It was funny how not even four hours prior all Olivia could think about was getting some blissful and most welcome shuteye. But now, as she ran her eyes over the IV needle stuck into the back of Casey's left hand and the slim oxygen tube that had been settled under her nose, all she cared about was making sure that Casey was going to be okay.

The whistle in Casey's breath had disappeared after she was given some oxygen in the emergency room and her breathing had become more even and deep after she was given some pain medication. Her fever had made her groggy and somewhat delirious, and she had been going in and out of consciousness the entire time they were in the emergency room. The doctor had awoken her to take some chest X-rays and had admitted her shortly thereafter. Being seen in a New York ER and subsequently admitted in just under three and a half hours was nothing short of a miracle, but it only served to make Olivia realize just how serious Casey's condition was.

Her condition turned out to be a rather acute case of pneumonia. Doctor Sorenson, the doctor who had seen Casey in the emergency room, had told her and Elliot that Casey would be perfectly fine after a course of antibiotics and some rest. Now, Olivia was sitting in the chair next to Casey's bed, gently gripping the ADA's right hand and waiting for her to awaken. Elliot had been standing behind her, but he had gone to the pay phones to call the precinct and keep them updated.

Olivia let out a small sigh and began absentmindedly running her thumb over the back of Casey's hand. Suddenly, Casey's fingers tightened around Olivia's hand. At first, Olivia thought Casey's muscles were twitching in her sleep, but when the ADA started making pained faces and moaning quietly, she knew Casey was starting to stir. Olivia released her grip on Casey's hand and began gently pushing stray locks of hair behind the ADA's ear. "It's okay, sweetheart," she whispered soothingly.

Casey turned her head to the side and took a deep breath in, which caused her face to screw up in pain. Moaning again, she opened her eyes slowly. She glanced around the room, disoriented. It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was, though, what with the white walls all around her and the IV stand next to her. She sighed softly, resting her head back against the pillow, and smiled slightly when she saw Olivia sitting next to her. "Hi."

"Hey," Olivia replied, returning her smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Like an elephant is sitting on my chest." She placed her hands flat on the bed, trying to push herself up a little, and gasped in pain. She quickly lifted her left hand and cradled it in her right. What the hell was the IV needle doing in the back of her hand? "Ow! Damn it!"

"Oh, sorry," Olivia cringed. "I should have warned you. They couldn't get a vein in your arm, so they had to put it there."

"Yeah, I've always had horrible veins," she said with a bitter smile. She glanced over at Olivia and was surprised at the amount of concern on the detective's face. Why was she so worried? After thinking for a quick moment about her chest pains and the trouble she was having breathing, she had a couple of ideas. "Okay, which one? Pneumonia or bronchitis?"

"Pneumonia," Olivia replied. She was trying to keep her voice calm and quiet for Casey's sake, but she was really worried. Casey looked so frail lying in the hospital bed with tubes all over her, and her breathing was getting worse now that she was awake and talking. "How did you know?"

"I had really bad asthma when I was younger. I kind of outgrew it as I got older, but I'm more susceptible to lung infections because of it." Casey's eyes slid half-closed as she was speaking. "I get pneumonia kind of a lot, usually once a year, but I've only been hospitalized for it once before."

"Don't talk as much," Olivia said softly. "You're starting to wheeze again."

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Don't worry about that." Olivia reached out and once again gripped Casey's hand comfortingly.

Casey squeezed Olivia's hand back and let out a small sigh, allowing her eyes to close completely. "I'm really sorry, Olivia."

"Shh, just relax," Olivia whispered. After a few moments, Casey's grip on Olivia's hand loosened and her head settled back further into the pillows. Olivia smiled, slid her hand out from under Casey's, and reached up to feel the ADA's forehead to check her fever. She still felt extremely warm, warmer than Olivia would have liked her to be. Frowning, she brought her hand down and sighed.

"How is she?" Elliot asked as he opened the door to Casey's room.

Olivia turned around and held up her hands, shushing him. "She just went back to sleep."

"Okay, but that doesn't answer my question," Elliot said, whispering.

Smirking at his matter-of-fact attitude, she turned back around and looked down at Casey. "She knows where she is and why she's here. She's in quite a bit of pain and as she was talking, her breathing was getting worse. Her fever's still pretty high, too."

Elliot stood behind Olivia, comfortingly placing his hands on her shoulders. "Listen, Cragen needs at least one of us back. I'll go if you want to stay here with her."

Olivia hesitated a moment, thinking over her options. "Do you mind going without me? I just don't know how much of the conversation we had she's going to remember, and I don't want her to wake up alone. I'll catch a cab back to the precinct once I'm sure she's okay."

"That's perfectly fine," Elliot assured her. "I'll just tell Cragen you're staying with her until she wakes up."

Olivia nodded, taking her seat in the chair next to Casey's bed and once again gripping the ADA's hand. She allowed the concern to show on her face as she heard Elliot's footsteps head towards the door.

"Hey, Liv?"

Olivia turned around in the chair and looked her partner in the eye. "Yeah?"

"She's going to be fine, you know."

"Yeah, I know," she answered with a small smile.

Elliot returned her smile and tiptoed out the door. Olivia sighed and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes while still keeping a tight grip on Casey's hand. Within a few minutes, she had drifted off into a light sleep.

-----

Olivia awoke to Casey mumbling something about bugs. Confused, she opened her eyes and sat up straight in the chair, tightening her hand around the sleeping ADA's. It was obvious Casey was having a nightmare, but her fever and the pain medication were combining to make her next to impossible to awaken.

"Bugs … everywhere," Casey muttered, almost inaudibly. She drew in her breath and consequently moaned in pain. "Make them go away, make them go away."

"They'll go away if you open your eyes," Olivia said gently.

"All over the walls." Casey turned her head to the side and restlessly stretched her legs out under the sheet. "Won't go away."

"Shh." She let go of Casey's hand and instead touched her shoulder comfortingly. "It's all right, Casey."

Casey whimpered in her sleep and shrank away from Olivia's touch. Olivia silently cursed Casey's fever, which was undoubtedly at least contributing to the nightmare. The ADA's teeth were chattering, regardless of the fact that she was sweating and her skin was hot to the touch. "Please make them go away."

Sighing, Olivia shook Casey's shoulder in an attempt to awaken her. "If you open your eyes, they'll go away, Casey, I promise."

Olivia's gentle but insistent voice finally broke through Casey's deep sleep. The ADA wrinkled her nose, took as deep a breath in as she could manage, and forced her eyes open slowly. "Olivia? The bugs were--"

"Shh," Olivia whispered. "It's all right now. You were having a nightmare."

Casey let her breath out, nodded, and shifted position on the bed so she was sitting up a little. "God, that was awful."

"It sounded awful."

"There were all these ants and spiders and roaches all over the walls and floors. And I was the only one who thought it was weird. It was disgusting."

"It was just a dream, hon," Olivia said softly. "I always had the oddest dreams of my life when I had fevers."

"I'm freezing, though" Casey said, frowning. She closed her eyes for a moment and gave a resigned sigh. "That means the fever's pretty bad, right?"

Olivia nodded, giving Casey a comforting smile. "It was over a hundred and four when we got you in here. It's gone down a little since then but it's still really high."

Letting out a small sigh, Casey leaned her head back against the pillows. "It doesn't usually progress this fast. I mean, I was fine this morning. A little wheezy, but fine. After I gave you the warrant, I went back to my office to work on my paperwork and before I knew it, I was falling asleep at my desk."

"When Elliot and I found you, you had totally passed out."

Casey looked up at Olivia, wrinkling her brow in confusion. "Wait, why did you guys come to my office?"

"I tried calling you to give you an update on the case like you had asked me to and when you didn't answer the phone, we decided to stop in and see you." Olivia conveniently left out the part about being annoyed that Casey hadn't answered the phone. "I'm glad we did because you are one sick attorney. Your breathing was so bad it was actually scaring me for a while there."

"I'm so sorry, Olivia--"

"Why are you apologizing?"

Casey shrugged. "Because you're here with me instead of at work and because I scared you."

"Don't worry about any of that." Olivia smiled and gently brushed Casey's hair out of her eyes. It was such a motherly gesture that Casey couldn't help but smile back. "Are you going to be okay if I leave for a second to call Cragen?"

"Go back to work," Casey answered, gesturing with her head towards the door. "I'll be all right."

"Are you sure?"

Casey nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks for staying with me."

"You're quite welcome." Olivia stood up from the chair and gave the ADA a comforting smile. "I'm going to come back after my shift."

"No, you don't have to--"

"I want to," Olivia interrupted. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

Casey wrinkled her brow and frowned. "Am I like, dying and you're not telling me? You seem awfully worried. I get pneumonia every year; this is nothing."

Olivia smirked. "You're the only one I know who could sit there in a hospital bed connected to oxygen, an IV, and an EKG and tell me it's nothing."

A smile spread across Casey's lips as she shifted position in the bed. "I promise, I'm fine." Her breath caught in her throat, causing pain to shoot through her chest muscles. She closed her eyes through the pain and groaned quietly. "Or at least, I will be. A couple days on the medicine and I'll be back to normal."

"Casey, the doctor told me you could be sidelined up to three weeks with this--"

"It's not going to take three weeks."

Olivia just smiled, deciding not to push the conversation on Casey. She figured that the ADA had enough on her mind and could be allowed one night of denial about the seriousness of her situation. "Okay. Get some rest."

"I will," Casey promised.

"You better." Olivia gave Casey one last smile before tiptoeing out of the hospital room. Once out in hallway, Olivia let her breath out and finally let the concern show on her face. Whether Casey wanted to believe it or not, she was quite sick, and the fact that the illness came on so suddenly was making Olivia even more nervous. Once her shift was over, Olivia was going to come back and stay with Casey as long as she could.