A/N: I don't own any of the Law & Order characters and I am not making any money from writing this.

Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.

This is a request from ShipperOfKevney. I hope you enjoy it, my friend! Olivia Benson/Anita Van Buren friendship fic, mostly dealing with Anita's cancer. This, first chapter, takes place somewhere near the beginning of series finale, "Rubber Room". The second one may be a continuation to this. There will be more chapters, but not all will be related to this one or take place in the same time. This chapter also briefly touches upon Olivia being sexually assaulted in season nine.

Olivia groaned as she flipped through the file, snickering at the photographs. Anita sighed and leaned into her chair. It was pretty tedious to deal with those inappropriate photographs on FighterBoy's blog, not only due to going through that disgusting material, but also due to a real terrorism threat waiting to be solved. Still, it had to be done. Eventually, Olvia exhaled and closed the file.

"I've seen enough", she concluded. "We can easily charge him with possession and distribution of child pornography", she added with contempt. She really wanted to see that guy behind it's just a matter of tracking down those girls." She crossed her legs. "Our techs are going to take that over. They can also help you link those photographs and tapes containing weapons to an original source, but as far as I've seen, there is nothing more that they can do, sadly."

They both looked through the window for a moment. Watched all the buildings, streets, bridges. The city they have lived in for decades, the city that they have worked to keep safe. The mere consideration of that threat felt gut wretching. The sound of that explosion still echoed in Anita's mind. They quickly looked away.

"They provided you with all the information?", Anita questioned, adjusting her eyeglasses. "Explained the importance?"

"Yes, they did", Olivia answered. It kind of touched her, how caring yet professional Anita had sounded. She admired that.

"Like I said, it would be nice to, at least once, stop something horrible before it happened."

Olivia sighed, feeling herself tense. "Tell me about it..." She ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe you get lucky and somebody calls in with the information."

Anita sighed, looking away. "Yeah..."

A short silence ensued. Olivia kept looking at the file, unsure of how to proceed, or should she say anything else at all. Anita started working on her computer, albeit half heartedly, expecting Olivia to leave soon anyway.

"How are... you and Frank?", Olivia asked.

Anita slowly formed a smile, obviously taken aback by the question. "It's been great. He's very Loving. Caring."

Olivia smiled back. "I'm glad to know."

"I'm sorry... about your condition", she said carefully, making Anita blush. "And if I can do anything to help... you can reach out to me", she finished, feeling some pressure build up in her shoulders.

Anita shivered, her eyes growing wide. "How do you know?", she half whispered, her lower lip quivering. She couldn't figure out how Olivia could have known that and thought about denying it, but felt that she couldn't. It had been too much.

Olivia smiled gently, fondling her hands together. "It's a busy day, I waited for a while... I sort of overheard two detectives talking about that... and saw that poster..."

Anita sighed and looked down at the floor for a moment, still uncertain over sharing her story with Olivia. "I learned about it almost a year ago", she admitted silently. "It was so sudden. So unexpected." She shuddered. "So cruel." She straightened herself up, looking away. "And ever since then, I've been struggling with... that." She gulped, her eyes growing watery. "It sucks."

It felt strange to confide in someone she didn't know all that well and who hadn't even known about her condition until recently, but she had met Olivia before and she seemed nice, not to mention the pressure just felt too much for her at that point. So she... talked. Got it off her chest.

Olivia nodded her head. "I know how you feel." Anita gazed at her, obviously surprised. Olivia blinked, trying to push all the uncomfortable memories to the back of her mind. She felt a chill in her body. "Sometimes life just works that way, no matter how cliche that sounds. But if you've managed to go so far, I'm sure you can go through with this." She smiled slightly. "That's just the way you are. You only need to make sure not to forget that."

Anita groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I know, but it's so hard... and dangerous." She bit her lower lip. "Painful... at very least, the knowledge that there is something inside you, eating you apart", she finally said, shaken by the sound of her words.

Olivia waited until her emotions under control. "Tough times don't last, though people do."

Anita chuckled for a moment, finding Olivia's optimism strangely refreshing.. "I hope."

Olivia frowned, a look of pain coloring her face for a moment. "I went through... a horrible thing", she admitted, trying to stay calm. "But I'm fine now. And I still catch bad guys. Making a difference. So..." She shrugged. "One can consider that pretty telling."

Anita took a deep breath. "Still, I don't want... the story to spread... or a pity." She rubbed her eyes. "I'll order them to call that... action off."

Olivia felt a lump in her throat and tried to think of a good response, but could only say: "Do as you wish. You can always talk to me."

Anita just nodded her head, thanking Olivia under her breath.

Another short silence, a bit longer one. Anita just sat there, surprised by the report that, no matter how slight, had evolves her, while Olivia squirmed, still taken aback by the conversation that she had initiated, and uncertain as to can those parameters really be applied to her.

Then they departed, still concerned and deep in thought, but with newfound feelings of hope and content. A way to closure.