Chapter Text
“Mom, can I go see the ducks?” Jon says to me with a smile on his face that could melt the coldest of hearts.
“Stay where I can see you.” I tell him smiling as he jumps up and runs towards the pond to get a closer look at them. Of all the accomplishments in my life I would have to say he is by far my greatest accomplishment. I watch him closely as well as the other people that are near him. Over the last year, being assigned to SVU, has taught me the dangers of the world although I really didn’t need it. I was introduced to those dangers in my early twenties but now I can give someone the peace I never got.
“Did you see? Did you see?” he screams as he comes running back to me and flings himself into my arms and I catch him with ease and lift him higher in the air causing him to laugh and scream at the same time. “Mom, the ice cream man is here, can I have some today? Can I?”
“Sure” I tell him setting him down and slowly getting up from my spot “Do you want chocolate this time?”
“Yes” he says jumping with excitement that is infectious.
We make our way to the ice cream vendor and wait our turn in line. Once there I release his hand to look at the selections so I can choose the flavor I want. Once I have decided I order both our cones and pay for them before accepting the cones. I turn to give Jon his, but he is no longer by me. I look around quickly trying to quell the fear starting in my stomach.
“Jon, where are you?” I call out as calmly as I can “You know better than to sneak away from me.”
I search the crowd and still don’t see him and now the fear I had kept at bay is starting to rise. With years of experience, I begin to move through the crowd quickly scanning the crowd looking for my son. I am fighting a panic attack when my eyes fall on him a few feet from me in the grass. There is a man, small man, that has squatted down in front of him, and I see tears streaming down his face. The panic I felt is now replaced with pure fury as I march to the person with my son.
“Get the hell away from him” I say in the most controlled tone I can muster from within me as I drop the ice cream cones and pull my purse back to strike the individual with my son. I swing as hard as I can and I know I have connected when I hear a crunch and the man cry out. I reach forward and snatch Jon roughly by the arm and jerk him behind me, once again pulling my purse back to hit the man again.
“Police stop” I hear from a voice behind me, and I drop my purse from the attack position and move towards the officer “I am Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot, and this man had my son. I do not know who he is nor do I care.”
“Do you have identification?” The officer says as he nods at his partner to move towards the individual I just nailed with my purse.
“It is in my purse, but I want to let you know that I also have a weapon in there. Can I hand you my purse to retrieve my weapon first and then I will retrieve my ID for you.” I tell the man extending my arm to hand the purse to the officer as Jon grips me with a death grip around my leg. I use my free arm to wrap it around him in a comforting manner. Once the officer has removed my firearm he hands me back my purse and I hand him my state issued ID as well as my firearm permit and District Attorney badge. He takes all three and looks them over as his partner comes over and whispers something in his ear.
“Ma’am” the officer whose name plate says Reagan “The individual you attacked is an officer and was helping your son who got separated from you. You just assaulted an officer in front of us. No matter the reason we are taking you into custody.”
“I didn’t know” I tell the officers “I work with SVU and the worse image possible started going through my mind.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Reagan tells me as he pulls his handcuffs from the pouch and makes a move towards me.
“Don’t take my mom” Jon cries as he grips my legs tighter and I can feel him shake with fear.
“Leave her alone” I hear a voice that I would know anywhere and close my eyes as I curse the Lord above.
“Detective we witnessed the assault.” Reagan says standing taller as if to challenge the order he was given.
“And I out rank you and I am ordering you to leave her alone.” She says as she walks around me holding her face with blood pouring out of her hands. I realize then the person, who I thought was a small man, was Detective Olivia Benson, one of the detectives assigned to the unit I work with. “This was a misunderstanding, and as the victim I refuse to press charges. If you try to go against me and arrest her in front of her son, I will make sure you spend the rest of your career being a meter maid are we clear.”
“Ma’am” the officer with my ID, whose name plate reads Reyes, starts to say but is quickly cut off by Olivia.
“It’s detective” she says in the tone she uses with suspects “Take a look at the scene around you. That little boy has a death grip on her leg and is absolutely terrified. She saw me talking with her son and didn’t recognize me and became protective. Considering the cases we work I don’t blame her one bit.”
“Yes, Detective” Reyes says handing me my credentials and weapon back which I secure quickly in my purse “Are you sure you don’t want me to call EMS for you. I think she broke your nose.”
“Oh, I know she broke it” she says and I pinch my eyes closed at hearing this “But I will be fine, it’s not my first broken nose and in this career I’m sure it won’t be my last either.”
The officers seem to accept what she is telling them and simply nod, a nod that I am sure is taught in the police academy and turn and leave without saying anything else. She waits until they are out of sight before turning to me.
“Alex, I’m sorry” she says as she shrugs out of her shirt leaving herself in a wife beater and giving me a better view of her well defined almost muscular body. She rips a sleeve off the shirt and quickly presses it to her nose that is still bleeding profusely. “He was alone and crying and I was trying to help him find his parents. Why am I just now discovering that you have a child?”
“It’s not something I tell people” I tell her as I glance down at him “I had him my junior year of college.”
“Well, he certainly has your eyes” she tells me glancing down at the miniature male version of myself. “Again, I’m sorry that I scared you like that.”
“No, it’s my fault I shouldn’t have attacked first.”
“Please, with the case we work and now knowing there’s a gun in that purse, I’m thankfully you didn’t use that instead.” She tells me as she squats down to talk to my son again “Hey little man, always make sure you are always near your mom or in her sight from here on out, ok.”
“Yes Ma’am” he mumbles to her as he looks up at me “I’m sorry mom, I won’t do it again.”
I smile down at him as I tussle his short blonde hair which causes him to smile up at me. I look up at her again and start to speak when I hear another voice and it’s one that I really wish wasn’t approaching at the moment.
“Daddy” Jon says as he releases my leg and runs towards Trevor who picks him up and swings him around before securing him against his body and continue towards us.
“Hey Alex, I’m sorry I’m late” Trevor says as he approaches us “Detective Benson, what happened to you.”
“Trevor” she says in a cold voice looking at him and then at me with hurt in her eyes “Nothing but a misunderstanding. I need to be on my way now.” She looks at me with a coldness in her eyes I haven’t seen since I started with the unit “I will see you Monday.”
With those words she turns and makes her way through the crowd in Central Park and despite my best efforts I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Why is she bleeding like that?” Trevor asks as he places Jon on the ground and grips his hand to keep him close to him. As much as I hate him professionally, I would have to say that personally, I love him for everything he’s done for me.
“I might have hit her with my purse not realizing it was her when she had Jon, who had gotten away from me, and broke it.” I tell him with a sheepish grin on my face.
“And you just let her walk away like that. Are you out of your mind?” He steps closer to me and lowers his voice so that only I can hear him “Alex, I have Jon, go talk to her and clear somethings up.”
“I owe you” I say as I place a quick kiss on his cheek and turn to make my way through the crowd.