NOTE: I have a pretty clear idea about the pacing of this fic and where I want this to go, for now, so much to look forward to I hope. I'm going to try to have an equal balance between the case and Barson for each chapter but some are naturally going to end up being pretty heavy one way or another. Thank you so much to those who chose to review, like, and follow, it means the world to me! Feel free to leave any and all feedback, I hope you enjoy :)

He'd handed her the coffee cup without thinking, really. Now buying the two cups of coffee, that was deliberate but it wasn't until he was actually standing in front of her and instinct took over that Barba knew he'd actually go through with it. Ever a man of logic, he'd told himself as he handed the money over to the vendor that if he chickened out, he could just blame his crippling caffeine addiction for buying two cups but surprisingly, he hadn't needed the excuse. Barba had actually done it. He just... handed her the coffee cup.

In all, it had taken about 20 minutes for Olivia to get Barba caught up on the "Pinky Pervert." The walk over had been all business and after a quick stop at the coffee cart outside the courthouse, she'd handed him the file with the most current information with a curt nod. Their briefing had been efficient and productive; after he looked over the file, he'd be all set for his meeting.

Or he would be if he could actually concentrate enough to do it. Instead of flipping through the file, instead of preparing, Barba was sat there in his office trying to figure out why he'd gotten the goddamn cup of coffee in the first place and exactly when he'd decided to be nice to Olivia Benson. Rafael Barba wasn't nice. Snarky, demanding, cocky, sure. But not nice.

Of course, when he'd handed her this "goddamn" cup of coffee, he'd seen the surprise on her face and panicked. To cover it up, he'd immediately done what he did best: talk. Talk so he couldn't think too hard about the weird warmth in his chest as she took it gratefully. Talk so she couldn't ask him why he got it for her without prompting because if he was being honest with himself, he didn't know then and he still didn't know now. He'd just looked over at her while he was standing in line and she... looked tired. Barba just wanted to help, that's all.

As he came to this realization, it hit him and he shook his head slowly. Dios mío. He was doing it again. Barba wanted to help another beautiful woman and doing that, wanting to help beautiful women... Well, it had never worked out very well for him in the past. He buried his head in his hands as he came to the troubling conclusion that between their argumentative work relationship, their witty banter, and the way she filled out those pantsuits, Olivia Benson was very likely going to be the death of him. If he actually started having feelings for her, too... He ran his hands down his face and allowed himself a groan before pulling himself together, his jaw set. Now was not the time. He had a meeting in—he checked his watch—20 minutes and a fairly thick file to review. Whatever this was could wait. Barba was one of the fiercest prosecutors in New York City who's faced down some of the worst scum the city had to offer; if he could do that, he could keep her out of his head for a bit... Right?

It might've just been the caffeine talking, but Olivia's head was back in the game. As she waited for the elevator, her thoughts wandered from reviewing the case for the hundredth time to the squad, feeling determination rise in her chest. These were some of the best detectives she'd ever known; surely they'd find something soon.

As the elevator doors opened, Benson heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Hold the doors!"

As Captain Cragen stalked into the elevator wearing his dress blues and a dark expression on his face, Benson swallowed her greeting but now that they were closer, however, Olivia could see that his expression looked less angry and more annoyed.

"Is everything okay, Cap?" she asked, concerned. The doors closed and she pressed the button.

"I've just come back from 1PP," he said darkly, and she grimaced in response. "Since the papers all started screaming about the 'Pinky Pervert,' 1PP's been backed into a corner. They want the public informed yesterday. Please tell me you got something from this last crime scene."

"We're still waiting to hear back from Melinda's office but it's not looking like it, Cap," Benson said with an equally dark expression.

"Any luck identifying our Jane Doe?"

"We're canvassing, checking missing persons but nothing's popped up yet."

The doors opened and they stepped out, heading over to where the squad was huddled around the screens.

As they walked over, Cragen called out to them. "What are we looking at here? Any good news?"

"Nothing new Cap, but Rollins came up with something that could help us get our guy," Amaro said as Benson crossed over to stand next to him.

Benson felt a weight lift off her shoulders at the news and their captain turned to Rollins expectantly. "What'd you come up with?"

"It's what Munch said about no one just waking up and ripping women's fingers off that got me thinking," Amanda started, (Olivia didn't miss the smug look on the sergeant's face and smirked), "But it was this that cinched it," Amanda continued while pointing at an up-close crime scene photo of Jane Doe's hands. Olivia's smile faded as the captain stepped forward to examine the photo.

"Besides being dead, the only difference between this last vic and the others is that Jane Doe's left pinky was broken. Now it's a bit of long shot, and I know nothing popped up in VICAP with our perp's M.O., but I thought we could try widening our perspective to look at any perps who injured or broke any of their victim's fingers and just go from there." She looked at Cragen who was still examining the photo of Jane Does' hand. "Who knows, it could be that he started out breaking pinkies before he escalated to ripping them off."

Cragen stepped away from the screen as he turned to face Amanda with an approving nod. "Yes, this," he brought his hand up, pointing at the crime scene photo, "this could be it. Nice job Rollins." Amanda gave a small smile as he turned to Fin who was sat at his desk, "How many popped up on VICAP?"

"Well, so far we got eleven freaks to look at in the city who aren't locked up or dead with sexual assault or rape charges who either 'broke or dislocated one or more of their victim's fingers,'" Fin read off his computer screen with distaste. "Of the eleven, six live in Manhattan so Amanda and I will start there and keep looking."

"While Fin and Rollins are doing that, I was thinking Liv and I should reach out to Emily and see if she remembers anything more," Amaro said, "It's been over a week now, maybe some of her memory came back and she can give us some new information."

Cragen and Benson both nodded in agreement, and Olivia spoke. "I think that's a good idea. If we could just get an idea of where she got drugged, maybe we could catch the guy before he does it again. And while we're at it, we could also check in with Katherine too, see how's she holding up."

"Well that's a good start but 1PP wants answers now," Cragen mused, his mouth in a thin line. "We've got nothing on our Jane Doe but what do we know about the perp?"

"Well, he's definitely meticulous," Benson explained, "I mean, 4 vics, 4 dump sites, and nothing? This guy's gotta be smart." She shook her head a little before continuing. "Maybe Rollin's right and he's done something like this before. With the dump sites so clean it could be that he learned from the past."

"Or maybe he's just never been caught in the first place," Fin countered.

"Either way, we're thinking he probably lives somewhere in Manhattan based on his dump sites but his vics are from all over the city," Amaro said, "There's just not a lot to go on there."

"Well, he's gotta be pulling from some victim pool," Olivia argued, "We just gotta find what links our vics."

The captain nodded, before he turned to Olivia, noting the bags under her eyes. "How long have you been here, Olivia?"

Olivia frowned at his question. "Approaching 24 hours but I'm good, Cap, really," she said.

He sighed. "No, no I need you rested for when the shit hits the fan." Olivia didn't know whether to be insulted or not before remembering that technically she was the primary on this case. Wait, when shit hits the fan? Seeing his detectives' confused expressions, he went on. "The chief wants a tip line set up for tomorrow," he explained, and they all groaned. Tip lines just brought the crazy out of NYC.

"Really, cap?" Munch complained.

"Really, and I'm putting you in charge of running it." He turned to Amanda and Fin, "I want you two checking every suspect on that list, don't exclude anyone unless you've got something concrete. Olivia, go home for now, rest up. We're going to be following a lotta leads when the phones start ringing off the hook." Before Olivia could say anything otherwise, he turned to Nick. "What about you Amaro?"

"I haven't been here as long as Liv, I can help with the tip line and set up a meeting with the vics for tomorrow."

"Okay good. I've got a press conference later so I've gotta prep. Everyone, get going."

Everyone scattered, off to their assignments but when Benson didn't move, the captain shot her a look. "If we need you for anything we'll call. Go, Olivia."

She gave him a weak smile, knowing when to quit. As she gathered her things, Nick called out to her, "Hey, see you later, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. See you then."

As Olivia headed to the precinct parking lot, she pondered over what to do, unsure of where she wanted to go. She could go back to her apartment, but she was too caffeinated to sleep now thanks to Barba who had come back from the coffee cart with two coffees instead of one. She had raised her eyebrows at him but took the cup he'd held out to her without comment as he immediately continued on with what they had been talking about. Neither of them gave any acknowledgment to the small act of familiarity but she couldn't help but feel like something had shifted when he stretched his hand out to her.

By the time Benson got to the car, she knew exactly where she was going and headed off to the local gym she frequented due to their 24-hour policy and killer set of punching bags. She'd discovered her love for boxing when she'd joined the academy and had stuck with it ever since. It was the perfect full-body workout and had helped her vent off stress after many difficult days at the 1-6. Today would be no exception.

As she double-checked that she had her gear before starting up her car, Olivia reflected on exactly how crappy today had been. Seeing that poor Jane Doe laying there in the dirt had hurt; Jane Does always did. She pulled out onto the street and stared up at a traffic light waiting for it to go green with a somber expression on her face. She ran through the details of the case again and felt a stab of guilt. Olivia couldn't help beating herself up a little. Four vics in a month. In a month! And nothing? She should've thought of Amanda's idea earlier. Maybe then Jane Doe would've lived…

Her musing had taken her several blocks before Benson pulled over and parked, ready to punch the fuck out of some leather. It had taken some getting used to, but after a while she'd learned to use that guilt as fuel, turning the frustration towards herself outwards to motivate herself and get justice for the victim. Or in this case, victims. Sometimes, though, it wasn't enough, and she needed the physical outlet too. Like today.

As she grabbed her bag from the back seat, she shook herself out of her dark thoughts and tried to focus on the few positive parts of the day. They'd come up with some good plans; something was bound to work out. And then there was Barba. She couldn't help the little grin on her face and tried to ignore the little flip her stomach made when her mind wandered to the well-dressed ADA she'd shared a moment with. She had to admit… today could've been worse. The feeling in her stomach changed as she remembered the feeling of her body pressed up to Barba in the elevator and she flushed at her erogenous reaction. Oh yeah. She would definitely need the physical outlet; Olivia had more than one type of tension to work off tonight.

She entered the gym, but before she could head off to the locker rooms to change, Olivia was held up by the enthusiastic greeting of one of her very few outside-of-work friends.

"Olivia!" Ray exclaimed, "How's it hanging? It's been a while!"

At first glance, Ray Simmons was an intimidating man at the impressive height of 6'5". He was surprisingly fit for a man in his late 40s and had huge biceps, but he also had an infectious smile and a carefree attitude that Benson found incredibly refreshing. She'd been going to his gym for about a year and a half now and besides it being one of the closest 24-hour gyms to both her apartment and the precinct, she had no problems admitting he was one of the primary reasons she stayed loyal to the modest gym.

"Ah, you know how it is, Ray, I got caught up at work. The only thing keeping me going right now is coffee and annoyance," Benson said with an exaggerated grimace.

"Annoyance, huh? Who pissed you off this time?" Ray teased. Because he had no idea who any of her work friends really were, Benson felt comfortable bitching to Ray between reps every now and then and by now he had a fairly detailed picture in his mind of her squad and their prickly ADA.

Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "Watch it, Simmons, or I'll switch to Planet Fitness!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Ah, you're right, I'm bluffing. Now go away, I need to punch some shit," She gave him a wide grin to show him she was joking before heading off to change.

Olivia headed to her usual locker and quickly changed into some tight leggings and a sports bra, forgoing the shirt for today seeing it'd just get soaked and be in the way. After pulling on her sneakers, she pulled her hair up and strapped on her gloves, feeling some of the stress melting away already. Time to go.

With every punch, Olivia could feel the awfulness of the day (and her sexual tension) fading. She had no idea how long she'd been at it but by the time she was finished, her body was covered in sweat and the wisps of hair that fell out of her ponytail were stuck to the back of her neck. Her arms and core and, well, everything, was deliciously sore. But she also felt lighter than she had in weeks.

"Damn, Benson, what did those bags ever do to you?" Ray joked as she finally took her gloves off.

Olivia laughed a little and swiped at the sweat on her forehead. "Oh, nothing. Wrong time, wrong place. Today was a bitch."

Just then her phone decided to go off. "And it just keeps going!" She let out a groan and bent over to pick it up, seeing it was Amaro and answered, careful not to leave sweat on her screen.

"So you guys DID need me. What's up?"

Amaro's voice sounded apologetic, "Hey, sorry Liv, it's not for long, I swear. We just need to get in touch with Barba for a warrant ASAP and he's not picking up. Everyone's tied up so if you could just go down there, that'd be great."

Olivia sighed, throwing her head back in frustration. "Yeah, yeah of course. I'm close by anyways. I'll call you after."

Her partner sounded relieved. "Thank you so much Liv, I'll send you the info and let the captain know it's taken care of."

As she hung up, her irritation faded as she realized needing a warrant was a good thing; they must've found something!

"You gotta go?" Ray asked knowingly. This was not the first time the detective had left in the middle of a workout.

"Yep, duty calls," Olivia said with a little salute and headed off to the locker room leaving Ray's laughs behind her.

She put her gloves away and sighed. Amaro had sounded pretty desperate so she'd better delay her shower. She'd be in and out of the courthouse and back to her apartment in no time anyways. Running low on caffeine, Olivia's exhaustion was settling into her sore limbs as she looked at her uncomfortable jeans and her mind rebelled the idea of changing. Fuck it. Not today. She used a towel to get the worst of her sweat before Olivia threw on her workout shirt and stuffed her work clothes in her bag. She could deal with everything else later. Right now, she had a warrant to get.