Double Jeopardy (SVU Fanfic)

12. Birth-daze

"And you're 14! You should only being worrying about school and me!"

"Well that didn't exactly happen, did it?" she fires back. "What's your point?!"

"You need to cope in better ways than this!"

"Oh, so you'd rather me start drinking or doing drugs or starving myself? That's really nice, Mom." She forces herself up from the couch.

"What the hell, El?! Of course I don't want that!"

"Then what the hell are you yelling at me for?!"

Her language makes my blood boil. "Don't talk to me like that! You are going to see a-"

"I am not going to a shrink! I don't need one!"

"Because you seem totally in control of your emotions right now!"

Her eyes narrow. "What are you hiding from me?" she asks, her voice so much quieter.

"Hiding? What would I be hiding from you?"

"Well I just found out I'm a rape baby! How long did you plan on hiding that?! Or the fact you were raped in general? It wasn't some dumbass mistake you made!"

"Stop swearing at me!

"Then stop hiding things from me! If I can handle what happened to me I think I can handle whatever the hell else you think I can't!"

"What did I just say? And you can't handle it! You-"

"Alright, that's enough," I hear someone interrupt me. Elliot, obviously.

We both look up.

"You." He points at Ellie. "Sit."

She raises her eyebrows. "I'm not a dog."

It's my turn to raise my eyebrows. Nobody ever talks back to Elliot.

"Get off that foot. Now," he says. His voice is immediately cold and Ellie listens to him.

"You." He points at me. "Out."

Okay, I get Ellie's back talk now. "No," I say.

"Now."

"I've only known you for 20 years. That doesn't scare me," I tell him.

"Unless you want me to call Amanda to come get her, you listen."

"Please!" I hear Ellie yell. "Call Amanda!"

"El," me and Elliot both say.

She rolls her eyes and goes back to her math. Angrily, I go to my bedroom.

Elliot closes the door behind us.

"You know not to intentionally upset a victim," he says.

"She's my daughter!"

"And she's also a victim, like every other person who's been assaulted. You can't do that to her!"

"She won't listen to me! We were arguing, just like every other mother and daughter!" I retort.

"You have to give her time to sort things out in her head."

"So I just let her do whatever she wants?" I ask.

"She has a severely hurt ankle and is on crutches. She was just raped. You think she's gonna go out clubbing or something?"

He does have a point. I lean back on my heels, giving up.

"Give it a bit of time, then see what happens, alright?" Elliot requests, and I nod, letting him take me in his arms.

*Ellie's POV*