Chapter 12

By the time they'd sprung him from the hospital Fin had been ready to split skulls. Sure it had been great to see Alejandro and have him meet Liv. And yeah it had been wonderful to spend time with his son. But only seeing Liv for a few hours a day was making him crazy. He hadn't ever realized what it would mean if he transferred out of SVU until he'd gotten stuck in the hospital away from her. Now he was grateful for that SOB who'd bogged his transfer paperwork down in red tape.

He grinned as he looked at the empty box in his hand. Liv had come by after she and John had gotten the jewelry stuff all done and she hadn't been wearing the ring. When he'd wanted to know why she'd handed him the box and said it wasn't official until he put it on her finger. That had been one of the more enjoyable things he'd done lately. She'd almost blushed and couldn't stop shaking and he'd had to grab her hand to hold it still before he'd gotten the ring on her finger. "Now it's the finest ring there is," Fin had grinned up at her and she'd gotten all teary eyed. "Aw, Babygirl don't cry." He'd tugged her down to sit on the bed and cradled her in his good arm. Olivia had mumbled about damned hormones while she collected herself.

John had insisted on coming along with Olivia to get his partner from the hospital and the result had been him sitting and laughing at all the stuff Fin had managed to accumulate while he'd been at the hospital.

There'd been some argument as to what apartment he should go home to; he wanted to go to Liv's but all his things were still at his own place. That had been really irritating, stuck for the most part in the same four walls while Liv was at work. He'd taken to flipping Liv's ring box open and closed rather than use the stress ball the therapist had given him. The muscles used were the same and the idea that Liv had kept a death grip on this box while she'd been waiting for him to make it through surgery had struck him. It might be stupid but holding it...made him feel a bit closer to her when he wasn't allowed to go to work yet.

He'd spent a lot of time looking for an apartment for he and Liv. She'd gotten the final word on the value of her grandmother's jewelry and it was a chunk of change that would let them purchase a brownstone if she wanted, granted it would have been a brownstone that needed a lot of work, but still. Fin wasn't sure what he wanted, as long as Liv was there with him, but he didn't think he or Liv would have time for yard work or dealing with block parties. They'd narrowed it down to a few different places after he'd caved in and found a decent real estate agent. While Liv had been at work he'd been doing his therapy and checking out places with the agent. When he was lucky Liv had been able to meet him and take a look at them.

The agent hadn't really believed that a couple of cops could afford to look for apartments in neighborhoods like Midtown or Chelsea or the nicer area of Harlem but once Liv explained that she'd received an inheritance and that they were arranging financing the agent had been a little more relaxed. The woman had really gotten into the spirit of things once the auction house contacted Liv and they'd talked over the minimum amounts she'd receive for each piece of jewelry. That had been an interesting conversation.

"So… I was thinking," Liv had been half cradled in his lap, one of his favorite ways for them to relax when they weren't in bed, holding her and just sitting and talking. He'd laughed when Alejandro and Kenneth were so shocked by he and Liv's position and Liv's husky little chuckle had him kissing her again.

"Thinkin' about?" Fin knew it had to be about the money, she hadn't been worried but it was something she'd been really considering hard. "Babygirl, it's your money. Blow it all on a vacation if you want."

"We'd have to take a years vacation to do that," Liv had told him dryly and gave him the dollar amount from the auction house, "And that's minimum. It's a…surprise."

"And it's just been sitting in your closet with your shoes since your mom died," Fin whistled in surprise. "Well, I guess you don't have to worry about a retirement fund."

"No," Liv had chuckled. "No, so I was thinking, we could divide it up four ways." She'd begun ticking them off on her fingers, "A trust for our kids, spit evenly among however many we have, a good down payment on a condo, living expenses, and a retirement fund. That way if something happens…" She'd pressed her lips to his injured shoulder, "We wouldn't have to worry."

"Pretty smart move," Fin agreed. "You're thinking use our salaries to live on, everyday stuff, and the living expenses part for things like part of the mortgage and daycare?"

"Sort of," Liv nodded. "Even with a really good place we'll still have expenses we don't have with an apartment now, like repairs. Elliot was always going on about the furnace or the water heater when he and Kathy got the house. If something goes wrong, I think a little cushion is a good idea and if we don't use it, we'll save it."

"You're gonna need to get a finance guy to help you plan this out," Fin had been amazed. The biggest amount of money he'd ever seen beyond drug busts and stings had been the money he'd gotten from the army after he'd gotten out. That first GI payment towards college had been any eye opener but it was chump change compared to the money Liv was getting from her grandma's jewelry. "I still can't believe your mom didn't do anything with all of it."

"Yeah me either, I mean I had to pay estate taxes and everything but I was so upset…out of it…I just paid, didn't really get the why of it," Liv had shrugged. "John gave me the name of a financial planner." She looked at him, "Fin, I don't want a really big wedding, you know that, just a few people, but I do want…I want it to be soon. Please. I want to have your name. Even if I still go by Benson at work, I want to be your wife. I want this money to be in your name too so if anything happens to me… I don't want you to worry about how you'll take care of the baby or…"

He hadn't been able to stand it, she'd sounded so worried, sincere and sweet and absolute, "Babygirl, I'm not arguing." He reminded her affectionately, "I can't wait to make you Benson-Tutuola." Fin took a deep breath, "The only thing I won't have is any of your money in my name Liv. Put it in trust for the baby, put me in charge of that, just…don't make it my money."

"Fin I trust you," Liv had looked at him confused and he'd smiled.

"I know you do baby," He couldn't help pressing a kiss to her lips then. "But I know you Liv and you have this tendency to run like hell in the other direction when you get spooked. I figure if I don't try to cage you in you won't need to run." Fin had traced a hand down her cheek, loving how soft her skin was, "I don't need your money Olivia. I got everything I need right here."

"All right," She'd sighed and leaned against him and changed the subject.

Now she was two and a half months along, and he'd spent the bulk of his time off boxing up their apartments when he wasn't out with the agent or doing the physio. Kenneth and Alejandro had been a huge help there, along with John. There wasn't much he could do with the furniture but he could box up all of the books and knickknacks in both of their places. Anything they didn't use for everyday could be boxed.

And yeah he'd gotten a lot done but he was so grateful to be back at work. Liv had decided she'd put her ring on a silver chain around her neck rather than wear it at work when he wasn't there. John had texted him a picture of Liv sitting at her desk, studying some evidence or report, one hand absently rubbing the ring between her fingers. He'd liked that one so much he'd decided he wanted a nice big copy of it framed for the entryway of whatever apartment they ended up in.

But walking back into the precinct five minutes ahead of Liv felt damn good. Stabler had looked up and grinned to see him and John had immediately shaken his hand as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks. He'd almost laughed at that considering he and Liv had John over for dinner the night before along with Kenneth and Alejandro.

And then Liv had walked in with her ring finally on her finger where it belonged and he'd grinned. She'd put the coffee she carried down on her desk and headed straight for him to give him a huge hug, "Good to have you back." She smiled. "And since a little bird told me you'd be in today I even got you coffee." She fetched his cup and John's tea, giving Elliot his and disappeared into the captain's office with his coffee. At her desk was a bottle of flavored water and she sipped it with a grimace, "I'm so jealous of all you caffeine drinkers right now," She admitted.

"Doc'll let you back on the hard stuff eventually," Fin told her with a grin. "So what have we got?"

"Jane Doe, dead beside a John Doe, both raped, both mutilated, posed very prettily," John told him passing him the file. "Cause of death was manual strangulation, no prints."

"Ugh, excuse me," Olivia stood quickly and would have hurried out of the room but Stabler caught her arm.

"Hey before you take off, what do you make of—"

"Elliot let go of me, I have to go, ughh, now," Liv jerked her arm away and took a step towards the hall with Stabler taking a half step to follow her.

"Liv what's—" The ex marine was interrupted by Olivia bending double, grabbing a handy garbage can and vomiting into it.

Fin winced sympathetically, most of the time she was sick at home in the mornings but she'd told him now and then something would set it off at work, strong smells like cologne or perfume, once a woman's hand lotion had made her sick.

"Oh my god, Liv," To give him credit Stabler immediately behaved like a dad, he held her hair back and rubbed her back as she continued to heave her guts out. Fin took a deep breath and forced himself to remain where he was, crowding Liv right now wouldn't help. Finally the nausea subsided and Liv stood, grabbing the bag out of the trash bin and tying it off before she grabbed her purse.

"I'll be right back," She croaked the words out and practically raced out of the squadroom.

Cragen came in and looked around, "Fin, good to see you. I want your eyes on our twin Does, we've all been staring a bit too long. And where's Benson?"

"She got sick, she's cleaning up," John shrugged. Stabler was still staring after Liv as if he was in shock but he turned at John's words.

"She seem off to you lately?" Elliot sounded worried, "She was getting those dizzy spells and now this."

"Benson's business is her business," Cragen told him repressively. "I suggest you leave her to it."

"Yeah but Cap'n…" Stubborn must have been Stabler's middle name, Fin thought with a shake of his head as he started to go over the board, studying the victims and comparing the information to the file.

"No 'yeah buts'," The captain was in no mood. "If Benson wants to discuss it she will."

"Discuss what?" Liv walked back in, a little pale but otherwise composed and put her purse away. She grabbed a packet of crackers out of her drawer and began the nonverbal argument with the plastic. Fin concealed his smile as she muttered under her breath and finally caved in and got her scissors.

"Uh, if you were feeling all right," Stabler sounded stunned. "Liv what's with the ring?"

Fin watched out of the corner of his eye as Olivia popped a cracker in her mouth, chewing and swallowing before she answered her partner, "It's my grandmother's, remember?"

Stabler grabbed for her hand and held it so he could study the ring on her left hand, "This is a serious rock." He observed with a frown, "When you said you were thinking about wearing it I thought you meant one of those right hand rings like Kathy's always talking about. And I didn't think you'd wear it on the job."

"Does it matter?" Liv yanked her hand away. "I don't usually do much with my left accept hold a flashlight." Fin could tell she was getting irritated with her partner's highhanded attitude.

"People are gonna think you're engaged or something," Elliot observed.

Fin turned around to look at the taller detective incredulously as Liv rolled her eyes, "That would be the point Elliot."

"Not nine months ago you jumped my ass for saying you should go out and have fun, because you wanted a real relationship," Stabler retorted. "Now you're wearing a ring that's guaranteed to scare off every single guy in the vicinity."

"Man would you get off Liv's ring and on this evidence?" Fin broke in, the irritation he felt showing in his voice. "She isn't your daughter; what she does isn't your business."

"She's my partner," Stabler objected.

"Then act like it and be supportive for once, instead of jumping on her all the time," Fin snapped back. "Now this," He held up a picture of a scarf. "My woman was showin' me some fashion magazine had a scarf like this. Only available at Barney's."

"All right," Liv nodded and studied the scarf. "I should have caught that," She shook her head.

"File says you been concentrating on the dump site," Fin shrugged. "Why duplicate work?"

"Let's go to Barney's then," Stabler sighed. "And we will never tell Kathy that I set foot in the place."

Olivia laughed and ate another cracker before they left, giving Fin a little wink and one of her smiles as she followed Stabler out the door. "See you guys in a couple of hours I guess."

Fin was still making a list of all the things the kids had worn, most of them designer label and fending off John's attempts to help and comment on every overpriced thread. "Man if you don't leave me alone this won't get done," He told his partner. "I'm thinking we should concentrate on the stuff that isn't mass-produced, the scarf, the hat, and maybe the girls skirt, everything else we're gonna have too big a pool. But someone who bought or has access to all three items that narrows it down."

"All right, run with it," Cragen had come out to listen and nodded as Fin pinned the photos of the clothes in question to the board. "Benson and Stabler are on their way back in."

"They get a hit on the scarf?" John wanted to know.

"Too many," Cragen shook his head, retreating to his office, "Apparently it's an in look this year."

"Great, done in by fashion," Fin groaned and began to scour the pictures for other items.

It wasn't long before Olivia came stalking into the squadroom with a look on her face that Fin knew meant Stabler had been running his mouth again. Sure enough, Elliot came in on her heels, "Seriously Liv? You're just gonna ignore me?"

When Olivia didn't speak Munch tilted his head at Fin and then regarded Stabler, "Sure looks that way. What's up?"

"Liv you okay?" Fin ignored their partners and any potential fallout to address his woman.

"I'm fine, just a touch of nausea again is all," She shrugged and her mouth pulled up in the half smile that meant she was irritated but not with him, pulling her ever present crackers out and munching on one after her usual struggle with the plastic.

"That's what I'm talking about," Stabler pointed at the now busily researching Liv. "We go into Barneys and had to go through the cosmetics and perfume section, I thought she was going to pass out. We get to the scarves and stuff and the sales woman, asks if she's all right. Liv goes white as a sheet and asks to use the bathroom. She takes off like a bat outa hell and when she comes back she's still ghost white."

"So she's sick," John nodded his understanding. "I've felt like that, especially when I have a migraine."

"But that's the thing," Elliot folded his arms in the manner that meant he was about to make his point. "The sales woman asks how far along Olivia is and I have no idea what she's talking about. And she says she can recognize morning sickness a mile away."

"So you started badgering her about it," Fin said in disgust. "What'd you do? Demand to know who the father was?"

"The exact words were 'who's the son of a bitch who knocked you up so I can go knock his teeth in'," Olivia said dryly. "Fin did you make any headway on the shoes?"

"Nah, I struck out. But you don't see a lot of kids shoes with that type of sole," Fin shook his head. "They look custom. I was gonna call down to the lab and see if they found any makers marks somewhere we couldn't see."

"You demanded to know who the father of her child was, before you even heard from her that she was pregnant, only so you could beat his face in," John reiterated slowly. "Elliot, just out of curiosity, why would you think she'd tell you?"

"She's my partner," Stabler's voice was rising in volume enough that Cragen came out of his office. "We haven't even met the guy she's dating but now she's pregnant? Seriously?" He looked at Benson, "How could you be so irresponsible? In this day and age? Do you know the risks of—"

"All right Elliot that's enough," Cragen cut the rant off midstream. "At the risk of actually doing some work around here, can I ask where we are on the ID's?"

"I've been combing through missing persons," Munch sighed. "Warner confirmed that they're definitely twins, about ten years old give or take."

"We're hoping the shoes will give us a lead," Fin offered.

"Well the scarf was a dead end," Stabler said shortly. "Thanks for that by the way," He threw Fin a dirty look. "Five hundred of them made, sold by Barneys just this season."

Liv frowned down at the photos and turned one of them, "Maybe not." She pulled a list out of the file, "Only about fifty of them were monogrammed or embroidered." She held up the photo, "This looks like custom embroidery. Some sort of extremely stylized initial or icon."

"Well I'm not sending you back to the shopping mecca of Manhattan," Cragen told her with a smirk. "Call over there and ask for a list of their designs and who ordered them on that scarf. Fin, you work the shoes. John, keep combing. Stabler you go take a walk, cool off."

"I'm fine," Stabler dismissed the order. "Or I would be if someone would just talk to me," He added with a glare at Liv.

"Take a walk," The captain wasn't having any of it. "If you want to talk about this, you don't do it in the squad."

Fin sighed and prepared to get on the phone to cobblers, exchanging a look with Liv. They could avoid Elliot tonight but if they did he'd just try and get answers at work tomorrow.

Author's Note: So Fin's out of the hospital and back to work. And Elliot still hasn't bought, borrowed or rented a clue. Don't worry, he'll catch on eventually. We're going to hear bits and pieces of the case in future chapters, more as background while Fin and Live's relationship grows and develops. We'll get a visit from Huang too because I love him. I'm not a mystery writer so we won't be doing a lot of fieldwork with the detectives but it was fun to write some of the byplay and speculation in the squadroom.

So what do all of you think we'll be seeing in the next chapter? I've got a psychic out there who seems to guess right every time. Curious to see if the record holds.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate all the support.