Author's note: Hey guys. The good news is, I've recently had a sort of epiphany for this story, and have a multitude of ideas for it. Good, bad, or indifferent, well, I'll let you decide. Is there bad news? Well...sort of. But not about this story. I am not sure if I will be continuing Stay With Me, as it hasn't really been getting bites. If I get to twenty five chapters and it has less than fifty reviews, then I'll know it isn't good enough to keep. We'll just have to see. I do hope people like it though, and this one too. Now, enough with my babbling. As always, thanks for reading, and please review.

Casey propped herself up on top of the covers with her computer in her lap and a steaming cup of coffee on the nightstand. Olivia had been gone for a week, and she had still not heard so much as a hello from her. Sighing, Casey reached for her phone and hit speed dial two, waiting for Olivia's phone to ring. As had been happening for a week, her wife's voicemail played the usual message, which seemed to be permanently burned into Casey's memory: "Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system..." As the monotonous voice continued to ramble the usual message, Casey tuned it out, focusing on the wheel her cursor had turned into as it loaded her email. Hearing the beep that signaled it was time to speak, Casey sighed and said "Olivia, every time I call, the phone gives me this same message. I don't know if you are ignoring my messages, or if you just can't return them, but I am getting more worried and more frustrated each time this happens. I miss you, and so do our daughters. They are asking when you are coming home...and I don't know what to tell them." Casey sighed again, realizing it would be any second now before the phone would inform her that she had run out of recording time. That thought in mind, she quickly wrapped the message up. "Anyway, we miss you, and we love you. Call me." Casey hit the end button and tossed her phone lightly onto the nightstand, turning her attention back to her computer.

It was the dangers of being with a cop, and if Casey were to be honest with herself, it was a bit strange that Olivia was able to keep her regular phone with her, since being undercover usually meant getting a phone for that only. At least, that was what had happened every time Olivia had gone undercover before. Casey shook her head, willing herself not to read too much into the situation. The last thing she needed was to allow her deepest worries to penetrate her mind, because she knew once that happened, those thoughts would never leave, and it would stress her out even more than she already was.

"Mommy?"

Casey looked up, smiling softly when she was Serena standing in the doorway. "Hey, sweetie, where's your sister?" she asked, patting the bed, indicating to her daughter that she could climb up next to her.

"Playing," Serena answered, walking over to the bed. She attempted several times, unsuccessfully, to climb up next to Casey, and finally just stood there, looking up at her mother.

"Playing?" Casey repeated, smiling. "Playing what?" she asked, gently lifting her daughter onto the bed.

Serena smiled, crawling to the head of the bed and laying down next to Casey. "Dollies," she replied, moving closer to her mother and indicating that she wanted to sit in Casey's lap.

Casey took the hint, moving her laptop and replacing it with her daughter. She brushed a stray red hair out of Serena's eyes and looked at her. "Why aren't you playing with your sister?" she questioned, hoping she wouldn't have to mediate another fight. Stephanie had broken four dolls this month alone, all of which were Serena's. She had definitely inherited Olivia's temper.

"I missed you, Mommy," Serena murmured, hugging Casey tightly.

Casey smiled down at her, returning her hug. Since they had been able to walk, Serena had been her shadow and Stephanie had been Olivia's. The girls had their moments when they were inseparable, but they also had moments where they had to be kept in separate rooms in different parts of the house. It was because of that strange bond that the twins had that she did not question Serena any further. "I missed you too, honey," she replied. "Would you like to watch a movie?" As Serena nodded, Casey grinned. "Okay, tell me which one and I'll put it in the DVD player."

"Princess!"

"Serena, we have a lot of princess movies," Casey answered, gently lifting the little girl off of her and onto the bed. "Which one?" she asked again, although she had a feeling she knew which one Serena was going to pick , even before the answer came.

Serena confirmed her suspicion by saying "Mermaid, Mommy, mermaid!"

"Okay. Stay here while I go check on your sister," Casey ordered. She gently got out of bed, knowing that Serena would listen to her. Stephanie was the defiant, headstrong one of the two. She made her way down the hallway and slowly opened the door that led into the bedroom the twins shared, and smiled when she noticed Stephanie sitting on the floor brushing the hair of one of her dolls. An array of tiny outfits surrounded her, and she quickly realized the doll was wearing a mini skirt, extremely high heels, and a low cut top. Who even makes that sort of thing for a doll, of all things? Casey thought to herself, shaking her head. "Steph, we're going to watch The Little Mermaid. I know how much you love Sebastian. Want to come watch?"

She didn't have to ask twice. The question was barely out of her mouth before Serena had bolted to her feet and was already half out the door. "What, no hug for me?" Casey joked. She smiled as Stephanie hurried back in and hugged her tightly, then rushed out again. Casey watched her, briefly thinking about how the twins had been walking since they were ten months old, and they had been difficult to keep up with since just past their first birthday. Casey turned the light off in the bedroom and followed her daughter out. She had a long night ahead of her.

Nearly two hours later, as the end credits of the movie rolled on the screen, Casey sighed softly. She had planned on typing up her opening and closing arguments for a trial she had in a couple of weeks, but that plan had quickly backfired. Hitting the eject button on the DVD remote, Casey looked to either side of her. Serena was fast asleep at her left, Stephanie at her right. Both of them were cuddled so closely to her that Casey knew if she even attempted to get out of bed, it would wake them up. So she hit the power buttons on the DVD player and on the TV, making a mental note to take the movie out later and put it away. For now, she rested her back against the headboard of the bed and sighed, allowing her mind to wander to thoughts of work, her children, and the stages her relationship with Olivia had progressed through over the last several years. So far, the best test of their love had been when Casey moved to California, unable to face the woman she loved or their coworkers, or even the city itself, and then come back hoping for a rekindling of their feelings. Those thoughts weighing on her mind, Casey yawned, and fell asleep a few minutes later.

Her phone blared suddenly, waking her. Yawning, she fumbled for it, her eyes still shut. "Hello," she answered quietly, without checking the caller ID. She knew she had to be quiet, even though the twins were heavy sleepers.

"Hey, sweetheart," Olivia's voice chirped from the other end.

"Hey," Casey murmured, her mind still half asleep, and therefore unable to muster up its normal excitement.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked. Casey could sense that her wife was worried.

Casey sighed softly. "I'm fine," she murmured. "I'm just sleepy is all." She checked the alarm clock and shook her head, noting that it was five minutes until two in the morning. She knew, in all likeliness, that Olivia, all the way in California, had merely forgotten about the three hour time difference. "Your inbox must have been full," Casey offered, her biting sarcasm hanging in the air like a wet blanket in the freezing weather. She knew she sounded bitter, but a week's accumulation of worry had placed her on edge.

"It was," Olivia admitted, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry, honey. My first night at the club, I found out they wanted me on bouncer duty, and that same night, I had to take an underage girl home. We couldn't charge the creep on more than supplying a fake ID. We are still attempting to smoke him on rape and attempted murder, but we haven't seen him, and so far, that girl was the only one we have run into that is under twenty one."

Casey nodded, slowly moving her free arm out from under Stephanie, who had been using it as a pillow for a good portion of her body. She winced at the tingling pain that shot through it, thanks to the fact that it was asleep.
"The rest of the week has been busy, regardless of that," Olivia continued, "and I haven't had enough free time to sit down and call you, or even turn my phone on and listen to my messages. I'm sorry. I hope you're not angry."

"I'm not," Casey answered. It was only a half lie. "We miss you," she added, still whispering so she wouldn't wake the twins.

"I miss you, too," Olivia responded. "How are the twins?"

Casey smiled softly, contemplating how to answer. "Well, poor Stephanie is lost since she cannot follow you like a lost puppy dog. She and Serena haven't fought as much as usual lately, and when they do, they always apologize to each other. It seldom requires more than a time out. Tonight we watched The Little Mermaid, and then they fell asleep." Casey smiled, glancing at her sleeping daughters, who were both out like a light.

"And how are you?" Olivia asked.

Casey managed to switch her phone to her left ear without disturbing the bed too much. "I've been working a lot," she answered truthfully. "Some of the overtime has been by choice, but some of it has also been the fact that crime is definitely on the rise, and there aren't enough of us to prosecute every criminal out there. So far this week, I've arraigned six child molesters, three serial rapists, and two reproductive abusers. And those are just the ones that led to an indictment."

"Wow," Olivia answered, sighing again. "I miss you so much. I have to go, Case. Just know you're going to be in a lot of trouble when I get home."

"Can't wait," Casey answered as she managed a soft smile, though her wife couldn't see her.

"Give the girls my love."

"I will," Casey promised.

"Okay. I love you." Olivia blew a kiss, and then, without warning, the line went dead.

Casey shook her head, placing her phone on the nightstand once more. "I love you too," she murmured, checking the clock again. It had been a twenty minute conversation, but all the time in the world wouldn't have been enough. She couldn't wait for Olivia to come home. Being without the woman she loved was like a knife in her heart that could only be removed by Olivia's love for her.