Wildfire

We Need A House

Elliot and Liv spent the whole day at the hospital talking to the girl. She was seven years old and had some complications from the rape. She had been hit over the head after the rape and even cut across the stomach. Unfortunately she will always have a scar to remind herself of this day. The cut was very deep, and there was a risk of infections. The girl had gone in and out of consciousness for around an hour with the nurses coming in and out doing all sorts of testings to make sure the rapist didn't transmit any STDs. It wasn't a rape kit. That had already been done before they got there. 

The parents wanted the extra testings done, which the doctors willingly did. While she drifted in and out, Elliot and Liv spoke to the parents, then the nurses. She kept mumbling something about a 'brown man' with a pencil lip. They really needed to talk to her. However, the doctors didn't think the girl wasn't going to be awake for at least a day. They said good-bye to the parents and left for the squad. 

Fin and Munch were doing the canvasing around the playground, so there wasn't much to do except some background work on the family. Liv was about ready to collapse as she stepped onto their floor at the squad room. She sighed with relief as she sunk into her chair. It was much more comfortable than the car. She put her head on her desk while Elliot got to work digging up as much information on the Hannigan's as possible. 

Mark and Ethel Hannigan were 37 and had very little money in the bank. They had sealed documents in the court system which probably meant that they adopted and the records were sealed. However the weird thing was that little Annie was their biological daughter. So where was the other child? 

"What do we have?" Cragen asked as he came out of his office an hour later. 

Elliot looked over his shoulder to the captain and cleared his throat. "Well, we got some odd things. There are sealed records in the court system. Most likely it's adoption records, but we will need Casey to get them unsealed for us. If it is an adoption, then where is the child? Annie is their's biologically. The nurses were talking about that when she was getting stitched up."

Cragen hummed to himself for a moment. "Let's call Casey and get the ball rolling on unsealing those records. What else?"

Liv lifted her head from her own background work. "Mark's work has only one 'brown man' as Annie put it. Which is Hispanic, and he was absent from work for the last two days. Small rap sheet of minor assaults that were pleaded out for community service. He's been at the entertainment agency for around a year, no call ins except today and yesterday. The girl that took the call in asked if he was okay, he said to her 'I've just got to get rid of a little bug'."

Elliot inhaled sharply, looking from Liv to Cragen. "Get over there and talk to him, Elliot. Help him get over that 'bug'." Nodding, Elliot glanced at Liv who pouted, but said nothing as Elliot left the precinct again. 

~~

That night, Elliot and Liv started putting the crib and changing table in the spare room. They had bought a cheap toddler bed for Eli as well and some extra toys. Elliot really hoped that his son liked his room. "Elliot!"

Poking his head out of the baby's room, he saw Liv holding her phone out for him. "Richard."

He took the phone and greeted his oldest son. 

"Hey, dad. Is it possible yet for me to live with you?"

Richard expressed his want to live with him. "It's a little cramped in here, but I can talk to Liv about it. Maybe we can look for a house nearby."

"Oh! The neighbors are moving and subletting their house!" Elliot had to hold the phone a good inch from his ear to prevent himself going deaf early. 

"I'll call the Tyler's and ask them, then. In the meantime, if you want to at least sleep over a night or two, the couch is always an option." Elliot turned to look at Liv. She nodded in agreement. Liv pointed to her with an open palm. "Liv agrees."

In the end, Richard agreed to spend the weekend with his dad and Liv with Eli. He'd babysit for half the day while they went into work to deal with a couple of issues that came up from the unsealing of the records. The four ended up going to the park to play some catch and play with Eli. Liv watched mostly since she was getting very pained when she walked. 

After the park, Elliot and Liv went to a small kid friendly restaurant to eat so Eli could play more and eat a little. "So, Richard, why do you want to move out of your mother's house?" Liv asked while he had a fork of mac and cheese close to his mouth. He glanced at Elliot and then back at Liv and sighed. 

"Dad and I have had a rough go around since I started puberty. Since he left that first time. I want to learn how to be a man that my future wife and kids can be proud of. Learn and grow. What better way to do that than to live with my dad?" He shoved the spoon into his mouth and smiled a little as he turned to watch Eli play with a random kid he met. 

Elliot felt honored. He wasn't the perfect father or husband or boyfriend for that matter. Far from it. He cheated on his wife, divorced her, and was an absent father for a large portion of his children's lives trying to provide for them and keep them safe. "I'll do my best to be a good role model, but I know I haven't up until this point."