Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Law and Order SVU characters. But I do own Sarah Cabot and the other characters I created.

Sarah was waiting for Alex to get home. It was almost eleven at night, and she didn't care if Alex yelled at her when she got home. She was worried for her mother because for the past year and a half, Alex usually came home before nine.

Sarah wanted to call, but what if Alex was working on a case? She didn't want to take the chance and have her mother yell at her over the phone. She never liked it when Alex yelled, especially when she had to scream "Sarah Lynn Cabot, get your butt over here right now!"; that's when Sarah knew she was in trouble.

A few minutes later, Sarah saw her mom open the door to the apartment.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sarah asked. But she knew something was wrong when Alex shut the door, locked it, and had a terrified look on her face. Alex turned around and looked at her daughter.

"We need to talk."

"Am I in trouble again?" Sarah asked when she walked over and sat down at the kitchen table.

"No, we're both in trouble" Alex said as she sat down next to Sarah.

"What do you mean, mom?"

"This is a very long story, and you're going to have to listen to everything I have to say. Got it?"

Sarah knew that there was something very wrong. She never saw her mother so scared in her life.

"Okay, I'm listening."

"I've been working on a case with this dangerous group that's been terrorizing people since before I was born. One of them was arrested, and I've been prosecuting this man since yesterday."

"So what's the problem?"

"I haven't gotten there yet" Alex said "Apparently, he had some connection and made a threat against me through a phone call. The group knows everything about me."

"Does this mean that they know you have a daughter?" Sarah asked

"Yes, they also know where we live and where your grandmother lives. They also killed another man involved in the case tonight by a car bomb."

"No wonder you're so scared for your life" Sarah said "That car blew up in your face."

"Sarah, you need to promise me something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"You need to promise me to cooperate. I'm on a protective order and so is your grandmother, but I also put a protective order against you too. I don't want anything to happen to you. Not only that I'm scared for my own life, but I'm scared for my mother's and yours too. Do you promise me?"

By then, the twelve year old froze in her seat. Sarah couldn't believe that this was happening. She couldn't believe that her mom and she were in danger. Alex noted the fear in Sarah's face, but she put her hands on Sarah's shoulders.

"Sarah?"

"Sorry, I'm just shocked" Sarah said quietly.

"I know this is hard to believe right now. I don't believe it either, do you promise to cooperate with everything?"

"Yeah Mom, anything for you."

Sarah was a walking zombie everywhere the next day. She stayed up all night because she was afraid of something or someone trying to kill her and Alex.

When she got home, she lied down on the couch and took a nap. The next thing she knew, Alex had her hand on Sarah's shoulder and shook her gently so she could wake up.

"Sarah, wake up. I'm home"

Sarah stirred from her sleep and slowly moved around the couch. She opened her eyes and saw her mother standing over her.

"When did you get home?" Sarah asked quietly as she stretched.

"I just got home. Are you going to tell me that you've been sleeping since you got home?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. What time is it?"

"It's ten"

"Ten at night?"

"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" Alex asked. Sarah sat up and saw that her mother had a worried look on her face.

"No, but why does it matter? I bet you didn't sleep either."

"I didn't, but I don't want you freaking out over the situation..."

"You see, the problem with that is that you brought me into the situation" Sarah explained "Maybe if you didn't arrest this man; maybe if you didn't prosecute him, then maybe I wouldn't be scared for my life."

"Sarah..."

"Don't even 'Sarah Lynn Cabot' me! I wish you weren't some stupid lawyer taking risks!" Sarah shouted as she stood up from the couch "Yes, you should worry and drag yourself into this, but did you really have to drag me into the situation too?"

"I didn't drag you into the situation!"

"Oh, and my adoptive parents didn't die from a car crash! You're such a riot!"

Sarah stormed off and slammed her bedroom door. Alex didn't blame her daughter, because she was right. If she didn't prosecute the case in the first case, maybe Alex didn't have to bring Sarah into her mess. Alex sat on the couch and slouched with her elbows as she put her hands in her face. She realized that this was going to be a very long weekend, since everyone suggested to stay home for Alex's safety.

Sarah realized that she made a mistake when she yelled at her mother Friday night. She had a bad feeling that something happened to her mother, and that instinct was proven to be true when the phone rang. Sarah got up from the couch and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sarah? It's Olivia."

"Hi Liv."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your mother is at the hospital."

Sarah started to cry loudly. She knew that something was going to happen to her mother.

"Sarah, please calm down. Elliot is on his way to get you so you can go to the hospital and see your mom, okay?"

"Okay Olivia..."

Sarah hung up and slowly fell to the floor with the cordless phone in her arm. She laid down on the floor and continued to cry as she looked up to the ceiling. She felt that the worst was yet to come.

"This is Ms.Cabot's daughter, Sarah Cabot" Elliot explained to the nurse at the nurse's station "She's here to see her mother."

"Right this way" the nurse said. Sarah followed the nurse to Alex's room.

"How bad is she?" Sarah asked quietly, expecting the worst to come out of the nurse's mouth.

"She'll be fine, dear. She had a bullet to her shoulder and she just got out of surgery."

Sarah silently thanked God in her head, even though she isn't Catholic. The nurse showed her the room, and informed Alex that Sarah was here to be with her. The nurse left and Sarah looked through the door to see her mom watching TV. She slowly walked in and Alex turned her head to see her daughter slowly walking in. But when Alex looked at Sarah, she started crying.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Alex asked.

"I didn't mean to say what I said Friday night! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, it's okay. Come here."

Sarah continued to cry as she walked over. Alex gave her daughter a hug with the one arm that she had, and Sarah tried not to hurt Alex's hurt shoulder. A few minutes later, Sarah calmed down and sat down next to Alex's bed. Alex realized that her daughter was really emotional lately, and noticed that it wasn't a personality trait that she never had. Alex dismissed it as she saw Sarah grab a Kleenex and wipe her eyes.

"When Olivia called, I thought that something bad happened to you. I really thought that you were dead" Sarah explained "That's why I felt so bad about what I said to you."

"Sarah, don't worry about it. I understand why you felt that way. Well, maybe I don't, but I thought about the situation in your spot."

"I'm sorry Mom"

"Apologize again, and you're grounded"

Sarah noticed that Alex had a smile on her face, and the both of them suddenly laughed.

"Why do I feel that you're the funniest mom on the earth?" Sarah asked

"It's because I'm never funny when I'm at my job."

They continued talking, even though Alex needed to tell Sarah that their life was changing. They had to go into Witness Protection and start over in their lives. She had to tell her and when Sarah noticed that her mother was quiet, she got worried.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something, and I have a feeling that you're not going to like what I need to say."

"Well tell me anyways. It can't be that bad, can it?"

Alex took a deep breathe before she told Sarah the news.

"Sarah, because of this incident we have to leave. We have to leave this place and go into a program called Witness Protection."

"What? Why?"

"Do you want this happening everyday until one of us is dead?"

"No, but why can't they just catch the people involved?" Sarah asked.

"It's not that simple, dear. I wish it was, and I wish we could stay but we can't."

"Mom, I don't think I could leave to another place again" Sarah explained "I already moved once to live with you, and now we have to leave again?"

"I know this is hard, but we'll get through this. I promise you that we will get through this."