Chapter 13:
"What do you want Elliot?" Olivia got straight to the point.
"Look, I don't like the way we left things Liv. Things with Kathy aren't working out here and I can't get our night together out of my head. Honestly if it wasn't for Eli I would of come home already"He sighed at the end of his speech.
"So that's the real reason you're calling me? Things aren't going so great for you and you want me to give you an excuse to leave your wife?" Olivia accused. She saw Amanda get up out of the bed and start pulling her clothes on.
"Look Liv, I can't make it work with her and I've tried. I'm thinking of coming home, I can't help but wonder if we could have been something. What if you're the one and I just left and we never gave it a shot." He admitted "I'm ashamed of how I left Olivia, I know I was a bastard but that was my fault and not yours" He waited for a response.
"Yeah you were a bastard and you're right it was your fault not mine. Look I don't want you to come home. We didn't have a night together we had five minutes on my kitchen floor. You're romanticizing the situation to suit your own agenda. I don't want you, I don't need you and I've moved on. You should too." Olivia said aggressively and added "This is goodbye Elliot" Olivia parroted his own words back to him. She hung up the phone and threw it on the bed and screamed in frustration.
Amanda who was half dressed stood and stared for a moment. She had been worried when she heard it was Elliot on the phone. She knew if there was one person in the world who could take Olivia from her and make her retract everything she had said from the night before it was Elliot Stabler. She was prepared to have to leave ,to lose this woman to him and she was stunned to find Olivia had held her ground. She hadn't backed down or fallen into a simpering mess at the sound of his voice. She didn't want him.
"Are you okay?" Amanda asked nervously feeling the tension rolling off her girlfriend in waves.
"Yeah...that was...I'm sorry" Olivia took Amanda into her arms.
"Why are you apologising? You did nothing wrong?" Amanda snuggled her neck into the crook of her shoulder and breathed her in.
"That was awkward and probably just as scary for you as it was for me. I meant it. I don't need him. The only people I need are in this bedroom. You, me and our baby" Olivia rested her head on top of the blonde mane underneath her chin,
"Our baby?" Amanda asked quietly. Did Olivia know what she had just said?
"um...yeah. If you want it to be? I didn't mean to assume...sorry" Liv was back tracking.
"I'd...love that but I don't want to feel like I'm forcing your hand. You need to be sure and it's likely to be complicated to achieve that legally." Amanda answered her lover "no matter what happens on paper, you and this baby are my family Olivia" She leant up to kiss her lips.
Olivia was on the verge of tears again. Damn hormones!
"shh baby don't cry" Amanda kissed her again and again and found her clothes being removed once more. Olivia lead them into the bathroom and started the shower before stepping in and pulling Amanda in after her. They stood under the hot spray and kissed for several more minutes before Amanda poured a generous amount of soap into her hand and began lathering up Olivia's body. Working the soap all over her body whilst using her hands to massage sore and tense muscles. "just relax darling, I've got you" she reassured her.
Olivia moans echoed off the tiled walls as Amanda worked her body into a relaxed state again. When the soap was rinsed off, Amanda ran her hand between her legs and felt a different type of tension building there and smirked a little when she felt Olivia's hips cant towards her probing fingers.
"Easy baby. Just relax and enjoy" She soothed and let her fingers dance between her wet and swollen lips. Rubbing firmly against the rapidly hardening bundle of nerves she felt the brunettes desire increase when her hips bucked towards her with every rub of her digits.
"Manda...please...inside baby" She instructed one hand flat against the tile wall for support the other was gripping Amanda by the waist, pulling her tight against her. She sighed with relief when Amanda slid two of her fingers deep inside her. She began a gentle but firm rhythm between her legs. Olivia's moans were getting higher and breathier by the second and the blonde knew she would come soon if given an extra push towards the edge. So she curled the two fingers inside her and ground the palm of her hand against her clit and ordered the older detective "Come baby just let it all go for me" the result was immediate and she felt Olivia tense up and shout out her release.
When her orgasm had finished, Olivia found herself suddenly sobbing heartily. Her whole body shook with the release of emotion. Amanda hadn't been expecting it but pulled her girlfriend into her arms and just kept hold of her whilst she cried. When the sobs had been reduced to hiccups and the tremors had started to subside Amanda asked quietly "better now?" She ran a hand through the wet brown hair but didn't let go of her body.
Olivia sighed and breathed a quiet "Yeah...I guess I needed that" She looked over at the petite blonde and smiled weakly.
"the orgasm or the tears? Cause I don't usually reduce women to a blubbering wreck after I rock their world" Amanda joked and returned the smile.
Olivia chuckled and responded "Both you goof ball" She laughed again wondering how this woman could have her balling one second and then cracking up the next.
"We should wrap this shower up cus we have work in a few hours...I can tell Cragen you're sick if you don't feel up to it?" Amanda suggested calmly whilst she lathered up soap in her hands and began to wash herself.
"No...I want to go in, I'm okay now...really Amanda I'm fine." Olivia poured shampoo into her hands lathered up Amanda's hair for her.
"mmm that feels nice baby" Amanda moaned as she felt Olivia's fingers massage her scalp.
"Do we have time for more?" Olivia asked her lover as she guided Amanda under the spraying water to rinse her hair.
"Probably not, You can owe me one. That was just for you, I didn't expect anything from you. I just wanted to make you feel good this morning" Amanda sighed as she felt the warm water wash away the suds in her hair.
"I definitely owe you one, you make me feel amazing." Olivia leant down to place a soft kiss against her lips and then pulled back and began to wash her own body.
"You're amazing that's why" Amanda kissed her once more before stepping out of the cubicle and grabbing a towel.
They drove to work quickly and headed in together. Fin caught the two women in the corner of his eye and frowned a little. He knew Olivia Benson better than most people and he saw the gentle brush of finger tips against one another before they went to their separate desks. Taking another look at Liv, he watched her take her scarf off and saw the tell tale bruise forming at the base of her neck. He was distracted from his appraisal when Cragen walked in with a tall tanned man with dark hair.
"Everyone this is Nick Amaro , he's a detective 2nd grade on loan from narcotics so be nice to him and he might stay" Cragen introduced him to the team.
"What gives Cap? Thought we had a full staff for once." Fin asked the boss.
"We do...but Benson is on restricted duty and we need the extra feet" He shrugged "Over to you Benson." He turned and left the squad room.
"Restricted duty? What?" Fin looked confused and watched Amanda and John exchange glances then turn to Olivia waiting for her to fill in the gaps.
"Uh Fin, I'm pregnant" She filled in the African American detective and watched his eyebrows shoot up in surprise "And I'm the only one who didn't know?" he asked still shocked.
"Well none of the uni's knew either but yeah I just wanted to keep it as quiet as possible for the start." Olivia tried to placate him 2
"you're not mad at me right?" She asked him and laughed when she saw the huge smile that had spread onto his face.
"Nah why would I be mad? A mini Benson? That's awesome baby girl" he got up to hug her and whispered in her ear "you have a hickey on your neck, you might wanna cover it up" Then winked when he saw her blush and got up to take care of it in the bathroom. She was washing her hands when Amanda came in and wrapped her arms around her from behind.
"A hickey Amanda? Really?" Liv touched up the make up covering it before turning around in her arms "Are we suddenly 12?" She kissed her briefly before pulling away. They were the only two women in the office today but she didn't want to risk being too openly affectionate at work.
"What? I couldn't help it, you taste so good" Amanda winked and then went to use the bathroom and Liv willed her blush to calm down before exiting the rest room.
As she was entering the squad room a woman entered looking lost and more than a little dishevelled. She had blonde hair and appeared to be in her early 20's. Her hair was falling out of a pony tail and hung around her face. She had shoes on but her panty hose were torn at the knees and her skirt had a rip in it and the hem was coming unstitched.
"Can I help you? I'm Detective Benson. Did something happen to you?" Olivia asked straight away going into victim mode.
"I think...I think I was...raped" She stuttered at the last word of her statement.
"Right first of all, have you taken a shower since this happened?" Olivia asked.
"No...I came right here" She looked bewildered for a moment.
"Okay well were gonna take you to the hospital, get you checked out and a rape kit done" Olivia instructed her "Let me just fill in my Captain and we will go" Olivia turned around to see Cragen already in the room.
"You can go Liv, but take Amaro with you. Show him how we do things" He instructed.
They got into a car and Liv decided to let Nick drive whilst she got into the back of the car with their victim to try and get a brief statement so she knew what they were dealing with.
"Well I was working late at the office...I'm a para legal for a small law firm. One of the junior partners was there too. He kept trying to flirt with me and wouldn't let it go when I said I just wanted to finish my paper work so I could go home. As I stood to start packing my things up to go home He was suddenly behind me and he started kissing my neck and when I tried to push him off he said 'I know you want it' then he pushed me onto the desk and raped me from behind. He also pushed me to my knees and forced himself inside of my mouth until he...you know...finished." She started to cry and Olivia tried her best to comfort her.
"What's your name honey? And his name?" Olivia asked her.
"I'm Samantha Gordon and His name is James Carpenter" She said as more tears fell onto her cheeks.
"Right Samantha you can call me Olivia. We're gonna do our best to get him" She looked at nick and caught his eye as they pulled into the parking lot of Mercy Hospital.
Nick watched Olivia in action throughout the day and was impressed with how she empathetically dealt with the victim. They didn't need to be so gentle footed in narcotics, the victims he encountered there hadn't had their privacy and body violated in the most horrific way possible and when they had been he just called SVU and they dealt with it from there. Once the Victim had been given a ride home after they had gotten her rape kit and check up completed Nick turned to Olivia who was sipping at a paper cup full of hot chocolate "So now what? We go pick this guy up?" he asked.
"Not yet, you'll need to drop me back at the precinct and get one of the other guys to go with you" Olivia gestured with one hand to her baby bump.
"Oh right...restricted duty" He nodded "I've got a kid. Zara; she's almost 4" He smiled at the thought of his precocious little girl.
Olivia nodded "That's nice" she sipped at her cup again.
"Her Moms serving in Iraq right now so she's with me all the time. Well my Mom mostly cus you know...this job..." he trailed off "How far along are you anyway" He asked trying to get to know the other detective.
"nearly 18 weeks, I've got two more weeks before I'm on full desk duty so you lucked out starting now. I wouldn't of been much use to you if you had waited until then" She smiled at the friendly younger man.
"You really are something , the Cap told me that I had to see you in action when you're talking to victims cause you're the one to learn from." He shrugged "Honestly, I thought he was full of it until I saw it for myself this morning." He laughed.
"yeah I've been told I have a way with the vics" she laughed back "But then I've been doing this nearly 14 years so you pick up a few things in that amount of time. You'll get to grips with it eventually too. Dealing with sexual violence on a daily basis can be hard on the detective too so make sure you take care of yourself." She gave him a spot of advice as he drove "It's important to make sure you can separate the work stuff from your home and family or it can creep in when you aren't paying attention." She thought of how much Elliot had struggled with not feeling able to share his work life with his wife and how it had eaten him up inside until he became a shell of the man she had once known.
"I'll remember that, Thanks" He pulled into the parking lot of the precinct and they got out to go and brief the Captain and find someone to partner the new detective to get their perp.
Munch was eating a bagel and reading over some files at his desk, Fin was lounging back in his chair with Amanda perched on his desk chatting to him animatedly. The Captain came out of his office when he saw his best detective and the newbie re-enter the squad room.
"So she seem credible?" He asked after Olivia had filled him in on the details of the case.
"Very, she's not a party girl , she's temping at a law firm part time as a para-legal whilst she's in law school. Told the co-worker she wasn't interested then when they were the only two left in the office he forced himself on her." Olivia said scrunching her nose in disgust "I wouldn't be surprised if he had only hung around after hours to get her alone. He planned this" She told her boss who nodded in understanding and called across the room "Rollin's stop gossiping and go with Amaro to pick up this piece of scum so we can get his side of the story." The blonde stood "Got it boss!" She mock saluted and grabbed her coat and clipped on her gun and shield and followed the new guy out into the hall.
"Liv my office please, I want a word" He motioned the brunette into his office letting her step in first before closing the door behind them.
"How'd Amaro do?" He asked "His cap said he was one of their best but felt like he needed a change of scenery." Cragen told her motioning for her to sit.
"He seems straight up, a bit green when it comes to sex crimes but he'll be fine once he gets the hang of it" She shrugged "he didn't do much except observe and drive but he was very attentive" She said.
"he's no replacement for you, I told him to pay attention and learn from you." He smiled back at her "So how's the kid doing in there" He changed the topic to her and the baby.
"Giving me heartburn but otherwise doing as it should" She smiled and placed a hand on the growing bump.
"Good, I'm happy for you Liv. I didn't even know you were seeing someone, he gonna make an honest woman of you?" He asked concern lacing his voice.
"Um...We're not together and never really were. It was a one time thing" She blushed to the roots of her hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to upset you. That baby is still a lucky little guy to have you as it's mother" He tried to back peddle and mollify her and was relieved when he heard the brunette chuckle.
"I am seeing someone actually. It's early days but things are going well. They want to be involved with me and the baby" She smiled thinking of the young blonde spitfire who had been so lovely and attentive towards her the last few months particularly last night and this morning.
"That's good, you deserve to be happy." Cragen smiled "now go start that file for the case and let me get back to my mountain of paperwork and I'll see you later." He gestured to the door signalling that the personal conversation was over and back to boss mode.
As she sat at her desk and began the work she had been instructed to do she felt Fin's eyes boring into the back of her head and looked up and turned to face him.
"What? Is the back of my hair a mess or something?" She asked the man who was now wearing a smirk and he came over and sat opposite her.
"So? You gonna tell me who the daddy is?" He asked leaning forward conspiratorially.
"None of your business. No ones business actually. We're not together, we hooked up one night four and a half months ago." She ran a hand over her face. What was with everyone questioning her baby's paternity today. "you're really not mad that I didn't tell you earlier?" She flipped the questions back to the African American man in front of her.
" Nah, I'm a bit annoyed at myself for not picking up on it sooner. Besides I know something the others don't know yet." He winked at her, she looked puzzled for a moment and then remembered he had seen the mark Amanda had left on her neck this morning in the shower. "gonna tell me what's going on with you and blondie?" He smirked and watched her blush again.
"nothing." she quickly tried to shoot down the inquiring man but he was a detective after all.
"Well you have arrived at work together everyday for at least the last couple of weeks and I'm sure I saw you two almost holding hands this morning which means one of you slept over last night plus that hickey on your neck I just added it all up" He smirked at the woman's uncomfortable position.
"what? We're friends . friends have sleepovers sometimes" She still tried to deny it.
"Liv we're friends" He gestured between the two of them with his hands "And we've never had a sleepover" He laughed.
"Okay...Um...We're together. Like together together" She said still blushing and chuckled when he whistled at her.
"Well I knew you both had the hots for each other that night at the bar but wait? Is that the sound of the world as we know it ending? Olivia Margaret Benson is committing to a relationship? Good for you" He playfully punched her shoulder.
"Shut up Fin. We're good together. She just seems to know what I need before I've even figured it out for myself. It's a little crazy the way it's all happened so fast." Olivia confided in her friend.
"I'll say , I thought you were gonna claw her eyes out when you first met her and here you are in a relationship with her. Still I'm happy if you're happy" He grinned at the love drunk look on his friends face.
"I am happy. She makes me happier than I've been in a long time." Olivia confessed.
"you know if it's getting serious you're gonna have to disclose to the higher ups. Better to tell them before they hear it from someone else" He became serious for a minute.
"Yeah I know. Seems I've constantly got thing to disclose to 1PP these days." She sighed and pushed he bangs out of her eyes.
"So you can tell me Liv, you know I've got your back no matter what... but the baby? Is it Stabler's?" Liv just stared at him dumbstruck.
