A/N: Hey! Sorry for the small delay on this chapter. I found it quite...annoying to write. It's safe to say that this instalment is not my favourite. However, this chapter sets up the next major event so it was necessary. I'm now halfway through watching Season 21 so I'm eventually going to run out of new episodes to watch *cries*. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter more than I do and please leave a review if you can. xxx
Weeks after the mall debacle, the SVU squad were sat around the board they had set up in the bullpen debating the gruelling case that they were working on. They were currently investigating a sex trafficking ring that transported girls as young as eight around the United States. Olivia often found herself returning home both physically and emotionally drained each night - they had been on this case for about two weeks and they didn't seem anywhere near wrapping it up.
The squad's discussion came to a halt when Liv's cell phone blared out it's ringtone from the pocket of her pants. Olivia took it out with the intention of rejecting the call but looked up at Cragen sheepishly. "Cap, I have to take this. It's Maria's school." She was worried to say the least. She had never received a phone call from her daughter's school before so she had no idea what to expect. Was Maria sick? Injured?
"Go ahead. We'll let you know what our next move is when you're done." Don waved her off.
Olivia answered the phone as she walked in the direction of the cribs. "Hello, this is Olivia Benson." She greeted politely.
"Hi, Detective Benson. It's Miss Holly. Maria's teacher?" Was the response she got.
"Of course it is and please just call me Olivia. Is Maria ok? Is she sick? Do I need to come and get her? I can speak to my boss-"
"Detective – Olivia, take a deep breath. I'm sure there's nothing you need to worry about." The kindergarten teacher tried to assure her.
Olivia frowned at the woman's statement. She said she was 'sure' there was nothing to be worried about. What would have been more comforting to Liv was if the teacher had said she was 'positive' there was no cause for concern. Also, the fact that Miss Holly had called her anyway was enough to make her think the worst. After all, Liv highly doubted the young woman would have called her to discuss the weather.
"Miss Holly, I'm a little confused."
The detective heard the other woman sigh a little before she spoke again. "Look, I do need to speak to you about something rather important. However, I think it would be best to talk face to face. Do you think it will be possible for you to stay behind for about ten minutes when you come to collect Maria this afternoon?"
Olivia ran her fingers through her hair and bit her lip nervously. "Uh, there shouldn't be a problem with that."
"Great and please, Olivia, try not to worry. Meetings between teachers and parents are more common than you think."
"Ok, sure." Olivia nodded even though the teacher couldn't see her. "Tell Maria I said 'hi' for me? I'll see you both when school is over." The two ladies said their goodbyes before simultaneously hanging up. Olivia looked down at her cell phone for a few moments, lost in her owns thoughts.
'Get yourself together, Benson. It's just a ten minute meeting with your kid's kindergarten teacher. You've interrogated rapist scumbags for hours at a time.' Liv scolded herself. She decided there was nothing she could do for now so instead decided to focus on the job at hand. With that, she took a deep breath, fixed on a poker face and left the cribs to go back to her work in the squad room.
Olivia was distracted from her work all day after she had received the phone call from Miss Holly. The rest of the squad took note of the fact but knew not to comment unless they wanted their head bitten off. However, Liv wasn't distracted enough to keep track of the time and as soon as it began approaching three o'clock she began gathering her things. Before leaving, she knocked on the captain's office door and entered the room when she heard a gruff 'come in!'.
"Hey, so Maria's teacher asked me to stay back for a short meeting after school. Thought I would give you a heads up that I might be getting back here a little later than usual." Olivia told him. She didn't bother to sit down as she was too anxious to get to her daughter's school and get the meeting over with.
"Ok. Go ahead. You can update me when you get back." Don waved her off. Sometimes he worried about his detective come surrogate daughter. She hardly ever seemed to get time to herself. If she wasn't chasing after perps, she was dealing with his grandchild. He was worried that she was suddenly going to burn out one of these days and he really didn't want to see that happen. Maybe he should force her to take some vacation days?
"Sure thing, Cap. I'll see you in about an hour and a half?" Olivia interrupted her 'father's' thoughts.
"That's fine. Now hurry. You don't want to be late getting my grandbaby."
With that Olivia made her way out of the precinct and arrived at the school with five minutes to spare. At three thirty on the dot, the classroom door opened to reveal Miss Holly stood in the doorway. She smiled at the parents who were waiting to collect their children and made sure to shoot Liv a reassuring look when she noticed the semi anxious expression that was in the detective's eyes.
Once all the other parents and students had left, Miss Holly invited Olivia into the classroom which had the distinct smell of kids paint and chalk. Liv frowned slightly when she saw Maria slumped over a desk in the back of the room, her head resting on top of her arms. "Maria? Honey, are you ok?" The concerned mother asked as she rushed over to the small frame of her daughter. She crouched down beside her and placed a hand on her back.
This seemed to get Maria's attention as she slowly lifted her head and squinted at Liv. "Hi, Mama." She croaked before yawning softly.
"Do you feel sick, Baby?" Olivia asked as she felt the girl's forehead with the back of her hand.
Maria shook her head and held her arms out to her mother who promptly lifted her into her arms. Olivia looked over at the teacher who had remained silent during the mother-daughter interaction whilst Maria rested her head on her mommy's shoulder and closed her eyes softly.
"Come sit by my desk, Olivia." Miss Holly gestured to the spare chair opposite her desk.
"Did something happen today? If Maria needed to be collected you should have said so on the phone earlier. Why is she like this?" Olivia asked as she sat down on the appointed chair.
"Olivia, I'm afraid this isn't something that just started today." Miss Holly began with a sigh.
"What didn't just start today?" Liv began to get irate with the teacher's pussy footing around. Why couldn't she just get to the point?
"Maria has been struggling to stay awake in class lately. The first incident was Wednesday last week. It started with her losing concentration easily but then she started to fall asleep at her desk. This morning she was ok until it got to about eleven o'clock. The other students in the class returned from recess but when I did a headcount I realised Maria wasn't among them." Olivia looked as if she was about to interrupt but Miss Holly stopped her by raising a hand in the 'just wait' signal. "I found her rather quickly. The TA watched the class whilst I went back to the playground and that's where I found her. She was in the playhouse curled up fast asleep."
"Oh my goodness. I-I don't know what to say." Olivia was speechless. Why hadn't she noticed any of this?
"Olivia, don't feel bad about this. If you don't mind me asking, what is Maria's after school routine?" Miss Holly inquired, hoping not to offend the NYPD detective.
Olivia shifted in her seat and pulled Maria tighter towards her. "Uh well most days I still have some paperwork to finish off at work so we go back to the precinct where Maria does her homework. We leave the station around five o'clock. Dinner is at six thirty and then I let Maria have half an hour to play before her bath and bedtime which is eight o'clock." At her mention of the precinct, Olivia was able to put two and two together. For the past two weeks they had been investigating that darn sex trafficking ring. The detectives were all so desperate to close the case that they often stayed behind for a couple of hours. On a couple of occasions, Liv had lost track of time and didn't leave until around seven thirty or even eight o'clock. By the time they drove home and Maria had her bath it would have been sometimes nearing the nine thirty mark. She didn't think she should tell the teacher all of that though. She didn't want to sound like a lousy mother who put her work over her own child's needs.
Liv inwardly kicked herself and then realised that Miss Holly had remained silent as if she was waiting for her to say something else. "I guess I could speak to my boss about leaving work a little earlier from now on. That way I can get Maria settled back at home quicker."
Miss Holly, sensing that Olivia may have felt like she was judging her, smiled in understanding. "Try not to work yourself up over this. I know it's not easy being a single parent and working full time for such a demanding job. I'm sure this is just a phase she's going through. Sometimes that happens with children. Other than the tiredness, Maria is doing extremely well and has caught up to the rest of the students. You should be proud of your daughter, Olivia." The teacher got up out of her seat and went over to the door with Olivia following behind her.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I promise you won't have any more of these incidents." Olivia swore before exchanging pleasantries with Miss Holly and leaving the school building.
The fresh air outside seemed to have an effect on Maria who slowly lifted her head and looked around her surroundings as soon as they were out in the playground. "Hey, Sleepyhead." Olivia said as she brushed a piece of fly away hair out of her daughter's eyes.
"Mommy, am I in trouble?" Maria asked as she began to play with Liv's necklace.
Olivia sighed and placed Maria onto her own two feet, crouching down so she became eye level with her little girl. "No, Sweetie. You being so tired all the time is Mommy's fault. I've been staying late at work too much lately but I promise I'm going to fix it so that you don't fall asleep at school any more, ok?"
"Ok. Can we go and see Elliot and Grandpa now?" The little girl asked and Liv smiled before standing up straight. She took a hold of her daughter's hand and headed off in the direction of where she had parked.
Olivia and Maria vacated the lift back at the precinct hand in hand and made their way towards the SVU squad room. Liv was just about to set her daughter up with her homework in the children's interview room when she heard her captain call out her name.
"Yes, Sir?" She called over to him.
"I want to see you in my office." Don told her.
"Hi Grandpa!" Maria smiled and waved over at Cragen who couldn't help the grin that took over his serious facial expression.
"Hey, Peanut. Good day at school?" He asked as Olivia and Maria made their way closer to him.
Maria shrugged and looked down at the ground. "It was ok."
Don gave Liv a questioning look but instead of explaining the girls sullen mood, she said, "Let me quickly get this one settled in the kids room and then we can talk. I will explain everything."
Don nodded and watched as the two of them continued their journey towards their original destination. He didn't have to wait long to hear a knock on his office door and, knowing it would be Olivia, he called out a quick 'come in!' without even looking up from the file he was working on. The SVU captain waited for his female detective to be seated before he spoke.
"Everything ok?" He asked, one eyebrow raised just a little.
"Yeah everything's fine." Olivia shrugged.
"You sure? I mean you can't deny that you were worried all afternoon after that phone call and well, Liv, Maria doesn't seem to be her normal self-"
"Look, Captain," Liv took a deep breath. She really didn't want to bite her boss's head off but she didn't need him telling her how to deal with her life. "It's nothing I can't handle. Maria is fine. Just a little bit tired. Her teacher said she's fallen asleep in school a couple of times the past couple of weeks. I said I will talk to you about maybe being allowed to leave early a few times-"
"Liv, you can't be serious." Don spoke up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked, slightly offended. For the majority of her adult life, she had practically been married to the force and now that she finally had something that was all hers, the job she loved was getting in the way of it.
Cragen sighed and closed the file that was on his desk. "I can't give you any special treatment just because you're a single mother. You knew what you would have to juggle when you took on the role of Maria's mom-"
"Are you asking me to choose between this job and my child? Because if you are, you're making a big mistake. My little girl is my number one priority so you can shove this job up you're-"
"Olivia, hear me out before you make any rash decisions will you?" He waited patiently and eventually his prayers were answered when his 'daughter' took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know that you will choose Maria over everything and everyone. All I'm saying is...maybe it's time you started thinking about after school arrangements for her."
Olivia gave him a puzzled look that asked him to elaborate. "I think now might be the right time to look into getting a nanny. We agreed that her coming here after school would just be a temporary thing. 1PP will be on my ass if they found out I had a five year old kid running around the squad room on a regular basis."
"Daddy, I-I...Maria she won't-"
"Maria will be fine with someone else watching her. She spends six hours a day away from you everyday during the week. A couple more hours in the evening won't scar her for life. Besides, you don't want her seeing anything that isn't child friendly right in front of her eyes do you? Now that will scar her." Don tried to get her to see sense. He knew what the real problem was. The real problem was that Olivia didn't want to leave her child for someone else to take of. She sometimes had a Wonder Woman complex and often struggled to ask for help. However, he had to make her realise it wasn't just about herself any more. She had a child to think about and she had to make decisions based on what was best for said child.
Olivia bit her bottom lip as she got lost in her own thoughts regarding the dilemma she was faced with. When she thought about his words, she couldn't fault Don in anything he had just said. She only really needed someone to watch Maria from three thirty up until she got home in the evening which would normally be between six and seven pm, depending on her work load. Also, what Don said about Maria maybe one day witnessing something unsightly? She definitely didn't want that to happen
The brunette was brought back to reality when Don called out to her rather worried. She sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. "You're so right, Cap. I think it is time I get someone to mind her after school and...I'm sorry for the way I just spoke to you. It's just...I worry whenever she's not right by my side. I know it's silly-"
Olivia was interrupted by Don who scoffed and shook his head. "You're feelings aren't silly, Honey. Now you know how I feel when you're out there squaring up with perps." He admitted. Liv smiled softly at the sweet comment. She had never had a father in her life, for obvious reasons, up until the moment she joined SVU and met Don. "Look, it's just gone four o'clock. Why don't you take Maria home and take the rest of the day off? You can make some calls and try and find a sitter."
"I would appreciate that so much." Olivia told him. The two of them stood up from their seats and made their way to the door. Before leaving the room, Liv unexpectedly threw her arms around Cragen who, startled at first, returned the gesture. "Thanks for being my dad." She whispered to him softly.
"I'm always here for you, Liv. Always." Don reassured her strongly.
Olivia was walking along the floor of her home with Maria when she saw her neighbor, Anna Healy, come out of her own apartment. She smiled as a way of a greeting and went to unlock her apartment door when Anna addressed her. "You're home early." The blonde woman pointed out.
Truth be told, before Maria became a permanent fixture in her life Olivia very rarely spent time at her apartment during daylight hours. She had always been up and out of her apartment around seven in the morning only to return home at around ten pm. She had either stayed on at the precinct to finish up paperwork, joined the rest of the squad for after work drinks or, on a number of occasions, had gone on a date. Therefore she wasn't surprised over her neighbours shock at her premature return.
Olivia turned on the spot to face Anna and smiled. "Well, my boss released me early today so I could try and find this one," she put her hand on the top of Maria's head to make it clear to whom she was referring to, "a babysitter. I realised that a five year old probably shouldn't really be spending time at a police station day in and day out. Trouble is, I don't know where to start with my search. I've never needed that particular service before."
Anna's eyes lit up in delight. "You know, I think I have the perfect solution for you." She told Liv before calling out into her apartment. "Lauren, could you come out here a sec?!" Within moments a teenaged girl who was the spitting image of Anna made an appearance out in the hallway. "Lauren, you know Detective Benson from next door, right?"
"Sure, Mom. Hi, Detective." Lauren smiled politely.
"Oh wow! This is Lauren? You must be what? Fifteen or sixteen by now?" Olivia asked. She very vaguely remembered when the mother and daughter had moved in about ten years ago. Looking at the teenager made her feel old.
"Sixteen, Ma'am." Lauren agreed.
"Please call me Olivia. Sorry, I haven't even officially introduced you to Maria." Liv stood her daughter in front of her and rested her hands on her shoulders. "Maria, this is Lauren and Anna Healy. They're our neighbors. Guys, this is my daughter Maria. I adopted her a couple of months ago."
"It's so nice to finally meet you properly, Maria." Anna enthused as she bent over slightly to become eye level with the child.
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs Healy." Maria replied sweetly.
"Uh uh. None of that. You can call me Anna. We are neighbors after all." The blonde mother told the five year old before looking at Olivia. "As I was saying, I think your search for a sitter is over. Lauren here is always wanting this and that and the other. It's about time she started earning her allowance. I'm sure she won't mind watching this little cutie for a few hours during the week. Will you, Honey?"
Lauren smiled and shook her head. "I would love to. It would be good practice. I'm hoping to study Childhood Education in college. I love kids."
Olivia looked between the blonde duo before looking down at Maria. "What do you think, Sweetie? Do you think it would be cool to hang out with Lauren until Mommy comes home from work from now on? I'm sure you will have more fun here at home with all your things than you do at the precinct."
"Can we play games? And watch movies? And bake cakes?!" Maria asked Lauren who smiled at her excitement.
"Sure we can." The teenager assured her.
"Now, are you sure you don't mind, Lauren? It will be every night during the week and sometimes I don't get home until gone nine. It won't leave you much time to hang out with your friends." Olivia asked concerned over the girl's social life.
"It's fine. Honestly, I would rather earn money than having to borrow off of my mom all the time." Lauren reassure Liv.
"Ok, well do you think you can start from tomorrow? Really all you will have to do is pick her up from school, make sure she does her homework and give her dinner. Nine times out of ten I will be home on time for her bedtime routine." Olivia explained what the job entailed.
"That sounds totally cool. What school does Maria go to?" The sixteen year old enquired.
"William's Elementary." Liv replied.
Lauren's eyes lit up. "That's perfect! I go to the High School that's just a couple of blocks away."
"Awesome. Do you think you could come with me to the school tomorrow morning? The school is, understandably, strict on security so I need to notify them that you will be picking her up from now on and it would probably help if they know what you look like. We can kill two birds with one stone and you can see where Maria's class is and meet her teacher."
"No problem, Detec – I mean, Olivia. I'll see you in the morning."
The four of them said their goodbyes before going back into their own apartments. Olivia was glad to have been able to find childcare so easily. She thought she would have to interview at least ten people until she found someone suitable. However, it turns out that there was someone suitable living right next door. Besides, if Lauren had any minor problems whilst watching Maria, the girls mother was right next door to lend a hand.
What could go wrong?