Power and the Beauty: Chapter 7
Huzzah! Another chapter in the series. Yes, this was meant to be the last one but I found that the ending is being all dramatic on me and demanding more 'air' time ;-) So this is in fact the penultimate chapter in the series. Usual disclaimers apply :-)
Chapter 7
Olivia walked into the SVU office the next morning looking dishevelled and irritable. She'd barely slept. Just lay awake, replaying over and over again her argument with Alex. She knew she had said some seriously harsh words and felt so angry with herself. Why did she have to push Alex away? What did it matter if Alex was "better of" then she was? Deep down she knew Alex would never make it an issue. She knew Alex respected her as a detective, as a person, so that's all that should matter. The issue was Olivia's deep rooted, low self esteem. She believed she was unworthy of love. That her background was too violent for something as beautiful and fragile as love to exist in her present. She felt that the darkness she carried inside would one day spring forward and that it would scare people away from her. So she pushed people away before they got to close. Only Elliot had been able to get under her skin. He hadn't run away and she was eternally grateful for that that.
Now her insecurities had resurfaced and she had lost Alex. She kicked herself again for being such an idiot. When her alarm had gone off, she had stood by the phone contemplating calling Alex and apologising for her actions. She'd even got so far as dialling her number but then slamming the receiver down before the connection was made.
She walked over to her desk and sat down on her chair angrily. Elliot looked up from his paperwork and smiled at her. "So. How was last night?" He asked
Olivia said nothing. She ripped open one of her draws and rifled through it's contents. Elliot became concerned.
"What happened?" He asked
Olivia continued to ignore him. She slammed the draw shut and stormed over to the coffee pot, sitting on a table on the opposite side of the room. The pot was empty but for some old dregs of coffee sludge.
"Why doesn't anyone ever clean this thing out?" She snapped at no-one in particular.
"Good morning to you too" Said Munch, resulting in him receiving an angry glare from Olivia, who shoved the coffee pot back in place and stormed back over to her desk. Munch, deciding that challenging Olivia in this state was not a wise choice, quietly cleaned the pot out and began brewing a fresh one.
Olivia sat at her desk, angrily moving papers around.
Elliot took a deep breath "You wanna tell me what this is all about?" He asked.
Olivia slammed her hands down on the desk, pushed herself up and stormed out of the room.
Munch and Fin watched Olivia's reaction. They looked over at Elliot and shrugged, clearly unsure of why Olivia was in such a bad mood. Elliot got up and walked off after her. He found her in the corridor on her way to the lift. He grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Olivia!" He said
She wrestled herself free and looked to move again toward the lift but was stopped once more by Elliot
"Stop! What in the world is going on? Talk to me" He said angrily, his eyes searching her face for an explanation.
Olivia looked at Elliot, her emotions torn in separate directions. She took a deep breath and stared at the floor not moving,
"Is it Alex?" Asked Elliot. Olivia looked up at him for a brief second, tears clouding her eyes and looked back at the floor
"What happened?" He asked her soothingly
Olivia stood there silently before saying quietly "I screwed up"
Elliot took her to one side and with one hand on her arm, indicated for her to go on. Olivia relayed to him all that had happened the night before after Elliot had seen the two women off in the taxi. Once she finished she looked at him, her pain clearly etched on her face. "I really messed up El, she wont want to see me ever again" and with that some tears escaped and slid down her face.
Elliot looked distraught for his friend and pulled her towards him in a hug. He held her whilst she softly cried. He stroked her hair and told her that it would be OK. She just needed to be strong and apologise for her actions. If she explained why she did it, Alex would understand and things would be ok.
Once Olivia had calmed down a bit, Elliot suggested she go clean herself up and he'd see her back at their desks. Olivia did as she was told and was walking into the room, when Liz Donnelly stormed in, like a hurricane of frustrated anger. At the same time, Don Cragen walked out of his office and the two met in the middle of the room.
Munch watching the commotion from his desk, asked Fin quietly, if there was something in the air that was making all the women crazy? Fin just shook his head at his partner.
"What's wrong?" Cragen asked Liz.
"I tell you what. I'm sick of idiotic judges and spineless lawyers" She said angrily
"Ok, Who are we talking about this time?" Asked Cragen
"Danny Murphy's out" She snapped and looked round at the team, who looked shocked at her words
"How the hell did that happen?" Asked Elliot
"His bloody lawyer convinced the Judge that Murphy wasn't a threat. That he was just misunderstood and to release him into the care of a psychiatrist that would look after him, on behalf of the state"
"What?!" Asked Elliot angrily "Why didn't your man stop it?"
"'Cause my man is an idiot!" Snapped Liz. "I thought he was up to handling this case Clearly I was wrong. I just found out what a mess he made of it and came down here to see what more evidence we can get to lock Murphy up for good"
"Has anyone told Alex?" Asked Cragen suddenly worried for the ADA's safety.
"I thought she was here?" Questioned Liz "She wasn't in her office when I went to look for her earlier"
The detectives all looked at each other, their fear intensifying.
"She's not here?" Demanded Liz seeing their faces. She looked over at Olivia "Where the hell is she?"
Olivia didn't say a word but picked up the phone on her desk and dialled Alex's home number. All she got was Alex's answering machine message advising the caller she wasn't in and to leave a message. Olivia swore, cut the connection and dialled Alex's mobile number but got the same response.
"There's no answer on either of her phones" She said as she looked up at Elliot, her concern clearly showing on her face.
"Well don't just stand there. Go check her apartment" Snapped Liz at Olivia and Elliot. She turned to face Fin an Munch "You two go see where the hell Danny Murphy is"
The detectives looked from Liz to Cragen, who nodded at them to indicate they should carry out Liz's instructions. As they left the room he looked at Liz and said "Try not to bark orders at my detectives. I can handle them"
"Would you have said anything different?" She asked
"No but I still would have liked to say it" Replied Cragen "Let go into my office, we can review the evidence we have so far"
Olivia and Elliot pulled up outside Alex's apartment. They got out and Olivia walked over to the door man.
"Hello Ms Benson" He said brightly
"Hey George," responded Olivia "Have you seen Ms Cabot this morning?"
"Sure. A nice young Irish man was asking for her. Said he was an old friend and Ms Cabot seemed to know him. They left together" he replied.
Olivia looked at Elliot, panic written on her face
"When was this?" Asked Elliot carefully
"Oh, not more then an hour ago" Responded George
Elliot looked back at Olivia, the panic now creeping into his face too.
"Is something wrong?" Asked George seeing their expressions
"Which way did they go?" Asked Olivia hurriedly
"They walked off down the road" He replied, indicating the direction with his hand
"Damn!" Said Elliot.
"They could be anywhere Elliot!" Said Olivia, emotion stretching her voice into a higher pitch.
"We should head straight back to the precinct and call the cab firm." Said Elliot and added rather weekly "Maybe it'll be ok" as he put an arm around Olivia guiding her to the car.
They drove in silence. Elliot looking over at Olivia every so often. Olivia lost in her thoughts. She prayed Alex was ok and that Danny didn't hurt her. Now she wished even more she hadn't been so stupid last night. If she had stayed with Alex this wouldn't have happened She could have protected her. She slammed her fists on the dash board causing Elliot to jump slightly. He looked over at her.
"We'll find them" He said determinedly.
Once back at the precinct they conferred with Munch, Fin, Cragen and Liz. When she found out that Danny had Alex, she went into a rage demanding that everything be done to find the missing ADA. Cragen pointed out there was no one in the room that wouldn't be giving it their all to locate her. He indicated for Elliot to call the taxi firm to find out where it had dropped them off.
"Did we get anything from the psychiatric facility that was supposed to be guarding Danny?" Cragen asked Munch
"Yep, he never showed up after his court appearance this morning" he replied
"What the hell?" Asked Liz. "What has his lawyer got to say for himself?"
"Just that he put him in a taxi and gave the driver the address for the facility" replied Fin
"Well clearly he didn't get there" Snapped Liz
"He must have told the driver to go to Alex's apartment instead" Said Elliot
"You think?" Retorted Liz. Elliot eyes narrowed in anger. Liz ignored him and said to Cragen "We need to hold a press conference Announce Alex is out there somewhere and we need help to find her" She looked over at the team suggesting she didn't think much of their detective skills. They looked back at her defiantly.
Cragen took a deep breath and slowly let it out. A fight between the DA's office and his squad would not help matters. "Fin and Munch check out Danny's apartment. I doubt he would have taken her there but it's a starting point. Maybe it'll throw up a clue as to where he could be." He looked at Liz "Let organize that conference" and the two walked back into his office.
Olivia leaned back against her desk, the worry draining the colour from her face
Fin walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder "We'll find them" He said. With that he and Munch headed out. Elliot walked over to her and Olivia looked up at him.
"I can't stay her and wait for news. I'm going back to talk to George. Maybe he can give me some more information." She said
"More then what he has all ready given us?" Questioned Elliot
Olivia's expression told Elliot that she was really going so as to be 'near' to Alex and let her go.
Olivia arrived back at Alex's building. She again questioned George but he could offer no more information. He felt terrible for what had happened. That he hadn't questioned it and had been so taken in by Danny upset him deeply. He loved Alex like his own daughter and was beside himself with worry. He begged Olivia to find Alex so he could ask for her forgiveness. Olivia swallowed hard on hearing the distress in his voice. She asked him to let her into Alex apartment to see if there was anything that might help them. Clearly it was a long shot but George still let her in, sensing Olivia might have another motive for wanting to be there. He wanted to do all he could to help.
Olivia stood in the apartment and felt her mind being flooded with the memories of what had happened the last tine she had been there. The tears began to flow freely as she walked around. She found one of Alex's shirts laying against the black couch and picked it up. She sniffed it, smelling Alex's scent upon it. She buried her face in it and in her mind screamed "Where are you?"
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Chapter 7
Olivia walked into the SVU office the next morning looking dishevelled and irritable. She'd barely slept. Just lay awake, replaying over and over again her argument with Alex. She knew she had said some seriously harsh words and felt so angry with herself. Why did she have to push Alex away? What did it matter if Alex was "better of" then she was? Deep down she knew Alex would never make it an issue. She knew Alex respected her as a detective, as a person, so that's all that should matter. The issue was Olivia's deep rooted, low self esteem. She believed she was unworthy of love. That her background was too violent for something as beautiful and fragile as love to exist in her present. She felt that the darkness she carried inside would one day spring forward and that it would scare people away from her. So she pushed people away before they got to close. Only Elliot had been able to get under her skin. He hadn't run away and she was eternally grateful for that that.
Now her insecurities had resurfaced and she had lost Alex. She kicked herself again for being such an idiot. When her alarm had gone off, she had stood by the phone contemplating calling Alex and apologising for her actions. She'd even got so far as dialling her number but then slamming the receiver down before the connection was made.
She walked over to her desk and sat down on her chair angrily. Elliot looked up from his paperwork and smiled at her. "So. How was last night?" He asked
Olivia said nothing. She ripped open one of her draws and rifled through it's contents. Elliot became concerned.
"What happened?" He asked
Olivia continued to ignore him. She slammed the draw shut and stormed over to the coffee pot, sitting on a table on the opposite side of the room. The pot was empty but for some old dregs of coffee sludge.
"Why doesn't anyone ever clean this thing out?" She snapped at no-one in particular.
"Good morning to you too" Said Munch, resulting in him receiving an angry glare from Olivia, who shoved the coffee pot back in place and stormed back over to her desk. Munch, deciding that challenging Olivia in this state was not a wise choice, quietly cleaned the pot out and began brewing a fresh one.
Olivia sat at her desk, angrily moving papers around.
Elliot took a deep breath "You wanna tell me what this is all about?" He asked.
Olivia slammed her hands down on the desk, pushed herself up and stormed out of the room.
Munch and Fin watched Olivia's reaction. They looked over at Elliot and shrugged, clearly unsure of why Olivia was in such a bad mood. Elliot got up and walked off after her. He found her in the corridor on her way to the lift. He grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Olivia!" He said
She wrestled herself free and looked to move again toward the lift but was stopped once more by Elliot
"Stop! What in the world is going on? Talk to me" He said angrily, his eyes searching her face for an explanation.
Olivia looked at Elliot, her emotions torn in separate directions. She took a deep breath and stared at the floor not moving,
"Is it Alex?" Asked Elliot. Olivia looked up at him for a brief second, tears clouding her eyes and looked back at the floor
"What happened?" He asked her soothingly
Olivia stood there silently before saying quietly "I screwed up"
Elliot took her to one side and with one hand on her arm, indicated for her to go on. Olivia relayed to him all that had happened the night before after Elliot had seen the two women off in the taxi. Once she finished she looked at him, her pain clearly etched on her face. "I really messed up El, she wont want to see me ever again" and with that some tears escaped and slid down her face.
Elliot looked distraught for his friend and pulled her towards him in a hug. He held her whilst she softly cried. He stroked her hair and told her that it would be OK. She just needed to be strong and apologise for her actions. If she explained why she did it, Alex would understand and things would be ok.
Once Olivia had calmed down a bit, Elliot suggested she go clean herself up and he'd see her back at their desks. Olivia did as she was told and was walking into the room, when Liz Donnelly stormed in, like a hurricane of frustrated anger. At the same time, Don Cragen walked out of his office and the two met in the middle of the room.
Munch watching the commotion from his desk, asked Fin quietly, if there was something in the air that was making all the women crazy? Fin just shook his head at his partner.
"What's wrong?" Cragen asked Liz.
"I tell you what. I'm sick of idiotic judges and spineless lawyers" She said angrily
"Ok, Who are we talking about this time?" Asked Cragen
"Danny Murphy's out" She snapped and looked round at the team, who looked shocked at her words
"How the hell did that happen?" Asked Elliot
"His bloody lawyer convinced the Judge that Murphy wasn't a threat. That he was just misunderstood and to release him into the care of a psychiatrist that would look after him, on behalf of the state"
"What?!" Asked Elliot angrily "Why didn't your man stop it?"
"'Cause my man is an idiot!" Snapped Liz. "I thought he was up to handling this case Clearly I was wrong. I just found out what a mess he made of it and came down here to see what more evidence we can get to lock Murphy up for good"
"Has anyone told Alex?" Asked Cragen suddenly worried for the ADA's safety.
"I thought she was here?" Questioned Liz "She wasn't in her office when I went to look for her earlier"
The detectives all looked at each other, their fear intensifying.
"She's not here?" Demanded Liz seeing their faces. She looked over at Olivia "Where the hell is she?"
Olivia didn't say a word but picked up the phone on her desk and dialled Alex's home number. All she got was Alex's answering machine message advising the caller she wasn't in and to leave a message. Olivia swore, cut the connection and dialled Alex's mobile number but got the same response.
"There's no answer on either of her phones" She said as she looked up at Elliot, her concern clearly showing on her face.
"Well don't just stand there. Go check her apartment" Snapped Liz at Olivia and Elliot. She turned to face Fin an Munch "You two go see where the hell Danny Murphy is"
The detectives looked from Liz to Cragen, who nodded at them to indicate they should carry out Liz's instructions. As they left the room he looked at Liz and said "Try not to bark orders at my detectives. I can handle them"
"Would you have said anything different?" She asked
"No but I still would have liked to say it" Replied Cragen "Let go into my office, we can review the evidence we have so far"
Olivia and Elliot pulled up outside Alex's apartment. They got out and Olivia walked over to the door man.
"Hello Ms Benson" He said brightly
"Hey George," responded Olivia "Have you seen Ms Cabot this morning?"
"Sure. A nice young Irish man was asking for her. Said he was an old friend and Ms Cabot seemed to know him. They left together" he replied.
Olivia looked at Elliot, panic written on her face
"When was this?" Asked Elliot carefully
"Oh, not more then an hour ago" Responded George
Elliot looked back at Olivia, the panic now creeping into his face too.
"Is something wrong?" Asked George seeing their expressions
"Which way did they go?" Asked Olivia hurriedly
"They walked off down the road" He replied, indicating the direction with his hand
"Damn!" Said Elliot.
"They could be anywhere Elliot!" Said Olivia, emotion stretching her voice into a higher pitch.
"We should head straight back to the precinct and call the cab firm." Said Elliot and added rather weekly "Maybe it'll be ok" as he put an arm around Olivia guiding her to the car.
They drove in silence. Elliot looking over at Olivia every so often. Olivia lost in her thoughts. She prayed Alex was ok and that Danny didn't hurt her. Now she wished even more she hadn't been so stupid last night. If she had stayed with Alex this wouldn't have happened She could have protected her. She slammed her fists on the dash board causing Elliot to jump slightly. He looked over at her.
"We'll find them" He said determinedly.
Once back at the precinct they conferred with Munch, Fin, Cragen and Liz. When she found out that Danny had Alex, she went into a rage demanding that everything be done to find the missing ADA. Cragen pointed out there was no one in the room that wouldn't be giving it their all to locate her. He indicated for Elliot to call the taxi firm to find out where it had dropped them off.
"Did we get anything from the psychiatric facility that was supposed to be guarding Danny?" Cragen asked Munch
"Yep, he never showed up after his court appearance this morning" he replied
"What the hell?" Asked Liz. "What has his lawyer got to say for himself?"
"Just that he put him in a taxi and gave the driver the address for the facility" replied Fin
"Well clearly he didn't get there" Snapped Liz
"He must have told the driver to go to Alex's apartment instead" Said Elliot
"You think?" Retorted Liz. Elliot eyes narrowed in anger. Liz ignored him and said to Cragen "We need to hold a press conference Announce Alex is out there somewhere and we need help to find her" She looked over at the team suggesting she didn't think much of their detective skills. They looked back at her defiantly.
Cragen took a deep breath and slowly let it out. A fight between the DA's office and his squad would not help matters. "Fin and Munch check out Danny's apartment. I doubt he would have taken her there but it's a starting point. Maybe it'll throw up a clue as to where he could be." He looked at Liz "Let organize that conference" and the two walked back into his office.
Olivia leaned back against her desk, the worry draining the colour from her face
Fin walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder "We'll find them" He said. With that he and Munch headed out. Elliot walked over to her and Olivia looked up at him.
"I can't stay her and wait for news. I'm going back to talk to George. Maybe he can give me some more information." She said
"More then what he has all ready given us?" Questioned Elliot
Olivia's expression told Elliot that she was really going so as to be 'near' to Alex and let her go.
Olivia arrived back at Alex's building. She again questioned George but he could offer no more information. He felt terrible for what had happened. That he hadn't questioned it and had been so taken in by Danny upset him deeply. He loved Alex like his own daughter and was beside himself with worry. He begged Olivia to find Alex so he could ask for her forgiveness. Olivia swallowed hard on hearing the distress in his voice. She asked him to let her into Alex apartment to see if there was anything that might help them. Clearly it was a long shot but George still let her in, sensing Olivia might have another motive for wanting to be there. He wanted to do all he could to help.
Olivia stood in the apartment and felt her mind being flooded with the memories of what had happened the last tine she had been there. The tears began to flow freely as she walked around. She found one of Alex's shirts laying against the black couch and picked it up. She sniffed it, smelling Alex's scent upon it. She buried her face in it and in her mind screamed "Where are you?"
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