Spoilers: Signature

XXXX

"Yo, Novak!" A young batting cage attendant called out.

Stepping out of the path of the oncoming ball Casey glanced over at him.

"Phone call," Hector held up the portable phone. "Your office."

Casey knew that it couldn't be good. Not only was it her day off, but she was warming up for the highly anticipated Sex Crimes verses Homicide game that was scheduled to start shortly. She put down the bat and jogged over to Hector.

"Novak," she said into the phone. Silently she listened to the person on the other end.

"Everything alright Novak?" Hector asked with concern as she handed him back the phone, an unidentifiable expression on her face.

"I gotta go," she said, hurrying over to her gear bag, shoving her helmet into it.

"Yo, Sex Crimes! Where you going?" Dennison, the pitcher for Homicide called.

"Emergency," she called over her shoulder as she shouldered her backpack and hustled over to her bike.

"What? You finally figured out Homicide is going to win?" Hernandez, their first baseman ribbed her.

Normally Casey loved getting into verbal sparring matches with the opposing team, so when she didn't respond, they knew something must really be up.

"Hope everything is all right!" Dennison called out in concern.

Casey raised a hand, signaling that she heard him, as she quickly peddled away.

XXXX

The scene, only ten blocks away, seemed to take an eternity to get to.

"What happened?" Casey asked breathlessly, hopping off her bike, and tying it haphazardly to a tree.

Melinda wore a concerned expression as she explained what happened in the apartment.

Casey bit her lower lip with worry, "How is Olivia?"

Melinda sighed, "I tried to talk to her but she just shut down."

Casey glanced at the apartment entrance, anxious to see how Olivia was.

"Go," Melinda nodded towards the door. "We're all here for her…"

"Thanks Melinda," Casey quickly headed to the entrance and flashed her ADA's badge at the young cop who was controlling the perimeter. She headed up to the forth floor and paused to catch her breath before once again showing her credentials to the officer posted at the door. He nodded her in, lightly closing the door behind her.

When Casey saw Olivia slumped against the wall looking broken her heart went out to her, "Liv?"

Olivia gave no indication that she noticed her presence.

"Livia," Casey said softly reaching out for Olivia's shoulder.

Olivia jumped at the contact but said nothing. Casey walked over to Olivia's other side, and leaning up against the wall, she slowly slid down until she was seated next to Olivia.

Olivia choked back a sob when Casey's shoulder brushed against her own. Slipping an arm between the wall and Olivia, Casey rubbed slow soothing circles on Olivia's back as the older woman turned into her embrace and allowed herself to break. Casey shifted her weight, trying to make them more comfortable on the floor. She wasn't used to the one giving comfort. Olivia had always been the strong one.

"It's okay, I'm here," Casey whispered, one hand cradling Olivia's neck.

Casey didn't know how long they had been there, but by the time Olivia's breathing had evened out, a quick glance out the window revealed a setting sun. Olivia reluctantly pulled away from Casey, and upon seeing the large wet spot on Casey's jersey, gave her a tearful smile, "Sorry for soaking you."

"It doesn't matter," Casey used her thumbs to wipe away the tear tracks from Olivia's cheeks. "You ready to go home?"

At Olivia's nod, Casey got to her feet and positioned herself between Olivia's line of sight and the blood-spattered wall. She offered her hand to the detective and once she was on her feet, slipped her arm around Olivia's waist and led her out of the apartment. She mouthed a thank you at the officer posted at the apartment door as the elevator arrived. After pushing the button for the ground floor, she leaned back against the cool steel wall and pulled Olivia closer to her.

Grateful for the contact, Olivia tilted her head, resting it on the slightly taller ADA's shoulder, "Thanks Case."

"Welcome," She murmured, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

When they reached the sidewalk Casey glanced around at the rapidly darkening street, "Is your squad car here?"

"No, Lake drove."

Casey walked to a near-by tree to unlock her bike, "Well, unless you want to ride home on my handle bars, it looks like we are taking the train."

With one arm wrapped protectively around Olivia's waist, and the other pushing her bike, they quickly reached the nearest subway entrance. The train was surprisingly not busy, and the two women were able to grab a seat for the short ride downtown. It wasn't too long before Casey was unlocking her apartment door. She pushed her bike into the hallway closet, and turned to Olivia who had frozen in the hall. She pulled Olivia's lightweight jacket from around her shoulders and tossed it over the back of a chair. Drawing her into a supportive embrace, she could feel how tense and rigid Olivia's muscles were with stress.

"Go take a shower, I'll make some tea. Are you hungry?"

Olivia silently shook her head but allowed Casey to point her in the direction of the bathroom.

When Casey heard the shower water turn off, she poured the brewing tea into two mugs and carried them into the bedroom. Olivia emerged from the bathroom a short time later wearing one of Casey's extra jerseys, and a set of her pajama pants. Casey smiled affectionately as she handed Olivia her mug. Usually she was the one wearing Olivia's pajamas when she was upset.

Sitting on the bed facing Casey, Olivia stared into her mug and quietly asked, "Am I becoming one?"

"One what?"

"If you hunt monsters long enough, you need to make sure you don't become one…"

Casey set her mug down on the bedside table and scooted closer to Olivia, hooking her legs around Olivia's waist. She took Olivia's mug from her and set it next to hers. "You are not a monster. You are not going to become one," She said firmly, tipping Olivia's chin up to meet her eyes.

"Everyone near me always gets hurt. You almost got killed when I went for coffee! You should leave before I do get you killed," Olivia confessed, looking anywhere but at Casey.

"Liv, stop. What that asshole did to me was not your fault, okay?"

"I don't want to lose you."

Casey sighed, "C'mere," She cupped Olivia's face in her hands, "You are not going to lose me," she kissed Olivia's cheek, salty from her tears, "I am not going to leave you," she kissed her other cheek, "I'm pretty hard to get rid of, you should know that by now." She teased chastely bringing her lips to meet Olivia's.

The ADA felt the detective's lips lift into a smile against her own and she let out an internal sigh of relief. When Olivia retreated to the dark corner of her soul, it scared the crap out of her. When they pulled apart, Olivia struggled to contain a yawn. Casey unhooked her legs from Olivia's waist and pulled the blankets back, "You need some sleep."

"Yes, mom," Olivia grumbled playfully, snuggling into the blankets.

Casey rolled her eyes as she made a face. Leaning down she dropped a kiss on Olivia's cheek, "Goodnight."

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked, quickly sitting up.

"Just going to call the station house to let them know you're alright."

"Please don't leave," Olivia's eyes begged.

"Okay," Casey agreed reaching over to flick off the lights. She slid under the blankets, her body instinctually molding around Olivia's.

Olivia snuggled back into her girlfriend's arms, entwining their fingers.

"Goodnight baby," Olivia pulled their clasped hands to her lips, placing a kiss on Casey's knuckles.

Casey nuzzled Olivia's neck, "Night."

With that, Olivia was able to peacefully drift off to sleep in the comfort and safety of Casey's arms.

~Finito~