1
Apartment of ADA Casey Novak.
It could’ve been a normal Monday morning for Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak. She could’ve woken up at 6:30, have her coffee, go on a run and get to her work on time, but this wasn’t a normal morning.
After her impeccable win on the ghost’s trial a few weeks ago everything changed. Now Alexandra Cabot was able to come back to New York, and the DA wasted no time in giving her a new job, this time as the Sex Crime Bureau Chief. That meant that now Casey would not only have to work with her, the woman whose shoes she’s been trying to fill ever since she got assigned to SVU, but now the blonde would also be her boss, and had to report everything back to her. All of this culminated in a sleepless night for the counsellor and feeling very tired around the time she had to get up from her cozy and protective bed, it took a little self-convincing but the redhead managed to finally sit up and get away from the warmth of the pile of blankets, after all she did not want to be late today of all days even though she already couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Dragging her feet across the floor of her bedroom, down the hallway and into the kitchen she began doing what she did every day after waking up, making a batch of coffee big enough to keep her on her toes all day. While the coffee maker did its magic, she went to shower and get dressed for the day.
“No run today” she thought “Can’t smell bad in front of the boss.”
She decided on a black suit and a green blouse to go underneath, she liked how she looked in green, it made her feel confident and she needed all the help she could get. After finishing up with her appearance she went back to the kitchen and poured coffee into her Harvard’s softball team mug, half of what was originally made. No real food though, she felt like she could throw up at any given moment. She walked around the apartment, opting to stop and stand behind the glass door that connected her living room with the balcony and stared at the city. At this time the sun was almost completely out, and the streets seemed to get busier by the minute, but one could still appreciate some of the peace left behind by the night before. Some people were walking their dogs and others were already getting out of their houses and saying goodbye to their families, but there wasn’t a lot of noise yet, no cars back firing or a screaming match between a couple in the middle of the street, just some birds chirping in the trees nearby and the footsteps of those who didn’t drive a car around the city.
Casey finished her cup and looked at the time displayed on the clock that hanged in her wall.
“7:04” This gave her plenty of time to gather her things, some case files and documents she was going to need today for court and pack her travel mug with the other half of the coffee left from before.
She hailed a cab by 7:15 and got into the back seat leaving her briefcase on her legs, she wanted to use her time to review some points for the arraignments that would take place in less than an hour, but she found herself being unable to concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting away to a certain blonde and her stomach tightened at the same time she imagined how their first interaction would be.
“Pull it together, Novak” she said to herself. She knew the annoying little voice in the back of her mind was right. She had nothing to be nervous about. She has earned her place time and time again with the squad, her conviction rate was the best among the ADA’s, and she has known Alex since law school. They were never really friends, but they knew exactly who the other was and had cross paths more than once. So why was this so difficult for her? Why did she feel so pressured to look good today? To do good? The redhead had to put these questions aside when she realized she had arrived at her destination, she paid the cab driver and got out so fast she didn’t even wait for her change, walking straight to her private office.
Casey took a left, then a right, and then grabbed one of the elevators to continue her way to the 5th floor. She tapped her fingers against her mug as the metal box started its way up, it was difficult for her not to be doing something with her hands. She always ripped the labels from the bottles or peeled them to make a little ball to play with, or if she had a pen, she would spin it around when she wasn’t actually using it for its sole purpose of writing. A little ding was able to make her stop as the doors opened before her, she stepped out as eager as she had stepped in, not looking around for familiar faces. She was not in the mood to deal with anyone today that wasn’t already booked on her calendar.
Finally in the comfort of her office and a closed door behind her Casey felt like she could breathe for the first time that day, hell, the first time that month. She took a seat at her desk chair, resting her head against the back of it and looking at the ceiling trying to compose herself.
“It’s just another day, like any other day” she breathed out. Over the years she had learn to compartmentalize her emotions to control her overthinking, she knew she couldn’t stop the thoughts that entered her brain, so she decided it was easier to learn how to separate those thoughts and feelings from her actual job. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be where she is now.
A few more deep breathes and she was good as knew, technically. No one would suspect that behind those green eyes a wave of anxiety was threatening to crash on the shore. Casey checked the silver watch on her wrist and figured it was better to get going and arrive early at court than just stay alone in her office for too long. So, she took her briefcase, some papers that were the reason she had to stop by in the first place rather than go straight to arraignments and she headed out, not before pouring herself a third, but small, cup of coffee in one of the many paper cups she had at her disposal.
When she opened the door of her office, she was looking down on a case file to make sure she had the right one in her hands. How embarrassing would it be to have the wrong piece of paper in front of Judge Donnelly? Certainly not as embarrassing as what happened next. Casey felt herself crash against something, and unless a wall grew out of thin air, it had to be against someone. She took a second to look up and see none other than her boss. Shiny blonde hair, electrifying blue eyes and a big brown stain settling over a, probably very, fancy beige blazer.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry” was the first thing she said while she looked around for anything that could help, but since she didn’t have a dry-cleaning service in the back of her office she felt she was at a loss.
“Don’t worry it was my fault. Probably shouldn’t be camping outside your door first thing on a Monday morning” the blonde replied as she took the blazer off and neatly folded it over her right arm.
“Is there something you needed? Besides my credit card to pay for the damages” When Casey was nervous, she always managed to crack a joke, and this time she also cracked a smile from the older woman. So beautiful.
“Forget about it, you’re obviously in a hurry and this can definitely wait” she said waving it off.
“Are you sure? I still have a couple of minutes before I have to leave actually.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Alex looked at Casey up and down, something felt different. “You look…” she continued but was quickly interrupted.
“Older? Wiser?”
“Blonder” she finally admitted.
“Oh” the younger woman was not expecting that. Alex Cabot taking note on her looks was definitely not in her morning schedule, so, a little taken aback by the comment she proceeded with an explanation. “Well, yeah, I guess. I got some highlights done a few weeks ago. It’s already starting to fade a little. Honestly, I like the strawberry blonde thing, but I’ll probably go back to full redhead in no time anyways…” she was rambling, and when she noticed she was taking too long in the context no one asked her for she managed to slip a somewhat solid closing argument “… you know, so there won’t be two blondes in the office.”
Alex laughed a little then offered a witty response “I think I like the competition” she said with a smirk as she turned around and disappeared in the hallways of the DA’s office, leaving a perplexed Casey standing with a half empty cup of coffee and late to her first arraignment of the day. Liz would not be pleased.
Office of Sex Crimes Bureau Chief Alex Cabot.
“That went great…” Alex said sarcastically to herself once she finally got to her office as she let out a deep breath, like she had been holding it for a little too long.
“What went great?” said a voice coming from the big black leather couch in the far-left corner of the room. The lawyer hadn’t realized someone was already inside, so it took her by surprise to find familiar brown eyes and short brown hair sitting on it like she belonged there.
“Olivia! What are you doing here?” she asked taking a few steps to seat at her desk chair, trying to make it seem like she was doing work stuff.
“I just wanted to check in on you. First days can be hard.” she answered as she stood up and walked with the blonde to seat in opposites sides of the brown and elegant piece of furniture.
“Well, it’s not even 8 in the morning so I really can’t give you a verdict”
“It’s not even 8 but it already ‘went great’ according to you” the air quotes made the blonde annoyed at the detective, she always knew how to use her own words against her.
“I was being sarcastic.”
“I know. First days can be hard” she repeated “So, what happened?” The blonde thought that the best way to reply was to grab her blazer and hold it up high so Olivia could see the big brown stain, now completely dried. “Uh, that’s not good. So nervous you can’t even remember how to drink coffee, Cabot?” she teased.
“It’s not even my coffee” she said as she put the blazer back down and into one of her drawers.
“Who’s is it?”
“Casey’s”
“And she didn’t rip your head off?” Alex looked at Olivia with eyes that asked her to explain further what she had meant by that question. The detective took the opportunity to continue “Casey is a bit of a caffeine addict.”
“Enough to rip someone’s head off?” she asked in return, not quite believing the young girl could be that mad at her for spilling her coffee moments earlier.
“One week she made Elliot get her coffee every time he handed in late one of his DD-5’s. It eventually made him stop with the late paperwork, figured it was better to do his stuff on time than go bankrupt for feeding Casey’s little problem.”
“Well. Casey just apologized to me actually, she didn’t look mad.”
“Seems reasonable, you are her boss after all. I don’t think she feels like she could just open her mouth and say anything more than professional courtesy stuff.”
“You think so? We’ve known each other for years, she’s never seemed to be the type of person that just keeps quiet in front of anyone” the blonde said while leaning back on her chair, turning it a little so she could face her friend better.
“That’s the thing you see, Alex Cabot isn’t just anyone” the detective stated as she stood up and walked to the door, probably on her way to work. “Have a nice Day, Al.” was the last thing she said before leaving a thoughtful Alex behind.
She didn’t want to make Casey feel like she couldn’t say what was on her mind, she wanted her to feel comfortable. After all, she felt like she was invading in a home it was no longer hers and there was also the fact that Casey was the one who made it possible for her to come back in the first place, she was forever grateful and wanted to tell her in person first thing that day, instead, she managed to get her to apologized and offer to pay her dry cleaning. “Nice going, Alex.”