Olivia cuddled Grace on her lap for a long time until finally the young submissive's sobs died down to quiet crying, and then to whimpers.
"Poor baby, so many tears." Olivia cooed lovingly, "Are you ready to listen to me, little one? I have several very important things to tell you."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace pulled back just enough to look Olivia in the eye to prove she was paying attention.
"First of all, I am very concerned that you think any of this mess is your fault. I will keep reminding you as many times as you need me to that none of this is your fault. This is all Sarah's fault. Which brings me to the next thing I need to tell you. My detectives and I have done some digging and we've discovered some rather shocking things. You don't need to know all of them right now, but what you do need to know is that Sarah isn't Sarah. Her name is Melissa, and you aren't the only person she has abused. In fact, what originally started out as a simple hearing to get her stripped of her title has the potential to turn into a murder trial. That isn't for certain yet, my detectives and I still have a lot of digging to do first, but it's something you need to be aware of."
Olivia cuddled Grace in the silence, allowing Grace time to process what she had just been told. Grace looked up at Olivia with confusion on her face as her mind worked through the web of confusion.
"I… how… but she… why?" Grace eventually settled on the simple question.
"I don't know the reason, my baby. I've been working in the Special Victims Unit for over twenty years and I still don't understand why some people do the things they do. Sometimes there is no logical reason." Olivia said honestly as she lovingly stroked Grace's sweet face.
"You think she murdered someone?" Grace asked.
"We are looking into the possibility she may have murdered two people. We discovered several disturbing things today, including a lot of incriminating video tapes."
"You found the tapes?" Grace began to shake again.
"Calm down, my baby. Breathe nice and easy." Olivia placed Grace's hand on her own heart, "Try to make your heart feel like mine, sweetheart. Take a deep breath in; one, two, three, four. And hold it; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And let it out; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. That's my good girl."
"What do you think of me now?" Grace's lower lip trembled, knowing that they had discovered her tapes.
"Oh, sweetheart, I love you. Those tapes don't change how much I love you, and I am so sorry that she did those things to you, baby. No one deserves to be treated like that. She was very cruel to you, and you are so brave and strong."
"But she made me orgasm." Grace pointed out.
"She did, and that's a normal physiological response. It doesn't mean you enjoyed any of it, and anyone who says otherwise is just ignorant of the realities of the human body."
"When I was bad, she would tie up in the dungeon and make me watch my tapes, and if I looked away or closed my eyes she would put a lit cigarette in my belly button." Grace whimpered.
"I'm so sorry she hurt you, my baby. You are so special, I love you so much." Olivia gently stroked Grace's hair.
"I love you, Ma'am." Grace snuggled down into Olivia's arms.
"It's a little too early for bed, how about we cuddle up with popcorn and a movie?" Olivia suggested.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace agreed.
A few days later, Grace fiddled nervously with her clothes as she looked at herself in the mirror trying to make herself look presentable. Olivia came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her.
"You look beautiful, there's no reason for you to be nervous, my baby. Just show Cragen and Eileen the same respect you show me, and everything will be fine, I promise. This isn't a big deal, it's just dinner as a family." Olivia soothed lovingly, reaching underneath Grace's t-shirt to tenderly rub her belly and kissing her temple.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace sighed.
"Come over here. Before we leave, I'm going to give your bare bottom a little sting to remind you to be a good girl tonight." Olivia sat on the bed.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace obediently walked to Olivia's side, accepting her Mistress's authority to spank her at any time for any reason. Olivia gently pulled Grace's jeans and panties down to her knees and Grace obediently draped herself across Olivia's lap.
Grace whimpered, yelped, and winced as Olivia's strong right hand connected sharply with her tender bottom, but it lasted for less than two minutes and Grace's big blue eyes were only a bit misty as Olivia gently patted her pink bottom and guided her to her feet. Olivia allowed Grace to rub her bottom for a moment before she gently pulled Grace's clothes back into their proper place, stood up, and kissed Grace's forehead. Grace only felt a very light stinging sensation on her skin as she sat in the passenger seat of the car on their way to dinner, and the sting was oddly comforting, reminding Grace that all that was required of her tonight was to be a good girl, she wasn't expected to give any kind of special performance. When they arrived, Olivia opened the door and they simply walked into the apartment instead of knocking.
"We're here!" Olivia called out.
"I'm in the kitchen, darling! I think Daddy's still getting dressed!" Eileen's voice called back, "Lord knows that man has enough sweater vests, you'd think he would be able to pick out just one without turning into a production!"
"I heard that!" Don Cragen called out to Eileen as he appeared from down the hall, and he smiled at his daughter, "Hey, baby." Cragen embraced Olivia and kissed her head.
"Hey, Daddy. I like that vest." Olivia giggled as Cragen playfully popped her bottom. "Daddy, this is Grace. Grace, this is my dad, Don Cragen."
"Hello, sir." Grace smiled shyly.
"It's very nice to meet you, Grace. Welcome to our little family." Cragen smiled, "Dinner will be ready in around forty five minutes or so. I hope everyone likes shrimp and pasta and veggies."
"It will be ready faster if someone comes in to help me!" Eileen called out.
"Come on, we better go rescue her." Olivia laughed as she led Grace into the kitchen.
"Finally, competent hands. I've had to shoo your father out of my kitchen so many times this evening, and I'm woefully behind schedule. Hello, dear." Eileen hugged Olivia.
"Hey, Eileen. This is Grace. Grace, this is Eileen."
"Hello, Ma'am." Grace once again offered a shy smile.
"Oh, how adorable you are! We are very glad to meet you, dear." Eileen smiled.
"Everything smells great. How can we help?" Olivia asked.
While Olivia was tending to the pasta and laughing with Eileen, Grace finished tending to the vegetables and took them out to the table. When she returned to the kitchen, she caught Olivia's eye and tapped her lips twice with two fingers. Olivia politely excused herself and walked over to Grace.
"Good girl for remembering how to get my attention. What do you need, my baby?" Olivia asked kindly.
"I was just wondering how things work here. At home when we eat, I kneel and you feed me."
"It will be the same when we have dinner here. Don and Eileen won't judge, they know how it is. If we were in a public restaurant, obviously it would be different, but this is just family." Olivia explained kindly.
"Yes, Ma'am. Can I ask a question?"
"Of course, you can always ask me anything."
"You call Don 'Dad', but you don't call Eileen 'Mom'. Why?" Grace asked, and Olivia smiled.
"Don isn't my biological Dad. He used to be my Captain at SVU before he retired and went to work for Submissive Placement Services and I took over at SVU. I don't have a dad and Don sort of unofficially adopted me. Don and Eileen met just a few years before Don retired, and we've gotten to be very close friends, but I've never called her Mom, the name just never felt right to either one of us. I had a Mom and we didn't have a good relationship, so the word doesn't hold much power for me." Olivia explained.
When dinner was ready, Olivia, Cragen, and Eileen sat down at the table. Olivia prepared a plate for herself and one for Grace.
"Go right ahead and kneel down, dear, there's no need to be embarrassed here." Eileen encouraged kindy when she noticed Grace hesitating and blushing in embarrassment.
Grace dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet and was fed by hand as usual. There was casual conversation over the meal, and Grace was happy to be included. When her plate was nearly empty, Grace laid her head on Olivia's lap, giving Olivia the signal that she was full.
"One more bite of vegetables, and then you can be done, my baby."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace picked her head up and opened her mouth.
After dinner, Eileen surprised everyone with cherry cheesecake for dessert, and then they retired to the couch to relax and enjoy each other's company. This time, Grace didn't even blush as she dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet. When it was time for the two women to return home, there were hugs all around. Cragen and Eileen told Grace how nice it was to meet her and they looked forward to seeing her again.
"I'm so proud of you, little one. You were a very good girl this evening." Olivia praised on the drive home, and Grace beamed, happy that she had made her Mistress proud.
"I like them, they're nice."
"I think my Dad likes you better than he likes me. You are very special, not just anyone gets to touch his prized Civil War collection." Olivia smiled.
"When you and Don were in the kitchen, I overheard him mention someone named Alex. Who is that?" Grace asked.
"Were you eavesdropping, little girl?" Olivia asked, and Grace's eyes widened.
"No, Ma'am. I mean… I just thought…" Grace stuttered, and Olivia chuckled.
"I'm just teasing you, my baby. Alex was my first submissive, we met while I was in school at the Academy and she was in law school. Unfortunately, she got very sick with Cancer and passed away eighteen years ago after fighting it for about four years." Olivia explained.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Ma'am. I didn't mean to bring it up." Grace said genuinely.
"There's no reason to be sorry. Thinking about her used to make me sad, and I was angry for a long time, but now thinking about her brings me joy when I think of the memories we made, even in the hospital when she was dying, and I have peace knowing that she isn't sick and in pain anymore. And I'm convinced that she brought you to me." Olivia smiled.
When they were home, Olivia gave Grace a bath and discovered what appeared to be a light rash starting to form on her arms and belly.
"Sweetheart, does this hurt you?" Olivia asked with loving concern.
"No, Ma'am, it doesn't hurt. It itches." Grace admitted.
Olivia finished bathing Grace and guided her out of the tub and inspected the rash carefully. Grace was obviously having an allergic reaction to something, but Olivia didn't know what.
"Maybe I should take you to a doctor." Olivia mused as she continued to inspect Grace's rash.
"That's really not necessary, Ma'am." Grace protested.
"I'll be the judge of that. I know you're not crazy about hospitals, but if I decide you need a doctor, you will go without a fuss."
"I know what's wrong with me." Grace said, knowing that she was very likely talking herself into trouble, but if she could avoid a trip to the hospital she was going to do it, no matter how the situation turned out for her bottom.
"What do you mean? What is this?" Olivia motioned toward Grace's rash.
"I'm allergic to cherries." Grace admitted.
"You're allergic to cherries? Why on Earth didn't you say anything tonight?"
"I didn't want to be rude."
"Oh, sweetheart." Olivia sighed, "What makes you think you don't need a doctor?"
"I'm not swelling up or having trouble breathing, I'm just itchy. I'll take some benadryl or some calamine lotion and I'll be fine by tomorrow." Grace explained. Olivia sighed and gave in.
"All right, I won't take you to the hospital right now, but I'm going to be watching you tonight, and if you get worse symptoms, I'm taking you to Mercy, even if I have to take you there kicking and screaming. Now let's find some calamine lotion for this rash, and then we are going to have a very serious talk about the difference between being polite and being reckless."
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace replied, now wondering if she should have just refused the cheesecake.