Love and Litigation - An Alex Cabot/Law and Order SVU fanfiction

Chapter 2

A week later: 
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Setting his clock earlier than usual, Luke had made extra time this morning to grab a good cup of coffee. There was a little shop a few blocks from the precinct that had a great roast. He had never been one for super complicated drink orders. A simple black coffee with creamer suited him just fine. As he walked in and got in line, he heard what he thought was a familiar voice from his past. Perking his ears to hear better, he listened as the woman in front of him placed her order. When she turned around, he immediately recognized her. 

Alex Cabot, the former ADA. 

"Luke! Hi!" She exclaimed, opening her arms for a hug. 

Luke warmly returned her embrace, albeit surprised by her return. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you were still in Witness Protection. 

Long story short, Alex had been placed in Witness Protection years ago after a threat was made on her life. She had been prosecuting an extremely powerful drug lord and was shot on the streets of Manhattan by Liam Connors. Everyone at SVU thought she had been murdered until she miraculously rose from the dead and went into Wit Sec. 

"Connors was extradited back to Ireland awhile back. They needed someone to take over for Casey Novak, and I was drafted to come back." She informed him. 

After grabbing their coffees, Luke and Alex headed back to the station together. 

"So you're back with us? Full-time?" 

"For the foreseeable future, yes."

Alex took a long sip of her coffee and glanced over at Luke. It felt like ages since they'd seen each other, and the years had been kind to him. He still had that pearly white smile and was as genuine as he ever was. She felt at home being in the company of an old friend and colleague. 

"Well, that's great to hear," he welcomed her back. "We've definitely missed you." 

"I've missed you all too. It's good to be back." She smiled. 

As they reached the top of the precinct stairs, they parted ways. Alex returned to her old familiar office and Luke to the squad room. There, he found his colleague of over ten years, Olivia Benson. He motioned her over to a corner of the room and dropped his voice. 

"Have you seen who's back?" 

A slight smile came to Olivia's face. 

"I didn't even know she was out of Witness Protection. We're always the last to know." 

Luke laughed and took a drag off his coffee. 

"You're right about that."

Nearby, the desk phone began to ring and they watched as Amanda jotted something down on a notepad. 

"There's been a body found in Central Park." She said, hanging up the phone. 

Luke grabbed his coat and joined the squad in rushing out the door. 

As they pulled up to the scene, squad cars surrounded the yellow tape in the background. Luke and Amanda both slipped on a pair of latex gloves and crouched beneath the tape. It was there where they were briefed by Medical Examiner, Melinda Warner. 

"28 year old female, Leslie Bernard. Her license was found in her purse." 

Luke kneeled down beside the victim. He immediately spotted ligature marks on her neck. She'd been strangled. 

"Any signs of sexual assault?" Amanda asked, viewing from a standing position. 

Melinda bagged the nail clippings she'd just taken from the victim's hand. 

"I'll know more when I get her on my table, but it certainly looks that way. And I didn't find any panties." 

Luke stood back up and looked at his partner. 

"Let us know when you get the prelims back." 

Melinda nodded her head and the detectives made their way around questioning witnesses. Afterwards, they made the drive back to the station.

"So, you know this new ADA? Alex Cabot?" 

Luke flicked off the turn signal as he took a left on a nearby street. 

"Yeah. She used work with us before she was put in Wit Sec." 

He told Amanda all about Alex's sudden departure and how they thought she had died. Rehashing everything made him sad for a reason he couldn't quite explain. Everyone had taken Alex's "death" hard, but Luke found it to be especially difficult for him. He chalked it up to losing a good friend, one with whom he often shared late nights at the office. Their Chinese takeout work sessions in her office had become somewhat of a ritual. He now wondered to himself if they could pick up where they'd left off. 

Amanda noticed her partner seemingly lost in thought but didn't press further. By then, they had pulled back up to the station and began their walk back up the stairs. 
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Later that evening: 
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With all of his co-workers gone for the day, Luke readied himself to head home. He looked up from his desk when he saw a figure peeking around the corner. 
Alex motioned for him to follow her into her office, and he trailed behind her. He smelled the Chinese food before he made it halfway down the hallway. 

"You don't waste any time do you?" 

Alex smiled and took a seat at her desk. 

"I can't think of a better way to restart my tenure here."

Luke took a seat across from her and they both began to feast. Taking two styrofoam cups from the lobby, he filled them with ice water and handed one to Alex. 

"To rebirthing old traditions." 

"Here, here." She agreed and toasted him. 

Leaned back with one leg slung over the other, he savored the taste of his meal. He had to admit, he had missed this. 

"Feels like old times." He smiled. 

Alex set down her cup and wiped her mouth with a napkin. 

"Tell me. How've you been? I feel like I've missed so much while I was away." 

"Eh, there's not much to tell. I'm sure you have better stories than I do." 

Alex sat on his comment for a moment. In some ways it felt as though she'd been gone for decades and yet, in others, as though she'd never left.

"It's not that glamorous," she admitted. "I was only able to go to work and home...if you can even call it that." 

"Did you make any friends while you were away?" 

"No, not really. Although the people I worked with were friendly, and I actually started seeing one of them." 

"Oh yeah?" Luke's curiosity was piqued. 

"A claims adjuster. He was a good man. The chemistry just wasn't there." 

"Hey, you dodged a bullet. I hear those claims adjusters are the worst. Always adjusting things." 

Alex burst out into a loud laugh and Luke smiled. She'd always had the most infectious laughter. 

"I've missed this." She confessed, wiping the bit of tear-induced moisture from her eyes. 

Luke had missed it too. He'd missed her. And here she was, back in his life.