WARNING: There is mention of suicide in this chapter, so if that's a trigger for you read at your own discretion. Captain Reynolds had yet to come out of the office since he first arrived over an hour ago, the door was closed along with the blinds. The other members of the team worked quietly on paperwork, occasionally sneaking glances at the office door.
"What do you think he's doing in there?" Carisi asked, whispering across their desks to Olivia.
"I'm not sure I want to know the answer to that." She said, cringing at the possibilities. The man was off, and incredibly forward. The way he spoke to Amanda, and the way he eyed her, even just the way he walked. Everything about him was off, and every other squad member agreed.
"When are we going to go back and speak to Madison?" Amanda asked, looking for a reason to get out of the building.
"I don't see any reason we can't leave now." Olivia said, a smile spreading across her face. She too wanted to be anywhere but here, she was afraid she would break down again at any moment in front of everyone instead of just Amanda. She stood and put her jacket on and retrieved her bag from under her desk. "We are going to go see Madison and see what else she can tell us. Come on Rollins." She flashed a confident smile and lead the way. The two walked mostly in silence to the car they would be taking.
"We're not going to the hospital, she was released this morning. There weren't any serious injuries, just allot of bruising and swelling, minor cuts, so they released her to her parents." Olivia said, focusing on the road.
"How do you already know that?" Amanda asked confused.
"I called her father this morning before I got to the office, he told me they'd be home." Once again the car was silent, both women trying to focus on the job at hand rather than how close the other was, within reaching distance.
Back at the squad room, while Fin and Carisi continued finishing paperwork, Captain Reynolds opened the office door and walked into the squad room.
"Where's Benson and Rollins?" he asked, clearly annoyed.
"They went to interview the Vic. You just missed them." Carisi answered, not looking up from his paperwork. Fin, however kept his eyes on the man he quickly decided he didn't like.
"Make sure I'm aware when they arrive back here, it looks like we're all going to have to have a nice little chat." He once again flashed that smile that made Fin want to knock his teeth in.
"Will do Cap." Carisi replied, looking up this time.
"You'll address me as Captain Reynolds and nothing else, is that clear?" he barked, showing a crack in his faux friendliness he had been trying so hard to pull over.
"Loud and clear." Carisi said, completely taken aback.
"Loud and clear, what, detective?" he said taking a step forward. Fin matched his stride and was now standing between the Captain and Carisi's desk.
"That's enough." Fin said, challenging this new comer.
"Excuse me?" Reynolds's laughed incredulously.
"I said that's enough. You may be our superior at the moment but I'll be damned if anyone is going to speak that way to anyone on this team." He said dropping his hands to his side and taking a small step forward.
"Get back to work, Detectives. Oh, and you are to clear leaving while on your shift through me, is that understood?" he replied, showing his true self now that he had been challenged.
"Noted." Was all Fin said, he saw Reynolds jaw twitch as if he wanted to make another comment but chose silence instead. Reynolds turned on his heel and went back into his office, closing the door with much more force than necessary.
"What is his problem?" Carisi's asked, now on his feet next to Fin, both men with their eyes on the Captain's office door.
"Man, I don't know but we need to figure it out." He crossed his arms over his chest and thought about who he could get ahold of to get the dirt on the new Captain.
Olivia and Amanda finally arrived at the Landry household half an hour later. Before they got out of the car, Olivia grabbed Amanda's hand.
"Thank you, you know, for this morning. I'm sorry you had to see me that way." Olivia said hesitantly, she didn't like to acknowledge her emotions, but she had to.
"Liv you held my hair back for me when I threw up because I got so freaked out. Trust me, you're fine. I'm glad we're both able to help when we needed it." She said, squeezing Olivia's hand reassuringly.
"Me too." She placed a gentle kiss on Amanda's cheek and exited the car. The two walked closer together to the front door of the apartment building and went to the apartment they were looking for.
"Mr. Landry, is it a good time to speak with Madison?" Olivia asked after he answered the door. He looked tired, he was unshaven and his eyes had dark circles around them indicating a massive lack of rest.
"Please, call me Todd. Yes she's just in her bedroom." He gestured for the women to come in and led them towards Madison's bedroom.
"Maddy?" he called out softly. Receiving no reply he knocked on the closed door. Once again there was no reply. Olivia and Amanda shared a look of concern. "She must be sleeping." He said with a tired smile, he tried to hide it but he was worried about his daughter as well.
"Todd, is your wife around?" Olivia asked, hoping to get him away from the bedroom door they were standing front of, she had a bad feeling.
"She's in the front room, I thought you wanted to speak with Maddy?"
"We do, but I'd like to speak with the two of you also at some point. Go let your wife know we need to speak with her, please." There was an insistence in her voice that Amanda recognized, Olivia did not want him to go in that bedroom. He simply nodded and went into the other room, leaving Amanda and Olivia outside of Madison's bedroom. They each took a breath and then entered the room.
"Madison?" Olivia called out loud enough that if she was in fact sleeping, she would have been woken by her voice. There was no answer. Only silence.
They approached the bed and Amanda gasp when the sight hit her. Blood was soaked through the sheets of the bed and in one hand was clutched a prescription for sleeping medication. "Oh my god." She whispered, her hand covering her mouth.
Olivia sprang into action and checked for a pulse. When she found none she ordered Amanda to call for an ambulance and went to find the girls parents. She found them sitting next to one another on the sofa waiting to be interviewed. When she approached them, Mrs. Landry let out a loud shriek.
"Why is there blood in your hands?!" she screamed. Olivia looked down and realized there was in fact blood covering her hands from when she checked Madison's body for a pulse.
"I'm so sorry, she's, she's not." She left her words hanging in the air, unable to finish her sentence. Todd Landry quickly rose from the couch and tried to push past Olivia, but she caught him. "No! You do not need to go in there and see that. Stay here with your wife Mr. Landry, she needs you right now and she's going to need you even more later. There is an ambulance on its way, it's best if you just stay here." She commanded in a voice with as much compassion as she could muster at the moment.
"They're on their way Liv." Amanda said, her heart breaking at the scene in front of her. The mother, Miranda Landry had collapsed into a screaming heap on the living room floor, while Todd Landry was sagging against Olivia, pleading with her to let him help his baby. But Madison was gone, there was no help left to give. Amanda knew this feeling, the one the parents were experiencing, all to well. Her sister Kim had attempted suicide more times than she could count, and Amanda had been the one to find her more times than not. She knew the agony this family was feeling and yet could not offer a word to help. She stood motionless in the hall way, watching as Olivia consoled the father and tried to drown out the screaming of the mother. This happened all to frequently in their line work; someone would be assaulted and later commit suicide after being unable to cope with the trauma. In this case though, the victim was thirteen years old, she was still a child, the Landry's only child. She was their baby, and now she was gone. The scene was heartbreaking, everything about it.
Soon after Amanda made the call, the medics arrived. They confirmed that Madison was in fact gone, and soon after the coroner was called. By that time there were uniformed officers on the scene and Olivia was able to leave the parents in their hands.
Both Olivia and Amanda were upset by the tragic turn of events, their day had only gotten worse. Now they were unable to get Madison's statement verbally, so they had to rely on medical reports and that of the medical examiner, it felt like they were dealing with a murder now. Madison, Maddy, was only thirteen years old and had taken her own life. The pain that girl endured, mentally and physically, throughout her time held captive must've been enormous. As they made their way back to the precinct they were once again silent, now for another reason, the hopelessness they both felt hanging heavy in the air like a thick fog. Olivia's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, the blood draining away. Amanda reached over and covered one of Olivia's hands with her own, gently coaxing her to loosen her grip. Olivia kept one hand on the wheel and in the other held Amanda's hand tightly as if it were her lifeline.
When they arrived, Olivia parked the car and got out, slamming the door behind her. She was furious. That poor innocent girl had done nothing to deserve any of this.
"God damnit!" Olivia yelled as she kicked over a trash can. She pushed her hands through her hair and gripped the sides of her head. She felt very out of control, the anger was fueled by everything that had happened in the last week. She heard footsteps coming up behind her and turned around knowing who it was.
When Amanda reached Olivia she pulled her into her arms and held her tightly. She knew how she was feeling, she herself had felt the same way. But as much as she wanted to hit something she knew Olivia needed her right now. So there they stood, arms wrapped tightly around each other, silent tears following down both of their faces. Olivia's face was rested in the crook of Amanda's neck, muffling the sobbing sounds she was making while Amanda tried her best to soothe her pain.
Suddenly Amanda's phone rang. She pulled away just enough to retrieve it from her pocket and saw Fin's name flashing on the screen.
"Hey Fin, we are downstairs, just got back." she answered the phone.
"I just wanted to prepare you guys, Captain Reynolds," he spat his name out like something with a bitter taste, "is on a bit of a war path. He's not happy that you two left without clearing it with him, and I got in his face a little while ago too so when you guys get up here just be prepared for whatever he might say."
"What the fuck else could make this day any worse? Alright we will be up in a few." She hung up and relayed the information to Olivia who, like her, wasn't in the mood to deal with someone like Reynolds.
As the two women made their way into the squad room, Amanda paused when she saw Reynolds sitting at her desk, his feet propped up as if he was at home.
"Uh, something I can help you with Captain?" she asked uneasily, not wanting to have any kind of conversation with this man, who made her skin crawl, but seeing no other option.
"First off Miss Rollins, my name is Captain Reynolds, not Captain, not Cap, it's Captain Reynolds and that is how you'll refer to me." He said, a smug smile spread across his face.
"Duly noted, and while we're at how to refer to each other, how about you call me Detective Rollins, not Miss." She countered, crossing her arms over her chest. The rest of the team were listening closely to the exchange and we're ready to jump in if needed.
"I'm your superior, I'll refer to you as I see fit. But that's not the point at the moment, the current problem is the fact that you and Detective Benson left to speak with a victim without my consent. Now, the way I see it, that's disrespect out right." He was now standing right in front of Amanda, both Fin and Carisi were on their feet and Olivia was just behind Amanda.
"It's Lieutenant Benson." Fin spat.
"What was that Tutuola?" he turned to face Fin, who was ready for anything at that moment.
"He said it's Lieutenant Benson. You seem to be really into rank considering you need to be reminded that you're a Captain each time someone addresses you, so if you'll be addressing me you'll do it the right way. It's Lieutenant Benson." Olivia said, stepping in front of Amanda as if shielding her from this man. "You may be in command at the moment, but I can assure you, you'll not be speaking to me or any of my detectives the way you seem to think is appropriate. You will treat them with respect, the respect they deserve, and if you can't manage that, I'll report your ass so fast it'll make your head spin." She took a step forward, now almost toe to toe with their new Captain. If she didn't think she would lose her job, she would've hit him right there.
"Oh really? How far do you think that will get you? You just got knocked down the ladder sweetheart, how much pull do you really think you've got now?" again, that disgustingly smug smile spread across his face, his eyes were cold and he stared straight into Olivia's, sending a chill down her spine, but she didn't back down, instead she took another step forward.
"I've got friends, sweetheart, trust me, I've still got plenty of pull when I need it." She smiled right back at him, if he wanted to be smug, well, two could play at that game.
The look on his face was a mixture of shock and pure anger. Seeing the situation escalating Fin stepped between Olivia and Reynolds. Amanda had ahold of Olivia's jacket, just in case she would need to pull her away. Carisi stood next to Fin, as if creating a wall between the women on their team and the man who looked ready to snap.
"Is your self esteem really so low that on your first day as the commanding officer you're such a dick to your entire squad and this happens? You seriously need to take a look at yourself and figure some shit out." Olivia spat at him, now being held back by Amanda. Now there was a bit of a crowd, and not surprisingly they all stood behind Fin, Carisi, Olivia, and Amanda, leaving Reynolds to fend for himself. Each person who worked in that squad room was on Olivia's side, they'd back her up on any matter.
"I'm reporting you Benson, you'll learn not to speak to a superior in that way. Each one of you is out of line, get back to work out deal with the consequences." He called out loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him, but no one moved an inch. He was being stared down by a dozen people who all wanted him gone.
It was Fin who put a stop to the confrontation by addressing his team mates. "It's time we all head home anyway, let's head out and have a good weekend and forget this idiot." He started everyone moving by gathering his own things from his desk and heading towards the door. Each member of the team followed suit except for Olivia, who stood her ground a moment longer, still staring at Reynolds who was absolutely incredulous. Finally Amanda grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the door and into the hall.
They met Fin and Carisi at the elevator doors and they all shared the same look. 'What the fuck just happened?' once they were inside the elevator and the doors closed on them, Olivia started laughing. The other three people standing near her at first looked at her like she had lost it, but soon were laughing right along with her. The week had been long and tiring, and the stress just seemed to keep coming. She was laughing because it was amazing that someone like Reynolds was chosen run SVU.
It was Friday night and the team had two days off, sure Monday would come along and Reynolds would still be there, but she planned to make those two days off stress free. She looked over at Amanda who was looking back at her with a smile as night as the sun, her eyes shining with the laughter they had all just shared and she knew her weekend would be wonderful.
They separated from Fin and Carisi and walked to their cars parked near each other the parking garage. Looking around to make sure no one could see them, Olivia rushed into Amanda and pushed her into a corner where they would be hidden and kissed her hard. She held Amanda firmly by the back of the neck and Adobe the waist, pressing her body as close as she could get it into Amanda.
When she finally pulled away for a breath, she looked deep into Amanda's eyes.
"Your place or mine?"
Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I've worked hard on this one. if you've got any suggestions, feel free to throw them at me, and please review and let me know how you liked it!-Bry
