Savior 5/?
Title: Savior 5/?
Author: Tofem
Fandom: Law & Order SVU
Pairing: Olivia/Casey
Rating: PG, I think
Disclaimer: The characters of the SVU universe are not mine. But I do own the ones tha you don't regognize are.
Spoilers/warnings: This takes place sometime after season 6. That means that anything from the first 6 seasons is fair game and may be used. I have changed the time line though.
A/N: Thank to Cathandsaraforever55 for doing the beta thing
Summary: How will a difficult case change the lives of Olivia and Casey forever.
savior 1 - savior 2 - savior 3 - savior 4
It had been a good idea to have the new member of the squad start on a Wednesday. The middle of the week was usually quieter, as this day had proved to be. Until this time the captain was considering sending Olivia and Jen home. That was when the call came in.
He hadn't thought much of it at first. It had sounded like the responding officers had wanted to pawn the case off on special victims so they wouldn’t be bothered. That was until he got more information.
The neighbors had called 911 when they heard loud noises, and a woman scream. Charlotte Adams and Andrea James had been attacked in Charlotte's home. Somehow Karen's murderer had found the location of Andrea and showed up to silence the witness, he thought could put him in prison.
It wasn't the case that Cragen wanted to throw his new officer into, but he knew he wouldn't have a choice. There was no way he would be able to keep Benson away. That didn't mean he would let Olivia take lead on this case. No this was a new aspect of Fin and Stabler's case and it would stay that way. Olivia would be needed to talk to the young girl yet again. Cragen was sure that after this latest attack, Andrea wouldn't let any male person anywhere near her. He was absolutely certain that Benson would be, if not more, just a vehemently about men nearing Andrea as the girl would be.
This had without warning turned out to be a day from hell. Cragen yelled an address to Benson and Thomas. And told them that a woman and child had been attacked.
"Cap'n that's Charlotte Adams address, did something happen to Andrea?"
"Benson you need to be there before the EMTs."
That was all the answer Olivia needed. Something had happened to Andrea and it was now her job to protect the young girl once more.
"How fast can you get us there, Jen?" Not bothering to look back and see if her partner followed. Grabbing her jacket Olivia headed for the departments garage. Jen was jogging to keep up with the determined brunette. "Come on get a move on, Jen, you heard the Cap'n."
Jennifer might not be a detective yet, but she was still dressed as the other detectives in special victims, the only difference was her shield. Fumbling she tried to attach it to her jacket as she caught up with Olivia at the car. "Sorry 'bout that."
Jennifer wasn't sure why Olivia was willing to let her drive, that was highly unexpected. It would even have surprised the other detectives had she, had time to ask them. Olivia usually didn’t put her life in the hands of someone she barely knew. And driving in New York could be an experience, especially when you needed to get somewhere fast.
The brunette had even surprised herself. There was something about Jen that let her trust the other woman. And besides Olivia needed to call Casey. She wouldn’t want to risk Cragen having to call and say she wouldn’t be home, again. It was better to warn the redhead of the likelihood of Olivia spending yet another night at the precinct.
They got to the apartment in what could be considered record time. Considering it was rush hour. Despite that they hadn’t been able to beat the EMTs to the scene. Cragen had anticipated this, and had demanded that nobody but Detective Benson be allowed near the girl.
Two ambulances had been requested and the first team of EMTs were loading up Charlotte, when Olivia and Jen walked in.
Fin came out from the living room to point Olivia in the direction of Andrea. “Hey, looks like they were attacked in here. Andrea must have managed to hide in what appears to the room set up for foster kids.”
He didn’t have to say that he was hoping more than anything, that the young blonde had moved herself and hadn’t been forced by the attacker.
Olivia didn’t think to explain to Jen what she would do or why. A child needed her and that was all consuming.
The dark blonde didn’t mind. She had already figured from the brunette’s phone call to Casey that this girl was somehow more special. But also, that the young blonde trusted Olivia. No, Jen didn’t mind just watching the brunette. Maybe she would be so lucky to see some of what made the older woman so good at her job.
Olivia did much the same as she had done on Friday. She sat on the floor in the middle of the room facing the closet. Holding up her hand for Jen to stay at the door. Not quite out of view, but not the first thing Andrea would see. The brunette didn’t want to scare the young girl by springing a new person on her as the first thing. But Olivia didn’t want Andrea to think they were completely alone, and then have the blonde notice Jen, either. Signaling for the younger woman to sit on the floor, to present a less intimidating figure.
Talking in an unbelievable soft and comforting voice, Jen got a glimpse of why victims liked and trusted Olivia.
“Andrea sweetie, it’s Olivia.”
It got quiet and Jen didn’t understand what the brunette was waiting for. That was until a sound was heard from the closet. It wasn’t the young girl talking but rather the sound of movement.
“Honey, do you want to come out here with me?”
There was that sound again and once more it prompted the detective to continue with her soft reassurances.
“That’s okay sweetie. I’ll just sit here until you’re ready.”
Again there was waiting and the younger woman was beginning to suspect a part of what made Olivia great, was her patience with children. How did Olivia know what that sound meant? It wasn’t like she could see Andrea. Jen wasn’t sure she could ever learn this.
“It’s okay to come out sweetie. You’re safe, nothing can hurt you.”
Olivia thought she saw the door move slightly and somehow the detective was reminded of the stuffed dino, Peter. “Sweetheart, do you have Peter in there with you?”
This time the brunette got more of a reaction. A small blonde head peeked out. “No.” The voice was so soft that Jen almost didn’t catch it being said. As soon as she said that, Andrea retreated back into the safety. This time though the blonde didn’t close the door.
Turning her head to focus on Jen, Olivia whispered her request. “A stuffed animal, orange dino with green spots. See if you can find it. It may be the answer to getting her to come out.”
Quickly getting up and heading for the living room. Jen stopped short of entering as she saw CSU working. Trying to get Fin’s attention, but she wasn’t sure of what to call him. Jen chose to state her question to the room at large.
“Have you seen an orange stuffed animal? Olivia said it was important.”
O’Halloran turned, not at all happy about taking a potential piece of evidence out of the room before he was done with it. But the young woman had mentioned Olivia, and that made a difference to the CS tech. The brunette wouldn’t make such a request if it wasn’t important.
“It’s over there. Give me a minute and you can have it.”
Starting to photograph the dino, before he picked it up to look for any obvious evidence or transfer. The stuffed animal had been lying away from where the attack had occurred and O’Halloran didn’t see a problem with handling it over to the young woman.
Hurrying through the hallway to get the stuffed animal to Olivia, Jen almost forgot to slow down as she came to the room. One look from the brunette was enough to reminding the younger woman, what it was they were doing there. Walking slowly into the room, Jen handed the dino to Olivia and quietly sat down by the door, to continue watching.
When Jen was seated, Olivia turned her attention back to the open closet door. “Sweetie, I have Peter here and he’s safe too. Do you want to come out and join us?”
As Olivia had predicted Peter was the way to Andrea. The brunette had suspected that the young blonde had become even more attached to the stuffed animal after her mother’s death.
The young blonde peeked out to see if Peter was really there, and to make sure that it was Olivia and not someone pretending. The girl couldn’t have put so many words on it but she was scared it was just another trick. Looking around before risking coming out, Andrea stiffened, when she noticed the woman sitting by the door.
Olivia had expected this, and before the blonde could get more scared she spoke soothingly. “It’s okay, sweetie, that’s Jen, she works with me.”
That was all it took, Andrea had finally decided that it was indeed her Livia sitting on the floor, waiting for her. Rushing out and flinging herself into Olivia’s arms the tears finally came.
“It’s okay, I got you honey.” Olivia had noticed right away that the young girl didn’t use her left arm and the young body seemed to have taken some hits. It wasn’t only Charlotte that needed medical attention.
“The EMTs still out there?”
“Err…” Jen was momentarily confused before she recognized that the detective was talking to her. “Yes they are still waiting.”
Getting up wasn’t easy, but Olivia was determined, she wasn’t letting go of Andrea. That the young girl was hurt made it more difficult for the detective to move as not to hurt the blonde. “You just hang on sweetie, I’ll get you to a doctor and we’ll make everything better.”
“Not leave me, Livia.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m not letting go anytime soon.”
That seemed to calm Andrea for the time being, that was until the girl saw that the EMTs were two men. Even after Cragen had specifically demanded an all female crew. The captain knew they had them for situation like this one.
Struggling to get closer to the brunette, Andrea was almost wailing.
“No Livia, no go.”
Fin came into the hallway to see what all the commotion was about.
“Damn, Liv, I specific told them to get a female team, don’t know why the idiots didn’t listen, sorry.” He started herding all the people in the hallway out of Olivia’s way. For some reason these EMTs were stupid beyond belief.
“No sweetie, we’re not going with them, Jen is driving us.”
The brunette looked at the younger woman as they started to move out of the apartment. Only to be halted by the angry voice of one unbelievably stupid EMT. He would regret speaking up at this moment forever. Olivia could only send him a death glare, which alone was almost enough to make him piss his pants. There were stories going around, even at the EMTs about Detective Benson. This was not a detective you wanted to mess with.
The brunette continued toward the elevator expecting Jen to follow.
Fin on the other hand had no trouble laying into the EMT. Who had so poorly judge the situation and demanded that Andrea ride in the ambulance. Olivia only heard the raised voice of Fin before she got on the elevator, which had been the point of him waiting. They both knew better than to scare the already frightened child. As the doors were closing a shocked Jen came in, to ride to the lobby.
“First lesson, you never ever let an EMT intimidate you to do something you know will further scare or hurt a victim.”
Jen felt an overwhelming urge to say ‘yes ma’am’, but remembered Olivia wasn’t fond of being addressed as that from her.
“You might experience them trying to bully you, but the victim comes first no matter how scared you become.” Stressing the word you. Olivia wasn’t expecting Jen to answer, the brunette knew what it was like the first time you had to get a child out of a difficult situation. “It will be difficult the first couple of times, but you’ll get the hang of it. ‘Sides by this time tomorrow the EMTs know you’re with me, that’ll probably keep them from the worst of it.”
Talk about being confused. The dark blonde didn’t know what to say or what to make of what the detective had just told her. But she figured she had to say at least something to let Olivia know that she heard.
“I’ll remember Olivia.”
The brunette just shrugged at this. “You’ll probably have to learn by yourself, like I did.”
By this time they had reached the lobby and that stalled any further comments from Jen. This time the younger woman knew what to do and where to go, without having to follow Olivia around like a puppy.
Walking through the sea of police personal and having them step aside to let them through was a new feeling for Jen. It was making her feel uncomfortable and she hurried to get to the car.
Jen had reached the car before the brunette. Which was just fine with Olivia, this way they could get to the ER that much faster.
“No need for the speed you showed on our way here.” The detective said as she got into the backseat with Andrea.
The drive to the ER was made in silence. The only sound heard was Olivia’s soft murmurs to Andrea from the backseat.
It was their luck that when they arrived at the ER a female nurse, who knew Olivia, had just started her shift. Otherwise they would have probably had to wait before being seen, because Andrea hadn’t come in on an ambulance. This way the nurse found the doctor, who had examined the young blonde on Friday.
Walking into the exam room the doctor spoke to the room in general. “I had hoped I wouldn’t see you here for a long time, Andrea.”
It wasn’t quite enough to make the blonde relax, but it did help.
While Andrea was getting examined, Olivia turned to talk to Jen. “We won’t be going home any time soon. So I would go get a bag of things if I were you. It will take awhile before we can get out of here, you should be able to go home and come back.”
“Okay, but what about you? Do you want me to pick up some things for you? It won’t be a problem.” Jen got up to leave as Olivia answered.
“You just get your own stuff, Casey's got me covered.” Smiling at the younger woman, Olivia was glad that she had offered. But the first day of working together was not a good time to send Jen to get her bag. It was one thing knowing that your partner lived with the ADA, it was another all together to see it.
The doctor thought Andrea had a sprained wrist, but to be on the safe side she ordered x-rays. There was one problem though, besides the waiting, the x-ray tech on duty was a man. That could very well cause problems.
After waiting for what felt like hours to Olivia. Andrea had been clinging to the brunette the entire time. Not showing any signs of wanting to let go. The nurse from earlier came to take the young girl to x-ray. She brought a wheelchair for Andrea, but had suspected the reaction she got from the young blonde.
At the suggestion that Andrea let go of Olivia and sit in the wheelchair, tears had started following freely down the girl’s face. Holding on tighter to the brunette not wanting to let go of the one person Andrea felt safe with.
Smiling at the nurse, the detective spoke softly to the blonde.
“Sweetheart, I’m not letting go remember. I’ll carry you, okay?”
The only response the brunette got was the nod she could feel Andrea giving, from where the girl had her face buried in the detective’s shirt.
The nurse had worked with Olivia on several earlier occasions. She knew the comfort the detective brought to victims. Especially young children. She also knew some of the trauma these victims had gone through to get Detective Benson as their protector. It hadn’t been a surprise when Andrea had reacted strongly to the x-ray tech. What had made it worse was that the young tech had no experience with victims.
He had wanted Olivia to wait outside while the x-ray was being taken.
Interrupting the brunette’s not all that friendly reply, the nurse suggested that she would position Andrea. Olivia would get to stay in the room to keep the blonde’s anxiety level under control. The tech had agreed, after the look he had gotten from the detective, he hadn’t dared otherwise. He too had seen the look of terror in the girl’s eyes when Andrea thought Olivia was going to leave.
Andrea escaped the attack with a sprained wrist and several bruises. The young girl would be sore for some time. Charlotte on the other hand had taken the brunt end of the beating. Besides the concussion the woman had sustained she had a broken arm, and nose, and fractured ribs. Then came all the bruises the older woman had. Charlotte Adams would hardly be able to take care of herself, let alone a young child.
Olivia had been right; Jen had, had no trouble making it home and back to the ER before Andrea was released. By the time that the doctor was allowing them to leave the dark blonde had been patiently waiting for them for over an hour.
“Where are we going?” Jen looked as young as the brunette believed her to be.
“The precinct, we get to camp out in the crib.” The detective grinned at the look on the younger woman’s face. “Bet you didn’t expect that when you got out of bed this morning.”
Olivia turned her attention back to the sleeping child in her arms. Andrea had started whimpering in her sleep, and the brunette hummed softly in the child’s ear to calm her. When the blonde was back to sleeping as comfortably as was expected in the backseat of the car, Olivia continued talking to Jen. “Welcome to special victims, expect the unexpected. That way you rarely get surprised.”
“That’s just contradictory and plain confusing.”
“Yeah, you can say that. Let’s put it this way then. Be prepared for most things.” Olivia couldn’t keep the smile of her face. The brunette was being vague on purpose, she was having more fun confusing Jen than she would have thought possible, with the day they were having.
“Okay you got to explain, Olivia, because this is not getting clearer.”
“You’re no fun.” The detective pouted slightly when Jen looked at her in the rear view mirror. Laughing softly at the stern look she received in return. “It’s a good idea to have some spare clothes in your locker and maybe a toothbrush and deo. It’ll help make you fell more human after some of the days we have.”
“Is that all?” That wasn’t what she had expected to hear from her new partner.
“No, not even close. Well let’s see, what else should I tell you about? Oh yeah, do you have a significant other?” Olivia waited for a response of some kind from the younger woman.
Shaking her head no. “Not at this moment, no.”
“Then that’s one less problem you’ll have to worry about for the moment. I don’t think I can prepare you for what you’ll get to see, nothing will. But I would like for you to promise that if it ever gets to be too hard, you’ll talk to someone. And don’t go saying that it won’t get hard, because at some point it does for all of us.”
“It ever gotten too hard for you?” Seeing the brunette nod. “If it’s gets that bad why do you keep doing it?”
That was harder to answer than Olivia had thought. And there was quiet in the car while she figured what to say. “Someone has to do it.” Olivia didn’t know anyway better to explain it.
They all did this job for different reasons, and Olivia suspected that even Jen had some personal reason for being here. That being said, they all needed to do what they did if for nothing else, someone needed to be doing this. Not to say that they would look at Jen differently if she couldn’t do special victims. It was a job that demanded so much, not only time wise but also emotionally. Special victims was sure to break your heart at least once.
The rest of the drive to the precinct was quiet, both women caught in their on thoughts.
It was past dinner time when the finally made it to the squad room. Not that that necessary meant that the other detectives had, had dinner or had left for home.
During the time the two women had spent at the ER, the other detectives had been busy.
Munch had been trying to track down the leak. Somebody had, had to have told the attacker where to find Andrea. If they didn’t find that person, this was bound to happen again when the young girl was placed in a new home.
Fin and Elliot was on their way out the door as the women came in. They were going to talk to the neighbors, now that Stabler had taken Charlotte’s assault kit to CSU.
That left a fairly quiet squad room, with Munch typing away on his computer and occasional talking on the phone.
“Hello ladies, I see they took their time at the ER, as usual.”
“Yeah, can you let Cragen know we’re back? We’ll be in the crib. Jen can let him know what happened.”
The young woman looked at Olivia as to say ‘I can?’. But the brunette was already on her way up the stairs and didn’t see anything directed her way.
John for once thought it best to not give a response. Olivia didn’t look like she was in a joking mood, or for that matter a forgiving one.
Once in the crib, the brunette put Andrea down on the same bed as the girl had slept in last time. The detective thought that every bit of familiarity could help.
“Why did you volunteer me to brief the Captain?”
“Cragen won’t come up here when Andrea is sleeping. Thought you wouldn’t want to be left alone with her either.” Olivia shrugged, as all this meant nothing. She was exceptionally good at putting on a façade, and if you didn’t know the Olivia behind the cop you would never see it.
That did make sense to Jen, after all it hadn’t been her that talked the young blonde out, but Olivia. But that didn’t make her more comfortable having to talk to Cragen. That was, she suspected, one more thing she had to get used to.
After informing the captain that Olivia and Thomas were back from the ER, and had brought a sleeping Andrea with them the seasoned detective called Casey. The ADA had earlier threatened him with bodily harm, did he not let her know as soon as the brunette came back to the precinct.
Briefing Cragen hadn’t been as bad as Jen had expected. The man had been patient and asked the right questions to help the young woman along when she hadn’t remembered to tell some of the details.
This case was turning out to be a major headache for all the parties involved. ACS had not taken to well to have one of their caseworkers threatened, even if it was by a special victims’ detective.
Upon hearing that Andrea had been attacked, Munch had yelled at the ACS caseworker. Blaming them for the leak to the press, and now the attack of Charlotte Adams and Andrea. The detective’s excuse when Cragen found out, was that the caseworker had been especially cold and non caring.
This didn’t exactly help the willingness to cooperate for finding a suitable solution for the young blonde. It didn’t change that Cragen had spent an hour on the phone trying to calm the ACS director. They had yet to find a solution that wouldn’t leave Andrea open to another attack.
Olivia was stuck in the crib for the night, yet again. It was becoming a common occurrence. In the beginning of Casey and Olivia’s relationship the brunette had, had to spend an unprecedented amount of nights in the crib over a month. Casey saw the effect on the older woman’s muscles, especially Olivia’s neck. The ADA had bought the detective her own pillow and blanket. This had inspired the other detectives to do something along the same lines. Getting shelves put up on an empty wall, had helped separate the generic beddings from that of each detective.
The detectives didn’t have much locker space. What little they did have was usually filled with the few necessities that each detective deemed important. There wasn’t much room for a change of clothes, but it was always possible to get NYPD sweats. Those could be comfortable enough for sleeping in when they had the option of changing. That was only on nights like these where a detective knew he or she wouldn’t be called out in the middle of sleep.
Olivia was more privileged than the rest of the squad. Casey would bring the brunette clean clothes when she had to stay overnight. Not only that the ADA brought comfort to Olivia in a place that rarely saw anything good but she also understood the need to do this job. That was a big help in keeping the detective sane.
Depending on how much they thought they could find tonight, the other detectives would go home to get some much needed sleep. With Andrea in the crib there was no possibility of either of the men using it. But that would be some time later as it wasn't even 8pm yet.
Making sure that Andrea was sleeping and wouldn't wake in the immediate future, Olivia walked as quietly as she could down to the squad room. "Hey Munch, have you thought about food?"
The older detective looked up to see the brunette walking to her desk in sock feet. That explained why he hadn't heard her come down. "Yeah, what do you and your mini shadow have in mind?"
"Something simple that can be eaten when cold."
"Pizza it is then." John dug through his desk and came up with a menu from the closest pizza place that they used fairly often. "What's your poison this time Liv?"
Jen was starring at the two detectives, thinking that she had missed something. This was much more familiar way of talking to each other than at her last squad. They sounded more like brother and sister than colleagues.
"The usual for me, and add one with cheese for Andrea. Oh and include drinks for Casey as well, I have a feeling she will be coming by here anytime now."
The younger woman was caught up in her own thoughts and was startled when Olivia addressed her. "Have a look and tell Munch what you want Jen. He'll order it and they'll bring it here."
At this point the brunette had locked her gun in the desk and was on her way back to the crib with a stack of paperwork and the children’s book in one hand. At the look that Jen gave her, Olivia casually answered.
"Our ADA is a stickler when it comes to paperwork and I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." She had managed to keep her voice and expression serious, that was until Munch commented.
"If she has a bad side, Benson here would be the one to know."
Olivia couldn't keep the grin off her face, "No, no bad side, but I still don't like sleeping on the couch." With that the brunette disappeared into the crib.
Casey walked in as the pizza delivery guy was on is way out. In a voice that could make suspects think twice about being alive, the ADA said to the room at large. "You're feeding her pizza?"
"I haven't had the pleasure of feeding Benson anything." Again Munch was quick witted. That was one of the reasons he was so well liked, most of the time. There were times where he didn't know, what not to say.
This earned him a laugh before she turned to Jen. The younger woman was seated at Olivia's desk trying to get hold of one more person John had found knew the whereabouts of Andrea. Having been disconnected once more the dark blonde gave a slightly irritated huff.
"You would think that redirecting shouldn't be all that difficult to master, but no this is the third time tonight." Trailing off when she noticed that the ADA was looking at her. "Err... sorry Miss. Novak, I don't have a desk yet..." Jen was convinced that Casey was staring at her because she was using Olivia's desk.
"No need for apologies and please drop the miss, it's Casey or Novak. And Liv isn't using her desk right now so it might as well be put to good use by you."
Casey found the brunette's usual pizza and the cheese one for Andrea, and with a couple of soft drinks put on top of the two boxes the ADA headed to the stairs.
"You forgot your drink Casey." Munch spoke softly, the sound level in the squad room had been lower than usual since Olivia had brought the young girl back with her. "You didn’t think Liv would forget about you, now did you?"
"Hadn't thought about it, she didn't know I was coming here. You can join us if you feel like it Thomas." And with that the redhead proceeded up the stairs.
Jen turned to look at Munch. "You think she meant that?"
"They rarely say something they don't mean. So go and join your partner for dinner, I'll eat here and yell at some deserving smucks, who don't know how to keep information to themselves."
The younger woman noticed that the ADA had left the pizzas and soft drinks on the coffee table in the open room, so that was apparently where they were to eat. But there was no sign of either of the women. Jen got comfortable in one of the chairs and waited for Olivia and Casey to join her.
This time when Casey entered the crib Olivia wasn't asleep but caught up in her paperwork instead. Occasionally looking at the young girl sleeping on the bed next to her. It was at one of those times the detective noticed the ADA. "You made it and just in time, dinner should be on the way."
"If you're referring to the pizzas as dinner, I brought them with me."
The sternness of her voice was enough to make Olivia grin sheepishly up at the redhead.
"Yeah they taste good even when cold unlike fries." All seriousness had disappeared from the detective as soon as she had gotten off of the bed and made her way to Casey. "Good to see you, hon." Engulfing the redhead in a hug and pulling her close, Olivia kissed the ADA quickly before heading for the door. "What are you waiting for, a written invitation?" The joy in Olivia's voice was infective and the redhead couldn't help the smile it brought to her face.
Sobering up once again when she remembered the young girl sleeping on the bed, Casey turned to the detective. "You think she'll be okay in there while we eat?" The ADA hadn't witnessed Andrea's panic but had heard about it from the other detectives.
"If we keep it down I'll be able to hear if something’s up." Olivia was already at the table opening her pizza box and had a piece out before she even sat down. "Oh hi Jen, nice of you to join us."
The young woman didn’t know how to respond to that. She wasn’t all that sure if Olivia meant, or was sarcastic.
Casey could see the tension in Jen’s shoulders and stepped in to make the young woman more comfortable. Making sure her tone was light and wouldn’t be mistaken for hostility instead of humor, in which it was intended. “Yeah, this gives me the opportunity of threatening her, without witnesses, to look after this stubborn mule.” Tilting her head in the direction of Olivia as the redhead slipped in besides the detective.
“Hey! I’m not a mule.” The brunette didn’t pull off mortified as she had hastily tried to swallowed before protesting.
Casey chuckled, “But you don’t deny you’re stubborn.”
“Have to be to live with you. ‘Nough ‘bout me, what’s your story Jen?”
It was meant as an open ended question. Giving the young woman the option of telling what she felt comfortable sharing.
The light banter between the redhead and Olivia had accomplished what Casey had intended. Relaxing Jen and making her feel welcome. It had also given the dark blonde an insight to Olivia.
Jen had done most of the talking. After they had managed to get the young woman to open up. It wasn’t that Olivia wanted to know everything about her new partner. The brunette wanted something to start build their trust on. Hopefully the young woman would prove to be a great friend as Elliot was.
About 20 minutes into their meal Olivia suddenly trailed off in the middle of a sentence. Earning the brunette baffled looks from the two other women. It wasn’t until Casey noticed that the detective had straightened her posture and was sitting completely still. Head turned slightly as to hear any sounds from the crib.
“Go,” softly spoken permission for the detective to leave. It wasn’t that Olivia wouldn’t have done it otherwise. But it helped ease the guilt the brunette had every time she had to leave because of work.
Author: Tofem
Fandom: Law & Order SVU
Pairing: Olivia/Casey
Rating: PG, I think
Disclaimer: The characters of the SVU universe are not mine. But I do own the ones tha you don't regognize are.
Spoilers/warnings: This takes place sometime after season 6. That means that anything from the first 6 seasons is fair game and may be used. I have changed the time line though.
A/N: Thank to Cathandsaraforever55 for doing the beta thing
Summary: How will a difficult case change the lives of Olivia and Casey forever.
savior 1 - savior 2 - savior 3 - savior 4
It had been a good idea to have the new member of the squad start on a Wednesday. The middle of the week was usually quieter, as this day had proved to be. Until this time the captain was considering sending Olivia and Jen home. That was when the call came in.
He hadn't thought much of it at first. It had sounded like the responding officers had wanted to pawn the case off on special victims so they wouldn’t be bothered. That was until he got more information.
The neighbors had called 911 when they heard loud noises, and a woman scream. Charlotte Adams and Andrea James had been attacked in Charlotte's home. Somehow Karen's murderer had found the location of Andrea and showed up to silence the witness, he thought could put him in prison.
It wasn't the case that Cragen wanted to throw his new officer into, but he knew he wouldn't have a choice. There was no way he would be able to keep Benson away. That didn't mean he would let Olivia take lead on this case. No this was a new aspect of Fin and Stabler's case and it would stay that way. Olivia would be needed to talk to the young girl yet again. Cragen was sure that after this latest attack, Andrea wouldn't let any male person anywhere near her. He was absolutely certain that Benson would be, if not more, just a vehemently about men nearing Andrea as the girl would be.
This had without warning turned out to be a day from hell. Cragen yelled an address to Benson and Thomas. And told them that a woman and child had been attacked.
"Cap'n that's Charlotte Adams address, did something happen to Andrea?"
"Benson you need to be there before the EMTs."
That was all the answer Olivia needed. Something had happened to Andrea and it was now her job to protect the young girl once more.
"How fast can you get us there, Jen?" Not bothering to look back and see if her partner followed. Grabbing her jacket Olivia headed for the departments garage. Jen was jogging to keep up with the determined brunette. "Come on get a move on, Jen, you heard the Cap'n."
Jennifer might not be a detective yet, but she was still dressed as the other detectives in special victims, the only difference was her shield. Fumbling she tried to attach it to her jacket as she caught up with Olivia at the car. "Sorry 'bout that."
Jennifer wasn't sure why Olivia was willing to let her drive, that was highly unexpected. It would even have surprised the other detectives had she, had time to ask them. Olivia usually didn’t put her life in the hands of someone she barely knew. And driving in New York could be an experience, especially when you needed to get somewhere fast.
The brunette had even surprised herself. There was something about Jen that let her trust the other woman. And besides Olivia needed to call Casey. She wouldn’t want to risk Cragen having to call and say she wouldn’t be home, again. It was better to warn the redhead of the likelihood of Olivia spending yet another night at the precinct.
They got to the apartment in what could be considered record time. Considering it was rush hour. Despite that they hadn’t been able to beat the EMTs to the scene. Cragen had anticipated this, and had demanded that nobody but Detective Benson be allowed near the girl.
Two ambulances had been requested and the first team of EMTs were loading up Charlotte, when Olivia and Jen walked in.
Fin came out from the living room to point Olivia in the direction of Andrea. “Hey, looks like they were attacked in here. Andrea must have managed to hide in what appears to the room set up for foster kids.”
He didn’t have to say that he was hoping more than anything, that the young blonde had moved herself and hadn’t been forced by the attacker.
Olivia didn’t think to explain to Jen what she would do or why. A child needed her and that was all consuming.
The dark blonde didn’t mind. She had already figured from the brunette’s phone call to Casey that this girl was somehow more special. But also, that the young blonde trusted Olivia. No, Jen didn’t mind just watching the brunette. Maybe she would be so lucky to see some of what made the older woman so good at her job.
Olivia did much the same as she had done on Friday. She sat on the floor in the middle of the room facing the closet. Holding up her hand for Jen to stay at the door. Not quite out of view, but not the first thing Andrea would see. The brunette didn’t want to scare the young girl by springing a new person on her as the first thing. But Olivia didn’t want Andrea to think they were completely alone, and then have the blonde notice Jen, either. Signaling for the younger woman to sit on the floor, to present a less intimidating figure.
Talking in an unbelievable soft and comforting voice, Jen got a glimpse of why victims liked and trusted Olivia.
“Andrea sweetie, it’s Olivia.”
It got quiet and Jen didn’t understand what the brunette was waiting for. That was until a sound was heard from the closet. It wasn’t the young girl talking but rather the sound of movement.
“Honey, do you want to come out here with me?”
There was that sound again and once more it prompted the detective to continue with her soft reassurances.
“That’s okay sweetie. I’ll just sit here until you’re ready.”
Again there was waiting and the younger woman was beginning to suspect a part of what made Olivia great, was her patience with children. How did Olivia know what that sound meant? It wasn’t like she could see Andrea. Jen wasn’t sure she could ever learn this.
“It’s okay to come out sweetie. You’re safe, nothing can hurt you.”
Olivia thought she saw the door move slightly and somehow the detective was reminded of the stuffed dino, Peter. “Sweetheart, do you have Peter in there with you?”
This time the brunette got more of a reaction. A small blonde head peeked out. “No.” The voice was so soft that Jen almost didn’t catch it being said. As soon as she said that, Andrea retreated back into the safety. This time though the blonde didn’t close the door.
Turning her head to focus on Jen, Olivia whispered her request. “A stuffed animal, orange dino with green spots. See if you can find it. It may be the answer to getting her to come out.”
Quickly getting up and heading for the living room. Jen stopped short of entering as she saw CSU working. Trying to get Fin’s attention, but she wasn’t sure of what to call him. Jen chose to state her question to the room at large.
“Have you seen an orange stuffed animal? Olivia said it was important.”
O’Halloran turned, not at all happy about taking a potential piece of evidence out of the room before he was done with it. But the young woman had mentioned Olivia, and that made a difference to the CS tech. The brunette wouldn’t make such a request if it wasn’t important.
“It’s over there. Give me a minute and you can have it.”
Starting to photograph the dino, before he picked it up to look for any obvious evidence or transfer. The stuffed animal had been lying away from where the attack had occurred and O’Halloran didn’t see a problem with handling it over to the young woman.
Hurrying through the hallway to get the stuffed animal to Olivia, Jen almost forgot to slow down as she came to the room. One look from the brunette was enough to reminding the younger woman, what it was they were doing there. Walking slowly into the room, Jen handed the dino to Olivia and quietly sat down by the door, to continue watching.
When Jen was seated, Olivia turned her attention back to the open closet door. “Sweetie, I have Peter here and he’s safe too. Do you want to come out and join us?”
As Olivia had predicted Peter was the way to Andrea. The brunette had suspected that the young blonde had become even more attached to the stuffed animal after her mother’s death.
The young blonde peeked out to see if Peter was really there, and to make sure that it was Olivia and not someone pretending. The girl couldn’t have put so many words on it but she was scared it was just another trick. Looking around before risking coming out, Andrea stiffened, when she noticed the woman sitting by the door.
Olivia had expected this, and before the blonde could get more scared she spoke soothingly. “It’s okay, sweetie, that’s Jen, she works with me.”
That was all it took, Andrea had finally decided that it was indeed her Livia sitting on the floor, waiting for her. Rushing out and flinging herself into Olivia’s arms the tears finally came.
“It’s okay, I got you honey.” Olivia had noticed right away that the young girl didn’t use her left arm and the young body seemed to have taken some hits. It wasn’t only Charlotte that needed medical attention.
“The EMTs still out there?”
“Err…” Jen was momentarily confused before she recognized that the detective was talking to her. “Yes they are still waiting.”
Getting up wasn’t easy, but Olivia was determined, she wasn’t letting go of Andrea. That the young girl was hurt made it more difficult for the detective to move as not to hurt the blonde. “You just hang on sweetie, I’ll get you to a doctor and we’ll make everything better.”
“Not leave me, Livia.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m not letting go anytime soon.”
That seemed to calm Andrea for the time being, that was until the girl saw that the EMTs were two men. Even after Cragen had specifically demanded an all female crew. The captain knew they had them for situation like this one.
Struggling to get closer to the brunette, Andrea was almost wailing.
“No Livia, no go.”
Fin came into the hallway to see what all the commotion was about.
“Damn, Liv, I specific told them to get a female team, don’t know why the idiots didn’t listen, sorry.” He started herding all the people in the hallway out of Olivia’s way. For some reason these EMTs were stupid beyond belief.
“No sweetie, we’re not going with them, Jen is driving us.”
The brunette looked at the younger woman as they started to move out of the apartment. Only to be halted by the angry voice of one unbelievably stupid EMT. He would regret speaking up at this moment forever. Olivia could only send him a death glare, which alone was almost enough to make him piss his pants. There were stories going around, even at the EMTs about Detective Benson. This was not a detective you wanted to mess with.
The brunette continued toward the elevator expecting Jen to follow.
Fin on the other hand had no trouble laying into the EMT. Who had so poorly judge the situation and demanded that Andrea ride in the ambulance. Olivia only heard the raised voice of Fin before she got on the elevator, which had been the point of him waiting. They both knew better than to scare the already frightened child. As the doors were closing a shocked Jen came in, to ride to the lobby.
“First lesson, you never ever let an EMT intimidate you to do something you know will further scare or hurt a victim.”
Jen felt an overwhelming urge to say ‘yes ma’am’, but remembered Olivia wasn’t fond of being addressed as that from her.
“You might experience them trying to bully you, but the victim comes first no matter how scared you become.” Stressing the word you. Olivia wasn’t expecting Jen to answer, the brunette knew what it was like the first time you had to get a child out of a difficult situation. “It will be difficult the first couple of times, but you’ll get the hang of it. ‘Sides by this time tomorrow the EMTs know you’re with me, that’ll probably keep them from the worst of it.”
Talk about being confused. The dark blonde didn’t know what to say or what to make of what the detective had just told her. But she figured she had to say at least something to let Olivia know that she heard.
“I’ll remember Olivia.”
The brunette just shrugged at this. “You’ll probably have to learn by yourself, like I did.”
By this time they had reached the lobby and that stalled any further comments from Jen. This time the younger woman knew what to do and where to go, without having to follow Olivia around like a puppy.
Walking through the sea of police personal and having them step aside to let them through was a new feeling for Jen. It was making her feel uncomfortable and she hurried to get to the car.
Jen had reached the car before the brunette. Which was just fine with Olivia, this way they could get to the ER that much faster.
“No need for the speed you showed on our way here.” The detective said as she got into the backseat with Andrea.
The drive to the ER was made in silence. The only sound heard was Olivia’s soft murmurs to Andrea from the backseat.
It was their luck that when they arrived at the ER a female nurse, who knew Olivia, had just started her shift. Otherwise they would have probably had to wait before being seen, because Andrea hadn’t come in on an ambulance. This way the nurse found the doctor, who had examined the young blonde on Friday.
Walking into the exam room the doctor spoke to the room in general. “I had hoped I wouldn’t see you here for a long time, Andrea.”
It wasn’t quite enough to make the blonde relax, but it did help.
While Andrea was getting examined, Olivia turned to talk to Jen. “We won’t be going home any time soon. So I would go get a bag of things if I were you. It will take awhile before we can get out of here, you should be able to go home and come back.”
“Okay, but what about you? Do you want me to pick up some things for you? It won’t be a problem.” Jen got up to leave as Olivia answered.
“You just get your own stuff, Casey's got me covered.” Smiling at the younger woman, Olivia was glad that she had offered. But the first day of working together was not a good time to send Jen to get her bag. It was one thing knowing that your partner lived with the ADA, it was another all together to see it.
The doctor thought Andrea had a sprained wrist, but to be on the safe side she ordered x-rays. There was one problem though, besides the waiting, the x-ray tech on duty was a man. That could very well cause problems.
After waiting for what felt like hours to Olivia. Andrea had been clinging to the brunette the entire time. Not showing any signs of wanting to let go. The nurse from earlier came to take the young girl to x-ray. She brought a wheelchair for Andrea, but had suspected the reaction she got from the young blonde.
At the suggestion that Andrea let go of Olivia and sit in the wheelchair, tears had started following freely down the girl’s face. Holding on tighter to the brunette not wanting to let go of the one person Andrea felt safe with.
Smiling at the nurse, the detective spoke softly to the blonde.
“Sweetheart, I’m not letting go remember. I’ll carry you, okay?”
The only response the brunette got was the nod she could feel Andrea giving, from where the girl had her face buried in the detective’s shirt.
The nurse had worked with Olivia on several earlier occasions. She knew the comfort the detective brought to victims. Especially young children. She also knew some of the trauma these victims had gone through to get Detective Benson as their protector. It hadn’t been a surprise when Andrea had reacted strongly to the x-ray tech. What had made it worse was that the young tech had no experience with victims.
He had wanted Olivia to wait outside while the x-ray was being taken.
Interrupting the brunette’s not all that friendly reply, the nurse suggested that she would position Andrea. Olivia would get to stay in the room to keep the blonde’s anxiety level under control. The tech had agreed, after the look he had gotten from the detective, he hadn’t dared otherwise. He too had seen the look of terror in the girl’s eyes when Andrea thought Olivia was going to leave.
Andrea escaped the attack with a sprained wrist and several bruises. The young girl would be sore for some time. Charlotte on the other hand had taken the brunt end of the beating. Besides the concussion the woman had sustained she had a broken arm, and nose, and fractured ribs. Then came all the bruises the older woman had. Charlotte Adams would hardly be able to take care of herself, let alone a young child.
Olivia had been right; Jen had, had no trouble making it home and back to the ER before Andrea was released. By the time that the doctor was allowing them to leave the dark blonde had been patiently waiting for them for over an hour.
“Where are we going?” Jen looked as young as the brunette believed her to be.
“The precinct, we get to camp out in the crib.” The detective grinned at the look on the younger woman’s face. “Bet you didn’t expect that when you got out of bed this morning.”
Olivia turned her attention back to the sleeping child in her arms. Andrea had started whimpering in her sleep, and the brunette hummed softly in the child’s ear to calm her. When the blonde was back to sleeping as comfortably as was expected in the backseat of the car, Olivia continued talking to Jen. “Welcome to special victims, expect the unexpected. That way you rarely get surprised.”
“That’s just contradictory and plain confusing.”
“Yeah, you can say that. Let’s put it this way then. Be prepared for most things.” Olivia couldn’t keep the smile of her face. The brunette was being vague on purpose, she was having more fun confusing Jen than she would have thought possible, with the day they were having.
“Okay you got to explain, Olivia, because this is not getting clearer.”
“You’re no fun.” The detective pouted slightly when Jen looked at her in the rear view mirror. Laughing softly at the stern look she received in return. “It’s a good idea to have some spare clothes in your locker and maybe a toothbrush and deo. It’ll help make you fell more human after some of the days we have.”
“Is that all?” That wasn’t what she had expected to hear from her new partner.
“No, not even close. Well let’s see, what else should I tell you about? Oh yeah, do you have a significant other?” Olivia waited for a response of some kind from the younger woman.
Shaking her head no. “Not at this moment, no.”
“Then that’s one less problem you’ll have to worry about for the moment. I don’t think I can prepare you for what you’ll get to see, nothing will. But I would like for you to promise that if it ever gets to be too hard, you’ll talk to someone. And don’t go saying that it won’t get hard, because at some point it does for all of us.”
“It ever gotten too hard for you?” Seeing the brunette nod. “If it’s gets that bad why do you keep doing it?”
That was harder to answer than Olivia had thought. And there was quiet in the car while she figured what to say. “Someone has to do it.” Olivia didn’t know anyway better to explain it.
They all did this job for different reasons, and Olivia suspected that even Jen had some personal reason for being here. That being said, they all needed to do what they did if for nothing else, someone needed to be doing this. Not to say that they would look at Jen differently if she couldn’t do special victims. It was a job that demanded so much, not only time wise but also emotionally. Special victims was sure to break your heart at least once.
The rest of the drive to the precinct was quiet, both women caught in their on thoughts.
It was past dinner time when the finally made it to the squad room. Not that that necessary meant that the other detectives had, had dinner or had left for home.
During the time the two women had spent at the ER, the other detectives had been busy.
Munch had been trying to track down the leak. Somebody had, had to have told the attacker where to find Andrea. If they didn’t find that person, this was bound to happen again when the young girl was placed in a new home.
Fin and Elliot was on their way out the door as the women came in. They were going to talk to the neighbors, now that Stabler had taken Charlotte’s assault kit to CSU.
That left a fairly quiet squad room, with Munch typing away on his computer and occasional talking on the phone.
“Hello ladies, I see they took their time at the ER, as usual.”
“Yeah, can you let Cragen know we’re back? We’ll be in the crib. Jen can let him know what happened.”
The young woman looked at Olivia as to say ‘I can?’. But the brunette was already on her way up the stairs and didn’t see anything directed her way.
John for once thought it best to not give a response. Olivia didn’t look like she was in a joking mood, or for that matter a forgiving one.
Once in the crib, the brunette put Andrea down on the same bed as the girl had slept in last time. The detective thought that every bit of familiarity could help.
“Why did you volunteer me to brief the Captain?”
“Cragen won’t come up here when Andrea is sleeping. Thought you wouldn’t want to be left alone with her either.” Olivia shrugged, as all this meant nothing. She was exceptionally good at putting on a façade, and if you didn’t know the Olivia behind the cop you would never see it.
That did make sense to Jen, after all it hadn’t been her that talked the young blonde out, but Olivia. But that didn’t make her more comfortable having to talk to Cragen. That was, she suspected, one more thing she had to get used to.
After informing the captain that Olivia and Thomas were back from the ER, and had brought a sleeping Andrea with them the seasoned detective called Casey. The ADA had earlier threatened him with bodily harm, did he not let her know as soon as the brunette came back to the precinct.
Briefing Cragen hadn’t been as bad as Jen had expected. The man had been patient and asked the right questions to help the young woman along when she hadn’t remembered to tell some of the details.
This case was turning out to be a major headache for all the parties involved. ACS had not taken to well to have one of their caseworkers threatened, even if it was by a special victims’ detective.
Upon hearing that Andrea had been attacked, Munch had yelled at the ACS caseworker. Blaming them for the leak to the press, and now the attack of Charlotte Adams and Andrea. The detective’s excuse when Cragen found out, was that the caseworker had been especially cold and non caring.
This didn’t exactly help the willingness to cooperate for finding a suitable solution for the young blonde. It didn’t change that Cragen had spent an hour on the phone trying to calm the ACS director. They had yet to find a solution that wouldn’t leave Andrea open to another attack.
Olivia was stuck in the crib for the night, yet again. It was becoming a common occurrence. In the beginning of Casey and Olivia’s relationship the brunette had, had to spend an unprecedented amount of nights in the crib over a month. Casey saw the effect on the older woman’s muscles, especially Olivia’s neck. The ADA had bought the detective her own pillow and blanket. This had inspired the other detectives to do something along the same lines. Getting shelves put up on an empty wall, had helped separate the generic beddings from that of each detective.
The detectives didn’t have much locker space. What little they did have was usually filled with the few necessities that each detective deemed important. There wasn’t much room for a change of clothes, but it was always possible to get NYPD sweats. Those could be comfortable enough for sleeping in when they had the option of changing. That was only on nights like these where a detective knew he or she wouldn’t be called out in the middle of sleep.
Olivia was more privileged than the rest of the squad. Casey would bring the brunette clean clothes when she had to stay overnight. Not only that the ADA brought comfort to Olivia in a place that rarely saw anything good but she also understood the need to do this job. That was a big help in keeping the detective sane.
Depending on how much they thought they could find tonight, the other detectives would go home to get some much needed sleep. With Andrea in the crib there was no possibility of either of the men using it. But that would be some time later as it wasn't even 8pm yet.
Making sure that Andrea was sleeping and wouldn't wake in the immediate future, Olivia walked as quietly as she could down to the squad room. "Hey Munch, have you thought about food?"
The older detective looked up to see the brunette walking to her desk in sock feet. That explained why he hadn't heard her come down. "Yeah, what do you and your mini shadow have in mind?"
"Something simple that can be eaten when cold."
"Pizza it is then." John dug through his desk and came up with a menu from the closest pizza place that they used fairly often. "What's your poison this time Liv?"
Jen was starring at the two detectives, thinking that she had missed something. This was much more familiar way of talking to each other than at her last squad. They sounded more like brother and sister than colleagues.
"The usual for me, and add one with cheese for Andrea. Oh and include drinks for Casey as well, I have a feeling she will be coming by here anytime now."
The younger woman was caught up in her own thoughts and was startled when Olivia addressed her. "Have a look and tell Munch what you want Jen. He'll order it and they'll bring it here."
At this point the brunette had locked her gun in the desk and was on her way back to the crib with a stack of paperwork and the children’s book in one hand. At the look that Jen gave her, Olivia casually answered.
"Our ADA is a stickler when it comes to paperwork and I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." She had managed to keep her voice and expression serious, that was until Munch commented.
"If she has a bad side, Benson here would be the one to know."
Olivia couldn't keep the grin off her face, "No, no bad side, but I still don't like sleeping on the couch." With that the brunette disappeared into the crib.
Casey walked in as the pizza delivery guy was on is way out. In a voice that could make suspects think twice about being alive, the ADA said to the room at large. "You're feeding her pizza?"
"I haven't had the pleasure of feeding Benson anything." Again Munch was quick witted. That was one of the reasons he was so well liked, most of the time. There were times where he didn't know, what not to say.
This earned him a laugh before she turned to Jen. The younger woman was seated at Olivia's desk trying to get hold of one more person John had found knew the whereabouts of Andrea. Having been disconnected once more the dark blonde gave a slightly irritated huff.
"You would think that redirecting shouldn't be all that difficult to master, but no this is the third time tonight." Trailing off when she noticed that the ADA was looking at her. "Err... sorry Miss. Novak, I don't have a desk yet..." Jen was convinced that Casey was staring at her because she was using Olivia's desk.
"No need for apologies and please drop the miss, it's Casey or Novak. And Liv isn't using her desk right now so it might as well be put to good use by you."
Casey found the brunette's usual pizza and the cheese one for Andrea, and with a couple of soft drinks put on top of the two boxes the ADA headed to the stairs.
"You forgot your drink Casey." Munch spoke softly, the sound level in the squad room had been lower than usual since Olivia had brought the young girl back with her. "You didn’t think Liv would forget about you, now did you?"
"Hadn't thought about it, she didn't know I was coming here. You can join us if you feel like it Thomas." And with that the redhead proceeded up the stairs.
Jen turned to look at Munch. "You think she meant that?"
"They rarely say something they don't mean. So go and join your partner for dinner, I'll eat here and yell at some deserving smucks, who don't know how to keep information to themselves."
The younger woman noticed that the ADA had left the pizzas and soft drinks on the coffee table in the open room, so that was apparently where they were to eat. But there was no sign of either of the women. Jen got comfortable in one of the chairs and waited for Olivia and Casey to join her.
This time when Casey entered the crib Olivia wasn't asleep but caught up in her paperwork instead. Occasionally looking at the young girl sleeping on the bed next to her. It was at one of those times the detective noticed the ADA. "You made it and just in time, dinner should be on the way."
"If you're referring to the pizzas as dinner, I brought them with me."
The sternness of her voice was enough to make Olivia grin sheepishly up at the redhead.
"Yeah they taste good even when cold unlike fries." All seriousness had disappeared from the detective as soon as she had gotten off of the bed and made her way to Casey. "Good to see you, hon." Engulfing the redhead in a hug and pulling her close, Olivia kissed the ADA quickly before heading for the door. "What are you waiting for, a written invitation?" The joy in Olivia's voice was infective and the redhead couldn't help the smile it brought to her face.
Sobering up once again when she remembered the young girl sleeping on the bed, Casey turned to the detective. "You think she'll be okay in there while we eat?" The ADA hadn't witnessed Andrea's panic but had heard about it from the other detectives.
"If we keep it down I'll be able to hear if something’s up." Olivia was already at the table opening her pizza box and had a piece out before she even sat down. "Oh hi Jen, nice of you to join us."
The young woman didn’t know how to respond to that. She wasn’t all that sure if Olivia meant, or was sarcastic.
Casey could see the tension in Jen’s shoulders and stepped in to make the young woman more comfortable. Making sure her tone was light and wouldn’t be mistaken for hostility instead of humor, in which it was intended. “Yeah, this gives me the opportunity of threatening her, without witnesses, to look after this stubborn mule.” Tilting her head in the direction of Olivia as the redhead slipped in besides the detective.
“Hey! I’m not a mule.” The brunette didn’t pull off mortified as she had hastily tried to swallowed before protesting.
Casey chuckled, “But you don’t deny you’re stubborn.”
“Have to be to live with you. ‘Nough ‘bout me, what’s your story Jen?”
It was meant as an open ended question. Giving the young woman the option of telling what she felt comfortable sharing.
The light banter between the redhead and Olivia had accomplished what Casey had intended. Relaxing Jen and making her feel welcome. It had also given the dark blonde an insight to Olivia.
Jen had done most of the talking. After they had managed to get the young woman to open up. It wasn’t that Olivia wanted to know everything about her new partner. The brunette wanted something to start build their trust on. Hopefully the young woman would prove to be a great friend as Elliot was.
About 20 minutes into their meal Olivia suddenly trailed off in the middle of a sentence. Earning the brunette baffled looks from the two other women. It wasn’t until Casey noticed that the detective had straightened her posture and was sitting completely still. Head turned slightly as to hear any sounds from the crib.
“Go,” softly spoken permission for the detective to leave. It wasn’t that Olivia wouldn’t have done it otherwise. But it helped ease the guilt the brunette had every time she had to leave because of work.