The Surprise of a Lifetime

Relief and Anger

Thursday night when Liv got home Noah was already in bed. She sat on the couch and drank a glass of wine. Around 9:30 she decided to take and shower and go to bed. She hadn't been sleeping well so she prepared herself for another restless night. Around 1:30 she woke up. After tossing and turning for awhile she went back to sleep just to wake up again at 4. She normally woke up at 5 so she decided to just get a jump on the day. Lucy was normally there between 5:30 and 6 to watch Noah so Liv decided to read for a bit before she had to get ready for the day.

When Lucy got there Liv gave her money to take Noah out to breakfast wherever he wanted and told her to let him pick what he wanted to do for the day within reason. Lucy already knew what Noah would want to do and so did Liv.

Liv got the the precinct early as usual. She went to the coffee machine and brewed a pot. Taking a cup from the stack she filled it and went to her desk.

Fin showed up 10 minutes later thinking he would also get a start on the paperwork sooner so he could go home early if they didn't have a case.

Around 11:30 Liv went to lunch. She went to a sub shop not far from the precinct. She was back in 20 minutes. When she got back Fin was on the phone with someone and seemed to be kinda upset with what he was hearing. Liv went to her office trusting her Sergeant to handle whatever was going on.

Liv had been very closed off since Monday. She hadn't left her office for anything other than food, calls, and to go home. It didn't help that she hadn't heard from Amanda and Fin hadn't mentioned if he had or not so she assumed he was avoiding that topic as to not upset her.

Around 2 they got a call that they had a vic so Liv grabbed Muncy and headed to the hospital. Liv stayed for the rape kit to be done while holding the girls hand and had returned to the precinct an hour and a half later.

When she got back her office door was closed and so were the blinds. She looked at Fin who hadn't noticed her yet.

"Fin, what's going on in my office?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Liv! I didn't hear you walk over. There is someone here to see you. I closed everything to give them some privacy. They are asleep on the couch in your office right now." Fin explained.

Liv sighed because she didn't want to see anyone but a certain blonde who hadn't left her mind at all that week. Every second she wasn't busy doing something she was wondering if she was safe or if that monster had hurt her.

Walking to her office door. She paused before opening it. As soon as she walked in and shut the door she heard movement from the couch.

"Liv?" A voice said. Weak but it still sounded so sweet. Liv recognized that sweet southern voice immediately.

"Manda?" Liv turned around and looked the blonde over before walking over and engulfing her in a hug. They stayed like that for a while. Not talking and not moving. They both needed it.

Finally pulling back enough to look Amanda in the face but not enough to break the embrace Liv started speaking.

"I was afraid when I wasn't able to get ahold of you on Monday and then I never heard from you at all because my number was blocked and I feared the worst. Are you okay? Did he hurt you because of me?" Liv's voice got shaky towards the end.

Amanda had started to cry as Liv spoke. That's when love saw it. As Amanda cried her tears took her makeup with them. There was a purple spot starting to reveal itself under her right eye. Liv's eyes widened when she saw and Amanda knew. She knew Liv saw it and that she would have to come clean. Wasn't that why she was there anyway?

Amanda started to sob. She was crying so hard that her breathing was uneven and she was shaking. Liv knew everything she needed to know in that moment.

"Manda were are you going when you leave here? Where are the girls?" Liv asked with a tone full of love.

"The girls are with the babysitter. I guess I'm going home when I leave here. I don't really have anywhere else to go." Amanda struggled to say between sobs.

"You have somewhere to go sweetie, you can come stay with me." Liv said with her voice laced with sincerity. "Do you want me to go with you to get the girls, then we can take them back to my place?"

Amanda finally pulled fully away from the embrace. She looked Liv in the eyes and Liv could read exactly what was going through her mind.

"Stop it. You are not a burden, you are not a waste, and you are oh so worth it! I promise it is perfectly fine for you to stay with me. Plus Noah has missed the girls so much, we would both be so happy if you would all 3 come stay with us." Liv was giving Amanda a smile that told Amanda that she meant everything that she was saying.

Liv walked to the door to call Fin into her office. She briefed Fin that she would be leaving in the next 10 minutes to go with Amanda to get the girls and Frannie. And that she would not be back unless they absolutely needed her. Fin assured her that he had everything under control and that she just needed to focus on what she was currently doing. With that Amanda and Liv made their way to the elevator.

Once out of the elevator they headed for their vehicles. Liv thought it would be better to take one vehicle and since she didn't trust Carisi she told Amanda to put the car seats in her car. They moved the car seats over and headed for the place Amanda hated the most, hopefully this would be her last time there.