SVU: The One Shots

Jump

The noise of passing traffic filled her ears as she hesitantly approached the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge. She didn't want to move too much and risk scaring the girl that stood on the edge of the railing, her hands wrapped tightly around a wire.

"My name is Olivia Benson." She finally spoke, as she got close enough. Her voice was loud and shaking as it fought against the wind and the sound of a semi honking its horn.

"G-go away! Leave me alone!" The blonde girl cried as her hair whipped around her face.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just leave you up here! I know you are scared, and honestly, I am too. But you shouldn't be alone right now." Olivia exclaimed. 

The girl glanced over her shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm not crazy!"

"No, you aren't! If someone said that you are, they are lying! So please, tell me what I can do to help you!"

"Nothing! My Daddy thinks I'm crazy, and no one can change his mind! So if I jump, I won't have to listen to him anymore. So go away!"

"My mother used to call me crazy before! She said that no one would ever want to be my friend or a partner to me because I'm so dumb. Because I was crazy to assume that I'd go anywhere in my life! But here I am! I'm a member of the coast guard, and I have a baby! Everything is great!" Olivia smiled, as tried her hardest to not bawl her eyes out. 

She couldn't imagine her own child feeling this worthless and turning to ending their life over anything else.

"M-my name is Kathleen Stabler... my father wants to send me to a hospital to get help! He'll never come and get me!" Kathleen sobbed as Olivia moved closer to her. 

Olivia was worried that in a few minutes the wind would get gusty enough to give Kathleen that last little shove that would send her to a watery grave.

"If you get down right now, I will talk to your father personally. I will help you in any way that I can." Olivia spoke, as she rested her hand against the edge and slowly moved it closer to Kathleen's foot. She wanted to wrap her hand around the girl's ankle and force her to step back, but she didn't know if that would ever work.

"He won't listen to some random person! So just leave! I don't want you to see me fall!" Kathleen cried.

Olivia swallowed hard before hesitantly pushing herself onto the railing. She felt her life flash before her eyes, but she knew she had to be side by side with this girl.

"If you fall, I fall." Olivia breathed.

"You said you have a baby-"

"I have a little girl. Her name is Savannah, and she just turned one. She's very stubborn and sassy." Olivia said with a weak smile. Her whole body was shaking, because this wasn't the rescue she was used to. She would rescue people from the middle of an ocean, not from the edge of a bridge.

"You don't want to fall and have her lose you. So please-"

"Your father would be heartbroken if he realized you jumped because of him. He'd beat himself up over this. So if you jump, then he'll lose you," Olivia breathed, as the wind blew harder.

"I have siblings... I'm the second eldest! My mom is dead, and it's only my daddy taking care of us! Olivia, I can't do this! I don't want to leave my siblings!" Kathleen sobbed as she went to let go of the wire, but Olivia stopped her.

"Hold on tight, okay? I'm going to get down and then help you." 

Olivia jumped down and turned around. She reached up to Kathleen and grabbed her hand,  before moving to help her down. As Kathleen leaned down, a gust of wind hit her and she slipped backwards.

///

Olivia stood outside of Kathleen's hospital room and watched as a nurse finished cleaning up a cut on her arm. Olivia somehow got superhuman strength and pulled Kathleen back over the edge of the bridge and into her arms. By then, the cops were there and Olivia was holding the teen as she sobbed like a baby.

"I'm looking for Kathleen Stabler!" a man yelled, as he ran to the nurses' station. Olivia turned away from the door and looked at the man as a nurse pointed towards her.

"Are you a cop? Why didn't you call me fucking sooner? You clearly-"

"Mr. Stabler, I am not a cop. I work for the US Coast Guard. I was the one to talk your daughter off that bridge... I was the one to pull her over." Olivia spoke, as her voice shook. 

"What?" He asked, as he stepped away from her. Elliot had been up in Olivia's face, his finger slamming against her chest as he yelled at her.

"I was driving home and saw her standing there. I approached her and talked to her. I was right up on that ledge with her, and once I told her I would fall if she did, she agreed to get down. She almost fell when the wind got worse, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her over." Olivia rambled.

Today had shaken her to her core, and she didn't know how life would be from now on. If she'd be able to leave Savannah alone, because what if her own daughter gave up one day?

Elliot swallowed hard before stepping forward and hugging Olivia tightly. He kept her close for several moments before stepping back and locking eyes with her.

"Thank you for saving my daughter."