Disclaimers: They're not mine, but I promise I'll have them back by
midnight. All mistakes and British spellings are mine.

A/N: I'm hoping posting part one will motivate me to finish part two (which I've been meaning to do for weeks), since I hate unfinished fics.

Distractions

You're an idiot Casey. A complete and utter idiot. As my apartment door shuts behind me I wonder what the hell I was thinking. Then I realise my problem, I wasn't thinking, I was reacting. Reacting to a very pissed off Olivia Benson.

_____

"What the hell is your problem, Novak?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked you to put me on the stand today."

"And?"

"And yet again you ignored me and called Elliot."

"I'm sorry; I must have missed a memo. Because I don't recall being told about your personal preference now being the deciding factor in my choice of witness."

_____

As soon as she barged into my office practically yelling at me, I couldn't help but react. In my defence, my brain wasn't at full capacity, angry Olivia does funny things to me, she's just so damn sexy when she's angry. Calm and rational went right out the window.

I admit, I could have handled it differently, I could have thought up a plausible reason as to why I'd called Elliot to the stand instead of her for the third time in as many weeks. I could have feigned innocence, told her I didn't even realise it seemed that way, offered an apology. I could have tried to defuse the argument that was clearly coming.

But I didn't.

In hindsight, not my smartest move.

_____

"Let me guess, they're you're cases and how you handle them is nothing to do with me?"

"Damn right, detective."

"Wrong. They're my cases too. If we weren't out there putting our asses on the line, catching these bastards, you'd have no one to prosecute."

_____

She was absolutely right, and I have been deliberately not using her in court. Since I seem to revert to a schoolgirl with a crush whenever she's around, complete with stammering and blushing, I have, in fact, been avoiding her as much as is possible, given our jobs. But there was no way in hell I was admitting that, not at that point anyway.

_____

"Bullshit, Liv, that has nothing to do with this. You didn't get your own way, so you're throwing a tantrum, as usual. I fail to see how it matters if I call you, Elliot, Fin, John or Santa, as long as we win."

"A tantrum? You think this is a tantrum? It matters because you obviously have a problem with me, and you're letting it affect work. You ever hear the word professionalism?"

_____

As soon as she said that I felt my blood boil. The anger gathered in the pit of my stomach. If she wanted a reason, I'd damn well give her a reason. Who the hell did she think she was, questioning my professionalism?

Again, in hindsight, I should have walked away.

_____

"I do have a problem with you. The simple fact, Olivia, is that you're a distraction, and distractions are something I won't knowingly bring into the courtroom."

"A distraction? What the hell are you talking about Novak? Who exactly is it I'm distracting?"

_____

She looked confused, not that I blame her. But it was too late by then. I was on a roll, determined to let her know exactly how professional I was. I'm cringing as I remember storming around my desk to stand in front of her. Obviously I felt the need to be absolutely sure there was no way she could miss a word of the monumental fuck up I was making.

_____

"You remember what you wore last time you took the stand?"

"No, and what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I do. Dark-blue, low-cut jeans with a blue shirt. Know how I remember?"

"Casey? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I remember because I spent the entire time I questioned you trying not to think about opening those buttons on your shirt and kissing my way downward. Then I spent the entire cross examination thinking about how incredible your ass looks in those jeans."

_____

That stopped her in her tracks. There was an audible gasp as the anger drained from her face, to be replaced by stunned confusion. But I wasn't done yet, oh no, just in case she misunderstood, I decided to reiterate my point.

_____

"So, detective, it's my professionalism that won't let me use you in court, because I can't afford to be distracted like that."

"Casey...."

"You know what I was thinking a second ago when you stormed in? That you're damn sexy when you're angry."

_____

That was right around the time my brain decided to kick in; informing me of the fact I'd just made a complete ass out of myself. So what did I do? Did I try to sort it out? Plead temporary insanity? Apologise? Beg her forgiveness? Of course not, I grabbed my jacket and stormed out of my office. Leaving behind a stunned, unmoving Olivia.

Smart Casey, real smart.

So as I take a shower I'm wondering if I could get a job in New Zealand in the next twelve hours, save myself having to face Olivia tomorrow, or ever again. It doesn't look likely, so I throw on a t-shirt and some comfy jeans, grab a bottle of wine and curl up on my sofa. I'm a smart woman; I can think of a plan, it's all about damage limitation now.

Given the day I've had, I shouldn't have been surprised when ten minutes later my peace and quiet was interrupted by a knock on the door. I also shouldn't have been surprised when I opened the door and came face to face with Olivia...fuck.