Loose Ends and New Beginnings
Summary: See ch1
Disclaimer: Not mine
A/N: As I have been posting new chapters I have noticed that this story is a lot more case driven than my previous have been, but in order for me to write how the case effects the gang in their personal lives, I have to first explain the case. There are a few more chapters that are mainly case, but I am also writing a lot that are Elliot and Olivia driven later in the story. Thanks for all the reviews I have been getting, they are really helpful, I even decided to take the story in a new direction after reading one of the reviews! You guys have been great and please stick with me. I added some personal stuff in this chapter. Tell me what you're thinking!
Information
"You can go home you now." Elliot said from his desk to Olivia. It was almost midnight, and he, Munch, and Fin were stuck there attempting to contact more of Judge Anderson's victims.
"I know." Olivia answered. "I'm just waiting on a phone call for something I'm working on." She told him.
"You want some coffee, or something other than potato salad to hold you over?" He asked, noticing that that was the only thing she had been eating lately.
"I'm fine thanks." She said with a smile. As much as it annoyed her, there was something sweet about him looking out for her well being.
"You want another water bottle?" He asked. He had also noticed that she had been sucking down water like a camel.
"Actually, that would be great. Thanks." She said with a smile.
Munch just rolled his eyes at Fin to express his disgust. "I think I liked them better when they were biting each other's heads off." He joked.
"If you wanted something darling all you had to do was ask." Elliot called over his shoulder from the refrigerator that was kept in the precinct.
"I'm fine dear, but it would be nice to be asked once in a while." John said, continuing the good natured banter.
"Like I said the other day, if you two want to be alone, just say the word." Olivia joined in.
"Thanks, but I'm perfectly happy with what I've got." Elliot said as he bent down to kiss the top of Olivia's head. He handed her the bottle and went back to his work as Olivia sat with a smile on her face.
"Why didn't you ever talk to me like that?" Fin asked Munch.
"I'm sorry pookie, but four ex-wives have drained all the mushy crap from me." He answered.
Before the innuendos could continue a man appeared in the door of the bullpen.
Elliot got up to greet him.
"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked.
"Yes, I was looking for Oliv… uh, Detective Benson. Is she here?" The man asked.
Olivia looked up from her work at the sound of her name. She gazed past Elliot to see Detective Keith Colberg standing there.
"Keith. You didn't have to come all the way down here." She said in surprise. She had planned on taking care of this on the phone.
"I figured you'd want a copy of the record." He answered, holding a file up. "Besides, it was on my way home anyway Livvy."
She got up from her chair. "Uh, why don't we talk about this in the other room, so we don't disturb my partners' work?" She said, indicating the three others in the bullpen.
She walked past Elliot and motioned for Keith to follow her.
"What was that about?" Fin asked.
"Probably what ever she's been working on all day." Munch answered.
"Livvy?" Elliot repeated. "Who the hell is that guy?"
"Relax Stabler. That woman is madly in love with you for reasons I can't yet figure out." Munch reassured him. "Now let's track down these women so you can bring her home."
In the other room Olivia stood with Keith. "What did you find?" She asked.
"Well, it seems that about 5 years ago a woman named Samantha Corrigan reported a rape. She was walking to her car from the NYU cafeteria, where she worked, when she was jumped from behind." He told her.
A vision of her mother being attacked in the same way shot through Olivia's mind, but she quickly pushed it aside.
"There were no suspects in the case, but then two years ago she walked into our precinct to report that she thought she had seen her attacker walking past the park she was sitting in with her son." He told her. "Mrs. Corrigan followed him to his home on Park Avenue, and then came to us to arrest him."
"What did you guys do about it?" She asked.
"According to the report, two officers were sent to his residence, and he was taken into our precinct and questioned." Keith told her.
"Why wasn't he arrested?" Olivia asked.
"After talking to him and Mrs. Corrigan, the officers didn't feel that there was enough evidence to pursue anything, so they let him go." He told her.
"A rape victim identified Anderson as his attacker and no one felt it was necessary to look further into it then to question him once?" Olivia asked astonished.
"At the time Judge Anderson had just sentenced a serial rapist/killer to life in jail rather than death. There were a lot of disgruntled people in this city. The officers just chalked her up as another fanatic." He explained.
"Yeah, well they were wrong." Olivia huffed. "How did she react?" She asked.
"She was horrified; begged her husband to move them out of the city when she found out that he lived only a few blocks away from them. But it was her husband that we were worried about." He told her.
"Why?" Olivia asked.
"He freaked out when he found out Anderson was being released. He attacked the two officers who questioned him, started yelling about how justice was a load of crap." He told her.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Olivia asked.
"Probably not. I didn't even remember until I re-read the file. You know this job; after every case, you try to just forget." He answered.
"Thanks Keith." Olivia smiled.
She turned to leave, but Keith gently reached out for her arm. "Liv, wait." He said.
"What?" She asked as she turned back to him.
"Is that really all this was about? Did you really call me for some trivial file?" He questioned.
"It's important to a case we're working." She told him honestly.
"What about me Liv?" He asked.
"Keith, the only reason I called was because you're the only person I know down at the 15th. I'm sorry if you thought this meant something more." She apologized.
"It could mean something more though. You can't tell me that you don't miss what we had." He said with a reminiscent smile.
"I'm married Keith." She told him bluntly. "And madly in love with my husband. I'm sorry."
Keith's face fell. "Congratulations." He said simply.
"Lemme walk you out." She said, as a way to smooth out the awkwardness that had just been created in the room.
"I know the way. Thanks." He said with a small smile. "I wish you the best Livvy." He said honestly.
Olivia squeezed his hand gently. "I wish the same for you. You're a great guy; good things are bound to come your way."
"I thought they already had." He answered with a sad smile. "Goodbye Olivia." With that he exited the room and left the precinct.
Olivia returned to her desk with a sigh. By the time she had returned Munch and Fin had both retreated to the cribs to try to get a few precious hours of sleep.
"What was that all about?" Elliot asked, not taking his eyes off a file that was in his hand.
"Nothing. I just needed a file for a case I'm working on. It's not important." She lied. She knew that the information she had clearly pointed to Samantha Corrigan's husband as the prime suspect in the Anderson murder, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted his killer to be caught.
"Detective Colberg seemed pretty happy to give you a hand there, Livvy." He said with a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"He's an old friend Elliot, I called in a favor." She answered, clearly annoyed. She was irritable, probably from all the hours she had been pulling, and was in no mood for his jealousy at the moment.
"Munch and Fin are your friends. If one of them even thought about calling you Livvy I'm pretty sure you'd break one of their limbs." He answered, putting his file down so that he could look at her.
"We date, briefly, a few years ago. You happy now?" She asked bluntly.
"No wonder he was so happy to help." He snorted.
"I hate it when you act like this." She snapped, tossing her empty water bottle in the garbage next to her desk, and getting up to get another.
"Act like what?" He asked.
"Like a cave man." She answered. "You can't stand that I had a life before you. You were married for 20 years, and still have lunch with your ex-wife every once in a while, and you don't see me getting defensive." She snapped as she opened the fridge. "Why the hell are there no water bottles!" She demanded, quickly changing subjects.
:"First of all, Kathy and I only have lunch when we need to talk about the kids; second of all, I'm sorry if I get a little defensive, but you can't tell me that you'd get a little annoyed if Beck came in here and wanted to talk to me in private; and third of all, there was like 6 bottles in there this afternoon, you drank them all." He told her.
Olivia shut the fridge, and sat in a chair that was next to it. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She asked under her breath. It wasn't like her to be this iritable, or to be this thirsty for that matter. Her father even found ways to effect her even after he was dead.
"Look, Liv, I don't want to fight." Elliot said when he saw the look on her face. She must have been more overworked then he thought, being that she looked as if she were about to cry over a water bottle. He walked over to her. "We're both over worked and tired. Why don't we get some sleep."
"What's wrong with me Elliot?" She asked again as tears started streaming down her face.
"You're physically and emotionally drained." He said gently, wiping at her tears with his thumb.
"I'm crying over a water bottle." She said, the ridiculousness of it all resonating in her voice.
Elliot chuckled slightly. "Why don't I get one for you from the vending machine, and then we both head up to the cribs?" He asked.
"Okay." She said with a smile. She took his hand, and let him lead her out into the hall where the vending machines were.
"You eat anything all day?" He asked after noticing the food machine.
"Yeah, I had potato salad." She told him.
"That's it?" He asked.
"It's all I wanted. I don't really have much of an appetite." She confessed.
Elliot put the money in the machine, and pushed the button for water.
"Did you get sick at home the other night?" He asked as he handed the bottle to her.
"I think it was the Chinese." She lied. "How did you know?"
"I noticed the wet towel in the sink, and the toothpaste was out. You put all that away before you went to bed. Why didn't you wake me?" He asked.
Olivia sipped her water as the two made their way back to the bullpen.
"I'm a big girl Elliot. I can dead with a little food poisoning on my own." She smiled. "I'm fine now though, so let's just go to bed."
He decided to let it go, and the two went up to the cribs to try to get a little sleep. Unfortunately for Olivia, the agonizing thought of what to do about Jim Corrigan plagued her all night, and wouldn't allow her to get any of the sleep she knew she needed.
TBC... Again, I know that it is going slowly, but there is a lot of information I need to lay down for the case to make sense in the future. Like I said, there are a few more mainly case chapters, and then theu will get into the personal stuff. Thanks for staying with me, and please keep sending your reviews, I am already over 100, and i really appreciate hearing from you. It lets me know that you guys are still reading, and makes me post faster to keep your interest. p.s. I again apologize for the lack of postings in the past, but now that it is officially summer, I hope to post every night or at least every other or every two nights I promise!