Author's Notes

Yes, I know I'm horrible for starting another story before finishing In The End. Unfortunately, I've lost my mojo with that story. Thank you to all that supported that story. I hope to one day finish it off (there's only like 3-4 chapters left), but this story has been stewing in my head for a while, and it's different from anything I've even written before, so I wanted to try my hand at it. I'll be honest, I will probably update this slowly, but thank you to all those who are willing to take the journey with me.

1. This is story is slightly AU and takes place in 2009, late Season 10. In this story:

a. Olivia works for NYPD but not SVU. She has never met anyone in the SVU squad

b. Elliot still works for SVU

c. Don is still Commanding Officer of SVU

d. Munch hasn't retired

e. As in the canon, in late Season 10, Alex resumes her position as Sex Crimes A.D.A. In my story, however, she never leaves after resuming her position

f. Olivia's mother in this story is Serena Benson but looks like Mariska Hagitay's real life mother, Jayne Mansfield, but still has a similar backstory as Serena Benson (the rape, Olivia's conception).

2. I do not know much about correct police procedures or legalities. So if anything is inaccurate forgive me and chalk it up to poetic license.

3. As always, please read and review. I'm sure I can be persuaded to pump out chapters faster….

Disclaimer: If you don't recognize a character, they're mine. If you do recognize a character, they're not mine. See how simple that is.

"Miss Cabot?" Startled Alexandra Cabot turns to the voice that disturbed her thoughts. It is fairly late on a Thursday evening; the sun had set hours ago. And as per usual, Alex is just leaving work.

A brunette woman steps out the shadows of the steps of One Hogan Place. Alex tries to muffle her gasp. The woman is breathtakingly gorgeous: olive-colored skin, deep chocolate eyes, a curvy but slender figure, and beautiful full breasts. The woman wears a simple outfit of a tight shirt, leather jacket, jeans, and a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. The simplicity of the outfit does nothing to diminish her stunning looks.

The woman smirks almost as if she is aware that Alex is speechless because Alex is too busy checking her out. She repeats herself, "Miss Cabot?"

Guiltily, Alex flushes, "Um, yes, I'm A.D.A. Cabot," She asserts hoping that by using her title she can slip in to a more professional space-her unflappable, Ice Queen persona.

"The 'Lazarus' A.D.A. Cabot who technically lost her life fighting for victims? The A.D.A. with an 84% conviction rate- one of this highest sex crimes conviction rates in the Nation? That A.D.A. Cabot?" The woman asks. There is a fire the woman's eyes- fire and pain. Her brown eyes search Alex's eyes, as if trying to verify what the press has said about the great Alexandra Cabot by looking in to Alex's eyes.

Alex stares back in to the woman's eyes and she knows instantly; this woman is a victim. This woman is one of hers.

The woman finally breaks eye contact with her. A flush taints her cheeks. This proud, beautiful woman is ashamed. Alex knows that shame, she has seen it in many of the victims that she had worked with over the years. Ashamed, but still the woman continues, "They say you are relentless in your pursuit of ... rapists." And there it is, the acknowledgement of the mysterious woman's assault.

Alex finally speaks, "Yes. I am. And I will bring whoever assaulted you to justice." Alex vows solemnly. The desire to protect and get justice for this woman that she has known all of three minutes is visceral and overwhelming. It is not like Alex to promise this before she knows the details of the case. There is a reason her conviction rate is so high; she carefully vets cases before she pursues them. But in this moment, she does not care what the circumstances are that surround this woman's assault; Alex will help her be heard.

Surprised, brown eyes meet Alex's gray-blue eyes again. She seems reassured by what she sees in Alex's eyes. She nods once and pulls out several evidence bags from her messenger bag.

Alex's eyebrow rises in surprise; the evidence bags are NYPD-issued, and from what she can see they are properly sealed, "You're a cop?!" She had not made the woman for a cop. After spending a fair amount of her days with cops, Alex has always believed her "cop-dar" was fairly good. This woman had not even pinged on it.

The woman does not answer; she just hands over several bags and a rape kit. Alex takes them from her. It is as Alex suspected, they are properly sealed and signed with a badge number. 1075. "Is this your badge number?" Alex asks the woman hoping for some clue.

The woman again does not answer. She closes her messenger bag and turns away from Alex. Alex rushes to stop her, " Please don't go! Come inside. I'll call SVU and they'll come take your statement!" Instantly she knows that her suggestion is a mistake. If this woman is indeed a cop, there has some reason why this woman had not gone to SVU first. Alex mind whirls with possibilities.

"Please let me help you!" The woman continues to walk away. "Give me your name at least!" Alex watches her go. She wonders what she just got herself involved in.

"So you're telling me that a woman just walks up to you and hands you NYPD-issued evidence bags and a rape kit- all properly sealed and with proper chain of command and all?" Donald Cragen questions Alex skeptically. It is early the following morning, and Alex has repeated her story for the third time.

Alex shrugs as she leans against Elliot Stabler's desk. She would not believe her story too if it had not happened to her. "I had an officer drop the kit and evidence bags off to Warner last night. I'm hoping she'll have some answers for us shortly."

Walking over from the coffee machine, John Munch hands her a cup of coffee, "Some ambrosia." Alex smiles sweetly and takes the cup from Munch. After pretending to take a sip, she discreetly places the cup on Elliot's desk as Munch turns away. She knows better than to drink the sludge Munch tries to pass off as coffee. Elliot chuckles, takes the coffee, and drinks it.

"Alex's palette's to refined for that mud you make, " Odafin Tutuola teases Munch.

Looking at Alex, Munch places his hands dramatically over his heart, "Prick me do I not bleed?"

"So if this woman's a cop, why didn't she come in?" Elliot steers the conversation back on track.

"U.C.?" Fin throws out, "Undercover operation. Maybe she's trying to make sure her cover isn't blown?" That made the most sense to Alex of the theories she had spent all night coming up with.

"Or someone from her squad did it?" Munch suggests. That is another theory Alex had thought of; of all the theories she came up with, she likes this one the least.

Suddenly, Elliot announces, "She's I.A.B!"

Internal Affairs Bureau? Alex had not considered that possibility, "What makes you think she's I.A.B.?"

"Badge 1075 is Tucker's badge number. I couldn't place it the first time ya said it, but I knew that I knew that badge number. I've heard it every time Tucker deposed me." Elliot murmurs scornfully.

"Of all of us, you would know," Fin heckles. Elliot frowns and opens his mouth to counter.

"Alright, alright," Cragen interjects before Elliot and Fin can escalate in to another one of their infamous spats, "Since you're acquainted with Tucker, Elliot, go down and ask him who our mystery woman is and why he signed and sealed her rape kit."

"Shouldn't you send someone with him to make sure he doesn't punch Tucker's rat face in?"

"Fin." Cragen warns. Though never quiet friendly, things had really gotten bad between Fin and Elliot since the Chester Lake situation. Alex wonders if the two will ever be able to work together civilly again.

"I'll go with him." Alex volunteers. She normally is not involved this early in the process, but something about this woman makes her want to be involved every step of the way. The mysterious woman had haunted the little sleep she did manage to get last night. Alex needs to know the identity of this woman before it drives her crazy.

Without another word, Elliot grabs his keys and coat and leaves.

Alex grabs her coat and her briefcase and follows behind Elliot. As she retreats she hears Munch say, "Maybe Alex should be his partner; she's the only one he puts up with for more than five minutes." Alex mentally chuckles. She doubts she and Elliot could get along for that long; even on his best days Elliot is a grizzly bear. But with his exceptional case closure rate, Alex was more than willing to put up with his temper and foul moods.

"When are you and Fin going to start getting along?" She asks as slides in to the passenger seat of his sedan.

"Around the time you and Casey start getting along." He returns effortlessly. Alex narrows her eyes at him. It had been nearly a year after Casey lied to a judge and disgraced the Sex Crimes office. An offense Alex took personally. Not only did Alex have great reverence for the law; the Sex Crimes Bureau was Alex's office- Alex's home. In her mind, Casey's misconduct was a stain on Alex's office reputation, Alex's work, and Alex.

"That long?" Alex returns. Elliot chuckles as he pulls in to traffic.

"Tucker!" Elliot bellows as he barges into Edward Tucker office without knocking. Alex sighs. Elliot clearly does not believe in attracting flies with honey.

Nonplussed, Edward Tucker glances at his watch, "Stabler, I'm surprised it took you so long. You're getting slow in your old age."

Alex intercedes quickly, "Well you can save us some time and tell us who she is." She smiles winningly at Tucker.

Tucker warms- as much as Tucker can warm, "A.D.A. Cabot, nice to see you."

"She one of your rats, Tucker?" Elliot sneers.

"Really, Stabler? That's how you refer to a rape victim? I thought you were at least good with victims." Who knew there would be a day when Alex agreed with Tucker.

Before Elliot can respond his phone pings. Elliot takes out his phone and reads the text message, "Shit." Immediately the mood in the rooms shifts.

Alex leans over to try to see what the message says, "What?"

In the nine or so years that Alex has known Elliot, she has only seen him truly worried a handful of times- and this moment is one of them, "DNA is back. Three samples recovered in the vic's panties; two of them hit in CODIS. Frank Angeletti and Pietro Angeletti. Third sample is not in CODIS but shares a Y chromosome with the Angeletti brothers."

Alex's stomach drops to below her feet- she is sure of it, "The Angeletti brothers?! Of the Gambino Mafia Crime family? Of the one of the biggest crime families in New York? Those Angeletti brothers?"

Elliot nods solemnly, "Betcha my pension that the third sample is their brother, Vito. He's never been arrested. Explains why he's not in CODIS."

"Vito's fairly high up the crime ladder. Our office has been trying to get something to stick to him for almost a decade. If he's the third sample…." Alex cannot even complete the thought out loud. The thought of possibly having something that might finally stick to 'The Invincible Vito Angeletti'… and to be the one that leads the prosecution against him and his brothers would put her on the fast track to the D.A. seat. Part of Alex salivates at that thought, but another part of her cowers. It has been a few months since she has resumed her position after her stint in Witness protection. Trying- and possibly failing- to take down one of the key players in one of the most established crime families in New York is a sure way to end up right back in Witness Protection.

"What the hell did you get us in to?" Elliot asks Tucker accusingly.

"You caught the case, you make it." Tucker answers simply. Again Tucker is nonplussed. Alex knows people accuse her of having ice in her veins, but she wonders what runs in Tucker's veins.

Elliot's eyes widen, "She's U.C. working the Gambino Family or the Angeletti brothers. Her cover's blown! That's why they raped her! Whichever precinct she's working out of you or her handler have pull her. Now!" Elliot yells.

Tucker stares at them blankly, neither confirming nor denying Elliot's theory.

Frustration finally seeps into Alex's voice and posture, "Give us her name already!"

A loud, booming voice halts any further conversation, "Stabler?!" The Chief of Detectives calls. Someone must have overheard the commotion that she and Elliot had made and informed the Chief of Ds that they were at One Police Plaza.

Elliot visibly grimaces before the Chief of Ds saunters in to Tucker's office. "Sir?" Elliot asks.

The Chief of Ds closes the door behind him. The apparent need for secrecy raises Alex's already raised hackles even more. What the hell have they gotten in to? "You saved me a trip up to SVU. Shut down your investigation. This case no longer concerns you." And just like that he turns to leave. And if possible, Alex's stomach drops even further.

Never one to take things lying down, Elliot countes, "But Chief we have DNA, we know who-"

Emphatically the Chief of Ds insists, "Shut. It. Down. " He spins on Tucker, "We'll talk about your part in this later." He growls and leaves.

"What the hell have we gotten in to?" Alex repeats.

Indeed what have they- and ya'll and I- gotten in to?

I'm excited to for my try my hand at my first case fic, but there will definitely be some romance mixed in.

Thanks for reading! Please read and review!