Shannah carefully arranged her highlighters in the desk drawer. She could feel the eyes of her colleagues burning into her back, but she tried to ignore them. They're just curious, she thought. After all, she was the second new addition to the team in a short period of time, even if her position was most likely temporary.
She kept her eyes down, focusing a little too hard on the organization of meaningless office supplies. She wasn't ready to jump in and learn about her new team. She was one who liked to quietly observe and play her own cards close to the vest. She never liked to reveal more than absolutely necessary.
In the opposite corner of the room, Fin boisterously greeted a man who looked to be in his fifties with a preteen boy in tow. Shannah discreetly watched the interaction.
Fin clapped the man's shoulder heavily and tousled the boy's hair. The stranger must be an old friend of the sergeant. They looked to be close in age, but damn, that guy was built. He seemed huge when standing next to Fin and his kid.
He was clearly a cop; a sidearm was clearly visible at his hip, and she could make out the outline of an NYPD shield clipped next to it. He wasn't SVU. Shannah knew that much. She had met the entire team, and that man wasn't among them. It was weird, though. Even if he didn't belong to the team, he seemed oddly at home at the 1-6. He walked like he belonged, and for all she knew, maybe he did. After all, the precinct housed other units too. He could just be a friend visiting from another floor of the building.
A delightful laugh echoed through the quiet squadroom, and she realized it belonged to the curly-haired boy standing next to the unfamiliar man. It was strange, but the kid looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. His features favored his dad in some ways. Their face shapes appeared similar, and the boy's eyes were a matching blue. She couldn't make any observations about hair. She laughed a little at the thought. But if she had to guess, she would say the thick head of curls had to have come from his mother.
The man's eyes continued to drift toward Captain Benson's office while he engaged in lively banter with his old friend. She watched as Fin leaned closer to the preteen, sneaking something into his palm like an experienced drug dealer. He was met with a huge smile and a fist bump as the kid stuffed whatever Fin had given him in his pocket.
The man continued glancing at the captain's office, and she was certain he was at the precinct to see Benson. But why bring the kid? She shrugged off her own question. For all she knew, he was a single dad or something. He seemed to be friendly with Fin, and Fin and Benson went way back. He probably knew her too.
She returned her attention to her desk, rearranging the configuration of brightly colored sticky notes. Her focus was on her task, but she kept her ears perked towards the man and his son.
"Hey come on, let's go." The boy began bouncing impatiently and clearly over the adult conversation taking place.
The man's eyes flicked back to the office, where the captain still had her phone pressed to her ear. "She's not off her call yet," he explained. "She told us to meet her here before we headed out."
The boy huffed a little bit and crossed his arms in displeasure. He didn't argue, but he obviously wasn't happy with the idea of waiting longer.
Fin suddenly looked in her direction. She dropped her gaze to the desk, but he had already caught her staring. "Yo Sykes! Come over here for a sec."
She internally groaned, a little embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping.
They mystery man's head turned towards her, and she realized she couldn't get out of meeting whoever the mystery man and the kid were. She should have minded her own business so she could finish getting her things laid out. With a sigh, she closed the gap between them and plastered a smile on her face.
"Agent Sykes, you might as well meet these two guys." He grinned knowingly at the pair. "They visit the precinct often enough."
The man rolled his eyes at Fin but stuck out his hand. "Detective Stabler. I work with Organized Crime Control."
Interesting. She returned the firm handshake with one of her own. For a moment, she thought he would be like most men who gripped her hand a little too tightly, subtly asserting their dominance. Based on his almost overly masculine appearance, she had almost expected it, but to her surprise, his handshake remained firm but not overbearing. Her eyes lifted, and she caught herself looking into some of the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.
"Good to meet you," she finally spit out.
"You too." Elliot eyed her with a sort of amused wariness. "You with the Bureau?"
She scrunched her eyebrows together, not knowing what to make of his expression. "Yes," she answered carefully.
His eyes rolled over to Fin. "Come on, man! You know I can't hang around with people from the Bureau!" His voice indicated his obvious joking, but it seemed like some sort of inside joke.
"Oh damn!" Fin laughed. "I forgot about that." He turned toward Sykes to fill her in. "There was this FBI agent back in the day. She was like the anti-Stabler. Anytime he came near her, he was either blown up or shot."
He laughed heartily, but Elliot groaned.
Fin snapped his fingers like he was trying to remember something. "What was her name?"
"Dana, if I remember right," Elliot answered.
"Oh yeah!" Fin let out another chuckle. "No wonder you hate workin with feds."
Just as Elliot opened his mouth to respond, the kid yelled out, "Mom!" He sprinted towards the captain and gave her a tight hug.
Oh shit. That's the captain's kid. And that was obviously the kid's dad.
Benson approached the little group with the boy glued to her side. She noticed Shannah standing there and asked, "I see you met Detective Stabler. Our units work together from time to time."
"Yeah, we were just getting acquainted." Shannah smiled.
"I'm not sure these two old dogs stopped gossiping long enough to introduce you to my son, Noah."
"They don't ever stop gossiping," Noah said as if he were a full-grown adult.
"Hey! I just slipped you 20!" Fin defended himself.
"Oh yeah." Noah's eyes glinted with a teasing edge. "Guess he's the only gossiping old maid here," he said pointedly.
Fin stuck his fist out for Noah, "Damnnnn kid. That was straight savage."
Elliot faked offense. "Guess I will only be taking one Benson to dinner tonight." His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. "Baby Benson can stay home."
"Hey!" Noah joked. "Fine." He turned to Olivia. "No one was gossiping here. Not at all."
"Uh huh. Sure." She shook her head at the trio, and stepped toward Stabler. "We better get out of here before you all fill Agent Sykes head with highly exaggerated stories."
Elliot's hand dropped to the small of Olivia's back. "We never exaggerate." He leaned closer to speak in her ear, although the whole group could hear him clearly. "We can't help it if you were always a total badass."
She slapped his arm playfully and rolled her eyes. "Let's get out of here. You two," she pointed back and forth between Elliot and Fin, "are menaces."
With that said, Noah impatiently started inching towards the door, subtly trying to get his parents out the door. Elliot noticed the kid's obvious impatience and pressed on Olivia's lower back, urging her toward the door. "Let's get out of here before Noah goes rabid on your vending machines."
Olivia laughed out loud. "Good call." She stepped away, and Elliot followed closely behind her, hand never leaving its position on her back. Shannah stepped back to her desk, but before she began tinkering with her papers and pens, she glanced up at the little family waiting for the elevator. A chime sounded, and the doors pushed open. Noah happily bounded into the open space. Before he could turn around, she watched as Elliot slipped his arm tightly around Benson's waist. He tugged her closer and placed a lingering kiss on her temple.
He stepped forward, taking her by the hand, leading her into the elevator, and before the doors shut, Shannah noticed the sweetest smile drift across the captain's face.