To say that the station house for the 3-7 was intimidating was an understatement.
Olivia had never been there before and didn't know what to expect, but she had no idea it was house in an old Gilded Age mansion. Four stories tall with dark brick, large imposing columns, and even a wrought iron gate in the front.
She almost didn't want to get out of the car and go into the building, but that would mean sitting there with McGrath all night, and that didn't feel like the best option either.
"I better come in with you," McGrath said, shutting off the ignition. "I didn't exactly warn Lieutenant Stabler about this change and he can get a little testy about things like that."
Olivia had heard very briefly things about Lieutenant Stabler through the NYPD grapevine over the years. He was older than her, two year stint in the Marines before joining the force. Worked his way up to detective pretty quickly and then there was some kind of incident with a perp and he was branded a dirty cop. It was back in the time that the department chose to cover up that sort of thing rather than clean house, so instead of getting kicked off the force when it happened five years ago, he got transferred here.
Of course, she never did too much more digging on the subject because she thought it'd never affect her. Now, she was kind of wishing she'd at least done a Google search.
As much as she would have preferred McGrath lead the way into the eerie building, Olivia charged ahead, pushing her way through the gates and eventually finding her way to the right squad room. There was only one, though there were plenty of other seemingly out of use rooms in the building too.
When she found the right room, two detectives were sitting at their desks, tossing a stress ball back and forth between them. The taller one saw her and McGratth approach.
"See what you did, Fin," he said. "You couldn't have just hid and pretended we weren't here when the captain showed up. Now we've got a woman here, and the Chief of D's."
"I was trying to be welcoming," the man he called Fin said. "Lord knows your bony ass didn't try to welcome me at all."
"Psst, Manda," she heard from around the corner. "There's a lady here, and the Chief of D's."
"Yeah?" a female voice answered. "Are Santa Claus and the Pope out there too?"
"I'm not kidding, Manda," the male voice said. "This is the most activity we've had here in years."
"Quit making up stories, Sonny," the female voice said. "Get back over here and help me with this crossword."
A young girl materialized from somewhere behind Olivia, her combat boots stomping the floor as she typed away on a tablet as she walked past the direction of the whispered voices.
"The walrus is right," the young girl said. "Chief of D's is here, and some lady."
"Told ya," the male voice said in a mocking tone.
"I'm looking for my Captain," Olivia said to the room, waiting for one of them to answer her. The tall guy in the glasses was muttering to himself, and the other man turned around to look at her and got a smirk on his face. He seemed nice enough but she didn't have time for him.
"Captain Cragen?" Olivia yelled, striding further into the room. This place sure had a lot of walls to look behind.
"Olivia?" she heard a familiar voice coming from the back of the room.
Something about just hearing Cragen's voice made her feel a little bit better about the situation. The entire day actually. Her encounters with Lewis left her skin crawling, and having to muster all her courage to stand up to McGrath took its toll too.
"How'd you find me here?" Cragen said when she finally reached him.
"Lewis lawyered up and the process took forever," she said. "You weren't back when I finished up so I went to 1PP to check on you and they said you left hour ago."
She noticed Cragen glance over her shoulder at McGrath who followed her through the squad room and wasn't standing too far away.
"Olivia, I really think you need to go now," Cragen said. "I've been transferred here."
"Yeah, I heard," Olivia said. "And I heard why."
"Then you know there's nothing we can do about it," Cragen said, looking antsy. "So have Chief McGrath drive you home for the night and we'll talk soon."
Olivia shook her head.
"No," Olivia said. "I'm not leaving you here. I'm not letting them move you here because of something I did."
"It's part of being a Captain," Cragen said. "Something you might learn someday. The farther up the ladder you go, the farther you can fall for your people."
"I'm not letting them move you here," Olivia said again. "You're the best CO we could ask for at SVU. All the people you help? All the things you do for us?"
Olivia was trying to think of something else to say to convince McGrath and Cragen that the wasn't right, when she felt a strong tap on her shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" a voice said.
Olivia couldn't tell who was talking to her. It was dimly lit in the hallway behind her and all she could make out was a shape of a tall man.
"Who are you?" Olivia asked.
"Lieutenant Stabler," the voice said. "Former head of this precinct, though some call me the master of this castle."
"So did you call for my Captain?" she asked. "You put in the request for this transfer?"
"No," Stabler said. "I didn't. It was Chief McGrath and there's nothing I can do about it. Your Captain has become the 3-7's latest prisoner."
Olivia let out a disgruntled sigh and crunched on her bottom lip.
"There has to be some way I can…" she said aloud before getting an idea.
"Wait," Olivia said, turning back toward McGrath. "Transfer me instead."
"You would take his place?" McGrath asked.
"Olivia, you don't know what you're doing," Cragen said.
"If I take his place, will you let him go back to SVU?" Olivia asked. "I'm the one who made the mistake and the judgement error. I should be the one to suffer the consequences."
"If you make this switch, this transfer," McGrath said. "You have to promise to ride out your career here. No promotions, no more transfers, and especially no return to SVU. In fact, you can't even talk to your old squad anymore unless it's absolutely dire to a case."
Olivia ponders the situation. She always thought she'd try to work her way up to Seargent at least, maybe higher. She was so thrilled to get in with SVU and it's the only place she ever wanted to be. But she would not let Cragen's reputation and career go down the toilet for something she did.
"Lieutenant Stabler," she said, addressing the man in the shadows. "Can you step out here so I can meet my new CO?"
The hulking man stepped into the light and she really caught sight of him for the first time. He was taller than Olivia, but he was also built like a mountain, which made him seem far more imposing. His muscles rippled and bulged under a suit that looked tailored to fit him just right. The light bounced off his bald head and the goatee and the jagged scar across his face made him look even more menacing. But the one thing that really caught her were his eyes. They were icy blue and full of sadness, but she did register the way his pupils dilated when he caught sight of her. She wondered if hers had done the same when she saw him.
"Chief McGrath," Olivia said, turning away from Stabler. "You have my word. No promotions, no transfers. Consider me a lifer of the 3-7."
"Done," McGrath said, walking towards Cragen and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Olivia, no, listen to me," Cragen said and McGrath tried to push him out the door. "I'm old. My career is closer to the end than the beginning, I can't allow you to throw away your future, your potential."
Olivia tried to follow Cragen and McGrath out the precinct doors. She had more to say. She had to tell him about the Lewis case, and to tell Cassidy and Jefferies goodbye for her. And to thank Cragen for being like a father to her all these years. But McGrath was walking him to the exit too quickly. And someone else was holding her back.
"Wait," Olivia shouted.
"Liv," Cragen shouted back.
When Olivia realized it was Stabler holding her back, she tried to thrash against his arms and get out of his tight grip, but nothing worked. He didn't let her go until McGrath and Cragen were out of the building.
As much as she didn't want it to, Olivia felt a tear slip out of her eye.
"Why wouldn't you let me say goodbye?" Olivia asked. "I'm not allowed to see him anymore. Any of my squad."
When she looked up into Stabler's face he almost looked sad, regretful for her. But that expression vanishes quickly.
"I'll show you to your desk," he said.
Olivia had no choice but to follow. He led her to another part of the squad room where the young girl was sitting at a high-tech computer station tapping away at her laptop.
The corner of the squad was dark, dingy, and nothing like her desk back at SVU. She tentatively went to sit down in the chair and it creaked, and all three of them cringed.
"You could say something to her, you know," the young girl said.
"Jet," Stabler growled.
"What?" Jet said. "It's the least you can do."
Stabler huffed.
"I, uh, I hope you like working here?" he said, phrasing it more as a question and looking back to Jet for her approval. The girl nodded and then rolled her wrists, urging him to continue.
"Well, you kind of have free run of the place now," Stabler said. "You can go anywhere in the precinct except the West Wing."
"This place has an entire West Wing?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, and it's forbidden," Stabler said.
"Why?" Olivia asked. "Is it haunted."
"It's none of your business," he snapped, causing Olivia to jump a bit in her seat. She saw Jet roll her eyes.
"Now, if there's anything you need, the rest of the squad can help you figure it out," Stabler said.
As he turned to leave, Jet spoke up again.
"You forgetting something?" Jet said.
"What?" Stabler asked.
"The arrangement around here," Jet said, like he should be getting it. "Partners."
"Oh," Stabler said. "Right. Yeah you'll be partnered with me from now on."
"Why not Jet?" Olivia asked.
"Oh, I don't do the field," Jet said. "I'm strictly tech. Rollins and Carisi are a matched set, can't split them up. Fin and Munch stay together for their own punishment and our own amusement."
"Yeah," Stabler said. "So you're stuck with me. It's not a request."
Then he turned on his heel and went back to his office, slamming the door on the way.
Olivia sighed again and took in her surroundings again. Then she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, willing her tears not to fall.
