Law & Order: SVU

"Sideways"

An Original Law & Order: SVU Story

Copyright 2009 by: K. Walsh

DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and all characters are property of NBC and Dick Wolf. All the other characters are fictional and have come from depths of my imagination. This story is an original work of fiction set in the pre-existing world of Law & Order: SVU. All original characters and major storylines contained within this story belong to the author. The pre-existing characters have been borrowed for the purposes of good clean fun…well maybe not clean. Take heed: This story contains coarse language and sexual violence (molestation of minors), brief graphic depictions of violent crime and trauma. There are also scenes of sexuality and mature themes between two female characters and two teenage characters.

Authors Note: A special thanks to Torrie and Becca Boo for inspiring The Kid, Shelley for 'The Strip Side', Andrew for 'Tech Support' and Joe Walsh for editing this story. Lastly to all my friends who have put up with me…I know I can be a mess! 'Sideways' is the sequel to a story I wrote called 'Scent'. While you don't need to have read 'Scent' in order to enjoy 'Sideways' it will clear up a lot of confusion you may have and explain the short blonde running around.

Rating: 18

Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson

Stephanie March as A.D.A Alexandra Cabot

Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler

Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch

Ice-T as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola

Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen

B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang

Diane Neal as Casey Novak

Prelude

In the three months since Detective Olivia Benson became Jessica O'Malley's legal guardian their lives had changed considerably; as had Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot's. Due to Olivia's job Alex picked up most of the slack when it came to Jess. The tall thin blonde worked mostly from Olivia's apartment in the evening. Jess made them dinner and read most of Alex's case files. The younger and considerably shorter blonde enjoyed immersing herself in Alex's cases, although Jess had enough going on these days that she really did not need the distraction.

Jess had called Morales in Computer Crimes down at One Police Plaza shortly before she finished her exams in June. They met and had lunch where Jess convinced him that she should work for the summer as a tech assistant with Computer Crimes. Morales brought her back to One P.P. and gave Jess the standard test given to any tech who applied for a job. It was no surprise that she finished the test before the allotted time was up and that she answered all the questions or preformed all the tasks perfectly. There was no doubt Computer Crimes could use her. Morales went to Benson and spoke with her about Jess joining the team for the summer. The detective was grateful Morales had come to her but explained that she did not think it was a good idea, that Jess was just not ready. Morales gave Benson Jess's test scores. The detective sat on the decision for a day. She called Morales and said that as long as Jess was his assistant she could work in Computer Crimes for the summer. The teen, who was dating Dick Stabler and had dyed red streaks in her hair, went to see Dr. Rebecca Hendrix for therapy on Monday morning and Thursday after work and held the position of shortstop on Monday evenings on a baseball team. Jess pleaded with Olivia to come to the baseball games and the detective conceded; she desperately felt as though she was never around enough for Jess. Alex was actually relieved that Olivia was taking over Monday nights. It meant that A.D.A. could stay at the office and work through until the late evening. Olivia had made every effort to be at the games, including having Elliot cover for her most of the time.

Out of all the activities Jess loved baseball the most. She had become particularly close friends with the first baseman, or first basewoman to be more precise. Casey Novak had been censured by the Bar association and disbarred just over two years ago and had since become a writer for the New York Times. Jess and Casey had bonded during a particularly intense conversation over where the best ice cream in the city was served. While Jess did not keep Olivia, or Alex a secret from Casey the strawberry blonde had never made the connection that she use to work with Olivia and had been Alex's predecessor, until their first game. Olivia never made it to the practices but when she showed up for the first baseball game she was shocked to find Casey Novak playing first base. The two had spoken at great lengths after the game. Olivia suggested that Casey come by the squad room at SVU and visit. The detective and the redhead had worked together for years but had lost touch after Casey was disbarred. Detective Elliot Stabler and Casey Novak had a very buddy-buddy relationship and Olivia maintained that he, the other detectives and their Captain, would like to see her. Casey promised to come by.

Chapter One: The Vic

290 Central Park West

Friday August 14, 00:35

He had been stalking his next star for three weeks now. Although it seemed the New York City police department was determined to shut his website down he knew he had hired the best in the business to keep them at bay. He wanted this, more than he had ever wanted any other star. This one was special, he was sweet, innocent and angelic, and his fans would love the new star. His pedigree only made him more desirable; it also made the thrill of the chase that much more exciting. Standing on the roof of the Central Park West brownstone he inhaled a breath and looked down at the street; it was devoid of moving cars and people. He exhaled. It was time.

He clipped the carabineer to his harness and secured himself before stepping on to the ledge of the roof. He repelled down the side of the brownstone, his gloves making a slight noise against the nylon rope. When he came to first window he tied himself off with the rope and pulled tools from a pocket on the front of his shirt. He used them to jimmy the lock on the window it popped open with ease. All that money and they had shitty windows and no security system he thought to himself. He put the tools back in his pocket and slid the window open. He placed his feet and legs through the opening and released the carabineer from his harness as he slid the rest of his body inside.

He stood looking around the room; it had been tastefully decorated in Transformer and Batman paraphernalia. His eyes slid from the walls to the bed on the other side of the room. The beautiful new star looked even more angelic than usual with the moonlight streaming in onto the bed, he was sleeping. He crept silently over to the bed; he could hear a man and a woman fighting downstairs through the closed bedroom door. He took the small plastic case from the back pocket of his cargo pants. He opened it and took out the cloth inside. The man's voice from downstairs got louder. He placed the cloth over his young star's mouth and nose. The woman downstairs screamed. There was a crash as the man probably pushed her body against something and it shattered as it hit the floor. The star never opened his eyes; he drifted deeper into innocuousness as the chloroform took over his body.

When he was sure the chloroform had taken its full effects he lovingly strung a harness around his new star. He picked up him gently from his bed and attached the harnesses together. As he held his victim in one arm he walked back over to the window he had entered from. He grabbed the nylon rope that was hanging outside and clipped it to his harness. He carefully maneuvered himself and his victim out the window and repelled down the rest of the brownstone to the street below. He unhooked the carabineers that held the rope to his harness. He took a fob out of the side pocket of his cargo pants, pointed it at the Lexus SC 430 and beeped his car unlocked. Very gently he placed his newest star in the passenger's seat and buckled him in. He got in the driver's seat and drove away. It was just that easy.

488 Amsterdam Ave

Residence of Detective Olivia Benson

Friday August 14, 06:45

Jess was an early riser; she had been her entire life. She got up, padded barefoot out to the living room where she grabbed the paper from outside Olivia's door. As she bent down to pick it up the headline on the front page of the New York Times caught her eyes.

"Socialites' Young Son Kidnapped"

Jess raised her brow as she closed and locked the door. She walked into the kitchen and started the coffee as she read the article. Evan Winthrop, age seven, son of Richard and Vivian Winthrop was abducted last night from his bedroom. It described how the assailant had abducted the young boy. It also gave background on the Winthrop's; a prominent New York City family that had old money and old friends in high places.

Olivia and Alex got up around the same time as Jess. Both women had to be at work for eight. They chose to shower together because quite frankly they relished the time together. Olivia was the first to stir as she heard Jess quietly close the door to her apartment. Her own bedroom door was closed. About a month and a half ago Jess had told Olivia and Alex they could keep their bedroom door closed and that she would knock before coming in.

The brunette felt the blonde behind her, spooning her. The women slept naked all the time now that the door was closed. Alex's left arm was draped over Olivia's side, her hand held Olivia's and their fingers were dovetailed. The detective brought Alex's hand up to her mouth and kissed it. The A.D.A. moved closer to Olivia, bringing her thighs in contact with the backs of the brunette's thighs. Olivia smiled and pushed her backside against the blonde's abdomen. This garnered a small moan from Alex, who gently let go of Olivia's hand. The A.D.A. lovingly ran her fingers along Olivia's side, over her backside and down the front of her left thigh. She took the brunette's thigh in her hand and shifted it up on to her own. As the detective's thighs were spread she pushed her backside harder into Alex. The blonde put her arm around Olivia and spread her fingers out along her stomach. Alex loved feeling the softness of the skin over the firm muscle. She slid her fingers slowly down Olivia's stomach, abdomen and to where the thin patch of hair hid her sex. Alex gently pushed her fingers through the hair and over Olivia's clit. This garnered a moan from the detective as she pushed forward, trying to force a harder touch from her lover.

Alex's eyes opened slightly as she giggled. "Not yet, Detective."

Olivia smiled lazily. "Oh come on, Counselor."

Alex shifted slightly, forcing her lovers legs apart further. She leaned in to Olivia and whispered in her ear. "Not until I'm damn good and ready."

With that Alex grabbed Olivia's stomach again and possessively ran her fingers hard across the muscles, forcing the brunette's body hard against the blonde's. Alex pushed her fingers down Olivia's abdomen and between her legs. The blonde ravished her detective's clit and moved onto her sex, running her fingers through the slick folds. "You're wet, Detective"

The brunette bucked her hips against Alex's fingers, trying to force them inside. Olivia dipped her head back against Alex's neck, bit her bottom lip and said through clenched teeth, "You're good, Counselor."

Alex grabbed Olivia harder and slowly sunk two fingers into her lover. She pushed them in and out while she pinned the brunette to herself. The blonde nibbled on Olivia's earlobe lovingly. "You haven't seen anything yet, Detective." With that Alex flipped the brunette over onto her stomach, she possessively grabbed Olivia's thighs and pulled them up and closer to herself. The beautiful blonde put her left hand on Olivia's shoulder for leverage as she pushed two fingers into the gorgeous brunette and curled them up.

The detective was usually not one to play the submissive, not in bed and not in life. For the A.D.A. there was very little Olivia wouldn't do. She actually enjoyed the power Alex oozed in bed; it was very much like the power she showed in the courtroom. The blonde sunk her teeth into Olivia's right side, causing the detective to hiss through clenched teeth at the painful pleasure. "Ahhhhh, Counselor! Don't leave a mark."

Alex tightened her grip on Olivia's shoulder as she quickened her pace between Olivia's thighs. She continued to playfully bite Olivia's back and shoulders blades. "I'll do what I damn well please, Detective." Alex hissed between bites.

Olivia rocked her hips back and forth to meet her lover's demanding thrusts. Olivia was getting close. Alex pushed a third finger inside Olivia and curled her fingers up inside. The brunette called out in ecstasy. "Uh, uh, uh, right there, don't stop, uh, uh…Al, don't stop."

Alex let out a devilish giggle. "You want to come don't you, detective?"

"Uh, uh, uh, yes, Counselor."

Alex continued her assault on Olivia. "Ask me for permission."

"Uh, Al, baby please. Can I come?"

Olivia leaned her head to the right. Alex leaned down and licked and sucked the tension cord that was exposed. "UHhhhhhhhh, Yesssss" Olivia hissed at the sensation. The detective could not tell if it was Alex's fingers inside her or the A.D.A.'s tongue and teeth nibbling at her neck but it sent her over the edge. "Ohhhhh Fuck Al, DON'T STOP!"

Alex smirked between bites on her lover's neck. "Come for me, Liv."

The detective's orgasm took over and Alex felt it grab her fingers and then try and expel them with its contractions. Olivia tried to move forward and away from Alex's fingers. The blonde grabbed the detective's shoulder harder not letting her move. "Uh, uh, fuck you, let me go." Olivia said breathlessly.

Alex stopped her gentle biting just long enough to whisper. "Not until I'm damn good and ready, Liv." Olivia struggled under Alex's vice-like grip. The A.D.A. slowed her thrusts but would not let the brunette go. After another minute Alex hauled her biting and licking. "I love you, Liv", and she let go of Olivia's shoulder and the detective collapsed, sliding off the blonde's fingers.

Alex smiled and laid on her stomach beside Olivia. Once the Detective had caught her breath she got up and straddled the back of Alex's right thigh. Olivia moved the silky blonde hair to the right side of the A.D.A.'s head and Alex moved her head to the left. The brunette stretched the length of the blonde and put her hands down on the bed at either side of her head. Olivia dropped her head down and licked the tension cord on Alex's neck. The detective bit down gently as her lover had on her only minutes earlier. The blonde shuddered under Olivia's licking and biting. The brunette stopped the love bites and whispered in Alex's ear. "I love you, too."

The women got up, put robes on and went to the bathroom to shower. Olivia turned on the water and Alex got in first. The blonde let the water run down the front of her body, over her breasts and down her stomach. She turned her body around when Olivia got in the shower. Alex closed her eyes and dipped her head back and let the water flow over her hair, turning it darker. Olivia slid her hands over Alex's now slick stomach. She proceeded to ravish her A.D.A

Jess knew what the women that were raising her did in the morning. To anyone else in her position it would be gross, but to Jess it wasn't. She didn't really want to hear it, which is why she turned the music up so loud in the morning in the kitchen as she cooked breakfast. Jess knew both women sacrificed a lot of themselves, not just for her but also for each other, to be with each other. The young blonde knew the women were growing apart. Alex had tried to keep her promise from three months earlier and Jess knew she had. Olivia's and Alex's careers were unbelievably demanding. That, coupled with the responsibility both women felt to be with Jess, was weighing on all three of them.

The teen had sensed a shift four weeks earlier, when Alex had asked if she and Olivia would move into her condo on Central Park West. Olivia had shot the idea down, although Alex had put up a good fight; her place was much bigger and had three bathrooms. Jess knew it made sense to move there but she had not wanted to leave Olivia's apartment. She loved it and felt safe there. While Jess had been to Alex's place and even slept there numerous times it was not the same as Olivia's apartment. When they were alone, the detective had asked Jess if she wanted to move. The blonde has said no but has asked Olivia not to tell Alex. The guilt weighed on Jess, knowing that she was the reason for so much tension between the detective and the A.D.A.

Olivia and Alex, now fully clothed for the day, joined Jess in the kitchen for breakfast. Alex turned down the music coming from Olivia's iPod in the dock on the counter as she poured two cups of coffee, turned and sat down at the kitchen table. Olivia was already sitting down. Jess set the three plates down on the kitchen table, sat down and tossed the paper in the middle of the table. "Richard and Vivian Winthrop's son, Evan was abducted last night from his bedroom."

Alex's brow shot up. "What? Really?" and she grabbed the paper with her left hand as she forked in a mouthful of eggs with her right. The older blonde skimmed the article and read the highlights out loud once she swallowed her eggs.

Olivia shook her head. "That's so tragic, right from his own bed as he slept."

Jess looked down at her plate and pushed the food without actually putting any on the fork. "No one is ever safe. Not even on Central Park West in their own bed."

Alex and Olivia looked at each other and then at the teen sitting with them. Olivia sighed. "Jess, you know you're safe right?"

Alex touched her knee under the table. "I made sure Brian Nudds was remanded into custody. He will not be getting out."

Jess did not look up. It wasn't just her safety that Jess worried about. She worried all the time now that Olivia and Alex would break up. She felt safe with both of them; not having one of them would break her. Knowing that it would be her fault made her heart ache. She could not take it anymore. "I want to move."

Olivia and Alex looked at each other and furrowed their brows in unison. The abduction hadn't happened near where Olivia lived; it happened about a block and a half from Alex's penthouse condo. The women did not understand Jess's reasoning. Olivia turned her attention back to Jess. "Sweetheart, I don't understand. Why do you want to move?"

Jess looked up at Olivia with tears in her eyes. She could not tell Livie the truth, it would make both the women she was sitting with feel guilty. "I just want to. I think we should move in with Ally."

Alex did not quite understand the logic but she liked what Jess was saying. When Olivia refused to move in with her four weeks ago it had crushed Alex. The A.D.A. knew the refusal was at the behest of Jess, but now the young woman was ready. "Jessie, are you sure?"

Olivia and Alex had taken to calling Jess 'Jessie' or 'Kid' as pet names. Jess looked at Alex as tears streamed down her face. "Yes."

The detective was not convinced. She wasn't sure why Jess was lying but she knew the kid well enough to see through most of her act. "Tell me why after four weeks you want to move?"

Jess looked down at her plate again and shrugged. "I just do."

Alex caught on, she knew Jess was lying; the shorter blonde could look most people in the face with false bravado and lie right to them. Olivia and Alex were not most people; Jess could not look at them and lie. Olivia played the heavy with Jess and all three women knew it. "Don't lie to us Jessie. Why do you want to move?"

Jess knew she couldn't look at either woman and lie; she also knew she could not look at them and tell the truth. It was strange to Jess that after all these years she found herself playing the role of a child with two parents. She was sixteen and for the first time in her life she found herself sometimes being able to actually act her age. This was one of those times. Jess threw the fork that was in her right hand onto her plate and stood up quickly, sending the chair she had been sitting in flying. "I just want to! Olivia, why do you have to interrogate me like a perp?"

Olivia looked hurt and shocked as her jaw dropped. Jess never called Olivia anything but Livie. It killed Jess to see her this way; it hurt Alex too. "Jessie, Liv isn't interrogating you. She…we just want to make sure you are ready for this."

Jess tuned her attention to Alex. "I'm fine with it. I'm ready. Let's not make a capital case out of it, Alexandra." With that Jess left the table and headed for the shower. She hadn't called Alex anything but Ally in three months.

Olivia looked down as tears formed in her eyes. Alex looked over at Olivia. "Big words for our little girl this morning."

The detective looked up as she blinked the first tear out and it rolled down her cheek. Alex stood up, walked over to Olivia and knelt down beside her. "She did not mean it. You know that. Liv, you have to know that. Jess didn't mean to call us by our full names."

Olivia looked down at Alex. "I know. It doesn't make it any easier though."

Alex put her arms around the woman she loved. "No, it doesn't."

The brunette sighed as she put her arms around Alex. "She's not ready, Al."

Alex sighed. "I know she's not."

A breath caught in Olivia's throat. "How much longer can we keep this up?"

The A.D.A. tightened her grip on Olivia. "I don't know. I love you, Liv." Alex inhaled quickly as she choked back tears. "I really do love you, but we can't keep pretending."

Olivia and Alex exhaled at the same time. "Alex, please, just tell me what to do. I will do anything, please. I can't let you go."

Alex loosened her grip and looked up at Olivia. "Liv, you know it isn't just one thing and it isn't just you. It's everything and both of us. There just isn't enough time. We both want to be with Jess and we both have ridiculously demanding careers. Neither of us can change any of that."

Olivia looked into Alex's tear stained deep blue eyes. "I know you are right, but I will not let you go. I can't."

The taller woman shook her head. "Liv, we don't have a choice. We can't live like this. Are you happy with us?"

The detective closed her eyes against what her lover was saying. She opened them again, hoping she had been dreaming. She stared down at Alex. "No, I'm not happy with us."

The women embraced again and held each other as they cried. When the water in the shower stopped running Olivia spoke. "When should we tell Jess?"

Alex's sobbing subsided. "Let's give her the weekend. We will spend as much time together with her as possible. We can tell her on Monday."

"I don't want this."

"Liv, I don't want it either."

Manhattan SVU Squad Room

Friday August 14, 08:03

Olivia walked into the bullpen and sat down in the chair at her desk. She leaned her elbows on her knees, looked down at the floor and flipped her cell phone in her hands.

Elliot looked at his partner from across their desks. He knew something was up, it had been up for almost a month and he was convinced it had to do with their A.D.A. "Olivia?"

Olivia continued to mindlessly flip her cell phone in her hands, completely unaware her partner was addressing her. Elliot stood up and walked around his desk until he was in front of Olivia. He reached down and took the phone out of her hands. His partner finally looked up at him. "We're going around the corner for coffee, I'm buying."

She nodded but said nothing. The partners walked out of the one-six and down the street; neither said anything. When they got to the corner Elliot looked at Olivia sideways. "Liv, what is going on?"

The brunette looked across the street and saw a bench. She crossed the street and Elliot followed her. They sat on the bench and looked at the road in front of them. Olivia sighed. "Jess had an argument with me and Alex this morning. She called us by our full names."

Elliot understood how significant that was. The teen never called either woman by their full name, Jess never called him by his either. It was a sign of affection. "That's not like her. What happened?"

"Alex asked us to move in with her a month ago. I shot the idea down to save Jess from having to say no to Alex. I knew she wasn't ready to move out of my place. This morning she claimed she was ready to move, that she wanted to. When we questioned her about the decision she became angry with us."

"What is going between you and Cabot?"

Olivia sighed. She knew she would have to tell Elliot eventually. "It's over. With me and Alex, it's over."

Elliot looked at his partner, his mouth open slightly. "What?! What the hell happened?"

She felt his eyes on her but could not look at him. "We've grown apart. Between our jobs and trying never to leave Jess alone we don't have time for each other."

"Have you told Jess?"

"No we are going to spend this weekend with her and then tell her on Monday."

"Olivia, Jess already knows."

Olivia looked at him. "No she doesn't. Alex and I have been careful; we never fight in front of her."

"Liv, Jess is highly intelligent. She picked up on you and Cabot in less than twenty-four hours. Do you really think she doesn't know what is going on? At the very least she knows the two of you have grown apart. I guarantee she thinks it is her fault."

She shook her head. "You don't know that!"

"Why would she agree to move and then not tell you the truth about why?"

Olivia turned her head and stared at the street again, not answering him. She knew he was right.

Elliot continued to stare at his partner. "Liv, do you love Alex?"

The brunette squinted her eyes but stared straight ahead. "Yes."

"Does she love you?"

"Yes."

Elliot shook his head. "Then work it out. This isn't brain surgery, Olivia."

She sighed. "It's not that simple El. We can't change anything."

He continued to look hard at his partner; he wanted her to face him. "Yes you can. Give Jess some room and take Cabot out. Hell, Jess can stay at our place and give you and Alex a break."

Olivia shook her head as she watched the lights change from red to green. "Jess has been through enough. I'm not leaving her alone anymore than I absolutely have to."

Elliot finally looked away, giving up on having his partner look at him. "You know you and Cabot should give Jess more credit. I think she would be fine for a night. She spends all kinds of time at my place anyway."

She looked at her partner. "El, would you ever sacrifice one of your children's health or recovery for anything?"

He continued to stare straight ahead. "No." He turned and looked into his partner's eyes. "But I would explore every avenue possible before breaking up with their mother."

Olivia sighed as she stared into his green eyes. She knew he was right, but it was just so difficult to be with Alex in the situation they found themselves in. "I thought you were buying me coffee?"

The partners walked in the one-six and up to the squad room. As they entered, Captain Donald Cragen was coming out of his office. He addressed all four detectives; Fin and Munch were sitting at their desks in the bullpen. "Just got a call from Morales at Computer Crimes. We have a new victim on the kiddy porn site we are trying to shut down with them."

Elliot couldn't believe it. There were already five male victims, the newest made six. He looked hard at his Captain. "How old is he?"

The Captain looked at the detective. "He's seven years old. We have a bigger problem." Cragen looked around at all the detectives. "The newest victim is Evan Winthrop."

Olivia's jaw dropped in shock. "He's the son of Richard and Vivian Winthrop. He was kidnapped from his bedroom last night. The story was on the front page of the Times this morning."

Cragen looked at his team. "I can't stress how high-profile this child pornography website case just became. The other five victims are just as important, but this case is about to make front-page news. The Winthrops' come from old New York money and have very influential friends, including the Mayor and the Chief of Detectives. I want everyone breathing this case until the site is shut down and all the victims are returned to their families. Fin, Munch, I want you to go to the Winthrop Brownstone on Central Park West and go over the crime scene where Evan was taken from last night. The detectives that initially caught the case are meeting you there to give you everything they have. Benson, Stabler, I want you to go down to One P.P. and find out where Morales and Jess are on finding the proprietor of the site, the location of where the site originates and how close they are to shutting it down."

The four detectives nodded to their captain and grabbed keys to their unmarked sedans. Cragen looked at his detectives. "People I want updates on everything. You don't so much as take a coffee break without calling it in to me."

As the detectives headed out of the bullpen they nodded again to their Captain and left the precinct with their assignments.

290 Central Park West

Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop

Friday August 14, 09:17

Munch and Fin had arrived at the Winthrop brownstone just as the other detectives had. The detectives that initially caught the case gave John and Fin everything they had and then left the scene. They reviewed the case notes before they walked up and rang the doorbell to the brownstone.

The detectives produced their badges to the housekeeper that answered the door.

"Hi, I'm Detective Munch, this is my partner Detective Tutuola. We need to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop."

The housekeeper looked withdrawn and allowed them accesses. "Please come in." She closed the door behind them. "I'll tell the Winthrops you are here." With that the housekeeper disappeared down a hall and around a corner; leaving Munch and Fin in the foyer.

Fin looked around at the sight before the detectives. "Nice digs."

Munch took in the mammoth mahogany staircase before them and the granite flooring. "You're tellin' me. It must be nice living on the two-hundred block of Central Park West."

He gave his partner a half smile as Munch looked at him. "You should ask Jess next time you see her."

Munch furrowed his brow. He had seen Jess's apartment when she was living on her own and it was nowhere near here. John also knew Olivia lived uptown, not on Central Park West. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The detective shook his head slightly. "Cabot lives up here. Jess said it was the three-hundred block, penthouse condo."

Munch raised his eyebrows. "The kid must love that. Liv's a lucky woman."

A man appeared in the hall and came towards the detectives. When he came into the foyer the man looked stunned but held out his hand to shake. "I'm Richard Winthrop"

Fin took the hand first. "I'm Detective Tutuola and this is my partner Detective Munch. We're from Manhattan's Special Victims Unit."

Munch shook Richard's hand. "Mr. Winthrop I know this is a very difficult time but we would like to ask you and your wife some questions."

Richard Winthrop shifted on his feet. "I'm not sure how much more my wife and I can tell you people about what happened. We already spoke with detectives."

Fin looked hard at Winthrop. There was something about him that made the detective un-easy. "I know, sir, and we're sorry about all this. Your son's case has been turned over to Special Victims Unit. We just need a few minutes of you and your wife's time. We were also hoping to see your son's bedroom."

Winthrop looked hard at the detectives; something that did not go unnoticed by either one. "Fine, if you must. We are in the study."

Richard turned and started to walk back down the hallway, waving for the detectives to follow him. Once inside the study Richard sat down next to his wife on a brown leather couch and motioned for the detectives to sit in club chairs across from the couch. "Vivian these are detectives Munch and Tutuola, they are with the Special Victims Unit. They are taking over Evan's case."

Vivian Winthrop looked disheveled. Her hair was out of place and her blouse was un-cuffed and the sleeves were rolled up. She had her legs tucked up under herself and a blanket pulled around her. Vivian nodded to the detectives but did not say anything.

Knowing what the detectives did about where Evan was now, more questions needed to be asked, different ones. It was fairly clear no ransom demand was ever going to come; it hadn't in the previous five cases. Who ever was kidnapping the young boys only wanted to abuse them, they hadn't returned any of the victims so far. Munch cleared his throat. "Can you two please tell us where you were and what you were doing last night between twelve and one AM?"

The wife started to cry. Richard shook his head at her, it appeared almost in disgust. "We were here, at home."

Fin looked hard at Richard Winthrop. Something wasn't right here. "Did you hear anything? The window being jimmied open?"

Vivian's crying became louder. Her husband looked at her and quickly tried to put his hand on her but she moved away so quickly that the blanket fell away from her, leaving her arms exposed.

"My wife is very upset. This has been a very difficult time for all of us. Can we please do this another time?"

Munch looked at Richard. "I'm sorry Mr. Winthrop but we would really like to finish this now. Did you hear anything upstairs last night?"

Richard glared at Munch. "No we did not! Don't you think if we had we would have gone up there?!"

Fin looked at Vivian. There were fresh bruises on her wrists and forearms. He glanced at Richard. "What were you doing at home last night? Why weren't you in bed yet, it was late."

Richard turned his glare to Fin. "My wife and I are night-hawks...insomnia the doctors call it. We were up talking."

Fin squinted his eyes at Richard. "Talking or arguing?"

The husband looked hard at the detective. "We were talking and I resent the accusation detective. My wife and I have a very loving relationship."

Munch looked at Vivian and saw the bruises. He had also been married enough times to know that no marriage is without its arguments. "If you were just talking how could you not hear footsteps upstairs?"

Richard turned his attention to Munch. "It's a big house detective. I think we are done here. I can have Isabella show you to my son's room before she sees you out."

He called for Isabella. She arrived in the study within a minute and took the detectives upstairs at the behest of her boss. Munch and Fin went over the crime scene and sweet talked Isabella into letting them go up to the roof.

One Hogan Place

Office of A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot

Friday August 14, 09:00

Alex was not due in court until the afternoon but was behind on the prep for her next case. Her cell phone interrupted her paper work and her thoughts.

"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips
Faith and desire in the swing of your hips
Just pull me down hard
And drown me in love"

The sides of Alex's mouth tugged up into a smile and her eyes softened as the ring tone played. She loved Olivia Benson more than life itself. How did it get so complicated? "Hey you."

Olivia smiled on the other end, she could tell by Alex's tone she was smiling. "Hey you, how are you doing?"

Alex sat back in her chair slightly taken aback; Olivia had not asked her that in a long time. The phone calls between the two had been limited to who is staying home with or picking up Jess; that and an endless string of canceled plans with the other. "Prepping for the D'Angelo case this afternoon; Jess had me up late two nights ago playing a video game until we eventually settled down. I started going through the case and she was working on the kiddy porn website stuff."

Olivia giggled. "She outlasted you didn't she?"

Alex laughed and shook her head. "Jessie woke me up at twelve-ten that night on the couch. She said I was snoring and she couldn't concentrate. We went to bed shortly after that. I didn't get through nearly enough last night to prep for today."

Olivia smiled and shook her head. She had never known Alex to let anything play second fiddle to her work. Hearing her say that she had been playing with Jess instead of working made Olivia realize how much had changed for the women. She had asked so much of Alex over the last three months and she had come through for her in spades. How had things gone so wrong? How had she and Alex drifted so far apart? "You don't snore, you breathe heavily and it's cute. What video game did Jessie make you play?"

Alex giggled, not only at the comment but also as she recalled. "Don't laugh. Dance, Dance, Revaluation."

It was too late the detective was already in stitches. "You bailed on prepping a case to play that dancing game on the mats that sound like you are walking on diapers?"

Alex threw her head back in laughter; partly because hearing it said out loud was funny and partly because she had not heard Olivia's unbridled laugher in ages. "Okay, okay yes! I know it is lame but I love playing that game with her. I'm not good at Rockband, you are. Let Jessie and I have DDR!"

Although Alex was joking around it dawned on Olivia right then that very soon the women would have to share Jess in a way they never had. Alex and Jess were attached at the hip; it would be heartbreaking for either not to see the other. Olivia tried to hide the sadness she felt all of a sudden by smiling as she spoke. "All right, you and Jessie can have your DDR. I think it's cute that you ditched work to play with her."

Alex felt the shift in Olivia's emotion. Her detective was upset and was trying to cover it up. She looked down and sighed. Olivia was Jess's guardian and although Alex had no legal right to the teen she desperately wanted to continue to be in her life once she and Olivia broke up. "I love playing with Jessie. Hearing her laugh it…it makes the shitty parts of life fall away for a few minutes. I really don't know what I would do without her."

Olivia looked out the window of the sedan. She hadn't indented on having such a personal conversation with her partner beside her. "That won't happen, Alex. You can see her as often as you want. I promise I won't keep the two of you apart. It would break Jessie's heart not to see you."

Tears welled up in Alex's eyes. "Thank-you, Liv. I really…I really appreciate that. What time do you think you might be getting off work tonight? I'd like to cook dinner for you."

Olivia choked back tears at hearing Alex's tone; it was genuine. "Actually that's why I called; I might be working late tonight."

Alex sighed on the other end of the phone. Even with the offer of a last-ditch-effort for dinner Olivia was still unable to give up just a little bit in order to be with her. It didn't surprise her, but it hurt all the same. "What's up?"

The detective sighed knowing how this must sound to Alex. "The kiddy porn website posted a new video with a new victim this morning."

Alex's tone shifted. "Oh, God."

Olivia nodded mindlessly. "Alex, the newest victim is Evan Winthrop. He wasn't taken for the Winthrop's money. He was taken by the psychopath from the website."

The A.D.A.'s left hand went to her mouth. "Oh God, no."

Computer Crimes

One Police Plaza

Friday August 14, 09:45

Elliot parked the sedan in the underground parking garage of One P.P. He and his partner rode the elevator up to third floor and entered the unmarked door that let to Morales' and now Jess's office. Morales looked up first. "Hey Stabler, hey Benson"

The detectives nodded at Morales. Olivia went over to Jess and Elliot walked over to Morales. "Whatta got, Morales?"

Morales shook his head. "It isn't want I have; it's what Jess has" as he nodded to the teen.

Jess was sitting in her chair at her desk, staring hard at the screen of the laptop in front of her; she had not seen or heard the detectives come in. She was typing so fast it was hard for the detective to believe she was typing anything but gibberish.

Olivia sidled up to Jess and stood beside her, in her personal space. It took about five seconds but Jess stopped typing dead in her tracks having taken in the detective's scent. There was just something about the faint scent of Olivia's perfumes that made the young woman stop whatever she was doing and always instantly made her happy and feel safe.

She did not take her fingers off the keyboard nor did she take her eyes off the laptops screen. Jess simply leaned the side of her head to the left. It made contact with the side of Olivia's thigh. The younger woman leaned the full weight of her head against the detective's leg and closed her eyes slowly. Jess did not know what to say to her. She knew she had totally over-reacted in the kitchen that morning, but she had no other choice. Olivia placed a hand on top of Jess's head and ran it gently over the incredibly soft blonde curls until she found the side of the child's neck. The detective held Jess's head carefully and tickled her neck.

Jess giggled at Olivia's light touch. "I'm sorry about this morning."

Olivia looked down at the young blonde, still tickling her gently. "I know."

She looked up at the brunette and opened her eyes. "Livie, I really am sorry. I didn't mean it. I mean I do want to move but I didn't mean to call you and Ally by your whole names."

The detective smiled at Jess. "I know sweetheart, we both know. We can talk about it tonight. What have you got on the website?"

Jess was surprised at the ease in Olivia's tone. The detective usually rode the young woman pretty hard; Jess respected that and responded well to it. Aside from her gentle touch it was how Olivia showed her love for Jess. The teenage was skeptical of the ease the detective demonstrated. She turned her attention back to the laptop and motioned with her right hand for Elliot and Morales to come closer. Olivia let her hand fall away from Jess as the young woman straightened up in her chair. Jess ran her fingers over the keyboard and the website SVU was trying to shut down appeared. "Well, the first post of Evan Winthrop went up this morning around eight-fifteen. There is a ton of chatter about him on the website, which I attribute to his pedigree and to the fact that his abduction made the front page of many papers world wide."

The teen clicked a link on the site and the video of Evan Winthrop popped up and started in front of everyone. The little boy was on a bed, clad only in his underpants. A man entered the frame from the left and sat down on the bed beside the child, with his back to the camera. Evan flinched as the man put out his hand to touch the little boy on the head. The unidentified man patted Evan on the head and caressed his tiny face. The child visibly whimpered and shied away from the man. The pedophile must have said something to Evan because he laid down on the bed. There was no audio with the video so there was no way of knowing what was said, if anything. The predator ran his right hand over the boy, starting with his face and ending between the child's legs.

Elliot ran his right hand over his face. "I can't watch this anymore."

Evan started to cry. The man on the bed caressed the little boy's face again; wiped away a few tears got up and walked out of frame. The video ended there.

Olivia could not believe what she had just witnessed. They had to shut this down, now. "How close are we to finding the origin of this website?"

Jess closed the window the video had played in as well as the window that housed the website. This left up on the screen a very DOS looking window, with a curser flashing at the end of some letters, numbers and backslashes. "Look, the proprietor of this website is good. When I say good I mean they are a fuckin' genius and it's obvious that they have hired extremely good people to set up the website and maintain it. They are using proxy servers from all over the world to evade us, which isn't new news. I gave up on beating the proxy servers two days ago, there are too many and they seem to be different every day. I decided to take a new approach on finding our suspect."

Morales looked surprised, he knew Jess had done nothing but eat, sleep and breath this case since he gave up and let her sink her teeth into it. He had told her to use every trick she knew in order to infiltrate the site and take it down. Morales had also told Jess to keep him updated on her progress. She had failed to mention any new approach.

Elliot looked down at Jess. "What is your new approach?"

Jess swiveled in her chair and looked up to face the two detectives and her superior. "While I was being bounced around proxy servers I found some very odd strings of numbers. They meant nothing to me at the time. However when I went back and looked at them again I thought they might be some kind of a code. The more I worked with the numbers the clearer the codes became. The numbers were three IP addresses. I used some back door magic and found two email addresses that appear to be sending messages back and forth from those address. Those I typed into an email tracing program in order to find their origins."

Morales was in awe more than anything. He had forgotten that Jess had not updated him and was engrossed with what the young woman had done. "Did the program spit out the origins yet?"

The laptop beeped and the flashing curser moved across the screen as it laid down an address. Jess turned in her chair and looked hard at the screen. "I think it just did. The program should give us the sender's geographical location, and the company providing Internet service for the IP addresses." Jess squinted as she read out loud the information the computer had given them. "It only gave an address for one IP and email address. You're looking for a location in Chelsea, 276 9th Avenue, apartment six-thirty. It's at 9th and West 26th Street." She turned a looked at the detectives.

Elliot looked down at her. "I don't understand a lot of what just happened here. What are we going to find at the address in Chelsea?"

Olivia finished writing the address on a note pad. She looked up and at her partner. "We'll find either the proprietor of the website or the second in command."

He looked from Jess to Olivia and back to the teen. She nodded to him. "And is this enough for probable cause?"

Jess nodded again. "Yeah, it should be. Run it by Ally first, though."

Elliot looked to Morales for confirmation. Morales looked away from Jess for the first time and made eye contact with Stabler. "Jess, will have to testify in court and explain her process but yes it is enough for probable cause."

The detective hugged Jess. "Good work kid." He let go of her and looked at Olivia. "Let's roll."

Olivia bent down and hugged Jess. "Love ya, Jessie. Nice work. We'll go back to the squad and run the address."

The detectives left the office and Morales looked down at Jess. "Nice work Rook"

Jess smiled at him and nodded.

Manhattan SVU Squad Room

Friday August 14, 11:00

Stabler and Benson walked through the door and into the bullpen of the one-six. Munch and Fin were at their desks. Through some kind of a sixth sense Captain Cragen sidled out of his office and into the bullpen knowing that all of his detectives were back in the squad room. "Whatta we got people?"

Elliot sat down in his chair and leaned back. "An address"

Olivia sat down and turned slightly to the right in order to be able to make eye contact with Cragen. "The street address that should lead us to the ringleader or the second in command."

Cragen looked at Benson surprised. "How did we acquire this piece of information?"

The detective gave her Captain a small crooked smile. "Jess came through for us. She worked her ass off and found three IP addresses. That led to two email addresses. She traced one of the email addresses to an address in Chelsea."

Cragen nodded and gave a half smile. "Remind me to get her a gift card to iTunes." He turned his attention to Fin and Munch. "What did you get from the Winthrops?"

Munch looked at him. "Not much. They were not real forthcoming with information. Not last night when they gave their initial statements and not today when we questioned them again. The perp repelled off the roof of their brownstone, jimmied the window in Evan's room open and entered the home."

Fin looked at his Captain. "Evan must have been asleep because there were no signs of a struggle. The perp must have grabbed him and repelled down to the street."

Stabler looked around at everyone. "That can't be the whole story. Even if Evan was sleeping he would have woken up at some point."

Munch looked at Stabler and then around at everyone else. "We thought of that. The perp must have subdued the victim some how. Chloroform maybe, something that would have taken effect instantly."

Benson looked from Munch to Fin. "And the parents never heard anything from Evan's room? No footsteps, not the window?"

Fin looked at Olivia and shook his head. "They deny hearing anything, claim they were downstairs talking."

Elliot squinted his eyes at Fin. "You don't' believe them?"

He looked at Elliot and then to everyone else. "I ain't buying that they were talking. Mrs. Winthrop had fresh bruises on her."

Elliot leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. "You're telling me that Mr. Winthrop's defense for not hearing his only child being abducted upstairs was because he was beating his wife downstairs?"

Fin nodded and Munch said, "Looks that way."

Benson looked at her co-workers with a raised right eyebrow and said in a sarcastic tone, "Well this guy is a real prince, isn't he?"

Cragen looked at her and then to everyone else. "His royal linage aside", he said in a very dry tone. "The chances of Mr. Winthrop having anything to do with his son's abduction are very small at this point. We need to go after the people behind the website. Run the address in Chelsea. Call Cabot for a search warrant and then the four of you pick up anyone at the address. I want everything in the residence seized. The Winthrop family is a very powerful one. If it hits the papers that Evan is on the website we will lose any amenity we have in trying to shut it down."

Stabler ran the address Jess had given them. It came back to a man named Ronald Blaze. Benson called Alex and asked her to come to the squad regarding a search warrant. Munch ran Blaze's social security number and Fin ran him through the DMV.