Wildfire

The New Neighbor

Elliot called the Tyler's that afternoon when he figured they'd be at home. He explained that Richard told him that they were going to rent the house and wanted Elliot and Liv to get it. They were shocked at that fact that Elliot wanted to live right next to his ex wife with his girlfriend and future baby. Nevertheless, they agreed to rent the house to them for a decently cheap price. Liv was actually excited about the move. Elliot had mixed feelings. 

On one hand, he wanted a house for his family, the other hand, it was next door to his ex. What if she heard him and Liv having sex one night? How would that make things for them? They were adults, but feelings were still fresh. 

They took the next day off to move everything. Well, Elliot took the next day off. Since Liv couldn't lift anything, they agreed to have her go into work while Richard and Elliot moved everything. The house was a lot like Kathy's, but instead of four bedrooms, there were five and an attic plus a basement, then also master bathroom with a hall bathroom. 

Kathy, Elliot, and Richard were sat around the kitchen table, each tapping a finger to the wood. Eli was in his new room upstairs playing happily. They were talking about whether Richard should live with Elliot and Liv full time or not. Kathy was against it, but Elliot and Liv didn't mind if he did. 

"Mom, please," Richard pleaded, looking at his mother intently. Kathy folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in the chair. 

She looked at Elliot who looked at Richard. "Why do you want to live with him? You hated him for five whole years!" 

Richard shrugged. "I'm growing up. I want to become a good brother, husband, and father. He's not perfect, but he can teach me how to do the best I can for the people I love. More importantly, he can teach me how to protect my family and the ones I love." Richard looked at his father and smiled. 

Kathy sighed and dropped her arms. "What about me?" she asked, tearing up. 

"I'll be next door if you need anything," he said softly, reaching a hand out to touch her arm. 

"Fine," she gave in, shrugging. She went to get up. "I'm going home."

Elliot wanted to go after her, but he knew she needed time to come to terms with Richard moving in with Elliot. Her children are growing up and she's starting to experience empty nest syndrome. Richard followed her out. Most likely to let her know he loves her still and to grab some of his things. 

Liv came home that night smiling. Elliot had cooked dinner for Richard, who'd moved his things from Kathy's house to his new room over the course of an hour and a half, and Eli, who was happily watching a children's show, and himself. He left Liv's plate in the microwave to reheat when she got home. Elliot raised an eyebrow when she kissed him. "Why are you happy?"

He sat the plate in front of her as she sat down at the table. "Annie Hannigan woke up and Captain took me over to speak to her. She gave a description and we sent Fin and Munch out to search while I dug around on the internet. We're so close to catching him," she explained, digging into her dinner. 

"What about the sealed records?" Elliot asked, sitting down with her. 

She took a drink of her water and shrugged. "Casey hasn't gotten back to us yet, but she agreed it looked like adoption records. It shouldn't take but another day."

"So tomorrow sometime?" He guessed. 

Liv nodded, continuing to eat. Elliot kissed Liv's cheek as he left. "I'm going to give Eli a bath," he called, scooping Eli up into his arms. 

~~~~

When Liv and Elliot got to work the next morning, Cragen met them at their desks with a packet. He held it out to Elliot, who took it and looked over it. His eyes got wide and he looked at Liv, who narrowed her eyes in confusion. "The sealed records of the Hannigan's." He passed the file to Liv, who looked at it and gasped. 

"They adopted a baby three years ago and now they don't have the baby." Liv looked at Cragen and Elliot in turn, deep in thought. "Where is the baby?"

"We've got to find out where that baby is," Elliot said, worry in his eyes. 

Cragen nodded. "Run the baby's DNA and description through the system and see what pops out." 

Half the day went by before something popped up for the baby. A little girl, now three years old, was adopted at two months old. She was taken from her parents and placed into foster care, where she was adopted because her parents were drug addicts. The father's mug shot struck Liv in the gut and she got out the notes she wrote about Annie's rapist. The father was Hispanic and had a thin mustache the same as the rapist. 

"Son of a bitch!" she hissed as she went into the Captain's office. "It's the biological dad of the adopted baby. They originally were arrested for neglect and drug use. They must have gotten out and found out that their daughter was adopted and took it out on the adoptive parents. The question is why didn't the Hannigan's tell someone that their three year old daughter was taken."