-----

Elliot Stabler watched with both amusement and a tinge of concern as Casey Novak poured herself another glass of wine. “Just how many glasses have you had?”

“Um,” Casey raised her eyes to the ceiling, trying to remember back to the beginning of the night. “Four.”

“You’re on your sixth, Counselor,” Olivia Benson said with a chuckle.

“Oh.” She frowned. She honestly didn’t remember drinking five glasses of wine prior to the one she had in her hand, but then again, she didn’t remember much about the beginning of the evening. “Four, six, what’s the difference?”

Elliot laughed. “I suppose there isn’t much of one.” He raised his own glass in a mock toast. Casey giggled and clinked her glass against his, then took another large gulp of the dark liquid.

The two detectives and the ADA were in Casey’s office, celebrating their most recent triumph. Casey had successfully sent a forty-nine-year-old man who had a thing for girls just barely into their teens to prison for what was sure to be the rest of his life. Ten counts of rape and aggravated sexual assault, all against minors, and a defense that claimed he was genetically inclined to rape did not make for a jury sympathetic to the defendant. When the verdict was read, no one was surprised by the jury’s findings, not even the defendant.

But victories were always bittersweet for Elliot. For every criminal they put away, there was always at least one victim whose life was changed forever. In this case, there were ten little girls who had had their innocence stolen from them in the worst possible way. The notion of justice for the victims only went so far to comfort Elliot; if he had his way, the victims wouldn’t have been victims in the first place.

“What are you thinking about?” Casey asked him, her voice startling him out of his reverie.

Spying the sparkle in her green eyes, alcohol-induced though it was, he knew he couldn’t let the celebratory conversation turn into griping about not being able to do enough. “Nothing,” he answered with a smile.

“Good, because I will not allow thinking at this party.” She paused. “Wait, that came out wrong. I need another word in there … somewhere. I don’t know where, though.”

“Hey, Casey?” Elliot asked.

“Yeah?”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you ramble when you’re drunk?”

“I am not drunk,” she insisted. “I’ve only had four glasses of wine--”

“Six,” Olivia interrupted, grinning.

“Whatever! The point is, I’m not drunk. Tipsy, sure, but drunk? No way.”

“Uh huh.” Elliot exchanged an amused glance with Olivia. “You know, I never would have pegged her for a giggly drunk.”

“I’m not drunk!” Casey stood up from her seat to emphasize her point, a little bit of the wine sloshing over the edge of the glass and onto both her hand and the briefs on her desk. “Oh, damn it. That’s going to be really impressive. ‘Here’s my motion. Don’t mind the wine stain!’”

Olivia laughed, then guided Casey over to the small couch next to her office door. “Sit here, away from your work and important papers.” Once Casey was settled on the sofa next to Elliot, she then handed the ADA a cocktail napkin. “You might want to wipe your hand.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She smiled as she accepted the napkin and quickly ran it over her hand. “Now my hand’s going to be all sticky.”

Elliot snickered. “That sounds like a personal problem.”

Casey blushed and, unable to think of a proper retort, took another gulp of wine.

“Oh, did I embarrass you, Counselor?” Elliot teased, nudging her gently with his elbow.

“Not in the slightest,” Casey replied. It was a lie. She stood, wandering over to her desk. Grabbing the bottle, she topped off her glass, then did the same for Elliot and Olivia. Then, she plopped down on the couch between the two detectives, setting the bottle down at her feet and letting the soft leather envelop her aching, tired muscles. She kicked off her shoes, not caring if it was unprofessional. It was after hours, her feet hurt, it was her own office, and the alcohol buzzing around in her system made it that much easier for her to not care. “Oh, I love taking my shoes off at the end of the day. It’s relaxing, in its own weird little way. You know what I mean? It’s just … I don’t know, like a sign that the day is over and--”

“Casey, you’re rambling again,” Olivia laughed. “And you’re not making a whole lot of sense, either.”

“Oh. I’ll shut up now.” But Casey couldn’t keep still or quiet. She was too hyper, excited from her win, thrilled that the detectives wanted to celebrate with her, and, not to mention, buzzed. She quickly finished off the rest of her drink and bent down. Picking up the bottle, she frowned. “It’s almost empty.”

Elliot smirked, took the bottle from her, and poured the rest of the wine in her glass. “Finish it off.”

“Are you sure you don’t want some?”

“I’ve had enough,” Elliot assured her, smiling. “Go on.”

“You want some, Olivia?” Casey asked, turning her attention to the detective on her other side. “We can share it.”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe a sip or two.” Casey went to pour some of the wine in her own glass into Olivia’s, but Olivia stopped her, took the glass from her hand, and poured it off herself. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Casey, but your hands are not exactly steady right now.”

Casey giggled. “Okay, maybe I have had a little too much, but I don’t do this very often, so even a little gets to be too much.”

“Sadly? I actually followed that one.” Olivia laughed. “I don’t know whether that’s good for you or bad for me.”

“Perhaps a little bit of both?” Casey shot Olivia a smile as she accepted her wine glass. “You know, like I’m making more sense than--”

“I get it,” Olivia interrupted.

Casey pouted. “You just cut me off.”

“You ramble. A lot. I’m just trying to save all of us some pain.”

“Pain?” Casey glared at Olivia teasingly, turning around on the sofa to face the detective. “Just what are you implying, Benson?”

“That not only are you a giggly drunk, you’re a rambly drunk.”

“Is rambly even a word?”

“Okay, so you’re too buzzed to make sense, but you’re still correcting my vocabulary.” Olivia shook her head, chuckling. “You are way too funny.”

Casey sidled up closer to Olivia, grinning. “You think so?”

Olivia leaned forward and smiled. “I know so.”

Elliot watched the two of them with raised eyebrows, both bewildered and amused. It didn’t take a genius to pick up on the dynamic that was forming between them, but he wasn’t sure whether the dynamic was real or merely a product of the alcohol. He knew Casey was flat-out drunk--she’d said herself as she was opening the bottle that her tolerance was embarrassingly low--but Olivia’s tolerance was a lot higher and she’d only had about half as much as Casey had. He was torn between saying something to stop them and sitting there quietly to see how far they’d go. In the end, his rationality won out. “So, Casey--”

Casey jumped a mile at the sound of her name, startled. “Huh?”

He smirked at the pink color of her cheeks and the guilty glint in her eyes. She looked more like a child who’d gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar than an attorney who’d just sent a perverted, pathetic excuse for a human being to jail for a couple decades. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Wh-what?”

“Never mind.” He smiled to calm her a little, then looked over Casey’s head to Olivia and raised his eyebrows at her, as if to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing. She gave him an equally nonchalant and noncommittal look in return. They had been working together long enough that communicating without words was second nature to them, and he could tell that she was having fun. What he couldn’t tell, however, was whether she knew exactly what she was doing.

Casey moved away from Olivia and once again settled back in the cushions. Her mind was moving a mile a minute and she couldn’t seem to grasp onto any thought long enough for her to really process it. She felt relaxed but extremely confused, and that perplexed feeling was the reason she didn’t drink very often. “We need music,” she said after a minute of silence. She knew it seemed random, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“What do you have?” Elliot asked.

“Good question.” She tried to remember which CDs she’d brought in from home that morning, but just as the beginning of the evening was a blur, the small details of the morning were gone as well. “I think I might have some oldies compilations or something,” she said with a shrug.

“Oldies, Casey?” Olivia clucked her tongue in disapproval. She stood and wandered over to Casey’s desk, going through the drawers for the CDs.

“Well, you know, not cheesy stuff. Stuff like the Beatles, the Stones …”

“The Monkees,” Olivia grinned, holding up a jewel case. She rifled through the rest of them. “Sinatra, Bobby Darin--”

“Hey, don’t knock Bobby Darin.” Casey got up and rushed over to Olivia, trying to snatch the jewel cases out of her hand.

Olivia turned to the side, blocking both Casey’s grasp and the drawer. “The Four Seasons, Tears for Fears.” She paused to shoot Casey an amused smile. “Shania Twain, Savage Garden, Linkin Park, and Trapt. Holy eclectic musical taste. Though, I never would have guessed you were a closet country fan.”

“All right, get out of my stuff.” Casey reached around Olivia and slammed the drawer closed. “I am not a closet country fan.”

“You have Shania Twain, Casey!”

“One CD hardly makes me a country fan. And besides, this is the CD that came out after she crossed into pop.”

Olivia smirked. “You know the timeline of Shania’s career?”

“No! I just--ugh, forget it!” Her mind was swimming again, though this time the thoughts were a little frightening to her. Why was Olivia looking at her like that, like she enjoyed teasing her just a little too much? Was that even what the small gleam in her eyes meant or was Casey just misinterpreting everything? But the most startling thing of all was that Casey liked it, both the attention and the implications of her feelings being correct.

“I’m sorry, Casey,” Olivia said softly. “I was just teasing you.”

Casey opened her mouth to assure Olivia that it was okay, but instead, before she even thought about what she was doing, something else entirely slipped out. “Yeah, whatever.” Playing hard to get had never been her thing. Then again, flirting with a woman had never been her thing, either, before tonight.

“How can I make it up to you?” Olivia moved a little closer to her, looking intently into her eyes.

Oh, she’s good, Casey thought. She quickly tried to think of something to say in return that wouldn’t sound ridiculous. “I have a couple of ideas.” Groaning inwardly at the cheesiness of that retort, she tore her eyes away from Olivia’s.

Olivia giggled and wrapped her arm around the ADA’s shoulders. She leaned in closely, whispering into Casey’s ear. “Like what?”

Casey blushed and pulled away, refusing to meet Olivia’s eyes. This was crazy; Olivia had to be playing with her. She was a little surprised by how much the thought of Olivia not meaning any of the flirtation hurt. “I-I need more wine.”

“That’s all you want?” Olivia asked, smiling. “I was sure you were going to ask me to take it out in trade or something.”

“N-no. I mean, yes. I mean … never mind.” Just what was happening? Trying to focus on something else, anything else, she took the jewel cases from Olivia’s hands, put them back in her desk drawer, slammed it shut, and walked back over to the couch. She avoided Elliot’s amused gaze as she plopped down on the opposite end of the sofa and tucked her feet up underneath herself. Great, she thought, just great. Not only had she made a fool of herself in front of Olivia, she had also done so in front of her partner. Picking up her wine glass from where she had left it on the floor in front of the sofa, she quickly downed the rest of the dark liquid, hoping against hope that the alcohol would calm her down. Or at least get her back to the point where she didn’t care about anything.

Within a couple minutes, the alcohol had worked its magic. As Olivia went to sit back down on the couch, Casey stretched her legs out, blocking the middle seat. “What’s the password?”

“Let me sit down now?” Olivia asked.

“Nope!”

“Please let me sit down now?”

Casey pretended to think about that for a moment, then shook her head, grinning. “One more guess.”

Olivia smirked and bent down to whisper in Casey’s ear. “If you let me sit down now, I’ll give you a back rub later.”

Immediately, Casey moved her feet, allowing Olivia to sit. “I’m holding you to that, Detective.” Her cheeks were a pale shade of pink, flushed from both the wine and the flirtation.

“You do just that.”

“I’m going to go wash out the wine glasses in the bathroom,” Elliot said, taking his glass and Olivia’s in hand. He stood up and motioned for Olivia to follow him. She shot him a perplexed look but did as he asked. Once out in the hallway and out of earshot of Casey’s office, he turned and fixed a knowing stare on Olivia. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?” she asked him, feigning innocence.

“Don’t give me that, Olivia. She’s completely gone, but you’re not. It’s one thing to play along with her, but you’re really flirting with her, and on some level, she knows it.”

“I most certainly am not.”

“You are. And she’s flirting back. The only difference is you’re the one who’s more aware of what’s going on.”

Olivia, realizing she was caught, decided on another tactic. “And what does it matter to you if I am or not?”

“I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t because it’s none of my business. But I care about the both of you, and I have to tell you, what’s going on in there is confusing the hell out of her, whether she’s consciously aware of it or not. And I’d hate to think that you’re having fun at her expense.”

“You don’t think this is confusing the hell out of me, too? I mean, my God, I’m not exactly flirting with women all the time, Elliot.”

“So why are you?”

“I-I don’t know,” she cried helplessly. “She was flirting with me, and I found myself … liking it. I know she’s drunk and she doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but God help me, I liked it. So I started flirting back to humor her.”

Elliot sighed. What he saw in that office was much more than his partner humoring the drunk ADA. But he wasn’t sure if Olivia even realized that herself. “Look, all I’m saying is, be careful. You have rules, remember?”

Leave it to Elliot to throw her rules back in her face. “I know what I’m doing.” Sort of, she added silently.

After looking her over for a moment, he decided to back off and let her do whatever she wanted. “Fine. Just … be careful.”

She nodded curtly, then walked back into Casey’s office with Elliot on her heels. The ADA had gotten up from the couch and was wandering around her office, obviously looking for something. “Casey, what are you doing?”

“Looking for--” Casey stopped speaking abruptly as she stumbled over something on the ground. After regaining her balance, she bent down and picked up one of her shoes. “--these!”

“You didn’t see that your shoes were in the middle of the floor?” Olivia asked. Her dark eyes reflected both concern and amusement.

“No, I really didn’t. I couldn’t remember where I’d kicked them.” She stood on one foot and tried to slip the other into one of the shoes. Suddenly losing her balance, she reached out and grabbed onto Olivia’s arm for support. “Whoa!”

“You all right?” the detective asked, holding onto Casey’s arm.

“Yeah. I should not try to stand on one foot when I’ve had … however the hell many glasses of wine I’ve had.”

“Seven, maybe seven and a half, but who’s counting,” Olivia grinned. “The buzz is wearing off, isn’t it?”

Casey nodded wearily. “And now I’m just sleepy.”

“Come on.” Olivia allowed Casey to lean on her as she slipped on her other shoe. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Olivia …” Elliot said, a warning tone in his voice.

“I can’t very well let her drive herself home, can I?” she hissed under her breath.

“I can hear you two, you know,” Casey spoke up through a yawn. “I’m not that out of it.”

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said, smiling. “Get your jacket and I’ll get you home.”

Casey snatched her jacket off the coat hook and shrugged it on, then started walking towards her office door. “We have to do this more often, you guys. I had a lot of fun.”

“Next time you win, Casey,” Elliot assured her with a wink. “And we’ll go out somewhere and have something stronger than wine.”

Casey smirked, turned off her office light, and once the detectives were out in the hall with her, closed the door behind herself. Elliot had half a mind to follow Olivia and Casey out of both curiosity and concern, but after mentally considering the screaming match that would most certainly occur if either woman were to spot him, he decided to let it go. He’d just have to question Olivia extensively the next morning. The threesome separated in the parking lot, Elliot running in the rain to his car and Casey and Olivia making their way to Casey’s.

Olivia took the keys from Casey’s hand and unlocked the driver’s side door. Wrinkling her nose at the dust on the dashboard, she leaned over and opened the passenger door for the ADA. “God, Counselor, don’t you ever clean your car out?”

“I’m only in it when it rains or snows and I never think to bring a dustcloth with me,” Casey replied, plopping down on the seat. “Oh God I am so drunk.”

“I thought you weren’t drunk, just tipsy.”

“Olivia, I had like, six glasses of wine and I have an ant-sized tolerance. Of course I’m drunk.” She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. “I’m dizzy.”

“And you still don’t know how much you had.” Olivia started the car and shook her head. She didn’t say another word until they were out of the parking garage. “Casey, I think I know the way back to your apartment, but I might need a little direction.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Olivia glanced over at Casey and frowned. She took her hand off the wheel long enough to give Casey’s knee a gentle shake. “Casey, stay awake for me.”

“I am awake,” she mumbled sleepily.

“Not for long,” Olivia muttered. Luckily, she remembered how to get to Casey’s apartment without having to ask for help. Once there, she parked the car in Casey’s spot in the garage, turned the car off, and sighed. The ADA was out cold. Gently, she roused Casey. “Come on, hon, you’re home.”

“Ugh,” Casey groaned. “I’m getting a headache.”

“I know,” Olivia whispered. “Just a little bit longer and then I can get you into bed.”

Casey smirked. “You might want to reword that, Detective.”

“Just get out of the car, Novak,” Olivia said with a small, embarrassed chuckle.

“Oh, last names, huh?” Casey got out of the car and slammed her door shut, then leaned against the car wearily. “I’m so not going to make it all the way upstairs.”

“You can’t very well stay out here all night, Casey,” Olivia said softly. She rounded the car and wrapped her arm around Casey’s shoulders. “Come on, I’ll help you get upstairs.”

Navigating the stairs was a bit more problematic than Olivia had anticipated, and as such, it took a few minutes longer than Olivia had expected to get Casey safely up to her apartment. Since she was still holding the keys, she opened the door rather than stand there while Casey tried to fiddle with the lock. Once the door was opened, Casey walked in, kicked off her shoes, and dropped her jacket in the corner. “Oh, it’s so good to be home.”

She made a move for the sofa, but Olivia grabbed her hand. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re going to bed.”

“You coming with me?” Casey asked, grinning.

Olivia gasped audibly. That question definitely took their flirtation up to the next level. “Casey--”

“It was a joke, Detective. Lighten up.” Casey wandered into her bedroom and unmade her bed. “You still owe me a back rub, you know.”

“Are you going to remember that in the morning?” Olivia asked, smirking as she followed Casey.

“Probably not. Which means you should give it to me now.”

“I think you should go to sleep,” Olivia said quietly.

Casey nodded, stifling a yawn. “It’s late, Liv. Stay here tonight and we can drive in together tomorrow.”

Olivia hesitated. “Casey, I don’t think that’s such a good idea, not after what’s been going on tonight …”

“Olivia, it’s not like we’re going to wind up in bed together. Go stay on my couch; I’ll even close the door to my room.” She crawled into bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes.

Olivia nodded and started to leave, then turned back to the ADA, who had laid down and closed her eyes. There was one question she had to ask. “Casey, did you mean anything tonight?”

Unfortunately for Olivia, Casey had already fallen asleep. Olivia sighed, turned out the light in Casey’s room, and closed the door as she exited. She had no idea if the ADA would remember anything about the night when she awoke in the morning, but Olivia would not likely forget it and she was more confused than ever. On the one hand, she hoped Casey remembered absolutely nothing; that way they wouldn’t have to face the fact that they were both seriously flirting with each other. But on the other hand, Olivia wasn’t sure how she felt about never talking to Casey about what had gone on and whether it meant anything to her. She hated that there was no way to find out just what the next step was until the morning. Regardless of what happened, Olivia had had fun. And she supposed that was going to have to be enough.

Strains of music were what brought Casey out of her slumber; it was the sunlight streaming through the edges of her shades that kept her awake. Groaning, she pulled the sheet over her head and turned onto her other side, away from the window. Just as she was drifting off again, she suddenly became aware of her pounding headache. She only wondered why her head hurt so much for a moment before the events of the past evening came rushing back to her. Sort of.

She remembered the embarrassment of drinking entirely too much in front of Elliot and Olivia, she remembered them teasing her, she remembered being very affectionate … oh God, she thought. Her headache got about ten times worse as she realized just what had happened the previous night, what had gone on between her and Olivia.

After lying still for about ten minutes, the headache became too much for her to bear any longer. Taking a deep breath and preparing for the headache to intensify, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Wrapping the comforter around her shoulders, she climbed out of bed and opened the door. The music was coming from her living room, she realized. Carly Simon. She smirked and slowly made her way towards her bathroom.

As she passed her living room, she saw Olivia sitting on the couch, absentmindedly paging through an old magazine. “You know, you make fun of my musical tastes, but you’re the one playing Carly Simon,” Casey said softly so as not to startle the detective.

A look that was equal parts panic and amusement crossed Olivia’s face. “Casey?” Olivia said, trying not to sound teasingly condescending. “This is your Carly Simon.”

“Oh, yeah.” Casey sighed and walked past the sofa on her way to the bathroom. “My head hurts too much for me to think of a good comeback for that.”

“Jesus, Casey, you look awful,” Olivia said after giving the ADA a once-over.

“And here I was wondering when you were going to turn on the charm, Detective,” Casey snidely called over her shoulder. “I feel like crap.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Olivia asked.

“To get some aspirin.” She indicated her head as if it should be obvious to anyone where she was going. “My head hurts.”

“No. Sit down.” Olivia tossed the magazine aside and stood up, then took Casey’s hand and led her back to the couch. “I’m getting your aspirin. You keep it in the bathroom?”

Casey nodded as she flopped down on the sofa, pulling her feet off the floor and hugging her knees to her chest. As she looked across the room at her television, she caught the clock on her cable box. It was a little before seven-thirty in the morning, which made her wonder just why the sun had been so bright through her shades. She only thought about that for a moment before her attention was grabbed once again by her massive hangover. Her head was throbbing and her stomach felt strange, not quite queasy but not exactly normal, either. “Why on earth did I drink that much?” she mumbled under her breath, dropping her head onto her knees.

It wasn’t until she felt Olivia sit back down on the sofa that she lifted her head. Olivia dropped two small white tablets into one of Casey’s hands and gave her a glass of water. Casey downed the pills and took a large sip of the water, then set the glass down on the endtable. “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

“Why are you up so early?” Casey asked Olivia after a minute of silence.

“Elliot called my cell phone.”

“To see if you were still here?”

“No. He figured I’d still be here, considering how late it was when we left your office and the fact that I didn’t have a car.”

Casey smiled and brushed her hair out of her eyes with her hand. Oh, God, I didn’t even brush my hair before I came out here, she thought in embarrassment. She was a little surprised by the quick moment of panic. Why should it matter if her hair was brushed or not? Little butterflies started to rise in her stomach. “Yeah, sorry about that,” she said quietly, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. Get a grip, Casey, she chastised herself silently.

“Don’t worry about it.” Olivia looked over at the ADA, who was fidgeting nervously in her seat, and sighed. There was no use putting off any longer the conversation the two of them needed to have. “Casey, we need--”

“I know,” she said. She averted her eyes, staring instead at the flower pattern on her comforter. She began absentmindedly tracing the pink roses with her index finger.

“How much do you remember about last night?”

“Enough.”

Olivia shot her an exasperated look. “Casey, that’s not an answer.”

Casey rolled her eyes. “It’s a little fuzzy after we got in the car.”

“That’s when you started to lose consciousness,” Olivia teased, smirking.

Casey gave a light chuckle. “Everything that happened before we got in the car is still there in my memory banks, but not in any particular order or anything.”

“But you do remember--”

“Yeah.”

Olivia nodded and seemed to be processing that bit of information. “Did you mean it?” she asked after a small pause.

Damn it, why didn’t I think to ask her that first? Casey wondered silently. She eyed the detective carefully, trying to see if she could glean from Olivia’s demeanor what she wanted to hear. Closing her eyes and bringing a hand to her head, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I-I don’t know. Maybe. I guess so.”

“Way to be decisive, there, Casey,” Olivia said, frustrated.

“Well, what do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me the truth. Pretend we don’t work together. Pretend there are no strings, so complications, no one to gossip. Tell me the truth: did you mean it?”

Sighing, Casey once again averted her eyes. How was she supposed to answer that question truthfully? There were too many factors to consider, too many confusions and complications. Besides that, what if Olivia didn’t feel the same way? Then she would have embarrassed herself in front of a coworker for no reason. And there was no erasing what was to be said, no turning back the clock. However, as she looked up at Olivia, stared into her dark eyes, she found herself falling, speaking nothing but the truth. To hell with the consequences. “Yes.” She waited just a moment before turning the question on Olivia. “Did you?”

Olivia didn’t break eye contact, not even to blink. “Yes.”

The butterflies in Casey’s stomach started fluttering intensely. She hadn’t been expecting Olivia to answer in the affirmative, and now that she had, Casey wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Her head was spinning just as it had been the night before, though this time there was no way alcohol was the culprit. She tore her eyes away from Olivia’s. Her head was pounding too much for her to think. Though, she supposed that was a good thing. The events of the past twelve hours didn’t lend themselves to rational thought. “Olivia, I-I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“I really haven’t, either,” Olivia admitted. “This is all pretty new to me, too. But Casey, I swear to you, I haven’t felt the way I felt when I was flirting with you in a very long time.”

Olivia leaned forward, comfortingly taking Casey’s hand. The contact surprised Casey and she gasped and pulled away a little. She instantly regretted it when a barely noticeable hurt look crossed Olivia’s face. “I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I wasn’t expecting that.” Olivia gave her a half-smile and once again tried to wrap her hand around Casey’s. This time, Casey allowed her to gingerly take her hand. The butterflies started fluttering so much Casey thought her stomach was going to explode. Olivia’s hands were strong but soft. She was falling helplessly, she knew it, and she had to stop. She pulled away again and tore her eyes away from Olivia’s. “Liv, we can’t do this.”

Olivia sighed. She wasn’t as exasperated with Casey as she seemed; she was frustrated with the whole situation, the fact that she liked Casey but didn’t quite understand why or how, and the fact that Casey obviously liked her but was afraid to admit it to herself. “Why can’t we?”

“B-because! It can’t mean anything. We were both drunk; we didn’t know what we were doing. There are too many … obstacles isn’t the right word, but it’s the only one I can think of. We can’t do this.”

“Maybe we were drunk last night, Casey, but we’re not now. Are you telling me that you don’t feel anything this morning? Because if you truly feel nothing, tell me now, and I won’t bring it up again and we’ll just forget it happened.”

Casey bit her lip, sighing softly. Olivia was giving her an out, but she couldn’t in good conscience take it, nor did she want to. And she could tell just from the sly look on Olivia’s face that Olivia was aware of that. Damn her, Casey thought. Her head was spinning, from both confusion and her headache. “You’re going to be late for work,” she said instead. She’d never been one to believe that ignoring the problem made it go away, but she just couldn’t deal with trying to reconcile her entire life up until now with the events of the previous night.

Olivia smiled, taking Casey’s lack of denial about her feelings as an admission. “What about you?”

“I’m calling in sick,” Casey shrugged. “No way I can handle court today.”

“Well, I’m not leaving you alone.”

“Liv, I’m hungover, not dying.” She yawned, suddenly very sick and very tired. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and pull the comforter over her head.

“I don’t care,” Olivia said, leaning forward and reaching across Casey’s shoulder to grab the remote control off the endtable. Casey’s heart leapt when Olivia’s fingers brushed her neck. “You’re sick and I’m not leaving you alone. Lie down, go back to sleep, and I’ll wake you up in an hour.”

“Yeah, right, I’m not going to be able to sleep,” Casey said, rubbing her eyes. “My mind is racing and I can’t--”

“Shh.” Olivia placed her hands on Casey’s shoulders and gently laid her down so her head was resting on a throw pillow. “The only thing that really cures a hangover is time, and it’s easier if you sleep.” She straightened the comforter around Casey’s shoulders and smiled when the ADA pulled her arms out from under the blanket and rested them on top. She took Casey’s hand in one of hers and brushed the ADA’s hair out of her eyes with the other. “Do I have to sing you a lullaby?”

“Don’t threaten me, Detective,” Casey said with a giggle. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Olivia began rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. Within minutes, she was so relaxed that she could scarcely feel her limbs. “You’re good at this.”

Olivia smiled at the sleepiness in Casey’s voice and was vaguely surprised by just how adorable she thought it was. “Years of practice,” she replied ruefully. “You know, when I was seventeen, a bunch of friends and I had gone on a road trip, and one of the girls wound up getting really bad food poisoning. I automatically took on the role of vacation mommy. It was the only time in my life that someone suggested I become a nurse; I just laughed at that. None of them knew how I was so good at this, of course, but--” She stopped talking, realizing that Casey had drifted off into a deep sleep.

She gently gave Casey’s hand a light squeeze before slipping her hand free. Then she carefully stood and tiptoed into the kitchen to begin foraging for the items for the breakfast she planned on making for the ADA.

-----

Olivia carried a small plate containing a toasted English muffin into the living room and set it down on the endtable. She rounded the sofa and smiled when she saw that in the time she had been in the kitchen, Casey had kicked the comforter to the floor and had pulled off her socks. Without the blanket covering her, Olivia was able to see for the first time that Casey was wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a white tank top; she knew that the ADA had fallen asleep the night before without changing out of her clothes, so she figured she must have changed in the middle of the night.

Sitting down on the edge of the sofa, Olivia gently ran her hand over Casey’s cheek to rouse her without startling her. “Casey, wake up,” she said in a whisper.

Casey groaned and mumbled something under her breath that Olivia didn’t quite understand. Smirking, Olivia tried a slightly different tactic, tenderly shaking the ADA’s shoulder instead. “Casey,” she repeated, a little more loudly than before, “open your eyes for me.”

“Mm-mm,” she replied without opening her mouth. She shifted position, pressing her back further into the cushions of the sofa. “Don’t feel good.”

“I know you don’t, but you need to try to eat something.”

Casey groaned again at the very thought of eating something. “Can’t.”

“It’ll make you feel better, settle your stomach. I promise.”

Casey didn’t respond. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she started slipping back into sleep. Sighing herself, Olivia once again shook Casey’s shoulder. “Come on, Casey. Take a couple of bites of English muffin and then you can go back to sleep.” She felt as if she were bargaining with a two-year-old. It struck her as adorable.

Casey finally opened one eye, peering at Olivia wearily. “English muffin? Isn’t that a little heavy?”

“Well, it’s the next best thing to toast, which is very hard to make when your hostess has no bread. Oh, and you’re going to need more eggs, because I made the last two for myself.”

“I do too have bread.” Casey took a deep breath and sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning before focusing her attention on the detective.

“Well, I could have made you toast with the cinnamon raisin swirl bread, but that’s even heavier than the English muffin, don’t you think?” Olivia teased, snatching the plate from the endtable and holding it out to Casey. “Besides, the smell of the cinnamon would have turned your stomach.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Casey took the plate with a grateful smile and began nibbling at one of the halves of the English muffin. Olivia watched her carefully, trying to determine if the English muffin was in fact settling Casey’s stomach instead of making her more nauseous. “You’re staring, Detective,” Casey said, setting her breakfast back down on the plate.

“I’m just making sure that you’re not going to get sick.”

“I’m a big girl, Olivia. If I do feel sick, I know what to do.”

Olivia smirked. She knew Casey didn’t feel well, which was undoubtedly affecting her mood, but Olivia still couldn’t help but tease her. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a pain in the ass when you’re sick?”

“Yes, actually, I have been told that.” Casey smiled and took another small bite of her English muffin. “A few years ago, I wound up in the hospital for a couple of days with pneumonia. Mary--Judge Clark--came to sit with me and I kept telling her that I was fine and that I didn’t need her babysitting me and that I wanted her to go home and leave me alone. She told me I was the worst patient she’d ever had the displeasure of being around. She wouldn’t leave, though, just to spite me.”

Olivia laughed. She didn’t know much about the relationship between Casey and Judge Clark--everything she knew was gleaned from small snippets of conversation with the ADA--but that story fit in perfectly with what little she did know. “She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

Casey nodded, smiling fondly. “Yeah, she does. She gave me a chance when no one else would, and I’m forever grateful for that. And I learned so much from her.”

“Kind of like a second mother?” Casey just shrugged and dropped her gaze down to the plate. Olivia knew that something had changed; the air was different, colder, and Casey was unconsciously inching closer to the back of the sofa. She just couldn’t hazard a guess as to why Casey was closing herself off to her. She made a move to rest her hand on the ADA’s knee, but Casey flinched at the contact. “Why do you do that?” Olivia asked softly as she dropped her hand on her own leg.

“Do what?” Casey asked, feigning innocence.

“You start to open up a little and then you pull away again.” Olivia took the plate from Casey’s hand and set it down on the coffee table, then gently took one of Casey’s hands in her own. “What’s going on?”

Casey looked up at Olivia, who was surprised to see the green eyes clouded with tears. “What did you mean when you said you’d never really done this before? Why did you qualify it?”

Olivia bit her lip, sighing softly. She had been hoping Casey wouldn’t have picked up on her choice of words, not because she was ashamed of her past but because she now knew exactly where this conversation was headed. “I have flirted with a woman before.”

Casey nodded, swallowing hard. “You flirted with her?”

The name was unspoken, but it didn’t need to be said aloud. Casey wasn’t one to nurse an inferiority complex, but the entire squad, Olivia included and in some ways especially, had made it quite clear on more than one occasion when Casey had first started that she was doing things the wrong way. And the wrong way meant not Alex’s way. “Sometimes,” Olivia replied honestly.

Casey blinked quickly and nodded, her heart dropping. “Did she flirt back?”

“It depended on her mood.” Olivia took a deep breath and held it for a quick moment. “Casey, it never went further than that--”

“You don’t need to explain your past to me, Olivia. It’s really none of my business.” Casey made herself small in the corner of the couch and searched Olivia’s eyes. “But I do need to know … when you said you meant it … was it really because of me and not just because of who I replaced?”

Olivia closed her eyes and sighed quietly. She had never given much thought to just how many of the annoyed glances and rolled eyes Casey had taken to heart, but it was obvious now that she had picked up on more than Olivia thought she had. “Of course it was really because of you. Casey, it was never our intention to make you feel like you had to compete with her--”

“I don’t feel like that,” Casey insisted, clearing her throat. “Not anymore. Not really. I just … look, before I force myself to reevaluate my entire life up until last night, I need to know that this … whatever it is isn’t just loneliness on my part or missing someone else on your part or the alcohol playing games with the both of us. I need to know that it’s real, that it’s not just an illusion.”

“It’s not an illusion, Casey. I wouldn’t have said anything to you if I didn’t think it was real.” Olivia placed her elbow against the back of the sofa and rested her head on her hand. The pain and uncertainty on Casey’s face broke Olivia’s heart. She longed to just pull her into a hug, hold her, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. “Casey, I am truly sorry for anything I’ve done or said that has hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” Casey replied, trying not to let her voice reveal how choked up she was.

“Don’t tell me I didn’t, Casey. I know I’ve said things that hurt you. And I’m ashamed to admit that I said some of those things intentionally to hurt you. But I promise, this is not one of those times. I’m not doing this to play with you; I really meant what I said last night. I meant it then and I mean it now.”

“I-I just don’t know if I can do this,” Casey said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Olivia sighed in frustration but immediately softened when she looked into Casey’s eyes. Damn her for having that effect on me, Olivia thought. She wanted to be angry and exasperated, and she hated the fact that she couldn’t. “Do what, Casey?”

“I’ve never … I mean, this is all so confusing. I just … Liv, you have to understand, my entire life, I was a tomboy, in all areas except for dating. There, I was very much a girly girl. I liked boys, I liked being treated like a girl instead of one of the boys. And now …”

“Now that’s all in question?”

Casey nodded, taking a deep breath in and holding it for a second. “I just need time, Olivia. I need to be able think about this without my head threatening to explode.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Olivia assured her. She reached out her hand to Casey’s again and felt a little bit of relief when Casey extended her own hand and allowed Olivia to grip it comfortingly. “Your English muffin’s cold.”

Casey chuckled in nervous relief at the change in subject. “Yeah, I know. I think it was upsetting my stomach anyway. Thank you, though.”

Olivia smiled. “You’re welcome.” Spying the remote control on the coffee table, she picked it up, turned on the television, and instantly began flipping channels. “You know, nothing’s ever on during the day.”

“Not unless you like to make fun of the talk shows,” Casey replied, smirking. “Every once in a while, I can find a movie on some random station. Give me the remote.” She tried to snatch the remote from Olivia, but the detective pulled her hand back and out of Casey’s reach. “Come on, Liv, give me the remote!”

“Uh uh uh!” Olivia grinned and shot Casey a triumphant look. “You didn’t say the magic word.”

“Please?” Casey asked, her voice verging on a whine. “Please give me the remote control?”

Olivia looked Casey in the eye for a quick moment, then grinned and shifted away a little on the sofa. “Nope!”

“Olivia! It’s my TV!”

“Yeah, but the remote’s in my hand. Deal with it, Novak. You’re not in control this time.”

Casey pursed her lips and slouched back against the arm of the sofa, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine. Whatever. You better pick something good.”

Olivia scoffed and chuckled silently. She continued flipping channels and debated jokingly attempting to subject the ADA to a cheesy made-for-television movie, but she changed her mind after glancing over at Casey. Though the younger woman was trying to conceal it, Olivia could tell that Casey felt a lot worse than she was letting on. “It doesn’t matter what I pick because I think you should go back to sleep.”

“Don’t want to,” Casey replied quietly. “I was having strange dreams.”

“Just now? You were having weird dreams last night, too.”

Casey looked over at Olivia sharply. “How did you know that?”

“You talk in your sleep, Counselor,” Olivia informed her with a teasing smile. “I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and heard you muttering about tap dancing and homeruns. I haven’t a clue as to how the two are related, but I still found it rather amusing.”

“Gee, thanks.” Casey rolled her eyes to hide her embarrassment and ran her fingers through her hair. “Though, I did have this one dream that would make a really cool ghost story if I could fill in the holes in the dream logic. It was about a diamond ring that was haunted by a ghost named Hannah.”

“You like stories like that?” Olivia asked, somewhat surprised. Casey never really struck her as a horror story fan.

“Not in the slightest. Well, I used to when I was younger, but I deal with enough disturbing crap at work that I’d rather not deal with more disturbing crap during my down-time. Which is what makes the dream so odd.” Casey sighed and turned her attention to the television. Olivia was still flipping channels. “Wait, stop,” Casey said suddenly, putting her hand on top of Olivia’s.

Olivia gasped at the contact, Casey’s hand feeling warm against her own, and stopped on the channel Casey had asked her to. After seeing what was on, she swiftly flipped past it. “Casey, no way in hell am I sitting through The Waltons.”

“Nostalgia!” Casey exclaimed. “Pure nostalgia. I grew up with that show! I mean, it ended before I can really remember watching it first-run, but I watched it in reruns for years.”

“I remember making fun of the kids who watched that show.” Olivia glanced over at Casey and smirked.

“You’re also a little bit older than me,” Casey replied, unmoved by Olivia’s teasing. “The Waltons was cool when I was little.”

“I can’t imagine The Waltons being cool at all, regardless of the year.”

Casey once again ignored the detective’s teasing. “My dad used to sit in the big easy chair while we watched The Waltons. Sometimes I’d squeeze in next to him and sometimes I’d sit on his lap. He’d tell me every week that I was a long-lost Walton child because my hair was the same color as Elizabeth’s. It was long back then, too, just like Elizabeth’s, and he would twirl the end of my ponytail around his finger before gently tugging at it and telling me he loved me.”

Olivia looked up at Casey, who had a faraway look in her eyes. Olivia was surprised at the revelation but she didn’t want to say anything to startle Casey out of the memory. Insights into Casey’s childhood were few and far between and Olivia was afraid that the slightest noise would cause her to lose this one forever.

But there was nothing else forthcoming from Casey. She let the memory hang in the air for a quick moment longer, then changed the subject. “You’ve been through the channels twice now. There’s nothing on.”

“You’re right.” Olivia clicked off the TV and set the remote control down on the coffee table. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

Casey shrugged. “I don’t have much, and what I do have is ridiculously cheesy. So unless you want to watch, say, The Wizard of Oz …”

“Okay, let’s forget about movies for a while,” Olivia teased.

Casey smirked and leaned her head back against the sofa. “Olivia, when you were making breakfast, you didn’t by any chance see if I had any ginger ale, did you?”

“You don’t,” Olivia replied apologetically, though why she felt sorry for Casey’s own lack of beverage, she wasn’t sure. “There’s a carton of half-and-half, a half-empty gallon of milk, and a bottle of Sprite that hasn’t been opened. Why? Is your stomach upset?”

“A little,” she said with a nod.

“There’s a grocery around the corner, right?” Olivia asked. Casey nodded again. “Tell you what. I’ll go get you some ginger ale and some saltines, and I’ll bring back a movie or two for us to watch. That sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” Casey said, smiling a thank you. She glanced out the window and frowned. Though it had been extremely sunny when she had first awoken, it was now dark and dreary. “Go fast, though. It looks like the sky’s going to open up and it’s just going to pour buckets.”

Olivia looked out the window at the rapidly darkening sky and grinned widely. “I know just the movies now.”

“Nothing scary, Olivia,” Casey warned.

“They won’t be too scary, I promise.” Olivia gave Casey a mischievous smirk and headed for the front door. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Casey shot Olivia a frightened look, more nervous about being subjected to horror movies than anything else, but gave a relenting sigh. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, Olivia left the apartment, taking care to close the door quietly behind herself.

-----

Casey yawned and laid back down on her throw pillows, focusing her attention on the television. With Olivia out of the apartment, she had turned her TV back to The Waltons and was content to just sit and let the show take her back to a happier time in her memory banks. She had gotten up from the couch for a couple of minutes to get some more aspirin, which hadn’t touched her headache and had only served to make her sleepy.

Why isn’t Olivia back yet? Casey wondered. She had been gone almost forty-five minutes even though the grocery was only around the corner. She was a little surprised by how much she missed the detective and how lonely she was feeling now that the apartment was empty, save for herself. Oh stop it, Casey. Get a freaking grip.

She allowed her eyelids to flutter closed as she turned onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. After taking a deep breath, she felt herself drifting off and instantly shook herself awake. She did not want to fall asleep again, not after all those odd dreams she’d been having. But as she relaxed her muscles, her thoughts turned to her dream about the haunted engagement ring and suddenly the story began coming together a little more. Hannah was angry because she had seen her fiancé with another woman; she took the ring off, tossed it to the ground, and started sobbing as she buried the ring in the dirt.

The sound of the key turning in the lock on the front door forced Casey to open her eyes. Olivia pushed the door open quietly and peeked her head in before entering completely. “Oh, hey,” she said softly. “I didn’t want to barge in just in case you were asleep.”

“I was kind of drifting,” Casey replied, sitting up a little bit. “Hannah was mad because her fiancé was cheating on her.”

“Hannah from the ghost dream?” She closed the door behind herself, tossed the keys onto the coffee table, and set a box of crackers in front of Casey.

Casey nodded, hiding a yawn behind her hand and then reaching forward to open the box of saltines. “Thanks. Is it raining yet?”

“Not yet, but it’s going to any second; I can smell it.”

“You can smell it?”

“You can’t?”

Casey shook her head. “I can smell it once it starts. Everything smells wet. I can smell the snow, though.”

Olivia looked at Casey, biting her lip to keep a straight face, but burst out giggling regardless. “You are so strange.”

“What, I’m strange because I can smell snow but you’re not strange because you can smell rain?”

“There are many reasons why you’re strange,” Olivia replied teasingly. She stepped out of her shoes and held up the two-liter bottle of soda she had purchased. “You want a glass of ginger ale now?”

“I can get it … I finished the water in that glass.” She gestured with her head in the direction of the empty glass on her endtable. Olivia gave her a smile and handed her the bottle. Casey gratefully accepted it and poured a little bit of the refreshing liquid into her glass. After taking a quick sip, she set the glass back down on the coaster and leaned her head back against the sofa cushions. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what movies did you get?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Olivia said brightly. She pulled three DVDs out of the inner pocket of her jacket and held them out for Casey to see. “I got Poltergeist and The Others to start, and The Exorcist for later.”

“I’ll deal with Poltergeist, but no way am I watching The Exorcist, Olivia. Poltergeist, The Others, those are fine. The Exorcist? No way in hell.”

Olivia grinned at Casey. “If I can’t get you to watch The Exorcist, I’ll watch it by myself later.”

“You’re going to have to watch it by yourself because I refuse to watch it.”

Olivia turned Casey’s DVD player on, stuck one of the discs in, and then settled at the end of the sofa opposite Casey. “Have you seen any of these?”

“I’ve seen The Exorcist,” Casey admitted. She smirked when Olivia looked over at her sharply and, without saying a word, demanded an explanation. “When I was twelve, one of the theaters in my neighborhood re-released it as a revival or sorts. I begged and begged my parents to let me go. My dad eventually got sick of hearing me whine, so he took me. It scared me so much I had to sleep on my parents’ bedroom floor for two weeks.”

Olivia snickered, relishing the mental image of a scared, twelve-year-old Casey huddling in a sleeping bag and pulling the pillow over her head. “Casey, you were twelve; that was a number of years ago. Don’t you think that what you found scary at twelve, you might not find scary now?”

“I’m not watching that movie again, Olivia,” Casey insisted. “I absolutely refuse. Unless you want me staying in your room for the next two weeks.”

“That could be fun,” the detective replied, grinning widely.

Casey gulped, silently debating how to respond to that. Was it an opening for more, obviously heavier flirtation, or was it just a joke? “It is an idea that’s not without merit.”

“You do realize that you slip into vague legalese when you get nervous, right?”

“Either that or I trip all over myself and can’t speak at all,” Casey answered, nodding bashfully. “I know my limitations and I do my best to work around them.”

Olivia laughed and snatched the package of saltines out of the ADA’s hand before hitting the play button on the remote control. She fished five crackers out of the package and handed it back to Casey, who accepted it with a shy smile. Casey gave a barely audible gasp when Olivia’s fingers brushed her own as the crackers changed ownership. After thinking for a quick moment about whether she wanted to tease Casey further, she decided to just leave her alone.

“What movie did you put in?” Casey asked nervously, setting the crackers down on the coffee table. “If you say The Exorcist, I swear to God, you are dead.”

“I put in Poltergeist,” Olivia said, giggling. “I’ll respect the fact that you’re too chicken to watch The Exorcist. I’ll just wait until you fall asleep and then I’ll watch it. All by my lonesome.”

“Don’t think that teasing me about it or making me feel guilty is going to make me change my mind.” Casey stifled a yawn and curled up on her side, tucking one arm underneath the throw pillow and resting the other on her side. “If this scares me, I’m going to be very mad at you.”

“It’s not that bad,” Olivia assured her. “I can’t believe you’ve never seen this.”

“There are plenty of movies I’ve never seen,” Casey replied, shifting position on the sofa so that she was a little more comfortable. “I never really went to the movies as a kid and I don’t go now.”

“We need to get you out of this apartment, Casey.”

“I go out plenty, Detective.” She glanced over at Olivia, grinning at her. “You wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows at Casey in mock disbelief. “You think so?”

“I know so.” She giggled and was about to say something else when a loud clap of thunder resounded suddenly, shaking her apartment windows and walls. Casey tensed immediately and bolted upright, letting out a small shriek, the comforter settling at her knees.

“You all right?” Olivia asked, startled by both the sudden thunder and Casey’s reaction.

“Yeah,” Casey replied, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. I can’t believe I totally just lost my cool in front of her, she thought. Way to be mature, Casey. Let her find out you’re scared to death of thunderstorms. She’ll really like you then. “Th-thunder just startled me.”

Her fear of thunderstorms was something she’d kept secret from most everyone ever since she was a preteen. Her mother used to assure her that she’d outgrow her fear of the storms, but she never did, and it was more than a little embarrassing to her. Here she was at twenty-nine and terrified as a four-year-old. But the sheer amount of silent chiding she was doing and just how embarrassed she was for losing her composure in front of Olivia was startling.

Another loud boom of thunder shook the windows and she involuntarily drew in her breath. “You sure you’re all right?” Olivia asked, concern swimming in her dark eyes.

One look at Olivia’s face, seeing the concern and worry, and Casey felt herself blurting out the truth even though she had wanted to keep it a secret. “I’m not a fan of thunderstorms.”

“You’re not a fan?”

“I’m terrified of them.”

Olivia eyed Casey carefully as a bolt of lightning lit the sky. Fear flashed into Casey’s eyes as she flicked her gaze to the window and cowered slightly in the corner of the sofa. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

Casey gave an embarrassed shake of her head. “No, I’m not kidding. Have been for as long as I can remember.”

“Do you know why?”

“Not a clue. I just am.”

Olivia never would have thought of Casey as the type to be afraid of thunderstorms and scary movies. She thought it was funny that if she had found this out a couple of months prior, she’d have been all over Casey for it. Now, she found it too adorable for words. “So Big Bad Lawyer Casey Novak is afraid of thunderstorms?” she teased.

Casey nodded. “And if you ever tell anyone that, you are going to be in serious, serious trouble.”

“You have my word,” Olivia promised, holding up three fingers. “Scout’s promise.”

“You were a Girl Scout?” Casey asked, smiling.

“No, but I thought it sounded good.”

Casey snorted back a laugh and turned her attention to the movie, turning on the sofa so that she was facing the television. She picked up the saltines and, without realizing what she was doing, nestled herself a little closer to Olivia. Sighing softly, she pushed the comforter to the floor, suddenly warm. The wind was whistling outside the windows, the lightning lit the room with bright flashes, there was a ghost movie on her television, she was sitting next to Olivia Benson, and it was all Casey could do not to lose her composure completely.

Silence fell over the two of them as they both got wrapped up in the movie. Casey, out of fear, began edging herself closer to Olivia; the detective noticed and gave a smirk but didn’t say anything to call attention to it. Instead, she welcomed the advances even though she knew Casey wasn’t giving them consciously. Any advances were just fine with her.

Olivia glanced over at Casey, who was squeezing the edge of a throw pillow in one hand and holding the package of crackers tightly in the other. “You’re crushing the saltines,” Olivia whispered, gently tugging the crackers out of Casey’s grasp.

“Sorry,” Casey replied without taking her eyes off the television. “I just need to--ahh!” She shrieked at something in the movie and hid her eyes in Olivia’s shoulder. “Did a ghostly hand really just come out of their television?”

“Yes,” Olivia chuckled. “Pretty neat effect, huh?”

Casey just whimpered, turned her head, and peeked at the television through her fingers. Letting her breath out slowly, she pulled away from Olivia and sat up straight. “Okay, that is a really cool effect for what, the early eighties?” Olivia nodded. “I’ll never look at snow and static on the TV in the same way again.”

“Eh, the snow and static is fine,” Olivia teased. “It’s when you hear voices in the snow and static that you have to worry.”

Casey smirked, nodding. “So the kid’s clairvoyant?”

“Yeah. You’re not one of those obnoxious people who asks a zillion questions that just wind up getting answered in time, are you?”

“No.” Casey glanced over at Olivia, who was nibbling on a saltine while staring at the television, and sighed. She felt a familiar churn in the pit of her stomach; the butterflies, which had been quiet for a while, were now starting up again full force. Her headache was going away, the nausea had gone away, and the fogginess in her head was giving way. With the new clarity came a realization. “You think they’re talking about us?”

“Who?”

“The guys. Munch, Fin, Elliot … they have to know where you are and they have to know you’ve been here since last night. You think they’re talking about us?”

“What do you care if they are?” Olivia asked with a dismissive shrug.

“I don’t.”

Olivia paused the movie and fixed an attentive gaze on the ADA. “Are you sure?”

Casey nodded, giving the detective a small smile. “I don’t give a damn what they think, Olivia. Screw the damn consequences. We’ll never know if we can make something of this if we don’t try.”

Olivia turned around on the sofa and faced the younger woman, taking her hand gently. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Casey’s smile got wider as she leaned forward and met Olivia’s lips with her own. The detective was surprised at first but after a second, she began pressing her lips back against Casey’s. The ADA’s head became filled with an adrenaline-induced fog and instantly, she was falling again, spinning into the unknown. She wasn’t as apprehensive as she was before; in fact, she was excited at the possibility of diving headfirst into a situation where the outcome wasn’t certain.

Olivia broke the kiss first, pulling away, taking a deep breath, and blinking at the younger woman. “Wow. Casey, what made--”

“I don’t know!” she answered in a rush, breathing heavily. “I don’t know if I was thinking clearly then and not now or vice versa … but I don’t care. I want to try. Consequences and gossip be damned.”

Smiling, Olivia leaned forward and locked Casey’s lips in another deep kiss.

Casey pulled away first this time, trying to catch her breath. If this is what falling head over heels feels like, I’ll take it, she thought giddily.

She grinned at Olivia, snatched the remote control, and turned the movie back on, resting her head on Olivia’s shoulder. As Olivia began running her fingers through Casey’s hair, Casey let her breath out slowly, trying to calm herself. She had no idea if what she was doing was the right thing, a good idea, or even going to work. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was finally going to listen to her heart instead of always listening to her head. And her heart was telling her to go for it, to try. Casey Novak was trying something different, taking a chance on something and someone, and she couldn’t have been more thrilled.