Disclaimer: If you've seen them on the show, they aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf. I'm just borrowing them.
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Olivia stands in the hallway of Alex's apartment building, waiting for the elevator. She doesn't know what to make of things. Warning signs are going off in her head, the ones she sees every single day when dealing with the victims, but then – this is Alex. This is her best friend. Things like this don't – can't – happen to the tough-as-nails, ice queen ADA.
But then, if she's learned anything on this job over the last few years, it's that these things can happen to anyone and hit you like a ton of bricks, made all the more excruciating because no one's seen it coming.
This is how batterers go undetected for so long. Everyone thinks, This could never happen to my friend. It can't be happening to my friend. And the abuser gets away with it, because no one sees, or they don't want to see what's right in front of their faces.
She has to do something to help her friend. If she can't talk to Alex directly, she'll just have to find another way.
When she gets back to the precinct, Olivia knows what she has to do. Even though she knows Alex will hate her for it, she strides right through the squad room, ignoring her colleagues' stares as she bangs on Captain Cragen's office door.
It opens almost immediately, and the captain is watching her with an expression that's half amused and half concerned. "Take it easy there, Olivia!"
She takes a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. "Sorry. Um, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Okay," he agrees and gestures for her to come inside. "Have a seat."
She puts her hands behind her back and scuffs her toe nervously, unsure how to proceed. "I'd rather stand."
Captain Cragen shrugs. "Suit yourself."
She takes another breath and decides to just come out with it. "It's about Alex."
"What about her?"
"I think Michael's hurting her."
The captain raises his eyebrows. "That's a pretty serious allegation, Olivia. What makes you think that?"
Olivia pauses, unsure how to explain it. "She's changed since she's met him. You've noticed. We all have."
He shrugs dismissively. "She's in love."
"Doesn't he give you a bad feeling, though?"
He sighs. "Yes, but that doesn't prove anything. We're like family here and we're all protective of each other."
"I've seen the bruises, Captain," she insists. "She wears so many layers of foundation that we all know she's trying to hide something. She wears turtlenecks every day even though it isn't cold outside. She has to be home at a certain time every day – classic sign of a control freak. She makes sure to leave by 4:30, even if we need her to get a warrant. He wouldn't let her come to the hospital to check on Sam Cavanaugh – you know that wasn't her decision. And then she actually took a sick day. Alex never takes sick days! And you've seen how she acts, cringing every time someone touches her, flinching at every unexpected movement. She's lost a lot of weight and I just know she isn't sleeping. Today, I was worried about her so I went to check on her and he answered the door. He said she wasn't home, but obviously he was lying. Where else would Alex go? He said she hadn't told her about her suspension, but again, he's not that good a liar. I knew she was there. I wanted to see her but he said he didn't know where she was. I'm worried, Captain. We need to help her before it's too late."
The captain's been listening to her soliloquy in absolute silence, but now that she's finished, he nods slowly. "Okay, Olivia. If you really think there's something wrong, then why don't you and I go and check on her? Michael won't say no to both of us. But if nothing's wrong, you're going to drop it, okay?"
This sounds like a good enough idea, so Olivia nods. "Okay."
I know this was a really short chapter, but I thought this was the right place to end it. Review if you want to know what happens next!
