Drowning

By: Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles

Chapter 1: Wanted Unwanted Attention

Casey was having a lot of trouble with some new recruits involved in her case, and she'd turned to Olivia for help, but thinking she'd be able to deal with it herself, Olivia had turned away. Now things had gotten worse, and Casey was refusing to talk to Olivia, personally or professionally.

The next night at 3am, there came a pounding on the detective's door. Irritated about being woken after only a thirty minute sleep in three days, Olivia was already in a mood as she got up to answer. "Who is it?" she asked.

Instead of a reply, there was a hard kick on the bottom of the door, a customary Casey reply when she was angry.

Olivia sighed, opening the door. "Thanks for the half hour of sleep," she bit, stepping aside to let her in.

Casey slid past her, pushing Olivia out into the hallway.

"What?" she spat.

"Did you see that?"

"No, what?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"The lift doors shutting!"

"So?"

"So?!" Casey gave an exasperated sigh, and stared hard at her for a minute, then pushed her way past her once more. "Forget it. I should have known not to come here. I forgot you don't give a shit. Go back to sleep."

Olivia sighed. "No, what going on?"

Casey stood on the doormat outside her apartment, pulling out her phone to try and find someone who would come at this time of night to help her.

Olivia pulled her inside. taking her phone from her. "Please let me help you."

"Why bother now? Give me my phone, detective."

"No, let me help you. I'm sorry I didn't before."

Casey walked to the phone in the kitchen, dialing a number. "…Trevor? It's Casey."

Olivia pulled it from her hand, ending the call. "Talk. To. Me."

"That was rude. He's offered to help me. You've just ignored me, even when I asked for your help."

"I know and I was wrong not to help you. Let me make it up to you."

Casey folded her arms, turning her head away.

Olivia sighed. "Casey, I'm sorry...please."

Without facing her, or unfolding her arms, Casey mumbled, "I'm being followed. By the guys you said were just messing around."

Olivia eyes opened her eyes wide. "I-I'm sorry. So that's why... the elevator doors.

"Yes. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to call Trevor back so he can come and pick me up and take me home."

Olivia shook her head. "I'll take you home."

"…I don't trust you to. I don't trust that if one of them tries to confront me, you won't just turn away...or even side with them. So no thank you."

"Casey, please?"

"The rest of New York may trust you, detective, but I don't. If you won't give me my phone I'll go without it. She got up, walking out the door."

Olivia followed her, walking out the door, her gun and badge in her pocket.

Walking a few feet behind Casey, she noticed as Casey walked from the building, pulling her jacket closer around her shoulders, the shadows began to move and follow her.

Olivia followed her more closely. "Keep walking," she whispered. "You're right. I just saw shadows."

"What did you think I was lying?" She hissed the words, but her hand moved back to find Olivia's.

Olivia grasped it securely. "I didn't know what to think," she whispered. "Go. Go."

When they quickened their footsteps, the footsteps behind them quickened.

Olivia turned. "Grab me," she whispered, pulling her gun. "FREEZE!"

The man behind them, looking shocked, stuck his hands in the air, dropping his briefcase and glasses as he did so.

"Who are you?"

"Detective Benson? I live downstairs. Richard. My name is Richard." His eyes were on her, and Casey's eyes were on him, so neither of them noticed another shadow moving until something hard flew out and knocked Casey on the side of the head, then bounced into the street.

Olivia fired two shots and the figure that was in the street fell as she turned her gun back on him. "I repeat, who are you?"

"I told you! Richard! Richard Wilson! I'm your downstairs neighbor. I'm on my way to work! At that building across the road there! What the hell is going on?!"

Olivia turned to Casey. "Casey!" she lifted her into her arms.

Casey was holding her hand to her head, squinting her eyes in pain. "I think it was just a softball." She took her hand away and looked at the blood on it like she couldn't work out what it was.

"Stay there," she said, pulling out her phone and calling in the scene.

By the time the police arrived, there was nothing in shadows but a few spots of blood in the direction Olivia had shot. Casey was still sat on the sidewalk with Olivia's jacket around her shoulders looking dazed, and Richard was still being interrogated by Olivia.

Olivia sighed. "All right, but don't go far. I may have questions later."

Elliot grabbed her arm before she made it back to Casey. "What happened? You shot someone who threw a softball that happened to hit carrot top?"

"No one threw a fucking softball Elliot! She was shoved!"

"Well, there's a softball in the street, there's a bloody great bruise on her head in the shape of a softball and she keeps saying someone knows everything about her."

Olivia looked at him confused. "Okay...I didn't know what it was."

"Want to tell me what you do know? Because Casey is pretty out of it."

"Okay, Casey came over, begging for help. She said the elevators close for someone, then shadows followed her on the street. The two men."

"Two men?"

"Yes, Richard, the guy I was following and the other who threw the softball."

Elliot nodded.

The paramedic approached Casey, telling her she needed to come with him now, and she turned around to look for Olivia.

Olivia sighed. "Elliot, I think she wants me to go with her."

"She'll be fine. Besides, Cragen will want to speak with you."

Olivia nodded. "Give me a minute?"

He gave a nod. Casey looked relieved when she approached and allowed the paramedic to help her up.

Olivia helped her up. "Casey, I need to go in. It might not've been a justified shot."

Casey's face fell and she lowered her head.

"You'll be fine sweetie. Don't worry. I'll stop by later, but you need to get checked out, okay?"

"Don't bother." she mumbled, allowing the paramedic to help her to the waiting ambulance.

"Wait, please?" she turned. "Elliot, can't you just tell Cragen to meet me there? Casey needs me."

He looked reluctant, and in the few seconds it took for him to reply, the paramedic shut the door and started the engine.

Olivia sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

Cragen gave Olivia a long lecture, and she was stuck at the precinct for a couple of hours, but eventually he conceded that, after the issue they'd have with Alex, she'd probably done the right thing. When eventually she got the hospital however, she was informed Casey wasn't there.

"What? I-is she okay?"

"..I can't say. She was never here."

"Wait. Didn't you respond to the scene? You can at least tell me that."

The woman looked at her computer, then sighed. "Another person messing us around. Got in the ambulance, got half way here, then insisted on getting out, said she didn't want to come to the hospital."

"Wh-where'd you take her? She's an ADA. I would think you'd be required to bring her in."

"We can't bring in anyone against their wishes, no matter who they are. They left her where they stopped. I have no idea where that was, you'd have to ask the paramedics."

"And they are where?"

"Probably on another call by now, or you might catch them down in the canteen."

Olivia ran, catching the one she remembered closing the doors. "Excuse me?!"

He glanced at her, not recognizing her.

"You came to the call about a shooting, then a softball hit?"

"…maybe. Why?"

"Do you remember where you dropped the woman off at? She didn't want to come to the hospital."

"…She said she didn't want me to tell anyone."

She flashed her badge.

"She said especially not the police."

"Tell me why."

"How should I know? We got a few blocks, then she said she needed to get out, got all panicked. I told her it was a bad idea, she said if she didn't get out we'd all be dead before we got back here, so i let her out."

Olivia nodded. "Thank you." She pulled out her cell phone. "Captain, we've got a problem," she said, explaining what she'd been told.

"Have you tried her cell?"

"I doubt she'd answer. She's mad enough at me as it is."

"…Do you know anywhere she'd go? Friends, family, a hotel she prefers? Somewhere she might not have mentioned to anyone else, that's not on her file."

Olivia thought a second. "Yeah, any chance you can send Elliot to get me?"

"How would she react if you showed up with him?"

Olivia sighed. "Good point. I'll let you know what I find out."

"There's a couple of squad cars there. Take one of those and they can all travel back together."

Olivia nodded. "Thanks." She left.

Author's Note: What do you think?

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Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles