A/N: Sorry for the delay, life suddenly got busy! I'm not completely happy with this one, but I can't seem to fix it no matter how hard I try.
Down at the ME's office, Liv stood silently, her hands stuffed deep into her coat pockets as she stared down at the lifeless body of Marcy Jenkins. As she waited for Dr Warner to come and talk her through her findings, Olivia examined the poor girl. She had been cleaned up; a modesty cloth covered her body from under arm to upper thigh. Her dark hair was wet, and had been combed back, away from her face, showing more bruising and swelling around her hairline, as though her assailant had grabbed her by the hair and pulled it violently. As Liv's eyes travelled further down the girl's body, she saw that her olive skin looked sallow under the harsh lighting of the autopsy table, and the parts of her body Olivia could see were covered in cuts and bruises.
The lieutenant's eyes zeroed in on the wound on Marcy's left shoulder. Three round, red, blistered marks marred the skin there – cigarette burns. With a gasp Olivia took a quick step back from the table, colliding with Melinda as she walked around behind the lieutenant. "Woah, easy Liv, you okay?" Warner asked, looking with concern at the brunette. Reaching out, Mel steadied Olivia's shoulders with her hands, and though she didn't say anything, she felt Liv flinch under her touch and saw her face screwed up as though in pain, though only for a moment, before the lieutenant turned away, regaining her composure.
"Fine." Liv said in a clipped tone. She swallowed hard and set her jaw, turning her gaze from the corpse on the table to the Medical Examiner. "What did you find?"
Seeing that her old friend did not want to discuss what had just happened, the doctor began to break down her analysis of the body for Olivia. She showed the brunette a couple of x-rays pinned to the light board on the wall, pointing out several blows to the girl's head. It had been a particularly hard one to the back of her skull, against the edge of the table she had been tied to that had killed her. Melinda confirmed that there was evidence of sexual assault and presence of fluids, which had been sent off for testing.
The ME pulled back the sheet, revealing more of the victim's torso. She pointed out that the development of some of the bruising indicated that the girl had been kept there for at least a couple of days, but she had only died in the early hours of this morning. It took all of Olivia's concentration, but she listened carefully to what the doctor was telling her. When Melinda finished, Liv asked, "can you do me a favour and forward your report to my squad? I, um, I have somewhere to be." She finished awkwardly.
"Sure, Liv. No problem. Are you sure you're okay?" Melinda's eyebrows knitted together with worry.
Olivia gave her a small smile, though it did not reach her eyes, hoping to reassure the ME. "I'm fine Mel, thanks." She started towards the exit, calling back over her shoulder. "Let me know if you get any hits from the fluid sample, would ya?"
Melinda retreated to her office to send her report, and while she was there, she decided to make a call.
"Manhattan SVU, Detective Rollins speaking." Came the voice over the phone.
"Hi, Amanda, it's Melinda Warner here," the doctor replied.
"Oh, hey Doc, what's up?" Amanda asked, smiling to herself as she realised, she had just messed up Bugs Bunny's famous line.
"There's a rumour going around that you are living with Olivia Benson right now, is that true?" Melinda asked, carefully.
"Um, yeah," Amanda's smile faded as she answered slowly, "why do you ask?"
"Well, she just left here. She asked me to send my autopsy report to your squad. I just wanted to give you a heads-up, I think this case may be getting to her. She seemed a little… on edge." Melinda finished, hesitantly.
It's getting to all of us, Amanda thought, as she fiddled uncomfortably with the cord of her office phone. She had gotten that same impression from the lieutenant earlier in the day, but she didn't like gossiping about Liv behind her back.
As though sensing this, Melinda added, "I'm not trying to rat her out or anything, it's just that, she's a friend and I'm concerned for her. I just wanted to ask you to look out for her, okay?"
"I will, thanks Melinda." Amanda replied, and they hung up. Just as Amanda dropped the handset back into the cradle, her cell vibrated across the surface of her desk. Picking it up, she saw a text from Olivia.
Hey, would you be alright to get yourself back to the apartment tonight? I have some things I need to take care of. Liv x
This did nothing to allay Amanda's worry over Olivia's frame of mind. So she quickly replied to Olivia's text.
No problem, Liv. Everything okay? Do you need me to bring anything? A x
She glanced at the clock; a little after 4pm. She would stay at work until 5pm, that way Liv wouldn't think she was checking up on her. Given the crime scene photos she had seen earlier that day, and now scanning through the autopsy report she had just received from Melinda, she had a shrewd idea of what was bothering Olivia, and it made her eager to get home, if only to reassure herself that Liv was okay.
The injuries their victim had sustained were eerily similar to those she had come across in another case a couple of years before. A case that was forever etched into the memories of their entire unit, for it had hit way too close to home when it affected one of their own, Olivia.
William Lewis liked to torture, beat and burn his victims, the same way Marcy Jenkins had been. They had seen it all in Lewis' case files from Kentucky, Alabama and Maryland, not to mention poor Alice Parker, their elderly witness that Lewis raped and tortured for 18 hours right here in New York. It couldn't be Lewis this time, it was impossible, the man was dead. Amanda had seen the body.
After Lewis had taken Olivia for the second time, they had found her, hands tied to the table, ankles duct taped to the legs of it. Her face had been frozen and unreadable, covered in his blood and brain matter. Rollins had made sure to go and see his body in the morgue, she had to be certain he could not come back to torture her friend anymore. The temptation to draw her weapon and put another bullet through his head as he lay, pale and lifeless, on that cold metal slab had been almost overwhelming. After all, he had been cheating the system his whole life. What if he found some way to cheat death too?
She had instead pulled herself away and gone to drown the hideous events of the last 24 hours in a large quantity of bourbon. She had managed to resist the underground gambling clubs; it having only been a month since the undercover incident with Declan Murphy. Olivia wasn't too pleased with her right now and she did not want to anger the brunette further, so stuck to her legal vices.
Amanda had been the one that had run the background on Lewis. Finding several of his old cases, she had spent hours, days, going through the horrific details, all the while dreading that he might be doing the same thing to Liv. In deference to their friend, none of the SVU squad had read the report from Olivia's kidnap and subsequent torture at the hands of the psychopath, but they had all seen her in the aftermath. She shook herself mentally, willing herself to focus on the report in front of her. This was not Lewis. Lewis is dead.
At ten to five, unable to focus any longer, and needing to assure herself that Olivia was okay, Amanda gave up. With a deep sigh, she dropped her pen on the desk. Running her hands roughly over her face she got to her feet. She packed up her stuff, closed down her computer and slung her jacket over her shoulders. She was tired, and feeling a little nauseous, whether from the morning sickness or from the case report she wasn't sure, she just knew that she wanted to get home.
Of course, during rush hour in New York, it took almost 45 minutes for her to get back to Liv's apartment by subway. She fidgeted nervously the whole way, her mind running away with different scenarios she might return to. It was both a surprise and a relief therefore, when she entered quietly to the sound of giggling, both Noah and Olivia's laughter distinguishable. Amanda poked her head around the corner to see mother and son curled together on the couch, watching as Frannie chased her tail in circles, almost catching it, then turning and trying the other direction. All to no avail.
Her face split into a grin as she took in the heart-warming scene, as yet unnoticed by the occupants of the apartment. The soft thud as the front door closed got everyone's attention though. There was a cry of "Manna!", and a chorus of barking, and Olivia started slightly as her eyes snapped up to the entryway, giving a welcoming smile when she saw who was there. Amanda searched the brunette's face carefully, but saw only peace and contentment there, even a sparkle of amusement from watching Frannie's antics. The pit bull had bounded over to her owner, bouncing on her hind legs, front paws on the blonde's chest as she attempted to lick Amanda's ears, tail wagging at a hundred miles an hour.
Amanda breathed easier, seeing that Liv was better than she had been at work, but she was still determined to keep a close eye on her boss.
The rest of the evening was fairly quiet. Liv had made a lasagna for dinner, and the three of them sat and ate quietly, most of the conversation coming from Noah babbling about his day at day-care. After dinner Liv had taken Noah to be bathed and put to bed. She walked into the kitchen to do the dishes, only to find they had already been done. She turned to find a smiling blonde stood at the edge of the living room, holding two glasses of water in her hands. Offering one to the older woman, Amanda moved to sit in her usual seat on the left-hand side of the couch.
Liv took the glass with a murmured word of thanks, then sat down at the far end of the couch. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, neither one looking at the other. Amanda fiddled with the glass between her hands, while Liv twisted a lock of hair distractedly between her fingers.
Eventually, Amanda worked up the courage to ask Liv if she was okay. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, however, the brunette cut across her. "How is the investigation going?" she asked, "Did Melinda send the autopsy report over?"
"Oh, uh," the blonde hesitated, momentarily thrown off track by Liv's questions, before she answered. "Yeah, we got the report. Still waiting on the DNA results from CSU and from the samples the ME sent in, but Sonny managed to contact the family. They are coming in first thing tomorrow. There isn't much more we can do until we get the results, and Fin went to the father's last known, but he doesn't live there anymore. Rumour is he lost all his money on the ponies and ended up homeless. I have a call in to some old contacts on the circuit…"
Liv's gaze snapped to the younger woman's with raised eyebrows, her alarm clearly showing on her face. "Don't worry Liv, I'm just trying to find someone who might know him, I haven't placed any bets and I don't intend to." Amanda reassured the brunette with a calm smile. "how're you doin'?" She asked her boss, shyly.
Taken aback by the abrupt change of topic, a beat passed before Liv uttered a clipped "I'm fine," effectively cutting off that conversation. She obviously did not want to discuss her odd behaviour from today, and Rollins didn't dare push the subject any further.
"Well," Liv said, getting to her feet, "if nothing more can be done tonight, we may as well sleep while we can. I'm going to bed. Goodnight Rollins." With that, she swept past the stunned blonde and retreated quickly to her bedroom, the door closing behind her with a snap.
Amanda sat in shocked silence for a moment, the abruptness of Liv's departure and the jarring use of her last name, both glaring indicators that the lieutenant wanted to keep her at arms-length right now. She only ever referred to the blonde as Rollins in a professional capacity these days. Amanda glanced at the clock, and saw it was barely nine thirty. Looking in the direction the brunette had taken, she let out a deep sigh. She knew Liv was not 'fine', but to try and push the subject would only cause the older woman to withdraw further. All Amanda could do was wait and watch, and be there if and when Olivia needed her.
With another sigh, she got to her feet, deposited her glass in the kitchen, and checked the front door was locked and deadbolted before shutting off all the lights and making her way to her own bed, her mind on the brunette down the hall, hoping she would be alright.