AN: This is set during the episode "Lead", and covers Alex's return to SVU. It is part of my 'Secret' series. In this story, Alex is still engaged to Robert when she returns to SVU, but don't worry, she will break up with him soon. There will be a few more chapters, I'm not sure how many.
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order: SVU or any of the characters associated with it.
Chapter One
When Olivia sees Alex again, for the first time in years, she is shocked. She had been this close to giving up hope that Alex would ever contact any of them again.
She knows that Alex is engaged, and that she has returned to the DA's office, but she hasn't contacted anyone from her pre-WPP life in the 3 years that she has been back. Also, she is engaged, to a man. She hadn't been expecting Alex to fall back into her arms when she came back (They had agreed, after their last night together during the Connors trial, that if Alex had to return to WPP, they would both try to move on), but she had thought that Alex would at least contact her to say that she was back. She certainly hadn't expected Alex to get promoted and then get engaged to a Wall Street banker. The Alex she knew had chosen to abstain from dating altogether rather than to even go on a date with a man.
Olivia's first impulse is to wrap her arms around Alex and never let go, and she has to remind herself that she has no claim to Alex anymore, that Alex has moved on, she is engaged. (Olivia, on the other hand, is just as much in love with Alex as she was when Alex left.)
Inside, at the crime scene, Elliot begins the conversation. He and Olivia takes turns asking Alex questions. Alex tells them that she has gotten their messages, but every time she has tried to call, it has brought back memories. When Elliot mentions the shooting, Alex gets a faraway look in her eyes, and Olivia knows that she's remembering the shooting now. She starts talking about how long Alex has been back, without contacting them. That pulls Alex out of her memories, and then Alex has a completely different expression on, one that says 'I'm so sorry, I hurt you, please don't hate me', and she is focused entirely on Olivia. It almost looks like Alex is going to say some of that out loud, but O'Halloran calls them over then, and Alex snaps back into ADA Cabot mode.
The rest of the time that Alex is there, it feels almost like it did before, and it probably seems exactly the same to the rest of the squad, but for Olivia, it can never feel the same, not as long as Alex is engaged, and they've promised to move on.
For the rest of the day, all she can think about is 'Alex, Alex, Alex'. After they talk to Mrs. McTeague, she goes straight home. She changes out of her work clothes, pours herself a glass of wine, and curls up on the couch. She can't keep herself from remembering all of the times that she had sat on this couch with Alex, talking, teasing, kissing. Against her will, tears spring to her eyes. Just as she is about to give up and start crying in earnest, there is a knock on her apartment door. Olivia stands up, wiping her eyes, and goes to open the door.
There, standing in her hallway, looking like she has recently been crying herself, is Alex. They just stand there for a moment, staring at each other, before Alex whispers her name, "Liv…". Then, suddenly, they are in each other's arms, clinging to each other, and they are both crying.