The rain loudly pounded on the outside of her house, and it was the only sound that filled the dark room. The young girl lay underneath the table, her knees tucked into her chest, and a blanket clutched in her shaky little hands.

Everyone else in her family was asleep, so she was all by herself. She wanted to run to her parent's bed, have them reassure her that everything would be alright. But she didn't. She was a big girl after all. She needed to be brave.

A flash of light quickly lit up the room, followed by the sound of thunder. The girl shuttered, and placed the blanket over her head. Her eyes started to water, and she could feel her body shaking.

"I'm not afraid," she whispered meekly to herself, "Big girls aren't afraid."

Casey Novak sighed, as she reviewed the evidence for her case. This wasn't looking good. She somehow had to convict this rapist with circumstantial evidence, and a less then reliable witness. Unless the detectives at the Special Victims Unit were able to miraculously find some direct evidence linking this guy to his crimes, he was going to walk.

All she could do now was think about what she was going to say, to persuade the jury that despite the horrible evidence, the guy was guilty.

Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room, follow by a loud crash. Casey flinch, and let out a quick breath. She suddenly heard just how hard it was raining outside.

"Goddamnit," she swore. The thunder took her off guard. The weather never said there would be any thunderstorms. That would have been a nice thing to know.

She let out a determined sigh, and went back to what she was doing. She had to find a way to make this work.

Another flash of light came in, followed by another loud crash. She clutched the paper she was holding, and felt her arm tense.

"It's only thunder," she told herself. She took in another deep breath, determine not to let the thunder get to her.

Another flash, and another crash, and her body filled with goose-bumps.

Her eyes turned to the table in the middle of her office. It was low, but there was enough room for somebody to crawl under.

She shook the thought from her head. That was ridiculous. She wasn't about to hide just because there was a little weather. She was the ADA of the Special Victim's Unit, after all. She prosecuted some of the most despicable people on earth. She wasn't about to cower in fear because the sky was making unpleasant noises.

The room flashed again, quickly followed by the thunder. This time, the lights suddenly went out. The room became pitch dark. Casey let go of the paper, letting it drop to the desk. Her eyes went back to the table in the room.

Come to think of it, she did drop a pencil down there once. Maybe it was still down there. It was a good pencil, after all. She shouldn't just leave it down there. That would be irresponsible.

She walked over to the table, and crawled under it. Her eyes glanced around the floor, but there was no sign of the pencil.

The lightning flash filled the room yet again, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sleeve to her coat hanging down. The thunder came, and her nails dug into her skin. Come to think of it, it was a little bit chilly under the table. She quickly grabbed it, bringing it down with her.

She tucked her knees into her chest, and clutched onto her jacket like a child holding a blanket.

The flash came, and sure enough, it was followed by thunder. Casey instinctively put the coat over her head.

"I'm not afraid," she told herself, "I'm the ADA of Special Victim's Unit. I'm not afraid."

All Elliot Stabler and Olivia Bensen could do was staring at the sight, trying to suppress their laughter.

They had walked in the room expecting to see their ADA preparing her case. Instead, she was asleep under the table, clutching her coat to her body as if it was a blanket. She was curled up in a perfect little ball. They only reason they even saw her down there, was that the sleeve to her jacket was sticking out from under the table.

The two of them were squatting at the table, looking at the woman as she slept. They were debating whether to wake her up.

"She looks so peaceful," Olivia said, holding back a laugh.

"Maureen used to sleep just like that, when she was eight," Elliot added. Olivia smiled at the statement.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and wake her up," she said, moving herself closer to the sleeping woman.

"Casey," she said, in the voice she used to talk to children, "Casey, it's time to wake up."

The sleeping ADA groaned, and turned her body so she was faced away from them. It took everything in the two detective's power not to laugh.

It was then, that a smile crossed Elliot's face. It was slightly mischievous, something not seen on the male detective often.

"I know how to get her up," he said, and placed his hands on her neck and wrist, as if to check for a pulse.

Casey jumped at Elliot's touch, hitting the back of her head on the bottom of the table.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, then jerked around to see the two snickering detectives.

"Goodmorning Sunshine," Olivia said.

Casey just remembered where she was, and groaned. She'd fallen asleep.

She crawled out from under the table, and stood up, trying to make herself look as dignified as one could in the situation.

"Any news on the case?"

The sun came in brightly through the window, and the sound of birds could be heard. However, Mr. and Mrs. Novak weren't paying attention to that. Their mind was on other things.

They looked at their daughter, who was fast asleep under the coffee table. Her head poked out from under her blanket, which was clutched tightly to her body.

"I'm worried," Mrs. Novak stated, "this is the third time this month she's done this." Mr. Novak smiled, and gave a comforting glance to his wife.

"Relax, dear. Casey's just a kid. She'll grow out of it."