Under Her Skin 22
Under Her Skin 22
Title: Under Her Skin 22
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Home 5.16 (brief reference)
Disclaimer: See chapters 1-20.
Warning: Obviously, Olivia's not back on my good side just yet.
Author's Note: Strutting over the fact that, on Mariska's E! True Hollywood Story, Stephanie March said that Peter Hermann, aka Mr. Mariska & Trevor Langan, was brought in to play Cabot's love interest.............~sticking out my tongue at the A/O shippers~
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ADA Casey Novak walked, innocently, past Detective Olivia Benson, giggling inwardly at what was destined to be the most ironically hilarious reaction she'd ever created; the hilarious reaction that, at the risk of giving away her secret, she wasn't able to turn around and see for herself.
So she walked slightly ahead, chasing the conspiratorial smirk off of her own face, as Detective Elliot Stabler slung a companionable arm across her shoulders; behaved, miraculously, as he told his partner that they were going to have a drink at the bar where Casey's friend worked.
Casey's friend, Jenny, who had been her source of strength and support throughout most of her tumultuous relationship with her ex-fiance', Charlie.
Jenny, who had, quite accidentally, always appeared in the right place at the wrong time, from Olivia's point of view.
Olivia's point of view, which Casey had incredulously come to realize involved a rather open, non-exclusive, apparently sexual relationship between herself and the beautiful bartender.
A point of view, Casey thought, that was pure and utter crap.
Still reeling from the emotional highs and lows of the last few months that were the duration of her time with the sex crimes unit, still completely bewildered and unnerved by the strength of the physical pull she felt towards Detective Olivia Benson, still completely pissed off that Olivia dared to make assumptions about her personal life, Casey had decided that it was now officially time for her to clear up all of the ideals that Olivia had obviously concocted in her head regarding the nature of her relationships.
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Casey, who knew for a fact that Olivia could hear her coming, had made a point of making a very loud entrance; gambled, a bit, that the skittish detective would bolt at the sound of her arrival, knowing that today had been a bit more emotionally raw between the two of them than Olivia could easily handle.
Was rewarded, as she found Elliot alone, and knew that he was much easier to convince when it came to spending free time together; was unaware, completely, that Elliot's broad smile was not for her, but at the expense of his partner.
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Elliot, although exhausted, had readily accepted the invitation to join the counselor for drinks with her friend.
Her friend, who according to Olivia, was the current love interest in their ADA's life; her friend, whose very existence was creating a chasm in the gentle soul of his normally tough as nails partner, a chasm that Elliot was convinced was completely unwarranted.
The bartender, who Elliot had met the previous evening, was sexy and beautiful and charming; the bartender, who was at the very least Casey's close friend, a close friend that had somehow become involved in some sort of secretive pact with Olivia.
Obviously, Olivia wasn't talking.
Jenny, the bartender, wasn't talking.
Casey, who apparently had no clue about the rather recent friendship between these two women in her life, was incapable of talking.
Therefore Elliot decided that the only way to clear the air was to get the three of them in the same room, at the same time, with all of their cards on the table.
If that involved a bar, some liquor to loosen the tongue, and himself as a witness to keep any or all of them from going to jail for assault or murder?
Then so be it.
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Olivia, who had bolted for the bathroom the minute she heard the tell-tale tattoo of ADA heels, was furiously dialing the number of her friend and sometime confidante, M.E. Melinda Warner.
Not really sure, exactly, why she felt the need for the escape, why she felt the need for an out, she asked Melinda to meet her outside the precinct in a few minutes. Olivia and Melinda had a fantastic friendship, yet rarely had the time or energy for much interaction outside of work; therefore, when the opportunity to spend a little down time together presented itself, they rarely passed it up.
Melinda accepted, said that she happened to be on her way over to see what her two favorite detectives were doing tonight anyway, and paused.
When the M.E. paused, Olivia's curiosity got the better of her; knowing the M.E., knowing what that pause often foretold, the detective asked, "What, Melinda?"
Warner exhaled, replied, "I saw him again today." She paused, exhaled, continued, "He asked about you."
Olivia rolled her eyes, replied, "Melindaaaa - "
Was cut off, as Warner replied, "Ok, I know Liv, and I'm not trying to pry. I just wish......I just wish it had never happened."
Olivia exhaled, audibly, tired of having this same conversation over and over again, tired of being the bad guy all the time.
"You hurt him, Liv."
Enough was enough, Olivia thought, as she said, "Look, Melinda, I know, ok? And I knew, last week, when we had this same conversation. He's a big boy, Melinda, and I'm tired of you and everyone else fighting his battles! Dammit, I got drunk and made a *huge* mistake, and I am sick to death of reliving the *worst* night of my life! "
"I know, Liv, I know," she stated emphatically, paused for effect, "but if I'm around and you're name comes up, I think you have a right to know. If you'd rather not know, I won't mention it again; I, uh, I didn't realize this was so painful for you."
"It's not, really, and I am grateful that you keep me in the loop Melinda," Olivia admitted, continued, "and I know that you feel for him, but sweetie? It's *never* gonna happen again. He does know that, right?"
"Yeah Liv, he knows it, but he's so hung up on you that he just doesn't care."
Olivia absorbed the impact of her friend's words, pictured her one time lover, grinned.
"It was the *worst* sex I'd ever had, Melinda. Have you ever seen the guy dance? You know what they say, if a guy can't find the rhythm on the floor he can't -"
At Melinda's "lalalalalalalalalala I'm not listening!" reply, Olivia chuckled, responded, "Ok, ok, I give! No more details."
Melinda sighed, tried to think of one time Olivia had ever praised a lover, and failed.
"See you in five, Liv."
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Olivia snapped her phone shut and looked in the mirror, splashed some water onto her face, mentally prepared herself to face the ADA.
Casey.
Sighed, remembered that moment on the bench, the bliss of holding Casey in her arms.
Reality check, her visit to the bar, her desolate night.
That horrible night, spent clinging to the faint trace of Casey's scent on her shirt.
The shirt, which had absorbed the ADA's tears, the faint trace of which had triggered the desolate detective to add to it tears of her own; the shirt, that was her only physical connection to her ADA......the shirt, that was still wrapped around the pillow on her bed.
Olivia pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, threw the walls back up, put on her tough cop face and walked out to face the counselor.
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Was stunned the minute Elliot spoke; managed to find her tongue, stated, "Sounds great Counselor, it's about time we got to meet some of your friends."
Sounded, to her own ears, like a complete liar.
A total liar.
A guilty liar.
Wondered, considering the fact that she didn't even have the bartender's phone number, how she was going to warn her newly acquired accomplice of this unfortunate development.
Pondered, quite maliciously, how to most efficiently put an end to a fellow cop's life.
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Casey, for her part, wasn't as stupid as, apparently, both the cops and the bartender had taken her for; it didn't take a genius, she mused, to figure out that either Olivia or Elliot had the inside track on her personal life.
For the record, she was betting on Olivia.
After putting the finishing touches on the Nesbit case, which was a cakewalk thanks to her detectives, Casey actually had time to give the past few days some serious thought; was struck by the random sequence of events that had conspired to create the oddest of coincidences, seemingly unrelated events that not only benefitted her personal sanity and welfare, but unquestionably connected her friend with her colleagues.
One: Jenny had shown up, oddly uninvited, unprepared for a sleepover and without an actual reason, right after work; her pretense, that she'd heard about the case, was pure bs, as nothing about Marilyn Nesbit's mental disease had been released to the public.
Two: in order for Jenny to have been concerned, she would've had to have known that the case would remind her of Charlie; again, see point one.
Three: outside of the detectives, only Mary knew about the trial. But the judge wouldn't have shared that information with the sexy bartender, as she'd always been slightly jealous of Casey's close relationship with the other woman; a friendship that had started, ironically, with Mary failing to meet Casey at the bar. Jenny, ever the conversationalist, had ended up talking to Casey for hours that night, and they'd bonded over the troublesome men in their lives.
If Mary had been concerned about her welfare, she would've shown up to check on her herself; of that, Casey had no doubt.
Four: Olivia had seen her with Jenny, at the bar, and therefore knew where to find her. The thought that Olivia *thought* she was dating the other woman, yet had sought her out in order to vicariously comfort Casey, was the most absolutely admirable, touchingly self-sacrificing, most selflessly loving gesture that had ever been made on her behalf.
If Casey weren't so utterly pissed off that her close friend had conspired with her impossible colleague in order to deceive her, no matter how noble their intentions may have been, she'd have probably cried grateful tears when she'd figured it out.
But considering the circumstances, considering that nobody bothered to clue her in?
Those two were the ones she planned on seeing shed tears.
Big time.
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On the way to Elliot's car they ran into Warner, who shot Olivia a "what the hell?" look as Casey invited her to join them.
Olivia, who looked completely freaked out, didn't even notice Melinda's reaction.
Melinda, who had been *dying* to see the counselor and the cop interact, smiled at the thought that she was finally going to get to see, once and for all, the nature of the relationship between her two friends.
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As Elliot circled the bar, looking for a parking spot, Olivia offered to go in and find them seats; Casey, helpfully, offered to go with her.
Damn.
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Nice try detective, thought Casey, as she silently vowed to make this evening as difficult as possible for all of her double-dealing friends.
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"Elliot?" Warner asked.
"Yeah Melinda?" he'd replied, distractedly.
Warner's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Don't you think it's nice, to see the two of them finally getting along?"
Elliot grinned, said, "Sure."
"What?" she responded, knowing that grin a little too well, knowing that it meant there was more going on here than met the eye.
"Well," he replied, "the thing is, Liv has already met Casey's friend, the bartender here, but Casey doesn't know it. And," he continued, "somehow Liv got the impression that the two of them are, you know, a couple. And Melinda?"
The M.E. leaned in closer, whispered, "Yeah?"
"This friend is a woman."
Warner's jaw dropped.
No *freakin'* way!
"And she's hot," Elliot continued, "Sexy and sweet and beautiful. Liv denies it, but I know that she feels incredibly insecure around her; wait'll you see her, she's really something."
Of course, Warner was stuck on, "Sweet? So what, you've met her too?"
Damn, Casey was going to kill *both* of them.
Actually, she mused, all three of them.
"Well, yeah, yesterday. But Melinda, they don't want Novak to know."
"Why?"
"Hell if I know," he answered, "but I think it has something to do with why they started talking in the first place; remember, a few weeks back, when Casey was sick and depressed and withdrawn, looked like hell?"
Thinking back over the past few weeks, remembering her own concern over the counselor's degrading health, Warner replied, "Yeah, I remember. Never did find out what was going on there though, Casey wouldn't talk about it."
"She wouldn't talk to us, either, but Olivia wouldn't let it go; I have a feeling that somehow, some way, my partner found out that Casey hung out here, and, I don't know...she either followed her or asked around at the DA's office, then showed up here and did her scary cop interrogation routine; either way, she found Casey's friend. What happened from there, I'm not really sure, but Olivia has admitted that they helped each other to help Casey out; I think, for the record, that they both feel guilty about keeping it from Casey, but feel that she's better off not knowing the truth."
Melinda, who *knew* the depths of Olivia's devotion to those she cared about, was simply floored by how far she had gone for the sake of the counselor's welfare.
If she'd had any lingering doubts about the nature of the detective's feelings for her ADA, they'd just been chased away.
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OMFG, thought Jenny, as she saw Olivia *and* Casey walk into the bar together.
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Casey walked straight to Jenny, actually went *behind* the bar, and threw her arms around her befuddled friend.
"Hi sweetie," she started, added a quick peck on the cheek, continued, "I'm so sorry I had to leave this morning so abruptly. Did you get any more sleep after I left?"
Stunned, Jenny replied, "Um, yeah, I did."
Casey's eyebrow arched, accusingly.
"No, Casey, I didn't make the bed, ok? I mean really, what's the point?"
Casey, trying her hardest not to tip her hand, replied, "I assume you fell asleep with the tv on? Probably got crumbs in my bed?"
Guilty, Jenny replied, "I can't help it Case! That couch is so awful, and well....look, I was just *really* tired from last night, but I already took care of the crumbs, even emptied the ashtray. Forgive me?"
Casey, thinking that *that* tired argument couldn't have played out better, even if Jenny *had* been in on the joke, said, "Fine, you're forgiven. Now, your penance, my dear, is drinks on the house for my colleagues, who I figured it was about time you got the chance to meet."
Looked at Olivia, saw the desolate darkness in her eyes, was suddenly very afraid to continue this little game.
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Olivia, for her part, wanted the ground to just open up and swallow her.
Standing here, seeing Casey interact with the bartender so naturally, hearing them have what was obviously a tired argument about, dammit, Casey's bedroom......seeing her there with her arms around the other woman, looking *so* cozy, was more than she could take.
Looked down, composed herself, looked back up.
Managed a shaky smile, a polite, "Hi, I'm Olivia."
Managed to find a seat before she fell over.
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Jenny was trying to remember the truth as Casey knew it, gently shooed her from behind the bar, nearly jumped out of her skin as Casey brazenly slapped her ass before she rounded the corner to take a seat beside Olivia; recovered, blushed, said, "Um yeah, hi Olivia, I'm Jenny."
Remembered telling Casey about the night she'd fallen asleep, noticed her friend hanging on every word, continued, "I don't know if you remember or not, I mean I *was* in bed and looking a mess and all that night, but we've actually met before."
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Uh-oh, went Olivia's little voice.
As far as she knew, Casey had no knowledge of that night, that random weak moment when she'd shown up at the counselor's door, determined to see her but ending up meeting her other half.
Covering, as she recalled, with a very bad lie.
She looked at Casey, who didn't seem surprised at all, and realized that the ADA had known about her visit all along.
Damn her.
Replied, "Oh yeah, right, that night. I, um, I think I needed a warrant or something."
Felt the bile rising at the back of her throat, as she fired off the lie and absorbed the impact of Jenny's words, "in bed".
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Liar, thought Casey, who knew that no warrants had been issued that night, or the following day.
Said, "Really Liv? What case was that for?"
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Olivia, caught, replied, "Um, I don't really remember, turned out to be a dead end anyway, I believe."
Found that she couldn't continue to look at the ADA and lie, turned to the bartender, said "I'm glad I didn't have you wake her up for nothing."
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Jenny could see, clearly, the pain that this little interaction was causing the detective; could see, just as clearly, that Casey was using her to rattle the other woman.
Casey had just invaded her personal space, called her sweetie, grabbed her ass; Jenny hadn't ever seen her friend act like this, ever, yet was so guilt-ridden over her secret alliance with Olivia, that she didn't dare not go along with it.
Thrown completely off of her game by Casey's inappropriate actions, Jenny unthinkingly mixed up Olivia's regular order; a Captain and Coke with a shot of grenadine, no ice, and placed it in front of the detective.
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Casey didn't miss the slip, nearly called them on it, decided to see how far the two of them were willing to go before they bothered to enlighten her.
Also didn't fail to recall that it had taken Jenny at least a year to get her favorite drink right, couldn't believe how easily her friend had mixed up the detective's drink of choice, wondered if Jenny felt the same undeniable pull towards the exotic beauty that she herself had been fighting since the day they'd met.
Decided, as she felt the raw power simmering beside her, that she'd rather not know.
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Olivia noticed, instantly, that Casey hadn't missed the obvious fact that she hadn't ordered a drink, yet now had her preferred cocktail in front of her.
Thanked whatever gods were listening that Casey had no idea what her usual drink was, felt the palpable tension radiating off of the counselor, could've strangled the bartender for causing it.
Could've strangled Jenny, actually, the minute Casey had thrown herself around the other woman.
Crap.
*This* was going to be a long night.
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Jenny, gotta give it to her, tried to cover, stating, "That one's on the house detective, a new twist on an old classic. Let me know if you like it; Casey here, I'm afraid, has no sense of adventure when it comes to my experiments."
I guess she saves her sense of adventure for your other talents, Olivia thought bitterly, as she raised the glass to her lips.
"It's great," she replied, "the...what is that? Grenadine? Adds just the right touch of sweet. I think, honestly, that it just became my new favorite drink."
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Elliot and Melinda arrived and ordered their drinks, pulled up two more stools between, yet slightly behind, the two women.
Warner, horrified to see Casey taking a hit off of Jenny's cigarette, lectured them both on the dangers of smoking.
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Olivia, horrified at the intimacy of seeing Casey share a cigarette with her lover, excused herself and went to the ladies room.
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As Olivia disappeared around the corner, Jenny arrived to refill her drink; mixed it up, sat it down, was reminded by Melinda that Olivia *never* drank Captain and Coke without a shot of Grenadine.
Busted, looked guiltily at Casey, added the shot.
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Casey, to her credit, barely acknowledged the information Melinda had just supplied; looked at Jenny, raised an eyebrow, turned to answer Elliot.
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Elliot was grinning, completely amused at the interaction between the women, and asked Casey when she'd started smoking.
The counselor replied, "I've been, off and on, for the past ten years or so. However, unless I'm really stressed, I pretty much only smoke when I drink."
Seeing Olivia return, Casey seized upon the opportunity to twist the knife even further; gently pulled the cigarette out of Jenny's mouth, took a hit, stated, "Or after sex. That's when cigarettes taste the best."
Elliot's mouthful exploded across the bar, Melinda's eyes widened in surprise, and Jenny and Olivia looked as if they wanted to die.
Casey, for her part, smiled innocently and stood; admonished Jenny for not taking better care of her customers, went behind the bar, handed Elliot a towel.
"Thanks Case," he said, accepting the towel and cleaning himself up, continued, "next time, warn a guy before you let that pretty little mouth get all dirty, ok?"
"Dirty? Me?" she replied, secretly delighted at the reaction her comment had elicited from his partner.
Oh yeah, definitely, her little plan was working.
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Olivia, despondent, decided that death would be welcome.
Knowing that Casey had known about her late night visit made her feel like such a fool; the counselor's silence regarding the matter reinforced the belief that Casey had, indeed, taken pity on poor, lonely Olivia.
I may be alone, dammit, but I'm *not* lonely!
I may be older, dammit, but I'm not *that* old!
And I may not be half as attractive as Jenny, but there are a lot of people in this city who could do a *lot* worse than me.
Turning her gaze back to the beautiful, charismatic bartender, Olivia had to admit that Casey certainly wasn't one of them.
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Driven by jealousy, despair, the need to feel desired, Olivia fired off a quick text message.
Regretted the decision, as soon as she made it.
Noticed Elliot and Melinda, both looking a little too interested in her phone, all of a sudden, and put it away.
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Watching Olivia out of the corner of her eye, Melinda wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her, to protect her from the pain that she could actually *feel* surrounding her brooding friend.
Realized that Casey was screwing with Olivia, could see that Olivia was obviously buying the act.
Looked at Jenny, who was everything Elliot had claimed and more, could understand why Olivia was so put off by the adorably beautiful young woman; hell, she thought, she was happily married, yet being near the gorgeous bartender made *her* feel insecure.
"Oh God Liv, please no," she thought as she saw Olivia pull out her phone, saw the desperation clearly on her face as she furiously texted a message, prayed that she *hadn't* just gone there.
If she had?
Melinda wasn't going to sit back and watch her make the same mistake all over again.
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Elliot, curiosity piqued, tried to catch a glimpse at what Olivia was typing; prayed that she wasn't making a foolish mistake, knew that his partner, unfortunately, would feel the need to lash out at Casey.
Casey, who was, quite brilliantly, screwing with her; judging from the reactions of the bartender, the timing of the counselor's comments, the way that Casey only got sugar sweet touchy feely whenever Olivia was paying attention, Elliot had indeed surmised that this entire little scenario was one very big act.
Unfortunately, his partner was buying the act.
Needless to say, he wasn't surprised one bit when less than five minutes later, Olivia was dragging him and Melinda out onto the dance floor.
Was even less surprised when Olivia, inhibitions lowered by a dangerous mixture of alcohol and despair, stripped down to her minimal tank top.
*Was* surprised, however, and incredibly so, when he suddenly looked up to find the ADA, equally stripped down, easing up behind his partner.
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Casey, in spite of her best intentions at making Olivia and Jenny pay for their deception, felt her heart stop as Olivia's layers came off; sat, transfixed, as Olivia's body writhed to the beat of the music.
It was purely sexual, incredibly erotic, insanely provocative.
Seeing the frustrating detective as a primal creature, at one with the beat, her body a tool of intense sexual invitation, Casey felt a sudden wetness that surprised her; felt a steady throbbing, deep and delicious, that had nothing to do with the music.
Then she was hot, suddenly so hot, as she watched Olivia dance; her layers of professional attire were stiflingly unbearable, simply too much.
Before she actually realized what she was doing, she too was stripped down to her most basic layer, a spaghetti strapped silk cami billowing loosely over her rather prim, rather form-fitting skirt.
Feeling Jenny's eyes upon her, knowing that her intentions were unmistakable, Casey looked despairingly at her friend.
Jenny, also caught up in the eroticism of Olivia in motion, turned to Casey; nodded approvingly, mouthed "I would," gently urged her friend to go for it.
Forgetting all but this moment, this insanely irrational need to be consumed by the raw power that had been drawing her in since the moment they'd met, Casey jumped to her feet and headed for the floor.
Felt the beat, responded to the flow of the music and the dancers around her, wound her way through the crowd; eased up behind her friends, caught Elliot's eye, glanced appreciatively at Olivia's sensually grinding behind.
Was blocked, all of a sudden, by the appearance of a guy she'd never seen before; a guy who, quite rudely, had pressed his body up against the detective, his front to her back, exactly where *she* wanted to be.
Confused, Casey stopped moving, just stood there, as Olivia's hand came up and caressed her mystery partner's cheek.
Watched her as she leaned back, increased the contact, tried to become one with the badly thrusting interloper; tolerated, even encouraged, the intimate contact with the stranger that had stolen the moment, the moment that Casey had finally worked up the nerve to go for.
Was crushed when the music ended, the dj took a breather, and Olivia didn't bother to break the contact with the not so sexy stranger.
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Elliot, ever the diplomat, stepped in with the introductions.
"Casey, this is Detective Brian Cassidy, SVU alumni. Brian, this is our new ADA, Casey Novak."
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Casey's expression went from confusion to dejection to relief, as she accepted the hand that Cassidy had offered.
"Pleasure to meet you, counselor," he said as they shook hands.
Ok, she admitted, so he has a nice smile.
"Pleasure's all mine," she replied, as she tried desperately to recall any mention of Detective Cassidy in the past case files, thought she remembered the name, couldn't really decide whether his departure from sex crimes was a loss or not.
Caught Melinda's purely malicious look, which she assumed was directed at Cassidy; took a closer look at her friends, realized that Olivia looked extremely guilty, wondered why the damned Detective Cassidy still had his arm around Olivia.
Decided that his smile wasn't really *that* nice after all, as she wondered what in the hell he was doing here.
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Melinda quickly solved the riddle for her, as she asked Olivia to step outside.
Now.
Which, of course, left Casey alone at the bar with Elliot and Brian.
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"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Melinda was pissed.
Olivia knew that she had every right to be, tried her best to make her friend understand.
"Melinda, I don't know, I just felt, well, lonely."
"Lonely my ass," replied the M.E., continuing, "you know what I think? I think, for whatever reason it is that you've dreamed up in your head, that you don't think you deserve the happiness that could come from admitting your true feelings! Casey deserves better, dammit Olivia, and Brian doesn't deserve to be a pawn in your little game!"
Olivia, pissed and shocked that her feelings for the ADA had been that transparent, responded, "Casey already *has* better, Melinda, in case you hadn't noticed the woman she was all over in there!"
Seeing the sudden moisture in Olivia's eyes at the admission, Melinda almost softened her tone; realized, however, that the only way to get Olivia to face herself, avoid the mistake, was to make her feel *something*.
So Melinda bit back her response, allowed the detective to continue her little tirade.
Panting, Olivia continued, "You have *no* idea-"
Was cut off, as Melinda stated, "I sure as hell *do* have an idea, *Detective*, and know a lot more than you think I do!"
At Olivia's eyeball roll Warner shook her head, continued, "That woman, our sweet and caring and wonderful ADA inside that bar, is in love with you; and here you are, you idiot, just pissing all over that!"
Olivia's eyes pinned her, dared her to go on.
Warner, completely unafraid of the Olivia stare, simply stated, "If you insist on ruining three lives tonight, three lives that I unfortunately care way too much about, then you go right ahead and do whatever it is that you think is going to make you feel better. But Olivia? Keep in mind that what you're doing, right now, is acting exactly like your mother."
"Screw you Melinda," she growled, "how dare you!"
"How dare I? How dare *you*, Olivia! Go ahead, just crawl into the bottle and come out with regrets, just like your mother. Just like you, with Brian, all those years ago. Just a like chip off the old, alcohol soaked block."
Defeated, Olivia hung her head, all of her self-righteous rage and anger gone as she watched her friend walk away.
"Wait, Melinda-" she called, wanting to explain it all to what was the closest she had to a best friend in the city, her cherished friend that had helped her to heal after the loss of ADA Cabot, the one person that she thought might *actually* understand and accept her confusing emotions regarding ADA Novak.
"Go to hell, Olivia."
With that, Melinda was gone.
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Meanwhile, inside the bar, Elliot and Brian were catching up on old times; Elliot could see, obviously, the pain on Casey's face.
Pain, that was put there by Brian's statement that Olivia had invited him out tonight, that he thought she was finally ready to pick up where they'd left off.
Elliot, knowing the coward that his partner was when it came to dealing with their ADA, tried to gently dissuade the other cop, stating, "Look, Brian, i just think that Liv felt bad, you know, about the way she treated you-" caught Casey's eye, knew it was going to hurt, continued, "after."
Ouch.
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"After?" Casey asked, suddenly wanting the pain that she knew the truth was going to cause her.
"Yeah, Case, after," Elliot replied, "Brian and Liv had a little fling, years ago."
"Yeah," Cassidy replied, grinned, "I've been in love with her ever since."
I bet, Casey's little voice said, as she felt that pain encompass her.
"But she didn't feel the same," Elliot interceded, wanting so badly to chase the hurt from Casey's eyes, knowing that he couldn't.
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Casey absorbed it all, noticed Steven's arrival, pulled Jenny into the ladies room.
Jenny, knowing she was in for it, didn't dare resist.
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"The truth, Jenny, now."
Casey had her friend cornered, wasn't backing down until she had an answer, knew she would break the bartender *years* before she'd ever have any success with breaking the detective.
"Ok Case, here it is," Jenny started, prayed that Casey would buy her story, continued, "she came in here, a week or so after she showed up at the apartment, and said that she wanted to properly introduce herself. It was a little crazy in here that day, so she was here for a good while before we actually talked."
"And?" Casey prodded, unwilling to let her friend off the hook.
"And she is *really* sweet Casey, so nice I couldn't believe I'd found her so intimidating that first night she showed up at your apartment.....and she's a *good* person Case, a good person that was really worried about you, until I assured her that you were in good hands."
Casey, unable to accept that Olivia had accepted anything at face value, quirked a disbelieving eyebrow.
"Ok, Case, you got me," Jenny admitted, sighed, said, "*and* I promised her that I'd call her immediately if I thought you were in any trouble, ok? Please, Casey, don't tell her I told you. Please?"
Casey rolled her eyes, decided that she actually believed her friend's story, exhaled.
Wished, just a tiny bit, that she had known all of this before tonight had happened.
"Fine Jen, mum's the word. But Jenny?"
"Yeah?"
"If you ever go near Olivia again, and don't bother to clue me in?"
Jenny, tears in her eyes, said, "Yeah?"
Casey, unable to stay mad at her friend, smiled and concluded, "I'll take back the "orange" blanket. Deal?"
Jenny, tears now flowing freely, nodded and gratefully accepted the fierce bear hug the ADA threw around her.
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Forgiving Jenny, however, was the easy part.
Melinda, on a rampage, stormed back in and grabbed her coat and purse; Olivia, notably, was not with her.
Casey, curious, asked the M.E. what was going on.
Melinda paused, thought about her response, decided that Casey needed to hear, at least, a grain of the truth.
"Look, Casey, it's complicated, ok?"
"Please?" Casey asked, noticeably rattled by the current turn of events.
Sighing, Warner replied, "Let's just say that Olivia, in true self-destructive style, has invited Brian here because she knows he worships her. Unfortunately for Brian, he's not what Olivia really wants, but she's not above using him to stroke her wounded ego."
Latching onto the only part of the story that mattered to her, Casey asked, "If he's not what she wants Melinda, then what is?"
"Hell if I know Case, and hell if she knows....I just can't sit around and watch her destroy everyone around her, again."
"Again?"
Damn, thought Melinda, too far.
Screw it, the counselor had a right to know.
"Yeah Case, again. Brian asked to be reassigned, right after they slept together, because of the way Olivia treated him. He was depressed, for years, because of it. And now, here she is, using him all over again."
Tears in her eyes, images of Olivia and Cassidy a torturous reel in her head, she turned away and ran out the door; barely acknowledged the detective as she bumped into her, didn't even pause as Olivia called her name.
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"What the hell did you tell her?" Olivia demanded, her rage pointed directly at the two men still sitting at the bar.
"The truth, Liv, but so what? Everybody else knows, right?" replied Cassidy, who truly was the innocent in this whole charade.
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Jenny, quite unobtrusively, was eavesdropping on the entire exchange.
Was now more certain than ever that Casey had feelings for the intriguing detective, knew that they were never going to get it right, wanted to make Olivia pay for hurting her friend.
Realized that Olivia, who was quite magnificent in her rage at the two men, was already paying in her own way.
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"Look, Brian, I invited you here because Warner said she saw you, again, and that you were asking about me, again. My sole intent, detective, was to tell you, in front of her, to just fucking let it go! I'm *not* in love with you, I'm *not* attracted to you, and I *don't* have any desire to experience, for the second time in my life, the *worst* sex I've ever had!!! Now, please, just stay the hell out of my life, quit asking Warner about me, and move the fuck on!!!"
Cassidy, crushed and confused, simply apologized and left.
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"And you-" she started, turning on her partner.
"Look, Olivia, that line of crap isn't going to work with me, so don't try it. You two," he said, indicating her and the bartender, "must be very proud of yourselves. Well, congratulations, your little secret is safe; who cares, right, if Casey got hurt in the process?"
Jenny, wisely, found someplace else to be.
Olivia, tired of being the scapegoat of the Casey Novak fanclub, tried, "El, wait, I-"
"Was wrong, Liv, yeah, I know. But you didn't invite Cassidy here to give him any ultimatum, really. Did you?"
Caught, Olivia lowered her eyes, struggled to find the words to make him understand.
Failed, miserably, shrugged and admitted, "No, I didn't. Melinda was right, I just wanted to use him, to make Casey feel the way that seeing her with Jenny makes me feel."
"Well bravo, partner, it worked."
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Olivia, ashamed, hung her head and swiped at the tears that had begun to fall; Elliot, knowing the truth of his partner's reaction, said, "Liv?"
Refusing to raise her head, to let him see her weakness, she mumbled, "Yeah?"
Taking a deep breath, regretting the repurcussions of this suggestion already, he said, "She's still out there, probably walking around, probably trying to figure out what the hell just happened."
Defeated, Olivia gave him a small smile.
"So go find her, El."
"What about you partner?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you."
"Well..." she started, "while you're out finding her?" Paused, looked away, "I'm going to go and find myself."
DOINK DOINK
Title: Under Her Skin 22
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Home 5.16 (brief reference)
Disclaimer: See chapters 1-20.
Warning: Obviously, Olivia's not back on my good side just yet.
Author's Note: Strutting over the fact that, on Mariska's E! True Hollywood Story, Stephanie March said that Peter Hermann, aka Mr. Mariska & Trevor Langan, was brought in to play Cabot's love interest.............~sticking out my tongue at the A/O shippers~
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ADA Casey Novak walked, innocently, past Detective Olivia Benson, giggling inwardly at what was destined to be the most ironically hilarious reaction she'd ever created; the hilarious reaction that, at the risk of giving away her secret, she wasn't able to turn around and see for herself.
So she walked slightly ahead, chasing the conspiratorial smirk off of her own face, as Detective Elliot Stabler slung a companionable arm across her shoulders; behaved, miraculously, as he told his partner that they were going to have a drink at the bar where Casey's friend worked.
Casey's friend, Jenny, who had been her source of strength and support throughout most of her tumultuous relationship with her ex-fiance', Charlie.
Jenny, who had, quite accidentally, always appeared in the right place at the wrong time, from Olivia's point of view.
Olivia's point of view, which Casey had incredulously come to realize involved a rather open, non-exclusive, apparently sexual relationship between herself and the beautiful bartender.
A point of view, Casey thought, that was pure and utter crap.
Still reeling from the emotional highs and lows of the last few months that were the duration of her time with the sex crimes unit, still completely bewildered and unnerved by the strength of the physical pull she felt towards Detective Olivia Benson, still completely pissed off that Olivia dared to make assumptions about her personal life, Casey had decided that it was now officially time for her to clear up all of the ideals that Olivia had obviously concocted in her head regarding the nature of her relationships.
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Casey, who knew for a fact that Olivia could hear her coming, had made a point of making a very loud entrance; gambled, a bit, that the skittish detective would bolt at the sound of her arrival, knowing that today had been a bit more emotionally raw between the two of them than Olivia could easily handle.
Was rewarded, as she found Elliot alone, and knew that he was much easier to convince when it came to spending free time together; was unaware, completely, that Elliot's broad smile was not for her, but at the expense of his partner.
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Elliot, although exhausted, had readily accepted the invitation to join the counselor for drinks with her friend.
Her friend, who according to Olivia, was the current love interest in their ADA's life; her friend, whose very existence was creating a chasm in the gentle soul of his normally tough as nails partner, a chasm that Elliot was convinced was completely unwarranted.
The bartender, who Elliot had met the previous evening, was sexy and beautiful and charming; the bartender, who was at the very least Casey's close friend, a close friend that had somehow become involved in some sort of secretive pact with Olivia.
Obviously, Olivia wasn't talking.
Jenny, the bartender, wasn't talking.
Casey, who apparently had no clue about the rather recent friendship between these two women in her life, was incapable of talking.
Therefore Elliot decided that the only way to clear the air was to get the three of them in the same room, at the same time, with all of their cards on the table.
If that involved a bar, some liquor to loosen the tongue, and himself as a witness to keep any or all of them from going to jail for assault or murder?
Then so be it.
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Olivia, who had bolted for the bathroom the minute she heard the tell-tale tattoo of ADA heels, was furiously dialing the number of her friend and sometime confidante, M.E. Melinda Warner.
Not really sure, exactly, why she felt the need for the escape, why she felt the need for an out, she asked Melinda to meet her outside the precinct in a few minutes. Olivia and Melinda had a fantastic friendship, yet rarely had the time or energy for much interaction outside of work; therefore, when the opportunity to spend a little down time together presented itself, they rarely passed it up.
Melinda accepted, said that she happened to be on her way over to see what her two favorite detectives were doing tonight anyway, and paused.
When the M.E. paused, Olivia's curiosity got the better of her; knowing the M.E., knowing what that pause often foretold, the detective asked, "What, Melinda?"
Warner exhaled, replied, "I saw him again today." She paused, exhaled, continued, "He asked about you."
Olivia rolled her eyes, replied, "Melindaaaa - "
Was cut off, as Warner replied, "Ok, I know Liv, and I'm not trying to pry. I just wish......I just wish it had never happened."
Olivia exhaled, audibly, tired of having this same conversation over and over again, tired of being the bad guy all the time.
"You hurt him, Liv."
Enough was enough, Olivia thought, as she said, "Look, Melinda, I know, ok? And I knew, last week, when we had this same conversation. He's a big boy, Melinda, and I'm tired of you and everyone else fighting his battles! Dammit, I got drunk and made a *huge* mistake, and I am sick to death of reliving the *worst* night of my life! "
"I know, Liv, I know," she stated emphatically, paused for effect, "but if I'm around and you're name comes up, I think you have a right to know. If you'd rather not know, I won't mention it again; I, uh, I didn't realize this was so painful for you."
"It's not, really, and I am grateful that you keep me in the loop Melinda," Olivia admitted, continued, "and I know that you feel for him, but sweetie? It's *never* gonna happen again. He does know that, right?"
"Yeah Liv, he knows it, but he's so hung up on you that he just doesn't care."
Olivia absorbed the impact of her friend's words, pictured her one time lover, grinned.
"It was the *worst* sex I'd ever had, Melinda. Have you ever seen the guy dance? You know what they say, if a guy can't find the rhythm on the floor he can't -"
At Melinda's "lalalalalalalalalala I'm not listening!" reply, Olivia chuckled, responded, "Ok, ok, I give! No more details."
Melinda sighed, tried to think of one time Olivia had ever praised a lover, and failed.
"See you in five, Liv."
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Olivia snapped her phone shut and looked in the mirror, splashed some water onto her face, mentally prepared herself to face the ADA.
Casey.
Sighed, remembered that moment on the bench, the bliss of holding Casey in her arms.
Reality check, her visit to the bar, her desolate night.
That horrible night, spent clinging to the faint trace of Casey's scent on her shirt.
The shirt, which had absorbed the ADA's tears, the faint trace of which had triggered the desolate detective to add to it tears of her own; the shirt, that was her only physical connection to her ADA......the shirt, that was still wrapped around the pillow on her bed.
Olivia pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, threw the walls back up, put on her tough cop face and walked out to face the counselor.
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Was stunned the minute Elliot spoke; managed to find her tongue, stated, "Sounds great Counselor, it's about time we got to meet some of your friends."
Sounded, to her own ears, like a complete liar.
A total liar.
A guilty liar.
Wondered, considering the fact that she didn't even have the bartender's phone number, how she was going to warn her newly acquired accomplice of this unfortunate development.
Pondered, quite maliciously, how to most efficiently put an end to a fellow cop's life.
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Casey, for her part, wasn't as stupid as, apparently, both the cops and the bartender had taken her for; it didn't take a genius, she mused, to figure out that either Olivia or Elliot had the inside track on her personal life.
For the record, she was betting on Olivia.
After putting the finishing touches on the Nesbit case, which was a cakewalk thanks to her detectives, Casey actually had time to give the past few days some serious thought; was struck by the random sequence of events that had conspired to create the oddest of coincidences, seemingly unrelated events that not only benefitted her personal sanity and welfare, but unquestionably connected her friend with her colleagues.
One: Jenny had shown up, oddly uninvited, unprepared for a sleepover and without an actual reason, right after work; her pretense, that she'd heard about the case, was pure bs, as nothing about Marilyn Nesbit's mental disease had been released to the public.
Two: in order for Jenny to have been concerned, she would've had to have known that the case would remind her of Charlie; again, see point one.
Three: outside of the detectives, only Mary knew about the trial. But the judge wouldn't have shared that information with the sexy bartender, as she'd always been slightly jealous of Casey's close relationship with the other woman; a friendship that had started, ironically, with Mary failing to meet Casey at the bar. Jenny, ever the conversationalist, had ended up talking to Casey for hours that night, and they'd bonded over the troublesome men in their lives.
If Mary had been concerned about her welfare, she would've shown up to check on her herself; of that, Casey had no doubt.
Four: Olivia had seen her with Jenny, at the bar, and therefore knew where to find her. The thought that Olivia *thought* she was dating the other woman, yet had sought her out in order to vicariously comfort Casey, was the most absolutely admirable, touchingly self-sacrificing, most selflessly loving gesture that had ever been made on her behalf.
If Casey weren't so utterly pissed off that her close friend had conspired with her impossible colleague in order to deceive her, no matter how noble their intentions may have been, she'd have probably cried grateful tears when she'd figured it out.
But considering the circumstances, considering that nobody bothered to clue her in?
Those two were the ones she planned on seeing shed tears.
Big time.
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On the way to Elliot's car they ran into Warner, who shot Olivia a "what the hell?" look as Casey invited her to join them.
Olivia, who looked completely freaked out, didn't even notice Melinda's reaction.
Melinda, who had been *dying* to see the counselor and the cop interact, smiled at the thought that she was finally going to get to see, once and for all, the nature of the relationship between her two friends.
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As Elliot circled the bar, looking for a parking spot, Olivia offered to go in and find them seats; Casey, helpfully, offered to go with her.
Damn.
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Nice try detective, thought Casey, as she silently vowed to make this evening as difficult as possible for all of her double-dealing friends.
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"Elliot?" Warner asked.
"Yeah Melinda?" he'd replied, distractedly.
Warner's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Don't you think it's nice, to see the two of them finally getting along?"
Elliot grinned, said, "Sure."
"What?" she responded, knowing that grin a little too well, knowing that it meant there was more going on here than met the eye.
"Well," he replied, "the thing is, Liv has already met Casey's friend, the bartender here, but Casey doesn't know it. And," he continued, "somehow Liv got the impression that the two of them are, you know, a couple. And Melinda?"
The M.E. leaned in closer, whispered, "Yeah?"
"This friend is a woman."
Warner's jaw dropped.
No *freakin'* way!
"And she's hot," Elliot continued, "Sexy and sweet and beautiful. Liv denies it, but I know that she feels incredibly insecure around her; wait'll you see her, she's really something."
Of course, Warner was stuck on, "Sweet? So what, you've met her too?"
Damn, Casey was going to kill *both* of them.
Actually, she mused, all three of them.
"Well, yeah, yesterday. But Melinda, they don't want Novak to know."
"Why?"
"Hell if I know," he answered, "but I think it has something to do with why they started talking in the first place; remember, a few weeks back, when Casey was sick and depressed and withdrawn, looked like hell?"
Thinking back over the past few weeks, remembering her own concern over the counselor's degrading health, Warner replied, "Yeah, I remember. Never did find out what was going on there though, Casey wouldn't talk about it."
"She wouldn't talk to us, either, but Olivia wouldn't let it go; I have a feeling that somehow, some way, my partner found out that Casey hung out here, and, I don't know...she either followed her or asked around at the DA's office, then showed up here and did her scary cop interrogation routine; either way, she found Casey's friend. What happened from there, I'm not really sure, but Olivia has admitted that they helped each other to help Casey out; I think, for the record, that they both feel guilty about keeping it from Casey, but feel that she's better off not knowing the truth."
Melinda, who *knew* the depths of Olivia's devotion to those she cared about, was simply floored by how far she had gone for the sake of the counselor's welfare.
If she'd had any lingering doubts about the nature of the detective's feelings for her ADA, they'd just been chased away.
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OMFG, thought Jenny, as she saw Olivia *and* Casey walk into the bar together.
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Casey walked straight to Jenny, actually went *behind* the bar, and threw her arms around her befuddled friend.
"Hi sweetie," she started, added a quick peck on the cheek, continued, "I'm so sorry I had to leave this morning so abruptly. Did you get any more sleep after I left?"
Stunned, Jenny replied, "Um, yeah, I did."
Casey's eyebrow arched, accusingly.
"No, Casey, I didn't make the bed, ok? I mean really, what's the point?"
Casey, trying her hardest not to tip her hand, replied, "I assume you fell asleep with the tv on? Probably got crumbs in my bed?"
Guilty, Jenny replied, "I can't help it Case! That couch is so awful, and well....look, I was just *really* tired from last night, but I already took care of the crumbs, even emptied the ashtray. Forgive me?"
Casey, thinking that *that* tired argument couldn't have played out better, even if Jenny *had* been in on the joke, said, "Fine, you're forgiven. Now, your penance, my dear, is drinks on the house for my colleagues, who I figured it was about time you got the chance to meet."
Looked at Olivia, saw the desolate darkness in her eyes, was suddenly very afraid to continue this little game.
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Olivia, for her part, wanted the ground to just open up and swallow her.
Standing here, seeing Casey interact with the bartender so naturally, hearing them have what was obviously a tired argument about, dammit, Casey's bedroom......seeing her there with her arms around the other woman, looking *so* cozy, was more than she could take.
Looked down, composed herself, looked back up.
Managed a shaky smile, a polite, "Hi, I'm Olivia."
Managed to find a seat before she fell over.
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Jenny was trying to remember the truth as Casey knew it, gently shooed her from behind the bar, nearly jumped out of her skin as Casey brazenly slapped her ass before she rounded the corner to take a seat beside Olivia; recovered, blushed, said, "Um yeah, hi Olivia, I'm Jenny."
Remembered telling Casey about the night she'd fallen asleep, noticed her friend hanging on every word, continued, "I don't know if you remember or not, I mean I *was* in bed and looking a mess and all that night, but we've actually met before."
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Uh-oh, went Olivia's little voice.
As far as she knew, Casey had no knowledge of that night, that random weak moment when she'd shown up at the counselor's door, determined to see her but ending up meeting her other half.
Covering, as she recalled, with a very bad lie.
She looked at Casey, who didn't seem surprised at all, and realized that the ADA had known about her visit all along.
Damn her.
Replied, "Oh yeah, right, that night. I, um, I think I needed a warrant or something."
Felt the bile rising at the back of her throat, as she fired off the lie and absorbed the impact of Jenny's words, "in bed".
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Liar, thought Casey, who knew that no warrants had been issued that night, or the following day.
Said, "Really Liv? What case was that for?"
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Olivia, caught, replied, "Um, I don't really remember, turned out to be a dead end anyway, I believe."
Found that she couldn't continue to look at the ADA and lie, turned to the bartender, said "I'm glad I didn't have you wake her up for nothing."
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Jenny could see, clearly, the pain that this little interaction was causing the detective; could see, just as clearly, that Casey was using her to rattle the other woman.
Casey had just invaded her personal space, called her sweetie, grabbed her ass; Jenny hadn't ever seen her friend act like this, ever, yet was so guilt-ridden over her secret alliance with Olivia, that she didn't dare not go along with it.
Thrown completely off of her game by Casey's inappropriate actions, Jenny unthinkingly mixed up Olivia's regular order; a Captain and Coke with a shot of grenadine, no ice, and placed it in front of the detective.
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Casey didn't miss the slip, nearly called them on it, decided to see how far the two of them were willing to go before they bothered to enlighten her.
Also didn't fail to recall that it had taken Jenny at least a year to get her favorite drink right, couldn't believe how easily her friend had mixed up the detective's drink of choice, wondered if Jenny felt the same undeniable pull towards the exotic beauty that she herself had been fighting since the day they'd met.
Decided, as she felt the raw power simmering beside her, that she'd rather not know.
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Olivia noticed, instantly, that Casey hadn't missed the obvious fact that she hadn't ordered a drink, yet now had her preferred cocktail in front of her.
Thanked whatever gods were listening that Casey had no idea what her usual drink was, felt the palpable tension radiating off of the counselor, could've strangled the bartender for causing it.
Could've strangled Jenny, actually, the minute Casey had thrown herself around the other woman.
Crap.
*This* was going to be a long night.
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Jenny, gotta give it to her, tried to cover, stating, "That one's on the house detective, a new twist on an old classic. Let me know if you like it; Casey here, I'm afraid, has no sense of adventure when it comes to my experiments."
I guess she saves her sense of adventure for your other talents, Olivia thought bitterly, as she raised the glass to her lips.
"It's great," she replied, "the...what is that? Grenadine? Adds just the right touch of sweet. I think, honestly, that it just became my new favorite drink."
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Elliot and Melinda arrived and ordered their drinks, pulled up two more stools between, yet slightly behind, the two women.
Warner, horrified to see Casey taking a hit off of Jenny's cigarette, lectured them both on the dangers of smoking.
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Olivia, horrified at the intimacy of seeing Casey share a cigarette with her lover, excused herself and went to the ladies room.
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As Olivia disappeared around the corner, Jenny arrived to refill her drink; mixed it up, sat it down, was reminded by Melinda that Olivia *never* drank Captain and Coke without a shot of Grenadine.
Busted, looked guiltily at Casey, added the shot.
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Casey, to her credit, barely acknowledged the information Melinda had just supplied; looked at Jenny, raised an eyebrow, turned to answer Elliot.
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Elliot was grinning, completely amused at the interaction between the women, and asked Casey when she'd started smoking.
The counselor replied, "I've been, off and on, for the past ten years or so. However, unless I'm really stressed, I pretty much only smoke when I drink."
Seeing Olivia return, Casey seized upon the opportunity to twist the knife even further; gently pulled the cigarette out of Jenny's mouth, took a hit, stated, "Or after sex. That's when cigarettes taste the best."
Elliot's mouthful exploded across the bar, Melinda's eyes widened in surprise, and Jenny and Olivia looked as if they wanted to die.
Casey, for her part, smiled innocently and stood; admonished Jenny for not taking better care of her customers, went behind the bar, handed Elliot a towel.
"Thanks Case," he said, accepting the towel and cleaning himself up, continued, "next time, warn a guy before you let that pretty little mouth get all dirty, ok?"
"Dirty? Me?" she replied, secretly delighted at the reaction her comment had elicited from his partner.
Oh yeah, definitely, her little plan was working.
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Olivia, despondent, decided that death would be welcome.
Knowing that Casey had known about her late night visit made her feel like such a fool; the counselor's silence regarding the matter reinforced the belief that Casey had, indeed, taken pity on poor, lonely Olivia.
I may be alone, dammit, but I'm *not* lonely!
I may be older, dammit, but I'm not *that* old!
And I may not be half as attractive as Jenny, but there are a lot of people in this city who could do a *lot* worse than me.
Turning her gaze back to the beautiful, charismatic bartender, Olivia had to admit that Casey certainly wasn't one of them.
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Driven by jealousy, despair, the need to feel desired, Olivia fired off a quick text message.
Regretted the decision, as soon as she made it.
Noticed Elliot and Melinda, both looking a little too interested in her phone, all of a sudden, and put it away.
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Watching Olivia out of the corner of her eye, Melinda wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her, to protect her from the pain that she could actually *feel* surrounding her brooding friend.
Realized that Casey was screwing with Olivia, could see that Olivia was obviously buying the act.
Looked at Jenny, who was everything Elliot had claimed and more, could understand why Olivia was so put off by the adorably beautiful young woman; hell, she thought, she was happily married, yet being near the gorgeous bartender made *her* feel insecure.
"Oh God Liv, please no," she thought as she saw Olivia pull out her phone, saw the desperation clearly on her face as she furiously texted a message, prayed that she *hadn't* just gone there.
If she had?
Melinda wasn't going to sit back and watch her make the same mistake all over again.
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Elliot, curiosity piqued, tried to catch a glimpse at what Olivia was typing; prayed that she wasn't making a foolish mistake, knew that his partner, unfortunately, would feel the need to lash out at Casey.
Casey, who was, quite brilliantly, screwing with her; judging from the reactions of the bartender, the timing of the counselor's comments, the way that Casey only got sugar sweet touchy feely whenever Olivia was paying attention, Elliot had indeed surmised that this entire little scenario was one very big act.
Unfortunately, his partner was buying the act.
Needless to say, he wasn't surprised one bit when less than five minutes later, Olivia was dragging him and Melinda out onto the dance floor.
Was even less surprised when Olivia, inhibitions lowered by a dangerous mixture of alcohol and despair, stripped down to her minimal tank top.
*Was* surprised, however, and incredibly so, when he suddenly looked up to find the ADA, equally stripped down, easing up behind his partner.
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Casey, in spite of her best intentions at making Olivia and Jenny pay for their deception, felt her heart stop as Olivia's layers came off; sat, transfixed, as Olivia's body writhed to the beat of the music.
It was purely sexual, incredibly erotic, insanely provocative.
Seeing the frustrating detective as a primal creature, at one with the beat, her body a tool of intense sexual invitation, Casey felt a sudden wetness that surprised her; felt a steady throbbing, deep and delicious, that had nothing to do with the music.
Then she was hot, suddenly so hot, as she watched Olivia dance; her layers of professional attire were stiflingly unbearable, simply too much.
Before she actually realized what she was doing, she too was stripped down to her most basic layer, a spaghetti strapped silk cami billowing loosely over her rather prim, rather form-fitting skirt.
Feeling Jenny's eyes upon her, knowing that her intentions were unmistakable, Casey looked despairingly at her friend.
Jenny, also caught up in the eroticism of Olivia in motion, turned to Casey; nodded approvingly, mouthed "I would," gently urged her friend to go for it.
Forgetting all but this moment, this insanely irrational need to be consumed by the raw power that had been drawing her in since the moment they'd met, Casey jumped to her feet and headed for the floor.
Felt the beat, responded to the flow of the music and the dancers around her, wound her way through the crowd; eased up behind her friends, caught Elliot's eye, glanced appreciatively at Olivia's sensually grinding behind.
Was blocked, all of a sudden, by the appearance of a guy she'd never seen before; a guy who, quite rudely, had pressed his body up against the detective, his front to her back, exactly where *she* wanted to be.
Confused, Casey stopped moving, just stood there, as Olivia's hand came up and caressed her mystery partner's cheek.
Watched her as she leaned back, increased the contact, tried to become one with the badly thrusting interloper; tolerated, even encouraged, the intimate contact with the stranger that had stolen the moment, the moment that Casey had finally worked up the nerve to go for.
Was crushed when the music ended, the dj took a breather, and Olivia didn't bother to break the contact with the not so sexy stranger.
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Elliot, ever the diplomat, stepped in with the introductions.
"Casey, this is Detective Brian Cassidy, SVU alumni. Brian, this is our new ADA, Casey Novak."
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Casey's expression went from confusion to dejection to relief, as she accepted the hand that Cassidy had offered.
"Pleasure to meet you, counselor," he said as they shook hands.
Ok, she admitted, so he has a nice smile.
"Pleasure's all mine," she replied, as she tried desperately to recall any mention of Detective Cassidy in the past case files, thought she remembered the name, couldn't really decide whether his departure from sex crimes was a loss or not.
Caught Melinda's purely malicious look, which she assumed was directed at Cassidy; took a closer look at her friends, realized that Olivia looked extremely guilty, wondered why the damned Detective Cassidy still had his arm around Olivia.
Decided that his smile wasn't really *that* nice after all, as she wondered what in the hell he was doing here.
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Melinda quickly solved the riddle for her, as she asked Olivia to step outside.
Now.
Which, of course, left Casey alone at the bar with Elliot and Brian.
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"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Melinda was pissed.
Olivia knew that she had every right to be, tried her best to make her friend understand.
"Melinda, I don't know, I just felt, well, lonely."
"Lonely my ass," replied the M.E., continuing, "you know what I think? I think, for whatever reason it is that you've dreamed up in your head, that you don't think you deserve the happiness that could come from admitting your true feelings! Casey deserves better, dammit Olivia, and Brian doesn't deserve to be a pawn in your little game!"
Olivia, pissed and shocked that her feelings for the ADA had been that transparent, responded, "Casey already *has* better, Melinda, in case you hadn't noticed the woman she was all over in there!"
Seeing the sudden moisture in Olivia's eyes at the admission, Melinda almost softened her tone; realized, however, that the only way to get Olivia to face herself, avoid the mistake, was to make her feel *something*.
So Melinda bit back her response, allowed the detective to continue her little tirade.
Panting, Olivia continued, "You have *no* idea-"
Was cut off, as Melinda stated, "I sure as hell *do* have an idea, *Detective*, and know a lot more than you think I do!"
At Olivia's eyeball roll Warner shook her head, continued, "That woman, our sweet and caring and wonderful ADA inside that bar, is in love with you; and here you are, you idiot, just pissing all over that!"
Olivia's eyes pinned her, dared her to go on.
Warner, completely unafraid of the Olivia stare, simply stated, "If you insist on ruining three lives tonight, three lives that I unfortunately care way too much about, then you go right ahead and do whatever it is that you think is going to make you feel better. But Olivia? Keep in mind that what you're doing, right now, is acting exactly like your mother."
"Screw you Melinda," she growled, "how dare you!"
"How dare I? How dare *you*, Olivia! Go ahead, just crawl into the bottle and come out with regrets, just like your mother. Just like you, with Brian, all those years ago. Just a like chip off the old, alcohol soaked block."
Defeated, Olivia hung her head, all of her self-righteous rage and anger gone as she watched her friend walk away.
"Wait, Melinda-" she called, wanting to explain it all to what was the closest she had to a best friend in the city, her cherished friend that had helped her to heal after the loss of ADA Cabot, the one person that she thought might *actually* understand and accept her confusing emotions regarding ADA Novak.
"Go to hell, Olivia."
With that, Melinda was gone.
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Meanwhile, inside the bar, Elliot and Brian were catching up on old times; Elliot could see, obviously, the pain on Casey's face.
Pain, that was put there by Brian's statement that Olivia had invited him out tonight, that he thought she was finally ready to pick up where they'd left off.
Elliot, knowing the coward that his partner was when it came to dealing with their ADA, tried to gently dissuade the other cop, stating, "Look, Brian, i just think that Liv felt bad, you know, about the way she treated you-" caught Casey's eye, knew it was going to hurt, continued, "after."
Ouch.
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"After?" Casey asked, suddenly wanting the pain that she knew the truth was going to cause her.
"Yeah, Case, after," Elliot replied, "Brian and Liv had a little fling, years ago."
"Yeah," Cassidy replied, grinned, "I've been in love with her ever since."
I bet, Casey's little voice said, as she felt that pain encompass her.
"But she didn't feel the same," Elliot interceded, wanting so badly to chase the hurt from Casey's eyes, knowing that he couldn't.
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Casey absorbed it all, noticed Steven's arrival, pulled Jenny into the ladies room.
Jenny, knowing she was in for it, didn't dare resist.
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"The truth, Jenny, now."
Casey had her friend cornered, wasn't backing down until she had an answer, knew she would break the bartender *years* before she'd ever have any success with breaking the detective.
"Ok Case, here it is," Jenny started, prayed that Casey would buy her story, continued, "she came in here, a week or so after she showed up at the apartment, and said that she wanted to properly introduce herself. It was a little crazy in here that day, so she was here for a good while before we actually talked."
"And?" Casey prodded, unwilling to let her friend off the hook.
"And she is *really* sweet Casey, so nice I couldn't believe I'd found her so intimidating that first night she showed up at your apartment.....and she's a *good* person Case, a good person that was really worried about you, until I assured her that you were in good hands."
Casey, unable to accept that Olivia had accepted anything at face value, quirked a disbelieving eyebrow.
"Ok, Case, you got me," Jenny admitted, sighed, said, "*and* I promised her that I'd call her immediately if I thought you were in any trouble, ok? Please, Casey, don't tell her I told you. Please?"
Casey rolled her eyes, decided that she actually believed her friend's story, exhaled.
Wished, just a tiny bit, that she had known all of this before tonight had happened.
"Fine Jen, mum's the word. But Jenny?"
"Yeah?"
"If you ever go near Olivia again, and don't bother to clue me in?"
Jenny, tears in her eyes, said, "Yeah?"
Casey, unable to stay mad at her friend, smiled and concluded, "I'll take back the "orange" blanket. Deal?"
Jenny, tears now flowing freely, nodded and gratefully accepted the fierce bear hug the ADA threw around her.
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Forgiving Jenny, however, was the easy part.
Melinda, on a rampage, stormed back in and grabbed her coat and purse; Olivia, notably, was not with her.
Casey, curious, asked the M.E. what was going on.
Melinda paused, thought about her response, decided that Casey needed to hear, at least, a grain of the truth.
"Look, Casey, it's complicated, ok?"
"Please?" Casey asked, noticeably rattled by the current turn of events.
Sighing, Warner replied, "Let's just say that Olivia, in true self-destructive style, has invited Brian here because she knows he worships her. Unfortunately for Brian, he's not what Olivia really wants, but she's not above using him to stroke her wounded ego."
Latching onto the only part of the story that mattered to her, Casey asked, "If he's not what she wants Melinda, then what is?"
"Hell if I know Case, and hell if she knows....I just can't sit around and watch her destroy everyone around her, again."
"Again?"
Damn, thought Melinda, too far.
Screw it, the counselor had a right to know.
"Yeah Case, again. Brian asked to be reassigned, right after they slept together, because of the way Olivia treated him. He was depressed, for years, because of it. And now, here she is, using him all over again."
Tears in her eyes, images of Olivia and Cassidy a torturous reel in her head, she turned away and ran out the door; barely acknowledged the detective as she bumped into her, didn't even pause as Olivia called her name.
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"What the hell did you tell her?" Olivia demanded, her rage pointed directly at the two men still sitting at the bar.
"The truth, Liv, but so what? Everybody else knows, right?" replied Cassidy, who truly was the innocent in this whole charade.
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Jenny, quite unobtrusively, was eavesdropping on the entire exchange.
Was now more certain than ever that Casey had feelings for the intriguing detective, knew that they were never going to get it right, wanted to make Olivia pay for hurting her friend.
Realized that Olivia, who was quite magnificent in her rage at the two men, was already paying in her own way.
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"Look, Brian, I invited you here because Warner said she saw you, again, and that you were asking about me, again. My sole intent, detective, was to tell you, in front of her, to just fucking let it go! I'm *not* in love with you, I'm *not* attracted to you, and I *don't* have any desire to experience, for the second time in my life, the *worst* sex I've ever had!!! Now, please, just stay the hell out of my life, quit asking Warner about me, and move the fuck on!!!"
Cassidy, crushed and confused, simply apologized and left.
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"And you-" she started, turning on her partner.
"Look, Olivia, that line of crap isn't going to work with me, so don't try it. You two," he said, indicating her and the bartender, "must be very proud of yourselves. Well, congratulations, your little secret is safe; who cares, right, if Casey got hurt in the process?"
Jenny, wisely, found someplace else to be.
Olivia, tired of being the scapegoat of the Casey Novak fanclub, tried, "El, wait, I-"
"Was wrong, Liv, yeah, I know. But you didn't invite Cassidy here to give him any ultimatum, really. Did you?"
Caught, Olivia lowered her eyes, struggled to find the words to make him understand.
Failed, miserably, shrugged and admitted, "No, I didn't. Melinda was right, I just wanted to use him, to make Casey feel the way that seeing her with Jenny makes me feel."
"Well bravo, partner, it worked."
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Olivia, ashamed, hung her head and swiped at the tears that had begun to fall; Elliot, knowing the truth of his partner's reaction, said, "Liv?"
Refusing to raise her head, to let him see her weakness, she mumbled, "Yeah?"
Taking a deep breath, regretting the repurcussions of this suggestion already, he said, "She's still out there, probably walking around, probably trying to figure out what the hell just happened."
Defeated, Olivia gave him a small smile.
"So go find her, El."
"What about you partner?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you."
"Well..." she started, "while you're out finding her?" Paused, looked away, "I'm going to go and find myself."
DOINK DOINK