Trouble in Paradise
Summary: After Jim's suspicions that Alex's fiancé is abusing her are confirmed, he helps her press charges against him. Crossover with Conviction.
Office of Jim Steele
April 3, 2006
11:30 A.M.
"Great," Jim Steele groaned once he saw the message on his desk. He had just gotten out of court for the morning. His case was already shaky from the beginning, but now the defense attorney managed to discredit one of his star witnesses. "Fucking great," he muttered as he crumbled the note and tossed it back onto his desk. Alex Cabot wanted to see him. He did not know why, but he knew that he did not want to see her. Ever since she had told him that she was engaged, he was trying to avoid her at all costs.
If this was about this case, he did not want to hear it. He did not want to hear anything about any case. He might not have been an ADA for as long as she had, but he has been one throughout her time in Witness Protection. He knew what he was doing. She was still getting used to being back in the D.A.'s office. She had only been there for a few months. He knows the details of this case inside and out. So he had a bad day, so what? He could still turn this case around.
Let's get this out of the way, he thought. He slammed his office door shut and began the walk towards Alex's office. Deep breaths, he reminded himself. He slowed his pace to collect his thoughts. The last thing he needed to do was appear unprofessional.
He approached her office and found the door open ajar. He knocked softly. No response. He knocked a little harder, but there was still no answer. He finally decided to push the door open. Once he did, he walked over to her desk.
Alex was asleep. That was obvious. She had a couple of law books on her desk. Her arms were folded on top of them, and the combination served as a makeshift pillow. Her face was turned towards her fridge. Her glasses were in front of her on the desk.
Jim was about to either yell at her until she awoke or just storm out of there. Her behavior was too unprofessional. Before he had the chance, something caught his eye. Something that was not good. Several small red marks went down in a line on her pale face. From their location and size, he immediately knew that they were not just indentations made by her watch as a result of her shifting positions in her sleep. No, this was different. They were burn marks. He instantly felt bad for wanting to yell at her.
He knelt down beside her chair and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Al," he whispered in a soothing tone. "Alex, come on. Wake up."
Alex's eyes fluttered open as she picked her head up. She stretched her arms in front of her and gasped in shock when she saw Jim. Had she made another stupid mistake? She pushed her chair away from her co-worker. "Jim, what are you doing here?" she asked in a lame attempt at regaining her composure.
Jim shook his head as he stood up. He walked to the side of her office and grabbed a chair. He then pulled himself closer to her chair and sat down in the chair. "I think I'll ask the questions," he stated. "Alex, what happened to you?"
Alex's face flushed with embarrassment. "Jim, I told you that we cannot be together. I honestly don't know how I can make that more clear."
"This isn't about that," Jim stated. His tone was not bitter. Alex knew that he was serious. "What happened to you?" he repeated his initial question. "Your face," he prompted. "I know you know what I'm talking about."
Alex blushed again. "Oh, I just had a little accident with my curling iron. Stupid me, my hands were all slippery," she lied. She turned towards her desk and began straightening her books, destroying the evidence of her unfortunate nap.
"Bull," Jim argued. "Your hair's not even curled."
"Obviously," Alex replied, her voice getting more frantic. "I mean, would you want to use a product after it just burned you?"
Jim raised an eyebrow at her. "So you're telling me that you burned yourself with a curling iron on your forehead, your nose, and your lip?" he asked. "That's your story?" He moved closer to her. "I'm not here to judge you," he promised. "You can tell me what really happened."
Alex shook her head slightly. She did not want to remember it. And of all people, she did not want to discuss it with Jim Steele.
Apartment of Robert Sheldon and Alexandra Cabot
April 3, 2006
5:45 A.M.
Alex was the first one to wake up that morning. She still did not feel any cramping. She was getting really scared now. It had been a little over four weeks since she had that one night of stupidity with Jim. With their crazy work schedules, she and Robert have not had sex between that night and now. Alex swallowed hard. She still had not gotten her period.
She had to know. She had been putting it off. After the fifth day, she had purchased a home pregnancy test. However, she had been too afraid to take it. What if it was positive? How was she supposed to deal with that? Jim and Robert did not exactly look alike – far from it. She could not pass off a Jim baby as Robert's.
She had to know. It has been nearly two weeks now. She slowly got out of the bed. Robert was still sleeping. She tiptoed across the bedroom until she was in the bathroom. Her body was filled with fear as she pulled out her makeup drawer. She pushed the make-up items to the side until she dug out the pregnancy test box from the back. She honestly did not know what she was going to do if it was positive. Morally, she was against abortion, but she did not know if her relationship with Robert would be able to survive this.
As she took the test, she stared fearfully at the door. She had not locked it. She never had before. She and Robert were comfortable with leaving it unlocked. Right now, she had to hope that Robert would remain asleep. Once she was finished, she placed the test back on top of the box as she waited for the results to show.
She had to get it out of her mind. There was nothing she could do about it now. Within a minute or two, she would have her answer. Until then, she should try to go through her routine as normally as she could. She had taken a nice hot bath the night before, so all she really had to do was curl her hair and put her make-up on. If she had to tell Robert, she wanted to look nice. He liked the waves in her hair. He said it gave her a bounce and made her seem more youthful.
She took her curling iron and plugged it into the socket. She tried to focus on that heating up inside of the pregnancy test, but it was nearly impossible. This was too life-altering. Curling her hair was not. It would not affect anything other than her outward appearance. Having a baby would change everything.
She walked over and picked up the test carefully between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. She held it so that it was even with her breasts in height. She glanced up at the ceiling. She could not actually look at it. Not yet. She was too scared.
"Cut the crap," she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes tightly as she slowly lowered her head. When her head was positioned in a way that she could see the results, she opened her eyes.
At the same time, Robert opened the door. He saw Alex standing there. She was still dressed in her red plaid pajama pants and a large T-shirt with a crab on it from her second identity in Witness Protection. She did not turn to greet him like she normally did. He doubted if she was even aware of his presence. He frowned as he saw her staring at something. It could not be good. "Alexandra."
Alex gasped as she saw Robert standing in the doorway. She quickly put her hands and the test behind her back and turned to face him. "Hi, good morning," she said in a rushed and slightly scared tone. Robert only called her by her full name when he was angry. "Sleep well?"
"Fine," he stated. "Now tell me what you're hiding," he said in the same serious voice as the one he used to say her name. Before she had a chance to respond, he saw the box on the counter. "Pregnancy test?" he questioned her. "Shit, Alexandra, what the hell is this?"
"Nothing," Alex quickly responded as she subconsciously took a few steps back. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing!" he yelled. He then gasped. "Is it even mine?" he asked her angrily. "I can't remember the last time we were actually together! Is this why you work so late? Whose is it?" His nostrils were flaring, and his face was getting red. "Damn it, Alexandra, answer me!"
Alex swallowed hard. She had seen Robert angry before, but never like this. "I told you it's nothing," she repeated.
Robert's face flared up in another fit of anger. Without even realizing what he was doing, he grabbed her curling iron by the handle. He yanked the cord out of the socket and threw the whole thing across the room. "You whore," he accused her.
The force behind it was strong, and it hit Alex hard in the face. On contact, it burned the middle of her forehead. She let out a scream. As it fell to the ground, it hit her nose and lower lip. Fortunately, she could react before it would hit her feet. Her eyes welled with tears as she dropped the pregnancy test to the floor. She knew she had to get out of there. She tried to rush past Robert, but he grabbed her left wrist.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked her. "This is not nothing." His grip on her strengthened.
Alex tried hard to make out her next sentence without crying. "Look, it's negative, okay?" she informed him. "Can we please just forget about this whole thing?" She tried to pull herself free.
Robert shook his head. "No," he hissed, yanking her closer to him. "If my fiancée thinks she's pregnant, and I can't remember the last time we slept together, I think it warrants some discussion."
Tears rolled down Alex's face. The pain was only getting more intense. She could see where Robert was coming from, but she could not talk to him like that. "Discussion, yes. Throwing burning hot objects at me, no," she said in her best attempt at a calm voice.
Robert's nostrils flared. "What did you say?"
"I agree that we should talk about it, but only when you calm down."
Robert shoved her against the bathroom wall. "I. Am. Calm," he insisted. "Calm as any man whose fiancée disgraces him can be." He slapped her across the face. "What do you have to say for yourself, slut?"
"Robert, I-" Alex started. She closed her eyes, bracing herself as Robert brought his hand up again. The sting of his second slap caused her to rethink her words. "Robert, I need you to let me go. I promise we'll talk about this later."
He slapped her face a third time. "Don't you forget," he commanded her. He finally did let her go. She rushed to the bedroom and grabbed some clothes. She quickly changed and then rushed out of their apartment. She had to get out of there. Anywhere else would be fine.
Alex was not even aware that she was crying again. She had not said a word to Jim. Just replaying it in her mind brought back her fear. She did not know what to do. She wanted to think that Robert was a good man. He was her fiancé. She just did not know what to think. She did not know what any of this meant. She wanted everything to be easier. It should be easier. Fall in love, get married, spend the rest of your lives together living happily ever after.
Jim noted Alex's tears. She was silent, but he could see that she was crying. Whatever happened was a lot bigger than she was trying to claim it was. She was no longer his strict about drug-related cases boss. She was not the woman he had slept with and still kind of wanted. She was a woman in need of a friend. Seeing as he was the only one there, the friend would have to be him. He pulled her into a comforting hug and let her head go to his shoulders. He felt her tears rolling onto his shirt. He started rubbing his hand in a small circular motion on her back. "It's okay, Alex," he said. "It's okay, I'm here for you."
Alex shook her head. "It's not okay," she whispered. "It's Robert," she whispered. "H-he did this."
Jim nodded as he kept rubbing her back. "Do you want me to call someone? Olivia Benson?" he offered. "I know you two are close."
Again, Alex shook her head. "No, don't," she begged. "I don't want to bother her."
"Casey Novak?" Jim offered.
Alex shook her head. "No, she'll just want to press charges."
"And you don't?" Jim asked her. "Alex, I know you claim you love this man, but he's not good for you." Before Alex had a chance to protest, he continued. "I'm not saying that I am good for you, but we both know that Robert clearly is not."
The tears once again rolled down Alex's face. She knew that Jim was right. She just did not want to admit it. She did not want to admit that she was a victim. She had worked almost all her life speaking for the victims. Now she was one of them. She had to accept that. As Jim handed her a clean tissue from her desk, she pushed the phone towards him.
Jim took her hand as he picked up the phone. He dialed Casey's extension. After two rings, Casey answered. "Hey, Casey, it's Jim Steele calling on Alex's behalf." He looked down at Alex. "We're in her office," he said. "You might want to come down and see this for yourself."