Everything Changes

Night

After Bedelia explained her situation to Casey, she fully expected the younger woman to not believe her, so she was quite surprised by her first response.

"How can I help?"

"Wait... you believe me?"

Casey nodded. "I worked with the SVU for quite some time back in the day, and thanks to them, I had the most memorable years of my career."

Bedelia held her hands in the time-out position. "I'll accept your help, but why are you in the ER? You don't look hurt..."

"My friend from the office tripped and broke his arm, so I drove him here. He's in surgery, and I'm waiting for his fiancée to come here and trade places with me, but she texted me a little bit before I saw you and said she's gotten stuck in traffic."

Casey took her her phone out of her pocket.

"Would you like me to call Olivia?"

"Yes, please."

More than a little bit of time had passed since Casey had seen or spoken to Olivia because her career had taken her overseas to London after then last time she worked a case with the SVU. But, Bedelia needed help, so any friend of Olivia's was a new friend of hers.

"Acacia Stephanie Diane!" Olivia exclaimed when she saw her old friend's name on the Caller ID of her phone just before answering it. "Your timing is as remarkable as ever, especially since it's been three years! What the hell?"

"I know, I know. I have a lot to catch you up on," the redhead said, putting a hand on the massive swell of her middle as she felt her unborn daughter give her a hearty kick. "But I ran into someone who really wants to talk to you right now."

Casey handed the phone to Bedelia, and when she heard Olivia's voice in her ear, she nearly cried.

"Hello?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, Olivia! I'm so glad to hear your voice!"

"And I'm so glad to hear yours!" Olivia exclaimed. "Bedelia, where are you? How did you find one of my friends?"

"Kim and I ran away from my husband, and we're at the emergency waiting room in Saint Vincent's." Bedelia explained. "I'm fine, but Kim is in emergency surgery because she has a collapsed lung. They also have to pump her stomach."

"What? Why?"

Bedelia tried to answer to answer, but the words got caught in her throat: as much as she was keeping up a happy front, it still gutted her to know that one of her children had any kind of dangerous drug in their system.

"Bedelia?" Olivia prompted. "You still there?"

"Yeah, I am." Bedelia forced herself to speak when she remembered that she was on the phone. "Casey was already here, but I promise she's fine. Will you please come?"

On Olivia's end of the line, there was a scraping of a chair and the sound of her getting to her feet. "I'm on my way right now, alright? Will you please give the phone back to Casey?"

Bedelia did as asked, and handed the cell phone back to its owner.

When Casey finished her conversation with Olivia, she hung her phone up and continued to hold it in her hands.

"Liv said to tell you that she's going to be here in ten minutes because she's using her siren." Casey said to her friend. "She also said to tell you that Amanda, Audrey, Alex, and all of the children are in a safe place."

Bedelia leaned back in her chair. "Thank God, and thank you for calling Olivia."

"You're welcome." Casey told her after sending a quick response to a text that had suddenly popped up on her phone. "And that was my friend's fiancée: she said that she should be arriving in ten minutes, which means that she'll probably get here around the same as Olivia... and I hope you don't mind, but she invited me in on what's happening with you and your family because I'm a lawyer."