AN/ would you look at that! I actually finished a fic!
"He got life!" Olivia Benson told the Jones family in a park not far from the precinct. "That means he's never going to get out of prison. He can never hurt you again Izzy."
"Good. What about Mommy?" Izzy asked about the woman who had kept them captive. "Her trail has not started yet. They read your statement but decided not to call you."
"So we can go home?" Marta asked "to England?"
"Yes you can!" Olivia confirmed and the whole family smiled. Marta crying with relief. "Olivia. There are no words with which we can thank you. For everything you have done. We are so very grateful."
Plane tickets were booked back to London Heathrow in 3 days time and the family decided to be tourists for a few days. They took a ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. Took in the views from the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller centre. Went to Macy's the worlds biggest shop and took in a Broadway show. They chose Wicked, a favourite of Ola and Anna's from the west end. They took Izzy to American Girl to let her pick out a doll. She hadn't had the chance to play with toys since she was 8 and was amazed by all the dolls and accessories. She was still struggling to make choices and got easily overwhelmed. They almost left the shop without getting a doll until Ola came up with and idea. Almost like a doll treasure hunt which would be less daunting for Izzy. "Would you like your doll to have brown, blonde or ginger hair?"
"Blue, green or brown eyes?"
"Straight or curly hair?"
The questions continued until Izzy had 3 dolls to choose and picked one. It was a reminder of how far Izzy had come since they found her, but also a reminder of how far she had to go.
Just before leaving Anna's GCSE exam results came through. Despite her anxiety she had got a C or above in every subject, and even got an A* in Polish, biology and Geography. She was super pleased as it meant she could go to the sixth form (college) she wanted.
They had lunch with Casey and her mother, who had been so welcoming to them, at a Polish diner. "Will you ever come back to New York?" Casey asked. "I want to." Anna replied. "I love this city. It feels like wherever you come from. Whoever you are you can find a community here. It's similar to London, but even more so like wherever you come from New York can be your home!"
"I think you're right Anna. I came here when i wasn't much older than you and the Polish community here claimed me. Although we had the option to travel as a military family we opted to stay here. I can't imagine being elsewhere." Casesy mom Agata agreed.
Maybe we'll come back someday." Marta mused. "But I think we have a lot of healing to do back in England first."
The family stopped at the precinct on the way to the airport. They had bought some wine, flowers and chocolates for the detectives. There was no way that they could thank them for all that they had done, nothing would be enough for finding their precious daughter and reuniting their family. They were whole and soon they would be home.
6 months later.
Olivia Benson leaned forward on her desk, rubbing her temples. She couldn't believe how many letters one police unit could get in a day. She opened the next letter on her stack and pulled out the papers inside. She smiled when a photo fell out. The Jones family, all 5 of them stood on a beach, they were all wearing sweaters and Anna had a little chocolate brown dog in her arms. Their hair was flying all directions probably because of the wind and they all had smiles on their faces. Ola and Izzy looking like they were laughing. There were a few named envelopes too. Olivia picked up the photo which had writing on the back.
Hi Olivia, Amanda and the other detectives. We decided to write you a letter to tell you how well Izzy is doing. The dog is our new puppy Benson, (we call her Bennie, Izzy wanted to call it Olivia but I said no.)
I've just realised it might be offensive that we named our dog after you. It's not meant to be. This is when we went to the beach in South Wales a few weeks ago. As you can see from our fleeces it was pretty cold!
Ola
Olivia smiled as she read it. The family looked so happy in the photo. Izzy in particular must have grown an inch and gained a fair bit of weight. Her face looked healthier, less gaunt and with a bit of color in her cheeks. The first envelope she picked up had Olivia written on it in large messy writing with smiley face stickers on the envelope. It had to be from Izzy. She opened it gently. Not wanting to rip the decorated envelope. She thought she'd most likely want to keep the letter. So many people come through the precinct but some cases are special and little Izabela would always have a special place in Olivia's heart.
To Olivia,
It is Izzy but Ola is helping me write this and spell it right. I live back in England now in Bristol which is in the south west, near Wales. We live in the same house as what we used to live in but I go to another school but the same Church. I like my new school. I wear a blue dress in summer and trousers and a polo shirt and jumper in winter. My teacher is called Miss Daniels and she's really nice and our class has a help teacher called Mrs Mason. She helps me a lot because I didn't go to school for a long time. I have lots of friends but my best friends are called Sasha and Rosie.
I also got a dog he's a boy and I named or Benson because of you but we can him Bennie mostly. He is very cute and soft but he is a bit silly. He like to bark at squirrels and birds in the garden and also at the post man. He also tries to steal my food even though we give him dog food. I like taking him on a walk and to the park unless it's rainy or cold then mama or daddy or Ola or Anna take him on a small walk. He likes cuddles and sitting with me on the sofa. I bet he would be friends with Amanda's dog Frannie. Thank you for saving me and helping me. You're like a superhero. I put some stickers in this letter for Noah. They have dinosaurs on them.
Love from
Izabela
Olivia smiled as a sheet of dinosaur stickers fell out. Izzy's writing wasn't super neat but it was more than legible. Working at SVU was hard. You saw the worst of the worst crimes and the most despicable humans but occasionally, just occasionally, things worked out. Perpetrators were found, criminals convicted and victims could heal safely. Izzy was so little. It would be hard but Olivia was sure she could go on to lead a full, healthy, normal life. She picked up the next letter.
Olivia,
Hi, it's Olivia Jones, Ola. I'm unsure if you have read Izzy's letter yet but she so wanted to write one 'all by herself.' I mean I helped a little but she did write it. Her English speaking and writing has improved so much. I'm amazed at her resilience and progress. She's started a new school, we thought a fresh start would be better than her old school. Age wise she should be in secondary school (middle and high schools are together here.) But it was decided it would be best to keep her in primary for now. Which was an amazing decision because she is thriving. The school is really well trauma informed and is actually a school that has a programme for EAL (English as an additional language) children and refugees, so it's great for Izzy. She's also started extra curricular dance and gymnastics which she loves, and I love watching. She's enjoying Church too. She's going to therapy and we're all in family therapy too. It's rough, but it's helping. I've started university (what you guys call college) and am training to be a primary school teacher, but I decided to study here in Bristol so I could stay home. Anna is at sixth form college (what you guys call last 2 years of high school) and she's doing better mentally. She's still adamant she wants to go to uni in or near New York.
Mama is back working part time in a little Polish shop but she's always there to pick up Izzy and make dinner and dad still works in construction but makes sure he's home each night before Izzy is in bed.
There's a couple of letters in here for Amanda so please hand those to her (the one from Izzy is literally all about the dog.)
Anyway, I know I've said it before but I Will never be able to thank you enough for finding our Izzy. You are wonderful.
Lots of love
Ola.
Olivia smiled again reading the older girls near writing. She got the letters to hand to amass but before leaving her office she pinned the photo on the notice board on her wall and the British family smiled down at her. To remind her, sometimes things do work out. That sometimes victims survive and thrive.