Manhattan Courthouse

"The people request remand."

"All due respect your honor, Mr. Bateman is an upstanding member of the community. He donates to countless charities…"

"And was indicted for kidnapping and first degree murder of a child Mr. Langan! The defendant will be held without bail."

Alex gave the judge a small nod of appreciation, and headed back to her seat next to Casey.

"Good job."

Alex looked at Casey, who after offering that one comment had turned her attention back to the motion she was preparing for their other trial. As hard as she tried, Alex couldn't figure out anything about the young attorney. Whenever they talked, Casey's answers were only one or two words. Whatever the reason was, Alex wanted to know what was bugging her so much.

"Hey Casey--"

"I have to run Alex, I'll see you at the trial tomorrow."

Before Alex could begin to object, Casey was already out the door. Alex, even more confused than she started, gathered her things and tried to catch up with her. But as she made her way through the hallway, there was no sign of Casey. Sighing, Alex took out her cell phone and made a call.

"Detective Benson? It's Alex. Can I meet you for lunch somewhere?"

A Manhattan Italian Restaurant

"Olivia, something is up. Casey is acting ridiculous around me, she's becoming impossible to work with. And I have a feeling that you know why."

Olivia swallowed hard. She had a feeling that Alex was going to ask her about Casey again sooner or later, but she had hoped it would be later. She still hadn't decided what she was going to tell her. Alex was her oldest and dearest friend, and she knew that she deserved to know what was going on with Casey. It wasn't that she thought Alex would reject Casey, quite the opposite, she had a feeling Alex was interested as well. But she was always able to hide it. Olivia's main concern was how Casey would react if she found out Olivia had told Alex. She had become close to Casey too, and she didn't want to betray her trust and upset her.

"Spill it Benson."

"Alright, alright." Olivia gave in. She knew Casey would probably kick her butt later, but Casey was miserable pining over Alex and not being able to do anything about it. Alex rested her arms on the table, intent on hearing each and every word that came out of the detective's mouth.

"Seems that Casey has a crush on a certain blonde SVU ADA."

Alex's face seemed set in stone. She seemed to show no reaction to what Olivia had just told her. Until, a few seconds later, Olivia saw a smile spread across Alex's face. Olivia couldn't help but smile too.

"Oh boy… so what are you going to do about it?"

Alex thought for a moment, and then picked up her fork and began to eat.

"I'm going to talk to her about it. It might be a little awkward, but it can't make things any more unbearable than they are now! She's barely said two words to me since I got here. Hey, maybe I'll even get a date."

Alex winked at Olivia, and she knew that she had made the right decision by telling Alex.

"So," Alex questioned with a smirk on her face. "Who have you been seeing?"

"Do you remember Serena?"

Alex's eyes widened, and she let another smile cross her face.

"Southerlyn? So, you and ADA Southerlyn hm? Interesting pair."

Olivia nodded, smiling. "It works for us. She's as passionate about her work as I am."

Alex checked her watch, and moved for her wallet.

"I have to get back to the office. I want to finish up some paperwork and try and find Casey so I can talk to her. Do you know where she would go after work?"

Olivia didn't have to think long before answering Alex. "The batting cages. That's where she always goes when she is stressed out. It works actually."

Alex raised an eyebrow, encouraging Olivia to continue, knowing she'd never touched a softball in her life.

"We've become close. After a few trips to the cages, I got the hang of it. There's just something about smashing ball after ball that relieves stress like nothing else."

Alex shook her head, and left a few bills on the table.

"Thanks for lunch. And everything else. I'll let you know how it goes."