Operation Heart

Ghost of Children's Laughter

Amanda, Fin, and Elliot all knew better than to try to go into the interrogation room with her when she went to confront Ashley Austin Black. Olivia took a moment to compose herself before she entered the room. The blonde woman looked up immediately with an almost child-like smile. "Hi, Olivia!" She stated happily. The brunette's steps faltered for just a second. Coming to terms with the fact that the adorable little girl she had adored had grown up, and kidnapped Noah, had been a harder pill to swallow than she had thought. Olivia slowly took the seat across from Ashley and took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Why did you kidnap my son?" Olivia had to fight to keep her voice even, sure that Amanda, Fin, and Elliot were right on the other side of the two-way, ready to bust in if she needed them.

Ashley's happy demeanor changed ever so slightly when Olivia mentioned Noah, though not by name. "I had to get your attention somehow, Olivia. I needed to know why you left me once my parents won back custody of me. Why you never checked on me when I was removed from their custody because my mom went on tour instead of taking care of me. Why you never called when I was moved from foster home to foster home." Ashley's voice got colder with each sentence.

"I didn't try to contact you because I couldn't. You hated me because I wouldn't take you home with me, and before that, your mom filed a restraining order against me to keep me away from you. Now, why did you choose to kidnap my son now, after all this time?" Olivia needed an explanation, otherwise her brain would never stop blaming herself, and she wouldn't be able to help Noah process things or heal if she couldn't do the same.

The blonde tilted her head from side to side, as if deciding if that was a question she really wanted to answer. "I had to wait until I was released from prison before I could find out what was so special about the little brat. Why you could love him but not me. Apparently being the daughter of two popular singers doesn't exempt me from being charged with possession of heroin, and multiple DUI's. I grew up in the goddamn foster system because my parents cared more about touring than they ever did about me." Years ago, Olivia would have felt a pang of guilt for not being there for her, but that was before Ashley targeted the person Olivia loved the most.

Olivia opened Ashley's file, which held everything they'd had on her when she was a kid, and her criminal record as well. "It looks like you're out on probation, license has been revoked until probation is up. Here's the thing, you're clearly high right now. Your pupils are extremely dilated, and your nose keeps running. If I had to guess I'd say you have cocaine in your system right now. Plus the camera's at the park show you shoving my son into a car that you were driving, according to my detectives. I hope you missed your cell at Riker's, Ashley."

The younger woman's eyes widened. "Wait, Olivia, you can't send me back there! We're supposed to be a family now that your little brat is out of the way!" Olivia froze, Ashley thought Noah was dead.

"First of all, if you call my son a brat one more time, you will regret it, Ashley. And secondly, he's at the hospital with a concussion, but he'll be fine. Finally, as long as I have my sanity, you and I will never be considered a family." Olivia walked out of the interrogation room, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and let out a shaky breath with her eyes closed, momentarily forgetting that Fin, Amanda, and Elliot were standing right there. She slowly slid to the floor, just sitting there for a minute. "How different would things have been if I had just looked out for her?" She muttered to herself.

"You never would have met Amanda, or helped nearly as many victims as you have if you had looked out for her, Liv. Because her mother would have made damn sure you paid dearly for it. Ashley knew that what she was doing was wrong when she got involved with drugs, and when she decided to kidnap Noah. None of this is your fault," Fin told her softly, crouching in front of her to help her to her feet.

"Fin's right, Captain Benson. Y-"

"Call me Olivia, Elliot. I don't trust you, but you protected my son before you even knew he was mine. You sat with him when neither me nor my dad could be there. Hell, you faced Munch, who was punching the shit out of you, and you didn't even try to fight back," Olivia said quietly.

"I couldn't give you a reason to try to prevent me from befriending Noah." It sounded like a joke, but none of them actually thought it was.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile, maintaining an air of professionalism. "Do you want a ride back to the hospital? Munch will probably still be there, but he won't lay a hand on you after what Noah said earlier." Elliot nodded. She invited both Fin and Amanda to come with them, but they both declined.

When the two of them got back to the hospital both Noah and Kathleen were awake again. "You up for a visitor, buddy?" Olivia inquired as she sat down in a chair next to Cragen, close to Noah. The boy nodded, so Olivia called for Elliot. "You can come in now." Elliot entered the hospital room, his eyes widening slightly in surprise when he saw Kathleen, who's expression mirrored his.

"So, how did you get involved in this case? I'm pretty sure no organized crime was involved." Kathleen smiled at her dad. She was still sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, next to Noah. Olivia turned to Elliot, her eyebrow slightly raised. She had been curious herself, but wasn't going to push, too scared it would have something to do with the bimbo she had seen him with the night before.

"Ayanna called me, on my first day off since taking this case, and told me the little bit about the case she knew. She said that she had gotten the info from a close friend. Would I be right to assume that was you?" Olivia's jaw dropped as she looked at Kathleen, who seemed almost nervous.

"When Amanda and Fin showed up at the park without Liv I knew that they were shorthanded, and could probably use some assistance." She turned to Olivia. "But I didn't tell her to tell him, and I didn't tell her that the missing kid was Noah." Kathleen was then surprised when Olivia smiled.

"It's fine, he knows that Noah's my son, Katie. Hey, Noah, wanna know a secret?" The boy smiled and shrugged.

"Is it that Elliot is Katie's dad? They both have the last name Stabler," he stated, resulting in smiles from both Kathleen and Elliot, who nodded.

After a little while Elliot left again, needing to get back to work. A doctor told all of them that Noah would be discharged the following morning, but since visiting hours were over, they had to leave, or at least Kathleen and Munch had to since they weren't family. Both said their goodbyes, and hugged Olivia. Kathleen also hugged both Noah and Cragen, but Munch settled with a fist bump for both guys. Noah fell asleep again, and Cragen watched Olivia, who didn't want to take her eyes off her son. "This wasn't your fault, Livvie," he said softly, using her childhood nickname, one only he, her mom, and Munch had been allowed to use.

She laughed ruefully and shook her head. "Ashley kidnapped him because of me, dad. Therefore it is my fault he was in danger. Can we come stay with you for a few days, once he's released? He misses you, and I promised we'd come see you soon," she said, resulting in a smile from Cragen, who nodded.