Chapter 16

To say Elliot had a rough night would be a grand understatement. A run didn't work, punching the bag didn't work, a hot shower didn't work, and finally half a bottle of tequila at least took the edge off. He felt like he was crawling out of his skin. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Serena in pigtails and a pretty dress with those damn shiny shoes looking up at him with the biggest, warmest, most trusting smile. When he blinked, she was screaming. There were hands all over her and she was screaming for her mother, then she was screaming his name over and over again to help her. It was just before 5am when sleep took mercy on him. Unfortunately, it was just after 5:30 when his phone started ringing. Shit. This can't be good.

He answered just before it went to voicemail. "Stabler. What? Sonofabitch I'll be right there."

When he arrived at Rikers, Elliot felt like he was sleepwalking. Barba never pulled any punches so when he said Whitlock was dead and to get his ass to Rikers, he did just that. Now he wishes he just pulled the covers up and stayed in bed. "What have we got?" he asked no one in particular.

"Word travels fast in prison Lieutenant" answered a detective from homicide whose name Elliot couldn't remember. "Looks like the others found out what this prick was accused of and let him know what it felt like."

Elliot nodded while yawning and walked over to Barba who was talking to Whitlock's attorney. "Hey, did you find out why he wanted to meet you before arraignment?" he asked.

Barba looked at the other attorney, who nodded and answered the question. "Amir knew he wasn't getting out of some serious time. He asked me to plea for him to be out of gen pop. He feared he'd be targeted. Guess he wasn't just paranoid after all."

"What was his bargaining chip? He claimed to have nothing during yesterday's interrogation" questioned the ADA. It was too early to play guessing games and there was too much at stake, even if the guy was dead.

"He was willing to turn over the photos he had hidden and the names of every man in them in exchange for special treatment. Apparently, there are some...influential names on his list. Now, you may never know" he said solemnly as he left the prison.

Elliot walked over to the M.E. "Cause of death?"

The young coroner spoke methodically. "Asphyxiation. He choked on his own vomit. He was gagged with a washcloth. He was also stabbed several times, sodomized, and raped with a foreign object, repeatedly."

Shit.

-SVU-

Damn seagulls are so fricken loud! Note to self: close the window before going to bed. Wait, I'm not in bed. Olivia opened her eyes to the very bright sunlight against her skin. It took a few blinks and sitting up to adjust but she was right, she wasn't in bed. She was lying in one of the chaise lounges on the patio and she had an afghan thrown over her.

"G-good mmmorning!" came a beautiful sound from her right side. She turned to see Serena standing pretty much where she was last night. "The sssuunn c-came up a lllittle wh-while ago and it was amazing!"

"You've been up all night to watch the sunrise? Honey, you gotta stop doing that, it's not healthy. You need to sleep to...you have to be exhausted!" Olivia hated the fact that Serena couldn't let herself relax enough to sleep. She was hoping that staying with her, reassuring her and even having Elliot hold her hand would help. She knew that her daughter needed to build up her weight, her stamina, her muscles but most importantly, Serena needed to sleep-more than 3 hours or so in the morning.

"Y-you ssseeemed upset last nnnight and you sat d-down and ssstopped t-talking. You l-l-looked like you were thinking rrreal har hard so I just watched the ssstars. Then then y-you fell asssleep so I stayed out out here wwwith you." she replied as if it were obvious. Despite her lack of sleep and standing outside looking up all night, Liv noticed that her daughter looked, well, happy. Her few sentences so far seemed to drag out some letters here and there but there was very little 'stop-and-stuck' as she came to think of it.

"Of course you did. So, it was amazing huh?" she asked and got a very enthusiastic nod with a smile to boot. It really was a good morning, despite last night's revelations.

"It's all already hot. C-can wwwee go in the water t-today?"

"Yes" answered Olivia. "But first I also want to take you to get some clothes that fit better and I need to call Dr. Sandrine and see if we can get an appointment sometime before Christmas. But we should be in the ocean by lunchtime. Deal?" Liv was hoping Serena wouldn't complain about the pulmonologist. Her equipment did indeed look new and The Doctor was, well a doctor who seemed to take care of her physically. She watched her daughter contemplate the offer. Serena touched the butterfly bandages that remained on her forehead and press her hand to her chest. Liv almost forgot that she said she had bruised ribs. Getting her to voluntarily see a doctor, even one she has seen for years beside her pediatrician might be like pulling teeth. She was right.

"I'mm fine. Ju-just got checked! No no nneeed!" she whined. She actually whined, and Liv was kind of glad to hear it.

"You don't have to see him today, and if you'd like, we can switch to a female, but I know nothing of your health these past two years and that's not something I can ignore. Your tank only holds a few hours and your last prescription is over two years old" Liv tried to explain but she was interrupted.

"Good morning you two!" exclaimed Bernie as she came out the back door with two coffees, one of which she promptly handed to Olivia. "How long have you been up?"

"I sssaw the ssunrise! Momma just got up" answered Serena and just like that, doctor conversation was over, for now.

-SVU-

Everyone started trickling into their desks before 8:00. After leaving Rikers, Elliot went back to his apartment to shower and grab his weekend bag which he was happy that he packed last night since he couldn't sleep. He had gathered his detectives and was about to fill them in on what happened to Whitlock when he looked up to see Chief Dodds enter the squadroom.

"This is ridiculous Stabler. We should have more than what we have, which is nothing! The kid's not talking and now our only link to her kidnapper is dead. So, what are you going to do about it, Lieutenant?" Dodds knew his question was dripping with sarcasm and he wasn't really expecting an answer from Elliot. He already had his own plan of action.

"1PP has made this case it's top priority. They are pulling detectives from Brooklyn and Queens SVU to cover here for today. We, and that includes you Lieutenant, me, and Tutuola are going to get Benson's kid to give us something to go on. TARU turned up bubkis on Whitlock's computer. Well, kiddie porn yes but nothing we haven't seen before. His information had to be pretty damaging to be so well hidden and for him to think we would make a deal." Elliot was about to interrupt but Dodds put his hand up and kept going.

"I know what you said about questioning the girl, but you also said Tutuola has a rapport with her and she did open up to him so I'm hoping if she's comfortable wherever she is, she will give us some more. I will allow him to lead her within reason."

-SVU-

It was about 10:15 when Elliot pulled his jeep into the driveway of his mother's beach house. He parked next to Olivia's mustang and Fin pulled in behind her in the squad car with Dodds, Carisi, and Rollins. Everyone seemed to give Elliot a wide berth as they knew he was not happy with the situation. He tried calling Olivia several times over the past hour and a half but she either has her phone off, or not on her. That question was answered when he walked through the empty house and out onto the back patio. Down by the water's edge were Olivia and Serena tentatively jumping the waves while his mother looked on laughing. He just stopped and took in the sight. They were happy, together and he knew as soon as she realized they were there, the mood would drastically change for the worse. Elliot was also caught on Olivia's form. She was wearing a maroon two piece that could be called modest because it technically covered everything, but when you are not used to seeing so much skin on your partner, it was a sight to behold. Her legs went on forever, tanned, muscled, and he had to keep his eyes either up on her face or down on her legs because if he stopped to look at her chest in that bikini…

"Wow!" said Carisi from behind. "The sun agrees with the sarge" he managed to comment before getting an arm slap from Rollins and a look from Fin that told him to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Stay here" warned Elliot. "I'll get them up." As he walked towards the water, he began to unbutton his dress shirt. He was wearing a t-shirt underneath to catch the sweat indoors, but it was hot out here already so early. Bernie spotted him first and when she was about to greet him, he put his finger to his lips to keep her quiet. He snuck up behind Olivia, wrapped his shirt around her arms and lifted her feet in the air. You could hear her squeal all the way down the beach, before her laughter. Serena immediately joined in.

"El! Put me down! What are you doing?" she demanded with glee as she tried to free herself from his grip.

"I will, but first please put this on. Dodds and the squad are with me and since you're not exactly dressed for work…" he explained. Olivia stilled in his arms immediately, all laughter gone as she turned towards the patio. She nodded and put her arms through the sleeves of his shirt, closing it in front.

"Well dear" said Bernie as she walked to greet her son with a hug, which he returned in earnest with a kiss on her cheek. "I don't think you need an audience, so I am going to make my way over to Gladys and have a chat. Serena," she said as she addressed the young teen. "I will bear witness to anything, anything you want to tell me or show me. Anytime. But right now, I think it's best if I make myself scarce. Do you understand?"

Serena nodded as she walked closer to Elliot and grabbed his hand. As Bernie walked over to her friend's house, the trio walked back towards the squad on the patio. The free and happy mood now turned solemn.

"Sergeant, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we need to talk to your daughter" began Dodds. "I'm not sure if the lieutenant told you but Amir Whitlock was found dead this morning. It seems his accusation spread quickly among the inmates, as you know these things do. An investigation is pending but he called the DA to arrange a meeting this morning. He said he was willing to trade his pictures and the list of men associated with this Doctor Carlson in exchange for staying out of gen pop. I'm not sure if Barba was willing to give him special treatment. I guess it depended on what he handed over, but supposedly it is an A-list. Anyway, he hid those pictures somewhere and we need to know where and who, etc. We need to find Carlson and anyone he might be associated with. Now, Ms. Benson," he turned his attention towards Serena who promptly hid her body behind Elliot's and squeezed his hand tighter. Dodds took the hint and backed off.

"We need more details, Sergeant" he went back to talking to Olivia instead. "She's the only one who can give them to us."

Olivia appeared speechless. Serena only told them what she did so that Whitlock wouldn't hurt anyone else and now he was dead. She also thought her Uncle Fin was going to get seriously reprimanded for punching a perp. She can only imagine that Serena was thinking she spoke up for nothing. She might even blame herself for his death and Liv couldn't have that. She turned to face Elliot. "You told me nothing, but you brought them here to interrogate my daughter?" She didn't mean to sound so accusatory, but she was getting pissed off. "She just started talking Elliot! Who knows what might happen if forced to relive her experiences before she is ready? And for what, in hopes of finding the bastard that went into hiding? He'll surface eventually, his face is all over the media and we'll make sure it stays there. What "A-list" of people and pictures is he talking about? Someone better…"

"I-it's okay Momma. Uunncle Fin?" She came out from behind Elliot and looked directly at Fin.

"You got it Baby Girl." He held out his arm to have her lead him inside. Instead, she stopped, turned around, and stood on her toes to speak in his ear.

"She said you all can come inside to listen, but I'm the only one who questions. Agreed?" Fin watched as Olivia practically jumped forward with Elliot hot on her heels. The others joined them in the living room.

"Serena? Let's go change first baby." Liv didn't want to sit in the living room half naked in front of her coworkers. Serena was wearing leggings that were wet from her knees down, and a long-sleeved tee that was also wet on her arms. Plus, she was angry at this turn of events. She knew Serena confessed some horrors to Fin yesterday but she expected to be in the know before the entire squad and yet here they all were, and she is in the dark. It was a position that most definitely did not sit well with her.

They came out of the bedroom less than five minutes later. Both were now clad in jeans and t-shirts with Serena wearing Bernie's sweater, her thumbs through the holes in the cuffs. Serena put socks on while Olivia remained barefoot. She walked over to Elliot and tugged his hand in the direction of the bathroom.

"Sweetheart, have you gone to the bathroom since the last time I went with you?" he asked discreetly as she watched him check the toilet.

"I had an axxxxxxccident in the shower last night, but it'sssss o-okay rrrright? It g-goes right down the, down the drain." He just nodded as he wondered what the hell was with her fear of toilets. As they walked back to the group in the living room, Elliot closed the windows and turned on the air conditioner, something that Bernie rarely did. She loved the ocean breeze, but he figured with everyone gathered in the room, listening as Serena answered questions, he felt it would be quieter and cooler. Serena watched him intently. He knew she was probably beginning to feel trapped.

"They're not locked sweetheart. I won't close any of the doors, I'll even leave the screen door open and as soon as you're done, we'll get the breeze back in here" he explained as he walked around the back of the couch. Everyone took their positions. Serena made sure not to have her back to anyone, so she sat on the edge of the couch facing the middle. She seemed to almost fold herself in half. She had one leg bent up under her chin and the other curled underneath it in front of her. Her arms wrapped around herself.

Fin sat very close facing her. He remembered how she whispered last time and he wanted to make sure he heard every word. There was no way he wanted to ask her to repeat anything. He had one leg bent on the couch in front of him with his left elbow propped on the back, almost touching Serena, but not quite. Liv wanted to face her daughter and make sure she heard her statement this time, so she opted to sit on the floor right at Fin's feet. In fact, she placed her left arm up on Fin's bent leg, so her hand touched her daughter's leg. She needed contact; to know that Serena was physically there with her. She didn't ask Fin's permission and he didn't flinch or react in any way. Elliot wanted Serena to be comfortable, so he didn't stand behind her, which made her extremely uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to sit either. Instead, he stood in back of the couch, very close by within her peripheral vision and stood sentry. A position he was glad to hold.

The others had been watching their interactions since they got out of the car. The way Elliot surprised Liv on the beach while covering her up to protect her privacy as best he could. How he stood guard now. How Olivia just made herself comfortable on Fin's legs like they did this every day. The chief always questioned the rumours that floated around once upon a time but since he took the position, he saw none of it and didn't give them any credence. Now, he felt he needed to re-evaluate the closeness of these detectives and their effectiveness as a unit. Later. Now was not the time.

Fin spoke the necessary information into the recorder before placing it on his bent knee. It was as close to Serena's mouth as he could get without holding it directly. "Okay Baby Girl. Tell me about the day you were taken."

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