Olivia moved one more file from her towering "to-do" stack to the considerably smaller "done" pile. She sighed. It had been a long day – the end to a long week – and she was glad to have the weekend off. It would be good to unwind some.

Her phone buzzed on the desk and Olivia smiled. Perfect timing, as always. She quickly scanned the text from her girlfriend.

"I think I'm done for the night," she said to Fin as she stood up. Ever since Elliot had retired, Olivia had preferred to pair up with him rather than the new detectives. After so many years with the same people on the squad, it was hard to get used to the new blood.

Fin glanced up. "I'm 'bout finished to. You wanna wait for me and we'll grab a beer?"

Olivia shook her head. "Nah, I've got a date tonight."

Fin grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Mystery Man again? This guy's been around a while now. When you gonna bring him by?"

Olivia smirked. "What, you think I want you and Munch scaring him away? Not a chance." Her, she mentally corrected. They were both still mostly in the closet – only a few very close friends knew their secret. They had decided it was better to keep it that way, but that didn't make lying about it any easier.

"Yeah, sure." Fin turned back to his work. "Try not to have too much fun."

"I'll work on it," Olivia replied dryly.

Alex showed up at her apartment around just before eight. The tall blonde let herself in. Olivia was still in the bedroom getting ready.

"Running late, hun?" Alex teased.

"No, you're early." Olivia peeked out through the doorway. Her mouth ran day. Alex was dressed in an emerald green dress that hugged the curves of her hip in a way that made Olivia's heart pound. The neckline was modest; Alex was never overly showy. Her career in law had taught her the danger of scandals. It had taken her a long time to admit her own desires – even to herself – and her secret was one that she guarded carefully. Olivia was happy to respect her girlfriend's need to stay in the closet for now, so their few dates usually took them out of the Manhattan, where it was less likely they'd be recognized. "You look good."

"Thanks." Alex smiled. Compliments from Olivia never failed to send a blush creeping up her face. "Hurry up. We have reservations at 9:30 and I want to run by Casey's place."

"Oh?" Olivia finished touching up her make-up and picked up her jacket off the bed. She looked at herself critically in the mirror. Her heels gave her a few extra inches, making her almost as tall as Alex was without heels. The heels also meant that her ass looked absolutely fantastic in tight grey pants that rested low on her hips. Her silky red shirt flowed down her torso and the plunging neckline showed off her cleavage. Olivia grinned. Alex might be shy about wearing revealing clothing, but she wasn't. She knew that her shirt would drive Alex crazy all night, which was perfectly fine, since Olivia intended for this evening to end with them tearing each other's clothes off. "Didn't you just see her at work?"

"No, she called in sick today." Alex's voice was more distant now and Olivia guessed that she had gone to the kitchen. "Actually, she emailed in, which is a little weird. And you know Casey – she never takes a sick day. I thought we'd drop by and check in on her. I've got some flu meds and canned soup in the car that we can drop off."

"Sure," Olivia said as she stepped into the kitchen. "How do I look?"

Alex felt a hot pulse beating between her legs. She put down the glass of water she had poured for herself and stepped forward. "Gorgeous," she replied in a husky voice. She caught Olivia's hands in hers and pulled her into a kiss.

Olivia leaned in, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Alex's hands snuck up under her shirt, caressing up toward her breasts. "Want to skip dinner?" Olivia suggested enticingly.

Alex moaned as Olivia's fingers skillfully teased her butt and thighs. "No," she said, pulling away. Olivia reached for her again, but Alex playfully slapped her hand. "Casey, remember? Friend, sick – any of this ringing a bell? As soon as we get back from dinner, I promise we'll pick up where we left off."

Olivia sighed dramatically. "You have a point."

Alex gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Of course I do. I'm always right."

"Humph," Olivia snorted in disbelief. "Keep telling yourself that."

By 8:30, they were standing in the hall outside Casey's door. "Casey," Olivia called as she knocked for the third time. "Case, you in there?" She listened closely. There was no sound of movement inside. Olivia turned to Alex, who had set down her bags and was leaning against the opposite wall. "Maybe she went out for something?"

Alex shook her head. "Casey wouldn't call in sick unless she were at death's door. She's got to be in there."

Olivia knocked again and turned away. "Nope, she's not home."

Alex reached past her and tried the doorknob. To both of their surprise, it turned. "See?" Alex said, "she is home. Casey'd never leave the door open." She leaned through the doorway. "Casey!" she called out. "It's Liv and me!" The lights in Casey's apartment were off and the cramped space had an almost eerie feeling. "She must be asleep," she said to Olivia. "Let's just drop this stuff off in the kitchen and go to dinner."

Olivia shrugged. "Alright."

Alex led the way in, tripping over a pair of shoes left in the hallway. Olivia followed with the grocery bags.

"Wait!" Olivia hissed. "I hear something." Alex froze as Olivia stepped around her. The detective's hand automatically reached to her hip for a gun that wasn't there. "Stay right behind me," Olivia ordered. "You have your phone on you?" Alex already had her phone out; in case there actually was something wrong, she'd be able to dial 911 in seconds.

Olivia stalked forward into the living room, her senses on high alert. There was a muffled sound coming from the bedroom. Olivia felt her stomach clench. She would never forget the day that she had left for coffee and returned to find Casey unconscious on the floor. She waved for Alex to stay back, out of sight, and pushed the bedroom door open.

Casey was curled up on her side, with her arms pulled up and tied to the headboard. The mattress was bare, with only a throw-blanket tangled loosely around her feet. Olivia couldn't see her face, but she could hear the quiet sobs. "Casey!" Olivia ran to the bed. The redhead rolled over, her eyes tightly closed. Her wrists were bound with zip-ties. Her skin underneath was raw and the trickles of dried blood showed that she had struggled against the ties on multiple occasions. As she shifted to lie on her back, the movement reopened the wounds and Olivia saw the blood welling up under the white plastic. "Casey, honey, talk to me." Olivia was worried that Casey still had not opened her eyes or said anything. Her fingers checked the pulse-point on Casey's neck – too fast or too slow could both be symptoms of different drugs – but Casey's pulse was normal.

"Alex," Olivia spoke in a normal volume voice even though Alex was still out in the living room. Alex should be able to hear her fine and she didn't want to speak too loudly and startle Casey. "Alex, call for help." She heard Alex step into the doorway and gasp when she saw Casey.

"No," Casey whispered. "No, please."

"It's okay," Olivia reassured her. "Help is coming."

"No." Casey opened her eyes and stared up at Olivia. Her green eyes were wide and vulnerable and filled with tears. "I don't want anyone to see me like this. Just," her voice caught, "can you find something to cut these?"

Olivia wanted to press the point – the sooner the police arrived to collect evidence, the better the chance of catching the perp – but she also knew that it was important to let Casey make her own decisions about this and to feel in control. "Okay, I'll be right back." As Olivia stood, Alex came over to the bed. She knelt on the floor so her face was level with Casey's.

"Case, what happened?"

Olivia raced to the kitchen and threw open the drawers until she found a pair of scissors. She ran back to the bedroom. Casey was whispering quietly to Alex.

"Casey," Olivia said, approaching slowly, "I've got the scissors. I'm going to cut the ties, okay?" The redhead gave a jerky nod of assent. Alex moved aside so that Olivia could take her spot kneeling by the side of the bed. Casey closed her eyes as Olivia carefully cut the ties; she set them gingerly on the bedside table – the police would need them for evidence.

Casey sat up slowly, cradling her wrists as the blood returned to her hands. She clutched the blanket to her chest. Her lips were dry and cracked, a purple bruise covered the left side of her face, and dark splotches dotted her upper arms. She took a deep breath. "He raped me," she said, looking at Olivia. "I tried to fight him, but he raped me. I tried so hard, but I couldn't…" she broke off, crying.

"It's not your fault," Alex said softly.

"We need to call the police," Olivia said. "We'll catch this guy."

But even before she finished speaking, Casey was shaking her head. "I don't want anyone to know."

Olivia opened her mouth to say something else, but was silenced by a hard look from Alex. She swallowed her words. "Alright. What do you want to do?"

Casey brushed her hair back away from her face. When she moved her arm, the blanket slipped down on one side. The bruises that covered her arms continued everywhere that Olivia could see. There were cigarette burns dotting the swell of her breasts and Olivia winced to see the red, blistered flesh. "I don't know," she whispered. She reached one out toward Alex, grasping for her friend's hand as if it were a lifeline. Alex kicked off her shoes and sat down on the bed next to her; Casey squeezed her hand so hard that her knuckles whitened.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

Casey's tongue flicked out over her dry lips. "Water?" she asked.

"Sure." Olivia got to her feet. "I'll be right back."

Once in the kitchen, out of sight of Casey and Alex, Olivia slumped against the wall. Her chest felt tight. How could this happen? She filled a glass with water. Was this a random attack or did somebody target Casey specifically? Someone she's put in jail? Somebody with a grudge? She headed back toward the bedroom.

"…and he wore a condom," Casey said. "Afterward, he made me shower and he washed the sheets. He made me email you that I was going to be out sick. And then he tied me to the bed and left me here. It's not going to do any good to call the police because I never saw his face and he was very careful not to leave any evidence behind."

"Did he act like he knew you? Could it have been someone you've prosecuted?" Alex asked.

Casey bit her lip and pulled the blankets tighter around her. She nodded. "He said that if I had done my job right, this wouldn't be happening to me."

Olivia sat at the foot of the bed and passed the water up to Casey. She knew that when the police arrived, she would be in trouble for disturbing the crime scene. It didn't matter though; right now her priority was taking care of Casey until Casey was ready to call the police.

"Thanks." Casey took the cup with shaking hands and brought it to her lips. Her blankets slipped down to her waist. Casey cried out and hastily moved to pull them back up, dropping the water all over the bed in the process. "Damnit!" she cursed, "God fucking damnit!" Her eyes screwed shut and she yanked the blanket back up her torso. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to regain her composure. One deep inhale, one long, shaky exhale.

Without saying anything, Olivia got up, took the fallen cup, and went to refill it. When she returned, Casey still had not moved or said anything else. Alex was beside her, worry etched on her face. "Bathrobe," she mouthed to Olivia, pointing to the bathroom door. Olivia nodded.

"Here, Casey," she said a second later. "Do you want to put this on?"

Casey opened her eyes. Olivia stood at the foot of her bed holding her pale blue bathrobe in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "Sure."

Alex scooted off the bed to give her some space to move. Casey slid over, whimpering as every movement brought fresh pain to her battered body. She swung her feet off the edge of the bed and sat up straight. Alex took the robe from Olivia and draped it over Casey's shoulders. Casey clutched the edges of the robe together, breathing deeply. She sat still for a moment, then slowly worked her arms through the sleeves and tied the belt around her waist. Dressed now, she reached for the water that Olivia held. Her hands still shook, but she was able to drink now. She drained the water and put the cup down on her bedside table.

Alex sat down beside her. Casey leaned into her, resting her head on Alex's shoulder. "I don't know what to do," Casey whispered. "Alex, we know what rape victims go through in a trial. I don't know if I can deal with that."

Alex wrapped her arm lightly around Casey's shoulders. "We tell victims that going to trial is the only way to get justice. It's a chance to find closure."

"But it's different for me," Casey said. "I work in that courthouse. I see the judges every day. I know all the clerks. How am I supposed to be able to go back to work in front of a trial judge who has seen pictures of me bruised and naked? How am I supposed to prosecute knowing that the transcriptionist is the one who typed up my own testimony of being raped?" Her voice fell to less than a whisper, "maybe it would be better just to pretend it never happened. Then I don't have to deal with this."

Alex could feel tears stinging her own eyes. "Case…"

"I know," Casey said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm going to have to. I just don't want to deal with this now."

"I know it's hard, Casey," Alex said. "I'll be right with you, Olivia too. We're not going to let you face this alone."

Olivia sat on the floor in front of the two other women. "We do need to call the police," she said.

Casey shook her head. "I don't want to. Olivia, I can't do it. I can't deal with going through a trial."

Olivia seemed conflicted. "I don't think that's an option." She hesitated before speaking again. "I'm mandated reporter. If I know of a crime, I am legally obligated to report it. I'm pretty sure you both are too. Isn't that a requirement of working in the DA's office?" Alex nodded and Casey sighed.

"Call it in," Casey finally said.

While they were waiting for SVU, Casey started to tell what had happened. "If I talk to you two," she explained, "maybe it won't be so hard when I have to tell what happened to other people."

"He was already inside my apartment when I came home from work last night. I don't know how he got in; I didn't know anything was wrong until I got out of the shower. He was waiting for me in the bedroom." Casey swallowed hard. Her hands were twisting nervously in her lap. "He had a gun. Cliché really – dark jeans, a black hoodie, a ski mask… he wore white latex gloves. The lights were off, so it was hard to see him. I just kept watching his hands.

"He told me to get on the bed. I told him to go to hell. He hit me then. I tried to fight back, but he held his gun to my head." She reached up and lightly touched her forehead where a faint circle-shaped bruise was barely visible. "He pushed me up against the wall and tore my towel away. I started crying." She looked up at Alex then. "I've taken self-defense classes. I'm tough. But I just started crying."

"There was an armed intruder in your bedroom," Olivia said. "That is a perfectly natural reaction."

"He dragged me to the bed," Casey continued, "pushed me down, and climbed on top of me. He put his gun down then, right there," she gestured at the bedside table. "I tried to scratch him. I tried to bite him. I tried everything I could to stop him." She paused.

"I didn't scream, though." She sounded puzzled by her own admission. "I don't know why. I didn't have time to think, even. All I could see was his hands, his eyes. I just kept fighting, trying to keep him from pinning me down. It didn't do any good though. He got one good punch in, and that pretty much knocked me flat. I was stunned for just a second, but that was long enough for him to get those damn zipties around my wrists. He'd brought them with him, and duct tape too. After my hands were tied, he put tape over my eyes."

Casey bit her lip. "He pushed my legs open. I was still trying to fight, even with my hands tied. I think that I might have gotten him in the jaw with my elbow. It might have left a mark, I don't know.

"He put his hand on my neck and held me down while he raped me.

"Then afterward… he ran water in the tub. My hands were still tied. He bathed me. His hands were… all over me."

"Was he still wearing gloves?" Olivia asked.

Casey nodded. "He never took them off."

"And you were still blindfolded?" This question came from Alex.

"The water loosened the tape. Once he left, I worked it the rest of the way off.

"After he made me take a bath, he stripped the bed. He put everything in the washing machine." Casey shook her head. "He left the gun on the table while he went to wash the sheets. I could have taken the gun then. I could have shot the bastard. I could have called the police …" Her eyebrows furrowed. "I must have been in shock or something. I just sat on the bathroom floor wrapped in a towel. I did nothing!

"And then he came back. He turned on my laptop and told me to email my boss that I'd be out sick today. He pushed me back on the bed. I was scared that he was going to rape me again, but he didn't. He tied that chain of zipties from my wrists to the headboard so I couldn't get up. He gave me a blanket from the couch in the living room. And then he told me that if I'd only done my job right the first time, this wouldn't have happened to me. He thought that was funny. I could hear him laughing as he left.

"And you have no idea who he was?" Olivia inquired.

"No," Casey responded with a shake of her head. "His voice was familiar, but I can't place it. He was African American, young – early thirties, maybe." She made a helpless gesture with her hands. "Average height, average build, maybe? He might have been a little on the skinny side." She gave a bitter chuckle, "I never understood how eye-witnesses could be so unreliable. But I make a pretty suck witness myself."

Fin arrived about thirty minutes after the call went though. Olivia opened the door as soon as he knocked. "Come on in," she said grimly.

Fin took in her appearance with a raised eyebrow. "That's right – you had a date tonight didn't you? How'd you end up over here?"

"Long story. Casey took a sick day today; we stopped in to see how she was doing." Olivia's heart sank. She had forgotten that she and Alex were both still dressed for a dinner they never got to. "Casey's in the bedroom." She glanced at the cops behind Fin. "You couldn't find any female cops?" she snapped.

"You called, you said Casey had been raped, I got here as fast as I could. How's Casey doing?"

"Physically, she's pretty banged up but no severe injuries. Emotionally, well…" Olivia shrugged. "This way."

Fin followed her into the bedroom. Casey stood, her robe pulled tightly around her. She stared at the ground as Fin and the two male cops walked into her bedroom. Alex stood beside her. Fin took in Alex's dress and raised his eyebrow. He glanced at Olivia, who flushed. She was thankful that he didn't say anything though. That was a conversation that could wait.

"Casey?"

The redhead looked up. She froze when she saw Fin. "I, um… I think I remember who raped me."

"What?" Alex asked, looking from Casey to Fin in confusion. Casey's eyes were wide and a sheen of sweat glistened on her skin.

"God, I knew I knew his voice from somewhere. I didn't put it together until… seeing you reminded me… I feel so stupid for not recognizing him earlier," Casey berated herself. "Your nephew," she said to Fin, "What is his name? The one who murdered that woman and her son. He's the one who raped me."

"Darius," Fin said gravely. "Darius Parker."

EPILOGUE:

The trial was brief and utterly disastrous. Judge Peterson was presiding; he was a notorious misogynist, which did nothing to help their case. Casey was humiliated to see all the pictures of her bruised and battered body put on display in the courtroom. On the stand, she was cold, remote, and reserved. Her mask of indifference helped her maintain her composure, but it did not make her the kind of victim a jury could identify with.

Olivia and Alex were publicly outed when it came up that they had been on their way to a date when they stopped by Casey's apartment. Not only was Alex's face splashed across the tabloids the next day, but there were whispered questions why they had gone to visit their single friend before a date. Lewd rumors of a lesbian threesome began circulating. The vulgar insinuations spread quickly in a law-enforcement gossip chain that covered the entire courthouse and DA's office and somehow reached into half a dozen precincts.

But most damaging was the defense that Darius Parker's attorney mounted. "No one can deny that Ms. Novak was terribly assaulted in her own home. But there was no physical evidence linking my client to the crime. Detective Benson arrived and heard what happened long before any police were called in to take an official statement and begin the investigation. Ms. Novak described to Detective Benson how her attacker had taken great care not to leave any physical evidence. In the absence of a suspect, Detective Benson and Ms. Novak conspired against my client, whom they have previously failed to convict. Ms. Novak falsely accused my client, with no evidence against him but her claim that she recognized his voice.

"Members of the jury, I ask that you see this case for what it really is. Ms. Novak was raped. But when she realized that there was not enough evidence to be able to find her real attacker, she accused a man who had no reason to harm her. She couldn't convict him for murder, so she set him up for rape."

When the jury returned, Casey heard the ruling with a stony face. Then she got up and walked out of the courtroom.

The verdict?

Not guilty.

A/N: Well, there's a short little one-shot for you. Please Review if you read it. I know a lot of people have a tendency not to review on one-shots because you're not expecting anything else, but the authors still appreciate it.

Overly excited moment: Last night's episode? Alex and Olivia ice skating together - SO CUTE!

Serious moment: Official reports say that one out of six women in the United States will be raped in her life. We all know that most rapes are not reported. Even if we assume that half of all rapes are reported, that means that the real number is closer to one in three. I don't know about the rest of you, but one-in-three seems about consistent with what I've seen throughout my life. So that means that out of our favorite female SVU characters, it is entirely likely that one of them has been or will be raped. Many women decide not to report because of fears like those Casey expressed in my story - work about what their peers will think, fear of the increased trauma associated with a rape exam and a trial, and other reasons. Most cases that do go to trial fail to result in conviction or any serious time served. There's a sobering realization.

Update to the Serious Moment: An addition and some good news

Bucken-Berry reminded me to add that men can also be victims of rape. They are MUCH less likely to report it than women, much less likely to be believes, and much less likely to get any sort of justice from the US court systems. I'm not up to date on the current stats on male rape/sexual assault. The last numbers I heard were that I think one in seven or one in ten men (I'm not totally sure on the numbers, so double check me) is sexually assaulted at some point in his life. I will point out that because of the previous definition of rape in the US, men could not be raped, so these numbers include all forms of assault/abuse/rape, whereas the numbers for females differentiate between varying levels of sexual attack.

It's generally assumed that men are not victims of sexual attack - this is not the case. One out of six women are raped, one out of seven or ten men are sexually abused. This is an endemic problem at ALL levels of society. Both men and women can be victims. Both men and women can be rapists and abusers.

On a slightly better note, the US has officially revised it's definition of rape:
It used to be that rape was defined as forcible penile penetration (aka carnal knowledge) of a woman. That meant that a) men could not be raped, b) women could not be raped with fingers or objects or anything but a penis, and c) if no force was used, it was not rape (which excludes times when someone says "no" but then is to scared to fight - no force, no rape).
The new definition is "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." Hopefully this means that rape will be better/more accurately reported and charged. And perps will be punished more for committing forms of rape that used to be considered just sexual assault.

This concludes a public service announcement brought to you by Maigonokaze with contributions from Bucken-Berry.