AAAAAHHHHH! I'M SO EXCITED! I'VE NEVER WRITTEN A PART-FOUR SERIES BEFORE!

...actually, I've never written a trilogy or even a part-two series before.

BUT STILL! OH MY GOD! YAAAAAAAAY!

Part 4 of my Aftershock series. Summary for the first three, coming up!

In 'Running Away'- the first one- Casey is raped by her ex-boyfriend and eventually reaches out to Olivia. Abbie Carmichael convicts her rapist- Danny Garcia- when he rapes someone else. In 'Her Flame wouldn't die', one year later, Casey's rapist escapes from prison and comes after her. Casey and Elliot are dating, as are Alex and Olivia. Casey is kidnapped and SVU barely rescues her in time. Elliot and Olivia propose and now Casey is engaged to Elliot and Alex is engaged to Olivia. In 'Happy endings are a myth, right?' Casey's married and pregnant, while Olivia and Alex are still engaged. They all end up being taken hostage, but they come out of it alive and Casey's son- Alexis Stabler- is born. In 'Everyone has a Past'...

-The following takes place 5 years after the ending of 'Happy endings are a myth, right?'-

With a heavy groan, Casey collapsed onto the couch and closed her eyes, savoring for just a moment how good relaxation felt before forcing herself to sit up. This had been the worst week in the history of the world, and it was only Monday- part of what was contributing to her bad mood. Yesterday, at Casey's softball game, she'd been tackled into home plate and was very sore and covered with bruises. Then, last night Alex had had the flu, and Elliot was stuck at work, so Casey- who was already running on zero hours of sleep- had stayed up with him. And since she had had a meeting a work, she had to take Alex with her to work and leave him in Alex Cabot's company. Then Alex Cabot had gotten a call from Olivia about the twins and had to take Alex Stabler with her, and Casey had gone looking for him in an empty office. Her son had thrown up three times over at Olivia and Alex's place, and now it was midnight and she was just getting Alex home. It was midnight, three hours past his bedtime, and he had fallen asleep in the back seat of her car and wouldn't wake up, no matter how hard she tried. So, still sore from her baseball game and also carrying her briefcase, Casey had carried him up three flights of stairs into her apartment.

Elliot was still at work, and she hadn't seem him in two days. Now she was extremely sleepy but still had work to do. With a sigh, she went to check on Alex as a way of putting off her paperwork. He was still fast asleep, his shaggy brown hair all mussed up, his green eyes closed. She smiled slightly, loathe to disturb such a peaceful image, then walked over and gently felt his cheek with the back of her hand. It was hard to tell, but she thought his fever was a little lower then before. He didn't even stir at her touch, nor when she whispered, "Love you," into his ear.

She smiled as she left his room, shaking her head. Olivia was coming over when her famous homemade flu remedy, and she didn't want to pass out waiting for her. Casey was just about to sit down when she tripped over something of Alex's. "Alexis!" she muttered under her breath, picking up his yoyo and wondering how on earth she had tripped over the tiny thing.

SVUSVUSVU

I watched him working on his paperwork at his desk. I saw the picture of him and HER on his desk. Of him and what should have been MY son. The sparkling diamond on his finger. Damn son of a bitch. He stole my girl away from me. And she was unfaithful. Very, very unfaithful. Filthy liar. That was supposed to be MY life. But she left me all alone. I needed her and she left me all alone. How could she?

"Sir, do you need something?"

I looked at the cop and smiled thinly. "Oh, I'm just waiting for my sister. She's reporting a robbery; she'll be right out in a minute." He nodded, unconvinced, but let me be. I looked at the unsuspecting bastard across from the pretty brunette and said, "My time of redemption will come soon."

SVUSVUSVU

"How are the twins?" Elliot asked nonchalantly as he put yet another file aside.

Olivia shrugged, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "They're doing okay. Yesterday Isaac picked a fight with Jenna and Alex had to put both of them to bed early. Plus Alexis was staying with us because Casey and you were both at work. You really need to get home. Your son's still sick and Casey's gonna pass out from taking care of him if you don't go relieve her."

"What about you? You need to get home too."

"Then who would finish all this work? Fin and Munch can't do it all alone."

"Nor will we," Munch muttered under his breath as he went to go get some more coffee.

Fin shook his head, rolling his eyes. "What do you mean, 'Fin and Munch'? I won't be staying. If you two are going home to your wives I'm going home to mine. Munch here can keep working because he's still single."

"Fin, I swear to god, if you leave me here, I will go follow you home, make a sex tape of you and Melinda, then post it on Youtube." Fin scoffed and waved him off as they all got back to work.

A couple months after that hostage situation five years ago, Fin had finally gotten up the nerve to ask Melinda out. Now they were married and had a child of their own- Mia Tutuola. Everyone, in fact, was paired off and had kids except for Munch and Cragen. Munch had already been married four times and Cragen was a widow, so both had pretty much given up all hope of finding that special someone and found happiness in the family they did have.

Finally, Elliot said, "I'm going home in another half hour. You other three gonna stick it out until all the work's done?"

"I dunno, Stabler, you gonna explain to Alex why I had to drop the twins off at school half an hour late yesterday?" He glared at Olivia, then just shook his head and called Casey.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Casey, it's Elliot."

He heard her laugh softly and could just imagine her characteristic smile. "Oh, Elliot! Am I ever going to see you again, or am I going to have to raise Alexis all by myself?"

"Alexis? Wow, what'd he do?"

"What are you talking-"

"You only call Alex 'Alexis' when you're mad at him," he explained, and Casey laughed again.

"Fine, I just tripped over one of his toys and now my ankle hurts too. So, anyway, was this just a call to let me know you're not dead, or are you telling me your not coming home tonight... again?"

He sighed- she always could read him like a book. "Sorry Case."

"It's okay. I know how it is. I hope to see you in court tomorrow. Love you..."

"Love you too."

SVUSVUSVU

I traced the picture, then the name off to the side. That name was wrong. It should be Hamilton. He stole her. But she let him steal her. They both committed an immortal sin, her more so than him. I will take her again, and her son. This man's existence must be eradicated. But he must suffer first, as should she. She will raise what should be my child with me. And I will punish her for marrying this man, for having sex with him. She swore to never do that with another man. She swore to have children with ME. This child's life is innocent; I can not punish him for his mother's sins, but his existence should not be. He is an abomination. But I will make him my son, and I will raise him with that ungrateful bitch.

I pulled up across the street from her apartment building, watching it intently, for what, I did not know. She was in there, with that child. Shall I go in now, or wait for him to come home? Either way, that twisted, destructive, so-called family will not be together much longer. They will all be where they belong- her at my side, raising my child, and him in hell.

SVUSVUSVU

"Mia!" Melinda shouted, shaking her head. "Get in here!"

Her daughter peeked her head outside the door, then walked slowly up to Melinda and asked, "Yes, Mama?"

"What did I tell you about leaving your toys on the floor?"

"That... someone could fall on them and get hurt. I'm really sorry, Mama, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, baby," Melinda said, smiling slightly. Every time she got mad at her daughter, Mia pouted and Melinda- thought she was ashamed to admit it- was a sucker for those puppy dogs eyes. Mia was just too damn cute! "Just don't leave it on the floor next time, okay?"

"Okay."

Melinda sighed, then led her daughter back to her room and said, "Daddy can't come home tonight, but he'll be here tomorrow, I promise. If he's not, I'll get Aunt Casey or Aunt Alex to come stay with you and I'll entice him with a lap dance... um, do you know what a lap dance is?" Mia shook her head, and Melinda sighed in relief. "Good. Now, it's getting late. Time for you to go to bed."

"But what about my story?"*

Melinda thought it as adorable how much her kid loved bedtime stories. She normally made them up on the spot and Mia always fell asleep before she it was over. "You know I wouldn't make you go to sleep without a story!" She carried Mia to bed and tucked her in, then turned out all the lights besides the lamp and started off. "There was once a man who lived in a forest with his wife and two children. They were very poor but still happy. But the man wished he could make a better life for his family, so one day he went out looking for money. He found a fairy trapped under a piece of wood."

Mia's eyes widened and Melinda smiled in response. She wrapped her hand around her daughter's and continued. "Now, the man was a nice man, so he moved the wood away so the fairy could fly again. But she wasn't a very nice fairy. She told him, 'I'm giving you one wish for all your troubles- keep this piece of wood with you wherever you go, and if you ever need a wave of good luck to come your way, just use the board and I'll send some to you.' But the man could only do this once. After that, the piece of wood just became a piece of wood."

"So the man went back and told his family, and they were very happy. The next day, though, the man lost his job. His wife thought they should use the wish but he said no, not yet. He said they would be okay. And they were- he got another job. But then his house burned down, and the wife thought they should use the wish. Do you think the man agreed, Mia?"

She shook her head, still listening intently. "You're right, Mia! He said they would be okay. Then they got a new house in the village. Time and time again, bad things kept happening, but he kept saying they should save the wish for something more important. Finally, when the man and his wife were very old, he gave the piece of wood to his son. By this time, the family had prospered and gotten rich. The man told his son only to use the wish if he had to. The son tried to use it on his father to keep him from dying of old age, but nothing happened."

"As it turned out, the fairy had been a very mean fairy, and she had tricked him. There had been no wish after all, simply the fake belief of a safety net incase they hit hard times. So the man..." Melinda trailed off when she saw Mia was asleep. With a small smile, she kissed her cheek and murmured, "I love you," into her ear before turning out the lamp and leaving, shutting the door softly behind her.

Then she went to go find her cell phone and call Fin, wondering why the hell he hadn't come home in three days. "Detective Tutuola, Special Victims Unit."

"Hey, Fin. It's Melinda. Mia misses her daddy, and I miss my daily dose of smexy cop. Are you ever going to show your face here again or I am going to be raising our adorable little girl all by myself?"

Fin gave a deep, throaty chuckle as he said, "Don't worry, Mel, we caught a break in the case today and now we're just finishing up several mountains of paperwork. I'll be home tomorrow night, promise. And you think I'm smexy?"

"Well, I married you, didn't I?" He laughed again, and Melinda huffed, rolling her eyes. "Well come on, baby, aren't you gonna compliment me?"

"You know you're my chocolate smoothie, Melinda."

"Mmm, now I want chocolate. Thanks alot, Fin!"

He laughed again, then said, "All right, well, I have to let you go. Bye Mel. Love you."

"Love you too, my smexy detective." Melinda heard him chuckling all the way until the line cut off.

SVUSVUSVU

Someone knocked on Casey's door, and she groaned, getting to her feet. "Hey, Olivia," she called. "I hope your remedy's as good as you said, because I think my Alex got me sick."

She opened the door, then blinked in surprise. "If you're looking for my wife, she's at work," Alex said, winking at her. "If you're looking for the second-best thing, she's right here."

"Hey, Alex," Casey said, stepping back to let her in. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Olivia gave me a call, and I remembered how sick Alex was yesterday, so I decided to go ahead and whip you up some of her secret remedy. Don't worry, it won't kill you. I hope."

Casey laughed as she took the plastic bag from Alex's hands, peeked inside, then immediately jerked back and gasped, "GOD, Alex, what IS that? It smells HORRIBLE! Jesus!"

"Hey, it's Olivia's recipe, not mine! You know she wouldn't kill you on PURPOSE!"

"Yes, but on accident is another story. Remember when Elliot, Alex, and I were staying with you because our apartment was being fumigated? Remember that 911 call placed five minutes after we started dinner?"

Alex groaned, shaking her head. "Hey, she didn't know you were allergic to tree nuts!*

Honestly, you two are insane. Now, just drink some if you think you're getting sick and save some for your son. And be sure to mention it to Olivia later; I made her mad last night."

"Really?" Casey gasped with all the energy of a gossiping teenager girl. They both laughed at that for a second, then she continued, "You actually saw her last night? LUCKY!"

"Yeah, well, not as lucky as I would like. I used the new lotion I bought her for her birthday on her... turns out, SHE was allergic. Horrible rash and much panic ensues. Now she's mad at me and I could really use something to get back in her good books."

Casey just chuckled, shaking her head. "Really, Alex. You ought to have learned by now; I'm hopeless when it comes to melting Benson's heart. You married her; you should have perfected it by now."

Alex groaned and rolled her eyes. "Jesus, Casey, can't you help a girl out? I'll talk to Branch about your raise, tell him it's a good idea... come on, pretty pretty please?" she said seductively, fluttering her eyelashes at her, but Casey just sighed.

"Lex, you know I'm straight. Now, go be a big girl and face your wife. If you survive, I'll probably see you at work tomorrow. Thanks for the remedy. But it's late, and I have alot of work to do..."

"You kicking me out?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. Now, shoo! Go home, Alex, get some sleep."

Alex chuckled as she left, still shaking her head in amusement.

SVUSVUSVU

I perked up when a tall blond walked outside her apartment building. I vaguely recognized her... oh yes. The newspaper article that had started me down the twisted path to finding her. The article had mainly been about Alex Cabot, the ghost brought back from the dead, but there was a mention of HER in there.

Alex is pretty, I suppose. Not my type. SHE is my type. But she never should have left. Now she will pay.

I had intended to wait for her bastard husband to get home, but I couldn't wait any longer. It had already been 10 years. I don't see any reason to wait any longer.

So I got out of the car and trudged up to the apartment, fingering the gun hidden in my jacket as a small smile spread across his face. Time to play God and right what was wrong. This woman had wronged me, but that would soon be rectified. That child would become mine, that woman would become my wife, and we would live together after I killed that bastard for marrying MY wife. After I punished her, of course. What she did will not be forgotten anytime soon, I'm sure of it.

Italics are from ?'s POV- I'll tell you who ? is next chapter. And no, it's not Danny Garcia, he actually is dead. I'm not that mean. *The story I wrote was actually one my friend did- we were all in a hotel room for a competition, and after playing Asian Waitress (you don't want to know) she started telling us all a story. It must have worked, because it put me to sleep, even though we were all 14/15 years old. The next morning she told it to us again at breakfast, so I just used it for this. (Firebubblz or whatever name you're using now: Okay, I fell asleep in the middle of it and was eating breakfast with Elizabeth, so I don't remember most of it. I was also hiding from our crazy director, so I had to improv when I forgot what happened. Sorry, jeez, don't kill me! Note 2: I actually am allergic to tree nuts. It makes life a bitch whenever someone gives me candy. I start to eat it, and by the time it's in my mouth I decide to ask if there's nuts. Nine times out of ten, there is. And sorry, I wasn't really thinking how naming the kid Alexis would make it hard to write about him and Cabot at the same time. Also, here's this thingy thing that should hopefully clear up some stuff:

Elliot+Casey=Alexis Stabler, 5 years old

Olivia+Alex (okay, really Alex+ sperm donor)= Isaac and Jenna Cabot-Benson, 4 years old

Fin+ Melinda= Mia Tutuola, 4 years old