Fic: Different (1a/?)
Title: Different
Rating: PG
Summary: Everything becomes different after an unexpected move by Alex.
A/N: This story is a collaborative effort between bluebriefs and Hobbes. It might as well have been titled 'Finally' for the time it took us to write this.
The SVU world here becomes parallel to canon post ‘Guilt’.
Let us know how we’re doing - we like feedback. It tells us if people actually want to read more.
Disclaimer: We don’t own the characters that we don’t own. Everything else comes from our demented minds.
Different
by bluebriefs & Hobbes
Prologue
Alexandra Cabot was not Olivia Benson's favorite person.
When they'd first met Olivia had pegged Cabot as a snotty do gooder. The clothes can indeed make the woman and Ms. Cabot's told Olivia that she either had family money or a sugar daddy. The fact that the ADA wasn’t bitching about being assigned to babysit the panty police led Olivia to conclude that it was the former and that Cabot was looking to 'give back to society' by defending the downtrodden.
Olivia attempted to not pass judgment on her new ADA. "Help had to come from somewhere" wasn’t a bad motto for the SVU team even if it presented itself in the form of a frosty blonde. It was the attitude that usually came with the assistance kept the detectives from truly warming to the lawyer.
But it didn't take long for Olivia to realize that she'd read Alexandra Cabot wrong. The lawyer had taken on the low-paying, high stress job because of the exposure it afforded her. Prosecuting sex crimes will put your face in the papers and pave the route to the DA's chair. Olivia realized that Cabot intended on making political hay while serving as the SVU's ADA and wasn't going to be apologetic about it.
Then a boy named Sam Cavanaugh changed everything.
At his mother's urging Sam had reluctantly come forward to expose Roy Barnett, a man who had sexually abused him for years. The detectives soon learned that there'd been other victims before Sam and probably more that followed. It had taken time but the determined ADA had managed to coax Sam into testifying against Barnett.
Sam was a bright kid, but it had been incredibly difficult to confront the abuse he'd been subjected to. Even harder still was escaping the twisted psychological clutches of Barnett. Burdened with shame and convinced that he was sick for feeling sympathy for his abuser, Sam tried to kill himself by overdosing before the trial even began. Baring a miracle, Sam would be comatose for the rest of his life.
Following Sam’s attempted suicide, Alex Cabot became Hell bent on putting Barnett away. She played every card in her hand and occasionally dealt them from the bottom of the deck. Her maneuvers, legal and illegal, were some that just a week before she wouldn't even have contemplated.
Thinking back, Olivia wasn't surprised by the woman's tenacity; guilt was a fantastic motivator. But she was in disbelief after learning that Cabot had managed to manipulate her and her partner, Elliot Stabler, into executing an illegal search to get her the evidence needed to bury Barnett.
Although she’d made sure the detectives were shielded throughout the subterfuge, the two cops did not appreciate being made to look like tools. Elliot had had other choice words to describe how he felt about the whole thing. Olivia's cooler head prevailed and they said nothing to Cabot until they both managed to calm down.
Cooling off took four days then Olivia called the lawyer up to see if she would like to have lunch. Cabot with nothing better to do, since said legal maneuvers had gotten her suspended for a month, agreed.
The meal had been tense, to say the least. The blonde looked different when she wasn't in one of her power suits. She sat across from Olivia and listened in silence. Cabot seemed to appreciate the cop’s terse mini lecture on trust. It wasn’t a dressing down, not in the way Elliot had at first envisioned.
In the end, Alexandra Cabot apologized for her actions but the detective waved off the apology. She reminded Cabot about what the lawyer had said the day before going off to arraign Barnett.
Olivia did not say so in her rebuke but she would have found it more admirable had the lawyer's guilt not been the driving force in seeking justice for Sam Cavanaugh. It had been a costly lesson on how to better deal with victims; things would be different from now on.
A couple of days after the peacemaking meal, the suspended lawyer gathered up the nerve to walk into the SVU squad room. She surveyed the bullpen. Elliot was nowhere to be seen while Munch and Fin were at their desks arguing over a topic that Alex couldn’t quite discern. Her glance settled on Olivia, jaw clenched, scowling at the file she was reading. The detective looked up in surprise at the blonde who was standing by her desk and then glanced over at the clock.
Cragen came out of the interrogation room, saw Alex and told her and Olivia both to clear out ASAP.
"What was that all about?" Alex asked as they made haste in their exit.
"Trust me, you don't wanna meet your useless replacement," Olivia answered.
"Useless?" Elizabeth Donnelly didn’t tolerate mediocrity let alone incompetence.
"A loaner from Tax Fraud. I always thought that red heads were supposed to be fiery. PT's got about as much fire as the Atlantic," Olivia declared blithely. A loud horn sounded from the corner but neither woman reacted as they crossed the busy street.
"PT? Paula Tracy?" Alex asked, somewhat horrified.
"You know her?"
"By reputation. She's known to favor cutting deals before even setting eyes on a case file. The rest of us can't decide if it makes us look better or if we should consider a career in embezzlement."
"Yeah, well, she threw me out of the box yesterday when I told the perp that I thought he'd make a sweet girl for his Rikers roomie," Olivia groused.
Alex threw Olivia a sideway glance.
"Not much of a threat there, detective. Losing your touch?"
They stopped at a nearby diner and Olivia opened the door for the blonde.
"They can't all be home runs," Olivia said as she followed Alex in. "Sometimes you settle for a sacrifice to move your team mates."
"And who were you moving?"
"Elliot crossed home by making friends with the perv. The bastard's in there today spilling his guts when you walked in. Tracy's on her way over. Still looking to plead him out I bet."
Their conversation about ADA Tracy ended when they slid into a cramped booth. Olivia refused to speak about work again. Instead, she turned her considerable interrogation skills on the lawyer.
Alex was amused by the detective's non attempt at hiding what she was doing and unreservedly fielded the questions Olivia was throwing at her. Their professional relationship didn’t afford them many opportunities to indulge in socializing. They discussed their lives briefly over a quick meal before Olivia abandoned her with the check.
The next morning, Alex received a call from Elliot Stabler who didn’t dabble in small talk over the phone as he asked, straight to the point, if she was up for lunch. Though surprised and a little wary, she accepted. They ended up at the same crappy diner but this detective at least paid for their soups and sandwiches.
Munch stepped up when Olivia was unable to get away the next week. He led Alex to the hot dog vendor around the corner from the precinct house. After a long hour with John Munch that ended with the detective calling out "Later, Teflon!" and getting a slap on her back, Alex couldn’t decide if he should be committed or not.
When Fin Tutuola called next she demanded to know if there was a conspiracy by the squad to fatten her up. He admitted that she didn’t have enough back for his taste but pointed out that her mention of conspiracy was frightening since she'd only been exposed to Munch for a short time. Alex then discovered that it was Munch who needled his partner into making the invite. The threesome ended up with Cuban takeout in the upper level of the squad room.
Cragen took Alex to the Greek restaurant on the day where every one of his detectives were out on a bust. Finally, the Captain hinted that these lunches might be a thank you from the squad for going the extra mile for Sam. Then again they may just be slowly poisoning her, he appended.
Alex received invitations for lunch with each of her detectives a couple more times over the course of the month, but Olivia Benson consistently met with her twice a week. Slowly over coffee, bad sandwiches, good ice cream and conversations that were completely unrelated to work the ice thawed between them.
Two days before Alex was reinstated they'd sat on a park bench working on their salads when Olivia told her something that she wouldn’t soon forget:
"I think that the power-hungry, ambitious bitch, Alexandra Cabot has no place in the Special Victims Unit. Alex ain't so bad though."