Chapter 37
A/N: Sorry it's been so long and I know I've changed this chapter, the reason I got bored with it was because I no longer liked where I was going with the case, this story isn't about the case it's about the personal family life. So I hope someone is still reading!
Cragen Residence, Manhattan, New York
Monday, January 20th 2016
7.36 pm
Olivia sat holding baby Georgie as she sat in the study with George Huang. He'd come over to check on her but he wasn't going to tell her that even though she knew it inside.
"So how was working with Elliot while you're separated?" George asked as Olivia was pulling faces at her son making him smile and pull faces back.
"It was different." Olivia replied. "Everyone in the squad room knew straight away when they saw me snapping orders about paperwork and saw neither one of us were wearing our wedding rings."
"Do you think they expected friction?" George continued and Olivia shrugged.
"I can't tell you what they were thinking but there wasn't any friction but he's not going to be at SVU much longer so it doesn't matter…"
"What do you mean? He's leaving?" George asked in complete shock.
"He's taking the Captaincy at Bronx SVU, but don't say anything none of us are supposed to know that the job is even available till after COM STAT tomorrow." Olivia replied hurriedly.
"Wow, you and Elliot working different boroughs, that's going to be different." George said and Olivia nodded.
"I mean we've worked together for sixteen years George it's going to take a while to adjust." Olivia replied honestly. "But I think it's for the best, it may even save our marriage."
"Maybe." George replied with a smile.
"I'm going to put little man down." Olivia said as George began falling asleep in her arms. "I'll be down in a minute."
George watched Olivia take her son up the stairs and he wondered whether or not Olivia even wanted her marriage saved, he didn't know whether there was a marriage there worth saving but what he did know was Olivia wanted to save her marriage, she wanted to save her relationship with her husband but he knew them working apart could go either way, save them or ruin them.
When Olivia came back downstairs she seemed to relax a little more which made George smile.
"So did you and Elliot talk about things other than work?" George asked and he saw the smile play on Olivia's lips. "Oh come on you have to tell me!"
"We … well if you count talking having sex on my office couch then yeah we talked." Olivia laughed and George's mouth fell open in surprise he knew that Olivia and Elliot had sex in the office in the past, if he was right Ali and Eli were conceived in Don Cragen's office.
"Seriously?" He asked.
"Yes, he is my husband and the sexual attraction is always going to be there George." Olivia replied with a shrug.
"Yeah but you're separated, I mean you have a date tomorrow night and you're still sleeping with Elliot?"
"He's my husband! Mathew knows we're just separated and there's a high probability we'll get back together." Olivia shrugged, there was nothing wrong about having sex with her husband separated or not.
"Ok." George nodded. "I mean you're right, he is your husband but do you really want to string the Commissioner along? It could have detrimental effect on your career if this goes wrong Liv…"
"Maybe so but he's the one that will get the hassle for dating one of his Captain's." Olivia replied shrugging, she had thought about it and Mathew seemed like a decent enough guy.
COM STAT, One Police Plaza, New York
Tuesday, January 21st 2016
9.36 am
Olivia sat back in her seat and watched as different Captains, Sergeants, Lieutenants and Inspectors took to the seat in front of the desk and listen to the Morris Commission report on how they ran their units.
She was scared they were ruthless in their reports and every time they said something negative she felt a shiver down her spine.
Commissioner Mathew Rockwell was sat in the centre and he was doing most of the talking but when he was quiet he'd glance over at Olivia and smile softly which would make her blush and then she'd hope no one had seen.
"Captain Gregory Roach Bronx SVU."
Olivia watched as the current Bronx Captain walked up and took the seat in front of the Morris Commission and for once she listened intently to what was said.
"Captain Roach what is your current case closure percentage?" Rockwell asked and Olivia could see a gleam in his eye that almost scared her.
"Forty four percent." He replied.
"Forty four percent? Has Captain Cragen arrived?"
Olivia knew he knew she was there so she stood up and he smiled at her.
"Captain Cragen what is your current case closure rate?" He asked.
"Eighty Seven percent Sir." She replied and he nodded.
"And how long have you been Captain?" He asked.
"Five months Sir." She replied and he nodded again and smiled.
"Captain Roach how long have you been Captain of Bronx SVU?" Rockwell asked.
"Eight years." He replied weakly.
"Eight years… and in that eight years what's the highest your case closure rate has been?"
"Fifty nine percent." He replied visibly ashamed.
"Fifty nine percent… Captain Roach you've got your twenty haven't you? Why are you still in this job?"
"I enjoy my job Sir." He replied simply.
"Enjoy it? But you don't do a good job of it, more than half your cases are cold and it is absolutely unacceptable you have two choices Sir, put in your papers or transfer because Bronx SVU needs a shakeup starting with you."
Olivia was still standing there feeling uncomfortable and she wasn't sure if it was safe for her to sit down or not yet but Mathew Rockwell was too busy to give her a look to let her know she could sit down.
"Yes Sir." He replied.
"We're done then." Rockwell said and Captain Roach got out of the seat and flashed Olivia a filthy look.
"Manhattan SVU." He called and Olivia made her way over to the chair Captain Roach had just occupied.
"Captain Cragen your case closure rate is higher than it has been in ten years, it's obvious that the unit is running smoothly under your command. You currently have no fresh cases, can your unit handle half the fresh open cases from Bronx SVU?"
"I believe we could handle it." Olivia replied trying to hide her nerves reminding herself that her uniform with a white shirt showed a position of power, she was higher ranked than most people in the room other than the Morris Commission most in the room were Lieutenants or Sergeants.
"Then Captain Roach will have those case files to you today. Of course then there is the matter of Captaincy of Bronx SVU, Captain Cragen are you interested or can you think of anyone ranked higher than Detective who would be interested who has years of experience and has taken their Captaincy exam?"
"I'll be honest and say that my place is Manhattan SVU but I do know that Sergeant Stabler has an interest in uh moving on." Olivia replied.
"Then we'll discuss the matter with Sergeant Stabler then and leave you to get back to work." Rockwell said and she could see the gleam in his eye when she nodded and got up to leave.
As she walked out of the room she had an extra sway in her hips and she could feel Mathew Rockwell's eyes on her skirt covered backside making her chuckle to herself.
Once outside in the open air she took a deep breath and was almost scared to death when there was a tap on her shoulder.
"Captain Roach?" She asked as her breathing normalised.
"Sorry Captain Cragen I didn't mean to scare you. I was wondering when I should deliver the files to you?" He asked and Olivia could hear the resentment in his voice.
"Sooner you get them to me the sooner I can put my Detectives to work Captain." She replied as she dug in her purse for her car keys.
"Of course, I'll have Detective Russo drop them off sometime today, I'll be cleaning out my office." He said.
"Ok. Thank you." Olivia replied before walking off she had no interest in talking with the man any longer and he took the hint and let her go.
Manhattan SVU, Manhattan, New York
Tuesday, January 21st 2016
10.47 am
All ears perked up at the clip clapping of heels. They were all surprised to see Olivia walking in full uniform as they had been expecting one of the ADA's not their Captain.
"Any new cases?" She asked as she took her hat off and pull her hair bobble out before shaking her hair free from the hold it had been in all morning as it was so long these days she had tucked it into the back of her shirt.
"Nope and for the first time in my life I am up to date with paper work." Munch replied making everyone laugh.
"Ok, we're being given half of Bronx SVU cases." Olivia informed them. "When the cases are handed over to us I'll work with Nick and Munch and Fin I want you to work together. Someone come get me when the files arrive. Stabler, my office." Olivia said as she loosened up her tie a little to give her room to breathe.
Elliot nodded and followed Olivia into the office where she unbuttoned her jacket going from professional tidy work woman to overworked and tired cop in seconds.
"What do you want?" Elliot asked folding his arms over his chest.
"Uh I didn't include you in the Bronx cases because this Captain is your last day." Olivia smiled handing him the manila file from her purse.
"Serious?" Elliot asked and Olivia nodded and smiled.
"You should make your way over there and make sure I get my files." Olivia smirked as he flicked through the file in his hands.
"So how come you're having half my open cases?" Elliot asked taking a seat on the couch.
"Because they've only closed forty four percent this year El it would take you the next year to close the already open ones and you will have more cases coming in so Rockwell has asked us to take half of them because my unit's case closure rate is eighty seven and the thirteen percent that are open are colder than my freezer." Olivia explained.
"Oh so Rockwell asked you?" He said in a teasing manner with a shit eating grin on his face.
"Well he is the Commissioner El." Olivia replied rolling her eyes. "So uh you should go and meet your squad up in the Bronx." Olivia smiled and he nodded and smiled broadly at her.
"Thanks Cap it's been an honour working beneath you." He said getting to his feet.
"My pleasure Sergeant." Olivia smiled as he opened the door.
Once it closed behind him Olivia closed her eyes, the door closing was their partnership coming to an end more than ever, if it wasn't gone before it was definitely gone now.
Manhattan SVU, Manhattan, New York
Tuesday, January 21st 2016
1.12 pm
The files arrived with a note from 'Captain Stabler' telling them to have fun and that the files were messier than his bathroom which Olivia found hilarious as she knew what a mess he made in their bathroom when they lived together.
"Oh my God Stabler wasn't kidding." Fin sighed as the four Detectives went through the eight boxes of files that had been delivered by one of Elliot's unis.
"Ok I want victims, witnesses, suspects and families re-interviewed, I want all ME reports to go to Warner, I want CSU reports to go to O'Halloran and TARU reports to go to Morales it is going to take months to clean up these files." Olivia said after reading the third incomplete file.
"Who do you want doing what?" Munch asked slamming down the file in his hand in anger, he couldn't believe how awful the notes were.
"Right these files are the oldest so we'll start with these, this room is command centre bring in ever board we have. I want to start with the six oldest files we'll split them three each Munch and Fin take Waldorf, Gonzales and Frost and Nick and I will take Fry, Thomas and Cruz. I'm going to call in Huang he might be able to offer us some assistance on all these cases." Olivia sighed as she moved the box back to the pile leaving the six files on the table.
Munch, Fin and Nick went to get the boards and bring them into conference room while Olivia ordered some unis to move the large conference table out while she called Huang.
An hour later six crime boards held crime scene photos, maps and whatever else they had in the file. Huang went from one crime board to the other while Olivia, Nick, Munch and Fin read the files trying to determine their first move.
"Nick you and I are taking these autopsy reports down to Warner and we are not leaving till she gives us something…" Olivia was stopped when the commissioner walked in, she had called to cancel their date because of the cases and she had not expected him to turn up. "Commissioner?"
"Captain Cragen can we talk?" He asked in a friendly manner and Olivia smiled. "Uh Nick take these autopsy reports to Warner and do not leave till she gives you something to work with if she wants any exhumation orders call Alex not Casey she's having a tough second trimester so I don't want to be the cause of any additional stress. Munch take all crime scene photos and logs down to O'Halloran and stay there if he wants anything from evidence call Stabler and get him to make his rookie unit bring us what we need, Fin I want you to take any TARU reports down to Morales and same applies, stay there and if he wants anything from evidence call Stabler. George if you're free can you profile our perps so we have something to work with and if all else fails start from scratch." Olivia ordered everyone around and watched as everyone hurried out with the files following her orders. "Should we go into my office Commissioner?" She asked and he nodded and smiled.
Olivia followed him into the office and hung up her jacket, she hadn't changed because she'd been too busy but that didn't matter, the brass preferred their cops in uniforms and would have even the Detectives in them constantly if they could.
"Sorry about Dinner but it's going to take hours just to go through those files." Olivia sighed as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail a sign that she was ready to get to work.
"It's fine, I was actually wondering if you wanted to order in here?" He smiled and she shrugged.
"Uh sure." She replied.
"Well you have to eat at some point." He replied with a smirk.
"Did you ask to talk to me just so you could ask me to have dinner in my office with you?" Olivia asked with a raised eyebrow and a cheeky grin on her face.
"Yes well no." He replied. "I uh was wondering if you're ok with these Bronx cases." He explained.
"They're a mess." Olivia replied simply. "That's why I cancelled dinner, the rookie's Stabler's got … Jesus they don't even write out simple victims statements properly."
"I know, we had a look over a couple of files and we knew we had to get rid of Roach." Mathew said as Olivia made her way over the mini fridge and offered him a can of cola which he accepted with a grateful smile.
"What's happening to him?" Olivia asked.
"He handed in his papers, he's retiring but I'm not complaining we're trying to clear up the whole of the NYPD of good old boy Detectives and cops in general and he had to go, the Chief of D's is now in a meeting with Stabler giving him the option of transferring his Detectives out and hiring a whole new unit of his own design." Mathew explained and Olivia nodded.
"Good, hopefully he'll hire a team that can write up a simple victim's statement, it's going to take us days just to re-interview everyone and hopefully find out why these cases are still open." Olivia was visibly angry by the situation. "I mean come on! I have thirteen percent of my units cases this year that are cold, we exhausted all possible scenarios and the leads just ran cold but how many of those cases in there are there because of rogue cops? The oldest case is a year old but how much more are there Mathew? It infuriates me that the people who are paid to get the victims and their families justice do a half assed job and when they don't succeed they shrug and say it doesn't matter before moving on to the next case!"
"Olivia…" Mathew said firmly bringing her attention to him. "We know how bad the case files was but you know the last Commissioner was a rapist, the last thing he wanted was clean SVU squads why do you think he hated your father, he ran a clean and strong squad and that's why Stabler's taking Bronx SVU and cleaning up the unit and you're working six months' worth of their past cases and you will solve them Olivia."
"Yeah the victims will get just six months to late right?" Olivia sighed.
"Better late than never." Mathew replied with a shrug and Olivia had to nod in agreement.
"I wouldn't be surprised if some of these victims withdraw their complaint though." Olivia said quietly.
"Why?" Mathew asked, he wasn't really down with what SVU was about, luckily he'd never had to work an SVU case and hadn't come into contact with them at all in his career.
"Because they'll have moved on and it isn't just about finding their attackers now Mathew we'll have to re-interview them take new statements bring ghosts up some of them will have fought to put to bed and in all honesty I would be the same."
"Well if they withdraw their complaint they withdraw their complaint and there's not much you can do about it Olivia but for those who don't then you can bring their attackers to justice." Mathew smiled reassuringly.
"You're right." She sighed shaking her head, it was going to be a rough few weeks for her squad.
"Why don't I let you get on with things and I'll be back at around five thirty with dinner?" He suggested seeing her going deep into thought.
"Sure. There's so much to be done it's unreal." She sighed. "I need to call the nanny make sure she's going to be ok with the kids, they have activities until eight thirty but I'd like to be home before they go to bed."
"How are the kids handling the separation?" He asked carefully, he didn't want to interfere but he really did care about Olivia and her family.
"I don't know, the twins are with Elliot this week, Melissa and Nicole are refusing him any visitation and as he isn't their father he has no rights to them and he will have baby George every two weeks for a weekend until he's a little older." She sighed and rubbed her hand across her forehead. "I feel awful for doing this to them, I don't want them to hate me."
"I doubt they could ever hate you Olivia." He replied gently. "You're their Mom."
"Yeah, a part of me is just glad though that for a week Ali, Eli, Lexi and Lili are with Elliot because I don't think I could handle it if I had all seven of them at once."
"You could, it's just easier without all of them."
"I already miss them." She admitted and Mathew dove from his seat and walked around behind her chair.
"You Captain Cragen need to relax." He sighed letting his fingers working her shoulders, this time she had no plans of making him stop, Elliot had told her to go for it and she was going to.
"That feels nice." She sighed in relaxation and Mathew could only smile, he wanted her to be relaxed, it wasn't much to ask for.
All too soon for Olivia's liking he stopped and stepped back.
"I'm going to go for a bit, I'll come over with food at five thirty and I'll make sure you're home for eight thirty to meet your kids even if I have to drive you there myself." He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back at him as he walked over to the door. "Call if you need anything Olivia."
"Thank you."