Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Law and Order or Law and Order SVU. That honor belongs to Dick Wolf. Seriously, if I owned it a lot more ships would be canon and Alex would never have left.
Authors Note: Rating is T for now, due to mention of rape and some violence, but may become M in the future. This is my first Law and Order story, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. This is unbetaed, so I apologize for any grammar errors.
It would be a ridiculously easy case, Abbie Carmichael thought as she arranged the papers on the table. She could probably even get remand instead of bail. The idiot had killed his wife in front of three eyewitnesses, not counting the children. It would be a great pleasure for her to put him behind bars. She didn't bother to look up when she heard the defendant come in with his attorney. It wouldn't matter who the defense attorney was, even if he was the best attorney in the city, she was still going to put his client away for the rest of his life.
Once she had everything organized, she decided it might not be a bad idea to introduce herself and see who she was up against. He was standing, facing away from her and talking to his client as she approached. She waited for a brief pause and then announced loudly, "Hi, I'm ADA Abigail Carmichael, nice to meet you".
He turned, extending his arm for a handshake. "Michael Tucker"
Abbie froze for a moment when she saw his face, barely even hearing his name except as confirmation in the back of her mind that this was him. She couldn't move; she couldn't breathe; she couldn't think.
"How've you been Abbie?" he asked, confused by her silence. He wondered if perhaps she didn't remember him.
That was her breaking point. She threw herself at him, hitting, kicking, and scratching at him until he fell to the ground. She screamed at him, not even aware of what she was doing or saying, the words running together, making her near impossible to understand. "You son of a bitch, you, you…" She continued to hit and kick him after he fell, screaming hysterically, pummeling him even as his head hit the floor with a solid thud, even as he got over his shock and started to fight back.
She didn't feel it when he got a few good hits in, or when her lip split open. She was numb, completely and totally numb. The memories were right there in the back of her mind, threatening to burst over, but for now they stayed locked up, her mind blank of any thought beyond beating this piece of scum into the ground.
The court stood in stunned silence, not daring to believe the sight in front of them. After a minute a few bailiffs ran over and pulled Abbie, still kicking and screaming away from Michael. Barely able to move, he lay there as they dragged Abbie out of the courtroom. As soon as he was out of her sight, she stopped struggling and simply went limp as the bailiffs took her out into the hall and then lead her into an empty room nearby.
"Sorry Abbie," one of the bailiffs who had known her for years kept repeating as they seated her at the table and placed her in handcuffs. "Look," he said gently, "We're not going to bring you in yet, we'll have the detectives come here to talk to you, but you know it would help if you could tell us what the hell just happened in there.
Abbie just sat silently, staring down at the table. She didn't move at all, not even a brief nod, or looking up, or anything to indicate she had heard a word that had been said.
"Hey, are you okay Abbie?" he asked, then quietly cursed himself. Clearly she wasn't okay. She was going to have some nice marks from the other guy fighting back, he thought, and besides, Abbie Carmichael attacking anyone in the first place had to be some kind of indication that she was not okay. He still couldn't really believe that she'd attacked the guy. Maybe he had somehow missed the guy attacking her first, and she had just been fighting back? It sure hadn't looked like it, but that would make a lot more sense with the Abbie Carmichael he knew.
When she still didn't respond at all, he got nervous. Maybe she would talk to someone she knew better. He excused himself, explaining to the catatonic Abbie that he was going to make a phone call and would be right back, but he couldn't' even tell if she heard.
"Leave the handcuffs on," he whispered to the two other bailiffs on the way out, "but don't take her anywhere. I'm going to call some of the detectives that know her and see if they can come here instead of taking her in, so she'll be more comfortable." They all liked Abbie- she was friendly and completely dedicated to her job. He glanced back as the door shut behind him. Abbie still hadn't moved an inch.
Please review- your constructive criticism will help me make the next chapter even better. I'm hoping to get it up in the next few days, but it will depend on how busy I get. I'll definitely get it up within the next week. Remember, reviews are love.