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.

A/N/W: From Chapter 7 on, the themes become slightly more adult in regards to violence and sexual content. Nothing explicit enough to warrant an M rating, but just a heads up to readers all the same.

Chapter 12: Waking Up
December 14th, 8:03 AM

Casey sluggishly opened her eyes, the bright daylight that filled her hospital room instantly giving her a headache. After the heavy dose of pain meds she'd been given the previous evening, she had slept straight through the night. Casey yawned, her bottom lip crying out in pain. Her mouth was dry and she felt like she'd been hit in the face with a wrecking ball. Casey rolled over and sat up against her pillow, the pain worsening as she moved. Her body felt stiff all over and she gave a small moan as the nurse entered her room. Casey looked to the floor and noticed a tiny puddle of water. She stared at it for a moment, wondering why it was there.

"Good morning," the nurse said in a much-too-chipper tone, carrying a small tray with her into the room. Casey turned her attention away from the floor, responding with an unintelligible sound and giving the nurse a pained smile. "Oh, don't try to talk if it hurts, dear," the nurse said. "Here's your pain medication." Casey took the small white cup off of the tray and fished out two yellow capsules. She downed them with the cup of water the nurse had also brought into the room, swallowing hard and grimacing.

After the nurse had left, Casey looked around the room for any indication that Seth had been there. Her heart sank and she sighed, confused and in pain, her head feeling spacey and her throat still very sore.

When she could speak better, Casey called her boss, Arthur Branch, from the phone next to her hospital bed. She told him she was going to be discharged that morning and she wanted to know where they were at with the Pallarzi case. Branch sighed and told her there wasn't going to be a Pallarzi case, at least not any time soon, and she ought to take a few days off. Puzzled, Casey asked him what was going on, but D.A. Branch wouldn't elaborate. He simply told her it would be better if she heard 'the news' from someone in the SVU squad.

Casey dressed quickly after talking to Branch; she was eager to find out what could possibly be happening that was so dire and secret. More importantly, she wanted to know where Seth was and why he had never checked in with her the night before. After Casey signed herself out at the nurse's station, she looked up to find Olivia standing there, waiting for her.

"Need a ride?" Olivia asked in a somewhat sad tone. Casey could tell by the look in Liv's eyes that something was very wrong.

"Olivia," she said, sounding somewhat surprised. "What's going on? Is everything all right?"

Olivia looked down, the sad expression remaining on her face. "How are you feeling?" Olivia asked, side-stepping the question.

"I'm fine," Casey said curtly, waving the question away. "What's this business with Pallarzi? The D.A. wouldn't tell me what's going on. And where's Seth?" Casey began to raise her voice, becoming alarmed. "Why won't anybody tell me what's happening?"

"Casey," Olivia said in a calm tone, trying to prepare her. "Seth's in jail. Last night...he went back to the station house and nearly beat Pallarzi to death."

Casey's draw dropped open and her eyes became wide. "What?" she spat at Olivia, her large green eyes beginning to tear up.

Olivia folded her hands in front of herself, taking a step closer to Casey. "I wasn't there when it happened Casey, so I don't have all the details. Huang is saying he suffered some kind of freak 'episode'. He doesn't remember much and he won't talk to anyone."

A single tear spilled down Casey's cheek as she continued to look at Olivia, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Why on earth did he do that?" she asked in a soft voice. "This makes no sense. Seth's not violent like that. How did this happen?"

"I'm not entirely sure. According to the desk sergeant on duty last night, Seth went to Pallarzi's holding cell around midnight. The sergeant said he heard some shouting and scuffling...then the next thing he knew, Seth was dragging Pallarzi out of the ward unconscious." Casey's bottom lip started to quiver ever so slightly. "I guess Seth told the sergeant he was taking Pallarzi to one of the interrogation rooms 'for questioning'."

"For questioning...unconscious? At midnight?"

"Right...that's what the Sarge said. Anyway, I guess he gave Cragen a wake-up call and told him what was happening. The Captain rushed over to the station house, where he found Seth in a room with Pallarzi..." Olivia paused, not wanting to continue.

"And...?"

"You may not want to hear the rest of this now, Casey. Why don't we get you home and we can talk more about it later."

"No, Olivia. Now."

Olivia sighed, but went on. "Cragen said Seth was hunched next to Pallarzi, both of them kneeling on the floor. Pallarzi's wrists were handcuffed behind his back. It looked like Seth had waited for him to wake up, then he had beaten the crap out of him. He had broken Pallarzi's nose and almost put his head through the two-way mirror...Cragen said you can see the spider web of cracks from the other side. By the time Cragen got there, both Seth and Pallarzi were covered in blood and Seth didn't seem to know where he was or what he was doing. Pallarzi passed out again after that. I guess that's when the Captain called for an ambulance and took Seth into custody."

"I can't believe this," Casey whispered aloud.

"That may not be the worst of it, Casey. I don't think I need to tell you, Seth may lose his job."

Casey's mind tried to absorb the information Olivia was giving her. "Well, what are they saying? Is he going to be charged with something?"

"I don't know," Olivia said again, trying to make sense of things herself. "Pallarzi's in the hospital ward at Bellevue. His face looks like someone ran over it with a tractor."

"Good," Casey said through flared nostrils, folding her arms. She had looked away from Olivia, her response sounding forced and insincere. Although she was glad Pallarzi had finally gotten what he really deserved, it wasn't Casey's way to condone acts of revenge.

"Well, where is Seth now?"

Olivia glanced down at her watch, noting the time. "I imagine he's on his way to the arraignment hearing, if he's not already there now."

"Well, we've got to do something! Does he have a lawyer? I'll take on the case pro bono if I have to! We've got to get down to the courtroom!" Casey turned and started walking away at a fast pace, ignoring the stiffness and cramps that ran through her body. Olivia lingered behind her.

"Casey," Olivia said rather forcefully. Casey stopped, turning back around and looking at Olivia with questioning eyes. Liv sighed deeply and continued. "As far as I know, things are being taken care of. Dr. Huang is going to be there speaking on his behalf." Olivia paused, thinking. "And there's something else. Seth said...he doesn't want to see you."

"What?" Cased asked in a hurt voice. "What do you mean 'he doesn't want to see me'? Did he actually say that?"

Olivia walked a few paces forward, joining Casey. "I'm afraid it's about all he said. I really don't know what to make of it, Casey. Maybe he doesn't want you to see him in his current state. He's really not himself right now."

Casey stood there, flabbergasted. Fresh tears began to spill from her eyes. She pursed her lips, the old defiant look creeping back across her face. She stared at Olivia, her expression becoming angry. "That's crap," she said, her tone leveling off again. "I'm going down there and I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Against her better judgment, Olivia agreed to drive Casey to the courthouse to try and intercept Seth. They missed his arraignment by about five minutes, arriving just as Dr. Huang was gathering his things and leaving the courtroom. Casey grabbed Huang by the arm, pulling him to the side.

"What in the hell is going on?" she asked Huang frantically.

Dr. Huang reached up and gently stroked her arm, trying to comfort her. "Casey, you know I can't divulge the specifics of what Seth has told me. What I can tell you is that it appears he's suffered a mild psychotic break from reality. He's doing better now, but he isn't quite back to normal yet."

"But what about the charges against him? Is he going back into the system?"

Huang made a sympathetic face. "We don't know what charges, if any, are going to be brought against him yet. For now, the judge has agreed to release Seth into my care for evaluation. Rather than sending him straight to Psych Services, Captain Cragen thought it might be in Seth's best interest if I intervened. He paged me last night and I've been monitoring Seth's behavior ever since. So try not to worry...I'll make sure he's taken care of. When I feel he's fully recovered, I'll call you with an update. Until then, I think it would be best if you don't see him or speak to him."

"Wha-," Casey began, her words turning into a sob. She was breathing heavy and it felt like there was a lead weight in her chest, weighing her heart down. "How can this be happening? Do you know when you'll release him?"

"I don't know, Casey," Huang said in his soft, even voice. "But I promise I'll call you as soon as I do."

Following her conversation with Dr. Huang in the courtroom, Casey had gone home speechless and exhausted. She called the D.A. back, deciding to take the time off from work after all. Under any other circumstances, she would have gone back to work as soon as possible to help get her mind off of things. But this was different, somehow. She was devastated by everything that had happened, and she felt that going back to work would only make things worse, knowing why Seth wasn't there. Casey spent the next three days and nights sitting by the telephone, willing it to ring. On the third night around six in the evening, she finally received the call she had been waiting for.

"Hello?" Casey blurted into the telephone, praying it was Dr. Huang with some good news.

"Hi," Seth's sad and small voice said from the other end of the line.

Casey's heart leapt into her throat at the sound of Seth's voice, the sick feeling that had been digesting through her stomach for the past four days finally abating. "Seth!" she gasped into the phone. "What happened, baby? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said, sounding distant. "Casey...I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything."

"Where are you? Do you want me to come get you?"

"No...I'm still in the psych ward. Dr. Huang said I can go home tomorrow, and he thought I should call to prepare you."

"Seth, I don't understand any of this. The things people were telling me, I didn't believe them. They said you didn't want to see me."

Seth remained silent, not answering her.

"So, it's true then?" Casey asked in a wounded, tearful voice. "What did you do, Seth? Why did you go after Pallarzi like that? Why didn't you just come to the hospital to be with me?"

"I don't know, Casey. I only remember bits and pieces, really. Look, I can't talk about this over the phone. I'll come by tomorrow and I'll try to explain things."

It was Casey's turn not to respond. She had waited long enough and she wanted some answers. After a moment of shared silence, Seth spoke again.

"I know you're mad. And I know I've screwed everything up. But please...please just know that I love you, Casey."

Casey's heart crumbled and she gave in. Her voice was shaky. "I'm not mad, Seth. I love you too. I've just been through HELL these past couple of days and NOTHING'S making any sense. Please come home, Seth. I need to see you."

"I will," Seth said in his sad and tired voice. "I'm sorry. I love you."

Casey spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. All she could think about was seeing Seth the following day. Her whole world had been turned upside down and she feared the worst for Seth. She couldn't accept the idea that he was some sort of violent criminal, and she wanted desperately to believe that he really had suffered some kind of short-term psychosis. Either way, she knew she wasn't about to let him go to jail for what he'd done, and she was ready to call in every favor she had to in order to help him. Who would've believed, Casey thought to herself as she tossed and turned, Casey Novak, proponent to the temporary insanity plea. You'll never hear the end of this one.

But Casey didn't care what helping Seth did to her reputation. He needed her, and she wasn't about to abandon him. A part of Casey wanted to feel hurt that Seth had left her all alone in the hospital, but considering Huang's diagnosis, she couldn't find it within herself to blame him. She could only wait for the hours to pass until she saw Seth, so they could get to the bottom of things together. Casey's mind raced as she lay in bed, uncomfortable and distressed. Tomorrow, she thought, staring out her bedroom window at the cloudy night sky. It will all be better tomorrow.