DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and all characters are
property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
A Thing For ADAs
By Acathla
I've never really been the type for introspection but something Elliot said to me the other day got me thinking. He said it seemed like I had a thing for ADAs. Now, at the time I denied knowing what he was talking about but after I went home and had time alone to think about it, it occurred to me that maybe he was right. Maybe I do have a thing for ADAs. I mean, apart from a few exceptions, all of my sexual encounters since I became a cop have been with Assistant District Attorneys.
The first one was Jeff York. He was a nice guy and despite the fact that it only lasted one month, he was my first. Ok, granted we didn't really have a lot of chemistry and thank God that the one time we did have sex we used protection (especially now that I know he was HIV positive). Of course, I didn't know at the time that he was gay but then again, he didn't know I was gay either so I guess on that point we ended up even. But back to my original point, Jeff was my first ADA. Not that him being an ADA was the reason I went out with him, it's just worth mentioning now. So after Jeff, I took some time to focus on my job and wouldn't ya know, I met another ADA through the course of a case, this was before I made detective, but not too long before.
Karen Fitzgerald was my first female ADA. We lasted a month and a half before it fizzled out. Don't get me wrong, unlike with Jeff, Karen and I had sex as often as our schedules would allow. I guess it's just that sometimes sex isn't enough. It began simply enough, I testified on her case because I was the first officer on the scene. She kept making eye contact through out her questioning and when the defense took its turn, she just sat there and stared at me. Almost like she was telepathically sending me the answers or something. Not that I needed to be fed the answers, the defense attorney was a joke, he completely wasted his cross examination with stupid questions that had no relevance in the context of the case. Of course, Karen won the case and the defendant got the max because he wouldn't plead out. So then, after the verdict came back, Karen asked me out and I accepted. And thus began our six week affair. It ended when I made detective and put in my request for SVU. Karen decided she couldn't be with someone who worked sex crimes. So it ended, and I didn't see Karen again until we found her body in the park where Richard White had left her. Naturally I downplayed my interaction with Karen to keep from having to come out to the squad but it still hurt to see her like that. I got great satisfaction from seeing White get sent to jail.
That case got to me to the point where I ended up at the bar with the squad a few weeks later and got so drunk I ended up sleeping with Brian Cassidy. If ever there was going to be an advertisement against getting drunk that would be it. Not that the sex wasn't good it was the way he acted afterward that ruined it. Following me around like a lost puppy dog, expecting me to start a relationship with him. It was bad but eventually he got the hint and left it alone, and then he left the unit.
Then there was ADA Kathleen Eastman, a red head with a charming smile. I got a little of my own medicine with her. One night stand, well ok a two night stand, and then the old heave ho. I took it well though, professional to the end I didn't let it affect my attitude with her when we had to work together. Although, I think I started the three month affair with ADA Abbie Carmichael from Homicide just to prove that I was over Kathleen. It worked a little too well and I fell for Abbie. It was a good arrangement, Abbie only worked SVU cases when they were assigned to her, otherwise another lawyer took it. We saw each other as often as schedules allowed. For some reason, after the Mulroney case, Abbie didn't catch anymore SVU cases. It was wild and hot and then Abbie left New York and that was the end of that.
Then that shrink came in to talk to each of us and make recommendations as to who might need to be removed from the squad. I didn't like her, especially after her recommendation took away the only other steady female presence in SVU, Monique Jefferies. That just really wasn't fair. Of course, after that the powers that be decided to give us a permanent ADA. One ADA to handle the SVU cases exclusively. No more having to explain to new ADAs from other departments how we do things in SVU. I was thinking, less headaches, less fights, less misunderstandings, right? Boy was I wrong.
Right from the start I knew I was in trouble. She walked into the squadroom, in that perfect suit with matching shoes, her perfect blonde hair, blue eyes and those glasses! I took one look and everything inside me melted. Just one look and I was hooked and I knew I was in trouble. I managed to play it cool for the most part but anyone with a good eye could see there was something going on under the surface. And remember when I said less fights, less headaches, and less misunderstandings? Well scratch that, there was more but mostly because I loved the way she looked when she was pissed. Talk about looking sexy when you're angry. ADA Alexandra Cabot was my longest lasting relationship with an ADA. Six months after she started at SVU I asked her out. Surprisingly enough she said yes and the rest is history. We lasted two and a half years before that goddamned Velez came along and messed it all up. Not that he did it all on his own, no Alex helped him out by not backing off when she still had a choice. Then she got shot and I had to deal with her death. That was a hell I don't ever wanna visit again. Then, we go out to the place where that idiot Hammond asked me and Elliot to meet him and what do we find? Alex Cabot alive and well, except for the healing bullet hole and the sling but hey, she's alive. Alive and heading for Witness Protection. What really sucked was that with all those witnesses, I couldn't even give her a hug or a kiss or anything. Not even three little words that would've meant the world to me if I could say them and have her say them back one last time. So we said what we needed to say with out eyes and then she left.
That night, Elliot got the whole story out of me. Cabot, Carmichael, Eastman and Fitzgerald. For some reason I didn't feel the need to mention Jeff York. I threw in Cassidy, Eckerson and that reporter whose name I don't even remember now, Nick…something, to try to play off the whole ADA angle. Elliot didn't say anything about the ADA part, he just sat and listened and let me cry on his shoulder.
The next day, it was business as usual and we went back to our daily lives. A week went by and we were executing a search warrant on a suspect when our new ADA decided to make herself known. I so wasn't ready for anyone to replace Alex so I was a bit mean to her. Ok , ok I was a bitch but I had my reasons. The quick, drunken one night stand with Serena Southerlyn from Homicide (Abbie's replacement) didn't help matters either. I still missed Alex. In fact, I think I went to bed with Serena cuz of the blonde hair. Boy, that sounded bad huh? Anyway, unlike Cassidy, Serena knew it was nothing more than a one-night thing and she left it at that.
Then of course, just when I think I am doing good, Andy Eckerson comes back into my life on a case. Andy's Federal now so I thankfully don't have to worry about running into him on the job. Until that case, the Baxter case, then Andy came back and thanks to Elliot's having to testify in court, I got stuck working with Andy. Andy who made it clear he'd not forgotten our time together. And that he'd be more than willing to pick up where we left off, now where we left off wasn't any good place to pick up again. So when his job was done and he offered to stay in town a few more days, I had to tell him no. Not just cuz I was not interested but because I really didn't see anything in him that I could see myself wanting again. So Andy left and life went on. I managed to steer clear of ADAs on a personal level…until Tanner Day. The victim, Emily Sullivan, was found dead in the trunk of her car murdered in a way that I still can't believe that crime was done by three high school girls. As Cragen put it, Miss Teen USA. The case ended up being a slam dunk when Casey noticed that one of the girls was wearing the dead girl's class ring! Jury came back in 15 minutes with guilty on all counts and I was impressed. So I asked Casey out for coffee and coffee dates turned into dinner dates which turned into sleepovers which in turn became a relationship.
Another ADA, and after Jeff York's murder (which was hard for me because that's when I found out he was HIV positive and had my own scare that I'd been infected) Elliot found out about Jeff and also about Southerlyn and Novak (who I was still dating at the time). That was when he made his comment about my 'thing' for ADAs. Looking back I see now that I do have a thing for ADAs but I think mainly that's because ADAs (most of them anyway) have brains and can hold a conversation. Also, with the exception of Jeff and Karen, the ADAs I dated all had some connection to SVU and therefore knew the details of my job already.
Like I told Casey when she first started at SVU, when most people find out what I do for a living they either pull away or lean in way too interested, and either way the first date is always a last date. Except with the ADAs I've involved myself with, they've known what I do for a living and still want to be with me without leaning in to hear all the sick, twisted details.
I've also realized that, barring any unforeseen tragedy, Casey just might be my last ADA. Then again, Serena left and there's a new Homicide ADA and if things don't work out with Casey I can always make a trip to McCoys's office and introduce myself to the new addition. I think I heard somewhere that her name is Alex too…hmmm… a brunette Alex? Sounds promising. Still…there's something about confident, sexy, female ADAs…it just always makes me stand up and take notice. Speaking of confident, sexy ADAs, I recently met two ADAs who fit that bill quite nicely. Tracy Kibre and Kelly Gaffney. They're trial ADAs, Branch calls them in I think for when he wants a case won that doesn't fit neatly into any department or when Homicide is backed up. They are a good team in court, I've snuck into their trials a few times and wow! That Kibre is almost as good as Alex was. And Gaffney I think, as second chair, is usually there to just look good which she does very, very well.
I made the mistake of mentioning to Elliot that I'd like to take a crack at the new Homicide ADA , one time and he got this look on his face that seemed to say he was going to go warn this new ADA about me. Hope that's not the case, I'd have to hurt Elliot if he did that, well maybe not hurt him but definitely give him a hard time for a few weeks. Good thing I kept my mouth shut about Kibre and Gaffney. He might try to warn them too and then I'd have no one to feed my 'thing' for ADAs except Casey and if that goes totally sour I'm stuck.
But, things were good with Casey. We were in a good place and I'd stopped comparing little things about her with Alex. I no longer looked at every blond on the street hoping it'd be Alex. I was finally happy with where I was and who I was dating. It may have even turned into love, if it wasn't for Liam Connors
Alex came back briefly to testify against him and it put a strain on my relationship with Casey because I asked her not to let Alex know that we were together until I knew if Alex had moved on or not. That night in the hotel room, when she told me about her claims adjuster, I knew that I wasn't completely over Alex and a part of me wanted her to feel guilty about moving on so I didn't tell her about Casey that night. In fact I was going to tell her after the trial because I couldn't face her feeling guilty because of me. But Alex never came back and I never got to tell her.
A few weeks after that, Casey dumped me. Wouldn't really explain to me why, just said that she didn't think I was over Alex and that she couldn't be with me until I was. So now I am alone again, working on finally getting over Alex so I can either get back with Casey or maybe go after the new Homicide ADA, or Kibre or Gaffney...
The End