Sideways

by K. Walsh

'Sideways' is the sequel to a story I wrote called 'Scent'. While you don't need to have read 'Scent' in order to enjoy 'Sideways' it will clear up a lot of confusion you may have and explain the short blonde running around.

4. Chapter 4

FYI: If you are interested in knowing if the baby storyline carried over from last weeks eps. of SUV to this weeks keep reading this message.

The baby is never talked about in the eps. Now on with my story...

Chapter Four: Communication

One Police Plaza

Computer Crimes

Saturday August 15th, 12:15

Jess was uncovering more of the hidden files while Morales was checking the child pornography website. There was a new video of Evan Winthrop and another young boy, who they had already identified as Jacob Martinez. There was no reason for Morales to tell Jess about the video. He would tell Stabler and Benson once they had arrived.

The teenager had hit her rhythm again when it came to hacking into the files on Blaze's computer. A message at the bottom of the screen stopped her instantly. She opened it. "Who is this?" Jess stared blankly at it for a moment. "Uhhh, Morales can you come and take a look at this?"

Morales looked up but Jess was not looking at him, only at the screen of the monitor. He stood up and walked over beside her. "Where did that come from?"

Jess shook her head. "Someone who can IM this computer; I guess there is an IM program running in the background of this computer. What do you want me to do?"

Stabler and Benson rolled through the door. "About what?" was Elliot's first response.

The blonde looked up over the top of the monitor at the detectives. "I just got an I.M. from someone. They want to know who I am."

Benson had spent some time in Computer Crimes herself. She completely understood what Jess had just said. Stabler on the other hand, had spent no time in Computer Crimes. Elliot furrowed his brow. "What is an I.M.?"

"It's an Instant Message. Dick and I I.M. on our computers all the time, you can send one another messages over the Internet. Someone sent this I.P. address a message. What do you want me to say?"

Elliot and Olivia walked around Morales and stood behind Jess. They took in the message. It was simple, in a dialog box. "Who is this?" Three simple words.

Olivia looked hard at the screen. "That has to be from Markus Pharaoh. I mean who else would Blaze be conversing with on his computer? Chances are he figured out Blaze is missing, since he did not show up to work today. Pharaoh must be able to see that someone is using Blaze's I.P. address. The computers must be networked through WI-FI. Can I use the computer?"

Jess looked up, craning her neck up and her head back to see Olivia, who was standing directly behind her. "Yeah sure." The blonde stood up and Olivia took her seat. She put her hands on the keyboard and started to type in the dialog box. "A friend of Ronald Blaze's" and she hit the enter key. The detective took her hands off the keyboard and the four individuals waited in silence. It did not take long, "Where is Ronald Blaze? Who are you?" showed up in the message box.

Olivia looked up at her partner. Elliot met her gaze, raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Jess took that to mean he really had no idea how to proceed. Olivia's eye roll confirmed that. The teenager looked at the screen, avoiding eye contact with Olivia. "Tell him the police took Blaze in for questioning last night; that you were with him in the apartment when they came. Type that you took his equipment for safekeeping because you and Ronald have similar interests."

The brunette was skeptical. She glanced up at Elliot, who gave her a look back. Jess knew the look. He had no problems with what Jess was suggesting. There was only so much information Olivia wanted to give up, but what the blonde was suggesting seemed reasonable on second thought. The detective typed verbatim what the teen had said.

It took a few moments for a response. "What did the police want with Blaze?"

Olivia looked at Jess but the kid would not make eye contact. "Tell him you are not sure. The cops just said they had some questions for him and you have not heard from him since." She typed it out in the dialog box.

Impatiently, the four people stood and waited. Elliot couldn't take it. "Why would anyone do this? How can you and Dick just sit and wait for each other to type? Why don't the two of you call each other?"

Jess looked directly at him, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Olivia. "I. normally does not take this long. I think the sender is thinking a lot about what they are going to type before they actually put their fingers on the keyboard. Normally, it is a lot faster and there are short forms for almost anything you would want to say."

The dialog box flashed with a response. "What similar interests do you and Blaze share?" Silence filled the room for a minute. Olivia looked up at Jess. "Well?"

There were many thoughts going through Jess's mind. There was an opportunity here if they played their cards right. It was hard for the young woman to gauge if the detectives would let her see her thought process through to the end. It was worth a shot though. Whether Morales knew it or not Jess had seen the new video on the website this morning of Evan Winthrop and Jacob Martinez. She checked on the site several times a day to see if there were any new videos. She felt so helpless knowing that the victims were still being terrorized by their captor. "Type back that you both enjoy the website and evading authorities."

Olivia looked from Jess, who had never taken her eyes off the message box, to Elliot. Stabler's gaze went from the young woman to his partner. "Sounds good to me." Benson typed it out in the box.

A message came back almost instantly. "What website?"

Morales's eyebrows almost flew off his forehead. "You got his attention with that one."

Elliot looked at Jess. "Morales is right. Pharaoh or whoever this is has their guard down. You spooked them with the website comment."

It had been hard for Olivia not to believe in Jess the night before. The stakes of this case were high and most of the weight thus far was resting on the teenager's shoulders. It would have been devastating to have Jess break last night, but better last night than farther down the line in the case when there was nobody but the young woman to go to. Jess had proven herself the night before in the eyes of everyone in the squad, including Olivia. She looked up at Jess. "All right kid, the ball is in your court. What's our next move."

Jess looked from Elliot to Olivia. The kid did not smile; her eyes did not light up at the vote of confidence. She stuck her tongue ring between her front top and bottom teeth and looked expressionless at Olivia. Jess sucked in some air, put her tongue back in her mouth and spoke. "Type this but don't send it yet: 'I'm a big fan, Markus. That Winthrop boy is beautiful. The new video this morning is great. It is pretty easy to mess with the site without Ronald around though'."

Olivia typed while Jess moved beside her and grabbed her laptop. The young woman pulled up a chair and sat beside Olivia. She maximized two of the programs at the bottom of the screen and the child pornography website came up and a DOS looking box came up over top of some of the website. Jess typed some words, numbers, back slashes and letters, hitting enter every once in awhile. Elliot looked at the young woman. "What are you doing?"

It took Jess a minute but she finally answered him. "Watch where the new video is on the website." Thirty seconds later the still frame advertising the video and the link to it was gone.

Stabler walked over behind Jess. "Where did the video go?"

Jess turned in the chair. "I took it away and I'll put it back in a minute." The blonde turned her gaze to the brunette beside her. "Send the message."

The detective sent the message and then looked at the young woman sitting beside her. "Kid, when are you going to fill us in on the plan?"

The time had come to fish or cut bait. Jess could not hold out any longer, the detectives would either believe in her or they wouldn't. She cleared her throat. "It is going to take Pharaoh a second to realize whoever is typing to him knows more than they should. It is going to take him a second and a half to check the website and even less time to see the video is gone. Pharaoh is smart; he will know that whoever is typing to him took the video away. I surmise he'll ask for them to put it back up. I will and he will ask who I am. We will tell him that who I am is not as important as what I can do for him until the cops let Ronald go. He may or may not buy this, but I will bet the farm we can parlay this I. into a meet and greet. Plus, with what I found on Blaze's hard drive I am pretty sure you will be able to charge him."

Elliot looked at Jess. "What did you find on the hard drive?"

Jess turned her attention to Elliot. "Backed-up files of java script, starting from when the website was not even up and running yet right up until two days ago. Blaze probably starting scripting the website from home. Once Pharaoh acquired a location I guess Blaze starting working there. He must bring the external hard drive to work with him and back-up his script every couple of days."

Olivia shook her head. "What kind of an idiot backs up something like this?"

Morales shrugged. "The kind that likes to look at their own work and never thinks they will get caught."

The message box flashed with a new message. "Put the video back up."

Jess let out a breath, shook her head.

Stabler looked from the screen to Jess. "How did you know?"

The young woman looked from the message to Elliot. "It's what I would have said if the roles where reversed."

Benson looked from Elliot to Jess. "How many files have you uncovered?"

Jess looked from one detective to the other and shrugged. "Maybe half, it is hard to tell how many files there are total given how well they are encrypted. I can print out what I have and meet Ally at the courthouse with them if you think it will be enough for an arrest warrant." The blonde turned her attention to her laptop and maneuvered her fingers over the keyboard, typing in the DOS window. The still frame and the link for the video re-appeared, completely intact.

The message box flashed again. "Who are you?"

A half smile appeared on Olivia's face as she read the message; her pseudo daughter was very good at reading a situation and deducing the outcome. The detective typed what Jess had suggested earlier about it not mattering who 'I' was but rather what 'I' could do for Pharaoh in the absence of Ronald. She turned her attention back to Jess. "We should wait until we have all the files, or at least enough of them to tie in the video of Evan Winthrop from yesterday to Blaze. It is imperative to the case that we have evidence of Blaze's knowledge of all the victims before we arrest him. It's twelve forty-five now, we have to cut Blaze loose at seven-thirty tonight. Be at the squad no later than six tonight to present what you have. We'll set up a meeting with the A.D.A."

The messaging continued between Benson and the person on the other end of the box. It was determined if Ronald was not back at work on Monday morning that 'I' would be contacted to discuss matter's further.

Elliot and Olivia left Computer Crimes around one o'clock and headed back to the squad. Jess continued her decryption of Ronald Blaze's files while Morales printed off what Jess had already uncovered and signed off on it.

Manhattan's SVU Squad Room

Saturday August 15th, 17:56

Morales and Jess walked through the door of the squad room. The two had matching laptop bags strung across their bodies. Everyone in the room looked up as they entered and Cragen came out of his office. Morales was surprised at Jess's confidence as she strode up to Stabler and Benson's desks. He had known both detectives for quite some time and even he was slightly intimidated by the aura in the room. The young blonde unzipped a pocket on the laptop bag, pulled out a thick file and handed it to Olivia. "It is all there, up to and including yesterday's post of Evan Winthrop."

As Olivia took the file the weight of it surprised the detective. She set it on her desk and opened it. Jess stepped away and stood beside Morales as the detectives, their Captain and the A.D.A. looked through the file. It was ultimately Alex's decision on whether or not there was enough evidence to charge Ronald Blaze with something, but the detectives desperately wanted to see the file. It took a good fifteen minutes, and Alex having to fight off the detectives in order to read most of the important evidence in the file but she made a decision. Alex looked up at Elliot and Olivia. "I have Judge Petrovsky waiting at the courthouse." She gathered the contents of the file that were strewn across Olivia's desk. "I will do my best to see her on an arrest warrant for Ronald Blaze. I will call you once I know if we can charge Blaze."

Cragen looked at Alex. "You have a Judge waiting at the courthouse for you on a Saturday, after hours in August?"

Alex gave a half smile to the Captain. "I called in one of my last favors around there. Now that I am back working for this squad I have very few favors left."

With that Alex stuffed the evidence back into the file, turned and left. Morales and Jess said good-bye to each other and he left the squad room. Cragen went back into his office. Olivia looked at Fin and Munch. "You guys should take off, we can handle this."

Fin looked at Olivia. "You sure?"

Benson nodded.

Munch looked at her. "You don't have to tell me twice."

The partners were out the door of the one-six in less than two minutes.

Jess walked over to her old desk, put her laptop bag on the desk and sat down in her old chair. She looked over at Elliot. "Hey, old man, my homemade pizza against whatever you want. Tomorrow night, your estate…what do you say?"

Elliot sat down in his own chair and smiled at Jess. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

This garnered a smile from the teen. "To kick your ass, yes…I believe I would like that."

Stabler pointed at Jess but looked at his partner. "You know she gets that cockiness from you."

Olivia sat down, a half-smile playing across her face as she looked across the desk at her partner. "No she gets that cockiness from perpetually kicking your ass." The detective's gaze fell on Jess. "No cook off tomorrow night, its family day tomorrow and that includes dinner."

In the three months Jess had spent with Olivia and Alex there had never been an official family day. Her assumption was that the cook-off nights were family time, everyone she had grown to love in one place. The blonde turned to Olivia. "The Stablers are family."

Elliot had a feeling tomorrow might be the last day Jess would be spending with his partner and her girlfriend together, as a family. While he was touched that the teenager considered him and his family as part of her own he knew she needed to be with Olivia and Alex tomorrow. Elliot leaned back in his chair and smiled at the blonde. "Jess, you know that we love you very much, but Liv and Alex want to see you too."

Jess smiled back as she pleaded her case. "Awww…look at you. Making up excuses. Livie and Ally will be there, they can see me."

The partners exchanged looks as their smiles faded. Elliot broke away first and looked at the young woman. "Tomorrow isn't going to work. Next week sometime, I promise. Let me think about what I am going to dazzle you with before I commit to a date."

She stared back at Elliot with questioning eyes, her smile gone as well. "Okay", was all she could get out. Whatever Olivia and Alex had talked about yesterday, Jess was positive Olivia and Elliot had discussed today.

60 Centre Street

Supreme Court

Chambers of Judge Lena Petrovsky

Saturday August 15th, 18:32

Alex ran from the cab up the steps of the courthouse and up to Judge Petrovsky's chamber's door. She knock, the Judge opened the door and looked at her hard. "This had better be good, Alexandra."

She nodded. "I would not have asked otherwise."

The Judge stepped aside, allowing Alex to enter the room. Petrovsky closed the door behind Alex, turned and walked across the room and behind her desk. The blonde looked at the woman across the desk and set the file Jess had given her on the Judge's desk. "Judge Petrovsky you are aware that SVU is trying to shut down a child pornography website."

The Judge nodded. "I am."

The A.D.A. opened the file. "The detectives at SVU have been working with two techs at One Police Plaza in the Computer Crimes division. As you know a search warrant was executed yesterday on Ronald Blaze. It was suspected that he was the proprietor or the second in command of the website. Upon seizure of Blaze's computer equipment the techs went through all of the hard drives. They came up with this." Alex pushed the file across the Judge's desk.

Petrovsky looked at Alex skeptically as she took the file and opened it. The Judge sat down and was silent for a few minutes as she processed the contents. She finally looked up at Alex. "Am I reading this correctly? Evan Winthrop is a victim of this website?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes, your Honor. He is the latest victim."

The Judge leaned forward in her chair and looked up at Alex. "Alexandra, this is not a small favor. You know who the Winthrop's are. This case is going to be under the microscope. You come to me on a Saturday evening asking for a favor and you hand me this?"

Alex sat down in one of the two chairs on her side of the Judge's desk, an air of desperation in her voice. "I would not have asked if I did not have case. Time is of the essence here, your honor. There are six little boys who are being tortured. This is the first step in bringing them home. I need to arrest Ronald Blaze for his part in this. We need to do this now or release him by 7:30PM tonight. My hope is that I can make a deal with him for the location of the victims and the proprietor of the site itself."

Petrovsky sat back in her chair. "Don't beg, Alexandra it is unbecoming. Let's get down to brass tacks. What do you want to charge Ronald Blaze with?"

Alex eased slightly but adrenalin stopped her from easing back in the chair she was perched on the edge of. "I want to charge him with the entire gambit, six counts of kidnapping and forcible confinement. Six counts child sexual abuse in the first degree. Six counts of physiological abuse of a child in the first degree as well as solicitation, production and distribution of child pornography in the first degree."

The Judge rolled her eyes and shook her head. "A.D.A. Cabot you are not going to sell that here. You do not have the evidence to support those charges and you know it. I'll sign an arrest warrant for the production and distribution of child pornography. From what the techs uncovered those are the charges that the evidence supports. There is no evidence Ronald Blaze abducted these boys or that he is the one abusing them in the videos. Find that evidence and I will amend the arrest warrant."

Petrovsky signed the warrant and handed it to Alex. "Thank you, Judge."

The Judge nodded. "Alexandra, do not let your ego cloud your judgment on this case. You are very good at what you do but there are six little boys' lives a stake here. Once it gets out the Evan Winthrop is one of them your case is going to be blown wide open. You had better make your deal with Ronald Blaze sooner rather than later."

Alex nodded. "I will. Thank you, Judge."

Manhattan's SVU Squad Room

Saturday August 15th, 18:50

The phone on Olivia's desk rang, interrupting a discussion between herself, her partner and Jess about whether or not Olivia should teach Jess how to fire a gun. The detective answered it. She listened, said okay and hung up. Elliot and Jess looked at her. Olivia looked at Elliot. "Cragen's office."

Jess held up her hands. "Wait. I do all the work and don't get an invite?"

Olivia sighed. She did have a point. The detective gave a half smile. "Fine, no talking."

A grin formed on Jess's face as she got up and walked with Elliot and Olivia over to Cragen's office.

The Captain looked up as two of his detectives and the pint-sized computer tech walked into his office. Normally he would not be candid in front of Jess. However, she was shaping up to be an integral part of the case the squad was working and had proven herself worthy over the last day and a half to be in the room when this discussion was happening. "What's up?"

Olivia looked at Cragen. "Alex called. She got the Judge to sign an arrest warrant for Ronald Blaze. She's on her way back up here with it."

Cragen sat back in his chair. "What are the charges?"

Benson looked from her boss, to her partner then to the child she thought of as her daughter. "Production and distribution of child pornography."

Elliot squinted his eyes. "That's it? What about child sexual abuse, kidnapping and forcible confinement?"

Olivia shook her head. "According to the Judge there is not enough evidence to support those charges. The evidence Jess found on the hard drive was only enough to prove Blaze's involvement with the website itself, not the victims."

Cragen sighed. "We have to make a deal with Blaze. Talk to Alex about how low she is willing to go on the production and distribution charges. Our focus needs to be our six victims. Ronald Blaze knows where they are and it's up to us to get it out of him."

Stabler and Benson nodded at their Captain. Olivia cocked her head to the right slightly. "There is one more thing, Cap. When Jess was going through Blaze's computer an instant message came up asking who she was."

The Captain looked from his detective to the computer tech. "Did you answer the message?"

Jess stood slightly straighter as she was addressed for the first time in the meeting. "Yes."

Captain Cragen nodded to the short blonde and she continued to explain the messages that went back and forth. Cragen had moved to the edge of his seat by the time Jess had finished. "Okay, now we know that Blaze will not be back to work on Monday so at some point whoever instant messaged his computer today will do it again on Monday. Our hope is that they will ask for a meet and greet and we'll oblige them?"

Jess nodded. "It is one way to get to Pharaoh without compromising the case against Ronald Blaze."

Cragen was impressed. Jess had demonstrated foresight and a crystal clear understanding of how to work a case to his squad's advantage. He sat back in his chair as a half-smile appeared on his face. "Nice work, Jess. I want you, Benson and Stabler to discuss this with Alex when she arrives. If she agrees we pray it is in fact Pharaoh on the other end of those messages and that he does contact us on Monday."

The teenager gave a half-smile and nodded. The Captain continued to look at Jess. "You called the interrogation right last night, too. That did not go unnoticed by this squad."

Jess could not stop herself; the smile got wider on her face. "Thanks, Captain."

Cragen dismissed the three individuals in his office and they left. Roughly ten minutes later he left for the night, leaving Benson, Stabler and Jess to wait for Alex. It was not long before the A.D.A. arrived, warrant in hand. The topic of stalling a deal with Blaze until after Monday was discussed.

Alex looked at the three people before her. "You really think it is Pharaoh behind the instant messages?"

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other, then back at Alex and nodded. Jess was not part of the partnership; she watched in awe of it, usually deduced what was being conveyed without speaking, but was not part of it. Alex looked down at the younger blonde and nodded toward her. "What do you think?"

Jess looked up at Alex. "It's Pharaoh that was instant messaging us today. He cannot produce the videos and protect the website himself. I would surmise Pharaoh is the man in all the videos with our victims. He is not going to give up that pleasure to maintain the website. He needs someone to help him. It was demonstrated to him today that whoever was I. with him could help him." Jess shrugged. "Hopefully he will take the bait."

Alex looked hard at Jess. "Are you willing to stake the lives of our six victims on that hope?"

Jess sucked in some air and visibly shook as she tried to swallow. Her throat had gone dry. The images of the six tiny victims played through her mind just as they had the night before and the night before that. Tears formed in her green eyes as she shook her head. "No. No I'm not." Tears fell down the young woman's cheeks. "Make the deal, Ally."

The three adults in the room were silent as they watched the teenage break. It was hard for them to stomach and shocking to each of them that it had been Alex, not Olivia that had broken Jess. Alex felt physically ill as she watched the child she loved so dearly weep by her hand. It was the first time she had ever hurt Jess and it nearly killed her. Olivia could not stand it any longer. "Alex, don't make the deal. You know the chances of Blaze giving up anything or anyone is slim to nil. Hold off until Monday."

Alex heard Olivia but could not tear her eyes away from the now tear-stained deep green ones staring back at her. "Ally, please, please make the deal."

Elliot ran his hand over his face and crossed his arms. "Alex, I agree with Liv. Blaze is not going to give Pharaoh or anything else up. Don't make the deal; don't even offer it. Blaze is smart he will know we have nothing else on him and that we are desperate."

The taller blonde heard Elliot as well but did not look at him. Jess mouthed the word 'Please' and the A.D.A. finally looked away, first at the floor as she sighed and then at Olivia and Elliot. She handed arrest warrant over to them. "Arrest him, no deal. We wait until Monday afternoon. He will probably be arraigned on Monday morning, as court is down for the weekend now. I can schedule a meeting with him and his lawyer that afternoon."

Benson took the warrant. The partners walked to Interview One where Blaze was being held. Olivia busted through the door, startling Blaze making him sit straight. She slammed the warrant down on the table in front of Blaze. Elliot was right behind Olivia and picked Blaze up under the armpits. "Ronald Blaze you are under arrest for production and distribution of child pornography. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" Elliot continued the Miranda as he and Olivia took Blaze downstairs to be processed. As they walked him through the bullpen the partners noticed that Alex and Jess were both absent from the room.

Jess felt sick to her stomach. The kind of sick one feels after riding a rollercoaster. She felt completely out of her element, as if she had sea legs. The young woman had never once thought of this case as a game, she had taken it seriously from the beginning. Jess's nightmares of the young victims had begun the first night after Morales had involved her in the case. She had neglected to tell anyone she was having them because she wanted to prove herself. In the last minute and a half, Jess and her conviction had become unraveled. Now that she had broken down there no way the detectives or the A.D.A. in her life would ever let her back on a case. She looked helplessly up at the older blonde.

Alex looked down at Jess with a helpless look in her eyes. The taller blonde was devastated. "Jessie, sweetheart I am so sorry. I really did not want it to turn out this way."

She looked up at Alex, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks. "Than make the deal. Ally please, I'm begging you to make the deal."

As the child pleaded, Alex took the younger blonde in her arms to sooth her. "Shhhh, it's okay. It's okay. This is not your fault. This decision was never yours to make. It was mine and mine alone." Alex let go of Jess just enough to look her in the eyes. "Let's go to the locker room and talk about this."

Jess took the A.D.A.'s hand in hers and they walked down a hall and into the locker room of the one-six. Alex let go of Jess's hand, closed the door behind them and turned to the young woman. "I understand you are upset. This case is a particularly disturbing one. Cases involving children are very difficult to deal with. Jess you are still a child yourself…"

The younger blonde squinted her eyes at Alex. "This had nothing to do with how old I am. Those little boys are innocent victims." Jess's voice became erratic as she spoke through clenched teeth. "You have the power to stop their torment and you won't! What is wrong with you?"

It was not easy being an A.D.A. You ended up making a lot of unpopular and difficult decision for many different reasons. Having to make these decisions when it came to Special Victims cases was even more strenuous. In fact, it was downright grim for the most part. Alex had struggled with it from day one all those years ago when she first became SVU's A.D.A. It had not become any easier. The blonde sighed. "Jessie, I know it seems that way, but it really isn't. The likelihood of Ronald Blaze giving us anything at this point is very small. It is not worth risking him finding out we have a weak case against him."

Jess's brow raised in shock. "Weak case?! I gave you everything you need on Blaze. I worked my ass off to get those encrypted files!"

Alex held her hands up to Jess. "Whoa, Jess, this case is not weak because of you or your work. What you gave us IS the case, it is all we have. If it was not for you Blaze would be walking out of this precinct tonight a free man. It is now up to the detectives in this squad to get the rest of the evidence to charge Blaze with further crimes."

The teenager's expression changed. She no longer felt as though she was being attacked. Alex stepped closer to her and Jess put her arms around the older blonde. Alex held the child tightly in her arms "Jess, there is a hierarchy to this type of work. Once you have been involved long enough you will grow to understand it. Not every choice is up to you, or me or the detectives. It is a group effort and for the most part who makes decisions at certain points in a case is clearly defined. I asked for your input as well as Liv's and Elliot's but it was only to take under advisement. It is up to me what a suspect is charged with and if a deal will be offered. In my opinion, Ronald Blaze was not going to give us anything substantial in this case. He will lawyer up and our case will look weak if we offer him a deal. His lawyer will advise him of this, as well as to not take the deal. Offering it at this time will hurt me later on when I prosecute him. Right now we have a better chance with a possible meeting with Markus Pharaoh himself on Monday and that is what we are going with."

Jess had stopped crying as she listened to the taller woman's voice of reason. It was not that she had been unaware of the hierarchy. Rather, it was that she had temporarily forgotten about it. The young woman had become completely consumed with this case. Jess had felt pressure to single-handedly bring down the website and return the tiny victims to their families as soon as possible. She had been alright with that type of pressure. It had not been until Alex disregarded her decision that Jess felt as though this case was getting away from her. The decisions Jess had made and the train of thought she had continued with had not been easy to maintain; neither had her composure. The younger blonde sighed and felt as though a large weight had been lifted slightly off her shoulders. She sank into Alex and rested her head on the A.D.A.'s chest. "You're right, and I know it. I just felt so involved. Almost as if this whole case was on me to bring in. I know it wasn't but that is how I felt. I became obsessed with it; it is all I could think about. I just wanted to give those little boys back to their families. I just want to end it for them…"

As Jess trailed off, tears getting the better of her Alex kissed the top of her head. "I know you did, Jessie. That is what we all want. It's a team effort though; this is not all on you."

When Olivia and Elliot made their way back into the bullpen Jess was sitting at her old desk and Alex was sitting at Olivia's. Both blondes had their feet up on the desks; ankles crossed and were talking and laughing. It occurred to Elliot that Jess had become attached to Alex. He remembered a time when only his partner could have consoled the young woman in the manner she needed. It turned out Alex had her own method and it worked.

Olivia smiled at the sight of the two women she loved looking so happy. It was a drastic change from when she had left them earlier. If she was being completely honest with herself, it was a dramatic change from the last few days and it was beautiful. With no one in the room to hide from Olivia, walked right over to Alex and straddled the incredibly long legs that where stretched out. The brunette bent down, cupped the blonde's face in her hands and kissed Alex passionately. The A.D.A. ran her hands gently up the detective's back, up to her neck and found her fingers entangled in hair.

Elliot had sidled up to his own desk but had stopped short of sitting down as his attention was held by his partner and her girlfriend. It was not often that he saw them openly express this much affection towards one another. Sometimes they kissed at his house or held hands when his family and his partner's were out socially together; but almost never when they were on the clock and rarely in the bullpen. Elliot was not sure how Olivia and Alex could grow apart; they looked pretty together right now.

Jess grinned a shy smile as she watched Olivia and Alex. It was the first time in a really long time she had been in the presence of them truly being passionate with each other. She cut her eyes to Elliot. He had that stupid grin plastered on his face that Morales had on earlier that day. Jess watched Elliot intently; it made her miss Dick. The father and son looked similar, although Elliot had five o'clock shadow which Dick never got. The longer she looked at Elliot the more she realized a red hue was scalding his neck and creeping up onto his cheeks. He had gone from being enthralled to embarrassed at the sight of his partner and A.D.A. snogging, and it was cute. It made Jess realize he respected Olivia and Alex's relationship, at least enough to feel self-conscious about gawking at them. Jess looked back at the two women. "Alright, alright….get a room!"

The kiss between the pair ended only because they started to laugh at what their daughter had said. They opened their eyes and looked lovingly at each other before turning their heads and looking Jess. The grin on Jess's face got wider as her eyes met the taller blonde's and brunette's. "You're making the old man blush." Jess nodded towards Elliot.

Alex looked past Olivia at Elliot and smiled. Olivia turned just enough to make eye contact with her partner. The corners of Olivia's mouth curled up in a smirk. "Jealous?"

Elliot's eyebrows practically crawled up his forehead and off his face. He stuttered. "Uh…yeh…uh.."

The three women burst out laughing. Elliot grinned and held his hands up, palms out. "I'm going home to my beautiful wife. Have a nice weekend ladies."

Jess drove home with Olivia in her Mustang. She had left it there earlier that day, knowing she would probably be back in the evening. Alex tailed them in her BMW X5. Olivia's glaze slid from the road to Jess as she stopped at a red traffic light. "You okay?"

The young woman made eye contact with the older one. "Yeah I'm good. Are you okay?"

Olivia gave a half-smile. "Yeah, I'm good." She turned her attention back to the road as the light turned green. Jess continued to stare at Olivia, which did not go unnoticed by the brunette. After four blocks Olivia broke. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Olivia continued to stare at the road ahead of them. It was hard to know where Jess would go with a question. So much had happened over the last few days and very little had actually been sussed. "Jessie, you know you can ask me anything."

Jess cleared her throat. "Are you and Ally breaking up because of me? I will move into Ally's place. I mean I think we should move in with her."

It took every ounce of the detective's composure not to veer the car off the road. Her partner had been correct; Jess knew there were problems between her and the A.D.A. This was without a doubt the worst question that could have come out of Jess mouth. Olivia sighed and tried to gather her thoughts. "Jessie, sweetheart what is happening between Ally and I is just that, between us. Our relationship has nothing to do with you. Do you understand that?"

The teenager was skeptical. "That's not true, at least not entirely. I understand that your relationship is between the two of you. To say that I have nothing to do with it is untrue. We are a family, Livie; at least that's how I feel. I love you and Ally more than either of you will ever know. Before I came into your lives that night three months ago you and Ally were happy. Here we sit twelve weeks later and the two of you are miserable. The only thing that has changed is that you both have to deal with me. I can't be the reason…"

Before Jess could continue Olivia cut her off. "Jessie, baby, Ally and I don't 'deal' with you. We love you and both just desperately want to be in your life. I agree that what happens between Alex and I affects you but you are not the cause of any problems we have."

Tears started to well up in Jess's eyes. It was one thing to suspect that Alex and Olivia were having problems; it was another to be told it. "You are having problems! Are you breaking up?"

Olivia wheeled the Mustang into a parking space in the garage a block from her apartment while Alex fobbed her way into Olivia's building's underground parking. Since Alex's vehicle was worth considerable more money it had been decided that she should park it underground and Olivia would park in the garage down the street. After throwing the car into park, Olivia turned to Jess. "Sweetheart, we need to talk about this. This family needs to sit down and talk this out."

Jess nodded. Both women got out the car and closed the doors. Olivia walked around the back of the car and stood looking at Jess for a moment. The teen looked so young and unbelievably overwhelmed. She looked up at Olivia, her bottom lip quivered. "I want you. I love Ally, I really do. Please don't ever tell her this but I want you. I cannot live without you, Livie. Please, please don't let me go. I love Ally, but I need you. I can't lose another mother…" she burst into tears.

The brunette opened her arms and walked over to Jess. The young woman collapsed in her arms, leaning her full weight into Olivia. The detective shifted her own weight in order to hold them both up. She did not know what to say; Jess was sobbing uncontrollably. So much had just been said and it needed to be dealt with before they joined Alex upstairs. "Jess, you are not going to lose me. I am not going anywhere. You need to start believing me when I tell you this. No matter what happens in our lives I am never going to let you go. You may not believe this but I need you too. I cannot imagine my life without you, I don't ever want to."

The kid tightened her grip around Olivia. "Swear to me you won't let me go."

Olivia kissed the top of Jess's head. "I swear to you. Hell, I'll even get it tattooed on me if it will make you believe it. I am not going anywhere and neither are you." She loosened her grip and so did Jess. Olivia pushed Jess off her just enough so the women could look at each other. "Look, I know things aren't going the way I promised you they would." The detective sighed. "I work all the time and I know I said I wouldn't but I do. This leaves you either by yourself or with Alex. I really am sorry about that." Olivia shook her head. "I never feel like I am there for you. I miss you all day, every day. You have to believe me, Jessie, I think about you all the time. I never meant for it to be this way. I want to raise you."

Jess's sobbing had subsided. "I think about you, too. I miss you, Livie. Ally is great, I really love spending time with her…but she isn't you. She never will be." The young woman sighed. "Your work is important to you and is invaluable to victims. I sat in court and said I understood that; I was not lying. I knew you would not be around much, but that doesn't mean you are somehow failing me or us. I do not need you to be with me all the time to know that you love me. I know you had this Norman Rockwell painting in your head when it came to this family. Ally knows it, too. We really aren't like that and we never will be. I don't want that. I just want you." Jess looked up for a moment and then back into Olivia's dark brown eyes. "No one will ever take my mother's place in my heart. No one will ever be who she was to me. You…" Jess nodded slightly towards Olivia. "You are who she would want to be my foster mother; who I want as my foster mother. Ally follows a close second, don't get me wrong, but" Jess nodded. "It's you I want. It's always been you."

The detective smiled her trade-mark crooked smile as tears fell from her eyes. "I have waited a very long time for someone to call me their mother."

488 Amsterdam Ave

Detective Olivia Benson's Residence

Saturday August 15th, 21:30

Olivia and Jess walked through the door of the apartment and were greeted by Alex who was tossing her cell phone on the coffee table. Already on the table was a glass of white wine, a bottle of Corona and a can of Sprite. The tall blonde looked at the women as Jess closed the door behind them and looked at Alex. "What the hell happened to the two of you? One minute you are parking the car, the next minute I'm home alone without my girls."

Jess looked at the older blonde. "We need to talk."

Alex looked harder at the women, they had both been crying. She raised her right eyebrow. "Clearly, although it appears the two of you have already been talking."

It was pointless for Olivia to try and explain the last part of her and Jess's conversation. Not only was it pointless Jess had specifically asked her not to. "Jess wanted to know if we were breaking up because of her."

The teenager set her laptop bag on the floor gently and kicked off her DC shoes. Jess looked at Alex after Olivia's statement and nodded to her.

Alex realized she must have had an expression of shock on her face given Jess's nod of confirmation. She and Olivia had been so careful not to fight in front of her. How did the kid even know they were having problems? Alex shook her head. "Jessie, the relationship that Olivia and I share is very…complicated. Our issue are not about you, you have to believe me when I say that."

Olivia, who was now standing beside Alex, looked at Jess, who was still standing by the front door. "I told her that in the car. Jess, you have to believe us when we say that you are not responsible for what happens between us. Alex and I have a lot of history and sometimes a couple can't get past their history."

Jess looked from Olivia to Alex. "Do you hate each other?"

Both women closed their eyes, looked at each other, opened them and sighed. The truth was they loved each other. Although both women were speaking to Jess they never looked at her; they only looked at each other. The blonde took the brunette's hands in her own. "Not at all. I love Olivia."

Olivia squeezed Alex's hands gently. "I love Alex, too. I always have."

The teenager was so confused and torn. "Then what is the problem? Work this shit out! We're not the Brady Bunch or the Cunningham's but we are a family. It may not be conventional but it's all I have and I want it. You love each other, how hard can the rest be?"

Alex tore her eyes away from the dark brown ones of her lover to the dark green ones of the child she loved so much. "Jess, sometimes love just isn't enough."

Jess's mouth opened slightly from shock. "And sometimes love is all you have. I love you both. I think of both of you as like second mothers. I love my mother very much. She and I will always be connected by many things." Jess shook her head. "But us? We are not bound by blood, or eye or hair colour. You cannot tell me stories from when I was a child anymore than I can help explain your past. All we have is love. How can you stand there and tell me that is not enough?"

Olivia bit her bottom lip before she answered. "Jess, love will always bind us as a family. Ally and I will always be in your life. We love you very much and that will never change no matter what else happens in our lives. What has happened between Alex and I is hard to explain. It is no one's fault it just happened over time. We love each other and want to be with each other but it just got too hard."

Hearing it said out loud for the first time made Alex almost vomit. As true as the statement was it was hard to hear. It was also hard to believe. Alex looked at the shorter blonde. "Jessie, Liv is right. It all just got so hard. I do not want to lose you. I know you are going to stay here with Liv but I would like you to come and stay with me at my place whenever you want to. You are my family. I have grown to love you like my own child. I don't want you to feel differently towards me because Liv and I won't be living together anymore."

Alex had made Jess's life easier than she would ever know. Not just there that night, acknowledging Olivia's role in her life so that Jess would not have to choose; but over all Alex had been there for Jess the most over the last three months. That was something Jess could never repay her for and it was something the teen was going to miss. The shorter blonde walked toward Alex and the taller blonde met her half way. She put her arms around Jess and she did the same to Alex. "I want to see you all the time, Ally. I'll come stay with you whenever I can, I swear."

A single tear fell out of Alex's right eye and down her cheek. It was bittersweet that Jess knew how much she meant to Alex and that she knew how Jess felt about her. By Monday the blondes would be living apart for the first time since they had known each other.

The women curled up together shortly after the emotional talk in front of the television. They never turned it on; they just sat in front of it. Alex told Jess that they were going to teach Olivia how to sail in the morning. The prospect of this made Jess smile, in fact it made her laugh. The women spoke about the next day and each of them laughed out loud at one point. Eventually they retired to their bedrooms. Jess noted that Olivia and Alex went into Olivia's bedroom and slept with the door closed.