Chapter three…just a bit longer than the last…it always happens…expect to wait longer for updates…

No one spoke, merely stared, and it made her uneasy. She had tried valiantly, but in the few months she's been with Manhattan SVU, she just couldn't become "one of them." They were friendly, sure, and they all worked well together, but she always felt outside looking in, especially in moments like these, or when she asked about her predecessor, Detective Benson. That tension, those looks, like they were privy to something important and didn't want to share with the like of her, the outsider.
"Um…so, who were the suits, the younger one was kind of cute," she attempted to break the weird silence with a light joke, something she just hadn't perfected around this crowd.
Tactfully, George took Dani by the elbow gently and led her out giving her some vague explanation. He returned a few minutes later alone.
"I asked her to take some files upstairs for me," he said, closing the door behind him.
"So what do we do?" Fin asked Cragen, who was studying the still-seething Elliot.
He sighed. "There's nothing we can do. It's a government thing now. All we can do now is help her cope."
Munch glanced at the clock ticking on the captain's wall and looked to his friends. "St. Vincent's is forty-five minutes away, we should get going."
Cragen nodded, his shoulders heavy with the invisible weight of bad news. Grabbing his coat from the back of his chair, he nodded towards the door. "Let's go," he said, following them out the door.

They had taken advantage of a beautiful day and spent some much-needed time as a group outside of work. The park was aglow with red, cooled embers upon the trees, scattered on the ground, surrounding their picturesque little scene. Elliot was lying on his back in the grass, his fingers toying with the edge of the sweater tied around Olivia's waist. She sat close to him, stretching and resting her legs on his. Fin sat on the worn picnic table, resting his feet on the bench, tossing the play-worn football in his hands while Munch sat with his back against the table edge beside him, trying to steal the ball from his partner. Cragen and Casey sat across from them and George was sitting against a tree next to the table, and they all laughed at Munch's attempts.
"Listen man," Fin grinned. "Didn't you learn earlier? You can't steal a ball from a brother." He pulled the pigskin just out of John's reaching hands.
"Don't be so sure," Olivia retorted, snatching the ball away from him. Another round of laughter followed the surprised look on Fin's face and Casey saluted her friend and pushed Fin's shoulder, nearly knocking him off the table.
"You women are vicious," he complained, shifting to a more stable position next to his partner. The sleeves of his leather jacket crinkled as he folded his arms and glared petulantly.
"Or you're just a big baby," Elliot eyed him from his spot on the ground. "I mean, if you can't handle Olivia then we have a problem."
He chuckled until Olivia shoved the football in his chest, and he choked on his laughter, turning over on his side to protect himself as she smacked him.
"I don't think he'll ever learn," Cragen said dryly.
"What would we do if he did?" George asked the captain, grinning. "The entertainment value would definitely drop."
"Well we could always make fun of you," John raised his eyebrows at the doctor.
"Why do that when we always have you?" Casey quipped, and John squawked indignantly.
Suddenly there was a tiny beeping sound, and they all checked their pockets before Olivia pulled her cell from inside her jacket.
"It's me," she said, checking the screen. Oddly enough it was blank, but the sounds continued. She pressed the clear key, but it did nothing, and the phone kept beeping.
"What is it Liv?" Elliot asked. "Liv?"
She frowned, things were getting hazy. He was right beside her, but his voice sounded so far away.
"Liv?"

Then the jostling of a curtain and the sound of voices brought her from the fog. She heard pacing, and her eyes slowly opened. Her head was pounding and it hurt to try to move her arms and legs. She groaned, and the short footsteps stopped. The curtain jingled again and through fuzzy eyes she saw a figure standing tall above her.
"Hey guys," Elliot called, looking behind him. "I think she's waking!"

Side note: OK, I saw the previews and she's coming back, and NOT in the fashion of this story, but I'm going to continue it anyway, because I'm actually enjoying this one...