Title: Inside These Lines – Part 3
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Law & Order. This is for entertainment only (and something I would've loved to see happen).
Pairing: Mike/Connie
Notes: I really cannot thank Canterlevi enough for her assistance with this story.
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Even Now (I can feel your …)
Even now I can see you smile
I can hear you hum
I can hear you sing
And I can always find you again.
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"We may have a problem with the Henry case.'" Alex said as she stood at the entrance to his office.
"Another one?" Mike looked up from his computer screen.
"We have another victim, a women was murder a week ago, found in her kitchen, unknown female DNA was in the her rape kit.'' Alex took the few steps into his office to hand him the report.
"It took a week for SVU to put the kitchen, and the rape together. Why wasn't the rape kit tested immediately?" Mike pushed himself up with some force to take the report.
"They didn't catch it. Detectives Lupo and Bernard caught the murder, the rape didn't come out until the autopsy." Alex waited for Mike to look up. "It was the ME that picked it up, she took it to Lupo and he called Benson."
"And around we go." Mike finished. "Henry's still in holding?"
"Yes. He can't raise bail." Alex confirmed.
"Copycat?" Mike knew he sounded desperate. Not only was Henry the one suspect they had who could be linked to any of the victims, his job could place him near the scene of each attack. It had to be him.
"Maybe. The last two victims being found in their kitchens was in the press."
"But?"
"The last three crime scenes are identical."
"We have two rapist that both happen to put female DNA inside their next victim? Or..."
"Or Henry's not our guy." Alex finished.
"Have they confirmed the DNA in this case came from Jodie Mitchell?"
"Benson has gone to see her parents to get permission to test it."
"Okay, well let's not do anything until we know this isn't some sick freak copying Henry." Mike nodded as he handed the file back to Alex.
"Shouldn't we hand this over to-"
Mike glanced at his phone as he cut her off, "Let's wait and see what we've got first." He hit the green answer key not wanting it to go to voice mail. "Beside we still have him on the drug charge." Mike waited a beat for Alex to turn before he brought the phone to his ear. "Hey." Mike's tone was soft as he spoke his eyes following Alex until she was out of his office. "Everything okay?"
"You're busy?" Connie replied
"No." Mike walked over to his office door and closed it. "I just had to wait for someone to leave."
"You're busy." This time it wasn't a question
"Connie." Mike drew in a deep breath searching for a way to ensure her he was free. "I missed your text this morning." It had become a funny habit. Mike would send a message to Connie at the end of his day and Connie would send some comment about driving or the traffic as she started her day. At first he didn't realize he was doing it, but Mike had been checking his phone every half an hour since ten this morning waiting for a message that would've normally come through by eight. "I was beginning to worry." It wasn't a lie. When Alex had dropped by his office Mike had been checking the traffic report for the route Connie took to the office.
"Mom was rushed back to hospital."
Mike could hear the shaking in her voice. "Connie, how is she?"
"They think it was another stroke."
"Who's with you?"
"No one, my sister's away … Mike, she was doing so well this week."
"When's your sister coming back?" Mike was now standing in front of the bookcase, his free hand resting on the edge of the frame that held the photo of them.
"Not for another week. They're camping."
"Do you want me to come to LA?'" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, before he had time to think about how she might react.
"No. I'm fine … I just wanted to …"
Mike jumped as the buzzing sound of his office intercom cut Connie off.
"You're busy. I'll talk to you later."
"No, Connie!" It was pointless, she was already gone. Running his finger down the side of the fame he stepped away from the bookcase and toward the insistant buzzing of his office phone. "What?"
"Mr Kane is here to see you regarding his daughter case."
Mike flicked a few buttons on his phone to bring up his calendar. He'd forgotten about the scheduled meeting plus Alex's news about another victim wasn't going to make the daughter's case move any quicker. In fact, chances were, in a few days he would be calling Mr. Kane to tell him they had just dropped all charges against Henry and they had no idea who had killed his child.
"Send him in." Mike said as he pulled on his jacket, typing a message into his phone as he waited.
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Connie was pacing the length at the small waiting room, her hand wrapped tightly around her phone as she waited for the doctor. She hoped that her sister had come back into range and received one of the many messages she'd left. The vibration of her phone sent a shock all the way up her arm as she turned it over to read the message.
''Have a meeting, will call as soon as I'm out. MC"
She knew by calling him she would only worry him, but apart from her sister she couldn't think of any one else she wanted to talk to. Except maybe a doctor, she thought as another one walked past.
"Mrs Rubirosa." A man called from the start of the doorway that led into the waiting room.
"Yes?" Connie almost leaped toward him.
"I'm Doctor Howard. Your mother has suffered another stroke. This one appears to be larger then the one she suffered twelve months ago." The doctor referred to the chart in his hand. "It would also appear that the Thrombolytic medication to prevent this event from happening again has not been effective. Because of this we are going to insert a catheter into her thigh and work it up through her body to un-block the effected vessels that feed blood to her brain."
"What does that mean for her recovery?" Connie asked trying to take in everything she had just been told.
"Unfortunately it will set her back in some ways. After an event like this, and given your mothers' medical history, it's unlikely she will make a meaningful recovery."
Connie let herself fall onto the seat next to her.
"Have you got anyone we can contact to be with you?"
"My sister is on her way." Connie lied as she again found herself looking at her phone. She hadn't cleared her screen and the message from Mike was still staring back at her.
"Okay. Well, one of the nurses will come and let you know when your mother is ready to be moved to a room."
"Thank you." With that the doctor was gone and she was once again on her own. For the first time in a year Connie felt a tear roll down her cheek. Her mother, who had always been so strong, was now trapped inside her body. Worse still, her brother hadn't been able to make it home from the UK. His wife was expecting their first child any day and it had been far from a trouble-free pregnancy. Connie guessed her mother would never get to meet her grandchild.
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Mike tapped his desk with each ring. He hated feeling helpless, he wanted to be there for her; he wanted to get on the first flight available. But he also knew that wasn't possible - he and Connie didn't have that kind of relationship. Jack had been right, Mike should've never let Connie leave without her knowing how he felt and what he wanted. Now, like then, he felt it was a complication she didn't need in her life.
"Mike."
"How's your mom?"
"It's not good." Connie paused and Mike could hear the hitch in her voice, even as she tried to hide it. "I'm still waiting to see her … they have to insert a catheter to remove the blockage."
"What about after?" Mike had guessed it wasn't the operation that was upsetting her.
"The doctor said … the doctor said..." Connie repeated herself unable to finish.
"Connie." Mike turned to his computer again, flight times still displayed on the screen in front of him.
"You don't know my mother … she is determined."
"Like you." Mike smiled, "The doctor doesn't know who he's up against."
"It will kill her if she … if she..." Her voice finally gave out.
"Hey." Lost for what to say, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before he continued. "Have you spoken to your sister?"
"Yes, she's on her way back. They should be home tonight." Connie paused again. "I'll have to wait a few more hours before I can call Julio."
"You know … if you need anything all you have to do is ask."
"Would you mind if we just talked about anything else for a minute?"
"No. What do you want to talk about?" Mike asked, a little unsure about what he should say.
"What are you working on?"
"I never thought I'd say this but I think I may have been a little hard on Jack."
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By the time her phone's battery was almost dead Mike had managed to make Connie forget how long she'd been in the waiting room. In the past, Mike had always managed to make Connie admire him and leave her frustrated in equal measure. However, in the past few months all he did was make her miss him.
"New Yorker?" An older man said as he lowered himself down next to her.
"Ahh?" Connie wasn't sure why he would have asked until he indicated to the shirt she was wearing.
"Hudson University."
"Yeah, kind of." She'd taken to sleeping in his shirt. When she had heard her mother fall she grabbed a pair of jeans and didn't even think to change her shirt.
"Hospital, not a nice place when you're away from home."
"Oh. I live in LA now." Connie didn't know why she was correcting this stranger about his assumptions. "My mother isn't well."
"But your family, your husband, is still in New York?" He said in a kind, understanding voice. "Or the person on the other end of that phone would be here."
"I'm not married." Connie tried not to sound too sharp.
"A pretty girl like you?"
"Guess I haven't met the right man yet."
"You'll know when you do. My Jenny, we meet three days be for I shipped out. We got married the day I left, that was 51 years ago." He looked up and pointed to an older grey haired lady who was being pushed toward them. "Now I come in every day and we walk together."
Connie smiled as she watched the man's face light up the closer he and his wife got each other. "Not everyone's that lucky," she said.
"Not everyone lets themselves be that way." He placed his hand on her leg as he pushed himself up to greet his wife.
"Ms Rubirosa?" The nurse following stopped next to Connie.
''Yes."
"Your mother is out of recovery and has been taken to a room. You can see her now." The nurse paused with one of those smiles Connie had seen far too many times in the last twelve months. More than once she had wondered if it was something nurses were taught as part at their training. "The doctor will be in soon to update you," the nurse added.
"Thank you," Connie said as she followed the nurse. That last line, Connie had come to know meant that the doctor would arrive some time in the next 24-hours. "Thank you," Connie repeated when they reached the ward.
"You'll have to turn that off." The nurse pointed to her phone. "She's in the room number 21, on the right."
Connie stopped at the door and held down the button to turn the phone off as she steadied herself.
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"Hey it's just me again, I guess you can't have your phone on in the hospital ... Give me a call when you get this ... Don't worry about the time and ... and don't forget to look after yourself." Mike looked at his phone for a moment once he ended the call, as if it held the answers he was looking for.
"Something wrong?" Olivia asked from his doorway.
"A friend's mother isn't well." Mike said as he turned his expression back to the more public professional one most of the world knew. "What can I do for you?"
"I was looking for Alex, she's not in her office."
Mike waved his hand toward the empty chair across from him, indicating to Detective Benson to have a seat. "She's in court. Have you got the DNA results back?" He didn't want to admit it but he missed having cases of his own anymore.
"No." Olivia paused. "Henry may have an alibi for one of the attacks."
"Which one?"
"The third one, Calissa Nelson. The day she was attacked Henry was released from country lock up and they would've taken the same bus. We thought he followed her off the bus and into the park."
"So what's the problem?" Mike asked as he leaned back in his chair.
"The wrong release time."
"What?"
"The hard copy of the release form has a different time stamp than the computer one. It seems an admin clerk made a data entry mistake and Henry was still in lockup when the attack happened."
"Great." 'Did this guy even do it?' Mike said to himself. Truth be told, it was something that Mike had been asking himself for a few days now. If it weren't for the drug charges Henry had been picked up on originally Mike would've dropped the charges with leave to file again at a later date, and have a surveillance team set up on Henry.
"Amano is checking the video log to confirm when he was released." Olivia replied.
"Great, because it's starting to look to me as if we've got the wrong guy sitting in lockup and we've let the real rapist have a free pass." Mike pushed his hands through his hair. "It would be really great if we had some idea of what was going on. At this rate the FBI could just walk in here and take the case and I couldn't do a dame thing about it."
"We've got another problem, the Times has gotten a hold of the DNA link. They're calling him the Blood Ties Killer."
"Great." Mike dropped his pen. " BTK? Someone at the Times thinks they're funny." The flashing red light of his office phone caught his attention. He pressed the intercom button. "Yes?"
His assistant's voice returned through the speaker, "The DA would like to see you in his office."
"Thanks, tell him I'm on my way." Mike stood and pulled on his suit jacket."
"I guess he's heard about the Times." Olivia said as she stood to follow him out.
"Find out when Henry was released and if it wasn't Henry get me something to go on or we can both kiss this case goodbye."
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Mike dropped the copy of the Times story he had printed off the website onto his coffee table along with the case file. Glancing at them for a moment, he turned and headed for the kitchen to get a glass and a bottle of scotch. He wasn't sure how his day had gotten so bad. He turned, leaning on the counter, and stared into his living room. He'd been so happy just a few weeks ago. Connie had been sitting in his armchair, watching TV and looking more relaxed and at home than he had ever seen her anywhere else.
Now he had an image of her curled up in a hard plastic chair in some cold hospital room. He wouldn't have put it past her to tell him that her sister was on her way back when she hadn't even spoken to her. Mike wish he knew why she needed everyone to think she was so strong. He had no idea why she needed him to think she was so strong. Did she really believe he would think any less of her if she asked for help? He hated to admit it, but all he wanted her to do was need him, to want to need him. It sounded outdated and sexist, but there it was.
The truth was, the one thing he admired most about her was her strength. No matter what, she would stand up for what she believed was right. She had this amazing ability to withstand pressure. No doubt right now she was busy being strong for her mother and for her sister, reassuring her brother that everything was fine, that everything was under control. The thing was, he knew it all too well, who was making sure Connie was okay?
"Pull yourself together," he thought. He was starting into the empty space like a 12-year old schoolgirl. What he needed to do was work.
3:30am
The buzzing of his cell pulled him from his sleep. He'd fallen asleep on his sofa, the case notes that had been laying on his chest now fallen to the floor.
"Yeah." His voice was rough with sleep as he assumed it was work, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Mike?"
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