THIS. It wasn’t his area of homicide or crime—but it was at the same time. The innocent laid covered in a blanket, animal print stained red with crimson that once coursed through veins and through a beating heart. He sighs quietly, the red and blue of nearby lights splash across walls, his forest eyes and the breath of air that meets with the cold New York night. His gaze analyzes the scene and he’s handed a report of the surviving victim; the child’s mother. Javier Falcón is rumored to be dispassionate, to be known to be unaffected by the most gruesome scenes, but even this once brings a pain to his chest that cannot be soothed by solving the crimes alone. No, there isn’t a single thing in existence that could heal what has been seen.

The child was hardly two, and it took every fiber in his being to knell beside the small body and take notes, someone behind told him the mother would need surgery and he only nodded. “We will need SVU, this is more than just us.” The words are spoken as he pulls his coat around tighter around his neck. After living in New York for a few years, he still wasn’t used to the cold, having spent his life in Spain. His accent was thick and heavy against the noise of the scene, the sound of emergency vehicles and the growing crowd beyond the yellow tape.

He stood looking over the barrier blocking the body from view. Onlookers—he never understood them, but paid no mind while stepping aside for the ME. The two gave their usual greetings and he asked for them to wait to move the body until SVU had sent their detective over. There was a nod given while the ME remained busy behind the screen, his own tasks at hand was to begin investigating the scene. Blood pooled in the alley but lead up to a dead end and into the back door of an apartment building, the crimson tinged drops reflected in the lights above back doors to business long since closed.

“I hope we have that building secured, and blocked off.” A second officer nodded, it gave Falcón further belief that this crime escalated somewhere else and ended where the mother had fallen with the child in her arms before being spotted by an innocent bystander. He had hang over, but it hardly showed, he needed to figure out the case, and that meant working with SVU, something he wasn’t fond of. However, he’d make the best of it.

          she sits behind a mountain of paperwork, black rimmed glasses rest on the bridge of her nose, hair falling messily into her face. looking to the few remaining in the squad room, each sit respectively at their desks as they begin yet another long night of work. after nearly two decades in the field, she should be used to this            it wasn’t uncommon to have enough work to carry her into next week, but it never stopped the stress from adding yet another weight to already heavy shoulders. with a handful of open cases under her belt, it was no surprise to be practically drowning in work, but giving anything but her utmost attention wouldn’t do. it was in her nature to give everything to help a victim, even if that meant weeks of sleepless nights and early mornings. sighing, she rolls her neck and opens a file to begin her work.

          her cell rings, bringing her out of concentration. she gives it a second and prepares herself for the inevitable. it’s a new case, there’s no doubt in her mind, but even after all these years it still gives her chills when she receives the call. their conversation is short, and she’s given minimal information on the crime. but one thing sticks under her skin, a mother and her child, 2 years old … it’s never easy.            she stands, grabbing her coat draped over the back of the chair and sliding it over her shoulders before slipping her phone in the pocket. when she steps out of her office, all eyes are turned in her direction as she gives the details, only that in which she knows, and tells her squad members that she’ll be taking this one alone, for now. they’ve been through so much this past week, olivia feels it’s only necessary to give them a moment to recover from the CHAOS.

          as acting commander of manhattan’s special victims unit, the lieutenant was almost always first to arrive at the scene. she was the one to be called the moment their assistance was needed and was always ready to give her insight. she was well-known throughout the NYPD for her work, and although she appreciated the help of others, she preferred to handle things with the help of her squad            and her squad alone. homicide was assisting in this case and although she appreciated their help, sharing cases always felt … unnecessary.

          it’s not long before the arrives. it’s no surprise there’s already a group of onlookers crowded at the scene, and it takes her a moment to navigate through them to reach the line of police tape blocking off the crime scene. ❛ lieutenant benson, SVU ❜ she flashes her badge, slipping under the tape and making her way over to where a few stood around what she presumed to be the body of the deceased. she’d seen countless bodies in her time at SVU, but nothing could truly prepare her for seeing the body first hand. breath hitches as she sees the child, blood stained clothes covering her small figure. stepping back, olivia allows the ME some space to further his investigation of the body. her steps are slow as she moves throughout the scene, taking time to make mental notes of the blood trail down the alley. she passes a handful of officers as she moves further down the alley, where she meets a fellow detective and makes her way towards him.

                       ❛ it’s unfortunate that we have to work under such circumstances … ❜
                she pauses, then offers a hand in his direction, ❛ what do we know so far? ❜