One at a time, she and Olivia traversed the hallway outside the room Bobby was in. It was like walking into a gale-force wind that teased and caressed places the wind was never supposed to touch. Alex had to dig her fingernails into the palm of her hand to keep from breaking down the door. She emerged weak and breathless on the other side.

"It's definitely getting worse," Olivia observed. Alex glanced at her watch; nine twenty, almost forty minutes since she'd hung up on him. What must he be thinking? That they'd given up, abandoned him, left him to die - She jumped as Olivia gently touched her shoulder. "It's this way," she said, nodding her head to the right.

The farther down the corridor they went, the easier it became to breathe. Once they passed through the last metal door and stepped into lockup, the curse was barely more than a whisper on the back of Alex's neck. Standing on chairs, she and Olivia hung the curtain at the end of the corridor, giving at least the semblance of privacy. When that was finished, Alex's eyes swept along the wall near the ceiling.

"Are these the only two cameras?" she asked. Olivia nodded. She dragged a chair over and climbed up, unplugging the camera from the feed wire. "There." She climbed down and looked around, trying to foresee any possible hang-ups. As long as Bobby wasn't too ... Bobby, everything should go as well as it could, under the circumstances.

"You know," Olivia said hesitantly, "maybe you should let me do this." Alex raised her eyebrows. "Don't misunderstand, I really don't want to. The thought makes my skin crawl - "

"He's not an ogre," Alex hissed between her teeth. Olivia shook her head.

"That's not what I meant. I meant the incubus, the curse, not Goren. I meant being powerless against it."

"Then why would you offer?"

"Because, you have your partnership to consider, your friendship. That could be destroyed if you have sex with him."

"But ..." Alex sputtered, "but it's not like - "

"I know, you're doing it to save his life, but you need to realize that it could kill your relationship." She was right, and it wasn't fair. Alex's eyes strayed to the cell they'd prepared, the clean blankets on the narrow, hard cot, and winced at the image of her and Bobby sharing the most intimate of moments with their eyes closed and faces averted.

"I can't ask you to do this," Alex said after a moment. "I can't ... let you do it. Or anyone else. He's my partner." She glanced at Olivia, not sure how she could better explain herself. This was something she had to do. The taller woman nodded slowly. She understood. Alex sighed. "Come on, I need one last favor from you."

"Oh?"

"I need you to explain this to Bobby. I can't, he knows me too well; he'd know instantly that something was going on."

"And you think I can keep this from him? How?"

"You're going to lie."

Alex finished changing and cinched tight the belt of her long, black coat. Her clothes were neatly folded in a brown paper bag in the corner of the women's restroom. She stood just inside the door and waited for Olivia to make the call.

"Hello, Detective Goren? It's Olivia Benson ... I'm fine, thank you for asking. Listen, we were thinking that perhaps you'd be more comfortable in a - a holding cell. It sounds horrible, but there's a bed and running water ..." She was silent for a while. "You're right, it is effecting us, but it's not your faul - Alex? She's in the ladies room. Well, how do you think she's doing? This is killing her ... You know what I meant, Detective Goren ... All right; Bobby." Alex heard her sigh. "Yes, we're all going to leave the building, and once you get to your new room ... okay, cell, you call and we'll come back in. Yes, when you leave the room you're in, go left, then right. There's a heavy metal door. Go through it and we've made up the last cell on the right for you. It's not exactly home, but ... No, I haven't seen your apartment," she said with a laugh. The laugh trailed off and died. "I - I suppose I would ... Now stop that, Bobby. You're not going to die. We're really close on this - " Alex eased the door open a bit further and leaned out. As she watched, Olivia reached up and wiped a tear off her cheek with the back of her hand. " - It shouldn't be much longer at all ... Yeah, you caught me again. Must be why they made you a detective ... Yeah. Five minutes. Bye." She hung up the phone. The room was completely silent.

"All right everybody," Alex said as she stepped out of the bathroom, "outside. We don't need an incident here." She'd noticed that the more upset she got, the more like a hard-ass she sounded. Tonight was no exception. She was the last to file out, casting one lingering look around the room while Captain Cragen held the door for her.

Disclaimer - Law and Order: CI and SVU, and the characters protrayed therin, are the property of Dick Wolf and Assoc., but Detective Sledge is all mine, Mwa ha ha ha! Er, ahem ... please don't sue.