"Aren't you happy to see me, sister dear?" Michaela smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile.
"I… d-don't… u-un-under-understand. Wh-where… h-have… y-y-you… b-been?" Alex asked in confusion.
"Oh, Dave took me back. I can't blame him, I'm the best blowjob he's ever had in his pathetic life. We've been living here and there. But the thing is, I'm tired of Dave, and I'm tired of my kid always hanging all over me. After SVU busted into our house, I think they're putting my kid back in foster care, so at least she'll be out of my hair again, and they arrested Dave so he's been taken care of. And since you've been locked in here, Olivia is free to take me back without your pathetic ass hanging around all the time, and when she realizes how much better I am than you, she'll forget all about you and let me take your place. See, ever since I met Olivia I knew she was meant to be my Mistress, but you were in my way, so when we ran into Dave at that party, I saw my chance and I took it. I had to take a few beatings along the way, but so far things are working out according to plan. I am going to live with Olivia, wear her collar, and after the trial in four weeks you are going to spend the rest of your pathetic existence living here, because nobody else will want you. Listen to you, you can't even speak properly anymore."
"Y-Y-You're… l-lying!" Alex shouted angrily.
"Am I? Am I really? Olivia let SPS take you away from her and put you in here. If she really wanted you she wouldn't have let that happen, she would have fought for you." Michaela replied.
"G-Get o-o-out!" Alex shouted.
"Gladly. This place gives me the creeps. Just one word of advice; if you know what's good for you, let Olivia go."
Michaela left then. Alex burst into hysterical sobs and ran out of the recreation hall. Not sure where else to go, she ran to the punishment room and let herself in, praying that Claire wasn't in the middle of spanking anyone. The dormitory monitor was kind to her and so was Dr. Kloss, but Claire was the only person in authority at Rosewood that Alex really trusted. Claire was startled by the unexpected intrusion and even more startled to see Alex standing there in a mess of sobs.
"Oh, darling, come here. What's the matter? Have you been sent to me for a spanking?" Claire asked kindly, standing quickly from her desk and holding out her arms to invite Alex into them.
Alex held on to Claire for dear life as she choked on sobs and stuttered out the whole story of what had just happened. Claire immediately told security to lock down the building, but Michaela had already slipped out and was nowhere to be found. Then Claire took Alex to Dr. Kloss and she told him the whole story as well.
"Alex, I want you to rest assured that what Michaela told you isn't true. The reason Olivia let Agents Hammond and Lewis take you without a fight is because she knew that if she fought them, she would risk losing you permanently. I'll also tell you something else. I personally went down to Olivia's office the other day to go over a few things with her for the trial in four weeks, and I can tell that she loves you so much and is desperate for you to come home. She has been working nonstop to prepare for this trial and even hired Rafael Barba, the best in the business, to be her lawyer. And let me tell you, that man doesn't come cheap. Would you like for me to call Olivia so you can speak with her?"
"Y-Y-Yes, p-p-please." Alex nodded.
To Alex's immense relief, Olivia repeated all of the same things Dr. Kloss had just said when Alex told her what had happened and spent a solid hour on the phone with Alex showering her with love and praise, wishing that she could drive down to Rosewood and wrap Alex in her arms. Olivia was absolutely livid as she hung up the phone and immediately sent a squad car to drive around the neighborhood Rosewood was in to look for Michaela. She also put out a warrant for Michaela's arrest since she had technically trespassed onto Rosewood's property, she had slipped past security to get into the building and hadn't signed in or out at the front desk.
Claire took Alex back to her room and tucked Alex gently into her bed for a nap, handing her Justice to snuggle with.
"You've had a hard morning, sweetheart, I want you to go back to sleep for a while. If you can't sleep, just lie here quietly and rest for at least an hour." Claire instructed.
"Y-Yes, M-M-Ma'am."
"And I want you to know that I'm very proud of you for coming to get me when you needed help. That's a good girl. It's my job to spank you girls when you step out of line, but I am always here to help you." Claire smiled, planting a tender kiss on Alex's forehead.
Alex fell asleep quickly and slept until she felt someone shaking her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, sleepyhead, it's time for lunch. They're serving lasagna today in the cafeteria and Cook makes the best lasagna, you don't want to miss it. And there's a rumor floating around that she made macadamia nut cookies for our snack this afternoon." Emily smiled happily.
"Girls, I've been informed that they need a few extra pairs of hands in the kitchen after lunch to help clean up, and then again later after dinner. Who would like to volunteer?" the dormitory monitor asked when all the girls were gathered in the cafeteria and she laughed when a groan rang out among them.
"What if I told you that anyone who volunteers will earn sixteen points on their chart? Would that entice you to pitch in?" the dormitory monitor grinned.
With that, almost every hand in the room shot up in the air. There were no assigned chores at Rosewood, but anyone who volunteered to pitch in on the chores around the facility such as mopping the floors or helping in the kitchen earned points towards special rewards ranging from an extra dessert after dinner or watching a movie with a group of friends (with popcorn, candy, and soda) to a chaperoned trip outside of the facility to Goodwill to buy a new outfit (on the condition that the girl hadn't been sent to the punishment room for at least six weeks).
"I think the kitchen would be rather crowded if all of you went to help and we all know how Cook is when she gets grumpy, so let's just have four of you. Yasmine, Bethany, Alex, and Sophia."
"Girls, you were brought in here to clean, not socialize. Anyone who isn't cleaning in the next five seconds gets a wooden spoon taken to their bare backside. One… two…" the Cook scolded.
"Yes, Ma'am." the four girls scrambled to pick up their mops and sponges and dish rags even before the count of three, not wanting anything to do with Cook's wooden spoon.
"Emma Brightman has been in and out of foster care since the day she was born. She gets taken away because of abuse or neglect or both, then Michaela does just enough work to get her back, but then she misses court dates for drug charges or Emma shows up at school with new bruises, and it's back to square one for that poor child. To make matters worse, Emma has cystic fibrosis and qualified foster parents are hard to come by so when she gets taken away, she stays at an ACS facility with a qualified nurse on staff. The last time she was taken away from Michaela in… April of last year, Emma showed up to school on a Monday with a black eye and told the teacher that she hadn't been fed over the weekend as punishment for accidentally letting the cat outside. After Emma was taken this last time, Michaela seemed to disappear into thin air until she reappeared recently with a place to live, a job, and claimed to be reunited with Emma's father." the social worker glanced through the rather large file in his hand.
"Where is Michaela working?" Olivia asked. The social worker flipped a page in the file.
"The burger joint down on tenth street."
"Michaela Brightman? If you happen to see her, you can tell her she's fired. She hasn't shown up for her shift in a week and a half and gave me a bogus phone number. Pretty girl, smooth talker, but a lousy waitress. Now, if you'll excuse me, detectives, I would love to be able to help you, but I haven't seen Michaela and we're slammed today. Hey, Keith, table two needs one hockey puck with wax, eighty-six the breath, and one Adam and Eve on a raft!" the burger joint's manager turned to address the cook.
"Oh, crap. Remind me to pick up ginger ale and crackers on my way home. Eli has another cold." Elliot said, looking at the text message he had just received from Kathy as he and Olivia left the burger joint and headed back to the car.
"Again?" Olivia asked.
"What can I say, the kid's a germ magnet like his old man. Hey, what's that?" Elliot pointed toward the alley.
"Is that blood?" Olivia carefully made her way toward the puddle.
"I'm guessing it belongs to this poor guy." Elliot knelt down next to the body of a man.
"Doesn't seem like a sex crime, he's still got all his clothes on. Maybe a robbery gone bad? Help me turn him over." Olivia said.
They carefully turned the man over and Olivia sighed, seeing the man's genitals mutilated and his face beaten to the point of being completely unrecognizable.
"Never mind, definitely a sex crime. I'll call Melinda." Olivia took out her cell phone.
"No wallet, must have been stolen. Just a card in his pocket. Hey, this is your card." Elliot said, showing Olivia the card with her name and phone number on it.
"Okay, so whoever he is, he knows me. Melinda, it's Liv. We've got a body in the alley by the burger joint on tenth street."
"He's been dead for about thirteen hours, given how cold it is out here. And somebody cut out his tongue. No tattoos, birthmarks, or other identifying marks. I can't see his face, but if I had to guess his age, I'd say maybe late forties, early fifties. Preliminary cause of death is blunt force trauma, but I don't see a weapon around here. Perp must have taken it with them. I took prints and DNA, as soon as I get the results back I'll let you know." Melinda said.
"Thirteen hours, that puts time of death around… 10 pm last night." Elliot said.
"Good job. You've been paying attention." Melinda smiled.
"Seems like a vicious beating just to steal a man's wallet. But cutting out the tongue seems personal. Somebody obviously wanted to shut him up. And mutilating the genitals is definitely personal. I'll tell Fin and Munch to start canvassing and have Kat get the footage pulled from the street cam. You take the car and go get little Eli his ginger ale and crackers. If I need an extra set of hands, I'll call." Olivia said.
Later that evening, Olivia was at Don Cragen's apartment where she had been staying since Alex had been taken by SPS. They were having dinner and Olivia found herself standing in the corner of her bedroom with her hands on her head waiting for him to come spank her naughty bottom. She'd needed to be scolded one too many times for her sassy tongue and Don had warned her that if she didn't adjust her attitude he was going to have to adjust it for her. Her stomach flipped when she heard him enter the room, but she knew better than to turn from the corner until he called for her. Don retrieved the hairbrush from the bedside table drawer and sat down on the bed.
"Come here, young lady."
Olivia turned from the corner and walked over to where Don sat.
"Do you understand why you're being spanked, Olivia Margaret?"
Olivia gulped as he pulled her jeans and panties down to her knees.
"Yes, sir. I disrespected you."
"One time too many, I would say. I understand that you are worried and stressed, but you will show me respect. Over you go."
Olivia draped herself across his lap, offering her bare bottom for punishment. As her father figure, he was the only one she would submit to. Don picked up the hairbrush right from the start and brought it down sharply.