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

Chapter 11

Luke struggled internally between giving Amanda space and going over to her apartment. The thought of her being alone with no one watching her back made his stomach turn. He had seen that rabid look in that guy's eyes awhile ago. These people were up to no good and, even though his partner was indebted to them, they weren't going to treat her just any kind of way. He would make sure of that. 

While straightening up the clutter in the living room, he tried to focus on other things. But the more he tried to pretend the problem didn't exist, the bigger the elephant in the room grew. He had to go check on her. Even if she got mad and turned him away, at least he'd know for sure that she was safe. 

Luke grabbed his keys off the latch hook and slipped on his coat on the way out the door. As he descended the outdoor steps to his apartment building, he saw a blonde with his back turned to him. He'd know that figure anywhere.

"Amanda?" 

She turned to face him, her face wrought with fatigue. He made his way down the rest of the stairs and to the sidewalk. 

"Are you okay?" 

She stuck her hands in her pockets and took a jagged breath. 

"I've been trying to get the nerve to come knock on your door, but I---" She trailed off, her eyes moving away from him. 

"Come inside. It's chilly out here." 

Luke guided her upstairs and into his apartment. After taking her coat, he fixed her a mug of hot tea and handed it to her on the couch. She thanked him and set it on the table beside her. He remained quiet, content to let her be the one to speak first. 

"I really screwed up, Luke." 

She hung her head, her shame apparent. 

"I tell people every day to be brave and get help for their problems, but I can't even follow my own advice." 

He watched as she leaned backwards and looked up at the ceiling. He knew there wasn't much he could say to absolve her guilt. 

"You know what you said earlier? About my need to save women?" 

She cut her eyes over to him. "I didn't mean what I said. I was being stupid." 

"No, you were right," he assured her, resting his forearms on his knees. "I've always wanted to save people. That's why I became a cop, why I joined the Army. It's embedded into my DNA." 

"It's not always a bad thing." 

"I'm not so sure about that. It's probably connected to some deep-seated emotional issue. You know, the kind where you pay some guy $75 an hour to tell you what's wrong with you?" 

In spite of herself, Amanda smiled at his comment. 

"You're probably the person I trust most in my life, and I don't want to alienate you." 

"You're not. I'm not going anywhere." 

She offered another meek half-smile. 

"I just wanted to come over and apologize. I made this your problem, and it's not. I promise I won't bother you anymore with it." 

"Those guys...what do they want from you?" 

She took a moment to answer, her eyes still glistening. 

"Traffic, parking tickets. They told me to make them go away." 

"Yeah, but what are they gonna ask for next? You have to end this, Amanda." 

She didn't register a response. Just kept her head lowered, pointed towards the ground. He immediately got up and sat on the coffee table across from her. 

"Hey," he nudged her, placing his hands gently on her knees. 

"You need to tell Olivia about this." 

Her eyes flashed up to meet his. 

"NO. Just give me some time. I'll get them the rest of their money, and they'll go away." 

As Luke started to speak, Amanda grabbed his hands and looked pleadingly into his eyes. 

"Please." 

"Fine," he begrudgingly agreed. "but you have to do something for me." 

On edge, she waited for his demands. And he dropped her hands and kept his eyes on her. 

"You're staying with me."