AN: I own nothing, not the characters (apart from the very few originals who creep in from time to time) Nor the locations nor the programmes theselves. Law and Order, Law and Order SVU and The Facts of Life are all too cool to be owned by someone like me. This is done for fun and banter not profit.

Femslash don't like it don't read it - there's loads of excellent, well written fic out there to choose from so don't read this if it's going to upset you. We're all very busy people. Constructive criticism is always appreciated though :)

AN2: So yeah I decided to write a sort of sequel to Careful Aim, except with a wee twist in the characterisation department. We'll see how it goes as the banter progresses. Many thanks to Mashnut for betaing and assuring me that this wasn't a completely crazy notion.

Pairings: Alex/Olivia Established, Abbie/Serena in those first romantic stages, Jo/Blair it's complicated with those two huh?

On with the show...

Aim Higher – A Careful Aim Sequel of Sorts

After a month of intensive physio and a tonne of pain meds that she hadn't wanted to take in the first place Olivia was finally back at work. Sure she was going to be on desk duty for a while but it was better than going stir crazy in her apartment, especially when Alex had already reluctantly returned to work a couple of weeks ago. Being alone in their new apartment while not unpleasant, wasn't exactly the most fulfilling thing she could think of doing with her time. Mostly because she couldn't do anything. Alex wouldn't let her tax herself on anything remotely strenuous and so their place was still mainly a mess, with only a small vestige of organisation about it. It didn't particularly bother her but she knew that it bothered Alex. With her return to work she was hopeful that the two of them could get back on track setting their first place up together.

Liv took a deep breath as she exited the lift and prepared to re-enter the world that was SVU. As she walked through the door though she couldn't believe her eyes. She blinked trying to get rid of the image but there it was. Lying across her desk like it was part of the furniture. She wasn't sure who was to blame for it but she was determined to kick their ass from now to next millennium when she got a hold of them. It was most likely Eliot. It was ALWAYS him. Besides he had been in the marines and he had access to that kind of stuff. He had plenty of buddies from those days who would willingly help in a practical joke. Then again he didn't know about what had happened to her that night; Alex had promised her that she wouldn't tell a soul. Though now that she thought about it keeping quiet wasn't exactly Serena's forte… especially not where Abbie was concerned and Abbie… well she was Abbie.

Shrugging her shoulders and resigning herself to the fact that she had been a fool to think that she wouldn't get the piss taken out of her for falling gracelessly, head first out of a vent onto cold concrete like some last action hero she entered and sat down at her desk. She lifted the object up and examined it carefully, glaring at it in an attempt to discover the prankster in question. Eliot laughed at his partner who held the unopened parachute at arm's length distastefully the white silk endlessly apparent…

'I wouldn't do that Liv…'

'El, I'm gona kill you…'

'Nothin to do with me partner.'

She glared at him before throwing the chute onto the floor under her desk and eyeing him suspiciously. Plausible deniability and all that… Besides who else could have gotten hold of a perfectly good standard issue parachute and brought it straight into the 1.6 without anyone batting an eyelash about it. Her list of suspects was limited.

'If it wasn't you who the hell was it?'

'Just take your time Liv, it'll come to you.'

Eliot simply sat down at his desk and picked up a DD5, pretending to be thoroughly interested in finishing the report while all the time watching his partner as the wheels turned in her mind. He knew she'd figure it out. The question was which emotion would be unleashed first? Anger for the jibe or relief that her friend was back in town?

'You've gotta be kidding me?'

'The very same.'

'She's a dead woman' the words however lost their menace with the grin that was plastered on Olivia Benson's face as she realised who it had to have been.

'Sure she is' a familiar Bronx accent filled the room.

The familiar voice caused both Eliot and Olivia to turn suddenly. There she stood, dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail, brown leather jacket looking more like it belonged on a familiar movie character than a striking woman in her mid-thirties, yet with her crisp white shirt, faded blue jeans, badge at her belt and the ever present motorcycle helmet under her arm Jo Polniaczek looked as good as she ever had. Every bit the tough, no nonsense Bronx cop that she was. Her time away from the city as a teenager having done little to mellow her fire, her swagger or indeed the piercing gaze that made you sit up and take notice.

'I heard you like skydiving Benson…'

'Screw you Polniaczek' Liv laughed

Just like that it was as if they were rookies again, partners on their patch taking out perps and playing the hero together. Jo pulled up a chair and as was her custom immediately sat legs astride as if she were on her beloved bike. They may be older, perhaps a little wiser, but some things never changed.

'What's the story on your recovery Benson?'

Jo indicated her former partner's shoulder which was healing well but painfully slowly. Her question though immediately brought Liv on the offensive. After all she had sworn Alex to secrecy, so how had Polniaczek known?

'Your best friend always talks Benson, you know that…'

Liv had to sigh at that and laugh. She hadn't even known that Jo was in town never mind that she had been to see Abbie, who was still languishing in hospital after her gunshot wound. Rumour had it she was to be released later in the week, which was a good thing since the raven haired Texan was going nuts in there. Liv suspected that was partly to do with the fact that Serena had been visiting every moment she could since it had happened. While she was certain Abbie appreciated this fact, she also knew that her friend must be finding it frustrating being unable to whisk the blonde beauty into her arms or even take her on an official date.

'You told her she could borrow your bike again didn't you?'

'Somethin like that…' the gleam in Jo's eyes was mischievous.

In her excitement at seeing Jo Polniaczek again after so long it hadn't occurred to Olivia to ask her former partner why, after almost a years' worth of radio silence she was back in touch. Now however she felt compelled to discover what had become of her friend in that time. Jo sensed a shift in the atmosphere and, having spent five years predicting Olivia Benson's every move, she shrugged nonchalantly in an attempt to buy herself some time. What she had to say wasn't exactly the best news and she didn't really feel much like saddling her friends with it. The questioning gaze that Olivia threw her way though meant that she had no option, she had never lied to her and she wasn't about to start now.

'I've been undercover Liv, deep cover. I ain't been in my own mother's apartment in a year,'

'Deep cover? What's the deal here Jo?'

'They needed someone to go toe to toe with some big time dealers; I've been deep since then. They pulled the plug on me last Tuesday.'

The tone that Jo was using made both Eliot and Olivia tense. They knew what it meant when someone in deep cover was pulled suddenly, they had seen it too often when the outcome was less than favourable for the good guys. The looks on their faces told Jo everything she needed to continue. Jo was running her fingers through her hair now; her composure from moments earlier had evaporated. She was on the verge of something, not tears exactly but they could tell she was furious. There was something else there though…fear…Jo Polniaczek was afraid.

'I thought he was our friend Liv, but he ratted me out. Can you believe it?'

'Who?'

' He … he wasn't even meant to be there anymore…'

'Jo…Who wasn't meant to be there?'

'Brian bloody Cassidy.'

It took every ounce of strength she had to stop Olivia from crying out her shock. Jo was swatting angrily at her eyes in an attempt to keep the angry, white hot tears from threatening to fall. Jo had been undercover for so long it would have been impossible for her to know that their former friend had gone bad; when he showed up she would have trusted him implicitly just like Olivia had once upon a time. Just like they all had. Jo was nothing if not a master at keeping her true emotions under wraps and so within seconds she was back in control, the cool, collected cop that everyone knew. Only Olivia and Eliot had any idea how badly she had been affected. Given how badly things could have gone for her they were simply relieved that she, unlike so many others in similar circumstances, had made it out before her fate was sealed.

'When did he show up Jo?'

'A coupla weeks ago, he looked like hell. We both did. You know what these gigs are like.'

Olivia and Eliot nodded their understanding, both only too aware just what being undercover did to a person. Being under for as long as Jo had been it was amazing that she hadn't flipped completely. Jo could sense exactly what they were thinking, mainly because she herself had thought the same thing on more than one occasion in the past.

'Don't worry about it, I'm talkin to some shrink about my 'trauma', some guy named Huang. No offense to the fella but if I don't ever see him again it'll be too soon.'

'He's a good guy, don't worry Polniaczek you're in good hands with him.'

Jo merely nodded imperceptibly before running her hand through her hair again.

'Carmichael filled me in on the basics but there's a lot she didn't know. Or wouldn't tell me, either way I'm here now so spill…'

Olivia and Eliot found themselves spilling their guts to Olivia's former partner. They told her everything, even the things that Olivia had been reluctant to talk to Alex about or Eliot to Kathy. With Jo it was different, she was a cop, she understood. Hell she had lived it. Jo sat listening, paying rapt attention to everything they said, occasionally she threw her hands in the air or ran a hand through her hair, these were her only movements, she remained completely silent. Once their story was complete she remained silent for long moments, so silent in fact that the two SVU detectives thought that they had lost her completely.

'He's still out there. We gotta do something.'

Olivia looked at her friend as if she had sprouted wings and an extra head. There was no way that anyone was going to let either of them anywhere near any investigation into Cassidy. They had too much of a vested interest, their involvement was too personal.

'I know. But we…'

'Don't say we can't Liv. You know that's never stopped either of us before now. We just gotta play things cool, don't get careless.'

Olivia shook her head, she must be getting soft. There was no way that she was going to allow Cassidy to get away. Not if there was something she could do about it. Eliot simply smiled his agreement before disappearing towards the coffee pot, luckily Munch hadn't been anywhere near it for a good few days and that meant that the coffee was at least drinkable.

'Where do we start?'