Chapter 8 - BIT OF A JUMP IN TIME HERE!
Manhattan SVU, Manhattan, New York
Friday, November 20th 2015
11.36 am
Olivia and Elliot had been working a very tough case involving kidnapped teenagers being sold as sex slaves. They were currently in the process of setting up a sting to take down the leader of the pack and it was turning into a pretty long morning.
After a while Olivia retreated into her office and locked the door, she rarely did this but Elliot was the only one who walked into her office without knocking and so if he found it locked, he would know she was trying to get away from him.
She rested her hands on her large twenty seven week bump as she contemplated the array of plans they had that could be used for the sting this evening. Her problem was that she knew if the sting went wrong the blame would land on her shoulders.
The ringing of the phone snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Captain Cragen Special Victims Unit." She answered in the way the Chief of D's had corrected her when she'd just answered "Cragen" he'd reminded her that she wasn't a field Detective on a Cell Phone anymore and should be aware that the people calling her now deserved far more respect.
Hey Princess
"Hey Daddy." She smiled knowing it was her father on the phone.
So what's this I hear about some sting op tonight?
"This was only decided an hour ago, Dad? Have you got someone carrying tales about me?" The anger in her voice was obvious.
I asked someone to let me know if you were doing something to put you and your son at risk.
Her son, she'd found out that she was finally having the baby boy she'd wanted since Nicole was a girl.
"Not the point Dad I can do my job!" She yelled angrily.
Then why have you not made a decision and locked yourself in the office?
She was furious.
"Who's carrying tales?" She asked trying to hide the fury from her voice.
It doesn't matter...
"It matters to me if I have someone on my squad who doubts my abilities as their Captain." She snapped.
It isn't actually someone on the squad, it's just a friend come on Princess just drop it.
"No I won't drop it ... fuck." She hung up the phone and walked to the door wasting no time in unlocking it and facing the men in the room.
She was still the only woman in a man's world. The new Detective she'd hired was a great addition to the team, Detective First Grade Nick Amaro had fit in perfectly and worked really well with herself and the rest of the squad, even though at the moment he was working with her mainly as she was still needed out in the field and with Munch working less and less out there she was needed, but Munch completed most of her paperwork so she wasn't complaining.
"Doctor Huang a word?" She asked trying to hide all emotion from her voice.
He nodded and left the conference table they'd set up in the main squad room to follow the Captain into the office. Olivia had understood her Father when he had said it wasn't someone who worked for her, because George Huang may have been a valuable part of SVU but he was FBI he wasn't working for her, if anything, he had some power to overrule her decision ... to some authority.
Guessing this wasn't a personal call he stayed standing as Olivia sat down and addressed her professionally.
"Captain what can I do for you?" He asked gently.
"Drop the Captain I didn't want to give the impression to the squad that there was something wrong." She explained her calling him by his professional title across the bullpen.
He relaxed a little and took one of the empty seats opposite her, studying her to try and figure out what was wrong.
"George, why are you telling my Dad about how I do my job?" She asked bluntly.
There was no getting out of this one for George Huang, he was busted and he knew it.
"He asked me to keep an eye on you Olivia, with everything that happened with Ali and Eli he's worrying about you." George tried to keep his voice steady but pregnant angry Olivia could be quite scary and he didn't want to be feeling her wrath today.
"Keeping an eye on me is one thing, to soothe my Father's fears because he isn't here to look after me this time but telling him that we're setting up a sting and I haven't made my mind up, telling him I withdrew to my office and locked the door? That isn't keeping an eye on me George that's damn right interfering." She snapped angrily and he was sure he was about to feel the full extent of her wrath.
"Olivia..."
"No! Don't you dare! I have every right as the Commanding Officer of this unit to take some time out and make a decision, I don't know which of our many plans are going to work best and I need to sort through them all in my mind and feel prepared going out there because my Detectives lives will be on the line and not just my Detectives but my husband's, my own and my unborn child will be out there in the field while you're sat in a truck listening in, now don't you dare think I don't have the right to lock myself away to make these decisions." She hissed, her voice deep and threatening.
"I'm sorry Olivia, I shouldn't have interfered but I made a promise to your father who is also my best friend." Huang explained as his defence.
"If you can't trust your partner it's time to get a new one." Olivia mumbled.
"What?" George asked unsure whether he'd heard her right.
"George, you're the head figuratively speaking, of this team, I may be the one that makes all the decisions but you're the person that helps us get through it, you're the one shrinking us till we realised that everything we're feeling is fine and subsequently get some sleep. I told Elliot, long ago, while he was still happily married to Kathy it was that long ago ... I told him if you can't trust your partner then it's time to get a new one ... I respect you as an Agent, as a Psychiatrist and as a Friend but by carrying things back to my dad I'm losing that respect and that trust and if I can't trust you Huang I will be reporting that we need a new psychiatrist on this squad instead of you, do I make myself clear?" She was frustrated, angry, sad, he understood it all and that's what bothered him the most because if he didn't understand then he could through a Stabler tantrum and demand an apology but everything Olivia had said was true, he was losing her respect by betraying her confidence to her father.
"Crystal." He nodded. "I'm sorry Olivia."
"Apology accepted, now go back out there and tell them we're going with the fifth plan, I think it's safest." She told him and he nodded and almost ran to the door but when he opened it he glanced nervously at Olivia just as Don Cragen walked into the room.
"Dad?" She sighed leaning back in the chair. "You can still go George." She informed the psychiatrist while her father took a seat. "Why did you come here?" Olivia asked.
"The kids are at school and with Alex and Casey for the night and your Mom and Nanny Sue are doing laundry and I was bored..."
"You're checking up on me." Olivia concluded.
"No..."
"Dad don't lie to me you've had me under surveillance by George Huang and the second things don't sit right with you then you rush in here to check up on me. I've made my decision on tonight's surveillance and I have also told George Huang that if he doesn't stop filling you in on everything I do I will ask for a different Pysch for my squad." She explained.
"George was just doing what I asked of him." Cragen sighed gently.
"I know, but he betrayed my trust Dad in the same way you are having him check up on me, I'm Captain now you've retired and everything you've taught me over the years is being put to good use but I'm not you, I will make my decisions my way." Olivia explained.
"Sure, but you can at least allow me to be a little bit concerned about the welfare of my child and grandson." Done replied.
"I can but why come here Dad?" Olivia asked frowning.
"Because I knew you'd talk to George and I wanted to make sure you didn't fire him." He chuckled when Olivia smiled.
"Not yet." Was all Olivia could reply.
5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York
Friday, November 20th 2015
6.41 pm
On Fifth Avenue all the squad were in position for this take down. They'd been working on setting up some sort of sting for while with Fin going undercover to try and bring down the organisation and as soon as Fin handed over the ten thousand dollars to buy a girl then the case would be closed.
Don Cragen and George Huang were stationed in a van just out of sight. Olivia was stationed in the coffee shop as she would follow the money after the handover. Elliot was driving the van and would bring it closer when necessary. Nick Amaro was already stationed at the second check point just in case something was changed. Munch was with backup ready for something to go wrong.
"Big Brother is on the move." Elliot said so that everyone wired up could hear him.
It meant that Fin was now taking the money into the coffee shop. Olivia was the one to move as soon as the hand over was finished. She was on edge, as anything going wrong would land her up the river without a paddle.
"I have eyeball on Big Brother." Olivia whispered discreetly into her wrist.
Fin waited at the table he'd been told to wait at and was now waiting for the collector to pick up the money. A twenty year old girl sat down in front of Fin with a grin on her face and Olivia knew this to be the hand over.
"Black haired female in a pink leather jacket." Olivia mumbled. "Handover is made I'm on the move."
Olivia followed the young woman out and waited for a command prompt from Elliot.
"We have eyeball." He said as the van slowly began to move from the corner being careful not to get seen by anyone who may be watching, if anyone figured out Fin was a cop then he'd be shot.
Fin rushed to the van and climbed inside while Olivia slowly followed the girl in the pink leather jacket.
"I've got a visual on Mama." Nick said meaning he'd spotted Olivia before the girl.
"Ok she's entered I'm going in." Olivia whispered before going into the restaurant that the handover would be made.
It was like time had stood still as they waited for the girl to hand the money over to the perp. Olivia waited with bated breath for the envelope of cash to be passed on. From one hand to the other the exchange was made.
"Go, I repeat go go go." Olivia said and the doors busted open.
"NYPD Nobody moves!" Elliot yelled as Huang threw a jacket and her shield towards Olivia.
She slipped on her NYPD coat and hung her shield around her neck before joining in on the arrests. They were bringing everyone in at the hope that someone would spill their guts about the main man who was being arrested for extortion only until they could prove human trafficking, rape and soliciting sex from a minor.
"NOBONDY MOVES!" someone yelled before repetitive shots were made and it wasn't typical gun shots it was rifle.
Everyone dived to the floor and waited until the firing seized.
"Where's the back up!" Olivia called into her wrist.
"Your father told us to hold back." Amaro replied.
"Get in here now!" Olivia yelled and as soon as she'd finished the door busted open and more gun shots followed from the snipers.
Manhattan SVU, Manhattan, New York
Friday, November 20th 2015
8.59 pm
Olivia was pacing her office in pure frustration. She was angry and didn't know what to say to anyone. Luckily the NYPD had no casualties in this instance and she was quite relieved at that but they'd had four of their suspects killed and the brass was going to want something done about it. Her job was on the line here and she knew it.
A knock on the door had her frozen.
"Come in." She called and in walked the Chief of D's and the Commissioner.
"Captain Cragen I'm sure you were expecting us." The Chief said.
"Of course." Olivia nodded knowing there was no point trying to say that this had gone ok.
"Do you mind explaining what happened with the snipers? Why were they not brought in as soon as the gun shots went off? Because we've already listened to the wire tape and you didn't stop them." He explained.
"Don Cragen interfered." She explained. "He held back the snipers."
"You had a civilian on the case?" The Commissioner asked.
"He's not just a civilian he's the ex captain of this squad." Olivia explained. "He is still licensed to carry an on duty weapon and he was just in the van with Doctor Huang and Sergeant Stabler, I was inside I couldn't see anything that suggested he'd left the van and no one had told me." Olivia was trying not to show how angry she was.
"Captain we understand that you have a lot of faith in your Father and ex CO but this is your squad now, your decisions are what make or break a case, in this instant we were lucky that the only people who got hurt where the ones trying to hurt others, but someone could have been killed. This time we're not going to take your shield but don't take your father on any operations again, having him in the office helping is one thing Captain Cragen but having him out in the field making command decisions could cost you your job." The commissioner explained before he and the chief walked out.
Olivia waited for the door to shut behind them before slumping into her chair, she knew they were right, she should have never let her father come on the operation with them but it felt right having him there, but she was still furious with him.
Cragen-Stabler residence, Manhattan, New York
Friday, November 20th 2015
11.03 pm
"I told you don't speak to me!" Olivia yelled just as they walked through the door they'd been arguing since before leaving the precinct over the mess up on the sting.
"Liv..."
"Don't I'm still mad at you!" She continued to yell as they put away their guns in the locked drawer before switching on the light to the hallway.
"Anne!" Don gasped.
Olivia and Elliot both spun around to see what was going on and saw Don rushing over to the bottom of the stairs.
"OH MY GOD!" Olivia gasped rushing over with Elliot hot on her heels. "Call a bus."
Don was caressing his wife's face and Olivia held her hand but then she looked up at Elliot and shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.
"Dad." She croaked and he pulled the limp body of his wife into his arms, tears cascading down his cheek.
"Liv?" Elliot asked.
"Call Melinda." She whispered as she blinked back every tear that threatened to fall.
Elliot just nodded and went into the living room with his phone. Olivia sat on the floor holding her mother's hand as Don rocked her backwards and forwards. Every second that ticked by felt like an hour but it took less than fifteen minutes before Melinda Warner and CSU arrived.
"CSU?" Olivia asked looking at Elliot who shrugged.
"Its precaution because of how Elliot said she was found." Melinda explained and Olivia just nodded not moving from her Mother and Father's side.
"Liv I need you both too move." Melinda whispered gently as she wrapped an arm around her friend.
Olivia nodded and Elliot helped her to her feet but she didn't know what to say to her father to get him to move.
"Don." Melinda whispered but he just shook his head as the tears cascaded down his cheeks. "I'll take good care of her Don but I need you to move." Melinda continued softly.
"Dad..." Olivia croaked and that alone seemed to work.
He looked up and saw his daughter's tear ridden cheeks and carefully put his wife's body down. He rushed over to Olivia and pulled her into his arms, both of them sobbing uncontrollably.
"Melinda any idea what happened?" Elliot asked as he tried to hide his own grief.
"No not till I get her on my table I'm afraid." She explained trying to hide her own tears, she'd been good friends with her best friend's mother.
"Ok." Elliot nodded before he took Olivia and Don into the living room.
"Where's Nanny Sue?" Olivia asked knowing that the woman should have been here.
"She went to help Alex and Casey with the kids, they're a handful apparently." Don said chuckling a little as he wiped his tears.
They sat in silence until Melinda came in taking her latex gloves off in the process.
"We're moving her now." She explained and Olivia and Don clasped each other's hands and followed them out.
They couldn't have stood any closer if they tried. Their hands clasped in each other's tightly as they watched the body being placed in the black ambulance. That was a mother and a wife being taken away.
"Why?" Don asked softly and Olivia just shook her head and tried to stop the tears from falling and failing miserably in the process.
"Elliot the kids." Olivia whispered as she rested her free hand on her bump.
Elliot just shook his head and watched Olivia, the wind whipping around her making her hair flutter wildly.
"Let them be tonight." Elliot explained knowing that as soon as they were told there was going to be a lot of tears and tantrums and explaining.
"I need to ... I need to go..." She let go of her father's hand and rushed into the house.
Don just fell to his knees unsure what else to do. Elliot wiped his lingering tears knowing that he was in every right to be upset but not wanting to show it. Seconds past and Olivia rushed back out of the house and towards the car.
"Liv?" Elliot asked.
"I need to be alone." She explained and he nodded, knowing that this was going to be hard and he knew where she was going anyway.
He sent one simple text before returning his focus on the man who had just lost his wife, for now he'd have to focus on him and he would worry about Olivia afterwards.
Manhattan SVU, Manhattan, New York
Saturday, November 21st 2015
1.12 am
Olivia sat in her office staring into space, she wasn't ready to accept what had happened in the last two hours. The knock at the office door didn't startle her, she'd been expecting someone to find her and she knew that it would be someone Elliot had requested because the squad room had been completely empty when she arrived.
"Come in." She called as she wiped at her cheeks desperately.
"Liv?" George Huang walked in slowly and she knew with this man she didn't have to hide her tears.
As soon as he placed a hot tea in front of her and sat down her face scrunched up and she burst into tears.
"Let it all out Liv." He reassured her knowing that if she didn't she'd bottle it all up and it would be wrong for her in the long run.
His mind flashed back to the last time he'd been sat in this office with a grieving Olivia. He'd been sat behind the desk then and it was after she'd lost her fiancé, he'd been desperate to get her to open up but she wasn't having any of it, she was practically catatonic with everyone but Melissa.
"She can't be dead." Olivia mumbled through her tears. "She can't be."
Her eyes snapped shut once again as her shoulders shook with more cries. George Huang knew better than to say anything yet, she was just going through the first stage of grief and there was nothing wrong with that.
"I need her George, I can't ... she was there... with Cole and now ... I can't ..." Olivia hiccupped.
As much as he wanted to, he still said nothing because whatever he said now would fall on deaf ears and so there was no point but just sitting there so she could talk was better than having her sitting in the semi dark office saying nothing to no one and bottling it all up.
"How do I tell the kids?" Olivia asked looking at George showing she expected an answer.
"Well Melissa is thirteen now, she understands and she's dealt with death before so she will be the one to understand quickest, Nicole understands a bit about death too because she knows about her father, Lili and Lexi are going to need it explained to them and will understand but Ali and Eli are too young, they'll grieve because they'll feed off everyone else's emotions, they'll see everyone is sad but they won't understand why." Huang explained.
"There was only Melly last time, when Cole and Michael died, I don't know how to deal with their grieving George." She explained.
"You just have to let them grieve, let them cry, let them be angry, let them ask questions and answer them the best you can." George explained.
"Nicole is going to be devastated, she was Granny's little girl." Olivia sighed.
"She was the only one biologically her grandchild right?" Huang asked and Olivia just nodded.
"Yeah, it was like a special bond was there because of that you know?" Olivia explained. "I can't ... she's gone." Olivia broke out into more sobs.
Huang sighed softly, he was going to be needed for this family, they were all going to be grieving and he knew it was going to be tough for them all.
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