The two male detectives escorted the perp from the room, Handley struggling against their hold as he yelled about 'those fucking bitches', Fin had to shout over him to read him his rights as they walked. Amanda took Liv's hand and, without a word, led her through the open door to the lieutenant's office, Barba trailing in their wake. As Amanda guided Liv to sit on the sofa, he asked, "is there anything I can do? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Liv shook her head vehemently, still coughing. "If you don't mind, counsellor, could you go get the cool pack from the freezer in the break room?" Amanda asked him softly. With a nod he turned on his heel, leaving the two women alone.
"Are you sure you're okay Liv?" the blonde murmured as she knelt in front of the lieutenant, one hand laid on the older woman's knee, wanting to reassure herself as much as Olivia that she was alright. She knew Liv liked to look strong in front of the team, but they knew each other better now, and Amanda hoped that the older woman would trust her enough to tell her the truth if she was hurting, or concerned for her health in any way. She peered up into the dark-haired woman's face. "It looks pretty sore, maybe we should–"
"I'm fine, Amanda," Liv rasped, sounding like she either smoked forty a day, or had a bad case of tonsilitis. She wore a strange expression, a mix of anger, gratitude and worry. "What the hell do you think you're playing at, tackling him like that?"
Apparently, the anger had won out as the dominant emotion as she glared at the younger woman. Taken aback, Amanda retracted her hand from Olivia's leg, flinching as though it burned her. She stared in shock at the brunette for a few seconds before she answered. "Liv I… he was strangling you! I wasn't about to sit around doing nothing while he choked you."
"Did you even stop to consider the danger you put yourself in, and the baby?" Olivia hissed, barely audibly in case they were overheard.
Amanda's face fell immediately, and her stomach dropped. She felt sick. What had she done? What if the fall had hurt the baby?
She hadn't even paused to consider the repercussions on her. The only thing she had focused on was that the brunette woman she cared about so much had been unable to breathe. All she could care about in those few seconds was Olivia. She hung her head as she realised what harm her actions could have caused to her unborn child.
She tried to assess the sensations in her body, her pulse was still slightly elevated, probably from the adrenaline of the moment, but the only pain she felt was a dull ache in her shoulder where it had collided with Jason's ribs. The rest of the fall had been cushioned by the man's body beneath her.
Olivia could see tears shining in the southern woman's eyes as the blue gaze dropped to the floor, and knew that she had made her feel guilty. "Amanda," Liv said with a soft sigh, less angry now, as she pulled the blonde's chin up to meet her eyes, "I am grateful for what you did in there, truly," and Amanda knew she was being sincere. "I just can't have you putting yourself at risk for me like that."
"I'm sorry, Liv," Amanda choked out, her eyes on the vivid finger shaped marks still visible on the brunette's neck. "I just couldn't bear to see him hurting you like that. I didn't stop to think, I just acted."
"I know, it's your instinct as a cop, but honey, you've got to start using your instincts as a mom now, too." Liv cut herself off as Barba re-entered the room, followed by Carisi and Fin.
Amanda looked away from them, blinking rapidly to rid herself of the tears in her eyes before she turned back to face them. The women looked up at the men as Barba wordlessly held out the blue gel pack to Rollins, who took it and offered it to Liv.
The older woman pressed the pack gingerly to her throat, closing her eyes briefly with relief. "So," she ground out as she reopened them, "where are we at?" she looked from one face to the next around the room.
Fin retrieved a bottle of water from Liv's mini fridge, opened it and passed it to the brunette who nodded her thanks and took a sip.
"Amber sang like a canary," Carisi started, "she didn't like the idea of being charged with facilitation, or registering as a sex offender. She is pleading out to misdemeanour assault for drugging Jamie."
"She'll do six months to a year, max," Barba cut in, "but more likely she will just get probation, as it's a first offense."
Amanda shook her head, sickened that any woman could set up another woman, a friend no less, to be attacked, humiliated and degraded that way.
"Jason is in the tombs for the weekend," Fin picked up, "he'll be arraigned on Monday, right, counsellor?" He asked looking to Rafael.
"Yes," He checked his watch, "it's too late in the day now, so he'll have to wait until Monday, I just hope nobody lets it slip to his cell mates that he was taken down by a 100lb woman." The guys all smirked and looked proudly at the blonde. She forced a smile, trying to look pleased, but in truth she was still reeling from what Liv had said to her. Some mother I'm shaping up to be, not even three months pregnant and already putting my baby's life at risk.
"You bumped it up to attempted murder, Rafa?" Liv questioned, distracting the group from Amanda's less than enthusiastic response. She worried she had been too harsh on the younger woman, but she also worried that if Amanda didn't slow down, she would end up hurting either herself or the baby.
"Jamie would have died if someone hadn't found her," Barba explained in his usual clipped tone, "he showed no regard for her life. I think that, with Jamie's documented injuries, and now yours," he gestured to her neck, "I can sell it to a jury that he was intending to cause enough injury to kill her. Now, I think we're done here, I need your fives on this by close of business on Monday, other than that, have a nice weekend." With a nod to the squad, he bustled out of the room.
Liv looked over the faces of her squad. They were all tired, and it was nearing 8pm on Friday night. "Well, you heard the man, have a nice weekend," she said with a smile, "get outta here before I change my mind."
"Are you sure you're okay, Liv?" Fin asked with concern as she got to her feet and tossed the gel pack on her desk.
"I'm fine, Fin, now go!" Olivia sounded grumpy, but she gave her old friend a small smile, so he knew she wasn't really mad. Fin and Carisi high-fived like school boys who had been let out of class early, and bolted from the room, Amanda making to follow them.
"Rollins," Olivia called to the blonde's retreating back, her voice still sounded a little hoarse. When the blonde turned back to look at her, she asked, "can I have a quick word with you?"
Amanda, sensing a telling off coming, hung back, closing the door after the two men then came back over to the desk, where Olivia leaned against it. "Yes, Lieutenant?"
As soon as the door closed, Olivia relaxed her somewhat stiff posture with a sigh. "Are you okay?" the brunette asked quietly, "you weren't injured? You aren't in any pain at all?"
Amanda swallowed, taken aback by Olivia's gentle tone, "I'm alright, Liv, my shoulder feels a little bruised but nothin' else hurts." She knew what Liv was getting at, but she honestly felt fine.
Olivia bit her lip, knowing Amanda's tendency to downplay injuries. After a long moment of studying the blonde, she decided she would have to trust Amanda to tell her if she wasn't okay. She took the blonde by surprise when she reached out and pulled her into a fierce hug. She knew Amanda wasn't an overly tactile person, but right now, as shaken as she felt, Liv needed to reassure herself that the younger woman was indeed unharmed. "I'm sorry if I'm being overbearing," she murmured into the silky blonde tresses, "you scared me, that's all. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Either of you."
Amanda returned the hug hesitantly, a warm feeling blooming in her chest as she was momentarily distracted by the scent of Olivia's vanilla shampoo so close to her. She was trying her best to convince herself that it was concern for her friend that had driven her to act so rashly. Trying not to read too much into the meaning of the embrace Olivia now held her in. "I'm sorry too, Liv." She slid her arms tentatively around the brunette's waist. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to stop him hurting you."
"I know," Liv grinned into the younger woman's hair. "I'm very grateful you were there, Manda. But I'm even more grateful that you are okay."
"I'll be more careful in future, I promise," Amanda vowed. "I don't want to mess this kid up before it's even born."
"You're gonna be a great mom," Liv assured the younger woman, "you just need to get used to the mindset."
"I suppose so," Amanda agreed, doubtfully.
"C'mon," Liv said hoarsely, pulling back out of the hug and smiling down at the blonde. "If we hurry, we might see Noah before he goes to bed.
A/N: Are people still reading this? I know it's a little slow but the good part is coming, I swear!