Author's Note: My thanks to the people who took the time to write reviews of this story. As always, I appreciate them.

Allegiance

Chapter Three: Any Port In A Storm

Casey was wrapped in the strong but tender embrace of Elliot, her hero, and her protector. She felt so warm and safe; Casey treasured every moment of simply being in his presence. Yet even while she basked in his brilliant radiance, there was something pestering at her. Casey wasn't sure what it was, but as she remained secure in Elliot's arms, something diverted her attention, forcing her to glance over her shoulder.

She looked up and saw the window in her office. It was dark outside. But Casey thought it was strange how the darkness outside the window was a complete and utter blackness. Thanks to the streetlights and illuminated buildings, it was never truly dark in New York City at night. And yet it was so black beyond her windows that it looked as if someone had draped an obsidian curtain in front of the glass.

And then Casey was startled when the window in her office exploded in a shower of broken glass. And the cold, foul blackness that was once outside was now in her office, reaching for her with huge, claw-like hands. When one of the claws, with its razor-sharp talons, came right at her face, Casey let out a—

—horrified cry, but Elliot was there, and he held her hands firmly as he said, "Easy, easy! You're all right. Casey, you're all right, now."

'A dream, it was just a bad dream,' Casey thought, as she stared in disbelief at him. 'But what the hell's Elliot doing in my apartment?'

Then Casey got a good look at her surroundings, and saw that she was not home, but in a hospital room. And it all came flooding back to her like an ominous dark tide. "Oh God," she dismally whispered. "It really happened, didn't it?"

"Afraid so," Elliot said compassionately. He released her hands and leaned against the railing of the hospital bed. "How are you feeling?"

Casey delicately touched the bandages on the side of her forehead. The wound underneath still felt sore.

"You had some glass fragments embedded in there," Elliot gently told her. "But they got it all out. They want to keep you here overnight, just for observation."

Her mind flashed back to the moment in her office when Elliot tackled her to the floor. She recalled wondering at that time if he had gone insane, until the windows exploded. She reached out and firmly gripped his hand. "You saved my life! Thank you! I also should apologize," Casey added with a gasp, her face growing red with embarrassment. "I really freaked out on you there, didn't I?"

"Casey, no, don't worry about it," Elliot told her. "Really."

She nodded, still feeling stunned at how her world had literally been torn apart in an instant. Elliot leaned against the side of the bed with his hands clasped together. A trim, muscular man in his mid-forties, he had his dark brown hair cut almost crew cut short. Casey also noted that Elliot had stripped off his suit jacket and tie. She saw dried blood splatter on his shirt and realized with horror that it was her blood. She had bled on the very same man whom she had spent the last few weeks working up the nerve to ask out for a date.

'Not very romantic, Casey,' she thought ruefully.

"You sure you're ok?" Elliot asked her.

'I'm lying here, completely naked—save for a flimsy hospital gown—underneath these bed sheets, and the man whom I have a major crush on is barely a foot away from me,' Casey thought, 'but other than that, I'm doing just fine, thanks!'

"Yes, thanks to you," she replied. "Do you know who it was who shot at me?"

"No we don't. But we have a lead, a damn good one. In fact, if you're up to it, there's something we'd like to ask you regarding the sniper."

"Go right ahead," Casey said.

"I don't have the photo," Elliot muttered, almost to himself, as he stood up. "Cragen and everybody else are outside. They're real anxious to see you, anyway. Would it be ok if…?"

"Bring 'em on in," Casey said, despite the fact that the last thing she wanted to deal with right now was a roomful of people. She steeled herself as Elliot came back with Cragen, Munch, Fin and Olivia.

"How are you, Casey?" Cragen asked, as they all circled around her bed.

"Better, thanks, Don," Casey replied. "But if you're here because you want me to get you a warrant, you're shit out of luck, 'cause I'm taking the night off."

They all laughed uproariously at that—all except Cragen, who had a small smile on his face. He seemed to understand that she was just putting up a brave face for all of them. He merely nodded with fatherly satisfaction at her.

"You up to answering some questions?" Cragen asked.

"As I said to Elliot, go right ahead." Casey frowned. "I have to admit that I'm surprised you guys caught this case. I mean it's not a sex crime."

"Yeah, we tangled with the Major Case Squad over this one at first," Cragen said. "But that was before we caught a rape/murder. This one." Cragen gave her a photograph of a young Asian woman, early twenties, with black hair and a broad smile. She appeared to be on vacation somewhere, for there was a beach behind her and she was clad in a bikini top. "Have you ever seen this woman before?"

Casey shook her head. "No, I don't recognize her."

"Her name's Jeanne Lu," Cragen said. "She was murdered two days ago…apparently by the same man who shot at you today."

"CSU found a carrying case for an AR-15 at the dead woman's home," Fin said.

"Which is the exact same type of weapon used in your attempted shooting," Olivia added. "The sniper left it behind. CSU tested it, and the ballistics match perfectly."

"Did the sniper also shoot at Jeanne Lu from a distance?" Casey asked.

"No," Munch said. "It basically looks like she just picked this guy up and brought him back home for a roll in the hay, when he turned nasty on her. He injected her with a tranquilizer, removed her clothes and bound her with duct tape. The problem for our boy was, she woke up, got herself free, and tried to make a run for it, forcing him to shoot her before playtime was over."

"What about the rifle case that he left at her house," Casey said. "Get any prints off that?"

"It's perfectly clean," Olivia glumly replied. "As is the gun, no prints on that, either."

"Are we sure Jeanne Lu had no connection with this guy other than a one night stand gone wrong?" Elliot asked.

"Jeanne Lu worked as a secretary for an electronics firm over on Broadway," Fin said. "When Munch and I canvassed her family and friends, there was nothing to suggest that she hung out with gangs, or the like. She led a regular nine to five existence."

Olivia shook her head thoughtfully. "So we're dealing with a contract killer who kills women before a hit as a way of working up his—" Olivia stopped herself, as her eyes grew very wide. "Casey, I'm so sorry! It's just that I'm so used to talking over a case with you that I completely forgot…."

"That I'm the victim this time," Casey finished in a somber whisper. Her stomach had shrunk into a cold, tight knot as she gazed down at her hands, which were clasped firmly together before her. "It's all right. Um, I don't know why this is happening to me," she said, her voice flooding with emotion. "I-I mean, all of my cases for the past two years have been exclusively with the SVU, and…and…I can't imagine who would…want to…."

No longer able to view any of this objectively, Casey placed her head in her hands and let out a heavy sigh in an effort to keep from crying. When she felt a hand gently touch her right shoulder, for a spilt second she hopefully thought it was Elliot—until she realized that he was on her left. She glanced up to see that it was Cragen who comforted her.

"It's going to be all right," he said resolutely. "The Major Case Squad is looking into all of your prior cases to see who might have a grudge against you, and we're chasing down some solid leads on our end. We're going to get this bastard, Casey. Until then you'll be in protective custody. There will be a uniformed guard outside your room here all the time, and we'll make the further arrangements needed once you're released tomorrow. But for now, why don't we let you get some rest?"

Casey abruptly felt bone-tired once more, and nodded her agreement. After saying their goodbyes, the SVU team all left her room, save for Elliot, who hung back and asked, "Do you want me to stay?"

He looked as exhausted as Casey felt. And as much as she wanted him to remain with her, to hold her, to simply comfort her with his presence, Casey realized it would be selfish of her to ask. "You get some rest too," she told him. "And get out of that shirt."

Elliot glanced down at the bloodstains on his shirt as if seeing them for the first time. He put on his suit jacket with an uneasy air, and then he said, "You'll be all right?"

"I'll be fine," Casey assured him, trying to put as much courage in her voice as she could dredge up.

"You need anything, anything at all, I'm just a phone call away," Elliot said, as he strode towards the door. "I mean it, call me day or night."

Casey flashed him a broad smile as he left. Then once she was alone in the hospital room, her smile faded. Casey then rolled over on her side and began to cry softly.

NYPD Safe House. Undisclosed Location. Friday, April 24.

Munch stood by the door and watched as Casey entered the safe house and glanced around at her surroundings. The place was on the top floor of an old apartment building, and judging from the dust covering the furniture, it had not been used in a while. Taking off her windbreaker, Casey was casually dressed in jeans and a sweater, with her hair pulled back from her face into a ponytail. Casey still wore bandages over the wounds on the side of her face.

Yet even with the bandages, even dressed down as she was, Munch still thought she looked gorgeous. Casey radiated an inner beauty that Munch had always admired from afar. And standing here, alone with her in this apartment, felt a little overwhelming for him. Still, he was a professional, and as such, Munch had to push whatever private feelings he had for Casey aside so that he could perform his duty, which was to protect her.

She slowly walked around the living room of the safe house, idly brushing dust off of the coffee table. Casey glanced at him and said, "You know, I've hidden plenty of witnesses here, but I've never expected that I'd be using it for myself."

"I know it's not much, but—" Munch started to say.

Casey shook her head. "No, it's a lot, John. I mean I'm alive and safe, right? That's the important thing."

'There she goes again,' Munch thought, 'putting on the brave face.' He knew it was just an act on Casey's part, but that didn't make him think any less of her. If anything, he admired Casey more than ever. Munch wanted nothing more than to walk over right now and give her a big hug and tell her that everything would be all right, and….

'All right, knock it off,' Munch chided himself. 'You're protecting this woman. So stay professional, you dumb schmuck!'

Casey leaned up against the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen and let out a heavy exhale of air. "You know, I was just wondering about how good I'd be at selling insurance."

When Munch only stared at her in confusion, Casey's voice broke with emotion as she added, "Alex Cabot worked at an insurance company when she was in Witness Protection, didn't she? Before she came out and testified against her assassin? I'd wonder how I'd do working a job like that when I'm in Witness Protection."

'Oh, to hell with professionalism!' Munch thought. He went over to Casey, sat her down on the sofa and held her hand. "Listen to me, nothing is set in stone right now," he told her. "We've got a lot of good people looking into this. Both the SVU and the Major Case Squad are working this case from both ends. Remember what Cragen said last night? Well, he was right: we will find this bastard, Casey."

"And what if it turns out to be the same damn drug lords who forced Alex into hiding?" Casey asked, her eyes tearing up. "I've recently put away one of their assassins, John. If it's them, if they're after me, then they won't stop hunting me until I'm…I'm—"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Munch said, cutting her off. "But until then, no more talk about that stuff. We're still not sure who's responsible for this, and you're not in permanent hiding yet, so let's just take this one step at a time. Take it one day at a time, ok?"

"Ok, John," Casey said with a nod of her head.

She was one of the few people who referred to him by his first name, and Munch loved hearing her say it. He gave her his handkerchief to wipe away her tears. She took it, and then paused and said, "This is clean, isn't it?"

"Of course it's clean," Munch replied, deadpan. "I've only blown my nose with it once or twice…or was that three times? I forget…."

He got the response he wanted when Casey burst into laughter.

Fin walked in carrying Casey's suitcases. With his goatee and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, he always looked more like a gang-banger than a cop. "Oh, this is great," he said with mock anger. "You leave me literally holding the bags so you can cuddle with the pretty ADA!"

Casey started laughing even harder again as Munch slowly shook his head at Fin. "Are you saying you want some help?" he said. "Because if you do, I'd be glad to give you a hand."

"You? Doing hard labor? Yeah, right!" Fin replied with a wave of his hand. He grew serious as he added, "Nah, I'm done anyway. Besides, we got a call from Warner. She wants to see us about Lu's body."

"Both of us?" Munch said, hiding the disappointment in his voice. He had been hoping to stay with Casey for a little while longer.

"Yeah, well, it is our case," Fin reminded him. "Besides, Larry's already here. He's got the first shift with Casey."

"You mean Larry is my first babysitter," Casey wryly said. She handed Munch back his handkerchief.

As he reluctantly got off the sofa, Munch waved his hands at the handkerchief. "No, you keep it. It's got ADA germs on it now."

Casey glared at him. "Wha…well, thank you very much, John!"

"Hey, Larry," Fin said, as a uniformed officer entered the room. "Thanks for taking the first shift, man."

"Yeah, Larry, thanks," Casey sarcastically joined in. "That is, if you don't mind my ADA germs."

"Uh…yeah…" Officer Lawrence Kolinsky stared at all of them as if they were insane. "Um, I'll be in the next room, Ms. Novak."

Just as Munch turned to leave with Fin, he felt a slight tug on his arm. It was Casey, who squeezed his hand and whispered, "Seriously, John: thanks for being there for me."

"Anytime," he said softly. "I'll see you later."

Once outside, as he and Fin walked to their car, Munch's hand still tingled from Casey's touch. As he got in the passenger seat, Munch stared down at his palm and imagined it touching Casey's hand once more. He then imagined gently touching Casey's hair, and then caressing the smooth silky skin of her face, and….

'Oh, whom are you kidding?' he abruptly told himself. 'She's a beautiful, vibrant young woman. What would she want with an old geezer like yourself?'

He looked over and saw Fin was staring at him strangely. "What's with you?" Fin asked.

"Nothing," Munch said defensively. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, right," Fin muttered. He rolled his eyes as he started the car. "Never mind, then."

'All right, enough,' Munch told himself. 'Just forget about Casey for now and get on with the business of the job. Stay focused, Munch, just stay focused.'

However, despite his best efforts, Munch could not stop thinking about Casey for the rest of that day.

To Be Continued...