Chapter 17

He watched as Liv and George Huang came back in, Liv putting her notebook on her desk and finding the box of chocolate. He couldn't help grinning as she lifted the lid and found his note on top of the candy, a soft smile curving her lips even as her cheeks went a little pink. She tucked the note into her purse and sent him a smile before she went into Cragen's office. "You guys leave my chocolate alone," She warned them before she disappeared behind the door.

Fin chuckled and shook his head, "All right so we've got piles and piles of files and files." He quipped as Huang came back from studying the board. "You two find anything at the cobblers?"

"One shop, stocks all types of leathers, including deerskin," Huang remarked. "They dye all the leather on the premises to order. From what Benson and I could tell they did make the shoes."

"So who bought them," John wanted to know.

"We don't know yet, whoever it was paid cash," Huang told him. "Fin, after this case...wondered if you'd have a few minutes to talk."

"Yeah sure," Fin looked at his file, "Didn't you just say the cobbler had deerskin?"

"Yes, they're one of the few cobblers in New York that carry it," The profiler nodded. "You have something?"

"Yeah, two of our kids shoes, they were made of deerskin," Fin nodded. "We've got a definite connection. Do they keep their designs? Anything like that?"

"They do, but they're filed under 'cash'," Huang sighed. "So they'll take a while to find."

"We're sure it was a customer ordered the shoes, not one of the staff?" John asked as he closed a file. "Seems awfully convenient."

"There can't be a lot of cash customer for custom made shoes," Fin agreed with his partner.

"Which is why Olivia and I collected all the information on the employees and owner," George nodded. "We have notes and notes and notes."

"Then lets get started," Fin looked at the psychiatrist. "Liv's gonna be a little while I think. So you read out her notes and we'll cross reference 'em with our evidence files."

Olivia really hated feeling like she was a traitor, it brought her right back to childhood with her mother. If she did something that upset her mother enough, her mother wouldn't love her anymore. If she said anything that criticized Serena Benson she was accused of being ungrateful, of betraying Serena, of being her father's daughter. The older she'd gotten the worse it had been until the day Serena had gone after her with a broken vodka bottle.

These days her loyalty wasn't as easily won; still even with the way Elliot was behaving he was her partner. But Cragen was her captain, even if she'd never served with the military, she had respect for the chain of command, more than Elliot sometimes. She'd worked with Cragen just as long as she had with Elliot. Even when she'd worked computer crimes she'd still made a point to communicate with her captain.

The sick feeling that clutched at her gut was every bit as bad as it had been when she was six or ten or twelve or sixteen. There was no right way to do this, no perfect way that would leave her unscathed. "Captain you wanted to see me," She knocked on his doorframe and was motioned in. Cragen rose and shut the door behind her and then sat down in the chair behind his desk again.

"Have a seat Olivia," Cragen's voice was low, not careful but still comforting somehow.

She did as he ordered, Cragen didn't tell you to sit unless he was serious about something, at least he wasn't going to stand over her. She didn't think she could live with herself if she started to cringe around the captain. "George and I think one of the cobblers at a shop in Chelsea could be our guy. We've got all the employees information, like we were canvasing."

"Good, maybe we'll catch a break," Cragen took out a familiar yellow pad and his pen. "You know that Fin was in here giving a statement about last night. You were in the car when Huang called me."

"Yes," Liv nodded and her fingers began to play nervously with her ring. "I knew he'd have to tell you everything sir. Just… wish it wasn't necessary."

"All three of you have made it necessary," The captain frowned at her. "You by concealing your attack, Elliot by nearly assaulting you and Fin with drawing down on Elliot. I would have liked to have avoided this."

"I'm sorry captain," Liv could at least apologize for her part in the debacle. "I just…I didn't want to be a victim." She shook her head, "If you, or any of the others…looked at me like they do the other women… that pity in your eyes. I wouldn't have been able to function."

"Olivia Benson that has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say," Cragen was openly scowling now. "If you think any of us would pity you, would treat you like you were fragile? Or worse, as if we were disappointed?"

"Why wouldn't you be?" Olivia shook her head a little bitterly, "My own partner told me he needed me to do my job and not wait for him to come to my rescue. And that's just what Fin had to do in that basement. I fought the bastard off twice before he got me but he still had me handcuffed to that door, screaming bloody murder for help, just like every other victim."

"When did Stabler say that to you," Cragen stared at her. "And why haven't you ever mentioned it?"

"It was when I got stabbed by Gitano," Olivia shrugged. "I came to you afterwards and told you I needed a new partner."

Cragen sighed and shook his head, "Elliot is…spectacularly blind about certain things. You're one of them, his wife and kids are the other." He tapped his pen on the pad of paper and looked at her thoughtfully, "He's the biggest reason you didn't tell any of us. Why you've been trying to deal with this mostly on your own. Because if Elliot saw you as a victim, his partner, then how could we see you any other way?"

Olivia was forced to nod, Cragen was damn close to what she'd been thinking then, "He's always…maybe I made a mistake, telling him about my mother but I don't have war stories, I wasn't in the military like you guys. I don't have the battle scars."

"No, instead you had to do it all yourself," Cragen's dark eyes were still worried. "How are you doing now?"

"I'm all right when I'm on the job, strangely enough," Liv admitted. "Somebody grabbed my ass and I just shrugged it off. Its mostly just when Elliot grabs me, like he does one of his kids, those hands that just…won't let go, sometimes I flash back." She shuddered slightly, "I tell him to let go but he hasn't been listening well lately."

"He'll listen to me," The captain said firmly. "Or he'll have bigger problems." He tapped his pen again, "Now let's hear what happened last night."

"I hate this is taking your time away from the case but yeah," Olivia nodded and began to give Cragen the events of the evening from her point of view. Now and then Cragen would ask something to clarify or prompt her for more detail but with a cop's memory it wasn't hard to bring back the conversation.

"I'm just curious about one thing," Cragen finished writing. "Why'd you even bother to let him in? You could have left him out in the hallway."

"I figured he'd just make a scene here and I knew you wanted Fin's and my relationship out of the squad room," Liv shrugged. "It made sense to let him shout at me there. At least then he wouldn't be yelling about our personal business at work."

"I take your point but I'd almost rather have had it happen here rather than have your fiancé point a gun at another cop," Captain Cragen sighed. "Elliot's supposed to be in tomorrow if Kathy can't get off work early, otherwise we should see him in a few hours."

"Won't that be fun," Liv sighed. "George and I are going to start digging into the employees of the specialty shoe shop. I'm betting the three of them already got started."

"Well then get back to it," Cragen looked at her, "How are things going with the baby? Feeling all right besides the morning sickness?"

"Tired still," Olivia admitted as she stood up. "But no more dizzy spells. Just morning sickness these days that can become afternoon or evening sickness," She shrugged. "It mostly seems to be smells that set me off."

"I told Fin I'd rather have your riding a desk here than transfer out when you need to stop being on your feet so much," The half smile that quirked the captains lips was teasing. "You've got a knack for herding cats Olivia, when you were on desk duty a few weeks back that was the smoothest we've had the paperwork go in a while. And you connected dots that the guys were able to use on the street. I don't want to lose you to computer crimes for months at a time when I can use you here."

"Just didn't want to make things hard for anyone sir," Liv shrugged. "Thought if I transferred out it might ease some of the tension."

"Fin and Elliot are always going to have tension between them, Fin's a Ranger and Elliot's a Marine. The mindset is completely different," Cragen offered her his hand and was surprised when Liv took it and gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks Cap'n," She muttered, almost embarrassed. "I really didn't want to transfer out."

"I wouldn't put the paperwork through even if you did," He told her with a little half smirk. "Now go on, get to work. And I wouldn't mind a piece of that expensive chocolate your fiancé got you. I can be bribed with more than just coffee you know."

"Chocolate is mine," Liv chuckled. "Since I can't have coffee," She shook her head, conscious of Cragen following her out to look at the board.

They were all deep into the task of cross referencing the employee information with the evidence files when Liv had to excuse herself. Cragen had long since gone back to his office to try and sweet talk a DA or two into getting them warrants for the shop and access to the owner's financial information. Unfortunately Liv was finding that a box of chocolate on her desk smelled wonderful, until a witness's perfume clashed with it.

When Elliot deigned to make an appearance they had just narrowed down their suspect list and Liv was returning from her third bout of afternoon sickness. Fin was talking with Huang at the board, the two men were having a lively debate, one suspect versus another, currently Huang was not winning which meant Fin had considerable weight on his side of the argument.

Liv sighed and stowed her little bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash in her desk and joined them, "I hate to say it but I'm with George on this one. The woman is seriously disturbed."

"How often have we had a female perp for this type a crime?" Fin returned as Elliot walked into the squadroom. Olivia took met her partners eyes and nodded, that was all the acknowledgement Elliot would get from her at the moment.

"I can count the times on both hands but the way they were arranged, and...honestly, fairytales are more the realm of little girls than boys," Olivia retorted. "I can't picture a man dressing these children in the height of fashion."

"Gay guy could," Fin shrugged. "I met guys who knew more about a peplum or silk sleeve than you Liv."

"We've got two equally viable suspects," Huang broke into the debate again. "I don't think we could rule out a two person team, one more dominant than the other."

"That's a fun thought," Olivia shook her head, keeping an eye on Elliot who'd simply picked up a file and began to study it.

"The evidence supports it," George Huang began to point out the different possibilities and why a serial killer and rapist would want a partner to subjugate. Elliot had folded his arms and was listening, his posture making clear that he wanted to make an argument eventually when John came out of the captain's office.

"Elliot, Cragen wants you in his office, now," Munch told the other detective. "Guys we have permission to look into the financials. The owner caved to the weight the law."

"Yes," Olivia felt like crowing. "That's a start anyway."

"No Liv, we have the owner, his bank statements and the financial information for the shop as well," Munch elaborated with a half-smile. "So our eyes might bleed but we also might just catch this son of a bitch."

"We'll deal with crying blood later," Fin declared. "Meantime, Doc what do you suggest we look for? Doubt the kids were held under the shop, too many people might see 'em."

"Well Captain Cragen did say whoever does this has property," Huang mused leaning against Olivia's desk as she sat down and grabbed a file. His hand crept towards the box of chocolate only to be smacked with a pen. "Forensically was there anything out of the ordinary? Unusual minerals? Lead, chalk? Anything on the clothes?"

"Their hair was freshly washed and conditioned, completely clean but they were spritzed with perfume," Liv read that detail with a frown. "Warner said the girl still smelled like Chanel number five. The boy smelled like sandalwood."

"So someone with expensive tastes," Huang frowned thoughtfully. "We won't find this person shopping for themselves on Park Avenue," He added making a few notes. "This is someone who feels they were wrongfully deprived as a child of all the things he or she is giving these children in death. He or she identifies with the child, most likely was abused himself, and now finds children upon whom he or she can prey before killing them and giving them everything he or she was never given."

"Twisted fairy tale," Olivia shuddered slightly and shook her head. "Part of me wonders if the reason the twins were taken was because if there are two, if they are partners, it meant one for each of them. So far, our victims alternated between genders."

"Like kids, sharing, my turn, then your turn," John realized. "So who was first?"

"First victim was Cinderella," Fin didn't even have to consult his notes. "So what's that mean Doc? Our perp, or the dominant one at least if there are two, is a man?"

"It'll depend upon how he identifies himself sexually," Huang frowned. "Technically it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl; it's about the age group, youth, innocence. So far all of these children have been well taken care of; none of them have been street kids or underprivileged."

Olivia glanced over at the fax machine and frowned, out of paper again, "Guys who knows how long this things been flashing. If it runs out of paper it just stores everything, we could have a hundred things on here." She rolled her eyes as John groaned at the thought of more paperwork and shoved a ream of paper into the machine. The minute she put the paper in the fax machine began printing page after page.

Sitting back down at her desk she was deep in a file when she heard an odd sound coming from the machine, "Oh good lord." Olivia muttered in irritation, "I'm as bad as they are." Having forgotten to pull out the paper catcher meant to keep printed pages on the machine, the moment the incoming faxes exceeded a quarter of an inch in height they began cascading all over the floor.

George Huang echoed her groan while the other two detectives didn't seem to notice the problem until Olivia's muttered curse caught their attention. "At least with the page numbers and heading formats we'll be able to match the faxes up properly," George was trying to be upbeat but the process would be a bit tedious.

"Hand 'em over, we'll split 'em up and match as much as we can," Fin suggested.

"Really one person should handle the pile otherwise we could all end up with different pieces of the puzzle," Munch shook his head. "I'm almost done with this stuff, hand it off to me George. I'll start on the faxes next."

Author's Note: So not a lot of action but next chapter we'll see a break in the case I think. I hope you guys are finding this interesting, its my first murder.

I know that Warner didn't sound as professional as she does on the show, but we rarely see her talk about anything personal so I wanted her to sound more relaxed in the last chapter. Apparently I went too far in the other direction. Still trying to figure out how Fin and Liv will deal with telling people they got married. Right now I'm leaning towards not mentioning it since most of the people they know from work have been kept in ignorance but we'll see. After all Kathy threatened Liv with a baby shower and that will spill the beans on the baby daddy's identity.