Disclaimer: Maybe Dick'll loan 'em to me.

And to the person who told me to get rid of Casey: I can't. I appreciate your review and I always want to make my readers happy, but I can't get rid of Casey. I love her too much. Yes I love Alex more (a LOT more), but Casey's good, too. I like her, maybe because she frequently reminds me of myself…

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Elliot was sent to Queens SVU to get information on one of Jennings' victims. He knew they had done a complete and thorough investigation, and that they weren't going to be happy about him dropping in on them, but he wanted to see the details. Jennings had been apprehended in his district, making him his suspect. Elliot wanted to make sure he had everything he needed to put this man away for life. He just hoped he wouldn't be thrown out of the Queens squad room before he had the chance to explain.

As soon as he walked in, he knew he wasn't welcome. The air suddenly took on an unpleasant, almost hostile feel, and he knew it was because of him. He was invading their turf, and he knew he would feel exactly the same way if it had been one of them walking into his squad room. None of that mattered now. All that mattered at this moment was the Jennings case, and any information he could acquire.

"Hey guys," he said defensively as they all angrily approached him. He felt like a small mouse entering a lion's den. They all looked ready to pounce at any second. "Sorry to barge in like this, but I need some information on one of your recent cases."

"This better be one hell of an important case, Stabler," one of the detectives said as he approached Elliot, looking like he was ready to take a swing.

"Cool it, Ruzzick," Elliot said, trying to remain calm. He didn't have time to fight them right now. "I'm trying to make sure our ADA can send a certain child rapist to jail for the rest of his life. I need to know who worked the Rachel Hower case."

"Why?"

Elliot was fuming. Why were they making this so difficult? Yes it was their precinct, but it was his damn case! He needed this information as quickly as possible. "Because we think we found the man who hurt her. We also have evidence to suggest that she wasn't his only victim. We think he had at least twenty – two others. The descriptions are all the same. Our ADA was successful in remanding him until we go to court, but we need as much information as we can get, and we want to make sure it's all correct. I want to make sure this guy never gets back out on the streets, and I will die before I let him get off on some technicality."

A shy, younger detective standing in the back of the room slowly stood up. "I'm John Samuels. My partner, Detective Rightler, and I worked the case, but we never got anywhere with it. You sure it's the same guy?"

Elliot sighed sadly. "Looks that way."

He nodded. "Then let's go. I want this to end quickly. I want to be there when they put that needle in his arm."

Elliot hesitated. "Needle? Look Samuels, I can see that you're relatively new to all this, but you should know that rape and attempted murder aren't death penalty cases. They sure as hell should be, but –"

"You mean you don't know?"

Elliot narrowed his eyebrows "Know what?"

He turned around to face Elliot and frowned. "The man who raped and stabbed Rachel Hower also raped and stabbed her sister. Rebecca didn't make it."

Elliot felt the color drain from his face. "We need to do this now. I want this girl's information and id yesterday. The quicker we finish this and get all the facts together, the quicker we can nail this bastard."

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Jess parked her car and quickly ran inside. She wasn't in nearly as much of a hurry as she had been the last time Alex had called her, but she still didn't want to keep her waiting. She even smiled a bit as she took the elevator up to Alex's floor. Alex had called her, needed her. Allen was the only other person to have ever done that before. It was nice to feel needed. It meant she was important to someone.

"You really didn't need to come over so quickly," Alex said sternly as she opened the door and ushered Jess inside. "You could have finished whatever it was that you were doing and then come over."

Jess laughed. "Yeah, sitting on my couch watching reruns of Full House and Gilmore Girls while pigging out on Oreos and potato chips is so much more important than coming over here." She smiled and shook her head. "Relax Alex. You didn't interrupt anything important. I'm glad you called."

Alex smiled gratefully. She had known when she called Jess that she would probably come over as quickly as she could, but she still felt bad. Jess had a life of her own, and she hated that she kept pulling her away from it. "Is Allen okay with you coming over again? I hate that I pulled you away from him like this."

Jess shrugged, "He's in Chicago. He left last night."

Alex detected a hint of sadness in Jess' voice, and prayed everything was okay between the two of them. "Chicago, huh? What's he doing there?"

Jess nodded. "Business. Some company saw some of our brochures and apparently wants us to make a twenty – five page booklet for them. Allen's out there now discussing all the logistics and finances and…well everything businessy. He should be home in two days." She paused and looked down to her lap. "I hope he's home in two days."

"Hey, cheer up," Alex said, now certain something was definitely wrong. "This sounds like good news. A huge company in Chicago is interested in your work, Jess! You must be pretty damn good at what you do." Alex noticed Jess smile sadly. Something wasn't right. Jess should be happy about this. Things like this didn't happen everyday. So why did Jess seem so upset about the opportunity of a lifetime? Alex put her hand on Jess' shoulder and prayed everything was okay with Allen. "Spill. What's wrong?"

Jess shook her head and tried to walk away, but Alex quickly grabbed her shoulder. Jess brought her arms up across her chest and squeezed as tightly as she could. She hung her head in defeat, desperately trying to hide from Alex. "Nothing," she lied. Why did Alex have to be so damned concerned? Why did she have to care so much? "I'm fine."

"Liar," Alex said firmly, yet lovingly.

"Look, just forget it, okay? I'm fine." She tried once again to pull free from Alex's grasp, but Alex refused to let go of her shoulder. She closed her eyes again and tried not to cry. Alex was going to break her if she didn't let go of her shoulder soon, and that was the last thing she wanted. Alex had called her – needed her – now wasn't the time to lose it.

Alex spun her around and hugged her. Jess tried to fight her off, tried to pull free from her grasp, but Alex wasn't letting to. "You're not fine, Jess," she said softly. "I've already told you once that you're a terrible liar. Don't make me tell you again. Talk to me, Jess. What's wrong?"

Jess let her head fall forward and rested it on Alex's shoulder as Alex gently rubbed her back. Damn this woman is amazing, Jess thought. I can't lose her. She shook her head, annoyed that she was feeling the way she was. "This is going to sound so incredibly stupid, but…well, if he stays in Chicago longer than planned, he's going to miss my birthday. God I must sound like such a selfish little brat, but I really need him, Alex. I'm such an idiot. I begged him to go, urged him to go. I told him this was an opportunity we shouldn't miss. Now I just want him to come home. It's just that, well he always makes me feel so special on my birthday. He makes me excited for the next one. Growing up, I always hated them. My parents always just used them as an excuse to invite their favorite people over so they could climb up the political and social ladders. They spent nearly two million dollars on my thirteenth birthday party and invited almost three hundred people. I swear I only knew about twenty of them." She sighed sadly. "I was born into an incredibly wealthy family, I did my research. I know how much your family is worth. I was adopted into an even wealthier one. When my parents died, I inherited nearly forty – two million dollars. It took me months before I told Allen how much I was worth…" her voice trailed off.

Alex nodded and continued gently rubbing Jess' back and combing her fingers through her hair. She remembered the effect it had had on her when Olivia had done it, and she hoped it was doing the same for Jess. She knew what those "birthday" parties were like. People everywhere, watching your every move, waiting for you to make a mistake. One wrong move and your parents' lives were ruined forever. That was a hell of a lot of responsibility for a kid. She smiled. "So I guess you'd agree with me when I say that money doesn't always buy happiness."

Jess laughed as she wiped away a few tears. "It's about damn time I heard somebody else say that." She smiled, glad that Alex knew and understood where she was coming from. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about my family earlier. I don't exactly like to go around and profess to everyone how much I'm worth. I guess you know that growing up rich isn't always easy. People always wanted to be friends with me just because I had money. I've learned not to tell people until I know they liked me for me. it makes it hard as hell to make friends, but I'm tired of people only wanting me for my money."

Alex smiled. She had always had a hard time trusting people for those very same reasons. Living in New York, where everybody knew how much her family was worth, was difficult. She couldn't hide her wealth. She just had to trust people when they told her she was more important than her money. That didn't happen very often. Once people found out she was a Cabot, they usually befriended her because they were after something. "It's hard, growing up like that," she said understandingly. "But it really makes you appreciate those who love you for you." Alex told her. She thought about Olivia. She really does love me for me. It's actually not the money she's after. She smiled and relished in the fact that Olivia was in her life. "Look," she said to Jess, trying to change the subject. This wasn't supposed to be a day of tears and heartache. "What do you say we order some Chinese and waste away the day watching cheesy comedies?"

Jess smiled and wiped away a few more tears. "I think that sounds like a great idea. I was getting kind of lonely anyway. I'm really glad you called me."

Alex's eyes widened with concern. "Jess, you should have called me. I would have come right over." She hugged her again. Damn I think I've given and received more hugs in the past two days than in my entire life, she thought. "This relationship isn't a one way street, you know. You can call me, too. I know that I can depend on you – you've definitely proven that – but you can depend on me, too."

"Thank you," Jess said softly as a tear slid down her cheek. She went to wipe it away but Alex held her hand down, telling her to just let it fall. "I think I needed to hear that." She shook her head, trying to push out all the negative thoughts and remain positive. She wanted this to be a good day, one she spent with a new friend. "I'm sorry. Today should be fun. Let's order that Chinese."

"Sweet and sour chicken?" Alex asked, taking a guess at what Jess wanted.

"My favorite."

"Damn," Alex said as she picked up the phone to order. "You really are my sister's kid. It was her favorite, too."

There was a definite sadness in Alex's voice, and Jess could tell that she was trying desperately to hide it. What the hell had happened to Alex? She wanted to know so she could try to help, but she knew better than to pressure her into talking. She would talk when she was ready. She smiled. "Well your sister had good taste."

"Yeah," Alex said as she smiled sadly and ordered.

The food arrived quicker than Jess had expected. "Didn't you just call them like, twenty minutes ago?" she asked and laughed as she pulled two plates out of the cupboard. "It always takes at least an hour for Chinese to get to my place!"

Alex laughed. "Chinese is my comfort food," she confessed. "I'm an incredibly frequent customer. They're number three on my speed dial, behind Olivia and Casey, thought when I find the time to do it, they're moving to number four. You get spot number three. Anyways, yea, they love me there, so they always put my order in front."

Jess smiled when Alex told her she was putting her on speed dial. "Well, then, I'll have to get you to order for me. Let's eat, I'm starving!"

They sat on the couch with their plates in their laps. After going through Alex's entire DVD collection – well over two hundred choices – they had finally decided on "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway." They knew it wasn't exactly the cheesy comedy Alex had originally suggested, but it was definitely funny enough to put both women in a good mood. The jokes kept them laughing so much that they could barely keep their food in their mouths. Jess had even shot a good amount of water out her nose. She was glad to see Alex so happy and laughing so freely. Alex felt the same way about Jess, though neither of them said a word.

When the movie ended, Jess stood up and offered to do the dishes. After many arguments and counterarguments, Jess finally won. She grabbed Alex's dishes and headed off to the kitchen, leaving Alex to sit and relax on the couch. She quickly loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. She looked out into the living room and saw Alex, sitting on the couch and looking bored as hell. She cocked her head, "Do you have the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies? I know a pretty good recipe."

Alex smiled, glad for a distraction from her boredom. She had been afraid her mind would wander into a territory she didn't want to enter for the moment. "If I do, they'll all be in the cabinet above the sink. I actually think I might have everything, though I may be short on sugar. I like a lot of it in my coffee every morning."

"I'll check," Jess said as she turned to face the sink. She rolled her eyes as she looked up at the high cabinet. Images of falling pots and pans flashed into her mind. She laughed and opened the cabinet door. What is this, the chocolate chip cookie cabinet? She wondered as she saw everything she needed. She pulled down the brown sugar, then the chocolate chips, the vanilla, and the granulated sugar. All that was left was the flour. It was in the back. She stood on her toes and reached as high as she could, but her fingers only grazed the edge of the bag. She rested her hand on the counter to give her leverage and jumped. She almost had it. She just needed to try one more time. She jumped again, grabbed the bag, and pulled on it. The sack of flour tipped over and fell on top of her, hitting her on the head and completely covering her with white powder. "Sonovabitch!" she muttered.

Alex looked up and started laughing hysterically. She walked over and shook her head. "You know, I'm a few inches taller than you. All you had to do was ask for help."

"What is it with you tall people and putting things on high shelves?"

"What?"

jess shook her head and tried to dust herself off. "Never mind." She brushed off as much flour as she could before deciding she desperately needed a shower. "I left my bag in my car, too," she mumbled jokingly.

"I'll give you a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Go take your shower. I'll sweep all this up."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Alex said, smirking. "This just made my day."

"Oh, shut up!" Jess said as she pulled a handful of flour from her hair and flung it at Alex. She jumped out of the way and ran to the bathroom before Alex had the chance to retaliate. When she opened the closet door, she smiled. Alex had kept it organized. She grabbed a towel and climbed into the shower, praying it didn't take her too long to wash all of the flour out of her hair.

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Casey pulled into the parking garage and turned off her car. She grabbed Alex's file, but she couldn't make herself get out of the car, not yet. She closed her eyes and let a few more tears fall. Alex didn't deserve this – nobody deserved this. Nobody deserved to go through the pain Alex had gone through. She knew that Alex didn't trust easily, and she hated that she knew something so personal before she was told. She hated that Alex was never going to be able to trust her so completely that she would tell her herself. In her mind she replayed those early days when Alex had first returned. She had been so scared that Alex would see her as a huge failure. To her surprise, Alex had seen things much differently.

"So, I guess you're going to be my boss now," Casey said when Alex walked into her office. "Everybody's always talked so highly of you. You have some impossibly large shoes to fill, Ms. Cabot."

Alex laughed. This was awkward. She was talking to the woman who had replaced her, and she was now this woman's boss. Casey had originally told Alex she could have her old job back because of how much she obviously meant to everyone, but Alex refused. She had an even better job now. She knew it had taken everyone a long time to warm up to Casey Novak, but that had actually kind of made her happy. It meant they remembered her. Still, it wasn't Casey's fault that she was in the position she was in. Alex met Casey's nervous eyes. "Please, Casey, call me Alex. I may be your boss but we only have to be formal around clients and my boss. Besides, from what I've heard, you're doing a pretty damn good job around here."

Casey rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, well, I doubt I'll ever be able to fill your shoes. It's okay though. You're good Miss – er – Alex, probably the best." She paused, hating that what she was about to say was going to sound more personal than she wanted to share, but also knowing that she wanted Alex to hear it. "It's going to be an honor working for you. Thanks for letting me keep my job."

The two hadn't bonded immediately. It had actually taken several months before they ever met to talk about something other than work. When that had happened, however, the friendship grew quickly. They grew to love each other like sisters, and frequently found themselves joking about past cases and stupid criminals.

Casey wiped the tears from her eyes and climbed out of her car. It was now or never. "God, help me," she said as she took a deep breath and walked inside, praying she wasn't ruining one of the best friendships she'd ever had.

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Ohhhhh, the angst that is coming! T'will be more than you can possibly imagine.

I'm so cruel, but there is happiness ahead as well, I promise.