The next morning, Olivia leaves Alex alone so she can go talk to Ms. Bradley before school starts. Alex is trying to be strong, but Olivia can see in her eyes that she doesn't want her to leave. Olivia doesn't say anything, though, not wanting to upset Alex by mentioning the vulnerability she tries so hard to hide. She just says that she's going to Lauren's school and she'll be back in a few hours, and Alex can call her if she needs anything.

Alex nods mutely, rolling onto her side in their bed and turning away from Olivia.

Olivia bends down to kiss her forehead. "Love you, baby."

Alex doesn't say anything, and Olivia recognizes that it isn't personal, that Alex is just anxious about tomorrow's trial. There's nothing more to say now, so Olivia leaves, closing the door behind her.

Half an hour later, she sits across from Annabelle Bradley in a conference room at P.S. 135. Ms. Bradley meets her gaze without flinching. "I know what I saw," she tells Olivia, "and I don't appreciate you questioning my ethics."

Olivia sighs. "Let's try this again. Ms. Bradley, tell me exactly what you saw."

"I heard Lauren crying and I wanted to see if something was wrong. They were in the conference room –"

"Who's they?"

Ms. Bradley makes a disapproving noise, making it clear that she doesn't appreciate the interruption. "Ms. Cabot and Lauren. Lauren was crying and Ms. Cabot was beside her. I asked Lauren if she was okay and she said she wanted to go back to class. I said I would take her, and on our way back to her classroom, I noticed some blood on her leg. I asked her what had happened, and she told me Ms. Cabot had molested her. Specifically, she said Ms. Cabot had touched her under her skirt."

"All this on a walk back to her classroom?"

Ms. Bradley glares at her. "It's on the other side of the school."

Olivia tries a different tactic. "How do you know Lauren Davis?"

"I was her music teacher last year."

"How well do you know her?"

"Well enough."

"How much time have you spent with her in the past?"

"I don't see why it's relevant, but I taught music to her class for thirty minutes twice a week. Lauren sometimes spends her lunch recess with me, as well, helping to clean the musical instruments. She's a good kid."

Olivia nods. "Has she ever mentioned her stepfather to you?"

Ms. Bradley cocks her head. "What are you getting at?"

"Lauren accused her stepfather of sexual abuse, then later recanted and said Alex molested her."

"I know Damien Anderson. He wouldn't do that."

"How do you know him?"

"Not well – he's quite involved in his daughter's education, but only as a teacher knows a parent."

"What's his relationship like with Lauren?"

"They're close. He reads to her, takes her to the park, the zoo, the beach, helps her with her homework."

"Has she ever said anything that would lead you to believe that she may have been sexually abused?"

"Not until two weeks ago," Ms. Bradley says firmly. "And I don't believe that Mr. Anderson has ever abused Lauren."

Olivia sighs, recognizing there's nothing more for her to do. If she tries to convince Ms. Bradley that she didn't see what she thinks she saw, she'll be in trouble for coercing a witness, and it won't help anyway. She'll just have to wait this out. But first, she has to go see Lauren, one last time. She has to try.

Lauren isn't at school, so Olivia decides to see if she's at her house. She finds the address and drives to Lauren's house. She knocks on the door, and after a few moments, Lauren answers the door.

"I'm not s'post to let anyone in," Lauren says when she sees Olivia, and starts to close the door, but Olivia steps in anyway.

"Sweetheart, are you home all by yourself?"

Lauren nods warily. "But Damien's gonna be back in ten minutes. He just went to pick up some milk. We ran out."

"Lauren, you're not allowed to be home by yourself. It's not safe and it's not legal. I'm going to stay with you until your stepfather gets home."

"No! I don't want to talk to you."

"But I need to talk to you. Why don't you show me your room, and I'll sit with you, and we can talk?"

Lauren glares at her for a moment, but she finally nods and takes Olivia's hand.

Olivia follows the little girl upstairs into a large, pink room. Dolls and stuffed animals litter the floor, and there's a pink canopy bed in the center of the room.

"Your room is very pretty," Olivia says.

Lauren shrugs and sits down on the bed. "Damien's gonna be mad that I let you in."

"He won't be mad at you, Lauren, I promise." Olivia clears her throat. "I want to talk to you about Alex."

"I don't want to talk about her."

"Lauren, Alex is really sad, because she doesn't want to go away, but if you keep lying, she's going to have to. I need you to tell me the truth."

"Alex hurt me. She has to go away so she won't hurt me again."

"Lauren –"

"No! I don't want to talk to you about Alex. You've gotta leave. Damien's gonna be back and he's gonna be mad."

Olivia swallows. "Okay, honey. We don't need to talk about Alex, but I can't leave you alone."

Guardedly, Lauren nods. "Want to see my dolls?" she finally asks.

Olivia nods, and Lauren points Olivia toward a corner of her room where several dolls are sleeping in wooden beds.

"Damien made them and Mommy helped me sew the blankets and pillows," Lauren says proudly.

"They're very nice," Olivia says.

Just then, they hear the sound of a key turning in the front door and the door. Lauren stiffens and picks up one of her teddy bears, hugging it to her chest. From that action, Olivia reminds herself that Lauren is a child, and that the accusations she's making are out of fear rather than malice, and they aren't her fault. No matter how much she loves Alex and hates what this is doing to her, Lauren is a victim too.

She hears footsteps mounting the steps and reaches out to take Lauren's hand. "It's okay," she says softly, noticing how pale Lauren has gotten.

"No," Lauren whispers. "He'll be mad."

"Lauren, I promise you, Damien won't be mad at you."

"No. I broke a rule, and when you break a rule, you get punished."

"How do you get punished, Lauren?"

Lauren shakes her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Lauren –"

Suddenly, Lauren's door opens and her stepfather steps in. He raises his eyebrows when he sees Olivia. "Detective," he says curtly. "What are you doing here?"

Olivia feels Lauren trembling and gives her hand a squeeze. "You left your six-year-old stepdaughter home alone," she says. "That's not safe or legal, and I could arrest you right now for endangering the welfare of a child."

He smirks. "You're just upset that my little girl is telling the truth about what your girlfriend did to her."

"Irrelevant to the fact that you just broke the law – again," Olivia snaps.

"Why are you at my house?"

"I wanted to ask Lauren something, but when I found you weren't home, I couldn't leave her by herself. Aside form being unsafe, it's also against the law."

"Well, I'm home now, so you can leave."

Olivia knows that she won't accomplish anything by arguing, so she leaves, although her stomach starts to ache as she does so. This was her last chance, and she's accomplished nothing. Now it's time for her to go home to Alex and tell her that the odds of her beating this charge have just gotten significantly worse.

Alex doesn't say anything when Olivia shares the news, but her face goes white and her body starts to shake a bit, although she tries to suppress it. "It's fine, Olivia," she says tightly, but the tremor in her voice belies her words. "You've done all you can."

Olivia feels terrible. "I'm sorry, baby. I tried."

"I know you did. It's okay." Alex tries to compose herself and leans over to give Olivia a hug. She has to stay strong, for Olivia and for herself.

But when she's in the shower that night before bed, she finally lets the tears fall, hoping that the running water will drown out her sobs.

The day of the trial finally arrives. Neither Alex nor Olivia have slept the night before, and both sit in the cab holding each other's hands in silence on the way to the courthouse. Neither of them knows what to say.

Finally, they arrive at the courthouse. Both of them are glad that Liz has been able to call in a favor and convince the judge that it isn't safe for Alex to go through the front entrance. They silently enter the courthouse through the side entrance, where Serena is waiting for them. She quickly leads them to an office for a quick prep before the trial begins.

Liz meets them there a moment later. "I have some bad news," she says. "Since Olivia is going to be called as a witness, she won't be able to be present throughout the trial."

"What?" Olivia yells, wrapping a protective arm around Alex's shoulders. "Liz, I need to be in there!" The only thing that's allowed Olivia to function is the knowledge she will be able to support Alex through her trial, and now she's being told that she can't even be in the same room, and Alex won't be able to talk to her about what goes on, or else the prosecution can easily say her testimony is tainted.

"Olivia, you've been in court many times before and you know that if you're called as a witness, you can't watch the trial," Liz says patiently.

"No. Liz, I'll be in there. I have to be." Olivia gets up from her seat, slamming her fists against Liz's desk and making all the other women jump.

"Olivia . . ." Alex puts her hand on Olivia's back and the detective turns to meet her eyes. She sees the fear Alex is trying to hide and feels tears welling up in her own eyes. "They won't let you in. Don't do something that might get you in trouble, too. It won't help. I know you want to be there for me, and I want you and need you there more than anything, but I know you'll be there with me in my heart. Maybe after your testimony is over and neither side has any more questions or rebuttals they will let you sit in." Alex hopes this will appease Olivia, even though she knows it won't be the case.

Serena and Elizabeth know this as well, but both are glad to see Olivia relax at the thought. She sits down again and takes Alex's hand. "Liz, Serena, you have to promise me that you will protect Alex for me. You have to get them to understand." Olivia takes a deep breath and squeezes Alex's hand to keep from falling apart. She feels Alex's hand trembling in her own and suddenly, she can't hold it in anymore. She wraps her arms around Alex and buries her face in her princess' shoulder, finally allowing her tears to flow.

Alex holds her tightly, proud of herself for being strong enough and holding it together for Olivia. She can't bear to see Olivia in pain, and she'll do whatever she can to alleviate it.

Liz and Serena watch the two of them, somewhat uncomfortably, feeling like they're intruding upon a private moment. Finally, it's time to go, and Liz says, "Alexandra, your trial starts in ten minutes. We have to leave."

Alex suddenly feels as though she can't move. Her muscles seize up and all she can do is cling to Olivia. Liz waits a moment, then nods to Serena, who gently pulls them apart. "Come on, Alex," she says quietly, helping Alex to her feet.

Olivia watches helplessly as Alex is shepherded toward the courtroom. Alex glances over her shoulder for just a moment, blue eyes meeting brown unwaveringly as Alex says, in as strong a voice as she can muster, "I love you, Olivia Benson."

Olivia reaches out to Alex, the touch fleeting as she says, "I love you, too, Alex Cabot."

Alex steps away, and the courtroom doors close a moment later, leaving Olivia alone. She wraps her arms around herself, wishing she was in the courtroom with Alex, where she belongs. Tears rush to her eyes, and she jumps as she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around to find Elliot standing beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. A mixture of anger, hurt, and sadness fills her body, but right now she can't fight it. She just needs her best friend. She needs someone to be there for her right now, because she can't be there for Alex, as she should be.

Elliot wraps his arms around Olivia. He knows that Olivia still isn't too happy with him, but she needs him now, and this is a start, at least.