Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own them. That honor belongs to Dick Wolf. Although, if he wants to give the franchise to me, I certainly won't say no. Unfortunately, he hasn't offered yet.

Authors Note: Rating is T for now, due to mention of rape and some violence, but may become M in the future. Please review- it helps me improve my writing and can help determine where the story goes. Also, it helps me keep writing if I know people are reading the story. About the timeline, this is somewhere around third or fourth season of SVU.

"Get those forms to me as soon as you can," Cragen demanded. SVU had just wrapped up a case- all that was left was the paperwork. Stabler, Benson, Fin, and Munch settled in chatting a bit as they began to fill out the forms. The case hadn't been too hard and they had a confession so the guy would probably take a plea bargain. With cases this quick it sometimes felt like the paperwork took longer than the actual case.

They were still working on the forms an hour later when Cragen got a call. Bored with the paperwork Olivia kept one ear on the conversation. She felt a bit guilty about listening in, but it was a lot more interesting than paperwork.

"Okay," she heard Cragen say, "but that sounds like your standard assault- nothing sexual, no small children involved. What do you need SVU for?" He listened for a minute. "In the courthouse, really?" Another minute later his mouth dropped open in shock and he replied "I see. I'll send Benson and Stabler immediately."

"We got a case, Cap?" Benson asked as Cragen approached.

"Yeah, but you're not going to like it at all."

"Right now, I'll take anything over more paperwork."

Cragen looked serious and a bit grim as he called Stabler over. Benson was getting a bit nervous. Cragen was as used to the horrific crimes they dealt with on a daily basis as the rest of them, probably even more. If he was upset over this case it had to be something particularly brutal.

When Stabler joined them after putting away his files, Cragen informed them of the case. "I need you two to go arrest Abbie Carmichael for assault," he said quietly. "She's being held at the courthouse by the bailiffs right now."

Munch had apparently been listening from his desk. "No way," he blurted. "She may be 'Hang em Higher' Carmichael, but she's not just going to attack a defendant. She's got more class than that."

"Now Elliot I could see beating up a perp," Fin said, joining the conversation.

"Maybe even Alex." Munch added. "She did threaten to knock a suspect's teeth down his throat that one time. But not Abbie- that's just not her style."

Cragen interrupted as Munch continued to ramble on about who would and wouldn't beat up suspects and perps. "Not a defendant," he corrected. "It was a defense attorney. And it's on tape apparently. There were reporters at the courthouse from a couple news stations and some of them were already filming even though the arraignment hadn't started yet. They guy she attacked is in the hospital right now. She beat him up pretty badly apparently."

"Now that does sound like Abbie," Munch said. "If she's going to beat up a guy, she'd do a good job of it. Show no mercy."

Cragen continued, ignoring Munch. "So, Munch and Fin, I want you to go look at the tape and talk to witnesses. Benson, Stabler, go talk to Abbie, see if she needs medical attention, and then arrest her." He sighed. Abbie had always been one of the good guys in his book- she worked hard and did a fine job of putting away the perps for as long as possible. He hated to see her in trouble like this. He would love to hear why she attacked the guy- knowing Abbie she must have had a damn good reason.

Quickly, the detectives gathered their coats and headed towards the door.

Munch spent the ride over to the courthouse annoying Fin with various theories about how this could be some government conspiracy. As they got out of the car and headed into the courthouse, he expounded his latest theory. "This could be a setup to see if we'll follow the law even if it means arresting someone we care about. They might want to see if the unit is loyal to the government or to outsiders." He paused for a moment before coming up with yet another theory. "Or maybe this is some way to get media attention on the need for greater security in the courtroom, although I can't see Abbie playing along with that. Still, maybe they convinced her somehow. She'd support stronger methods to keep defendants from bringing in weapons. Although I don't know how having a prosecutor attack anyone would help prove that the security isn't strong enough to prevent criminals from having weapons. Still, this has to be orchestrated somehow."

He stopped when they reached the security guard near the entrance. They showed their badges to the security officer near the doors. "We're here to interview the witnesses. Where are they?" Munch asked.

"We've got a few of them in a conference room- mainly the reporters. We let the rest leave. They're all going to tell you the same story, so we figured we didn't need to make all of them wait around." The officer took off down the hall, Munch and Fin following behind.

Stabler and Benson arrived at the courthouse just a few minutes after Fin and Munch. They had spent most of the ride over in silence, both contemplating what they had been told. It just seemed so unlike Abbie. At one point, Stabler had looked over at Benson and quietly said "I'm not just imagining this, right. Cragen really did tell us to go and arrest Abbie, didn't he? I think I might be going crazy."

"Well, if you misheard then I did too. Although I'm not going to argue about you being crazy, I've known that for years."

They remained in a contemplative silence as they climbed the courthouse steps. Benson was slightly surprised to see a security officer right by the door- usually you could just walk right in. She supposed that security had been increased in light of someone being attacked in open court. They showed their badges and were let in the building.

"We were told Abigail Carmichael was being held in the building. Is she still here? We need to interview her." Stabler informed the security officer.

"Last I heard, she was still here," he said. She should be in room 107b."

"Thanks," they called out as they started down the hall.

It was a short walk; the room a few doors down from the end of the main hallway.

"NYPD," Benson announced as they knocked on the door. A bailiff opened the door and they stepped into the room. She turned to find Abbie sitting at the end of a short conference table and her mouth dropped open in shock.

This chapter was a little longer than the previous one- I am trying to find a length that I like. Do you guys have any preference? Let me know. I could make them a lot shorter or longer if people have a strong preference, and it won't really affect how often I post. I think I will be posting about once a week right now. I'll try to get into a set pattern soon, but for now each chapter will go up sometime between Thursday and Saturday. Please review- I really appreciate them. Also if you have any questions or comments let me know. I'm always open to changing things a bit to give a better reading experience. Thanks for reading. Remember reviews are awesome.