Memory Lane

By: Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles

Chapter 1: Overwhelmed

Olivia sipped at the drink that was placed in front of her as she searched the bar for her favorite redhead, only to frown upon realizing she was nowhere in sight. It was very odd. Usually after a tough case - like tonight - she would go out and have a drink or two and Casey was usually right by her side. She'd just tried her cell and got nothing. Downing her drink, the weary detective ordered another and hoped she was just running late.

An hour later, seeing her check her watch and phone every few seconds, the bartender stopped in front of her and lent on the bar. "Your friend not with you tonight?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Guess not. Wish she was."

"She was in here earlier today. Gulped down about 4 drinks in a row and left, so my guess is she's either sporting a bit of a hangover, or she's continued her quest for oblivion somewhere else."

Olivia raised her eyebrow. "How much earlier?"

"Two, maybe three hours before you got here. She was more dressed up than I normally see her and had a briefcase. Looked like she came straight from work."

Olivia sighed, paying the bartender. "Thanks." Then she hopped off the barstool and headed out the door.

As she was looking up at the sky, considering whether or not to catch a cab, her phone rang. "Benson."

Munch's voice came down the line, seeming to be slightly muffled as always, like he was worried about speaking directly into the phone. "We've been trying to get a search warrant for the last half hour, but we can't get through to Novak. We've managed to get one elsewhere, but we're going to need her help in the station, so can you try and track her down?"

"Yeah, I'm headed to her place now. I'll see what I can do," she said, closing the phone and taking off into the chilly night.

When she heard a knock at her door, Casey groaned. "I've already turned it down. I can barely hear it here, so I know you can't hear it next door. Go away!"

Olivia sighed, smiling a bit. "I'm not here on that kind of business, Casey. Open up."

A moment later, the door was opened slightly, and a disheveled Casey peered out. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yes. Can I come in?"

Casey glanced back into her apartment, taking in the discarded clothing, her current state of hobo dress, and the bottles of alcohol on the table, before opening the door a tiny bit further to allow her in.

Olivia walked in, immediately taking in the appearance of the room as well as the disheveled state of her friend. "Casey, are you okay? You seem...out of it."

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm always fine. I'm great. Peachy in fact. Never been better." She attempted a smile.

Olivia wrapped an arm around her, leading her over to the couch. "Casey...really. I know something's wrong. You usually don't go drinking without me."

Casey gave a quiet laugh. "That's true. The one time I tried it with Elliot he just talked about his wife and football the whole time. I mean, come on." As she spoke, she reached out to pour herself another drink.

Olivia pulled the alcohol away from her. "No. I don't want you drowning yourself in this." She grabbed her hands. "Talk to me."

Casey closed her eyes and lowered her head. "I didn't want you to see this. I'll be ok by tomorrow. I promise. I just...need to forget for a while. Please, just go. I'll be ok."

Olivia sighed, moving closer and wrapping her arms around her. "No. I know you're down-and-out and I want to help you. I promise it'll just be between us, okay?"

"...Did Munch send you here? I know he's been trying to get hold of me. He even called the building manager who came and practically banged the door down he was so excited about being involved in police business."

She chuckled a bit. "Well yes, but that's not the only reason I came looking for you. Like I said, you usually don't let me drink alone. And, right now, I'm not here as a detective, Case, I'm here as a concerned friend. As far as I'm concerned, the open case can wait..."

Casey rubbed her face tiredly, looking up at Olivia. "I'll go and have a shower and then I'll come with you down to the station. Can you make coffee or something? If there is any."

"Casey, you're in no shape to—"

"I'm not drunk, look!" She stood, attempted to walk in a straight line, and fell into Olivia's lap. "Well, okay, maybe a little."

Olivia just wrapped her arms around her. "I'll just say you're sick or...something, okay?"

Casey nodded and then stood once more. "I'll...shower and clean up" She grabbed what was a half full bottle and went to walk to the bathroom.

Olivia curiously followed her, wondering why she would need alcohol if she was trying to shower to sober up.

Casey didn't notice, too caught up in herself, and when she reached the bathroom, she took a long swig from the bottle, sitting on the closed toilet seat.

Olivia sat beside her on the floor. "What's going on?"

Casey shrugged. "I don't want to tell you...in case it makes you feel bad. Memories. Not that I'm doing the best job of not making you feel bad when I sit here with a Vodka bottle in my hand." She gave an unamused laugh and went to take another drink.

"Why don't you want to tell me? What could possibly be so dire?" she asked placing her hand over Casey's and pulling the bottle away again.

Casey attempted to take the bottle back, and then a small struggle ensued, ending with a broken bottle on the floor, and Casey collapsed against Olivia, tears coursing down her cheeks. "She's dead. It's not fair, it's not fair!"

Olivia released the broken glass and wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her back. "Who's dead, Casey? What's happened?"

Sobs shuddered from her body, and she hid her face in Olivia's jacket. "My mom!"

"Casey, I-I'm so sorry! Shh! I-I'll call Fin. Tell him you're dealing with a family tragedy, okay?"

Casey nodded and pushed herself against the wall of the bathroom, sinking until she was sitting, then wrapped her arms around her knees and lowered her head.

Olivia sighed. "Casey, come here," she said, opening her arms. "I'm not leaving you, not now, okay?"

An hour later, they were back on the couch. Casey had her red rimmed eyes closed and seemed to be asleep, aside from the occasional hiccup. Olivia surveyed the room before she began to clear up all the bottles, empty any of their contents.

Suddenly, her phone began vibrating. "Benson. Fin, hey, uh Casey? She's...indisposed. Her mother passed away this morning and she's not doing well. Can you try to do this without her? Okay, thanks." She closed her phone, dumping the rest of the contents of the bottles down the drain. Once she was finished with that, she walked back over and sat beside Casey, sighing.

Casey gave a sigh as well, rolling onto her side and dropping the photograph she'd insisted on rifling through her draws for half an hour earlier. Now crumpled, it showed a younger Casey at her graduation, and her mother smiling proudly at her. Written on the back – 'I know you hate flying, so don't worry about coming home to visit your old mum from all the amazing places you're going to go, just send me a postcard now and then, and maybe a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day in case your father forgets.'

Olivia picked it up and unwrinkled it and set it on the coffee table when Casey, suddenly and without real reason, began to shiver.

Maneuvering herself just right, Olivia laid with her in her arms, kissing her temple.

"Mum," Casey whimpered. "Mum!"

Olivia wrapped her arms tighter around her in trying to warm her up. She wished she had such fond memories. All she really had was becoming extremely upset and kicking her for her mother not wanting her to marry a boy she loved when she was younger. Sure, in reality, they'd made up, but she didn't have any pictures like Casey did.

"I-I miss you so much!" she cried in her sleep.

Olivia brushed Casey's red hair from her face and kissed her cheek.

Casey curled closer into Olivia, who straightened for a moment, thinking she heard her whisper her name, then dropped another kiss to her temple when Casey spoke softly again. "I wish you could have met her mummy."

Curious, she played along. "Met who sweetie?" she asked, caressing her face with the back of her hand.

Casey seemed to be silent for a long time, just moving about in her sleep, but then spoke once more, "She's my best friend. She's tough, and she's sweet and she's...Olivia."

A bit stunned, she smiled. "Tell me about her. Tell me everything," Olivia said, pulling her closer and resting her head on Casey's shoulder.

Casey talked to her mother for a while, about people and things Olivia had never heard of, some of it seeming to make no sense, but then her voice softened, and she spoke of Olivia once more. "She gets me. Like you do. Sometimes I worry that I don't do the same for her, but if I just sit and listen, she seems to appreciate that. She always looks a bit happier once we've parted, and it makes me feel better as well."

"What do you two talk about?"

"Anything. Everything. Whatever we need to talk about, whatever we feel like talking about. Sometimes. our cases. Sometimes our favorite food. Sometimes our lives."

Olivia got the feeling she was holding something back. Something important. "Is there anything you're afraid to tell her? You know you can tell me anything."

Casey sighed and moved around once more as the wind howled outside. Just as Olivia thought she had fallen back into deep sleep, she mumbled. "I think I'm in love with her."

Shocked, Olivia was silent for a few minutes, giving it time to sink in.

Casey got concerned. "Mummy, I-I'm sorry! Did you not want to know that?"

Olivia took a few breaths. "Wh-why do you think that?"

"The way she makes me feel whenever she walks into a room. When she smiles at me, just me, I want to do that little dance I used to do around the room at home when I thought no one was watching."

"Why haven't you told her how you feel yet? You said she's a good listener."

"What if I lose her as friend? She's my only proper friend here."

"I'm sure if she's as good a friend as you say, she'll...at least think about it. Don't you owe it to her to be honest? And what do you mean she's your only proper friend?"

Olivia waited for an answer, but it seemed that was all the talking Casey was offering, because from then on, all she did was sigh and move around in her sleep, whimpering occasionally, until the sun came up.

Author's Note: What do you think?

This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I decided it was getting too long. Some chapters will be longer than others.

The final chapter of Love's Dangerous Complications is coming out of my fingers as slow as Molasses, but it is coming, so don't worry. There's already a good chunk written.

Thanks to my Beta:Tiger(dot)Lily(dot)Weasley(dot)757

Please read and review!

Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles