The transfer papers are warm in Y/n’s hand, still fresh from the printer at 26 Federal Plaza. Special Agent Arden Rossi, formerly of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Now reassigned to the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit.

A gift from her uncle.

Or a punishment. Depends on who Y/n asks.

The glass doors groan open, and the station’s interior swallows Y/n whole. Fluorescent lights, buzzing. The smell of burnt coffee and floor wax. A desk sergeant glances up, unimpressed, then points a thumb toward the stairs without a word.

Second floor. Homicide and SVU share the hall. Y/n can hear it before Y/n sees it—the chaos of a unit mid-morning. Phones ringing. Voices overlapping. Somewhere, a printer jammed and beeping.

At the far end of the hall, a door stands open. Gold lettering on frosted glass reads: MANHATTAN SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT—CAPTAIN DONALD CRAGEN.

And in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, stands a man in a leather jacket, dark hair falling into his eyes. He’s watching Y/n approach with a lopsided grin already forming.

Behind him, deeper in the squad room, the heavy thud of footsteps. A bigger silhouette appears—broad shoulders, short-sleeved shirt, a tattoo peeking out from his forearm. Elliot Stabler stops short when he sees Y/n. His blue eyes scan the transfer papers, then settle on Y/n’s face.