Disclaimer: Again, I do not own any of the characters, brands name and such. I only own my active imagination, and a whole lot of free time.

* Indicates emphasis on the word(s).

' ' Indicates thought. I decided to add it in to avoid confusion.

Review is much appreciated, it's my first fiction piece.

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Olivia could barely stand still. Her head was spinning, her body drained of energy. 'Man, I do not want to throw up in front of everyone.' She tried to steady herself by leaning against the wall, her hand massaging the back of her neck. Standing not too far away, Casey had been watching the female detective closely ever since they had left the crime scene. She sensed that the detective was not herself. The ADA recognized the pain in those dark, alluring brown eyes. She had seen them the night before, when they were in Olivia's living room. The pain that Olivia thought Casey did not notice. Her heart wrenched at the thought of Olivia being hurt. 'What I'd give to hold her in my arms right now.' Casey moved closer to the detective and whispered in her ear.

"You look terrible, Olivia. You need to rest."

Olivia was slightly annoyed at the constant nauseating feeling that she had. "I'm fine. Really. I'll get some rest once this is over." She wanted to make sure that Hall was locked up before she could even entertain the notion of sleep.

"I know you're worried about the case, Liv. But being stubborn won't help here. Besides, I take it you haven't had anything to eat since this morning?"

"Casey, I'm fine. If anyone should be getting any rest at all, it should be you." Casey could see that the older woman was starting to get annoyed by the attention, but she wasn't ready to let go.

"Then will you at least join me in a walk? I could really use some fresh air. Plus I think the rest would be a much happier group if there's food in their stomachs." Sensing defeat, Olivia nodded, and told the captain about their plans.

The night was cold and clouds filled the skies. Casey's mind went back to the previous night. 'Gosh it felt as though it happened a long time ago.' Although Casey made every effort to strike a conversation with the detective, words seem to die on her tongue whenever she looked at Olivia. Nothing but sorrow and disappointment was plastered across Olivia's face. Casey wanted to reach out to hold her until all the pain would go away, but she wanted to know how things stood between them first. 'Soon.' she told herself.



After ordering enough to feed 10 people, the two women walked out of the corner deli. Olivia held the small box filled with sandwiches while Casey took care of the drinks. As if on cue, both women spoke at the same time.

"Hey..." "Do..." Both laughed at themselves. Olivia spoke up first.

"Can I get a sip of my cappuccino?"

Without replying, Casey took the cup and held it to the detective's mouth. "Sorry," Casey apologized when she spilled a little of the drink on the other woman. "Here, let me get that." She grabbed a napkin from the box and wiped the spill off Olivia. Their eyes met for what seemed like eternity before Olivia broke their gaze.

"Better get back soon or else Fin's gonna chew Munch's ass out." Olivia joked.

Casey winced at the image. "That would not be a pretty sight, I'd imagine."

When both women returned to the station, the rest of the squad was more than happy to see them - or rather the food that they were now handing out. In between bites of her turkey sandwich, Casey turned to the captain.

"So this is really over? We've got enough to put him away?"

Cragen put down his sandwich and wiped his mouth. "No doubt we got the right guy. We've got his prints at the scene of the crime, testimonies from witnesses and the evidence from the search. I suppose you would want to file an RO against him?"

"That was what I had in mind." Casey was glad that it was finally over. The events of the last 24 hours or so had taken a toll on the ADA. All she wanted to do now was to slip under the covers and sleep her fears away. Whether Olivia would be sleeping next to her was a different story. As if reading the ADA's mind, Olivia got up and packed her things.

"Leaving so soon, Benson?" Munch asked.

"Yeah. Since they're still working on my apartment I thought I'd crash at the crib tonight," Olivia said exhaustedly. "I'm just gonna go home to grab some stuff but I'll be back."

Cragen and Casey looked at each other briefly, Casey's eyes silently pleading the captain to come up with something. He didn't know what to do. 'When in doubt, stick to work.' Cragen told himself.

"Speaking of which, Casey, we changed the locks on your apartment. You can go home if you want," Cragen headed back to his office to retrieve the keys. "Here you go."

Casey wasn't sure why she turned to the captain just then. Something told her that he would understand. However, her thoughts were distracted when she realized Olivia was already out of the door. She quickly threw away what was left of the sandwich and bade her farewell to the detectives before dashing out of the station in hopes that Olivia had not left the parking lot.

"Olivia, wait up!" Casey called out to the brunette detective. She had to mentally prepare herself. 'Ok Cassandra Emily Novak. This is your chance, don't blow it.' As she approached the detective she was certain her heart was about ready to leap out of her any time soon. "Hey Liv."

"Anything I can do for you, Counselor?" Olivia tried to sound professional.

"Nothing pressing. Just thought you might like some company." Casey felt air was being sucked out of her. She couldn't figure out the detective's icy tone. 'Can't turn back now, Novak.' Casey stood there and waited while the detective contemplated on the invitation.

Olivia knew her words did not come out the way she had intended to. She looked at the tall redhead standing in front of her, trying to gauge what the woman was not saying. As if lightning struck, she finally understood the remark for what it was. It wasn't a mere invitation, but rather a silent cry of help. "Would you like *my* company tonight, Case?"

"I certainly would love your company," Casey tried to hide her blush. "I'd sleep a whole lot better knowing that New York's finest is just a whisper away," She could see the detective was still undecided. "Besides, your apartment is still not ready yet. You don't really want to sleep at the crib tonight, do you?"

Olivia let out a small laugh as she remembered what Casey said about the crib. "Heaven forbid, no. Not when there's a comfortable couch, clean sheets and heat offered." Casey smiled.

"Well I'm not sure if you want to take the couch when you can share the bed with me."

The detective ignored the last remark. "I'll take the couch, but thanks for the offer." For some reason she didn't want to mislead the redhead, but there was something else that was drawing her to the temptation. Years of being a cop told her that there was something else in the invitation.

"Olivia?"

"Huh, sorry. I just need to go over my place to get some of my stuff. I'll meet you back at your place in say, half an hour?"

"Sure. That'll give me enough time to clear the skeletons out of my closet."

Olivia laughed at the redhead. She knew Casey was using humor to cover whatever fears she might be having. She silently hoped that whatever battle Casey was fighting, she could help her get through it. 'That's what friends are for,' she thought. "See you in a bit then." With that, she climbed into the sedan.

Watching Olivia leave always troubled Casey. She feared that it would be the last time that she would see the stunning detective again. 'It comes with the badge, silly.' Casey tried to talk herself out of her fears, but with each passing moment she seemed more worked up than before. 'This is crazy.' She walked towards her car and headed home.

Standing in front of her apartment door, Casey hesitated. Her hand was on the doorknob, the key sitting in its place. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Casey stood next to the couch and thought, 'everything's the same.' And that's when it happened. Visions of the previous night came crashing back. She let out a scream while holding her hands to her ears and closed her eyes.

"Go away!" she shouted to the invisible demon as tears started flowing down her cheeks. Olivia heard the shouts when she got out of the car. Her first instinct was to get to Casey. Taking two steps at a time, she hurried to the ADA's apartment, only to find the door ajar.

"Casey?"

With her gun drawn, Olivia surveyed the hallway. 'All clear.' she calmed herself down. She opened the door slowly but stopped when she heard a voice. Gripping her gun even tighter, she swallowed hard and took a step forward. All she saw in the room was a visibly shaken ADA crouched on the floor by the couch, rocking her body back and forth while tears flowed freely down her cheek.

"Casey are you hurt?" Olivia could feel her heart break at the sight of the broken woman in front of her. Casey shook her head, not wanting to speak. "Stay right here." Before Olivia could move away, Casey grabbed her arm.

"Please don't leave me alone, Liv."

"Don't worry, I'm just going to lock the door. I'm not going anywhere," Olivia took Casey's hand and helped her get to the couch. "I'll be right back," Putting her gun back in its holster, Olivia locked the door and headed to the kitchen to get a drink for the ADA. "Here, take a sip. You'll feel better." Casey greedily drank the entire contents.

"Thanks, Liv," Casey wasn't shaking like she was moments ago, but she was still unsteady. "For everything." She honestly did not know what else to say to the detective. As verbose as a lawyer can be, Casey was speechless.

"Don't mention it. Besides, that's the least I can do, since I'll be taking over your couch tonight," Olivia felt better when she saw the ADA smile again. She sat down next to Casey and placed her arm around the woman, wanting only to reassure the redhead.