A/N: As always, thanks for the awesome reviews. I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally diggin' this story more than the pond – but I know what's going to happen. Mwahahaha! For those of you going "who the hell is Dana?" – remember that's Starr Morrison's real name. She was the FBI agent in RAW and then an ep earlier this season that I can't think of the name of…

Disclaimer: Only my overactive imagination is mine!

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Eight hours on a plane with a six-year-old is my new favorite form of torture. The next time I have to get information out of someone who's not cooperating and I don't have Elliot to scare them? I'm putting them on a plane with my daughter. FOR EIGHT HOURS.

"Mommy. I'm bored. Are we going to be there soon?" she asks me this for the thirty billionth time, just as the pilot is making the announcement that we're going to be landing at JFK in ten minutes. Thank you Jesus.

"Yes, Princess. We're going to be there very soon!" I say, trying to hide my lack of enthusiasm.

She buys it. "Yay, Mommy! Can we go see Daddy right away?"

Uh, no. "Sorry, honey. It's almost eleven at night. Daddy's probably at his house sleeping. But we'll see him soon, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," she sighs. I wonder if she can tell I'm dreading this. "Mom? Are we going to get to see any of your other New York friends? Like Casey? Or Alex? Or Melinda? Or the guys?"

I sigh to myself. This is not going to be easy. I don't really have a lot of contact with my old friends. The girls and I still send Christmas cards, but the guys… I haven't talked to them since right after Elliot went back to New York. "We'll see, baby, okay? Let's just worry about getting checked in to the hotel and getting some sleep, okay?"

"Mommy, I'm not tired," Kelli whines.

I sigh. Again. "I know, honey. That's because it's not quite nine at home. You'll be tired soon, I promise." If I have to drug you. Whoa. Liv. Stop. After years of dealing with parents who do drug their kids, I can't believe the thought even crosses my mind. "I'm sorry I'm so crabby, babe. This was a long flight, huh?"

"Yeah," she agrees, nodding.

"Okay, then. Let's get off this smelly old plane and go get a nice hotel room, hmm?" I ask, still trying to keep my temper in check.

--

I love the Four Seasons. I love my boss for putting us in the Four Seasons. I call her as soon as I get Kelli tucked in with a stack of books to hopefully lull her off to dreamland.

"Lewis," she sounds as tired as I feel.

"Hey Dane. It's me."
"Liv, hey sweets. Get there okay?"

"Yeah."

"Kelli like flying?"

I snort. "No. No she didn't, and to tell the truth, Dane, I didn't like flying with my daughter. I'm a horrible mother."

She laughs. "She's six Liv. She can't sit still. Flying sucks at that age."

I sigh. "She wants to see Elliot. Like five minutes ago Mommy if possible."

Dana laughs again. "I had a feeling that would happen. What are you going to do?"

"Stall as long as I can?" I ask hopefully.

She gasps. "Oh my God. I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner."

"What?"

"You're scared. You're scared because you're still in love with him."

"What?! That's crazy, Dana. I'm not still in love with him. I've had six years to get over him."

"Yeah. Six years of looking at the mini-me you two made. You're not over him, Liv."

"Whatever. I'm going to bed. I'll let you know how this all shakes out." She's right. She's right and it sucks. That's Dana Lewis for you – calls 'em like she sees 'em.

"Olivia. I want updates."

"Fine. Okay." I poke my head in the bedroom and see that Kelli is awake. "Kellibean do you want to say goodnight to Miss Dana?" She nods and I hand her my cell phone.

"Hi Miss Dana! … I don't like flying. … Yeah! Mommy says we get to see him soon! I'm soooo excited!"

Thanks Dana.

" I miss you! … They have a ZOO?" She holds the phone away from her face and squeals. "MOM! We have to go to the – what's it called, Miss Dana? MOM! The SINNER PARK ZOO! Miss Dana says we HAVE to go!"

"The Central Park Zoo, honey. And yeah, we can do that tomorrow."

"Can Daddy come?" Kelli asks, bouncing on the bed, totally forgetting she still has my boss on the phone.

Great. Now she's never going to sleep.

"Tell you what, Bean. If you go to sleep like a good girl, we will go to the zoo tomorrow and if your daddy isn't BUSY, which he might be, I'll ask him if he wants to go. Deal?"

"Deal!" She puts the phone back up to her ear. "MISS DANA! I getta go to the Sinner Park Zoo with my DADDY!"

Is that what I said?

"Goodnight! I LOVE YOU TOO!" She hands the phone back to me and flops back down on the bed. "Out Mommy! I'm sleeping!" she says. I laugh and tell her goodnight and that I love her before closing the door behind me.

"I hate you," I whisper into the phone.

Dana laughs. "Oh c'mon. It'll be fun. Didn't you and Elliot used to take his kids to the zoo? You LOVE the zoo!"

"This is not the same thing and you KNOW it. And I do love the zoo. But I hate you right now, Dana Lewis," I tease.

She laughs again. "Hate," I say.

"Okay, Liv. I'm gonna let you go," she says, still laughing.

"Fine. Thanks for wiring up my kid. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay," she giggles. "Night Liv."

"Goodnight," I sigh.

I flip my phone shut and plug it in. Settling into the soft king-sized bed, I lay back to think about what lies ahead for me and the munchkin sleeping in the next room. She'd better be sleeping, anyway. Dana's right. I hate it when Dana's right. And she's not even subtle about it, either. Which also pisses me off. I'm still in love with Elliot. Dammit. That sucks. Six years. Six years and I haven't managed to move on. Good Lord I'm pathetic. I flop back in the pillows with a huff. What am I going to do?! Scenarios begin to run through my head.

Hi, Elliot. This is our daughter. Yeah. Yours and mine. Wanna go to the zoo?

Hi, Elliot. Remember how you left me? Well I was pregnant! This is Kelli! Doesn't she look exactly frickin' like you? I know. I look at her every day and want to cry sometimes.

Hi Elliot. I know you haven't seen me in six years, but this is your fifth child. Surprise!

Hey! Elliot! Who's who? Oh this! This is Kelli! Our daughter!

This is not going to go well. And judging by the soft snoring I can hear through the open door, it's certainly not going to be my daughter who doesn't sleep tonight.

--

"MOMMY!" The bed-head monster flops into my bed with a screech. It must be morning. "LET'S GO TO THE ZOO WITH DADDY!"

I can't do this. I know what I have to do. I just need another day.

"Okay honey. I'll call Daddy. You go take a shower okay?" I lie. Lying. To my six year old. Well. I already told her her dad is dead. What's one more?

"OKAY!" It's going to be a screechy day. I can feel it in my bones.

She zips through the shower and is dripping, wrapped in a towel in what seems like seconds.

"DID YOU CALL HIM?!"

"I did, honey. He's busy, baby. But he said he has time tomorrow!" I lie.

"Oh. Bummer," she says.

I am the most horrible mother ever to walk the earth.

"But if you want, I'll still go with you!" I tell her. Because I'm awful.

"Okay!" She's six. She agrees easily. She's still getting a trip to the zoo, and what's one more day without a daddy she's never known?

"Go get dressed, monkey," I tease her. "Mommy's going to take a shower. Remember the rule Kelli."

"I know, Mommy. Don't open the door for anyone. No matter who they say they are."

"That's my girl."

As I'm standing in the shower, I'm thinking about all the things I'll have to explain to St. Peter when he's deciding whether or not to let me into Heaven. Yep, that's right. I'm a Catholic. Hey. I was fake married to Elliot Stabler. We had to go to church. Anyway. I'm going to be in trouble when I get off the "Big Elevator" as I have explained it to our daughter. Our daughter. Shit. I'm already thinking of her as ours. I've thought of her as mine her whole life. God. I rinse the conditioner out of my hair and turn off the shower. Grabbing a big fluffy towel, I wrap myself up and walk into the main room to find my daughter sitting cross legged on the bed, perfectly dressed and ready, her tangled hair waiting to be combed. She's wearing jeans and sneakers, and a hot pink long sleeved tee shirt that says "My way or the highway." Dana got it for her. Go figure.

"Bean, c'mere so I can do your hair. What do you want today?" I ask.

"French braid, Mommy," she says.

I quickly braid her hair and wrap a hot pink elastic band around the end. "You're done!" I announce.

"Let's GO, Mommy!" she begs.

"Okay honey. But I have to get dressed first okay?" I smile at her. She's such a good kid, even if she is a little hyper sometimes. Like her father.

I dress quickly in low-rise jeans and a black tee shirt, swiping on some make-up quickly before I blow my hair dry. Pulling on socks and a pair of loafers, I try to peel my daughter away from Dora on TV. "Let's go babycakes!"

"Yay!" She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the door of the hotel room. In no time at all, we're downstairs and I'm getting her buckled into her booster seat in the backseat of the rented VW Touareg and we're off to the "Sinner Park Zoo." Sigh. The Sinner Park Zoo. Where bad mommies take the daughters they lied to. I slide my sunglasses on as I pay close attention to the streets so I know where I'm going. I'm amazed at how quickly my New York driving skills come back to me. Only I can't lean out the window and holler. I'm a Mommy now. Mommies don't yell at other motorists and they certainly don't flip the bird.

"Wow, Mommy," Kelli breathes in amazement at all the buildings in the city.

"Pretty cool, huh princess?"

"Does my daddy work in one of these buildings?" she asks.

"Yeah. It's a ways from here though. It's called One Police Plaza," I say.

"Wow. That sounds important, Mom."

"It's very important baby. The work that your dad does is very very important." The only reason I even have this information for her is because the Christmas cards I get from the girls every year always have an update on Elliot (they like to torture me). I know he still works SVU.

I drive a little longer and soon we're at the zoo. I pay to get us in and we start walking around. Kelli is amazed at all of the exotic wildlife, and I have to admit, I feel a little guilty I'm making Elliot miss out on this. The only wildlife Kelli's ever seen are cows. And horses. And antelope. Which is more than she would have seen if she'd lived in New York City, but still. It's amazing to see her face.

"MOM! THEY HAVE MONKEYS!" I laugh at my daughter and her monkey face.

"I have a monkey too, I think," I say.

"Mom! I'm not a monkey! I'm a Kellibean!" she giggles.

"You are my Kellibean," I smile at her. I take her hand as she continues dragging me through the zoo. I forgot how huge this thing is. Before I know it, we've been walking for two hours and are barely halfway through the zoo.

"Mom, I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?"

"Sure baby," I wander to a map to see where we are in comparison to the cafe. I look at the map in my hand and back up at the directory. One of these has got to be outdated, but which one? "Hang on, Kelli bean, it'll be just a second." I glance down to where my daughter… is not standing. "Kelli?" I ask. I look around, dread and panic rising in my throat. All my years of working SVU and FBI this is my greatest fear. And the one thing I swore would never happen to me. Where is she?!

All of a sudden I hear her scream. "MOMMY! MOMMY!" I glance around to see where it's coming from and see my daughter… in the arms of someone I don't know. I take off running towards him, screaming my daughter's name the whole way. I bust through crowds of people, sprinting until I think my heart will beat out of my chest in a combination of the running and sheer panic. I'm running and running, but it feels like my legs won't move fast enough. Just as I'm about to catch him, the man jumps in the back of a van and the driver takes off. With my daughter.

"Oh my God!" I scream. "My baby! HE TOOK MY BABY!!" I try to compose myself enough to flip into cop mode. But I don't work here anymore. I can't just call the 1-6. I have to call 911 just like everyone else. I pull out my cell phone and dial quickly.

"911, this is Vanessa. What is your emergency?" the calm voice on the other end asks me. Good. At least one of us is calm.

"I'm at the Central Park Zoo. A man just took my daughter!" I cry.

"Okay, ma'am. I need you to try to calm down. What's your name?"

"Olivia Benson. My daughter's name is Kelli! She's 6 years old. She's about 3 and a half feet tall! Um, 50 pounds. Brown hair in a French braid. Blue eyes! Blue jeans, hot pink tee shirt and white sneakers. Please hurry," I beg.

"Okay ma'am. Thank you for the details."

"Old habits die hard," I say, trying to distract myself. "I used to be an SVU detective."

"Okay, Ms. Benson. Where are you right now?"

"I'm by the directory, right by the lion's den," I explain.

"Okay. I've got an officer and an SVU detective on the way. Do you want me to stay with you until they arrive?"

"No. I'm okay. Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," she says and the line goes dead.

I pace around for a while; before it dawns on me that maybe someone saw his face. I start asking people, but I'm getting such varied descriptions that I know there isn't any way any of them got a good look. I write it all down anyway to see what the sketch artist might come up with, along with names and phone numbers if we need more information.

"Olivia! Liv!" I can hear him before I can see him. I glance around frantically, looking to see where his voice is coming from.

"ELLIOT!"

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A/N: Didn't see THAT coming did you? The kidnapping thing anyway… R&R my sweets! XO, Kinsey Jo!