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property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Silly Heroics Thing
By Del
ADA Cabot leaned casually against the prosecutor's table. "And why do you refer to the defendant as a festering pile of vomit- caked louse droppings, Ms. Thuet?" she asked the witness.
Defense counsel leapt to his feet. "Objection!" he complained. "The prosecutor is attempting to elicit inadmissible character evidence."
Of course I am. Aloud, Alex uttered a disdainful "Oh, please" and rolled her eyes at counsel. "The defendant opened the door to this testimony when his ex-cellmate told us what a great guy he is. This is classic People v. Hanstrom."
With her fountain pen poised, Judge Lawson nodded. "I believe you are correct, Ms. Cabot, but I'd like to review Hanstrom again. Do you have a cite for that, Counselor?"
"Certainly, Your Honor." Alex strolled behind her desk and picked up the New York Evidence Handbook, flipping to a Post-it Note on page 987. "It's-"
"Bitches!" a shout came from the defense table. "You women are all in it together!"
Alex turned her head to see the defendant, all 5'2" and 112 pounds of him, charging toward her.
"Eek!" Startled, she swung the book and -- thwap! -- Dexter Nedly crumpled to the ground. Her momentum spun Alex around, and she lost her balance and tumbled down on top of him, her navy blue skirt riding up her thighs.
Within seconds, she was helped to her feet by a concerned bailiff whose partner locked a pair of handcuffs around Nedly's wrists. Alex quickly reached for the hem of her skirt and pulled it down, but the damage was already done. Great. I have just flashed a jury. The courthouse grapevine would be buzzing before they even broke for lunch. I will never hear the end of this. She groaned.
"Are you all right?" Lawson asked from the bench.
"Oh, uh," Alex checked the buttons on her blouse to make sure none of them had decided to pop open and expose more of her assets to the wide-eyed jurors, "yes, Your Honor."
The judge banged her gavel. "Court is in recess," she snapped, shooting daggers at the man who had just disrupted her court. "Bailiffs, return Mr. Nedly to his cell for the indefinite future. Ms. Cabot, please let the bailiffs know if you require medical assistance." She rose and headed for her chambers.
"Medical assistance?" Alex repeated. "Oh, I don't-" The judge was already gone, and she let her response fade.
Detective Tutuola wandered in to the squadroom, tossing his mostly read newspaper into the recycling.
"You hear about Cabot?" the desk sergeant called out to him.
Fin paused. "What about her?"
"Just got it from a guy in the cafeteria that sold a hotdog to Judge Lawson's clerk," Sergeant Riley went on. "Perp attacked Cabot in court."
"No shit! She all right?"
Riley shrugged. "Don't know. Lawson sent her to the E.R."
Spying his captain near the water cooler, Fin yelled over. "Hey, Cap--you hear anything about Cabot gettin' attacked?"
"What? Let me make some calls." Cragen headed for his office, emerging a few minutes later. "OK, straight from the bailiff's supervisor's sister in dispatch: Nedly jumped Cabot in the middle of trial. Cabot wrestled him to the ground and jammed a knee into his groin."
"Motherfucker," Fin growled.
As he finished the exclamation, Munch walked in. "I just got a call from a desk editor at the New York Post who lives next door to Lawson's law clerk's roommate," he announced. "He said a perp tried to rape Cabot in open court today. Started tearing her clothes off and pounding her head on the ground. Took three guys to pull him off her."
Making a fist with his right hand, Fin slammed it into the palm of his left. "Just give me five minutes with that fucker," he growled.
"Get in line," Munch agreed.
"Yeah, I'm sure it would be unforgettable." Olivia removed the prick's hand from her ass again. If the old geezer wasn't their key witness, she would take that hand and--the shrill ring of her cell phone interrupted her little fantasy. "Sorry, gotta get this," she said. Stepping away from him, she hit the talk button. "Benson."
"Olivia." Elliot sounded disturbed. "I thought you'd want to know: Cabot was almost killed today in court."
"What?" she shouted.
"I just heard it from Lawson's court reporter's cousin," her partner continued with the sad tale. "Perp got her in a chokehold. Just before she passed out, she managed to jab a pair of scissors into his eye."
"Oh, my God." Olivia's head was spinning. "Oh, my God."
"They hauled her out on a stretcher. Last I heard, she was at St. John's or maybe St. Mark's."
Olivia sank to the curb. "Oh, my God," she mumbled again.
She would have time for lunch today after all, Alex mused. One nice thing about being set upon by Mighty Mouse. Wonder if Olivia's busy?
All of a sudden her door burst open and there the woman in question stood, panting, in her doorway. "Alex!" Olivia gasped. "I've been looking for you everywhere! What are you doing at work?"
"Uh . . . ." Was this a trick question? "Working?"
For the second time that morning, a figure unexpectedly rushed toward her. Olivia swept her up in her arms, pressing her face into the blonde's neck. "Oh, Alex," she murmured. After a moment, she leaned back and stared at Alex's face, as if memorizing its features. "I almost lost you today," she said.
Almost lost? "Olivia, if you're talking about that thing in court-"
"I can't risk one more day-"
"It was-"
"-without you knowing how I feel."
"-just some--what?"
Olivia brought Alex's long fingers up to her lips. "If I'd lost you without telling you how I feel about you, I-" She drew back a few feet, struggling with her emotions, and Alex, slackjawed, plopped down on the edge of her desk.
Uh . . . .
"Alex!" Liz Donnelly appeared in the doorway. "You're on leave as of ten minutes ago."
"Leave?"
"Orders from the Department shrink," Donnelly replied. "He's worried about PTSD."
"PTSD?"
"Three guys jump you and have to be pistol whipped to pull you out, that's trauma," Donnelly said.
"I've got a week coming," Olivia spoke up. "I'll stay with her."
Alex looked from one woman to the other, then dropped her face into her hands.
"Don't cry, honey," Olivia said softly.
"I'm not," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm wrestling with a moral dilemma."
"There's no dilemma," Donnelly said. "We can get by without you. I'm ordering you to spend the next week with Detective Benson away from the office in a completely relaxed setting." Then just as quickly as she had arrived, her boss was gone.
Stepping forward, Olivia took her into her embrace again. "You ready for a glass of wine and a full-body massage?"
Mmm . . . . Alex wrapped her own arms around the beautiful detective. "Oh, yeah."
"Do you want to talk about what happened today?"
"No!" Alex quickly replied.
"That's OK." Olivia's hands caressed her back. "We have lots of things to talk about. Maybe some day when you're ready."
Alex smiled. Maybe some day . . . .
The End