Olivia was lost in her own thoughts about the ADA seated a few rows ahead of her, Casey Novak. The red head was holding her own very well, despite knowing it was a lost cause. She had been upset over not standing a good chance in this case when she had left for court this morning. It didn't help that Olivia had told her that they couldn't be together anymore because every ADA that Olivia fell in love with had either died or moved away.
Olivia was still in her thoughts when she heard Luke Josephs call out, "I call to the stand, Detective Olivia Benson."
Casey immediately jumped up. "What?!" she protested, her hands gesturing the way they did when she was angry. "Oli...Detective Benson has nothing to do with this case, Judge Likin. If the defense wishes to call the detective who worked the case and made the arrest, he should call Odafin Tutuola or John Munch."
"I am inclined to agree with Miss Novak," Judge Likin said, much more calmly than Casey. "Detective Benson truly has nothing to do with this case. Unless you can prove the relevance of calling her to the stand, I'm going to have to over-rule you, Counselor. Approach."
The two attorneys went towards the judge. Josephs looked back to Olivia and then towards Likin and Josephs began his pleading. "Your Honor. When this case began, you asked if we each believed the other was in their right mind. At the time, I agreed that Miss Novak was. At the time, I believed she was. Now, however, I have reason to believe that she may not be. I would like to call Detective Benson forward to test this. The detective sees Miss Novak daily and would be the best to testify as to her wellness. Call someone to test me if you would like."
Likin looked at Josephs and then to Casey. His grey eyes held her hazel ones for a moment before he nodded. "Alright..." he looked back to Josephs. "I'll let you have your fun. However, set one foot over the line to too far and you're done. Understand?"
Josephs nodded back and said quietly, "Thank you, your Honor."
Likin waved Olivia towards him. "Detective. Please."
Olivia slowly stood and scooted past Elliot and into the aisle. She glanced down at her clothes nervously -- she wasn't dressed to be a witness in court. She was still in tight blue jeans and her T-shirt still had the rip and stain of mud from having to tackle a suspect without time to change before court. Olivia tried to fold the hem of her shirt up enough to cover it, but it wouldn't fold enough without exposing skin. She gave up on it and with a sigh sat down at the stand.
Josephs glared at Casey for a moment before beginning to question Olivia.
"How long have you known Miss Novak, Detective?"
"Three years. Since the DA assigned her to the Special Victims Unit."
"Have you noticed any changes in Miss Novak recently?"
Olivia looked at Josephs confused. "Changes? How so?"
"Appearance?"
"She cut her hair, but then she usually tries to keep it shoulder length and it was kind of long."
"Her attitude?"
"Same as always."
"Her work?"
"Is still done with the same passion and dedication she's had since I met her."
Josephs sighed at Olivia. "Has she missed any days of work?"
"Some, yeah," Olivia agreed.
Josephs seemed pleased. "So many it seems kind of...unusual?"
Olivia shook her head. "Two years ago she was out for about five days with food poisoning from a sushi bar. Then last year out for a week when that scare of anthrax in the building, but her boss told her to take that off. Oh, yeah, she had the flu for a few days this year."
Josephs leaned in closer to Olivia. "Have you noticed Miss Novak seems a bit...insane?"
"Listen here, you!" Olivia finally snapped, jumping up. "You bring her in here to defend a dead child! Now you test if she's insane? You know, I think that you may be the insane one here! Casey? She's perfectly fine! You're not going to be if you let a killer walk because you are upset that a woman won't sleep with you. I know Casey is fine, and anyone in their right mind wouldn't question her sanity." Olivia stopped, glaring at Josephs and breathing hard.
Josephs raised an eyebrow at her. "Detective," he said, snottily. "I think I hit a nerve."
Josephs turned to face the jury. "You know, I've heard that people who are homosexual have a chemical imbalance in their brains. It makes them change a lot of things about themselves. It also affects their work. Miss Novak did, as the Detective pointed out, turn me down. She also told me that she was with Olivia Benson. Sexually. If this chemical imbalance spins any farther out of control, the quality of Miss Novak's work could also..."
He stopped his speech and watched as Olivia grabbed Casey's hand and pulled the taller redhead to her feet. At the doors Olivia looked back for the only time. "Your Honor, you are losing your prosecuting attorney for the day. I would appreciate it if you would recess the court."
"Ollie," Casey finally spoke when they were outside of the court house. "I could have handled myself just fine in there."
Olivia looked Casey in the eyes and smiled. "I know. It's just...I love you."
Olivia stole a kiss from Casey's perfect lips and then wrapped an arm around the woman's waist. "So what do you want to do today?"
"Well, I did have a job keeping me from spending time with my amazing girlfriend, but um...that appears to have been cancelled."