Falling into you.

Alex is having a very bad day and all she wants and needs is lots of love and affection so of course Olivia awaits with her arms wide open. Love, comfort and sex. This is my first fanfic so I'm testing the waters so to speak, already have a much longer one ready, always Alex/Olivia pairing.

Chapter 1.

Alex Cabot stormed out of her office slamming the door violently and cursing under her breath. She didn't give a damn about the people present that glanced at her wondering why she was so mad. She looked back at them defiantly, her eyes shooting daggers in all directions and they instantly looked away, nobody daring to utter one word which was just as good seeing the awful mood she was in.

To say that she had just gone through a horrible day was an understatement. Everything that could possibly go wrong had gone wrong and even worse.

She had lost a very important case in court and a low-life scumbag had been set free due to a feeble technicality which somehow had been overlooked in what she had thought was a carefully construed case with no way out for the accused.

She was mad at her collaborators but she was even more mad at herself. She was a perfectionist who read and re-read all her notes ad infinitum and zealously went over all her paperwork repeatedly every time before she had to go to court. She was demanding with those who worked with her but to be honest, most of all she was demanding with herself, she took great pride in her capabilities as a lawyer and having to accept defeat because of a technical screw-up was the thing that pissed her off the most.

And to make things even worse she'd had go through the humiliation of being called to into the judge's chambers where she had been berated and scolded like some glory-hungry newbie fresh out of law school.

As she tore out of the building, heels clacking and her unbuttoned coat flying open she welcomed the lashing rain and wind that hit her with full force. Her long blonde hair flew in the wind and started getting wet instantly as well as her clothes but she didn't give a crap. She didn't bother with buttoning up or opening up her umbrella, she was feeling as stormy as the weather around her.

She walked for a while in the pouring rain until she decided that what she needed was a stiff drink, no, more like 2-3 stiff drinks to calm herself down before going home.

"What a lousy, stinking rotten fucking day." she murmured to herself as she entered a bar, shaking some of the wetness out of her soaking hair and pulling it up and slicking it back over her shoulders. As she stepped up to the bar she pulled out a barstool, sat down and rested her briefcase on her lap.

The place wasn't too busy as it was only 5:30 in the afternoon so a kindly looking elderly bartender came up to her across the bar counter and gave her a smile: "Looks like you got the brunt of some nasty weather out there young lady and I think maybe you need something strong to warm you up a little bit…or am I mistaken ?"

Alex looked up at him, she wasn't in the mood to make small talk with anyone but seeing the kindness in his eyes and his sympathetic smile her good education got the upper hand . She smiled back at him and replied: "Yes thank you, I'll take a double vodka with ginger ale and lemon, no ice, thank you." As the kind soul in front of her started mixing her drink she couldn't help but add: "And I haven't been just the target of the nasty weather today, if only it were just that I'd already be heading straight home without stopping here."

She had a forlorn and sad expression , it saddened the old gentleman as he served her drink which she grabbed, taking a long sip. The bartender looked at her with concerned eyes as he watched her taking another deep gulp of her drink.

Not wanting to be too inquisitive he softly said: "I just hope that a splendid beautiful young woman like you has somebody very special at home that is waiting for you, in moments like these it's not good to go home to an empty house."

His kind words got to Alex. She looked back at him and answered: "Oh, I'm very lucky in that respect, I've got the world's most wonderful person waiting for me at home. But I just need to let off some steam before heading home, it's not fair to dump your lousy rotten day at work on the person you love, it's not right somehow."

The bartender sighed and said: "That all depends on what kind of relationship you have with your loved one, if it's the real stuff you have going he will listen to you, take care of you and make you feel better, that's what love's all about you know. My wife and I have been together for forty years, our lives have never been easy, we've always worked hard to make a living and we've had some bad things happen to us along the way. But always being there for each other has always seen us through everything."

Then he added: "I know I'll be going home late this evening, I'll be tired as I'm no longer young and with all the stuff you have to listen to in this job it does weigh on you. People come in here and dump their heartbreaks and sorrows on you after a couple of drinks. You wouldn't believe all the sad stories I've listened too. So instead of sitting here drowning your sorrows in a glass of vodka go home to your man and let him take care of your sorrows."

Alex found herself listening intently to the old bartender's soothing warm voice. He was giving her an unexpected comfort with his kind words.

She looked at him and asked: "Am I being rude if I ask you what you name is ?"

The kind elderly gentleman replied: "No, not at all, you're probably going to laugh, I'm Joe, the classic average Joe the bartender, the custodian of broken hearts" he chuckled.

His remark made Alex chuckle as well so she decided to be honest with him: "Well Joe, I'm Alex and I don't think you're average at all, on the contrary, so I'll confide in you. I'm a lawyer and today I lost a case that was very important to me and I'm just blaming myself for that and feeling pissed off about it as I hate losing."

Joe was listening to Alex with attention. Alex looked him square in the eye and without any hesitation she added: "I do have a relationship like you have with your wife with the person waiting for me at home. The only difference is that it's not a he, it's a she and she is the love of my life. Does that shock or disturb you Joe in any way ?"

Joe's warm and kind eyes met those of Alex once again, with a large smile he replied: "No Alex, not at all and by the way your eyes just lit up telling me this she has to be something extraordinary so why aren't you just heading home to her instead of wasting time here listening to an old man ?"

By now between the drink and especially chatting with Joe it seemed to Alex that things were getting just a bit better. She was still feeling upset by all that had happened at work but talking with this perfect stranger was helping her out.

"So Alex, may I ask the name of your big love and how long you've been together ?" asked Joe.

"Olivia, I call her both Olivia and Liv and as far as I am concerned we've been together forever. All I can say Joe is that I've been in love with her from almost the first day we met. But a lot of unforeseen things happened to us, a lot of heartbreaks and separations due to a strange twist of destiny. But now we're together and have been for a number of years and I'd rather die than to be separated from her again."

Old Joe laid his large and calloused hand over Alex's hand resting on the counter: "My dear Alex, take an advice from a tired but wise old man, finish your drink and then head on home to Olivia. You'll get love, comfort and healing from her, not by sitting in this bar drinking. She'll soothe your pain and who knows, maybe one day you'll stop by to say hi to me, that is if you feel like it, and bring Olivia along, she must me pretty special if she captured the heart of someone like you."

Alex smiled wistfully, her brilliant incredibly beautiful blue eyes had a dreamy far-away look in them: "Oh she is Joe, I'd like for you to meet her, she's amazing. She's got the largest kindest heart in the world, she's smart as a whip, she's incredibly beautiful…and she loves me and puts up with me and my moods…for which she should get a medal of honor…believe me Joe…it's not always easy being around me." Alex rolled her eyes, smiled and pointed her long index finger at herself.

Joe burst out laughing: "I bet you're handful but something tells me that Olivia is quite up to the task. Now what do you say that you drink up, your drink is on the house. Give me a moment and I'll get an umbrella as it's still raining cats and dogs out there, I'll see you outside and flag down a taxi for you, time to go home Alex my dear."

Alex got up from the barstool, her clothes were still damp from the rain and a crumpled -up disaster but she really didn't care at all. This short bar stop and especially talking to Joe had helped her to calm down a bit. As she waited by the entrance Joe came walking up to her with an umbrella, as they walked out onto the sidewalk she hooked her arm underneath his that was holding the umbrella.

Within two minutes Joe had flagged down a taxi for her, as he opened the door of the cab, he gave her a wink and said: "Go home safe and sound Alex, take care of yourself and Olivia and your love, stop by to say hello to me sometime…but only if you bring Olivia along…ok."

Alex felt touched by Joe's words, she gave him a silent warm hug and climbed into the taxi. As she took off she looked back at Joe waving to her on the curb, she waved back at him with a smile thinking to herself: "What a wonderful person you are and you're absolutely right Joe, it's time to go home, the love of my life is waiting there for me with open arms. And that's all I need."