12. Chapter 12

Trigger warning for child abuse.

"They've got her in the Gold Crowne Motel on 129th Street," Benson called out, motioning for her team to follow her, "Vest up, these guys are armed and extremely dangerous."

"NYPD!" Detective Carisi pounded on the flimsy motel room door, ECU and the rest of his team behind him. Upon a nod from his lieutenant, Carisi kicked open the door and entered the room. "Body!" he shouted, observing Hannigan's large figure slumped in the corner of the room.

"Clear." Rollins put down her weapon and glanced around the room, "Kate isn't in here."

"The gunshot wound looks self-inflicted," Benson reported, standing up from her crouched position in front of the deceased, "Maybe she got away?"

"One person says that he heard the gunshot about a half hour ago. That's more than enough time for the kid to make a break for it." Fin stated, poking his head into the crime scene.

"Canvas the building," Benson ordered, heading out the door, "She can't have gotten far."

Kate curled up in the corner of the basement, gingerly holding her left arm with her right. Her head was throbbing and her whole body ached, urging her to close her eyes. Bobby Hannigan had told her that Jackson was going to come back for her as he lifted the gun to his temple. She knew that she had to get out of that room as fast as possible. She could hear pounding footsteps in the distance and knew that Mr. P was going to get her soon. Kate cowered in the corner and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to not think about how Jay and Erin had been killed.

"Hey, Liv, I think she's down here!" Rollins called, carefully entering the basement as she caught sight of the shaking child at the far end of the room. "Kate?"

The little girl didn't make a sound and didn't open her eyes. "Kate?" Rollins asked again, stopping a few feet in front of her, "My name is Amanda, I'm a friend of Erin and Jay's. I'm here to help you, I promise."

Kate opened her eyes slowly, taking in the blurry figure in front of her. The woman wore a vest and held a gun in one hand. She gasped and tried to back away but had pressed her body as far into the wall as possible. "It's okay, sweetheart, I'm a Detective with the NYPD, just like your parents. They're really worried about you and are on their way to get you."

She shook her head adamantly, "No, Erin and Jay are dead. Mr. P said they got shot." Tears trailed down her pale cheeks as she regarded Amanda's kind expression.

"No, darling, he was lying to you." Amanda reached a hand out carefully, causing Kate to elicit a small squeak. "I promise that I'm not going to hurt you. I've worked with Erin and Jay before, and Detective Dawson and Sergeant Voight-"

"S-sergeant Voight?" Kate asked, becoming increasingly convinced that Amanda was someone she could trust, "You know him?"

"Mm-hm." Amanda smiled, "My boss, Olivia, is friends with him. And he's been out here and I've been out to Chicago to work with the Intelligence Unit."

Kate looked skeptically at Amanda, pulling her throbbing arm closer to her chest, "How do I know you're not kidding like Officer John?"

Amanda grimaced, realizing that the little girl had just been tricked by a criminal impersonating a police officer. She thought for a moment before reaching for her cell phone. Kate flinched backwards, anticipating that Amanda would hit her. The detective quickly raised her arms. "It's okay, I was just getting my cell phone to show you a picture." Amanda scrolled through her pictures before finding the image of the two units that came together in Chicago. It had been the first time the two units worked together, since the occasions with the sex trafficking ring or Yates and Nadia didn't warrant any picture taking. "See, that's me and Erin and Jay."

Kate observed the picture and let out a breath. "Does your arm hurt?" Amanda asked, noticing how Kate had her left arm cradled against her chest. The little girl nodded slowly, still deciding if she could trust the blonde detective.

"Hey Amanda, you got her?" Carisi burst into the basement, Fin on his heels. Kate let out a whimper and shrank back into the corner at the sight of the two men.

Amanda held up a hand to stop her team's advances. "Yeah. Get Liv, would you?" She smiled softly at Kate, holding up the picture again. "See this lady right here? That's my boss, Olivia, and she is good friends with Sergeant Voight. She's gonna give him a call."

Kate glanced nervously at the male members of SVU as they retreated from the basement. "C-can you call Erin and Jay?"

Amanda nodded, "I can try. I think they're on a plane to New York right now, so I might not be able to reach them, but we'll give it a shot, okay?" Kate nodded her assent and watched carefully as Amanda dialed Erin's number.

"Hey, you've reached Detective Erin Lindsay. Leave a message and I'll get back to you." Kate breathed another sigh of relief when she heard her mother's voice.

"Erin, it's Amanda Rollins. I'm here with Kate and she's okay. I'm assuming you're in the air right now but I'll try back in a bit." Amanda smiled at the little girl, whose breathing was evening out from terrified pants to softer wheezes. "See? Erin and Jay are on their way." The detective tentatively placed a hand on Kate's knee. "You know, I have a little girl of my own. Her name is Jesse and she's almost two years old."

Kate glanced over Amanda's shoulder and saw another woman advancing toward them. "Hey Liv." Amanda turned her head to greet her boss, "This is Kate. She's Erin and Jay's little girl." She turned back to Kate, "This is my boss, Olivia, and she's friends with Sergeant Voight."

"Hi Sweetheart." Olivia cooed, sinking to her knees beside Amanda. "It looks like you've got a bit of an ouchie there." The seasoned lieutenant gestured to Kate's left arm that was swollen and her other arm that was beginning to bruise. Kate looked up at the woman, eyes still wet with tears. "I just got off the phone with Sergeant Voight. He's so glad you're okay and he said that Erin and Jay should be in New York in a few hours."

"They're okay?" Kate asked quietly as another tear escaped out of the corner of her eye, "Erin and Jay?"

"Mm-hm, they're just fine. They can't wait to see you," Olivia paused, taking in the haggard appearance of the child in front of her, "Do you think you can come with me and Amanda? We should get your arm checked out and by then Jay and Erin should be in New York."

Kate nodded, carefully attempting to stand without having to use her injured arm. Amanda helped her up and then boosted the child into her arms. Kate leaned into her embrace thankfully, relieved that she was finally safe. The dull ache in her head slowly pulled her into a light sleep.

"Okay kiddo, can you hold out your arms for me?" A young female doctor at Bellevue Hospital was attempting to take a look at Kate's injured arms, but the little girl was reluctant to remove them from their place pressed against her chest.

"It's okay, darling. The doctor just needs to take a look." Amanda gently rubbed Kate's shoulder. She gingerly extended her arms, wincing in pain.

"Alrighty." The doctor examined Kate's left arm, and then her right, "Well, it looks like you might have a broken wrist and a nasty sprain. We're going to get you an x-ray just to be sure, sound good?"

Kate's eyes widened in fear at the mention of an x-ray. "It's just a picture of your arm, sweetie." Olivia reassured her, standing by the doorway. She had just spoken to Voight about the unknown whereabouts of Paul Jackson. While 'Uncle Bobby' may have been dead, the main offender was in the wind for the second time, which frustrated Voight to no end.

"W-when are Jay and Erin gonna be here?" Kate asked tearfully as the doctor flashed the light in her eyes. She drew back at the harsh light.

"Soon, sweetheart." Amanda promised. She looked at her boss, who nodded. "There was a big snowstorm in Chicago, so it took a little bit for them to take off, but they're on their way."

"Does your head hurt, Kate?" The doctor asked, making notes in the chart. The little girl nodded slowly. "Do you know if you hit your head?"

"Uncle Bobby hit me. And Mr. P." Kate whispered, tears now trickling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, baby, you don't have to be sorry." Amanda stroked Kate's back gently, "It's not your fault."

The doctor ordered a portable x-ray of both of Kate's arms and determined she had a fracture on the left and a sprain on the right. After putting on a splint and a hard cast, Kate was discharged with the diagnosis of a mild concussion and bruised ribs. They drew blood as well after Kate described her experience.

"I had juice and then I was sleepy. And I woke up and my head hurt. Uncle Bobby was there. And he hit me. I woke up and Mr. P was there and he was gonna hurt me but then the lady came in and he didn't. And then she told him that the police got the fake police man and I fell asleep and when I woke up Mr. P and Uncle Bobby were arguing." Kate reiterated her story to Olivia in her office back at the 16th precinct. She was sitting on the couch, arms propped up on two overstuffed pillows. "And then Mr. P left and Uncle Bobby said he was coming back to get me and Uncle Bobby shot himself," She shuddered at the traumatic memory, "And I went to hide." Kate looked up at the detective and the lieutenant nervously. They were sitting in front of her and watching her every move intently.

"Do you remember anything else?" Amanda asked, looking up from her notepad. Kate shook her head slowly, shifting her gaze from Amanda to Olivia.

"Does your head hurt?" Olivia stroked her cheek sympathetically. "You must be exhausted."

Kate shrugged and stifled a yawn. "I don't want to sleep." Her eyes filled with tears, "I just want Erin and Jay." Her voice cracked and tears spilled over her bruised cheek. "I want to go home."

"Their plane landed a little while ago, they'll be here soon." Olivia promised, just as knock came on her office door. Kate jumped and shrank back against the couch.

Amanda pulled open the door to reveal two breathless Chicago detectives. "Where is she?" Erin asked urgently, glancing around the office until her eyes fell on her little girl. "Oh, baby." Tears filled Erin's eyes as she made her way over to Kate, sinking down in front of the child. Jay followed on her heels, resting his hand on Erin's shoulder.

"Hey, Squirt." Jay swallowed thickly, taking note of the splint, cast and bruised cheekbone of his little girl.

"Mommy. Daddy." Kate leaned forward into Erin's arms. Erin burst into tears, holding her little girl tenderly in her embrace. Jay wrapped his arms around his girls and allowed a few tears to creep out of the corners of his eyes. "C-can I call you that?" Kate pulled back and looked from Jay to Erin nervously.

"Of course," Jay replied, placing a kiss on the crown of his baby's head, "I've been waiting to be your daddy my whole life," He kissed Erin's temple, "And Erin's going to be your forever mommy."

Jay's statement only caused Erin to cry harder, burying her face in her daughter's soft hair. "I am so glad we found you," Erin choked out, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I love you, Kate, so much."

"I love you too, Mommy." Kate turned her head and kissed her mother's cheek. She relaxed into Erin's embrace, allowing the gentle ministrations of her father to lull her to sleep.

"A concussion and two broken arms?" Hank couldn't believe what he was hearing from his detective. "I swear to God, when I get my hands on that bastard-"

"I know," Erin mused, sitting next to Jay on the couch in Olivia's living room. Kate was fast asleep on his shoulder and she was running her fingers through the little girl's snarled locks. It was well after four in the morning and their flight wasn't scheduled to leave until nine. Olivia graciously offered her apartment to rest before heading back to Chicago while she remained at the precinct, closing up the case on Bobby Hannigan. Her son, Noah, and his babysitter Lucy were asleep in his bedroom, and Erin and Jay were trying to be as quiet as possible.

Kate had been exhausted and finally succumbed to sleep in Jay's arms after retelling her story for the third time that day. Both Jay and Erin were immensely relieved to have their little girl back, ecstatic that she was calling them Mommy and Daddy and broken hearted at how she had been treated. "Poor thing has got to be in a ton of pain," Jay murmured after Erin hung up the phone and snuggled into his shoulder, "When we get him, I'm going to need fifteen minutes in the cage."

"I don't think Hank will let him make it to the district." Erin sighed, "At least that god-awful 'Uncle Bobby' is dead. And they've got the fake officer in custody. Barba's going for ten to fifteen for kidnapping in the first."

"Good. I hope he rots." Jay spat, quickly lowering his voice as Kate stirred on his shoulder, "I just want to get her home and never let her out of my sight again."

Erin nodded in agreement. "I don't know if she'll be able to go back to preschool. I mean, this experience on top of everything else she's gone through?" Tears filled Erin's eyes, "Every time I think about how strong she is, I get angry because she shouldn't have to be so brave."

"I know, babe," Jay pressed a kiss in Erin's hair, "I know. But we got her now, and she's ours."

"Is it okay that she calls me Mommy?" Erin turned to her partner, lines of worry etched on her face, "I mean, we're not married and she's your biological daughter-"

"Erin, nothing has ever made me happier," Jay leaned over and kissed her lips, "I want us to be a family. I want to give her the best life possible, and that includes you."

Erin smiled, cuddling back against Jay's shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Jay wound an arm around Erin's shoulders, pulling her closer to him and Kate.

Quick note: This story is going to be around ~30ish chapters. I have most of it already written and know how it ends BUT i need a chapter or two to bring it all together. SOOOO if anyone has any ideas they would like to see/think would be good, hit me up. If I end up using it i would hundo p give ya credit. pce n thx