Disclaimer: All Law And Order: Special Victims Unit characters and namesakes are the property of Dick Wolf / NBC.

Author's Note / Warning: This story contains an original character that plays the love interest of Casey Novak. The story deals with the relationship between Casey and my original character, and it is told from both of their perspectives. I had a very specific storyline in mind that I felt could not be realized by pairing Casey with an existing SVU character, thus the creation of Det. Seth Bauer. This is not intended to be a Mary Sue story, and I can only hope that from the writing and characterization, this proves to be true.

Chapter 6: Hoops
September 21st, 12:40 PM

"Foul!" Seth yelled as he sat on the warm hardtop looking up at Casey. She was smiling down at him, holding the ball against her hip with her right arm.

"Please!" Casey said in a playful tone. "You lost control of the ball and fell down!"

"Fell down?" Seth said, chuckling. "Casey, you just knocked me on my ass!"

Casey rolled her eyes in a teasing gesture and dribbled the ball. "Okay, whatever," she said, pretending not to agree.

The sun sat high in the sky, making the mild, late-September day seem warmer than usual. Casey and Seth had been dating for the last two and a half weeks. When Seth had suggested that it was still nice enough out to play a game of basketball that weekend, Casey had jumped at the chance. She was never one to shy away from sports or fitness, and she had looked forward all week to "kicking Seth's butt", as she had so aptly put it. Seth had picked her up at noon and they had walked down to the basketball court near Casey's apartment. Seth had shown up in sneakers, blue gym shorts and an old, faded New Jersey Nets t-shirt. Casey had worn her black shorts and red tank top with black lining, her hair tied up in a ponytail. She carried a water bottle and white towel with her.

"Wow, you're pretty serious about this," Seth had joked with her.

"Wait 'til we get out on the court," Casey had elbowed him back. "You're gonna wish we had gone to the movies instead."

After warming up for a bit, they had started playing half court one-on-one, first person to twenty points won. Casey let Seth have the ball first, and she had bound after him on the court, following his every move like a magnet. Casey was extremely competitive at any sport, but she played far more aggressively than usual all afternoon. She had competed against a number of boys in her day, and she was having no problem at all holding her own on the court. After half an hour, the score was tied sixteen to sixteen.

"Well, help me up," Seth said, still sitting on the ground. He stuck his hand up at Casey, squinting in the warm midday sun.

Casey pursed her lips and pretended to roll her eyes again. She stuck her hand into his and pulled him forward. Seth quickly stood up, coming almost nose-to-nose with Casey. Still clasping hands, they gazed flirtatiously into each other's eyes.

"Thanks," Seth said, smiling at her. They were both breathing heavy and sweating, and Seth could feel the heat coming off her body in waves.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Casey said, licking her bottom lip. Casey thought some women might find a big, sweaty guy rather unpleasant to be around even when playing sports, but not her. Casey's aggressive style on the court that afternoon was a form of foreplay in her mind, and she'd had no problem at all getting quite physical with Seth during game play. As it was, the most physical contact they'd had in the past couple of weeks had only been holding hands or putting their arms around each other. Seth hadn't kissed her yet, and Casey was beginning to wonder if she should make the first move. With any luck, Casey hoped her extra-physical performance on the basketball court that day might help clue Seth in. And if not, she had thought at one point during the game, I think just feeling his body up against mine like this will do for the time being.

"So do I get the foul or not?" Seth asked.

"I don't know," Casey teased, "Are you gonna whine about it afterwards if I don't give it to you?"

Seth gave Casey his infamous crooked smile and reached for the ball. Casey pulled it away, hiding the ball behind her back, a mischievous look on her face.

"Come on, Casey. That was a legitimate foul and you know it. The only way it could've been more legit is if you'd gotten a running start and jumped before knocking me over."

Casey laughed out loud, and looked at the ground. She rolled the ball back around to her front and tossed it to Seth. "All right, fine. Take your two," she said, trying to keep a serious face.

"Thank you," Seth replied sarcastically.

Seth dribbled the ball over to the free-throw line and stopped, holding the ball in his hands. Casey walked past him, taking her place under the basket. Seth couldn't help but glance at her toned rear end and legs while she walked. She has a really cute butt, Seth impishly thought to himself as he observed the way her slender hips swayed back and forth in her black shorts as she moved. And she's also doing a good job of kicking yours, another voice in Seth's head pointed out. It was okay, though. Seth realized Casey was far more competitive then he was, and he had expected her to get really into the game. He was just having fun being with her, and he honestly didn't care who won. Although he realized if she did win today, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Stop standing there smiling like a dope and take the first shot," Casey shouted from under the hoop.

"Yeah, yeah," Seth said back. He bent his knees, using both hands to raise the ball up next to his head, over his right shoulder. Right as he was about to release the ball, Casey made a disruptive coughing sound.

"-YOUSUCK!-" Casey hollered, partially covering her mouth with her hand.

Seth stopped, almost dropping the ball, beginning to laugh. He gave Casey a defeated look. "Will you knock it off, please?"

"Ahem! Sorry...sorry...something in my throat." Casey's smile was as bright as the sunny day.

Seth made the first shot, and Casey rebounded the ball to him. Again, he poised himself in front of the free-throw line. Seth noticed out of the corner of his eye that Casey was contorting her face and sticking her tongue out at him, trying to get him to laugh and miss the basket. Seth threw up the second shot, and again it went in. He looked at Casey and said, "How you like 'dem apples?" Casey rolled her eyes and grabbed the ball, taking it back to the mid court line. She stood behind the line and dribbled the ball in place twice.

"Eighteen to sixteen, my lead," Seth prodded.

"Please, you're going down Bauer."

"Well then, stop flapping your gums, Ace...let's get this over with so you can buy me lunch."

"Hah! In your dreams!"

Casey turned her back to Seth and began making her way down the court. He guarded her heavily, his hands darting in and out of her midsection, trying to grab the ball.

"Come on Novak, is that all you got?" he said into her ear as they neared the basket.

Casey pushed against Seth, rubbing her body alongside his and letting him surround her with his arms. "Game's not over yet," she said, making a break to the side and banking a lay-up. The ball swished through the net, and Seth caught it on its way down.

"Whoo-hoo!" Casey cheered, walking back past the free-throw line. "Score's tied!"

"All right, all right." Seth dribbled the ball, following behind her. He passed Casey on her left and turned to face her at the mid-court line. "Here we go...the score's tied eighteen to eighteen. This is it, Novak. This is where it all ends. Are you ready?"

"You're not getting by me this time, buddy. Come on, let's do this!"

"It's my ball...all I gotta do is make this last shot and the game's over," Seth continued to taunt her. "Looks like you're the one who's going down, Novak."

"Only if you ask nicely," she quipped back.

Seth's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at the innuendo. "Casey!" he said in a surprised voice, smiling widely.

Casey smiled back, moving closer to Seth. "Come on, stop foolin' around and get going," she pretended to scold him.

"All right," Seth said with a huff. He turned around and began dribbling sideways toward the net. Casey nearly climbed on his back, desperately trying to stop him from taking the shot. They swiveled under the basket and back out again. Seth stopped dribbling and turned, holding the ball above his head. Casey immediately put a hand in his face, reaching for the ball with her other, free hand.

Gotta stop him, she thought, flailing her arms in front of Seth. Casey took a step closer, her body almost touching his. Her arms went up to the sides of Seth's head, as he kept moving the ball from side to side, just out of her reach. "C'mon tough guy, take the shot!" Casey said, breathily heavily.

Seth held the ball above Casey's head, looking at the rigorous expression on her face. Her concentration was on the ball and she didn't notice him gazing into her eyes again. Seth took a step forward, forcing Casey's arms to fall by the sides of his neck.

"Hey, that's traveling-" Casey began, shifting her attention to Seth's stare. He was looking at her intently and smiling. He had stopped fidgeting with the ball, lowering his arms and moving his body up against hers. He held the ball around her back and titled his head to one side. Still smiling, Seth moved his face towards Casey's mouth. She suddenly realized what he was doing and a quick grin broke out across her face.

Seth kissed Casey gently on the mouth as she began tightening her arms around his neck. He placed his free hand on the small of her back and pulled her even closer. Casey titled her head and closed her eyes, kissing Seth back, firmly pressing her lips to his. After a few seconds, Seth pulled his face away, still holding her. Casey slid her arms back, and gently caressed Seth's stubbly face with her hands.

"What do you say we stop now and call it a game?" Seth said in a low voice, looking deep into Casey's half-opened eyes.

"What's the matter?" she said in a sultry tone. "Were you so afraid I'd beat you that you had to come up with some way to divert my attention?"

They both smiled and laughed and kissed each other again. "Hey, I didn't do this for my benefit," Seth teased. "I just figured you might want to declare a tie, seeing as how you knew you were going to lose anyway."

"Well, why don't we just say you won, so the other kids at school won't pick on you?"

Seth took a step back and tucked the ball under his left arm. He looked at Casey, taking in all her beauty. They continued smiling at each other as Seth slid to Casey's side and put his around her. "Come on," he said, "I'll cook tonight."

Casey pushed herself up against Seth, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, now this I've got to see." They exited the basketball court still holding each other, walking back in the direction of Casey's apartment. Casey felt like she was treading on air and she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy. Her head was spinning and she clung to Seth, afraid she might actually fall over if she let go. She breathed in deeply, feeling the heat from their moist bodies as they walked down the sidewalk.

"You know," she said in a charming voice. "I think we ought to shower first before we start making dinner." Seth raised an eyebrow and gave Casey an obvious grin, not saying anything. She paused, giving Seth a coy look. "Maybe we can play some more one-on-one at my place."

They both laughed and kissed each other again. Seth rubbed his forehead against Casey's, and she kissed him lightly on the chin, her eyes closed. There was a slight breeze in the air and Casey breathed in deeply, feeling more alive than she ever could have imagined.

And I still would've won, Casey thought to herself confidently, smiling up at the bright afternoon sky.