Hello members of the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit archive! I came up with a wonderful idea for a cute Thanksgiving one-shot! I know that it's really late for this; but when I went on Fanfiction I didn't see any to read so I decided to write my own. The characters in this Fanfiction are all of the ones after the end of Season 9 when Casey Novak gets fired, and they have Alexandra Cabot as their ADA.

I hope that everyone celebrating Thanksgiving had a wonderful time. Let the story begin; I hope that you enjoy this and read and review!

It was a beautiful, crisp, November day in the borough Manhattan. The autumn leaves were gently drifting off the trees and carpeting the empty sidewalks, which almost deserted on this extraordinary day. That's right, it was Thanksgiving afternoon; and many workers were off to enjoy the special occasion.

Well, most workers except for the detectives in the 16th Precinct. Captain Cragen had called them in bright and early in order to do some work to reduce their case-load. He had promised to let the detectives go home at 3:00 if they finished their mountains of un-filed paperwork. However, throughout the day they had played games like Steal-Munch's-Glasses and See-Who-Can-Make-A-Shot-Off-Of-Munch's-Head, much to his dismay.

In conclusion, they got almost nothing done and were now hurrying to at least finish the first page of their DW5's. Olivia and Elliot had moved their desks next to each other so that they could balance all of the paperwork neatly, and Fin and Munch had done the same, forming a large surface are to work on.

The door to the Captain's office opened and out bustled Cragen, bundled up in his dark grey hat and scarf. He looked at the mess that the four of them had made on the floor and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"What exactly happened in here?" He asked, closing the door to his office and locking it.

Elliot looked up from where he was 'busily' working and clicked his pen shut, dropping it onto his desk and interlacing his fingers together for a stretch. "Well, we put all of our desks together and got straight to work Captain. It's been a very productive day, right Olivia?" He winked at Olivia, who enthusiastically nodded and slid her paper underneath one of the folders on her desk.

"Yes, we've been filling out paperwork all this time! Munch will tell you that!"

The irritated old detective took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. "They weren't doing anything! I'm the only one here that got anything done; that is when I had my glasses. Here!"

He handed a finished pile of paperwork to Cragen and smirked at Fin; who was sitting next to him. "What' you lookin' at?" Fin snapped.

Cragen shook his head while reading through the reports that Munch gave him. "Do you know that there's something wrong with these? I don't know how it took you that long to notice, but you're going to have to redo them on new documents."

Munch snatched up the papers in protest and skimmed over his work. His mouth dropped open and he smacked his head to his forehead when he realized that he had filled out every other page upside-down in a hurry to finish. "I'm an idiot!" He exclaimed and rushed over to the copier to get more papers while the others laughed.

Cragen chuckled and stepped carefully over the balls of paper as he headed towards the squad room's door. "I really expect the four of you to follow my word. You guys are not leaving until all of your reports are filled out; and that's final!" He put a hand up to deflect the protests and he slammed the door shut.

"Oh come on!"

"Is he serious? I was… halfway done!"

"Kathy's going to flip out guys! This is the second Thanksgiving that I've missed in my years as a detective! God, I hate it when we're irresponsible."

"I didn't really have anywhere to go anyway; Chinese Food in my apartment for Thanksgiving is getting boring. I'd rather stay here with you guys."

Everyone turned towards Benson, who was playing with her necklace timidly. "What, it's true! I'm always so lonely on the holidays; I have nowhere to go because most of my family is dead!" She lowered her eyes and pulled her paperwork closer to her; stacking it into a neat pile. "I should start working now…"

She was interrupted by a loud bang and muffled curses. The four detectives instantly put their hands to the guns and drew them quietly, holding the weapons low as they crept forward.

"Is that an intruder?" Whispered Munch quietly.

"Nah; I don't think that anyone can get into here from this height without going through here. Maybe we left a victim here?" Fin murmured as he shifted around to get a better look.

"Good idea Fin; how about I go talk to the intruder?"

"NO!" Snarled Elliot.

"Girl, are you crazy? You're gonna get killed!" Exclaimed Fin.

"Shh, the person's coming this way!" Hissed Munch. The detectives nodded at each other as the clacking of heels drew closer to them. They moved into a crescent shape and held their guns towards the floor in preparation, not daring to speak. The silhouette of a person drew closer, and it appeared that they were carrying a briefcase. "One… two… three!"

"MANHATTAN SVU, DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" The four of them screamed at once, pointing their guns at the figure. A loud shriek emitted from the woman and she threw her pale hands up; dropping all of her papers onto the floor in shock. Elliot bent down and picked up one of the papers; which was folded up blue letter. He scanned the other papers, seeing the legal work to some of their cases and his eyes finally rested on the familiar black briefcase of a certain ADA that they all loved.

"Put away your guns guys; it's only Cabot. What she's doing here is beyond me though." Elliot grinned as he clipped his service piece back onto his belt and stacked the papers up that had fallen onto the floor. The other detectives put away their guns and laughed as a flustered Alex bent down and shakily gathered her papers; stuffing them quickly into her briefcase.

"I didn't know that it was illegal to sleep here!" Alex exclaimed as she clasped her briefcase and stood up. She dropped it onto Fin's desk and took in a deep breath, glancing at the clock. "I was only supposed to stay here for a little while. My mother's holding Thanksgiving at her house; that's going to be horrible. I was working on our case when I dozed off. It's already 3:20, that's ridiculous!"

She straightened her glasses into place and sighed, clutching her heart and putting one hand on her forehead. "You almost gave me a heart attack; I thought that you were going to shoot me; especially you Munch!"

He smiled and pulled up a chair for her to sit on. "Hey; we thought that someone was trying to break in thought the window. As an officer of this precinct, it's my duty to protect my fellow detective's lives by shooting anyone that threatens us; in other words, you." Alex smacked him playfully and cleared a spot on the table for her work. "I have to leave at 4:00, bit I really don't want to go. My family is so stuck-up that they'll probably accuse me of coming late on purpose."

Olivia shifted her paper stack a little bit so that she could see Alex. "If your family is really such a bother then stay here; you could always tell your parents that you had to stay at work. We're better company anyway."

"I'm seriously considering that; but I really want to eat the turkey that our servants make. It's a 22 pound bird this year. I heard that the smaller the bird, the better quality the meat. That's making me really hungry." She opened her briefcase and took out her papers to sort them; watching as a bright pink post-it fluttered out and dropped onto the table. She picked it up and read it; turning paler than she already was. Alex began playing with a few strands of her blonde hair, twirling it on her finger nervously.

"It appears that I forgot that I have an incredibly important meeting tomorrow; I thought that it was next Friday! Excuse me; I have to go call my mother now. Alex took her expensive phone out of her pocket and walked over to the corner of the room. She dialed her mother's number and waited; biting her lip. Fin; who was the closest to her, could hear the conversation she was having and was relaying it back to his colleagues, who were eagerly listening.

"Okay; so I'll tell you which one's Cabot and which ones the old bag. Get ready." Fin then sat up straight and began imitating the voices that he heard.

"Cabot: Hello Mother; it seems to me that I have to stay at work for the rest of the night."

"Old Bag: What? Alexandra, are you kidding me? We have your table setting fixed; the food is almost ready and your cousins are waiting for you. What happened that is so urgent that you can't come over?"

"Cabot: I found out that I have a very important hearing that I need to prepare for. I'll stop by for leftovers tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

"Old Bag: You're always making excuses Alexandra. You just don't want to see us; that must be it. I'm very disappointed in you young lady! Your father-"

"Cabot: I'm not six anymore Mother; I don't appreciate you talking to me like that. Fine; if you want to be that way then goodnight; and have a wonderful evening!"

Alex angrily stabbed the end-call button and balled up her fists. She stormed into the main room and was confronted by four bewildered stares; the owners of which who were trying not to laugh. "It's not funny you know; I need a coffee now to calm down my nerves. The woman's crazy!"

Elliot got up and rolled up his sleeves. "You're right; sorry about that Alex. I'll put a pot up for us; we're all going to need coffee to survive this night." He walked over to the coffee pot and began measuring out the coffee grinds and pouring the water in. "You guys start your stuff; I have an idea…"

Fourteen cups of coffee and three hours later, everyone finished their work and was busy rubbing the tiredness out of their eyes. It was now pitch-black outside; the autumn nights came early; especially since Daylight Savings Time had been put back to normal. They had turned on all of the lights in the precinct; it was too dark to see without them unlike before.

Elliot took out his old, broken cell phone and gestured towards the interrogation rooms. "I have to make a private call, he said; staring down the four of them. As he walked away, Munch rubbed his hands together gleefully and smiled. "I wonder what Kathy's going to say to him; she's a real pain in the neck!"

Olivia frowned and put her papers into her folder. "Stop it; Elliot has to go through a lot of crap because of her. We'll see what he says when he comes back."

Munch crossed his arms and gave her his skeptic's stare. "Please; we all know that you like him; of course you'll stick up for him now." Olivia reached across the table and pushed his work onto the floor, causing him to curse at her. "Come on, I just finished that!"

"You deserve it! Besides, are you sure that they're right-side-up now?"

Munch didn't reply as he picked up his papers and shoved them into one of his drawers, rolling his eyes at Olivia. Elliot was smiling as he happily walked into the room and sat down casually.

"What's making you so happy?" Asked Fin suspiciously.

"Nothing; you'll see in fifteen minutes. You know how Novak got placed in contempt of court last year?

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, she has a lot of free time now that she has no job. I called her now; she's coming with some awesome stuff. Clear your desks; we'll need them."

Fin nodded and put his paperwork away; leaving his desk empty except for a picture of him and his son. Elliot did the same; and soon the tables were completely bare.

Alex closed her briefcase and leaned it against the table. "Is Novak the ADA that replaced me while I was… away?"

"Yeah; why?" Asked Elliot curiously.

"I'm curious; what's the ADA's gender, is she better than I am at this job, and what happened that she got put in contempt?"

"Well, to answer your question, her full name is Casey Novak, she has a 71% success rate, and she lied about the times that some DNA reports were done so they suspended her. She isn't the Ice Queen that you are; but she was a nice girl and got the job done. She's going to come here and hang out with us; you will get to meet her."

"That's wonderful; it's always nice to know good ADA's. I'm pleased that I had a competent woman replace me."

"BRING!" Rang the chime of the elevator that was stationed in the hallway. The metal slabs slid open to reveal a flushed redhead; her arms full of grocery bags and a blue duffel sack with bats sticking out of it. Casey herself was wearing her helmet and gloves; it appeared that she had been busy hitting home runs at the batting cages. Casey hurried over to the door and kicked it; having no available hands to open it with. She put her faced to the window and grinned; attracting the detective's attention.

"She's here!" Exclaimed Olivia as she ran to help Casey with her groceries. She pulled open the door and hugged the ADA, squeezing the breath out of her.

"Hey Olivia; it's nice to see you too!" Laughed Casey as she was flooded with warm greeting and hugs from the other detectives. The only person who didn't say anything was Alex; who folded her hands and watched from a distance as Casey was dragged inside by the mob of people, who took away the bags and put her duffel by her seat. It's not that she was anti social; how was she supposed to greet a woman that she had never met?

Munch noticed Alex's discomfort and pulled Casey over to her. "Ahem; this is Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot. She was our prosecutor before you; and now she's the prosecutor after you. Alex; this is Casey Novak, our former ADA while you were away."

Alex stood up and strode over to the woman; straightening her skirt. "It's nice to meet you Ms. Novak." Alex smiled and offered her hand, which Casey took enthusiastically and shook.

Casey smiled back and took off her fingerless gloves. "Oh please; forget the formalities, call me Casey. You left some pretty big shoes for me to fill when I first took your job; I was really overwhelmed at first. But now I see how you were able to put up with these pesky detectives." The two of them laughed; Casey's joke having just broken the thick ice between them. The sat at their spots at the tables, Alex sitting in the corner next to Munch and Olivia and Casey sitting next to Elliot and Fin.

Elliot pulled out the contents of the shopping bag and placed them on the table; stacking them neatly into piles. Casey had brought five pounds of cold-cut turkey and ham, a bowl of store-brand gravy, two loaves of bread, microwaveable vegetables in containers, paper plates, cups, and plastic eating utensils. Elliot ripped open the plastic covering the plates and tossed one to each of the people around him; being sure to leave one for himself. As he gave out the materials, he explained why he had called Casey.

"I know that we should all be at home right now, celebrating this day of thanks with our family. However, since we are angry, lazy, and or lonely, we all decided to stay at this precinct. Casey brought turkey, ham, and other foods so that we could celebrate here. It's the best we can do for now; and I thank her for coming. By the way, we all owe her 1/7th of the cost of her shopping bill." The detectives grumbled and took out their wallets, throwing bills at Casey to cover their costs. Munch was particularly reluctant to let go of his precious twenty; he held onto it until Fin smacked him upside the head and stole it from him.

After everyone paid Casey her money and her thanks, Elliot tapped Olivia's shoulder and pointed to her desk. She nodded, dove underneath, and began tinkering with the bottom. She emerged clutching a bottle of expensive wine, which they had saved for a special occasion. Fin whooped and ripped the cork off with his teeth; spitting it out so that it hit Munch. The two of them began to laugh, while Elliot poured wine into everybody's cups.

"After I'm done we're going to all say what we're thankful for! He yelled at the squabbling pair. They sat up quietly, Munch picking up his glasses and Fin clasping on his watch. Elliot sat down and linked hands with Olivia and Casey, inspiring the others to do the same.

"Okay, I'm thankful for my safe, happy, and healthy family; my wife Kathy and my wonderful kids. I'm also thankful that Olivia's my partner; we've been working together for a long time and I always have her back." Olivia smiled and Elliot took a moment to hug her, earning a lot of "AWW's!" from the ADA's.

Olivia pulled out of the embrace and they linked hands again. She cleared her throat and scanned the eyes of the people around her, suddenly becoming very serious. "First off I'm thankful for the fact that I got this job; it keeps me occupied and gave me the opportunity to meet all of you guys. I'm thankful that I'm here with you instead of home alone. I love you guys; remember that." She blushed and lowered her eyes, giving Cabot a signal to go next.

"I'm thankful for the fact that I have been your ADA for years. I'm thankful that we have gone through a lot; you guys got me out of witness protection; that means a lot to me. I love my job and my friends, which we always will be. My fellow colleagues, may we continue to prosper." They all nodded at Alex and she nudged Munch, who had been eyeing the turkey hungrily.

"It's my turn already? Wow. Anyway, I'm thankful for all of you guys; you protect my 'scrawny ass' everyday, as Fin likes to say. I'm thankful for our partnership as well; but I don't think we should hug. I might get my arms ripped off." Fin punched him in the shoulder and then stole his glasses, putting them on as he said his thanks.

"Yo I'm really thankful because my son is safe. I'm also thankful that I have all my homies here to work with; especially scrawny-ass. I'm thankful for a lot; how about you go Casey?" He gave the glasses back to Munch and turned to Casey, who was the last person to speak.

"I know that I've done a lot of stupid stuff; I'm even out of work for a while because I got too attached to the case. But now I'm here with all you guys, and guess what? I've even made a new friend! Now let me stop talking so that we can eat!"

They all laughed and pulled the various food items closer to their plates. What seemed like a horrible evening turned out to be one that they would remember forever.

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Happy extremely belated Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates the holiday! I hope that you enjoyed my story; I wrote it for you! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday this year. (I know I did; I was completely stuffed!) Please be sure to review; I would really appreciate it!

Oh, and for anyone wondering; I wasn't really sure how to write in the way that Fin speaks; so it's a little off in a way. So I'm sorry if he's out-of-character, it was an accident.

Have a wonderful weekend; and for everyone following Catalyst I'll update soon!

~ LaoevanSVU