A/N: Thanks again to my incredible beta, Liv Cassidy! Especially for bearing with me with all the craziness of this chapter! It's the longest one yet, so enjoy!
The months passed, cases came and went, but the one thing that was constant was that whenever they had free time, they were together. They didn't feel that they needed to be because they were in a relationship. They wanted to be together. They loved each other's company, even if all they were doing was cuddling on the couch watching a movie. The nights they had to sleep alone were some of the loneliest nights they could ever remember. But tonight, Brian had off, and as she wasn't catching and all her paperwork was done, she was taking the night off. She put her jacket on and sent a text to Brian letting him know she would be over soon.
"Go home, Munch; there will be bad guys to catch tomorrow."
"Uh… Who are you and what have you done with Detective Benson?" Munch asked.
She smirked as her hands went into her pockets. "I'm taking the night off," she said as she walked out with Fin and Amanda.
"With the captain on vacation, don't worry about us; we're fine, we'll carry on," Munch spoke as he walked into the captain's office.
Nick had just finished his phone call with Maria about him coming to visit Zara, when he turned around and saw a young woman. He hung up and looked at her. "Can I help you?"
"I hope so. I was raped… by a cop. He was in the paper today; it said he was testifying against some pimp. Before today I haven't seen his face in four years. Until today, I didn't know he was a cop."
Nick took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, follow me. I'm going to take your statement," Nick said with a nod, leading her into an interview room. About an hour later, when they were finished, Nick shook her hand and watched her walk out. He knocked on the Captain's door, where Munch was, then opened the door. "Can I bug you for a second?"
Munch stepped out of the office and listened as Nick explained the situation. "She says Cassidy raped her? OUR Cassidy?"
Nick shrugged. "She said it was four years ago; he was undercover with some pimp. She never saw him again until she recognized his picture in the paper about the Ganzel trial."
"That's one hell of a coincidence, Cassidy's getting ready to testify against Ganzel, and this woman appears making accusations?"
"Well, we know he's crossed some lines."
"You remember when Ganzel drugged our Captain? Put a dead hooker in his bed?"
"You mean Carissa, the hooker Cassidy had an affair with?"
"Yeah, which is why he was busted down to uni and works nights at the Bronx courthouse. He's paid the price."
"Ok, so what do we do, tell this woman to take a hike?"
"There's protocol, we have to notify IAB or our commanding officer. We'll try Cragen first."
"On a fishing boat, off Bimini?"
"Rules are rules."
Olivia arrived at Brian's house, knocked on the door, and leaned against the door jamb while waiting for him to open the door.
He smiled when he opened the door. "Hello, beautiful."
She smiled big and pushed herself off the wall. "Hello yourself," she smirked and walked into the apartment, wrapping her arms around him, kicking his front door shut as their lips made contact.
He smirked against her lips and ran his hands up his back, to her shoulders, and sliding her jacket off. "Stay awhile?"
"As long as you'll have me," she whispered into his ear, gently nipping at his ear, then his neck.
He smirked as he ran her hands down to her ass, gently squeezing it. "That would be forever, Pancakes," he whispered in a husky voice.
"Mmm. You have no idea what you do to me," she smiled and ran her hands over his chest, unbuttoning his navy blue shirt along the way.
"Oh, you know I do. I make you come undone. I drive you wild, just the sound of my voice, the feel of our lips together is enough to push you over the edge, the feel of my fingers makes you scream my name until you can't say or scream anything," he smirked as he started undressing her. This wasn't their usual. They had a healthy sex life, but tonight they both needed each other. It had been nearly a week since they were together in any way last, and this always happened when they were reunited. They had sex like rabbits the first night they were together after an extended period. He ran his hands up her side and she looked into his eyes.
"Damn right, baby," she said, her chest heaving as she pulled him into another kiss, sliding his shirt off his shoulders and then going to work on his pants, pushing his jeans and boxers off his hips and then running her hands over every inch of his body she could reach.
He finished getting her undressed and moved his lips from her lips to her neck. She gasped and smirked, pushing him back on the couch. She smiled and straddled him, her hands on the back of the couch on either side of his head. She felt his hands slide over her thighs, resting on her hips as he looked into her eyes. "You gonna ride me, baby?"
"Like a bucking bronco," she whispered in his ear, sinking onto him, letting out a low moan into his ear as she felt him fill her. "God, baby."
He seethed in pleasure, feeling her perfect fit around him. "God, I love the way you fit around me."
She smiled as she started to ride him, moving her hips in all different directions, up and down, in circles, in a figure eight. With each motion he hit a different spot inside of her and it drove her insane. "Oh, shit, baby," she moaned as she threw her head back.
He kissed her neck, then to her breast, taking her nipple in his mouth. He let out a grunt and she gasped, moaning. "God, Liv," he moaned and held her hips tighter, finding her rhythm and moving in perfect sync with her, getting as deep as he possibly could.
It wasn't long until they were both spiraling over the edge of their climax together. She fell into his chest, breathing heavily. "Mmmm. Bry, that was amazing," she said breathlessly.
He smiled and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back. "When isn't it?"
She smiled and looked up at him, kissing him, gently biting his bottom lip. "I say we go cuddle in the bedroom. Make out like horny teenagers," she whispered and giggled.
"You got it, Pancakes. How about we get something to eat? Build our strength for the rest of the night?"
She gasped. "Brian Cassidy, you animal," she teased. "Sounds good, other than what's straddling you, what uh—what are you in the mood for?"
Brian smirked. "You love it," he smirked. "I don't know. Something spicy, like the incredibly sexy woman I have on my lap… Thai?"
She smiled. "Perfect."
She got off him and picked up her bra and panties and his shirt, buttoning it up so he could still see a sliver of her bra, as he went to get the menu. She walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his torso from behind. He smirked. "See something you like?"
Olivia giggled. "The green curry sounds good."
Brian smirked. "You're a sassy little thing, aren't you?"
She smirked, too. "Oh, you meant you, I thought that was common knowledge, sexy," she whispered, gently biting his earlobe and pressing her body into his, moving her hips gently.
He turned in her arms. "You're evil."
She gasped and feigned shock. "Why, what-ever do you mean? I'm just an innocent woman, trying to give the man she loves her order for the Thai food."
"Innocent my ass, babe; you know what you were doing, and you know I love it."
She smiled and rested her arms on his shoulders. "Maybe… I have been known to be a tease."
He shook his head. "Come on, let's order our food so we can go make out."
She giggled. "Like horny teenagers," she finished.
He ordered their food and picked her up. She gasped and giggled as he carried her into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and started kissing her. She smiled and kissed him back, pulling him closer. She wrapped a leg around his waist and smiled, gently nipping at his bottom lip.
He broke the kiss and kissed her neck. She gasped and arched her back. "Mmm. God, Bry!"
He smirked and whispered in her ear. "I know your spots."
She smiled and looked into his eyes. "And I know yours," she whispered, gently caressing his face.
He smiled and rested his forehead on hers. "I love you, baby."
She smiled and kissed him softly. "I love you, too."
They kissed for a little while longer until there was a knock on his apartment door. "Dinner's here," he said after her broke the kiss.
She smiled. "Impeccable timing."
He got up and put on his pajama pants, and a gray tank. He went to get his wallet and she took it, taking out some money. "Tip for my sexy entertainer," she joked. He chuckled and took it from her hand in his mouth. He heard another knock at the door and spoke with the money in his mouth, "Hold on, I'm coming." He walked out and opened the door to see John Munch and Nick Amaro. "Oh, hey guys."
"Numb nuts, don't you ask who it is before you open the door," Munch asked with his usual snarky attitude.
"I thought you were my Thai food."
"We need to talk," Munch said. Brian hesitated; he knew that none of Olivia's co-workers knew about them.
"Now. Can we come in," Nick Amaro all but insisted. The two of them never got along, and he could tell that he was getting agitated just being in his presence.
"It's not a real good time right now, guys," Brian tried to stall.
It had taken longer than Olivia expected for him to get the food, and she got worried. "Bry," she called out.
"I got this, it's taken care of," he called back, praying that she wouldn't walk out of his bedroom. She knew what she had on and their secret would be out of the bag, and neither of them wanted that right now.
Nick was taken aback. This asshole could get a girl? They must be getting desperate these days. "You have company?"
"Yeah, it's your sister. You should have told me she snores," Brian quipped back. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said as he went to close the door.
Just then Olivia walked out of the bedroom, with his wallet, getting out smaller bills. "Hey, need change," she asked, not realizing who was at the door.
Nick caught the door and pushed it open. "Liv?"
"Hey, guys," she said, and let out a breath. She put her hand to the top of the shirt and closed it, so they didn't see her bra.
Brian looked at Olivia then at the two detectives before him. "I'll call you in the morning," he said and closed the door and rushed to Olivia's side, hugging her tight.
She let out a breath. She was still in shock. She wasn't sure whether to cry from embarrassment, or go to the gym and beat the fuck out of a punching bag, or to have rough angry sex with Brian. "I… What the hell just happened?"
Brian took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not sure, but I think we disclosed to your squad."
"Damn it," she said softly and shook her head. "I wasn't ready to tell them. It's not that I don't want them to know, I just want to keep my personal and professional lives separate. I hate taking work home with me. I've seen what it can do to a relationship, and I refuse to have what happened to Kathy and Elliot happen to us."
"Liv, Baby, Pancakes, we're not Kathy and Elliot. I know what your job is, I did it. Okay. I promise you. I'm not going anywhere. Whether anyone in your squad likes it or not, I'm in this for the long haul."
Olivia smiled and she kissed him. "I love you, baby," she whispered and wiped the tears from her eyes. Apparently the tears of embarrassment won. Just then there was a knock at the door. "Make sure that's the Thai food this time, Bry."
He smirked and rolled his eyes. Once they ate dinner, they had sex, again. They showered together and then cuddled up, naked, next to each other. Six AM the next morning Brian's phone rang. He woke up and answered it, still groggy. "Cassidy."
Olivia groaned. "Sleep."
Brian smirked. "Shhh," he gently ran his hand through her hair. "What? No I never. Yeah… Yeah, I got it thanks." He hung up the phone and looked down at Olivia.
"Everything okay?" she asked, still half asleep.
"Yeah, fine. Go back to sleep, baby."
She let out a small grunt and fell back to sleep, knowing she had to be into work and had to be up to go home to change soon. Within a half hour, her alarm went off. She woke up, seeing Brian still awake. "You never went back to sleep?"
He shook his head. "No, damn phone call woke me up too much."
"Why didn't you wake me up, baby?" she asked, running her hand over his cheek gently.
"You need your sleep. You have work today."
"So do you," she paused. "You sure you're okay? You're not… hiding anything?"
Brian smiled and gently caressed her face. "I'm fine, baby."
She smiled and moved her face to the side, kissing his palm then kissing his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Liv."
She crawled on top of him and kissed him again, feeling his hands move up her back. She let out a small moan then pulled away softly. "I have to go back to my apartment, put on fresh clothes. Maybe it'll lessen some of the embarrassment," she said gently, a small smile on her face.
"Call me if you need me, baby."
"Your phone is going to be ringing off the hook. I always need you," she whispered and kissed him again, climbing off him, picking up her clothes off the living room floor, hearing Brian behind her, she smiled. "I'll stop by tonight, okay?"
He smiled and nodded. He watched her dress and took his shirt from her. "Sounds good, Pancakes."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. She broke the kiss and nuzzled against his nose. "Love you."
He smiled and caressed her face. "Love you, too." He let her go. He was praying that when she found out what he was being accused of that she wouldn't run. He needed her in his life, because without her, this life wasn't worth living. He sighed, closing the door behind her and then getting in the shower and putting on his uniform. "Damn thing," he murmured as he buttoned it up. He grabbed his leather jacket and keys and headed out the door, to the SVU squad room. He needed to get this taken care of.
As Brian walked into the SVU precinct, so many things ran through his mind. Surely, this was a different squad room from the one he worked in years ago, but yet it was still the same; the atmosphere was familiar. Not only was he angry because someone had accused him of rape, which he could never do, but he was embarrassed. He was embarrassed because the people who were investigating him were some of the people he used to work with. John Munch was his old partner, his friend. He figured that he believed him, but in this instance he just didn't know. He wasn't sure he knew anything anymore. He walked in and over to Munch. "Can we talk?" Munch led him into an interview with Amaro. "IAB called me at 6 AM. 6 AM!"
"We tried to warn you last night, but you were busy," Munch said.
"They're talking rape! Where's this coming from?"
"A girl named Heather Riggs."
"Heather who?"
"She look familiar?" Nick asked, as he through a file on the desk.
Brian sighed and hung his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I thought her name was Brooklyn. She was a working girl. What happened? She get arrested? She trying to make a deal?"
"She came in of her own accord," Nick said, his arms crossed.
"Right before I testify against Ganzel?"
"She said she never worked for Ganzel."
"Yeah, she didn't. It was before that. Some small time pimp… French guy, uh… Andre LaRouche. Real sleazebag. He got put away."
"Well, Ms. Riggs says she was forced into hooking and LaRouche had you break her in."
"She's lying! And you passed this report on to IAB?"
"Brain… you knew we had to," Munch said.
"Right," Brian said and got up, and walked out.
He heard Fin. "Cassidy! What's up, man?"
"Just stopped by for breakfast."
Olivia walked in and looked up from her phone, seeing Brian. "Cassidy."
"Hey, Liv. Long time no see," he said, getting close to her, smelling her perfume.
"Yeah, nice to see you," she said, still not sure how to handle this here. She looked around and let out a breath.
"Are we missing… something here," Amanda asked, feeling the tension in the room.
"You children do not need to know," Munch answered.
"Mm," Fin said, skeptical.
Olivia walked over to the coffee pot where Nick was and took a deep breath. "Nick, what's going on?"
Nick didn't look at her as he answered, "You should ask him."
Olivia pursed her lips and nodded, starting to walk away. "Ok."
"Really? You and Cassidy?"
Olivia sighed and walked back, "A, I didn't tell you because it's none of your business. B, it's really not that big of a deal. And C, Nick, I didn't tell you, because I didn't want this," she spat and turned, walking back to her desk, grabbing her keys and picking up her phone and calling Cassidy, agreeing to meet him at a coffee shop down the street.
She walked into the coffee shop and saw Brian, she walked over to him. "Hey, what's going on?"
Brian took a sip of his coffee. "Lynch mob, formed by Ganzel. He handed Nick the rope."
Olivia sat down next to him. "Okay, how about we be a little more specific?"
Brian sighed and looked over at her. "I'm being framed. For rape."
"Rape? When? Who?" Olivia asked, trying to wrap her head around this. Brian Cassidy would never rape anyone, undercover or not.
"You know, Liv, I think you're asking the wrong questions here."
She took a deep breath. "You're right, why don't you tell me what I should ask."
Brian shook his head. "The thing is, I don't know. Liv, I didn't do this…"
"I know you didn't, Bry, I know," she whispered, gently touching his arm. She turned his face and she kissed him.
"Liv, I can't lose you because of this."
Olivia smiled and caressed his face gently. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm getting too used to this kissing you in public thing… and it's not even been twelve hours yet," she said with a smile and a wink, trying to joke with him. "I know, not the time," she whispered and rubbed his shoulder. "You still want me to stop by tonight? I'll understand if you need your space," she said, resting her forehead on the side of his head.
Brian nodded and turned his face again and kissed her gently. "I think I just need a night… get my thoughts together."
Olivia nodded sadly. "In the meantime, I'm going to fight for you. I won't see you go to jail for this. I can't. I won't lose you because of Ganzel. Almost did once, won't do it again."
Brian leaned over and kissed her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, Pancakes," he winked.
She smiled and kissed him one last time. "I'll call you later."
Olivia walked back to the precinct and walked into the squad room. She listened to what they had on this case, about how Heather's boyfriend and boss went to see Ganzel in prison just a couple days before she came in to make her report. "We have to tell Barba."
"I was just on my way to do that," Munch said.
"Um, I'll do it. I have to talk to him anyway," she said gently, letting out a breath, getting her keys and starting to walk out.
"Hey, Liv, you want backup?" Nick asked. He walked after Olivia and they rode to the DA's office knocking on Barba's door.
He opened the door and looked at them, letting them into his office. "For the record, this is off the record. You're not supposed to be anywhere near this case."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Noted, thought you should know that Heather Riggs has a boyfriend named-"
"Terry Matthews, AKA, Bobby Navarro. The DA's office has its own investigators."
"Good, then you know this is all just a ploy to get Ganzel off."
"Not exactly, we're picking him up, giving him a full body exam. Heather mentioned a scar on his left inner thigh."
Olivia took a deep breath and let it out. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her cool. "Um, save yourself a trip. Um, his left inner thigh, he was knifed as a rookie. Can't miss it, the cut was pretty bad, so the scar is worse. Big white splotch, right there," she said, making a circle with her hands, putting it on the inside of her thigh, close to her crotch. "That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Ah, so current relationship or past?"
"Both, with a thirteen year gap."
"So you're not entirely impartial?"
"That's not true."
"We're picking Cassidy up now, for rape. We're going to trial."
"Trial?"
"We have to fast track. We can't appear to be protecting our own."
"He didn't do this!"
"Amaro, you took the victim's statement, was she reliable?"
Nick took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. She was."
"Nick, Cassidy would never RAPE anyone!"
"Well, he has admitted to having sex with prostitutes before."
"Yes, I remember thank you," she said, letting out a sigh. She hated that everyone kept bringing Cassidy's past up. Like they were trying to convince her that he was no good for her, but the truth was that he was the ONLY one for her. They both had a past. She had her fair share of sexual partners. Some would say that Cassidy was an angel compared to the things she did. She was pretty sure she'd had more sexual partners than most porn stars, but she hated hearing about her boyfriend's past from others, just as she was sure that he hated hearing about hers from others. She had never been so happy Elliot was gone than she was right then and there, because she knew that Elliot would have said anything to break her and Cassidy up.
They talked a little more and then they left. She got back to the station, hating having to think that right now, her boyfriend, the man she loved, was being arrested. She took a deep breath, she couldn't concentrate on anything. She got back up from her desk, grabbed her keys and drove back to the courthouse, wanting to be there for his arraignment. She sat behind him in court, for as much support as she could give him, and when the judge settled on bail she stood up and waited for the crowd to disperse before she walked over to him, just wanting to be near him, she needed to know that they were ok.
His lawyer, Querns, saw her first. "Detective, you are a vision as always."
She smiled and saw Brian turn around. "Hey."
He nodded. "Hey."
She walked with him out to her car and she looked at him. "They have witnesses that say you and her were alone in a room for two hours. And she knows about your scar, that one," she said, pointing at his left thigh. "See the problem?"
"Nothing happened," Brian said to her.
"So you weren't alone in a room with her for two hours?"
"No, that part's true, but nothing happened."
"Then how does she know about your scar?"
"I don't know. A million ways, it's not a state secret Liv. Look I made an excuse to go to a back room and we were in there and we just talked."
Olivia let a breath out and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back on her head rest. "Okay." She didn't know why this was such a big thing with her, maybe she was a jealous person, maybe she was too invested in the job. She believed Brain with everything she had, and this whole thing was killing her. She couldn't imagine what was going on inside his head.
"Ok… what? So you do believe me?"
"Of course I do," she said back and she let out a sigh. "Bry, I'm sorry I'm just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. My boyfriend is being accused of rape, I know he's innocent, but every fiber of my being is screaming at me because I'm going against my instincts of always believing the victim. But I know in my heart that you didn't do this."
Brian looked at her. "Look, Liv, I'm sorry that this is happening and that you have to go against your instincts but I'm stuck here."
She rolled her eyes. "Did you not hear a damned word I just said? I don't blame you Bry, I know you didn't do it; I'm trying to get the whole story. You can be mad at me all you want, I'm doing my best here. I'm only human."
Brian let out a breath. "You're right. Liv, I'm sorry, I'm just on edge. I'm mad, but not at you, I had no right to take my anger out on you."
Olivia took a deep breath and took his hand. "I'm sorry too. I sounded accusatory and I shouldn't have," she looked into his eyes. "Bry, we're going to get through this," she whispered, gently kissed him.
He gently caressed her hand with his thumb and broke the kiss gently. "I think I need you with me tonight."
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You got it, baby. Come on, let's head back to the house. We'll have a night in. Movies. Junk food. Everything."
He smiled, "Sounds good, Pancakes."
They drove back to his apartment and had a quiet night in, watching movies, eating all the junk food they could find, and just holding each other. They needed this. They needed to know that they had each other, because chances were that things were going to get ugly at trial, and they needed to be there for each other to get through this with their relationship intact.
Things did get pretty ugly. Querns dug up dirt on Amaro and presented it in open court. That he had a sexual relationship with the sister of his target when he was undercover. They later came to find out that he had another child with the woman. They blamed Brian for it. Querns also wanted to concede that Brian had in fact had sex with the woman in question, but Brian wouldn't have it. He wouldn't admit to something he didn't do.
Olivia knocked on his door the next day and explained to him that they weren't happy with the way he ambushed Amaro. With everything going on it was hard to keep perspective. When Olivia told him about Nick's son he took a deep breath and knew what he had to do. He had to offer the proverbial olive branch and play nice. Maybe they could help each other out. Nick could get the scum drug dealer out of his son's life, and the truth could come out about Cassidy, and how nothing happened in that room.
And that's just what they did. They set up a sting so the drug dealer would get caught with enough drugs on him to pop him for possession with intent to sell, and they managed to get Bobby Navarro to admit that the whole case against Cassidy was a scam. That was it. Cassidy was a free man. He walked out of the courthouse with Olivia behind him. "I knew we'd beat this."
"Yeah, so I can spend the rest of my life working nights at a Bronx courthouse? Nah, I think I'll put in my twenty and retire. Once accused, always under suspicion. Even from you."
"Me? What are you talking about," she asked, seeing him walk away. She was afraid of this. "What, so we're over now?" She felt the lump form in her throat. She couldn't stand one more heartbreak, from another man who promised he'd never leave. She was done having people make promises to her that they couldn't keep, or had no intention of keeping. She was done with being used for sex and a good time.
He sighed and turned around. "I don't know, you want to go grab a drink and NOT talk about it?" Brian just needed to forget all of this was happening. Forget all of this happened. He managed to walk away vindicated, a free man, and he still had his girlfriend. He had everything he needed right in front of him, and he was glad he wasn't stupid enough to let her go… Again.
She smiled and walked over to him and took his hand, walking to her car and driving to the bar with him. Tonight, they would get a little drunk, have some rough sex to get the agitation out, the anger out. They bit each other, he pulled her hair, she scratched his back, leaving angry red marks and they both climaxed together. That was just what they needed because the next morning, though they may have been a little hungover, they were right back to saying "I love you," because at the end of the day, they did love each other. And they both realized that they always had. This is what it meant to find your soulmate.
A/N: Thanks for reading! And thank you thank you thank you to my loyal readers who have given me amazing compliments the past few days! It definitely helps me get things done so I know you guys have what you want! Next up; Olivia meets "The Beast"