A/N: Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 12: I know that face

Nick brought Olivia what seemed like her tenth cup of coffee since that morning. They'd spent hours going over photos and video from charity events hosted by Preston Enterprises hoping to find something that led to a suspect.

"All I see here is a mountain of social events and fundraisers." Nick said with frustration. "We're not going find anything here. This is useless."

Just as he was about to unload the video, something caught Olivia's eye. "Wait." She got up and moved closer to the screen. "Who's that guy?"

She turned to the computer technician. "Can you zoom in on him?"

"No problem. There you go."

Olivia stared at the enlarged image of the face. "This guy looks familiar. I've seen him before."

"Maybe he was in one of the other photos or videos." Nick said.

"Can you… I don't know… track his face. Can you see if he was in any of the other videos of our vic?"

The technician smirked. "I can do you one even better." With a few strokes on his keyboard several images came up. "I can pull up the video footage and photos and if he's in the system, I can give you a name." He pointed to the screen proud of his work.

Olivia and Nick both moved closer. "Well I'll be damned." Nick whispered. "He's in just about every single one. Looks like Danielle had a bit of a stalker."

Olivia narrowed her eyes as she read the name. "Gregory Stanton. I know that face." Suddenly it came to her. Her eyes widened. "The nurse."

"What?"

"The nurse. Remember, the day we went to Bellevue and spoke with Avery Livingston? He was the nurse sitting at the front desk."

"He said he was new there and didn't know Danielle." Nick said recalling the brief interaction. "Sure looks like he knew her to me."

Olivia nodded. Something suddenly occurred to her as she recalled the meeting. "Not only that, but when we spoke to him, we asked to speak to Danielle Preston's supervisor. Avery said she wasn't Danielle's supervisor. Why would he automatically call Avery if he wasn't familiar with the staff?"

"You think Avery had something to do with this?" Nick asked.

Olivia shook her head. "Not the way you're thinking. I think Stanton knew both Avery and our vic. I have a friend that's a doctor over at Mercy General and she always says that the nurses know everything that goes on in a hospital especially about the doctors. As a nurse at that hospital, Stanton would have had access to Danielle and Avery's personal information including their work hours."

"I think it's time we pay our nurse here another visit."

After making a few calls, they had discovered that Greg Stanton had quit his job at the hospital the same day they were there asking questions about Danielle. They managed to find Stanton's address, but he had moved. Luckily, one of his roommates was a little bitter over a disagreement about unpaid rent and was more than happy to give up Stanton's new address to the police.

A half hour later, Olivia and Nick stood at the door of a small apartment in an old brownstone downtown. Nick knocked on the door with his fist for the fourth time, after getting no answer the first three. A few knocks later and the door finally flew open.

Olivia immediately recognized him but kept her face friendly and neutral. He was taller than she remembered and very muscular. He looked to be in his early twenties.

"Excuse me. I'm Detective Benson. This is my partner, Detective Amaro." She held up her badge. "We're looking for Gregory Stanton. This was listed as his recent address."

Nick could see the guy start to become uneasy. He nudged his foot forward, blocking the door.

"Sorry. I don't know the guy." Stanton said quickly trying to close the door only for Nick to stop him.

"See, I really think you do… Greg." Nick said.

Before either could respond, the suspect tried to slam the door again and bolted back into the apartment. Without hesitation, Olivia and Nick drew their weapons and followed suit. They moved through the apartment carefully, with Nick in front and Olivia at his shoulder covering him. Nick took a quick sweep to the left and saw Stanton heading out the back window.

"Shit! He's heading out the window!" Nick yelled and followed him out the window while Olivia headed back outside to try to cut him off.

When Olivia came through the front door, she caught a glimpse of Stanton coming around the corner. Leaping off the steps, she landed right on his back. Not realizing his strength, Olivia found herself being hurled back into a nearby car before landing hard on the pavement. She literally saw stars. The last thing she saw was Nick's face coming into view.

"Olivia! Olivia!

Alex was busily placing the remainder of her personal items in the small cardboard boxes scattered about the room. Luckily for her, she had never unpacked most of her things the last time she had been reassigned. Moving to her newer and much larger office a couple of floors up was proving to be a breeze. With Serena's help, she was nearly finished.

"So, are you excited about the new position? Becoming an EADA is a pretty big step up the political ladder." Serena asked carefully placing a framed photo of Alex and her mother in the box.

"Actually I am, but not because it's a step up politically. To be completely honest, I haven't given politics much thought in a long time."

Serena laughed. "Wow. I never thought I'd see the day when Alexandra Cabot would say those words."

"I think I just finally grew up. I was so naïve when I first started out. Nothing and no one was more important than my win/loss ratio. I really was an insufferable ass." Alex laughed.

"You have changed a lot over the years, but I think we all have. We were all babies when we started in the DA's office. I always knew that I wasn't cut out for it, but you are. You really seem at home here."

Alex thought for a moment and nodded. "I'm a prosecutor. We both know I could do other things, but being a prosecutor is where I feel most at home. The only time I didn't feel that way was when I was Bureau Chief. I never felt like I had really earned that position so I never really committed to it."

"What about now?"

Alex gave a firm nod. "I'm ready. When Branch made me Bureau Chief, deep down I knew it was just because I was back from Witsec and it looked good for the office. This time around, I know Jack believes I'm the best person for the job."

Serena smiled genuinely happy for her friend. "In my opinion, you should have had this job a while ago, but I guess the timing had to be right."

"It did. I've learned that you can't force things to happen. They happen when their supposed to. This is the right time to move on. That's not to say that I'm not going to miss working with the Special Victims Unit like crazy. I have never met a group of detectives more dedicated than those guys. A part of me feels a little guilty about leaving.

"Why?"

"Because I know that I could still do a lot of good there if I stayed. But…a part of me is relieved to be leaving because I won't have to see that kind of devastation every single day anymore. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not, sweetie. It just makes you human like the rest of us." She rubbed her friend's arm. "Everyone knows that SVU is a difficult place to work. I honestly don't know how you lasted as long as you did."

"My time there is nothing compared to the time that Olivia has put in. She's been there over thirteen years and she still finds the strength to get up and face it another day. A part of me feels like I'm letting her down."

"What does Olivia say about all of this?"

"It's more or less a moot point. For us to be together, one of us has to leave. SVU is where she's meant to be so there was never really any question about me being the one to move on. But... when I told her about the promotion, she encouraged me to take it. She said that I had gone above and beyond for SVU over the years and no one could ever ask me for more than that. She said she was proud of me."

Serena smiled, touched by detective's words. "Smart woman."

"Wonderful woman." Alex amended.

Serena laughed. "So I guess that answers my next question. I take it things are going well between you two?"

Alex smiled dreamily. "She is… so amazing. She's incredibly smart and witty. And oh my god, she's hilarious. Because of what she does for a living, people don't get to see that side of her. We've known each other for years and even I had no idea. She's simply wonderful. Sure, we have our little hang ups and we still drive one another crazy at times but… Olivia Benson is everything I ever wanted in a partner."

Serena watched her best friend blush. "Partner huh? So we're talking 'partner' serious already."

"No… I don't know. We're still taking things slow. I just…" She took a moment to gather her words. "I know the whole courting thing might seem a little old-fashioned, but… she makes me want to do things for her, things I never even thought of doing for the people I dated in the past."

"Like?" Serena implored.

"I want to take care of her… nurture her. I want to hold her hand and just listen to her talk… about anything. I want to rub her head when she's had a hard day. I want to make her laugh just so she can hear the sound of her own laughter. I just want her to know how special she is." She frowned slightly. "She doesn't talk about it much, but I don't think the people she dated in the past did a good job of that. Sometimes I think she feels like she doesn't deserve it. I want to be the person who proves her wrong."

"Wow! I mean… Wow!" Serena said after staring at her friend. "In all the years I've known you; I have never heard you talk about anyone like this before. You got it bad, girlfriend!"

Alex suddenly blushed wishing she hadn't said so much. "Oh shut up!"

"No, No. It's a good thing. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you talking like this, Alex. It just means you're in love, sweetie." Serena grinned.

"God help me, I do love that woman." Alex sighed. "We just started dating but these last few weeks have been unbelievable. We fit so perfectly that it feels like we've been together for years."

Serena snorted. "That's because you two have been together for years. You were practically in a relationship from the start… only thing missing was the sex."

"You might have a point there." Alex laughed.

"Face it. She's the one you were always waiting for, Alex."

Alex smiled softly thinking of her beloved. "It's funny. Years ago, settling down wasn't even on my radar. My career always came first and that was it. I never met anyone who made me question that."

"And now?"

"Now… I'd put a damn ring on that woman's finger in a heartbeat if I thought it wouldn't scare her half to death."

They both laughed at the thought Olivia's reaction to a proposal.

Laughing was how Nick Amaro found them. He paused at the door for a moment not wanting to taint the obvious happiness on Alex's face. Serena turned and saw him first. Alex followed her gaze.

"Come to help me pack, Detective Amaro?" She greeted him as she glanced behind him in search of his partner. "Is your partner hiding in the hallway to get out of helping? You can tell her it won't work. I have a few heavy boxes with her name on them."

Nick swallowed before stepping into the office. "Umm… Alex…."

The smile Alex was wearing slowly fell from her face. Something in her gut was telling her that something was wrong. The color started to drain from her face as uneasiness pooled in the pit of her stomach.

"Where is Olivia, Nick?" She asked slowly.

He held his hands out and stepped closer. "First of all, Olivia is gonna be okay, but you need to come with me… to the hospital."

Suddenly, everything stopped. Alex couldn't seem to make her hands or feet to work. She just stood there for a moment unable to move.

Serena took hold of her arms and looked her in the eyes. "He said she's okay, Alex."

Alex swallowed hard and managed a slow nod. She felt Serena placing her purse and jacket into her trembling hands.

"I'll take care of all of this here. You just go. Everything will be fine. Call me if you need anything." Serena said softly.

Alex nodded mutely, unable to form words through the fear coursing through her veins. Her only thought was getting to Olivia as Nick led her out of the office.

TBC...

A/N: I won't leave you guys hanging too long. I have a long weekend coming up so there will be another post really soon. Please let me know what you think. The feedback helps. Thanks for reading!