A/N: Another chapter for you :)

"So um, are you working tonight?" Casey asks curiously as she opens the door and lets Alex step through first for she is carrying a now sleeping child.

Alex shakes her head and immediately goes to lie Emma down in the bedroom before she returns downstairs to continue on with their conversation. "No, I'm not. I'm really tired and I'm just not on the mood to dance tonight. I was kinda hoping that we could sit on the couch and watch Christmas movies again. That was really fun last night." 'Especially the part where you held me in my sleep.'

Casey blushes as little as she awkwardly begins rubbing at the back of her neck out of pure nervous habit. "That sounds really fun and all, but I can't. I ran into Kim at the coffee shop earlier and she invited me to go see this musical with her."

"Oh, I see." Alex says, though her heart sinks a little bit as she sits down on the sofa. "Really, that's great. Um, what musical?"

"Les Miserables."

"Oh, I love that one. Well, I've read the book; I've never actually gone and saw the musical. But I've heard that it was good." Alex trails off sadly before she perks up with a smile once again. "So what time is your date?"

Casey pales about a shade before the color returns to her face full force and she blushes the crimson color of her hair. "I-it-it's not a date." She states as she looks at her watch to divert her attention anywhere.

A soft grin appears on Alex's lips as she chuckles quietly. "It's not? But she seems so fond of you, what with the way that she looks at you and all. I would have just assumed that it would be a date."

"Well, it's not. We're just friends going to a musical. Can't it just be that simple?"

"Is there anyone else going with you?"

"Well no but-…It's not a date!"

Alex holds up her hands in surrender as a soft chuckle exits her lips. "Okay, okay, you don't have to shout. I heard you the first time. It's not a date. Gotcha. What time's she gonna be here?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders before she shoves her hands deep into her pockets. "She said she'd be here at seven." She mumbles, suddenly becoming really interested in the carpet.

Alex hums and glances at the clock before she turns back to Casey. "Well, then you should probably start thinking about getting ready." She says with a small laugh, holding up her hand when she sees the redhead preparing to open her mouth and protest. "Casey, really. I'll be fine here by my self. I'm pretty sure that Emma is going to wake up at any given moment so I'll have her to keep me at least a little bit of company. Please, go get ready for you 'outing'."

As much as she wants to protest once again, Casey knows that it would be completely futile and pointless. She simply nods her head silently and gives Alex a wide thankful smile before she disappears up the stairs to start getting ready.

Alex watches to make sure that Casey has disappeared up the stairs completely before she sighs and leans back into the comfort of the sofa. She tucks her feet underneath her as she begins to examine all of her feelings and what it is that they mean exactly. She feels like she is starting to feel something for Casey that she has never quite felt at the very beginning.

At first, she felt that the redhead was very persistent and very annoying. She thought that she was just another person that was placed in her life to use her, to manipulate her, to take advantage of her, and everything else that is above, below, and even in between. But now, now she isn't sure if that is the case.

Now she feels like she can suddenly trust Casey and it's the kind of trust that she hasn't felt for anyone else since she was four years old and her mother was still very much alive. When her mother died and her father began treating her the way that he had, she felt that trust was very much broken. She has never let her self trust anyone ever again; at least, not to the fullest.

But with Casey, everything seems different. She feels like she can trust again. As much as her mind is trying to tell her otherwise, deep in her heart, she feels like she knows that she can trust the redhead with damn near anything. She feels safe when she's with Casey and she feels that Casey won't hurt her. She feels that she can trust Casey to be there for her daughter and to not protect her or abandon her over anything.

But what does all this mean?

That, well, Alex simply just doesn't know. That feeling she gets whenever she looks at Casey, that feeling that she gets whenever their arms brush against each other, or every time they share a hug. That feeling that she gets whenever they're having a light conversation. That feeling she gets whenever she sees Casey smile or whenever Casey makes her smile. That feeling that she had when they had fallen asleep together on the couch and she ended up safely in Casey's arms for the night. That feeling. That feeling is something that Alex just isn't used to. In fact, it is a feeling that is so unfamiliar to her that she has no idea of what it is. She doesn't know what to call it, she doesn't know what to make of it, she isn't even sure if it's a real feeling at all, simply because she has never felt it before in her entire life.

The feeling of having her heart soar to heights that she didn't even know were imaginable. The feeling of the warmness at her cheeks in the midst of a blush. The feeling of warmth deep down in her core. The feeling of desperate longing for what she knows that she could never be.

Troubled yes, but Alexandra Cabot is not by any means stupid. But it does not take either an Einstein or a Neanderthal to experience the confusion that accompanies the ever so strange feeling that so many, but at the same time very few, are graced with. That feeling is called love. It's a feeling that Alex can never once recall feeling in her life therefore she does not recognize it. She does not recognize when she is falling in love.

Alex doesn't realize just how long it is that she has been lost in her own thoughts and she is startled out of her stupor by Casey's voice calling her name from at top of the stairs. Shaking her head, she blinks her self back to reality and smiles up at the waiting woman. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with something super fast." Casey responds as she holds up two different pairs of earrings. "I'm having trouble deciding."

"I like the silver ones." Alex calls back as she takes note of the redhead's midnight blue dress that hugs and compliments all of her curves perfectly. "It goes really well with your dress."

Casey smiles and chuckles as she examines the earrings Alex selected. "Wow. Thanks. I probably would've ended up picking the other ones. Now I just need to find shoes." She says with a small laugh before she disappears back into her bedroom, groaning when she hears the telltale sound of arrival at the front door. "Ugh and here I am, not ready. Alex, would you mind getting that? I'll be down in just a second."

"Of course." Alex grumbles as she stands up from the sofa and reluctantly makes her way over to the door. Counting to ten quickly in her head, she opens the door and places the most welcoming smile on her face that she can muster. "Hi there."

"Hello." Kim replies slowly with a tight smile as she attempts to direct her coldness elsewhere for the time being. "Is Casey ready?"

"Ah, she said she'll be down in just a sec. You can come in and wait if you want." Alex offers, stepping aside when the other woman simply hums lowly and proceeds to enter. If she didn't know any better she would say that there was this cold chill that entered the room just then.

The silence in the room is rather awkward and to be honest, it's making Alex rather uncomfortable. She wrings her hands for a moment before she clears her throat and attempts to start conversation. "So, uh, Kim, you're a lawyer too right…" she starts by stating the obvious. You can never go wrong with playing it safe.

Kim's eyes narrow briefly before she nods her head. "That's right. And I hear that you're an exotic dancer." She states, using the rather formal term rather than saying the word flat out.

Alex blushes a little and averts her gaze to the floor. "She told you…" she murmurs quietly, though the brunette heard it quite clearly.

"It is not as if I wasn't able to figure it out on my own." Kim answers with a dismissive chuckle.

"Are you saying that I outright look like a stripper?"

"I didn't say that. But if you would much rather think that, then go right ahead. I'm not going to stand in your way."

Alex frowns and bites down on her lower lip, opening and closing her mouth several times before she is able to come up with something coherent to say. "Are you Casey's girlfriend?" Alright, maybe it was coherent but probably not the most appropriate thing to say. Perhaps silence was maybe a little better.

Kim's eyes flare before a frown forms across her face. "What's it matter to you?"

"N-nothing. It doesn't. I was just wondering…"

"Well it's none of your business. Aren't you supposed to be at a club at the moment or something?"

"I'm taking care of my daughter." Alex murmurs quietly once again, having no idea why she is intimidated just by being in the same room with this woman.

"Right. The child." Kim mutters with an eye roll, turning her attention towards the stairs where she smiles upon seeing Casey descending. "Ah, there she is. Are we ready to go?"

"Just about." Casey replies as she drops her phone into her purse. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay by yourself? I'm not going to be gone long."

Alex manages a smile and nods her head before she wraps her arms around her self. "I promise, I'll be fine. Maybe we can watch Christmas movies when you come back if it's not too late. You two have fun."

Casey grins before she turns around and heads towards the door while Kim and Alex share a final mutual glare before the duo departs for their musical, leaving Alex alone with her thoughts. Sighing heavily she plops down on the couch and starts reading one of her law textbooks, suddenly realizing that the cold chill has now left the room once again.

"Yep. It was definitely her."

"I really just don't understand why she's staying with you." Kim states during the intermission without looking up as she casually flips through the production program.

"I told you, I was just being nice. She's been through a lot." Casey replies with a shrug. "It isn't like she's a serial murderer or ax killer or anything like that."

"You never know." Kim hums with a shrug as she turns the page of the program. There is a small silence between the two of them before she speaks again. "Is she illiterate?"

Casey frowns at the question and slightly tilts her head. "What?"

Kim raises her eyes from the program and locks gazes with Casey's. "Is she illiterate. It's a simple question."

"What does it matter?" Casey asks cautiously, wondering where the question came from.

"Serena wanted to know." the other attorney responds coolly as she returns her attention back to the program.

"Well, no, she's not. She's actually very smart."

"Yet she is taking off her clothes and exposing her self in exchange for money. Yes, sounds like a real genius."

Casey sighs and shakes her head as she leans back into her seat. "You don't understand. If you were in her position, you'd probably be desperate for money to and would do anything to earn it. Especially if you were taking care of a four year old little girl."

Kim folds her program back into her lap before she turns to Casey and rests her chin on her hand. "Yes well, while that may be true, I on the other hand know how to do things, other than exploit myself, so for me that would not even be an option. She could work in a fast food restaurant for heaven's sake, but instead she's stripping?"

"I've been trying to figure that out for as long as I can remember. I just want to help her you know?" Casey says quietly before her eyes widen in realization. "Hey, maybe I can talk to Liz about getting her some type of internship or something like that."

"What?!" Kim exclaims, a little louder than intended. "What do you mean 'internship'? The DA's office is not some sort of playground Casey, you know that. Not just anyone can stroll in there and hand in an application for a job."

Casey shakes her head as she waves her hands. "No, no, no, I know all that, but Alex is in law school and she's trying to get her license. Maybe I could talk to Liz about helping her, that way she won't have to keep stripping for money."

A look of horror briefly passes across Kim's face but being the ever composed person she is, she masks it easily. "Well, I'm sure that…that would be very nice of you." she says tightly, shifting in her seat before she abruptly stands up. "Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom before they resume with the show."

Casey quirks an eyebrow as she stares after her friend in confusion but she eventually shrugs it off as nothing. She sits back in her chair and presses a finger to her lips as she begins thinking of just how she can help Alex.

Later That Night

"Well Miss Greylek, I certainly did not peg you for one to cry during anything, let alone a Broadway musical." Casey says smugly as they walk down the hall towards her apartment.

Kim rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she shoves her hands into her coat pockets. "Yes well, we all have our weak spots, right? I'm sure that there was a point in the show that you cried to. You were just able to shield it better than I was because it probably wasn't so quiet."

"Sure." Casey mocks sarcastically as they approach her apartment. "Thanks for inviting me. It really was fun. I'm probably going to have to go and see it again on my own time now, just because it was that good."

"It was. It was very well put together and the actors were incredible. I'm glad that you had fun."

"Yeah, thank goodness for an extra ticket, right?"

There is silence between the two of them once again for about thirty seconds before the shorter of the two makes a spontaneously rash decision and quickly steps forward, pressing her lips against the redhead's.

All of Casey's senses completely freeze all at once as she practically drops her stuff and her eyes grow wide to about the size of car tires as she stands completely frozen stiff from the lip lock.

Alex frowns as she hears a noise outside in the hall and she makes her way over to the front door, curious on whether or not she should open the door. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she settles on swinging the door open, her mouth falling open at what she sees. "Um. Okay. Wow…"

The kiss broken, Casey is sure that she has turned the color of a fire engine as she finds her self out of breath and extremely embarrassed. "Um, Alex, uh, hey. We were just, uh, saying goodnight."

"I can see that." the blonde answers with a nod as her wide eyed and open mouthed expression remains the same.

Kim clears her throat and straightens her self out. "Right, well, um, I should really be going. I'll see you on Monday Casey." She says quickly before she quickly spins on her heel and makes her departure.

"Yes, yeah, Monday…see you." Casey rambles as she bends down to pick up her stuff and shuffles into her apartment kicking off her shoes. "Well…that was awkward…" she mutters nervously before she notices Alex's sudden change in expression. "Alex? What's wrong?"

"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend." The blonde says quietly, her voice portraying a hint of sadness and disappointment.

"She-she's not!"

"You were kissing her…"

"What? No, I- was I? Well, it was weird, I don't really know what just happened."

Alex waves her hands and shakes her head as she averts her gaze elsewhere. "It's fine. It's none of my business anyway. I'm just…going to go to bed. Good night."

Casey frowns at hearing the blonde's defeated tone and she stares after her as she begins ascending the stairs. "Alex, wait, it-it really wasn't what it looked like. It wasn't!" she exclaims before hearing the door softly close from upstairs.

Groaning, Casey flops down on hr back onto the couch and presses her palms deep into her eyes. She has realized two things in the past five minutes. One, she feels like Alex is mad at her but for what she can't realize and two, she most definitely does not want to go into work Monday morning after what just happened.

Well, heh, they don't call her The Crusader for nothing right? Lol, leave your precious thoughts :3