AN: This is a lot more exposition than I originally intended but this story has kind of a dense history. I hope this isn't too off-putting even though this seems like a slow start. I do have a direction for this, so please stick with it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please leave a comment! :) LT.

Trophy

Chapter Three

..

Detective Amanda Rollins had spent most of her day catching up on paperwork after closing their most recent case. Saturdays weren't usually her days on but she figured she could cover Carisi and get all her backlogged paper work done. It had been a fairly quiet day, though Amanda wouldn't dare say that out loud, everyone knew the moment you said that chaos would descend.

She was coming back from the bathroom when she saw a young, redheaded woman by the front desk, looking timid and unsure. Amanda caught the desk officers eye and gave him a knowing nod, indicating she'd handle this, as she stepped into the young woman's eye line.

"Can I help you with anything?" Amanda asked, voice clear and curious.

The young woman looked up at her with wide eyes, discomfort and unease clear in her face and her body. Amanda thought she had a pretty good idea of what had brought the woman in that afternoon. She gave her a soft, encouraging smile.

"Uh…um, maybe? I think I was assaulted?" the woman blurted out and Amanda could see the unsureness radiating out from her.

"Okay," Amanda nodded. "Let's have a chat then, would that be alright? What's your name honey?" Amanda continued as she gestured towards the soft interview room, waiting for the young woman to start walking.

"Oh. Um, Nadia. Nadia Owens," Nadia replied with a shake of her head.

"Hi Nadia. I'm Detective Rollins, Amanda. Just this way," Amanda said gently, as she carefully ushered her towards the interview room.

Amanda lead Nadia Owens through the squad room and into the interview room, watching the young woman carefully all the while. Amanda could tell that the woman couldn't have been more than 25. She seemed nervous and unsure of herself - even her words had sounded like she was doubting what had happened to her. But something inside of Amanda, even with only her few years at the Manhattan SVU, could see that something had happened.

Whether it was a rape or an assault, that was to be determined but Amanda was going to find out and she was going to do the best she could to help Nadia Owens.

Once Nadia was situated in the soft interview room, clutching her bag tightly in front of her on the table, Amanda took the seat adjacent to her. They were facing each other and could still look eye to eye, even though Nadia's gaze seemed to bounce around the room. That was okay, Amanda thought as she pulled a notepad from the side table and a pen - she flipped to a clean page and put down the date and time and the name the young woman had given her.

"Nadia, can you tell me what made you come in today?" Amanda started gently, not wanting to push the woman. She had a feeling the young woman was unsure about what had happened to her and that she could bolt at any second. And Amanda didn't want that to happen, not without the chance to help her first.

She watched as Nadia's mouth twisted and her hands wrung together nervously. "I…Last night, something happened with this…man that I know. I'd wanted it, at first but then…when it actually came time to…you know…I didn't think it was a good idea anymore," Nadia stuttered out, still looking and sounding so unsure. Her eyes met Amanda's, her blue irises filled with shame and embarrassment before she looked away.

"This man, he forced you?" Amanda prompted gently, she wanted to keep the young woman talking. She was afraid that if Nadia stopped, she wouldn't start again and that whatever had happened would haunt the young woman forever. Amanda knew what that could be like.

Nadia shook her head, not making eye contact, her eyes focused on the wooden table below her hands. "Not exactly? Not…forcefully." She took a beat then, seemingly to take a deep breath and look back up at Amanda finally. "It's just…he's older. More established. He's married and I started to think about his wife and I… It just didn't seem like a good idea anymore. Which I tried to tell him but, we'd been dancing, he was still holding me and I didn't want to put up a fight, make a big deal out of it, you know? But he said that all the dirty messages and photos I'd been sending him, that he'd show them to my boss.

"And then he sort've…made me get down on my knees and told me to be a good girl. I tried to say I didn't want to again. But he just said that I wouldn't want my boss to know about the messages, that I'd been unprofessional and that I'd have a hard time finding another job with a publisher… So I just did what he wanted! I don't come from money, or influence, this job is the only foothold I have in the publishing world! He was supposed to be a mentor, I thought he was trying to help me. But that's not what he wanted at all, is it?"

Amanda had been taking notes as Nadia spoke and she couldn't help but get the sense that this man, this wouldn't have been the first time he'd done something like this. Just from the little Nadia had shared it was clear to Amanda that he was manipulative and knew how to play on his power and position over another. She suspected, though she wouldn't say it, that Nadia wasn't the first woman he'd coerced into sexual acts.

The problem here, as she was sure Barba would point out, is that this allegation would be hard to prove. Amanda definitely thought whoever this man was, he needed to be looked into, she'd run it by Dodds in the hope that she could turn up any other accusations or complaints. She would let Barba worry about what he could or couldn't be charged with later; once she had more to go on.

She focused back on Nadia and gave her a sympathetic smile. "No, probably not. Men like him, predators, are good at drawing you in, manipulating and charming people. It's how they get away with what they do to people, until someone comes forward. Just like you have."

Nadia looked at her a little reluctantly, as if she was unsure about Amanda's words. She wanted to help the younger woman but if this man, Nadia's assaulter, had the kind of influence or power that Nadia seemed to imply he did, she knew it could be a hard case to make. Amanda hadn't missed how carefully Nadia had avoided using the man's name and she had to wonder if he was someone well-known. Either way, she needed to know it if she was going to do any kind of investigation.

"Nadia, I need to know who this man is if we're going to help you." Amanda told her plainly, pen poised and ready against her pad of paper. She wasn't at all surprised when Nadia shook her head at the words, the confusion clear in her demeanour.

"I don't know…he's a writer, an author. He's well-known, you might not believe me. He's got a whole, perfect wife, perfect family image…" Nadia replied, clearly conflicted and deeply unsure of herself.

"I do believe you Nadia. I can see that something's happened to you, that you've been hurt. We can't hold him accountable until we know who he is," Amanda reminded her gently.

Nadia sighed, her brows furrowed together tightly. "Burton. That's who…assaulted me. His name is Burton Lowe."

..

Brunch had been Bianca's mother's idea and at first Olivia wasn't sure whether it was a good one. But seeing the newly married couple off with food and drinks before their honeymoon was actually turning out to be good. It was a more relaxed vibe than the reception and was actually giving the two families a chance to get to know each other.

She was also glad to see so many of the bridal party there too. She knew Bianca had asked her closest sister to be her maid of honor, then she'd had Scarlett and her best friend as bridesmaids. She'd marvelled at how well they all seemed to get along, including her own daughter that was always so confident and engaging. Holden and Scarlett had always been social and had always gotten along with each other for the most part. It was something she was grateful for, considering both she and Burton didn't have any siblings.

Olivia grinned when she saw Holden and his best friend Scott take a seat beside her. Holden had been five when they'd moved just down the street from the Walker's; Olivia had been happy to have another family with young children around. Holden and Scott had been fast friends and Olivia had gotten to know Scott's mother, Helena over the years as well. She'd always gotten the feeling that the other woman had suspected how things could get volatile between her and Burton, though she'd never outright said anything. Olivia had been saddened when they'd moved away once Scott and Holden had gone off to college - she couldn't blame them though, Scott was their youngest.

She didn't know what she and Burton would do once the twins left for college. The thought of it just made her anxious.

"How are you Scott?" Olivia asked the young man. "I was sorry to hear that your mom couldn't make it. I was looking forward to catching up with her," she continued. Apparently the other woman had taken a tumble the other week and injured her ankle and been unable to fly.

"Yeah, she was looking forward to it too. She's never been to New York. But her doctors said she probably shouldn't fly. She said to tell you hello though, I think she wanted to catch up as well," Scott replied easily and Olivia smiled widely at the words.

"Well, tell her I say hello and that we're sorry to have missed her," Olivia said with a sincere smile.

"I will," Scott nodded, like the good boy that he always had been. "Oh. She told me not to forget to give you her phone number? She thinks she lost yours when she got a new phone a few years ago," Scott continued and Olivia just smiled politely as she added Helena Walker's number back into her phone.

She didn't say anything but Olivia was quite sure it wasn't Helena that had lost her number. Just before Scarlett had gone off to college, Burton had accidentally broken her phone and when he'd bought her another one, it had come with a whole new number and none of her previous contacts saved. It had been frustrating at the time and again when she'd had to get a new phone and number the year before after she'd left Housewives.

It didn't surprise her that Helena hadn't been able to get ahold of her over the years.

"Thank you. It'll be good to reconnect," Olivia said, glad to be able to reach out again to one of the only people she'd considered a friend over the years.

..

"I meant to ask last night, but got caught up in the celebration. But, what's with that song? The one you and Burton danced to? The old one. Holden asked for it specifically," Bianca asked curiously, sitting between her mom and Olivia.

Olivia smiled and laughed, shaking her head in a bit of embarrassment. "Oh. It's an old Frank Sinatra song and when we first started…going together, Burton made me a mixtape with this song on it. He's always said the song reminded him of me and it was so sweet, it sort've just became our thing. You know, like our song," Olivia explained with a light laugh and a smile.

"I think technically Sinatra's version is a cover," Bianca's mom Marie said with a smile as she sipped her latte.

"Oh? I…I didn't know that. Burton just said it was a Sinatra song. That's the only version I know, I suppose," Olivia replied with a little shrug. Every time she talked with Marie she always felt a little…wrong-footed and off-kilter.

Marie was only about ten years older than Olivia and though the woman had been nothing but polite to her, she felt at times like the other woman was judging her. It was the same sort of feeling she'd gotten when she'd been on Housewives - like she was just some gold-digging trophy wife that had never worked a day in her life. None of that was true, of course, she'd been working as a waitress before she'd gotten pregnant with Holden and she'd been trying to go to community college.

But after Holden had been born and they'd moved to California, Burton had a better job and he'd wanted her to stay at home and look after Holden. He'd said there was no need for her to go back to school or work, not when he was making enough money to support their little family. And frankly the idea of parting from her baby boy every day to work had just felt heart-wrenching to Olivia at the time; so she'd readily agreed.

She had never intended to be a stay at home mom and housewife for the rest of her life but that's just how it had worked out. Burton told her all the time how lucky she was that he was successful enough to provide for them, that everything they'd sacrificed in the beginning meant they could enjoy such a nice lifestyle now. And she was so proud of Burton for being so successful, he'd told her how he wanted to be a great novelist from the very beginning and she knew he couldn't have done it without her.

Marie laughed lightly, nodding as she took a sip of her mimosa. "Well, it probably is one of the more popular versions," Marie acquiesced. She smiled then, more genuinely. "It is sweet that you and Burton have a song though. Tomas and I certainly don't, he's not that romantic."

Olivia laughed a little, relaxing slightly in the older woman's presence. "Burton's always just had a way with words, he even used to write me poetry when we first met," Olivia shared, a pleased warmth filling her at the memory. Everything back then had been so romantic and sweet between them.

"How did you and Burton meet?" Bianca asked curiously, eager to hear the beginnings of someone else's love story. It had to be that newlywed shine taking over. "Holden's never actually said."

The question made Olivia pause - though it had been years, she knew she couldn't tell her new daughter-in-law or her mother the truth. Not after all these years of obfuscating. It felt a little wrong though, to outright lie to a young woman that was technically part of her family now. But then again, even her children didn't know the whole truth and a sudden surge of guilt swept through her.

Burton had told her from the beginning that other people just wouldn't understand and she'd taken that to heart.

"We met at college," Olivia replied, hand tight around her iced latte. She repeated what she'd been repeating for years. "Just randomly bumped into each other one day and that was it," she told them.

She beamed gratefully when Holden appeared to let Bianca know it was time to go. They made their rounds to say goodbye to everyone and Olivia tried not to tear up at the sight of her son and his new wife. She'd been holding onto her emotions so well all morning and now that it was time for them to leave, she couldn't help the emotion welling up inside her.

"Aw, mom, don't cry," Holden whispered as he and Bianca leaned in to hug her.

"I'm just so happy for you. For you both," Olivia replied lightly, swiping away a few quick tears as she pulled back from the married pair. "I love you both. And welcome to the family, Bianca."

"Olivia," Bianca whispered back emotionally, happy that she seemed to get along with her new mother-in-law so well. "Thank you."

"Alright, alright. We really do need to go," Holden said, as he gave Olivia one last quick hug and peck on the cheek.

"Okay. Have fun and be safe! We'll have to do a family dinner when you two get back," Olivia called to them as they headed for the door to the restaurant. Burton appeared beside her then, having said his goodbyes earlier and slipped an arm tight around her waist as they stood there.

"You be safe too," Holden joked with a wide, playful smile. "We'll be back in two weeks."

Olivia beamed as she watched her son leave with his new wife and the rest of her children stood by her side. She felt happier than she had in a long time. She leaned into Burton, hoping he felt as happy as she did, too.