Chapter 11

The next two weeks went by quickly. Casey and Gia adjusted to having each other in the apartment. They respected each other's boundaries and Gia tried her best to keep Beau under control, not wanting to upset the other woman. Casey had been working from home and only going in unless she had a motions or appeals hearing. Beau and Casey were definitely smitten with each other, it was like they were the same person: stubborn, playful, caring, and hilarious.

There were times that Gia, in her drug induced stupor would wake up from a nap and could hear the two of them "arguing" over what snack to have. Gia would try to laugh, but the pain that the action caused her ribs was still unbearable. Their "relationship" was at a slight halt. They would steal glances here and there; coy touches, meaningful smiles, and the sexual tension could be seen and felt between the two.

Gia received visitors every now and then. Most of them consisting of the members of the one-six and Bureau Chief Cabot. They all knew about the feelings the women bore for each other, and knew they weren't acting on it, other than that first kiss they shared on the first night. What did surprise them was the domesticity that had fallen upon the pair. Casey would cater to Beau just as much as Gia would and on specific times, Beau would choose Casey to do a specific task. Beau was incredibly smart for her young age, sometimes too smart for her own good.

The day had finally arrived. The day Gia would face Sam in court after almost a month of her attack. She was nervous and couldn't sleep well the night before. She had stayed up all night, pacing the room, tossing in bed, and had even invited the baby to sleep on the bed, something she seldom did. Casey hadn't been oblivious to the woman's restlessness; she could hear her from the other room. She contemplated on crossing the threshold and seeing if she would like to talk, but in the end, decided against it; she was battling her own nervousness.

This case had been eating at her; she needed to perform at her best; this was a colleague for Heaven's sake. The court gallery would most definitely be filled with members of the force, as well as the members of the one-six; all eyes were going to be on her.

They were both up early. Gia heard some ruckus coming from the kitchen and decided to give up on attempting to sleep for a couple of minutes. She rounded the wall that separated the kitchen from the hall and saw Casey perched against the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee on one hand and a piece of buttered toast on the other.

She was wearing an oversized t-shirt with no shorts to cover the miles of flesh that were exposed and stretched in front of her. Gia could not take her eyes off of the leggy redhead in front of her. Inches of smooth porcelain skin that stopped just underneath the hem of her shirt and the shadow her bottom created, enticing. Gia bit her lip as Casey cleared her throat, "Good morning Detective, see something you like?"

Gia's stare went up the redhead's face. Casey was smirking and had a glint on those beautiful green eyes, "Only two things," Gia flirted as she leaned on the kitchen's archway.

"And those are?" Casey asked, running her fingers through her hair.

"The first is a pair of legs," she said, running her tongue across her bottom lip, "the second, is the woman that said legs belong to," she said huskily.

A shudder ran down Casey's spine, "Stop looking at me like I'm a piece of meat, Detective," Casey bit her lip after taking a swig of coffee.

"I cannot help it, Counselor. You know I'm a woman with a big appetite," Gia winked at Casey as she walked back towards the room, stuck on beginning to get ready for the day.

She was nervous, extremely nervous. She had spoken to her parents, finally, about what had happened during that time of her "undercover mission". Her father wanted to personally kill Samantha, her mother could not stop crying, and Isabella; poor Isabella, she was doing much better. Apparently, her parents had enrolled her in English lessons and she was thriving and doing relatively well in school. They did have a hearing coming soon about more permanent placement for her. She seemed to be loving her stay at the Rosa's household and had even started calling them 'abuela' and 'abuelo' something the pair definitely didn't mind.

She was pacing the holding room. It was all she could do. She thought about the case, facing Sam, what would she have her attorney do, was he really such a pig? She thought about her daughter and how she could tell that this morning, her mother wasn't feeling particularly well. She clung to Gia and Gia to her, thank God for Alex volunteering to watch Beau until the hearing was over.

She had agreed, as she had come to trust Alex and Beau seemed at ease around every one of them, she wasn't worried about that. Casey had told her that she was going to bring forth the testimony of the officers that took the first five calls, then her partner in Miami Narcotics, then Carisi, Amanda, Fin, a doctor, Olivia, and then her. If her time served her right, Olivia should be on the stand at this instant.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record," Casey asked, pacing in front of her desk.

"Lt. Olivia Benson, Manhattan Special Victims Unit," Olivia said matter-of-factly.

"You are SVU's commanding officer, correct?" Casey asked, developing a line of questioning.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"What can you tell us about Detective Rosa?" Casey asked, leaning against her desk.

"She's fiery, dedicated, knows how to empathize with the victim… she's a great Detective."

"Have you noticed any odd behavior over the past few months with Detective Rosa, Lieutenant?" Casey asked, approaching Olivia.

"Yes."

"Could you describe her behavior Lieutenant?"

"Yes; she has been jumpy, squirrely, skittish… She was adamant on being able to leave before midnight or at midnight, constantly checking her watch and phone. She would have constant and sudden injuries to her face and neck… classic signs of Domestic Abuse," Olivia mentioned.

"Objection!" blared the attorney from the Defense, "The Lieutenant is not a trained psychologist, Your Honor."

"Your Honor, I believe that the Lieutenant's exposure to victims of Domestic Abuse on the line of job, first as Detective of the unit for nearly fifteen years and now its Commanding Officer, gives her a little of insight on what she's talking about," Casey defended.

"Overruled, you may proceed Ms. Novak," the Honorable Judge Elana Barth conceded.

Casey nodded and continued, "Lieutenant, did you confront your Detective on said injuries?"

"Yes, I did."

"And, what would she say?" Casey asked.

"She would tell me that she fell on her way home, that she was still trying to maneuver around the slick sidewalks of New York, that she worried her lip too much, or that her daughter was learning to pinch…" Olivia recounted.

"And, how do you know that some of these injuries weren't caused on the line of duty?" There was an audible groan from the Defense's table and Casey smiled, she knew she had ruined Buchanan's cross.

"I know what happens to my Detectives in the line of duty and I am a Detective. For many years my job was to observe and remember detail. I know how my Detectives look like when they leave the precinct and I take notice of how they come back; I would've known if any of the injuries were caused in the line of fire, they were not," Olivia concluded.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Casey said as she smiled and turned her back to Olivia.

"Mr. Buchanan," Judge Barth begun, "Your witness."

"Good morning Lieutenant," he said with a smug grin.

"Good morning," Olivia responded.

"Do you say that you trust your Detectives?" he begun.

"Yes, I have to," Olivia said, smiling.

"Do you trust Detective Rosa?" he asked, approaching slowly.

"Yes," Olivia said, furrowing her brow, not understanding what he was trying to do.

"Then why wouldn't you believe her when she'd tell you that she fell or that she was worrying her lip?" he beamed through the gallery.

"I—I didn't say that. Often times, victims of Domestic Abuse lie to their family members, coworkers, fri—" Olivia was interrupted by Buchanan.

"So, she is a liar?" he said smugly.

Olivia clenched her jaw, "I didn't say that either, Counselor."

"But, you implied it," he offered.

"Objection!" Casey shouted as she stood.

"Withdrawn," he said quickly, smirking, "Nothing further."

Olivia scoffed and glared at Casey, "You may step down, Lieutenant."

Casey gave an apologetic smile to Olivia as she retired herself from the witness stand. She knew the older woman was upset with her, but she couldn't object to everything Buchanan said because, honestly, she had no grounds and the Judge was just going to overrule everything. She knew that the tensions were running high in that gallery, she could feel it, she could sense it; hell, if she turned around, she could see it. Many members of the NYPD were there, dressed in blue, black, and white. Different ranks, different divisions but all of the same family; all were Gia's family.

"I call to the stand, Detective Giovanna Rosa," Casey begun.

"Ms. Novak, after lunch recess. Court's adjourned; we'll reconvene in an hour," Judge Barth banged her gavel and stood as both attorneys stood as well.

Casey gathered her belongings and exited after everyone was already gone. Once through the doors, she saw the members of the one-six, "Buchanan is playing no games today," Fin begun, "What the hell was that? Twisting words like we're not listening."

"That's his job, what the hell was I supposed to do, Fin?" Olivia was fuming.

"Nobody is blaming you, Liv," Casey intervened, "And, before you say anything, you know I couldn't object to his questions, I had no base."

Olivia sighed and continued pacing. She caught him and Samantha standing at the other side of the courthouse, smiling and chatting like nothing was happening, "Look at them," she scoffed, "I just want to fucking erase that smug look off of his face," she said.

The team turned to watch the scene unfold. Samantha seemed cocky and confident that this was going to work out to her favor, "God, I hate that woman," Amanda said.

Carisi and Casey chuckled, "Don't we all?"

"Ok, what's for lunch?" Fin asked.

"Maybe just go to Stage Door," Carisi mentioned, "Bring back something for Alex and Beau as well, we can all eat together."

They all looked at each other and nodded, "I'll go with you Carisi," Amanda offered, "We'll meet in Alex's office?"

"Yes, that's fine," Casey, said.

They left to find Alex and Beau. Beau was crawling all over Alex's floor with her little jingle bells bracelet fastened to her wrist. Alex was behind her desk, constantly glancing up to make sure the baby wasn't getting in any trouble as well as multitasking with some files. A few of Alex's subordinates had found every excuse in the book to be in their Bureau Chief's office today, just to sit and play with the baby.

Knock, knock, knock.

"I swear Rossi, if that's you for the sixth time today… Come in!" Alex shouted in exasperation.

"Tough day," Casey cooed as she opened the door.

Alex sighed, "You have no idea," she said, dropping her glasses on her desk.

Beau upon hearing the familiar voice emerged from behind Alex's desk on all fours. Squealing and crawling as fast as she could towards the redhead, the team followed behind her. Casey sat on the couch adjacent to the door and waited for Beau to stand with the help of Casey's legs, "Hey there sweetheart," she said, picking up the baby and sitting her on her lap, "Have you been bothering Alex?"

Alex stood to meet Olivia with a kiss as Fin took a seat next to Casey and Beau, "Actually, she's been amazing. She was quiet for some time and I knew something was wrong, she had soiled herself… actually, it's time for a diaper change, she's been drinking a lot of water and apple juice," Alex said, "I thought that bracelet of hers was going to be a distraction, but it's a fantastic idea."

Olivia walked over and sat on the floor where Alex had dumped all of her toys on the colorful mat, "She's a great kid, just like her mom," she finished looking at Casey.

Casey blushed and continued playing with Beau, "What are you all doing here? Lunch recess?"

"Yea, Buchanan is a fucking asshole," Olivia begun, "twisting all of my words when I was on the stand."

"Language, Olivia," Alex admonished, "I know what a slime ball he is. Don't let him get under your skin, baby."

Olivia rolled her eyes and mumbled something unintelligible under her breath. Casey chuckled and stood, "I'm going to change her diaper, I'll be back," she said standing with Beau and grabbing a diaper and the travel wipe warmer.

She made her way to the ladies restroom and set down the diaper-changing tray. She was making faces at the girl, keeping her calm and entertained as she changed her diaper. Beau was kicking her arms and legs as she blew raspberries, the jingling from her bracelet filling the quiet room. As Casey was finishing up, the door opened. She didn't know who walked in, as her back was turned to the door. It wasn't until she heard her voice, "Counselor," Sam said.

Casey tensed and as she did, Beau did the same, "Ms. Martin, we're not supposed to engage so, if you'll excuse me," Casey said as she finished putting Beau's mint jeggings back on and picking her up.

She walked to the trash can to dispose of the soiled diaper and when she turned she almost collided with Sam, "Hey there Beau," Sam said, going to touch the girl.

Casey pulled back before she could touch the baby, "Excuse me Ms. Martin, I need to be getting back to my office; Beau hasn't eaten yet."

"Who's watching her?" Sam asked, a smirk pulling at her lips.

"That is none of your concern, good afternoon," Casey said as she walked past her.

Beau hadn't moved or babbled since she noted the presence of Samantha in the room. For an almost eight-month-old, she could pick up on the discomfort of those surrounding her. On the walk back to Alex's office, Casey cradled her close to her chest and evened out her breathing, willing the baby back to her rowdy self. By the time they reached Alex's office Beau had relaxed, still quiet but relaxed.

When she entered the office, Sonny and Amanda had returned from the deli with food for all and were already digging in to their lunches. Rollins pointed to a small size soup bowl next to a Caesar salad, a bottle of water, and Beau's bottle. She sat down on the couch as Carisi went to sit on the floor. She shook her salad bowl to mix everything well and opened the potato and chicken soup. Casey sat Beau next to her and fed her a spoonful, careful not to burn the baby with the hot liquid. She alternated between eating and feeding the child until Olivia finished with her Panini and took Beau to finish feeding her.

Casey told the room about the altercation in the restroom and it didn't sit well with anybody, including her. She knew there was going to be some type of mishap during cross and she was definitely not looking forward to it. She asked Sonny if he had taken food to Gia to which he responded yes, but he didn't think that she would be doing much eating.

They ate and shared jokes, watched how Olivia and Alex discussed the kids, and they saw a new side of Casey. Beau had been getting fussy after her lunch, she didn't want to be held by Olivia or Alex, Amanda or Sonny, but she didn't want to be on the floor either, she was tired and ready for her nap. Casey took the bottle with Gia's milk and fed Beau as she rocked her gently. She had seen Gia do it a dozen times; it was the only way to get her to settle. Before she could finish her bottle, she was already asleep in Casey's arms.

Casey studied the girl; this is how she imagined her mother looked like when she slept, pouty lips parted, one hand on her chest, and the other clutching Casey's blazer. Olivia looked at Alex and nodded towards where Casey was sitting with Beau, Alex smiled. After seeing Casey suffer and be consumed by Greylek, she was happy that her friend was happy once more.

The team noticed the time and decided to head back to the courthouse, Casey handed Beau back to Alex, kissing her cheek, and thanking her friend. On the way back, she still couldn't shake the feeling that Sam had been sent there for some reason. She needed her mind clear and in the game, it was Gia's turn to testify now and she was not going to let this case go down the drain.