LiveLoveLikeMe: So sorry! I had this doc uploaded to the document manager, I must have just clicked on the wrong one! THIS is the right chapter...
Chapter 10
The cab finally skidded to a stop outside the abandoned warehouse, where Mark was waiting with Shelly, a gun to the side of her head. "Hey!" he shouted, glaring at her furiously. "I thought I told you to come alone, you bitch!"
"How the hell did you even expect me to get here, Mark?" she exclaimed. "I had to take a cab! You, get lost," she told the cab driver, who was staring wide-eyed at the young, terrified girl who was standing there, trembling violently, a gun to her head.
"Too late for that, he's seen too much," Mark said, raising the gun from Shelly for a moment before shooting the cab driver in the arm. Shelly screamed and Casey jumped in shock, looking back at the poor man to make sure he was okay before advancing on Mark. When she got closer, she could see the bruises all over Shelly's shaking body, and she gasped, "Mark! Why the hell did you hit her? I told you I was coming!"
"She was a misbehaving little girl and deserved it!" Mark exclaimed before pulling the little girl back into the warehouse, the gun at her head.
Shelly screamed again, calling out to her. "Aunt Casey!Help me!"
"I'm coming Shells, I'm coming, it's all going to be okay," Casey soothed, limping forward, shaking almost as much as the little girl. "Mark!" she shouted once she was inside the warehouse, glaring at him. "Let her go! Take on someone your own size! It takes work to control someone like me, but the poor kid can't fight you off! You want someone with fight in them, Mark! That's me!"
"I don't know," he said doubtfully. "This kid here fought back."
"She didn't give you a challenge and you know it!" Casey screamed, knowing how much psychological damage she was doing to Shelly right now but knowing it had to be worth it, if it would save the poor girl's life. "Youwantme!I'mhere,Mark!Takeme!"
Mark hesitated, but when Shelly screamed in terror again, he grabbed the child roughly by the arm and threw her to the side, facing Casey. His hands were balled into fists, his mouth set in a firm scowl, his eyes cold and filled with hate. "You think you can take me, you bitch? You have ruined my life! Don't you think you're going to get away with this!" He ran at her furiously, and Casey was unable to hold back a scream of terror when he pinned her to the floor, holding her down and hitting her on the face before he grabbed her flailing arms, stopping her from pounding on his shoulders and wrapped both her wrists in one strong hand and holding them above her head, hitting her again and again and again. She gave a shout of pain, struggling weakly underneath him, trying to hold her right leg still. She didn't want to try and kick him and end up in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Her shallow, frantic breaths hurt her ribs, but she couldn't stop wheezing. It caused a horrid flashback, and as she fought terrors in both the present and the past, Casey screamed in the twin emotions of pain and fear, trying desperately to get away from him. She didn't have enough air to speak when he slapped her across the face again, causing a short gasp to escape her lips. She just wanted to be left alone. She didn't want to hurt Mark, she just wanted him to go away and stop hitting her.
But she kept fighting- she kept it up, struggling and fighting and kicking until there was a shout of panic and a scream that did not belong to her, and then there was someone hauling Mark off her, and that was it. All the senses of the past that had been reawakened during the fight came forth, and she did the same as when she was a kid, pulling her knees up to her chest and hiding her face with her hair, curling up into a tiny ball and trembling violently, on the alert for another attack.
"Mark Novak, you are under arrest for the rape and assault of Casey Novak, the assault of Linda Novak, and the kidnapping of Shelly Novak," Elliot snarled as he pulled the bastard from the warehouse, reading him his rights. Olivia looked around for Shelly and found the little girl trembling on the other side of the room, in a similar state as Casey. Content in the fact that Shelly could survive a couple more minutes without help, Olivia knelt cautiously in front of the ADA, well aware that she had just been beaten and would probably not respond well to physical touch.
"Casey," she said softly, moving a little closer to her. "Casey, it's okay. Mark's gone. You're all right."
Casey refused to look at her, clearly scared out of her mind. Olivia didn't know that she was battling more than one flashback, aside from the fact that she was just beaten half to death by her brother... again. The ADA shook her head quickly, shaking violently. "Casey," Olivia assured her again, "It's all right. It's just me, Olivia. Come on, Case, look up, you'll see it's just me."
Casey looked up slowly, eyes wide and scared, still trembling, and asked, "'Livia?"
Olivia nodded gently and smiled at her. "Yeah, sweetie." She held out her hand, offering it to Casey, waiting for Casey to meet her halfway, since she didn't want to touch Casey before she was ready to be touched.
The ADA slowly reached out and placed her hand in Olivia's, still shaking. The detective smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "See, Case? Just me, sweetheart, and I'm not going to hurt you."
Casey swallowed before holding onto Olivia tighter and saying, "Shelly." Blinking nervously, Casey stood up, using Olivia's shoulders as leverage, and limped ahead, using the wall for support, heading over to the young girl huddled up against the wall.
When Casey got near her, though, Shelly screamed and pulled away, hiding her face in her knees. "Stop it!" she shouted, curling up against the wall. "Get away from me!"
After a moment of confusion, Casey asked uncertainly, "Shelly? Shells, it's just me, baby. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
"You hurt Daddy!" Shelly shouted, then sobbed. "Don't touch me, please!" When Casey realized that Shelly was terrified of her, specifically, it took all of her strength not to break down into tears.
"Shelly," she tried again, her voice breaking, "Shelly, please... it's... it's only me. I had to hit your father, he was trying to hurt me."
Shelly shook her head again. "No! Mama said not to be friends with people who hit other people and you tried to hit Daddy!"
Now Casey was trying to justify it to herself, not just Shelly. "Shelly, I had to hit him, he was hitting me, I was just trying to get him away from me," she pleaded, tears shining in her eyes now. "Please. Please believe me, sweetie, I wasn't trying to hurt him. I just wanted him to leave me alone. That's all I wanted. Please. I'm so sorry."
But Shelly had been through too much to trust anyone but her mother right now. After the backup had come in to get Mark, Elliot had returned to find out what was taking so long, finding Olivia waiting several feet back from where Casey was pleading with Shelly to trust her.
Normally, Olivia would of known that it was best for her to take Shelly outside rather than Elliot- she doubted the poor child would be able to go with any man without screaming- but Casey wouldn't be entirely comfortable around a man, either, and Casey had been through so much... for once, Casey deserved for someone to pay attention to herneeds for once, to take care of her and comfort her. "Elliot," Olivia said softly, grabbing his hand, "Can you get Shelly out of here? I'll take care of Casey." He nodded at her and approached the young, terrified child slowly, stopping in his tracks when she screamed again.
"Hey, Shelly," he said softly, holding up his hands to show her he was unarmed. "I'm a police officer. I'm here to take you back to your mother, all right? I'm not going to hurt you."
Shelly looked up at him nervously, and Casey cried out softly at how she trusted an unfamiliar male more than her. "Wha- wha- what's your name?" Shelly asked shakily, her eyes doubting around the room nervously.
Elliot smiled at her and said softly, "My name's Elliot. You know, I have a daughter about your age."
"Do you- do you hurt her, too?" Shelly asked nervously, still scared.
Elliot shook his head. "No, I don't. I never once hit her. Do you want to see a picture?" Shelly nodded mutely, so Elliot reached into his wallet and pulled out a picture of Lizzie and handed it to her. "There you go. Her name's Lizzie. You can keep that, if you want."
Shelly nodded tremulously before crumpling up the picture in her hand and clutching it close to her chest. "I wanna see Mama," she pleaded.
"I know," Elliot told her softly. "I know. I can take you to her. She's waiting for you at the hospital for you- she really wants to see you, Shelly." The little girl hesitated, but when she caught sight of Casey, she curled up tighter and shook her head.
"Is Daddy gonna be there?"
"No, Shelly. I promise, he's not. Remember, I'm a police officer. I'm not going to let him hurt you."
Shelly shook her head nervously, still clearly terrified. "Is Aunt Casey gonna be there?" she asked slowly.
Casey looked up hopefully with teary eyes as Elliot asked cautiously, "Do you want her to be there?"
The young girl shook her head vigorously, closing her eyes tightly. "No. No, she hurt Daddy."
The ADA looked down and closed her eyes too, whimpering in pain that wasn't physical. "Okay. Okay, then. She won't be there." He would of glanced at Casey apologetically, but Shelly was watching him and he didn't want Shelly to see and stop trusting him as well. "Just let me take you out of here." Shelly hesitated, then slowly got to her feet but cried out in pain.
"Shelly!" Casey exclaimed immediately, trying to walk forward to help her but falling to her hands and knees, groaning in pain as well. Shelly immediately jumped back when she saw Casey, terrified once again.
Elliot moved closer to her and asked Shelly softly, "Shelly, I can't let you walk, your legs might be hurt. Will you let me carry you?"
Shelly hesitated before closing her eyes tightly and holding out her arms as a silent invitation for him to carry her. "It's okay, Shelly," he told her, and when Casey saw that Shelly was comfortable enough to let a strong, intimidating male figure such as Elliot carry her, but wasn't calm when Casey tried to talk to her, she broke down into tears.
Olivia got down on the floor next to Casey, her heart breaking as the ADA shook her head over and over, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him, I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay, Casey. You didn't do anything wrong," Olivia murmured in her ear, making sure Casey was all right with being touched before wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a gentle hug. Casey sobbed, burying her head in Olivia's shoulder, unable to hold it in anymore. She couldn't force herself to focus on anyone else right now. She had been beaten almost every day for the past three months, violently raped, and just survived yet another beating to find that her niece, one of the people that she had endured pure hell for, was terrified of her. "You're safe, sweetheart," Olivia told her, kissing the side of her head. "It's okay. Shelly just doesn't understand, hun. I promise, you haven't done anything wrong and none of this is your fault."
Casey sobbed harder and painfully, leaning her head into the detective's neck, still trembling. Olivia rubbed Casey's back gently, unable to even make a guess at how broken Casey must be right now. It must have been an eternity since someone had comforted Casey after she'd been hit, and it was obvious that Casey was still in shock. "Shh..." Olivia murmured, kissing the side of her head softly and holding her tightly. "Shh. I'm right here, Casey. I'm not going to leave you."
Itjustwasn'tfair, Olivia thought, notatall. Casey had been beaten by her own brother, day after day after day, to save that little girl from being hurt herself, and the fact that Shelly was now afraid of Casey, treating her as if she was the abuser, must have hurt more than she thought possible. Casey clung to Olivia like a scared child, her eyes shut tight as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to be a bad girl. I'll behave, I promise. I'm so sorry."
"Shh," Olivia told her, kissing her forehead again. "Don't you dare apologize, Casey. You have done nothing wrong here, nothing at all. Shelly just doesn't understand, that's all, sweetie. I don't want to hear you say you're sorry again," she said harshly but lovingly. She met Casey's gaze and cupped her chin in her hand, forcing Casey to look up at her. She met Casey's frightened, teary gaze and said, "Casey Novak, you are not to blame for any of this. The only thing you have done these past three months is save that little girl from being hit by taking the blows yourself, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Shelly is scared of you because she doesn't understand what's going on. She's only five, sweetheart. You haven't done anything wrong at all. I don't want you to apologize for anything at all... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop him from hurting you, that I didn't keep my promises about keeping you safe. But you're safe now, and you don't have to be scared anymore. He is never going to hurt you ever again... you're safe, sweetheart." Olivia kissed her forehead gently before taking Casey's hand and telling her, "Casey, we need to get you back to the hospital. You could of torn a stitch, or- I mean, your hip..."
Casey nodded tremulously, allowing Olivia to help her upright and pull the ADA's arm over her shoulder, letting her to limp to the exit. Every step was slow and painful, and Olivia watched her carefully, trying to make sure that Casey didn't need an ambulance.
Casey was still crying when Olivia led her to the car... the detective didn't blame her. She couldn't believe Shelly had reacted like that to Casey. Olivia couldn't blame the little girl after everything she had been through, but after everything Casey had done for her, it had to have broken the ADA's heart to see the child terrified of her. "You're going to be okay," Olivia told her softly as she helped her over to the police outside, who had already called an ambulance to help the cab driver. When one of the cops noticed them, he hurried over to help, but Casey whimpered involuntarily and pulled back, tucking her head against her chest and closing her eyes.
"Back off," she warned him quickly, tightening her hold on Casey. "I'm bringing her to the hospital. She's an ADA, and the victim." Olivia helped Casey into the passenger of the squad car- Elliot had taken Shelly to the hospital in an ambulance- and smiled softly at her. "Hang on, Case," she told her as she hurried around to start the engine. "You're going to be all right. We'll be at the hospital soon."
"Shelly?" Casey asked tearfully. "Is she going to be okay?" Her voice broke, and she looked down unhappily, blushing furiously.
It broke Olivia's heart that, after what Shelly had said to Casey, the ADA was still concerned about the little girl. "I'm not sure, Case. You've done everything you could protect her." Casey sighed and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning her head against the window.
"I'm sorry, Olivia," she said hollowly, staring off into the distance. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey," the detective told her, glancing over at her and holding her gaze for a moment. "What did I tell you about apologizing?" Casey glanced at her and sent her a small smile, sinking back into the seat.
Casey sighed before telling her, "Olivia, I... I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me today. And after I've been such a bitch to you and Elliot... and I really didn't mean or any of this to happen, it's just- Shelly needed me... well, she did, I guess. I don't know about now."
Olivia sighed, giving her a compassionate glance. "Shelly was scared, that's all. You just wait, Casey. She doesn't hate you, and before you know it, she'll trust you again."
SVUSVUSVU
"Shelly!" Linda exclaimed when Elliot led the young girl out of the ER. "Oh thank god!" She ran forward and embraced her daughter, kissing her forehead and holding her tightly.
Elliot allowed the small family to have their reunion for a moment before saying softly in Linda's ear, "We need to talk, ma'am."
Linda held onto Shelly for a moment longer before picking the little girl up and setting her on a chair in the corner. She knelt down in front of her daughter and put her hands down on her shoulders, telling her, "Shelly, I need to talk to that detective for a second, okay? I'll be right over there, and I'll come back to you in just a moment sweetheart, okay?" Shelly nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest and watching as Linda kissed her forehead again. "I love you, honey," she told her before walking a few steps in the opposite direction with Elliot.
"Shelly's going to be all right," Elliot told her softly. "Nothing's broken. Just a couple bruises- the doctor gave her some pain meds so it wouldn't hurt as much for a while. Mark is in custody and our ADA is writing up the paperwork to have him charged as soon as possible... but that's not what I want to say. I'm not sure if Shelly's going to come around on her own because she's so young, but I'm not sure if Casey will be able to handle it if Shelly doesn't... well, I suppose the best word is forgive her, but there's nothing to forgive."
Linda frowned in confusion, glancing back at Shelly before asking, "Detective, what exactly happened?"
Elliot hesitated before saying bluntly, "Basically, she was terrified of Casey and said that she didn't trust her- Shelly acted like Casey was going to hurt her like Mark had, and said it was because Casey hit Mark, when she was trying to get him the hell off her."
Linda eyes widened before she turned and stormed back to her daughter. "Shelly Maria Novak!" she exclaimed furiously. "Did you tell Aunt Casey that she was like your father?"
Shelly stared up at her in surprise before explaining, "She hit him. You said that people who hit other people were bad people."
Sighing, Linda shook her head, keeping her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Shelly, Casey wasn't trying to hurt him. You fight back against him, too, and there's nothing wrong with you. And do you have any idea how much Casey has suffered for us? She is the only reason that your father hasn't been hurting me or you. She has saved your life, over and over and over again. Do you have any idea how much you hurt her when you told her she was just like your father?"
"I'm sorry, Mama," Shelly mumbled, staring down at her hands. "I'm sorry, but I... I was actually scared of her. She hit him, and-"
"Shelly!" Linda exclaimed, getting down on her knees so she was on her daughter's eye level, "Your Aunt Casey is a good, amazing woman. She will never, ever hurt you. And what you said to her really hurt her feelings. She risked her life for you... for both of us."
Shelly sighed sadly, staring at her hands. "I'm sorry, Mama," she said again. "I wasn't trying to be mean to Aunt Casey... I was just really scared, and... and I didn't want her to touch me after I saw what she was doing with Mark, and..."
"Shelly, listen to me very carefully. Casey was not doing anything with your father, he was doing things toher, terrible things that she shouldn't of had to suffer through. And you need to apologize to your Aunt Casey." Shelly looked at her for a second, trembling slightly before throwing her arms around her mother and burying her head in her mother's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Mama," she sobbed again. "I'm so sorry." Linda sighed, wrapping her arms around her daughter and kissing her hair.
"It's not your fault, sweetie. You're going to be okay... I love you. You're going to be okay."
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