"Are you okay?" A voice asked and Casey Novak looked up to see the FBI psychologist standing in front of her. She shrugged, not strong enough to lie. George Huang sighed before sitting down next to the ADA on the steps outside of the courthouse.
"Jason is dead. We told his family that we'd protect him. We promised that he'd be safe. I promised. I let them down," The blond said, looking ahead.
George frowned, "It wasn't your fault, Casey. You couldn't have known."
She turned sharply and glared at him, "I should have! Nick Pratt and Doug Waverly were psychopaths. They killed that girl with no remorse and we should have known they'd do the same with Jason."
He shook his head and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but didn't shrug him off, "Case, it wasn't your fault. There are a million possible bad things that could happen to people every minute of every day, but does that mean we stop putting away criminals? We just have to put the good statistics above the bad. It wasn't your fault," He tells her firmly, taking her face in his hands.
She closes her eyes tightly and tries in vain to keep the tears from slipping out. But alas, they slide down her cheeks and drip onto the pavement.
George moved a hand to the back of her neck and drew her forward slowly until her head was resting on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer. She fought him at first, but collapsed in his embrace with a sob. He stroked her hair and she clutched his jacket with her hands as he whispered soothing words.
The psychologist had always felt a strong attachment to Casey, but he just brushed it off as having known her for a long time. That didn't explain why he felt so protective of the girl or why he felt the need to hold her and not let anything hurt her ever again.
He leaned his chin against her head with a gentle kiss to her temple and rocked back in forth, trying to keep her from the horrors of the world. He knew he couldn't forever, but for right now, it was just him and her and she was safe.