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Chapter 13
Casey had arrived at the squad room about half an hour after Maddie had left; she'd been filled in on the tan, the hair and the weight loss. She'd been slightly worried about the fact that Munch had commented on the look of pain that had crossed the younger woman's face, but Olivia had attempted to reassure her that Maddie was ok. Casey was slightly annoyed that Maddie hadn't called her or stopped off at the office to see her. She'd even ran into Alex in the halls and the blonde had smiled at her in a way that she hadn't seen for a while, and she guessed that she'd been told that her cousin was back and judging by the rush Alex had been in she was on her way to meet the brunette.
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Around 10pm Casey made her way home and was stunned to find Maddie sat on the steps of her building. Maddie was sat with her hands on her knees and looked up when Casey arrived. Instead of inviting Maddie in Casey sat down next to her, she didn't say a word as she mimicked Maddie's stance.
"I fixed fences." Maddie sighed, "And I've faced a lot of stuff that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." Maddie stood up and Casey watched. "But coming here and facing you is hard."
"It was hard hearing from everyone that you were back and not hearing from you. All you left was a letter." Casey looked up and caught Maddie's eye, both of them were finding the moment difficult. "A note! Not a phone call or a passing visit." Casey got up and went to go inside but Maddie called out to her to stop.
"Facing you or speaking to you would have been too hard; I wouldn't have been able to go." Maddie called out in a trembling voice. "When I'm around you I feel like I haven't done before, you make me happy and being in your presence makes me feel like I'm flying and that scared me." Casey was still facing the door and didn't turn around. "I knew that if I'd seen you I wouldn't have been able to leave and I had to. I had to go away and fix myself for me, I could have stayed and been ok for a bit but then I could have just dragged you down with me and that would have killed me." Casey turned round to look at Maddie who was still stood on the bottom step. "I needed to get my head and my heart sorted, old scars needed to be taken care of. In a way I still had to grieve over losing what I had before I could begin to focus on what I might have given the chance."
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Casey sat back down on the step and looked up at Maddie.
"Ok I get that so why not come sooner to see me?" Casey asked wanting to know the real reason why Maddie was sat on her front step.
"I wanted to make sure you'd be in, I've actually been here since 7pm, and I needed to figure out what I was going to say to you." Maddie went and sat back down next to Casey.
"And what's that?"
"I came to ask you if you wanted to take me up on that rain check and have dinner tomorrow night and see what happens from there." Maddie said not looking at Casey for fear of her response being in the negative. "I'd like for us to make a fresh start, properly get to know one another." Casey turned around to look at Maddie and the attorney was smiling.
"Dinner and a fresh start sounds good." Casey smiled and so did Maddie before she stood up.
"Great, I'll erm pick you up at 8. See you tomorrow." Maddie smiled before hopping down the steps and heading off down the street, Casey stood up and entered her building with a smile on her face.
"A fresh start sounds good indeed." Casey said to herself on her way to her door.
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The alarm went off and Alex charged into Maddie's room to open the blinds. Alex laughed as Maddie buried her head underneath her pillow and said she'd get up in a minute.
"A fresh start today dear."Alex said pulling the covers off of Maddie who was now laid on her back.
"Aye that it is Alex but does it have to start so early?" Maddie laughed as Alex sat down on the side of the bed.
"First day back? Nervous?" Alex asked and Maddie got a feeling of déjà vu. Maddie nodded but replied that she was prepared this time and had nothing to hide, there was no threat of prison hanging over her head anymore. She was now simply Detective Eliza Madison with the NYPD and she had a date to make that evening, a date that she was looking forward to.
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She got dressed and gave her cousin a peck on the cheek as she left the house; she hopped down the stairs and took a steady stroll to the precinct. With a smile she pushed open the doors to the squad room and took her place with the unit. A new day and new case, a fresh start.