Misunderstood

Chapter 1

"Carisi, Fin! Female vic, raped and left in a dumpster. I'm on my way to Mercy hospital, who's free?" Olivia inquired, eyebrows in a frown while waiting for an answer. The male detectives just stared at each other. "Calm down, don't come at me all at once." the brunette sergeant said sarcastically while putting her coat on.

Fin made a face. "We're swamped, Liv. We're working the ally case, the Richardson's case and the gay bash. Can't Brooklyn handle this case for us?"

"No Fin. We can't just toss the victims aside and say; hi sorry but we're too busy to take on your case so we're gonna let someone out of our jurisdiction take care of it. Have a nice day."

Sighing, Fin lowered his head in shame. "I didn't mean it like that and you now it. I'm just saying that we're on our way up shit creek without a paddle here, Liv." Carisi nooded in agreement.

"Fine. I'll take this one myself. Munch will be back next week so hopefully the pressure will ease up. I'll see you guys later."

Liv walked straight up to the information desk and flashed her badge, like she had done so many times before, she had now lost count. Not that she was counting in the first place. It was more of a habit at this stage than a necessity, the secretaries knew her by name anyway.

"Olivia, I wish we didn't always have to meet under such unfortunate circumstances." one of the doctos came up behind her, sighing in defeat.

"Dr Boland, hi, how are you?" Liv responded, feeling how tired the woman in front of her was just by looking at her face and judging by the dark circles under her eyes.

"Please, call me Angela. I almost consider us friends by now." she smiled weakly. "Just coming off my monthly 36 hour shift. It's been... mad."

"And I thought that I worked long hours." Liv chuckled. "What have we got, Angela?"

Dr Boland sighed and shoved her hand into the pockets of her white doctor's coat. "I'm not sure." she said and looked Liv straight in the eye. "I've never seen anything like this before. She's obviously traumatized and scared but something is off with her. We did some tests and examined her but during that time we had to sedate her. None of us could get close enough to her without her turning hysterical, almost violent. She hasn't said a word of what happened to her, not even her name so for now, she's a Jane Doe."

"You said on the phone that there were signs of sexual assault. Was she raped?" Liv wanted to know even though she already knew the answer to that.

"Yes," Angela said sadly, "there are recent signs of vaginal and anal trauma as well as old tearing and scaring. She's got bruises, scratches, cuts, bite marks and burn marks all over her body. We did a full check up while she was sedated and discovered numerous old fractures that never got medical attention on her ribs, wrists and one on her left hip. Whatever happened to this poor woman, someone was using her as a punching bag and a sex slave. The rape kit is on the way to the lab as we speak."

Liv took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second. "Okay, which room is..."

"Can I get some help in here?!" A male voice screamed loudly over the sudden beeping of monitors and nurses rushed in to see what was going on. "She's waking up." one of the nurses said just as Dr Boland and Olivia burst into the room.

What Liv saw broke her heart. On the big hospital bed laid a bonde woman, so skinny and fragile looking it caused tears to well up in Olivia's brown eyes. She could make out some of the injuries on her body due to the loose fitting hospital gown that had ridden up her legs and the covers had been kicked on to the floor. Her eyes were wide with fear, arms flailing in all directions trying to keep everyone away and her gasping and wheezing sounds made it clear that she had difficulty breathing normally.

"Strap her down. We need to get her IV back in. She must've torn it off." a nurse yelled.

Olivia didn't hesitate for a second as she quickly approached the bed, determined to avoid strapping her down at any cost. "Never tie down a victim." she said firmly and squeeze passed the nurses surrounding the bed. "Leave now, I've got this."

"With all due respect ma'am, I don't think that..."

"I don't really care what you think at this moment. I know what I'm doing and I need you all to leave. NOW!" Liv interrupted the nurse that had just spoken.

"You heard her." Dr Boland said where she was standing by the door looking on at the scene playing out before her eyes. "Detective Benson will handle it from here. She's more than capable."

Rolling their eyes and muttering inaudible words, they all eventually left the small hospital room, leaving Olivia seated on the edge of the bed, her hands softly placed on the blonde's bony shoulders, gently holding her in place to avoid any further injuries.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now, they're gone." she spoke softly with a hushed tone that always worked on distraught and upset victims. "No one is going to hurt you, honey. You're in a safe place and the people here only wants to help you." the tall brunette rubbed her thumbs over the rough material of the gown in a soothing manner, hoping to calm the woman some.

It seemed to work as the frail body relaxed slightly under her touch and her breathing became more even and regular. "That's it, just breath. You're okay, you're okay."

Dr Boland was watching from her spot in the doorway, a smile gently spreading across her lips. If anyone could calm a victim down, it was Liv. She had seen it before and it seemed like the senior detective had the magic touch.

"That's it." Liv repeated quietly and slowly brought her and up to brush damp and toussled hair away from her clammy forehead but the woman flinched and pulled away from her touch as if she had been burnt. Liv immediately withdrew her hand. "Okay, okay, I won't touch your face, I promise." she soothed. "My name is Olivia Benson. I'm a detective with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. Can you tell me your name, sweetie?"

Blue wide eyes stared into brown ones but they appeared clouded and empty, almost distant and vacant. Olivia waited for an answer but when she was greeted with a long silence she sighed and offered the blonde a small smile. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me right now. All you need to know is that you're safe and no one here is going to hurt you. I promise you that." Liv stated in a firm but soft voice.

"Do you see the woman in the doorway? Her name is Angela and she's a very nice woman and a very good doctor." Olivia berated herself for sounding and coming across as so condescending but she didn't know how else to get through to the stranger laying before her and it was vital that she got her IV reconnected. "Would it be okay if she came over here just to put the plastic tube back into your arm? I'll be right here next to you the whole time. I won't leave, I promise."

Liv searched the blue hazy eyes for an answer but the woman had the same blank stare as before. "Okay, she's gonna come over here and she's going to explain everything to you before she do it, okay? You're in control."

Liv hands were back on the frail shoulders, rubbing her thumbs up and down in small patterns, providing some kind of physical comfort and to keep her grounded. The blonde's blue eyes never left Olivia's as Angela gently explained her actions before performing them and, within a couple of minutes, she was finished. Liv also witnessed Dr Boland administer a sedative into the tube and almost instantly she could see the blue eyes fighting to stay open.

"It's okay, you can go to sleep. You're safe and you're okay." the tall woman promised in a hushed tone and watched the pale blue eyes darken in colour before they fluttered close and succumbed to a much needed deep sleep.

Olivia stayed for a couple of minutes just to be sure she wouldn't wake again. She couldn't help but to stroke a pale soft cheek and frown in concern and worry. "Who are you? Where did you come from? Who did this to you?" she questioned herself in the empty and quiet room.

Dr Boland was waiting at the nurse's station for Liv to come out. "You did a good job, detective." she said with a smile.

"Just doing my job." she sighed and returned Angela's soft smile with one of her own. "Is there a physical explanation as to why she doesn't speak? Any sings of an injury or trauma to her throat or vocal cords?"

Angela hook her head. "No, there's no reason why she shouldn't be able to speak. She did make grunting and moaning noises so she's not mute."

"Autistic?" Liv asked.

The doctor pursed her lips in a contemplating manner. "No, I don't think so. Maybe she's just too afraid to speak. We both know what extensive trauma can do to people. Maybe she just needs some time."

The brunette sighed. "I sure hope so." smiling, she placed a hand on Angela's upper arm and gave it a light pat. "Go home, get some sleep."

Dr Boland chuckled and signed her name on a chart before handing it to a nurse. "If there's any change in Jane Doe, I want to know about it, understood?"

"Of course, Dr Boland."

The nurse scurried away and Angela turned towards Liv. "I'm off duty for the next 24 hours but if there's any issues, I don't want you to hesitate contacting me."

"Thanks Angela. I'll keep that in mind."

She watched as the petite doctor made her way down the corridor before disappearing as she rounded a corner. Looking around her there were constant noises, chattering, beeping, ringing and loud voices filling the ward of the busy hospital and she couldn't ignore the wave of loneliness and sadness that swept over her, thinking how scared and confused the blonde stranger in room 405 must be.

Sighing, she shook her head and headed back down to the precinct, determined to follow up on any lead there possibly was on how and why this woman had ended up in a dumpster, left to die, beaten, raped and broken.

Back at the 1-6, things were busy as usual. Officers and detectives bringing in perp after perp, all the same stories. I didn't do anything, I was framed, I wasn't there, I don't know what you're talking about, I'm innocent. The brunette let out a sigh of relief as she closed the door to her office, feeling somewhat gad that she was the boss and had that privilege of having her privacy and peace and quiet. She wouldn't be able to handle sitting by a desk in the bullpen today.

A few phone calls later, Liv had found out which exact dumpster she had been found in and headed over to the address she was given. CSU had already processed the area and she was waiting on results from the medical examiner, Melinda Warner, for any DNA, prints or clues as to who did this.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked around for any surveillance cameras but came there was none there that would've caught anything. The dumpster was located in a small back alleyway, behind a fast food restaurant. Entering the building, she walked straight up to the counter.

"What can I get you?" the young latina asked politely, chewing excessively on a huge pink bubble gum.

Liv offered a strained l smile. "I'm actually not here for the food. I'd like to talk to someone about the woman who was found in the dumpster early this morning." she flashed her badge and before putting it back in her pocket.

The latina's face sank, along with her shoulders. "I came in early this morning. I had a lot of cleaning to do and as I put out the rubbish, that it when I saw her." she shuddered at the memory. "I knew she was alive because she was struggling for air. I ran straight back inside and rang for an ambulance and police. I didn't know what to do, I felt so sorry for her. I wanted to cover her with a blanket but..." she smiled shyly and shrugged, "I've seen many cop shows on tv and I didn't want to compromise any evidence."

Olivia gave her a genuine smile this time. "That was a very smart move. Keep watching those shows." Liv stated. "Was there anything about the woman that stood out? Did she say anything? Did she try to make any kind of contact with you? Even the smallest thing can help us figure out what happened."

The young woman stopped chewing and frowned as she thought hard about what Liv had just said. "Well..." she drawled, "the only thing that seemed odd were the clothes she was wearing."

"Can you describe her clothing?" Olivia fished out her small notebook and a pen, ready to jot down anything of importance.

"It wasn't much of clothing, if you ask me. It was more like a nightgown but one of those old kinds with a frilly detail at the end and it had small light blue flowers on it. I remember because it reminded me of a nightgown my grandmother use to wear when I was a kid. Oh, and she was barefoot."

Writing everything down, Olivia had one last question. "Any jewelry, piercings or tattoos that you saw?"

The latina pursed her lips for a second, pulling up her left sleeve of her black shirt. "Yeah, I saw something here, on the inside of her left lower arm." she said, pointing to the area were she had seen it. "But it wasn't a normal black one. It was a white tatt, looked like scribbles, like a word or something. I couldn't make it out, I'm sorry."

Liv quickly jotted it down, thinking why the doctor or the nurses hadn't said anything. Surely they must've seen it during the examination. "Don't be sorry. You did great." she slipped the latina her card. "If you think of anything else, will you please let me know?"

Nodding her head, the girl accepted the card, placing it securely in her breast pocket. "Is she gonna be okay?" she asked in a weary tone, almost as if she was worried.

"She's alive and that's a good sign." Liv responded, thanked her once again for her cooperation before making her exit.

Back at the precinct things had calmed down slightly. Carisi and Fin was still there, sorting out some details before calling it a day, or evening, since it was just after six pm. "You heading home too, sarge?" Carisi questioned while stiffling a yawn.

"Yeah, this dumpster case is gonna be a tough one. No witnesses, no surveillance footage and the vic isn't talking."

"Well, if there's any conciliation, we closed the Richardson's case about twenty minutes ago. We finally got solid evidence. He'll get ten years for each count. He's never getting out." Fin spoke with a hint of pride in his voice. There was always a feeling of victory when a case was solved, closed, done and dusted. Another perp was off the streets of New York City, making it a bit easier for the detectives to sleep better at night, knowing that justice had won.