AN: Really bad writers block which is why this took so long! Really paternal Elliot in this chapter and Mama Liv as usual.
Lucy awoke with a start, tears dripping down her cheeks. She glanced around the room, her body heaving with sobs until she realised where she was and who was with her. She turned to her left and shook Olivia awake, letting out a sob when her Aunt awoke and pulled her into a gentle hug.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Come here..." Olivia whispered and picked the little girl up, sitting her in her lap and cradling her protectively.
"I had a bad dream Auntie Liv... I'm frightened!" Lucy wept, burying her face against Olivia's chest whilst she tried to soothe her noisy tears. Olivia rocked back and forth, glancing between the little girl and her sleeping partner.
"Come on, sweet girl. Let's talk in the lounge... we'll let Uncle Elliot sleep a little longer!" She soothed softly and picked her up, allowing Lucy to bury her tear soaked face into her neck whilst she carried her out of the bedroom. Olivia very gently kicked the bedroom door closed with her foot and gently sat the teenager on the couch.
"Let's get you a warm drink, love. Then you can tell me all about it... hey, you're safe ok? No one is going to hurt you again... your Uncle and I won't let them!" Olivia cooed gently, handing Lucy some tissues whilst she went into the kitchen and made them both a hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. She carried the drinks out and put them both on the table, soothingly stroking Lucy's hair when she leaned into her.
"It's so embarrassing..." Lucy whispered quietly, letting out a small hiccup when Olivia reached for her and placed her in her lap. She reached for a warm throw blanket and wrapped it around the child, cradling her like an infant.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetie. Do you have any idea how proud I am of you? You've been to hell and back, you had the courage to tell your Uncle and I about the worst night of your life! I feel so honoured that you trust us enough to tell us!" Olivia said softly, rocking the broken child in her lap and smiling lovingly when Lucy reached up to twirl her hair around her fingers.
"I was back there... in that room with them. I was paralysed and I couldn't move... they were hurting me between my legs, I remember crying out for you and Uncle Elliot and you didn't come... I also cried for Mom but she just laughed, it all felt so real! Like I was back there... I have never been so frightened before!" Lucy broke down into harsh sobs and Olivia pulled her into her chest, a small tear rolling down her face at the thought of her little niece crying out for them to rescue her.
"Oh, sweet girl. You're safe here with me and Uncle Elliot... you survived, you made it through baby. Here... copy my breathing; you're having a panic attack Lulu... in and out, good girl! That's it... there we go.." Olivia cooed with so much love and patience, gently placing her hand over Lucy's rapidly beating heart and letting her forehead rest against hers.
"Auntie Liv..." Lucy said through gasps, the fear in her eyes was making Olivia want to cry. She kept helping the little girl take some deep breaths and hugging her tight, whilst pressing kisses to Lucy's face.
"Shhh... it's ok. I'm here, baby! Auntie Liv's got you..." Olivia whispered and handed her the hot chocolate, helping her to drink it when her hands started shaking uncontrollably.
"Please don't leave me..." Lucy whispered quietly, pressing her cheek against Olivia's lips so that her Aunt could kiss her. She let out a content sigh when Olivia tightened her up in a huge hug, squeezing so tight that Lucy knew that she was safe.
"I'm not going anywhere... you're stuck with me baby!" She spoke gently and kept her wrapped up in a huge hug, it felt so nice! It felt like a balm had been put on her broken heart.
"I wish you were my Mama..." Lucy repeated softly, tightening her arms around her Aunt's middle and relaxed. She allowed herself to feel safe and secure; she knew that her Aunt would never hurt her or let anyone else hurt her.
"Me too, sweetheart. Me too... You know, if you ever do want to call me Mama then I wouldn't mind..." Olivia spoke softly and kissed her head, allowing Lucy to reach up and play with her hair again.
"Thanks Mama..." Lucy said and nuzzled her face against Olivia's chest, she was so tired. Olivia could sense this and just rocked the small bundle in her arms until she fell asleep, a warm motherly instinct filled her entire body. She was so in awe at how brave this little girl had been.
Four hours had gone past since Lucy's nightmare and it was now 11:00am. Olivia had been awake the whole time, just keeping her safe and secure in her arms.
"Babe? What's going on... is she ok?" Olivia startled when she heard Elliot's voice and shook her head slightly, gently running her fingers through the little girl's hair.
"She had an awful nightmare and panic attack..." Olivia spoke quietly and wrapped her arms tightly around Lucy when she began to fuss and whimper slightly in her arms.
"Shhh... it's ok, sweet girl!" Olivia cooed, brushing stray hairs away from Lucy's face when her eyes began to open. Elliot took a seat next to Olivia, making sure that he was visible to the young teenager so that she wouldn't get startled. He almost fell off the couch in shock when he heard her next words... it made him get choked up and emotional; he didn't think that he could love either one of them more.
"Mama... don't leave!" Lucy whimpered, clinging to Olivia's shirt tightly in her small hands. Olivia glanced between Elliot and Lucy, a look of love on her face. She knew that they'd have to explain to him about Lucy's decision to call her 'Mama' but she knew that Elliot wouldn't mind.
"Mama's here... I'm not leaving you!" She soothed softly and pressed a kiss to her bruised face, whispering sweet nothings to the terrified child who she loved like her own baby. Lucy tensed up when she saw Elliot, a knot formed in her stomach.
"Uncle El... you don't mind right? It's just she's been more of a Mama to me than my own Mom has and..." Lucy trailed off and let out a small squeak and a yelp when Elliot reached out and cuddled her harder than he meant to.
"Of course I don't mind, sweetheart! If you want to call Aunt Liv Mama then you go right on ahead and if your Mom has any issues with that then fuck her!" He said loudly, blushing when he heard Olivia loudly chiding 'Elliot!' because he swore in front of the young girl.
"How are you feeling now?" He spoke soothingly and pressed a kiss to Lucy's head, wrapping her up in his arms when she cuddled up to him.
"Still really sore.." Lucy whispered and Elliot nodded sympathetically, rocking her back and forth in his embrace which made her feel so safe and loved! She knew that nothing could hurt her whilst they were there.
"I know, little one. It's going to get better... you're being so brave!" Elliot cooed, tilting her chin up so that he could wipe the stray tears that fell down her cheeks. Olivia watched on with a small smile before getting up to grab Lucy some pain killers and a big mug of hot sweet tea which she helped her to sip slowly, the three of them remaining cuddled in a warm embrace for a couple of hours.
"Sweetheart... are you ready to go to the Precinct? I know it's going to be so hard but remember Mama will be in there with you the whole time!" Olivia whispered soothingly, allowing Lucy to crawl onto her lap and soak up all the maternal affection that she'd missed out on.
"I'm scared... I'm trying so hard to be brave! But I'm so frightened..." Lucy admitted, quickly burying her face into Olivia's perfumed neck. This was the only time that she felt truly safe and she never wanted that feeling to end, she just wanted to stay here with the two adults who'd been better parents to her than her own.
"I know, baby. I know... it's normal to be frightened and that's ok! It would actually be strange if you didn't have these feelings..." Olivia cooed and tightened her arms around the little girl, whispering sweet nothings in her ear and telling her that everything would be ok; that they would protect her and keep her safe.
"Can we go soon? I don't wanna chicken out..." Lucy admitted softly and Olivia booped her nose with her finger, she too wanted to get this sorted as soon as she could.
It took two hours or so before the three of them were ready to leave, both Olivia and Elliot bundled Lucy into the car and Olivia sat in the back with her. She reached down and held her hand tight, whispering words of encouragement.
"Remember I am with you every step of the way... I'm going to be right by your side the whole time and Uncle El will be right outside ok?" Olivia spoke so softly and gently that it soothed all of Lucy's nerves and she snuggled into her chest.
"You won't leave? Not even once?" Lucy reiterated, blushing at how clingy she was being; before all of this had happened she wasn't anything like this! She was independent, strong willed and feisty; she'd had to be! Olivia could see the dilemma and the vulnerability coursing through the little girl... no, HER little girl and it made her heart physically hurt.
"Not even once, my sweet girl. You've had to be so strong and brave... but not anymore; you have a family who love you! Just let it all go sweetheart... yeah, that's it... just let it all go!" Olivia whispered until Lucy was a sobbing mess, this wasn't just about being assaulted! This was years and years of pent up pain and anguish; years of not feeling good enough, years of being unloved by her Mom and Dad, years of being told not to cry and so many years of wondering why she wasn't enough. Once Elliot had stopped the car he got out and opened the door, very gently picking Lucy up and hugging her tight.
"Why did they hate me so much? I tried to be good... I got straight A's, I did every sport, I did everything that they told me to do! I can't deal with it Uncle El, I can't! It's too much... it's all too much! Please make it go away..." She wept anxiously and buried her face into his shoulder, not even caring about how sore her face was right now. All she wanted was to be held and comforted by the two people who'd always shown her kindness.
"If I could make this go away then I would, little one. If I could fix this and take away all the pain then I would do it... but I can't. You did nothing wrong, I'm so proud of you... I love you so much sweetheart! I'm so sorry that you've not been told that enough, you are so loved..." Elliot whispered, swaying with her in his arms like he was her own dad and that was how he felt; he loved her just as much as his own kids. Elliot just kept rocking the sobbing teenager in his arms and kept whispering soothing words to her. They sat outside the Precinct, Lucy cradled in Elliot's lap with Olivia sat right beside them and wiping Lucy's tears with her thumb. Lucy soaked up all the comfort that they were offering to her and Elliot's heart began to ache when she started to speak.
"I used to be so jealous of your kids Uncle El because you love them so much and you are such a good Dad to them and I've never had that... I just want to be loved so badly and..." Lucy buried her face into his chest and hiccuped anxiously; whilst her cousins, apart from Eli were so much older than her and they were in their late teens and early twenties by the time she was born she had seen how good of a dad they had and that's all she'd wanted.
"You are so loved, baby. I love you, Mama loves you, Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie, Lizzie and Eli absolutely adore you... I know that I'm not your Dad biologically but I'm always here, you know that right? If you ever need fatherly advice or if you just need a big hug and someone to remind you just how special you are then I'm right here... I'm here!" Elliot soothed softly and pressed a kiss to her bruised cheek, a small smile forming on his face and Olivia's as well when Lucy calmed down and uttered a sentence that they knew would change everything.
"Can I call you Daddy? Because well..." She was cut off by Elliot's huge hug and lots of kisses to her forehead, it was like every kiss and hug was soothing a little bit of her broken heart.
"Of course you can, sweetheart. I'd be honoured!" He whispered and the three of them cuddled in each others arms until Lucy was calm and had stopped crying.
"Come on, little one let's get these bastards!" Elliot said softly and stood up, ignoring Olivia's half assed attempts at telling him off for his language. He held onto her hand and Olivia held onto her other hand, they walked into the Squad room and immediately Fin, Nick and Amanda were all guns blazing, ready to catch the animals who'd hurt one of their own.
"Mama..." Lucy was suddenly overwhelmed and Olivia soothed her, whispering comfortingly until she was no longer frightened and a lot calmer. She knew this was going to be hard but having them by her side was making it a lot easier.
"Hey Lucy, do you want to come through to my office? Fin will be doing your statement if that's ok? Unless you want Amanda?" Olivia said softly and Lucy rubbed her head slightly, she liked Fin and Amanda.
"Fin's ok... don't leave me Mommy!" Lucy whispered and began to blush again, the three other Detectives were grinning from ear to ear even more so when they watched how kind and loving their boss and friend was being to that traumatised little girl.
"Mommy's here... Mommy isn't leaving!" Olivia cooed and soothingly stroked Lucy's hair whilst reassuring her that she wouldn't ever leave her, that everything was going to be alright and that she was safe. It took some coaxing and a lot of time but they finally got Lucy into Olivia's office, allowing her to sit curled up in Olivia's arms where she felt safe. Fin sat opposite them, taking things slowly and being so kind and gentle to her that Lucy felt a lot more at ease.
"So can you start at the very beginning for me? What happened?" Fin said softly and wrote down everything that the young girl was saying, how she'd gone to that party with her friends and how they'd been drinking. Lucy was in tears as she began to explain how her friends had left and how she'd thought those older guys would be nice to her. Fin felt physically sick as he wrote it down, the poor kid didn't deserve this and he was raging! He didn't know how Olivia and Elliot were being so calm.
"It's ok, sweetheart. I'm here... Mama's got you, try to breathe I know it's hard!" Olivia cooed and tucked the little girl up in her lap, her head tucked under her chin and a soft blanket wrapped around her small body. It was one that she always kept for other survivors who had disclosed in her office and it had always worked well; seemingly helping to draw out all the emotions.
"When did things start to go wrong?" Fin spoke gently and listened as the child explained how groggy she'd felt and how she'd passed out to find them on top of her, hurting her, violating her... betraying her trust! It was enough to make Fin see red; no one deserved to be violated in this way.
"What happened after they finished?" Fin asked and watched whilst Lucy snuggled closer to Olivia's chest, finding comfort when she ran her fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. This felt safe, she knew that no one could get to her whilst Mama was cuddling her.
"I called my Mom and she screamed at me! She called me a drunken slut, said that I'd asked for it, she dragged me out by my hair and took me to the hospital... they did my rape kit and then she left. I was on my own until Mama and Daddy showed up..." Lucy whispered whilst Fin grinned to himself, he loved how much his two friends had stepped up for that kid. He kept writing until he had pages upon pages of written evidence, he wanted to kill them for this.
"Ok, thanks Lucy. I think we've heard everything..." Fin said softly and the three of them left the safety of Olivia's office, Elliot immediately rushed up to them and Lucy hugged him tight.
"Daddy..." she cried out and gripped his shirt, hiding her face against his chest so that no one would see her cry. Her face crumbled even more when he picked her up and held her tight, whispering soothingly to the little girl who'd gone from his niece to his surrogate daughter within only a few days.
"It's ok to cry... you don't have to hide it anymore. You are 15 years old young lady! You don't have to swallow it down... not anymore my brave girl!" Elliot cooed and pressed kisses to her nose and cheek, kissing every single bit of pain away. Olivia watched them fondly before turning to Fin, keeping her voice low so that Elliot and Lucy wouldn't hear her.
"Do you think... do you think we'll get them?" Olivia said softly and Fin nodded his head, they'd get those animals no matter what it took!
"Yeah, even if we have to go through some questionable methods to get there, those pricks are done Liv!" Fin said with a firm nod of his head, he'd do whatever it took to get them and keep them in jail. Olivia smiled appreciatively and thanked them all for everything they were doing and for running the unit in her absence. She made her way to Elliot and Lucy, rubbing a soothing hand through the teenager's hair.
"Come on... let's get out of here!" Olivia said softly and they walked out of the Precinct, Lucy now walking alongside them. She glanced up at her 'Mama' and 'Daddy', gently biting her lip anxiously.
"The worst is over right?" She said softly, climbing in the backseat next to Olivia and buckling up. She just wanted to go home and sleep!
"Of course honey, you've already done the hard part!" Olivia said soothingly, blissfully unaware that she had spoken too soon and that things were going to get worse, so much worse and that they were way out of their depth.