Back for Good
Chapter 9
Whenever I'm wrong
Just tell me the song and I'll sing it
You'll be right and understood
(Want you back, want you back
I want you back for good)
4 weeks later.
Maddie hated crutches; she'd spent so long on them following her accident she once swore to stick them up someone's backside if they ever presented her with any again. But here she was back on them for the next 3 months whilst her leg healed, she wasn't allowed to put any unnecessary weight on it and as a result had been forced to move in with her parents so she didn't have to do as much for herself. She wasn't allowed back to work for another 2 weeks but the case against Tony Wise was progressing rapidly; Donnelly pulling a few strings had gotten the case to court a lot quicker than it normally would have. Maddie hoped that once Wise was behind bars properly her nightmares would ease, either that or she'd have to go back to counselling again which she wanted even less than the crutches that now went everywhere with her. She seriously doubted that counselling would work with her, some people responded to it but Maddie wasn't one of those people.
But worse than all of that was the fact that she hadn't heard from Casey since that day in the park. She'd expected to hear something but she hadn't, even a rejection letter would have been better than the not knowing. Had she been allowed to drive she'd have driven to where she knew Casey to be residing at present, but deep down she knew the ultimate decision rested with the attorney. She just hoped it didn't take Casey too much longer to reach her decision.
"Guilty with life imprisonment." Elizabeth Donnelly told Alex a few weeks later; Alex was relieved and couldn't wait to tell Maddie the outcome of the trial. Alex owed Liz big time for taking the case herself rather than the ADA that was initially working on it, luckily for her Liz thought a lot for the young detective and loved her way of dealing with people involved with Special Victims, she had a way of making people feel at ease even in the most difficult situations. When Alex had asked her for the personal favour she didn't hesitate to say yes, she'd have said yes had any of the 1-6 detectives asked her to do it. She'd even been visited by the former SVU ADA to ask her not to place Maddie on the stand, as Alex was about to leave Liz told her what Casey had done as she knew it mattered to her.
"For what it's worth I think that Casey loves Maddie as much as Maddie loves her." Liz offered.
"Thanks. For everything." Alex said before she left to go give Maddie the news, and Liz took the time to make a call to let Casey know as she knew that the attorney would want to know.
Alex and Olivia couldn't help but laugh as they entered the Madison household and spotted Maddie asleep on the sofa with marker pen all over her face. Alex quickly took a photo with her phone to use as ammunition against the younger woman at some point in the future, unfortunately the noise the phone made taking the picture woke up the sleeping detective.
"Oy Cabot don't even think about it." Maddie warned and Alex showed her the picture, she chuckled at the markings on her face and vowed to get even with her younger brother and sister, "So why are you two here?" Maddie asked even though she knew the verdict was due.
"He got life." Alex simply stated and Maddie closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch with a sigh of relief, she suddenly appeared much younger than she had done when they arrived, and she was clearly exhausted. There'd been a fear in Maddie whilst the trial had been taking place that he'd get off and finish the job he'd started. Most recently her nightmares had started showing her like the Wicca victims, instead of being in a war torn country the scene was Manhattan and the streets within it. She hadn't told anyone about the nightmares as she suspected they'd worry or at least say she was mental.
"So come on Miss Do-little get upstairs and get changed into My Fair Lady because we're taking you out to celebrate." Olivia smiled brightly knowing she was playing with fire by making jokes around Maddie's name, they'd decided to have a girl's night to try and cheer the young detective up as they knew she was still thinking about Casey every third second.
"You'll pay for that Benson." Maddie warned allowing Olivia to help her off of the couch and Alex to help her upstairs.
Dressed up as best she could with metal sticking out of her leg, dark circles under her eyes and two irritating crutches Maddie left for a night on the tiles with her friend and cousin. Maddie planned on making the most of not having to worry about driving home and work the next morning by downing several alcoholic drinks, the only down side of that meant no pain killers but she hoped the booze would settle for that. Four bottles of wine and 8 shots later Maddie was starting to feel a lot better, or rather she was finding more things amusing and was intent on counting salt grains which were on the table. Then as usual for a girls night the topic of conversation turned to relationships and Alex started talking about her latest guy and what they liked about being in relationships.
"For me it's the company, knowing that someone's there." Olivia mused as Maddie stopped playing with the salt pot that was on the table and started paying more attention to the conversation.
"Yeah I like that, what about you Mads?" Alex asked in her drunken state not realising how tactless she was being, Madddie could tell she was drunk as she had her goofy smile on.
"Sunday mornings," Maddie smiled drifting into her own memory, "usually the only relaxing morning we got, cases permitting. I'd pop out and get a paper and muffins, Casey made the coffee and we'd lay in bed reading the paper listening to the radio, those mornings it was like we were the only two people in the world. Or even going shopping after work, just wandering around the stores trying to decide what to have for dinner. I'd never tell her but I even miss her snoring, I think that's why I've not slept properly since she left." Maddie added with a chuckle and the others immediately regretted the topic of conversation, Alex sobering up quickly at her cousin's words. Olivia went to apologise but Maddie stopped her saying that it was ok, talking helped and the feelings were better talked about than locked inside.
"Ok, ok, new topic." Alex started trying to cheer everyone up again. "Best drunken escapade." She ended the sentence with a shot which Olivia and Maddie also downed.
It was the early hours of the morning when the trio made their way out of the bar into the New York night which was cold but the sky was full of stars. Maddie was struggling to walk on her crutches with the amount of alcohol she'd consumed and realised there was no way she could go back to her father's in such a state, he'd lecture her on the dangers of drinking and painkillers and Hillary would try not to laugh at her inebriated state before talking about the tablets.
Maddie got into the cab and gave her own address and fumbled with the keys into her apartment where she promptly collapsed on the couch knowing full well she'd wake up in the morning with a raging hangover but she wasn't in any state to get back up again for a glass of water, and for once she didn't care as she was more bothered about the alcohol hopefully keeping the nightmares away.
Banging, crashing, burning with blinding lights and severe heat, sirens blazing, thick string cutting into skin, Wicca symbols floating high in the air and people screaming for help. Maddie woke up on her couch struggling for breath and calling out for help, she screamed when help appeared out of nowhere.
