Debt

Part 2 of 2

After Amanda's breakdown in the car, Olivia had somehow managed to calm the distraught blonde some by talking to her softly while she drove the last few blocks to her apartment building. With some strenuous efforts she had half carried and half dragged the woman into the elevator, into her apartment and onto the couch where she was now sitting, shivering from cold and pent up emotions.

The younger woman hadn't said a word, since she had literally begged Olivia to not let him hurt her anymore, and it worried her. She quickly glanced at the clock and silently groaned as it was just after two am. The apartment was quiet. Only the occasional sniffle and soft painful moans echoed from wall to wall, tearing at Olivia's heartstrings. By gently placing a blanket around the trembling frame, she hoped it would help Amanda to warm up quicker, and she began to rub her hands up and down the blonde's arms and back, willing warmth into the chilled and overly tired body.

"You're safe here, Amanda. I promise you that." she whispered as her hand continued with the comforting and soothing caresses, feeling the trembling ease slightly after a few minutes. She thought about what Amanda had said in the car before she broke down in hysterical sobs. 'Don't let them hurt me anymore.' What had she meant by 'anymore'? Had this happened before? If so, when and where?

"How many times has this happened, honey? How many times have they hurt you?"

There was a brief pause and silence in the air before Amanda finally looked up, locking her eyes with Liv's. "Twice before. It's... it's always two of them, Murphy and some other guy I don't know the name of. I... I think he's just the look out cause he's never laid a finger on me. I... I changed my number a couple of times, as you know, but that doesn't seem to stop him. He always finds me, calls me, texts me. I... I don't know what to do anymore." the tears welled up in her eyes once again, feeling her whole body drain from any energy she had left and slumped forward, soft sobs escaping her lips. "I don't want to die."

Olivia was quick ro catch her so she wouldn't fall down onto the floor and hurt herself even further. It caused a sharp pang in her chest, seeing her friend and colleague so upset, scared and defeated. "Hey, hush sweetheart. You're not going to die, I can promise you that." she gathered the crying woman fully into her arms and rocked them from side to side, Amanda whimpering intermittently as Liv did her best to sooth and comfort.

"Why don't I help you get in to bed, ugh? Come on, honey, you're sleeping in my bed, I'll take the couch." Amanda was already half asleep and Liv had to almost carry her into her bedroom, sat her down gently on the edge and kneeled before her, brushing blonde loose strands away from her blotchy face. "I'm just going to take your jeans off, okay. You'll be much more comfortable without them and I'll see if I can find you something to wear. Sit tight, sweetie."

Everything she owned would be too big for the blonde but it was better than nothing and she pulled out a pair of warm flannel pajama pants and a pair of thick bedsocks, to avoid her feet from getting too cold during the night. In silence she helped Amanda to change into her sleeping attire and finished it by gently sliding the socks on to chilled feet, rubbing them slightly between her hands before helping her under the covers.

As the blonde hair fanned out across the pillow, Liv couldn't resist but to reach her hand out and caress a soft cheek of the semi awake woman, smiling faintly at the smoothness of her skin. "Sleep now, honey." she whispered and watched Amanda's chest raise and fall in a steady rhythm, telling her that she was already asleep.

Olivia sat there, for several minutes just looking at the beautiful features of her subordinate and friend. In the dim lit bedroom the blonde looked younger than her actual age, almost childlike, and Olivia felt a strong wave of protective-ness and almost a motherly instinct to make sure no harm came to her ever again. She couldn't belive that Amanda had been through this twice before and nobody knew anything about it. Had she known what was going on she would've put a stop to it long ago and save Amanda the physical and emotional pain of it all by nailing this son of a bitch. He was done, so done, for what he had put her friend through and she would make sure he paid for it.

It was almost three in the morning when the brunette finally decided to ring Fin. She knew he wouldn't mind since Amanda was his partner and always looked out for her and having her best interest at heart. The African-American detective answered on the second ring, his voice slightly gravelly with sleep.

"Wassup, Lieu? Got a case?"

"Kind of. I know it's in the middle of the night but I need you to meet me at the precinct. I'll tell you what's going on when you get there." she explained quickly as she jotted down a note for Amanda in case she woke up when she was gone.

"Sure. Meet you there in twenty."

Liv placed the note on the nightstand just next to the bed so Amanda could easily spot it, looked through her friend's call list on her phone, spotted a number that frequently seemed to pop up, added it to her own contacts and quietly made her exit. Hopefully with his phone number she would be able to track him down.

She reached the precinct within fifteen minutes and saw that Fin was already there, leaning against the wall, waiting for her. "What's going on, Liv? Is everything okay?"

Sighing tiredly, Olivia ran a hand through her wavy locks, feeling the bitter wind catch it in it's grasps. "No, Fin. Everything is not okay. It's about Amanda."

She explained the whole situaton to her senior detective, watching his face turn gravely serious, his nostrils flared and his jaws clenched with simmering anger. The protective side of Fin was emerging. "Where's she now? She okay?"

"She's at my apartment, sleeping. He did a number on her, left her black and blue. She refused to stay at the hospital so they gave her a shot of morphine and strong painkillers to take home. I... I just want to nail this ass hole." she grumbled as they entered the precinct. There were a few people inside, working the ungodly hours of the night, but none of them raised an eyebrow at the duo. Seeing the Lieutenant and the Sergeant during the crazy hours of the night was not unusual.

Twenty minutes after arriving, they got a location on Murphy, at a casino in Midtown, and they both headed off, ready to pay him an unwelcoming visit. Fin knew what he looked like, since he did have a brief encounter with him not that long ago, and he quickly spotted the man by the poker table, downing a shot as he slapped a skimpy dressed waitress on the ass, asking her if they could go anywhere private. The young barista just giggled and strolled off, her hips swaying seductively to the beat of the music playing in the background.

"I know a private place." Fin stated, grabbed Murphy by his collar, flashed his badge, along with Olivia and dragged the drunken ass man into an empty nearby bathroom, shoving him up against the tiled wall. "You get a kick from beating up women? You not man enough to punch a dude in the face and crack his ribs?" his face was only an inch away from Murphy's sweaty and greasy features and he could smell the stale cigarette smoke of his breath as he heavily panted.

"Oh, blondie sent you to do her dirty work." he snarled, his yellow stained teeth appearing from between his lips as he snickered.

As Fin pressed his lower arm up against the man's throat, pushing him hard against the cold hard tiles, Olivia took a step closer. "I want you to listen and I want you to listen very carefully." she made sure she had his full attention before she continued. "You physically assaulted an NYPD detective which is considered a serious crime and a looooong time in prison."

"You got nothing on me, bitch!" he spat, struggling against Fin's firm hold but decided against it as he felt the detective's knee press against his groin area and he screamed out in pain. "Ahaaa!"

"Shut your mouth or I'll rip your dick off, shove it so far up your ass you'll never see it again." Fin calmly stated and nodded towards Olivia to carry on.

"The video surveillance at the gas station says different." she lied. "I'm willing to let this slide if I get something in return." her heart was pumping with adrenaline as she placed a firm hand on the tiles, just next to his head, leaning forward so she was now the one to smell his rotten breath of alcohol and smoke. "If you let this little debt between you and Amanda go away then so will our charges of assault on a police officer. It's up to you. If you decide not to, and get your ten grand back, you will end up in prison and the ten thousand will be worth absolutely nothing. I'm giving you a way out here, Murphy, you should take it before I change my mind."

The dunken man glared at her, gritting his teeth in anger and pain as Fin's hold kept getting firmer by the second. Eventually, he croaked out an answer that they both wanted to hear. "Fine."

Fin let go of his throat and took a step back, giving the man some room as he leaned heavily forward, gasping for air and swaying unsteadily on his feet. "I mean it, Murphy. If you so much as look at detective Rollins again, you will be arrested." she gave Fin a faint nod, indicating their exit and they left Murphy on his own, moaning and groaning as he struggled to regain his breathing and probably his pride.

"Give Amanda my best, will you?" Fin said as soon as they were back at the precinct, getting into two separate cars, ready to go home and get some more sleep.

"Of course, I will. Thank you for tonight. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Upon entering her apartment, she could instantly hear sobs coming from the bedroom, faint but still audible. "Amanda?" slowly she pushed the door open and saw the blonde's huddled form sitting up, knees drawn all the way up to her chest, head down and Olivia knew that she must be very uncomfortable in that position considering her broken ribs. "Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?"

She immediately sat down on the bed, only inches away from the younger woman as her hand came to rest upon her knees, squeezing gently. "What's the matter, honey?"

Amanda slowly lifted her head, her blue eyes full of tears, cheeks flushed and lips rosy red. "I... I thought that you... that you had left. I... I woke up and... and you were gone." she cried, trembling from the immense pain in her torso.

"Oh, sweetheart." the brunette scooted closer, carefully brought the small body into her arms, holding her close but aware of her injuries and let her fingers sooth the tense back and shoulders. "I left you a note on the bedside table. Didn't you see it?"

"Y... yeah, but I... I thought that... that you were sick of me and... and left. I'm sorry... I'm sorry." she wailed, crying even more as the pain came crashing over her like a giant wave on open sea.

Olivia immediately exited the room and came back a minute later with a glass of water and medication. "Here, honey. I think it's safe for you to take these now. You're hurting so much, sweetheart, and it worries me. Do I have to take you back to the hospital or do..."

"NO!" Amanda almost yelled, hissing at the excruciating pain, hoping that the meds would kick in sooner rather than later. "Please, no hospital, I... I don't want that, I don't need that. Please, Liv, please, don't send me back to the hospital, I don't..."

"Okay, okay, honey. I won't, I promise." gently she caressed Amanda's wet cheek with her knuckles, brushing at the tears as they slowly trickled down her face. "Why don't you lie back down, sweetie. Come on, I'll help you." by placing a hand at the back of Amanda's head, she lowered the distraught woman down onto the pillows and covered her with the duvet. She remained there, sitting by her side, gently stroking her face, murmuring words of comfort and reassurance as she watched the blue eyes turn hazy and full of sleep.

"Will you stay? Please, don't leave me." Amanda begged, whimpering against her will, embarrassed that she had asked for comfort and closeness, and from her boss nonetheless, but the need to be held and soothed weighed heavier than being alone.

Olivia changed into her pajamas, lifted the covers and gracefully slid in next to Amanda, feeling the younger woman immediately shifted closer so their bodies were touching and the brunette snaked an arm underneath a delicate neck, comforting her to the best of her ability. "I'm not going anywhere, sweet girl. I'll be right next to you the whole time, holding you, comforting you. You're safe now, Amanda, you're safe." without thinking anything of it she placed a tender kiss on a flushed forehead, their faces only inches apart and Liv could see the blonde's eyes beginning to flutter.

"Where did you go?" Amanda suddenly whispered, her voice low and soft, full of sleep and rawness from the almost hysterical crying earlier on.

"Shhh," Liv soothed and tucked a blonde lock behind an ear. "Don't worry about anything, my love. Fin and I took care of things. The deabt is no longer valid and you don't have to be scared that he will find you or hurt you ever again. It's over now."

Amanda frowned, confused as to what Olivia was saying, not understanding what she meant when she said that the debt is no longer valid and it's over. How could it be over? How could anything be alright ever again? Things would be considered over when the money she owed was paid back in full, even though she knew that Murphy himself had gotten the cash in a dirty, illegal and an unfair way in the first place.

Olivia saw the perplexed expression on the younger woman's face and placed a finger over her lips before she could say anything. "Do you trust me, Amanda?" the blonde frowned again while looking straight into Olivia's dark brown eyes, searching for something in them, something she could hold onto and something she could value and she did see loyalty and trust in those deep orbs, shining with concern and care only for her. She nodded and decided not to ask any questions about it.

"He will never bother you again, sweetie. He will never come near you, he will never hurt you and he will never harass you, ever again. You're safe and protected by people who care and love you so don't ever think you're alone, sweetheart. Ever."

It was as if her whole battered body became lighter. A calmness and a sense of peace swept over her like a warm blanket, tucking her in and lulling her to sleep as she laid there, cocooned in the safety of Olivia's arms. It felt good. So so good.

Carefully Amanda inched closer underneath the covers, brought her hand up and placed it flush against Olivia's cheek, feeling the warmth and softness of her skin, grounding her, calming her senses and troubles as the world carried on as usual outside the four walls they were currently in.

"Sleep now. I'll be here the whole time. I won't leave your side for a second." Liv promised, letting Amanda's hand rest upon her cheek, happy to do whatever the blonde needed to help her feel better, safe and that she mattered. Because she did. She did matter. To Olivia, she mattered.

The End.