DOINK DOINK by CaseyROCKS

DaCiro Restaurante
October 12, Thursday evening

Casey stared absently at the lit candle. Her finger rimmed the top of her wine glass as her mind drifted a thousand miles away.

"Ma'am, would you like to place your order now? Ma'am?"

Casey stirred out of her fog and stared sheepishly up at the waiter. "Please just give my companion a few more minutes; I don't know what could be the hold up." She smiled at him. "You could bring me another glass of wine, however."

He nodded and Casey watched him walk off. It was a typical Thursday night but the restaurant was busy. The attorney took a few moments to look all around. "No wonder the waiter wants this table; there is probably a line waiting for it," she thought to herself.

Some loud laughter came from over her right shoulder and she turned slightly to see what appeared to be a newly engaged couple being congratulated by their dinner companions. She smiled wistfully. When she turned back a man was standing at her tableside. Her eyes rose to his face. He smiled at her.

"Good evening, Counselor."

"John, how nice to see you. You here to meet a date?" She gestured to the flowers in his hand and smiled sweetly.

"That all depends. These are for you. As is a message...." he paused at the change in her sunny demeanor.

"Oh, no, no, no, NO!" Casey said, her voice getting more adamant with each word. While she appeared perfectly calm and collected, she was mentally stomping her feet like a five-year-old. "Where is Detective Chicken?"

"Ah, the delightful detective caught a case right before quitting time. Fin and I were interrogating our last collar, so it fell to the dynamic duo. When they called in that they had a line on the perp, she asked one of us to deliver the news, her regrets and a lovely bouquet of flowers. She was very specific about the flowers. I suggested roses but she insisted on wildflowers." He handed the bouquet to Casey.

The attorney sniffed the blooms, appreciatively. She sighed. "This is sooooooooooo not fair. I haven't seen her for more than ten minutes at a time all week. She comes in after I'm asleep and leaves before I get up."

"Casey, you know she would be here if she could."

"She could have just called me John."

"Ms Novak, our good friend knows you have been sitting here, alone, for over an hour already awaiting her arrival. She understands how awkward you must feel right now and she didn't want you to have to leave alone as well. Besides, is my company that bad?"

"Aw, that's sweet actually." Casey's voice mellowed somewhat. She gestured for John to take a seat across the table from her. "No, John, your company is just fine. If you don't have a pressing engagement, how about helping spend some of Detective Chicken's hard earned money on a fabulous dinner. If I forgive her by the end of the meal, I might even bring her dessert home."

"My dear Counselor, are you sure you don't want to dump the little woman in favor of a tall, dark and devastatingly handsome, not to mention charming man?" He winked at her and pulled the chair out to sit down.

"I thought Elliot was married?" she deadpanned.

He covered his heart with both hands. "I'm wounded," he mockingly whined.

They both laughed.

~~~~~DOINK DOINK~~~~~

Liv keyed the lock and pushed open the door. She turned and relocked it.
Her shoes were quickly toed off and she kicked them aside. Then she quietly made her way through the dark apartment to the bedroom. It was two-thirty and she knew Casey would be sleeping.

Moving slowly to the window she opened the blinds slightly. City light softly illuminated the room through the slats. She turned and looked toward the bed. It didn't matter that the light was residual neon, Casey still looked sweetly angelic. Liv took a few steps forward and knelt down by the side of bed. She tucked an errant strand of blonde hair back behind Casey's ear, being very careful not to wake her up. She just stared at the porcelain beauty. Olivia ran the back of her knuckles gently up Casey's cheek and smiled in tandem with the resulting reflexive smile. She adjusted the blanket back up to Casey's neck, then stood up with an inward groan.

"I am getting too old to be running around in the rain in the middle of the night," she thought as her knee creaked.

She turned and made her way to her side of the bed. Her gun and badge were laid on the nightstand, along with her cell phone. She quickly stripped out of her clothes, throwing them over a nearby chair. Making her way to the bathroom, she stopped for a second to pull some night clothes out of the dresser. She quietly shut the bathroom door before turning on the light. Too tired to shower and not wanting to wake up Casey, Liv quickly washed up and changed into her shorts and tank. She turned the light back off and opened the door. When she reached the bed, she pulled back the covers and gently lay down. The dip in the mattress is what ultimately caused Casey to stir as Olivia adjusted the blankets.

"Liv," she said sleepily, "that you?"

"Yeah baby, it's me." Liv scooted over behind Casey and spooned her. The blonde responded by snuggling back, their legs tangled automatically. She ran her hand up and down Casey's side and then patted her hip.

Casey immediately found Liv's hand with her own and entwined their fingers. She pulled them around her waist. "Are you okay?" Casey tried to turn to go face to face but Liv held her tightly in place.

"Go back to sleep, Case; we can talk in the morning." Olivia pressed her nose into Casey's hair and breathed in the familiar, comforting scent. She sighed and softly squeezed the warm body her arms were wrapped around.

"I missed you. We haven't seen each other much this week."

"I missed you too, sweetheart, and I am so sorry about tonight. I was looking forward to our romantic dinner."

"I know. It was nice of you to send John," her voice was still slightly burred from sleepiness. "And I loved the flowers."

Liv kissed the blonde head. "I'm glad. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"I'm not mad anymore, really... well, actually that depends on your answers to the next few questions."

"Ooh, should I get a lawyer?"

"You already have a lawyer." Casey raised their entwined hands to her lips and kissed them. "So you gonna answer the questions? And do I need to remind you that cooperation goes along way in determining whether or not you get any special deals from me?"

"Okay, just so long as the death penalty is off the table... I'll answer your questions."

Casey giggled. "Question one: did you catch the bad guy?"

"Yes, we did."

"Good. Question two: Did you get me something to work with here?"

"Yes, we have the weapon, three eyewitnesses that saw him with the victim and would you believe the moron left his wallet at the scene? Slam dunk, Counselor."

"Oooh, yea my favorite kind of answer. Okay, question three... did you get dinner?"

"No, baby, I wanted to come straight home."

"Let me get you something then." Casey tried to get up but Liv pulled her tight against her chest.

"I'll eat in the morning. Let's just get some sleep. I'm really tired and I know you have the closing argument in the Preston case in the morning. Judge Donnelly takes it personally when you yawn in her courtroom." Liv took a deep breath.

"Liv, you sound a little strange, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Case," Liv answered a little too quickly and snuggled her body even closer. She rubbed her nose along the side of Casey's neck.

"Try again."

"I'm fine?mostly. It's was?" Olivia's voice trailed off.

"I'm listening." Casey pulled their hands up to her chest.

Olivia closed her eyes tightly and exhaled audibly.

"Well, you are going to hear about it in the morning anyway. The vic was attacked by the perp and he beat her black and blue with a piece of pipe." Liv took a breath. "Apparently, the vic was a payment of sorts for the perp. He was going to sell her to some other folks in exchange for drugs and alcohol. He just decided to try her out first. He attempted to rape her. She fought back and managed to get a couple of good hits in, whacked him with a lamp, even stabbed him with a pen that was nearby. That's when he decided to beat her. Casey? Her, and I use the term loosely, mother is the one who gave the girl to the perp boyfriend to sell. She wanted more drugs and had no money, so they decided to pimp out the daughter."

Casey, sensing Olivia's torment, squeezed her hand.

Liv continued. "The vic was 9 years old."

"Oh Lord?is she gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, she's battered and bruised, but she's still a spunky kid. Case, how could a mother do that? Her own child?" She untangled her hand from Casey's and rubbed her eyes, wiping away a tear. "Her own child."

Casey, now out of the detective's grasp leaned toward her nightstand. She switched on the bedside lamp and propped herself up by the head board. Turning to her bed partner, she gasped. "Ohmigod. Who did this to you?"

Olivia propped her head up on one hand and looked up at her girlfriend. Then she lowered her eyes, embarrassed, and half smiled guiltily. Casey leaned over and ran her hand gently down Liv's face, cupping her cheek. Liv closed her eyes, relishing the soft touch. The bruising around the eye was turning a nice shade of purple.

"Did the perp do this? I'll kill him." Casey, now wide awake, went into prosecutor mode. "Assaulting a police officer... I'll put his ass so deep in Riker's they will think he came with the foundation." She waved her hands around to make a point. "Assault with a deadly weapon... yeah, that'll work too and I bet he was running... resisting arrest with... oh Liv...." She touched her face again. "With violence. And stupidity in the first degree and... and... destruction of property... yeah."

Liv's eyes popped open and one eyebrow rose into her hairline.

"Destruction of property?" she bit back a laugh. "Wow, Counselor... that's a new one."

Casey swallowed hard and blushed. She covered her eyes with both hands. Peering out between her fingers she meekly asked, "Did I actually say that out loud?" She tilted her head and smiled weakly. "Ummmmmmm... what can I say? I'm kinda fond of that face, y'know?"

"Yeah," Liv scratched the side of her face gingerly, "me too. Don't worry; I'll be fine in a couple of days."

"Still, I'll bury the SOB...."

"Casey, honey, the perp didn't exactly do this."

"What? Oh...the vic's mother than... I can still work with that...."

"No, Case."

"The vic got carried away and...." she guessed and left off hoping Liv would fill in the blank.

"No, the vic didn't do it either."

"Well then who did?"

Olivia eased herself up and leaned against the headboard. She readjusted the blanket and then instinctively reached for Casey's hand. Biting her lip, she contemplated the best way to explain. She paused for a moment and then mentally threw up both hands.

"I think you were right about stupidity in the first degree. The moron left the scene of the crime and went back to his apartment. The vic identified him and his wallet gave us the address. Of course, when he knew we were there, he decided to run." She stared down and worried with the hem on the blanket. "Can I just ask why they always have to run when it's rainy and cold outside? Anyway, we chased him down and caught him about a half a block away. I got to him first. I think Elliot needs to lay off the donuts. Anyway, I grabbed him and threw him against the wall. Twice." She looked over at Casey and grinned sheepishly. "Ummmmm... you didn't hear that." She scratched her nose nervously.

"Noted."

"When he was finally down on the ground, Elliot pulled his arm back to cuff him and his hand slipped and well, I leaned down at the same time and...."

"Elliot did this to you? Elliot?" Casey voice went up an octave.

"It was an accident; the perp's jacket was wet and...."

Casey reached over to the nightstand and picked up her cell phone. She speed dialed a number.

"Casey?" Liv questioned.

Casey then raised one finger to shush her. She waited as for the phone to be answered. "Stabler? You're a dead man." Casey disconnected the call and threw her phone back on the nightstand. Her flashing green eyes tried to glare a hole in the wall as she took a couple of deep, calming breaths.

Liv laughed. "Feel better now? Y'know, it wasn't really his fault." Just then Liv's phone rang. She shrugged and turned to the other nightstand and her phone. "Benson," she answered. "El?" She listened to the bewildered voice on the other side. "What? You got a phone call from Casey." She looked over at her lover. "She said what? She threatened your life, okay." Liv shook her head and winked at Casey who was silently giggling. "Well, y'see Elliot, Casey got a look at my shiner." She paused. "Yes, she managed to worm the whole story out of me. She's extremely persuasive. It was brutal."

Casey pinched Olivia's arm, hard, at the lie.

"Ow. Yes, El... no El... I didn't set out to get you in trouble." Liv listened to the voice on the line. "She considers it a destruction of her property." Olivia turned to Casey and grinned.

Casey groaned again and blushed.

Olivia teasingly tugged on the sleeve to Casey's sleep jersey to get her attention again. "Yeah, what? Sure, flowers are a good idea. Nothing major, but something nice. Oh, and you know how much she loves those Belgian chocolates."

The lawyer looked at Liv, puzzled.

Liv covered the mouthpiece and leaned toward the blonde. "Okay, so I love those chocolates... just go along with me here," she whispered and pecked Casey on the nose. She leaned back against the headboard.

Casey smiled.

"Yeah, flowers and chocolate... good start... oh and...." She looked over at Casey who had touched her arm to get her attention. The counselor motioned like she was drinking from a mug. "Coffee, El... get her a cup of her favorite coffee. Oooh, �clairs are a nice touch too. Good idea El."

Casey pumped her arm in celebration.

"Yeah, I'll try and smooth stuff over for you. She's really pissed. Yeah, okay... I'll talk to you in the morning. Seven, right? Okay... bye." Olivia put her phone back on the nightstand and turned to her lover. Both women dissolved in laughter. After a few moments, they settled back down to catch their breath.

Liv was the first to speak. She bumped shoulders with her lover playfully. "Y'know what... now I'm wide awake."

"Me too," Casey replied with a twinkle in her green eyes and she impishly bumped her back. "So, whatcha wanna do about it?"

"Ummmm, I dunno... got any ideas?" Liv responded and waggled her eyebrows.

Bump. "We could play a game." Another bump.

"Oh, what did you have in mind... cards?" Liv said, jokingly.

"I was thinking," Casey leaned over and whispered in the detective's ear, "more like Moan-opoly. She kissed the ear, then lightly bit down on the earlobe and tugged gently. "Or even better... Hide and Seek." Casey threw the blanket up and dove under the covers. In a muffled voice she said, "Start counting to a hundred."

"One, two, uhhhh, three, four... ohhhhhh." Liv was sidetracked by a warm hand sliding up under her shirt and a well placed nibble.

"Keep counting," the counselor's voice was muted by the blanket.

"Five."

More nibbles.

"Twelve... umm... twenty-two... ahh... thirty-seven...." Liv paused again, her concentration broken this time by a kiss and a lick. She moaned and swallowed hard. "Fifty-six, uhhhhhh... seventy-five, eighty-one, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred," she said quickly. Liv pulled the blanket up and scooted under it as well. "AHA! Gotcha!"

~~~~~DOINK DOINK~~~~~

Casey moved quietly through the bedroom. She opened the blinds fully then walked over and set a mug down on the nightstand. Olivia was sleeping soundly, her breath slow and even. Casey gingerly sat on the edge of the bed and twitched her robe back into place. The slight movement of the mattress caused a hand to immediately appear from beneath the covers. It groped around blindly until it found a leg. Then it began to meander up the leg, to the knee, moving the robe aside as it continued its ascent. Casey finally stopped it mid thigh with a playful slap.

"Spoil sport," a sleepy Olivia mumbled, her eyes still closed. Casey laughed.

Leaning over, she swept a bit of chestnut hair away from the bruised eye, still closed in feigned sleep. She winced in sympathy. Casey dropped a light kiss on the exposed tan shoulder, then followed with slow soft circles as she touched the same spot. "Liv, honey... it's time to get up." Her hand continued to rub Liv's back.

"What time?" Olivia rolled onto her back and stretched. Her eyes opened and blinked owlishly in the harsh light. Then she focused on her lover. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning yourself, gorgeous," Casey replied and leaned in for a kiss. "Oh and it's eight-thirty. Whoa!" Casey barely moved out of the way as Liv sat up quickly, their heads almost colliding.

"Sonofa... I'm late," Liv said, exasperatedly. "I was supposed to be at the station for the interrogation over an hour ago." She tried to scramble out of bed but Casey held her in.

"Honey, you aren't late," she explained. "John called earlier and said that he would work with Elliot on that this morning. He told me to let you sleep in a bit. He knew you got in late last night. He said that he would cover it with Cragen and for you to just come in around ten or so."

"John called? Here? Why didn't I hear the phone ring?"

"I was already up, getting my case notes together in the living room, when MY phone rang."

"Geez, one dinner and you have the guy calling you," Liv joked.

Casey smirked. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."

"That you are, Counselor," Liv sat up and kissed Casey soundly. "That you are."

Casey closed her eyes as they kissed again. When their next kiss broke, Olivia leaned in so their foreheads touched. Finally opening her eyes, Casey looked into the deep chocolate brown ones so close to her. She moved back a tad and tilted her head slightly. "I really love you, y'know."

Olivia smiled. "I love you too, honey."

"Okay, enough of this mushy stuff this early in the morning." Casey pinched Olivia on the leg, through the blanket.

"Owww... I'm injured you know."

Casey stuck her tongue out at her. "How about you get up and grab a shower and when I hear the shower shut off, I'll start making you a nice breakfast? What do you feel like?"

"Oooh, can I have a Novak Special omelet?"

"You betcha." Casey smiled, then got up off the bed.

Liv threw the covers back and slid to the edge, putting her feet on the floor. She yawned widely as she raked her hands through her hair.

"Liv, do you think you can drop me off at court on your way to the one-six?" Casey called over her shoulder as she exited the bedroom.

"That depends Counselor, are you riding on the handlebars of your bike or are we taking my car?" Liv yelled out as she headed into the bathroom.

"Smartass!"

Olivia's answer was a raspberry.

~~~~~DOINK DOINK~~~~~

16th Precinct
October 13, Friday Morning

Olivia took a deep breath as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor. She had killed as much time as she could between dropping Casey off and making her way to the one-six. Liv readjusted her sunglasses for the tenth time. For some reason she was nervous... no, embarrassed and feeling utterly ridiculous. She was not looking forward to the attention her black eye was going to garner. The elevator dinged and she took one more calming breath as the doors opened.

She kept her head down as she walked the hallway to the squad room, ignoring all who were passing her. She pulled open the last glass door and made her way to her desk.
Looking up for a second, she saw that Munch was at his desk reading over a report and Fin, his back to her, was by the coffee machine. Elliot was among the missing and she assumed Cragen was in his office. She dropped her purse in the bottom drawer and pulled her chair out, wincing at the sound. She sat and pulled open a file on her desk.

Munch looked up when he heard her chair scrape the floor. "Well, well, well, look Fin, it's Detective Benson. How are you this bright and sunny day? It must be sunny, because she is wearing sunglasses in the building. Did you forget to take them off?"

"Munch...." Liv growled and looked up from her desk. She decided a killer glare was in order. However, it's hard to glare when your jaw drops open in surprise. Sitting across the desk was Munch with his own pair of sunglasses on. Fin turned from the coffeemaker, his arms crossed and he too wore sunglasses. Everyone in the room was wearing sunglasses.

They all smirked at her. She looked back down at her desk suddenly finding a nick in the wood utterly fascinating. "Elliot," she mumbled low, "Casey was right; you are a dead man."

Just then Elliot turned the corner into the squad room. "Did someone call me? Oh Liv, you're here...."

Olivia looked up and found Elliot too was wearing sunglasses. He sported a wide smile. She looked from one to the other to the other and found all three men grinning like fools. "Very funny, guys." She shook her head in disbelief as she watched Fin and Elliot make their way over to Munch's desk. They all looked at each other and then back at Olivia. In sync, they all dipped their sunglasses. Liv opened and closed her mouth several times looking for the right retort. Each man was wearing a make-up induced black eye and a big smirk. She balled up a piece of paper and threw it at them, hitting Munch in the chest. They just laughed harder.

"Hey! What's going on out here? Don't you folks have work to do?" A rough voice came from the captain's office.

Olivia turned to Cragen. "Cap, they're picking on...." her voice died off.

"Something wrong Benson?" Cragen deadpanned as he too looked over the top of a pair of sunglasses, his black eye making itself known as well.

"He... they... you...." she mumbled incoherently as her hand gestured around. "Oh nevermind." She dropped her head into her hands.

That just brought another round of laughter.

The familiar click of heels brought her head up and she turned to the door. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Casey was wearing sunglasses as well. Olivia got up from her desk and made her way to Casey's side.

"Please tell me you don't have a black eye under there, do you?" she asked her.

"Don't be ridiculous," the ADA replied and removed her glasses.

Olivia let out a sigh of relief.

Casey looked around at the guys and smiled. "Actually, I just came to bring you this...." She reached over and hung a cardboard sign around Olivia's neck.

Liv looked down and colored slightly when she read it. Casey just chuckled. She grabbed Olivia by the shoulders and turned her to face the guys. They broke out in loud laughter when they read the sign.

This property condemned.

~~~~~DOINK DOINK~~~~~