Olivia Benson paused as she reread the report in that morning's paper to look outside the precinct window. The bullpen was empty but for her, the clock gradually ticking the seconds down to 1 o'clock in the morning. The veil of night pressed close to the slightly fogged windows, accentuating her solidarity. Her dark eyes were ringed with exhaustion – the case she was working was finally over, the sick fuck that'd raped and killed four innocent teenage girls had been tossed into a cell, where he belonged. Somehow, however, the report she'd been reading didn't seem to do it justice.

She glanced down at the printed words again, feeling melancholy close in around her. Her long fingers pressed close to the almost fragile paper before she put it down on her desk with a finality that indicated she was done. With a long sigh she got to her feet, stretched and made her way to the window, peering outside onto the street. It was almost empty – she watched a stray cat tentatively scrounging around in the trash across the road – and peacefully quiet. It was times like this she felt she could really think.

Despite having caught the perp, the damage had been done. Those families weren't going to get their precious daughters back. Her jaw clenched, dark eyes squeezing closed as she hung her head.

"Olivia?"

She jumped and turned as her hand flew to her empty holster, her heart hammering loudly in her throat.

Alex paused as she saw Olivia panic. The detective's gun was lying on the desk – for some reason the sharp slight of arousal was spurred in her gut.

"It's nice to see you jump to your gun upon immediately seeing me." Alex said coolly.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, ignoring Alex's rather irritating tone, her surprise fading as soon as it had come. Her voice was sharper than she intended and she softened it as those icy blue eyes x-rayed her from the door. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Alex replied as she stepped forward on extremely pricy high heels. "I am here to pick up some paperwork regarding the Allers' case. Elliot told me it was on his desk, but I didn't have time to pick it up this afternoon."

Pale fingers carefully plucked the file in question off the desk as Olivia sat back down at her desk.

"So tell me, Detective. Why are you here?"

Olivia shrugged, "Can't sleep. Didn't want to go home yet."

Something in Alex's eyes softened and she moved round to the detective's desk, settling on it, long legs folded neatly. Olivia's gaze trailed down those never ending legs before she realised what she was doing and snapped back to cold ice. Shit. She hoped Cabot hadn't noticed.

"Was it the case?" Alex probed gently.

"No." Olivia heaved another sigh and continued rather gloomily, "It's nearly the full moon."

The detective's insides squirmed as the ADA actually laughed. It wasn't a cold, self-satisfied laugh that indicated whoever was in Alex Cabot's bad books was about to have a very rough time. It was a real laugh – warm, vibrant, happy… and completely breath taking. Much like the rest of her.

"The full moon?" Those x-ray like eyes twinkled with mirth as she gazed down at the rapidly reddening face. A very attractive rapidly reddening face, Alex thought with an internal smirk.

"Yeah, well, I have trouble sleeping around the full moon."

"Goodness, next, they'll be telling me you're a werewolf. I'm sure I've got some silver bullets somewhere."

Olivia rolled her eyes but her palms started to sweat slightly, "I'm not a werewolf. And even if I was, it'd take more than silver bullets to put me down."

"I'm sure," Alex purred, shifting slightly closer. The move did not go unnoticed, however, and Olivia studied her suspiciously. Alex valiantly managed to beat back a blush of embarrassment at having been caught. "So," she continued to starve the awkward moment, "what are you then? Halloween was a month ago. You've got to have some idea – I mean, what did you go out as?"

Olivia grunted in a non-committal way, avoiding the ADA's gaze. "I don't celebrate Halloween." Too many painful memories of trying to get her mother sober enough to help her make a costume, or to at least buy one for her.

Alex made a mock-horrified noise and clapped a hand to her mouth. "'Don't celebrate Halloween'? Didn't you even go to the office party?"

"No. Why, did you?"

"Yes, every year. One has to keep up appearances, even at such… informal occasions."

Olivia snorted, "Who do you go as to these fancy parties? Glinda's evil twin sister, the Wicked Witch of the North?" She softened the potentially hurtful barb by grinning at Alex cheekily. Her suddenly sullen mood was lifted when Alex laughed again, tossing her head back and revealing that lovely, pale throat. A pale throat she would very much like to mark…

"I'll have to do that next year." Alex was saying, pulling Olivia's brain firmly back into reality. "No, I'm a bit of a cop-out I'm afraid. I went as a vampire."

Olivia blinked and then laughed, "Well, that's not exactly dressing up. You're a lawyer."

Alex swatted Olivia on the shoulder with the folder, laughing still. She couldn't understand how she was so relaxed. Only two seconds ago she'd had her usual stick up her ass, waiting to go home so she could get some well-earned sleep. But Olivia hadn't even had to fuck her to remove said stick. Which was a shame, she thought shrewdly, examining Olivia as the detective continued to laugh while rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. She would have liked to have been fucked.

"I'm a good lawyer though."

"Oh, what, a veggie vampire? Like those ones in those books teens are obsessed about these days?"

Alex twisted her face, "I don't read such rubbish. I read respectable vampire books. Like Dracula."

"Right…" Olivia glanced up at the clock and sighed again. "I should probably head home. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow, I can tell. Thursday is the best day for perps to commit crimes. It's not quite the weekend, but it's not Wednesday either, which means it's a good day."

Alex watched, amused, as the detective got to her feet and stretched, yawning. The tight polar neck did nothing to hide any of her assets: a smooth stomach, the gorgeous breasts. Her eyes swept up to focus on lips that were just begging to be kissed... On dark eyes gazing straight into her own, clearly aware of where she had been looking. Alex had the courtesy to blush and affix her gaze onto the gun still lying on the table.

"See something you like?" Olivia teased, her heart suddenly thumping high in her throat. She tried to keep her overactive imagination under control.

"I was just thinking you looked exhausted."

"Well, I haven't slept in a while."