Title: Till Death Do Us Part (1/15)
Author: KatRose
Disclaimer: Simply put, Dick Wolf's, not mine.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None that I can think of
Author's Notes: The dates for this story are all 2004. I also have to thank kukrae for all her help, wisdom, cheerleading and browbeating me into getting this story written.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHAPTER 1
QUEENS
JUNE 3 - 10:13 PM
Some days, staying in bed is the best option. This wasn't one of those days. It was much worse.
"How am I to tell the kids about this?" he thought to himself. "How am I going to tell the kids that their mother was dead and it was my fault?"
Detective Elliot Stabler sat huddled on the street curb holding his head trying to sort the thousand thoughts running through his head. He watched detachedly as the firefighters put out the smoldering mess that was his wife's clinic. The cops helped keep the lookie-loos at bay and sorted through the debris as they sought clues as to what happened and why. Elliot knew why. It was his fault.
"Elliot?" a familiar voice said softly behind him. He ignored his partner in favor of self-flagellation.
"Elliot?" Olivia said again. "You need to come with me."
"No."
"Elliot. It's not good for you to sit here watching this. Come on. Let me get you home. You need to be with your kids."
"My kids," he said expressionlessly. "How am I going to tell them I killed their mother?"
"Elliot, you didn't kill her. THEY did," she said.
"If you say so. But if I hadn't gone after them, they wouldn't have gone after her. She'd still be alive. So that's my fault."
Olivia prodded Elliot into an upright position and guided him to the sedan. He was lucid, but non-reactive. "It's never a good sign," she thought. "I wonder what's going on in his head."
BROOKLYN - ALLEY
APRIL 15 - 11:30 PM
"Livia, whatcha got for me?" Elliot asked as he put on his latex gloves.
"Not much," she replied. "Dead girl's about 18, maybe 19 years old. Definitely sexually assaulted, but no seminal fluid, so either the perp wore a condom or it wasn't human penetration."
"Nice imagery, thanks."
"No prob," she replied with a tight smile. Turning to the uniformed officer hovering over the scene, she asked, "Did you find anything with her? Clothes, purse?"
"No, ma'am," Officer Jenson said. "Not even a ripped shirt or dress. It looked like she was just tossed out the door of a car."
"What makes you say that?" Elliot asked.
"The scratches on her shoulders and hips. No blood," he said pointing to the areas in question.
"Good catch," Olivia said. "You bucking for detective?"
"Taking the test in a couple of weeks," he said with pride.
"Good for you. Anything else?" she asked.
"I didn't want to touch anything until you guys got here, so no."
"Thanks. Good luck on the test," Elliot said. He turned to the crime scene photographer and pointed out things on the ground that looked interesting. "Don't miss those there and there. Thanks."
"ME's here, Elliot," Olivia stated. "She's ready to bag her. Do you want to look before they go?"
"Nah, let her do her work. We'll see everything once Warner gets the body under lights and we can actually see."
"Sounds good," she replied. "Thanks, guys, you can head out. We'll catch up later."
ME'S OFFICE
APRIL 16 - 8:30 AM
"Got your message, doc. What's up?" Elliot asked.
"Found a few things that might interest you," Warner said. "I found wood slivers in her vagina and tearing consistent with an unbendable object. She was probably raped by a broom handle or other wooden object. She was also beaten repeatedly around the breast and abdomen area. Probably the same object because the wood slivers match."
Olivia and Elliot shared a look of disgust and waited for the doctor to continue.
"She's got a tattoo. Looks to be of Slavic origin," Warner stated. "Here's a Polaroid of it. Hopefully it'll help ID her. She's probably in her late teens, early 20s. Obviously didn't have great dental insurance; her teeth and gums are not in good shape. Probably Eastern European and not been here in the country long. Stomach contents are high-end though."
"How's that?" Olivia asked.
"Well, she had steak tartare, Arugula, bleu cheese and butternut squash. Not your average meal at the local Denny's."
"No, definitely not."
"Thanks, doc," Elliot said as they walked out the door. "If you find anything else …"
"I'll call," she said turning back to the body on the table.
SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
SQUAD ROOM - 10:00 AM
Cragen looked up as Elliot and Olivia walked into his office. "What's the news?"
"Well," Elliot said, "it looks like she's Eastern European. Probably only been here a short time. Her last meal was definitely not run of the mill. Someone's paying her way."
"Prostitute?"
"Possible. But it just doesn't feel right."
"Okay, then go find out more."
Elliot and Olivia headed back to their desks and were pouring over paperwork and trying to find come up with some ideas about their victim when the phone rang.
"Stabler," he said. "Yeah, we'll be right there."
"What's up, Elliot?" Olivia asked.
"Someone may have recognized our girl from the pictures we passed around earlier. We're going over to meet her now."
"Great, let's go."
OLIVIA'S CAR
JUNE 3 - 10:45 PM
"I wonder if we hadn't gone out to Alphabet City that day, if Kathy would be alive now," Elliot said as Olivia drove him home.
"Elliott, you can't think that way. It's not your fault."
"Isn't it? My work touched my family in the worst way possible. Whose fault is it, if not mine?"
"We don't know yet what happened to Kathy. This could just be a random act of violence."
"Yeah, right. Go ahead and dream, Livia. *I* know it's not random. This is payback for Heather Hatagov's death. Hatagov wants revenge and this is how he got it!" Elliot was adamant in his statements, knowing they were right.
"That may be, Elliot," Olivia said, "but until we can prove it, with more than your gut feeling, there's nothing we can do. Right now, you need to get home, tell the kids and start to figure out what's next."
"What's next is finding that bastard and making him pay for what he's done," growled Elliot.
"That won't help matters. It'll only escalate into all-out war between the Russian mob and the NYPD. It might turn out to be a bombing related to abortion rights and not anything to do with the Hatagov death."
"Sure," Elliot sighed. "Think that if you want. I know they're after me and I'll bet they're after you too."
"Elliot, there's not much we can do right now. Let's just get you home and we'll let the bomb squad do their jobs. Once we know what they know, we can go forward."
The car dropped into silence. Elliot sunk back into his thoughts, allowing them to drift back into the recent past.
Author: KatRose
Disclaimer: Simply put, Dick Wolf's, not mine.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None that I can think of
Author's Notes: The dates for this story are all 2004. I also have to thank kukrae for all her help, wisdom, cheerleading and browbeating me into getting this story written.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHAPTER 1
QUEENS
JUNE 3 - 10:13 PM
Some days, staying in bed is the best option. This wasn't one of those days. It was much worse.
"How am I to tell the kids about this?" he thought to himself. "How am I going to tell the kids that their mother was dead and it was my fault?"
Detective Elliot Stabler sat huddled on the street curb holding his head trying to sort the thousand thoughts running through his head. He watched detachedly as the firefighters put out the smoldering mess that was his wife's clinic. The cops helped keep the lookie-loos at bay and sorted through the debris as they sought clues as to what happened and why. Elliot knew why. It was his fault.
"Elliot?" a familiar voice said softly behind him. He ignored his partner in favor of self-flagellation.
"Elliot?" Olivia said again. "You need to come with me."
"No."
"Elliot. It's not good for you to sit here watching this. Come on. Let me get you home. You need to be with your kids."
"My kids," he said expressionlessly. "How am I going to tell them I killed their mother?"
"Elliot, you didn't kill her. THEY did," she said.
"If you say so. But if I hadn't gone after them, they wouldn't have gone after her. She'd still be alive. So that's my fault."
Olivia prodded Elliot into an upright position and guided him to the sedan. He was lucid, but non-reactive. "It's never a good sign," she thought. "I wonder what's going on in his head."
BROOKLYN - ALLEY
APRIL 15 - 11:30 PM
"Livia, whatcha got for me?" Elliot asked as he put on his latex gloves.
"Not much," she replied. "Dead girl's about 18, maybe 19 years old. Definitely sexually assaulted, but no seminal fluid, so either the perp wore a condom or it wasn't human penetration."
"Nice imagery, thanks."
"No prob," she replied with a tight smile. Turning to the uniformed officer hovering over the scene, she asked, "Did you find anything with her? Clothes, purse?"
"No, ma'am," Officer Jenson said. "Not even a ripped shirt or dress. It looked like she was just tossed out the door of a car."
"What makes you say that?" Elliot asked.
"The scratches on her shoulders and hips. No blood," he said pointing to the areas in question.
"Good catch," Olivia said. "You bucking for detective?"
"Taking the test in a couple of weeks," he said with pride.
"Good for you. Anything else?" she asked.
"I didn't want to touch anything until you guys got here, so no."
"Thanks. Good luck on the test," Elliot said. He turned to the crime scene photographer and pointed out things on the ground that looked interesting. "Don't miss those there and there. Thanks."
"ME's here, Elliot," Olivia stated. "She's ready to bag her. Do you want to look before they go?"
"Nah, let her do her work. We'll see everything once Warner gets the body under lights and we can actually see."
"Sounds good," she replied. "Thanks, guys, you can head out. We'll catch up later."
ME'S OFFICE
APRIL 16 - 8:30 AM
"Got your message, doc. What's up?" Elliot asked.
"Found a few things that might interest you," Warner said. "I found wood slivers in her vagina and tearing consistent with an unbendable object. She was probably raped by a broom handle or other wooden object. She was also beaten repeatedly around the breast and abdomen area. Probably the same object because the wood slivers match."
Olivia and Elliot shared a look of disgust and waited for the doctor to continue.
"She's got a tattoo. Looks to be of Slavic origin," Warner stated. "Here's a Polaroid of it. Hopefully it'll help ID her. She's probably in her late teens, early 20s. Obviously didn't have great dental insurance; her teeth and gums are not in good shape. Probably Eastern European and not been here in the country long. Stomach contents are high-end though."
"How's that?" Olivia asked.
"Well, she had steak tartare, Arugula, bleu cheese and butternut squash. Not your average meal at the local Denny's."
"No, definitely not."
"Thanks, doc," Elliot said as they walked out the door. "If you find anything else …"
"I'll call," she said turning back to the body on the table.
SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
SQUAD ROOM - 10:00 AM
Cragen looked up as Elliot and Olivia walked into his office. "What's the news?"
"Well," Elliot said, "it looks like she's Eastern European. Probably only been here a short time. Her last meal was definitely not run of the mill. Someone's paying her way."
"Prostitute?"
"Possible. But it just doesn't feel right."
"Okay, then go find out more."
Elliot and Olivia headed back to their desks and were pouring over paperwork and trying to find come up with some ideas about their victim when the phone rang.
"Stabler," he said. "Yeah, we'll be right there."
"What's up, Elliot?" Olivia asked.
"Someone may have recognized our girl from the pictures we passed around earlier. We're going over to meet her now."
"Great, let's go."
OLIVIA'S CAR
JUNE 3 - 10:45 PM
"I wonder if we hadn't gone out to Alphabet City that day, if Kathy would be alive now," Elliot said as Olivia drove him home.
"Elliott, you can't think that way. It's not your fault."
"Isn't it? My work touched my family in the worst way possible. Whose fault is it, if not mine?"
"We don't know yet what happened to Kathy. This could just be a random act of violence."
"Yeah, right. Go ahead and dream, Livia. *I* know it's not random. This is payback for Heather Hatagov's death. Hatagov wants revenge and this is how he got it!" Elliot was adamant in his statements, knowing they were right.
"That may be, Elliot," Olivia said, "but until we can prove it, with more than your gut feeling, there's nothing we can do. Right now, you need to get home, tell the kids and start to figure out what's next."
"What's next is finding that bastard and making him pay for what he's done," growled Elliot.
"That won't help matters. It'll only escalate into all-out war between the Russian mob and the NYPD. It might turn out to be a bombing related to abortion rights and not anything to do with the Hatagov death."
"Sure," Elliot sighed. "Think that if you want. I know they're after me and I'll bet they're after you too."
"Elliot, there's not much we can do right now. Let's just get you home and we'll let the bomb squad do their jobs. Once we know what they know, we can go forward."
The car dropped into silence. Elliot sunk back into his thoughts, allowing them to drift back into the recent past.