You're Somebody Else || A Bensler/EO Reunion Fanfiction

Promises

The last thing she wanted, when she walked back into her office, was to be berated with questions...but there they were, Carisi and Fin, watching the interrogation from her office. Kat and Amanda were in the box, still desperately trying to crack Peters, who was - as far as Olivia was concerned - a menace, but likely not their menace. She breathed a heavy sigh. "How'd that go?" Fin inquired, an undertone of concern evident in his voice but only to those who knew him well enough to sense it. She strode past him and Carisi, shedding her heavy jacket as she did and draping it over her chair. She felt like ignoring the question...or exploding and saying that it went about as well as it could've given ten years of built up anger...but she replied as calmly as she could, "Well, the good news is that Kathy Stabler is conscious," doing her best to conceal the emotions she had processed on the roof mere minutes beforehand. "Can she make a statement?" Carisi asked, moving away from the two-way and looking to Olivia. She noticed, in this particular moment, how much he had truly changed in his time since joining the DA's office. 

"Stabler's on the way to the hospital," she replied, her tone matter of fact. She knew that Kathy could tell them anything, but she didn't want to intrude on their reunion...on the relieved moments they would share hugging one another and praising whatever forces at be had let Kathy live. Olivia had done that before, stood outside a hospital room and watched Elliot reunite with his wife...it had been the day she helped Kathy give birth to Eli. She swallowed, realizing that Carisi was speaking, and tried to focus on his words...rather than the ghosts of the past that swam before her mind's eye. "She could tell us anything," he was saying, disapproval laced into his tone, "another detective needs to be in that room." Olivia had barely processed his words, her mind still reeling from the memories of Eli's birth, fortunately Fin stepped in, "Carisi, he's not gonna blow the case..." he retorted, conviction clear in his tone. Despite the fact that Elliot had handled his departure poorly, or rather not at all, the original squad members had always been close and they all knew each other to be straight shooters. "End of the day, he's a good cop," Fin added, defending the reputation of his former squad-mate. 

"Stop," Carisi instructed, holding his hand up to Fin, "Look, I know you guys have history, but he can't be anywhere near this." He paused briefly, Olivia could sense his annoyance, "And Jacob here, now he's claiming that he was just following some Antifa thug who threw a Molotov cocktail into Kathy's car," he added, gesturing to Jacob Peters who was talking emphatically to Kat (though the volume was down, so they heard nothing. Olivia's heart sank, "It wasn't a Molotov cocktail," she replied, her tone laced with the knowledge that what Carisi had just said confirmed her gut feeling...this menace was not their perp. "And he doesn't know that," Carisi replied, pressing his lips together slightly before he continued, "If I had to guess, he's good for the first two, but not Kathy Stabler." He shook his head slightly as he spoke, they had all been hopeful to close this out quickly and successfully...this new development tanked that hope. Olivia sighed, shutting her eyes and fidgeting with her nails slightly. Her gaze shifted to Fin and they shared a knowing look. 

Olivia chewed at her lower lip slightly, shifting in her seat. She knew Carisi was right, but she wouldn't risk sending one of her detectives to be with Elliot and his family right now. Breathing another heavy sigh, she placed both hands on her desk and pushed herself to her feet. "I'll go," she offered, not waiting for protests. She grabbed her coat, slinging it over her forearm and making her way out of the office. "Hold down the fort," she added to Fin over her shoulder. He didn't reply, but he didn't have to...she knew he would hold things together while she handled this matter. She walked with a hint of defeat in her stride, her heart heavy with emotion as she pressed the button for the elevator. She barely registered other people walking past her, nor the small ding that indicated the arrival of the elevator. Her gaze was staring at the crack between pieces of flooring and her mind was far away, recalling all the same old feelings she had buried for a decade...the ones that had, once again, broken the surface on the roof.