Disclaimer: We all know the drill. Nothing and nobody is mine. Such is life. Everything and everyone belongs to Dick Wolf.

I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to make this a friendship story or a romance yet, so I left it as friendship just to be safe. This was just a random idea that I had. Sorry it's so short; the next ones will be longer. Enjoy!

Her head is resting on her desk when I enter her office. She's sound asleep. She looks so peaceful in slumber, unlike the icy poise she displays on a daily basis. Her blonde hair, usually so perfect, is disheveled, spilling onto her desk and giving her the illusion of being something ethereal, like an angel. Or maybe not such an illusion after all.

I know she's worn out from today's case and she's been working here for at least seven hours straight – it's two in the morning – but there's something I need to tell her, and so I shake her gently awake. "Alex."

She stirs and glances up at me, rubbing her clear blue eyes. "Liv." She squints and stifles a yawn. "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. What is it?"

I don't want to have to tell her this, but I know I need to. Better she finds out from me now than someone else later, and be hurt all over again because I didn't care enough about her to tell her the truth. "Your sister."

"Jenna?" She yawns again and covers her mouth with her hand. "What about her?"

"Not Jenna."

It isn't easy to tell things like this to victims, but it's near impossible to tell them to friends. I know I'm hedging, and I know she can tell – even in her semiconscious state, she's perceptive as ever and sharp as a tack. I never beat around the bush like this, but this is Alex.

"What are you talking about?" she snaps. "I don't have another sister. There's Jenna and there's me. What have you been smoking?"

I sigh, trying to figure out how to put this, then deciding there's no easy way and I might as well just come out with it. "You haven't been in touch with your father, Alex. He got remarried awhile ago. You had another sister. Her name was Claire. She was eight."

Alex blinks, then stares at me with a blank expression on her face. I can tell she's still half asleep and has no idea what I'm talking about. "There's a reason why I haven't been –" Then she stops and I can tell my last words have just registered. "I had another sister?"

I nod, wishing I didn't have to tell her this. "She's dead, Alex. I thought you should know."

So . . . leaving you with questions, questions, questions! Would you like some answers? Review for chapter two!