Phoning
Title: Phoning
Fandom: Law and Order SVU
Pairing: Liz/Casey (implied)
Rating: PG
Summary: Liz makes a phone call.
Disclaimer: SVU belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC.
A/N: A post ep for 10.7: Persona. Spoilers for that episode, as well as the season 9 finale.

Liz left the DA’s office earlier than she anticipated. She would be back in her own office Monday morning, and though she was reluctant to admit it in company, she was glad for that. Working with SVU again, the case, the outcome...all of it brought back memories she had done her best to put away. They were not all bad; they were simply old—old and hazy.

She found her cell phone, rubbed her fingers over the keys for a moment before dialing. The number was not hard to recall. The voice on the other end did not have the sound of thirty-odd years.

“Elizabeth, what a pleasant surprise.”

It was good to hear his voice. Liz had not seen him for several years, since one of the last times she was with Alex. She preferred it that way; they were the best that way—better than they had ever been as husband and wife.

“It’s nearly midnight there.” Liz’s voice held a distinct smirk. “I’m not interrupting something, am I?”

Jonas’ chuckle was soft. She could see him smiling. “No, not at all, darling. Shouldn’t you be buried in a pile of cases...or are you calling to tell me you’ve finally made the leap to politics?”

“Neither.” Liz began to walk more briskly as she fell into the conversation with natural ease. It had never been that simple when they were married. “I took a temporary leave from the bench to finish up a case at the DA’s office...”

“Finish a case at the DA’s office?” Liz knew he was raising his graying eyebrows.

“I think you’d remember the one—Linnie Malcolm.”

There was a pause followed by light laughter. “Ah, yes...the one that precipitated a phone call from the DA. For...” He was laughing harder now and not in a politely English wasy. “For my permission to allow you to work a homicide case, yes?”

“That’s the one. It’s over and done with now.” Liz stopped to lean against a corner. Her steps had taken her to the metro entrance she and Jonas used to take home. It was funny how memory worked, how it could direct one’s steps and thoughts. She could still use it to go home, but these days she tended to take a cab.

And she was not ready. Not that evening. She was not ready to go home yet.

“Well, I suppose you feel like you have some closure now.” He was most likely reading now or filing his nails or toying with whichever knickknack happened to be the closest. Liz knew his habits still, just as she knew Casey would sitting at home wrapped in a blanket as she stared at the fire.

It had gotten better for a while. She played quite a bit of softball, saw more of her brothers. She was doing anything and everything she could not to think about it But Liz’s case had bought on a mood swing that negated everything else.

“I think I’m using you to avoid going home,” Liz said dryly. But Jonas did not sound surprised.

“Trouble in paradise, my dear? You could always take a bit of a holiday here.” His halfhearted attempts were endearing, and Liz knew he still enjoyed them.

Liz chuckled. “Casey is sulking and...I’ve made it worse.” Her smile faded as she ran her fingers through her hair. “She got disbarred after that case I told you about. And even though any good lawyer would do the same thing, she caught a tough break.”

“And your working on this case has made the situation worse. Mmm.” He was rubbing his chin now. Generally, it made him look like less of a dandy. “I seem to recall, Elizabeth, you doing quite a bit of sulking after...now, what did they call it when that woman tricked you and ran off...”

Liz rolled her eyes. “You’ve made your point.”

“Have I? Wonderful. I wasn’t quite sure what sort of point I was coming to anyway. Simply do not make the same mistake I did.”

Was she as self centered as Jonas had been? Perhaps. But she and Casey were different; she and Casey were right. And even though Casey’s persistent funk maddened her, Liz cared enough to see it through.

She also knew that she should not have taken the old case up again. It was a ridiculous attempt to gain face for something nearly everyone had either forgotten about or was not around to remember.

“Thank you, Jonas,” Liz said quietly. She did not wait for him to reply before hanging up. It was time to go home.