Blues

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just take them out to play with them and return them relatively unharmed.

Rating: T

Summary: Elliot's daughter is victim in a string of date rapes at Hudson University. She seeks help from Olivia, who goes undercover to solve the mystery.

Elliot Stabler leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "I think we've hit a roadblock on this one. I keep going through these photos, and I'm not coming up with anything new. How about you?"

Across from him, Olivia Benson sat at her own desk with a magnifying glass in her right hand, sorting through a similar stack of photos. "Not yet." She lifted her head to look at him. "El, go home. You've been on this case for days now. I can handle this. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will help. Besides, didn't you promise Kathy a big anniversary celebration?"

"Ok, I can take a hint. I'll see you in the morning. Hey, be sure you get out of here sometime tonight."

XxXxX

Kathleen Stabler sat in a dimly lit bar near Hudson University. She looked up and saw a guy with dark hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen, intensified by the blue cop uniform he wore. She flashed him a smile, and to her surprise, he sat down on the stool next to her.

"Hi," he said, "can I buy you a drink?" Her heart fluttered as she accepted.

"Why don't we go for a drive?" he suggested, after about an hour of conversation in the bar. Kathleen nodded her head and together they walked out into the crisp fall night. They drove down to the river and walked along the bank. They reached the overpass of the BQE and sat down, leaning up against a cement pillar. He leaned in to kiss her, and she welcomed him, taking him into a deep kiss. His hand slipped under her shirt, and she pushed it away. She tried to pull back, but he kept pushing farther. Forcing her to the ground, he pushed up her skirt and raped her. When he was finished, he stood over her crying body, straightened his uniform and strolled back to his car.

Oh, God. she thought. Her father was not only a cop, but a sex crimes cop. She didn't want to report it, but the thought of a uniformed officer walking around New York, raping other women, made her sick to her stomach. I can't tell Dad.

She straightened herself up and started walking. She was headed towards the precinct, but she wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to anyone without her father getting tipped off. How many times had he told her not to leave with someone she didn't know? But this guy had been a cop, or at least he looked like one. Olivia. No, she couldn't talk to Olivia; her father would definitely find out. Rape shield law. Her identity could be protected under the rape shield law. She wasn't a minor; legally, if she talked to Olivia, it would be confidential. Yes, that's what she would do. She would go to the precinct and talk to Olivia.

XxXxX

Olivia glanced at her watch and realized that she had been digging through evidence for the past 14 hours straight, and she hadn't made any progress for the last 3. Deciding a good night's sleep would recharge her batteries, she stood up and started to gather her things to go home.

"Olivia?" Kathleen Stabler's voice was strained and sounded like it was ready to break. Olivia turned to see the girl holding her arms across her chest, hair disheveled and barely making eye contact. It was a look she had seen several times, but never on Kathleen.

"Kathleen, what's wrong? Come over here and tell me what's going on." She steered the girl into the chair next to her desk. Kathleen rocked slightly.

"Olivia…I…I was raped. Underneath the overpass at the BQE." Then the tears spilled from her eyes. Olivia felt her heart break.

"Kathleen, does your father know?" Kathleen's head jerked upward, her eyes meeting Olivia's. Sheer terror shown through them.

"No, and please don't tell him."

"Well, you're over eighteen, so I can't say anything without your permission, but I would strongly encourage you to talk to him. I think he'd want to know."

"No, Olivia! I can't. I just can't." She started to sob again.

"Ok, ok, calm down Kathleen. The first thing we need to do is get you to a hospital to get you checked out. Come on, I'll drive you."

XxXxX

Olivia's mind raced the entire way to the hospital. Kathleen didn't want her to say anything to anyone, but she was going to need help on this case. This wasn't just some rape victim; this was his partner's daughter. She would need to have someone who could verify that she did everything by the book. Under any other circumstances, she wouldn't hesitate to call Elliot.

"Olivia? Will you stay with me when they…do the exam?" Kathleen's voice shook her back into reality.

"Of course I will, honey. We're going to have to talk anyway." Kathleen was ushered back into an exam room. Olivia waited while she changed into a gown, sealing off evidence bags as they came forward. She helped Kathleen onto the exam table and held her hand while the doctor collected all of the necessary samples.

"Ok, ma'am, we're all set. We've provided some clothes for you to wear home tonight." The doctor said.

"Ok, Kathleen, why don't you get dressed, I'll wait for you in the waiting room." While she waited, Olivia called in a request for a team to head over to the underpass to start collecting evidence. Olivia drove Kathleen back to her dormitory.

"Kathleen, I'm going to need to talk to you tomorrow morning, but there's another problem. Your dad is my partner. Now, I won't tell him because you asked me to, but I've known your family for years. I can't work this case alone."

Kathleen turned her head slowly and the tears started afresh. "Olivia, I trusted you. You're just going to go and tell my dad anyway."

"No, sweetie, no. I would never do that without your permission. Your dad wouldn't be allowed to work a case involving a family member anyway. I was going to suggest Fin."

"I wish I could just keep this between you and me."

"I know, honey, but it just doesn't work that way." she paused. "Can I tell you something?" Kathleen nodded.

"Last year, I was working undercover. I was sexually assaulted, and I fought everything you're fighting right now. But, I was undercover with Fin. I can guarantee that he will handle this with complete discretion. He did for me." Kathleen looked up at the woman she had known most of her life. Olivia assaulted? She was angry at the man who had tried to hurt her, but also secretly grateful because it meant that Olivia was an ally. She threw her arms around Olivia before bolting from the car and disappearing inside her building.

XxXxX

"What have you got?" Olivia asked as she lifted the yellow police tape surrounding the area where Kathleen had been raped, with Fin on her heels.

"Not much, Detectives. There are no signs of bodily fluids or even a sign of a struggle. We have two sets of footprints leading over to the scene, and two leading away. One set matches your victim, the other your attacker."

"Detectives! Over here!" She and Fin strode over to uniformed cop. "We've got something." He lifted up a small gold object. Olivia felt the blood drain from her face. It was a pin with two numbers in gold. 33. Her perp was from the 33rd precinct.

"We're looking for a cop." Fin said.

"We found this, too, Detective." a second uniform said, handing over another small gold object to Olivia.

"I recognize this. Elliot gave her this for her 16th birthday. I helped him pick it out." In her hands was a gold locket containing photos of Kathy and Elliot with an inscription on the back. "Bag it, and get everything to the lab as soon as possible. I want this case solved soon and with a minimal amount of noise."

XxXxX

"Morning, sunshine." Elliot said as he walked into the squad room the next morning. "Here, I brought breakfast." He handed Olivia a bagel and cream cheese. She looked up at him with a you-shouldn't-have look on her face. "Jenkins wants to see me in the lab regarding the Mulligan case. Wanna come?"

"I think I'll leave that in your capable hands. I have something I need to take care of."

Elliot listened as Jenkins started to go over the forensics. Something caught his eye at the next lab bench, a glint of gold. He took a few steps towards it. It was a gold locket, identical to the one Kathleen wore. Next to the locket was the evidence bag it had obviously been in. Collecting Officer: Benson, O.

"Where did this come from?" he asked Jenkins.

"Uh, rape case last night. Benson and Tutuola brought everything in last night."

"This is my daughter's. Now, what the hell is going on around here?" His face turned red with anger and the vein in his forehead started to pulse. Benson. Olivia knew. She knew and sat there like nothing had ever happened. He barreled out of the lab, straight into the squad room. Olivia looked up from her desk. He leaned into her, invading her personal space and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You knew! You knew and you just sat there like nothing was wrong!" Olivia stood up slowly and spoke in a calm, even voice.

"Elliot, let's go to the interview room and talk about this. Not here."

He followed her into the interview room. She's my partner. And I thought she was my friend. How could she know and not tell me? He slammed the door behind them.

"How the hell could you keep this from me?" He picked up a chair and hurled it into the wall.

"Because she asked me to." she yelled. She took a deep breath. Elliot was pacing like a caged animal. "You know the drill. I can't release the identity of a rape victim if I'm asked not to."

"But you're my friend." he yelled again.

"Yeah, and I'm also a cop." He looked at her, breathing deeply. He fought his rage with every ounce of his being. His breathing slowed as he regained control.

"How did you find out?" her voice was calm again.

"I saw the locket in the lab. Your name was listed as the collecting officer." he paused. "I want the case."

"You know you can't do that, El. I've got it. Fin and I are working this one." She put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him." With that she turned and left the room.

XxXxX

"Liv, Jenkins has something for us." Fin had seen Olivia and Elliot march into the interview room. Together, they walked towards the lab. "Everything ok between you two?"

"I hope so. He saw the locket in the evidence room, and he knows I was the one who bagged it. He knows, Fin."

"How much does he know?"

"Only that Kathleen was raped." Fin nodded his head.

"The less he knows at this point, the better."

"Fin, Olivia, I got something off that locket for you." Jenkins ushered them over to the bench where the evidence from their case was being analyzed.

"We managed to lift a print off of it. He must have pulled it off her when he attacked her. Take a look at this." They gathered around the computer monitor. The analysis screen indicated a 10 point match to someone in the system. Officer Maloney.

"Anyone know anything about this guy?" Olivia asked.

"He graduated from the academy 7 years ago and was picked up by the 3-3 upon graduation. He has a squeaky clean record, no priors, no complaints. But, we found fibers from your victim that matches fibers found on 6 other date rape victims." Jenkins said.

"Good work, Jenkins." Olivia and Fin turned to leave the lab.

"What do you think, Fin?"

"I think nailing this guy is going to be pretty tough. A squeaky clean cop? He's going to know when we're trying to force a confession out of him. We can't just haul him in here and treat this like any other perp." Olivia nodded. The gears in her head were turning.

"I have an idea. C'mon, I'll tell you about it."

XxXxX

"Officer Maloney, meet your new partner, Officer Larson." Olivia shook the man's hand, dressed in her old blue uniform.

"Nice to meet you." The rest of the day was pretty mundane. They responded to a couple of break-ins and shooed a couple of loitering teens off the streets. At the end of the day, he suggested going to a bar for a drink. She accepted.

They walked into the same bar where Kathleen had been a few days ago on the night she was attacked. Olivia looked around. There she was, on the same barstool. Fin was sitting a few seats away.

"You got a first name, Larson?"

"Jane." Olivia answered. "Tell me about yourself. What do you do when you're not keeping New York clean."

"I get out. Unwind. What about you? Boyfriend?"

"No, actually. I, uh, I prefer women. They're much easier to handle. In fact, that gorgeous little blonde over there is kinda cute." she said. His eyebrows went up.

"Her? Don't waste your time." he said.

"What do you mean by that? Do you know her?" she said.

"I banged her the other night. Lousy lay." Gotcha. Olivia thought.

"Well, come on tell me about it." And he did. He told her about the drive out to the BQE, how she fought, and how she liked it rough. The microphone under Olivia's shirt caught everything on tape.

"Alastor Maloney, you are under arrest for the rape of Kathleen Stabler."

"Larson, what the hell are you doing?"

"It's not Larson, I'm Detective Benson, SVU. You have the right to remain silent…"

As she slapped the cuffs on him, his eyes opened wide. He had made a mistake. Olivia led him out to the squad car, while Fin took a frightened Kathleen back to another car.

XxXxX

A guilty verdict was delivered while Olivia sat in the courtroom with Elliot, Kathy, and Kathleen Stabler. They left the courtroom. Kathleen and Kathy walked while Elliot stayed behind.

"Liv…" he looked at her, not sure what to say.

"It's ok, El. Have I ever let you down before?" He stared at her with his mouth open, searching for words. Finding none, he reached down and grabbed her into a hug. She reached her arms up and held him for a moment.

"Here." she said, handing him a business card.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's the name of my therapist. She specialized in rape and sexual assault. I thought you might want it for Kathleen."

"Olivia…I…thank you."

"Just take care of Kathleen. I love that kid, you know."

"I will, Liv. I will."