Chapter Eight – Stepping Into the Big Ring

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of planning and preparation for the upcoming conference in DC. Between travel plans, hotels, and putting together her sessions Olivia hadn't had a lot of extra time on her hands. She got to the park as often as she could, but she wasn't there anywhere near as often as she had been in the weeks prior. Ben had been understanding, though a bit disappointed. He'd tried to hide that, but Olivia was far too good at reading people. She'd noticed and had offered him a consolation. Despite her busy schedule at the moment, she still wanted to get her runs in. They'd set up a few times and places to meet in the evenings for that. A week before the conference she'd gotten pretty much everything she'd needed done. With only a few fine touches to make she'd been able to get to the park more often, and meeting with Ben kept some of her nerves about the trip down.

When she got on the bus to leave, however, her nerves were not feeling toned down. Suvi was lying at her feet, but despite the empty seat next to her she was feeling rather boxed in. It definitely wasn't helping her stay calm. She rested her head against the seat and took a deep breath. Hoping it would settle her a bit; she closed her eyes and ran over the course of the trip in her head. She would be gone four days, three of which would be for the conference. When she arrived today she would get everything set up at the hotel and venue. Someone was supposed to meet her on location once she arrived. The next two days were her main speaking times. She was scheduled to have at least two sessions each day either covering how to deal with the impact of working sex crimes or methods of speaking with children. During the final day of the conference she would be taking part in a general question and answer session. She was as prepared for the conference as she could be and both the hotel and conference staff knew about Suvi. Everything was good to go. There was no reason to be this nervous. Too bad her body wasn't listening to her head.

By the time the bus pulled in at the DC stop Olivia was about ready to turn around and go back. Instead she led Suvi off the bus and grabbed her bag. While she'd been to the capitol city before, she didn't know her way around. Her best option would be to pick up a cab. She was digging in her purse for the information about her hotel when she heard her name called.

"Ms. Benson!"

Olivia spun around and quickly located the man that had called out to her.

"You are?"

"Jack Collins. I was sent to pick you up and get you set for the conference."

"And you knew who I was because…?" When she saw his eyes drift downward Olivia finished her own question. "Suvi. Right."

"Let me take your bag?"

"Yeah."

Olivia handed her suitcase over and followed after Jack. She hadn't been expecting a ride, but she definitely wasn't going to complain about not needing to call a cab.

"Have you been to DC before, Olivia?"

"Once, but I wasn't here very long."

"It's a nice place. If you have extra time you should consider doing some sightseeing."

"Somehow I think you're going to keep me pretty busy."

Jack laughed.

"You can pretty much count on that."

Yeah, Olivia had guessed that. It didn't really matter though. She hadn't come to DC to do the tourist gig; she'd come to work. They pulled up outside of the conference center and all three got out.

"We'll pick up your information packets, and I'll show you around and get you set up with the technology. Cover and questions you have before you head to your hotel."

"Sounds good."

O . o . O . o . O

"Alright, Suvi. Here we go," Olivia told him the next morning as she finished putting on her make up.

Suvi wandered over with his leash and vest in his mouth. He sat down next to her, tail wagging across the floor of the tiny hotel bathroom. Olivia set her lipstick down on the counter and knelt down to ruffle his ears, being careful not to let him rub against her. She didn't want to be covered in fur when she presented to a room full of people, especially a group of people trained to be observant.

After clipping on Suvi's vest and leash she left the hotel to start the long walk down to the conference center. She could have taken a cab (it definitely would have been easier) but Suvi would be cooped up inside basically working all day. While he was trained to do that if he needed to, Olivia wanted to give him the chance to walk around. He would definitely get that on the walk down, and she would have a lot of time to run her presentation over in her head.

Olivia really hadn't been sure what to expect from the conference, but it definitely wasn't this. The second she walked in she was hit with a wall of people. She hesitated momentarily, and Suvi pressed lightly against her leg. With the number of people he was going to have to stay close even after he was satisfied Olivia was okay. As she began wading her way through the crowd of people she was really glad she'd been guided through everything the day before. Attempting to find the room she would be presenting in for the first time in all of the chaos would have been added stress, which was something she definitely didn't need.

Eventually she reached the room and felt a touch of relief as she stepped away from the crowd and noise. Suvi seemed to feel the same way she did and he shook himself like he was brushing off the memory of all the people.

"It wasn't much more crowded than busy streets at home, you know."

He touched his head to her leg in apparent disagreement. Olivia rubbed his head soothingly before heading toward the front of the room. All of her supplies were sitting on the tables as she'd left them the day before, but she still wanted to run through everything again. It would be a good review. Of course she could probably list all of the information in her sleep at that point. When she finished going through everything she glanced at her watch and sighed. There was still a lot of time before people would start trickling in. Olivia sat down, and Suvi wandered over so she could rub his ears. He dropped his chin onto her knee, and she didn't bother kicking him off. A few hairs on her skirt were worth the bit of relaxation she would gain from being near him. Besides, no matter how hard she tried she would never be dog hair free.

"You would think I would be more used to this by now, Suvi," she told him softly. "But I'm still nervous."

Normally she wasn't alone while she was waiting to begin. She'd never liked making small talk while she fought her nerves, but she was beginning to appreciate it a bit more in that moment. It definitely seemed like a better option compared to what she was doing now. Dead silence and being alone were the breeding grounds for fears. Instead of letting them run unchecked she tried to shove everything else aside besides Suvi. At least the look of pure contentment on his face was easy to watch and get sucked into. She ended up getting so lost in that she didn't notice when someone else walked into the room until he spoke.

"Guess I'm a little early."

She glanced up and smiled.

"A little, but it's fine."

"You're Detective Benson I take it?"

"Retired detective, but yes."

She wasn't going to argue the point too much here. The people coming in could think of her however they wanted. She had been a detective and was still working for the department so it was all a matter of semantics. It was easier to just go with whatever than try to explain.

"Same difference basically."

"To some," she returned.

Definitely just to some.

"We cops can be somewhat territorial," he replied.

"Just somewhat?"

He smiled in agreement. She was absolutely right on that score. Somewhat was a bit of an understatement.

While they'd been talking Suvi had slipped under the table Olivia was sitting behind so he would be undetected. He was quietly watching the new arrival, his head only inches from the table's underside. He wouldn't stay unnoticed.

"Who's your friend?"

"What?"

She followed his pointed finger and glanced down to see Suvi's tail sticking out from her side of the table.

"Lie down," Olivia ordered as she wiggled Suvi's tail. He happily did as she asked. "This is Suvi."

"Is that your suggestion for how to deal with the pressure of sex crimes?"

"Hardly. I never would have considered getting a dog when I was on the force. Not enough time for something like that. It's really not a bad idea though."

Having Suvi around definitely helped her. If she had known how much help a dog would be when she'd been on the job she would have tried to find the time to have one. Completely impossible, but still.

"I'll take any suggestions I can get."

"Well, I'll give you what I can in a few minutes. Looks like we're about ready to go."

More and more people were beginning to trickle in and take seats. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that she would be starting soon. She waited another few minutes as the last few people came in. It was a bigger turn out than she'd expected. Too late to turn back now. She bent to brush her fingers over Suvi's back one more time in preparation before standing to face the gathered group.

"It looks like we're ready to start. I'm Olivia Benson, retired from the NYPD after sixteen years with the Special Victims Unit. Apparently since I was with SVU so long I know how to cope with the stress of the job. I don't know how well anyone can truly cope with this job, but that doesn't mean you stop trying."

Olivia paused for a moment and could see the understanding in many of the eyes staring back at her. It didn't take long working with victims to realize there really was no good way to deal with the stress.

"Hopefully I can at least offer some suggestions that could ease some of the strain every now and again. Before I begin though, most of you have probably noticed Suvi." She motioned under the table where Suvi was still curled up. "Yes, he's a service dog, and he knows what to do if anything happens. Just in case, I'm going to apologize in advance if I collapse with a seizure or need to leave for a short time. Now, let's get down to it."

Author's Note: Well, that's it for this batch. Hopefully the next batch will come quicker since I should be out of the woods with the current insanity at least by the end of next week. Or so I hope. Then again, last time I had already started writing the next few chapters when I finished posted. I only have a paragraph out of 4-5 chapters done. Whoops.