"Double Time" Sequel to "Stepping Time" (Highly recommend you read Stepping Time before starting this sequel but including a brief synopsis of where Stepping Time ended below chapter one)
The main characters of Law and Order SVU belong to Dick Wolf and NBC Universal. This is meant for entertainment, not profit.* There are several characters I have created. I hope you enjoy, and I welcome feedback.
Author's Note #1 (Especially for laurelhardy) Characters guide-Primary SVU Characters Olivia Benson, Alex Cabot Primary Original Female Characters Army Lt. Col. Erin Mathison, Attorney Angie Secondary SVU and L&O Characters Elliot Stabler, Casey Novak, Abbie Carmichael, Serena Southerlyn Secondary Original Characters Jeff Stockton, Amelia Stockton, Dylan Mathison, Petraeus (Erin's Chihuahua), Senator Rushing, TJ McCoy
(So sorry for the long delay between chapters again. I'm really trying to find more time to write. I miss having the time to do it, but am trying to do so as I can so I can wrap this story up and hopefully properly. Thank you so much for your patience and continuing to read!)
"Double Time" Chapter 42
Olivia walked from the bedroom towards the smell of fresh coffee, her eyes still adjusting to the morning light. She noticed first the coffee cup resting next to the coffee maker and then the note under it.
Morning Babe-Went for a run. Be back by 9:15 or so with breakfast. Love you!
Olivia glanced at the clock and saw that it was just before nine then she looked to her right and saw sections of the morning paper neatly stacked on the dining room table next to Erin's laptop.
#-#
"Good run?" Olivia asked as Erin stepped into the apartment.
"Pretty good. It's a bit cold out this morning," Erin said placing the bag of bagels and breakfast sandwiches on the kitchen counter and then stepping back towards the door to take her shoes off.
Olivia wrapped her arms around Erin's waist and then pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
"Morning babe," Erin smiled.
"Morning," Olivia replied softly, running her hands over the back of Erin's sweatshirt. "I missed waking up with you. But thank you for getting breakfast. I'm starving," Olivia finished with another quick kiss and smile.
"Me too," Erin said as they walked to the kitchen. "There's a pic of you and Elliot in the paper taking Grafton into custody by the way."
"What's the angle on the story?" Olivia asked as she grabbed silverware and plates for their breakfast.
"It's more of a tease for their story," Erin started, curling two fingers of each hand into quotation marks, "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer to be in tomorrow's paper."
"Oh give me a fuckin' break," Olivia grumbled. "What the hell do they think they know about Grafton?"
"Page two," Erin said as Olivia swiftly moved to the table.
"If Harding went to them, I swear," Olivia mumbled as she opened the paper.
"Harding won't give away her exclusive for free," Erin snarled. "She's probably out in LA already renegotiating her TV show contract and shopping movie rights. They would have mentioned her in the preview if they had the story from her."
"This one is going to drag on for fucking ever anyway. Forty-four murders over a 20-plus year span in multiple jurisdictions and so many remains yet to be searched for let alone found," Olivia said tersely.
"So who goes first based on what Grafton gave you and Harding?"
"Crapshoot," Olivia sighed. "Grafton has such a huge ego I don't think he Bs'd us for over six hours, but he knows the only power and control he has anymore is the information he has of his crimes. It's not like he handed us over a notebook with grid coordinates. He became a lot less detailed after victim fifteen."
"But you're done with him right?" Erin asked.
"I won't be interrogating him again. Federal charges are coming against him too. I just want the families to get some closure, have something to bury and bury properly. Then I hope somebody renders some prison justice," Olivia sighed.
"C'mere," Erin said softly pulling Olivia into an embrace and stroking a hand through her hair.
"Thanks for being here," Olivia said sincerely, kissing Erin on the cheek and then pulling back slowly from the embrace. "Let's just eat before I lose my appetite."
#-#
"So what time did you get up anyway?" Olivia queried as they ate their breakfast.
"Around six. Couldn't fall back asleep and I didn't want to wake you so I got out of bed about 6:30," Erin replied.
"I wouldn't have complained, depending on how you woke me up," Olivia grinned.
"I was quite tempted. Well actually more than tempted. I placed a few soft kisses on your back and shoulder before scooting out of bed," Erin smirked. "You've had an exhausting week though and you were sleeping so sound."
"I always sleep better when I'm with you," Olivia replied.
"I usually do too," Erin said as Olivia got up and started clearing the table.
"But?"
"Well," Erin said nervously as she grabbed their glasses from the table and walked into the kitchen. She rinsed the glasses and put them in the dishwasher and then leaned against the counter. "My official promotion ceremony has to be moved up a week or pushed back a few weeks because I have to go TDY for three weeks starting on March 11th."
Olivia stopped cleaning up and leaned against the counter opposite of Erin. She stretched a dish towel between her hands, wrapping it around her wrists and then off again.
"Afghanistan or Iraq?" she stated more than asked.
"Afghanistan again," Erin sighed. "I didn't find out for sure until Thursday evening."
"Do you want to have your promotion ceremony before you leave or when you come back?" Olivia responded without hardly any hesitation, dropping the towel on the counter and wrapping her arms loosely around Erin's waist. "I'm kind of thinking we should move it up so when you come home we can focus on our wedding."
"I'm good with that," Erin smirked and shook her head. "You amaze me Olivia Benson."
"I love you Erin," Olivia said squeezing Erin's hand as she pulled away from their embrace. "Do you want some more coffee?"
"Sure," Erin responded somewhat surprised at her lover's reaction. Olivia poured the coffees and they walked to the couch and sat down.
"So what does the Army need my woman to do over there now?" Olivia asked after taking a deep breath.
"Mainly hit a few of the major U.S. bases with a general on the DADT repeal and implementation. Train the trainers, some briefings, all that fun stuff. Like I told Abbie they want those in combat zones to be among the first to receive the training."
"Ok," Olivia nodded. "So what is the non-mainly stuff you'll be doing?"
"I'm not going out on missions Liv. I do have to spend about a week of it back at Camp Phoenix. Intelligence briefings and planning."
"Are you and the general going to have to do this DADT training stuff in Iraq too?"
"No, they have another group going over there thankfully," Erin smiled slightly and pressed a kiss to Olivia's cheek. "Maybe I need to knock on wood, but I really think any Army travel after this will not be to combat zones."
Erin slid behind Olivia on the couch and snaked her arms around her. She rested her chin on Olivia's shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry baby."
"There's really nothing to apologize for."
"I feel guilty."
Olivia laced her fingers with Erin's and tilted her head up to make eye contact. "Why do you feel guilty?" Olivia asked softly. "I don't want you feeling guilty. I want you to be focused while you're over there."
"I will be. I just…I just want this to be done with so we can get on with our plans," Erin sighed heavily.
Olivia sat up fully and turned so she was facing Erin, crossing her legs across a cushion of the couch and resting her hands on her lap.
"Why are you feeling guilty?"
"I didn't want to add more bad news to your plate. I was really worried about you and not that I could have done anything literally with your case…I just wish I could have been here this week. And I wanted to at least be here this weekend without…like I said adding more."
"Erin…I know this week wasn't easy on you either. This really was one of the toughest cases of my career, and not just because of Sonya's murder and finding her…Grafton is just pure evil. He makes my skin crawl," Olivia said forcefully. "Trust me I miss having you here. I loved coming home with you here. And there have been days where I just want to walk in the captain's office and ask to move up my leave of absence. But I tell you what, moving on from this case a year ago…it's hard for me to even imagine. All I really had…all I really let in was work. Now there's nothing more important to me then you. And I'm incredibly grateful that you are here, but even if you couldn't have been here, you're still with me."
"You're right," Erin nodded. "Without us…and our friends. I just…I just need to get my shit together," Erin scolded herself.
Olivia cupped Erin's face with her hands and spoke softly but firmly. "What I want you to do, what I need you to do is stop trying to protect me from worrying or whatever and let me in. We promised each other that we would do that."
"I know. I didn't find out for sure until I got the phone call Thursday night when Abs was over. I didn't want to tell you over the phone."
"Erin," Olivia whispered pressing a tender kiss to her lips. "Trust me I wish you didn't have to go again, but you didn't choose it and were going to make it through this too. Of course you are going to e-mail me or call me each day."
"I will because of course I need to know you're safe too."
"So you want to share a shower with me?" Olivia asked, popping up from the couch.
"Oh so I am allowed to this morning?" Erin questioned with a playful smirk.
"Definitely," Olivia said as she shed her t-shirt and tossed it over her shoulder at Erin. "What did Abbie say about you going back?"
"She said I should reinjure my leg skiing," Erin chuckled as she followed Olivia to the bathroom.
"Not a bad idea, but maybe we might just slip in the shower instead."
#-#
Erin turned the pages of the menu reading through the descriptions of the many entrees at the upscale Italian restaurant in which they were seated. Angie glanced over the top of her menu and broke the silence at the table.
"The vegetable lasagna is my favorite here, but the chicken marsala is delicious too," Angie said helpfully.
"We come here pretty often and everything I've ordered has been excellent," Alex offered as she sat her menu down on the table.
"Thanks," Erin smiled. "All looks good, just a lot to choose from." Olivia returned from the restroom and sat in the chair next to Erin across from Alex and Angie. She quickly perused the menu as the waiter approached with their drinks.
#-#
"You okay babe?" Erin asked softly as she placed a comforting hand on Olivia's leg after they placed their order.
Olivia nodded and squeezed Erin's hand, lacing their fingers. "I'm sure Sonya chose her AA sponsor based on much more than her profession…"
"You just wouldn't have thought she would have been a detective?" Alex queried.
"I don't know. She mentioned her sponsor to me several times, but never offered much up about her," Olivia said.
"Probably just protecting her anonymity," Angie added.
"That and if she would have offered that she was taking suggestions from a homicide detective I would have certainly suggested she take a few from her SVU detectives," Olivia smirked.
"You definitely would have," Alex smiled widely.
"It was a really nice service…well obviously Sonya had a lot of friends," Angie interjected.
"A lot of very funny friends. I didn't expect to be laughing so much at a memorial service," Alex grinned.
"There was quite a bit I didn't know that I guess I misjudged about Sonya," Olivia said solemnly.
"You're not the only one Liv," Alex said reassuringly. "I thought she had this quiet little life outside of work. Well, maybe not quiet, but I don't know more like a loner. And yet it was such a diverse crowd."
"I didn't even know she had such a long-term boyfriend," Olivia commented.
"But I wasn't surprised to find out he's a musician and blue collar guy," Angie said and Erin nodded in agreement.
"Yeah from how you talked about her I didn't imagine if she had someone that he'd be a corporate type," Erin said glancing at Olivia, who was gripping her napkin with her free hand. Sonya bloodied and dying on the bathroom floor played through Olivia's mind once again as well as her final words.
"She had much more to live for than I imagined," Olivia said softly. "Twenty-five years this case was part of her life…and her obsession with it as we got closer to solving it made me think when she said she got him…I don't know…that she felt it was her life's purpose…but she had so much more and did so much more."
"She undoubtedly saved lives by biting him and getting his DNA. And for her last words…it definitely was important to her. What she did led to taking him off the streets before he could kill again," Erin replied.
"I get that," Olivia sighed lightly. "She just had…hell I know this makes no sense…more than I thought."
"She touched a lot of lives. And from that service I would say she was pretty aware of that too, Liv," Alex said.
"It makes me more pissed that Grafton took her away," Olivia huffed.
"So if?" Angie started, but then opted to just take another bite of her food.
"So if what?" Olivia challenged, lifting her hand from Erin's leg and looking intently at Angie.
"Nothing Liv. I'm sorry," Angie said contritely.
"If you have something to say Angie, say it. We're all friends, right?" Olivia said harshly.
"We are and it's been a tough day for all of us and a very difficult week for you Liv," Alex said firmly.
Olivia leaned forward in her chair, sliding her plate of partially eaten food to the side. She bit her bottom lip and then exhaled deeply. Erin rubbed a comforting hand along her back. "To answer what I think you were going to ask or state Angie," Olivia said calmly, "Yes, in some sort of fucked up way it made it harder that I didn't get to that bathroom in time to have a chance to prevent it when we walked into her service and I saw all those people and then heard and learned so much more about who she truly was. But that's about me and wishing I could go back and change what happened, even though rationally I know that I, that Fin and I, did all we could do."
"Olivia, I was out of line. I just agree that there was nothing you could have done to change what Grafton did and is solely responsible for," Angie said sincerely.
"Rationally I know it is only Grafton," Olivia nodded. "And I'm sorry for snapping at you. You only were going to say what I had about already said anyway and definitely what I was feeling and thinking. This one just has been really tough."
"So how about another round of drinks?" Alex queried as she eyed the waiter approaching once more.
"And a new subject," Olivia smiled. "It's been a while since the four of us have been able to get together."
"Sounds good to me," Erin said finishing the last of the beer in front of her.
"Agreed," Angie smiled. "So Erin what's been going on with you? Any exciting news with the new job?"
Olivia and Erin looked at each other simultaneously. Erin smirked briefly, before they each broke out in laughter.