Title: That Hope
Fandom: SVU: Alex/Olivia
Rating: PG
Notes: This is SUPER mini (something just over 300 words) and sort of out of my norm. But, it popped into my head and I wrote it down. And unlike many little mini-scenes that pop into my head and are written down, I decided to share. Also, this is somewhat inspired by Sunny's Holiday series. I hope she doesn't mind.


"Hey... It's me. I..." Olivia inhaled.

She what? Why exactly was she calling? What, exactly, did she want to say? What, exactly, could she say?

"I just watched the President's inauguration and..." She paused again, collecting her thoughts. "And I guess I... I... How are you?" Olivia was struggling to come up with words to express her thoughts.

"I mean, I've been thinking about you. A lot." She had no idea if she was too late.

So much uncertainty. So much hesitation. So much fear.

Her uncertainty. Her hesitation. Her fear.

Her fault.

Olivia inhaled and tried again. "I mean, I was wondering," God, she couldn't remember the last time she felt this nervous...actually, fittingly, the last time she was this nervous was probably the first time she'd worked up the nerve to ask Alex out.

And so she fell back to her memories of that day, and the memories of what had worked: the truth.

"I miss you, Alex. I miss you so much. And... and I'm sorry." Olivia allowed another pause then, knowing that wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough, but also knowing the rest had to be said in person. "You know my number," she concluded quietly, and pressed end.


That voice. Hearing that voice again.

That apology.

That plea.

That need.

That desperation.

That hope.

That hope.

That hope.

That voice. God, that voice.

...

She had been down this road before with this woman. More than once.

Not many people even knew about them but those that did assumed that ultimately it was the attorney - her career, her public life, her quick rise, her unhidden ambition - that had doomed them. And she never bothered to correct those assumptions. It wasn't worth the energy.

But, really, it was Olivia. Alex never understood why, but it was Olivia.

But times were changing.

Olivia was, perhaps, changing.

The only question was, could the attorney risk her heart again?

Was it worth it?

Alex played the voice mail a third time.