Casey nervously tapped her foot as she waited for the door to open. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say yet, but she knew that she needed to tell Alexis that she wouldn't be prosecuting her case as soon as possible.

"Casey, hey," Alexis greeted her once the door swung open. Casey jumped slightly at the sudden noise, but smiled once she saw it was Alexis.

"Hey, Alexis. Can we talk for a bit?" Casey asked. Alexis stepped back and opened the door further, allowing Casey to enter the apartment. She led Casey over to the kitchen table and took a seat.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Alexis asked, keeping her eyes glued to the table in front of her. She looked nervous and she had bags under her eyes, confirming that she hadn't been sleeping much since the attack.

"Alexis… I came here to tell you that I can't prosecute your case. Another lawyer is going to have to do it. Her name is Tracy Kibre and she's a great attorney."

Alexis finally looked up, hurt evident in her eyes. "What? Why can't you do it? I already trust you. I don't want someone else to do it!"

Casey sighed and took a deep breath, trying to decide how to respond. She knew she had to tell Alexis her story, but she had only told it once in her life when she had told Elliot.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but let me explain?" Alexis shrugged and finally looked up.

"One day when I was fifteen I was walking home from a friend's house. It was at night and I took a short cut, so there was no one around. I was walking home and a man jumped out at me. He attacked me… and he raped me." Her voice faded out as she said the last three words, but Alexis heard her nonetheless. The teenager hesitantly placed her hand on top of Casey's, urging her to go on while simultaneously offering her the support she needed to continue.

"Alexis, you are a brave, courageous girl, and I am so proud of you for coming forward like you did. I wasn't as strong and as brave as you, and I never told anyone. And, because I never told anyone and never got a rape kit like you did, I never got the morning after pill. I got pregnant when I was fifteen years old and I kept the baby… I'm thirty-two years old and I have a seventeen-year-old daughter."

When Casey finally looked up, Alexis was looking at her with a mixture of shock and concern etched in her face. Her eyes expressed sympathy, but at the same time surprise was evident. Before the teenager could get a word in, Casey pulled a photograph out of her pocket.

"This," she gestured to the photograph, "is me at fifteen."

Alexis pulled the photograph closer to her and observed it for a moment before looking up.

"It looks like me," she exclaimed, looking from the photograph back to Casey.

"Yeah, it does," Casey agreed. "Alexis, the reason I can't prosecute your case… well, as soon as I saw the sketch that the sketch artist made of your attacker, I knew that he was the man who raped me. I never reported my attack, but I have never forgotten his face."

"Are you saying that the same man who… attacked me, attacked you seventeen years ago?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah, he did, which is why I can't prosecute your case. I can, however, help you in a different way. I can prove that Sean McGinnis is the man who raped me, which will prove that he has a violent history."

"How can you prove that?"

"My daughter agreed to have a paternity test done. I know that Sean is her father, which the paternity test will prove. Even if we can't prove that he raped me, I was only fifteen so either way it proves statutory rape. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I know what that means. So then he'll be charged with both of our… you know?"

"Unfortunately, no. There's something called a statute of limitations, which says that you can't charge someone with sexual assault more than five years after the assault was committed. It's been seventeen years, so obviously it's too late, but it still proves his history.

Alexis looked up suddenly, a glimmer of hope on her face. "So you'll still be at my trial?"

"Yeah, I'll still be there, but I'll be testifying too."

"Good, because I want you there," Alexis admitted, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"There's one more thing that you should know," Casey told her. "Do you know Shayla Novak?"

"Yeah, I do. Well, no, I don't know her, but I know of her. She's a senior at my school… is she your daughter?"

Casey nodded. "I just wanted you to know so that when you hear her name at your trial you know why."

"Thank you for everything, Casey." Alexis stood up and Casey followed her lead, and she then threw her arms around the attorney. Casey hugged her back, whispering soothing words into her ear when she felt a wet spot forming on her shirt.

Finally Alexis stepped back, looking slightly embarrassed at having cried in front of the attorney. Casey smiled and handed her a card once they reached the front door.

"Anytime you want to talk, you call me. Day or night, it doesn't matter."

"Thank you, Casey," Alexis said gratefully. "I will."


"Hey, handsome," Casey greeted, wrapping her arms around Elliot's waist as soon as he opened the door to his apartment.

"Hey, beautiful," Elliot responded, turning around to face her. She moved her arms so that they were wrapped around Elliot's neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer to him before resting his forehead against hers. "How are you doing?

She shrugged. "I'm doing okay, actually. I talked to Alexis today, and I think she understands."

"Good," he answered, pressing his lips against hers. He pressed his tongue against her lips, requesting entrance into her mouth. She relented without much resistance and their tongues battled for dominance as she moaned slightly into his mouth.

He pulled away suddenly and without warning lifted her into his arms. He carried her into his bedroom and gently placed her on the bed before crawling up beside her.

"Case… if you want to take it slower… if you want me to stop… you just say so, okay?"

She nodded and smiled slightly before rolling back on top of him and kissing him once again.

"I don't want you to stop."


Well, I finally updated! Sorry for taking so long.

Please review! But, more importantly, I need help...

Do you want me to write the trial, or should I just sort of summarize it after? Or I could just write like… the results of the trial, like the very end? Please let me know so that I can write the next chapter!

And please review. :)

Ps – Sarah, aren't you so proud of me? Which means it's now your turn to update… sooo, go!