I own SVU on days that don't end in "y."

"Her name was Sonya Paxton. I first met her a couple of years ago when she barged into the middle of one of Elliot and my interrogations," she said, cracking a slight smile at the memory. Sure, at the time she was pissed, absolutely livid at the woman prancing in and ruining a perfectly good interrogation, but she could laugh about it now. Sonya never really did know boundaries. Or at least, she never did anything to let people know she respected them.

"She used to be an ADA for our unit. I worked with her a few times, quite a few times, actually. She was a good lawyer. No, a great lawyer. She was brash, impulsive, and stubborn as hell, but she was damn persuasive. And confident. More like cocky, now that I think about it. Arrogant in herself - her instincts especially. She had strong opinions on everything under the sun," Olivia reminisced.

"Didn't that ever get…I don't know…obnoxious?" Erin inquired. She didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't help herself. That sounded absolutely nightmarish. And Olivia seemed open for response, so she gave it a shot.

Olivia laughed. "All the time. She grated on everyone's nerves. Especially liked pushing Elliot's buttons. You could almost see his blood pressure rising when she was around. She could get him riled up like you wouldn't believe by just being in the same room as him."

"That actually sounds slightly hilarious," Erin responded, picturing Elliot tensing up by the woman's presence.

"Oh it was. Only other person with that power besides her was Babs Duffy," she smirked.

"Who?" Erin tilted her head.

"Another story for another time."

Erin accepted this response with a nod.

"Don't get me wrong, she was irritatingly strong-willed, but that's what made her a fighter. She had her problems, some of them big. They got her into a mess of trouble," Olivia said, suddenly seriously again.

"Like what?"

"Well, other than the fact that she would get overly involved in some of her cases," she emphasized this point, pausing to glare at Erin, "she drank. No, that's not right. She didn't just drink. Thing was she was a drunk. And she let that alcohol define her, classify her into the general pool with the term of 'alcoholic.' When everyone found out, she wasn't an accomplished lawyer anymore. That's not what people knew her as. When her secret was out, she went from ADA to addict in everyone's minds overnight."

"How did you find out?"

Olivia let out a breath. "Um, I guess technically when I was ordered to give her breathalyzer in open court."

Erin's eyes widened. "Whoa," she managed to get out.

"Yeah. And trust me, I felt really classy and not awkward at all escorting my drunk coworker out past the judge, defense lawyer, and media outside. It was just heaps of fun," she said sarcastically. "Her reputation was ruined overnight, in and out of court."

"Was she fired?"

"Temporarily, yes. That, the mixture of humiliation, and court-ordered rehab forced her to get her life back on track."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, well, that's not really the point of the story though. About a year after that happened, I saw Sonya again. She was working a cold case on the side with this woman, Alicia Harding."

"Wait, the 'Neighborhood Predator' chick? From that TV show?" Erin asked.

Olivia gave her a surprised look. "Yeah, you know it?"

"Oh my god yes," Erin replied as if it was obvious. "I watch, like, marathons of that show. Alicia kicks ass. Did you get to meet her?"

Olivia laughed at the enthusiasm. "Uh, yeah, I did."

"That's so awesome," she grinned. "Okay, sorry, that was really rude; I just had a fan girl moment. Continue, I promise it won't happen again," she waved her hand and blushed momentarily at her outburst.

"It's all right," Olivia reassured, still amused by the obscure obsession and excitement over the reporter. "Anyway, she was working a case with, well, your idol apparently," Olivia joked, and took a short pause. She wasn't looking forward to this dismal turn of tone, but understood the necessity of it. "It was the murder case of Alicia's little sister. Sonya had been working it from the beginning, gotten close to the case and the people included in it. Years and years they worked it. And that took a toll on Sonya. A big toll."

"Drinking."

"Mhm," Olivia affirmed, nodding and pursing her lips. "She needed some escape. She had no family, no real friends, so she turned to booze to handle the stress. All those years of dead ends and frustration," Olivia shrugged, and her mind began to wander.

The memories began to blend. The gravestones morphed together, creating a monster in her mind. The hole in her heart opened and her throat swelled shut with sadness.

She had put up such an excellent wall of defense. Her fortress was bulletproof. She'd padlocked her feelings, and now the baggage was confused. Why would she unlock this box? Why would she let everything loose and release it? Why would she use the combination only she had against herself? It was emotional suicide. "It was her way of dealing with everything that had happened."

She had to get this story out before the old feelings returned. She'd dealt with it; she understood that this had nothing to do with her. That she just had the unfortunate luck of finding her in that state – helpless and vulnerable beyond repair. She cleared her throat to rush the words, messily tie up the moral and be on her way, shove those feelings back inside and do one of the two things she did best. She'd deal with it in private, or she wouldn't deal with it at all.

"The case was messy; it was all so complicated. It happened so fast. Sonya eventually solved it, but she lost her life in the process. He attacked her on the bathroom floor at one at those damn AA meetings. She lived long enough to tell me she'd got him; she swallowed a hair for DNA, and then died right there. And the thing was: I couldn't do anything about it. She was helpless, I was helpless, and it was too late, so I felt personally responsible," she confessed.

And she did. She did feel personally responsible. But not because she had walked in on that incident, but because she hadn't seen it coming. Either time.

"She couldn't handle it. She had no one. No one saw. No one did anything about it." Olivia said quietly.

The room was silent. Maybe even the world was absolutely and totally quiet, neither of them would know the difference. It sure felt like it in this small little box of a room. The once perfect space now felt like a fishbowl to the both of them; small and void of air.

"They didn't have to die," Olivia whispered. She was caught up. Her current surroundings had disappeared, and it was like she was on a time machine; a ride she couldn't get off of. The courthouse. The bathroom. The news. The body. The grave. The blood. The blood. The blood. That damn blood was everywhere and it clouded her vision, it stuck and clung and was nauseating.

It didn't go without notice the plurality of the statement. Erin knew now. She'd fit it together. It couldn't be clearer if she was in Olivia's brain herself.

They had never discussed it at length. In fact, it had almost been in passing.

But Olivia had revealed it, and Erin wouldn't forget. She couldn't forget. Something so vital and heavy and real.

But she heard it on the swings at the park on that cold winter night. After she'd run away. But now the world was tilted, and they were stationary on the ground. And Erin wasn't the one running away.

"It's not your fault Sonya died," Erin said. That's the response she knew Olivia wanted. That's the part she had wanted to emphasize. Olivia nodded robotically. She was still staring at the floor, battling those thoughts, in her own little world, her private hell.

Olivia had been there for her. Sure, she was older. She was wiser, and more experienced, and taken on that mothering role. But now Erin had that pang, that instinct of protectiveness and comforting. She stood up and walked over to the older woman, detached and dismissive. She was trying to do the right thing, just like Olivia had done for her. But this wasn't easy. Because truth be told, Erin was terrified.

She was more panicked by the look in Olivia's eyes than the look in Reich's. This was such unfamiliar territory she was attempting to conquer; she had no clue what the right way to go about it would be. And so she guessed. And if she was wrong for saying it, and Olivia lashed out against it, so be it. Because she was desperate at this point, and she'd try anything.

"It's not your fault your mom died either," Erin whispered, biting her lip.

Erin did not know what to anticipate from the statement, and so she kept her eyes downcast and herself available, just standing there, mere feet away.

Olivia's head snapped up. She was speechless. She had been called out. How could she have known? She didn't expect Erin would read between those lines. She never would have guessed she'd have remembered. Not in a million years would she have thought Erin would make those connections.

"When did I-" Olivia started, her voice hoarse.

"The park," Erin said simply, her eyes still staring at the ground. She was afraid to look up.

"How did you-"

"I just knew."

"But I-"

"I know you better than you think. You're not the only one who pays attention, you know," Erin managed a small smile, daring to glance up. She swallowed back the winces at what she saw. Her eyes were red and tear filled, her hands shaking, her face pale. But even with all of those features, and all of those feelings that were no doubt still racing through her heart and veins, Olivia did what she always did. She managed that small little smile. And as shaky and slight as it was, it was still reassuring to Erin.

Her throat was tight and burning, and she didn't think she could speak a coherent word for the time being. So instead, she reached out her arms and curled her fingers. Thankfully, Erin understood the motions and comprehended the gesture, closing the distance for an embrace.

"Thank you," Olivia said in a quivering voice, still engaged in the hug. "I…I needed that."

Erin smiled sincerely on her shoulder and shrugged. "No problem."

"Ugh," Olivia pulled away, wiping at her eyes, and then returning her hands to Erin's shoulders, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect to break down like that."

"Hey, don't say that. It's fine. Everybody needs a moment once in awhile."

"But you shouldn't have to take care of me like that. I apologize for putting you in that position," Olivia grimaced, grateful she was there, but embarrassed at the prospect of it all. She hated pity, and wasn't too fond of comfort either. Even worse, it was comfort from a girl more than twenty years her junior, which she thought strange and awkward on some level.

"Oh please. 'I don't have to; I want to. You know better than to think I wouldn't want to help you. I'm always here if you need to talk,'" Erin stated as if reciting a memorized fact.

"Gee, that sounded convincing," Olivia said dryly.

"It's quoted. Does it sound familiar? It should since you're the one who said it. So stop your freaking apologizing. This is a two-way street here, all right?"

"All right." Olivia accepted this answer, truthfully happy she heard that. She may not believe it in the fullest, but knowing someone knew helped. Knowing it wasn't a secret anymore was freeing. Knowing she wasn't completely alone took a great majority of the burden from her.

"Good," Erin said, satisfied.

"Good," Olivia repeated.

"So, am I permitted to eat with you tonight?" Erin asked, trying to lighten the mood with her unique wording on the evening's food selection.

"I suppose I could throw you some scraps. What are you thinking?" Olivia smiled at the joke, glad that they were on okay terms again. She felt lucky they had survived their first real fight, which ended up lasting about a grand total of twenty minutes.

"I'm feeling the Mexican. You?" Erin suggested.

"Tacos it is," Olivia agreed.

And so they both got up, and simultaneously walked out of the room. Everything would soon be back to semi-normal, and the entire conversation they'd shared was already hidden deep within themselves, never to be spoken of again, the room's walls the only witness.

SVU SVU SVU

"When's the last time we did this?" Erin questioned, generously coating a tortilla chip with salsa, casually sprawled out on the couch.

"Did what?" Olivia asked, dipping her own chip as well.

"This. Just sat together eating horrible, awful, amazing food and watching this equally horrible, awful, amazing show?" she explained.

"I don't know. It's been awhile."

"A long while," Erin said with a twinge of sadness.

"As in too long of a while," Olivia agreed.

"I kind of missed it…"

"Me too…"

"Then why don't we do it anymore? Just both of us. God knows we're superior to the other mere mortals, why do we even bother to associate with them?"

"Because this house is more crowded now," Olivia laughed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we've adopted two new ones into the club. There are a couple of additions to our group. Think hard. Ring any bells?"

"Oh right, the rookies are to blame. Damn rookies."

"Stupid Freshmen."

"I guess they're kind of lovable though."

"I wouldn't mind keeping them around in our mix."

"Permanent mix?"

"Yes."

"Lifetime mix?"

"Correct."

"So you admit that Elliot Stabler is going to be in your mixture of lifetime?" Erin raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Olivia opened her mouth to retort only to be caught off-guard and without an off-handed remark. "Walked right into that one," Olivia mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Erin asked in an annoyingly, overly-high voice to match the annoying, overly-big smile to go with her annoying, overly-smug attitude at the moment.

"Nothing," Olivia replied, matching her tone.

"Mhm," she made an unconvinced sound. "So anyway, back to the matter at hand…"

Not knowing how to reply, Olivia settled for her default response. "You know, I think your fixation with my love life is becoming obsessive," she playfully accused.

"Oh please. You're telling me that's the best response you could come up with?"

"I'm serious!"

Erin scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Plus, it's not my fault you two are adorable."

"Your intent interest on the subject is borderline stalkerish and already went past the line of being inappropriate."

"Hey, I don't assign soul mates; I just do my best to enforce them."

"Whatever. Go get me some more iced tea," Olivia commanded, nonchalantly holding her empty cup out without taking her eyes off the television.

"What? No. Get your own iced tea."

"I don't want to."

"Well neither do I."

"You're grounded, remember?"

"Yeah, I'm grounded. That means confined to the premises of the house for any activity not related to education, the good of humanity, or a major emergency without permission. It does not, however, mean I'm your slave."

"Not slave. Just servant."

"I'm not a servant either!" Erin stated indignantly.

"Fine, fine, you're not a servant."

"Thank you," Erin crossed her arms.

"I'll call you a maid instead."

"Olivia," Erin rolled her eyes and looked over, irritated.

"Erin," Olivia matched her tone, but wore a look of self-righteousness. She still held the cup out, and shook the glass with anticipation. She couldn't help but notice the ice clinking and chiming against the glass sounded like a servant's bell. This might not be as horrible as she anticipated. In fact, milking this could possibly be even slightly amusing.

"Ugh," Erin finally gave in, grabbing the glass from her hand and stomping up. "Why do you have to be so unconventional? Why can't you just send me to bed without supper like a normal parent?"

"First of all, that would be the norm if we were living in 1920. And second of all, feel free to stop eating now and go to bed. More tacos for me," Olivia shrugged, unwrapping a chicken-stuffed tortilla.

"Fatty," Erin muttered teasingly while opening the fridge.

"Shut up, peasant! Allow me to stuff my face in peace."

"Here you go, master," Erin said sarcastically, handing the beverage to Olivia.

"It's actually queen to you," Olivia corrected, taking the glass. "But thank you, humble servant. Now run along and make a dress out of stray fabric with your mice and dwarf friends."

"Those companions are from two different movies. They aren't interchangeable."

"They are if the queen says they are."

"You are so beyond exasperating."

"Well, you know my motto: I aim to exasperate."

"You're making good on that, that's for sure," Erin smirked, flopping back onto the couch. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before an obnoxious buzzing interrupted the lovely, content quietness. Erin groaned and picked up the object from the side table, tossing it to Olivia before sinking back into the sofa again.

Olivia sighed and flipped open her phone, throwing it up to her ear. "Hello? What…but this isn't…you're where? Oh, kid, what…what?! Why the hell would you…ugh…yeah, yes, I'm coming…I'll be there soon…bye," Olivia grunted, slamming the phone shut. "Shit," she cursed, gritting her teeth while she severely combed a hand through her hair, contemplating whether to drag Erin into this at the moment. She stood up, and decided she didn't want her eldest to be a part of this yet.

"You're leaving? You couldn't even stand me for more than a few hours. Dang, you must really hate me," Erin kidded.

Olivia didn't reply, instead occupied her time just standing with her arms crossed, an intense, focused look in her eyes.

"Uh-oh. What did I do now?" Erin joked.

"Nothing. Delilah, well, she's another story," she fumed.

"What happened, is she okay?" Erin stood, suddenly concerned.

"Oh yeah," Olivia said, her voiced dripping with sarcasm. "She reassured me she's fine, she's good, it's all okay, except for the fact that," she took a mocking surprised breath, "oh yeah, she's in a goddamn prison cell!" she emphasized the last part with fury.

"What?!"

"Seems as if Delilah got herself arrested for trespassing," Olivia smiled humorlessly, her eyes far beyond simple anger. She seemed almost irate.

"I thought she was just spending a night at a friend's house running lines, how the hell did she get arrested?!" Erin asked lividly.

What the hell was she thinking? First, she committed an obvious, serious crime. But more importantly, she landed herself in jail. Jail was a scary place with scarier people. The kind of people that should not be around a twelve-year-old girl. Erin got uncomfortable just thinking about what could happen. That had to be the epitome of stupidity. Erin would give Delilah no sympathy for enduring Olivia's wrath. Sure, she realized that maybe she was, in fact, a hypocrite, but she was a caring hypocrite with an abundance of sisterly instincts, dammit!

"Good question! Luckily we will soon have the answer, because right now it's freaking midnight and I get to go pick my adolescent criminal home from the local jail, where I will probably know some of the officers and staff. I'm excited, can't wait, let's go since I hardly contain how enthused I am," Olivia replied.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Erin asked innocently, fully prepared to join the older woman. Or get her a drink. Or a massage. Really anything at this point to calm her down or even to avoid her rage. Olivia was beyond furious, that much was clear. In fact, Erin wasn't really sure she should be allowed to operate heavy machinery at this point in time.

"No," Olivia took a deep breath and shook her head. She had to stay calm. She didn't know what happened. There could have been a very good reason Delilah did what she did. There could be extenuating circumstances. But regardless, she had to stay calm. She couldn't freak out, and she had to keep an open mind. Well, as open of a mind as she possibly could when her pre-teen was in central booking. "No, I got this," she said. "I'll be back soon," she stated, opening the door. "Stay here or I'll make your death look like an accident later," she warned, turning back around and pointing an advising finger before yanking on her coat and slipping out the door.

First Erin and now this. This day just keeps getting better and better, Olivia thought.

SVU SVU SVU

Oh. My. God.

She was in jail.

She, Delilah, was sitting on a bench in a freaking jail cell. A locked jail cell! A hard, extremely uncomfortable bench in a locked little concrete room that real criminals like rapists, and thieves, and drug dealers had probably sat in.

Oh, gross, she needed some hand sanitizer once she got out of here, pronto.

Hand sanitizer, and soap, and water, and a shower to wash off all of these nasty real-criminal germs.

Oh my god. Now she was a real criminal. A real, hardened criminal. Okay, so maybe she wasn't completely hardened yet, after all, she'd only been sitting here a little over an hour, but still! She would forever be branded a law-breaker, a hoodlum, a juvenile delinquent when she got out!

That is, if she ever got out.

Sure, she'd called Olivia as soon as she got her chance for her phone call, and yeah, Olivia had said she'd be on her way. But this seemed like it was taking quite a long time.

Maybe Olivia wasn't going to get her out. Maybe she thought that it would be better if Delilah learned her lesson the hard way before she came back to the house. Maybe she wouldn't want her coming back to the house at all and be left to rot in jail for the rest of her life. After all, Olivia seemed very sensitive to the law, and she seemed to be rather fond of enforcing it.

And she was allowed to enforce it considering the badge and the gun. Well, not that Olivia would shoot her, she was way too civil for that, but still she had the means to! But what about the other cops? Oh my god! What if she would have to be guillotined liked in The Tale of Two Cities?! Wait, they outlawed that barbaric practice ages ago, right? And it didn't matter anyway, that book took place in England. She was thankful she wasn't a British criminal.

No, no, she wouldn't be put to death for something as minor as this prank. This stupid, horrible, not-even-worth-it prank that all of her friends thought would be just such a fun time. Of course, all of her friends had already been bailed out long ago by their respective nannies and maids who held no other purpose than to serve the family of the rich and powerful. She remembered those days. She didn't miss them, but right now she kind of wished it would have been that simple.

Back in her old life she could have been just like Marilyn or Dawn or Ginny or Madeline. She could have had her worker-of-the-week pick her up, bail her out quickly, and make the issue quickly go away because of the power and money that the infamous Jones Empire had held in their community. There would have been no consequences. In fact, her parents probably never would have had to find out. Call the house phone and your employee picks up. They couldn't discipline you – they worked for you. You owned them.

You weren't doing anything wrong as long as you didn't get caught. And even if you did, chances were it wouldn't really matter anyway. It had happened countless times back then. Not to the extreme of being arrested, but she'd been in her fair amount of trouble by the law's standards, but there'd never been consequences. Not ones with any real weight or merit at least. But that was then and this was now, and well, this would most likely go a little differently.

Now, ugh, now she had no idea what to expect.

Olivia would be mad, that much was certain. Who wouldn't be? Delilah wouldn't blame her for being mad. But she was nervous. What was going to happen to her? Would Olivia even talk to her again? Would she yell at her for hours on end? Make her do nothing but chores and housework? Write lines? Flogging? Push-ups? Or worse, would she kick her out of the house? Give up on her all together and realize she'd made a horrible mistake by taking on a kid too stuck in her old ways and damaged to change? Was there a return policy on adoptions? It'd been less than four months living with her, and she'd already gotten herself arrested. Great going, Delilah. You were finally happy and you've blown it. Kissed it all good-bye. All for some popularity and gelatin.

SVU SVU SVU

It had been a quick process. Pretty painless, really, at least compared to what they imagined it might be like that in their irrational mindsets of the time.

Olivia had simply walked in and talked to the arresting officer, who escorted Delilah out of the holding area. He'd explained that 'it was a normal high school disturbance,' and that the country club 'wouldn't be pressing charges just so long as there would be no trouble with the girls again.' The allegations would be dropped, as it was their first time being involved in behavior such as this, so he'd 'let them off with a warning.'

To be honest, it was all kind of a blur to the both of them. They were too busy looking at each other…then looking away from each other…then staring…then not daring to make any eye contact whatsoever.

The officer nodded and released them, telling the two to make sure 'nothing like this ever happened again' and that 'he didn't want to see them in a place like this.' Olivia faintly remembered thinking this was ironic considering her profession, but then everything quickly blended back into its dream-like reality.

They both got in the car, buckled their seatbelts and rode together in silence.

There was quiet.

And more quiet.

And more quietness suffocating them.

Deafening, agonizing silence, the excruciatingly loud sound of not dealing with anything and absolutely nothing getting done.

Olivia was focused solely on the road in front of her while the right window received Delilah's undivided attention.

They climbed the stairs and went down the hallway without saying a word until they reached their apartment.

Olivia opened the door for Delilah.

"Thanks," she whispered, slipping through the door.

Olivia nodded a "you're welcome," before taking off her coat and slinging it over a kitchen chair and glanced at house.

Everything was almost exactly how she left it, besides the absence of the remains of their dinner and Erin. She figured the teen must have straightened up while she was gone. She contemplated confirming her presence, but figured it was safe to assume she was holed up in her room when she heard the faint sound of the television coming from her quarters.

She should say something now, right? Or do something. But what? She was lost. Very lost. A moving picture caught her eye, and she realized the television was on, playing a 'Friends' rerun. It was on mute, but everything was still happening. Sort of like in her real life. She couldn't remain silent forever. She had to start talking, voicing something, or nothing would ever make any sense. Just start talking. Olivia told herself. Just form words. It doesn't ever matter what they are; any words to start a conversation would work.

"What's wrong with your hair?" Olivia asked.

Oh my god. That's what she chose? Whatever, try and go with it.

"What?"

"Your hair, what's up with it?"

"Oh. Madeline did it," she said, running a hand over her head, trying to remember what it even looked like. "I thought it looked kind of stupid, but Madeline assured me that this was an 'in' thing this fall," she said, pulling out the buns on either side of her head.

"Not stupid exactly. Just, very Princess Leia. Is Madeline a 'Star Wars' fan?"

Delilah gave a skeptical look. "Does Madeline look like a 'Star Wars' fan?"

"Good point. And if she is, may the force be with all of us."

Delilah gave a small snicker; Olivia returned it with a small smile.

Olivia's smile faded, and her face got serious, but remained soft. "What happened tonight, Del?"

"I was an idiot."

"Well I got that part, but what happened happened. What did you do?"

"I was hanging out with my friends."

Olivia stifled a scoff. Sounded like a great group of friends. However, she let Delilah continue without interference. "Which friends?"

"The ones from school. And Madeline," she bit her lip as she revealed the latter one.

"As in Madeline Anderson from the pageant?"

"Yeah."

Great. "Okay, go on."

"They said they wanted to do something crazy and spontaneous. So we decided to pull a prank. We didn't want to hurt anybody, we just wanted to have fun," Delilah tried to defend her actions.

Olivia wasn't exactly buying it. "What prank?"

Delilah sighed, and opened her mouth to speak before spying Erin creeping through the kitchen. Erin must have felt the eyes on her, as she turned around.

"Sorry, ignore me, just wanted to get a water and I'll be out of your way," she awkwardly apologized.

"It's fine. Feel free to evacuate your room if you want," Olivia said casually, and motioned Delilah to go on.

"The jell-o prank," Delilah mumbled.

"Come again?" Olivia asked in confusion.

"The jell-o prank," Delilah repeated.

"What the hell is a jell-o prank?"

"It's basically where you buy a bunch of boxes of jell-o, and pour it into a swimming pool so it turns to all gelatin," Delilah explained.

"You're kidding," Olivia deadpanned.

"No…"

"Where do people come up with this stuff?" she wrinkled her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Stupid people came up with it," Erin took a sip of her water.

"Excuse me?" Olivia redirected her attention.

"This prank is totally old-school and totally dumb. It usually doesn't ever work; there are too many factors you have to rely on to get the jell-o to actually form. Usually you just end up with a bunch on powder in water, so it's pretty lame. I mean, you have to have the right temperature, the right powder-to-water ratio, the right time constraints; it's really a complicated prank. Only really awesome people can pull off a good jell-o prank," Erin said with a proud curving of her lips, her triumphant look fading when she remembered who she was speaking to. She spied an opened-mouthed and slightly awed look from Delilah (she could sense some respect) and a raised eyebrow-shocked combo from Olivia.

"I mean, it's not like I'd know first-hand," she explained. "Of course not. It's just…you know, basic science, and common sense, and I read things…on the…internet," she stumbled. "You know, I think this is really a personal conversation, I'm just going to go to my room now," she gave one last awkward laugh before ducking back into her room.

"Anyway," Olivia cleared her throat and looked back at Delilah. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you do it? I mean, you had to know you'd most likely get caught. It was the freaking country club for God's sake; those people have security cameras everywhere."

"I know, I know, it was dumb. I was a complete idiot. I just wanted to fit in with them. Thought I actually could."

"Is that what this is about? Fitting in?"

Delilah shrugged.

"Del, listen, I'm sorry if you feel like you don't fit in with your old friends anymore. I know living here isn't exactly what you were used to with your mom and all, but-"

"It's not about that, Olivia," Delilah quickly corrected. And it wasn't. Money wasn't the real issue. And if it was, Delilah honestly wouldn't care that much. She didn't really miss anything. Sure, a personal chef was nice, and yeah, she liked having an indoor pool, but this was a million times better. No, this wasn't a rich people thing, or a power thing, this was just a her thing. She didn't fit in. She would never fit in anywhere, no matter how hard she tried. And that hurt more than if it was about money.

"Then what is it?" Olivia struggled to understand.

"I just- I feel like I can never fit in with them. I'm never going to be a part of their group, and it just sucks, because I try and I try, and it never happens for me." These were the people she was supposed to want to hang out with, right? With these girls was where she belonged, no matter what she had to do to be with them. No pain no gain, that's what her mother had always told her.

"Is that such a bad thing, hon? I mean, I know you try; you try so hard to please everybody else, and to hang out with them. And trust me, I get it. I get the appeal of the popularity and whatnot, but is that honestly what you want? Don't you want friends that you don't have to try with? Because friendships aren't supposed to be that hard. Not real friendships at least."

Delilah nodded, though she still wasn't fully convinced. Who else was going to take her or accept her? Especially like she was now. "Yeah. You're right I guess. I'm just not ready to give up on them, you know? I just feel like we could be friends if they give me a chance. But I guess that really isn't an option anymore, is it?" she asked sadly.

Olivia sighed. She could see that insecurity creeping back in. Delilah returning to her old unconfident habits. And that killed her. But she knew she had to let her make some choices, and maybe some mistakes, because that was part of her growing up. Allowing a little of that, and then being there afterwards was part of being a good parent. "Look, I'm not saying you can't hang out with them. That's ultimately up to you. I'm not trying to control your life, or tell you who you can and can't be friends with. All I'm asking is…think about what I said, okay?"

"Okay," Delilah promised. "And thank you. For trusting me. Even after all of this mess. Nothing like this will ever happen again, I swear."

"Oh, you're damn right it won't. And you're right that you won't be hanging out with them for a good long while. Trespassing? That's a big no-no, all right? So you are grounded, on an indefinite and currently undefined length-wise basis. Oh, and you and Erin are cleaning out the mudroom tomorrow," she said off-handedly.

"Whoa, what?" Erin asked, storming out of her room, eyes widened.

"Oh yes, didn't I tell you?"

"Um…no!"

"Sorry about that. Well I'm telling you now."

"Why do I have to help? I didn't get arrested," Erin said, earning her a glare from Delilah.

"Doesn't matter," Olivia scoffed. "You're still grounded. Which means you're still being punished. Tomorrow. Six sharp."

"As in six in the morning?" Delilah winced.

"But why?" Erin whined.

"Because you're going to need the whole day tomorrow, and I have work at seven, so I can give you instructions for the first hour or so, and then when Elliot and I get off work, he can come home to his very own space, and I won't have to have dealt with any of it," Olivia smiled.

"But it's like one thirty right now," Delilah looked at the clock.

"That's only like four and a half hours," Erin put it into perspective.

"Four once you take brushing our teeth and changing clothes into consideration."

"So it is. Well, you'd better get to bed. Sleep tight, ladies, you've got a big day ahead of you," Olivia said sweetly, making her way to her room, grinning victoriously as she left.

Erin and Delilah shared a loathing look.

"Well this sucks," Erin stated.

"I'm never going to be able to eat jell-o again," Delilah said sadly before frowning and walking to bed, ready to end this day, but not quite ready for the inevitable quick-coming of the next.

SVU SVU SVU

Sorry it took way longer to get this out than I expected! Just started school (which unfortunately has to come first), so I've been busy trying to get in the swing of things for that. Again, I apologize profusely! I swear I'll try to never to make you wait that long again! =(

But as a gift for sucky updates, here's an actual quote from my outline for this chapter. Hopefully you enjoy it. I was feeling pretty gangster this day apparently…: Olivia and Erin be chillin' with some tacos, yo! Then Liv's gotta go pick up Delilah from the penitentiary! Yowzas! She and her homies be trippin' trying to put some Jell-o in da pool. What kinda fools does that shit?! Madeline-dawg also be in Delilah's gang of fresh homeskillets! Liv's so angry she 'bout to slap a hoe. But she don't, cuz she cool. Now Erin and Delilah are both grounded and gots to clean out da mudroom for Elliot. C'mon man, dat ain't fly, forreal!

Hey I just updated

Please don't be lazy

So push that button

And review maybe!

**Grammar errors are mine and mine alone. Please point them out if you notice them and I'll correct them lickety-split! I want this to be the best possible quality!**