Chapter Eight
When Olivia got to the station, she headed into Cragen's office. ''Cap, where's Harris? I need to see him. I need to see him in lockup.'' It was a burning need that was getting stronger. She couldn't let it go.
Elliot was a few minutes behind her, carrying the diaper bag and his son. ''Olivia!'' He called, heading for Cragen's office. She turned around, and gave him a look. ''I couldn't let you do this by yourself.'' He explained.
She tried to keep the tears off her face. Deep down, she was glad he had come. ''OK.'' She merely said, as Elliot handed the diaper bag and Eli to their boss, never taking his eyes off Olivia.
Olivia took his hand and they headed off to the interrogation room. She stopped at the two-way mirror, her eyes welling up with tears. She could feel Elliot wrapping his arm tightly around her, but she never took her eyes off Harris. Elliot switched on the intercom, so they could hear. Fin was yelling for Harris to tell them where Rook was. She figured that must be his mystery partner. She felt tears dripping off her face. She had to talk to him. She couldn't stop herself as she went to the door and opened it, Elliot trying to stop her the entire time.
Lowell Harris smiled devishly at her when she entered the room. ''If it isn't Dectective Olivia Benson.'' He said, his voice dripping with distaste. He said, ''You tore yourself away from your precious Stabler long enough to see me being held in the precinct.''
Olivia tried not to let him see her fear. She loathed what this man had been able to do to her. ''I had to make sure that you're telling Dectectives Munch and Tutuola what they need to know.'' She said.
Harris continued to give her that devilish grin. ''I see Stabler came with you.'' He said as Elliot entered the room behind her. ''Couldn't face me by yourself. Not only is your precious Stabler here, but Munch and Tutuola are here, too. You can't stand it, either. You have to have all these men here to protect you. You're a helpless woman.'' He could tell the words he was saying had an effect on her.
Olivia knew she wasn't completely one hundred percent better, but she couldn't help herself. She punched him as hard as she could, and he went tumbling off the chair to the floor. Munch and Elliot were speechless, but Fin said, ''Damn, go Livvy!'' Olivia kicked him in the side, hard. ''I don't need anyone to protect me from you. You killed Kathy, you killed Lake, and you tried to kill me and my boyfriend. But if you don't tell us where your mystery partner is, I swear to God that I will make sure that instead of serving life in prison, you'll get that needle in your arm. Try me, you fucking bastard.''
Harris looked at her and actually was afraid for his life. She looked like she could kill him there that minute, never mind that there were witnesses. He wasn't scared into giving up Rook's location, however. ''Fuck you, you bitch.'' He said, hoping that he wasn't trembling. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
Olivia kicked him so hard that blood shot out of his mouth. ''You're going to tell me, you bastard. I'm not kidding about that needle. All I need to do is call the ADA.'' She got right in his face, and spit. ''You'll pay for what you did. I am going to make damn sure of it.''
Elliot didn't know what to do. He knew he had to stop Olivia before she did something that they would both regret, but he wasn't sure what. He looked to Fin and Munch for answers. They both shrugged at him. He watched as Olivia stood back up, still looking at Harris with disgust. ''Livvy, come on. You're not even supposed to be here.'' He wanted to get her out of the room before Harris did something to hurt her. He wasn't going to lose that baby or Olivia. He had almost lost her once. He didn't want any of them to go through that again.
Olivia knew he was right. She wasn't thinking straight. She felt much better, though. She had faced him, and it was safe to say that she had won. Even if he never told them where Rook was, it didn't matter. She had shown him that she wasn't afraid of him. He had lost all of his power over her. She spit on him one last time and let Elliot lead her out of the room, shutting the door behind them. She took a deep breath and let him wrap his arms around her. She sobbed on his shoulder for a minute, and then said, ''Let's go home. I'm much better now.''
Elliot followed her out of the room, shaking his head in disbelief. He had never seen Olivia unload on a perp like that. He knew why, it just surprised him. He hadn't known that she was going to do that. On the other hand, he didn't think that Olivia had known, either. They headed back to Cragen's office to collect their son.
Cragen saw the looks on their faces, and knew that something big had gone down. He handed Eli to Olivia, and Elliot took the diaper bag. ''Everything alright? Anything you want to tell me?'' He asked this, but he could tell that they weren't going to tell them, and he knew that Munch and Fin weren't, either. Whatever had gone down was between the four of his dectectives and Lowell Harris.
Elliot shook his head as Olivia left the room, hugging their son to her. He knew he was going to ask her to marry him today. Knew it like he knew his own name. He couldn't explain why he knew today was the right day, but it was. He shared a look with Cragen and headed back out to follow Liv back out to the car.
Olivia held Eli tightly to her as she rode the elevator down and headed out of the building, more angry than she had ever been in her entire life. She did feel a lot better now that she had kicked Harris' ass, but she was still angry that he had been able to get to her like that. The only other time that she had been angry like this is the time that Elliot had told her he needed to know she could do her job, and not wait for him to save her. She had been so angry that day. This time took the cake, however.
Elliot finally joined her, and unlocked the car. She put Eli in the car seat and watched as Elliot put the diaper bag in the back seat, next to his son. He opened her car door and then got in himself. He wasn't sure what was going on in her mind. She had been so quiet since he'd pulled her out of the interrogation room. He answered his ringing cell phone, as it startled him. ''Stabler.'' He said.
It was Fin. ''Hey, Elliot. Is Liv OK? I know that had to be hard for her.'' He hated what that had done to Liv. He was glad that she had gotten to do it, though. It looked like it had been very theraputic for her.
Elliot looked at Liv as he started the car and headed them back towards the apartment. She looked a little angry. Actually, more than a little angry. ''She seems to be OK. I can't talk about it right now. Let me call you back.'' He told Fin bye and hung up. He looked at her. ''Liv, you gonna say anything?''
Olivia wasn't sure what to say. She was starting to calm down a little, but she was still not sure how she felt. She kind of felt a little numb. Aloud, she said, ''I'm OK, Elliot. I'm not going to break.''
Elliot replied, ''I know, baby, but you've just been so quiet. I just want you to tell me how you're feeling.'' He now knew how she must have felt when he hadn't been telling her about his feelings about Kathy's death.
His girlfriend shrugged. ''I don't know how I'm feeling. I know that I feel better. I know that he doesn't have any more power over me. I know that all I want to do is go home and not think about it.''
They rode the rest of the way home in silence. When they got there, Liv unbuckled Eli and carried him in, glad that she could hold him. He was centering her, making her feel like she was really there. She let herself into the building and headed up to the apartment, nodding at the unie as she unlocked the door. She walked in and immediately felt better. This was her place. Hers and Elliot's. She could feel what made them them as she stood there, cradling her son. She took a deep breath and felt the tears collect in her eyes.
Elliot joined her a minute later, closing the door behind him. He watched as Liv held Eli and rocked him, tears dripping down her face. He wanted to help her, but he figured he'd let her alone for a minute. He touched her back gently, letting her know he was there, and headed into the kitchen to clean up the spaghetti mess.
After he had finished, he headed back out into the living room. She had placed Eli back into the playpen, and was watching him. She seemed to be OK now, but he joined her on the couch. ''Livvy, I'm going to go back to the station, talk to Munch and Fin, and then I'm going to go and meet the real estate agent. Are you going to be OK, baby?''
Olivia looked at him. Her eyes were very red. She looked like she was better, though. She kissed him and nodded. ''Of course. I'll be fine. You go ahead and go. Tell them I hope they nail that bastard's balls to the wall.''
Elliot kissed her, told her he loved her, did the same for their son, and headed back to the precinct. He found Munch and Fin back in the squad room, looking a little happier. He asked, ''What's going on? Did Harris give up Rook's location?''
Fin shook his head. ''No, but we got a witness that saw Rook in Brooklyn, so we're going to go and check that out. Is Liv alright? I know that had to have been hard for her.''
Elliot shrugged. ''When she got home, she stood there for a second in the living room, holding Eli and crying. I headed into the kitchen, cleaned it up, and headed back out, and she seemed to have calmed down a little. She did tell me on the way home that she felt better and that he doesn't have any power over her anymore, so that's good. I think she's gonna be OK.''
Fin said, ''Well, we've got to get off to Brooklyn. Harris is booked and off to Rikers. So Liv won't have to worry 'bout him anymore. With these murders, he'll be in there for a long time. Casey might cut him a deal, get the death penalty off the table, if he gives up Rook's location. I don't think he'll get the death penalty anyway. Even though he killed a cop, the DA is afraid he'll piss people off.''
Elliot shrugged. ''I don't think it really matters, as long as he won't get out again. I personally am going to see that he never does. He will never hurt Liv again. I don't want her to ever have to go through that ever again.'' He hated Harris and wanted to kill him himself, but since he wanted to be there for his kids and Liv without being in jail, that wasn't such a good idea.
Munch clapped him on the shoulder as he and Fin left the precinct. He was glad that they had finally caught the man that had made Livvy so miserable. He had enjoyed Liv kicking the shit out of him. He was glad that she felt better.
Olivia was still sitting on the couch where her boyfriend had left her, the tv on, not really watching it. She wasn't sure how she should be feeling right now. She guessed she was relieved that Harris was behind bars. She was interrupted any more thinking when there was a knock on the door. She got up to get it, and wasn't surprised to see Kathleen standing there. ''Hi, Kathleen, come on in.'' She said, stepping back to let her in.
Kathleen entered the apartment, looking nervous. She seemed to have calmed down a bit from the day before. ''I just came to see Eli. I usually stop by to see him when I'm done with my classes for the day. Is that OK?'' She asked.
Olivia nodded. ''Of course. He's getting ready to go down for a nap in a minute. He's had a little bit of excitement today. I was going to take him in there a little bit early.'' She was sorry that Kathy had died, but she was really loving the being a mother part of her relationship.
Kathleen said, ''I'll do it. I'll give him a bottle and put him down.'' She really hated having to come here to see her baby brother. She really didn't like how serious her father and Olivia were. She knew that they had been in love for a long time, but she didn't like that they had gotten together so quickly after her father's divorce. Things were just moving too quickly for her.
Olivia told her that was alright and watched as Kathleen picked up her brother and took him into the kitchen. She decided to get her mind off things and pulled her Stephen King book off the shelf and settled down with it, turning the tv off.
About an hour later, Elliot returned, looking happy. It had been a miracle from God. He had managed not only to get an offer on the house, but he had found one not far from the other, still in Queens, of course, that he had loved. That one had been on the market for a long time, so that one had been easy to snap up. He couldn't wait to tell Liv that they had a house. He was glad that things were turning out good. The arrangement that they had right then hadn't been something that would have worked that long.
He entered the apartment, smiling. He said, ''Livvy, guess what. We got an offer on the old house, and I found a new one. We're in escrow, baby.'' He leaned down to give her a kiss.
Olivia kissed him back, glad that that had worked out. She'd been worried about it. ''I'm glad. When are we moving in?'' She was itching to start packing things up.
Elliot said, ''In about a week. I'm going to paint the living room before we move in. It needs a new coat of paint. I had the funeral home pick Kathy up, and the funeral is tomorrow. I just want to do a service, 'cause I really don't want to be in that house. The kids can have a wake there if they want, but I'm not going to mess with it. Her family isn't going to be happy about it, but they won't want to come here anyway. They don't really like you much.'' He told her a little apologetically.
Olivia nodded. ''I kind of figured. It's alright. You do whatever you think you need to do, baby. I am fine with whatever you decide.'' She paused, and then said, ''Kathleen's putting Eli down for his nap after he's done with his bottle, and I think you should see if she's OK. I know that she doesn't want me to ask her.''
Elliot agreed, and headed into the kitchen. Kathleen was just finishing up giving Eli the bottle. She left the cloth on her shoulder as she burped him. Elliot could tell that his daughter was going to make a great mother. ''Kathleen, how you doing?'' He asked, hoping that he was going to get a somewhat civil answer.
Kathleen shrugged. ''I miss Mom. I didn't want to have to come here to see my brother. And I don't want to sell our house. Dad, I know that you've known Olivia for a long time, but must you really be with her?''
Elliot had figured that one of them was going to ask him that sooner or later. ''Yes, I must. I love her, Kathleen. I don't want to ever be without her. And I'm sorry that your mother's gone. Your uncles Munch and Fin caught the guy that did it, so at least she got some justice. And I know the situation isn't the best, but I don't want to hear you making any snide remarks about Livvy. She is going to be here for us. She would do anything for you, so you're going to hold your tongue. You don't have to like anything that's going on, but you are going to be civil to Olivia. She is only trying to be here for us.'' He wasn't going to put up with his kids being spoiled brats, because even losing their mother didn't give them an excuse to treat someone that loved them that way.
Kathleen wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew her father was being completely serious. She knew it was going to be hard to do what he was asking, but she knew she had to try. He was her father. She loved him, and even though she was furious at him, she wasn't going to ignore something that he asked her to do. ''OK, Dad. I'll try the best I can.'' She took Eli off to his bedroom, wishing that things were different.
Munch and Fin were pulling into the convience store that Rook had been seen. Munch got out of the car, wishing that they hadn't been listening to gansta rap, or hip hop, or something with lots of bass all the way there. Fin liked lots of different kinds of music, but that day, he'd been obsessed with whatever it was they had been listening to. He hadn't been driving, so he had been stuck with it. He had made a promise to himself that the next time he drove, they'd be listening to some Barry Manilow. He despised Barry Manilow, but so did Fin. And they had the arrangement that whoever drove picked the music. He was in for it.
Fin liked to mess with Munch every once in awhile. He knew that Munch hated anything but classic rock, which Fin actually liked too, he just liked to play some stuff that Munch didn't like every once in awhile. It was fun yanking his chain. He always got paid back in some way or another. He opened the door to the store, letting Munch head in first. ''Age before beauty, man.'' He told his partner, chuckling.
Munch rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, which had always reminded Fin of Elvis, and walked in the store. He headed up to the counter, and pulled out the photo of Rook they'd managed to procreate. ''Have you seen this man?'' He asked. He knew that they had, the manager of the place had called the precinct.
The kid behind the counter replied, ''Yeah, let me get the manager. He told me to come and get him when you guys showed up.'' He left and went to the back, returning a couple of minutes later with a pasty looking dude.
He introduced himself as Kingston and said, ''I'm glad you came. That guy came in and bought some food and soda, but he also asked me where there was a place where he could purchase some explosives.''
Fin looked at his partner, and then back at Kingston. ''Did you tell him?'' He hoped not, 'cause Rook and explosives did not sound like a combination that he wanted to deal with.
Kingston shook his head. ''I told him I didn't know of any places around here that did, and then as soon as he was satisfied that that was the truth, he left. I called you right after that. Is he really as dangerous as they said on the news?''
Fin nodded. ''Yes. If you see him again, definitely call us. We think he's on the move, though, so we don't think you will see him again.'' They left one of Fin's cards with them and they headed back to the precinct to fill Cragen in.
Olivia and all four of the eldest Stabler kids were standing in the living room of their former home, trying to figure out what to pack first. Olivia had put on her oldest pair of jeans and a t-shirt of Elliot's that looked like he'd had it since he was seventeen. It had the name of some old rock band on it named Asia. She picked up one of the egg boxes they'd gotten from the grocery store and went to the entertainment center and started packing up the CDs and DVDs. The records she was going to put into another box unless Elliot wanted to sell them in the garage sale. They were having it the day before they moved into the new house.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as the kids sighed and grabbed boxes, heading off to the kitchen with them. She smiled to herself. She couldn't help but be happy. She was finally happy. She had everything she ever wanted, even though it was sad that Kathy had to die for that to happen.
Elliot had Eli back at the apartment, where he was packing. He hadn't wanted to ever go back into the house in Queens, so he had told Olivia if she had any questions about anything he still had there, she could call him. He trusted her to handle everything. Besides, the kids were going to be helping, and they were old enough now to tell what was whose. He had the task of packing everything up in the apartment. Olivia had already sorted everything that she wanted to contribute to the garage sale and taken it with her to Queens, to get it out of his way. Then, she'd laid out her clothes for the rest of the week, and told him to just pack away.
He was just getting into the closet to start packing up the shoes she wasn't going to wear when the house phone began to ring. He pulled himself back out of the closet, muttering curse words. He hated being interrupted once he had started something. He answered the phone, a little annoyed. ''Benson-Stabler residence.'' He said.
It was Fin. ''Hey, El, have you seen or heard from Casey in the last couple of days?'' He asked. She might be missing. He was really starting to get a little worried.
Elliot didn't like the sound of that. ''Olivia did. She was here this morning, before she headed off to Sealview. She was interviewing some of Harris' guard friends. Why? Did she not come back?'' He prayed that something hadn't happened to Casey, too.
Fin's reply did nothing to ease his worries. ''No, she didn't. She never came back after her appointment there. She didn't actually show up, so something happened to her on the way. I called, to see what time she left, and they said she never showed up. I'm worried. We know it wasn't Harris, because he was caught. I think it was Rook. He was supposedly in Brooklyn, but that didn't mean he didn't do something to her. He could have done something to her before he left Manhattan.''
Elliot said, ''Well, before you assume that he killed her, check all of her haunts, and call all of the numbers in her address book, and look anywhere you can before we assume the worst. And whatever you do, don't call Liv. I don't want her to know about this before she needs to. She's really happy right now, and I don't want to make her worry for nothing.''
Rook was indeed in Brooklyn, in an abandoned house as far away from anything as he could get. It was just outside the city. He did indeed have Casey. He was not intending to kill her, just hold her hostage. He hadn't really decided what he was going to demand, so he was just keeping her tied up in the living room. He had the television on for her, and he had given her food to eat. He just wouldn't let her call anyone. He wanted them to be looking for her. He was thinking of demanding that they send Benson and Stabler, so he could have a battle of wits with them, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that just yet. In the meantime, Ms. Novak was proving to be quite a model prisoner. She hadn't made a lot of noise, because she seemed to be smart enough to know that that wasn't going to do her any good. It was just a matter of waiting and thinking. It was what he was best at.