Chapter 2
Melinda walked in early and found Amanda on her office couch. Amanda sat up. "Sorry I woke you. Why are you sleeping here?" Amanda held her head, "The hotel is getting old." Melinda frowned, "You haven't found a place yet?" Amanda shrugged, "Haven't really looked." Melinda stood at the door, "I don't know your price range, but my building has openings and Liv stays there too." Melinda knew the hotel and was doing the math in her head, Amanda must have had money. She also figured she would name drop Olivia to see the reaction. It was a smile that Melinda didn't see often.
SVU caught a case that was unsolved and had ties to Atlanta. Olivia looked at the board and the suspect. Her and Nick didn't think they had the right person. She looked at the file and Gabriel Thomas. "Liv, he has a wife and son. So many things match up, but something's not right." They had a sketch and DNA but he denied it all. "Cap, can I have your permission to get some help?" Cragen looked at his Sergeant, "Rollins?" Olivia nodded. He shrugged, "You can try."
Olivia went with the files to Amanda. She was helping Melinda with a case. Olivia could tell she didn't like the dead bodies. "Liv, what's up?" Olivia asked Amanda for help and handed her the file. Amanda read it and looked at the sketch. When she saw the same Yin Yang tattoo, she looked up, "I remember this." Olivia saw the light come back in her eyes, "Can I talk to him?" They went down, he had a lawyer but he was an open book. Amanda stood at the board and with the squad. "Something's wrong. The guy we chased, it just doesn't fit."
Amanda sat with Gabriel, "Can you explain this, the DNA. If you didn't do it, how? Do you have a twin or something?" Cragen had her full attention. Gabriel scoffed, "For all I know I could." Amanda was joking but then stopped. "I'm adopted. I don't know anything about my past." Fin and Nick went to work. They tracked down Gabriel's biological mother in a halfway house. Amanda had it, Gabriel did have a twin and their lives were completely different.
Amanda had the floor, "Brian Smith, this is your guy, not Gabriel." They found out Brian was a janitor in Central Park. Cabot was working to get it right since they turned Gabriel's life upside down. Fin shook his head, "He likes blondes. What do we do, get Liv a wig?" Amanda knew, "I'll do it. I am NYPD. Everyone looked and smiled. They got busy setting it up. Amanda was a runner. For days Liv got a chance to see her slim body in leggings.
They were at the park and Rollins put her ear piece in. She was supposed to be a jogger to trap him. Olivia and her locked eyes, "Be careful." Everyone was watching as Amanda ran laps. She caught his attention right away. Nick was on a bike, while Fin was on foot. Nick didn't like it, "Rollins, stay close." Amanda tried, but the park was unfamiliar to her. She ended up in a deserted area and Brian attacked her. He had a knife to her neck and his knee forced her legs open. Nick got there in time and pulled Brian off.
Olivia ran to help Amanda and she was stunned. "Amanda, are you ok?" Amanda sat on the ground. Olivia knew what this was, "Amanda, look at me. I'm here, it's Liv." Olivia saw those bright blue eyes again. She helped her up and checked her neck. It was just a flesh wound. Amanda looked as Fin and Nick went after him, "I'll talk to the blonde." Olivia went in with Amanda. "Are you ok?" Amanda smiled, "Liv, I can do it."
Amanda did do it. She got his confession on all the rapes and he would be charged. Cragen shook her hand, "Just what I heard, one hell of a detective. Rollins, if you change your mind, we still have that opening." Amanda went back to her office. Olivia saw Melinda leaving, "We'd love to have Amanda with us." She explained what happened. "She's still up there. She's been quiet. See ya." Melinda knew what she was doing.
Olivia headed back up to check on her. She knocked on the door, "You need rest. You had a crazy day." Amanda stood up wincing. "Hey are you ok?" Amanda held her side, "It's a bruise." Olivia walked over, "Can I see?" Amanda nodded, "Melinda looked at it. Nothing's broken." Olivia looked, "You should have ice on it. Let's get out of here." Amanda sighed and grabbed her coat. Olivia had her own car since she was a Sergeant, "Where do you stay." Amanda smiled, "I can walk, it's not far." Olivia was bossy, "You're not walking, get in!"
Amanda sighed, "I'm staying a few blocks down at the hotel." Olivia was confused. "I haven't found a place yet." Olivia threw it out there, "I have a guest room. I mean if you're sick of the hotel." Amanda looked very unsure. Olivia smiled, "Look, how about we grab some clothes and you spend the night." Amanda listened to her and decided to go with her.
Olivia showed her to the guest room. "You have your own bathroom, but my bathroom has a tub. Would you like to soak that bruise?" Amanda nodded. Olivia showed her the way. "Towels and everything are in this closet." Amanda thanked her and Olivia went to heat leftovers for dinner. Amanda came out just as Olivia pulled the food out. "Do you like lasagna?" Amanda sat down and saw lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, "Wow, was I in the tub that long?" Olivia laughed, "No, leftovers can be amazing."
Olivia watched her, "You don't like it?" Amanda ate some, "I do. My appetite has been off lately." Olivia changed the subject, "You did good today, seems like you can do the job." Amanda missed it, "Something happened." Olivia pushed, "Do you want to talk about it?" Amanda shook her head, "Not really." Olivia grabbed the dishes, "Hey, let me. You cooked, I'll clean." Olivia didn't mind the help, "I'm going to take a shower. Are you ok?" Amanda nodded and Olivia pointed to the freezer, "When you're done, grab the ice pack."
Amanda loaded the dishwasher and held the cold pack against her ribs. She looked at the pictures around Olivia's place. She saw a picture of her, Fin, and Melinda. Fin and Melinda looked really close. She also saw a picture with her, Cragen, ADA Cabot, Melinda, Munch, and three officers she didn't know. She knew Munch from the interview. Olivia looked really young though. Below it was a much younger Olivia with a lady who didn't look like her. "That's me and my mother." Amanda looked again, "Why are you sad, because she's smiling?" Olivia walked over thinking maybe if she talked, Amanda would too.
She picked up the picture, "She was a different person to me then she was to everyone else. She didn't like me very much." Olivia put it back. Amanda shrugged, "Why?" Olivia explained she was a product of rape and her mother became a drunk at night. "I spent so much time when I was younger taking care of her and she never really did the same. She tried to recover when I was older. I became a detective and joined SVU." Amanda understood, "You wanted to help people like her?" Olivia nodded, "I did. I struggled at first and she even asked me to leave the unit."
She had Amanda's attention, "Why did you stay?" Olivia sat down on the couch, "She got drunk at a bar and fell down the steps and died shortly after. She never got over it and I wanted to help people so they didn't become her. We all have battles. I was even attacked on the job." Olivia explained being attacked while undercover in a jail. "Fin saved me, but I was beaten and almost sexually assaulted." Amanda picked up the picture of the one where she was younger, "Was it before or after this?"
Olivia smiled, "Way after. That was when I first became a detective. Fin wasn't even with us yet." Amanda smiled, "Who are these officers?" Olivia waved her over, "This is Monique Jeffries, she's in Vice now. That's Brian Cassidy." Olivia gave a little laugh and smile. "Ohhh he meant something?" Olivia shrugged, "He was a hookup or two, then and recently but not much anything else. SVU wasn't for him. He's in Narcotics now." Olivia looked at the last guy. Amanda heard she was replacing someone. "Is that your partner?" Olivia nodded, "Yeah that's Elliot Stabler. He was the one you were supposed to replace." Amanda looked, "I probably could never replace him huh?"
Olivia put the picture back, "He left me without any notice or goodbye. It hurt, but I guess he did what he had to do. He was married and so many times, even his wife thought we were something else. He was just my partner, but I loved him like family." Olivia sat back down, "I never had family or closeness, so it mattered." Amanda yawned. "Hey, we both have work tomorrow. Let's call it a night." They were walking to their rooms, "Liv?" Olivia stopped, "Yeah?" Amanda swallowed, "Sometimes, I have nightmares. I hope I don't wake you, but you don't have to worry."
Amanda walked in and closed the door. Sure enough around 2 AM she was ripped from her sleep with Amanda's screams. She ran and saw her tossing and turning, so she went to her side. She talked as she got closer, "Amanda, it's ok." Amanda jumped and curled in a ball against the headboard. "I told you not to worry." Olivia sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm not worried, but I wanted you to wake up." Amanda hugged the pillow, "Thanks." Olivia looked at her, "Are you ok now?" Amanda nodded, "You can go back to sleep, I'm good." Olivia wanted to ask, but decided not to push it.
