Soooo, I want to say thank you to the one person who took the time to leave me a review of the first chapter. It really means a lot and honestly got this chapter up.
Obviously I'm really not sure if people are at all in to this story but I thought I'd at least add the chapter that involves both Olivia and Casey.
I'll see you on the other side!
Chapter 2
"Conversations In Smoke"
The ride to the hospital is nothing more than a blur for Alex as all she can do is keep her hand securely around the much smaller, fragile and tanned one belonging to Savannah. The young girl's grip would fade in and out along with the brunette's consciousness, now she was free from the bed and on her way to hospital all of that adrenaline which had been fuelling her had quickly subsided. Alex was determined though, any time Savannah did regain her bearings enough to be aware of her surroundings, the blonde ADA was right there next to her, just like she had promised.
The EMT had kept a close eye on the child's vitals and done his best to keep Savannah comfortable throughout the journey. She was dehydrated and had lost a significant amount of blood but clearly the young girl was a fighter as she held her own until they reached the hospital who were already waiting for her arrival.
'Why can't I stop myself from wondering just what else this poor girl has suffered through tonight? The indications on her body are that of a violent assault but how far and depraved did this assault go? Where is her father, did the animals who did this to Savannah take him? There didn't seem to be any news of him being found back at the brownstone, so what other possibilities are there?' Alex inwardly starts to look at the situation she found herself in the middle of through the eyes of a prosecutor. She'd always been the kind of person that needed an answer to everything in order to make sense of things and this was no exception.
The exhausted blonde finds her gaze being drawn from Savannah for a brief moment as the paramedic jumps up from his seat in order to open the back doors of the ambulance. It is only in this moment that Alex realises the ambulance has become stationary and obviously arrived at the hospital.
'At least now the professionals can look Savannah over and tend to her injuries. How she has held on for as long as she has is nothing short of a miracle.' The inner conversation Alex was having continues as the paramedics begin to remove Savannah from the ambulance.
As the wheels of the gurney clank down onto the cold concrete of the ambulance arrival area, Alex feels herself awoken from her inner conversation and smack back into reality. Her long legs feel like noodles of cooked pasta as high heels meet with the ground once more but her pale, delicate hand somehow keeps its cocooned like presence around Savannah's much smaller counterpart.
A team of doctors weren't the only waiting people to greet the ambulance as it pulled up, by now one person Alex worked with almost daily had also arrived. After what they had found at the brownstone the patrol had made a call to the Special Victims Unit and the team's lieutenant had been alerted to the situation.
Olivia Benson and Alex had been intertwined within their career from almost each of their first day's on the job. Of course back when they had first met Olivia had been merely just a detective with a few years experience with SVU and Alex a headstrong ADA looking to progress her career. Fifteen years later and the two women were close friends as well as work colleagues and it was because of this relationship that when Olivia got the call she instantly rushed to the hospital. The fact this was a case concerning a Captain of the NYPD meant that Olivia would be handling this very hands on anyway but when she'd been informed about Alex's involvement the brunette lieutenant jumped to attention just that much faster.
Spotting a shaken looking ADA emerge from the back of the ambulance causes Olivia to rush over. Concern was lodged within in her dark orbs as only rarely had she seen Alexandra Cabot looking anything close to this. Those times had been few and far between and normally to do with some god awful sickness that the prosecutor refused to allow to beat her.
"Alex." Olivia calls out in order to gather the tall blonde's attention as the team of doctors swarm around the young child's gurney and almost swallow Alex in the mix.
Hearing her name called by a familiar voice Alex's blue eyes look above the sea of doctors and spot one of the only true friends the attorney had ever known, not to mention one of, if not the most trustworthy and honest cops.
"Liv, oh thank god you're here." Alex breathes out in relief, the stinging emotions still lingering within the prosecutors eyes glimmering in the reflection of her large framed glasses as Olivia gets closer.
'Has she been crying? That can't be right.' Olivia mentally corrects what she is seeing with her own eyes but is forced to admit that the normally steely persona of one of her oldest friends has seemingly been shattered.
Feeling torn between the presence of the lieutenant and her continued grip of Savannah's hand Alex finds herself running alongside the gurney as it barrels down the corridors of the busy hospital. The promise to stay with the injured child was something the ADA was going to keep, even if it did mean nearly breaking her neck by running in heels not meant for such activity.
Knowing all too well from her long career working in such situations, Olivia rushes after the crowd as it would only be mere moments before Alex is forced to hang back and allow the doctors to do their jobs. This was likely not going to be something the blonde would want to comply with and if anyone knew how next to impossible it could be to deter one Alexandra Cabot, Olivia knew these doctor's would need some form of back up.
"What? No I will not leave her. I promised her I would stay with her and I intend to do so. Now let me through." Alex protests with an icy tone as the thankfully strong willed nurse attempts to block the ADA's entrance into the trauma unit to be with Savannah.
'Oh dear lord she isn't going to let this go without a fight and going by the fact she's using her 'court room' voice I'm going to bet Alex has no intention of losing.' Olivia realises silently as she manages to squeeze through the commotion and take hold of her friend's upper arm and tug her back and away from the nurse just trying to do his job.
"Okay Alex, come on honey. You need to let them do their job now, she's in the best place and we can wait out here for her." Olivia explains with a sympathetic tone but grip that told the blonde ADA she wouldn't be taking no for an answer.
Ready to protest her friend's touch and deceiving strength, Alex snaps her head around like a snake about to strike but thankfully softens once eye to eye with the lieutenant. It took a lot to get the normally collected attorney to this pitch but after what she had seen in that bedroom Alex was on edge to say the least.
Nodding her head in reluctant acceptance her friend was right, Alex crosses both of her arms strongly over her chest and looks with deep concern towards to the treatment area where Savannah was now all alone. The team of doctors were working on her and despite a gut aching desire to be in there Alex knew the injured child was where she needed to be.
Slowly letting out a breath of relief that the ADA had seemingly calmed down enough so they could talk properly, Olivia rubs both hands soothingly up and down Alex's tensed arms. The two share a knowing look and recognition hits the blonde like a bolt of lightning as if she was only just realising it was Olivia stood in front of her despite their earlier interaction.
"What are you doing here Liv, what about Noah?" Alex questions the brunette lieutenant knowing how rare it was for Olivia to leave her son at such a time of night, well morning.
Shaking her head to try and defuse some of the attorney's worry, Olivia just gives an assuring smile and guides the two of them towards some seats that looked in towards the room Savannah had just been taken in to.
"He is with Lucy. When I found out you were at the scene and coming in with the victim there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to be anywhere but here." Olivia explains softly as Alex relents and sinks down in to the rather uncomfortable plastic chair.
It was closing in on four in the morning when Olivia had gotten the call and so her, thankfully flexible, babysitter was called in to watch the lieutenant's young son, Noah. It was something the brunette tried to do as little as possible at such times of the night but in this case Olivia had made an exception.
Alex softly nods her head with a gratefulness evident in her sapphire eyes along with the gut wrenching concern currently eating her alive. The long time prosecutor felt helpless as she sat on the plastic chair which would without a doubt cause a nagging pain by the end of this night.
"Is there any news on her father or his whereabouts?" Alex questions the lieutenant as the switch flips inside her brain as a way of distracting herself from the unrelenting waiting for news on Savannah.
Not at all shocked by the fact the blonde had suddenly switched gears into ADA mode, Olivia shakes her head with a sigh. This was a mess and it was only going to get worse once the news broke that an NYPD Captain was missing and suspected to be injured from a vicious home invasion.
"Finn and Carisi are working the scene as we speak but there is no sign of Captain Bruno anywhere inside. They did find more blood in his bedroom though as well as signs of a struggle. Crime techs are combing through everything but it's looking as though the Captain was taken and likely having suffered serious injuries." Olivia answers honestly, the call she'd taken with her sergeant having taken place mere moments before the ambulance arrived.
Alex shakes her head from side to side, she almost couldn't believe what she was hearing and yet of course she could. The attorney had been in the system long enough to know things like this weren't all that uncommon but to actually find herself in the middle of it was definitely a new sensation to say the least.
Olivia nods in agreement at her friends non verbal reaction and just reaches out and gently grips Alex's hand which by now had slipped to rest on her skirt clad lap. The lieutenant in the brunette knew there were a hundred different questions that had to be asked and Alex's statement would have to be taken sooner rather than later but for this exact moment the friend side of Olivia wins out and she just attempts to offer some form of comfort to the clearly shaken 'Ice Queen'.
Alex takes in an almost painful breath as her head bows to look at the offering of support from her friend. It was the sort of kindness the ADA had come to expect from the woman beside her and yet unfortunately it does little to ease Alex's over working mind.
"They had her tied to that bed like some kind of animal, Liv." Alex breathes out her words as though just speaking them caused pain. They did, well the memories of what she had seen flashing across the blonde's mind caused pain, a bitter sinking deep within Alex's stomach and heart.
Olivia had seen her fair share of horrific things in her career and she knew all too well no words she could ever come up with would be of any help to her friend. Pushing her long brown locks from her face with one hand the lieutenant nods regretfully and just gives a soft pat to the councillor's knee and stands from her seat.
"I'll go and see if I can get us some coffee that doesn't suck." Olivia announces quietly, one hand slipping in to the back pocket of her thrown on jeans and a look of great sympathy being offered towards the ADA.
As the sound of Olivia's footsteps fade into the distance of the busy hospital, Alex's eyes like a sniper's laser beam focus onto the doors of the treatment area she had been banned from entering.
'There is a little girl, terrified, horrifically traumatised and injured in there all by herself and I am sat here waiting as though a train has been delayed.' The inner conversation within Alex's mind starts up now she is left alone once more and it twists her insides uncomfortably from knowing she had broken her promise.
For the next thirty minutes or so chaos reigns down on the already over worked hospital as the news of the situation breaks. Fellow police officers and officials begin to flood the waiting area and the social media news flashes begin to blow up the blonde lawyer's phone.
Looking at the stream of notifications, missed calls and texts as they flood her screen, the tired ADA just shakes her head and removes her glasses as her eyes shut from exhaustion and also frustration. Olivia had been pulled away to talk with some higher ups in the police department and try and assure them that her team was more than sufficient to bring answers to this puzzle.
For Alex everything going on around her was nothing more than a daze, plenty of faces had attempted to talk with her but she had seemingly shut down. Even though sat in the world's most uncomfortable plastic chair, her coat draped over her lap and bag by her feet the prosecutor was focused on one thing and one thing only and that was the doors of the treatment room. Her mind was willing them to open with news of the young girl's condition but so far all that had happened was the entering and exiting of different hospital staff, all in a rush.
The overflowing waiting area was now almost entirely a sea of blue and for the on edge prosecutor it was becoming suffocating. Her view of the treatment area was almost entirely blocked and Alex was close to losing it, something she couldn't afford to do, especially in this climate.
'Maybe some fresh air will be of some help.' Alex's mind suggests as an inward debate rages for the blonde lawyer on if she should move herself even further away from keeping her promise. A third foot accidently stomping onto her high heeled protected toes was the straw that breaks the camel's back however and leaves the ADA with only one choice.
Despite her guilt Alex gathers her coat and bag and takes route to the exit. Her journey was nothing less than a maze as she attempts to navigate her thin frame through the shoulder to shoulder police brethren all collecting and waiting for news on the child of one of their own.
Finally though she makes it into the now breaking morning fresh air and inhales one large breath. Even with the caffeine kindly given to her by Olivia, the tall prosecutor was finding her flagging energy hard to fight.
How in the world her journey home after a tiring day at work had lead to this, was far beyond the reach of Alex's sleep deprived brain at this time. It was something she was pondering though, as her back uses the brick wall of the hospital for a resting post. Reaching into her bag for a piece of gum or perhaps a half eaten protein bar to sustain her through the rest of this day, Alex notices her near dying phone continue to flash and buzz with activity.
'Oh no, I am not suffering with this any longer. If my bosses want answers then they can do like the rest of us and make their way down here.' Alex mentally informs herself as she fumbles, with now chilled hands, to switch the damn phone off.
With the screen of her phone turning to black Alex feels a massive surge of relief as a huge weight feels removed from her shoulders. With an exasperated sigh the feared attorney flings her head back, forgetting for a moment about the solid wall waiting behind her. As the smack ripples through her head and brain the tall woman's knees almost give out completely but Alex Cabot's lungs most certainly do not.
"Son of a BIT-" Alex's voice travels through the still cold, early morning air of the ambulance bay area when she is cut off by a familiar and always beautiful face seemingly appearing out of nowhere in front of her.
"Well, I didn't think someone like Alexandra Cabot used language like that. I should have filmed it, would have won myself a lot of money." Casey Novak teases with that smile lingering on her lips which no one could ignore or deny.
The fellow ADA was holding her business briefcase in one hand, her coat tightly wrapped around her womanly figure and free hand loosely placed in the coat's pocket. Casey's head was titled slightly to the side and her long hair was partially tucked in by her deep pink, knitted scarf.
"Technically counsellor I didn't say the offending word, you interrupted me. You really should know better Casey." Alex retorts with the same joking tone to her voice. Despite what had and was happening it as a relief to at least try and be light hearted.
The two ADA's had met almost five years previously when a headstrong and motivated Ms Novak was first hired by the DA's office. The fresh and wet behind the ears attorney had made a wave the second she arrived and rubbed a few people the wrong way with her over eagerness but Casey was a quick learner and soon found her groove as well as her colleagues respect with only a few bumps in the road along the way.
Since then for the most part the two women had been on the small talk conversations and nods of acknowledgements to one another when passing in the hallway type of relationship. Casey tended to go where she was needed as an ADA, as oppose to Alex who had basically been assigned almost solely to SVU, so their interaction was limited.
Casey gives a nod of defeat towards the tall blonde and a smile which for some reason calmed Alex's demeanour. The younger of the two women, all by five years, makes the final few steps closer to the blue eyed ADA as she rubs at the sore bump on the back of her head.
"Not to sound rude but why exactly are you here Casey?" Alex questions, the irritation in her voice a result of the pain she had self inflicted more so than anything to do with Casey. That wall truly was solid as hell.
Dismissing the slightly taller woman's tone Casey raises her immaculate shaped eyebrow and shrugs her shoulders while standing now not three feet in front of the exhausted blonde.
"Well, I was summoned by some of the higher ups. This is going to need a prosecutor at some point and I like to be very hands on with my cases as you know." Casey explains, her slightly raspy voice causing Alex to listen just that little more intently.
Casey turns in one movement and rests her back against the cold, brick wall of the hospital beside Alex. Her fairly tame high heeled shoes cross at the ankle and an almost satisfied sigh leaves her lungs. Both of her arms were now folded down in front of her while holding her brief case on top of her thighs.
Turning her head to the fellow prosecutor, Alex's thin eyebrow raises above the frame of her large, stylish glasses. Casey's demeanour was something the nicknamed 'Ice Queen' found both intriguing and confusing.
'She has an energy about her that I am not quite sure I've ever recognised before. It's almost care free and childlike?' Alex surmises her surprising new finding silently as her crystal blue eyes continue to study the ever so slightly shorter woman beside.
"I like what you've done with your hair." Alex announces both to Casey's shock and her own. Where that statement had come from the tired blonde had no idea but it was out there now so all she could do was act like she'd intended to blurt it out.
Naturally the slightly less experienced ADA's hair was a deep red but she had dyed it to more of a strawberry blonde. It was something that normally Alex wouldn't pay any mind to but for some reason in the crack of dawn light of the ambulance arrival area, it catches the prosecutors attention.
The compliment causes Casey to smile brightly, her pearly white teeth almost twinkling like in some kind of toothpaste commercial. If it wasn't for the fact Alex knew better she could have sworn she sees the slightest of blushes rising on the strawberry blonde's cheeks.
"Thank you, you're actually the first person to make any comment and I did it two weeks ago. I was beginning to think I'd made a mistake." Casey reveals with a chuckle before locking her hazel eyes in on Alex's and the mood between the two women shifts.
Alex feels a shiver run up her spine as Casey stares directly into her crystal blue eyes. With a slight change in the rhythm of her breathing the blonde of the two attorneys shakes her head in disagreement with Casey's fear of having made a mistake.
"Far from it. I've seen you with a few different styles and honestly I can say you've never made a wrong choice.' Alex assures, once again her words leaving her lips without any pre thought or consideration.
'Alex, what in the hell is wrong with you?! You sound like some middle school boy with his first crush attempting to talk to the hot teacher. Apparently you are in need of sleep more than you thought.' Alex chastise herself silently, a sudden sensation of vulnerability overcoming her.
Casey feels her cheeks tighten from her smile growing at her colleague's words and mentally thanks the gods for the fact it was still cold enough outside to mask the sudden rush of heat to her cheeks.
Pinching at the bridge of her nose, underneath her glasses, Alex takes in a deep breath and decides that it was no longer safe for her to speak. Instead the slightly older of the two women allows their conversation to fall silent but is surprised when it is actually still a comfortable atmosphere between them.
The noises of the city were an oddly soothing backdrop for the ADA's as they stand in the midst of the chilly, New York breeze and early morning temperature. Alex was trying to regain some composure and Casey couldn't help her hazel eyes from watching every slight action of the slightly taller woman beside her.
'Alexandra Cabot is not someone who needs to be taken care of but I've also never seen that look in her eyes before. It may be the end of me but I need to make sure she's okay.' Casey's inner voice contemplates her next move before saying to hell with it and just taking a chance.
"So I'm going to guess no one has been brave enough to ask you how you're holding up yet. Am I right?" The slightly younger woman questions with a knowing gleam locked in her gaze which sends an odd tug to Alex's chest.
It certainly had not been what the blonde attorney thought the fellow lawyer would ask but Alex finds herself deeply touched by it all the same. It was true, no one had asked her yet how she was doing but she understood why they hadn't. She was Alex Cabot, she was always okay, always had to be.
"Well, I am standing here in the cold, avoiding uniformed pen pushers and the constant phone calls of my bosses. I have a young child's dry blood on my knees and the little girl I promised to stay with is in a treatment room all by herself." Alex answers much more openly than she had intended but at this point she was far too tired to beat around the bush.
Nodding with understanding and sympathy for her fellow prosecutor, Casey holds her hand out and rubs up and down Alex's thinly covered arm. She was only in her skirt and a silk blouse, her coat draped over her arm from where she'd gathered it when making her escape from the waiting area.
Turning and looking straight ahead, the view in front of them a mix of trees and then the early morning skyline, Casey leans her head over towards Alex and allows her hand to delicately pat the much colder one of the 'Ice Queen's'.
The touch of the strawberry blonde ADA's hand causes Alex's model like stance to falter, just for a microsecond and a white heat seemingly spreads across her body. Crystal blue eyes grow in size and the supposed 'Ice Queen' is sure she finds her breathing suddenly become more of a struggle.
Not sure what in the world just happened to her, Alex blinks slowly a few times as she watches Casey's hand slip back down to holding her briefcase in front of her toned legs. The younger ADA was in her pencil skirt but even so her womanly figure couldn't be hidden or dampened.
"You're still here aren't you? I'd say that promise is still intact and knowing you or at least knowing your reputation I think it's safe to say you won't be breaking it anytime soon." Casey pointedly retorts against Alex's statement as if she was testifying, her voice full of conviction and truth.
Once more Alex finds herself taken back by the younger woman's words. Feeling the warmth of Casey's hand brush over the back of hers is an odd comfort Alex hadn't been aware she needed but found herself extremely thankful for all the same. The fact by now the warmer hand had returned to its previous position on the briefcase has the taller ADA's stomach dropping with an almost longing sensation.
'What in the world is happening right now?' Alex mentally questions as her mind goes into a whirlwind as she continues to use the wall behind her to keep herself standing.
"Is there any news on Savannah's father?" The blonde asks deciding changing the subject may be of some help. At least when the conversation was work related Alex felt comfortable and assured she was back in control and knew what to do.
Casey shakes her head sadly as she also relaxes more into the wall, her stance indicating she was going nowhere.
'Had to know that question was coming, this is Ms Cabot after all.' Casey remarks to herself before turning back to face Alex who was now in full ADA mode.
"There are teams out searching, SVU still at the scene along with crime techs and obviously the brass pulling out all the stops to find him. So far though, all they have is the brownstone and blood to go on, well that and Savannah and whatever she told you." Casey explains wishing she had something more to reveal but they were coming up empty so far.
Sighing hard from frustration the slightly taller woman shakes her head and rubs along her heavy feeling forehead. This was going to be a nightmare of a case, everything in Alex's experience and just overall gut feeling was screaming that at her and had been since she first stumbled into it.
"Damn it. All she told me was her father was there when the men arrived. I tried to push her further but she was barely hanging on as it was." Alex answers knowing so far they had what amounted to a huge pile of nothing.
Casey instinctively reaches her hand out to rest on Alex's arm once again but stops as a shock runs through her body almost like an electric pulse. For the slightly younger woman it is something she hadn't experienced before but sends her heart into overdrive for a few seconds. Shaking the sensation off, the younger ADA just takes in a breath and nods her head.
"Listen, Victor Bruno is an NYPD Captain they are going to pull out all the stops on this. This is one of their own, heads are going to roll and fast." Casey comments trying to put some kind of positivity in this situation, which was not easy to say the least.
Casey falls silent and returns to looking up at the rising morning sun and slightly bounces back and forth on her feet. It was a move a child would do when bored but for the strawberry blonde prosecutor it was a way of releasing some of the energy pent up inside her.
"I worked with the Captain a few times, he's… intense but fair. He is also a tower of a man, got to be somewhere along six-five or six-six. Had to be more than one, probably two people who did this considering they contained the girl as well." Casey thinks out loud, deciding looking at this like a prosecutor may be helpful for Alex and take her mind off of the horrific scene she'd been dragged in to.
Alex notices the attempt from her fellow lawyer and is truly grateful for it. She offers a warm smile to Casey as the slightly shorter woman continues to look up at the skyline, just beyond the hospital's perimeter trees.
'How is it she seems to know me so well?' Alex's mind questions as for a moment her eyes become distracted in observing Casey's distinctive profile.
Realising her gaze was lingering on the strawberry blonde's plump lower lip, Alex quickly refocuses and gives a nudge for her glazes to shift back up her nose. ADA Cabot was in control now and taking over, whatever this version of Alex was doing was not helpful to anyone.
"Savannah said men so definitely more than one. The blood was in a trail down the stairs and out of the front door on to the street. Olivia said they found more blood in the Captain's bedroom and signs of a struggle. So they made their way in, attacked the Captain in his bedroom, probably asleep?" Alex answers, running through a potential scenario of what happened before she stumbled on to the scene.
Casey nods her head in agreement with what the theory the more seasoned ADA was coming up with. Reaching in to her briefcase the younger woman pulls out a pack of cigarettes and places one between her plump, lip glossed lips. The movement innocuous but for whatever reason causes Alex to be drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
Effortlessly flicking her lighter up with her thumb, clearly an experienced move, Casey brings the flame to the end of her cigarette and quickly lights it. Dropping her hand she'd been using to shield the naked flame from the cold wind, the younger of the two women looks up and catches the unreadable expression now painted across Alex's face. Looking down to the still open cigarette packet in her hand Casey raises a questioning eyebrow towards her fellow prosecutor and finds her lips tugging into a smirk.
'Does she want me to offer her one or is she just offended that I smoke?' Casey ponders within the confines of her mind as her hazel eyes continue to find great satisfaction in the way her colleague is now staring at her.
Deciding to just offer the always prim and proper Ms Cabot a cigarette, Casey presents the packet the small distance between them and taps the bottom so one pokes out above the rest.
"I haven't smoked since college and even then it was only when I got drunk." Alex reveals as a way of declining, with a chuckle at some of her more rebellious memories, not that she had all that many.
Casey bites the inside of her cheek to stop from smirking at the other woman's words and just shrugs her shoulders a little.
"You party animal you. I don't smoke much myself anymore, at least I'm trying not to. The cycling into work is supposed to be an incentive to quit completely but as you can see it's not working all that well just yet." Casey comments softly, her husky voice starting to make a little more sense now to Alex.
'I've worked in the same building as this woman for five years and I never knew she smoked. Wow, I really am out of the loop.' Alex realises internally before throwing caution to the wind and accepting the offered cigarette.
Casey inhales her first toke of the smouldering cigarette with satisfaction, she actually had managed the night before without needing a fix. Stepping closer to the beautiful blonde beside her and shielding the early morning wind with her body and hand, Casey flicks her lighter once more in order to light Alex's cigarette.
Much to the younger woman's surprise though, Alex shakes her head with a roll of crystal blue eyes and just presses the butt of her cigarette between her lips firmly and leans her head in towards Casey. Catching the strawberry blonde slightly off guard, Casey takes a step back with a stumble and is only stopped when Alex's reaches for her arm to keep her steady.
The elegant blonde ADA presses the two ends of the cigarettes together and uses Casey's already burning one to ignite her own. It brings the two women closer than they likely have ever been before and almost causes the slightly shorter of the two to swallow her cigarette whole from gasping in shock.
Nodding her thanks to the hazel eyed ADA, Alex waits a second before inhaling the smoke. It hits her lungs hard but somehow, someway the 'Ice Queen' manages not to cough, although she comes damn well close. If there was ever a super power the blonde possessed it was her ability to look and remain cool even when scrambling to tread water.
'She smells like coconut.' Casey's inner voice declares like a stoned teenager. Not sure where the thought had come from the less experienced prosecutor shakes the thought from her mind and instead takes another toke of her own cigarette.
"So they attack the Captain, probably waking Savannah?" Casey ponders aloud, starting the hypothetical scenario of just what took place in that brownstone once more.
Blowing the smoke from the corner of her lips like she'd been doing it daily all of her life, Alex nods in agreement. Her well manicured thumb nail flicks at the butt of her cigarette and sends the ash into the wind. As her lips open to answer, Alex looks directly at Casey and into her hazel eyes which were practically glowing.
"Seems likely, it's probably why they restrained her like they did. Surely if they did that either the Captain was already subdued or there was even more than two of them?" Alex points out, her eyes noticing Casey seemed distracted by something.
Casey had yet to blink since watching the way the tall, model worthy blonde just made blowing out cigarette smoke one of the most erotic things she'd ever witnessed. Realising she was now being spoken to though, the strawberry blonde quickly shakes those thoughts away and just nods in agreement.
"Uh, yeah exactly. What I can't understand though is if Victor was the target, why did they go to the trouble to clearly hurt and attack Savannah also? I mean, tying her up to keep her out of their way, I get that but from what I was told she'd been beaten and possibly more." Casey says regretfully, just thinking about what that poor child had been through made her stomach churn.
As Casey mentions what had happened to Savannah, Alex finds herself instantly lost in her own thoughts, flashes of that bedroom rolling like a cine camera in her mind. All she could see was the look in Savannah's dark eyes, that pure terror and helplessness, it was like a knife directly to the blonde woman's heart.
"Seeing that poor girl like that…" Alex blurts out as she finds emotions springing up on her seemingly out of nowhere and affecting her ability to speak.
The tall attorney fights her emotions and inhales one large intake of her cigarette before flicking it to the ground and using the toe of her heel to stomp it out as a way of realising just some of her pent up emotions.
Guilt constricts Casey's heart as she realises it was her words which had brought this all back for Alex. Just seeing the seasoned and usually always together blonde so shaken and off her game was unsettling to see to say the least.
'This has hit Alex hard, I can only imagine what it must have been like.' Casey comments silently with deep sympathy for her fellow prosecutor who was clearly exhausted and running on fumes.
Casey herself had been affected by some of the cases she had tried and once she herself found a young, kidnapped girl in a cooler. To this day, nearly five years later and the strawberry blonde could still see that poor child's face barely hanging on and the terror in her eyes when she finally came around. The experience had been one of the reasons Casey refused to stick solely in one place and floated around to where she was needed, it was easier that way.
Biting back the emotions that were now flooding her sapphire eyes, Alex licks her lower lip and takes in one, deep, long breath to try and calm herself back down. After all what was the point of being called an 'Ice Queen' if you didn't at least behave like one.
"You got her out though Alex and now she's going to be looked after. We will find her dad and find out what happened and then I'm going to prosecute and send these animals away for good." Casey assures, her hand once more so close to touching Alex's but doesn't quite make the contact.
'Why is she grinning like that? I'm not afraid to say I am now slightly on edge and intimidated.' The strawberry blonde's inner voice comments as Casey attempts to read the look on Alex's face which had stopped her from once again touching her colleagues hand.
The older ADA's cheeks had broken out into a smile and Casey finds herself frowning slightly at the reaction. Alex however just nods her head in agreement and brings both arms around her body in crossed fashion, her coat still draped over one.
"That you will. I'm glad they called you in for this Casey, if it couldn't be me, it should be you." Alex explains with confidence, a comfort coming over her at the news the slightly younger attorney would be taking control of this case.
Casey feels her mouth open but is completely silent as the huge vote of confidence sinks in properly and registers within her mind. Casey Novak was hardly a rookie with five years experience but Alexandra Cabot was a seasoned legend and to have her praise and more importantly confidence was a huge deal.
'Alex Cabot just said…. About me.' The strawberry blonde's inner voice struggles to comprehend what had just happened but feels great pride surge into her heart all the same.
Realising she needed to respond, Casey puts the ash now threatening to fall from the butt of the cigarette out against the wall and drops it to the floor before kicking it away. The truth was once Alex had grinned all thought of smoking had left the younger woman's brain and all that had been left was un smoked ash remains.
"You have my word Alex, they will not get away with this." Casey affirms as this time she goes for it and just reaches up to the other woman's hand, which was tucked into her crossed arm and grips her fingers lightly in a squeeze.
The action brings the still glazed over blue orbs of the blonde attorney to stare directly into the warm and accepting hazel ones of the younger ADA. Not sure how else to react, Alex returns the squeeze, ever so lightly and the two women nod in understanding of what the other was thinking and more importantly feeling.
"How about we head back inside and see if they have an update on Savannah's condition. After all, you have a promise to keep." Casey suggests with a kind and reassuring smile as she turns towards the large doors leading back into the hospital waiting area.
Alex stands still for a moment as her blue eyes gaze upon the still packed and frantic waiting room, it was such a contrast to the peaceful escape of the outside. Locking eyes with her fellow ADA though, the tall blonde nods her head, straightens her posture and walks with purpose back in to the hospital waiting room.
Alexandra Cabot did not break her promises.
Okay, so that is the end of Chapter 2.
I hope that you enjoy it and if you do leave a review then I cannot say thank you enough. I am always interested in knowing what people think, feel, want to see and everything else as it helps me when writing so much. If not though I just hope you like it all the same.
Until next time stay safe, happy and well ;;'x