Disclaimer: if it was mine, you'd see Elliot and Olivia doing the tango after hours across their desks! Now that's a scene I'd like to see =]

Melinda put her money on the counter and picked up one of the coffee carriers. With a smile to the cashier, she turned away and headed not towards the cafeteria exit, but towards an empty table. Casey, grabbing the remaining coffees, followed her, confused.

Melinda sat down and looked up at her former colleague. "I thought maybe we could talk for a minute," she said in way of explanation.

Casey still looked confused, but she sat down across from the ME. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

Melinda sized up the former ADA. "I just thought it would be nice to catch up a bit." Seeing the puzzled look, she added, "I know we didn't interact a whole lot on the job, but I still consider us friends, and I missed you."

Casey looked incredulous. "You did?"

Melinda smiled. "Of course. You were so much better at wrangling Elliot and Olivia than any of the temps they've paraded through those doors in the last two years."

Casey laughed. "I don't know how good I was at wrangling, but it's nice to hear."

Melinda paused, considering what she should say. She wanted to give the woman some hint as to what had been going on since she had left, but she didn't want to betray any trusts. Olivia had told her things in confidence, and Melinda treasured that. She knew the detective didn't share easily, so for her to entrust any secrets was the highest form of compliment. But this woman was Olivia's friend too. She deserved to know, didn't she?

Finally Melinda sighed. Maybe if she could steer the conversation in a different direction, she wouldn't have to say anything.

Casey watched the ME carefully. Just because she hadn't been in the courts for two years didn't mean she had lost any of her lawyer skills, including the ability to read people. She could tell the woman was conflicted, but she didn't know about what.

"It's been pretty rough," Melinda finally broke the silence. "After you left, there was a lot of tension. Your replacement, Kim, didn't get on very well with anyone."

Casey smiled. "Liv mentioned that. She said the woman had no empathy, couldn't relate to the victims, and had no comprehension of how SVU works…And those were her good qualities."

Melinda chuckled. "That sounds about right." She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "She went back to DC, and Alex returned, briefly. Things calmed down a bit after that, everyone seemed more relaxed."

Casey nodded. "That's good. I know Olivia missed her while she was in WPP."

Melinda kept going. "Yeah, they all did. Alex was close to all of them." Looking up at Casey now, she thought she saw something like hurt flash across her face. Guessing the reason for this she hurried to console the woman. "Hey, they all liked you too. You were her replacement, so they might have been a little hesitant, seeing as how they saw you as taking the place of a fallen colleague, but they warmed up eventually. And they really missed you after you left."

Casey tried to smile, but she wasn't sure it came out quite right, because Melinda didn't look any less worried. "I know," she assured her friend. "It took a while, but I passed the Benson and Stabler test in time, so I consider that a victory. Those two scared the shit out of me when I first started working with SVU."

Melinda chuckled. "They do have a habit of doing that." Casey laughed with her as she continued. "Once upon a time they scared me too. Best of friends if they like you, but heaven help you if you get on their bad side."

"But they're supposed to like you," Casey told the ME. "You help them find evidence. I was the one telling them I couldn't get a warrant to search an apartment, or saying that I couldn't make a case to put away a pedophile. I was a lawyer, and the police are hardwired to hate lawyers."

"Defense lawyers," Melinda corrected. "You were a prosecutor. You were there to help them catch the bad guys."

Casey just looked at the ME. "Try telling an angry Stabler that you can't arrest a child rapist and murderer that you all know is guilty, but you just can't prove it."

Melinda conceded. "You've got a point there."

"Yeah," Casey laughed. "But after a while, I gained some ground." She paused briefly. "Liv seemed to take the first step, and I think she put in a good word for me with Elliot, 'cause he seemed to mellow out after the first time Liv and I met up outside of work and actually tried to get to know each other."

"Yeah, Liv certainly knows how to handle her partner," Melinda agreed.

Casey looked up slyly. "So, have they…"

Melinda interrupted, laughing. "Are you kidding? It doesn't even matter that Elliot's getting divorced-again, though it's really going to happen this time, I think. Those two are so ignorant! It would take a miracle for Elliot to admit he loves his partner, and I'm not even sure if Olivia knows how in love she is with Elliot."

Casey agreed, "A miracle…or a tragedy."

Both women stopped smiling immediately and Melinda rushed to fill the silence. "She'll be fine. Liv's tough."

Casey looked down, briefly, before returning to meet the gaze of the woman in front of her. "You were there, right?" Melinda nodded. "In your expert doctor's opinion, you think she's going to be OK?"

Melinda paused briefly. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't acknowledge the possibility that Olivia wouldn't be all right.

"I have to believe that she'll be OK."

Casey nodded. "Thank you for your honesty."

Melinda managed to form a half smile. "Try to think of the positives, right?" Seeing Casey agree, she decided to move on, to other, less depressing conversation. "I think we got a little diverted from our original topic."

Casey laughed, appreciating the change in subject. "By all means, please continue."

Melinda nodded. "So, Alex left, the next ADA was an alcoholic-"

Casey cut in, "That was Sonya Paxton, right?" Melinda confirmed, and Casey shook her head. "I got the impression that she and Liv didn't get along well."

Melinda smiled and nodded. "I'm told she was much the same as Kim, in the no empathy department. After the alcoholism came out, yes, Liv was merciless."

Casey just kept shaking her head. "Amateurs," she muttered under her breath, but Melinda heard her.

"You got that right," she commented, before continuing with her update. "When Alex returned again after that, I think everyone was happy."

Casey cut in. "But she didn't stay long, right? She left again after a couple of months."

Melinda looked at Casey, and confirmed. "She joined an international task force prosecuting sex crimes in underprivileged countries. Jo arrived not long after Alex left. She seems to be holding her own. And she's got the dynamic duo's approval." She paused, before adding, "Being Elliot's old partner probably didn't hurt."

Casey smirked. "I think Liv was jealous when she came in. Not that she said anything outright, of course."

Melinda looked surprised. "What makes you think that? She never mentioned anything to me."

Casey raised her eyebrow. "Elliot's former partner comes back, he never mentioned she was a woman, I think Liv felt slightly pushed to the back burner." She took on a Cheshire cat look. "It might have had something to do with Jo asking Olivia if she had ever slept with Elliot."

Melinda gasped. "She didn't."

Casey grinned. "I think it's safe to say Olivia was more than slightly derailed. She tried way too hard to convince me that the thought had never crossed her mind." She stopped there, pensive, before continuing thoughtfully, "Although maybe she was trying to convince herself."

Melinda smiled with Casey. Maybe Olivia was starting to realize her feelings. Then her smile faded. Fat lot of good it did if she never got the chance to express them.

Casey noticed the distant expression, and she had a pretty good idea of what caused it. "Hey, like you said, think positive, right?

With a tremendous effort, Melinda put a smile on her face. "Right," she replied. She tried to shake off the depressing attitude, and succeeded briefly, before her previous contemplative thoughts returned in the silence that followed. She was still thinking about Olivia's attitude and state after Casey had left, and wondering how much to tell the woman.

Casey noticed Melinda turn pensive, much like she had when they first sat down. She didn't know what was going on, but she could tell something was on the ME's mind.

"What's up, Melinda?" she asked.

Melinda looked startled. "What do you mean?" she replied. She knew what Casey was talking about, the woman was a lawyer after all, her investigative skills had to be pretty good, but she tried to deflect anyway.

Casey gave her the classic 'don't even think about claiming that you don't know what I'm talking about' look. "Come on, Mel. You're thinking about something, and it's gotta be important."

Melinda sighed. "I should never try to get anything past a lawyer," she deflected. When she met Casey's gaze, she saw the 'don't try to deflect' written in them. She sighed again. "It's nothing," she tried to say.

Casey cut her off. "Then why won't you tell me?" she reasoned. "You've been filling me in on facts, straight up details, but I wanna know what's been going on. Liv never really gave anything intimate, you know?" It was her turn to sigh. "We would meet and talk, but she never really said anything, if that makes sense."

Melinda was nodding. That made perfect sense, with the little details she had managed to gather from her friend. "She got pretty distant, from everyone. Even Elliot. It seems like she's been coming back, slowly, but I think she's trying to create space, cut off her attachments to the world around her."

Casey looked worried. "Why?" she questioned.

Melinda looked into her coffee cup, paying way too much attention to the waves and swirls in the brown liquid. She didn't know what to say that wouldn't betray Olivia's trust.

"Melinda?" Casey was concerned. She had noticed Olivia being more distant every time they met up, and then she had left for Africa and hadn't seen her friend for months. When she had come back, things weren't the same. She had noticed the space, but hadn't wanted to say anything, just thinking that maybe there was a rough case, and that Olivia would tell her if it was something she wanted her friend to know.

Melinda shook her head. "I'm sorry, Casey. You know how Olivia is; she doesn't just share anything with anyone. I don't really know what's going on. I have my theories, of course, but as they're unsubstantiated, I don't feel right talking about them."

Casey nodded, disappointed. "I understand," she said quietly. "Is there anything you can tell me?"

Melinda deliberated. She didn't know what Olivia had told the ADA, or what the ADA had figured out on her own, so she didn't know what to say now. "I think it started after Sealview," she said carefully, watching for any sign of recognition. Instead, all she got was confusion.

"Sealview?" Casey asked. Shit. She had asked Olivia what had happened, and never got a satisfactory response. The woman insisted that nothing had happened, but she knew better. People reader, remember? Olivia was a good liar, heaven knows she had had enough practice growing up, but Casey was trained as well, and she knew the woman.

"What happened at Sealview?" she questioned quietly.

Melinda mentally slapped herself. She had been the first person Olivia had opened up to, and now Melinda was regretting that. Casey didn't know anything, shit, and now she was going to start asking questions. Melinda wasn't even sure if Olivia had told her partner yet. The only person she knew for sure knew the details was Fin, only because he was there. It wasn't the sort of thing the detective would willingly share with anyone.

Olivia, did he rape you?
It's the closest I've ever come.

The closest I've ever come. "The closest I've ever come," Melinda whispered under her breath.

Casey looked confused. "What?" she asked.

Melinda looked up. "Nothing," she sighed. "I think whatever did or didn't happen is for Olivia to share, whenever she's ready."

Casey nodded and tried not to look disappointed. "I understand," she said.

Melinda shook herself out of her reflective thoughts and stood up. "We should probably get these coffees back to everyone before they get any colder."

Casey laughed and followed suit, smiling. "I'm not sure if they can get any colder," she joked.

Chuckling the two women made their way out of the cafeteria, back to the somber waiting room, mentally bracing themselves for the change in atmosphere. Slowly, as they walked, the reality crashed down upon them once more, and their thoughts returned to the injured detective, hoping, praying, that there would be good news waiting for them when they returned to their friends.

Ok, I know I said I would give more info on Olivia's condition in this chapter, but alas, it got away from me! The conversation between Melinda and Casey just took off and came out a lot longer than I meant it to. Next chapter though, I promise.

I got a request to do some Melinda/Casey moments, so I try to deliver. I hope it didn't seem like it was rambling too much. I wanted them to sort of bond over their common friend (Olivia) but I'm not sure I succeeded, or if this was just a long and boring chapter that I really didn't need to add. Either way though, it's an update!

This might be the last new chapter until next week, since I'm going out of town. I'll try, but no guarantees, so enjoy!

R&R!