Make the Bodies Drop [SVU; Elliot/Olivia]
TITLE: Make the Bodies Drop
CHAPTER 12
FANDOM: Law & Order: SVU
PAIRING: Elliot/Olivia
SPOILERS: Season seven-ish, pre-trilogy
RATING: R for adult themes
SUMMARY:
*****
"Doc, whaddya got for us?" Elliot greeted the M.E. as he strolled into the autopsy bay. Olivia trailed on his heels, looking trepidatious about being there for this particular autopsy.
"Well, officially the cause of death is blunt force trauma to the chest," Melinda Warner turned to the detectives, pulling the sheet up over Marissa. She gestured to her lower ribs. "Her ribs were fractured so bad they punctured a lung and her liver. She started bleeding out the moment they cracked -- never stood a chance."
Olivia and Elliot stepped up to the body and immediately Elliot sensed his partner was having a difficult time. Her tone wavered as she asked Warner, "What about the strangulation?"
"Definitely done by a rope; the ligature mark made a very distinct pattern. I'd tell you to get me something to compare it to, but... I'm afraid there won't be enough time. So I took plenty of photos."
Elliot made a face. "Why isn't there enough time?"
"That fiance of hers... boyfriend, whatever the hell he is... is already pushing to get her body released for burial."
Olivia nodded, staring down at Marissa's still visage, and at the Y-shaped blood stain on the sheet that covered her to her shoulders. "He wants to give her a proper burial, since her family wants nothing to do with her." She looked down at the young girl's face, at her still, serene features and remembered the last time she'd spoken to her -- joked around with her. She felt her eyes well up with tears and she cleared her throat, as if that would erase them. She looked up at Warner. "Do you have those photos?"
She nodded and handed a folder to Olivia. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Just barely keeping it together, she held up the folder and feigned a smile, looking to Elliot. "I'm, uh... gonna get these to the guys, and see if CSU came back from the club yet. Maybe we'll have something to compare it to."
Elliot nodded, tone filled with understanding. "Alright, Liv."
He watched her push through the swinging double doors before he turned back to Warner. "Sorry about that. She, uh--"
"Was close with her. I know. Elliot, why the hell did you even let her come here?"
"Let her?" He chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't let my partner do anything. She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions. And I mean, come on. You know that Liv thinks she's got nerves of steel."
"Yeah," Warner nodded, taking her gloves off and planting a fist on her hip. The other one leaned against the autopsy table. "But she doesn't. And you should know that better than anyone."
"I don't tell my partner what to do. That lands me in a world of psychological pain, trust me. When it comes to arguments, Liv's like... a brain ninja."
Warner chuckled. "Do I want to know what that means?"
"No. Just... nobody tells her what to do. Nobody can--"
"So help me God, Elliot, if you tell me 'nobody puts Olivia in a corner,' I'm gonna throw my scalpel at you."
Elliot smirked. "The point is... Olivia doesn't listen to anyone when it comes to what's best for her. Even me."
"Alright. Just... watch out for her, huh?"
"Always."
"And Elliot... there's one more thing. I didn't mention this because I didn't want Olivia to hear."
"What?"
Warner looked at him a moment before she sighed, gesturing to Marissa. "This girl is a veritable roadmap of physical and sexual abuse."
"Well, Liv found a card for some domestic violence attorney in her bag the other day."
"She's been raped multiple times, though, Elliot. I can tell just from the vaginal scarring she's been raped at least three times counting this one, if not more. And... the way it happened to her this time was brutal. I'll spare you the sordid details, but... there was a lot of tearing, at the entrance and exit so to speak." She looked him straight in the eyes and told him, "Somebody wanted this girl to suffer."
Elliot nodded slowly, taking in the information as his eyes flitted to Marissa's face one last time. Then, he looked back up at Warner, mumbled a "Thanks," and left to go find his partner.
She was back at the precinct, in the squad room with Munch and Fin poring over crime scene photos and bags of evidence collected from the club. Without turning around, she called to him, "Elliot."
On the inside, he smiled at her innate ability to sense him, and stepped up behind her. "What'd they find?"
Wearing gloves, Olivia held up a golden rope. "They found this at the club, used to tie back the curtains backstage..." She then set out one of the autopsy photos of Marissa, and Elliot noted how her eyes strained to the girl's face for a moment before she swallowed and cleared her throat. "And here it is compared to the ligature marks on Marissa's neck."
Elliot watched as they lined up perfectly. "It's a match."
"They swabbed the rope for epi... epith..." Fin frowned at himself. "Liv, what the hell did those CSU guys call 'em?"
Olivia smirked. "Epithelials."
"Yeah. Right. They swabbed 'em for that epi stuff and sent it to the lab."
"DNA?" Elliot questioned with a quirk of his brow, and Olivia nodded.
"Yeah, if the perp wasn't wearing gloves."
"What about the security tapes?" Fin asked, and both Olivia and Elliot fought not to visibly react.
Munch, either noticing and wanting to push past it or ignoring it completely, piped up. "They combed every inch of those tapes," he peered over the rims of his glasses at the pair of detectives, "every sordid detail," and smirked to himself when they both looked away, "and nothin.' This guy is very good about staying off-camera. There was plenty of Marissa, but no face for our perp."
Olivia sighed, "Great," and ran her fingers roughly through her hair. After a moment, she stopped and tilted her head. "Wait a minute."
The three guys turned to look at her. When she was quiet for a moment, Elliot gently touched her elbow, drawing her out of her thoughtful state. "Liv... what?"
"The rope from the curtains at the club. The slipping in and out unnoticed. Staying out of view of the cameras..."
Elliot's eyes widened slightly as he joined his partner in her line of thinking. "You're thinking he works there?"
Olivia nodded. "Think about it. How else would he know where the easy exits are? How the cameras are positioned?"
Fin leaned back in his chair. "That don't mean it's not a regular. A guy spends enough time there, the place becomes familiar. If he gets enough private dances--"
"What about the rope backstage, genius? Huh?" Munch raised his eyebrows at his partner. "All the private dances in the world can't get you backstage." He looked up to see everyone else staring at him. He shrugged. "I'm assuming."
Elliot and Olivia shared a look as her cell phone started to ring a very distinctive tone. "It's Carl," she murmured, giving all of them a look to keep the noise down. Then she grabbed her phone and flipped it open. "Hello?" She smiled softly. "Hi, Carl. How are you doing?" Her eyebrows raised. "Really? So soon?" She nodded along with whatever was said on the other end of the line. "That's true, yes. Okay. Yeah, I'll tell Jack." She glanced up at Elliot. "Yeah, sure. I'll have him call some of his buddies on the force." She nodded one last time. "Okay, Carl. See you Thursday."
After flipping her phone shut, Olivia double-checked to make sure it was off before addressing her fellow detectives. "That was Carl. Marissa's funeral is set for Thursday." She turned to Elliot. "And he wanted me to tell you he's shutting down the club."
Elliot raised his eyebrows, recalling his conversation with Carl the night before. "Really."
"Said he wants you to get some of your, uh..." she quirked one eyebrow, "'cop buddies' in there doing a full investigation."
Elliot just searched her eyes and nodded, slowly.
*****
For two days, Olivia managed to keep herself far enough away from Elliot to avoid temptation, which was harder than she thought it would be. Without being able to reveal their true identities to Carl, they were unable to work their case hands-on, and were consigned to paperwork for two days. So for two days they danced around each other, coping with the memories of those moments in the private room combined with the memories of Marissa's fate.
And for two days Olivia was tormented with the impending decision she'd have to make. Eight years as Elliot's partner, as the one watching his back, the one he can actually talk to about work (on the rare occasions when he would want to talk) was suddenly at stake for something far more uncertain, but possibly far more fulfilling.
"Some coffee?" Elliot offered from behind her and off to the side.
Olivia turned over her shoulder to see him holding up a fresh pot with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back and go over to him. "Sure. Thanks." She grabbed two mugs off the table and held them while Elliot poured.
"So... how are you doing with all of this?"
She glanced up at him sharply and almost spilled one of the cups of coffee. "All of what? What do you mean?"
Elliot gave a rather devastating half-grin and chuckled lightly. "Easy, Liv. I meant this whole thing with Marissa. How are you holdin' up?"
"Oh." She took a sip of her own cup of coffee while handing Elliot his. After a moment, she nodded thoughtfully. "I'm okay, I guess. Haven't had much time to think about it," she smiled a bit, "since I've been buried up to my ass in paperwork from old cases."
He laughed. "Well I hear that's just because your partner's a lazy-ass shmuck who can't hold up his end of the paperwork."
Olivia grinned and looked down into her mug. "Nah..." She glanced up at him and tilted her head. "He's not so bad."
"Ah." He smiled. "Well, good." As they walked back to their desks, he laid his hand on the small of her back, leaned toward her ear, and murmured, "'Cause I hear he's got a thing for ya."
Olivia slowly set her coffee mug down on her desk while she watched her partner walk around to his, lips tilted upward the entire time. Sitting down, she grabbed her pencil and twirled it between her fingers. Smirking slightly, she kept her eyes on the files in front of her as she replied, "Well maybe I've got a thing for him too."
She felt, more than saw, his answering grin. It was just what she needed to push her through the rest of their two days of paperwork.
TBC
{x-posted to eoshippers and olivia_elliot}
CHAPTER 12
FANDOM: Law & Order: SVU
PAIRING: Elliot/Olivia
SPOILERS: Season seven-ish, pre-trilogy
RATING: R for adult themes
SUMMARY:
*****
"Doc, whaddya got for us?" Elliot greeted the M.E. as he strolled into the autopsy bay. Olivia trailed on his heels, looking trepidatious about being there for this particular autopsy.
"Well, officially the cause of death is blunt force trauma to the chest," Melinda Warner turned to the detectives, pulling the sheet up over Marissa. She gestured to her lower ribs. "Her ribs were fractured so bad they punctured a lung and her liver. She started bleeding out the moment they cracked -- never stood a chance."
Olivia and Elliot stepped up to the body and immediately Elliot sensed his partner was having a difficult time. Her tone wavered as she asked Warner, "What about the strangulation?"
"Definitely done by a rope; the ligature mark made a very distinct pattern. I'd tell you to get me something to compare it to, but... I'm afraid there won't be enough time. So I took plenty of photos."
Elliot made a face. "Why isn't there enough time?"
"That fiance of hers... boyfriend, whatever the hell he is... is already pushing to get her body released for burial."
Olivia nodded, staring down at Marissa's still visage, and at the Y-shaped blood stain on the sheet that covered her to her shoulders. "He wants to give her a proper burial, since her family wants nothing to do with her." She looked down at the young girl's face, at her still, serene features and remembered the last time she'd spoken to her -- joked around with her. She felt her eyes well up with tears and she cleared her throat, as if that would erase them. She looked up at Warner. "Do you have those photos?"
She nodded and handed a folder to Olivia. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Just barely keeping it together, she held up the folder and feigned a smile, looking to Elliot. "I'm, uh... gonna get these to the guys, and see if CSU came back from the club yet. Maybe we'll have something to compare it to."
Elliot nodded, tone filled with understanding. "Alright, Liv."
He watched her push through the swinging double doors before he turned back to Warner. "Sorry about that. She, uh--"
"Was close with her. I know. Elliot, why the hell did you even let her come here?"
"Let her?" He chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't let my partner do anything. She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions. And I mean, come on. You know that Liv thinks she's got nerves of steel."
"Yeah," Warner nodded, taking her gloves off and planting a fist on her hip. The other one leaned against the autopsy table. "But she doesn't. And you should know that better than anyone."
"I don't tell my partner what to do. That lands me in a world of psychological pain, trust me. When it comes to arguments, Liv's like... a brain ninja."
Warner chuckled. "Do I want to know what that means?"
"No. Just... nobody tells her what to do. Nobody can--"
"So help me God, Elliot, if you tell me 'nobody puts Olivia in a corner,' I'm gonna throw my scalpel at you."
Elliot smirked. "The point is... Olivia doesn't listen to anyone when it comes to what's best for her. Even me."
"Alright. Just... watch out for her, huh?"
"Always."
"And Elliot... there's one more thing. I didn't mention this because I didn't want Olivia to hear."
"What?"
Warner looked at him a moment before she sighed, gesturing to Marissa. "This girl is a veritable roadmap of physical and sexual abuse."
"Well, Liv found a card for some domestic violence attorney in her bag the other day."
"She's been raped multiple times, though, Elliot. I can tell just from the vaginal scarring she's been raped at least three times counting this one, if not more. And... the way it happened to her this time was brutal. I'll spare you the sordid details, but... there was a lot of tearing, at the entrance and exit so to speak." She looked him straight in the eyes and told him, "Somebody wanted this girl to suffer."
Elliot nodded slowly, taking in the information as his eyes flitted to Marissa's face one last time. Then, he looked back up at Warner, mumbled a "Thanks," and left to go find his partner.
She was back at the precinct, in the squad room with Munch and Fin poring over crime scene photos and bags of evidence collected from the club. Without turning around, she called to him, "Elliot."
On the inside, he smiled at her innate ability to sense him, and stepped up behind her. "What'd they find?"
Wearing gloves, Olivia held up a golden rope. "They found this at the club, used to tie back the curtains backstage..." She then set out one of the autopsy photos of Marissa, and Elliot noted how her eyes strained to the girl's face for a moment before she swallowed and cleared her throat. "And here it is compared to the ligature marks on Marissa's neck."
Elliot watched as they lined up perfectly. "It's a match."
"They swabbed the rope for epi... epith..." Fin frowned at himself. "Liv, what the hell did those CSU guys call 'em?"
Olivia smirked. "Epithelials."
"Yeah. Right. They swabbed 'em for that epi stuff and sent it to the lab."
"DNA?" Elliot questioned with a quirk of his brow, and Olivia nodded.
"Yeah, if the perp wasn't wearing gloves."
"What about the security tapes?" Fin asked, and both Olivia and Elliot fought not to visibly react.
Munch, either noticing and wanting to push past it or ignoring it completely, piped up. "They combed every inch of those tapes," he peered over the rims of his glasses at the pair of detectives, "every sordid detail," and smirked to himself when they both looked away, "and nothin.' This guy is very good about staying off-camera. There was plenty of Marissa, but no face for our perp."
Olivia sighed, "Great," and ran her fingers roughly through her hair. After a moment, she stopped and tilted her head. "Wait a minute."
The three guys turned to look at her. When she was quiet for a moment, Elliot gently touched her elbow, drawing her out of her thoughtful state. "Liv... what?"
"The rope from the curtains at the club. The slipping in and out unnoticed. Staying out of view of the cameras..."
Elliot's eyes widened slightly as he joined his partner in her line of thinking. "You're thinking he works there?"
Olivia nodded. "Think about it. How else would he know where the easy exits are? How the cameras are positioned?"
Fin leaned back in his chair. "That don't mean it's not a regular. A guy spends enough time there, the place becomes familiar. If he gets enough private dances--"
"What about the rope backstage, genius? Huh?" Munch raised his eyebrows at his partner. "All the private dances in the world can't get you backstage." He looked up to see everyone else staring at him. He shrugged. "I'm assuming."
Elliot and Olivia shared a look as her cell phone started to ring a very distinctive tone. "It's Carl," she murmured, giving all of them a look to keep the noise down. Then she grabbed her phone and flipped it open. "Hello?" She smiled softly. "Hi, Carl. How are you doing?" Her eyebrows raised. "Really? So soon?" She nodded along with whatever was said on the other end of the line. "That's true, yes. Okay. Yeah, I'll tell Jack." She glanced up at Elliot. "Yeah, sure. I'll have him call some of his buddies on the force." She nodded one last time. "Okay, Carl. See you Thursday."
After flipping her phone shut, Olivia double-checked to make sure it was off before addressing her fellow detectives. "That was Carl. Marissa's funeral is set for Thursday." She turned to Elliot. "And he wanted me to tell you he's shutting down the club."
Elliot raised his eyebrows, recalling his conversation with Carl the night before. "Really."
"Said he wants you to get some of your, uh..." she quirked one eyebrow, "'cop buddies' in there doing a full investigation."
Elliot just searched her eyes and nodded, slowly.
*****
For two days, Olivia managed to keep herself far enough away from Elliot to avoid temptation, which was harder than she thought it would be. Without being able to reveal their true identities to Carl, they were unable to work their case hands-on, and were consigned to paperwork for two days. So for two days they danced around each other, coping with the memories of those moments in the private room combined with the memories of Marissa's fate.
And for two days Olivia was tormented with the impending decision she'd have to make. Eight years as Elliot's partner, as the one watching his back, the one he can actually talk to about work (on the rare occasions when he would want to talk) was suddenly at stake for something far more uncertain, but possibly far more fulfilling.
"Some coffee?" Elliot offered from behind her and off to the side.
Olivia turned over her shoulder to see him holding up a fresh pot with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back and go over to him. "Sure. Thanks." She grabbed two mugs off the table and held them while Elliot poured.
"So... how are you doing with all of this?"
She glanced up at him sharply and almost spilled one of the cups of coffee. "All of what? What do you mean?"
Elliot gave a rather devastating half-grin and chuckled lightly. "Easy, Liv. I meant this whole thing with Marissa. How are you holdin' up?"
"Oh." She took a sip of her own cup of coffee while handing Elliot his. After a moment, she nodded thoughtfully. "I'm okay, I guess. Haven't had much time to think about it," she smiled a bit, "since I've been buried up to my ass in paperwork from old cases."
He laughed. "Well I hear that's just because your partner's a lazy-ass shmuck who can't hold up his end of the paperwork."
Olivia grinned and looked down into her mug. "Nah..." She glanced up at him and tilted her head. "He's not so bad."
"Ah." He smiled. "Well, good." As they walked back to their desks, he laid his hand on the small of her back, leaned toward her ear, and murmured, "'Cause I hear he's got a thing for ya."
Olivia slowly set her coffee mug down on her desk while she watched her partner walk around to his, lips tilted upward the entire time. Sitting down, she grabbed her pencil and twirled it between her fingers. Smirking slightly, she kept her eyes on the files in front of her as she replied, "Well maybe I've got a thing for him too."
She felt, more than saw, his answering grin. It was just what she needed to push her through the rest of their two days of paperwork.
TBC
{x-posted to eoshippers and olivia_elliot}