Author/pseudonym: Tona
Fandom: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Pairing: Benson/Stabler
Rating: PG
Status: new
Archive: Please archive.
E-mail address for feedback: taramsey@syclone.net
Series/Sequel: Not a series yet...could become one though
Other websites: n/a
Disclaimers: I don't own the characters of Law and Order: SVU nor do I make any money from writing these fan fictions. I'm actually just playing in the sandbox here.
Notes: This started out as a response to Improv challenge #4. I went back and archived a couple of the earlier challenges. This chapter has the words from Improv 1 & 2.
The words were:
drip
freaky
hooked up
duck walk
fake
hug
hard-headed
eccentric
reboot
launch pad
legend
Summary: Stabler and Benson grow closer while working on a case and spending a few nights relaxing.
Warnings: n/a
Relaxing 2
by Tona
Elliot stepped into the apartment and took a long look around the area while members of the CSU team took pictures and collected their samples. He walked through the small apartment to find Olivia studying the crime scene.
"What have we got?" He asked as he stood near her.
"Alison Barrington, single white female, raped, tortured and murdered," She replied, "Building manager found her this morning when he let himself in to fix the drip in the kitchen faucet."
"She got any family?" He asked as he looked at pictures on the nearby dressing table.
"The super said that she only recently moved to the city. Her parents live upstate," Olivia replied, "No one we’ve talked to so far saw anyone coming or going to this apartment over the last few days."
"Do we have a time of death?" Elliot asked as he stood beside the bed and looked down at the victim laying in her a pool of her own blood.
"It looks like this is recent," The ME said as she removed a thermometer from the victim, "Less than six hours."
"Six hours and no one saw anything?" Elliot shook his head, "Someone had to see something."
Olivia frowned, "Let’s canvas the building again."
"While we’re at it, let’s find out about her job, friends, boyfriend, hangouts, everything. I don’t want to find any other victims from this guy," Elliot frowned as he stepped out of the room to begin the canvas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Munch slipped his hands into his pockets as he watched the old lady stir her morning coffee, "So you noticed a man come into the building last night?"
"Yeah, he was this young man…handsome," The old woman spoke as she sat at her kitchen table, "I thought they were just dating. It wasn’t the first time she had a gentleman caller."
"So there were other men at her apartment?" Fin asked as he took notes on a small pad.
"Yes, she had several men visit her since she moved in. We’re a quiet building mostly, and it was kind of nice to see a fresh young woman having some fun," The old woman shrugged then smiled, "Besides, a young woman in today’s world should have a healthy sex life."
Munch looked to Fin with an amused grin upon his features. He looked back to the old woman, "Thank you for your help, Mrs. Lang. This is my card," He said as he extended the card to her, "If you remember anything else that you think might help, just give us a call."
"I will," She smiled before Fin and Munch stepped out of her apartment.
"Was that old lady freaky or what?" Fin asked as he tucked his note pad back into his pocket.
"She was certainly liberated for her age bracket," Munch sighed as they stepped down the hall and met Olivia and Elliot emerging from the crime scene.
"Did you find anything?" Elliot asked.
"Yeah, old lady down the hall says she saw a guy come in last night," Fin shrugged.
"She also said that this lady had been entertaining quite a bit since she moved in," Munch added.
"Great…this girl moves into the city from upstate and starts picking up guys," Olivia frowned, "So where do you want to start?"
"Let’s have the local cops inform the parents. Have them come down here for an ID," Elliot frowned. Munch took out his cell phone and began making phone calls before Elliot continued, "We’ll go check out her work. You guys see what the preliminary forensics turn up."
They all nodded as they went to continue their work.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Olivia looked over to Elliot as they sat in traffic. She took a deep breath and sighed as she glanced out the window, "You’ve been in a strange mood this morning. What’s going on?"
"Nothing," He replied simply as he looked ahead in traffic, seeing that they were in for quite a wait.
"Don’t give me that," She said as she turned to face him, "Something’s wrong."
"Well, I was going to tell you the other night, but you passed out on me first."
"Sorry about that," She frowned, "So what is it?"
"Kathy and I have separated."
"You…" She spoke before stopping. She glanced back to the road in front of them before speaking again, "Where are you staying?"
"I’ve got an apartment."
"You do? That was quick."
"Not really," He replied, "It’s been coming for a while, and we both decided a while ago that it would be best if I found a place of my own."
"I had no idea, Elliot."
"I know," He nodded, "I didn’t want anyone to know. We have enough trouble with things that happen on the job. I don’t like to bring any more stress into it."
"Elliot, I’m your partner. If you ever needed to talk, you should have been able to talk to me."
He looked over to her and adjusted his position in his seat, "Did you ever think that maybe I didn’t want to involve you because I didn’t want you to get hurt?"
"Why would I be hurt?" She asked as she met his hypnotic eyes.
He continued to meet her eyes before the sound of a car horn alerted him to the movement in traffic up ahead. He turned to focus his attention back on the road in front of him.
Olivia watched him closely for a moment before they arrived at their destination. If he thought he was going to avoid answering her question, he had another thing coming.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"She was great with computers. She hooked up our entire network," Mark Reeves said as he sank onto the corner of his desk, "I can’t believe she’s gone."
"Did she have any romantic involvements that you knew about?" Elliot asked as he sat in a free chair.
"We went out once, but I got the feeling she wasn’t really interested in dating guys."
"Why’s that?" Olivia asked as she took a seat near Elliot.
"She was uncomfortable the entire time we were out. She was fidgeting, she wouldn’t let me even touch her."
"Maybe she just wasn’t ready to take that step," Elliot ventured.
"I’m not talking about sex. I simply placed my hand upon her back to sort of guide her inside the restaurant. She got really upset about it and told me not to touch her at all," Mark shook his head, "I thought it was really odd."
"Did she date anyone else in the office?" Olivia asked.
"I think she dated Quinton Thomas. You’d have to ask him to be sure," Mark shrugged as he shook his head, "She was such a sweet woman. I’m having a hard time believing anyone would want to harm her."
Elliot looked to Olivia before looking to Mark, "Can we see her office?"
"Of course. It’s at the end of the hallway. I’ll have my secretary show you there," Mark suggested as he sighed heavily.
Elliot and Olivia walked out of the office and followed the secretary down the hall. As they stepped inside, they each donned a pair of latex gloves. The secretary stepped out while Olivia sat behind the victim’s desk.
"Did you get the impression that guy knew something he wasn’t telling?" Elliot asked as he looked over the victim’s computer terminal.
"Yeah, he was holding back," Olivia agreed as she found a date book and thumbed through the dates, "It looks like she had a date for last night with a guy named Toby."
"Toby…that’s it?" He asked as he turned to look at his partner.
"That’s all it says," She shrugged, "We need to find out just who Toby is."
"He better have one hell of an alibi," Elliot stated as he went back to his search.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What have we got?" Cragen asked as he walked through the bullpen.
"Preliminary forensics has two sets of fingerprints that they’re running through AFIS now," Munch informed their captain as he sank into his chair, "There were fluids that the ME says we’ll be able to compare once we find our suspect."
"How’s that coming along?" The captain asked as Elliot and Olivia stepped into the vicinity.
"We went to her office and had a chat with her boss," Elliot stated as he sat at his desk.
Olivia placed the date book upon her desk, "There was a name in her date book. She was suppose to meet with a guy named Toby last night."
"Any idea who Toby is?" Cragen asked.
"Not at the moment," Elliot frowned, "Though something else is bothering me."
"What’s that?" The captain asked of his detective.
"The boss said that this lady didn’t like guys to touch her…even in an innocent touch. Maybe she rejected the wrong guy," Elliot shook his head, "But that isn’t what this feels like."
"What are you thinking?" Munch asked as he watched Elliot closely.
"This seems like anger to me, and a lot of it."
"If you’re right, and this guy was rejected, maybe he had a thing for her for a while," Cragen offered, "Let’s see if she had any regular haunts and see if anyone was asking about her. And find out just who that Toby is."
"Yes sir," The detectives dispersed to go about their jobs.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fin and Munch stepped into the dojo and walked along the back of the classroom area. Fin spoke to a lady standing at the side before she pointed to the man in the front of the room. Fin thanked her before he and Munch flashed their badges at the man who looked around at his students.
"Practice the duck walk this week, and we’ll pick up with more flexibility and endurance exercises next week," He announced before he concluded the class and approached the detectives, "Can I help you?"
"We’re with the Special Victims Unit," Fin announced, "We’re investigating the murder of Alison Barrington."
"Alison…" He paused as the reality hit him hard, "I…I had no idea."
Munch looked to Fin, both of them noting the man’s sincerity, "Are you Toby?"
"Yes, why?" He asked as he looked between the detectives.
"Your name was the last one in her date book. Were you two involved?" Fin asked as he began to make notes on his small pad.
"Not like you think," Toby replied as he looked around the still crowded classroom, "Please, let’s go back to my office where we can talk."
Munch followed Fin and Toby down the hall to a small office marked Manager upon the door. Once inside, Munch noted the man’s full name upon a nameplate on the desk, Toby Milner. "Mr. Milner, care to explain why your name was the last in her date book?"
Toby took a seat behind his desk and looked at the detectives, "I’m the coordinator for the neighborhood’s Gay Pride activities. Alison wanted to speak with me about how she could come out to her family and friends."
"She was gay?" Fin questioned, "We’ve heard that she had several men over to her apartment."
"She was trying to play it straight. Her family was very conservative," Toby replied, "She was trying to convince herself that she was straight, but the more she tried, the more obvious it was to her that she would never be happy that way."
"Was she seeing anyone on a regular basis? A girlfriend maybe?" Munch asked.
"Yeah, I believe she was. I think her name is Lucy, but I’m not acquainted with her."
"If you think of anything that might help us, just give us a call," Fin instructed as he gave Toby his business card.
Once they were outside the dojo, Fin looked to Munch, "Do you believe this girl? She’s a total fake."
"I think that depends on your point of view," Munch pointed out as they got into the car to go about their investigation.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"All right. Yeah," Olivia said as she hung up her cell phone, "Elliot, you’re not going to believe this. Our victim was gay."
"Gay?" Elliot furrowed his brow, "Now I’m confused."
"It definitely adds some complications to the mix," She agreed as she saw him looking past her, "What?"
"I think our victim’s parents just walked in," He said as he motioned for her to turn and look.
Captain Cragen walked up to the couple as the stepped into the bullpen, "I’m Captain Donald Cragen," He introduced himself, "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Barrington."
"Actually, I’m Alison’s mother, Elizabeth Grant," The glamorous woman announced, "And this is my husband, Caleb Grant."
"I’m sorry for the confusion," The captain apologized, "This is Detective Benson and Detective Stabler. They’ll take you down to identify the body."
"That’s fine, Captain, but I was wondering if we might speak for a moment about keeping this out of the media," Caleb Grant spoke up.
"I can assure you my detectives exercise the utmost discretion," Cragen declared.
"I’m sure they do," Caleb said he cast a doubting glance towards Olivia and Elliot, "I want all media matters coordinated through us."
Cragen nodded as he turned and looked at Olivia and Elliot as if he were about to outwardly groan in frustration. Elliot could understand where his captain was coming from as he stepped forward, "If you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to identify the body."
The trip to the ME’s office was quiet and relatively fast. Elliot stood back while Olivia stood beside the victim’s mother as the body was revealed. Elizabeth nodded, "That’s my daughter."
"I’m sorry for your loss," Olivia said sympathetically, "Is there anyone we can contact for you?"
"We’ll handle all of that," Caleb said coldly while he embraced his wife in a tender hug.
Olivia nodded, "We need to ask you some questions about your daughter."
"Of course," Elizabeth said as she turned to face the detectives, "What is it you’d like to know?"
"Did she say anyone was following her around or harassing her recently?" Elliot asked as he noted the parents cold behavior.
"No, and she wouldn’t have," Elizabeth frowned, "She was always as hard-headed as her father."
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as she moved to stand beside Elliot.
"She just had to move to the city, just had to make it on her own. I don’t understand why. We had given her everything she’d ever wanted," Elizabeth shook her head, "Stupid impetuous girl."
Elliot raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like you weren’t too happy about her moving to New York City."
"No, Detective," Elizabeth replied sarcastically, "I was not happy about her moving to the city. She had been raised to have it all, and she should have been living the life to which she’d become accustomed, not associating with gutter trash."
Elliot looked to Olivia as she set her jaw as she always did when she was irritated. She held her head high and looked between the parents, "Did you know of any friends she might have had contact with since she moved here?"
"Yes, she would have kept in touch with Tessa and with her high school sweetheart, Rafael Coe," Elizabeth explained.
"Can you give us a way of getting in touch with them? We’ll want to speak with them," Olivia said quickly.
"Of course," Caleb said as he took a pen from Elliot and jotted down the information on the back of a business card, "Our numbers are all on the front in case you need to get in touch with us. As for now, I’m taking my wife home to grieve."
Elliot turned to look at Olivia as the door behind them closed, "Do you believe those two? They acted like this was just an inconvenience."
"Have I mentioned how much I really hate eccentric rich people?" Olivia groaned, "Now I know why this girl would leave behind everything she’d ever known to start a new life. With a family like that, who could blame her?"
"I certainly couldn’t," He frowned, "Let’s go call these friends of hers. See if we can’t find a little more sympathy among them."
"I hope her friends cared about her more than those two did," She stated roughly as she walked out of the ME’s office.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Damn computers," Fin grumbled as he looked at his screen.
"What’s wrong?" Munch asked as he glanced across at his partner.
"This is the third time I’ve had to reboot my laptop. I think someone gave me a virus."
"Do we need to give you a lesson in safe surfing?" Munch asked blandly while Olivia and Elliot stepped back into the office.
"The parents are definitely not the grieving kind," Elliot stated as he picked up his coffee mug and walked to the coffee machine.
"I noticed they were more interested in their own image than their child’s death," Cragen noted as he joined his detectives.
"That mother could use an attitude adjustment," Olivia commented as she sat at her desk.
"We did get the name of a friend of hers as well as the name of her high school sweetheart," Elliot spoke before sipping his coffee on the way to his desk.
"High school sweetheart?" Cragen looked to Munch and Fin, "I thought you said she was gay."
"She was, but she hadn’t come out yet," Fin clarified.
"With parents like that, I’m not sure it would have been a good idea to ever come out," Olivia said as she looked to her colleagues.
"That being said, where do we stand?" Cragen asked looking amongst his detectives.
"We’ve got to contact the friends that the parents gave us," Elliot offered.
"We’ll know more about the cause and time of death tomorrow after the autopsy is completed," Munch volunteered.
"Well, I guess that means we’re at least off the launch pad," Cragen shrugged, "That’s it. Go home, get some rest. We’ll start tomorrow with fresh minds."
"Good, I’ve got a date," Munch spoke up.
"You? A date? With who? Your granny?" Fin asked sarcastically.
"That’s cute," Munch said dryly as he grabbed his jacket and left for the evening with Fin following close behind.
Elliot looked across at Olivia who doodled with paperwork. He stood and walked around the desk, "Come on Liv."
"What?" She asked blankly as she watched him gather both their jackets.
He placed hers upon the desk in front of her, "Come on. Let’s go out and relax."
"Relax?" She asked as she stood and slipped into her jacket, "Is this going to be another night of drinking?"
Elliot grinned, "How about we start with dinner? The drinking might come afterward."
"Elliot Stabler, you’re becoming the stuff of legend because I can never quite figure you out," Olivia said as she followed him out of the office to find out what kind of night was in store for them.
*~*To Be Continued...*~*