A/N: O.O oh this chapter…this chapter…I just. I don't know what to say. Well, given that this story is…different, I have successful mixed up some of the pairings a little in an attempt to make things a little lighter. Happy Readings…mwahahahahaa..

Alex squeezes her eyes shut upon the sudden onslaught of sunlight that has been thrust in her face her face, ruining her somewhat peaceful slumber. Her eyes screw together in an attempt to keep out the unwanted light, and to drift back off into the much needed sleep, but sadly, her efforts are proven to be futile. With a quiet sigh, she opens her eyes, and for a full minute or so, it takes her a while to figure out her surroundings.

Sitting up in the bed, she blinks hard several times as if trying to force herself to wake up. She rakes her hands through her hair, and steadies her vision and it is then that she takes note of all her clothes strew in random places about the hotel room. But of course her clothes around the room; why else would she be sitting there naked in a bed that is most definitely not hers?

Every memory from the night before begins flooding back, and Alex groans upon realizing what she's done. She lifts her head out of her hands, and glances to her right at the very obviously slept in, but otherwise empty bed. Deciding that this is her best chance, she unsteadily gets out of bed, and begins her trek around the room in putting all her clothes back on before that girl (Rachel was it?) reappears thinking that last night was more than it actually was.

As Alex exits the hotel to hail a cab back to her apartment, she tries to ignore the dull thud there is in the back of her head, resembling that of one of her many natural headaches. Although it may be a natural headache, it could very well have to do with her alcohol consumption the night before. She doesn't know, and frankly, she isn't sure she cares. All she wants to do is get back to her home, take a shower, and figure out what to do for the rest of this otherwise miserable day.

Once back at her apartment, Alex peels her clothes off as she makes her way into the bathroom, and she takes probably the world's hottest shower in history. She still needs to feel something, and she's going to do anything she can by any means necessary.

After a while, she finds herself sitting curled up in her shower, while the scalding hot water pours over her skin, feeling like thousands of thin little needles pricking her all at once. The tears that force their way past her emotional barrier pour down her face, mixing with the water from her shower. Even after that night with Rachel, she still feels completely numb. Sure, it was fine at the time, and everything seemed okay, but if Alex were to be completely honest with herself, she knows that the only reason that she even left the bar with Rachel is because of Casey.

Alex needed to feel something, anything, as opposed to the cold, numb, clammy feeling that made itself know after Casey had left her. Rachel was simply a distraction from all that for the time being and Alex knew going into it that she personally wasn't looking for that start of something new. Not so soon, and most definitely not with someone who is at least seven years her junior. Last night was all about feeling, and not the emotional kind, but the physical kind. But did it really solve anything? Probably not. She has absolutely no idea how she's going to push herself to go to work after something like this. She just doesn't know how she's going to do it. Especially when she has to work with Casey in such close proximities on a daily basis.

District Attorney's Office of Manhattan

"How are you holding up?" Alex's best friend Serena Southerlyn asks concernedly. "If you had needed me this weekend, you know that I would have been there for you if you wanted me to come over or something."

Alex shakes her head and rests her head on her desk for a small period of time before she looks back up at Serena and sighs. "No, I needed to be alone for the rest of the weekend. I don't think I could've dealt with talking about it so soon. Hell, I'm not sure if I can deal with talking about it now."

Serena raises her eyebrows in sadness upon seeing her usually composed and collected best friend, so depressed and broken looking. If anything, all she wants to do is give Alex a hug, but she's not sure how well that would blow over at the time being. Serena considers herself to be a very talkative person. Hell, everyone in the entire office considers Serena to be a very talkative person, but this is one moment where the charismatic blonde has absolutely no idea of what she can say to even make her friend feel better in the slightest.

"Alex, I'm really sorry about all of this. Just know that as your best friend, I'm here for you regardless right? You can come to me anytime, day or night." She says softly and sincerely.

A small smile ghosts across Alex's lips and her saddened eyes cast down to her desk for a brief moment. "Thanks Rena, that really means a lot." She murmurs before sighing and leaning back in her chair. "So, how is everything on your neck of the woods?"

This time, it's Serena who sighs heavily and slumps down in her seat across from Alex's desk. "Oh, everything's so-so right now I guess. You know we're getting a new ADA."

"Who's getting a new ADA?" Olivia Benson asks as she enters the room and drops a file folder on Alex's desk.

Alex thanks the detective for the folder and she drops it into one of the various stacks on her desk before turning back to her previous conversation. "New ADA? What, did you get fired and they not tell you for something?"

Serena rolls her eyes and allows Olivia to give her a kiss on the cheek before she sticks her tongue out at her best friend. "Ha, ha, you're sooooo funny. But yes, we're getting a new ADA, or another ADA I should say. The workload in our unit is ridiculous and Liz felt the need to hire another ADA, so here we are. I think she'll be here some time later today."

"Ooo homicide is gonna have three of you guys to deal with?" Olivia states as she shakes her head. "I don't know what I'd do if we got another ADA. I can barely stand Alex and Casey as is."

Alex rolls her eyes and flicks a pen at the detective, succeeding in missing drastically and ending up popping Serena in the head with the object. Oh well, at least it wasn't a complete loss.

"Hey!" Serena shouts rubbing her head from where it came in contact with a not so well aimed pen. She puts on her best pout and looks up at Olivia who is failing miserably to hold in her laughter. "Baby, Ali is being mean to me. You should put her in time out."

"Aw you poor thing." Olivia coos sarcastically but leans down to give the pouting blonde a kiss anyway. "There, it's all better now."

"You two are so cute it's sickening. I think I'm gonna throw up." Alex murmurs from her chair. Truth be told, she is totally jealous of her best friend's relationship. But who wouldn't be when your best friend is in a relationship with someone who is super sweet while yours has completely unraveled at the seams?

Olivia makes a face and shakes her head in disapproval. "Ew, please Alex, spare me, I just ate. How are you by the way? What with…you know? Do you need anything?"

Alex frowns for a moment before it dawns on her what the detective is referring to. Of course Liv would know, she's dating Serena, and Serena can't keep anything quiet to save her life. Not that Alex minds or anything, everyone else is gonna find out sooner or later. "I'm…holding up, thanks for asking. I think I'll be fine."

Liv nods and whispers something in Serena's ear causing the attorney to blush and giggle before she bids good day to both women, and heads back to work.

Serena sits in her chair giggling to herself for a moment before she catches the look on Alex's face and clears her throat awkwardly. "Ali, I'm sorry…I can, totally be unhappy if you want, and if it'll make you feel better." She offers sincerely.

Alex shakes her head and slumps further down into her seat. "No Rena, it's completely fine. You and Liv are just so cute together; I don't think Casey and I ever looked like that. God, I'm such a fuck up, I don't think I'll ever get her back. But I don't want to wallow in my own self pity right now; I wanna hear more about this new ADA. You haven't met her?"

Serena shakes her head vigorously at the question. "Nuh uh, I haven't. Now that I think about it, I haven't even seen her. I don't think Abbie has met her either. Poor thing, she has no idea how bad she's gonna have it when Abbie starts flirting with her."

"Oh yeah, remember how she tried to use her so called southern charm on you and Olivia damn near shot her? It was great. But in all seriousness, Liz should have a talk with Abbie about hitting on the newbie; we don't want her to scare her."

Meanwhile…

"Case, I am not gonna scare her! I'm not a scary person!" Abbie Carmichael exclaims as she crosses her arms tightly at her best friend's commands.

Casey raises her eyebrows and shakes her head. "If you flirt with her like you did with Serena, you're gonna scare her. Remember how Serena threatened you with that sexual harassment claim? Granted, she wasn't serious about it in the slightest up it was still funny watching you squirm like that."

Abbie rolls her eyes and flips Casey the bird at the comment. "Shut up. Serena just couldn't handle all of this that's all." she says as she gestures towards herself.

"Point being, try to refrain from flirting with the new ADA. We want her to stay don't we?"

"I shall make no such promises. Plus, how come Alex is allowed to date her ADA when I can't even flirt with mine?! How is that even fair?!"

Casey winces and gnaws down nervously on her lower lip as she awkwardly glances down at her now wringing hands. "I broke up with Alex a couple days ago."

Abbie's eyes widen to the size of car tires and her jaw practically hits her desk. "You broke up with Alex?! Wait a sec…" she pauses as a thought crosses her mind. "You broke up with Alex and you didn't tell me?! Your best friend?! I thought that's what we do! Tell each other stuff like this!"

Casey shrugs nonchalantly and continues to examine her hands. "I didn't think about it. When I did it, it wasn't that big a deal. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love her, I really do, but I felt like it was what we needed at the time. I can't be in her backseat on everything Abbie…"

"You had no problem being in her backseat a week after you two started dating." Abbie says suggestively.

Rolling her eyes at Abbie's immaturity, Casey shakes her head once again. "Seriously. I just can't be backseat to everything. I'm not asking her to make me her number one priority in life, but I at least want to be number two, and even number two needs some attention! I can't function in a relationship of canceled dates or lonely nights, or waking up to a cold bed on weekends."

"C'mon Case, cut her some slack. You know how hard Alex works, and her dedication to her job."

"I understand that Abbie. I understand how much her job means to her and the good she does for people, and that's one of the reasons I love her so much. I just…I can't do it Abbie. I've never been the solid foundation in a relationship, and I need her to be there, and she just can't do that…"

Abbie hums and leans back in her chair as she contemplates everything Casey has just told her. While she wishes that she could agree with the redhead, she can't help but feel like Casey went through far too drastic measures to fix the problem. "I dunno Case, I still think that you should've given her a chance to explain. I mean, she must be heartbroken…"

Casey winces again as she remembers seeing the look on Alex's face when she told the blonde that she was breaking up with her. It was a look that she's never seen before; a look that consisted of wide, watery blue eyes resembling that of an innocent child. It was a look of confusion and anguish all mixed into one, and had Casey's reasons for breaking up with Alex been different, she's sure she herself would've burst into tears upon seeing that look.

"She looked…so different…" she whispers, slightly ashamed for being the one to tear down the great Alexandra Cabot's walls and basically crush them under her feet like they were made of popsicle sticks. "It's almost as if I didn't know who she was anymore. After I told her to leave I just couldn-"

"You broke up with her, and you kicked her out? Good god Casey…why didn't you just tell the woman everything that's wrong with her and then send her heart to her via UPS?" Abbie exclaims in total shock at Casey's tendency to be a little ruthless.

"Well thanks for making me feel the love Abbie…I already feel like a huge ass as it is, but trust me, it's for the better." The redhead responds with another shrug.

Abbie opens her mouth to respond but is interrupted by a knock at her door. She calls out a kick come in, and both she and Casey stand from their chairs upon seeing Liz enter the room with what is assumed to be the new ADA.

"Abigail, meet your new ADA." Liz says cautiously introducing the two.

The brunette woman that walked in with Liz smiles and extends her hand towards Abbie. "Kim Greyleck." She says politely introducing herself.

"Abbie Carmichael." Abbie responds smiling widely as she shakes Kim's hand, and lingers in the handshake probably a lot longer than she should have seeing as she hasn't exactly let go yet.

Casey rolls her eyes upon seeing exactly what her best friend is trying to do and she seizes the opportunity to put an intend to whatever this is before it can get started. "And I'm Casey Novak. I work in Special Victims." She states, holding out her hand to the new ADA, prompting an end to Abbie's far-too-long handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Kim says nicely, giving Abbie a lightly curious look before it's gone in a flash. "I look forward to working with you."

"Mmmm likewise," Abbie purrs, earning yet another eye roll from Casey.

Liz looks between the two before she shakes her head and interjects into whatever silent conversation is taking place. "Right well…I'm going to show Miss Greyleck her new office." She says before fixing the two veterans with a stern look. "You two stay out of trouble."

Abbie stands up straight and gives Liz a firm salute. "Yes Ma'am!" she states firmly, rolling her eyes when their boss exits her office with the new eye candy. She chuckles to herself and then realizes that Casey is looking at her while shaking her head in total disapproval.

"Hey, I said I shall make no such promises."

The Next Day

"You had sex with a twenty seven year old!?" Serena exclaims as she watches Alex pace the length of her office. "It's been a few days Alex! When were you gonna tell me, your best friend, that you slept with a child!"

Alex freezes and glares at Serena, a glare that is so hard, that Serena actually thinks she's about to spontaneously combust under it. "Serena she was not a child! She was twenty seven not eighteen! And I was…probably a little bit drunk at the time, and she came on to me. I wasn't thinking. It was stupid."

"Damn right it was stupid…she was twenty seven!"

"Serena it's not like I am fifty! Hell, I'm not even forty! Stop making it seem like I'm a pedophile!"

Serena huffs and folds her arms as she shakes her head again, her eyes still wide in shock. "I'm sorry! You just never pegged me as someone to rob the cradle. Please don't make a habit out of this alright? Twenty year olds can be trouble."

Alex sighs heavily before she leans against the edge of her desk. "I don't plan on it. It was stupid, and the night that Casey broke up with me. I just needed to feel something at the time I guess."

"Have you tried talking to Casey at all? She seems like she can be very understanding."

"Yeah, very understanding by barely even casting a glance in my direction. I've never felt more like a love sick teenager. I don't want to be following her around like a lost puppy but I can't help it. I love her."

"Aw sweetie, I'm so sorry." Serena coos giving Alex a hug. "It'll be okay, I promise."

Alex sighs again and hugs her best friend back, seeking the comfort of having someone who cares for the time being. "Thanks Rena, I love you so much."

Serena pulls away and chuckles. "I know. And you know what else? You'd be completely lost with out me."

Alex swats at Serena's shoulder and rolls her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, but is cut off by someone knocking on her office door. Narrowing her eyes, Alex walks away from Serena and opens the door to two people, a man and a woman, standing at her office door in suits with stony expressions. "Uh, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm Agent Todd, and this is Agent Rivers." The woman speaks up with a straight face. "We're looking for Alexandra Cabot."

"Um, uh, yeah that's me." Alex states curiously, eyeing the two agents who glance between each other in silent conversation.

Agent Todd gives a curt nod to her partner before she slips into the office behind Alex. "Alexandra Cabot, you're under arrest for the rape and murder of Rachel Givens." The agent says as she slides the cold handcuffs around the petrified attorney's wrists. "You have the right you remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you…"

Well, you guys DID say that you didn't like Rachel. Hehehehe. I know, I know, this looks bad. It'll get better…eventually. Leave your feedback?