Chapter 26: Wake-Up Call
The next few days went by and Amanda was still distancing herself from Christina. They were both in their own worlds. She was trying to hide her gambling and Chris was trying to hide the fact that Franco was still in the city and wouldn't be leaving. He was still pestering her about leaving SVU and joining him in Narcotics. She kept saying no but that didn't stop him from asking her over and over. Beth was still trying to get back together with her. She'd made herself clear, with her words at least, that she didn't want to be in a relationship with her. Beth felt like her actions said otherwise. They went out to dinners, movies, art shows. Chris had even been Beth's date to an event at the museum. Beth wouldn't give up on the idea of them together. Chris hadn't given up on working things out with Amanda but it was hard to do seeing as how she wasn't speaking to her. It was the weekend and Amanda had time off. She locked up her weapon and got her things to head out. She said she was heading to Niagara Falls with Frannie but Chris wasn't convinced. She kept her mouth shut though and continued working on her paperwork so she could get out of there and go home. She overheard Nick being nosy, as usual, and then he and Amanda left the precinct together. She heard Olivia joke that she wished they'd "get a room already" and wondered if she'd noticed something going on between them that she hadn't. They had been particularly friendly working on the Jones case which was different for them given their past problems but she hadn't thought anything of it; until now.
Amanda didn't go out of town like she'd told her coworkers. Instead she went to an illegal gambling club. She played cards and smoked a couple cigarettes. This was her first time at this club and she'd already racked up a lot of debt. Like a true gambling addict, she kept playing to try to salvage her losses only to dig herself into a deeper and deeper hole. Then she laid eyes on someone she hadn't seen in months. It was Claire Wilson, a victim she'd helped. She was back to her old ways, waitressing in clubs. She knew the moment she laid eyes on her that it was time for her to go. She put out her cigarette and went to collect her money. She was stopped one her way out, escorted into the back office and held at gunpoint by club security; two men by the names of Declan and Carlos. The boss, a pregnant woman named Saundra, watched while they searched her for a wire. They made sure she wasn't undercover then informed her that she'd be working off her debt at the club. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this bind. She'd really stepped in it this time.
The next morning, Chris came in and Amanda was there sitting at one of the computers. She said good morning and went over to her desk. She didn't even ask what she was doing there. Turned out, she didn't have to. She overheard Nick being his naturally inquisitive self. Apparently, she never made it to Niagara Falls because Frannie got car sick and she was in checking tickets for a friend. Chris didn't know if all of it was true or only half but she knew something was off. She had a feeling she'd find out soon, one way or another. It was still her day off so she didn't stay long. Just got what she needed from the computer and left. The next day, Amanda didn't come in to work; something about having the flu. On their lunch break, Nick and Fin dragged her over to the apartment to check on her and give her soup. They knocked on the door for ten minutes but got no answer. Chris purposely didn't tell them that she still had a key. If Amanda didn't want to come in to work that was her choice. She was an adult. Everyone was entitled to play hooky at least once. They went back to the precinct where Amaro insisted on talking to Sergeant Benson about what he thought Rollins was up to. Her stomach did a back flip when she heard him say he'd tracked her cell and followed her. Fin seemed familiar with the news but it was the first she was hearing about it. "Stalker much" she thought to herself. She could see that it didn't sit right with Benson either. She trusted that she'd address the issue. She told them she'd take care of it so she and Fin left her office while Amaro stayed and talked to the Sergeant a while longer. He didn't seem in the best of moods when he left her office so Chris assumed that Olivia had addressed the stalking thing. He probably didn't see it that way but that's definitely what he was doing. Chris considered calling Amanda but she decided against it. She'd probably just ignore her phone calls anyway. She finished out the rest of the day and got her things to head home. As she was walking to her car, Fin caught up with her in the parking lot.
"You talked to Amanda?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No. It's been a couple weeks since I talked to her….outside of work anyway". She knew he was worried that she'd started gambling again. So was she but Amanda didn't want to talk to her. There was no way she'd want her help.
"She hasn't told you anything?"
"We broke up" she reminded him.
"So you stop talking to her?" It was clear that he wasn't happy with her and how he thought she was treating his partner.
"She stopped talking to me" she said defensively. "I've called her. She won't answer my phone calls. What do you want me to do?"
"This is because you're seeing that Beth chick" he said accusingly.
"I'm not seeing Beth" she quickly denied. "We're just friends".
"Yeah right" he said unconvinced. Chris scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Look, I don't have to take shit from you about this, ok?" she said annoyed. "She's the one ignoring me. Why don't you call her? Maybe she'll return your calls". She turned and walked the rest of the way to her car, got in it and headed home. Fin called Amanda and asked her to meet him later at their regular spot. A few hours later, he was sitting next to her at the bar. Their conversation confirmed that she was indeed gambling again and this time it could result in more trouble than she was able to get herself out of. She swore she had it under control but he wasn't so confident. He gave her money to help her out and made sure she knew that he was there if she needed him. He left her sitting at the bar not knowing that the people she was working for had been there the whole. She handed off the money to Declan and said that she was ready to be done with them. He said no and asked for another favor.
The next day, Amanda was out again. She had the evening shift which left her with half the day to do what she needed to do on that favor. It turned out that there was more they wanted from her so she'd be pulling a double. She went in for her shift which was pretty uneventful. Chris was debating whether to try to talk to her or just wait until Amanda wanted to talk to her again. Before she knew it was time for her to call it a night. She decided she'd take a chance that Amanda was in a weird mood like a couple weeks ago and would want to talk to her. Nick was doing his weird "I'm trying to be subtle about being in your business" routine but he wasn't really being subtle. She said she'd be sticking around for a while longer so Chris thought she'd wait for him to leave to ask her to talk. She didn't get the chance though. The phone rang and she volunteered to go out on a call since she'd been out the last few days. Fin went with her. Chris shut down her laptop, put her coat on, grabbed her keys and left the precinct behind them to go home.
The case they'd caught, the rape of a diplomat's wife, turned up more problems for Amanda than she'd anticipated. She did everything she could to keep her extra work under wraps. She went to the scene but her presence wasn't helping. The husband changed his story once he saw her and the victim refused to talk to her. When they got back to the precinct, she went through the surveillance videos fast enough to hide her own appearance on them from Fin. Then they got the call about the DNA they found on the victim. It turned out that the favor she'd done for Carlos to pay off her debt came back to bite her in the ass when it came back that he was their perp. They were planning to go pick him up when she made up an excuse about being tired from working so many hours. Fin sent her home and took Amaro instead. Only she didn't go home. She was pissed and confronted Saundra about putting her in a compromising position. Now she had to think of yet another way to dig herself out of yet another hole. She took a DNA swab from Carlos and took it to the lab as an elimination sample. Meanwhile, Amaro was at the evidence room checking out the surveillance footage, hoping to find whoever had taken a gun out of evidence which led to charges being dropped against their suspect. He saw Rollins on the video and took a copy back to the precinct with him to show Benson. They'd also found out about her trip to the diplomat's home and her taking in the elimination sample. Olivia told them to stop digging into Rollins' involvement in the case. It was her problem and she'd handle it. Fin didn't think it was all on her. He asked respectfully for permission to warn Amanda that they knew she was involved. He didn't want her to be blindsided. She agreed. They met her at a bar and let her know the situation. The walls were starting to crumble in on her and she knew she'd have to end this side work soon. She got Olivia to agree to let her turn herself in the next morning. When Fin left her at the bar she made some calls and told Saundra she needed to come in. Nick was on the other side of town, sticking his nose where it didn't belong. It seemed to be a character trait of his. He sucker punched Declan outside the club and threatened him to leave Rollins alone.
Not long after Amaro, Rollins was in that same part of town having a late meeting with Saundra and Declan. She was ending this once and for all. Her ass was on the line so she couldn't screw this up. She wasn't leaving without getting everything she needed. She had Saundra take her to her boss, demanding money and a flight out of the country. Saundra faked going into labor to distract her and Declan took this opportunity to gain control of the situation. He'd heard everything he needed to hear. He revealed his real identity as Lieutenant Declan Murphy and told them they were all under arrest. The next morning, he took care of Amanda for helping him out, making sure that she would keep her badge. He wished her good luck and went on his way. Amanda went back to the precinct to face the music.
Chris had the day before off so she had no idea what the hell was going on. From what she could tell from the conversation happening around her, Amanda had gone undercover and hadn't told anyone except Benson, which made sense. She had to inform her commanding officer. She didn't understand why Fin was so upset that she hadn't told him. He'd worked undercover before. He should understand. More than that, he should've been relieved. This whole time they thought she was throwing her career and her life down the drain but she was just on the job. Chris knew that however Amanda had gotten the undercover job wasn't on the up and up but she didn't care. She was just glad that it'd ended well. And if this wasn't a wake-up call for Amanda then nothing would be.
Amanda was still arguing with Fin about not telling him that she was undercover when Benson called her into her office. She got the truth out of her about how she'd ended up working at the gambling club and let her know she wasn't at all pleased with her behavior. She went so far as to threaten to transfer her. Amanda tried hard to control her emotions but she couldn't help the tear that escaped her eye. She knew she'd screwed up and that she'd have to regain Olivia's, and everyone else's, trust. She was glad that she had the chance to do so. She left her office and shut the door behind her, taking a minute to collect herself before going over to sit at her desk. Chris wanted to talk to her, make sure she was okay but it looked like she had a lot on her mind. She decided to give her some time to process and try to talk to her later. They worked quietly for the rest of the day, each taking their own time during lunch; all working through their own issues. It felt like they were at the bottom on the barrel. There wasn't any way to go but up.
After her shift ended, Amanda headed to a GA meeting. She was determined to get herself back on track. She couldn't afford to let her gambling ruin her life any more than it already had. She knew she wouldn't have any more chances. If she screwed up again, she was done. She could say goodbye to her career, her friends, her dog and probably say hello to a jail cell. She was more determined now than she'd ever been before to keep herself on the straight and narrow. She went to work every day and went to meetings and took care of Frannie. The job brought the same amount of stress but she was doing a better job of coping. She was slowly repairing her relationship with Christina. They weren't back together but they were talking more and she wasn't so angry about how things ended between them anymore. But Beth was still in the picture and Amanda wasn't sure she believed that they were just friends. They were in the middle of what was turning out to be a high profile case. The media involvement was negatively impacting the victim and Barba's ability to get an impartial jury. They went out for drinks to unwind after a tough day in court.
"They really went after her today" Chris said taking a drink from her beer.
"Yeah. The defense is exploiting the fact that, in the beginning, she lied" Amaro said.
"Jimmy Mac's coverage isn't helping any either" Amanda said obviously not happy with his involvement.
"So she lied" Chris said shrugging her shoulders. "The jury can't possibly dismiss those photos. It's obvious that she was attacked".
"Juries are never predictable, especially with defendants like these" Barba said chiming in.
"Defendants like what?" Chris turned around when she heard a familiar voice from behind her. Franco was there with a beer already in hand. He pulled a chair over and sat down next to Christina.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Amanda was confused to see him there as well. She thought he'd already gone back to California.
"Came here for a drink with some of the guys" he said pointing out his drinking companions. "Saw you here; thought I'd come over and say hello".
"You didn't get enough of the city last time you visited?" Nick asked. He wondered if Chris ever told Amanda about the kiss she'd shared with Franco. Chris' uncomfortable body language told him she most likely hadn't.
"Chris didn't tell you guys?" he asked looking back and forth between him and Rollins. "I live here now" he said filling them in. "Took a job with Brooklyn narcotics". Amanda looked at Chris and she knew she was in big trouble. She hadn't told Amanda anything about Franco moving to New York or about what happened between them the night of the fight at the bar or about him offering her a job with him in narcotics.
"No. She didn't mention it" Amanda said still looking at Chris who was now avoiding eye contact with her. The mood had undeniably changed and there was an awkward silence between them. Amanda finished her beer and got up from the table. "I'm gonna head out. See y'all tomorrow". She grabbed her jacket and walked toward the door, putting on her jacket as she went.
"Amanda wait" Chris called after her. She gave Franco an unappreciative glare as she grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair.
"What?" he asked innocently. She rolled her eyes and headed out after Amanda. She didn't see her when she walked out of the bar. She was supposed to have given her a ride home so she knew she'd have to take the train instead. She put her jacket on and jogged in the direction of the nearest station and saw Amanda halfway down the block.
"Amanda" she called after her. She ignored her and kept walking so Chris jogged to catch up with her. "Amanda would you stop?"
"What?" she said finally stopping to talk to her. "What is it?"
"Why'd you leave like that?" she asked.
"Why does it matter?" she asked shrugging her shoulders.
"Amanda, come on, don't do this" she said softly. "Things have been getting better between us. I don't want that to change".
"Is that why you lied about Franco moving here?" she asked.
"I didn't lie" she said quickly.
"You didn't tell me. You hid it from me. That's the same thing". She started walking in the direction of the subway again. Chris groaned and followed after her.
"You weren't talking to me" she reminded. "What was I supposed to do?" Amanda ignored her and kept walking. This was just what Chris needed. Just as she was getting close to Amanda again Franco shows up and gets in the way. "Ok, I'm sorry. I should've told you as soon as I found out but I was….I was still processing it and then we broke up. Amanda…" she reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. "I'm sorry. I just….I knew you wouldn't like it so I didn't say anything".
"I'm going home". She pulled out of her grasp and started to walk the rest of the way to the subway.
"Let me drive you" Chris stopping her from walking away. "Please". Without saying a word, she turned and started to walk back towards the bar towards Chris' car. Chris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She hoped to use the drive over to Amanda's to continue talking about the situation with Franco. She didn't know whether or not to tell her about the kiss or the job offer but she didn't think it was a good idea to keep it from her either. She had the walk back to her car to figure it out.