A/N: I don't have any knowledge regarding Computer Crimes. This chapter is purely obviously fictional. I just needed an excuse to get our favourite female detective back to her home base so I hope no one overthinks whilst reading this chapter. On that note, on with the story. xxx
To say Olivia Benson was bored would be a gross understatement. When she first joined Computer Crimes she was excited about all the new technology she got to work with but, like all things in life, it soon became a commodity. Some days she was swamped with work and others, like this day in particular, she had virtually nothing to do.
She would be lying if she said she didn't miss working at SVU. Elliot would often come home from a hard days work at the unit and would tell her all about the latest case they were working on. She felt a rush of excitement when he explained how they chased down perps and interrogated witnesses as if he was telling her an elaborate story. She felt proud of her former squad when she learned how they were able to get justice for their victims.
Over at Computer Crimes, she didn't deal with people the way she had done back at SVU. The work tended to be cold and distanced. She missed being able to feel as if she was actually making a difference in individual's lives.
"Benson!" Her attention was pulled from her wandering thoughts by her superior officer summoning her.
Olivia got up from her desk and turned to look at him. "Yes, Sir?"
"Call off that babysitter of yours. You're free to leave seeing as though our work is done for today." The CO told her.
Olivia sighed and looked at the clock. It was three pm so she had enough time to collect Maria from school. "Thank you, Sir." She said before gathering her things. She would never deny herself the opportunity to spend more time with her daughter, she just wished her new position offered her some sort of satisfaction in her career.
After sending Lauren a quick text telling her that her services weren't needed for the day, Liv made her way to the precinct's parking lot to collect her car.
"Hi, Mama!" Maria exclaimed as she ran out of the classroom to see her mother waiting for her.
"Hi, Sweetheart. Did you have a good day?" Olivia asked happily as they made their way out of the school.
"Yep. A new kid started today. Her name is Millie. I think me and Tia are going to be friends with her." Maria stated confidently as she skipped along beside Liv. "Where's Lauren? Is she sick? Why aren't you at work?"
Olivia laughed as they came to a stop by her car. "What is this? An interrogation?" She asked rhetorically before answering the girls eager questions. "Lauren is not sick and I'm not at work because I was able to leave early today. Don't you like it when Mommy comes to get you?" Liv fake pouted as if her feelings were really hurt.
Maria shook her head quickly. "Uh uh. I like when you come and get me. What are we going to do now? Can we have McDonald's for dinner? Is Daddy leaving work early too?"
Liv found herself chuckling to herself as she got her daughter buckled into her car seat. She loved it when Maria was so excited and full of life. "Well, since it is Friday and you have been such a good girl I guess you deserve a treat. What's say we grab something to eat end then go and check out that new indoor play area we saw the other day?"
"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Maria exclaimed as her legs swung back and forth enthusiatically. Olivia climbed into the drivers seat and started the journey to the closest McDonald's restaurant.
As soon as they stepped foot into the fast food place, Olivia groaned to herself when she realised she had made a mistake. It being a Friday and school having just finished, it seemed as if every parent in the whole of Manhattan had the same idea as Liv herself. The place was ram packed and Olivia found herself wincing when she heard a few kids screeching and a couple of moms scolding their children.
"Mommy, I want a hamburger." Maria told her mother as she tugged on Liv's hand to get her attention.
"Ok, Honey but you're going to have to be patient. All of these people were here before us." Olivia pointed out as the two of them joined the back of the line.
They waited about fifteen minutes before having their order taken and then an additional ten minutes for their food to be ready. Olivia knew that the next challenge would be to find a spot to sit and eat. However, Lady Luck seemed to be on the detective's side as she was able to find a free table right away.
"You can have the toy after you've eaten all of your food." Olivia told Maria as she took the novelty toy from the Happy Meal box.
"Ok, Mama." The little girl replied as she dug into her fries, a smudge of ketchup already on her cheek. Olivia shook her head slightly in amusement but knew there was no point wiping off the mess. To say Maria was a messy eater would not have been an exaggeration.
Liv allowed Maria to play with her new toy after they had finished their meal but when the time started to get closer to the four thirty mark, she decided it was time to head over to the play area she mentioned earlier. They cleaned up their mess and headed for the exit, Maria happily skipping along beside her mother, aware of what their next destination was.
Olivia circled the indoor play area like a hawk. She had heard so many horror stories that had happened in these places. She was aware that this centre in particular had strict security but it didn't stop her worrying about any injuries her daughter may sustain whenever she saw Maria jumping over obstacles and climbing up great heights.
"Mommy look how high up I am!" Maria caught her mothers attention as she peaked through the netting of the large structure.
"I see you, Honey. Just be careful!" Olivia reminded her only to sigh when Maria seemed to ignore her and take off again into the depths of the play area.
After around ten more minutes, Olivia was relaxed enough to take a seat at one of the tables that were dotted around the place. She took a sip of the coffee she had purchased at the kiosk and placed Maria's juice along with her school stuff on the table top. Liv then opened up an abandoned magazine and began to read whilst her daughter blew off some steam.
Not long after she read an article on the latest celebrity gossip, Olivia looked up sharply at the sound of a familiar scream of 'Mama!'. Without a second thought and abandoning the table along with all their stuff, she took off for the entrance of the play area.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Children only." A security personnel told her as he pointed to a sign that said no kids over the age of twelve were allowed.
Olivia huffed and glared at the guard. "My daughter is in there and she's calling for me. Something is wrong."
"One of the staff members-"
Liv blocked out his next words when she heard another cry of 'Mommy, come quick!'. "Look, mister, my child is crying out for me and I'm not going to ignore it. I also happen to be a detective with the NYPD...now, you're going to let me in or face the consequences." She gritted out dangerously as she pulled out her badge.
After seeing the NYPD shield, the guard took a step back, allowing Olivia to follow the sound of Maria's voice. "Maria, Baby, where are you?!" She called out as she crawled through the tight spaces.
"In the ball pit, Mama!"
Olivia turned the corner and found Maria sat in the middle of the plastic ball pit. The little girl turned around to reveal a worried expression. "Are you hurt?" Liv asked as she got closer to her child who surprisingly shook her head.
"No. But look! This little boy is all alone and he has lots of ouchies." The five year old pointed to the corner of the pit. Olivia followed the finger only to see a tragic a sight.
A little boy no older that three years old sat cowering in the corner. His clothes were dirty and threadbare and...was that a black eye? "Maria, stay right here, ok?" Olivia whispered as she made her way tentatively towards the young child.
"Hey, Sweetie. My name's Olivia. Do you need some help?" Liv introduced herself once she was about a metre away from the unknown child. He didn't respond but instead continued to shake more. "Can you tell me your name?" Again, nothing. "Where's your mommy?" This time there was a reaction from the child. His eyes widened and he shook his head desperately.
Olivia sighed sadly and looked around. "Honey, I'm a police officer and I really want to help you." She once again took out her badge to prove her identity. The little boy looked around hesitantly but then gradually crawled towards Olivia and reached for her shiny badge. "You like this, huh?" Liv said as she allowed him to take it into his grubby hands. "So you know my name and this," she beckoned Maria over to them and placed a hand on her daughters shoulder, "is my daughter Maria. Can you tell us your name?"
The little boy looked between the two strangers who were in front of him and finally plucked up the courage to speak. "Ollie." He squeaked out.
"That's a cool name. Who are you here with, Ollie?" Olivia asked trying to get some more information.
Ollie shrugged and continued to fiddle with her badge. "Mama."
Olivia nodded to herself slightly. "Where is your mama?"
Ollie looked up into Olivia's eyes and that's when she realised he had the exact same shade of blue eyes that Elliot did. "She went bye bye."
Liv frowned at this. His mother just left him there? "Ok, Ollie. Do you want to come and get some juice and maybe a snack with Maria and I?" She had to try and find this child's mother. Either he had gotten lost in the large play area or his mother really had just left him there. She had to find out which was the correct assumption. Her police and motherly instincts kicked in and, making her feel like she couldn't just leave him in the ball pit alone.
Ollie seemed to think her offer over and nodded before handing her back her badge. His next actions surprised Liv as he wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist. Olivia gasped a little and looked over to her daughter who shrugged a little. When the boy rested her head on her shoulder, she rubbed his back soothingly. "Ok, let's go get that snack." She whispered softly as she gestured for Maria to follow her.
Moments later, Olivia stood away from the table she had claimed earlier. Her eyes remained firmly fixed on the two children who were tucking into an ice cream each. She had asked security to make the announcement that a child had been found but no one had come forward to claim the boy. Now she was just waiting for a bus to arrive to collect the boy and take him to be checked over at the hospital. Now that they were out in the open, his physical state had become even more worrisome. His feet were bare and his arms as well as his legs were covered in what looked like cigarette burns. Bruises of different colours and sizes also covered his body.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a couple of paramedics come through the entrance and sighed in relief. "Hi, I'm Detective Benson. I was the one who called this in." She greeted the medics.
"What have we got? Broken leg? Sprained wrist?" The lead paramedic tried to guess.
"Worse I'm afraid. Seems like an abandoned kid. He looks about three years old. His name is Ollie and he's covered in multiple injuries that point to abuse." Liv briefed the medics. "Before you go over there I just want to tell him what's going to happen. It took me a while to coax him out of the ball pit." She told the two men who nodded.
Olivia made her way over to the table and crouched down beside the chair Ollie was sat on. "Hey, is that ice cream good?" She asked softly and grinned at the white goo that was surrounding his mouth. He nodded in reply and took in another scoop of the cold substance. "Ollie, my friends are over there and they want to take you to see a doctor. You get to ride in an ambulance, won't that be fun?"
Ollie froze and dropped his spoon into his ice cream bowl. "You leave me, 'Livia?" He asked sadly and sniffled.
Olivia's heart broke at his sad tone and saw tears start to make an appearance in his crystal blue eyes. "No, Sweetheart. I'm going to ride over to the doctor in my car. I'll be with you the whole time." In actuality, she had planned to give her old squad a heads up and see Ollie into the ambulance before heading off home. However, she couldn't help but feel as if she had to see this through. Especially considering the little boy had grown quite attached to her. "So, do you think you can be a big brave boy for me?"
"Can I bring my ice cream?" Ollie asked as he brought the bowl closer to his chest. Liv was pretty sure he was starved for food as well as love.
"I'm sure that won't be a problem. Are you ready to meet my friend?" Liv waited for him to nod and waved the paramedics over to the table.
It didn't take long for Ollie to be strapped onto a gurney and loaded into the ambulance so Olivia and Maria soon found themselves climbing into Liv's car. Before she took off after the ambulance, Liv took out her cell phone and made a phone call.
"Hey, Liv. What's up?" Elliot greeted her, he and the rest of the squad were just about to call it a day.
"El, I need you to meet me and Maria at Mercy hospital." Olivia rushed out.
El felt his heart sink. He was aware of his girlfriend and their daughter's activities that afternoon and was now worried that Maria had been hurt. "What's wrong? Is it Maria?"
"No. She's fine. Just meet me at the hospital and bring Fin with you." Was the only response she gave before hanging up and heading off after the ambulance when she saw it begin to pull away.
Later that evening when Maria had been tucked into bed for the night, Olivia found herself pacing the living room area of her apartment. They had left the hospital hours ago. Liv didn't want to leave the little boy she had discovered and wanted to see what the outcome of his case was but when Maria began to fall asleep in the waiting room at the hospital, El insisted they both go home and get some rest.
Olivia, however, did anything but rest when she got home. Maria kept asking her what was going to happen to Ollie and Liv found herself not being able to give her a direct answer. All she could tell her daughter was that the three year old would be taken care of wherever he ended up. She finally managed to get Maria off to sleep at some point past the nine pm mark but Olivia struggled to get to sleep herself.
Liv's pacing came to a halt when she heard the apartment door being unlocked and sighed in relief when she saw Elliot step through the threshold. "Where have you been? What happened?" She fired at him as he shut the door behind him and went over to her.
"Why aren't you in bed?" Elliot retorted with a question of his own. He was concerned when he saw the bags under his girlfriend's eyes, her hair dishevelled. She looked plain exhausted.
"I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't seem to shake the imagine of that little boy out of my head." Olivia explained as she took a seat on the edge of the couch, Elliot following suit.
Liv watched Elliot expectantly and he heaved a heavy sigh before answering the questions he knew she was thinking but wasn't verbally asking. "We ran Ollie's DNA through the system. Turns out his father was convicted for assault and battery and was recently released. We paid a visit to his last known address and found the mother. She told us she left the kid at the play area because her ex was threatening to kill them. She just wanted to get him out of harms way. Guess she assumed he would be better off in the system."
"Wow." Olivia breathed out. She could never imagine feeling so helpless in a situation to the point where she would abandon her own child. "What's going to happen to Ollie?" She asked.
"He and his mother are now in protective custody until we track the father down-"
"They gave him back to her?!" Olivia exclaimed as she stood up abruptly. She looked as if she was going to start spitting feathers.
Elliot got up from his position and stepped in front of her to stop her from once again pacing. "Liv, she loves her little boy. She felt like she didn't have a choice. She's only nineteen years old. Just a kid really-"
"She gave up the right to being a kid when she had one of her own!" Liv spat.
"Be fair, Olivia. The law had failed her once by letting the scumbag out of prison. She didn't want to chance it again." Elliot sighed when it seemed like she wasn't listening to a word he was saying. "Ollie loves his mom. As soon as he saw her, he jumped into her arms. She was just trying to protect him." Olivia sighed and slumped in defeat only to stiffen and look up sharply when El next spoke. "You miss it."
"What?" Liv asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"You miss working at SVU. I saw you today. You didn't want to leave Ollie until you saw that he got justice. You miss being able to help victims."
Olivia scoffed and shook her head in the negative. "Don't be so ridiculous-"
"Just stating the facts. Come on, Liv. I know you aren't really happy over at Computer Crimes. You never talk about your day. You just want to hear about mine." Elliot pushed not wanting to let the subject drop.
Liv sighed and nodded in acceptance. "You're right." She agreed.
Elliot smiled and held out his cell to her. "I think it's time you made a call to Cragen."
A/N: What will Olivia's next move be? Think she will make that phone call? All will be revealed in the next instalment. x