Olivia smiled at her coffee as Elliot put it down in front of her, "Thanks."
Elliot sat down across from his partner at the small table in a cafe not far from the precinct, "Are you ready to talk yet?"
"Really, it was nothing. I was probably just overreacting."
"Well tell me and I can help you decide."
Olivia smiled. She appreciated he friend's care. She took a sip of her coffee and placed it back on the table. "I came home one night after we had interrogated Richard French and found about ten pages ripped from different magazines and newspapers. I didn't know what they were at first, but then I realised they all had a theme. Each page had the words 'You're Dead' on them somewhere in the text."
"He'd found articles with those words?"
"Not those words as singular words, but together, yes. I thought I was just being paranoid and was just reading into them too much. A few nights later there was a dead cat outside the building. It was a little bloody, but I didn't think anything of it until I got inside and found a bit of blood-covered cat fur at my door. That was also a day that we had French in the station."
"More with the death. Why didn't you say anything?"
"They don't mean anything Elliot! I can't pin them to anyone."
Stabler stood up, he was obviously worried and upset, "You should stay at mine tonight."
"I can't do that. I have to work late anyway. Maybe I'll just sleep there."
"I'll stay with you."
"You have a family Elliot. I'll be fine."
- - -
Olivia stretched as she yawned, then rested her head on her desk. She hadn't been lying when she said she had to work late. She looked at her watch; it was nearly 2am. It had been a quiet night for once and everyone else had gone home to take advantage of the extra time to sleep. The tired detective was contemplating going home when she heard a noise in the station. Someone was there.
The station was completely dark except for the glow of Olivia's computer. Benson quietly stood up and moved towards the direction she thought the sound had come from. It had sounded like the main entrance door. She grabbed her gun and held it out in front of her. The clicking sound of footsteps came closer.
"Stop! Who's there?"
There was a gasp and a THUMP sound. Olivia hurried over to the light switch. She turned it on and saw Alex on the floor, leaning against the wall.
"Shit! You nearly gave me a heart attack Olivia!"
"Alex? What the hell are you doing here?" Benson walked over the the startled blonde and gave her a hand up.
"I left some things here. What are you doing here?"
"Working."
"Right, well I'll let you get back to that."
Olivia looked at the bag that Alex was carrying, "An overnight bag? Having a sleepover at the precinct?"
"A hotel actually."
Olivia followed Alex as she made her way to Elliot's desk where she had left some important papers earlier that day.
"What's wrong with your place?"
"I could ask the same of you, but I don't feel like being nosey. I'll see you tomorrow Detective." With the papers she needed, Alex strode back towards the door and left, leaving Olivia a bit puzzled. Why the hostility?
Alex was already pretty jumpy before Olivia had scared the living daylights out of her. Walking from the station to her car, which was only a few meters away, she was a mess; jumping at every little sound. She hurried along and climbed in her car quickly; locking it after she got in. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then tried to start the car.
"Come on! Come on! Start!"
The panicking blonde kept turning the key, but nothing was happening. Alex punched the steering wheel and burst into tears. Someone appeared by her door and she let out an ear-splitting scream.
"Alex? Are you okay? It's just me. You dropped one of the papers on your way out."
Olivia peered in through the window in saw that Alex was sobbing hysterically.
"What's wrong? Open the door."
Alex's hands were so shakey she could barely unlock the door. Olivia pulled open the door, her face full of concern.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Dead battery I think."
"Why did you scream? Why are you crying?"
"You scared me, okay? Is your car here? Can you jump start me?"
Olivia explained that Elliot had dropped her off because he car was getting fixed. Alex seemed a bit freaked out by the idea of taking a cab, so they decided they'd go inside for the night. Olivia followed Alex into the building, still unsure as to why the usually overly-composed ADA had been in hysterics. Alex was trying to act cold, but Olivia could tell this girl was scared.
