It wasn't easy for Amanda to walk into the squad room the next day, but one would never have expected that to be the case by the way she carried herself. The blonde detective was far too proud to let others even glimpse the insecurities that constantly swam around her head. "Hey Rollins" Carisi smiled as she passed his desk. If there was one thing anyone in the precinct could count on, it was for Carisi to be cheery and have fresh baked goods on his desk every morning. This time, the treats were only simple donuts "want one?" the other detective asked as he held up the box.

Amanda simply shook her head and sat down at her desk, her mood only soured more as she noticed the freshly stacked piles of forms and paperwork she would be spending her day completing. Desk duty was the worse. "You know, you left me and Fin to handle everything last night" Carisi stated non-pulsed as he leaned back into his chair and swiveled it a little while he bit onto a powdered donut, some of the sugar landing on his shirt. He quickly tried to wipe it away with his hand before anyone else noticed.

"I knew you guys could handle it, and besides my sitter really did need to leave on time yesterday. Something about planning her sister's bridal shower" Amanda explained as Carisi failed to clean off the crumbs, she threw him a napkin out of pity. He thanked her with a bashful grin. The truth was, he wasn't annoyed at what happened the previous night, but he did want to talk to her about it and felt this was the best lead in.

"It's not that I minded... well Fin was slightly grumpy about it. You know, he was complaining that we made him do such menial tasks right before his birthday" Carisi laughed "you would think a man his age..."

"A man my age what?" Fin said ominously as he stood behind Carisi, sneaking up on the younger man without his knowledge.

Carisi turned around with a slightly flushed face "ah... ah... you ah..." Carisi stumbled not knowing what to say as Fin stood over him with his arms crossed.

"That's what I thought," Fin said as he walked past the babbling young detective and went to his own desk across from his partner. "How you doing Boo," he asked the blonde detective as he sat down in his chair.

"I'm fine, Fin, I still think I did the right thing last night, but I understand that I disrespected the Lieutenant back there and that's all that I'm going to say on the subject," Amanda said plainly as she stood up to get herself a cup of coffee. She wasn't over what the older woman had said to her, not by a long shot, but she didn't feel the need to let the others in on her personal grievances. She honestly wasn't sure when she would stop resenting Benson for her comment about the younger woman not being capable of taking care of herself. It was a slap in the face regarding all that she's been through and overcome. Amanda also couldn't help but to take the comment as meaning she couldn't take care of her daughter either, but she knew logically that wasn't what the brunette was talking about. Unfortunately, logic was not what was dictating Amanda's emotions.

Amanda was almost done getting her coffee from the break room when Carisi walked in to grab his own cup. "I think you did the right thing too, Rollins, that type of man should never be allowed to walk the streets, but..." he paused as he poured the hot dark liquid into his favorite mug "you need to be careful" he said as he turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt. If I didn't shoot him when I did..." he trailed off.

"You had my back, Carisi, I did what I did because I trusted you to be there for me, and you were" Amanda said as she placed a gentle hand on his forearm "I guess in the excitement of last night I forgot to thank you... so thank you for saving me last night" she said with a smile as she drew back her hand.

"Don't even mention it. It's what partners do, we look out for each other" he responded in kind.

"Speaking of looking out for something, I need to look out for my waistline, and it would help if you stopped bringing goodies to work every morning" Amanda joked as they both made their way back to the squad room.

"You don't have to eat them you know" Carisi teased back

"It's the principle of the matter," she said lightly. Her mood had certainly shifted since she had first arrived. Amanda loved the guys she worked with because she knew they genuinely cared about her, and it showed in their actions.

"Took you two long enough" Fin said as he watched them return, "I thought I would have to send a search party after you guys. Did you build a new coffee maker from scratch?"

"Nah, we just gossiped about your old age" Amanda replied and she had to quickly dodge a pen that was thrown in her direction.

The playful mood was interrupted as Olivia finally stepped out of her office to greet her detectives. She cast a cold but passive stare at Rollins before she turned to Fin and Carisi "you two are catching today, so be ready to take a call when it comes in" she looked back at Amanda "and I want all that paperwork done before you leave today, Rollins" Amanda didn't acknowledge her. Without a second thought, the elder woman turned back to re-enter her office.

"She's still mad" Carisi stated the obvious

"She'll get over it, she probably had a rough night with Noah" Fin said in trying to explain the Lieutenant's attitude. Amanda didn't answer, she didn't care, or so she tried to make everyone believe. She was just going to do her work and wait for the storm to blow over.

None of them knew, however, that the reason for Olivia's continued anger at Amanda's reckless behavior was due to fact that the elder woman had a terrible nightmare the previous night. She relived the death of Dodds Jr, only for the dream to replay itself again afterward, but this time with Amanda being the victim of Olivia's own negligence.

It was just after lunch and the tension between Amanda and Olivia was still felt in the air. The blonde detective and the Lieutenant hadn't said a single word to each other that wasn't work related. "Wow, today's been one long day" Fin complained as he leaned back in his chair stretching his arms. He was getting tired of the tension in the room so he tried to change the focus from work. "At least there's that end of the tunnel known as O'Connell's" Fin said as he gave his coworkers a long stare "y'all better be going, it's not every day we get to celebrate the wonderful day I was born" Olivia simply rolled her eyes at her longtime friend and his attempt to inflate his own ego.

"You know I'm always down for a beer or two," Carisi said quickly in response as he stood to give the Lieutenant the documents she had asked for involving their current case.

"I'll be there, Fin, but I can't stay late," Olivia said as she looked down at the papers before her, not bothering to raise her head.

'What 'bout you Manda?" Fin asked after the youngest one amongst them didn't answer "you better be going, it's only right for my partner to treat me to 3 or more drinks"

"I did tell my sitter that I'd be home late tonight, but I don't know, Fin, Jesse did have a fever this morning," Amanda said with an apologetic shrug, in truth she was lying about Jesse. The young mother simply didn't feel in the mood to go anywhere socially with Olivia.

"Come on girl, don't bail on me," Fin said in a voice just sort of a whine "some of my old friends from Vice are going to be there, remember some of the younger ones were sweet on you. They didn't believe me when I said you could drink them under the table. Don't make me a liar, girl" Amanda gave a small sigh which was quickly replaced by a smirk. She always did like putting the bad boy type in their place. Amanda was about to tell her partner that she may go for a small time but she was interrupted by Olivia's cell phone ringing.

"Lucy?" Olivia answered, "is everything okay" the elder woman was slightly concerned, Lucy never called. She would send the usual text updating her on Noah, but never called outright unless something was wrong. Olivia's stiff posture relaxed as she listened to the voice on the other line, a small frown playing across her face "alright, I understand. No... no, it's not a problem at all. Just take care of your brother" and with that, the phone was hung up.

"Everything alright, Lieu?" Carisi asked as he watched the elder woman put away her phone.

"Yeah, that was my sitter. Her little brother got in a car accident" Olivia quickly put up both hands in a calming gesture "he's okay, but he broke his leg and needs someone to pick him up at the hospital, his parents are out of town" she cast an apologetic look towards Fin "looks like I'll be calling a rain check on those drinks tonight, Fin, sorry" she finished as she began to grab her things "I have to go pick up Noah right now"

"It's all good, Liv, you'll just treat me some other time," Fin said with a small smile as he watched his oldest friend leave the squad room. "This better mean you're going for sure now," he said as he gave Amanda a knowing look"

"Ah, you got me, but yeah I'm going," Amanda said with a chuckle "and hey, look on the bright side, now without the buzzkill going we can let loose without her stopping... or judging us"

"You mean like the time when she stopped Amanda and me from finishing our drinking challenge" Carisi laughed as he recalled the bet he had made with the smaller woman. The loser would have done the other's paperwork for a week.

"No, Carisi, Liv killed Amanda's fun, but she saved your ass from total embarrassment" Fin and Amanda laughed as Carisi rolled his eyes in disagreement.

The rest of their afternoon flew by quickly and they found themselves in the middle of Fin's favorite dive bar in no time. True to their word, they weren't holding back, none of the officers there were. It was only a little past eleven, and it was easy to say that most of the people in that crowded bar were already drunk.

"Now, this is what I call having a good time," Fin said as he took a large swig from the latest round of beer. He sat at the booth with Amanda, Carisi, Mickie and John, two of his buddies from Vice that he had kept in contact with. There were also many familiar faces at the bar, as it was a known cop joint, many of them gathered to have a drink in Fin's honor. The elder detective wasn't expecting, nor did he want, such a large crowd but his buddies from Vice invited the others just to annoy him.

"Yep, I bet. Sitting here shoulder to shoulder is probably the most intimate you've gotten with another person in the last decade" Mickie said with a heavy laugh, he continued enjoying his mirth even after Fin nudged him in the side.

"What are you talking about, Mickie, I have the girls crawling all over me, but it's not like you would understand. I feel bad for your wife always having to look at your sorry fat ass in the morning" Fin joked back.

"Girls, girls," John said in humor "you're both very pretty, speaking of pretty" he turned his head toward Amanda "detective Rollins, you're looking as gorgeous as ever. You still have one of the best shapes I've ever seen even after having your baby," he said with a lustful glance

"My, how sweet of you, my girlfriend thinks so too," Amanda said with a wink as she stood up to grab herself another beer. She was getting tired of his flirting, not because she couldn't handle it but because he was simply not original. She had hoped that her joke would get him to back off, but she resigned herself to even more attention when she returned, by the mischievous look in his eyes at the mention of a girlfriend he was only turned on more.

"John, keep it in your pants. My partner's off limits" Fin warned his old friend. He enjoyed the company of the man, but always found his pushy nature with the opposite sex a major flaw in his personality.

"Yeah okay, but who's gonna tell the rest of the guys in this joint" John said as he pointed their attention towards Amanda who was at the bar waiting for her drink "looks like Carlos is trying his luck out now" he laughed as they saw one of their youngest officers in Vice approach, Amanda, he wasn't a friend of Fin's but tagged along for the ride anyway.

Carlos made his way to the blonde detective and stood next to her after she had ordered herself another drink. "It's pretty crazy in here don't you think?" Carlos asked her as he leaned against the bar, his short-sleeved shirt exposing his tight muscles. "All this alcohol, I hope everyone's going to make the right decisions tonight," he said with a devilishly bright smile

"Decisions?" Amanda repeated as she scooted closer to the handsome man "who needs to make decisions? I always think it's just better to go where the mood takes you" she answered back sensually, fluttering her eyelashes.

Carlos leaned in closer and placed his right hand on her hip, Amanda gently looked down at his hand and placed her own over it. She then dragged it up his arm and rested it on his chest "I have to be honest" she began in a hushed voice "I've been waiting for something hard to wrap my lips around..." she bit her lip and looked him up and down "to quench my thirst, and I think it's right in front of me" she added as she slowly licked her lips. Carlos roamed her body for a second before he leaned forward to kiss her but Amanda pushed him back with her hand; momentarily dazed, the man from Vice looked back at her with confusion "and here it is" she said with a wink as she grabbed her newly arrived beer off the bar and took a small sip. She walked away, without a glance back, leaving a very stunned and aroused man behind her.

Fin and the rest of the guys at the table laughed loudly as they saw what had happened before them "he's not the only guy to have fallen for that trick" Fin laughed as he pointed a finger at the poor looking Carlos still at the bar.

"Heck, I would have fallen for it too," Carisi said as he watched Amanda get stopped yet again by another guy

"You just saw it, and I know for a fact you would still fall for it Carisi" Fin rolled his eyes as he saw the jealousy in Carisi's as he watched the other men around the young blonde detective. Fin was going to bring the younger man out of his glare but was interrupted by his phone ringing. He looked at it and excused himself to a quieter corner of the bar. "Hey Liv, you're missing all the fun," he said as a greeting in answering the phone.

"I know, but I still wanted to wish you a happy birthday and see how everything was going out there," Olivia stated as she sat at her kitchen counter. She had put Noah to bed thirty minutes prior, the young boy fighting her tooth and nail, she rewarded herself for staying calm, and not yelling at her unruly toddler, with a nice cold glass of wine.

"Oh, I'm having a blast" Fin said loudly almost causing Olivia to pull the phone away from her ear. She could tell that her old friend had much more to drink than he probably should have, he sounded purely drunk. "Come on man, get your hands off her" Fin yelled as he slightly pulled the cell from his face but his voice still carried strongly over the phone

"What's going on?" Olivia asked in concern. She could pick up Fin's annoyance even through drunken loud state "is everything alright"

"Yeah, it's fine. This night would be perfect, though, if every guy in this bar wasn't trying to get into my partner's pants" he complained and let out a large sigh and an eye roll as he watched Carisi walk up to Amanda with another drink "and I do mean every guy"

"Is she alright?" Olivia asked again, not liking the way things were sounding over there. She knew O'Connell's was typically a guy's bar and now she felt bad leaving Amanda to be so easily outnumbered "has she had too much to drink?"

"Oh, she's handling herself just fine" Fin said easily over the phone "although she should quit teasing them so much, some of these guys aren't as bright as you would hope"

Olivia still didn't like the sound of that but she knew she didn't have much, or any, control over the situation over there. She only hoped that the younger woman was smart enough to keep alert. Even in a bar full of cops, a woman should not drink to the point to where she couldn't defend herself. "Well, have fun, Fin, but don't drink too much. Remind Amanda and Carisi that unlike you, they have an early start tomorrow" Olivia said already anticipating having three hungover detectives on duty the next day "and look out for them... I mean, they should get home safe..." Olivia said in an awkward manner. She didn't want to seem overbearing but the amount of alcohol Fin seemed to have already consumed made her worry about the other two as well.

"No worries, Liv, we'll all get home safe. I promise" Fin said just before he hung up the phone leaving the elder woman alone with the silence in her apartment again.

"Maybe I should have shown up," Olivia stated as she placed her phone down on the counter next to her glass of wine. The SVU Lieutenant lied to Fin earlier when she said she couldn't make it. In truth, she could have asked her neighbor to watch Noah, the grandmother of four loved children and was great with her son, but she wasn't in the mood for drinking. Her nightmares the previous night still had her shaken to the core. The last thing she wanted to see was her subordinates and friends drinking too much.

Now, she feared that she made the wrong decision not being the voice of reason in their ears. She trusted them all, even Amanda, regardless of what she said the previous day, but she knew they didn't get out much and when they did they made up for the lost time. Olivia went to bed, hoping that her decision to stay home doesn't come back to bite her in the butt.

A/N: So, don't expect to get used to this fast of an update :) I just don't want to do my homework right now lol. I hope it doesn't seem too slow of a pace right now, I need to set a few things up first. The next two chapter are what I'm particularly excited to write about, I just love drama lol :) thanks for reading.