A/N: Whew, made it through those two chapters. Thank you so much for all of your positive encouragement and support; I can't begin to tell you how helpful it's been! This chapter is extremely tame by comparison to the others (and doesn't contain a lot of SVU), but I needed to mention something that the school's principal said; his comment was the beginning of their major screw-up. Chapter six will be about the grand jury hearing, and thus all Alex. Regardless, hopefully you'll still find five a somewhat interesting read. As always, I'm sorry for any SVU or court errors that I make; the only thing I can say is that this is what things were like for me. All names have been changed to protect those involved.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Law and Order: SVU. That honor goes to the good folks over at NBC.

Spoilers: None.

Summary: An eleventh grader is sexually assaulted at school. Will Olivia, Alex, and the rest of the gang be able to help her cope?

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Present, Alex and Olivia

"Do you still like your job?" I asked Alex, walking side by side with her. It was funny that my brain still wasn't registering the fact that icy cold rain was continuously pelting our bodies, but truth be told, I had more important things to worry about.

"I think so, yes," Alex truthfully replied, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, there are things that I'll always hate about my job, but I know that I have the chance to do some good. What about you?"

"'Like' is an interesting word, isn't it?" I quietly murmured. "I don't like having to put victims through a second living hell, yet at the same time, I'm glad that I'm the one who has to do it. I feel like my presence can help them through a difficult time, you know what I mean?"

"You're gentle with them," Alex agreed. "And you're empathetic. They seem to trust you. Julia even told me how much she liked you, and how good you were with her."

"Really?" I couldn't help but smile at that. "Well she's a good kid. Do me a favor, Alex," I continued. "Try to schedule her grand jury hearing for sometime in the very near future so that she doesn't have it hanging over her head."

"I'll do my best, but you know the system."

Yep, I did. The system moved at the pace of a snail.

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Lakewood High School, forty-four hours prior (school psychologist's office)

"You'll be fine, Julia," Olivia again smiled at the young girl. "I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that things will be easy for you from here on out, but you know what? You did great today, and I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Julia mumbled, still fidgeting with Hoot. Her face warm from the effort of reliving everything, she took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "So… I'm not in trouble?" she hesitantly asked.

"Of course not," Olivia gently tried to reassure her. "Like we said before, you didn't do anything wrong; you said no, and you tried to get away. Even if you hadn't tried to get away, you still said no; that should have been good enough."

"Yeah," Julia nodded her understanding, biting the inside of her lip. "Thank you, I appreciate your words." And she truly did. Olivia's repeated statements that she hadn't been to blame for the assault went a very long way in assuaging her self-inflicted guilt and fear, and it felt extremely empowering to have someone validate her emotions and experience.

"We'll be in touch with you," Olivia shot her one more smile, getting to her feet.

"Hang in there," Elliot added as the two detectives left the office.

"So what happens now?" Julia cautiously asked Mrs. Simon, her fingers absent-mindedly smoothing Hoot's fur. Glancing down at the stuffed animal, she sighed. "I guess you should take this back now." Although she knew that the beanie baby was meant for little children, she couldn't deny the fact that there was something soothing about holding it in her hands.

Mrs. Simon shook her head no, pulling her chair closer to the couch. "Hang on to it for a little bit," she softly told Julia. And then after a moment, "How are you holding up? I know you've had a rough morning."

Julia simply nodded, and then shrugged, once again fiddling with Hoot. She was actually pretty tired from recounting yesterday's events, and she kind of wished that she could just go home and sleep.

"Would you like a glass of water?" the school psychologist offered. "Or maybe even some lunch?"

Julia's eyes widened at that suggestion, panic crossing her face. Mark had the same lunch period as she did, and there was no way that she was going to spend any amount of time anywhere near him ever again. Ever again.

"Take a deep breath, honey," Mrs. Simon seemed to read the eleventh grader's mind. "When do you normally eat lunch?"

"Fifth period," Julia meekly replied.

"Then let's wait until sixth period, and I'll go with you. Besides, I'm afraid that you still need to speak with Mr. Jenkins," she gently reminded her.

Julia bit her lower lip in anxiety, finally looking at Mrs. Simon. "Would it be possible for me talk to the principal instead?" she mumbled. She was intimidated by Mr. Jenkins, her vice-principal, and knew the principal through her student liaison role with the school board. She respected Mr. Lewis, and figured that she'd feel more comfortable talking to him rather than her own administrator.

"Probably," Mrs. Simon smiled, getting to her feet. "Why don't you relax for a few minutes while I go find out?"

Julia curled her body against the side of the couch, her eyes slipping closed. She couldn't believe how exhausted she truly felt; she had no idea how she was going to make it through the rest of the day.

Taking deep and even breaths, she let her mind wander back to some of the things that she had said to Olivia. Everything that she had said was completely true, but she didn't know if she would have the strength or courage to recount the events to her principal, then to the grand jury, and then to a regular jury. It was intimidating and daunting all at once, and she already felt so raw and exposed.

Julia felt like her entire life was on display, and telling other people what had happened made her feel like people were judging her. They weren't, she realized, but it was still tough and disquieting.

"Mr. Lewis is on the way down," Mrs. Simon informed her, retaking her seat. "Are you ready?"

"Sure," Julia shrugged, slightly mortified by the prospect by telling another male anything about the sexual assault. "But then again, I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Simon half smiled as someone knocked on the door. "And that's probably him." Getting up to open the door, she nodded a greeting to the school's principal, ushering him inside.

"Hi, Julia," Mr. Lewis awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "I heard what happened to you yesterday after school, and I'm very sorry."

"Thanks," Julia whispered her reply, not really sure what else to say.

"I'm going to be honest with you, though," he continued, "What happened to you really wasn't that bad, although we're going to investigate it anyhow."

Julia's face immediately fell as all of the color drained from it. Wasn't that bad? Was he serious? Another student had violated her on school grounds, and it wasn't that bad? This was her worst nightmare come true… her school didn't believe her; a person whom she greatly respected didn't believe her.

"I mean," Mr. Lewis tried to take his words back, profusely blushing as Mrs. Simon gave him a withering glare. "What happened to you wasn't good, but this school has seen worse."

"Oh," Julia mumbled. "Okay," she sniffled, no longer wanting to tell anyone anything. Why bother? The school didn't care. Moving further against the wall, she felt her mind slowly trying to flee the room. This was horrible, and it wasn't fair.

Nothing was fair.

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TO BE CONTINUED