Disclaimer: They still aren't mine.

A/N 1: I meant to have this chapter up on Monday, but then decided to wait and see how Grayleck did in court, to see if I wanted to use any of it for this chapter -which I ended up not really doing. Like the last one, this one is a bit longer than the previous chapters; so hopefully that will make up for me taking a little longer to post it. :)

On to Chapter 5 . . .

The diner was as usual, crowded and full of noise –even though it was passed the noon rush. Elliot, Olivia, John, Casey and Alex made their way to a large corner booth in the back; just getting settled when a waitress came by with menus.

"What can I get ya?" She asked.

"Pot of coffee will be fine," Elliot replied, knowing all of them practically ran on it anyway. The waitress glanced around the table, making sure no one wanted anything else then went to grab five mugs and one of the table pots.

"So, how's Grayleck?" Alex asked, after the waitress had returned and she was pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"See, why did I know that's what this whole thing was about?" Elliot replied.

"You know us too well," Casey stated, filling her own mug. Elliot gave a soft chuckle of agreement, though it was John who finally answered Alex's question.

"She's hot-head." He answered, Olivia chiming in next.

"C'mon John, we all know there's more than one reason for that. Every one of us sitting here has been accused of that at some point in the last decade."

Casey, who'd been watching the pair, and had more than one flashback of similar scenes in the squad room during a case, broke her silence and the tug of war between them. "So what's causing hers?"

"Fear probably," Elliot answered, as everyone's gazes turned to him. "You two left some big shoes to fill and from what we've heard, she left DC under less than harmonious circumstances."

Casey shared a curious look with Alex, but could tell from the look on her face that she too hadn't heard much of Grayleck's personal dealing in DC.

"Care to elaborate on that one El?" Alex asked.

He shook his head. "That's for you two to figure out." At that point, Elliot, Olivia and John's phones rang. Alex and Casey shared knowing smirks of amusement, sometimes the universe just had to have its own way.

"So much for lunch, we'll have to try it another day." Olivia replied, the three detectives dropping some bills on the table for their coffee; before heading out to a crime scene. After chipping in the last few bucks for the coffee, Alex and Casey left the diner, getting into Casey's car and heading back to Alex's office.

"I can't believe you're looking up her personnel file," Casey commented as she sat down in one of the chairs opposite Alex's desk.

"Hey, if you have a better idea –I'm all ears." Alex replied, waiting as her laptop booted up.

Casey shrugged, "Not at the moment, no."

The pair drifted into a comfortable silence, Alex's nails tapping lightly with each quick keystroke and Casey thinking back over the past few days. It had thrown her, to see Grayleck at the café and had Alex not been with her; she knew things might have turned out very differently. However, thinking back on the conversation, she could see that Elliot had been right, while Kim had appeared cool and collected –she could still see the other woman's surprise when she'd failed to take the bait.

"What do you think she's running from?" Casey asked, turning her attention to Alex.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, her glasses glaring briefly as she quickly lifted her head to look at Casey.

"Kim, I think Elliot was right. It makes no sense that she would transfer to New York from DC unless she was running from something. For most ADA's it's the other way around if they're hoping to move up politically. The fact that she gets so easily defensive is another tell, I mean Liv was right, it can be caused by any number of things but I'm not getting that vibe with her," Casey answered.

Alex paused in her search, the points Casey had just brought to light making sense. "What vibe are you getting?"

"The same one we always get when a suspect's hiding something, either to protect themselves or someone else. When you first got to SVU, you were as hard-hitting as she is mainly because of your long term goals –which have obviously changed. When I first got there, I hadn't wanted it but Arthur put me there anyway. I broke down briefly, during my first case in front of Liv and even after saving an intended victim –tried to get out. Kim's been dealing with similar cases for years, so there's not a high chance they're getting to her and since she left DC . . ."

"She's not looking for political advancement." Alex finished the thought. "So, hopefully whatever's in here will tell us what she's running from." Within a few more seconds, Alex had Kim's file on her desktop screen, "Got her."

A/N 2: Well, there's Chapter 5. Like or hate you guys know the drill :) I'll try and have the next chapter up by this weekend.