4
Office of Sex Crimes Bureau Chief Alexandra Cabot.
It was early. Too early for her liking, and in a Saturday, no less. Alex’s clock that hanged just above a bookshelf filled with legal books marked 6:59 am and annoyingly so, if two sticks could even do that. What was she even doing here so early was a question that kept coming back every time she realized she wasn’t in the comfort of her own bed, which was more times that she’d like to admit. Not being able to focus was something that bothered her to no end, but she was so, so sleepy.
And there was no other to blame than herself.
The night before had been a rollercoaster for the blonde. After dropping Casey off, she drove all the way back to her upper east side home, and with no recollection of how among the blurred flashbacks in her head. First came the kisses, soft bites and shallow breaths, skipping to red hair stepping out her car and the word goodbye somewhere in the air, then she was having a glass of water in her kitchen getting ready for what would be a sleepless night, given to all the tossing and turning as the first part of the short film stayed on replay, engraving itself on Alex’s memory for eternity. It wasn’t a hangover, thankfully, or else she wouldn’t have offered herself to drive, the haze that laid over last night’s events came from the emotional high of it all.
But sadly, now was time to come back down the cloud she seemed to have been floating in for the last 8 hours and do what she was hired to do; listen, write and argue, she’s been on step one for nearly twenty minutes, barely accomplishing the task. Sited on her desk, she didn’t bother to walk all the way to her chair went she first arrived, one leg crossed over the other and eyes aimed directly between the two detectives who were presenting and discussing the new case that fell on their hands that cold and early morning, but her brain couldn’t even retain a name.
“Alex? You’re still with us?” Elliot, that was previously engaging in a hypothesis his partner wanted to put to the test, questioned, one brow slightly raised.
Alex, who was trying so hard to concentrate on what was being said that she forgot to actually do it, snapped back to reality shaking her head “I’m sorry detectives” she said walking over to her chair, maybe it could give her some sense of formality “who did you say found the body?”
“A janitor, in one of the bathroom stalls” Olivia told her quickly, wanting to keep the lawyer up to speed.
“And what do you want a warrant for?” she pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes scrunched up like she was trying to keep the new information from slipping out of her.
“To search the premises” Elliot chimed in.
“Well, there’s really no need for one” she began “didn’t they let you roam around at least a little when you were over there? Someone died for god’s sake” she continued now letting a piece of her frustration show, if she was here so early on her day off it’ll better be with good reasons, and until that moment she still hadn’t found a single one.
“It’s not public school, counsellor. The headmaster made it very clear that she wouldn’t let us look over anything without a warrant, she doesn’t want to deal with the entitled rich parent’s rage and possible accusations for violating their children’s rights and shit.” He reasoned, with a hint of resentment in his voice.
“Yeah well, can’t be worse than dealing with the wrath of the dead girl’s entitled rich parents” Alex quipped back, a little defensive over the detective’s tone, she was not in the mood to dwell over her upbringings right now.
“We need the warrant, Alex” Olivia said softly “According to Warner, the girl’s been dead for 10 hours tops, it’s the weekend, the perp must be trying to get away or hide the evidence as we speak, they might even-”
“Can’t give you one without probable cause, Liv, you know that” the blonde interrupted, she sat up straighter, elbows pressed over the desk and her head resting lightly on her intertwined hands “here’s what you’re going to do, now that it isn’t an ungodly hour to go around bothering people with interviews, you’ll go and talk with the friends I assume were listed for you, make sure their parents are present and be nice, maybe they’ll end up linking something to someone and then I can give you your warrant. For the time being, you’ll just have to settle with the girl’s locker and other belongings she may have left at the school” her voice was flat and monotone, professional, the detectives stud up taking the hint that they were being dismissed, although they knew Alex couldn’t really do that, they knew better than to push too much further when it came to her.
After they closed the door behind them, a perhaps excessive sigh left the blonde’s lips. She laid back on her leather chair for a while, staring at the ceiling and enjoying the silence, but before she could fall sleep and get a sore neck she decided to look over at the file left by Benson and Stabler for her to read and catch up on her own time. She grabbed it and flipped it open over her lap, her eyes immediately landed over the school photo that hanged with a paper clip over some other documents she hadn’t had a chance to read yet. Her fingers brushed slightly against it, tracing down the outline of the girl; blonde hair, blue eyes and a modest smile. By all accounts, the definition of a good picture, but Alex knew better than that as her gaze drifted downward and locked itself onto the painfully familiar navy-blue blazer, passing over to the crisp white blouse, neatly buttoned all the way up, and then moved to the grey and maroon tie that seemed too tight for its own good. She could feel it in her gut that the uniform wasn’t the only thing she recognized on the girl, no, it was the look on her face as well, a look she herself had given out so many times, it was like seeing herself through a time machine set almost twenty years back. To most, this girl would appear to have no problems whatsoever, but she knew troubled eyes when she saw them, remembering them from her own reflection all those years ago.
It was hard for the blonde to focus too much on those memories, so they were gone even before they had properly settled on her brain to torment her for the rest of the day, instead she opted to shake them away and get herself something to eat, and in a more pressing matter, something to keep her awake.
Just as she was about to leave, purse already tightly wrapped around her shoulder, her phone went off, ringing frantically and with the name ‘Olivia Benson’ on display for her to read.
“Well, that was quick” she muttered under an annoyed breath, realizing that her breakfast would probably have to wait “Cabot” she said as she picked up the device and place it at her ear.
“Alex, hi. Sorry to bother you so soon after our last conversation” Olivia commented.
“It’s fine, Liv. What’s up?” she asked not wanting to drag this conversation any longer than it needed to be.
“Actually, could you come by the office?” Alex could feel her eyes hitting the inside of her head as they rolled back as soon as the words left the detectives lips. Yes, her breakfast would definitely have to wait now “We called Casey as well”
“Be there in fifteen, no, twenty minutes” she simply replied before hanging up, clutching at the strap of her purse as she made her way in long strides to the nearest coffee shop. If she couldn’t get her hands on a piece of avocado toast, then at least she would get something to drink, and fast. But if she were being honest, the urgency in her steps wasn’t entirely about the warm cup that would soon be trapped between her cold hands.
16th Precinct, New York.
The clicking of a familiar pair of heels bounced around he bullpen, getting quick glances from the working officers as they recognized the sound. Alex Cabot was standing over the ceramic tiles with two white cups, one in each hand, and with her eyes scanned the room in search of the reason she was there.
“Morning, counsellor” said a voice from behind her, she turned around and gave an appreciative smile to Fin.
“Good morning” she followed him to his desk “have you seen…”
“Alex!” Stabler shouted as he left one of the interrogation rooms, quickly approaching them “Nice! Is that for me?” he asked pointing at one of the drinks.
“Yeah… no” she told him reluctantly, taking a step back as if she was trying to protect it.
“Of course it’s not, it’s for me” said Olivia with a smug look on her face as she reached for one of the cups, she had walked out of the bathroom just in time to tease his partner.
Alex again moved away from the detectives “It’s not for you either, people who wake me at five in the morning on my day off don’t get free pick me ups” she said.
“Then what, they’re both for you? Isn’t that a little too much, counsellor?” Elliot questioned with his arms crossed over his chest.
“No, one is mine and one is for Casey”
“What’s for me?” Casey asked, four sets of eyes turned to look at her. No one had noticed she had entered the room, probably because there wasn’t a pair of stilettos adorning her legs. Instead of the usual more formal attire, Casey was sporting her blue sex crime’s softball long sleeve t-shirt, black leggings and sneakers. Alex almost dropped the cups she had been so intent on protecting before.
“Hey, Novak, I see you’ve been hitting the cages” Elliot said giving her a nod of approval.
“Yeah, someone has to pick up the slack for next week’s game” she said proudly, it wasn’t a secret that Casey was the best at the bat on their team.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever” Elliot let out a huff.
“So, what’s for me?” Casey asked again, this time looking directly at Alex. During the short banter exchanged between her friends, the blonde had been trying to form words that could leave her mouth without making a fool of herself.
“I brought you coffee” she blurted out, not moving, blue eyes locked with green.
Casey grabbed one of the cups on her own since Alex didn’t offer her one in particular. After the time she had spent hitting the ball she was in great need of a caffeinated treat and was exceptionally happy that Alex had taken her time to bring one to her without being asked “Oh, God, thank you! I could kiss you right now” the words were out of her mouth before she could even process what she was saying, she didn’t mean anything by it, probably would’ve said it to anyone offering her the steaming drink, but this wasn’t anyone, she knows what it’s like to kiss the woman in front of her, and she would’ve gladly done so if given the chance.
On her end, Alex was struggling to catch her breath. She knew Casey wasn’t saying anything incriminating, nor suggestive to their late-night activities, and that the words that slipped from her didn’t carry any significant weight, but she still had to remind herself she couldn’t react to them a way she would've liked. In a perfect world she would’ve told the redhead to stay true to her word and allow her lips to close around hers, but this was far from a perfect world, she had to act professional, and it was killing her.
“You’re welcome” was all Alex managed to get out without faltering, watching as the lips she badly wanted to taste met with the lid of the cup and took in a large sip of the warm liquid but quickly spitting it out once the taste invaded her mouth.
“What the hell is that?” Casey asked confused, looking around inside the container for some insight as to why her coffee tasted like dirt.
“Oh, sorry” Alex said pursing her lips together while she swapped their drinks with an apologetic smile covering her face “that’s my green tea”
“That’s no tea” the younger woman stated and then washed away the earthy flavour with a gulp of her actual coffee, Alex just rolled her eyes, something she seemed to be doing a lot these days whenever she was with Casey “So why are we here?” she asked now turning her head to Olivia and Elliot who were patiently waiting for the lawyers to end their conversation.
“Alice Davenport” Olivia told them, showing the board already filled with pictures of the victim, the crime scene and connections they have managed to stablish in the short time they’ve been investigating “sixteen years old, daughter of some hot shot business man and stay at home mother, David and Charlotte” she continued as she pinned photos of the dead girl’s parents, adding them to the salad of information.
“What happened to her?” Casey asked, she hadn’t had a chance to catch up with the case just yet.
“Someone slit her throat in one of the bathrooms at school last night” Elliot said pointing to the up-close take that hanged over the board.
“What? Was it ike a message or something?” Casey seemed a little disturbed by the details, who wouldn't really.
“We don’t know” Olivia confessed, it was still early on the investigation, but she knew time was always a pressing matter when it came to a homicide “it seems a little extreme, but it doesn’t appear to be a rushed decision either, it’s calculated and full of rage, we think we’ll know more once we’ve interviewed the girlfriends”
“Then why did you call us here?” Alex chimed in “Shouldn’t you be on your way to talk to them?”
“Turns out they came on their own volition” Fin said nudging to the same door Stabler had come out of, revealing 3 girls sitting inside “Thought you’d like to watch” he then turned around and walked towards the room, Olivia following him close by as Elliot sat at his desk instead.
“Want us to drag you there, detective?” Casey asked him as she took another sip of her coffee, already close to being half empty, it seemed weird to her that he didn’t join the others to talk to the girls.
“Nah. I have some paperwork to fill out for this trial I have coming up, the prosecutor on the case is being a real pain in the ass about it” he said directing his eyes to meet green ones, giving her a knowing look.
“Maybe she wouldn’t have to be a pain in the ass if you actually filled them in time” Casey barked back.
“Okay the two of you, don’t start” Alex interrupted before they had the chance to bicker like brother and sister “Come on Case, they probably already started” she said as she placed the hand that wasn’t holding her tea over Casey’s small back, perhaps a bit more lower than any other time she had made the same gesture towards the redhead, and then started leading her to the side room where they could watch the interviews.
“Yeah, Casey, don’t start” Elliot teased her, only gaining a cold stare from the blonde in return, silently telling him to stop. Casey on the other hand didn’t say anything to the detective, allowing him to have the final word this time. She was well too aware of the fact that Alex’s fingers were delicately brushing the back of her waist as they made their way through the precinct, the feeling of it was simply exhilarating, and her heart was about to fly out her chest.
“Since when are those two so friendly?” asked John entering the bullpen just as the lawyers were making their exit.
“I don’t know, beats me, captain conspiracy” Elliot replied, not thinking anything much of the last interaction.
(...)
Alex closed the door behind her and placed herself besides Casey as both started catching up with what was already going on at the other side of the glass. Neither of them had said a word since they left Elliot to his boring fate, it was the first time they’ve been alone since last night and they weren’t sure as to how approach the situation.
“I’m sorry about before” Casey said breaking the silence without taking her eyes off the detectives.
“What about?” Alex asked confused.
“When I said that I could kiss you, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean it like that” she quickly answered, acting like she was confessing to a crime by the way her words came out as fast as they did.
“Casey, you don’t have to apologise” the blonde reassured her “I know I must have looked a little surprised, it just caught me off guard that’s all” she said as she turned to look at Casey, her doing the same, their attention now completely on the other “especially now that I know what it’s like.”
The younger woman blushed as she heard those words come out of her boss’s lips, and she took a quick look at them, returning to her eyes like she never even left them. Alex seemed to have done the same thing, and then without a warning both women met in a passionate kiss. Alex grabbed Casey tightly by her waist, bringing her closer, and Casey placed her hands around and in the back of the blonde’s neck, playing carefully with the hair at reach. After a few seconds Alex’s tongue grazed over the redhead’s bottom lip asking for a permission that was quickly and happily granted, and she deepened the kiss even more, when the air became an issue Casey decided to back away slightly, not without dragging Alex’s lower lip with her.
“Hi” she said to the blonde when she caught her breath, a big smile on her face.
“Hi” Alex replied with a chuckle and looked into her eyes.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I saw you when I walked in” she confessed.
“Is that so, counsellor?” she asked the redhead as she took a piece of her hair and place it behind her ear, she wanted to be able to look at Casey’s face without anything coming in her way.
“Very much so” she said and leaned in for another kiss, Casey really was having trouble resisting Alex’s lips, but the blonde didn’t seem to mind and would gladly welcome every single one of them.
But before anyone could get too invested, the faded voices of the detectives became clearer as they approached the side room where both women stood, still holding each other and faces barely inches apart. Casey was the first to pull back completely from the embrace, placing herself at an appropriate distance from the blonde. Being caught by their coworkers in the middle of what would be their fourth kiss, and yes she was kipping count, wasn’t something either of them would enjoy, she wasn’t sure what any of this was, if there even was something to be in the first place, but she knew they needed to have a conversation about it. Her hands reacted in favour of her thoughts and began playing with a loose button on her sleeve, Alex notice the nervousness of the action and wanted to ask about it, but the door opened before she said anything.
“Well, at least we have someone new to ask questions to” Olivia said, leaving the file she had been holding over the metal table.
“Who?” Alex asked, a small frown appearing on her forehead.
“Weren’t you listening just know?” ‘No’ she wanted to say, but she knew she couldn’t afford the explanation that came with such a statement, so she decided to just be silent in hopes the detective would continue without further questioning “The girl had a boyfriend the parents didn’t know about, Phillip something, we’re going over to his house now”
“Good, let us know if anything else comes up” she said giving the detectives a small smile as they left the women alone again.
“Well, I should go too” Casey said, grabbing the bag she’d been carrying since she arrived, it had her bat, a towel and a change of clothes for after her practice.
“You have your meeting with Petrovsky, right?” the blonde asked, not wanting Casey to leave just yet.
“Yeah, it should be quick though” she said and turned around to look at her.
“Good, that’s good” They fell into a silence they didn’t quite know how to get out off, it wasn’t comfortable by any means and they didn’t know why it had happened either.
“Alex…”
“Casey…” they both started at the same time, but Alex was first to let the other speak “You go”
“We should talk, don’t you think?” Casey blurted out. It wasn’t an easy question to ask, but she was a lawyer, and she was Casey Novak, so she was used to awkward conversations. They were both adults, and they worked at the same place with the same people, it made sense to talk about what had happened in the last twelve hours, and if it didn’t mean anything, at least she’d spare herself from getting hurt before things got too messy.
“Yeah, I agree” Alex was right there with her, she needed clarity, she always had. Ever since she was a little girl she always wanted to know why, why someone did what they did or said what they said, it was probably one of the qualities that got her in law school to begin with, but it also could get her in trouble, leading her to ask stuff she maybe shouldn’t.
“Are you coming back to the office after this?” the redhead asked, with a plan already in her mind.
“Mmm…” Alex stopped to gather her thoughts, truth be told she wasn’t sure what was she going to do now with the rest of her day, technically she should be going home and spend it in whatever way her heart desired, but she also had paperwork she could catch up with seeing as she was already out of her house “I don’t know yet, it’s my day off. I’ll probably go and grab some breakfast, an then maybe do some work at home”
“If it’s your day off you shouldn’t be working” Casey teased, she knew that for Alex a day off just meant she would be working from home rather than hunched over her desk at her office, the blonde shrugged her shoulders in return with a guilty look on her eyes “How about we meet around four?” she then asked “Central Park?”
“That sounds great” Alex replied with a smile “But Central Park is rather big, counsellor, any other specifics?”
“I’ll be waiting by the benches that look over to the lake, you know, where the ducks are” she said like everyone should already know that last piece of information.
“Okay then, see you at four”
“It’s a date” Casey smiled as she turned the handle on the door and exited the room, leaving Alex alone to her thoughts once again, it was the first time she’d been happy to be awake so early.