Series: Law and Order SVU

Story Title: Layers

Chapter Title: Cause and Effect

Spoilers: References to Intoxicated

Pairings: Implied C/O

Summary- See main chapter

Casey hesitated before pulling open the door to face her unexpected guest.

"Olivia," Casey greeted making no effort to invite the detective in.

"Hey Casey," Olivia stood stoically under Casey's cool gaze.

"Can I come in?" Olivia finally requested when it became obvious that Casey had no intention of giving her even an inch.

Casey stepped back giving Olivia a brief nod. Casey pushed the door shut before breezing past her guest and into the kitchen. Olivia watched as Casey filled her glass from a nearly empty bottle.

"Would you like some wine?" Casey asked.

"Sure," Olivia responded.

"Glasses are in the cabinet to the right of the sink," Casey informed her as she passed by.

Olivia raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'Okay, maybe this is going to be a little harder than I anticipated,' she thought to herself. Olivia took her time finding the glass and filling it before following Casey into the living room. She found the lawyer on the couch her feet propped up on the coffee table. Casey eyed her with curiosity. Olivia took a seat in the easy chair almost directly across from Casey. She took a sip of her wine before setting it down on the table.

"What are you doing here Olivia?" Casey demanded tiredly.

"We drew straws, I lost," Olivia joked weakly.

"Nice," Casey replied dryly before resting her head against the couch and redirecting her gaze to the ceiling.

"Casey, I'm sorry. Cragen told me he talked to Donnelly and how she punished you for making the Eldridge deal," Olivia apologized in a rush.

"It doesn't matter Olivia. Just forget it," Casey replied too tired and disappointed to fight with the detective anymore.

"You're not making this very easy Casey," Olivia said in irritation.

The words served to draw Casey out of her lethargy. "You have got to be kidding me. I'm not making this easy?" the words were uttered with obvious disbelief.

"You've barely had five words to say to me since you kicked me out of your office on Tuesday. How am I supposed to fix this if I don't even know why you're upset?" Olivia tried to reason.

Casey gave Olivia a searching look shaking her head when she failed to find whatever she was looking for. "You told Elliot to call me and let it slip that you had met with Carrie Eldridge and Simone Bryce?"

The accusation was spoken quietly but Olivia flinched as if it had been delivered with a shout. A guilty look crossed her face before she looked away refusing to meet Casey's eyes.

"If you wanted my help all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to play on my emotions," Casey promised.

"It's not what you think Casey," Olivia protested.

"I think it is," Casey stood pacing the room. "When Simone Bryce asked me why I plead out Carrie I didn't have an answer ready for her. She just looked at me for a minute and then she looked at you. It was written all over her face, she knew it was because of you, and about the same time she reached that conclusion so did I," Casey confessed.

Olivia opened her mouth to speak but no words came forth. She closed it swallowing thickly as she watched her fingers lace themselves together.

"Elliot's pretty smooth, I never suspected a thing. A quick call asking where his partner was. The last he had heard you were in a meeting with Eldridge and her lawyer." Casey laughed bitterly remembering the conversation. "Then he mentions he's supposed to meet you for a drink after. You knew I would hunt you down for meeting with them and not including me," Casey finished. She crossed her arms leaning back against the wall waiting for Olivia to respond. I don't remember this in the show. Is it your invention for the story? Just curious. (Yeah that was my invention- Can't help it I felt like there was a little inconsistency with Casey just happening to know what bar Olivia was in when she wanted to talk to her. Now if only I could cover my little plot holes)

Olivia stood taking a few steps toward Casey before stopping. "So, you think you have it all figured out? Do you really think I would be anything less than honest with you?" Olivia questioned a trace of hurt in her voice.

"You forget who you're talking to Detective. I've seen all of you throw caution to the wind once you're personally involved. I don't think there's a piece of yourself you wouldn't have traded to save Carrie Eldridge even if it meant playing on the fact that I care for you more than I should," Casey's voice quivered slightly her emotions rising to the surface.

Olivia's gaze softened. "Casey, there was no master plan," If the situation wasn't so serious Olivia might have found the idea humorous. But Olivia had a feeling that there were some things that should have been cleared up long before now. If there was any chance of straightening this out Olivia was going to have to be completely honest with the A.D.A.

"You're right, Elliot knew I was at the bar. He knew I had met with Carrie and Simone and that I was upset. We argued over whether or not I needed company and I made it very clear that I wanted to be alone," Olivia laughed reflecting on Casey's earlier comment.

"You're right about how bull headed we get when we become personally invested in something. He decided I didn't need to be alone and he cooked up a way to get you out there on his own," Olivia revealed.

"Why?" Olivia noticed Casey had left out the 'me' in her question.

Olivia crossed her arms shrugging as she looked away trying to find the right words. "I," Olivia stalled to a stop finding this much harder then she had anticipated.

"Oh God, you told him," the last was barely audible from behind the hands covering Casey's face.

Olivia cringed as she absorbed the steady mumbled mantra of embarrassment from the lawyer. "It wasn't like that, nothing specific, honest. He just knows me too well and he guessed," Olivia assured Casey in a rush.

"This is great, just great," the sarcasm dripped from Casey's voice as she paced away from Olivia raising her hands in the air to punctuate her comments. "Why is it that when I think things just can't get any worse someone shows up to prove me wrong, and they are usually connected to the SVU in some way, shape or form?" Casey demanded shooting Olivia a bewildered look.

Olivia tried not to smile. The A.D.A.'s embarrassment was certainly not a source of amusement to her but for some reason the conversation had taken a turn that tickled her funny bone. Olivia looked everywhere but toward the A.D.A petrified she would slip up and any chance of fixing this would be lost.

Casey walked across the living room muttering a few choice comments. Olivia caught a few syllables certain the words 'SVU' 'nuts' and 'vacation' were in there somewhere. Casey seemed to finally run out of steam dropping onto the couch in a slump still shaking her head.

Olivia followed her taking a seat on the coffee table their knees almost touching. She reached out, capturing one of Casey's hands. "I don't know why you're embarrassed. I'm pretty sure I was the one who stepped over the line," Olivia pointed out. The memory flashed before her eyes.

Hammond had stopped by the courthouse to deliver the news that Alex was gone only this time there would be no goodbye. His news had dropped the celebratory tone down two notches as the detectives and A.D.A. absorbed the news.

Cragen had refused to let them wallow in their misery herding them out the door and down the block to a nearby restaurant. Olivia had no doubt the end result had been unexpected all the way around. It was not like her or Elliot to drink to excess. Regardless, Cragen was left with two extremely inebriated detectives and one slightly buzzed A.D.A. Casey had volunteered to get Olivia back to her apartment while Cragen took charge of Elliot.

Casey waived down a cab once they were on the sidewalk pulling the detective into the back seat with her. Olivia cooperated long enough to rattle off her address before falling asleep on Casey's shoulder. It had seemed like hours when she had woken to Casey's insistent shaking.

Casey had requested the cabbie wait while she escorted the detective upstairs. Olivia couldn't remember what she had said in the short trip but she did recall maintaining a running commentary all the way to her door. She vaguely recalled Casey's amused exasperation as Olivia repeatedly failed to get her key into the lock. Casey had finally taken charge and within seconds Olivia was stumbling into the apartment.

What had happened next was still only a hazy blur. Olivia remembered turning to the attorney to offer her thanks and stumbling. Casey had caught her before she hit the floor. They had ended up off balance a wall the only thing keeping them upright. Olivia had dimly registered Casey holding her a little longer than required. The detective had regained her footing holding Casey's gaze before moving in to capture her lips.

The kiss had lasted what seemed like minutes before Casey had pushed her away. "Olivia," her name had been uttered in the cool tone of reason. Not exactly in the mood to listen to reason Olivia had leaned in to kiss Casey again.

This time when the attorney had pushed Olivia back she had made it clear she wasn't interested in the detective's affections. Actually if Olivia was honest she had no clear memory of the words that had passed between them. Only that Casey had managed to park Olivia on her couch before leaving the detective alone in her apartment.

The next morning Olivia had struggled through a monster hangover the few brief flashes of the previous night returning to haunt her. Olivia wasn't sure what kind of damage she had done to her relationship with the A.D.A. but she had been in no hurry to find out.

The memory passed in a flash and Olivia focused on the hand clasped in her own. She looked up to find Casey watching her curiously.

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," Casey admitted her tone making it obvious she didn't agree completely. Casey was distracted by the soft touch, her eyes drawn to Olivia's fingers as they caressed her own. She was confused by the detective's signals. She had no idea what Olivia wanted and the memory of a similar situation crept into to her consciousness.

Olivia had avoided Casey repeatedly since that night. Casey finally cornered her after court one morning requesting Olivia stop by her office before heading back to the bull pen. Olivia had agreed brushing off her partner's questioning look.

The detective opted to follow the attorney not seeing any point in dragging this out any further. Olivia reached the office first taking a seat as she waited for Casey to finish giving instructions to the office clerk on the court files she was dropping off. Olivia was absently picking at a piece of lint on her pants when Casey finally arrived.

The A.D.A. shut the door behind her before setting her briefcase on the desk. Olivia watched as Casey hung her jacket on a rack before turning her attention to her visitor. Olivia expected the lawyer to take her usual seat but Casey had surprised her by leaning against the desk her arms crossed as she gave Olivia an appraising look.

"You've been avoiding me," it wasn't an accusation just a statement of fact. Casey patiently waited for Olivia's response.

The detective had given her a sheepish look before breaking eye contact. "I'm sorry Casey," Olivia tried to apologize for the other night but was interrupted before she could finish.

"I'm not," Olivia was startled by the reply. Looking up she was slightly unnerved with the ease Casey had delivered the confession. As she watched Casey pushed off the desk closing the short distance between them. A soft touch caressed Olivia's cheek before Casey dipped in to kiss her gently.

If Olivia had been surprised by the words she was stunned by the actions. It took her a moment to react and when she did she found herself pushing out of the chair almost in a panic. Casey had stepped back quickly giving Olivia some space, obviously caught off guard by Olivia's response.

Olivia put her hands up signaling Casey to hold her position. Olivia turned her back on the attorney taking a few steps across the office to increase the distance between them.

"Casey," Olivia stumbled to a stop not sure what to say. Since Casey's rejection the other night Olivia had spent the better part of a week mentally listing every single reason pursuing anything beyond a friendship with the lawyer was impossible. Following Casey back to her office today Olivia had anticipated a number of possible scenarios and still Casey had managed to amaze her with something completely unexpected.

Olivia turned to find the attorney once again leaning against her desk her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head slowly. "I did not misread the signals," Casey stated firmly. Olivia wasn't sure if the statement was to convince her or the woman speaking.

"Signals, who am I kidding," Casey demanded as she pushed off the desk her hands raised in a questioning gesture. "If I hadn't put the breaks on the other night you wouldn't have woken up on your couch alone," Casey surmised.

Olivia felt her face burning, no doubt in her mind that Casey was right. The thought was quickly followed up by a deep sense of dread as she considered the consequences such an impetuous act would have had on her professional life. As if she hadn't already been taught a lesson by the one night stand with Brian Cassidy five years ago Olivia silently chastised herself.

"Casey, I'm sorry. It's not you, it's me," Olivia tried to explain. She watched Casey's face grow stony as the tired cliché rolled off Olivia's lips.

"Well that's a new record. Usually I get the benefit of sleeping with someone before they cart out the old it's not you routine," Casey retorted dryly.

Olivia resisted the urge to close her eyes and stomp her foot in frustration. This conversation was barreling down hill like an out of control freight train with Casey as its conductor and Olivia waiting haplessly at the bottom chained to the tracks.

"Olivia," Casey's tone had cooled and Olivia tried not to flinch under the icy gaze of the redhead.

"I don't know what you want from me and obviously neither do you. So until you do let's just forget any of this ever happened." Casey suggested.

Olivia wanted to refuse the offer but common sense took charge forcing her head to nod in agreement. Olivia wanted to say something, anything, to repair the damage but words failed her. Casey had already turned her back on the detective busy with something on her desk that Olivia could not see.

Olivia cleared her throat watching Casey stiffen as she waited for Olivia to speak. But Olivia just couldn't come up with any words that seemed adequate. As the silence stretched Olivia gave up, making her way to the door. Casey never acknowledged her softly uttered goodbye as Olivia pulled the door softly shut behind her.

Casey for her part was battling a wide array of emotions that broke through the surface when she heard the low click of the lock as the door slid closed. Casey rounded her desk falling into the empty chair before dropping her face into open hands. She hovered between extreme embarrassment and deep disappointment.

Casey had been unwilling to acknowledge her attraction to the detective before that night, dismissing it as impossible. Evidently she had read more into the other night than Olivia had meant. Obviously the detective had had a few too many drinks and made a mistake.

Unfortunately Casey wasn't going be able to hide behind any excuse except genuine desire. Unless someone had perfected the 'I had one latte to too many' defense while I was in here embarrassing myself Casey thought.

Casey's attention returned to the fingers wrapped around her own. She withdrew her hand her face burning from the embarrassment still fresh in her mind.