Chapter 73
…
Another day, another boring meeting at the FBI building. Stanley swore that if he weren't shielded by this fucking organization, he would have quit a long time ago.
"...and so we watch. We watch and we wait…"
Blah, blah, blah, fucking blah.
"It's simple, you wait until he goes to sleep, slip in and put a couple drops directly on him,"
"I still don't see why you can't do it,"
"...and risk being seen? That was a dumb plan, by the way. Just do what I said, he won't feel a thing. Ay, and wear gloves the entire time. This stuff touches your skin, you're as dead as Abernathy…"
"...Phillips!" Bureau chief, Wilson, yelled, honestly out of patience. What was with Phillips? He wondered. Every meeting they've had for the last two months, he's seemed out of it, and we're talking more than usual. He'd had it with this jerk!
"I'm sorry, Chief Wilson, I was just…"
"Thinking about the lottery...or perhaps reminding yourself to pick up your dry cleaning? Because whatever it was, you weren't here where you should be."
Stanley sat at the conference table, embarrassed while the others at the meeting laughed silently. He suddenly wanted to kill them all.
"I'm sorry, Chief. I'll do better next time." He said, humiliated.
"You'd want to," Chief Wilson said, eyeballing Stanley for a second before he addressed the group. "...meeting adjourned."
…
"...and you're sure? ...okay, thank you for doing this, Solis." Elliot said before he ended the call, then put the phone down on the counter, just as Olivia quickly wandered into the kitchen, straight out of bed.
"I need the pump!"
"-good morning
"Elliot, I'm gonna explode…"
"Drawer, assembled and ready,"
"You emptied the dish rack?" she said, impressed as she anxiously reached into the drawer to retrieve the breast pump.
"I did, and before you say anything, I know that it's after ten, but you needed the rest, and there's plenty of breast milk in the fridge,"
"I did, honestly." She said as she sat and turned on the pump. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt the milk flowing out. Elliot smiled.
"Better?"
"Much. And I can't believe how refreshed I feel, I don't think I've slept through the night since-"
"...before the baby was born. Like I said, you needed the rest! Serena's had breakfast and is off to school, and she says to tell you she loves you and she'll see you soon." he said as Olivia smiled, looking over at the baby, who was in the carrier that was strapped to Elliot's chest and working up a whine. Elliot immediately began to rock him, giving him the pacifier while he talked to Liv.
"...by the way, I kept him on schedule, so he should be ready for another feeding in about an hour."
"El...thanks,"
"For what?"
"I haven't exactly been amicable this past week,"
Elliot looked lovingly at her as he went to get a glass that he sat down in front of her, then went to the refrigerator for orange juice. Olivia just sat there, following him with her eyes and waiting for him to speak. He filled the glass and nudged it toward her before he capped the orange juice and stood over the counter.
"...you've been dealing with a lot. Maybe...and this is not a judgment. But maybe you should call Dr. Lindstrom,"
"Elliot,"
"Liv, I'm worried about you. I just need for you to talk to someone. These last few weeks, since Abernathy, this is affecting you in a big way."
"Abernathy's dead, and I'm handling it," she said, attempting to shut him up with a lie.
"Baby, you're not. And I want you to get a hold on this before it consumes you." Teary eyed, Olivia looked over at Fin, sleeping soundly against Elliot's chest. "Please, at least think about it. You and your emotional health…"
"Elliot...I will," she answered, just wanting to end this conversation.
"Promise?"
"I promise." And she meant it as Elliot slowly reached across the counter and took her hand in his. "...but I need you to do something for me "
"Name it,"
"The girls…I need for you to at least consider-"
"We're back on this?"
"Why won't you just think about it; would it really be the worst thing?"
"For Serena and Fin? Yes. Those girls, whenever they're released from ACS and into a home, would need twenty-four hour surveillance,"
"Those girls need us! I don't know how else I can make you see that. Elliot please; if it makes you more comfortable, you don't even have to meet them. Just watch them through the two-way,"
"For the sake of keeping the peace, I'll think about it. Now, what can I get you for breakfast?"
…
"...well, what about the house?" Joe asked Joanie as he sloppily dunked his cookie into his tea, while Joanie looked at him, disgusted. Why couldn't Harlan have a more refined doppelganger?
"You'd have a better chance robbing Fort Knox," She said "That house is secure like you wouldn't believe. I feel like my privacy is being invaded every time I visit."
"...so that's a no?"
"Look, appearing at the restaurant was brilliant, but it wasn't enough. I need to really shake her, and one sighting isn't enough. I'm paying you good money and I expect results."
"And you'll get them. Hell, for fifteen k… by the way, I never asked you, exactly who am I impersonating, and why is this Olivia so spooked by him?
"You mean you don't know?"
"Lady, I was in Oregon until six months ago, Harlan Lewis?"
"He's the man that took my son away from me,"
"Seems a bit creepy to want to dig up the guy that killed your son. What, was Olivia involved with this Harlan?"
Joanie paused a beat. "Exactly. Just know that you're helping me to save my granddaughter from a very unfortunate situation."
"You mean the little girl at the restaurant? I don't know a lot about kids, but she didn't look unfortunate to me!" He then shoved another cookie in his mouth.
"Her mother conspired to kill my son, you don't consider that unfortunate?"
"Hey, you're paying the bills… you got anything more than these cookies?"
…
"Mommy!" Serena shouted and ran to Olivia from her cubby. Olivia waived to her teachers from where she stood and snatched Serena up when she reached her.
"Hi, big girl!" She said as she hugged Serena tight. "I missed you this morning!"
"I miss you too. Did daddy tell you the message?" Serena inquired in her adorable little voice.
"He did." Liv said before she realized how heavy Serena was, especially with all of her winter gear and backpack, and she quickly put her down. "Speaking of daddy, he'swaiting at home with your favorite lunch,"
"Oh boy!" Serena exclaimed as she clasped her mittens hands together.
"Okay, you ready to go?"
"All set," But just as they were leaving, one of Serena's teachers stopped them.
"Mrs. Stabler… hi, I'm…"
"Nancy, right?"
"Yes. Hi, I know you have a lot to do so I'll be brief. Is it possible that I could call you and your husband tonight?"
"I don't see why not. I hope there's nothing wrong."
"Oh no. Serena's a joy to have. It's just, the other teachers and I… well we were wondering if maybe Serena belongs here."
"Excuse me?!" Olivia said, feeling herself growing angry and prepared to haul this woman into another time with the slap she was prepared to give her.
Nancy quickly realized how she must have sounded and rapidly fixed it. "...oh, no no no! What I meant was, we'd like to talk about moving her up to the four-year-old class."
"The four-year-old class...but she's two years old."
"And very smart."
"She's two years old,"
"I know, it's a lot to take in, but we'll discuss it further this evening," Nancy said to an Olivia who wasn't exactly with her anymore, instead focused on her beautiful little girl, who was right now having to go to the bathroom.
"Mommy, I have to potty," Serena tried to whisper once she caught Olivia's attention.
"Bye bye darling."
"Yes, I… thank you." Olivia told Ms. Snyder before Serena began to do her pee dance. Olivia speedily took Serena's hand and led her to the bathroom that was located in the classroom by the door.
…
At Kathleen's loft, Elizabeth was going through her closet as Kathleen was going over some paperwork while sitting up in bed.
"What do you think about this?" Lizzie asked, holding up a gorgeous red mini-dress as she made herself visible.
"I think you need to go shopping...at a store!"
"Boooo! Why do that when you have the best stuff, and it's in my size?"
"Yes, stuff that my very nice paycheck affords me. You should try it," she laughed, as she got up and went to the closet.
"In time sweetie. I still have two years of medical school and then my residency before I start turning in the big bucks like my sis."
Kathleen smiled before she saw the shoes she was looking for and grabbed the perfect pair of twelve-hundred-dollar stilettos to go along with the dress. "You ruin any of this, you die!"
"Same pep talk every time." She laughed "Mr. Louboutin…" she bowed to the shoes while practically drooling. "I plan to speak him fluently one day!" Kathleen back on her bed, playfully threw a tee shirt at her, which Lizzie caught, peeling it off her head. "Free tee for me…" she said as she shoved the tee shirt in her bag.
Kathleen laughed, shaking her head.
"So you're gonna hear about it anyway, just act surprised when you do. Mo's having another baby,"
"What, since when? I just talked to her last week."
"She and Robert are announcing at mom's birthday dinner. I only know cuz I saw her prenatal vitamins."
"So she's happy?"
"Maureen? Are you kidding? That one is mom's mental doppelganger. I bet she'll end up having more than mom's five." She said, "I tell you, no kids for me. Ever!"
"You're still young,"
"I've said this since I was ten, haven't changed my mind yet,"
"Maybe when you meet the right person one day. Speaking of, tell me about your date tonight,"
"Uh...tall, English accent, extremely good looking. Not looking for him to put a ring on it, but I really need a good fuck and I have no time for pompous white boys and their tiny dicks."
"Yeah, well, just be careful. Condoms do break, and the morning-after pill just outright fails sometimes…"
Lizzie was confused. "Uh...okay…" she said, thinking it was a weird thing to say, but whatever she thought as she began roaming through all the perfume that lined the vanity. "I tell you, IUD is a godsend. What about you, you ever think about it?"
"I don't know, I have this whole life that I've always wanted and I never really thought about where kids would fit into it, or if I even want them." Kathleen said, giving no information of her pregnancy away to her sister.
"You don't. Who else is gonna take me to the Bahamas when I graduate?" She joked, then picked up a bottle of Tom Ford perfume and took the top off to smell it. "Ooh, can I have this?"
…
At home, Olivia came downstairs, buttoning her blouse when Elliot came out of his office and the two met in the living room.
"I was just coming up; you got a minute?" He said as she grabbed her coat from the closet near the door.
"Literally a minute. What's up?"
"You're still going to ACS?"
"I am,"
"What about Serena's teacher?" He said, using it as an excuse to keep her from going. They didn't actually need to dig that deep into the matter. Of course they'd hear her out but they both knew that they wouldn't allow Serena to be skipped ahead this early in her life. It was like Olivia said to the teacher: she's two years old.
"I'll be here for it, don't worry. I just fed Fin, I should be back in plenty of time before the next feeding. Oh and don't let Serena sleep past three-thirty or she'll be up all night."
"Liv…"
Looking at her watch… "There goes my minute. Can it wait until I get back?"
…
"Miss Olivia!" Amiko cried, alerting Plum. They both got up from the table where they were drawing and ran, arms outstretched and hugged Olivia's waist. Olivia wasn't expecting such an outpouring of affection and it caught her off guard, immediately bringing tears to her eyes.
"We missed you!" Plum said, taking Olivia's hand and leading her to the table she and Amiko had just left.
"You did?"
"Uh huh, we thought you weren't coming back-"
"Youuuu thought she wasn't coming back!" Plum corrected, "I told you she would." She gloated proudly as they sat down.
"This is for you Miss Olivia." Plum said as she handed her the picture she had been coloring. A picture of two girls that she assumed were Amiko and her little sister and a big girl in the middle, with a tiny little person drawn on the one in the middle. The four of them stood in a field of flowers and birds and they all had smiles on their faces. It was roughly drawn but Olivia loved it.
"Is that me in the middle?"
"Uh huh, you and us, and your baby…" Plum answered.
"This is very sweet of you two,"
"You like it?" Amiko asked before Plum cut her off,
"-what's your baby's name?"
Olivia laughed. The two of them were just so infectious.
"I love it a lot," she said, addressing Plum, then turned to Amiko, "His name is Fin, and actually, I have two babies,"
"TWO?" Both girls said, amazed and not being able to believe their ears.
"Yes, two. There's Fin, and Serena. She's two." Olivia laughed.
"We were already taking Daddy's fingers down there when we were two. Does Serena take her Daddy's fingers down there?
"...are you a good mommy, miss Olivia?" Amiko then asked like what Plum had just asked her was perfectly normal, but Olivia was disturbed. Not just by the fact that they thought this was so normal, but that they thought that Serena, that Elliot...
"I try to be," Olivia answered, shaken.
"We don't have a mommy," Plum started but Amiko cut her off again.
"Wanna know a secret?" She asked Olivia as she continued to color.
"Only if you wanna tell me."
"...Daddy's gonna put a baby in me, soon, then my tummy will look like yours."
"What kind of hell were these girls living in?!" Olivia said to Miranda.
"I think you know the answer to that…"
"...and I take it no one's told them that the bastard's dead?" She further inquired, her nose flaring as she watched the girls through the two-way mirror in the hall.
"We're working on it. It's a delicate situation, especially since finding out that he's not actually their father. Hate it, but he was all they knew and it won't be so simple to break the news to them."
"I've seen this so many times, but this; how do you investigate when there's nothing? Nothing for these kids to hold onto? No family, just an evil son of a bitch who posed as their father and raped them almost every day they've been alive. God I hope that bastard is rotting in hell with..." She thought about Harlan and quickly caught herself. "...I'm sorry,"
"No, no. Don't apologize. We don't have enough people who get as passionate as you. By the way, how did your husband take the news about you wanting to foster the girls...if you still think it's a good idea?"
"What do you mean?"
"I saw your face in there,"
"You did. But Miranda, what else do you expect? How many children do you come across who've been sexually abused that are so free with talking about it?"
"...and practicing?" Miranda said subtly thinking that no one heard her, but Olivia caught it and questioned her on it. "I shouldn't even be telling you this, but three days ago…"
"What?"
"One of the girls heard...moaning coming from their room…"
…
"I need a favor."
"Hello to you too," Fin said when he looked up at Olivia suddenly appearing in the squad room and fielding a bunch of greetings from the other uni's and detectives.
"I'm sorry, you got a minute?"
"Always for you. What's up?"
"Mind if we talk in your office?"
"Lead the way," Fin said as he followed her into his office. "what's going on?"
"The Abernathy case,"
"The one that's closing? Liv, I don't know what else you-"
"It's not that. As hard as it was to come to terms with, Abernathy's dead and it looks like his secrets, as far as where he got those recordings went with him. I'm just glad that they're trying to prosecute everyone they can connect with his daught- Amiko and Plum's abuse…"
"I hear you've been seeing them. How are they?"
"They've got a long way to go, but I think with time, they'll be okay...actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. We both know how this goes, now that Abernathy's dead, the FBI won't care about those girls. They have the people in custody that they caught with them, so they don't need them anymore,"
"What do you need me to do?" Fin asked. He didn't need any convincing. If Liv needed him, for anything, he had her back and would deal with the consequences later.
"There has to be somebody that's related to them and possibly doesn't know it. I'm gonna start digging and I really need your help…" they were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. When Fin looked, there was a young woman standing there. A strikingly beautiful, African-American, with a head full of natural curls that sat atop her head in a massive pony tail. With her dark skin, she had very exotic features. Most of all, her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Tutuola? I'm Haru Abara. They said I could talk to you…"
"Yes, come in." He said and Olivia took that as her cue to go but Haru got right to business with Fin, coming to him with a paper that she unfolded. She looked like a darker-skinned version of Amiko and Plum, Olivia thought as the young woman made her way to Fin's desk. It was incredible really; the shape of the eyes, the jet black curls…
"I saw these children on the television," Haru said, laying the pictures down on the desk, she just assumed that Olivia was a cop.
"The children from the Abernathy case?" Fin said, making eye contact with Olivia. "You have some information about them?"
"I was actually hoping I could get some information about them."
"We don't-"
"They didn't give their names on the news, but they're Emiko and Plumm; Emiko being the older girl?
"How did you…?" Olivia wondered out loud.
"Because I think I may be their mother…"
…
Later that evening…
"Yes mom, I'll see you tomorrow." Kathleen said before she ended the call and slipped her phone into her Louis Vuitton tote then picked it up from the cart she was pushing and secured it on her shoulder.
She was at Whole Foods doing a bit of grocery shopping, and deciding that she'd had all she wanted, she quickly set to get to checkout. Only she rounded the corner and collided her cart with another.
"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," it came from the guy who had been pushing the other cart.
"No, it's my fault, I wasn't exactly watching where I was going." Kathleen said, feeling anxious in the presence of this huge, blonde man.
"By the way, I'm Marcus" Stanley said, extending his hand.
"Yeah" she said. She wouldn't shake it. Kathleen was very wary of people she didn't know, and this guy just screamed serial killer. "...well, I should be going. I'm glad you're okay," she joked, before she turned the way she came and went on her way.
Bagged up, and leaving the store, Kathleen walked the few blocks back to her apartment, looking over her shoulder and on edge the whole way, even though there were people everywhere. As soon as she got inside, she locked all four of the locks on the door before she made her way to the kitchen to put the groceries away. While putting things away, she picked up her phone and called Maureen after she remembered that Elizabeth was getting ready for a date.
"Hey, you busy? ...I just met this guy, and I don't know, he creeped me out… Yes, I'm taking my medicine, Mo. Why do you always think it's my meds?"
…
"Still no word?" Maria asked over the phone as Nick had just gotten out of a car at a crime scene and was making his way to the building at Williams and Dumont Aves. There was a huge crowd around the building, in spite of the cold, dreary day. The police were trying unsuccessfully to get them under control as Nick made his way through, carefully.
"No, and I don't know what to think. She won't take my calls, it just goes straight to voicemail. If she wants to break up, at least she could tell me to my face, but this…"
"Who the hell is up there?"
I don't know, but they found her when they was crossing the roof."
"You don't know that she wants to break up with you," Maria said.
"What would you call it? It's been over a week. I mean, this can't have hit her this hard,"
"Look, you don't know what it's like to lose a baby, and neither do I. You're hurting as a father, but we have to carry that child; we bond with it in a way that men can't begin to imagine." Maria said, matter-of-factly just as Nick approached the building.
"Hey, Maria, let me call you back… I will." And he ended the call just as Detective Torres, currently from Brooklyn homicide but formerly one of Fin's detectives for a little over a year until he couldn't take it and had to get out. Brooklyn homicide needed a detective, and he went. Now he approached Nick, looking stern.
"Amaro..."
"Hey Rob," Nick greeted. "So what's so important that Manhattan SVU had to be called? Y'all do have your own in Brooklyn."
"Please, come with me," Rob said, leaving Nick perplexed but he followed him into the building nonetheless.
"Seriously, what am I doing here?" Nick asked as they rode up in the elevator. Det. Torres was quiet for a moment before he spoke.
"We got the call about a body on the roof, some kids were crossin over-"
"Cuz the elevator's broken in their building…" Nick said "we get it, but what-"
"The housing police called us in, and when I got here," the elevator door opened and Detective Torres led them out into a sixth floor hallway that was crowded with people. They began making their way through until they were at the staircase that led to the lower floors, as well as the roof. Luckily, the police had sealed the staircase leading up.
"I thought I should call you guys,"
"Yeah but, why?" Nick asked Torres as they got to the roof door.
"Amaro…" Torres hated this part of his job. "She looked so familiar…I couldn't stop staring at her face then I remembered last year, before I got transferred out here. Nick, I think…"
"You think…?" Nick was becoming agitated as he fought himself to remain calm. "Torres, what are you saying?"
With his hand on the doorknob to the roof, Torres stared at the floor a moment before he picked up his head to look Nick in the eye.
"Nick... it's your fiance. It's Carolyn."
…
TBC