A/N: Hi all. I hope you've had a great week. Thanks once again for all of the wonderful feedback on this story.
Before the elevator doors had even dinged open, Amanda felt her cheeks redden. As soon as the initial spark of defensiveness and indignation had faded the previous evening, those emotions had been replaced by embarrassment. Her reaction had caused her to bring to an end the first time she and her superior colleague had socialised outside of work. They had been enjoying one another's companies, getting closer, sharing secrets … until it was Amanda's turn to show just a little vulnerability and she shut down. It wasn't the first time she'd reacted to such probing the way she had in front of Olivia. But it was the first time she regretted her flaring emotions.
So she stepped out of the elevator cart, red-faced and dreading the day. But the bullpen was empty, delaying at least for a while, the inevitable moment when she had to face Detective Benson. Sitting in front of her desk, she fired up her computer and checked her emails to see if the lab results she had been waiting on from a case had come back. They hadn't, so she drew towards her the pile of paperwork which she had been putting off for far too long.
She had barely made a dent in it, however, when a cup of coffee appeared beside her. Looking up in surprise, she found herself locking eyes with the woman she had spent the night thinking of.
"Oh, hi," Amanda said, sitting back in her chair.
"Good morning. I bought you coffee," Olivia said, gesturing to the cup on the blonde's desk.
Amanda nodded slowly. "I can see that. Um, thanks."
"You're welcome. Consider it a peace offering."
Thin blonde eyebrows raised. "A peace offering?"
"After last night," Olivia pressed on, noting the immediate flush which bloomed across Amanda's high cheekbones, "I crossed a line. I pressed you and I'm sorry. You'd think I'd have learned after fifteen years to back off. But I didn't and that was my mistake. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable and I really am sorry. Can we just forget it ever happened?"
There was a tense silence for a moment as Amanda processed the words. But then she smiled and nodded, reaching out to take the coffee. "It's fine," she said after taking a sip. "No need to apologise. And I'm sorry too, for running out like that. I just … it had been a long day. I needed some sleep."
"Me too," Olivia replied. "Although I have to admit I found it hard to get to sleep when you hadn't texted me back."
At that, Amanda felt another wave of embarrassment. Olivia had texted her shortly after she walked through her apartment door, asking the blonde to let her know that she was home safely. Still defensive, Amanda hadn't answered immediately and it wasn't until she was lying in bed, half an hour later, that she finally sent a cursory 'home safe' to the brunette.
"Thanks for checking in on me."
"Of course. We've got to look out for one another, right? That's what last night was all about."
"True. And thanks for last night, I had a great time. I mean, until …" There was no need for the blonde to vocalise at what point for her the evening turned sour.
"Me too. We should do it again some time," Olivia offered.
But before the women could continue their conversation, their captain entered the bullpen and announced that he needed the two of them to head to the scene of a sexual assault on a runner in Central Park. Both women were on their feet and heading towards the elevator, the possibility of a second pizza night pushed from their minds. Well, almost.
"Hey, just so you know," Olivia said as she pressed the down button to summon the elevator, "that stuff I mentioned last night that happened to me on the job, I don't really talk about that day at work. I mean, Fin was there but no one else really knows, not the details anyway. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't, you know, spread it around."
"I would never do that," Amanda said solemnly.
Olivia smiled shyly at the woman beside her. "I know you wouldn't. I just, well, I thought I'd just say something anyway. And, for the record, I hope you trust me too. You know, if …"
The elevator arriving and delivering several uniformed officers in front of the women forced the conversation to come to an end. Olivia was silently grateful for the people who spilled out, giving her an excuse to step away from Amanda as she allowed them to pass. By the time they reconvened and began their journey to the ground floor, it was safe to start a new topic rather than continue to dig the hole she had somehow found herself in once more. Whatever had happened to Amanda Rollins in Atlanta, it was clear she wasn't ready to open up. And it wasn't Olivia's job to push.
It was several days later that work finally slowed down and permitted the overworked SVU squad the night off. Captain Cragen dismissed his team, shutting down any arguments that there was still some outstanding paperwork. Two intense cases, back to back, had left all of his detectives exhausted and he knew there was no value in keeping them there a second longer.
"Go," he said firmly, anticipating resistance from his workaholic squad. "I want you all out of here in five minutes and I don't want to see any of you back here before midday tomorrow. Take the morning. Spend time with your families," he nodded directly at Nick as he said that, "and come back recharged. You've all done great work these past few days. You deserve a break."
Olivia was usually the detective who most fiercely resisted these occasional orders to take some time but even she was more than happy to leave. The job got to her every now and then. Sure, there was nothing else she could imagine herself doing as a career but that didn't mean that it was easy. The brutal cases took their toll, especially when coupled with a lack of sleep. Snatched hours in the breakroom had been all that had sustained her since the latest case landed on her desk. Now, she wanted nothing more than to go home, collapse in front of the TV and drink a large glass of wine.
All around her, her colleagues were packing up without protest too. Emotional exhaustion suddenly swept over the group. Shutting down her computer, Olivia picked up the empty coffee mug and carried it through to the break room. As she was washing it up, Amanda appeared beside her, waiting to do the same task.
"Long week," Olivia said as she moved aside and picked up a tea towel.
Amanda nodded, rinsing her cup under the warm water. "I'm so tired. All I want to do is curl up in my bed, but I know Frannie is going to be climbing the walls. I'll have to take her round the park otherwise she won't leave me alone."
"Do you have a dog walker?" Olivia asked. To be honest, she never quite understood why people chose to own dogs in Manhattan, and it wasn't just because she was more of a cat person.
"I do but she comes in the morning to give Frannie a long walk and then she just takes her around the block in the afternoon. I usually give her an hour or so after work but the last couple of days I've barely been home. I feel bad; it's not her fault my job takes over my life sometimes. So I'll drag myself out before my couch starts to look too tempting."
Cups clean, the two women were now walking back to their respective desks together. As Olivia was shrugging on her coat, she found herself offering the blonde the opportunity for something which had been lingering ever since their pizza night earlier in the week. "Do you want company?"
Amanda raised her eyebrows. "You wanna come walk my dog with me?"
"Well, I'm not a fan of dogs," Olivia admitted. "But I could use some fresh air. And some exercise. Plus, it's dark outside; aren't we supposed to be looking out for each other? The thought of you walking around a park late at night pretty much goes against our common sense and our experience on the job, right?"
"You've not met Frannie," Amanda chuckled. "No one would dare attack me with her around."
At that, Olivia felt her heart quicken as she started to think she'd invited herself to walk a vicious dog. But Amanda recognised the fear in the woman's eyes and quickly reassured her that Frannie was protective rather than aggressive and that Olivia wasn't in any danger.
"Although I don't need your chivalry," Amanda grinned, "you're welcome to join us. Then maybe I can repay you for the wine and dinner we had. Although, I've gotta warn you that my apartment is nothing like as nice as yours. And I definitely don't have any wine in the house. But I have beer?"
"Beer sounds great," Olivia replied, suddenly no longer feeling quite as exhausted as she had done when Cragen dismissed them.
The two women waved to Nick who was still packing up his desk. Fin was long gone, having ducked out less than thirty seconds after their captain had made his announcement. Not for the first time, Olivia wondered where that man went when he wasn't on shift. She considered herself close to Fin but she had to admit she knew very little about his home life.
Outside on the gloomy New York street, a fine drizzle had started up. Amanda wrinkled her nose and offered Olivia the chance to rescind her offer. Dog walking when you're not a fan of dogs is one thing. Dog walking in the rain when you're not a fan of dogs is something else. But Olivia insisted she wanted to come so the duo set off, walking in sync down the sidewalk towards Amanda's building.
Olivia was intrigued to see where the blonde lived. If she knew little about Fin, she knew less about Amanda. With the exception of their meal earlier in the week, she had barely spoken to the blonde about anything other than work. She still didn't know what had made the woman request a transfer from Atlanta to New York. There had been no mention of her family. She didn't know if Amanda had any siblings or whether her parents were still alive. The blonde was an enigma and Olivia had started to realised that she wanted to uncover the truth which lay behind those bright blue eyes.
"This is me," Amanda said as they reached a narrow walk up. The property didn't look particularly secure, but Olivia noticed that the street itself looked well cared for and had a number of businesses and restaurants along it, all of which appeared to be successful and busy. It was the quiet, dark streets which posed the greatest threats. Even though, Olivia reminded herself, Amanda Rollins was hardly a vulnerable woman. Although she knew better than most that anyone could become a victim, she suspected Amanda was more than ready to defend herself against a threat.
On the third floor landing, Amanda paused and dug in the pocket of her coat for her keys. On the other side of the nearest door, Olivia could hear the scratch of claws against wood.
"She knows my footsteps," Amanda explained as she slid the sliver of metal into the lock.
As soon as the door slid open, a mass of ginger fur launched itself at Amanda, pink tongue slobbering anywhere it could reach. Olivia watched, half disgusted, half heart-warmed, as Amanda wrapped her arms around the dog which appeared to be hugging her back, standing on its hind legs to greet its owner.
"Down, girl," she chuckled when the most enthusiastic welcoming was over, causing the dog to immediately return all four feet to the floor and then switch its brown eyes to the unfamiliar person. "Frannie, this is Olivia. She's the one I've been telling you all about."
Once again, Olivia found herself torn. She felt herself blush a little at the comment itself but this feeling combined with the ridiculous notion that Amanda talked to her dog. About her, though.
"Hi Frannie," Olivia said, knowing it was worthless to wait for the dog to greet her verbally. Frannie did, however, pad across the hallway and sniff Olivia's hand before giving the skin a tentative lick.
"See, you're already friends," Amanda grinned. "She's got great instincts. She knows who's good and who's bad So, I was gonna grab her leash and head straight out. Gets it out of the way. Is that ok with you?"
"Sure," Olivia nodded.
With that, Amanda reached inside the door and unhooked the red leash hanging there. Seconds later, it was clipped onto Frannie's collar and the two women were walking back down the stairs, accompanied by an eager four-legged friend.
A/N: The only time we ever see Amanda out with Frannie is in the episode with William Lewis, I think. She needs to be a bigger part of the show! Also, I love cats and dogs, just saying!