Disclaimer: Dick owns 'em.

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Olivia walked into the squad room with the biggest fake smile she could muster plastered on her face. The last thing she wanted was to relive everything that had just happened. She didn't want it to be real, didn't want Alex to be hurting like she was. She sat down at her desk and sighed, then opened one of the files and tried to concentrate.

Elliot knew something was wrong the moment he saw her walk in. Usually she would at least smile and acknowledge those around her, but this time she didn't. She just went right to her desk and got to work. That wasn't like her. He poured her a cup of coffee and put it in front of her. "Liv," he said gently, "You okay?"

She looked up, not really prepared for him to think something was wrong. "Hmm? Oh, yea. I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like hell. Is everything okay? It was Alex that called yesterday, wasn't it? Is she okay? Is something wrong?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and smiled. Elliot had a terrible habit of asking a million questions before waiting for an answer. "Geez Elliot, one question at a time."

"Sorry."

She sighed and took a sip of coffee. "It's okay. To answer your questions, yes I'm okay. I didn't sleep well last night. Yes, the phone call yesterday was about Alex…" she hesitated, knowing she couldn't tell Elliot everything. "Elliot, can you promise that what I'm about to tell you stays between us?"

"Of course."

"I mean if Alex finds out-"

"Liv, it's me. I won't tell anyone."

Olivia nodded. "That call I got yesterday was from Alex's niece…yea, her niece," she said when she saw Elliot's confused expression. "El, Alex had an older sister who was raped and later killed in a car accident. I've known that for a wile. What I didn't know was that those two events happened about a year apart."

"Wow," Elliot said, completely at a loss for words."

Olivia nodded. "The girl's name is Jessica and she's almost twenty-five. She showed up yesterday out of nowhere."

Elliot almost laughed in surprise. "She didn't even bother to call? How pissed was Alex?"

"Surprisingly, Alex seems pretty okay with it. She really wants to get to know Jess. I think it just took her by surprise and a lot of emotions came at her all at once." Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, cursing herself for what she was about to tell Elliot, but knowing that she had to tell someone she trusted, and he was that person. "Alex…she's going through a lot right now. She tried to tell Max something last night-I can't tell you what-and, well, he left her."

"That bastard," Elliot said angrily. "I knew she was too good for him. Do I need to go kick his ass, knock some sense to him…make sure he knows what he's missing?"

Olivia laughed. Elliot loved Alex like a sister. She knew hearing that Max left her enraged him. "No, I think we can just leave him alone. I actually think she's a little relieved that he left her. It gives us time to…"

Elliot grinned stupidly. "Are you two getting back together?"

"I think so. We're taking it slowly. Alex has a lot to deal with right now."

"Liv, that's great! I'm so happy for you."

She smiled nervously. "There's just one problem."

"What?"

"Jessica."

Elliot's face tensed. "Did she say something? Does she hate you two because of this?" He could feel his anger rising. He hated people that judged others. "I swear if she said something I'll-"

"Elliot, chill. She doesn't know. I did a background check on her and her family. I didn't find anything on her but her parents both have fairly lengthy rap sheets. They've been arrested several times for destruction of property…El, all of their victims were gay. They held a lot of anti-gay meetings and stuff. They…they're her parents, and I know how much Alex wants to get to know her and…I swear if she…I mean, I-"

Elliot put his arm around her. They had been partners for six years now, and he loved her. He never thought he'd be happy with a female partner, but now, he wouldn't trade her for anyone in the world. She was his best friend. Anything that caused her pain caused him pain. "There are a lot of bad people out there, Liv," he told her. "But there are also a lot of good people. Focus on that. You said you didn't find anything on her?"

Olivia shook her head and wiped away a tear. "She's never even gotten a parking ticket. Her record's squeaky clean."

That made Elliot feel a little better. "Then maybe she doesn't feel the same way as her parents do-"

"Did." Olivia interrupted.

"What?"

"The way her parents did. They died about a year ago."

"Oh. Well, even so, her views may not be the same as her parents'. Give her a chance. You said Alex really wants to get to know her. Don't hate her until you know her Liv. We both know amazing people can come from not so amazing parents."

"Yeah. Alex is taking her to lunch right now actually. I think she might be planning on telling her today."

"Good. I-"

"Stabler, Benson, my office." Captain Cragen announced loudly. He noticed the annoyed looks on their faces but he didn't care. "Now, you two." He said, sternly this time.

They reluctantly followed him into his office and watched as he closed the door and sat down at his desk.

"What 'cha got cap?" Olivia asked anxiously, seeing the apprehensive look on Cragen's face.

"Yea Cap, you seem nervous. What gives?"

When he didn't answer, they got worried. He just sat there, staring between them at the wall behind them. His face didn't give anything away.

"Cap-" Olivia started.

"We found Lorena Bobbit."

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The Olive Garden was surprisingly busy for a late Friday afternoon. Alex looked around and noticed several people she knew on their lunch breaks. She politely acknowledged them as she and Jess followed the waitress to their table, but she didn't want to get dragged into any conversations.

Jess picked up on Alex's uneasiness. "We can go some place else if you want."

"No," Alex said sternly as she sat down. "This is my favorite restaurant. I like it here and I'm tired of running." She hesitated for a minute and sighed. "Jess, if anyone asks-"

"I'll tell them I'm your cousin visiting from Oregon."

Alex smiled. "Thank you."

"Alex, you don't have to-"

"Geez kid, can't you accept a thank you once in a while?" Alex asked laughing. "Every time I try to say 'thank you,' you blow it off. Just accept the damn statement."

"I'm-"

"Hey!" Alex yelled as she held up her hand. "If you finish that apology I'm gonna kick your ass."

Jess laughed. "Are you always this stubborn?"

"I'm a lawyer. It's my job. Are you always this bad at accepting thank yous?"

"Only when they're not necessary."

"Well, we'll have to work on that missy," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

Jess laughed. She wasn't used to being treated this way. Allen was still trying to convince her that he loved her, and they'd been together nearly two years. She just wasn't used to getting compliments. She wasn't really sure how to handle them.

"So," Alex said, breaking the silence. "What are you having?"

"I think I'll get the fettuccini alfredo. You?"

Alex smiled as she saw the waitress approach their table. "She'll have the fettuccini alfredo," she told her. "And I'll have my usual."

Jess noticed that the waitress gave Alex a funny look as she took their menus. "What was that all about?"

"No idea," Alex answered, smiling mischievously.

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Olivia wasn't sure she'd heard him right. She blinked several times and tried to remember to breathe. "Captain? Did you just say what I think you just said?"

He smiled, relief showing all over his face. "Yeah. We found her."

"How?" Elliot asked. "Where was she? Are you sure it's her? We don't have any information about her…how do you know it's her?"

Cragen smiled at Elliot's rambling. He knew he asked more questions than anyone else, and usually didn't stop in between to wait for an answer. He put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down. Somebody ran a red light and hit her. She's at Mercy. They say her injuries aren't life threatening, but they'd like to keep her for a few days. The cops at the scene didn't even know it was her until they smelled something coming from her car. They opened her trunk and found several bags holding…you know…"

They knew. Three years ago they'd gotten a call that a man had been murdered at a cheap motel. When they arrived at the scene, the medical examiner told them that the cause of death was blood loss. Somebody had taken a knife to his penis and completely removed it, taking care to cut where there would be the most blood loss. Since then twenty-two more men had been killed in the same way, all apparently by the same person. There had never been any evidence-not even a hair or a fingerprint from the assailant. They had never had any leads-until now."

"Do you want us to go talk to her?" Elliot asked.

Cragen nodded. "Munch and Fin are talking to all the witnesses we had before-all the people who saw these men before they died. I already called Casey. She's going to meet you there. Hopefully the seven…penises," he said softly, "the cops found will be enough to indict her."

Olivia grabbed her jacket. "I don't think Casey will have any problem getting that warrant." She turned to Elliot. "Let's go nail this bitch."

They left the squad room and got into their car. Elliot drove while Olivia tried to think of how to question her-if they were even allowed to question her. They weren't sure how serious her injuries were. She noticed that Elliot was driving nearly as quickly as he normally did. He seemed a little apprehensive. "El," she said, her voice full of concern. "You okay?"

He shifted uneasily as he pulled into the parking lot. "I guess I just…I mean what she did…it's just wrong."

She smiled and gently patted his thigh. "Yeah, but we're going to make sure she never does it again."

They went inside and saw that Casey was already there waiting for them. She smiled as she walked over. "You two are going to love me.

Olivia laughed. Casey was one of her best friends. She had always been there for her, especially after she and Alex had broken up. Olivia knew she had also been there for Alex, which made her love her even more. Casey and her husband Steve had been such good friends to her in some of her darkest hours. She looked her in the eyes. "We already love you Casey."

"Well now you're going to love me even more."

Elliot rolled his eyes in annoyance. As much as he loved and respected Casey, she annoyed the hell out of him sometimes. He hated when she played games like this. "Just tell us Casey," he said angrily.

Casey was about to say something back to him when she felt Olivia's hand on her arm. She looked over and saw Olivia shake her head slightly, hoping Casey would get the hint that Elliot wasn't in the greatest of moods. She got it. "I got a warrant for her arrest. The judge denied her bail."

Elliot saw the smug look of accomplishment on her face and his anger grew. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "Casey, if that's all you did-"

"Elliot-" Olivia started.

"It's not," Casey said, trying to keep her voice calm. She could see the tension on Elliot's face. This case had really hit him hard. She knew he could be a jerk sometimes, but that was usually what she loved about him. He was a great guy, and a great friend. She smiled reassuringly. "I also got a warrant to search her apartment and a warrant to search her cottage up in Buffalo. We have full access to everything. Plus, she's saying she doesn't want legal representation. She says she wants to represent herself in front of a grand jury. I'll nail her you two. I promise."

"Holy shit," Elliot said, his eyes wide. "Casey, how the hell did you manage-"

Casey closed her eyes and grimaced. "The uh, bags in her trunk…yea, the judge let us go nuts with that. No pun intended. Munch and Fin are looking into her financial records, emails, phone calls, stuff like that. We have units searching both of her residences right now."

Relief flooded over Elliot. He sighed and smiled at her. "Thanks Casey."

She smiled. "You're welcome. And I'm sorry about joking earlier. I was just so excited that we got her. I know you guys have been looking for her for a long time."

"You're a good lawyer, Casey," He told her honestly. "You bug the hell out of me sometimes, but you're good."

"I'll get her Elliot, don't worry."

"I know you will."

The three of them walked down to the woman's room. They planned on taking her statement and officially arresting her. Before they entered the room, Olivia pulled out her cell phone. "I'll be right back. I have to make a quick phone call." She turned around and walked back down the hall.

"She's calling Alex to tell her she'll be late tonight." Elliot told a very confused Casey. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but he was sure that was exactly what she was doing.

Casey grinned. "Are they getting back together? What about Max?"

"I think they're working on some things. You'll have to get the details from them though."

"Max left her, didn't he?"

Elliot's eyes widened. "How the hell did you figure that out?"

Casey laughed. "You said it yourself. I'm good. Besides, I saw how happy Alex was when she was with Olivia. I didn't see that when she was with Max."

Elliot sighed. "I don't think any of us did."

Casey noticed that Elliot seemed upset. "There's more, isn't there? What happened Elliot? Is Alex okay?"

Elliot looked her in the eyes. "I can't tell you Casey. I barely know anything myself. I promised Liv I wouldn't tell anyone."

Casey nodded understandingly. "Then keep that promise. I'll shut up now."

"I'm sure they'll tell us when they're ready."

"Yeah," Casey said, reminding herself to call Alex later on. She hadn't spoken to her in several days and now she regretted it. "For now though, we have someone's ass to put in jail." She noticed Olivia walking back towards them. "Let's do this."