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

Chapter 5

A few days later: 
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A few days had passed since the Military Ball, and Captain Benson was finally back at work. Her first order of business was to find Luke and ask him how it went. 

"Hey." She greeted him, taking a seat on the edge of his desk.

"Glad you're back. You feeling better?" 

"Slowly but surely. You know I can't leave you guys alone for too long." 

Luke grinned and leaned back in his chair. 

"Heaven forbid. We might burn the place down." 

Olivia playfully kicked him and changed the subject. 

"How did the Ball go?" 

Pivoting back to the not-so-distant past, he recalled how well things had gone with Alex. And how good she looked in that stunning dark purple dress. 

"It went great. You were missed." 

"I heard you took Alex. I figured you might take Rollins." 

Like clockwork, Amanda slinked past and inserted herself into the conversation. 

"Rollins wasn't invited." she feigned disappointment, speaking in the third-person.

Luke spun around in his chair to face his partner. 

"Really? It would've been like taking my sister to the prom." 

Olivia laughed and stood up. 

"At least tell me that you and Alex had a good time." 

"We certainly did. Thank you for the concern, Liv." 

As Amanda tried to pass him, he grabbed her arm to stop her. 

"Hey, you're not mad at me for this, are you? I didn't--" 

"Luke," she interrupted him. "I'm not mad, okay? I wouldn't have even been able to go. I had a thing." 

Studying her for a moment, he accepted her answer. 

"Alright." He nodded, and she moved on back to her desk. 

He found himself thankful that they didn't inquire further about Alex. What was he supposed to say? I had a wonderful time, and I'd like to do it again as soon as possible? That wasn't reality. He knew they couldn't be anything more than friends due to their careers. It sucked, but that's where things stood and he had to do his best to put her out of his head. 

And before he'd even changed the channel in his mind, Alex walked back into the room. How in the hell am I supposed to stop thinking about someone I see multiple times a day? It was a tall order, and he knew the deck was stacked against him. 

He had 99 problems, and 98 of them were Alex Cabot.
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Later that evening: 
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Relieved to finally be home after a long day at work, Luke laid stretched out on his couch. With the TV as little more than background noise, he momentarily closed his eyes in relaxation. He was beginning to wonder if he'd overdone it today. Maybe he should start letting the young guns chase these guys down. Hell, who was he kidding? The only other guys on his squad were Finn and Amaro, and they were his age or older. Rollins can run pretty fast. At four years his junior, maybe he'd start letting her show off her track speed more. 

Eerily, the doorbell suddenly rang. When he got up to answer the door, he was surprised to see his partner on the other side. 

"Amanda?" 

She had a disheveled look on her face that immediately made Luke feel uneasy. 

"I need a favor." She said, and he stepped back to allow her inside. 

He could tell she was nervous. Fumbling with her keys, she seemed visibly shaken. 

"Are you alright? What's going on?" 

Amanda inhaled raggedly before speaking. 

"I need a loan--and before you start, it's not like that okay? I just got a little behind." 

"How much?" 

After she gave him a number, he walked into his bedroom and accessed his safe. Soon after, he returned with a wad of cash. 

"I've got some OT coming up. I'll have you paid back in no time." 

She reached for the money, but he quickly snatched it out of reach. 

"You told me you stopped gambling."

Amanda sighed, placing her hands on her hips. 

"Please don't make this a thing." 

"I'm not making it anything. I'm worried about you, Rollins. These are dangerous people." 

"You think I don't know that? This ain't my first rodeo." 

Luke held his tongue through gritted teeth and passed her the money. Her guilty conscience was evident. 

"Thank you. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful. I've got it handled, okay?" 

"Are they threatening you again?" 

She looked away, but he already knew the answer. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. 

"I'll have it back to you soon." She assured him, turning on her heel to leave. He watched as she hesitated before walking back and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before she left. 

It took all of his self-control not to follow her out. He wondered if she realized how much he worried about her. She had become so much more than just a partner to him. That was his ride-or-die, his best friend. Knowing he couldn't cure her vice made his stomach tangle into knots. And then there was the danger that came with it. If anything ever happened to her--he couldn't even think about it. They would pay and pay mercilessly.