Chapter Sixty Two – Final Tally

A knock on the door drew Olivia out of her contemplation about the article she was working on. She wasn't expecting anyone and nobody had buzzed up to be let into the building. Before opening the door she checked the peephole. Nick. What on Earth was he doing here? She pulled the door open, her surprise and confusion still clear on her face.

"Hey. What's brought you all the way out here?" she asked as she motioned him inside.

He really didn't look very good, though she shouldn't have expected anything else after so many days of non-stop work. His scruffy facial air and dark rimmed eyes only proved he'd been working for days with little rest. At least he didn't look like he was about to fall over. That was something.

"An update for you before it hits the media. They had a few things to say about you, by the way."

"That doesn't sound pleasant."

The same reporters that had seen her on the way into the precinct had noticed how long she had been inside. She'd said she was only dropping off subs and not working the case, but that would have only taken a few minutes. It had been far longer than that. In their minds that meant Olivia had lied and was actually working on something for the squad. When Amaro had walked out they'd pounced on him about it.

"We handled it. When they didn't see you leave after dropping off dinner…"

"I went out the back door," she interrupted. If she'd known it would have caused more problems and media attention she wouldn't have tried to save herself the hassle. The last thing she'd wanted to do was give her friends more work.

"I know. I told them that's what you did so you wouldn't have to deal with those sharks. It obviously shut them up if they didn't call you."

Olivia chuckled softly. She didn't like the fact that the reporters had questioned Nick about her, but at least she hadn't had to deal with them. Nick had done a really good job too. Reporters usually jumped on every opportunity to get a scoop even if it wasn't completely reasonable.

"Thank you for that."

"No problem."

"I'm guessing that's not all you came here to tell me though."

"It's not, but… where's Suvi?"

Usually Suvi was the first one there to greet anyone at the door, and if he wasn't he was at least nearby and watching. Today he wasn't anywhere in sight. Nick craned his neck as if it would help him somehow find her dog. All of his searching wasn't getting him anywhere though. Olivia knew he could try all he wanted but he wasn't likely to find Suvi. She motioned to him and led the way further into her apartment and pointed behind the couch. Nick peeked around it and found Suvi flopped over on his side completely unmoving.

"Well hey, Suvi."

Nick received two tail thumps in response, but that was it. Suvi hadn't even bothered to lift his head an inch. Talk about lazy.

"He's a little tired. We went for a good long run earlier today. He's decided that's right where he's going to stay for the rest of the day."

"Don't blame him."

"No. Not at all," Olivia agreed.

She would have rather vegged on the couch instead of working on the draft of her article too. It needed to be done though and at least she'd been able to work on it sitting down (which her legs had been highly appreciative of).

"So I was going to give you an update on the case. We closed it today. Most of the boys' team is being charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and sexual misconduct."

"Multiple. So there was more than one girl targeted."

There was no way to make an assault on a teenager any better, but it could certainly be made worse. Adding more than one teenager to the victims list definitely covered one way to make the case even more horrific than it had been.

"Around half the team. The guys were using it as a type of initiation ritual."

Olivia closed her eyes against the pain that washed over her. Half the team. The assaults in the locker room must have been going on for a long time. How could it have gone unnoticed? It made her sick.

"They're getting help?"

"All of them," Nick confirmed. "And the school is planning on working out an awareness program so this never happens again."

"Good."

"So now we're even?"

Nick was grinning widely at her, but Olivia could only offer him a return smile tinged with sadness.

"We're more than even. I only gave you a sub."

"Did you already forget how much having a meal or fresh clothes brought to you meant when you'd been working a case for days?"

He did have a point. Food, sleep, and feeling clean were luxuries during difficult cases. Everyone fought hard for their thirty minutes in the crib and the chance to run home to shower and change. She clearly remembered how amazing it had felt even though it wasn't anything special under ordinary circumstances; it had been like a breath of fresh air.

"I remember, and you do have a point."

"You did help, Liv."

"Yeah."

Not wanting to give her mind time to think more about how she had or hadn't helped, Nick quickly changed the subject.

"Do you and Ben have plans for New Year's Eve?"

"New Year's?"

She hadn't really thought much about it. In fact, she hadn't even realized how close New Year's Eve was. Only four days. Maybe they should get around to talking about that. Or not. Olivia didn't really care whether they celebrated the evening. If they did end up doing something she didn't want to do anything big. Maybe at one point in her life she would have loved to do something big, but not anymore.

"Yeah. You know, the last day of the year when everyone stays up until midnight and drinks champagne."

"Now you sound like Ben."

"It seems to work for him."

"Please keep it with just him," Olivia requested firmly. "I don't think I could handle two of you."

"Should I be worried about him walking in at any minute?"

"No. Even if he were coming over tonight you wouldn't need to be worried."

Tonight she and Suvi would be enjoying an apartment to themselves. Ben had pretty much become a fixture in her life every evening, though every so often the most interaction they'd have was a phone call. This would be one of those nights. Tomorrow though they'd be back together once Ben was done with work. She would be heading over to his place for dinner. Since Ben would be doing all of the cooking it would be a very good meal. Olivia couldn't help looking forward to it. Even if she didn't order in, whatever she came up with couldn't hold a candle to Ben's cooking.

"Just you and the little man tonight, huh?"

"Just me and my tired boy," she confirmed.

The mention of Suvi made her glance back over toward him. He was still sprawled out exactly the way he had been the last time she'd looked. Getting him to get up and go out again after dinner could be a bit of a chore. It clearly didn't look like moving was very high up on his priority list. If it was on there at all.

"Do you have Zara tonight?" Olivia asked.

"No, but that's probably a good thing. I wouldn't be very good company as dad tonight. Now that this case is finally over I'm going to go home and get some much needed sleep."

Olivia smiled.

"Well deserved sleep too." She reached out and gently touched his arm. "Go home, Nick. You shouldn't be losing sleep for me, though I do appreciate the update on the case."

"No argument here. I'll talk to you later, Liv."

"Take care of yourself on the way home," she told him as she escorted him back to the door. "You look exhausted. I don't want you passing out before you reach your bed."

"Thanks. I think I can manage."

"I'm sure you can. Good night, Nick."

He gave her a little wave on his way out, and Olivia closed the door behind him. It was nice to know that she was still being kept in the loop even if she was officially out of that loop. She'd always been able to count on Nick, even after she'd retired.