The day was warmer than its predecessors, the sun shining through the gloomy clouds enough to break through the chilliness of the weather that had plagued the city in the past weeks. Savina had taken advantage of the nice weather and went out for a walk, leaving Lucy with Noah at home. She was pleasantly surprised when she wasn't as winded as she thought she would be, nor did her muscles tense-up after a short distance like she expected them to. After all, she'd barely done any exercises for the past six weeks, and Dr. Thompson had finally cleared her for light physical activities, with about a million emphasis on the word light as he kept reminding her throughout the visit. She had taken it easy, walking at an almost leisurely pace, instead of a brisk, fast walk to avoid straining her still-healing ribs.
She was grateful for the new phone Olivia had gotten her instead of the old one she had and was listening to some music as she entered a café she'd frequented since she left the hospital since it was only a block away. She pulled out one earbud from her ear and smiled at the uniformed officer standing in line ahead of her. She didn't notice the man who entered behind her, as she responded to a text from Olivia, and another from Diana. Once the officer was done with ordering, she pocketed the phone, and voiced her own order, as she fished in her pocket for the credit card Olivia gave her.
She had barely put it into the card machine, when the man's voice from behind her interrupted her train of thoughts as she entered the pin. "Is this your card?" he asked, and she eyed him in a bit of shock at his bluntness. He was a bit taller than her, his hair military cut, and his gaze piercing her in what she assumed was a glare, but all it did was make her give him a glare of her own.
"Yes." Was her answer, before she turned around, and proceeded to finish the transaction, thinking that that was that.
But…. man was she wrong!
Finn and Mike were canvasing for witnesses for their latest case, when Finn's phone rang. He pulled it out expecting it to be Olivia asking for an update on the case, but found an NYPD number.
"Tutuola," he said into the phone. Mike was finishing up with the woman he was talking to, when Finn's voice caught his attention. "Vina, Vina, slow down."
Mike immediately excused himself and made his way over. He knew 'Vina' was Finn's name for Savina, and when he got closer, he could hear the panic in the teenager's voice. He signaled to Finn with his head towards their car, and Finn followed suit. "Calm down, I'm on my way!"
"What's wrong?" Mike asked.
"Some buffoon got her arrested, they're taking her to 13th," he informed him, and Mike cursed under his breath. "Are we telling the Lieutenant?" he wondered, and Finn shook his head. "Not until we make sure Savina's in one piece."
Olivia was arguing with Barba in his office about their latest case, with him of course playing the Devil's advocate.
"She was gang-raped, Rafa," she argued for what seemed like the millionth time.
"And I have no doubt about that. But my lack of doubt can not be used as evidence, Liv. She's a junkie, and you and I both know they don't make the best witnesses," he shot back.
"So, we just forget about it," she snapped, and he glared at her.
"That's not what I mean, and you know it. We'll need a mountain of evidence to corroborate her story, because any public defense attorney can easily poke holes into her story, and might convince a jury beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt that it's a simple case of morning-after shame," he explained, and she shook her head at him, just as her phone beeped. She angrily fished it out of her coat pocket, her eyes still glaring daggers at him, while he simply stood his grounds. She broke contact to look at her screen, her eyes widening in horror.
"We have to go," she rasped out, the anger making her choke on her words.
"Liv?" Barba wondered, as he made his way around his desk, and looked at her phone, before he grabbed his suit jacket and coat, and ushered her out of his office.
Savina was trying to keep her breathing under control, trying to make sure she didn't have a panic attack when the officer cuffed her, and was guiding her towards the squad car. The cuffs were cold and sharp against her skin, and those two sensations were not preferable to her at the moment, as they immediately conjured images she'd been working hard to banish from her mind.
"Listen, I don't know who he is, and I never claimed I was Olivia Benson. If you run my name through your system, you'll see that I'm not lying," She argued, her voice nearing on desperation, but the young officer refused.
"My desk Sargent will make that call, Miss. I have to take you in," the officer explained.
"Then at least let me call someone," she pleaded, as he guided her into the car.
"As soon as we get to the precinct."
The ride to the precinct was a blur to her. The back of the squad car did nothing to calm her nerves, and her entire body started to shake. Her breathing was coming in short and fast puffs of air, as the beads of sweat adorned her forehead. Her vision was getting blurry, and she had to focus hard to keep it from clouding entirely. After all, seeing with her own eyes that she was not in a dark, stuffy abandoned warehouse was the only thing keeping her from having a full-blown panic attack.
She jumped, her already wide eyes looking dazedly at the officer as he pulled her out. She didn't resist at all; she didn't have the energy to resist. She was barely able to walk with them.
"I will talk to the Sarge, and you take her to processing," the young officer spoke to his partner, who merely nodded.
"I…..I…..I want to call Sargent Tutuola," she repeated her earlier request.
The officer studied her for a minute; the wide eyes, beads of sweat, slight tremble of the body. Those were not the signs of an identity thief. And he'd never heard of a thief who asked to call an NYPD Sargent before. He knew of Sargent Tutuola, and of course knew of her mother…. if she was truly her mother that was. He knew the Lieutenant was fierce, and he was smart enough to realize that if the girl was telling the truth, he did not want to be the one to face her.
He sighed, as he pulled out his phone. "Do you know the number?" he asked, and she nodded.
Captain McAdams ran his precinct with a fair hand, or so he liked to think, and held his colleagues at high regards, and held much respect for them.
He knew his day just got a lot more complicated when his desk Sargent came in with one of their newest officers, as well as someone else the Captain knew without much introduction, as he'd had the misfortune of dealing with him in the past when he was a Sargent himself. He listened to his officer recount the events of the past hour, with the insufferable man interjecting often to correct him.
"Did you run her name, Officer?" McAdams asked.
"Yes, came back clean. No record, but didn't mention anything about Lieutenant Benson," the officer elaborated.
"Did you try calling Lieutenant Benson?" McAdams wondered. But before he could answer, his uninvited guest pipped up. "Captain, you can't take anything that girl says with a grain of salt. I know Olivia Benson, and she doesn't have any children."
"Actually, she does. I met Noah myself a few months ago at a picnic," McAdams told him. "I know your history. But remind me again, when was the last time you saw her?" he wondered.
"A couple of years ago," he stammered for an answer, surprised when the Captain scoffed. "I'd say more than that if you don't even know about Noah."
The man opened his mouth to object, when a knock at the door interrupted them both.
"Come in," the Captain called, and the officer who was processing Savina walked in.
"You done processing her?" the desk Sargent asked, and the officer nodded.
"Yeah, but I didn't put her in holding. She's on the benches, still in cuffs though," he told them, and Captain McAdams immediately started typing on his computer to access the processing records to see what her prints say about her.
"Sir, if I may," the officer cleared his throat, and McAdams looked at him. "I think she's telling the truth," he said, and the man who started it all scoffed.
"Don't let the crocodile tears fool you, Officer. I've seen better actors in my day," he was quick to say.
"How about the fact that Sargent Tutuola did indeed answer her call?" the officer shot back, a bit of bite in his tone.
That got his Captain's attention fully, and he abandoned the still downloading screen to look at his officer. "You allowed her a phone call?" he asked, and the officer nodded.
"I had it on speaker, and Sargent Tutuola was the one who answered, and he called her 'Vina'," he recounted. "He's also on his way." He added.
"Actually, he's here." The desk Sargent commented, when he saw Finn enter the precinct with Dodds, though he did not recognize Dodds. He saw Finn make a beeline for their holding cells, and Dodds headed straight for the Captain's office.
Captain McAdams gestured for the desk Sargent to open the door, and Dodds promptly barreled through. "Captain, Sargent Mike Dodds," he introduced himself, and the Captain immediately recognized the last name.
"Any relation to Chief Dodds?" he wondered.
"He's my father. I understand you have Savina Matthews in custody, and I would like to know on what charges?" he demanded. He wasn't one to usually use his father's name, but he was sure Savina's state of mind was not going to hold much longer. So, if his father's name was going to move things faster, then so be it.
"Identity theft. She claimed to be Lieutenant Benson's daughter, and according to…." The Captain's words were interrupted by Dodds. "That's not a claim, she is her daughter. She was also held captive for four days where she underwent severe torture a mere six weeks ago, so you can imagine what being cuffed is doing to her right now. So, if you would please tell your officer to release her, Sargent Tutuola would be more than happy to explain the situation," he made it sound like a request out of professional courtesy, but they all knew it really wasn't one.
The captain nodded at the officer, who left the office immediately, and rushed to where he left Savina. He saw Finn crouched down in front of her, and despite the distance, saw how shaken up she was.
A few moments ago,…..
Savina was losing her battle against her own brain, no matter how hard she tried to hold on to logic, the demons were getting stronger by the second. Every time she tried to move her hand, only to feel the cold metal of the cuff dig into her wrist, her mind would jump to the dark ceiling of the warehouse, the damp, smelly air as it entered her lungs with every breath she took. The way her screams echoed in the hollowness of the warehouse, the sounds of metal clinking together as that woman switched between tools, the smell of her burning flesh and the sound the hot metal made every time it made contact with her skin. They were all drowning out the sound, sight and smell of the precinct she was sitting in. Her breath was becoming shallower by the minute, as her heart thumped against her chest.
The hand on her shoulder had her jerking violently, her eyes – for a split second – seeing the round shape of her tormentor, before they focused on the face of the person in front of her. "Finn." She breathed, almost in disbelief.
"Yeah, Vina. It's okay, you're safe," he soothed, the hand on her shoulder squeezing it gently, as the other one came up to hold her face gently in an effort to ground her. The frantic look wasn't lost on him. He knew where her mind had gone, and it pained him. He'd let Dodds go deal with the Captain, figured his father's name would probably move things faster, as he came to calm her a bit, and see if he can get her to tell him what happened. But at the sight of her, he knew he had to calm her down a lot, especially before they called her mother, for if Olivia saw her like this, whoever was responsible for the mix up better stay out of her way.
He saw the Officer approach them, and quickly uncuffed the teenager, who immediately collapsed against Finn's chest. He quickly gathered her into his arms. "It's okay. You're safe now. Just try to take a deep breath," he instructed gently.
"Why don't I show you the bathroom so you can splash some water on your face?" the officer suggested, and Savina nodded. They both followed the officer away from the holding cells, with her still tucked in Finn's side, her arms wrapped around her body, and his around her shoulders.
Before they reached the front of the precinct, she saw Olivia and Barba barreling in. "Where's your Captain?" Olivia growled.
"Liv," Finn called, and a furious Olivia whipped around, surprised to see him there, her eyes immediately landing on an ashen Savina.
"Oh, sweetheart," she sighed in relief, as she pulled the younger brunette into her arms, without much resistance from Savina.
"I'm okay," Savina said into her shoulder, though her voice was not as convincing as she thought it would be. She knew they didn't quite believe her, especially if she were to judge by Barba's scoff when she said that.
She pulled back from the embrace but didn't quite step out of Olivia's arms. "What happened?" Barba demanded, as he eyed her critically, especially when she started to rub her wrist.
"I don't know. I was at the café getting something to drink and this guy asked me if the credit card was mine. Then said he was your partner and knew you didn't have a daughter," she recalled, a bit shakenly, and Olivia was becoming more and more furious by the second.
"Partner?" she repeated in both confusion, and anger alike.
But before Savina could answer, another voice gave her her answer, one that she hadn't heard in ages.
"Hello, Liv," the man, who had started it all, spoke from the doorway to the Captain's office.
Olivia couldn't believe her ears; she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. But at the faint 'damn' Finn released, and the shock on his face, she was leaning more towards reality than hallucinations.
She looked over to the man she hadn't seen in five years, the one who up and left without so much as a note, who walked out of her life without a single word to her. One who hasn't bothered to call or even check on her, even after her debacle with Lewis was all over the news. He now stood there casually – almost smug-looking as well – as he claimed to be her partner, and that he knew she didn't have a daughter. And as far as he knew, she didn't. She never mentioned Savina to him, not once did she share that secret with him, nor did she ever think about it. For whatever reason, some part of her brain had adamantly refused to let him in on that specific secret. And that part was right. He didn't deserve to know; he wasn't worthy of such a secret.
"Elliot!" she breathed in shock.
So here's a long chapter to make up for the long wait. Olivia's reaction was originally gonna be in this chapter, but it was becoming super-long, so I decided to stop it on a cliff-hanger ;)
All the reviews are much appreciated.