Trying something a little different here. This is A/O and I have never written AO before so, I hope you like!

"Mom, I have to go." Olivia was standing in the living room of her mother's house with her purse strapped over her shoulder and her jacket buttoned up to her neck. It was snowing outside and Olivia felt a little colder with each tiny snowflake that fell.

"I... need, my... more vodka."

Olivia bit her bottom lip and shook her head no, "I have to go. I'm going to be late for work."

"Damn it, Olivia! All you care about is that damn job! I wouldn't be surprised if something bad happens to you. I tried to tell you but, you never listen to me!" As Serena Benson spoke her words became more slurred and she started staggering around as she tried to approach Olivia. Her eyes were pink and glossy and Olivia hated that this was routine for her. She winced at the words. Even after all these years they still hurt. They always would. She wished her mother could be as kind as she was when she was sober. The sober moments were becoming more and more rare and now she didn't know what to do. Olivia herself was barely hanging on.

"I have to go," she reiterated, "I'll be home later."

As Olivia made her way out of the door she heard her mother yell, "I hate you!"

Her tears fell silently as she walked down the sidewalks of Manhattan. There were a million other people out there walking yet, she felt all alone. She would never understand how a mother could say they hated their child. She saw it in her line of work all the time. She knew how if made her feel when her mother said it, she couldn't imagine how a small child felt.

She wiped away her last bit of tears and let out a deep breath before pulling the doors of the precinct open and stepping inside. Here, she was tough. Here, nobody would ever see her break down. Here, she was Detective Olivia Benson and she was the hero. Not some coward who couldn't stand up to her own mom.

"Morning," Alex said with a bright smile on her face. She was sitting in Olivia's desk chair having a chat with Fin when Olivia walked in.

"Morning," she said faking a smile.

"We won the Halsey case," Alex said, "65 years to life."

Olivia nodded, sitting her things down and beginning to unbutton her coat. Captain Cragen came walking out of his office and was about to call Olivia and Fin on a case when he saw the look on Olivia's face. He always knew when she had been crying.

"Munch, Fin," he said instead, "I need you two to head to the Hauschild household. Start questioning the mother about what she knows."

"Got it," Fin said getting his jacket and following Munch out the door.

Cragen walked back into his office leaving Alex and Olivia alone to chat.

"You look a little tired, Liv," Alex pointed out, "Everything okay?"

Olivia put on that fake smile that she always did and nodded, "Everything's fine."

"We've been friends for a while now," Alex stated standing to let Olivia have her chair, "I know when you're lying."

"I just have a headache. That's all."

"You look a little pale," Alex stated starting to worry about her friend.

"I'm fine," Olivia said again. The room started spinning and all of a sudden Olivia's world went black.

"Liv! Olivia!" Alex ran to Olivia's side and propped her up in her lap. She yelled for Cragen and both the Captain and George Huang came rushing into the squad room.

"She said she had a headache and she just collapsed," Alex explained frantically.

George took a closer look at Olivia and decided that the most likely reason she had passed out was because she was dehydrated. "Get some water," he instructed.

Alex looked around the room for a bottle of water and found one sitting on Fin's desk. She rushed to retrieve it and get it to Huang quickly. He opened the bottle and poured some into her mouth, careful that she didn't choke.

"Olivia, you need to open your eyes," he instructed.

Alex watched as Olivia moved her head ever so slightly and her eyes appeared open.

"What happened?"

"You passed out," Cragen informed her, "Go home, Liv. Take a personal day."

"Cap'n I'm fine."
"You just passed out!" Alex exclaimed, "You need to go home and rest! I'll take you."

Home was the last place Olivia wanted to be, especially with Alex. The girl she was in love with could not see her sloppy drunk mother.

"You need to drink some water," Huang told her before helping her back up into her chair, "To keep you hydrated."

Olivia nodded. She was feeling achy and she didn't want to stay at work. She didn't want to go home either. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. "Come on," Alex said gently placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'll stay with you until you feel better."

This was it. She either let Alex take her home or she might not get another chance. "Okay," she said reluctantly, "But you can't stay. I wouldn't want you wasting your time at my place."

Alex shook her head and helped Olivia out the door after waving goodbye to Cragen, "I'll stay until you look a little better."

Olivia had never seen Alex's car before and when she did see it she was surprised. It was a blue convertible and it looked brand new. The ride back to Olivia's place was quiet. Olivia didn't plan on letting Alex come in but, what if her mother came outside? Olivia silently pleaded that it wouldn't happen.

When Alex pulled up next to the curb in front of Olivia's house she turned the car off and climbed out.

"You don't want to come in," Olivia said, "The place is a mess."

"I'm going to make sure you get some rest," Alex told her, "I know how stubborn you are."

Olivia sighed. She knew there was no way out of it now. It was only ten in the morning and with her luck her mother wouldn't be passed out yet. Usually it took until at least one and her mother would fall wherever she was standing. She reached for her keys out of her purse and fumbled to get them in the lock. When she finally managed to get the door open she sighed of relief to see that the house was silent and her mother was lying down on the couch asleep.

"Don't mind my mother," she said tossing her keys onto the coffee table, "She's been sick too."

"Must be the flu," Alex frowned not thinking anything more on the subject.

Olivia walked into the back hallway of the apartment building and opened a door that led to her bedroom. This is where she spent her time when she wasn't at work. She would go to work in the morning, come home, and go straight there. She didn't like hanging around her mother when she was drunk and the sober moments were happening less and less.

"I didn't know you still lived with your mom," Alex chuckled, "You're a little old for that don't you think?"

Olivia forced a smile, "Yeah. Tell me about it."
"You should really get some rest," Alex said helping to straighten the covers out on the bed, "You scared me today."

Olivia smiled. She had liked Alex Cabot for quite sometime now but, she wasn't sure if the feeling was mutual. She tried to keep her work life separate from her love life but, you can't help who you love.

"Sorry," Olivia said shyly, "I guess I should take better care of myself."

Alex gave her a half smile and sat down on the edge of Olivia's bed when her cell phone started ringing. She sighed and brought it out of her skirt pocket to answer it. "Alexandra Cabot."

Alex said some things into the phone and then shut it with a little extra slam than she intended. "That was my boss," she said turning to face Olivia, "I have to go."

"I'll be fine," Olivia said touching her hand, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Both of them smiled at each other and Alex made sure Olivia was tucked into bed with a glass of water at her side before she let herself out.

Olivia woke up sometime later in the day and looked over to her nightstand where the bright neon numbers read 11:14. She must have really been tired to sleep all day. She wasn't sure what had woken her up but she was sure it had been something. She pulled the covers higher up under her chin and positioned herself so she was comfortable before closing her eyes and trying to go back to sleep. Not even twenty seconds later and a loud sound coming from the living room caused her to jolt right out of bed.

"Mom!" she hollered, "Is everything okay?" She rushed into the living room, fear that somebody had broken in.

"I'm out!" Serena cried, "You didn't bring any h..home for m..e."

Olivia sighed. Her mother was drunk. Again. You could see it all over her. Her eyes were pink and glossy, her breath reeked of booze, and she had been wearing the same outfit for the past three days.

"I was sick," Olivia answered plainly, "Not that you care or anything."

Serena pretended to cry, "Go to the liquor store. I need more Vodka."

"No," Olivia said sternly, "It's below freezing outside and I'm tired. If you want it you go get it yourself." She turned to walk back to her bedroom when she felt a hand grip her arm.

"You'll go get me something to drink or I'll lock you out."

Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time her mother had threatened to do that to her. She was sure it wouldn't be the last either. She jerked her mother's hand off of her and continued on her path back to her room. That's when things got physical. Serena swung her hand across Olivia's face and the shock was very evident.

"Go," Serena said to her.

Olivia stood there, stunned. This wasn't the first time her mom had laid a hand on her. She wished it didn't have to happen like this but it did. Her mom never did appreciate her. She never gave her a chance at a normal life. All Olivia could do was cry about it except she chose not to. She chose to be the bigger person and try and get her mom help. Years of counseling and many failed attempts at rehab but nothing worked. She was beginning to feel hopeless. She just wanted to give up. Everyone she had fell for in the past left because her own mom pushed people away. She didn't want the same thing to happen with Alex. She really liked Alex and she was ready to be in a serious relationship. She took a deep breath and forced the tears that were welling up in her eyes to go away.

"Fine," she whispered, "I'll go." She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her black coat off the couch and stuffed some money into her pocket. She stepped outside into the fluffy falling snow and didn't look back. She looked down at the ground as she walked and she paid close attention to the crunching sound beneath her feet. It was hard to hear with all the sound of the traffic and the honking cars but, she strained her ears. She wondered how it had gotten this far. She was able to handle perps all day long and she didn't give a damn that they called her a bitch or said they hated her. Why couldn't it be the same way with her mom? She didn't think she would ever understand why her mom said the things she did.

She walked the few blocks to the nearest liquor store and finally feeling a little bit of warmth she loosened her scarf a little and walked over to the wall where her mother's favorite brand of Vodka sat. She hated buying the disgusting stuff. She hated that she contributed to her mother's problem. What else was she to do? If she hadn't went to get it she was afraid of what her mom would do to her.

She picked two bottles up off the shelf and carried them to the check out counter where she accidentally bumped into to a lady.

"Sorry," she said without looking to see the person's face.

"Olivia? What are you doing here? You're suppose to be resting!"

Olivia sighed, it was Alex. Just her luck.

"I-uh..."

"You wanted a drink," Alex laughed, "That's a lot of liquor there."

Olivia looked down at the glasses in her hands, "Yeah," she said suddenly embarrassed.

TBC... Do you like it so far? Has it been done before? I'm loving writing it so I hope you love reading it!