstate to help on?" she asked.
Elliot nodded. Munch and Fin had gone upstate to assist in the investigation into the rapes and murders of several young teens. He involuntarily pulled Olivia closer as the realization hit him "Oh Liv," he whispered.
"If they hadn't decided to do the stakeout tonight," Olivia whispered. All the information that Munch had given her so quickly over the phone was settling in. It settled unevenly, different parts surfacing at odd times.
"Olivia," Elliot whispered as he held her tight "You can't think like that."
"I have a cousin," she whispered "And if they had done the stakeout any other night, I would never have known," she openly sobbed into Elliot's chest.
"She's safe now Olivia," Elliot soothed her. He stroked her hair and was simply there for her. She needed him and he wasn't going anywhere, not tonight, or ever if he could help it. He pulled the blankets over the two of them "We should get some sleep," he told her "Otherwise, you'll hardly be able to stand when you meet her tomorrow."
"It is tomorrow," she chuckled softly as she closed her eyes. "I have a cousin," Olivia repeated softly just before she drifted off in Elliot's arms.
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He dragged his bleeding body through the undergrowth laboriously. He was lucky that the bullet had been deflected by the cross that he war around his neck but he had been badly beaten before that and he couldn't stand under his own power. The night was cold and he was sure that he would freeze to death if he didn't find shelter soon. He heard the wolves growing closer and knew that he had to hurry. The problem was that with each inch that he pulled his broken body along the ground, the pain grew ten fold.
He couldn't let them get away with this. He knew that they would go back to his hotel room and find everything. The information on the still unaccounted for members of his once great family. The few who carried the bloodline that weren't under the thumb of the syndicate or dead. There were only two of them and neither had any idea of the danger they were in.
He had tried to find them both but had never been successful. He hoped that the syndicate would have much worse luck than he had. Though it was diluted, the bloodline was still powerful in even distant relations if the syndicate got to them, it could be very bad.
He finally stopped, unable to go any further. He collapsed onto the cold ground. He didn't want to give in but darkness slowly claimed him. As he faded away, he cursed himself for not being able to protect his cousins.
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Annie woke up in a real bed for the first time in months. She stretched, sat up and looked around the hotel room. Fin had offered her his bed in the hotel sweet and he had taken the couch. Fin had actually gotten into an argument with John over who would give her their bed. Annie smiled to herself when she remembered that Fin had one the argument by making a comment about couches being bad for the backs of old men. John had shrugged his shoulders in defeat and retreated.
Annie reached for her bag and pulled out a change of clothes. She had only two sets to choose from other than the one she was wearing. She was glad that before she had taken that bus the day before that she had taken the time to do laundry at a laundry mat near the bus stop. She would hate to face her cousin in dirty clothes. Even when they were clean, they weren't really all that impressive to look at.
She headed into the bathroom and turned the shower on. A hot shower was a luxury that she rarely got to enjoy. As she stepped under the spray, she couldn't help but hope that she would get to enjoy it a lot more often from now on. Olivia Benson had been last on her list for a reason though. Annie didn't think that Olivia would want anything to do with her. None of the others had and Olivia had what Annie considered a legitimate reason to hate her.
As Annie reveled in the warmth of the shower water, her mind couldn't help but wander. She had been six years old when her grandfather had first stood her in front of the family tree, back in the days when it hung proudly above the mantle in his house, and explained to her about her heritage.
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"That's me," the small child smiled pointing to her name on the family tree. She looked up at her grandfather "I'm on there too," she was in awe of this simple piece of paper.
"Yeah sweetheart," the older man smiled down kindly at his grandchild. He gathered her up into his arms and held her so she could get a closer look at the family tree "And that's your mommy and daddy," he pointed to his daughter's name and the name of her husband.
Annie stared in amazement at how many names were arranged before her. She reached out and her tiny finger traced a line from her name to her mother's name "Helena McDonald," she whispered reverently. Her fingers traced her father's name "Joseph McDonald," she smiled as her finger came to rest on the name that lay just below the two once more "Annie McDonald."
"Yep," her grandfather smiled "That's your family. All of them," he made a sweeping gesture at the family tree "All of these people are our family."
"All of them?" Annie asked. There were after all a lot of people and the little girl had a hard time believing that they were all family.
"Every last one of them," her grandfather told her.
"Wow," she was in even more awe than she had been before. Her small eyes scanned the names when suddenly she stopped "Grandpa," she commanded his attention "Why is this one crossed out?"
Her grandfather set her on the ground again and knelt down to face her "That's a long story sweetie. You're too young to understand."
Annie scrunched up her face "You're always telling me I'm too young. Why is that name crossed out? Is that person still family? You said they were all family so is that person still family even though their name is crossed out?"
The old man grew very serious all of a sudden "Annie," he began "In our hearts, we will always love him but he can no longer be a part of this family."
"Why not?" the inquisitive child asked, scaling the mantle to get a closer look at the crossed off name that had so quickly peeked her interest.
"Annie," her grandfather tried to stop her "If your mother sees you up there…"
"He has a baby," Annie nearly squealed. She had noticed that beneath the name that had been crossed out, another name was clearly visible. This name was not crossed off and Annie was puzzled "Grandpa," she began as he lifted her off the mantle and set her on the ground "Is his baby still part of our family?"
"Yes," he answered simply, moving to sit in the big arm chair beside the fireplace and pulling Annie into his lap. He held his granddaughter close to him as he tried to think of a way to explain such a complicated thing to such a young child.
"Is he a bad man?" Annie suddenly asked.
Her grandfather nodded slightly but then said "No, I don't believe he is but he did a very bad thing."
"I didn't eat my vegetables last night," Annie whispered.
"What honey?" her grandfather was confused by the seemingly unrelated topic.
"Mommy told me that I should eat my vegetables," Annie clarified "And I slipped most of them under the table to Cupid and Elmo," Cupid and Elmo were the family dogs. They were West Highland terriers and for some reason they liked to eat the vegetables that Annie fed them from her own plate.
He chuckled softly at Annie's admission "Honey you really should eat your vegetables," he said kindly.
"I know," Annie hung her head "I did a bad thing Grandpa and I'm sorry. Please don't cross my name out of the family?"
"Oh," he pulled her closer "Honey, no one's gonna cross you out."
"But I did a bad thing like the man who used to be family," she was confused, unable to grasp the true gravity of the situation.
"Yes but-"
"I said I was sorry," she began to cry "Didn't that man say he was sorry? He got crossed out of the family. But he was sorry wasn't he?"
"No," her grandfather whispered "No he wasn't sorry for what he did," she was too young to hear this. He felt incredibly uncomfortable. Where was his daughter to tell them that lunch was ready?
"Where's his baby?" Annie asked "Do we love her? You said we still love him even though he's not part of the family but she's not crossed out so is she part of the family?"
"She's far away honey," he told her "Yes we still love her and we have loved her since the day she was born."
"Then why can't she come live with you and me and mommy and daddy?" Annie asked innocently.
"I'm not sure she'd want to," he answered her.
"We could ask her," Annie countered with the pure innocence that can only come from a child who has no idea what the world truly holds "Mommy always tells me that I should ask if I'm not sure about something so I do."
Her grandfather allowed himself to chuckle just a little bit "You certainly do," he smiled at her before becoming serious again "She wouldn't want to live with us because…" he paused to think "She'd be mad at us."
"Why?" Annie asked "We love her don't we? She's family right? Why would she be mad at us? Is she mad because her daddy got crossed out of the family?"
"No," her grandfather reassured her quickly "She's not mad at us about that."
"Why is she mad at us then?" Annie asked "Maybe if we tell her that we love her, maybe then she won't be mad."
Annie's grandfather had nothing to say to this.
"Lunch is ready," Helena appeared in the door of the living room and held her arms out to Annie who ran to her mother happily.
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Annie had never gotten a clear answer on why Olivia would be mad at her. She had grown to believe that Olivia perhaps hated her and maybe even blamed her for whatever bad thing her father had done. She couldn't help being nervous about meeting her cousin. If Olivia did indeed hate her, what was she going to do?
She toweled off and dressed quickly. She was brushing her hair in the still foggy mirror when she heard a knock on the bathroom door. She put the brush down and moved to open it. She knew she was taking a long time but she didn't know when the next time would be that she would be able to enjoy the comfort of a real bathroom and not just a public toilet.
"Sorry," she said as she opened the door to see John standing there.
"No," John backed up about three steps "My bad, I thought Fin was in there. I was gonna ask him where you were."
"I'm here," Annie smiled, walking to the bed and packing up her things "When do we leave?" she may have been incredibly apprehensive about meeting Olivia but she didn't want to put it off. She knew that the longer she drew the anticipation out, the more likely she was to start to believe that she would find a home this time and the more disappointed she would be when she was eventually turned away.
"As soon as I find Fin," John said as he scanned the room.
"Did you check the couch?" A voice asked from the doorway.
"Oh," John turned around "I guess it slipped my mind."
"A lot of things slip your mind or what's left of it," Fin decided to go for the easy jab.
"Well at least-" John was about to hit Fin with a snappy comeback when Annie cut him off.
"Hey Guys?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah," they both turned to her.
She squirmed under their gazes and suddenly lost the nerve to ask what she wanted to ask. She took a long time before she finally blurted out "Can we go grab some breakfast?"
"Sure," John said with a nod in Fin's direction "Mr. Badass over here will pay for it," he chuckled.
"Fine with me," Fin smiled "I'd happy to pay for breakfast." He left the room closely followed by Annie and then John who couldn't help but worry that Fin had given in so easily.
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"Congratulations Casey," the doctor smiled after she had finished examining her "You're pregnant. It looks like you are about four weeks along."
Four weeks, Casey thought. That put the date of conception at the night that she had slept with Ellis "Thank you," she managed to say even though she didn't think that her mouth could work anymore.
"I'd like to set up an appointment with you for the first ultrasound," the doctor said as Casey slid off of the exam table and reached for her clothes "I'll give you a moment to get dressed while I go speak with my receptionist."
Casey nodded numbly. When the doctor had left, she fell apart. She couldn't raise a child on her own. Yet she somehow already felt a deep bond with her child and she knew that there was nothing more that she wanted in the world than to have this baby. After a few minutes of heavy crying, she managed to pull herself together. She finished getting dressed and prepared to walk out of the room when she paused and placed her hand over her still flat stomach "It's you and me little one," she whispered "I'm gonna do right by you. I promise."
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"You should go ask him now," Elliot told Olivia when he saw Cragen go into his office and neglect to fully close the door behind him.
"I know," Olivia answered with a sigh. She rose from her desk and with one last look in Elliot's direction, during which he gave her a reassuring smile, she made her way to the slightly ajar office door and knocked.
Cragen looked up as Olivia entered "Good morning," he greeted her.
Olivia returned the greeting before taking a seat "I need to ask for a little time off," she jumped right in to her reason for coming to speak with him.
"Is this about your cousin?" Cragen asked. When Olivia affixed him with a puzzled gaze he elaborated "John called me last night."
"It's just all happening so fast," she admitted "I'll probably only need the rest of today and then there's the weekend. I just need to get her settled. I shouldn't really need all that long. I'm sure I can be back to work by-"
"Olivia," Cragen cut her off, raising a hand "Take as long as you need. Take care of your cousin, take care of yourself and don't worry about it. With Munch and Fin coming back today, we'll be able to handle things a lot easier around here."
"I'll work until she gets here," Olivia told him as she got up.
"That's fine," he reassured her.
"Thanks," she flashed him a tiny smile as she left the office. She returned to her desk and sat down, focusing completely on her paperwork.
"What did he say?" Elliot asked eagerly, leaning forward in his chair.
"He said I could take as long as I need," she responded without looking up from her paperwork.
"Liv," Elliot leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest "What's up?"
"Hmm?" Olivia asked, still seemingly engrossed in the paperwork.
"Would you look at me?" he asked gently.
"What if Munch and Fin show up?" she asked, glancing at her watch. They were due to arrive any minute.
"So what if they do?" he asked with a laugh "I'm just asking you to look at me. Its not like I'm saying 'Hey, Olivia, I want you so bad right now, let's just do it on top of Munch's desk.'"
At this Olivia through her head back and laughed "If you said that, I think I'd…" she collapsed into fits of giggles "I don't even know what I'd do."
"Would you do it?" he asked teasingly.
Olivia paused and took just a little longer than expected to answer "No."
It was Elliot's turn to laugh hysterically "You actually had to think about it," he was practically rolling in back and forth in his seat.
"Well," she said contemplatively, propping her cheek against the palm of her right hand and fixing Elliot with the most seductive stare imaginable.
He sobered instantly "Oh," he whispered "That's what you didn't want Munch and Fin to see… wow."
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"You're sure she said she can't wait to meet me?" Annie asked. She was standing outside the precinct with Munch and Fin. Somehow this time she was much more afraid than she had been all the other times. Maybe it was that Olivia was the last family she had or perhaps it was that she was sure that she would be instantly hated but she was petrified now that she was there. Her cousin was in the very building that she stood in front of and she was too afraid to go inside to meet her.
"Hey," John said, putting a hand on Annie's shoulder "I'm quoting her exactly here. She said 'Tell her I can't wait to meet her.' and I know she means it."
"She's gonna hate me," Annie whispered, beginning to tremble slightly.
"No she won't," Fin told her firmly "Now come on."
"I'm not ready yet," Annie told him. These two seemed nice enough and they were friends with her cousin but that did nothing to assuage her fears.
"Captain's expecting us," Fin said to John.
John nodded and turned to Annie "And Olivia's expecting you kiddo," he opened the door of the precinct "I promise, she'll love you."
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"Where are they?" Olivia asked, glancing at the clock again "They should have been here already. What if something happened to them?" she rose from her desk and began to pace.
"Liv, take it easy," Elliot got up and moved to intercept her "You're already acting like a mother hen and you haven't even met her yet."
"Like you wouldn't be worried if it were your kid," Olivia snapped. She calmed instantly "Sorry, its just that…"
"I know," Elliot told her as he took her into a hug "They'll be here," he told her "You know how those two are always late."
Olivia nodded "Yeah," when she saw those two, she was going to hug them for saving her cousin's life and then she was going to kill them for making her worry.
"Besides," Elliot smiled "It's only been ten minutes." He continued to hold Olivia in his arms. The peaceful hug was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The two broke apart to see Munch and Fin standing in the doors to the squad room. "Hi," Elliot coughed and turned to Olivia to notice that her cheeks were bright red. He assumed that his must have been as well.
Olivia's embarrassment quickly dissipated however when she noticed that something wasn't right "Where is she?" she asked almost frantically. Munch stepped to one side to reveal a rather scared looking teenager with dark hair and dark eyes. Olivia knew that Annie was fourteen but the girl didn't look older than twelve. She was skinny to the point of looking unhealthy and Olivia wondered when the last time was that this child had had a decent meal. Annie clung to one of the straps of her backpack with one hand and the other she ran nervously through her hair. Olivia took a cautious step towards the girl "Annie?" she whispered, feeling the moisture gathering in her eyes.
Annie had tears in her own eyes as she whispered in return "Hi."
In two seconds Olivia had crossed the room and enveloped Annie in a tight hug "Welcome home," she cried into the teenager's hair.
TBC
A/N: Okay "Finding Olivia" fans, I promise I'm working on the next chapter of that story but I just had to get the ball rolling on this one. The first chapter here didn't really give you an idea of the plot and this one doesn't really either. Please review and tell me what you think. Remember, I love theories, so anything you want to toss my way would be awesome. Even if you tell me that you hate it. I promise that Casey will come into play more in the later chapters.