Chapter 12: Problems

When they got back to Amanda's apartment, Chris tried out her key to make sure it worked. It did. They decided on making homemade pizzas for lunch. Amanda had never made them before but Chris did it all the time with her brother and sister. She went through every step with her and an hour and fifteen minutes later they were taking a veggie pizza out of the oven. They went over to the couch and sat down to eat. Frannie jumped up and sat next to Amanda and Chris turned on the tv, flipping through channels before finally landing on ESPN.

"Isn't there a game tonight?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Lakers at OKC" she said as she shifted uncomfortably. She'd known about this match up for a while and had thought about placing a bet but couldn't decide which team to go for. Amanda had fallen off the wagon a few weeks before Christina joined SVU. She'd been used, again, by people she thought were on her side and cared about her. She was embarrassed that Lena had played her and used things she said to her in confidence for her own benefit. She was even more embarrassed that her personal business was fodder for the court. She felt like everyone was staring at her when Nate was on the stand testifying about their relationship. Lena tried to frame a man for rape and then killed him when things didn't go her way. Amanda had backed her up, spoken up for her, and all the while she was playing her. She should've seen it but she didn't. She'd barely been holding it together after being framed by her sister. Then a victim that she was close to committed suicide. She saw the signs and she didn't do anything to help her. She felt like she should've done more. Then she was shot by a woman who had it out for Fin. After that, Olivia was kidnapped which gave her something other than herself to focus on. It didn't take long though before she was feeling low again. The Jackie Walker case hit her hard. She knew in her gut that he was innocent and she didn't stick to her guns enough to prevent him from being arrested. In the end, the man's life was ruined. Then Nate and Lena happened. That was the last straw. It was just one thing after another where she always seemed to fall short. She felt like such a screw up.

"Hey" Chris said nudging her with her elbow, "Did you hear me?" she asked.

"Huh?" Amanda said looking at her confused. She'd been deep in thought for a couple of minutes and hadn't heard a word Christina said.

"I said do you wanna stay in tonight and watch the game?" Amanda just sat there and stared at her for a moment. "What?" she asked confused. Amanda shook her head.

"Nothing. Staying in to watch the game is fine with me" she said before finishing her pizza. "Who do you think is gonna win?" she asked casually.

"Uh, I don't know. OKC's having a pretty decent season but you never know" she said. "I always root for the underdog".

"So you think the Lakers are gonna take it?" Chris shrugged her shoulders. Amanda took both their plates and her phone to the kitchen. While she was at the sink, she typed up a text to send her bookie for the game. It read: Lakers/OKC, double bet, dog. She hesitated for a moment before finally hitting send. She put her phone in her pocket and opened the frig.

"You want a beer?" she asked over her shoulder.

"It's like two o'clock in the afternoon. You're in drinking mood already" Chris asked looking over at her. In her head she was thinking, "I just placed a bet for five thousand dollars on a shitty team. Damn right I'm in a drinking mood". She kept the thought to herself and just shrugged her shoulders. "Sure" she said agreeing to the early afternoon drink. Amanda came back over to the couch with two beers and more pizza. She handed Chris her pizza and beer and sat hers on the table.

"Come on, Frannie let's get you some lunch". Frannie jumped down off the couch and went over to her food dishes. Amanda took her water bowl and filled and grabbed the bag of dog food from the cabinet. She sat her water bowl down and filled her food bowl. "Eat up, girl" she said giving her a pat on the head. She put the dog food away and rejoined Christina on the couch. They watched tv and talked about their families and how they grew up, their hobbies, their favorite foods, colors, their pet peeves. Everything that a married couple would know about each other, they talked about it. Neither one of them was too keen on sharing but for some reason sharing between the came easily.

"So what about your move here from Georgia?" Chris asked. "I mean, I know you said that you needed to get away from "the drama". What was it?"

"Ummm, I was assualted...by my deputy chief. He was drunk and he got a little...out of control. I just needed to get out of dodge, you know". Chris nodded her head in understanding as she listened to Amanda explain her move to New York. "My old captain knew captain Cragen and was able to pull a few strings to get me an interview and the captain said come on up. So here I am".

"You know the problems I told you about with my sister?" she asked. Amanda nodded remembering the talk they'd had at the precinct. "Well she was dating a drug dealer. One my unit had eyes on. I was undercover when they saw her with him. My handler got word to me that she was in trouble but of course there was nothing I could do. I asked him to keep an eye out for her and make sure she knew that he was watching her on my behalf. When we finally had everything we needed to bring the ring down, I got out and I wanted to get her as far away from that lowlife as possible. My captain made some calls and found out there was an opening here; put in a good word for me. So here I am".

They stayed in for the rest of the day just talking like they'd planned the day before. At seven o'clock the game came on and Amanda was going crazy. The Lakers got off to a bad start early on. She couldn't believe she'd bet on them. Chris was really amused as she watched Amanda freak out over the horrible job they were doing. Amanda was practically standing on the couch while she yelled at the tv. Frannie looked like she didn't want to come anywhere near her. Chris reached up and pulled on her pants leg.

"Sit down, jeez" she said laughing, "It's just a basketball game". Amanda sat down and put her elbows on her knees. Her leg was bouncing up and down as she stared at the screen. Everytime OKC scored she'd curse under her breath. "I didn't know you took these games so serious. If I did, I wouldn't have suggested we watch", Chris said. She couldn't believe that Amanda was practically having a nervous breakdown watching this game.

"I'm sorry. I just..." she paused not knowing how to explain her behavior without telling Chris about the bet she'd placed. "I'm gonna get another beer. You want one?" she asked getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen. She figured she'd just change the subject to avoid having to finish her sentence.

"Yeah, sure" she said. Amanda came back and handed her a beer then sat back down next to her. She held in her yelling as best she could as she watched the horrible game in front of her. The second half of the game, the Lakers started to pick it up. Amanda was shaking she was so nervous. When her team finally took the lead, she wasn't able to contain her enthusiasm. It was the last minute of the game and the Lakers were up by eight.

"Oh, come on! Don't get lazy! Play some D!" Amanda yelled at the tv. The game clock was winding down and her team was holding on to their lead. There was thirty seconds left in the game and the Lakers had the ball. "Just hold on to the ball. All you have to do...is hold on...to the ball" she said as she paced in front of the tv. The game finally ended with the Lakers taking the win by six points. Amanda could barely contain herself. Chris just sat there confused about why this win was such a big deal.

"Ok" she said trying to calm her down, "You're scaring me...and the dog".

"I'm sorry. I'm just excited" she said sitting down again.

"Why?" she asked. "It's just a basketball game. It's not like you had any money riding on it" she said with a laugh. Amanda stiffened up and her smile slightly faded. The change in her mood and posture was very noticable. "Unless...you did have money riding on it" she said. "You placed a bet on that game?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did" she said softly.

"For how much?" Amanda looked down at her hands and kept quiet. "Amanda" Chris said getting her to look at her again. "How much?"

"Five...thousand" she said slowly. Chris looked like she could be knocked over with a feather.

"Fi...five thousand dollars?" she asked as if it could be five thousand of something else. Amanda silently nodded her head. "Amanda, you bet five thousand dollars...on the Lakers?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, you said you always root for the underdog. So I listened to you...and it worked".

"You're a gambler" she said as more of a statement than a question. "How bad is it?" she asked. Amanda gave her a confused look. "Your gambling problem" she clarified. "How bad is it?"

"I...I've got it under control" she said. Chris looked at her clearly unconvinced. "It's ummm...it's bad" she admitted. Chris took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

"Ok" she said calmly. "That was your last bet. At least while we're "married". When we get divorced you can go back to gambling and whatever else it is you do that you can't tell anyone about because it could cost you your job. But while we are married, you will not gamble. You will go to meetings and keep yourself on the straight and narrow. Ok?" Amanda tried to look at anything but Christina as she shook her head in agreement. "Amanda look at me" Chris said moving closer to her. She reached over and took her hand. Amanda's blue orbs snapped up to meet Chris' greens. "I want you to stop" she said sincerely.

"Ok. I'll stop" she said confidently. They sat on the couch for the rest of the night talking about themselves. Amanda told Chris how she got started with gambling. It started back at home and got worse when she got to New York. With everything she saw on the job she needed something to wash it off with at the end of the day. Some cops drank the job away. She gambled. She told Chris about how she'd almost lost her badge a couple years ago when Cragen found out about her extracurricular activities. But instead of firing her, her took her to her first meeting. Then she explained how she'd fallen off the wagon again. Chris listened attentively to Amanda as she told her story. Any thought of telling her that she was getting too serious about their "relationship" left her mind. She couldn't do that too her. It might make her problems even worse. She decided that, for their case and Amanda's sake, she would just go with the flow and keep her mouth shut. They finally went to bed around eleven thirty, each falling asleep on their own sides of the bed. During the night, Amanda moved over and laid her head on Chris' back. Chris thought about what would happen if she slept in a different position than on her stomach. Then Amanda would probably just lay her head on her chest or if she slept on her side, Amanda might spoon her from behind. She had a feeling she might as well start getting used to cuddling.

The next day, Chris and Amanda slept in until the afternoon. When they got up, they got dressed and made plans to meet up with Olivia, Nick and Fin for lunch. They stopped to meet with Amanda's bookie on the way to collect her winnings from the bet she placed the night before. The man looked Chris up and down and questioned Amanda about who she was and why she brought her. Amanda assured him that he didn't need to worry about her and told him that this would be her last time. He scoffed, "Yeah...right" he said unconvinced, "I haven't heard that one before". She didn't say anything back. She just took her money and they left.

"We should've stopped by after lunch" Chris said as they walked, hand in hand, to the diner where they were going to eat. "It's crazy to walk around with that much cash".

"It's fine" Amanda said looking over at her. "I have you to protect me, right?" she asked with a smile. Chris smiled back and opened the door to the diner for Amanda to walk in ahead of her. Fin was already seated at a booth in the middle. They slid into the side opposite him and scanned the menu. The waiter came over and asked for their drinks and then left them alone.

"Good news. Your apartment is ready. Fully furnished, big kitchen for your bakery business, and computer set up for your book keeping. TARU already did their thing" he said giving them the run down. "Your business cards are done too. They're there on the desk. You can move in today".

"Great. I hope you're not busy because you're helping" Chris said.

"At your service" he said pretending to bow as best he could from his seated position. "So, how's it going?" Fin asked. He wanted to know how things were for them being a married couple. They shared a look between the two of them.

"Things are good" Amanda said still looking at Chris. She turned back to Fin, "Things are good" she said again. Fin could tell that Amanda was really comfortable in her role. Chris seemed a little less comfortable. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later. Olivia walked in a few minutes later and then Nick a few minutes after that. They both said they were free to help Chris and Amanda move into the apartment they'd be staying in through the rest of the case. Sitting a table in the back of the diner was the same man that had been watching Chris and Amanda at the bar. He picked the table that would give him an unobstructed view of the couple. They were just what he'd been looking for. Perfect in every way.

"So, have you guys talked to the captain?" Chris asked quietly. She and Amanda hadn't gotten any information about the case since their conversation at the bar and they hadn't heard anything about the car that'd followed them that night.

"Yeah. He was glad to hear that you might have the perp interested" Olivia said. "There haven't been any other victims, no attacks reported".

"Huang thinks you definitely have the guy" Nick said chiming in. "He says that you're probably the couple he's been looking for. Fit all his criteria".

"And what, the other three couples didn't?" Amanda asked.

"He says there's a reason he hasn't taken any more women" Fin said, "He's found you".

"Ok, so why hasn't he made his move then?" Amanda asked, trying to assess how much more time she and Chris would have together before they would go back to being just partners and friends.

"He has to go through his whole routine" Chris said. "The stalking, the cameras. He wants to get to know us". A waiter came over and sat a large glass on the table with two straws and two spoons in front of Chris and Amanda.

"A double strawberry shake for the happy couple" he said nicely.

"Uh, I'm sorry" Chris said looking at the shake, "we didn't order this". He nodded his head.

"I know. It's compliments of the gentleman in the..." he trailed off as he looked over his shoulder to a table in the back of the diner. "Huh, that's funny. He was just there" he said seeing that the man was gone.

"Can you describe him?" Chris asked eagerly.

"White man, no older than forty, nice shirt, slacks, clean shaven. Regular looking guy". Chris got up from the table and went out of the dinner to see if she could spot the man. Of course she ended up seeing more than a few forty year old, nicely dressed, clean shaven white men. Just one of the things that would make this perp difficult to catch. She went back inside and sat down next to Amanda who was still staring at the strawberry shake. Chris pushed it towards the waiter.

"You can take that back". He looked back and forth between them.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Amanda nodded her head for both herself and Christina.

"Ok" he said picking up the shake and spoons, "Your server will be right over to take your orders". He took the shake and walked away towards the kitchen.

"Well, I guess now we know for sure" Chris said looking at Amanda. Amanda rested her chin on Chris' shoulder and Chris pressed her lips against Amanda's forehead. They were both on edge knowing that they had the attention of this perp. The night before, during their talk, they agreed to do everything they could to support and comfort each other through the duration of their undercover stint. Amanda was turning out to be a very affectionate partner. Chris was finding it to be surprisingly easy to play along. Amanda hadn't figured out what it was that Chris would need from her and she didn't know if she ever would. She just knew that when Chris needed her, she would be there. Olivia, Fin, and Nick stared at them, dismayed by how much they looked like a real couple. Olivia wondered if they were getting too comfortable and how that would affect them working together once this was all over. She made a mental note to bring it up with the captain when she checked in with him again. They ate lunch and decided they'd do something later that night, like a normal group of friends. After some debate, they decided to do bowling. It was fun and they could still have food and a few beers if they wanted. Chris made it abundantly clear that she'd just be watching because she was horrible at bowling.

They left the diner and made the drive over to Amanda's to pack up their things and move it to the new apartment. They were all set on living and dining room furniture so they only packed up the bedroom furniture. They emptied the closet, dressers and bathroom cabinets as well as the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. Luckily, Amanda had flatbed truck for them to put the bed and dressers. They loaded up the cars with everything else and Amanda locked up her apartment. She got in her truck and Chris took Frannie in her car. He'd been watching for almost ten minutes as they went in and out of the building, putting things in the car. When he saw that they were finished and getting into their cars, he did the same and then followed as Fin led the way to their new apartment.

They got right to work moving everything in. Olivia took the kitchen, stocking the refrigerator and cabinets. Fin and Nick insisted on hauling up the bedroom furniture. Chris joked about them wanting to feel like big, strong men. Chris laughed at Frannie, who followed Amanda back and forth to the car as if she wanted to help. The man watched from across the street as Nick and Fin went back and forth carrying the furniture, trying to figure out which apartment they were going to. The most he could make out was that they were going to the second floor. He'd have to do something other than just watch to figure out which apartment was theirs. He saw a kid skateboarding up and down the sidewalk and offered her ten dollars to go and see which apartment was being moved into. He gave her five dollars to start. She casually crossed the street and entered the building. Just a minute later, she came back and told him it was the second floor, "fourth door on the right" she said. After asking if she was sure and receiving a confident nod, he thanked her and gave her another five dollars. She happily took the money and rode away on her board.

Amanda and Chris got to work unpacking all their clothes and putting their things in the bathroom. When she went back out the living room, she noticed a table behind the couch that had pictures of her and Amanda together. She went over to get a closer look and was impressed by how authentic they looked.

"The guys at TARU did those too" Fin said looking over her shoulder. "Pretty good, huh?" he asked. Chris was so absorbed in the images of them together that his question barely registered with her. She absentmindedly nodded her head and gave a barely audible "yeah" before putting the pictures back and going back to the bedroom to help Amanda. Once everything was unpacked Olivia, Nick and Fin said their goodbyes and went to get cleaned up for their planned outing. Chris and Amanda went out shopping for curtains and few things to decorate the walls in their new apartment. When they were done putting everything up, they showered, got dressed and went to meet everyone at the bowling alley.

Chris was good to her word and just sat and watched while everyone else bowled. Fin had invited his son and son in law and their kids out to bowl with them, Brian came with Olivia and Nick brought Zara and Gil. They had two lanes, one without bumpers for the adults and one with bumpers for the kids. After taking his turn, Fin came over and sat next to Chris. He thought he'd take this opportunity, while Amanda was out of earshot, to talk to Christina about the slight discomfort he saw in her at the diner.

"So, what is it?" he asked. Chris had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"What is what?"

"What's bugging you about being with Amanda?" he clarified. She looked at him with a blank expression then shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing" she said.

"You're a horrible liar" he said bluntly. Chris laughed and scratched her head.

"Ummm, it's...it's complicated" she said honestly. Olivia looked over to see Fin talking to Chris.

"Fin" she yelled getting his attention, "You're up". He waved her off.

"Let one of the kids have my turn" he said. She nodded and asked the kids who like to take Fin's turn. They all raised their hands but Gil won by arguing that he was the oldest and had the best chance at doing well without the bumpers. "So, what's so complicated?" he asked not letting Chris off the hook. She closed her eyes and let out a huff of air. "Look, if I noticed that you're uncomfortable with Amanda, it won't be long before she notices. Not to mention you have a psycho stalking you who has to believe you're happy together. So...what's so complicated?".

"She's taking this too seriously" she said softly. "She likes me; really likes me. It was confusing for her at first because she doesn't date women but we've talked about it and I guess whatever I said really resonated with her because she is doing this one hundred percent".

"Isn't that a good thing?" he asked. "You have to be a believable couple".

"Yeah, it's a good thing...in public" she added. "But she's doing it in private too. The cameras aren't up yet, there's no reason for her to...be so affectionate" she said.

"Come on, that's not what bothering you" he said unconvinced. "What's the real problem?" Chris hated him poking around in her feelings but it was nice to have someone to process them with.

"I don't hate it" she admitted. Fin nodded his head understanding now what this was about. "I don't do feelings. I'm not the relationship type but...the thought of being with Amanda, really being with her...just doesn't bug me. I mean it bugs me but it bugs me because it's not...bugging me. I've never felt like this before". She'd been trying to convince herself that she was uncomfortable with Amanda because she didn't share mutual feelings but the truth was, she was uncomfortable because the feelings were mutual and that was scary to her. "Anyways, it doesn't matter".

"Why not?" he asked. "If you two like each other, I say go for it". Chris shook her head side to side.

"No, I can't. I don't date straight girls" she said bluntly. "And we work together. It's just...it's a bad idea. I just want to nail this perp and have this, us, be done".

"You gotta do what's best for you but just some advice...don't cheat yourself out of a good thing" he suggested. "What you could have with Amanda...that's a good thing". He gave her a pat on the shoulder and went over to rejoin the game, leaving Chris to think about what he'd just said. A few minutes later, Amanda came over and sat next to her.

"Hey" she said smiling.

"Hey" Chris said softly. Amanda could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing" she answered. "Just...thinking". Amanda put her hand on the side of Chris' face and turned her head to look into her eyes. Chris was captivated by the depths of her ceruleans. She wanted to stop fighting herself, her feelings, but fear was paralyzing. Then the corners of Amanda's lips turned upwards into a small smile and Chris felt a shiver go through her. She leaned in and kissed Amanda firmly on the lips, running her tongue lightly along her bottom lip. Amanda's lips parted and Chris slipped her tongue past them, caressing the inside of her mouth. She brought her hand to the back of Amanda's head and pulled her further into their kiss. He watched, once again, from the other side of the room, disgusted by what he was seeing. They were making out like a couple of teenagers and in front of children no less. He decided it was time for him to make his next move. This was the most important task, acquiring video surveillance. This would tell him everything he needed to know about them; their habits, their needs, who was dominant and who was submissive. This is where he'd learn how to break them. They must repent or die.