Chapter 15

"Liv I thought you were off, so why are you going to work." Liv pulled into the parking spot. "Well a detective is never really off, I'm working from home so I need to pick up some files. Plus, you get to see Fin." Amanda jumped out of the car. She liked Fin a lot, he was always nice to her since the first day at the coffee shop. They rode up the elevator and walked in the squad room. Amanda went behind Fin and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?" Amanda saw an older man give her a stern look. She immediately took her hands away from Fin and moved back to stand beside Liv. "Baby girl! How are you doing? You look good." Amanda looked at the older man but answered Fin, "I'm good, but had to get shots today." Liv laughed, "Yeah Fin, but she was so well behaved she got a lollipop. Check out the blue tongue. Hey Captain! This is Amanda, Amanda this is my boss Captain Cragen." Cragen walked over to Amanda, "You like this guy? I can't understand why." Cragen said with a laugh. Two other men entered the room. "Olivia, I thought you were off this week." Amanda agreed, "That's what I said." Olivia rolled her eyes, "Amanda this is Sergeant Munch and Detective Amaro." They both came to greet her, "Hey! Fin told us good things about you. Do you like New York?" Liv told Amanda to sit at her desk while she went to speak to the Captain and get the files. "Yeah, I like it but it's way different from Georgia." Olivia walked towards Cragen's office, "Amanda give me 10 minutes, we still need to stop by the store before we go home."

Olivia walked into Cragen's office, "How's she holding up?" Cragen handed her some files as she sat down in the seat across from his desk. "She's doing better. She's a great kid Captain, I think she just needs support. She reminds a lot of myself or at least the situation." Cragen leaned forward, "You're my best detective Olivia and I'm waiting for you to be my number 2, when Munch is ready to retire. You know we will have your back to help you support her. You're doing a great thing. Just let me know if you need any more time or help." Olivia smiled and appreciated her Captain's support. "Thank you Captain, I should be ready to come back by Monday." Olivia flipped through the files and saw a study book for the Sergeants exam on the bottom. "I figured with the time at home, you could start reading." Olivia left the Captain's office to see Amanda being the center of attention. She could be so bold and funny sometimes and sometimes shy and a little withdrawn. Around the right people Amanda could thrive. "Come on Comedy Central, we have to get going. Say goodbye." Fin gave Amanda a hug and Olivia a wink, "Don't worry kid, she's just jealous because you're getting all the attention." They waved bye to the squad and headed to the grocery store. When they got to the store, Olivia picked up the ingredients for baked spaghetti, Amanda's vitamins, and a few other snacks for them since they were going to be home. "If you see something you want put it in the basket. We need to get you eating more but healthy. You heard the doctor right? 10 more pounds." Amanda shook her head and found some snacks she wanted. They got to the checkout line and Amanda had an idea. She moved to the front and helped take the stuff out of the basket and stood there blocking Olivia. The cashier gave the total and Amanda swiped her debit card. Olivia was stunned, "Hey! Why did you do that? I don't want you spending your money." Amanda put the bags in the basket and rolled it to the door. "Liv you aren't letting me move out. I told you I have a big savings and as soon as you ease up on me, I'm going back to work. I've worked to support myself since I was 15. I can definitely help with bills and groceries. Olivia listened to Amanda explain herself and load the bags in the car. She wanted to feel like she was helping so Olivia would respect that. "Besides, my mom would take way more money than that just to disappear and get drunk. Let me do something okay?" Olivia knew Amanda was right and agreed. "Come on let's get home and start your cooking lesson."

On the way home the picked up sandwiches for lunch and ate them once they unpacked the groceries. "So what's the school option that Ms. Cabot wants to talk about?" Liv took her last bite and got up to find a pan and dish for the baked spaghetti. "I'm not sure, she didn't say exactly what it meant. Why are you worried about it?" Amanda threw her trash away and washed her hands so she could help with dinner. "I'm not worried, but I wish I was done with high school. My mom was upset with me and blamed me for messing up. It was my fault you know, I quit when it got hard." Liv stopped and guided Amanda to sit down. Amanda was finally talking and Liv wasn't gonna stop her from getting it off her chest. "My dad gambled, drank, and did drugs. He never really cared and wasn't around. My mom wasn't always like that Liv, but life took its toll on her. When I was in high school she and Kim left Georgia and made it clear I wasn't welcome. My dad disappeared when he got in trouble gambling and when he would hit it big he would show up again. It was a never ending pattern. Once my mom left I was stuck trying to pay bills, working 2 jobs and trying to deal with school. I left my house because I just couldn't afford to dish out all that money. I stayed with friends bouncing from house to house. I was drowning, my grades were shit, I mean they were bad. I quit school, worked two jobs, and stayed at an apartment with a girl who needed a roommate. That was probably the biggest mistake I ever made." Amanda finally stopped talking and started to cry. I mean really cry. Liv always saw her as tough. I mean she didn't cry when she beaten and bloody. It was like the flood gates opened. "Amanda baby, you can't blame yourself. You were a kid and couldn't possibly have kept going like that. I'm sorry that the adults in your life left you to make adult decisions, that you shouldn't have had to. So let's just hear what Ms. Cabot has to offer, you and I can talk and weigh the pros and cons, and you get to choose what you think is best for you. I will support you and we will get you back on track." Olivia gave Amanda a loving hug, but she knew her story wasn't over. She also knew that something happened at that apartment that made it the biggest mistake. "Is there anything else you want to talk about before we make dinner." Amanda knew Liv deserved to know the rest, but she just couldn't, not tonight. "Not right now Liv. Is that okay." Olivia wrapped her in a tight hug and kissed her on the forehead, "I told you, I'm here when you're ready. Now let's go, you aren't getting out of making dinner.