Burning Desire
By: Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles
Chapter 2: Panic
Upon reaching the precinct he ushered her into his office. "Sit," he insisted.
She sighed. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything. Everything. We have his name, A Jacob Roberts, does that mean anything to you?"
When Casey shook her head, he leaned over and handed her a photo. "Does this man mean anything to you?"
"That's John. Olivia said the finger prints at the scene matched a relative of his..."
"Who's John?"
Casey sighed. "He's an ex of mine who keeps appearing at convenient and inconvenient times. Our families used to be close..."
"Are they still close? Do you know where he might be? We've tried his apartment but he's not there, his work said they'd let him go a few weeks ago, and his family said they haven't heard from him, but Fin seems to think they're holding back."
"How? No, they haven't been close since we broke up years ago."
Cragen sighed once more. "Ok, I'm going to leave you in here with a photo of Jacob and I'll go and see how Munch and Finn are getting on. Just try to think." He put a photo heavily in front of her and left the room, slamming the door.
She sighed too. Why the hell did he have an alias? As far as she knew, John hadn't contacted her family, but... She grabbed the phone, dialing his number. "Hi Dad. Yeah, that's great that it's going well there. Hey, listen, can you come down here? No, no, I'm fine, but we've come across some evidence with John and... Alright. See you then," she hung up the phone as Cragen walked back into the office.
Meanwhile…
Her whole body was throbbing.
Why the hell am I so sore? If Elliot...
Suddenly it dawned on Olivia where she was, and her eyes opened slowly, squinting at the bright light that came through the window. Seeing a blurry figure in the corner, she spoke, her mouth dry and her voice croaking, "Casey?"
Suddenly the figure came into focus, and a large, smiling nurse looked down on her. "You're awake! Everything went well. You've been all patched up, just try to rest now."
Olivia reached for the water on the try which the nurse promptly brought over. "N-no," she croaked. "C-Casey, where's Casey!" she asked, knowing she was probably long gone into protection by now. She clutched the necklace. "Casey!" she cried.
It happened. Again! No one she ever loved would be safe!
The nurse frowned. "Ok, just try to calm down. There's someone outside for you. One of the people you came in with. I'll let them in ok? You just need to stay calm."
However, hearing Olivia's distress, Elliot was already barging into the room. "Liv? What's happened? They said you're going to be ok."
She shook her head as he came to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "Casey's gone, isn't she, El?" she asked, tears flowing freely. "Into protection? I won't see her again!"
He wrapped both arms around her, sighing. "Liv, calm down."
"Bu-but-but...it's my fault and I'll never see—"
"As far as I know, Cragen just took her down to the precinct to get her to look at some photos. He didn't want her hanging around here in case anyone turned up. I'm sure she's sitting at your desk, coffee spilt down her shirt as we speak."
Olivia calmed somewhat. "Oh...good," she said, pulling back a bit. She sighed. "Elliot, I've got something to tell you. Casey and I are—"
"Together? Dating? Madly in Love? Humping like horny rabbits every chance you get? I know. I'm your partner Liv, you can't hide anything from me. Also, I kinda got the hint when she answered your phone at four in the morning."
"Oh, you make it sound so cheap!" she said, fake pouting before she continued. "Well, the first three describe it better... When did she answer my phone at four in the morning? She never told me anything."
"She answered it, swore, told me to call back and then hung up. I never thought she had those sort of swear words in her. She looks like such a lady!"
Olivia laughed. "She usually doesn't swear. And, in case you're wondering, no we haven't gotten as far as your cheesy grin implies, thank you very much! She deserves class, love, loyalty..."
"And a good f-" Before Elliot could finish, the nurse walked in to check on Olivia once more, followed by Munch.
"So are you here on business or to check on me?" Olivia asked.
"Both, naturally. How are you doing? I must say, that gown looks magnificent on you."
Elliot rolled his eyes.
She laughed. "Yeah well, you'll never see it from the back!"
Elliot smiled. "But I bet I know someone who—" she punched his arm before he could finish, effectively shutting his mouth.
"What's up?"
"I've come here with a message. Novak's had to borrow your spare shirt because she spilt coffee on herself."
Elliot's laughter exploded from his mouth.
Olivia smiled. "Yeah, that'd be her! But do you have any other information on the actual case?"
"Not aware of any. A few men came in to talk to Casey, and then took her away." Seeing Elliot's look, he added, "I think she was going with them to tell them where she thinks John used to hang out. Have they brought you any hospital food yet? I'm a fan of the jelly. If you don't want it."
The look in her eyes was panicked. She looked at the tray of untouched food. "Take it. Hey, do you have your cell on you?"
Elliot sighed. "Liv, she probably won't be able to answer a call."
Much looked up from the processed food. "Text?"
She thought a minute. "Maybe, but you're sure they didn't take her away into protection?"
Munch swallowed his food. "Why would they have a reason to? The guy's in custody."
Olivia grabbed Elliott's offered phone and didn't answer as she texted, her hands shaking.
Elliott looked up at Munch. "How 'bout you take that jelly and go make a call to Cragen, see if you can find out more about what's happened?"
Munch gave a nod, leaving the room.
Olivia smiled pushing 'Send'. "Thanks."
He shrugged. "No problem."
"How's your head?"
"Okay. Gonna have a killer headache for a couple days though. I'd assume the painkillers you're being fed through that IV are taking care of any of your physical discomfort then?"
She nodded.
"Lucky for some. Hey, maybe we could share." Elliott reached for her drip, making her laugh.
"Hey, back off, it's mine! Next time you get shot, I'll make sure you get some, but this is ALL mine."
He laughed. "Phone just got a text."
She opened it eagerly, then handed it to him, disappointed. "It's from Kathy."
He sighed. "She needs milk and eggs from the store, apparently. Sorry."
She shook her head. "It's okay. She is your wife after all," Olivia replied as Munch walked back into the room.
"Who's my wife? I didn't get married while I was out of the room did I?
Elliot gave Munch a half smile. "Got some news?"
Munch nodded. "No witness protection. They're just driving around with Casey, hoping she can remember something. They think she's not cooperating because she says she doesn't know that Jacob man."
"Jacob?" Olivia repeated. "If it's the guy I'm thinking of—her ex who won't just go away—his name is John."
"Jacob's the guy who shot you. We've got witnesses saying they've seen him entering Casey's apartment as long ago as a year. The feds think she's in on something. Although, why the feds are involved I have no idea."
She sighed. "Probably gave a false name to throw us off." Elliot grabbed his phone, opening it. "This one's for you."
She grabbed it eagerly, then frowned at the contents. "Fire escape."
Elliott frowned. "What does that mean?"
'What? I can't leave!' she text and hit 'Send'.
"What's wrong?" Elliot asked.
She sighed. "Wish I knew. But I also wish I could leave and try to figure this out."
"I know, but you can't."
"But you can."
"Liv..."
"Please! She's in trouble! I don't know how I know, but I do!"
There was an agonizing wait in silence as they all watched the phone, breathing a sigh when it flashed to alert them to another message, "crop circle."
There were more frowns, then suddenly Munch spoke. "I was talking to her the other day about a crop circle that had popped up on the outskirts of New Jersey. She said it was a fake. Are they in New Jersey? Why the hell are they out there? They said they'd take her around Queens where John had been seen then bring her back."
"They're lying. Please Elliot! And can you go too?"
Munch thought a moment. "Well, she is the best looking DA I've seen in quite some time, so yeah, I'll go."
'Sending El & Munch 2 u, plz stay safe, love Liv.'
Elliot squeezed her hand, reassuring her that he'd bring her back safe, before leaving the room, followed by Munch.
Casey looked nervously at the men in the back seat, quickly erasing the messages. "Where are you taking me?" she asked. No one spoke as the car continued down the highway. "I demand to know where you're taking me, right this second!" Without a word, the man sitting next to her rendered her unconscious...
Author's Note: What do you think? What's happened to Casey?
Review thanks to: BenslerBaby & tummer22
Thanks to my Beta:Tiger(dot)Lily(dot)Weasley(dot)757
Please read & review!
Liv-x-Lex4Ever and E. Scribbles