Hello, quick thanks to all the readers that have kept up with me. We are making a little progress with this chapter and another one will follow soon!
Disclaimer: I own no recognizable characters or plot-lines, obviously.
Back at the hospital...
Olivia Benson-Moss arrived at the maternity with of Mercy General at about 8:30 a.m. Although she was 8 months pregnant with her own child, she found herself more concerned about her friend Casey than anything else. So when Chester had asked her to come sit with Casey while he made a court appearance she had immediately agreed.
Chester was sitting with Casey on her bed. He had one arm around her and the other holding a baby name book. Though she was holding onto him tightly, she seemed calm enough; they were looking at baby names.
Chester flipped a page. "Oh wow look at that, Brooklyn literally means "New York borough" Chester said amused.
Casey blinked in response.
"Okay can we still add it to the list though?," Chester asked her, "Come on, its my home turf!"
Just then there was a knock at the door and Casey finally made a sound. She murmured the word "no" as she buried her face in her husband's shoulder. They both knew who was at the door.
Chester said "Come in!" and Casey whimpered.
Olivia entered quietly and with a bright smile that dropped when she saw how upset Casey was.
Chester sat with Casey and held her another couple of minutes, rubbing her back soothingly.
"Casey, honey, I gotta go," he said softly, "I'll be back soon, I promise". His heart felt like it was literally shredding in his chest as he gently pulled away from her. He made her comfortable on her bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He walked away from her and she stuck her head underneath her pillows.
Olivia was staring at Casey's shaking form with such empathy that she didn't realize Chester was standing right next to her until he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Okay, a couple things," he said hurriedly, "Her new doctor is going to come in to give her a shot at ten, she hates it, just try and distract her if you can. And, um, try to get her to eat some breakfast, her blood sugar is a little low. And Liv," he lowered his voice hoping Casey wouldn't hear," please try to help her relax, her blood pressure is through the roof already."
"Okay," Olivia replied, "Don't worry we'll be okay."
"All right, and thanks Liv, I really appreciate this" Chester replied, "Call me if there's an emergency." With that, he cast a last glance at Casey and begrudgingly left the room.
Olivia walked up to Casey's bedside and let out a deep sigh. She seated herself in a nearby chair and stretched her arms around her baby bump. She found herself unsure of what to do as she watched her sobbing friend.
The Stabler household was just sitting down to breakfast when Elliot's cellphone rang loudly. He sighed at his untouched plate of eggs and bacon before reaching into his pocket to answer it.
"Stabler"m
"Hi, Elliot, I mean Detective Stabler, its Amanda," came the slightly nervous voice on the other end.
"Morning, Rollins. What can I do for you?" Elliot replied.
"Well, I was wondering if I might be able to talk to Alex today?" she asked.
Elliot looked at his fiancee, who was giving him a look he couldn't decipher. "Um, I guess so, what about?"
"I was just goin' through some of her old case files and I wanted to ask her some questions about 'em."
"Oh, do you have any leads?"
"Not yet, that's why I wanted to talk to her."
Elliot laid his phone on his chest and spoke to Alex. "Is it okay if Amanda comes over later? She wants to talk to you about your old cases."
Alex looked slightly annoyed. "Didn't we all ready do that?" She asked.
Elliot smirked. "Yeah, but apparently she has some more questions."
Alex sighed, "Okay, I guess its fine."
Elliot picked the phone back up. "Amanda? Yeah, why don't you come over for lunch and the two of you can talk then, all right? Great see you later". Elliot hung up the phone and looked back at his fiancee who was still eyeing him suspiciously.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Elliot asked her.
Alex shrugged. "What did Amanda want?" She countered.
"Well, she wants to talk to you actually, about an old case ".
"If she wanted to talk to me, why didn't she call me?"
Elliot chuckled nervously, "I don't know babe, maybe she thought she needed my permission to see you. Or maybe she doesn't have your number, I mean you've barely spoken to her."
"Well I guess you've been speaking to her," Alex quipped.
"Uh, yeah, technically we work together. Why do I feel like I'm being cross-examined right now?" He folded his arms and smirked at Alex.
Alex shrugged again, "We're just talking Elliot, you're not under oath."
Elliot chuckled again. Then he walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, what's your problem?" He asked seriously.
Alex looked him in the eyes silently for a moment before answering him. "She flirts with you."
Elliot was totally taken aback. "What?"
"She flirts with you," Alex repeated, "Every frickken chance she gets! It drives me nuts!"
Elliot looked amused, "Lexy, come on, really?"
"I'm serious Elliot, she's always gets all giggly and smiley around you. And she calls you Elliot as if she's known you longer than 5 seconds!" Alex mumbled something else under her breath, the only thing Elliot caught was "stupid accent".
"Lexy, even if that were true- which I don't think it is- do really think you have to worry about Amanda Rollins?"
"She's your type El. She's pretty, blonde and petite and I'm-"
"Perfect", Elliot cut in.
"Fat", Alex retorted.
Elliot laid a hand on her admittedly large baby bump and smiled at her pouting expression. He cupped her cheek with his other hand and kissed her passionately. "I love you," he whispered onto her lips," and...I only have eyes for youuuuu!"
Alex giggled, and Elliot continued to sing her their song until she clapped her hand over his mouth. "All right, all right, I get it El, no need to torture me!" she said playfully.
"I'll only stop if you promise to be nice to Rollins when she comes here," Elliot replied, "She really is working hard to help you."
Alex begrudgingly agreed to be on her best behavior and they went back to eating breakfast.
4 hours later at about one o'clock, Amanda Rollins arrived with a file in her hands.
Elliot was playing with Eli in the living room when he heard the knock. Alex, who was sitting on the couch reading, flinched reflexively at the sharp sound. Elliot got up from the floor and gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. He hated that she was so jumpy, but he honestly couldn't blame her.
He looked through the peephole to see who it was before disarming their new security system and opening the door. Detective Rollins gave Elliot a big smile and a handshake, Elliot showed her into the living room where Alex had straightened herself up on the sofa.
Amanda greeted Alex with a "hi" and a small wave. Alex gestured towards the space next her her. "Please, sit down make yourself comfortable," she said pleasantly.
Amanda sat down and tossed her file onto the coffee table.
"Okay, I'm making Monte Cristo's," Elliot announced, "Rollins, you want one?"
Amanda flashed him another big smile. "Yeah, sure, thanks Elliot."
Elliot and Alex made quick eye contact before Elliot left them alone and went to the kitchen.
Amanda turned her attention back to Alex. "So, how are you?" she asked pleasantly.
"I'm...good," Alex replied. She casually rested her hands on her belly, left hand on top of her right with her engagement ring on full display. It caught Rollins' attention immediately.
"Wow, your ring is gorgeous!" Amanda exclaimed, "Is it a Harry Winston?"
Alex was surprised she knew the designer. "Yes, it is actually, it belonged to Elliot's grandmother."
It was Amanda's turn to be surprised. "Oh, you two are...engaged?"
Alex nodded. "We're getting married sometime after our babies are born."
Alex couldn't help but be inwardly amused at the detective's slightly crestfallen look. Then she realized the two of them must not have had a decent conversation if Amanda hadn't known the basic details of her relationship.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Alex asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Amanda blinked and cracked a small smile. "Well there was one case of yours that really stuck out to me. The, um, Sandoval case with the Columbian drug cartel?"
"Oh...that," Alex visibly bristled at the memory of the experience, "What do you want to know?"
Amanda picked up the file from the coffee table and started to flip through it. "Well I know that case was rough, it landed you in Witness Protection."
"Yeah, and then they caught the guy who tried to kill me, got rid of the cartel and I got out." Alex was slightly annoyed, she really didn't want to talk about this particular case.
"Right, but that case got really personal really fast, and you weren't the only person that got hurt."
"Obviously. That whole thing got started because Livia Sandoval was raped and murdered."
"I know but I was thinking more about Tim Donovan. The DEA agent you worked with in the beginning. It says here he was killed by a car bomb."
Alex was quiet for a moment as she remembered Tim Donovan and what he had given up for her and how she had watched him die.
"Alex?" Amanda prodded.
Alex pulled herself from her thoughts. "Sorry...yes Tim was helping us with the investigation. He's the one who found out the cartel was threatening me. He was trying to help me and then...the cartel got to him. I was there when it happened."
Amanda nodded her understanding. "So my question is, do you think anyone blamed you for his death?"
Alex thought about it. She remembered someone yelling at her while she was sitting in an ambulance. "It's possible," she replied.
"Did Donovan have any family?" Amanda asked.
"I think so, I know he had kids because someone…told me, but I didn't get that deep into his personal life."
Alex watched as Amanda made a note in the file. "Do you really think someone is coming after me because of what happened to Tim?"
Amanda shrugged. "Like you said, it's possible. The fact is Donovan was killed trying to protect you. You didn't kill him, but you're an easier target than a drug lord in another country who may not even be alive."
Alex looked a little distressed and Amanda felt bad. "I didn't mean it like it was your fault, it's not, I just think..."
"It's possible." Alex finished.
Amanda nodded.
That's all for now, any and all reviews are appreciated! xoxo