25 Acts of Happiness | Law and Order SVU

Chapter Thirteen

I stare at her. This sounded creepy, but she is a closed book. I feel like this is first-day-Amanda all over again. She looks so concentrated.

Fin coughs. 'Why checkin' out 'Manda?' He jokes. The moment he sees my frown he stops laughing and looks sad. 'Sorry, man. I didn't mean it.'

'We were not dating, Fin. We were like brothers ad sisters.' I've made this conversation hundred of times and it slowly gets on my nerves. I quickly look down at my computer.

'Alright; folks, who wants food?' Olivia shouts from the door of her office. She still looks young. A few strains of white is spread across her hair, but is hardly to be seen. Almost half of the police officers raise a hand. Except Rose.

'You don't want anything?' Olivia asks the young detective, smiling.

She looks up, confused. 'Oh, um... I'll have a small sandwich, please.' She says shyly.

Olivia smiles. 'We'll get you some real food. You have been working hard.' Olivia smiles, but it looks more like a grimace. She quickly turns around and walks out of the squad room, Fin behind her.

Rose blushes and looks after them. 'What was that about?' She asks me, after catching me staring at her.

I look over to Amanda's desk. Olivia had practically begged IAB not to remove her desk or put someone other in it and they had finally agreed. She had told them it was a memorial for her and a special place in the squad room she had deserved.

'I remind her of her...' She says quietly, looking at the photo. 'Who is the woman next to her?' She asks.

'D-Doctor Melinda Warner.' My voice cracks, as I look at their frozen faces. They look so happy and real... Almost like they were about to jump out of the painting. 'She was one of our best Medical Examiners.' I tear up. I feel like hitting a wall, as my hand starts to twitch, but I shake the need of it off.

'What happened to them?' She cautiously asks, while stepping closer to my desk. She kneels in front of me and I tense up, as I realize, how much she resembled Amanda.

I take a deep breath. 'Amanda had been attacked exactly two years earlier, this day.'

'It's okay. Take your time.' She says quietly. I smile at her. She smiles back.

'I-I tried calling her a few times but it went directly to voice mail. So me and Fin went over to her apartment.' I pause. 'It was a wreck. There was a pool of blood at the door and the walls. So Melinda was examining it until...' My voice fades.

'The kidnapper took her too.' She nods.

'But the thing is, it was revenge. We had a rapist and made the rape go into the record. The rapist was her boss back in Atlanta and had raped another employee here at a night in a hotel, where they were staying for a conference.' I whisper.

'So her 'friend' wanted revenge and kidnapped her. And since it was not such a good Idea to get caught in the middle of an... Act, he took Melinda too.' My voice is quieter that a whisper.

'I'm so sorry, Nick. I shouldn't have asked-' she waves her hand like brushing something from in front of her nose.

'No. You had a right to know.' I watch, as a police officer puts two roses in front of both pictures and walks away.

Rose hugs me. 'Plans for tonight?' She asks cautiously. Her eyes widen. 'Oh, no, no! Not a date. Just to forget the pain for tonight.'

I laugh. 'Of course.'

---

Nope. They are not gonna fall in love. They are just friends.

But you wish Rollaro was real ;)