A/N: This is a story idea I've had for more than a year. I have been putting it off because I am not sure if I can pull off the fast-paced downward spiral one of the characters will go through; but I am trying it regardless :) I hope you guys like it.

It was a hot and humid summer night, and SVU, along with many other officers, were slowly moving their way through Central Park. They had been on the heels of a serial rapist for the last two months, the perp taking another girl every two weeks and holding her in a hidden place in the park. While in his custody, the rapist would violently sexually assault his victims, and after three days he would blind them with bleach and leave them to be found in various parks around the city.

Thanks to forensic science, they were able to narrow the place the rapist held the women to Central Park, but their real break came from the last girl who was able to escape before she was blinded. Now, the dedicated officers of the NYPD were closing in on their suspect's hideout.

Olivia cast a glance at Fin as she stepped over a fallen branch. They had split up into teams of two to encircle the area they knew their suspect was hiding. Their flashlights seemed to do little in penetrating the deep blackness of the trees around them.

"This son of a bitch better not slip through," Fin said as he held tight onto his service weapon. This particular rapist had gotten under all of their skins, his violent and crude methods of torture almost reminiscent of William Lewis. Fin could see the trouble his longtime friend and boss had in reviewing the rape kits and statements of their victims. He may not be known as a very emotional man, but Fin was nothing but protective and loyal to his fellow SVU officers. He had vowed early on in this case to minimize the trauma the others would face.

"He won't, Fin, we have him surrounded. It's just a matter of time before we take him in" Olivia answered back as she stopped to look at the older man next to her. She knew that he recognized the fact this case had her on edge, and she appreciated him looking out for her because that gave her an easier time at watching over her whole squad's back. After losing Dodds Jr, Olivia would be lying is she said she wasn't being more cautious with her people, always having them check in and wear their vest even in the tamest of situations. That reminded her "Rollins, Carisi. Update your status" the SVU Lieutenant said over her radio. It had been more than ten minutes since they had spoken to the two younger detectives.

"We're still here Lieu" Carisi answered back in less than a few seconds. "We think we..." he was cut off as Amanda shushed him.

"Carisi, did you see that?" Amanda could be heard over the radio asking her partner "I think it's him"

"Give us your exact position" Olivia ordered as she and Fin took off running in the general direction they knew the two younger detectives to be in. They didn't hear a response and again Olivia ordered them to answer her.

Carisi once again spoke over the radio giving them their exact position, he was speaking in hushed tones and Olivia knew that they were still moving. "Stay where you guys are, we're on our way" she ordered. Olivia didn't want them to take any unnecessary risks without her there.

Carisi was about to state his affirmation but instead, he yelled into the radio "Amanda, don't" the radio went silent causing the two senior officers worry as they picked up their already rushed speed. They were continuing forward when a loud gunshot rang through the air. The duo stopped only momentarily, before continuing further and screaming out their colleague's names.

"We're over here!" Amanda yelled. As Olivia and Fin came into view, they saw Carisi handcuffing their rapist with Amanda panting heavily while she leaned back onto a tree. The blonde detective's hair was pulled out from her earlier ponytail and leaves and twigs were sticking from all ends. It was obvious that she had wrestled on the floor with their perp.

"What happened?" Olivia demanded as she stopped next to Amanda, Fin continued forward to help Carisi subdue the injured perp. He had a bullet wound in his right shoulder but he was still putting up a huge fight.

"Just as you were talking on the radio he made us" Amanda explained as she pulled herself from the tree feeling the need to stand up and appear less exhausted than she currently felt "I went after him, we tussled a bit on the ground and we got him" she finished explaining as if that was everything they needed to know.

"Why did he get shot?" Fin asked as he and Carisi held the guy, other cops were starting to appear and they handed their suspect to them so he could be taken to the hospital to treat his wound.

"I did that" Carisi stated once his hands were free of the criminal "he had Rollins pinned on the ground, he was about to cleave her with a knife he had on him so I took action, it was a clean hit, and Rollins is okay"

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked her youngest, and most reckless, detective with a concerned, but still stern, face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, no big deal," Amanda said flippantly. She wasn't hurt during their struggle but she knew that still didn't mean her Lieutenant wasn't going to be mad at her.

"Actually, Amanda, it is," Olivia said frustrated "I ordered you guys to wait for backup but you disregarded me anyway, you risked both of your lives because you couldn't follow my simple instructions"

"If I would have waited, he would have been gone" Amanda fired back. She did her job, a very bad man wouldn't be hurting another woman ever again, and she wasn't going to apologize for that.

"We had him surrounded, if you would have lost sight of him, we would have grabbed him again" Olivia chastised Amanda, not in the mood for her insubordination.

"Benson, we were the farthest pair in this section, if he had gotten past me he would have slipped through completely. That man was escalating with his victims, I wasn't going to let him ruin another woman's life, or end it completely, because I was afraid to do my job" Amanda argued back

"Your job is to follow my orders" Olivia responded instantly "something that you have a problem doing, but you better learn fast or else there will be harsh consequences. In fact, right now, I'm restricting you to desk duty for the next week" Amanda was about to say something but was cut off by the elder woman "and if you give me any lip about it I'm going to make it three" Amanda begrudgingly backed down. "I'm not doing this to be mean, Rollins, but we're a team and we've got to be able to trust everyone to do their job but at the same time be smart about it. We have to have each other's backs and it's hard to do that when you seem incapable of even taking care of yourself" Olivia continued in anger. She knew that her temper was getting out of hand, but she didn't think she was wrong. She decided to take a deep breath and stop the conversation there. Olivia turned on her heels and made her way back to the station so she could hurry home to her son.

Amanda just stood in her spot as she watched her commanding officer walk away after putting her down. The words Olivia spoke struck her to the core. If anything, Amanda had been taking care of herself long before she ever became an adult, much earlier than a child should have. "You okay boo?" Fin asked as he stepped next to his partner. He knew where Olivia was coming from, he was worried about Amanda's actions as well, but he also knew that his partner, even if she didn't show it, always took what Olivia said to heart.

"I'm fine Fin," Amanda said as she waved him off. She didn't want to talk about it or anything for that matter, she just needed to be home so she could handle her emotions her own way. "I'm going home, my sitter needs to be somewhere tonight," Amanda said as she began to walk off by herself "see you guys tomorrow"

Fin and Carisi said goodbye back as Amanda's form retreated into the dark woods around them. "So, I guess the ladies left us to handle everything here then?" Carisi said as he turned to Fin

"Typical" the elder man grumbled as he turned to get to work, not wanting to spend the night before his birthday stuck in the woods.

A/N: A short introductory chapter I know, but things will be picking up fast in the next two chapters, so be patient please :) thanks for reading.