Jen lay in the big bed with crumpled sheets that smelt like Casey. She heard the sound of the shower, and thought about the look on her face as the crack-addict ripped open her shirt and slid his hand possessively up the curve of her breast. He would have fucked her right there, if he had been able to get her skirt off quicker. She knew how he would have done it too, laced his arms through her legs, pushing them up and forward. If he was good he could hold her arms down at the same time, and enter her, slamming into her, grating her back along the pavement with every thrust. She doubted he would last long, but it would feel like forever. He would spit in her mouth when he was done, maybe he'd choke her, angry he couldn't last longer. It was never really over.
The shower sounded wrong. It was running steadily into the tub, no difference in the splashing that someone washing made. Jen slid out of bed and went to the bathroom door. She tried the handle. It was open. She pushed it in and saw Casey. She was sitting on the toilet seat, still clothed, her knees tucked up to her chest, back quivering. Jen stepped inside and closed the door silently behind her.
It must have made some click because Casey looked up, and saw her. Her eyes widened. The tear-tracks were visible on her face. Jen stood there awkwardly, not sure why she had come. She wasn't a comforter. She didn't comfort. Small children cried around her every day and she only felt angry. But Casey was her knight. A lady was supposed to tend her knight's wounds after battle. Jen almost smiled at the oddness of her thoughts, but Casey gave a small whimper, looking away, and Jen took two steps forward and dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Casey. She seemed to just melt into her, and Jen felt an odd twist in her stomach, that wasn't fear or discomfort. She stared at the wall behind the toilet. This was not a place she had ever been, and she really wasn't sure what to do.
The shaking had stopped and Casey was just leaning into her, pressing her face into the crook of her shoulder. Jen's fingers trailed down her back.
"You should really get in that shower," Jen murmured into her hair. Casey wasn't focusing on anything; she looked completely shattered. Jen lifted up the scrubs shirt she had gotten to replace her torn blouse at the hospital and coaxed Casey's arms over her head. She looked at Casey's stomach as it was revealed, smooth and ice white, not much of one for tanning, she guessed. It was funny, she remembered her thoughts when she had first caught sight of this woman, about giving her a freebie. She had never thought she'd end up in this position, at least not without her mouth sucking her way up that pale curve. If things had gone off like they were supposed to she might have ended up like that. Although, from what that crazy whore was saying, it was more likely that they would have been put in separate rooms doing the same sort of thing. It was kind of disgusting, she thought as she unhooked Casey's bra with one hand, that someone would do that sort of thing and think they were in a relationship. When you whore yourself out for money at least you know who's the whore and who's the pimp and where the money's going.
She unhooked the catch on Casey's skirt and slid her hand between the woman's legs. Casey tensed, her hands coming up to push her away. Jen grinned at her. "Get up and get in the shower, loser."
She got to her feet and stepped away. The woman might be some kind of idiot, but she was hot, and looked really good when she was telling the whore to get lost. If she wanted it, Jen would go down on her right now. It would be a new experience. She'd never fucked anyone by choice before.
***
Casey stood under the spray of the shower totally confused. Had that been an advance? Or had Jen just been comforting her and trying to get her in the shower. If Olivia had walked in on it, it would have definitely been read as an advance, and probably Casey's fault. Was it her fault? Somehow everything had just hit her all at once, and she had cried without knowing why. She wasn't angry anymore. She just felt sick and dirty.
She still felt dirty, but more for her inability to control her attraction to the girl. For immediately thinking every action she took had a sexual intent. For feeling disappointed when she had snapped off her bra with such ease and then not taken her breast in her mouth. For being turned on by the thought of it.
Jen was sixteen. She had been coerced into prostitution by her foster father. She was a victim. And Casey was no better than any of her Johns.
Casey tried to get comfortable on the couch. She couldn't hear anything from her bedroom. Jen was probably asleep. She should be asleep as well. It had been a terrible day, and she had to go in to work tomorrow instead of having the weekend off like she had expected.
Jen was beautiful. Was that why she had risked her life interfering in a deal? Was she that shallow? Casey rolled onto her stomach, tangling the blanket uncomfortably around her legs. This was terrible. A gorgeous teenager was sleeping in her bed, one who had saved her life, probably. She wished Jen made sense to her, but she didn't understand her. She didn't know why Jen had comforted her and then put her hand between her legs. She didn't know why Jen gave her curious looks and answered her questions while she treated Olivia like a mute object, and then stripped naked in the living room. Casey's hand drifted between her legs and she jerked it back. That was so not okay!Olivia would slaughter her.
Casey unwound herself from the blankets, got up, and started for the kitchen to make herself some warm milk. She had to pass the bedroom door on the way. It was partly open. She stopped and stepped inside. She was just going to check on her. That was it.
It looked like Jen was having a nightmare. She was tossing and turning and making odd sounds like mumbled words.
Casey sat half on the bed and touched her forehead. She stroked her hair gently and Jen settled down. She had tossed the blankets off and her shirt had ridden up. Casey stared at her ass. It was bare and perfectly curved. She could almost feel it under her hands, her teeth. She jerked back her hand.
"Casey?" Jen was awake, looking up at her with squinting eyes, and an unfamiliar vulnerability on her face. Casey leapt up and hurriedly pulled the blankets up to cover her. Jen sat up awkwardly, frowning. She pulled the shirt off over her head.
Casey stared blankly at her exposed breasts, petite but round, with small teenage nipples.
"You can touch me if you want."
"What?"
"You can touch me. I want you to."
"Oh no. I can't. Most definitely not." But it was late at night, and she had forgotten why exactly she wasn't supposed to touch this beautiful girl. She couldn't take her eyes away. Jen reached out, catching Casey's hand, and pressed it to her breast. Involuntarily it curved to fit the shape and her thumb brushed against the nipple, which hardened at her touch. She could hear Jen's intake of breath. Both her hands were cupping the girl's breasts. They felt… perfect. She leaned in and kissed the concavity between the girl's breasts, feeling her heart pounding under her lips. She glanced up. Jen's face was white and drawn. She looked somewhere between terrified and in pain, and Casey immediately pulled her hands away, falling off the edge of the bed.
Olivia's avenging form was screaming in her mind as she scrambled to find her feet.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Jen wouldn't look at her, but her body blared her panic and unhappiness. "What was I thinking? I should never… You're underage, and-" a victim. She couldn't say the words. Jen buried her face in her arms and hid under the pillow. Casey plunged back into the living room and fell on the couch, knowing she'd get no sleep tonight.
***
That had been incredibly humiliating. Jen wouldn't cry. She didn't cry. God! It was clear that Casey wanted her. It was obvious. And she had blown it by freaking out. No one had ever touched her like that before. No one had kissed her like she mattered. And she had never wanted to touch anyone like she wanted Casey.
She walked into the kitchen that morning, mask firm. She had been an idiot last night, but she wasn't going to do it again. She wasn't weak. They ate breakfast in silence.
"We'd better go in. I'll tell Olivia to find a home where you can stay."
What? She couldn't do that. If she did that all her plans were blown. "I want to stay here."
"What? But… Why?" Casey looked bewildered and unhappy. What did she think she did? Molest her? Didn't she know how different it was from everything else?
"I like it here."
"That… doesn't make sense."
"I don't want to go to a home. You put me back in the system and I'll run away. The system's never given me anything but crap."
Casey rested her chin in her hand. "You're going to have to go back in eventually."
Jen shook her head. "I'm done with that."
"Then what are you going to do? You're sixteen."
"I can whore for myself. I know how it's done, and I'll keep the money. It's something I'm good at."
"Yeah, too good," Casey mumbled the words, but Jen heard them clear as day. She was furious. Was that what she thought Jen was doing? To get good treatment or something like that? That was crap. "We'll talk about it with Olivia when we go in."
Jen dragged her feet, finding some of Casey's clothes that would fit. A nice pair of boots had been thrown in the back that were big enough for her. Casey was obviously irritated, and that made Jen annoyed. What right did she have to judge?
Olivia wasn't at her desk. Instead a blonde woman in black rectangular glasses was sitting behind it, going over a file. She looked up and lowered her glasses to focus on Casey.
"I sent her home for a nap. She was still here when I got in this morning, trying to get the last of the children taken care of."
They had gotten the brats. Jen's chest hurt a little. She ignored it.
"So this is Jen?" The woman gave her a long appraising look, then looked to Casey with a raised eyebrow. Casey glanced over at her and gulped. Jen frowned. What were they looking at?
"I promise I won't let her dress like that for court."
Jen flinched. She thought she had put together something good. But they were looking at her like she was a slut again. She was fucking sick of this. She glared at the blonde. This was probably the trust fund bitch Casey had mentioned last night. She was completely ready to make her life hell.
***
Alex noticed the harsh glare she was getting from the kid and met it, not backing down. If she hadn't been with Casey she probably wouldn't have realized that this was the girl picked up for prostitution. She would have assumed it was someone's daughter who needed a lecture on appropriate workplace attire. Jen didn't have the glazed emaciated look of the other underage prostitutes Alex had run into. She supposed it was because her pimp didn't use drugs as a mode of control. He had used fear instead.
Her interview with the man had been enlightening. He had been using the foster system as a feeder for over twenty years. He made sure the kids were fed and went to school and made up the shortfalls in the state income by letting a few of his friends and associates abuse the kids on a regular basis. He blamed being caught on Jen. She had been skinny and delicate looking when the state was looking for a place, and she was very pretty with hollow cheeks and dark eyes and hair, so he had accepted her, not realizing that she was already thirteen, and once she was properly fed she would develop quickly, grow three inches, and become completely uninteresting to his usual customers. He had had to branch out. But she had earned her keep so he hadn't bothered trading her in.
Alex was going to enjoy sending him to prison. At first Cragen and Branch had considered giving this part of the case to Casey, and only having Alex deal with the attempted rape/assault in self defense aspect, but when they found out that Casey had taken the teenage prostitute home, they decided it would be better to give Casey some time off to allow her to regain her sanity.
"Well, since you're here I might as well interview you. I read your statement, Casey, but I have some questions. And you haven't given a statement yet." She frowned at Jen, who just glared back.
"So I guess that means it's me first?" asked Casey hesitantly. Alex nodded.
"Why don't you wait here for Olivia?"
Casey glanced from Alex to Jen and then back at Olivia's desk. "If you mess anything up, she'll kill me. But you might be able to go on the Internet if you don't, um, interfere in the process of justice."
Alex wondered for a moment why Casey was so concerned about whether the girl would be bored. She looked at Jen, who remained unresponsive. There was something going on that she didn't completely understand. But it probably wasn't relevant to the case. She guided Casey into an interview room and took out her notepad.
Casey sighed. "I haven't been on this end of the notepad since my last assault charge."
Alex was surprised. "You've assaulted someone before?"
Now Casey looked confused. "No. I was assaulted." Then she looked scared. "Am I being charged for assault?"
"We don't know yet. He hasn't woken up and the hospital has only just got in touch with his family."
"Oh god. I hope he doesn't. I don't think he recognized me, but…"
"Wait!" Alex needed this conversation to slow down. "You knew him?"
Casey made an awkward face. "In the biblical sense."
Alex paused and set down her pencil. "I'm sorry if this is really impertinent, but I thought you were, um, one of the girls…"
Casey gave her an odd look, and Alex cursed internally. She shouldn't have even brought it up, or at least she should just said gay. Not being able to say it was as good as admitting it.
"Oh, I am." Then she seemed to sag. "I guess I should start at the beginning. My witness statement didn't give a lot of context."
"I was going to ask what you were doing there in the first place."
"Yeah." Casey looked embarrassed and pushed her curled hands together on the table. "I was going to a party. My girlfriend… ex-girlfriend, as of last night, she likes to go to these parties."
"What kind of parties?"
Casey glanced up and flashed an awkward smile. "Sex parties."
Alex tried to maintain her mask of indifferences but felt her eyebrows jump and gave it up. "Sex parties." She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't want to know. Do I want to know?" She had so many questions and she couldn't figure out which one to say first. She pursed her lips. "Have you been tested?"
Casey stiffened and crossed her arms. "Now that is none of your business."
"And if the defense attorney brings it up?"
"Doctor-Patient Confidentiality."
"So you have been tested."
Casey scowled. "I hate you. I'm clean, if that's what you wanted to know. Everyone's very 'safe' at these parties. Vanilla too. They're actually incredibly boring."
That was more information than Alex had been expecting. She felt guilty for prying. It really wasn't any of her business. She just had felt oddly responsible for Casey ever since her leaving pushed the kid into her SVU spot. She had actually fought Branch on the appointment. She was too young and too immature, she shouldn't have to deal with all of the horror right off the bat. The fact that she had done as well as she had was surprising and admirable. But Alex still thought of her as a kind of little sister, and this was like finding out that your innocent little sister was… well, going to sex parties. She had crossed the line. She knew it.
"I- I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have asked. But, it seems you were on your way to one of these parties…"
"Everyone was, actually. Except for Jen's foster father. I think the guy, um, the one I hit was 'renting' a girlfriend for the night. You have to come in couples to the parties. It's like bringing a party favor. So Lucy was whining at me all day to come. I didn't want to, but-"
"You didn't-" Alex interrupted and then closed her mouth. "Never mind. Keep going."
"I didn't what?"
"Please, ignore my rudeness." Alex was not going to say that she had immediately wanted to know if the reason Casey took Jen home was to sleep with her. Just because Casey did this sort of thing didn't mean she would cross that line with a minor.
"I didn't what?"
Alex gulped. "I was just wondering why you took Jen home with you. I don't mean to insinuate…"
Casey glanced away. Alex's stomach twisted.
"You didn't sleep with her, did you?"
"What! No!" Casey stood up, shoving the chair out behind her.
"I didn't think so. I'm glad I'm correct."
Casey sank back down. "Just, just don't interrupt anymore. I was going that party, and I had to find a garage because there was no parking. So I was walking, and I saw them. I saw him hit her, and I couldn't stop myself from intervening. It wasn't until the other man started reaching for the knife that I recognized him. He had been at another party, and I guess he was one of Lucy's friends, because I had sucked him off."
Alex stared. Casey gave her a challenging look, but she didn't say anything.
"I didn't tell you that bit. As a party favor I get to kneel, with my wrists handcuffed behind my back and suck and fuck anything that gets put in front of my face."
Casey snarled a little and Alex thought about kissing her.
"And you just submit to that? Even if you like that sort of thing, you don't have any problem with servicing these men?"
"She didn't make me do men in the beginning." Casey sighed, leaning over the table. "Can I not get into our private life? She just, just made me feel obligated to do her a favor, and the favor was to add a guy, just one, to the girls she usually had me do. I said fine and got it over with as fast as I could. Apparently the guy had never come that fast before, and he raved about me to all of his friends. Lucy's not very good at saying no."
"That's…strange."
"What?"
Alex flushed. "That you're, um, so skillful…"
Casey snorted. "I should be."
"Why?"
Casey grinned. "Seriously. None of your business."
Alex looked down at her notes. She had already found out a lot more than was technically her business. "I did have some questions that were relevant to the case…"
"Shoot."
***