A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! If you all keep it up, this story will reach 30 reviews in no time! Thanks also for the ideas for April. I loved them all, but I decided to go in a different direction with this chapter…it's not as fluffy as the others. Not to worry, though. I believe it's only temporary. And, I'm sorry in advance for the teeny-weeny smidge of Alex interference that pops up in the beginning of this chapter.

April

They say that "April showers bring May flowers". If Casey and Olivia's relationship was any indicator, then May would be a month full of blossoms. But that was in the future. April was proving to be a hard month for both Casey and Olivia. Their offices were well on their way to breaking the all-time record for most cases resolved, but even their hectic work schedule wasn't the biggest problem that they faced.

It began one night in the middle of the month. Olivia and Casey were lying in bed in Olivia's apartment, having just completed an intense session of love-making. Olivia had her arms around Casey's shoulders, and lightly kissed her forehead.

"Liv?" Casey said hesitantly.

"Yes, babe?" Olivia sighed absent-mindedly.

"Do you think that I'm a competent attorney?"

"Casey, sweetie, you are beyond competent—and not just at being an attorney. Your bedroom skills are quite above par as well," Olivia teased. "Why do you ask?"

Casey smiled slightly. "It's nothing…just that jerk we love to hate Trevor Langon getting on my nerves."

"What did he say this time, babe?"

"I don't remember exactly." She lied, "just something about not being able to win a case…"

Olivia sensed that something was wrong. "…and?" she said hesitantly.

"…and that if I was Alex I would have been able to get it done." She paused for a second. "I just thought that all of this shit was over with." She added sadly.

"Trevor is an ass."

"But he's right."

"No, sweetie. He's not. You did the best you could, I'm sure." Olivia said, looking into Casey's eyes.

"But my best isn't good enough most of the time."

"Come on, Case. Stop over-reacting. No, you're not Alex. You're Casey. Could she have won the case? Maybe. I don't know. But you can't beat yourself up over it. You just can't. This is your job. She's not coming back."

Casey felt a lump in her throat. She had always thought that Olivia and Alex had some sort relationship before Alex had been moved into the Witness Protection Program, but she had never asked. "Do you…want her to come back?" Casey said slowly.

"For what? To be my friend again? Yes. I miss her. But to be our ADA? No. We have you, and you're perfect."

"Did you love her, Olivia?" Casey was tired of beating around the bush, so the question came out harsh and fast.

Olivia looked at her blankly for a second. "Love her how?" she asked meekly.

"You know what I mean, Olivia. Did you lay here like this with her? Did you tell her that you loved her?"

Olivia sighed heavily. "Alex and I had a relationship…of sorts. But Casey, please---"

Olivia was cut off. "Of sorts? What they hell does that mean, Olivia?"

"We had sex a few times," Olivia almost stopped talking when she saw the look of hurt cross Casey's face, "but Casey, I never even began to love her the way I love you."

Casey got out of the bed and stood up. She quietly began to cry. "I'm sick of all of this." She said simply.

"Of what, Casey?"

"Being the fucking replacement for everything! The unit needs a new ADA, let's just get Casey to do it." She said, her volume increasing, "Olivia needs a new girl to fuck, let's just get Casey to do it!"

"Casey! Our relationship is not just about sex, and you know that! Why are you acting like this?"

"Because I've felt this way from the second I've walked into SVU! I'm just 'that girl who took over for the one that got shot'. I didn't expect you to be completely celibate before we got together, but the fact that when everyone else looks at me, they see Alex makes me wonder if you do, too."

"I don't even know what to say to that, Casey." Olivia shot back, "I love you, but if you don't believe it, then there's nothing else I can do."

"I've said all I can, Olivia. I think it's best for me to go home now," she said as she started gathering her clothes that were strewn about the room.

"You don't have to, Casey."

"Yes, I think I do." And with that and a quick "I'll see you tomorrow," Casey left Olivia in her apartment alone.

But Casey didn't see Olivia the next day, or the day after. In fact, a full week later they still had not seen each other. It was almost the end of April and the showers (that really were more like storms) showed no signs of slowing. Olivia sat at her desk with a sad expression on her face.

"Trouble in paradise?" Elliot's voice shocked her.

"What? No! Everything's fine, really." Olivia snapped back defensively.

"You know, Liv, for a cop you suck ass at lying. Spill it."

Olivia sighed. There was no hope in trying to hide it. "Casey and I had a fight." She admitted.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." He said smoothly, "What about?"

"Elliot, thanks for trying to help but I really don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, huh?" he questioned.

"Yeah, that bad." She paused for a moment before continuing, "She, uh, doesn't trust me."

"You mean she thinks you're cheating?"

"No," Olivia said, weighing her words, "She thinks that I loved—love—Alex more than her."

"Do you?" Elliot asked. He wasn't afraid of what her reaction would be.

"No. Not even close. With Alex it was all about the sex. I thought that I might love her, but the feelings weren't exactly mutual. But what I felt with Alex doesn't even begin to compare to how I feel with Casey."

"Well tell her that!"

"Don't you think I tried, Elliot?! She just got mad and stormed out of my apartment. I haven't seen her since. I'm a mess, Elliot. I don't know what to do." She said, almost on the verge of tears. She held herself together for the sake of her dignity and nothing else. She would not be reduced to a weeping blob in front of her partner.

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Yes, Elliot! I've left voicemails, sent emails, I've even sent messages to her office via courier, but still she hasn't even tried to contact me. I just…" she stopped for a minute, trying so hard to hold in the tears. Her voice was shaky and she knew it. "I just want to tell her that I'm sorry that she doesn't trust me—that no matter what, I'll always be honest and faithful to her. And that I love her more than I've loved anyone and we've only been going out four months." When she was finished, a single tear escaped down her cheek.

Elliot remained silent.

As if it was an afterthought, Olivia added, "I just don't know how I'm going to tell her when she won't even talk to me."

"You don't have to," came from a tear-filled voice behind her, "she heard everything."

Olivia turned around slowly to see Casey standing there, smiling.

It looked as though the skies were beginning to clear after all.

A/N: So this was the hardest so far to write. I know, I know, I hate Alex interference as much as you do, but I swear I just needed to get that out of my system. I hope you liked it. May is next—picnic in the park, perhaps? We shall see.