"Casey, can I see you in my office please?" Cragen asked as soon as Casey strode into the precinct. She gave him a reluctant, almost pleading look, but then obeyed. He frowned at her discomfort, upset by the fact that she could ever feel that way around the precinct and around her friends. He shut the door behind her as she slowly walked in and took a seat facing his desk. He watched as she nervously crossed and uncrossed her legs, all the while nervously picking at her cuticles. Her nervousness almost made him nervous.

"Casey, your boss came to see me today," Cragen began. "He said you wanted to be transferred out of SVU." Casey just sighed and shrugged, slowly looking up to meet his gaze. He had never seen the lawyer so nervous, and he certainly had never seen her at a loss for words. He waited for her to speak, but a stale silence just lingered in the air.

"Is this because of Elliot?" He asked cautiously, and the way that her eyes immediately shot up when he mentioned Elliot's name gave him his answer. He knew, of course, that this would cause an incredibly awkward situation, but that did not mean it would be any easier to deal with.

She sighed deeply before quietly speaking. "I think it would be best for everyone."

Don sighed deeply, not wanting to lose either his ADA nor one of his best detectives. He knew that the only thing that would truly fix the situation would be if it had never happened in the first place. "I don't agree, and neither does anyone else; we can work this out, but Branch is not transferring you, Casey," Don stated sternly, ignoring the hurt look that crossed her face.

"I don't want to quit, but I just can't work here. Even if he doesn't—which he is, of course—I just can't."

Don sighed and stared into her eyes. He could see how confused and hurt she was from the hollow look on her face. He hated Elliot for taking the sparkle out of the young attorney's eyes, but at the same time Elliot was family and he couldn't simply turn him away. He knew that all of his other detectives were split between protecting Casey, the youngest member of their squad and the one they were always protective of, and Elliot, who had been working with them for years and was one of the people that held the squad together.

"Take a few days off if you need, but Branch is not going to transfer you," Don told her firmly. "You could always talk to Huang too, you know… no one else would even have to know." He stood to lead her out the door, not waiting for a response. She kept her face blank, but he knew that she was hurting as she slowly trudged out of his office, shutting the door slowly behind her.

---

"Hey," Olivia said softly to Casey as she watched her leave the captain's office. He shot her a look over Casey's head, pleading for his help, as he led her out. As soon as Don couldn't see Casey's face anymore, the way it fell as she closed her eyes and brought her hands over her face broke Olivia's heart. "Casey?" Olivia asked again when the attorney made no indication that she had heard her. As soon as Casey heard Olivia, though, her head snapped up and a forced smile appeared on her face as she waved.

"How are you?" Olivia asked, to which Casey just shrugged in response. "Hey, let's go get something to eat, okay?" she tried again.

"I'm not hungry, I'm just going to go back to work," Casey responded.

Olivia sighed, realizing nothing was going to get through to Casey besides tough love. "First of all, you need to eat no matter how upset you are, and second of all, you can't just drown yourself in work, sweetie." Casey just rolled her eyes.

" Fine, tonight after work let's go out and get drunk… better?" Olivia asked sarcastically when Casey still didn't respond. She watched exasperatedly as a small smile appeared on the redhead's face.

"Now that I'll do."

Olivia rolled her eyes and smiled as the attorney strolled out of the precinct.

---

Elliot sighed in distress after listening to Casey's voicemail once again. He was sure she was screening her calls, but that didn't stop him from trying; he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Elliot?" Huang called from inside his office. Elliot reluctantly stood up and trudged into the psychiatrist's office, dragging his feet the whole way in. He sat down and nodded to the doctor, who nodded back.

"How have you been?" George asked. Elliot simply rolled his eyes and curtly responded.

"I've had nothing but free time to sit here and think about Casey and how much I miss her and how sorry I am."

George smiled. "I'd ask how that makes you feel, but I think I got it." Elliot just smirked in response.

"Well, I actually wanted to start you on some medication that I think may be very beneficial for you," George began. "And I also think it may be good if Casey came to join us for a session, though it would be up to you and Casey of course."

Elliot smiled and instantly sat up straighter. "So I'll be better?"

George shook his head. "Elliot, that's not how things work, and I know that you know that. You should feel the medication helping, making things easier, but it's not going to fix things for you. That's up to you, Elliot, and you're going to have to continue seeing me every couple of weeks to check up on the meds, and I'd highly suggest that you see a psychologist regularly.

Elliot sighed and nodded. "And what about Casey?"

"Well, Elliot, to be honest, she seems pretty shaken up. You'll need to regain her trust before she'll feel safe in any type of relationship with you. You'll need to give her time no matter what—don't rush into it. No matter what type of relationship you want to pursue, you're going to have to regain her trust."

"If you want her to come in for a session then you have to call," Elliot informed him. "She won't answer if I do."

George nodded. "I'll give her a call."

---

"Shit!" Casey exclaimed as she slammed her phone down and cradled her head in her hands.

"You okay, Case?" a voice interrupted from the doorway. Casey immediately looked up to find Olivia staring at her. She graoned as she stood to gather her things so that they could leave.

"I just got a message from Huang," Casey admitted. "He said he wants to meet with Elliot and me together."

"You know you can't avoid him forever, Case," Olivia said. "He's going to come back to work eventually."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to say the truth? Can't you ever just say what I want to hear?" she said with a scowl. Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"Nope, I'm here to say what you don't want to hear but need to."

Casey smirked. "The problem is that I want to see him, but I don't trust myself to not take him back," she admitted quietly. Olivia smiled as she walked over and wrapped her arms around Casey.

"You realize that's the first time you've actually talked to me?" she teased as she pulled away.

"And now you know why, Liv," Casey quipped, "because that was such great advice."

"I'm sorry, Case. Seriously though, it may be good for you. You've been pretty down lately, I can tell you're not sleeping, you're losing weight because you're not eating enough—by the way we are eating before we go get wasted—so maybe it would be a good thing. Huang will be there too, of course, so you don't have to worry," Olivia assured her.

"I miss him," Casey whispered as she turned off the lights in her office and shut the door behind them.

"I know," Olivia whispered back with a sad smile.

---

"Casey," Elliot said with a smile as she approached him in the waiting room outside George's office.

"Elliot," she responded nervously but warmly as she smiled and slowly sat down next to him.

"I've missed you," he finally said.

"I've missed you too." She finally allowed herself to look up and meet Elliot's glance. She practically felt her insides melt as his deep blue eyes locked with her own

"I'm really glad you came," he said again, to which she nodded.

"Elliot, Casey, please come in," George called as he stuck his head out the door, interrupting the awkward silence that had taken over the waiting room.

George smiled at Casey as she slowly sat down on the couch beside Elliot. "Thank you for coming today, Casey."

She nodded back politely, but she didn't trust herself to speak. She kept her eyes glued to the wall directly over George's head.

"Well, Elliot told me that you two haven't really been communicating lately, but he did say that he informed you about his disorder." Casey nodded again, though she kept her eyes intently focused on the wall.

"Do you understand what it is?" George continued. She nodded again, but George went on to explain it anyway, ignoring the fact that Casey was obviously and visibly tuning him out.

"Casey, please talk… you have no idea how hard this is for me," Elliot said gently as he cautiously took her small hand and held it between his. "I still love you, and I really want to work this out." He turned to face her and she felt her heart flutter.

"I know," she finally admitted softly. "I miss you, and I still love you too, but…" she began, but pulled her hand away quickly and refocused her view on the wall before she could say something she'd regret later.

"But what, Casey?" George pressed on. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm right here."

She took a deep breath before speaking. "But… I'm afraid." She looked from George who was nodding in understanding, to Elliot, who was awkwardly staring at his feet.

"That's understandable, and even expected. You two need to communicate and decide how you want to pursue your relationship, whether it be a friendship or a romantic one," George advised.

Elliot finally looked up and turned once again to face her. "Casey, really, I love you so much, and I am so sorry for hurting you. I don't know what came over me, I really don't. Well, I do now, and I would take it back if I could. I'm going to be on medication now, and I'm going to keep going to anger management and a therapist. I just want you to take me back. I need to be with you, Casey, I love you."

She just stared at him, completely split on what to do. She absolutely did not want to be one of the many women that immediately returned to their abuser, but he was sick before, and now he was getting help.

"At the same time, though, while the decision is ultimately yours, I would highly recommend that you don't jump into anything too quickly. Couples therapy may always be a good idea as well, should you choose to be one, but once again that's up to you," George advised again. They both nodded in agreement, although in reality at least Casey just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

George seemed to sense their discomfort immediately. "All right. Elliot, I'll see you next week… Casey, can you stay for a second, please?"

Elliot stood up and said his goodbyes, then walked out of the office. Casey immediately relaxed once Elliot had left. She let out a deep breath, which she was sure didn't go unnoticed by the psychiatrist.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

Casey shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. I'm just confused; I don't really know what to do."

George nodded. "I understand, Casey. I can only imagine how hard this must be on you. If you ever need to talk my door is always open, and nobody would have to know."

Casey nodded before thanking him and starting out the door.

"Hey Casey?" George called as soon as she reached the doorframe.

"Yeah?"

"Take this," he instructed her as he held out a card. "The first thing is a support group, which I think might be good for you if you're interested. There's also a number of another psychologist I highly recommend in case you don't feel talking to me, which is completely understandable."

She smiled gratefully as she walked back to take the card, then left.

---

"Hey Case," a voice interrupted her from the pile of paperwork on her desk. She glanced up to see Elliot standing in her doorway. She smiled as he walked in.

"Have you thought about all this stuff yet? I mean he said to communicate…" Elliot said awkwardly.

Casey nodded and laughed nervously, then stood up and walked over to where he was standing in the middle of her office.

"I still love you," he finally said, and she nodded in agreement. "I need you, Casey."

"I need you too, El."

He reached out to pull her into a hug, and she instinctively flinched away at his touch, though she had been trying her best not to do that. An awkward pause lingered as they just stood staring at each other.

"I hate how you do that," Elliot finally said in a controlled but annoyed voice, as a speck of anger flickered across his eyes. Casey nervously looked up at him.

"Elliot…" she began, but couldn't think of anything to really say.

"You flinch away every time I come near you," he finally said, the look of anger across his face rising.

"Elliot…" Casey repeated softly. She was telling herself over and over, don't flinch, don't jump away, but her body betrayed her as he came near her. A wave of anger washed over his face and her heart started beating rapidly.

"Casey, every goddamn time I come near you, you do that!" Elliot began before the distinct sound of a slap reverberated off the walls, causing an eerie silence to fill the room as Casey dropped to her knees in front of him and cradled her head in her hands, trying her hardest not to let her tear ducts betray her once again.

---

As Olivia was approaching Casey's office, she heard the all-too-familiar voice of her partner, and decided to wait. She was unsure about whether their reconciling was the best thing, but she did want things to at least be smoothed out so that they wouldn't be so awkward.

"Elliot…" she heard Casey say meekly, sounding timid and unsure. It was a voice that she never heard before that night in the hospital, but it was the one that made her want to instantly run in there and grab the younger woman in her arms and act as a shield between her and the world.

She waited to hear how he would respond, but there was a stretched out silence before she heard his booming voice. "Casey, every goddamn time I come near you, you do that!" She was about to storm in there as soon as she heard him yelling, but she convinced herself to let them figure out heir problems on their own. That was, however, until she clearly heard the sound of him slapping her, then she sprinted into the office and launched herself at him.

"Get the hell away from her!" she yelled as she gripped his arm and pulled him away from Casey with more force than she even knew she had. He was standing, towering over Casey with a shocked look on his face, She was so angry she could practically feel her blood boiling.

"Liv, I didn't…" he began, only adding to her anger.

She forced herself to take a deep breath before she spoke. "I heard you slap her, don't even tell me you didn't!"

She was never expecting the words that came from Casey's mouth, so soft she could barely hear them. "He didn't. I did." She stared back down into her lap and once again covered her face with her hands. Olivia glared at Elliot as she directed him out of the office and closed the door, telling him to wait outside while she talked to Casey.

---

Casey jumped up as she felt a hand gently being placed on her shoulder, biting her lip to keep from crying as Elliot's annoyance with her came back. She knew it was Olivia since she heard her making Elliot leave, but she wasn't ready to look up yet. Olivia started rubbing circles on her back, understandingly waiting for her to be ready to speak.

"Casey?" Olivia finally asked softly. Casey reluctantly forced herself to look up at Olivia; she was ashamed enough already. "What happened?"

"I thought… I thought he…" she began, but she could hardly force the words out. Olivia just continued staring at her, waiting for her to speak. "He was walking toward me; I thought he was going to hurt me," she finally admitted.

She heard Olivia sigh before she felt a hand rest on her back again. "You're still scared of him."

Casey finally nodded. "I don't want to be."

"It will just take time, sweetie, okay?" Olivia reminded her as she knelt down next to her.

Casey nodded as Olivia pulled her into another hug.

"I hate that he made me like this…" Casey said as an obvious blush crept up her face.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as she gently brushed stray hairs out of Casey's eyes. Casey shook her head away; although she was comforted by the gesture, she needed to talk and didn't want to be touched. Olivia looked hurt for a moment, but Casey hoped that she would just understand and let it go.

"I don't think I've ever hit anyone in my life. That's not the way I've ever solved my problems, then he did this…" she began, but quickly built her walls back up once tears appeared in her eyes.

"Casey, first of all, I can tell when you're starting to shut me out… give me some credit, I know you better than that. That's still not who you are though. You thought he was going to hurt you, that's the only reason you hit him. That's not the way you solve your problems, and he knows that. You wouldn't have done it if you didn't think he was about to hurt you. All this shows is that you're not quite ready to jump back into this, and that is absolutely fine, okay?" Olivia said.

Casey nodded solemnly. "I should talk to Elliot."

-----

Holy crap, longest chapter I've ever written in my life! Please review, this is so damn long. :p

Proofread. :)