Justice | Law & Order : SVU

five.

"Did he know? Did he know he was my father?" Alejandro asks practically begging for an answer.

"I don't know, probably not" Antonella tells the teenager.

For a while neither of them speak, Alejandro stares blankly toward the windows while Antonella gently rubs his arm in comfort and then suddenly the teenager stands up and walks towards the door leading to the bedrooms.

"I'm really tired. Can we finish this tomorrow mama?" The boy asks and despite Antonella's own contentment with the news she suddenly sees just how much its hurt the boy before her.

"Of course mijo. I'll bring you some tea in a moment." The woman promises with a nod.

The boy leaves to his bedroom and then the woman takes a moment to pull herself together. She knows she shouldn't have told him some of the details she had. Perhaps she should have just let him keep the happy memories the boy had of the man. And then she stands up and walks over to the kitchen to make the boy a cup of lemon and mint tea as promised.

Once it's prepared she carries the cup through to her sons bedroom only to find the room already dark for a moment she thinks he might already be asleep and then she hears the quiet sniffles from underneath the bed cover so hesitantly she walks over and places the cup of hot tea down on the bedside table and then she sinks down next to the bed. At first the boy doesn't react and then a hand peaks out from underneath the blanket and she takes it into her own, trying to convey with her firm grip just how much she loves the boy before her.

Neither mother or son say anything, both content in sitting in silence with one another's comfort when the door creaks open and the dog Oreo jumps up onto the bed and cuddles in next to their linked hands. After a while all three of them fall asleep.

By the time sunlight begins to stream through the large windows Antonella's eyes flutter open. First thing she notices is the ache of her back from spending the night on the bedroom floor. Then she notices that at some point in the night Alex must have placed a blanket down over her. By the time the dog wakes up Nell looks up to the bed where Alex had been laying only to find it empty. She assumes he must have woken up before her so she stands up her bones cracking as she goes. She walks out of the bedroom, Oreo following after her. She goes through to the living area only to find it empty so she walks back into the corridor and over to the bathroom only to find that empty too, her office empty and her own bedroom too by this point Nell begins to feel a bit worried. She walks through to the entry hallway and out to the balcony hoping that he's just stolen one of her cigarettes like he had in the past when he'd been stressed or upset only to find that empty too.

Now especially worried after everything that had happened the night before she runs into the kitchen and picks up her cell phone from the counter where she'd left it the night before. She immediately clicks on her sons contact, it rings for a moment before it goes to voicemail. She rings again and again getting the same result again and again so finally not knowing what else to do she clicks on the contact of somebody she knows will help.

The phone rings for a second and then it's answered. Before the person on the other end of the phone can speak Nell begins to.

"Olivia? Olivia it's Alejandro. He's missing." Nell tells the woman in a rush.

"Antonella? What's happened?" Olivia asks sounding alert.

"Last night I told him. I told him everything and he was a mess. He didn't take it well. Then this morning he's gone. Not answering his phone." Nell cries.

"Okay Antonella I'm coming to you now. We'll find him" Olivia promises before she hangs up.

By the time Olivia arrives she finds Nell stood outside on the balcony, a cigarette in hand and dried tears on her cheeks. Olivia tells Amanda and Nick to search the apartment and Fin to keep calling Alejandro's phone while she and Sonny walk out onto the balcony and approach the woman.

"Is there anywhere he might have gone?" Olivia asks.

"No not this early, not without telling me" Nell replies "He was devastated last night. He was so angry and hurt at me. I lied to him and I don't think he'll ever forgive me."

"Lied to him? Lied to him how?" Sonny asks walking closer to the woman.

"About Johnny." Nell admits her breath hitching "He only ever had good memories of Johnny. When he was young Johnny would sit and play toy cars with him, Alex thought he just wasn't a bad man and I never corrected him. But last night I told him the truth"

"What truth?" Olivia asks cautiously.

"That Johnny was only ever nice to him as a message to me, to show me how close he could get, how he could hurt him and there wouldn't be a thing I could do about it. About how when he got up he would walk to me and ask if I would be a good girl then he would rape me and I wouldn't make a sound because I never wanted Alex to hear" Nell tells them "he was so upset. So angry"

"Okay Antonella. We will find him. I promise." Olivia swears.