Joey listened to her detective companions talk about her boss, Casey Novak. She didn't want to say anything, blow her cover, but their words were beginning to bother her. Finally she couldn't take it any longer. She threw her napkin on the table in anger.
"You know what, I'm really getting tired of you speaking of Casey the way you do. You talk about her as if she's lower than dirt. She'll never be Alex, and I don't think you should expect her to be. Alex had a totally different personally, one that no one could possibly duplicate. Casey has here own style and I think you should respect it. She gets the job done, doesn't she? New Scotland Yard would love to have someone of her ability, someone who wants to be involved. As the head medical examiner, I wish all prosecutors wanted to be in the morgue when the autopsy is performed. Sometimes I can use an extra person to run things by, someone who isn't the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City. You don't understand what Casey deals with daily. You don't know what goes through her head when she's alone."
Tears streamed down Joey's face, but she refused to wipe them away.
"You're not her best friend. You don't see her cry. You have no clue… If anyone has the right to judge Casey, it's me. I'm the one that has to deal with the fact she's feeling my twin sister's position. To tell you the truth, I couldn't see anyone else who could step up to the job. Alex and I always saw Casey as a sister growing up. Melinda Warner and she used to go to summer camp with us. Together we were known as the Unlikely Four. You would've had to see us together to understand how close we were."
Joey buried her head in her hands and cried to the point where her whole body was shaking. When Fin touched her, she pulled away.
"Don't touch me! I'm sorry. I just don't want anyone to touch me."
She looked down at her tear stained hands.
"You know, Casey cried more that I did when Alex died. She even thought about killing herself. She was so broken that even I couldn't fix her. I don't even know if she's completely over it. My guess is no. She still cries from time to time. I wish you could have heard the conversations we had right after Alex's dead. I remember her telling me how much she didn't want to take the job of ADA for SVU. She said she couldn't possibly fill Alex's shoes. All I could say was, 'What would you want Alex to do if you were the one who died?' She just cried."
Through her tear Joey could see the blood dripping from her hand where her nails were scratching the skin.
"She can't handle to the pressure you sometimes put on her. She's so stressed out. All she ever wanted was for you to let her in. She wanted to be part of the family. She wants to fit it, like she did with us. We stuck up for her; no one was going to harm her ever again. Then you came along, and made her cry, feel worthless. I couldn't allow that, so I took off from work and came here. I thought if I got into the family, without using the family name, you might listen to me."
Joey's tears suddenly stopped and she looked them each in the eyes.
"Casey's not someone you can push around. Even if she allows it, I'm not! I refuse to stand back and see her harmed. I've been handcuffed, held in contempt, even thrown in jail for her. Nothing will hold me back when it comes to protecting her. I'd think about that."
Joey got up and went to the bar. Her companions sat there in silence for a long time. Josephine had shocked, even scared them. No one had even stuck up for Alex or Casey the way she had. She had gotten them where it would stick, their hearts.