Chapter Two-Hundred-Nineteen
When Kori had managed to calm Spencer down, he lifted his head from her shoulder and at Scott who stood close protectively.
“Hey buddy…” Scott spoke gently and he reached out and ruffled his hair while smiling some. Spencer reached for him and Scott looked at Kori questioningly. Kori nodded quietly and Scott gently took Spencer from her and held him close to him. Spencer slid his arms around his neck and rested his head against his shoulder. Despite everything that just happened Kori can tell that he feels safe with Scott. Maybe AJ was right…maybe that bond between father and son really is there. Whether Spencer knows it or not. Just then Detective’s Stabler, Benson, Tutuola, and Munch came running around the corner.
“What do we have here AJ?” Detective Stabler questioned.
“These two guys attacked Scott and Spencer,” AJ answered, pointing to Scott and Spencer. Detective Stabler’s eyes fell on Scott’s injuries.
“Munch, Fin, you two handcuff them and take them into the station – interrogate them. Liv and I will stay here and question these two.”
“Okay,” Munch replied and the two of them put the two baddies that Laney and Marcus continued to restrain into handcuffs and then they grabbed them and led them toward the store exit reading them their rights as they go. Detective Stabler rounded on Scott, who still remains quite a mystery to him. He is just dying to get to know him.
“Not here…please. Spencer is terrified, I think we need to get him home where he feels safe first.” Scott pleaded. Kori raised her eyebrow at Scott a little taken aback at how fatherly that sounded and then she looked at Detective Stabler.
“Yeah Elliot I agree. You aren’t interrogating my son until he feels safe.” Detective Stabler nodded.
“We need to go to your house anyway. Nick just called me and asked me to come, I was just on my way there when AJ called.”
“What’s happened?” Kori asked immediately thinking the worst. “Is my sister okay?”
“Ashley is fine…” Detective Benson spoke up in a soothing tone. “It’s Ellie. She was nearly hit by a car and Ashley thinks it was someone working for Sean.”
“Or someone going against Sean. Sean would never have his daughter killed – he was horrible to her, but he would never kill her,” Scott spoke up. “I think there are a lot of baddies out there that are angry with Sean…those two who attacked me said they were, and that Sean didn’t even know they were here.”
“You seem well educated about the relationship between Sean and his daughter…do you mind explaining how that is when we were informed that you stopped working for him when Kori had? Cause Kori didn’t even know about Ellie being his daughter until he tried to take her from Kevin the day he snuck into the orphanage disguised.”
“I will be happy to tell you anything you want to know when we get Spencer home. I’ve got nothing to hide – I am on your side,” Scott replied, looking Detective Stabler straight in the eye to show him just how serious he is, and that he is not hiding anything.
“We’ll see about that…” Scott continued to look at Detective Stabler seriously, unfazed by his doubt as he will do anything to clear his bad name from when he was thirteen. “Anyway, we really need to get going. I told Nick Id be there,” Detective Stabler reminded, and they all headed for the exit – AJ with the cart of groceries that he had already paid for. They unloaded everything into Wiley’s car and when they finished, AJ got in the driver’s seat after insisting Kori give up her keys and she sat in the passenger’s seat after buckling Spencer into his car seat and AJ drove off toward the house. Detective Stabler and Benson got in their own car and they waited for Scott to get in his, and then pull in front of them so that he was following AJ and then the detectives followed him. When they all arrived at the house, Nick raised his eyebrow at the sight of Scott coming in behind AJ and Kori, as he wasn’t expecting him. AJ and Kori got out of the car, Kori going around and getting Spencer out.
“What’s going on?” he asked curiously.
“Some old…friends…tried to kidnap Spencer from Scott’s arms in the store,” Kori answered, regretting having to call them ‘friends’ but sadly, that’s what they were.
“Oh my god…is he okay?” Ashley asked worriedly, and she rushed over to Kori and checked her nephew over. Kori nodded.
“Just scared.”
“I’ll bet…” Ashley replied softly and she gently took Spencer from her and hugged her close.
“What was Scott doing at the store?” Nick asked suspiciously, as he eyed Scott who had gotten out of the car and joined Kori’s side.
“Shopping – until I saw these three walk in and went up to them. Kori let me take my buddy here to go and look at toys…and then those two guys showed up and ruined my moment.” Nick narrowed his eyes.
“They just showed up huh? Out of nowhere?”
“Leave the interrogating to me Nick, I’ve been dying to get to know Scott for awhile now,” Detective Stabler spoke before Scott could open his mouth to reply. Detective Stabler looked at his partner then.
“Liv, you take care of the situation with Ellie, I’ll take care of Scott.”
“Got it,” Detective Benson replied, and Detective Stabler looked at Ashley.
“Where can we go to talk?” he asked gently.
“Will the living room be fine?” Ashley replied and she began leading the way, wrapping an arm around Scott as she did. Scott grinned and wrapped an arm around her too and kissed the top of her head. Detective Stabler made sure to make note that Ashley trusts him – and seems pretty close to him too. So what does that mean? Either her guard is starting to officially come down, or Scott is a good guy. When they were inside the house she led them through the kitchen and into the living room where Brian was vacuuming. He turned the vacuum off at the sight of the new people entering the room and looked at Detective Stabler curiously. Ashley wrapped her arm around him.
“Come outside Bri, everybody is taking a break,” she told him and she steered him back outside leaving Detective Stabler and Scott alone, though she made sure to give Scott a reassuring look. She knows he didn’t do anything wrong. Detective Stabler waited until he heard the front door shut and then he rounded on Scott.
“How did you know those two guys? What are their names?”
“Todd Green and Benjamin Doormen. They were working for Sean, but according to them they were at that store today without his knowledge and would love it if he lashed out at them for breaking the rules because they’re just dying to have a go with him. Which brings me to wonder if Sean has pissed off one too many people.”
“And you worked with them in the past?” Scott nodded.
“You have to understand that I am exactly like Kori – I am just trying to clear my bad name. I made a lot of mistakes when I was thirteen that I am not proud of…I walked away when she did, and haven’t been apart of that stuff ever since.”
“Which brings me to my next question. Why are you so educated of Sean and Elenore’s relationship when Kori knew nothing about Ellie until she came back?”
“Because…unlike Kori, I still kept up with what Sean was doing. I was afraid of him coming after me and most importantly I was afraid for Kori and my son every day. So I looked out for them…from a distance.”
“But you couldn’t be there for them in person?”
“Like I said…I made mistakes I’m not proud of. Leaving Spencer was the biggest mistake I ever made, I see that now.” Detective Stabler stared Scott down with narrowed eyes, clearly not pleased with him in the least bit.
“Yes it was. That little boy deserves so much more then a father from a distance. I just don’t see how people can walk away from their own flesh and blood like that, it’s wrong. I would never be caught dead doing that.”
“With all do respect sir…you weren’t thirteen years old when your wife had your kids. You have no idea of the fear that it brings you.”
“Even so, I would still do my best for the sake of my child.”
“You’re right. I was a horrible person when I was thirteen. But I am here now and I am not going anywhere. I’ve grown up a lot since then and have gotten my priorities straight. Spencer is the most important thing in my life and I am not going anywhere.” Detective Stabler continued to stare at him for a few moments and then he changed the subject.
“Fine then. How do you explain the fact that you knew personal stuff about Sean? Like the fact that he would never kill Ellie?”
“Because I know Sean. I worked with him once, remember? One thing he liked about me is that I understood him – we clicked well. His father was abusive when he was a kid which is a big reason why he is the way he is today. Which is why he treats Ellie the way he did. I wasn’t around when Ellie was born but like I said I still kept up with him. I knew of her. He loved his daughter; he just didn’t know how to show it. And the reason I know that is because his most important rule that he enforces more then any of his others is that no one is allowed to touch her but him. I hear many people have tried and he gets pretty protective of her – he even goes as far as killing whoever disobeys him. He’s killed a couple of people in honor of her. So he does love her…in his own little way. He would never kill her though he threatened to a lot.”
“His father was abusive?” Detective Stabler asked intrigued.
“You didn’t already know that?” Scott asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone, as he is not exactly happy with the detective and his bluntness at the moment.
“We’ve researched his past before and all we got was that his father died of drug and alcohol abuse and his mother left him when he was four and that he lived in a trailer for most of his childhood.” Scott nodded.
“You had it about right except his father was also abusive. He had no one to take care of him except for Trevor. Trevor isn’t really into this whole thing, he is mostly in this because he’s made it his duty a long time ago to look out for Sean – and I think he’s also gay and in love with him too. He did enjoy raping girls though…but he would walk away from all of this happily if Sean ever agreed to do it, but he’s pretty much long gone because his father destroyed him.” Detective Stabler sat there silently very much intrigued by this new and useful information about Sean. After a few moments he looked back at Scott.
“So why do you think Todd and Benjamin decided to attack you today in a grocery store?” Scott shrugged.
“Your guess is as good as mine…but I think I have a theory. I think they did it just to piss Sean off so he would come after them and give them an excuse to fight with him. I think there are a lot of angry baddies out there who have turned against Sean.”
“Why would they turn against Sean? What could he have done that’s pissed them off?”
“Haven’t you noticed most of the stuff that happens because of Sean is done by other people? Word is going around that they’re pissed off because Sean is hiding out and making everybody else do his dirty work. They’ve pretty much had it and have turned against him. Plus, those two guys who bothered me in the store…they were close friends with those drug dealers that died in that burning house the other day. Trevor murdered them because they shot Sean in the waist with a gun. It would have killed him if Trevor didn’t have knowledge in the medical field. He is hiding out now somewhere unknown to my knowledge trying to heal. Which is another reason why these people are coming out in public and doing exactly what Sean has told them not to do. They’re trying to drive him out of hiding. I am also willing to bet that the people who tried to run over Ellie were also attempting payback too.” Detective Stabler raised his eyebrow.
“How do you know so much if you aren’t still working with him? I know you’ve been keeping up, but how?”
“You just have to know who to talk to,” Scott shrugged. “And Sean used to run a website too until you started getting involved and it became not safe anymore. The last time he updated it was to lure Kori here.”
“So if you know this much, how come you haven’t come to me and told me about it when you know we’re trying to catch him to keep your ex-girlfriend who you seem to still care so much about, and Ashley safe?”
“Kori doesn’t exactly like me around.”
“So, you could have come to me.” Scott shrugged.
“Well I think you and I need to make the same deal I’ve made with Kori then…you’ve been hiding evidence, Scott.”
“Not exactly. It’s not like I have pictures and stuff.”
“Close enough. You’ve been with holding useful information.”
“Whatever…why don’t you arrest me then?” Scott asked while rolling his eyes.
“And take that little boy’s father away from him when he finally has the chance to get to know him? Yeah right.”
“Fine then. What are you going to do?”
“Like I said…I’m going to make the same deal I made for Kori. Kori is not allowed to leave this state unsupervised by either myself, or Ashley and her friends. She is stuck here until Sean is arrested and she has to help us find him to the best of her ability. Since you seem to know so much about Sean then you can start making yourself useful. Help us out. If you do that, I won’t arrest you.”
“So I am stuck here then and can’t leave the state?”
“Unless Nick, Brian, AJ, Howie, or Kevin go with you and make sure you come back.” Scott narrowed his eyes.
“Hey it’s either that or Prison Scott. Which is worse?”
“I have no idea where he is hiding, so it’s not like I can tell you where to go.”
“No, but you can tell me the names of everybody who has ever been in contact with him from the first day you joined him, up until now. You can tell me where all of his other hiding places have been in the past, and you can give me more useful information that would point us in the right direction.”
“If I give you that information, there are going to be lots of angry people after me. You’ve seen what happens when these people get angry.”
“I can assure you that you will be very safe.” Scott crossed his arms over his chest.
“I want to see that before I tell you anything.”
“We will move you to a safe location – we will put you under the witness protection if you would like. Or you could simply come stay at the Orphanage where we keep Ashley. That’s been proven to be the safest place for her not counting the time when Trevor worked there under cover.” Scott laughed bitterly.
“That would make Kori very happy.”
“It would make Spencer happy,” Kori spoke from behind them. Scott whipped his head around to see her standing in the doorway to the hall leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Detective Stabler knew she was there all a long. She had been ever since he started giving Scott shit about leaving Spencer. She had even heard Scott’s statement at how he isn’t going anywhere and part of her hopes he keeps his word.
“Well I don’t want you to be uncomfortable…and what about this boyfriend of yours? How would he feel about your ex living what…a door away from you possibly?”
“He’ll deal with it. We both will. The important thing is that Spencer needs you.”
“How does he know he needs me? He doesn’t even know who I am.”
“Maybe not, but that bond is still there.”
“I’ll come stay there on one condition. That you tell him I am his father.”
“I’ll tell him but not right away.” Scott opened his mouth to protest when Kori cut him off.
“I want to see that you really want him first.”
“Haven’t I proven that already?”
“With words. Show me. Act like a father.”
“Can I take him to a football game?” Kori nodded.
“You have to, you’ve already promised and he’s counting on it. Nick and Kevin have agreed to go with you.”
“Yeah…about that. I don’t want to be babysat.”
“Well I’m sorry but that’s just the way it’s going to be for awhile. I told you it’s going to take time for you to earn my trust back. Until then you need to just bear with me. Make friends with them if you don’t want to feel like you’re being baby-sat. They’re great guys, you’d like them.”
“So it’s settled then? You’re moving into the Orphanage?” Detective Stabler spoke up again. Kori looked at Scott with her eyes almost pleading.
“If Brooke will have me…”
“You’ll be amazed at how loving and accepting that woman can be.”
“All right then…” Detective Stabler nodded.
“Okay, well then if that’s settled I am going to go outside and check on my buddy Ellie.” He announced, and he got up and headed outside. Kori followed suit not wanting to be left alone in the house with Scott and Scott got up and followed. When they got outside they found Kevin sitting on the porch leaning against a pole with Elenore in his lap and Detective Benson was sitting on one side of him gently rubbing the backs of Elenore’s hand, while Jerald sat on the other. Nick was sitting on the railing of the porch with Dakota in his lap, and Ashley sat on one of the steps with Spencer and Sarah in hers while Josh sat with Brian. Howie, AJ, Laila, Ryan, Doctor Johnson, Brandon, Riley, Brooke, Wiley Jaime, Peyton, and security were just lounging around. Detective Stabler went over and sat next to Detective Benson and he gave Elenore a small smile.
“Hey buddy…the one day I leave you alone and you go and almost get hit by a car?” he teased gently. Elenore giggled some at the silly look he made and she stood up and walked into his open arms and snuggled into him. He kissed her forehead affectionately and rubbed his hand over her back.
“Leave it to you, to keep everybody on their toes, eh? Silly goose…”
“I hads to save Lil’ Rok.”
“You are too little to be running out in the middle of the street like that honey, you need to tell a grownup if your puppy runs out there – not take matters into your own hands.”
“I know…” Elenore replied while lowering her head and staring at her feet ashamed. “That’s what Jerry saids…”
“And he is quite right,” Detective Stabler replied while rubbing his hand over her back.
“You’re too special to us, there is no replacing you Ellie.”
“But there is no replacing Lil’ Rok either, an’ he’s special to me.”
“That’s very true sweetheart…that’s why you need to inform an adult right away.”
“Kay…” Elenore replied softly and Detective Stabler pulled her into a hug.
“I love you sweetheart…your heart was in the right place, it just wasn’t the best way to handle the situation.”
“Some detective I am…right?”
“Hey, Hey…none of that,” Detective Benson spoke up gently and she looked at her.
“Every great detective makes mistakes sometimes…you’re human after all. I can’t even begin to tell you how many Elliot has made.” Detective Stabler narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled at him innocently.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how many Olivia has made either.” Detective Benson stuck her tongue out at him and he smirked and then looked down at Elenore who was watching them in amusement.
“The point is…you’re five years old…you’re going to make lots of them just like every human does. That is the way you learn. It doesn’t make you any less of a good Detective then anyone else Ellie, I promise. It only makes you better and stronger.”
“You promise?”
“I cross my heart.” Elenore looked up at him skeptically.
“You’re going to be the best Detective in your time sweetheart, I promise.”
“Good enough to work a long side you?”
“Better.”
“Nuh-uh…” Elenore giggled.
“Yes huh.”
“But I will gets to work a long side you in my time though, right?”
“You may get to work a long side me before that if you’re a good girl.”
“Elliot…” Detective Benson spoke up again in a warning tone.
“Really?” Elenore asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Really.”
“I gets to help you catch a bad guy an’ everything?”
“Maybe. But you have to be a good girl and promise me something, Ellie.”
“What? Anything!”
“That you won’t go running out in the middle of the street by yourself, ever again.”
“I promise.”
“Good girl, that means a lot to me,” Detective Stabler replied, and he pulled her into a gentle hug.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
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