Casey heard a knock on her door. She really didn't want to be disturbed. Her eyes remained on the file she was reading.
"Come in.'
She flipped the page and continued to read.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Novak. I don't mean to bother you. It's just… I didn't know where else to go. No one else really cares."
Casey looked up at the voice. It was battered and bruised. She could see the pain in the girl's eyes.
"Zooey, what happened?"
She got up and wrapped her arms around the girl. She noticed that she didn't have her younger brothers with her.
"Where are Mike and Joe?"
"They're outside your door. I didn't want to bring them in if you didn't want me to."
Casey let go of Zooey and went outside the door. She came back in carrying a toddler and a baby. She laid them on the couch and went back to Zooey. She led her to a big comfy chair her father had given her after he bought a new one for his law office.
When Zooey sat down, Casey looked at the wounds that covering her face and hands. They were 'minor' cuts and bruises. Casey did see a large severe burn that ran up Zooey's arm. She gently touched the area and knew instantly it was bordering third degree. It needed medical attention. Casey had dealt with several burns as a clumsy child and knew how much it meant to keep it cleaned and covered.
"Zooey, I'm going to call a friend of mine and have her bring me something. I want you to stay here and try to rest.
She kissed the girl's forehead.
As she walked into the hallway and closed the door, she realized how much the children, especially Zooey, meant to her. They had become a part of her life, a part she wasn't willing to let be hurt.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pants pocket and dialed an all too familiar number.
"Benson," the voice was harsh over the line.
"Olivia, I need a favor. I need some first aid supplies, especially burn cream, rubbing alcohol, and roll gauze."
"What happen, Casey?"
The voice was soothing and calm now, like a mother's.
"I'll explain when you get to my office. Please get here as quick as possible."
She didn't wait for a response; she hung up the phone and placed it in her pocket.
She paused in the doorway and looked at Zooey, who was now on the couch holding Mike and Joe. She had her eyes closed and was breathing slowly. She had fallen asleep. She looked like a battered angel protecting the flock. For the first time in forever, Casey saw that Zooey really was just a thirteen-year-old who was forced to take care of a two-year-old and a four-month-old.
She sat next to her and took Joe off her chest. He began to open his eyes to cry, but she put him against her chest and patted his back. When she was sure he was asleep, she stopped and wrapped her arm around Zooey shoulder, pulling her close.
"Zooey, my dearest, I love you."
She felt like the mother to these children. She had to protect them from their father, keep them safe from him. She had to do something because child services had done nothing except look the other way. Their father was a high class gentleman, a banker.
She felt a gust of tiredness come over her and she couldn't fight it off. She closed her eyes and let her mind go to happy thoughts. In her mind, Joe, Mike, and Zooey, were her children to spoil and have fun with.
Olivia Benson stood in the elevator waiting for it to reach Casey's floor. Next to her was her partner in crime, Elliot Stabler. He was holding a paper bag full of the first aid supplies Casey had asked for.
"You think Casey's joking us?"
"If she is, then she's a very good at acting. She sounded genuinely upset on the phone."
The elevator stopped on Casey's floor and they got off. As they walked toward her door, Olivia smiled.
"Well, she is a great actor. All attorneys are great actors, but especially prosecutors. They have to…"
Elliot put his finger up to her lips and motioned for her to look through the window of Casey's door.
The sight was extremely cute. It asked to be captured on film. Casey had a baby laying on her chest, and a girl's head in her lap. The young girl was curled up in the fetal position. A toddler boy was using the girl's feet as a pillow.
"May I assume this is a joke?"
"I don't think it is."
Olivia slowly opened the door and went over to Casey. She tapped her on the shoulder, but she didn't wake.
"Casey, wake up."
Olivia shook her. When that didn't work, she tapped her on the nose. That seemed to work, because she began to arouse,
"Go away."
"Casey, it's us."
Elliot whispered something in her ear and she looked at him with a demonic fire in her eyes.
"No, they are not the result of that! How could you even suggest something like that?"
"I wanted to make sure you were awake."
Olivia stared at Elliot, assuming that he whispered something about Fin in Casey's ear.
She looked at the young girl and noticed the bruised under the hair draped across her face. She bent down and pushed the hair away. A silent gasp exited her mouth.
"Casey, what happened?"
"I'm not exactly sure, this time, but I can assume it involves her father."
"This time?"
The words seemed to flow from both detectives mouths at the same time.
"So it's happened before?"
"Several times. Zooey was four when I first moved in. I remember her knocking on my door asking if she could hide from him in my apartment."
She rubbed Zooey's hair, smoothing any loose strands.
"She knew it was useless to call child services. It was only a short time before I figured it out. They don't care when your father is John Sephan."
"The banker?"
"Exactly!"
Casey gently took Joe away from her chest and looked at him. She smiled and stood up gently, allowing Zooey's head to simply fall from her lap to the couch. She laid the baby next to her head.
"Zooey is his beating bag. Mike and Joe will probably be safe from harm unless he gets drunk."
Olivia noticed the burn on Zooey's wrist. She took it in her hand and examined it. She pulled the girl's sleeve up. The burn ran her arm almost to the middle of her upper arm.
"A fireplace, he pushed her into a fireplace, maybe even held her there."
Casey and Elliot looked at her in shock.
"I fell into my grandfather's fireplace when I was younger. The burn pattern is unique. I'd know it anywhere.
Olivia smiled and gave a little laugh.
"She's a heavy sleeper."
"Or Casey dosed her."
Casey smacked Elliot upside his head hard.
"What? I noticed you had a bottle of children's aspirin on your desk."
"For my headaches. I only need a small amount of painkillers to get rid of my massive headaches."