The Starbucks was just as empty as the precinct, considering most don't partake in caffeinated drinks later in the evening. However, Chester Lake was somewhat of an insomniac and coffee was somewhat of a necessity. Surprisingly enough, when Chester ordered his third cup that evening, Sara joined him. "Triple shot? You on a deadline or something?" he asked wryly, a small smile working its way onto his face.

"I could ask you the same question," came the reply, Sara matching his smile and stance as they waited for their drinks.

"You could."

Sara's smile widened. "Touché." Shifting from one foot to the other, she shrugged. "Eh, caffeine doesn't really have any long term effects with me anymore. Too many late nights, you know?"

"I do."

The two smiled in their silence for a moment, their coffee breaking the semi-awkward silence. Soon the detective and the reporter were seated at a table, one of those overtly artsy ones with the hodge-podged surfaces. Steaming cups before them, it was Lake who broke the silence first. "Look, I have nothing against reporters-"

"Good to hear."

Lake smiled a bit. "- but I'm kind of hesitant to talk to you."

"Because of Stabler? I thought you didn't like him."

"Hey, I never said that."

"Okay, then what?"

"I…" Lake shrugged, fingers drumming the surface of his cardboard cup. "What's his deal with you?"

Sara cleared her throat, glanced upwards, and shrugged. "Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions?"

Lake, too, shrugged, but remained silence. It was an interrogation technique, to remain silent until the suspect talked. And he hoped Sara would talk. For a moment it appeared his ruse had failed, when suddenly Sara's mouth opened.

"It's nothing huge, really. Guy's daughter got a DUI a few years back, right? And the charge disappeared, according to a source." Sara took a sip of her coffee. "Source was right. So I wrote the Captain, asking for a statement… felt obliged to let the public know what was going on." Lake didn't make a move, so she continued. "The captain refused to make a statement, so I asked Olivia. She was a bit nicer, but in the end it was the same; nothing. I decided I would write the article one way or another, but soon after the charge was brought to fruition. Bada-bing, bada-boom… I gotta guy who ain't so happy with me. 'Nuff said."

Lake frowned. "Oh," was all he could muster after a moment. "I-I guess that's not such a big deal-"

"I know, right? So can we move on?" she said, nodding, recorder appearing out of her bag.

"You know Olivia?" Lake asked, interest peaked.

Sara's finger paused on the play button. "What?"

"You called Cragen 'captain,' but you called Olivia by her first name."

Sara smiled a bit, though it was less of a friendly one. "You detectives. Never shut off, do you?"

Lake grinned. "Nope." Sip of coffee.

"Uh… sure, I know her. Yeah. Can we move on?" she asked dryly.

The sudden snippy manner of Sara's speech was surprising to Lake. Had he said something wrong? Lake's hands shifted from the cup to the tabletop. "I… was just wondering…"

"You know, I'm tired. We should do this later," Sara said, setting the recorder on the table to retrieve a business card from her bag. "Here. Call me to reschedule, yeah?"

Lake frowned, his detective senses tingling. As she rose, he rose with her, hand enclosing around the small piece of paper. "Er, yeah… look, if I said something…"

Sara looked up, shrugging. "I'm tired," she repeated. After a moment, she nodded. "Night, Detective." With that, Sara spun on her heel and was gone. Lake frowned, falling back to the seat. Hands closed around his coffee, and with a small sniff, he noticed that Sara had left her recorder.

That rescheduling had just been bumped up, it seemed.