Tribulations

Disclaimer: I don't own L&O: SVU. All rights go to Dick Wolf and NBC.

A/N: So I got a couple one-shot requests from MissWritingStorysObsessed, and this is the first one that was requested. Pre-Cabenson. Set late season 2.

Summary: Alex gets attacked in court. General, yes, but efficient. I mean, come on people, if Greylek gets attacked in court…

God, damn it, why did she always have to play negotiator, Alex Cabot thought to herself for what seemed like the tenth time that minute, this time as she watched Detective Olivia Benson enter the nearly empty courtroom. The bastard holding her kept the gun against her temple. She felt the knife in his pants pocket, digging slightly into the back of her thigh. At least, that had better be a knife. If this bastard had a hard-on, so help her…

"Alright, Chaz," Olivia spoke in a gentle and calming, yet stern tone, one hand on her gun, "how about you let ADA Cabot go, and we'll discuss this somewhere safe?" It was always ADA Cabot this and ADA Cabot that. She wanted the detective to say Alex, just once.

Twenty-one year-old Chaz Fredricks frowned, running the gun down her jaw and back up, placing it against her temple, "Now why would I do that, Detective? She got my father thrown in jail for something he never did."

Something he did do, she wanted to say; he raped and murdered 4 hookers while your mother was sick as a dog, stuck in a hospital with pneumonia. He's going away for a long time. The verdict had been read, the jury leaving, the judge, the defense attorney, and as she had stood, collecting her papers, trying to muster the courage to finally ask Olivia out, she felt the unmistakable feeling of a gun pressed against the back of her neck, this bastard's breath against her ear. She'd heard the court officers shout for assistance, having seen the gun, but they were immediately placed in a delicate situation: leave the courtroom or be shot. They chose to leave, and of course they went to get help. But why Olivia?

So here she was, standing in front of a deranged perp's deranged son, being held at gun point, with what she hoped was a knife in his pocket, being used as a shield against the love of her life, who didn't even know it.

"It isn't her fault, Chaz," Olivia spoke once again, and their eyes met, "I was the one who found all the evidence against him…"

"There is no evidence!" the young man growled out, jamming the barrel of the gun harder against the blonde's temple, making her flinch, "This bitch made up some bullshit story! My father would never have hurt anyone! And he would never cheat on my mother! Now put your gun down or I'll blow her fucking head off!"

"I can't do that," Olivia said, slowly inching her way towards them, "And I can't let you hurt her."

Alex bit her lip as she felt him holder tighter. Yep, that is definitely not a knife. Why did I choose to wear a skirt today? His breath was warm against her ear, "You need a good pounding don't you, eh? Come on, when's the last time you've ever been with a man?" Oh, let's see: never. Bastard… "Come on, Cabot. Tell her to get lost, and I'll show you a good time, right here on the table," His hips pressed against her, harder this time. Olivia was moving steadily closer, noticing that his attention had drifted. He spoke again, his voice raw with desire, still whispering against her ear, "No, you don't want it against a table, do you," not with you I don't, "against a wall maybe," God, if Liv ever did that, I'd come on the spot, "Are you turned on by that, Cabot? Want me to check?" Her eyes found Olivia's again, just as he switched the gun to the arm holding her.

In that three-second interval, Olivia pounced.


"Alex," A voice floated somewhere above her head. God, the fucking light. Her head was pounding, "Alex, the paramedics are here." Her eyes reluctantly closed, despite her desire to stay awake. When she next came to, she noticed she was moving, "Alex, sweetheart, can you hear me?" Olivia's voice sounded different, like she was close to tears.

"Liv," she slurred out, struggling to open her eyes. She called me… Her eyes flickered against the light, "Ah, Liv, shit, where…"

A warm hand clasped hers gently, "It's okay, sweetheart, we're on our way to Mercy."

Snippets were starting to come back to her. Olivia tackled the prick hard enough that he practically threw her; she didn't have the strength to scream; her head rebounded off the floor. Hard. She must have come in and out of consciousness a couple times. Olivia. "Olivia…" She tried to turn her head, but the paramedic's voice was stern, telling her to keep her head steady.

"It's okay, Alex," The brunette's face appeared in her vision, "Just don't try to turn your head. Just look at me, sweetheart."

Olivia squeezed her hand. So warm. She wanted to say so many things, but her head was too foggy, "Liv, I…"

"Shhh," the detective smiled gently, "We're almost there. 5 minutes"

I love you.


Olivia paced the waiting area, trying to calm her nerves as she waited for Captain Cragen and Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly. They'd arrived in the ambulance about ten minutes ago, and she'd called both of their bosses a little after the ambulance arrived, so why weren't they here yet?

A nurse came through a door, approaching her cautiously, like one would at an airport, looking for a relative they didn't quite know, "Detective Benson?"

"That's me," she said, nervousness pooling in the pit of her stomach, as she stopped pacing and looked at the nurse, "Is Alex okay?"

"Just a slight concussion. She's asking for you." She followed the nurse through the double doors and down the hall to an open area filled with hospital beds, some with curtains drawn. Walking up to a bed with a curtain drawn, the nurse stopped and spoke, "Right through here."

Thanking the woman, she pulled the curtain back. Alex sat on the hospital bed, dressed in her suit, looking positively miserable. She looked up when the curtain was pulled back, and the detective saw tears shining behind normally icy blue eyes.

"Olivia," Alex looked at her with a mix of disbelief and relief.

She took the blonde's hand gently, "Heard you were asking for me," Olivia smiled reassuringly, "It's all going to be okay, Alex."

"They want me to stay overnight," Alex paused, looking slightly unsure, "but they said if I had someone to watch over me, I could go home."

"I'm sure Benson wouldn't mind," Cragen's voice came from behind them, and the women jumped at the intrusion.

Olivia turned to see Captain Cragen and noticed that Bureau Chief Donnelly had walked through the door, "I wouldn't mind, Captain, but…"

Whatever the detective was going to say was cut off by Donnelly, as the older blonde walked over, "No buts. Take some time off. You and Alex need some time to rest."

Alex smiled gently, "Well, Olivia, what can you do?"

The detective looked back at her, her lopsided grin in place, "Guess I'm taking you outta here. We'll take a cab to the station house, so I can get my car."

^.^

Watching the detective and attorney head out of the hospital, Donnelly smirked, "Do you think that they'll finally get together?"

Don smiled slightly, "God, I hope so."

^.^

Putting her key in the lock and twisting to unlock her door, Olivia ushered Alex into her apartment, "It's a little messy. I hope you don't mind."

Alex surveyed the small apartment, the worn couch, the pictures sitting in their frames that were resting on the coffee table nearest the couch, and smiled, "I don't mind, Detective. It's homey."

Olivia looked over from the kitchen where she was putting dishes away, one eyebrow arched with skepticism, "We back to titles now, Counselor?"

Alex looked over at her, a smirk on her face, "Not if you don't want to be, Olivia."

Olivia grinned, turning back to her dishes, "Sit on the couch, Alex. I'll bring you some water and pain pills."

With a dramatic sigh, the attorney obeyed, feeling a light tingle in her stomach. Olivia joined her moments later, handing her a bottled water and two pain pills. Their fingers brushed slightly, and the tingle the attorney felt morphed into a jolt of molten heat, causing her to gasp lightly. She was sure Olivia felt it too, by the way her eyes glazed over slightly before returning to normal. Dismissing the crazy notion that Olivia Benson would be interested in her, she quickly swallowed the pills with a gulp of water, setting the bottle next to the pictures.

"You and your mom look alike," she said quietly, picking up one of the pictures. It was the same one that sat at the detective's desk. She wouldn't ask about her father. She had gotten Olivia's file when she had first been assigned to SVU. Well, she'd gotten all their files, but Olivia's stuck out in her mind. She knew about Olivia's life growing up, the product of her mother's rape, and knew better than to bring up the past.

"Yeah," Olivia answered, her eyes drawn to Alex's fingers. She admired the way her long fingers held the frame and wondered what it would be like having the blonde's fingers inside her, bringing her over the edge. God, get your mind out of the gutter, Benson. She was hurt. Maybe this was a bad idea. I should never have…

She wasn't aware she had spoken aloud until Alex looked over at her, a smirk gracing her features once again, "Do you want to finish that thought, Benson?"

Blushing, the detective looked away, "No. And I didn't know I spoke out loud."

Setting the picture down, Alex turned fully to the brunette, shifting slightly closer. Leaning in until they were breathing each other's air, she relished the fact that Olivia's eyes were dark with arousal. Her blue eyes flashed with her own desire, "You did." Slowly, she pressed her lips to the detective's, light, gentle, waiting for Olivia to respond. It took only a couple of seconds before she felt the brunette press back against her, claiming her mouth hungrily. When they pulled away, moments later, both were breathing heavily. Alex smirked, "Now do you want to finish what you were saying?"

Slightly dazed, the detective spoke, "No. We shouldn't do this, Alex."

The attorney moved until she was practically sitting on Olivia's lap, "I feel like that should be my line. Why shouldn't we do this?"

"Because…our cases…could be…" she paused, glaring at Alex, who had started to pepper her neck with kisses, distracting her, "jeopardized. All our past cases…would you please stop that?" She tried pushing the attorney away, but Alex gently grabbed her hands, stilling them.

"Olivia, I want to be with you."

Despite her elation that the attorney wanted to be with her, her fear nagged at her, "That's just the concussion talking."

"Then I must have gotten a concussion the day I met you."

The detective's mouth felt dry, her voice coming out hoarse, "What?"

"It's not just the concussion talking, okay? I've loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. And I know you feel the same way."

Olivia gently cupped the attorney's cheek, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, "I do, Alex, but…"

"I could've died today, Olivia. Hell, you could've died today," the attorney took a hold of the brunette's free hand, "I don't want to live another second without you with me. I want there to be an 'us,' Liv."

Silence reined for a couple of minutes before Olivia pressed a kiss to her lips and spoke, her voice soft, "I want that too," she paused, a determined glint in her eyes, "I should ask you properly though. Alexandra Cabot, will you…"

"Yes," Alex cut her off, "I want to be your girlfriend. Just one rule," Olivia nodded her acceptance, "Please don't call me Alexandra."

A/N: I hope that was what you were looking for MissWritingStorysObsessed, and I hope you liked it. And to everyone else who read this: I hope you liked it too. Please don't forget to review.

Hime no Kowai Shumi