Chapter 2
POV of Olivia Benson
When the girl sitting on the hospital bed across from me said that her name is Susan Benson-Cassidy, all I could do was stare at her. I hadn't seen my daughter since she was 2 weeks old. She'd been removed from my arms after someone had sent an unsigned letter to Social Services claiming that I was an unfit mother because my child was the result of an affair I had with my ex-partner, Elliot Stabler. But Susan was Brian Cassidy's daughter, not El's. Although I could never prove it, I've always believed Elliot's wife Kathy was the reason I lost my daughter. I had promised Elliot, Cragen, Munch, and Fin that they would get to meet my baby after I returned to the precinct. When they heard Susan was gone, they were all heartbroken. But especially Don. He knew that being a mother was my dream. When I adopted Noah Porter, I thought I would forget about the first baby I ever had. But I didn't. I've never stopped searching for Susan. Yet here was this girl claiming that she is Susan. I stared into her eyes. Strangely they're just like Brian's. If this is Susan, I might have a chance to make things right with both her and Brian. He still doesn't know I became pregnant. I didn't tell him. I stood up and walked to the bed. I sat down in front of Susan (if this is her). I'm praying with all my heart that it is her. As I stare at her, my cell phone rings. I answer it. It's Amanda Rollins, one of my detectives. She heard about the rape victim I am questioning. She wants to know if the victim can I.D. who attacked her. I ask Susan who raped her. The name she gives me sends chills down my spine.
"It was David Haden. He raped me."
I can hear Amanda calling my name on the phone but all I can do is stare at Susan. I quickly recover and tell Amanda to take Fin and find David Haden. She asks me why. I stammer that our victim had ID'd David Haden as the man who'd raped her.. I hang up quickly and tell Susan we need to do a DNA test to determine if it's true. Susan agrees. A couple hours later, the results come back. When I read "Olivia Serena Benson" under "Birth Mother", my heart stops beating in my chest. It is Susan. My little girl all grown up. I can't believe she found me. When I tell Susan that I am her mother, she is so happy. We hold each other for a long time. She smells like lavender. I kiss her hair as I try not to cry. She's trying not to cry too. I tell her she's coming home with me. She says she would love that. I tell her I love her. She says she loves me too. As we drive to my apartment, I think about how Fin is going to react when he finds out Susan is with me. We enter the quiet apartment. I ask Susan if she wants to sleep on the couch. She asks if she can sleep with me. I smile.
"Of course you can, baby. I'd love that."
We crawl into my bed about 10 minutes later. I wrap my arm around Susan and she snuggles against me. I sigh as I fall asleep. Until now, I've never known where Susan was or if she was okay. But she's right here beside me after all these years. I missed her so much but especially when I was held captive by William Lewis, a serial rapist. I've never told anyone that Susan was the reason I made it through those days with Lewis. All I could think of was that I wanted to find Susan Victoria Benson-Cassidy and now I have.