As always, thanks for the reviews! Now, what's a good story without angst? That being said, this chapter is mostly angst-y andshort on the EO. And trust me, the thing with Casey isn't just some pointless filler, it will all make sense within the next few chapters. The beginning of this chapter is concerning Olivia talking to Casey about the Reid trial (Remember the last chapter?), just so I don't totally confuse you.
And I definately have to give a huge shout-out to my now official beta reader, Stephanie (a.k.a. frizzyhead), who is so cool for proofreading my chapters, me being the grammar freak I am. ;) Thanks again girl! (I also changed the 'angry' 'perturbed'thing.)
For Time, And Time Alone, Will Show The Just Man, Though Scoundrels Are Discovered In A Day
As Casey sat at her office desk and prepared for tomorrow's trial against Greg Reid, she heard her intercom system beep. She picked up the phone on her desk and held it up to her ear. "Hello, Novak."
"Miss Novak, there's a Mr. Joseph Myers here to see you." Casey recognized the voice on the other end as belonging to the front desk attendant.
"Joey?" She repeated as if she'd heard wrong, her brows furrowing in slight confusion. "What about?"
There was a brief pause before she answered. "He says it's personal."
"All right, send him up."
"Of course, Miss Novak." Casey couldn't help but roll her eyes at the formal response. She'd made numerous attempts to befriend the woman, but she kept mainly to herself.
"Thanks," she simply responded, cradling the mouthpiece of the phone in her hand for a moment before thoughtfully placing it back against the receiver. She knew who Joseph Myers was, but she had no idea what he'd want to see her about, unless of course he was interested in trying to revive their relationship again.
Back when Casey had just started working as the ADA for the Special Victims Unit, the detectives had gathered more than ample evidence connecting a man to the rape of three different women. After arresting him, Myers had been the state-hired lawyer sent to represent the guy.
Joseph was around Casey's age, but had just broken into the world of criminal defense, leaving him unmatched against her experience. She had tried to offer his client a deal, the end result being a total of fifty years at Riker's, but he'd been naïve enough to believe that he could have the case dismissed in court because of a legal technicality. When the judge absolutely refused his claim, he was forced to go to court. After only an hour of deliberating, as Casey liked to brag, the jury came back with the indictment: guilty on all charges.
Afterwards, Joseph had invited Casey out for a drink and they instantly clicked. They went out a few times again, though it never really turned into anything serious aside from a few good-night kisses before they decided to break it off. The two were still friends, running into each other every now and then when working on cases, but he never came to her office like this.
Just as she began coming up with reasons for his visit, Casey heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she called, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs underneath her desk. "Joey!" A warm smile settled on her face as she watched him enter her office and close the door behind him. He looked just as she remembered him, shaggy brown hair cut just above his ears, big hazel eyes, black suit, and drop dead gorgeous. She motioned for him to pull up a chair.
"Now come on Case," he grinned back as he spoke with the low, soothing voice that easily captivated anyone's attention, lowering himself into one of the wooden chairs across from her. "You know I hate being called that."
"And you know I hate being called Case." She folded her arms and watched him with an inquisitive stare. "What are you doing here?"
"You were never one to beat around the bush," he chuckled, adjusting the collar of his blazer. "So I suppose I'll get straight to the point. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight?" He bit his bottom lip and flashed her a hopeful smile.
"Tonight?" Casey set both her feet on the ground and moved closer to her desk in a more inviting stance. "Kind of short notice, wouldn't you say? And you could have just called, you didn't need to come all the way down here."
"Well," he shrugged and enticingly moved forward in his chair, "I've found that I'm much harder to say 'no' to in person." When Casey only met his gaze with a hesitant pause, he became serious. "And I'll be perfectly honest. Casey," he locked eyes with her, "I've missed you. I've always felt like I could talk to you about anything and you'd understand. I miss that. I miss us."
"Joey-" Casey began to argue when he interrupted her.
"If you're going to turn me down, at least have the decency to call me Joe," he joked, giving a small smile in the face of rejection.
"Joe," Casey corrected herself, meeting his eyes. "There was never an 'us,' you know that. We tried, but we agreed that there too many things coming between us for a real relationship. With work and everything…" She shook her head and faded off. It was with Joe's statements that she now recalled how much he resisted against breaking things off a year ago.
"That's just it," he insisted, almost falling from his chair as he sat as close on the edge as possible, just to be closer to Casey. "I want there to be an us. Come on Casey, we're compatible and you know it." A sneaky grin suddenly crossed his face. "What about the time I took you to that karaoke bar? Tell me you didn't have a great time there," he dared her.
Casey shook her head and smiled as her cheeks began to flush, remembering the night to which he was referring. "I thought we agreed never to bring that up."
"Actually, I thought our rendition of 'I Got You Babe' was quite good," he commented with slight sarcasm. "I think a few people even complimented us afterwards. And I seem to recall you even singing a Britney Spears song." He raised an inquiring eyebrow as he folded his arms.
"I was drunk out of my mind," she insisted with a laugh. "I didn't even know what I was doing. And bringing that up isn't exactly a great way to charm a girl over."
"Look," he sighed, as if turning to a last resort. "Just have dinner with me tonight and we'll see where we stand after that. If you never want to see me again, fine, but at least give me a chance to change your mind." He pouted out his bottom lip slightly and blinked his eyelids up and down in a begging fashion. "Please?"
Casey thought for a moment before her shoulders fell with a sigh. "All right," she finally yielded, giving into his request. As his face lit up, she held a finger in the air to silence him. "But I'm only promising one date," she started in a professional, serious tone before a grin crossed her face, "and no karaoke bars."
"I don't think that'll be a problem," he laughed, settling back into the chair in satisfaction. "What time should I pick you up?"
Casey glanced down at her open planner, checking over any appointments or possible conflicts. When she found none, she thoughtfully looked at the clock on the wall before moving her vision back to Joe. "I've got a lot of paperwork left to do on a trial for tomorrow, so I'll probably be here awhile, at least until eight." Her eyes drifted away as she mentally mapped out a schedule. "Then I have to go home and get changed…"
"What's wrong with what you have on?" Joe interrupted her, discreetly craning his neck forward so that he could look Casey up and down behind the desk.
Casey looked her outfit over, a navy blue skirt with matching blazer, a white blouse underneath it, and plain black pumps, not exactly the best 'date' attire in her opinion. When she went to explain, Joe spoke first. "You look beautiful in anything Casey." He rose to his feet, habitually smoothing out the bottom of his jacket. "I'll pick you up here at eight, how's that?"
Staring into his deep eyes, she was again seduced by his charms and good looks, the only reason she agreed to a drink a year ago. "Sound's great," she smiled, propping her elbow against the edge of the desk.
"It's a date then," he winked suggestively before sauntering back towards the front door. "See you tonight." Joe flashed another grin before slipping outside and closing the door behind him.
Casey couldn't help but grin happily as she stared at the closed door, surprising herself as she was already looking forward to tonight. Going back over his invitation in her head, she couldn't believe she'd actually broken up with such a guy.
A sudden knock at the door quickly pulled her from her thoughts. Caught somewhat off guard, she clumsily cleared her throat and tried not to stumble over her words. "Come in!" The door opened again, Olivia appearing behind it. Casey had almost forgotten that she still had to prep the detective for the trial. Olivia was an old pro at testifying in court, but there were still traps even the best witness could get backed into by the defense.
By the big, girlish grin on Olivia's face as she entered the office, Casey knew that she had run into Joe outside. She and Liv went out for drinks every now and then, just to talk and hang out, so Casey had naturally told her about Joe.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
Keeping her grin, Olivia nodded and took the same seat that Joe had sat in. "So what was Joey doing here?"
Deciding against the truth, Casey quickly fabricated a story. "He was working on this case and he needed my advice on something…"
"And you're going back out with him, aren't you?" The knowing smirk on her face saw right through her.
"That obvious?" She laughed, flipping through a pile of loose-leaf papers on her desk. "So what if I am?"
"Hey," Olivia defensively held her hands up as she crossed one knee over the other. "Go ahead. Besides, I told you, you were crazy for dumping someone so cute in the first place."
"I didn't 'dump' him," Casey insisted. "We were both busy with our careers and it was a mutual decision."
"Right," Olivia agreed sarcastically, nodding her head. "That's why you practically had to pry him off of you with a crow bar."
"Okay," Casey announced, her face starting to blush with Olivia's comments, "I think this conversation has officially gone too far."
"Just one more question," Olivia laughed, too curious to allow the subject to drop at that. "How long have you been dating him again?"
Casey sighed, sensing an interrogation coming on. "I haven't. He just asked me out today and I'm having dinner with him tonight."
"Well then I guess we should get started so you don't miss your date." Olivia shifted into professional mode, straightening her back against the chair. She tried to hide the hesitance in her voice as she cleared her throat and spoke again. "Casey, are you sure I'm the best person to testify in this case?" Her eyes flashed with doubt as she locked her unsure vision on the ADA.
"Didn't Fin and John explain it?" Casey answered nonchalantly, searching among the scattered papers on her desk and not meeting Olivia's stare.
"Yeah, I know you have to establish her behavior, but I still don't think I'm the best person to do it. Elliot was watching when I took her statement, so he could testify instead." She waveringly suggested, shrugging her shoulders and crossing her arms.
Casey suddenly stopped shuffling around things on her desk and glanced up, puzzlement on her expression as she tried to meet Olivia's shifty eyes. It took her a moment of contemplation before she slightly nodded in understanding. "You're worried about what happened when you were questioning Greg Reid?"
Olivia's eyes narrowed in mystification and surprise as her arms fell into her lap. "How did you know about that?"
"You detectives are all wired the same way," Casey smiled, resting her hands against the top of her desk. "Cragen told me about it when I said I needed you to testify. He was concerned about it hurting your credibility too."
Olivia raised an eyebrow at the tone in her voice. "So it's not going to?"
"No." She shook her head reassuringly. "That happened after you took Emma's statement, so it really doesn't have anything to do with the questions I'll be asking you. If the defense does bring it up, we can dismiss it as self-defense." Casey shrugged with the slightest hint of a grin on her face. She'd spoken with Reid in lock-up and taken a disliking to him immediately. As far as she was concerned, a few injuries could easily be looked over by any jury that she put him in front of.
"I bruised his ribs," Olivia plainly pointed out. "What lawyer wouldn't eat that up?"
"One with half a brain," Casey answered smugly. "If they bring it into evidence, then I'll be able use it to show his disregard and lack of respect for women, and inability to control his sexual impulses. No lawyer would risk the trial by doing that."
A smile crept onto Olivia's face as well as she thought about Casey's reasoning. "Screwing over the perp," she translated in amusement. "Sometimes I like the law."
--XXX--
"Where is she?" Casey nervously tapped the toe of her heels against the linoleum. Pushing up her sleeve with her free hand, she caught sight of her wristwatch. "The trial's going to start any minute!" She was standing in the hallway that filed into the courtroom along with Elliot and John. There were only a few minutes until the trial was scheduled to start and Olivia was still unaccounted for.
"It's Liv," Elliot tried to soothe her nerves as he reasoned, "she'll be here."
Casey ignored him and flipped her phone out of her briefcase. "There is no way I'm going to trial without my star witness, the defense will have a field day!" She moved her briefcase to one hand and brought the cell phone to her ear with the other, having already dialed Olivia's cell number. While it began to ring, she moved away from the detectives and the rest of the people gathering in the hall.
"I think somebody had a little too much coffee this morning," John remarked, shooting a telling glance towards the tense ADA.
"She'll be fine as soon as Olivia gets here." Elliot answered, throwing his own anxious glance at the huge clock on the wall. "If she gets here," he mumbled under his breath.
"Speaking of defense, there's the scum bag's bottom-feeding state attorney now." John nodded his head towards a man walking towards them, surrounded by an entourage of press members. Elliot rolled his eyes at John's descriptive aliases for Reid and his lawyer. He always seemed to have some grudge or unresolved issue with the defense in any case. As the crowd made their way past them, Elliot recognized the man.
"I've seen him before…" His eyebrows furrowed in thought as he tried to put the face to a name. "Hey Casey, didn't you used to date him?"
"What?" Casey snapped her phone shut and turned to walk back towards them. "Who?"
"Reid's attorney." Her gaze followed Elliot's outstretched finger to the man he was referring to. As soon as she saw his face clearly, Casey's mouth fell open and she looked slightly nauseous and pale. Elliot and John exchanged puzzled glances to each other out of the corner of their eyes. "Casey? Are you okay?"
"Joe, Joe Myers," she whispered, watching as he disappeared into the courtroom.
"Who?"
Casey shook her head and coughed, finding her voice. "Joe Myers," she spoke professionally, hiding her disbelief and shock. "He's a state-hired criminal defense lawyer. Yeah, I dated him a year ago, nothing serious," she pretended to shrug it off, but deep inside it was still consuming her thoughts.
Casey was still dumbfounded by the entire situation. She had absolutely no idea that Joe was representing Reid. If she had, she never would have gone out with him last night. Not only was it a conflict of interest and greatly frowned upon by her bosses, but it was a completely idiotic business move. She could have easily let something about the case slip, giving him a great opportunity to find the core of her plan and destroy it.
She couldn't believe Joe had never told her that he was defending Reid. The case of Emma MacGuire was highly publicized in the press and media, making the probability that Joe didn't know she was prosecuting it very unlikely. So he'd gone out with her knowing this, and probably in it to find out what she had prepared for the trial. It all made sense, he hadn't asked her out because he 'missed her,' he just wanted a preview of today.
Casey's first reaction was to march up to the judge and demand that the state assign a new lawyer for Greg, but she quickly realized that it wasn't an option. If she did, she'd have to give a reason. What kind of attorney would she look like if she admitted that the day before such a huge case, she had no idea whom the defense was? She'd be laughed from her position at best. So there her options were, either admit her ridiculous mistake, or go in and try the case, praying she didn't give him any smoking guns on her prosecution. Casey opted for the latter, trying to hide her anger from the detectives.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Olivia suddenly appeared next to John, an apologetic expression on her face. "Are we ready?" She glanced from John, to Elliot, and to Casey, her vision resting on the ADA in concern. "Casey, something wrong?" She set her hand on her shoulder, pulling Casey from her dazed state.
"No, I'm fine." She shrugged her hand off and looked towards the courtroom doors. "Let's go."
--XXX--
An hour and a half or so later, after opening arguments and playing the statement of Emma MacGuire, Casey stood up from her table to call her first witness. The courtroom was a buzz, even more so than usual considering how high profile the case had become. A wonderful, charitable, straight-A student with a sob story past committing suicide after being raped was just the kind of story reporters lived for. If a poll was taken, Casey was sure half of the people present were reporters, journalists, and other press members, not even including the many waiting outside for the verdict.
"Your Honor, I call Detective Olivia Benson to the stand." She stared at the familiar judge, Lena Petrovsky, and waited for the detective to make her way to the witness box.
Sitting towards the front of the spectator benches, Olivia was only slightly aware of her named being spoken. She couldn't explain it, but she had this impending doom feeling lingering over her. After Casey's reassurance yesterday, she shouldn't have felt so susceptible and exposed, but she did, almost like this trial was about her. Luckily, Casey and the guys had, by some miracle, made it so that Olivia would never have to testify against her rapist in open court.
In the days after her attack, Olivia had always, in the back of her mind, been concerned about a trial. It wasn't facing the bastard that disquieted her, that she knew she could do, but facing the press. In her experience, they were nothing but scum, always looking to get a story and never minding whose lives they destroyed in the process. She didn't even want to think about the repercussions if anyone found out about her attack.
Ignoring her impulses, she drew a deep breath of air into her lungs and nervously held it for a moment. Just as she was about to stand Olivia felt a hand slip over hers and reassuringly squeeze her palm. Glancing up, she realized the hand belonged to Elliot, who was subtly watching her from the corner of his eye. When he knew she was looking at him, Elliot winked as a tiny smile crossed his lips.
Olivia instantly felt relaxed as stood and confidently made her way to the stand. Once Olivia was settled, Casey began questioning her. "Detective Benson," Casey carefully walked around the table, folding her hands against her lap as she stood to the side of the jury box. "How long have you worked in the Special Victims Unit?"
Calmly and professionally, Olivia looked at Casey and gave her short, direct answers. "About seven years."
"And in that time, how many rape victims would you say you've seen?" Casey tediously began pacing back and forth in front of the witness box and jury, taking about two steps for every sentence she spoke.
"I can't be absolutely sure, but it's easily in the upper hundreds, possibly thousands."
"And while you were in the police academy, you were taught to recognize the signs of rape victims and victims of other traumatic events, correct?"
"Yes, mainly RTS and PTSD." Olivia clasped her hand together and set them in her lap.
"And what is that?"
"They stand for Rape Trauma Syndrome and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"Tell me Detective, what are some of the common symptoms of RTS?"
"Symptoms are normally unique to the situation of the victim, depending on the attack, but there are pretty common ones. The individual may be jumpy or easily startled, they have poor concentration, if they're in school they suffer lowered grades because of that, they could have a fear of being alone or either being around people, just not feeling well in general, and depression."
"All right." Casey nodded and glanced over the jury for a moment before asking another question. "Now, keeping that in mind," she spoke to the jury, "you were originally the detective working on Emma MacGuire's case, were you not?"
"Yes, I was. I spoke to her in the hospital and I took her statement."
"Why was Emma in the hospital?"
"She was shot in the stomach." Olivia glanced over at the defense table to see Reid smirking as she mentioned that. "She said by the same man who raped her," she quickly added.
"Objection, your Honor!" Myers placidly stood, more for dramatic effect than anything, his chair scrapping against the floor as he pushed it back. "There were never formal charges of this shooting brought against my client," he arrogantly announced. "So unless the prosecution plans on doing so, I ask that the witness's last statement be stricken from the record."
"Sustained," Judge Petrovsky sighed, glancing over to meet Olivia's gaze. "Detective Benson, I'll ask that you try to keep that out of your responses, and the jury will disregard her last statement." She turned back to Casey. "Miss Novak, you may continue."
"Thank you your Honor," Casey attempted to be sincere and polite as she tried to keep herself from sending a death glare to Myers. "Detective Benson, considering all your training and experience with RTS, and the fact that you spent so much time around Emma MacGuire, would you describe her behavior as that of a rape victim's?"
"Yes, based on that I would."
"How so?"
"When I first saw Emma in the hospital, I was with my partner Detective Stabler. I went into the room first and he followed, standing behind a curtain. As soon as he stepped out, Emma jumped back in terror and froze. She wouldn't relax and refused to talk until Detective Stabler left, common of women RTS victims."
"And after he left, did you proceed to question Emma?"
"I did, and she told me that she was… attacked." Olivia worded her sentence to obey Judge Petrovsky's order. "Then she told me that she had been raped."
"In your professional opinion, was she telling the truth?" Casey was basically rewording the same question over and over again, just to drive the point of Olivia's testimony home.
"In my opinion, yes. She was a straight-A student, lots of friends, very involved in the community, and from a good home. Emma had no reason to lie."
"Thank you Detective Benson, that's all." Casey politely nodded and took her seat again.
"Miss Benson," Myers began in a condescending tone as he copied Casey's motions, walking towards the witness box. "As the prosecution has made very evident, it's your opinion that Emma was raped, correct?" He stood directly in front of her with his hands in his pockets, slightly turned so that he could look over towards the jury.
"Yes."
"Now, is that your neutral, unbiased, completely objective assumption?"
Olivia paused, raising an eyebrow at the question. However suspicious of it, she hesitantly answered. "Yes," she repeated.
"So you're saying that you are completely objective in your conclusion, despite the fact that a week before, you yourself were raped?"
Olivia's mouth hit the floor as she made sure she hadn't heard wrong. The chattering starting up in the courtroom assured her that she hadn't. She stared forward at Casey in shock, not uttering a word.
"Objection!" Right as the question left Myers mouth, Casey shot to her feet and practically screamed at the Judge.
"Order!" Petrovsky slammed a gavel against her desk as she tried to quiet the room. "Everyone, quiet!" Once the buzz had settled into silence, she beckoned Casey and Myers towards her. "Counsel, approach the bench."
Audaciously and with a huge, proud smile, Myers sauntered towards the bench, taking his time. Casey made in there twice as fast, the first to jump. "Judge, this is preposterous! Detective Benson's personal life is none of this court's business. It has nothing to do with her credibility in deciphering a victim's behavior and shouldn't have even been brought up!" Not only was she furious as hell, she was stunned that he'd somehow found out. Casey had sealed all the public records on the case, practically burying Olivia's attack within the system.
"Mr. Myers, I'm inclined to agree." Judge Petrovsky seemed just as appalled as she glared at Myers. She had been the judge overlooking the plea bargain Casey had made with Olivia's attacker, so this wasn't the first time she'd heard of it. She also greatly understood the lengths Casey went to keep the matter private and out of the courtroom. "I find it repulsive and deplorable that you would try to throw a respectable person as Detective Benson through the dirt just to make your case. Miss Novak's objection is sustained and I suggest you, Mr. Myers, hurry up in your questioning and keep it away from the Detective's personal life or you will regret it," she threateningly assured him. "Continue."
Though Casey had won the objection, it was a hollow victory. Heading back towards her table, she looked over at Olivia. The detective's mouth was gaping open in shock and her face had lost all color. She looked a few seconds from tears, and Casey couldn't blame her. Her secret was out, and now everybody knew.
--XXX--
"I can't believe this," Olivia whispered in anger and disbelief, running her hands over her face and through her hair as she stood next to Elliot in the middle of the courtroom, the trial just having been recessed. "How in the hell did he find out?" She glanced up at her partner with an expectant gaze, searching for some answer.
"I don't know," he shrugged, in a daze and just as lost as her. "Casey said the files were sealed so no one could get to them." Olivia, Elliot, John, and a few other courtroom staff members were the only ones still in the room.
"Yeah, well, a lot of good that did," she snapped bitterly, crossing her arms and miserably looking away. "Do you have any idea how many reporters were in here and heard that? Who knows what the hell they're going to do now!"
"Liv…" Elliot placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to make it appear as platonic as possible. She was angry, with absolutely every right to be, but it wouldn't do her any good right now. "Let's just go. Cragen'll probably give you the day off, you can just go home and rest." Too depleted of energy to argue, Olivia just hung her head down, cupping her forehead in her hand as she tried to compose herself.
Elliot wanted so badly just to reach out and wrap his arms around her, reassure her, but he knew he couldn't, and it killed him. Instead, he settled for reaching his arm behind her and turning her towards the courtroom doors.
As they started walking, John quietly saw the anguish and longing in Elliot's eyes as he kept a light touch on Olivia's shoulder. He could almost sense exactly what Elliot was feeling. It was tormenting them to watch someone they cared about so much go through this and not be able to protect her.
John suddenly felt his fists subconsciously clench in rage. He took a deep breath and carefully relaxed them. He was just so perturbed by all of this. Olivia had already been forced to overcome so much in her life; she didn't deserve any more pain. Every time she finally seemed content and happy, why did some new horror always have to arise? She had more than earned a life of happiness, so why was she constantly denied it? John could only powerlessly shake his head, unable to grasp the logic of the world.
As Elliot arrived in front of the courtroom doors, he pushed one open and they were immediately inundated by a sea of flashing lights and cameras and tape recorders being shoved in Olivia's face as people started shouting at her.
"Detective Benson, were you really attacked?" "What can you tell us about the man that raped you?" "Have the police identified your attacker?" "Did you know the man?" "Was it one of your cases gone bad?" "How has it affected your job?"
Olivia just helplessly froze, squinting her eyes shut as she covered her face with her hands. Seeing her distress, Elliot and John shot each other a glance and quickly moved in to protect her.
"We have no comment at this time!" Elliot shouted the standard phrase repeatedly, stepping between Olivia and the wave of reporters, doing his best to cover her from the lenses and flashing bulbs. He awkwardly shoved through the bodies in front of him, clearing a path towards the front of the courthouse.
"No comment!" Munch screamed the same, flanking Olivia as he irately resisted the urge to reach out and randomly punch the crowd.
Olivia just kept her head down and remained silent as she tried to hold her tears back. This was just as she'd imagined it, with the worst yet to come.
The three detectives could only keep their defenses up as they fought towards the front of the building. After about five minutes, they were finally able to duck into a squad car, leaving the cameras and reporters on the street in front of the courthouse as they drove off.