Author's note: Thank you for the amazing continued support on this story. Every review makes me smile. I appreciate everything, and even if something happens in the story that you do not like, or find confusing, let me know and I will do my best to fix and/or clarify things. As a quick interjection, some of this story will follow canon from the show, now that it has returned. This is a small spoiler warning. I will be following many threads from the premier, and probably from several future episodes. Picture those events with Casey in Barba's place. Still, that doesn't mean Barba won't ever make an appearance. Anyway, enjoy this next chapter. Let me know what you all think. I appreciate the continued support more than I could ever hope to explain. In regards to this chapter specifically, SVU has yet to name the current DA, so I went with Bureau Chief Cutter, who was the last named "boss" besides McCoy, who I assume has retired by now. I will edit this chapter if and when SVU provides a name. P.S. Thank you to the reviewer who pointed out my small error in the previous chapter regarding Casey's due date. I have since fixed it. And in regards to the reviewer who has once again insulted this story, thank you for the feedback, and I'm sorry you feel that way.
Casey had woken up two hours before her meeting. She felt as if she had moved onto a cloud. Olivia had been incredibly attentive and loving lately, in and out of bed. Casey had come down with a little stomach bug, and Olivia had made her stay in bed, bringing her her favorite chicken soup and tea, sitting with her whenever she could, and being everything that few knew Olivia could really be.
Casey glanced at the clock as she stepped out of the shower, sighing when she noticed the time. Olivia's meeting had been in the morning, but Casey had arranged her own meeting with her boss for the afternoon. Cutter preferred it that way, anyway, and Casey was anything but a morning person. Having a scheduled hearing was one thing. Finding the courage to confess her love escapades to her boss at the crack of dawn was quite another. The stress was only enhanced by the fact that Cutter had never revealed his true political feelings, so whether he would even accept her being with a female coworker was only one worry on top of a mountain of others.
By the time she arrived at the office, Casey's nerves were dancing in her mind, buzzing too loudly to form a single coherent thought. The attorney stood by her desk, rehearsing her confession in her mind, then orally, and then in her mind all over again. She hoped her favorite blazer wasn't as puckered as it felt. She had started to gain a few pounds, and was slowly outgrowing her favorite suits. She desperately needed to go shopping, but she didn't have the time.
Finally, as the clock ticked just before one, Casey stood outside Cutter's office, knocking gently. When he instructed her to enter, she took a deep breath, opening the door slowly, and closing it behind her with a quiet click. Cutter looked up from a mountain of paperwork on his desk. "Good afternoon, Casey."
He seemed oddly calm. Casey had merely told him she had to talk to him about a personal issue, and his characteristic calmness was almost more unnerving. Where was McCoy's suspicious glare when she needed it? Casey sat across from his desk, folding her hands in her lap. "I have some important information to discuss," she began. She hesitated, her confession on the tip of her tongue. Cutter's office looked the same as always: impeccably organized. But had it always smelled like that? It was like a combination of wood and musk, and to say it was nauseating was an understatement.
"You mentioned that in your email, and in your voicemail. Is this bad information or good?" Cutter asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
"It's good information," Casey replied hastily. "It is happy information." She took a deep breath, meeting his expectant gaze. "I have already disclosed my pregnancy to you," she started. Of course, her pregnancy was practically public knowledge, since everyone knew that she had been raped, though few knew that her baby was actually from the man she had slept with a week before her first night with Olivia. Not that she would ever confess that publicly.
Cutter nodded, capping his pen and tossing it lightly onto the folder in front of him. "Yes. Have you considered when you will be requesting maternity leave?"
"I want to work for as long as I can," Casey answered. And it was true. She loved her job. She wasn't the kind of woman who wanted to sit on the sofa all day. She liked to work, and she knew she was good at her job. She had every intention of working until she reached her mandatory maternity leave period, or until her doctor said she shouldn't anymore- whichever came first. Casey bit the inside of her lip, folding her hands on her lap. "I suppose you could argue that my news is related to my pregnancy, but it is much more complicated than that." By now, all traces of her planned speech had evaporated, leaving her mind full of mush. The normally brilliant, confident attorney was, for once, at a complete loss for words.
Cutter tapped his pan on his desk thoughtfully, clearly waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he exhaled sharply. "Casey, why are we here today?" There was the eery calmness again. Once more, Casey found herself wishing she was having this conversation with McCoy. Cutter was just as ruthless, but in a much quieter way. It was more than a little disconcerting.
Casey hesitated, then launched into her explanation before she lost her courage. "I have spent most of my life keeping my work out of my personal life, and vice versa. With only a couple of exceptions, I have never even thought to date someone in the office. However, within these past few months, that has changed. I am dating someone, and it is imperative that we disclose."
"You are dating someone in the office?" Cutter clarified.
"Not in this office," Casey answered. "For just over four months, I have been dating Sergeant Olivia Benson." The confession hung in the air like a stubborn stain, and continued to dangle for several long, uncomfortable moments.
Finally, Cutter spoke. "This has been going on for four months?" he questioned. As Casey nodded, saying nothing, he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Why have you decided to disclose your relationship now?"
Casey smiled softly. "We are disclosing because she has asked me to marry her, and I said yes. She will be legally adopting my baby when she is born." Olivia had informed her that once they were married and the baby was born, she would be adopting it, no questions asked. It was the sweetest gesture Casey could imagine.
Another moment of silence passed. Casey, who had never been much of a fidgeter, shifted in her seat. "Okay," Cutter said slowly, drawing out the syllables. Or maybe that was just Casey's nerves, distorting every sentence, forcing it into slow motion. "Do the Chief of Detectives and IAB know about this?"
Casey nodded. "Olivia told them this morning," she replied. She didn't know how it had gone. She and Olivia had agreed to talk about it over dinner tonight, and the last she heard, Olivia had to track down a suspect who had fled from her and Amanda. "I do not know whether the conversation was well received, as we have not spoken yet." She was beginning to regret agreeing to wait until dinner.
"To the best of your knowledge, would you say that your relationship has ever impeded your ability to carry out the duties of your job? Has it ever affected your objectivity on any case, or hers?"
"I cannot speak to her objectivity, but as for my own, I have never allowed my feelings to cloud my judgment. We have kept our personal lives out of the office. There is no one out there who could truthfully claim they have seen us all over each other at work, as we have done everything in our power to keep things a secret."
Cutter nodded slowly. "But Sergeant Benson took the lead on your case, did she not?"
Casey was hoping that would not come up. "Yes," she admitted. "But, realistically, she would have taken the lead on it whether we were together or not, because she is the head of the Special Victims Unit."
"But what proof do we have that she did nothing different over the course of the investigation? What proof is there that she didn't act differently because of her personal stake in the case?"
Casey shook her head. This was not going well. "There were no reports of police brutality. She did not beat either of the men down, and she stepped aside and allowed Detective Rollins to run the main interrogation. Her only personal involvement in the case was in regards to her discussion with Cabot, when she convinced her to plead them out."
"Which she only did because she was dating you at the time," Cutter asserted.
"No, sir," Casey answered, swallowing a lump in her throat. "There have been several other cases like mine, where the victim was attacked by multiple men and the detectives asked for a plea deal to capture the other attacker. There was nothing different about this investigation. It was by the book, from start to finish. With all due respect, it would have played out the same exact way whether we were together, or if she merely knew me and we were still just friends. One could argue the same degree of suspicion in either instance, yet no one would argue the invalidity of an investigation if we were merely friends."
Cutter again fell silent. If Casey could bottle the silence in the room, she knew she would have a lovely little drink shop. She could practically hear his next words before he even thought them, but what he did say shocked her. "You're right," he admitted. "It is not my job to speak to the validity of an investigation. I am not in charge of Sergeant Benson. Your job is my responsibility, and I have seen no difference in your performance. I cannot say that I approve of an inter-office marriage, but I have little recourse over it, as you have disclosed, and it has not appeared to have affected your job."
"Are you going to transfer me, sir?" Casey questioned before she could stop herself. She recalled her promise to Olivia, should either of them have to transfer.
Cutter shook his head. "No, of course not. Just keep your personal life at home and maintain your professionalism here. Can you do that?"
"Yes, sir," Casey promised. She wasn't sure if he wanted an answer, but she wanted it there, for posterity, if nothing else.
"Good." Cutter tapped his pen again, then stopped. "I believe that is all we have to discuss. I will not begrudge you your happiness, whatever my personal feelings. Consider this your probationary period. Simply prove to me that your personal life will not interfere with your job, and you will eventually have my full blessing. But as for your concerns of a transfer or other recourse, I am not going to lose one of my best attorneys because they fell in love. Is that understood?" Casey nodded, and Cutter almost smiled. "Alright. If that is all, I believe you have an arraignment in an hour. Thank you for coming to me."
Casey nodded, saying nothing but a quick thank you. When Cutter dismissed her, she walked out of the office, her legs feeling like jelly. It had gone well, she assumed. She still had her job, and Cutter had all but given his blessing. That was all she could have hoped for. Casey quietly closed the door behind her, squared her shoulders, and took a deep breath. She had an arraignment to get to.